Radio Waves Podcast #259

Radio: July 31, 2020

Special Guest:  Douglas C Brown

    A controversy of sorts is being played out on Don Barrett’s LARadio.Com: What is the origin of the term “boss radio?”

    If you grew up in 1960s Los Angeles, you know the term “Boss Radio” was used to describe the  programming on KHJ (930 AM). Boss Hitbounds, Boss Angeles, the Boss Jocks. The word was everywhere, which is somewhat ironic because the term “boss” itself was dated. The precursor to “cool” or “bitchin’,” “boss” was on the way out as far as teen slang went.

    But KHJ was most definitely not the first station to use the term. KHJ consultant Bill Drake worked at KYA in San Francisco when they were known as “The Boss of the Bay.” And the term predated even him in the very early 1960s.
 
    Letters on LARadio.Com confirm the early use. But does that mean then-KHJ General manager Ken DeVaney lied when he insists in Ron Jacob’s book, Inside Boss Radio, that he was the one who initiated the name?

    Not necessarily. Being the Boss of the Bay and Boss Radio can actually be two different things, and I am not sure that much thought was put into either. The Boss of the Bay could very well have been using the term as it is used today … meaning leader. I honestly don’t know that, but it’s plausible. Boss Radio was meant to be “cool” or ”bitchin’” radio. Unfortunately, most of the architects of that era of radio are gone, so we may never know the answer. But it’s fun to look back.

    Online Issues

    One of the best ways to listen to radio today is through a good-sounding smart speaker. You can place them throughout your house and play stations individually, or have the same station throughout. And for the most part, once you figure out the station (i.e. “Hey Siri, play KNX-FM 93” works; “Hey Siri, play KNX-FM 93.com" does not) the system is solid. Sound quality is great — AM stations truly shine —  you can easily tune into stations, and you can control it with your voice.

    The problem arises when stations don’t monitor their own stream. For example, if you happen to tune in to Rush Limbaugh on KEIB (1150 AM), the sound drops out. I thought it was a problem with there awful iHeartRadio system that provides audio for the station, and it may well be, but the reason has more to do with programming details.

    You see, there are extra costs in some cases for commercials that air on internet streams (as used by smart speakers), so stations will often substitute alternative programming during some advertisements unless the advertiser specifically pays for the spot. In the case of KEIB, though, the speaker just goes silent for a time. Usually it will pick up when the show comes back on, but not always. Regardless, the listening experience is greatly diminished.

    I think smart speakers and the future evolution of the idea may be the future of radio, especially AM radio. But it requires attention to detail that is sorely lacking, at least on KEIB. I have not noticed the issue on other stations, including the small independents I listen to from across the country.

    K-Mozart Update

    By now Saul Levine’s K-Mozart (105.1 HD4, kmozart.com) was supposed to have gone through a full re-launch, bringing back air personalities and features to better compete against KUSC (91.5 FM). Alas, the Covid pandemic continues to delay the plan.

    But Levine loves classical music, so he’s helped the music on the station going regardless, and he’s initiated a “soft-re-launch” bringing back Susanna Guzman and Nick Tyler. As time goes on, Levine plans many more additions, as he plays “the world’s best classical music 24-7.”

    “I am proud of the fact that I have programmed Classical for 62 years,” Levine told me. “Probably a world record. I have a vision for KMOZART that will incorporate that experience. There are many Classical works that are accessible and beautiful … I know what they are and we will be playing them.
 
    “The same with Opera. Many people consider Opera boring but it need not be. Light Opera will also be presented. I have a rendition of Fidler On The Roof, in Yiddish. It will be played as well!”

    Levine added that The LA Chamber Orchestra and the American Youth Symphony are being very supportive of the station.

Radio Waves Podcast #258

Radio: July 24, 2020

    One of the joys of the Summer — and it has been even more apparent during the COVID shutdowns and restrictions — is the ability to tune in to the recreation of the Mellow Sound as heard on KNX-FM (now KCBS-FM, 93.1) on the internet, via online streaming, a smart phone, or a smart speaker.

