Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about AM Stereo, and CQUAM in particular.
A recent post over at the ALPB Forum mentions WION, a full powered AM station that broadcasts in CQUAM.
Apparently, they take their Internet feed from the output of a Carver receiver, so streaming listeners really do hear what the station sounds like over-the-air.
AM stereo still lives on.
Few and Far
Some radio stations are owned and operated by people who actually like radio and know a lot about it.
There has been a lot of talk about that station on both the I love AM radio for him on Facebook and the c-quam AM stereo Forum on Facebook. These folks have it right.
I am going to be promoting c-quam AM stereo as hard as I can because I think it's well worth saving. Also if ever there was going to be a hobby broadcast service I would make C-Quam mandatory. If more people become aware of c-quam AM stereo I think eventually manufacturers will start making the receivers more readily available. It just takes people to become more aware just like when video LaserDisc was out it took 10 years for the public to catch on.
If you make things mandatory its no longer a hobby. If C-Quam was worth saving it wouldn't need to be saved.
Not sure I quite agree with the notion about the worth of CQUAM. Sometimes the best technical solutions don't win out in the general marketplace. It could be price, it could be just plain marketing, such as launching the product.
I look to Beta as the perfect example. Technically, it was far superior to VHS, but the latter surpassed it because the inventors made it easier to bring recorders/players to market (Sony really blew it there), and undercut Beta pricing.
I do agree with the mandatory bit. I get amused when people attack the FCC for doing their job of regulating the airwaves by going after pirates, and yet want more regulation in areas over which the FCC really has no control, such as receiver capabilities. You can't have it both ways (well, I guess you can try, but it generally doesn't work).
It's All Cool
The "general public", which is referred earlier, has way more choices than they ever know they have, and easily miss out on some of them.
With FM stereo "doing the job" the average person is unlikely to pay attention to having the "other choice" of AM stereo.
For the relatively brief time spent in a car, stereo may not stand out against the loud trucks and other highway noise, where "just hearing a voice" might be a challenge.
For KDX, we love technology and think CQUAM is a very fascinating subject, but have no practical use for it.
Technically Stereo operation was a preferred requirement to get an expanded band license but they ended up not enforcing it. Likely due to the lack of receivers.