FM radio

[1995hoo]

.

Guys

Guys

He found the period key

The teacher asks her students if they can draw a picture of the most important thing in the world.

Little Susie draws a picture of a heart and says it's the most important thing because all you need is love.

Little Johnny draws a picture of a dollar sign because everybody wants money and always wants more of it.

Then little Tyrone goes up to the blackboard and draws a little dot.

The teacher is puzzled. "What's that, Tyrone?"

"It's a period." (He drew this: . )

"Why would you say a period is the most important thing in the world?"

"Well, I don't know, but this morning my sister was missing one, my mother was crying, my dad was cussing, and the man next door shot himself."

[hm insulators]

.

Guys

Guys

He found the period key

The teacher asks her students if they can draw a picture of the most important thing in the world.

Little Susie draws a picture of a heart and says it's the most important thing because all you need is love.

Little Johnny draws a picture of a dollar sign because everybody wants money and always wants more of it.

Then little Tyrone goes up to the blackboard and draws a little dot.

The teacher is puzzled. "What's that, Tyrone?"

"It's a period." (He drew this: . )

"Why would you say a period is the most important thing in the world?"

"Well, I don't know, but this morning my sister was missing one, my mother was crying, my dad was cussing, and the man next door shot himself."

[DSS5]

So the radio station at the local college here recently switched over to a new studio, and I thought their "changeover" broadcast was really cool - https://soundcloud.com/wasu-news/beasleybigday-edited-mixdown

Does anyone else have links of some sort to either last broadcasts, studio switchovers, format changes, etc.? It would be cool to listen too.

[mgk920]

So the radio station at the local college here recently switched over to a new studio, and I thought their "changeover" broadcast was really cool - https://soundcloud.com/wasu-news/beasleybigday-edited-mixdown

Does anyone else have links of some sort to either last broadcasts, studio switchovers, format changes, etc.? It would be cool to listen too.

When I was a kid, I taped WHBY's (now 1150 AM, then 1230 AM - Appleton, WI) changeover from their old studio in the river valley to their then new facility on the city's west side (it was in the late 1970s), but I have no idea of where that tape is, if I even have it, and it was done off the air with fairly cheap equipment.

Mike

[Rushmeister]

I miss WYNF (95ynf) in Tampa.   

Ah,... the good old days.  Great rock and great jocks.

[DSS5]

I miss WYNF (95ynf) in Tampa.   

Ah,... the good old days.  Great rock and great jocks.

I remember when my dad's favorite radio station (93.1 WMQX), an oldies station, switched over to country in 2006. He was really pissed off about that. I kind of miss that station too, they played a lot of ELO.

[ZLoth]

Unfortunately, Sacramento, CA radio sux. KFBK has news/talk, but the quality of the news coverage has gone down. KXPR used to be classical music 24/7, but no classical music in the evening. We also had a dedicated DECENT Jazz music station a few years ago, but then they switched to something alternative. The rest of the stations are rock, rap, country, talk, or spanish -- none of which I'm interested in. I'm now relying on streaming radio and MP3s now.

It used to be that stations had their own playlists. Now, it's all satellite delivered, and at times, they have the same commerical running at the same time across multiple stations.

[thenetwork]

Any "oldies" or "classic rock" station that brag about still playing the greatest hits from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Elvis -- but actually only play their hits from the 70's -- should lose their broadcast licenses!!   (You kids get off my lawn!!!)

[agentsteel53]

Any "oldies" or "classic rock" station that brag about still playing the greatest hits from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Elvis -- but actually only play their hits from the 70's -- should lose their broadcast licenses!!   (You kids get off my lawn!!!)

"1970s hits from the Beatles" is a very small category indeed.  I think "Let it Be" and "Long and Winding Road" are the only two singles from 1970 and they may have been released first in 1969.

[Alps]

Any "oldies" or "classic rock" station that brag about still playing the greatest hits from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Elvis -- but actually only play their hits from the 70's -- should lose their broadcast licenses!!   (You kids get off my lawn!!!)

"1970s hits from the Beatles" is a very small category indeed.  I think "Let it Be" and "Long and Winding Road" are the only two singles from 1970 and they may have been released first in 1969.

Actually, I've heard multiple selections on the radio. "I've Got a Feeling" got covered by Pearl Jam. And the album ends in "Get Back" - how is that not a classic? But I'll grant, these are all on modern radio, not back in the day.

[agentsteel53]

"Get Back"

thus the confusion.  that's a 1969 single.  Let it Be was substantially recorded before Abbey Road, but the band didn't like it, so they redid it after Abbey Road and actually it was released after the band had broken up.

[Alps]

"Get Back"

thus the confusion.  that's a 1969 single.  Let it Be was substantially recorded before Abbey Road, but the band didn't like it, so they redid it after Abbey Road and actually it was released after the band had broken up.

I see what you're getting at - the album in 1970, but the songs in 1969.

[bugo]

"Classic rock" is really just crappy '70s hard rock. 

[FightingIrish]

"Get Back"

thus the confusion.  that's a 1969 single.  Let it Be was substantially recorded before Abbey Road, but the band didn't like it, so they redid it after Abbey Road and actually it was released after the band had broken up.

Actually, Phil Spector redid it. 