    Full disclosure: There are actual two recreations with a slightly different feel, one at knxfm.com and another at knxfm93.com. Both are worthy, but in this instance I am referring to the latter.

    Back in the 1970s, the original KNX-FM would occasionally produce showcase specials on some of the artists played. In July of 1978, the station was able to score a rare, sit-down interview with Carly Simon, one of the big stars of the day and one of the Mellow Sound’s core artists.

    Says Douglas Brown, one of the volunteers who makes knxfm93.com tick, “Lucky for us today, the show’s writer and host Christopher Ames saved the tape! So we are going to play it exactly 42 years later!”

    It’s called An Evening with Carly Simon, an hour-long program of Simon’s words and music, presented with no commercials. It will air on knxfm93.com at 5 p.m. Monday, July 27. If you miss it on the actual 42-year anniversary date, you can hear it on the repeat: July 31 at 5 p.m.

    It’s funny that this happened to come up when it did. I recently happened to be listening to a recording of Mark Elliot on KHJ (930 AM) from about the same year, and one of the promos was for the KHJ Special of the Month, which also spotlighted artists special to the audience. I will bring these back when I buy my station … but I digress.

    If you were a fan of the Mellow Sound or of Simon, this is required listening. And if you find yourself feeling down with everything that is happening in the world, give the station a listen. It definitely lifts my mood.

    Overload

    I haven’t noticed it here yet, but according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, ratings for news and talk stations in Dallas-Fort Worth are down 25 percent. The reason? “People are just overwhelmed,” according to podcaster Jody Dean.

    News and talk stations are down, says the newspaper, while music stations are up.
    (https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/bud-kennedy/article244177012.html)

    Mailbag

    “I have a recommendation for you after discovering this station a few weeks ago while running in Palm Springs with my little Sony radio: Q102.3 Classic Rock (KRHQ/Palm Desert)

    “Best radio station that I have heard since The Sound went to Christian Radio. It is awesome. Give it a try - you might discover a new favorite. — Tish Husak

    In the interest of honesty, Tish sent me this letter over a year ago and I found it when clearing out my email boxes. But the station is indeed still on the air, and you can hear it at q102classicrock.com.

    The playlist is typical classic rock but it’s a good mix: songs I heard while sampling include Caught Up in You (.38 Special), Rebel Rebel (David Bowie), Running on Empty (Jackson Brown), Locomotive Breath (Jethro Tull), Fool for the City (Foghat), Black Betty (Ram Jam), My Sharona (The Knack), and Breakdown (Tom Petty).

    Like most good stations I have found over the past few years, the station is locally owned.

    “Just wanted to email you to thank you for the Radio columns I the Register. As a guy who grew up in 60’s Los Angeles listening to KHJ and occasionally KRLA, it’s somewhat rival, it is always great to read about the history and personalities of the era as well as the other locations not only in Southern California (KLAC with Bill Balance and Jim Healy at 5:30) but also around the country. I went to school n the East Coast and really enjoyed WNEW out of NYC in the 80’s.

    “Keep up the great work. Thank you for the news and unfortunately blues of the theater of the mind.” — Paul Reza

    This is why I do it. I love radio, and I love promoting what I consider good radio. The industry is going through a challenging time, but as the large companies get broken up either by legislative action as they should, or by economic realities as they are, I fully believe the industry will come back stronger. My son even asked to borrow a radio he can listen to … the first time he has done so in at least a decade. That must mean something …

Radio Waves Podcast #257

Radio: July 17, 2020

    One of the stations that benefited from changed listening habits brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is KABC (790 AM), which in April earned its highest rating in years at 1.4, double that of January January and a full point above the 0.4 the station found itself in some months of last year. As of the latest rating released in June, the station is still 43 percent up from the January rating among listeners aged 6 and over.

