This information would have been good for the initiative if ever we have a solid group formed. Still I'm on Stand By we'll see how this all plays out. Thanks for the info. One for some good study.
I have been preaching for awhile now that the future of AM radio wil see a future in which only two kinds of radio stations exist.
Every home and apartment in America will be equipped with its own station under Part 15 of the rules, making every citizen his/her own programmer. If you want your program to get out, you negotiate with the ALPB to get placed on the appropriate private stations.
The ONLY high-power service to exist will be TIS (Traffic Information Stations) which, as we already see by the Radio Sorce article, is coming to be. These stations will morph into regional total information stations sending exclusively public safety information.
The savings in electricity will swing climate change back to milder living.
You know Carl I've pondered on that too at times way before I was a part of the ALPB. I thought someday AM would be Traffic Information and dister information and some low powered personal hobby Radio stations transmitting 1-3 miles tops. I've heard these kinds of stations during my trips to Florida and Dad even listened to some for information while we traveled. The first thing I thought of is Why not have these stations at least on the state line and on turn pikes as well.
As an AM DXer in Connecticut, I have heard the
TIS station on 1700 kHz from Kennedy International
Airport (a hundred of so miles away?) at my
"listening post" in West Hartford, (CT.) In 20 or so
years, I have heard it. Twice. HAHAHAHA. Not very
much I guess.
The people at WRCR are very nice and are REALLY DOING
local programming. During morning drive anyway. They
start at 6:PM and go to 10 or 11. (?) Wow. They have the
mayor on and the local real estate person - people from the
school board - that sort of thing. The local weather guy talks
about what he did on the weekend for 5 or 10 minutes and
then gives the weather forecast. I have never heard anything
like it.
They ARE DOING local radio. At night they do music from the
70s, 80s, 90s (???.)
They don't know they are clobbering TIS and Part 15 stations.
I really really don't think they know that.
The engineer who built the new facility probably does. (?????)
I don't know.
WRCR is more of what we really do want on AM radio.
I am 112 miles from them. I can hear them during
darkness. After about 8 or 9 in the morning they fade
away. Some people on the Part 15 board have heard
their stream, and have given good reports on what they
do.
So WRCR is in a bad spot on the dial for some of us and
that is a shame. But the people running WRCR are good
guys and don't know, I think. My modified Ramsey AM-1
is rigged for crystal control. It works pretty well. But it's
on 1700. Oh well. (I had crystals for 1590 and 1670. I
misplaced them.)
We had a TIS station on 1630 kHz 7/10s of a mile from
here. They didn't do much, but not for lack of trying.
They ran promos about public events in the town, I think.
Then somebody said that doing so was not legal. So they
stopped. They then went dark. (I may not have my facts
quite right, but I think that's what it was.)
(Hey Carl, I heard our "friend" KCJJ on 1630 in Iowa (here
in CT) just the other day.) (Pos.ID.)
Anywayyyyyyyyy.
A very very interesting topic.
I like that TIS website mentioned above.
Very cool.
Oh yeah, so there is a TIS on 1670 in the general
Hartford area that gives highway info. There is like
one sign on the highway that points out that this
stations exists. But it is very far from where the
transmitter actually is, so the signal on the car radio
is very weak and practically useless. Bummer.
I cannot find a good list of TIS stations, and NO mention
of power levels involved. The FCC list seems to be out of
date, but maybe I'm just looking at an old version of it.
This is a very fun subject for radio people to discuss, I think.
Also, on AM radio - I'm noticing an interesting thing. Of
course there are less AM stations transmitting the english
language, and the move to Spanish is on the rise.
I am now hearing some AM statons transmitting languages
from Asia. So far, they are all U.S. stations that fall under
the DX category. In other words, they are not in my local
area. Perhaps they are in nearby New York. I'll have to
listen harder. Maybe AM radio is heading in that direction.
Very best wishes to all
Brooce, WLP
I have reason to believe they have just
gone to IBOC (bleh.)
I feel sorry for the people at the station.
I think they don't know it doesn't work/almost
never works (take your choice.) At 10,000 watts
daytime power, an IBOC listener will only get
reception a few miles from the tower (correct???)
Nighttime 1,000 won't work at all.
