Is there a way?

[SlcDX]

The most obvious answer to the following question would be get a better antenna, but on my limited budget and with my Select-a-tenna...

Is there any possible way I could get a far away HD signal to lock.

Lots of the signals here flash HD at night, but I have yet to see a far away station lock.

KOA and other Denvers would be the closest, and I can get KOA to 3 bars on the Sony and blink, but no lock.

Is AM HD Dxing at all possible??? Anyone ever get a 500+ mile away station to lock that you know of??

[cd637299]

I cannot do it either. Not that I spend a lotta time at home on AM, but only my WSUA 1260 locks in the day. I have local WMYM 990 (R Disney) but their signal is horrible, day & night. Looks like WQAM 560, who boasted their HD technology for the last 2 years, has apparently given up the HD ghost.

The only "DX" station I get at night with a blinking HD is WLAC 1510 Nashville, I believe. And my 1260 just isn't good enough at night.

Somebody once called IBOC "the din of iBiquity." So right, he.

cd

[Mike-CT]

The most you can hope for is a few seconds of HD lock or radiotext.
I don't even get WTIC 1080 to decode at night and I'm around 20 miles north of the towers.

You'll just have to get used to blinking HD logos.

[SlcDX]

Just begs the question: Is it really worth it?!?

20 miles away and no lock? Worth it... certainly not.
HD needs to go bye bye from AM.

[spunker88]

The most you can hope for is a few seconds of HD lock or radiotext.
I don't even get WTIC 1080 to decode at night and I'm around 20 miles north of the towers.

You'll just have to get used to blinking HD logos.

Really, what is the point of it then. Its range isnt even able to serve its local market. And were not talking about some low powered station, WTIC is a clear channel 50kw'er. I dont own or plan to own a HD AM radio if that is what they are capable of. Ill stick with my analog tuners which can pull in WTIC in Upstate NY no problem.

[cd637299]

I say that as long as a local AM station streams with a decent fidelity, more ppl will flock to *it* than rush out and buy an HD radio just to listen to AM.

How successful was AM Stereo? :rolleyes:

cd

[SlcDX]

I agree, so many AM stations are not streaming. I'm sure a lot of us use internet streams to confirm what we're hearing on air. I would like to see every AM and even FM station stream. That is my dream :cool:

[SlcDX]

Sorry for digging up an old thread but on my Sony and a JVC in car radio I was able to get a few stations to say their call letters at least, with no locks.

Here in Salt Lake City, the two that came in clearest were both from Denver:
http://www.ubstudios.com/dx/koahd.jpg -KOA 850 (no lock)
http://www.ubstudios.com/dx/slcids/kmxahd.JPG - KMXA 1090 (no lock)

Earlier in the year, on the JVC car radio, while 200 miles away from KBOI in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, I managed to get a signal lock on KBOI:
http://www.ubstudios.com/dx/kboidecode.jpg

[K4NBF]

There's not enough AM HD in the Southern US, and indoor noise levels are too high to get a lock on anything here (even my "local" 1510 WLAC, just under 40 miles away). I've seen an HD light flash on one of the big Midwest 50kw'ers, but I rarely use the Sony to DX AM so I haven't pursued it further.

At my prior QTH in Southern California I could get reliable spotty locks on KCBS 740 in San Francisco, CA (approximately 350 miles distant). KOA Denver, at about 900 miles would occasionally blink HD, but I never saw call signs or audio, same with 1160 KSL at about 550 miles.

[SlcDX]

So all in all, it is possible to get a DX AM HD station to lock, but again, the question posed earlier still stands... is it worth it? In order to get a lock on the Sony anyway the signal has to have 3 bars and be clear as a whistle. I love the Sony, don't get me wrong, but AM-HD just makes me say meh!