    One of the true bright spots of KABC’s broadcast day is the John Phillips Show, heard from 12 noon to 3 p.m. weekdays; one of the highlights of Phillips’ program is the daily 1 p.m. “doctor hour,” in which prominent medical doctors — usually Kelly Victory, but occasionally others including Nan Hayworth and Daliah Wachs —  talk with Phillips and answer listener questions on any topic. Of course the topic now is usually (read: always) COVID-related.

    I was turned on to the segment by my friend, Bruce Thomson, who sent text message reminders to me almost daily asking essentially the same question: “Are you listening? Dr. Kelly Victory is on talking about COVID … you have to listen.”

    So I did. And I found Bruce was right … the Doctor Hour has become required listening for me and obviously many others … Phillips’ show tends to be among the highest-rated show on KABC, and the Doctor Hour tends to be the highest-rated hour of the show.

    Phillips has been on KABC for many years, in various time slots. He’s done afternoons, late mornings, mornings snd now early afternoons. “This is my favorite shift,” he admits, especially compared with the mornings. “I tend to be someone who goes to bed early and gets up early, but there is a difference between waking up early and going on the air versus waking up, having some coffee, swearing at the headlines, and then doing the show.”

    The Orange County native formerly worked at CNN for about two years, until the news service wanted him to move to the East Coast. "I just didn’t want to move,” he said. Besides, radio is his true love. “I am doing what I have wanted to do since I learned to talk,” Phillips says of hosting his own talk radio show.

    His program overall is an interesting hybrid of topics. It’s a political talk show without being overtly political, and he is never combative. The word “polite” permeates the program that can truly cover any topic, though politics absolutely plays a role. Think Johnny Carson monologue. Or the attitude brought out by one of his idols, Lakers play-by-play announcer Chick Hearne.

    Old-timers like me can make a comparison to the old TalkNet programs such as Bruce Williams, as outside of mocking Governor Newsom, Phillips is genuinely nice to everyone, listeners and guests alike.

    “I will never be abusive,” he says, adding that all viewpoints are welcome on the program. “I have views, of course, but I am not trying to convince anyone of anything … I am not trying to sway elections, and I am not trying to change anyone’s mind or convince them to think like me. My show is a safe place for conversations for people of all views.

    “And you won’t get beaten up for disagreeing.”

    The genesis of the Doctor Hour actually began long before COVID. “Kelly was on the show even back when I was doing afternoons with Jillian (Barberie),” he explained. But the COVID scare brought new importance to the segment, and it expanded to a daily segment, led primarily by Victory.

    “I met her through a friend, and find her to be an amazing person,” Phillips said. “She has numerous degrees from elite universities, she is a trauma doctor, she is the world’s greatest cook, greatest gardener, runs marathons … she’s one off the rare individuals who excel at everything,”

    The pandemic brought in questions from listeners who were frightened of the virus and needed straightforward information, factual, and to the point. “With all the conflicting information coming from various sources, people just want — need — to know what’s true, what’s not, and how to stay safe, especially for the at-risk population,” says Phillips. “So we started taking calls that included basic questions that weren’t being answered elsewhere. ‘Is my baby safe if I encounter someone with COVID?’ ‘Can I visit my mother who is in assisted living and keep her safe?’ Things like that.”

    Victory, told me that she considers the segments the highlight of her day. “I am thrilled that I can help people,” she told me, “and it is so gratifying when people tell me that I helped them understand the disease and have some of the fear taken away.” Her segments on the show — usually three or four hour segments per week but occasionally even more —  is volunteer time, which she gladly donates as part of what she considers an obligation to help people due to her expertise not only in medicine but her extensive knowledge of public health.

    If you haven’t heard it, like my friend Bruce says, you have to tune in. It’s one of the best hours on radio.

