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AM Radio 2020

Topics of general interest that just don't fit anywhere else.
Deleted User 14803

AM Radio 2020

Post by Deleted User 14803 » Fri Dec 07, 2018 12:46 pm

In August of 2020 WWJ radio will be 100 years old, what do you think will happen to AM broadcasting in the decade of the 20’s will it be at it’s endgame, or will it be totally digital,could the land where the stations have the antenna farms be sold and repurposed ,what is your take on this?



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Studio87
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Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by Studio87 » Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:01 pm

I think AM will become more niche in the future, but i don't see AM going away. In some areas like central and eastern Texas and Alaska AM is all you have. I would like to see all AM stations add digital to there signals. Also as a matter of national security AM should stay, in case of an EMP attack AM can travel hundreds of miles that FM can't, and its more accessible to the public than shortwave.


Time to stop corporations from ruining Local TV and Radio

Deleted User 14803

Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by Deleted User 14803 » Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:33 pm

I’m glad to hear that someone has some hope for AM ,I pretty much think the same way as you there are a lot of AM or even for that matter radio doomsayers out there that think the internet and cell phone 5G will replace radio, I’m not one of them.By the way where is that 106.9 logo from its pretty cool.



Deleted User 14803

Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by Deleted User 14803 » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:12 pm

AMen,I’m with you I don’t care what type of formats are on AM as long as it survives ,I Love AM radio grew up with AM radio and now I’m 63 years old and still listen to AM radio ,Is it the fact that I can hear stations from great distances that’s one reason and the fact the programming is different from FM is another.FM to me is just a jukebox loaded with 150 songs that repeat.Long live AM 📻 radio.



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Art Van Damme
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Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by Art Van Damme » Fri Dec 14, 2018 8:54 am

Viability and profitability. If the business model consisting of towers on large pieces of real estate, electrical usage, maintenance, insurance, licensing, et al, is justifiable, then, AM will continue to exist. If there is compelling programming, AM can be usable.

Strictly speaking from an advertiser’s standpoint, being able to hyper-target a demo (smart phone, cable box) and know exactly to whom you are buying, is much more attractive than speculating who is listening at any one time.

Religious broadcasters, brokered broadcasters and the like do not rely upon ratings to profit.

What is happening in the realm of shortwave radio, looks to me like a pretty good indicator of what’s in store for U.S. domestic AM broadcasting. Some stations will go dark, some will go religious-oriented, some will become brokered, some will program in languages other than English, some will simulcast another station, some will continue “steady as she goes” with no changes.



Arthur Mometer
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Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by Arthur Mometer » Fri Dec 14, 2018 2:10 pm

When I saw the 2020 in the thread heading, I thought it was 2020 kHz. I thought the expanded band had suddenly been expanded. How cool. Service for hundreds of miles on a fairly regular basis. Look at CFRX on 6070 kHz. 1 kW Nondirectional, and under normal sunspot conditions, massive service area. And CHU 3330 kHz, with 3 kW Nondirectional. Now that SW International BC is being abandoned, it should be repurposed.

For those with 8 in their screen names, what do you think of NBFM for SW BC service? I know, capture ratio would be problematic if there were cochannel stations, and the narrow band is at odds with high fidelity sound. BTW, does N8FM read this board? I know that WB8DEL and W280EL do. :wink:


"I'm meteorologist Arthur Mometer."

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MWmetalhead
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Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Dec 15, 2018 8:50 am

AM radio & programming in the 2020's will become increasingly non-mainstream, just like the 2010's. Hybrid digital will limp along. Very few additional stations will go digital only.



Deleted User 14803

Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by Deleted User 14803 » Sat Dec 15, 2018 10:53 am

I think the digital thing for AM is just about a dead issue actually any remaining AM HD stations will just shut off the HD portion of the broadcast Entercom AM Stations will be the last.



Arthur Mometer
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Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by Arthur Mometer » Sat Dec 15, 2018 11:06 am

I think CBS/Entercom realizes that WBBM and WCBS hurt WABC and WLS and that is why they keep IBOC on. The CFZM WSB WJR WABC Oasis in the IBOC Desert is the best part of the band!

