I've been casually reading a few recent articles and blogs in Radio World concerning the AM band, and am posting a few short quips from a couple of them below as a means of wetting your appetite should you decide to read them yourself.
All this is in reference to the licensed AM band, but the the general atmosphere surrounding these topics seem to potentially be a threatening to part 15 broadcasting.
Or so it seems to me..
Hows it feel to you?
The following is all from Radio World:
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"... all the recent talk about AM “revitalization” wasn’t giving enough attention to interference caused by consumer electronics and other sources...
"..I talked recently with two knowledgeable people in the industry and they also ask the question I’m asking. One suggested maybe the FCC should look at its Part 15 rules and make them tighter.
So my question is: Why don’t they?..
..And the electronic makers of today can do with they want because the FCC doesn’t really care about these frequencies. If they did, they’d tighten up on these RF “noisemakers.” ..
..what has happened in the last 10 to 15 years is really adding insult to injury. Devices that pollute the bands are all over the place; they need better control.
Full article at: http://www.radioworld.com/default.aspx?tabid=75&entryid=988
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Another:
“The AM Radio Service has inarguably become technically degraded.” ..
In his comments, Alexander briefly reviewed the history of attempts to help AM... “we have seen a steady erosion of the listenability and quality of AM signals...
... Receiver manufacturers responded with tighter filters that resulted in reduced demodulated audio quality, taking AM from what had been a relatively high-fidelity service to a voice-grade service in a short span of years.” ..
...Perhaps worse, he said, is the reduction of AM service areas due to the rise of the noise floor. “It has been our experience that there is now considerably more radiation of broadband low-frequency noise radiated from power lines than in decades past.” While reasons are not entirely clear,..
..He speculated that utility companies and electric cooperatives are not as careful as they once were at inspecting distribution grids. “Whatever the case, power line propagated noise is, in our experience, considerably elevated..
Full Article at: http://www.radioworld.com/article/crawford-offers-am-improvement-suggestions/223066
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Another:
Perhaps the most bold is that the commission should ask Congress to provide a tax benefit to licensees who voluntarily elect to request license termination.
“This would encourage the licensees of some substandard AM operations to discontinue them,” writes H&D, noting that a large improvement in AM service appears unlikely unless “there is a large reduction in the numbers of stations, and such attrition should be encouraged.”
“Community coverage” requirements are inappropriate in the context of 21st century demographics “and should simply be eliminated.
Full article at: http://www.radioworld.com/article/hd-suggests-tax-benefit-for-terminating-%E2%80%9Csubstandard-ams%E2%80%9D/223302
The Last one is the most scary as I want to buy a station in the AM Band if I ever make enough money to do so .
My Reason for wanting an AM station is that the FM band is a clutterd mess here in California.
It seems to be human nature for individuals and organizations who have problems to blame others and external factors for their own failings. Understandable, but the result is more failure and no solutions.
It doesn't take much thinking nor effort to do this and it keeps the bosses and regulators happy with the illusion that something constructive is being done. But, given time, the truth will prevail.
Unfortunately, regulations such as Part15 may be damaged in the process before it is known that regulation changes are not the solution but the changes persist nonetheless.
There are very few who can speak to the issue of Parts 15.209 and 15.219 but if someone has to it should be us.
Neil
Yes it should be us ..
One more thing the ALPB Can be in the future is an advocate for Part 15 AM radio .
The quotes collected by Rich Powers from "AM noise detractors" are disturbingly blunt and thoughtless...
The AM noise critics reveal their own ignorance about the complex topic of AM radio band emissions, sweeping "intentional Part 15 radiation" into the same class with "RFI (Radio Frequency Interference)."
Are they being indifferent to 15.209 and 15.219 because of an underlying malice on their part? Or perhaps a gentrified indifference to "the poor?"
Or are they just under-educated. They should never have been published in print by the even more uninformed news media, another source of noise generation.