Radio Waves Podcast #256

Radio: July 10, 2020

    There was some big news down in San Diego last week: The return of KGB to the AM band, with the former KFMB (760 AM) picking up the legendary calls.

    The original KGB (now KLSD, 1360 AM) was among America’s Finest City’s first radio stations, first signing on in 1922.  It was the area’s “Boss Radio” station in the mid 1960s; in 1972 it was “recycled” to become a progressive rock station — and one of the few on the AM band — under the direction of former KHJ “Boss” programmer Ron Jacobs. In the later 1970s the station returned to top-40 as 13-K and for a time beat out KGB-FM (101.5) in the ratings. Formats that followed, including news, talk and the current sports format are uninspiring and low-rated, but like KHJ here, the calls have special meaning to this who grew up on AM radio.

    KFMB was a full-service station from 1964 to 1974, playing middle of the road music along with news and information. In 1975 the station added sports and talk programming, and was fully news/talk/sports by 1994. It was KFMB’s sister FM - popularly known as B-100 — that set the area on fire as San Diego’s first top-40 FM in the mid 1970s.

    So how do legendary music call letters end up on another station’s talk format frequency? The complicated world of radio consolidation and station sales. Last December, then-owner Tegna agreed to sell KFMB AM and FM to Local Media San Diego, but the sale did not include the call letters which are staying with KFMB-TV, which Tegna still owns.

    Local Media turned around and sold KFMB (AM) to iHeart Media, which happens to already own KGB-FM; rather than placing the calls back on 1360 — which it also still owns — management decided to assign them to 760.

    Normally, three-letter calls do not return to stations once lost — the FCC stopped assigning them decades ago. But they are allowed to be easily assigned when a co-owned station still uses them, as is the case with KGB-FM.

    Personally, I’m kind of excited that iHeart actually recognizes the historical significance of the call letters, though I would rather see them tied to 1360. What would be even more exciting is if iHeart allowed the station to return to a music format playing either ‘60s and ‘70s oldies, or an “adult top-40” format that I think could attract listeners back to the AM band. I can already hear the 76-KGB jingle in my head…

    They probably won’t do that, and will most likely stick with a lame, low-rated, cheap, forgettable talk format, but I continue to dream.

    Settling Down

    Ratings seem to be settling down a bit and becoming a bit more normal. KRTH (101.1 FM) was back in the top spot for both the second and third week of June, according to ratings service Nielsen. KFI (640 AM) was still doing well at the number 5 spot in the third week, and KNX (1070 AM) was right behind in 6th.

    KABC (790 AM) has held on to its COVID-19 boost, tied for 32nd but maintaining a share of the audience above 1.1, compared with the pre-COVID-days in which it was closer to 0.3 or so. One of the reasons for the station working itself out of the cellar is John Phillips, heard weekdays noon to 3 p.m…. I will be talking with him soon to get his perspective on news, talk, radio, and more.

    Letterbag

    “I read with interest your column on John & Ken, and it confirmed something I had long suspected:  In approx. 1989 or so I was in New Jersey on business, and while driving I heard on the car radio these two guys discussing some local issue. They were funny and in agreement with some of my own ideas.

    “Then in about 1993, I was listening to KFI (back in Los Angeles) and heard J & K talking about those two guys convicted of murdering their parents, and they reminded me of the New Jersey guys, and I have always suspected that K & J were them. Good to have my suspicions confirmed.

    “Now for some really ancient radio stuff.  While in high school, I used to listen to two disc jockeys who were pretty much the only ones playing modern jazz on local AM radio. One was Bill Sampson, on the obscure station KWKW during late hours (around midnight), and around noon, Joey Adams (who, if I remember correctly had a British accent), on a station whose letters I can't remember. Both, incidentally, were black guys.