In the Desert,
You Can't remember your name,
Cause the IBOC Buzz,
Fills your head with much pain.

La la la,
La la la la,
La la la,
La la!


"I'm meteorologist Arthur Mometer."

"Those of you who think you know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."

"Lies have to be repeated and repeated to be believed. Truth stands on its own merit."

Deleted User 14803

Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by Deleted User 14803 » Sat Dec 15, 2018 12:05 pm

Arthur Mometer wrote:
Sat Dec 15, 2018 11:06 am
I think CBS/Entercom realizes that WBBM and WCBS hurt WABC and WLS and that is why they keep IBOC on. The CFZM WSB WJR WABC Oasis in the IBOC Desert is the best part of the band!

In the Desert,
You Can't remember your name,
Cause the IBOC Buzz,
Fllls your head with much pain,

La la la,
La la la la,
La la la,
La la!
I do agree with you, Maybe the next few years Entercom will Realize That AM HD is never going to fly, I think there’s only 38 Nightime HD signals still operational and that’s it.



Mega Hertz
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Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by Mega Hertz » Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:57 pm

I just posted on my Facebook the other night that I love nighttime AM radio. News from New York, sports from Chicago and hate-filled fear mongering from all over thr country.


"Internet is no more like radio than intravenous feeding is like fine dining."
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MWmetalhead
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Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by MWmetalhead » Mon Dec 17, 2018 10:52 pm

I think there’s only 38 Nightime HD signals still operational and that’s it.
Too bad many of those are in our own backyard.

WFDF, WWJ, WMUZ (AM 1200), WXYT and WEXL all run IBOC/HD after dark. Perhaps I'm forgetting a couple?



k8jd
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Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by k8jd » Sun Dec 30, 2018 6:31 pm

Mega Hertz wrote:
Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:57 pm
I just posted on my Facebook the other night that I love nighttime AM radio. News from New York, sports from Chicago and hate-filled fear mongering from all over thr country.
And George Noory you can hear from 40 different cities at night !



innate-in-you
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Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by innate-in-you » Sun Jan 06, 2019 10:44 pm

Arthur Mometer wrote:
Fri Dec 14, 2018 2:10 pm

<snip>
For those with 8 in their screen names, what do you think of NBFM for SW BC service? I know, capture ratio would be problematic if there were cochannel stations, and the narrow band is at odds with high fidelity sound. BTW, does N8FM read this board? I know that WB8DEL and W280EL do. :wink:
I think that NBFM for international broadcasting could be practical, but my understanding is that it is still against international agreement because of its wider bandwith. Going to an FM emission with the same bandwidth as AM would not have an advantage over AM, but FM with 5KHz +- deviation would provide good reception on many amateur transceivers and communications receivers.

One amusing situation I know if is an active international broadcaster on a Carribean island that has a transmitter with almost no AM modulation on it. Perfect test bed for an NFM broadcast.

Probably better: compatible single sideband. In the early nineties, I had been listening to Radio Netherlands in the 19m band, impressed with the clarity of the audio. Only at the end of the broadcast did they mention that they were broadcasting in "compatible single sideband".

Using ordinary AM, shortwave broadcasts are often distorted by phase difference between the lower and upper sidebands, causing effects that are unpleasant, but difficult for me to describe. The effect is especially noticible when applause is heard.

I think the combination of full-carrier single sideband and circular polarization could also improve shortwave (sadly, it, too, is against current international regulators, who insist on horizontal).

Oh, I don't have an "8" in my screen name, but I do have an "ate" 😀



organman95
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Re: AM Radio 2020

Post by organman95 » Mon Jan 07, 2019 12:41 pm

Can't recall the frequency or call letters, but I do remember pulling in some AM station from Alabama up in Cheboygan on a clear summer nights. Some oldies station.

The local AM 1240 WCBY would typically be picked up through phone lines. The occasional times my dad would do computer updates at night I'd go with him, and you could hear 1240 through the PA system.



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