{"id":34623,"date":"2018-10-25T05:59:16","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T09:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=34623"},"modified":"2018-10-25T05:59:16","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T09:59:16","slug":"peter-tannenwald-asks-are-we-really-revitalizing-am","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/peter-tannenwald-asks-are-we-really-revitalizing-am\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Tannenwald asks, &#8220;Are we really &#8216;revitalizing&#8217; AM?&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Tecsun-S-8800-AM-Local-Dial-e1503932712302.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-27773\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Tecsun-S-8800-AM-Local-Dial-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>(Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radioworld.com\/columns-and-views\/whats-next-for-am-radio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RadioWorld<\/a> via Bill Patalon)<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>On AM revitalization, Peter Tannenwald asks, Are we really \u201crevitalizing\u201d AM, or are we walking around in circles?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Late on Friday, October 5, the Federal Communications Commission (\u201cFCC\u201d) released a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in a five-year ongoing effort to \u201crevitalize\u201d the AM radio broadcast service. The new proposals continue a trend toward allowing higher power operation by smaller stations, by reducing nighttime signal protection for some 60 Class A AM stations located in the continental United States and 16 stations in Alaska. The end result would be less wide area coverage and more local radio service to the public.<\/p>\n<p>To understand why the FCC is considering this action, it helps to understand a bit of the science behind AM signal propagation. AM radio signals travel through both the ground and through the air. At night, the airborne signal component (\u201cskywave\u201d) is reflected back to the earth from the ionosphere \u2014 a layer of the atmosphere extending from about 50 to 600 miles above the earth\u2019s surface. The reflected signals may come back down to earth hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away from a station\u2019s transmitter. Class A AM stations \u2014 formerly known as \u201cclear channel\u201d stations (no relation to Clear Channel\/now iHeartMedia) \u2014 are powerhouses, transmitting with 50 kilowatts of power 24 hours a day \u2013 200 or more times the power of the smallest AM stations.<\/p>\n<p>[&#8230;]Signal reflection doesn\u2019t work so well during the day, so the FCC has allowed other stations to occupy the Class A frequencies in other markets. But those stations have to curtail power during \u201ccritical hours\u201d (two hours before sunrise and after sunset) and often have to reduce power to nearly nothing or shut down altogether at night. In today\u2019s 24-hour-a-day, nonstop world, not being able to reach an audience at night is a losing proposition; so the FCC has yielded to constant pressure over the years to allow more power and longer hours of operation by those \u201cother\u201d stations, at the expense of long distance reception of Class A signals.<\/p>\n<p>Now the FCC is proposing to go further, rolling back some previous restrictions on non-Class A AM stations and perhaps eliminating whatever remains (and it\u2019s not much) of the protection of far-away reception. Under the proposals, which are sufficiently complicated that you should talk to your engineer if you really want to understand the details, Class A AM stations would be protected only within a higher strength signal contour (and so within a smaller area) than they are now; at least some, if not all, skywave protection would be eliminated.[&#8230;]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radioworld.com\/columns-and-views\/whats-next-for-am-radio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here to read the full article at RadioWorld.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Source: RadioWorld via Bill Patalon) On AM revitalization, Peter Tannenwald asks, Are we really \u201crevitalizing\u201d AM, or are we walking around in circles? Late on Friday, October 5, the Federal Communications Commission (\u201cFCC\u201d) released a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in a five-year ongoing effort to \u201crevitalize\u201d the AM radio broadcast service. The new [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,5935,433,3],"tags":[625,4787,3339,7386,3822,4099,7385,634],"class_list":["post-34623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-dx","category-mediumwave","category-news","tag-am-radio","tag-am-revitalization","tag-bill-patalon","tag-class-a","tag-clear-channel","tag-mediumwave","tag-peter-tannenwald","tag-radio-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-90r","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31206,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/gatesair-halts-production-of-am-transmitters\/","url_meta":{"origin":34623,"position":0},"title":"GatesAir halts production of AM transmitters","author":"Thomas","date":"March 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Radio World via Bill Patalon) GatesAir is suspending the sale of new AM transmitters. When a prominent radio engineer passed along word to Radio World that he\u2019d sought a quote from the manufacturer on a new transmitter but was told the company had discontinued the model and was assessing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/flexiva-3dx-100-digital-am-transmitter-straight-1024x530.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/flexiva-3dx-100-digital-am-transmitter-straight-1024x530.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/flexiva-3dx-100-digital-am-transmitter-straight-1024x530.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17486,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/am-radio-proposal-has-class-a-broadcasters-upset\/","url_meta":{"origin":34623,"position":1},"title":"AM radio proposal has Class A broadcasters upset","author":"Thomas","date":"February 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Times Union) When the sun goes down, AM radio signals travel much farther. You can listen to 50,000-watt stations such as WGY hundreds of miles away. But that could soon change, if the Federal Communications Commission goes through with a plan to let more local stations broadcast through the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"WHKY-AM-Radio-Tower","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/WHKY-AM-Radio-Tower.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/WHKY-AM-Radio-Tower.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/WHKY-AM-Radio-Tower.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/WHKY-AM-Radio-Tower.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13081,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/norway-fm-radio-stations-were-not-dead-yet\/","url_meta":{"origin":34623,"position":2},"title":"Norway FM Radio stations: &#8220;We&#8217;re not dead yet.&#8221;","author":"Thomas","date":"April 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bill Patalon, for sharing the following via RadioWorld online: FM Radio Not \u2014 Yet \u2014 Dead in Norway, Says NLF Last week it was reported that Norway would be switching off all FM radio broadcasts as early as 2017. According to the Norsk Lokalradio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Norway-Flag","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Norway-Flag.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Norway-Flag.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Norway-Flag.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Norway-Flag.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28159,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/relive-this-day-in-radio-history-when-wjsv-recorded-an-entire-broadcast-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":34623,"position":3},"title":"Relive This Day In Radio History: When WJSV recorded an entire broadcast day","author":"Thomas","date":"September 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Patalon, who reminds us that 78 years ago today (September 21, 1939) radio station WSJV made an audio recording of its entire 19 hour broadcast day. Bill points to these details from Wikipedia: This undertaking was a collaboration between the station and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Zenith-Shuttle-Dial-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Zenith-Shuttle-Dial-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Zenith-Shuttle-Dial-1024x678.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35705,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/are-government-shutdowns-a-potential-haven-for-pirate-radio-stations\/","url_meta":{"origin":34623,"position":4},"title":"Are government shutdowns a potential haven for pirate radio stations?","author":"Thomas","date":"January 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post Bill Patalon sent me this piece from the ARRL stating that amateur radio applications have been on hold at the FCC as most of the agency has been closed in the US government shutdown. It appears the government will reopen now, at least for the next three weeks.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;FM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Auto-Pirate.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32452,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/rip-dr-byron-st-clair-father-of-low-power-fm\/","url_meta":{"origin":34623,"position":5},"title":"RIP Dr. Byron St. Clair: Father of low-power FM","author":"Thomas","date":"May 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: TV Technology via Bill\u00a0Patalon) Dr. Byron St. Clair, president emeritus of the National Translator Association, died May 20 in Denver of brain cancer. He was 93. St. Clair, who served as president of the National Translator Association for 19 years, is known as the \"father of translators, LPTV and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;FM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Digitech-AR1780-FM-Mono-1024x570.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Digitech-AR1780-FM-Mono-1024x570.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Digitech-AR1780-FM-Mono-1024x570.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34623\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}