    “Finally, there used to be a guy named Phil Hendrie who was one of the funniest guys I ever heard, and He was on KFI back in the early '90s or so, so I'm pretty much a confirmed KFI guy.  Whatever happened to Hendrie anyway?” — Robert Schwartz

    Great questions. Sampson was one of LA’s first black DJs, and was indeed heard on KWKW (then at 1300 AM; now at 1330 AM). He also owned The Scamm Sound record label based in Los Angeles. He’s before my time, though, so I know very little about him … so I am asking you to help fill in the details.

    A little more is known about Joe Adams, also among LA’s first Black DJs, and I believe even earlier than Sampson. Adams was heard on KOWL (later to become KDAY and currently KBLA, 1580 AM) in the 1940s, and had the most popular program on the station … in fact, he was among the most popular music DJs in Los Angeles. At the time, KOWL was a daytime-only station, and had to sign off to protect other signals on the same frequency at disk.

    According to an obituary on Adams in the LA Sentinel, “During an era when deejays were required to solicit their own sponsors, Adams attracted an incredible 56 paid advertisers to pay for airtime on KOWL, marking the beginning of an auspicious radio career that eventually spanned twenty years.”

    In addition to radio, Adams was an actor on television and movies … he was Frank Sinatra’s psychiatrist in The Manchurian Candidate and won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Husky Miller in Carmen Jones.

    He was one of the Tuskegee Airmen, an elite fighter and bomber pilot group during World War 2, leading to his becoming qualified to fly planes commercially. In addition, he was a professional photographer, worked for a long time as Ray Charles’ road manager, and even headed the Ray Charles Corporation until he retired in 2008.

    Can you say “Renaissance Man?” And I’m not even covering all of his talents and accomplishments… that would take a book. Adams passed away in July, 2018 at the age of 94.

    Finally, Phil Hendrie is still around, but online now. You can find him at philhendrieshow.com, where you can listen online or via iTunes.

Radio Waves Podcast #255

Radio: July 3, 2020

    You know them as John and Ken, aka John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, the hugely popular afternoon drive team that helped build KFI (640 AM) into the tale radio juggernaut that it is.

    They arrived in los Angeles in 1992, and except for a small stint doing mornings at KABC (790 AM), they have held been KFI’s afternoon stars, maintaining dominance in their time slot for most of their almost three decades here.

    They are the guys that can drive you nuts. John is actually much like me, often taking the absurd position either for fun or just being too lazy to research it out fully. Ken is usually the more subdued, slightly more thoughtful of the pair. But they are always entertaining, and they are one of the consistent bright spots in local programming, whether you agree with their oppositions or not.

    You may know a little of their history: they arrived at KFI after a stint at Live 101.5 in Trenton, New Jersey, where they became locally famous for helping organize a protest against a huge tax hike made by then-Governor Jim Florio after he took office. 65,000 people attended the rally in front of the Trenton State House, with 100,000 turned away due to crowded conditions and lack of parking. It is said to be the largest rally ever held in New Jersey.

    John and Ken kept the pressure on Florio and covered numerous other tax and political local issues; eventually Florio lost his reelection bid … and John and Ken’s ratings went through the roof, helping establish Live 101.5’s presence in the local radio scene.

    The pair was hired to replace former police chief Darryl Gates on KFI in late 1992.
    But there is another side of John and Ken, one which I just recently learned. Did you know that John and Ken once played music together on small stations in Atlantic City? I certainly didn’t. But I found proof, courtesy of Ellis B Feaster’s Radio Channel and Travel Corner. Feaster is, himself, a great radio guy, and he posted some recordings of Jiohn and Ken in their earliest days together.

    The first, at tinyurl.com/radiowaves0703 is the first break on the first show for WOND, Solid Gold 14. John and Ken actually replaced Feaster in the mornings, with Feaster staying on in the afternoon. He says he holds no grudges …

    Kobylt said that the duo were only on the station for a short time. “Even though we were on the station only eight months,” he said, “I could write a whole chapter on the WOND experience.” I plan to follow up on that soon.

