The Obama administration’s hunger for wireless broadband spectrum reminds me of a junkie seeking their next fix – they’ll do anything to get more.
In addition to freezing applications for rural low-power DTV stations and threatening to appropriate spectrum from the General Mobile Radio Service (think two-way radio applications, such as those used by industry and public safety agencies), a new proposal would trim the spectrum allocated to weather satellites.
Those of you living east of the Rockies this week got a taste of a “megastorm” which swept the country; the pressure-center of this continental weather-maker was “one of the deepest…ever observed in the continental U.S., outside of a hurricane.” Fortunately, it transited a land mass; if it were over water, this weather system would have qualified as a Category 3 storm. Continue reading “Faster Facebook or Accurate Forecasts?”
Author: diymedia_tu6dox
Props Out of Nowhere
Community radio stations are strange animals. While they all have paper-missions to be inclusive, alternative, and oriented toward citizen access to the airwaves, the reality is that they often have poisonous internal politics, can get caught up in their own legacies to the detriment of their futures, and – like many volunteer-driven organizations (but ironic for a radio station) – don’t necessarily communicate well amongst themselves.
My current home for radio-catharsis, WEFT, is not immune to this. I’ve served a year on the Board of Directors and came away completely frustrated. Fortunately, many community radio stations – if the volunteers are detached from the baggage, empowered with a sense of collective responsibility and left to do their thing – can almost run themselves. This applies to WEFT as well. Continue reading “Props Out of Nowhere”
The History of LPFM
What is LPFM?
LPFM stands for Low Power FM radio broadcasting. In the United States, the lowest minimum wattage a licensed FM radio station may have is 100 watts. There are lower-power FM transmitters in use, though, by some stations who want to increase their coverage area by extending their signal. These are called translators or boosters.
While these may only have a wattage measured in a range from dozens to hundreds, they are not true broadcast stations by the FCC’s definitions – they do not originate their own programming. They rely on a “parent” station to provide what they air.
Ham (amateur) radio uses a similar system called a repeater; people don’t broadcast from it. They shoot a signal into it, and then it gets re-broadcast to an area larger than what ham operators might reach with their own gear. In a nutshell, translators and boosters are the repeaters of FM radio.
LPFM is the common term used to define an FM broadcast station that originates its own programming but has the power of a translator or booster. Under current FCC rules, operating such a station is simply not allowed. You may also see LPFM referred to by other terms – like “LPRS,” “microradio,” and “mini-FM,” but they all mean the same thing. Continue reading “The History of LPFM”
The People v. HD Radio
It’s not quite going in that direction – yet – but another law firm has opened an inquiry into “defective” HD Radio receivers in high-end automobiles. The first firm on the scene, Keefe Bartels, is now soliciting consumer complaints about problems with HD Radio reception.
Details are few, but there’s always the chance – if a lawsuit is filed – that the plaintiffs could push for class-action status. Both firms appear to be working in concert. Continue reading “The People v. HD Radio”
Digital Radio Books of Note
There is now a mini-library of published books available on the subject of digital terrestrial radio broadcasting. Two are domestic and technical; the other two are more globally-oriented and critical. (I’m writing the domestic-critical book!)
First up is the oldest: The IBOC Handbook: Understanding HD Radio™ Technology is a must-read for any broadcast engineer saddled with the task of implementing HD on a broadcast station. Published by the National Association of Broadcasters and authored by David Maxson, the book is an excellent technical overview of the protocol as well as its potentials and pitfalls. (It’s also the only one of the books I’ve actually read yet.)
HD Radio Implementation: The Field Guide for Facility Conversion was written by Thomas Ray III, WOR’s chief engineer and (until recently) a very staunch proponent of HD Radio. If you’re a broadcast engineer faced with HD, this is the second book you should read – Maxson’s book explains the theory, while Ray’s book looks at the issue from the applied angle – how to not only just install, adjust, and maintain an HD signal, but also how to optimize the entire station’s air chain to accommodate it. Continue reading “Digital Radio Books of Note”
Net Neutrality Now Sliding Down Tubes
After the clusterf*ck circus, near-“deal”-breaking, and back-channel discussions sparked by a judicial ruling stripping the FCC from preventing data discrimination online, and nothing (substantive) doing from the agency itself as a result, the ball has been tossed to Congress. Where it landed with a thud.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) was poised to introduce a bill that would have effectively been a “compromise” – on an issue in which “compromise” would have meant throttling the FCC’s regulatory authority and leaving lots of loopholes for data discrimination. Bad, bad news. Continue reading “Net Neutrality Now Sliding Down Tubes”
Making Waves on Verge of Larger Distribution
Michael Lahey, the maker of what most likely is the best documentary yet-produced on the modern microradio/LPFM movement, Making Waves, has announced that the film is now available for free viewing online at Fancast (ironically, a Comcast-owned outlet).
In addition, Lahey says there’s a good chance that Netflix will pick up distribution of the documentary. Here’s how he says we can all help going about making that happen: Continue reading “Making Waves on Verge of Larger Distribution”
HD "Lawsuit" Gaining Traction?
An interesting observation noted by Keeping the Public in Public Radio, who referenced this post to a thread on a broadcast-related e-mail listserve about the possibilities of zinging iBiquity Digital Corporation with legal action, including the potential of bringing the company down as a result, written by someone who’s been following the potential litigation effort more closely than I:
Whether any of us believes there’s a chance the victims will win, the litigation will cost a fortune. The lawyers are looking for victims and witnesses. Since I’ve probably done more [HD reception] field testing than anyone…I’ve been asked to participate either as a witness or a complainant…. Continue reading “HD "Lawsuit" Gaining Traction?”
How Does iBiquity Stay Afloat?
Many have pooh-poohed the “investigatory action” by a law firm looking into the degraded reception characteristics of HD Radio receivers in certain models of high-end vehicles. The pre-suit, I will admit, is a fishing effort – but then again, some spelunking efforts actually make for justice.
This first quasi-legal shot-across-the-bow to HD Radio is not directed at the originators of the technology – iBiquity itself. But there are two ways in which, should this legal effort gain momentum, could hurt iBiquity badly: Continue reading “How Does iBiquity Stay Afloat?”
HD Radio Roundup
Lots has been happening since I started formally dissertating on the debacle that is HD Radio. Below is a collection of intriguing snippets and informed prognostication:
1. HD Radio Reception. Mediageek Paul Riismandel recently posted two articles on Radio Survivor dealing with real-world HD reception in a major market (in his case, Chicago), using a bottom-end (~$80) HD receiver. The results are not impressive. On FM, Paul sez,
I find that the technology of cramming a digital signal in next to analog one has too many compromises to be successful. The bandwidth for the HD channels is not enough to offer significantly better fidelity for the primary HD channel, and the leftover bandwidth available for HD2 and HD3 provides sound quality that does not surpass what is available online or on satellite radio. Importantly, tuning in a clear HD signal can be a very finicky process that can try one’s patience.
AM-HD engenders even less enthusiasm (love the graphic, BTW): “I consider HD Radio on AM to be mostly useless and not worth the effort. It’s especially not worth the loud digital hash noise I receive on my analog-only radios on the frequencies adjacent to the HD stations. It’s like a line of digital litter strewn across the AM radio highway.” Continue reading “HD Radio Roundup”