[K4NBF]

The conditions in which I was able to get KCBS to lock were beyond what any conventional listener would put up with. This included very carefully placing the antenna in a "sweet spot", to minimize local noise while maximizing signal. Even at this point, it would lock for no more than 5-10 seconds and drop out with any fluctuation in signal or local noise, and often take up to a few minutes before it would briefly lock again.

Although the above was a skywave "DX" situation, the same problems exist with local groundwave reception. Most people would simply sling the AM antenna behind the cabinet or perhaps some other concealed location near the tuner. When the AM HD fails to work (it failed to work for me on 50kw blowtorches appx. 20-25 miles from my QTH when antenna was placed in that manner), they likely don't bother carefully placing the antenna for HD, as the analog sounds fine. Thus they assume the radio or the system is flawed and either return the radio, hang on to it for FM HD, analog AM/FM, etc.

I can imagine in mobile situations AM HD is even more useless. The nature of AM is that it is susceptible to noise - we've all noticed signal fades under bridges and power lines, and on less than very close locals, I often hear AM signals get overwhelmed by noise from semi-trucks and some other vehicles. As I drive an older vehicle, some of that noise is self-created by ignition noise, which is common. Lightning also briefly knocks out AM signals, as we've all heard. All of these factors not only cause the analog signal to fade/drop out, but they affect the sidebands, hence I imagine that (in urban environments especially) AM HD is pretty sucky in a moving vehicle.

So yes, I'd say AM HD isn't worth it, for DX'ers and listeners alike. While I will admit I think AM HD actually sounds better than the analog, it isn't good enough for the hassle, for listeners as well as stations that are getting interfered with by distant skywave neighbors. Even the industry has quietly recognized this it appears (and reality isn't something that comes easy to them), as the AM HD count is slowly dropping.

[pjdyer]

I'm attaching my little collection of Sony AM HD screens. They're all locals, and only KRDY really locks. KTKR (sports) shuts theirs off at night. At night I've gotten just a flashing icon on KRLD (1080), KMOX (1020), and KOA (850).

73, Pat - WA5IYX

[w9wi]

There is no nighttime IBOC service at my location 30 miles northwest of Nashville. I've managed to pull a few seconds of HD audio out of WHO and WOAI -- but had to connect a 130-foot ham antenna to the Boston Acoustics to do it.

Haven't tried AM with the Sony.

Luckily there are only two AM IBOC stations in Nashville: WPLN-1430 and WLAC-1510. Daytime, if I find the "sweet spot" I can get HD on both stations. (but it takes careful manipulation of the antenna) Nighttime, neither makes it. But WPLN is protecting St. Louis and Indianapolis, so their *analog* signal is non-existent at night too. WLAC is protecting Spokane so they aren't blazingly strong either. (I'm 18 miles from their towers but have *heard* Spokane while WLAC was on the air, and some afternoons Joliet, Illinois completely covers WLAC at sunset... I'm not entirely sure WLAC is on directional pattern at the time!)


Anyway, I concur: there seems to be little point to AM HD. The coverage is next to useless.

It's probably even more pointless at WLAC, which may be running HD on AM -- but is also carried on WNRQ-105.9's HD3. People can actually receive WNRQ-HD3 without needing a 130-foot antenna.

(I suspect the HD3 is evidence of management understanding that their AM HD is not working...)

[SlcDX]

The best one out of this whole AM-HD mess I think is here in Salt Lake City.

KSL 1160 has HD, and renders nearly 40 khz of the band useless surrounding its 50kw signal... and then..

KSL-FM is a direct simulcast of the AM, and ALSO has HD!
I keep asking myself why do they need to put their HD signal on AM when it works better on FM. KSL of course won't listen to me, or anyone else for the matter.

The other signals on AM-HD here in SLC are KWDZ Radio Disney, which is about 15 miles to my south and has trouble at night locking, even when I fiddle around with the antenna. There is also KUTR 820, which, thank god, is off at night. Half of the time the HD isn't working to begin with. Worthless technology.