    The second posting by Feaster, at tinyurl.com/radiowaves0703b, is their next station, 104-MGM, WMGM also in Atlantic City. Here they play South Jersey’s hottest hits as “radio’s odd couple.”

    As I said, I never realized that the duo had a history together playing music. But it makes sense … KFI has been considered a top-40 station that happens to play talk programming, and it is that excitement and attitude that helped push it past the former talk leader and original Los Angeles talk station, KABC.

    Give those recordings a listen - I think you’ll find them interesting, and you’ll hear John and Ken’s style in use today even back then. Interestingly, another popular talk host — Rush Limbaugh, now heard 9 am - noon on KEIB (1150 AM) — started as a music jock as well. It seems top-40 prepares one well form talk radio.

    While you’re there, look around and listen to Feaster’s other recordings - he has a lot of good material available.

    Stereo Stories

    I love reading your letters and emails. I try to include as many as I can in the column, and I do try to respond to all of them, even though sometimes it takes me too long Regardless, this is among my favorite memory letters of the week.

    “Way back in the1950s, I lived in California's San Joaquin Valley where I remained until 1976 when I moved to the Bay Area (San Francisco East Bay).  Radio station KBEE was an FM only station in Modesto until around 1956 when it began to also broadcast in AM (I think it was called "Simulcast"). It began to broadcast certain musical programs in stereo around 1959 or 1960, with one channel in FM and the other in AM. An odd combination but to my teenage ears it was new so it sounded great, especially since my folks never owned an FM radio until then.
 
    “As you can see, I'm an old-timer. The station I really miss is KSFO with its adult level talk and music as it was in the 1960s - 1980s era. I'm an XM subscriber now, but just in my car, finding only a handful of XM satisfactory. I'm new to Amazon's Prime Music / Echo system, but find you really need to know the name of any music before you can listen to it - a problem in itself.

    “As you can see, I'm an old guy, still looking for radio that was.”  — Gary Jones

    You are so right on the needing to know. I was trying to see how well my HomePod worked with some of the iHeart stations, since I refuse to use the awful iHeartRadio app. I tried “play KEIB.” “Play KEIB 1150 AM.” “Play The Patriot 1150 AM.” None of those worked. What finally worked? “Play The Patriot 1150” without the “AM.” You’d think the commands would be a little more versatile.

    The stereo system you speak of was one method used before FM’s stereo Multiplex system was approved. It was not only “odd,” but led to some of the best-sounding AM radios ever made. They had to be, or the sound would be unbalanced. I swear the AM on my old Fisher tube receiver sounded every bit as good as FM on a strong station.

    Thank you for the memories!

Radio Waves Podcast #254

Radio: June 26, 2020

    Last week I wrote a little about streaming audio and how, with the use of smart speakers, smart phones, and plain old computer streaming, the possibility of internet radio essentially replacing traditional broadcast radio.

    This week I want to travel to both the past and one of broadcast radio’s possible futures, spurred on by the ideas presented last week, my absolutely illogical love of AM radio, and a letter to the editor of industry newspaper Radio World that I read online at radioworld.com.

    AM radio broadcasting is almost a century old in the United States - numerous stations in Los Angeles, including KHJ (930 AM), KFI (640 AM) and KNX (1070 AM) will celebrate 100 years of broadcasting in two years. That’s an impressive feat, especially considering the technology is essentially the same as it was in 1922.

    As I mentioned last week, digital HD Radio, considered for a time as the savior of both AM — due to higher fidelity — and FM — due to potential higher fidelity and extra stations — just hasn’t made the impact many had hoped. For various reasons, many AM stations have turned off the HD signal, even while FMs continue to use it, and consumers don’t seem all that interested in either. But as I said last week, with smart speakers, what’s the point? And a related question comes up: is broadcast AM radio just a dead technology?