Here's a bit of trivia: There is one song on the album that was actually recorded in 1970, "I Me Mine". Lennon didn't play on the track, as he had more or less left the band in late 1969 and was busy at the time of recording.

[Dr Frankenstein]

"Classic rock" is really just crappy '70s hard rock. 

My idea of classic rock covers everything from Elvis to Pearl Jam including The Beatles, Led Zepplin and Rush.

[The High Plains Traveler]

On the topic of FM, has anyone listened to an FM station subchannel? A few years ago, HD-2 was rolled out as a great technological advancement, but I haven't seen any receivers that actually offer it. Stations still announce programming on their subchannel, but I wonder if anyone actually hears the programming. This kind of reminds me of the AM stereo rollout in the 1960s, which never actually took off. But then, at that time AM radio actually played music. Who needs to hear a talk radio bloviator in stereo?

[Henry]

On the topic of FM, has anyone listened to an FM station subchannel? A few years ago, HD-2 was rolled out as a great technological advancement, but I haven't seen any receivers that actually offer it. Stations still announce programming on their subchannel, but I wonder if anyone actually hears the programming. This kind of reminds me of the AM stereo rollout in the 1960s, which never actually took off. But then, at that time AM radio actually played music. Who needs to hear a talk radio bloviator in stereo?

As the HD Radio website shows, you can upgrade to the new HD receivers at home, on the go and even in your car, at thousands of retailers/dealerships nationwide. The trick is where and when to find them, so ask around.

[formulanone]

On the topic of FM, has anyone listened to an FM station subchannel? A few years ago, HD-2 was rolled out as a great technological advancement, but I haven't seen any receivers that actually offer it.

I've had a handful of rental cars with HD Radio tuners, and those signals do sounds great...while they last. The problem is that they chop in and out, faltering back to the standard FM station. While you can definitely hear the difference in audio quality when they swap places, the timing between the signal swaps are almost nonexistent.

So it probably works better for receivers that aren't in a moving vehicle.

[Henry]

So it probably works better for receivers that aren't in a moving vehicle.

I think it's true, although that hasn't stopped automakers like Ford, Honda and BMW from offering HD Radio anyway, as a free alternative to satellite radio.

[JMoses24]

So the radio station at the local college here recently switched over to a new studio, and I thought their "changeover" broadcast was really cool - https://soundcloud.com/wasu-news/beasleybigday-edited-mixdown

Does anyone else have links of some sort to either last broadcasts, studio switchovers, format changes, etc.? It would be cool to listen too.

http://formatchange.com/

You can thank me later. I should note that I am not involved with this site in any way, shape, or form. It's just a really cool website.

[SidS1045]

that hasn't stopped automakers like Ford, Honda and BMW from offering HD Radio anyway, as a free alternative to satellite radio.

Free for the listener, perhaps, but certainly not for the radio manufacturer.  iBiquity Digital Corporation, the company that holds all IP rights to HD Radio hardware, firmware and software, charges a royalty per chipset to HD Radio manufacturers.  OTOH, SiriusXM and its corporate partners *pay* auto manufacturers to build satellite radios into their vehicles and subsidize the cost of the free subscription to SiriusXM that comes with a new car (usually three months, although some are a year).

What iBiquity doesn't comprehend, unfortunately, is the cost of a poorly engineered digital radio system that so many have simply given up on (post #117 is a good example of HD Radio's reception problems).  The vast majority of US radio stations have stayed away from HD, mostly because it's monstrously expensive to implement and a constant headache to maintain, at a time when most stations have cut their engineering staffs down to the bare bone (and many don't have "resident" engineers; they use freelancers or consultants).

[PHLBOS]

I also have a serious problem with certain car manufacturers phasing out AM/FM two years from now...

I do too. That really pisses me off. However, I think what will happen is that cars will still offer AM/FM - maybe not as a standard option but as something extra.

Which car manufacturers are doing such?  I know Ford recently dropped the 6-CD players from many of their models (a single-CD player can still be had though).

Man, how times have changed.  Once upon a time, all radios were optional; later on, getting FM was considered a luxury option (to the standard AM radio).

As for me, my '07 Mustang has Sirrius/XM (it came w/the car under a 6-month trial subscription, that I've since renewed) and I almost have it set to one of the stations when driving.  For longer distances and/or there's nothing on the channels that interests me; then I'll just put a bunch of CDs in.

My '97 Crown Vic has an AM/FM cassette player (a dual media (cassette/CD) player wasn't yet available as an option when I ordered & bought it).  For short trips, I'll either have the radio on or not at all.  For long drives, I'll either use the cassette player (I still have some tapes in playble condition) or hook up a CD converter and play a CD or two... athough changing the CD usually involves stopping along the way to do so.

[Brandon]

My last car had AM/FM with a single-CD player.  The current one (on a base model none-the-less) came with AM/FM, SiriusXM (one year free, renewed twice so far), a single-CD player, an auxiliary port in the radio for an MP3 player, and a USB port in the glovebox for an MP3 player (controlled by the radio controls).  I've used all but the auxiliary port in the radio - no point when there's a USB port in the glovebox.  I use the radio with SiriusXM for short trips, CDs from time to time, and the MP3 player for long trips when I don't want to change stations or discs.