It doesn’t make sense to simulcast an AM station on FM
A recent commentary in Radio World — an industry publication dedicated to radio engineering, at radioworld.com — brought up something I have been wondering for many years: How does adding a low-powered FM transmitter simulcasting an AM station’s signal help in any way to “revitalize” the AM band?
The problem with AM radio for years has been self-inflicted wounds; i.e., programming that absolutely no one wants to hear. Argue all you want about sound quality — admittedly an issue but not the major problem — but programming is king. Want people to tune in to your AM station? Give listeners a reason to tune in. Syndicated political talk radio or moronic sports talk formats won’t cut it.
Some stations add “translators,” the low-powered FM transmitters mentioned earlier, to theoretically add coverage to the AM signal. Often the operators then “forget” they are an AM station at all and just pretend they are a full-power FM, mentioning only the FM frequency, as if people actually tune in to a station that can often be heard only in a radius of a few miles.
They don’t. Not worth the trouble to even try to tune in a station that will become unlistenable before you even get to work. And of course the elephant in the room: If the translators did work, how does bringing people to the FM band help revitalize AM? In the end, it doesn’t.
In the Radio World commentary, the problem is one of sales: The FM signal is so limited that potential advertisers won’t buy because customers can’t pick up the signal in all the areas advertisers would want to be heard … all the while the AM signal is strong everywhere. The author is considering giving up the FM signal and focusing on his AM.
I agree.
I think the time has come to dump translators, forbid simulcasts and let the weak AM stations be sold or transferred to an owner that cares; the remaining can go off the air. Fewer stations mean less interference, and the remaining stations — if they want to survive — will find a way to program what people might want to hear.
Online fun
I’ve been a radio junkie for years. I actually thought it began when I was 10 and my Aunt Ina gave me a Realtone 10-transistor radio, but I recently discovered, because of the many really neat airchecks that have been showing up on MixCloud, that I was off a few years. Now I think I was closer to 5 or 6.
Not that it really matters, other than I have been a “radio dork” for a few more years than I thought. Here’s what I’ve been listening to lately, courtesy of MixCloud.com:
• KCBQ/San Diego, featuring Christopher Kane and “Shotgun” Tom Kelly from July 1971. Growing up in San Pedro, I could get San Diego radio stations almost as strongly as locals, and I loved KCBQ. Shotgun Tom, of course, made his way up to KRTH (101.1 FM) for many years, but I remember him first from KCBQ. Kane I had forgotten about, but this aircheck brought back memories of hearing his show as well. Absolutely fabulous Top 40 radio.
• KFRC/San Francisco, with a summer sampler from 1979. KFRC was San Francisco’s version of KHJ, and actually outlasted KHJ as a Top 40 powerhouse. In 1979, KFRC still dominated Bay Area radio, and you can hear why.
• KROQ (106.7 FM) with Freddy Snakeskin from July 1982. This was when KROQ was actually a trendsetter, at the time breaking new music that traditional album-rock stations like KMET ignored. It wasn’t “alternative” as is thought of today; it was a superwide variety of music presented in a modified Top 40 approach. Totally different than the KROQ of today. And Snakeskin is great.
• KTNQ (1020 AM) — Ten-Q with Andy Barber from July 1978. Just as KHJ was trying to keep listeners from moving to FM by playing Led Zeppelin and disco in the same set, Ten-Q was offering a high-energy Top 40 format utilizing the formats that KHJ abandoned. The excitement was exhilarating … and still fun to hear. See if you can keep up with the songs that were sped up.
• KABC-FM (now KLOS 95.5 FM) with “Brother John” Rydgren from August 1969. This was known as the Love format on KABC, one of the early album rock formats on FM radio. I would not consider this a great format, but it is an interesting historical recording; one I have not heard before. It sounds as if Rydgren is on tape — perhaps the station was automated, with announcers prerecording their sets, as was often done in the era. But it is absolutely different than what was found on any AM station of the time.
The above were found on Radio Maven’s page (mixcloud.com/rob-frankel) and the page of Retro Radio Joe (mixcloud.com/retroradiojoe). There are many more, but these two have been my stomping grounds as of late. Very fun recording to hear.