    Christopher Boone thinks he has the answers. No, AM is not dead. But if you really want to improve it, bring back a technology that already “failed” … AM stereo. In a letter sub-headlined “Want revitalization? Mandate AM stereo in any FM stereo radio,” Boone makes the point that analog AM stereo is still an option for broadcasters, and that it would be an easy technology to re-implement.

    “One-hundred stations in the United States still broadcast in C-QUAM AM stereo, and there are more returning. A station in the New Orleans market will be starting C-QUAM as I write. There is one in Texas and more thinking about it. Australia has announced four stations there will be begin C-QUAM stereo transmissions in the next month or two.”

    AM stereo was a technology tried in the 1980s, but it didn’t pan put for two primary reasons: The FCC didn’t set a single standard until years after interest waned, confusing both manufacturers and consumers having to deal with four incompatible standards. And stereo means nothing if the audio still sounds muddy, as many AM stereo receivers did.

    But AM stereo has the potential to sound absolutely amazing. I own a Carver tuner that was made with an AM tuner capable of reproducing AM audio quality all the way to 20 kHz … higher than most humans can hear, higher than the standard for FM stereo, and much greater than the 3 kHz that the typical AM radio can produce.

    The problem is that there are no currently-available radios that can decode AM stereo, right? Wrong. HD Radio is similar enough to the AM stereo standard C-QUAM that a station can’t broadcast AM HD and traditional stereo at the same time … which also means that many HD radios in use can already decode it. “The HD Radios (that can decode analog stereo) only need some code written to decode it and open up the bandwidth for full analog fidelity,” Boone says, adding that modern receiver designs can reduce or eliminate static and other noise inherent to AM broadcasting, making for an impressive listening experience.

    The solution for AM improvement, according to Boone: Mandate stereo on AM for any radio that receives stereo on FM, and include receiver standards that make the audio sound better. My additional suggestion: program something worth hearing.

    Want to hear some samples of AM stereo? www.i1430.com sends their online live stream through a Carver AM stereo tuner, and a member of a Facebook group dedicated to AM stereo uploaded a recording of WDGY/Minneapolis-St.Paul recorded on a Sony Walkman that receives AM stereo; for educational purposes head over to tinyurl.com/RadioWaves0626.

    Going full circle, though … what’s the point? Well, broadcasting is still more efficient than what might be called netcasting, and there is a limit to the number of listeners who can stream a station at the same time. Additionally, using a radio is easy and reliable. Perhaps it’s time to make it work again.

    Real Update

    It is long in coming, but the volunteers behind ReelRadio.Com — an online museum of classic top-40 radio airchecks — recordings of stations from the top-40 heydays — were able to finally break free of the RealAudio player that was needed to hear the recordings … but which hadn’t been compatible with the encoding used by the site in years, forcing users to keep old versions of the Real Player program and operating systems that allowed them to run on their computers.

    Effective as of June 1st, the recordings were all re-encoded into what is known as M4A/AAC, and you can use the VLC Media Player and play every recording on the site, including older files that have not been heard by some users in years.

    The site focusses primarily on top-40 stations and personalities of the past from all across the United States. But there are some hidden gems outside of the norm … such as a recording with Bing Crosby on KHJ … from 1931!

    This is the site that made me love the internet, in the days when dial-up modems were needed to access the world-wide web. Back in the early days you needed a 2400 baud modem … super fast at the time … to hear the files.

Radio Waves Podcast #253

Radio: June 19, 2020
    The timing of the email was perfect …

    “I read your column each week and many thanks for the radio stations you have turned me on to, most recently KHUG (www.KHUG.rocks). I’ve been looking into replacing my home stereo with one that has HD digital reception. Do you have any recommendations?” — Rick Adams

    I do have some recommendations, which I will get to in a minute. But I was already planning about talking about HD radios and tuners this week anyway … the planets much be aligning in some way.

