[BC] IBOC Thoughts /was/ IBOC Query

[DANA PUOPOLO]

But, But Phil...there's one truly unique thing about IBOC- and it isn't good!

In the entire almost 90 year history of radio, IBOC is the first development
out there that does not affect your frequency. Instead, it adversely affects
your neighbor's frequency.

Just this should have relegated it to the scrap heap before it began!

I suspect that adoption of IBOC might have sales related ulterior motives that
we might not comprehend as engineers. 

True example: In one major market there are two class B FM stations 400 kHz
away that have the same formats. One is established, with a long heritage,
well respected in what it does. The other is newer, trendier, but frankly not
nearly as good.  The older of the two is a rimshot about 22 air miles out of
the city. The newer one has it's transmitter right downtown on a skyscraper.

The newer one turned on IBOC a while back - obliterating the other one within
a 5 mile radius of downtown. This is WELL within their 2 mv/Meter contour.
This benefits the newer one - not by offering better quality, or more/better
programming to the public, but instead by interfering with the competition's
signal WITHIN its FCC authorized coverage area.  

Do I blame the newer station?  No. What they are doing is 100% legal.

The FCC is to blame....for ALLOWING a system that does this to stations.

WE as engneers are to blame....for ALLOWING it as well!

Again, in the almost 90 years history of radio, this has never been allowed to
happen before. Indeed, the FRC (later FCC) came into being in the 1920's with
the mandate to ELIMINATE interference beytween stations. 
Now the FCC is responsible for makiing it worse, and we as engineers are
rolling over and letting them!

We should all be ashamed of ourselves.

-D



------ Original Message ------
Received: Mon, 06 Feb 2006 07:02:54 AM PST
From: "Phil Alexander" <dynotherm at earthlink.net>
To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Subject: [BC] IBOC Thoughts /was/ IBOC Query

However, good or bad, IBOC is the system we have, and it
appears it is the only system we will be getting. You say
correctly that we shape our tools, then they shape us.
Radio is, has been for decades, technologically stagnant.
Unless we reshape this tool into one that can participate
in the future, it is only a question of when, not if, we
turn the switch one last time and put out the lights 
because we are irrelevant.

Can IBOC fix this? I don't know, nor does anyone else. The
sure thing about invention is its unpredictability. Unless
we start, we remain stuck where we are as we slowly become
less relevant day by day, year by year. The history of new
technology is stimulation of new ideas. We have been given
IBOC. Can we fix it, at least partially? Probably, if the
FCC opens it enough to prevent total Ibiquity domination.