IBOC Oddity
By Trip Ericson on Tuesday, December 6 2011, 23:40 - Opinion - Permalink
This is somewhat off-subject, but I'm so thoroughly amused.
My preferred AM/FM radio is my Sony XDR-S3HD. I currently have it hooked to my outdoor TV antenna, which is technically too small for proper FM use. But it definitely works for me, bringing me quite a number of FM stations.
What has me laughing is the fact that if I tune to 96.1, I hear a local translator that sounds pretty clear for about 5 seconds before the IBOC of WKLS-FM Atlanta kicks in. The WKLS IBOC feed is the only reliable Atlanta IBOC feed, with the others fading in and out, but I have yet to hear the analog of WKLS.
On a semi-related note, the big Chattanooga FMs from Signal Mountain, like WDEF, WDOD, and WSKZ, are all getting eaten by multipath, thus confirming my issues with the TV side of things to be caused by multipath.
Comments
The same thing happens from time to time where I live in the Pocnos with 107.5. I get WBLS's IBOC from NYC whenever I turn to WBYN out of Boyertown.
This happens because the IBOC signals are on the adjacent channels (as DXers know only too well!!!). So if the IBOC is strong enough to lock, it mutes whatever analog audio is on the main channel.
This often happens for me with a local translator on 90.5, but an IBOC station WJFF about 30 miles out of town will often lock in with crystal clear HD, and the translator totally disappears.
I have the Sony XDR-S10HDiP radio. I am in Phoenix, AZ. I use indoor rabbit ears antenna for FM and a loop antenna for AM. I get a similar experience but on the AM band. When I am listening to a non-hd AM station and a stray HD signal crosses paths with the station I am listening to, the audio mutes, the HD indicator flashes and then after there is nothing there, it returns back to the normal non-hd signal. On FM, I don't get any odd signal multi-path experiences. It could be the fact that almost every FM station in the valley is transmitting from the same location (South Mountain) and most are putting out 100kw with beam tilt. I don't know for sure, but I have no odd experiences on FM, but quite a few on AM.