    What brought on my thinking is actually opposite of what Rick is thinking. I have had a stereo in my back yard for many years; the other day I was doing some work outside and thought I’d simplify a few thing … get rid of the broken cassette deck, for example. As I did it, I looked at my HD tuner, and wondered why I have it.

    Don’t get me wrong … I am not against HD radio per se. I actually think it has the potential to be a good platform. Interference between stations aside, I think AM via HD sounds tremendously better than typical analog, and the extra channels on FM — when done right as with Saul Levine’s HD stations at 105.1 — add a great entertainment source.

    But over the past few years, various smart phone apps and smart speakers have come on the scene, and many stations stream their programming there, making HD tuners duplicative and perhaps unnecessary. Of course if you have an HD tuner in your car or home it would be technically easier to use than having to make sure you’re connected to the internet and knowing how to run the app. Additionally, due to greed on the part of station owners who want to monetize their own apps, not all stations are available on any of the apps. I handle it by just not listening to those stations at home, but I digress.

    But HD has a major problem … relatively few listeners still know about it, understand it, or know how to use it. Some don’t even know they have it. Add in that stations on the AM band are essentially abandoning it — even KNX (1070 AM) turned it off  (supposedly temporarily) due to a corporate decree in April. And HD on FM has no buffer on the extra (not main) channels, making the HD FM versions of KFI (at 103.5 HD2) or KNX (at 101.1 HD2) unlistenable in most areas.

    So the apps have an advantage. They work as long as you have good internet. They can tune in more than the local stations, and they sound great. In some cases, such as with the myTuner Radio app or smart speakers, turning a station is as easy as pushing a preset button or saying “hey Siri, play KNX-FM 93.”

    So I took out the HD tuner. I can still hear radio outside, but rarely use the tuner. Instead I use an app. Inside the house I usually use the smart speaker. That is one of six HD tuners I own and rarely use for HD — the two in the cars being an exception; I am still in the process of deciding whether to just sell them or put them in storage for the time when all digital AM becomes common … if ever.

    And that creates a problem. If I, a total radio geek who loves radio and just tuning around to find interesting stations, is doubting the use of HD radio, what is the typical consumer doing? I imagine not even thinking about it. That doesn’t bode well for the future of HD.

    Recommendations

    All that being said, if you want to try HD radio, for the car just look for a radio that has it. The cost is the same as all but the cheapest radios, and you really don’t want the cheapest radios. It was built in to the Alpine and Kenwood aftermarket radios I put in two of our cars, and the cost was basically the same as I expected to pay for non-HD units. Many factory systems have it, but you do need to confirm, as they are usually an upgrade.

    For the home, it is more difficult, primarily because the old standard idea of a home stereo is outdated. People now buy small systems, if they buy one at all. Indeed, smart speakers and streaming services have become the new norm for audio listening in the home. So regular tuners and radios with HD are rare. Heck, it’s hard to buy a regular radio locally.

    For currently-available models, I recommend Sangean. They have always been among the best available and the current crop are better than ever.  Available models include the HDR-18 table/clock radio, the HDT-20 component tuner, and the HDR-16 portable radio. Older models can be found on eBay and similar sites, including the original HDT-1 and HDT-1X component tuners, both available at very reasonable prices.

    There are other brands around including Sparc, but I have no experience with them.

    If you are willing to search deeper into the auction sites, a few other models are definitely worth looking for. Sony once and one of the best HD tuners ever - the XDR-F1HD. Great sound, great reception. But it had issues … it tends to run hot, and doesn’t retain station presets or the clock when it loses power. In response there are plans and companies who will add components such as internal fans and backup capacitors to make up for the original design’s shortcomings. The problem is the tuner sells for $100+ used and the service to upgrade is about $150.

    Radio Shack once sold a decent table radio under the Accurian house brand, and it is around the auction sites as well. Their Accurian component tuner, though, is awful on AM … decent for FM. And while HD on AM may not be anything right now, the problem with the component tuner is that it barely gets AM at all.