1690 will get hit. 1710 (yeah, there are quite a
few unlicensed stations there - I've heard a few)
will get hit.
But I really feel sorry for the good people at WRCR.
Somehow they will have to recover the cost of
the IBOC mistake.
Will they?
Are there still any IBOC radios?
I'll have to check that.
Very best Wishes,
Brooce, WLP
There may be a very small upside to this.
Originally X-band AM stations were required
to transmit C-QUAM stereo.
Some HD radios get C-QUAM.
I tthink this is correct. Does anybody
else know?
I can't find any IBOC/HD radios on the web.
Am I wrong?
Brooce, WLP
because you can't transmit IBOC and
C-QUAM at the same time.
OOps.
Bummer.
Brooce, WLP
At 2:00 AM I can get WRCR faintly in Elizabeth City, NC on my Sony CFD-S50 boombox. It is barely over the noise floor of the hydro but they do throw in some nice Classic Rock. Wish I could get them better to determine just how a part 15 AM Album Rock station would sound like. I like the idea of better range. Anyway they do sound like a good station just wish I could hear them better. Maybe with a Tecsun Radio I may have a better chance.
Correct me if i am wrong here, would'nt be the first time, but I thought TIS could not broadcast music??
EDIT: Never mind, I got my wires crossed some where.
Alright Mr. Legacy!!!
You must really be a good DXer to
hear WRCR in NC - and especially through
interference! Great job! We'll have to figure
out the distance involved!
And to the "Always There - Carl Blare - ...
Thank you for the WRCR streaming info.
I had tried them before with no luck. But
I went to a different browser and - yay -
I've got them now.
Very best wishes,
Brooce, WLP
I already know I can't receive WRCR but I got something unexpected the other night at 1650.
It was Alex Jones ranting about his stuff causing me to think I'd found a part 15er or pirate! I fell asleep before hearing a station ID.
Today I checked "1650" at radio-locator.com and checked each station's website.
The stations listed include KDJD Denver, KCNZ Cedar Falls IA, KFOX El Paso TX, WHKT Portsmouth VA.
And one more, WFSM Fort Smith, Arkansas, which jumped out when I looked at their website and Alex Jones was looking sternly back at me.
Bruce I've lost a long way when I had to sell everything but the clothes on my back to try and save a home from foreclosure that was in Dad's name and after my wife fell ill to small bowel cancer. My Stepmom only cared rather she could go on her vacations every other month and flat out refused to give any help or support. All she kept saying is “Now don't you ruin Dad's credit!” I'll stop here before my emotions get the best of me. Back to Radio I had a beautiful Rotel tuner and a Classaie separate pre amp, power amp, component system with a Luxman CD player. I use to love to DX on both FM and some times AM. I'd look for high school stations and young kids running FM transmitters. Someone ran an AM one time and I listened for quite some time. The Audio quality was quite low but they were trying to play some Album Rock and oldies on their AM Transmitter. Sometimes I could pick up Trans World Radio around 800 Khz. The right end of the dial has always been a favorite for hobby Radio and I'd pick it up because I've put a lot into a system I was very proud of. Who'd had thought back then I'd ever be forced to downgrade to a Sony boombox at $50. Everytime I think about it sometimes makes me want to cry. Lots of folks can't realize the hours of fun I had with that unit. Now keep in mind for more than 5 hears I had NO RADIO AT ALL!! I had a computer and barely could keep that as I was losing everything and that was failing. Guys I am a real Radio fanatic and though its more than embarrassing to have to come down from a 7K system to a $50 boombox on a discount shelf I will someday get a better receiver so I can DX again. The fact I got an FM transmitter was through a miracle from a listener who donated to my station as him and his company didn't want to see me lose it all and we talked about a low powered FM transmitter. I didn't want the 7 watt one he was gonna give me because it would get hot as he admitted to that plus I probably would get in serious trouble with it as the low mode was 1 watt and had a telescoping antenna. Glad I didn't get it as he told me recently it caused a severe burn on his hand. Even at the low power mode it got pure hot. He in fact has thought about trying AM as I told him about the 3 mile radius with 100 mW and it don't get hot. He said Hell Yea. So I educated a Pirate to go part 15 lol. Since he helped me I could not see him land in jail with that FM transmitter he had. Sorry for the mix topic again emotions running again.