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fm dx’er: when the analog signal of 102.2 can’t make it past Wilsonville, but the HD2 signal makes it into to Salem, I’ll take the HD2 signal. Yes, it would be better if Clear Channel dumped KKRZ and make it KEX-FM but I don’t see them doing so.
Page 11 of that Ibiquity white paper (most of which is way over my head) is a table of the different service modes and bitrates. Am I interpreting it correctly that P1 always represents HD1? And…
In Mode MP1 (Hybrid) you have only HD1 with a bitrate of 98.4kbps, the max possible.
In Modes MP2 thru MP7 (Extended Hybrid) you have HD1 + HD2 and possibly HD3; and that there are predefined bitrates assigned to each.
So for example if you choose Mode MP7, you have:
HD1 @ 24.8 kbps
HD2 @ 98.4 kbps
HD3 @ 24.8 kbps
Or am I completely confused? If my layman’s interpretation is correct, it would seem that yes you can have (for example) HD2 with a much higher bitrate than HD1.
Sorry if I’m taking this off-topic, but I am thinking of this in terms of Eugene’s stations if that helps. 😉
My Sangean tuner reports that *all* Portland HD transmissions are in MP-1 mode. No “extended hybrid” here. Many of these transmit HD-1, HD-2 and we have had HD-3 as well. I am thinking that the “P-1” and the higher “Ps” refer to a digital “channels” that may be split into several streams, if desired.
Keeping the Eugene topic, IIRC it reported only MP-1 mode for Eugene stations as well, before the F1-HD replaced it on the Dx antenna. 🙂
Hmm. Interesting.
Well getting back on topic, Eugene pirate station 98.5 “KHAC” is up, and for the first time that I’ve noticed, they’re in stereo.
Pirate radio may seem like a quirky, almost cool hobby, but I would like to share a quick story that can now be told…the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Also, the principles involved have all either died or moved on to other positions. This all happend before the turn of the 21st century.
Bob was a part-time employee at a top rated radio station in a medium sized Oregon market. Jerry was the P.D. Bob wanted to become full-time, but wasn’t quite ready. Jerry tried to coach him, but discovered he was telling listeners on his shift to check out his pirate station. Serious breach there, according to Jerry. Jerry fires Bob for this reason.
Sometime later, Bob comes back and gets within one block of the radio station with a gun and later admits to another employee he was thinking about killing Jerry. He thought Jerry had intentionally tried to shut down his pirate station through complaints to authorities. Jerry never did such, but that was Bob’s thought.
Bob died several years later, and at some point had been hospitalized in a mental ward.
This story is true. And it happened in a medium Oregon market.
“Bob” sounds like he was a real piece of work. Memo to self: If I ever try running a pirate station, don’t hold a personal grudge against anyone who might or might not be involved in my eventual and inevitable shutdown. 🙂
Yeah, “KHAC” seems to have some technical issues making it a challenge to listen to.
There something about the HD1 signal being at least as good as analog but I don’t know the specifics. I don’t think they usually drop it below 48 but could be wrong.
The 98.5 pirate is definitely not in the south hills like I speculated. Seems to be in the northwest part of Eugene between NW Expressway and River Rd. And he’s not afraid to play content that would land a licensed station in very big trouble.
I have more on the story of Bob’s pirate station. Bob was a close friend of mine, and I’m the person who helped him get on the air with a transmitter and music library. Bob had a real passion for radio, and I wanted him to succeed. He hosted the night shift at one the most popular stations in our market. Bob’s PD, Jerry wanted to put a female on the night shift, and moved Bob to weekends only. Bob was upset with Jerry for taking him off the shift he loved. Bob told listeners who called the request line during his weekend shift, to listen to him on his pirate station. I warned Bob that he would lose his job, if his PD heard about this. As I predicted, Bob lost his job. Bob’s pirate station was reported to the FCC, and they came and shut down his station. A co-worker of mine had heard Bob’s pirate station, and told the chief engineer of the company I worked for. This engineer was the person who called the FCC, and I informed Bob of this. I suggested to Bob that he turn off his transmitter before the FCC came, but he continued to broadcast. Bob was very upset with Jerry for firing him, but he knew that Jerry wasn’t the person who contacted the FCC. Bob had a temper, but he would never kill anyone. He told me about the rumors about him being spotted near the station with a gun. Bob didn’t even own a gun. Bob was very depressed after losing his job, but he was never hospitalized in a mental ward. Bob went on to host the night shift on another station in our market, and later moved to a large market where he worked weekend shifts. He eventually left the radio business behind, to work in security and safety management. He died at the age of 28, due to a health issue that was misdiagnosed. He had called me a few days before his death, and seemed to be in good spirits. I can still hear Bob’s booming voice in my mind, as he rests in peace. As for Jerry, I never met him, but I know he’s a very skilled radio programmer, and a good man. He continues his quality work at a heritage radio station in a market I know quite well. I currently program two heritage radio stations in Oregon, and I enjoy this business as much as ever.
Thanks, if you feel like it, contact me at Paul@klce.com. Your story is accurate, but I still would like to talk. A story like this effects not only those who were involved, but those who are not. We can easilly take this off a public board, and move it to private. But that is up to you. I appreciate your response. -Paul
And he’s not afraid to play content that would land a licensed station in very big trouble.
Like what?
Just now I heard a strange poem type thing being read by two people, a male and a female. Talking about a guy with rats eating him or something like that, the broadcasters sound like they’re about to burst out laughing.
I tuned in 104.3 again and according to GlobalTuners, it’s Middle Eastern or Indian sounding music now. Weird how they’d switch from rap to this.
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