IBOC vs. C-Quam

[dbdigital]

Bill Norman who owns WNMB and is an occasional poster here, wrote his observations on the AMS site on how C-Quam has changed peoples' perceptions about AM, what it has meant to his station and how IBOC will impact it.

I thought what he wrote was worth posting here:

"It's been almost a year since we converted WNMB from mono to AM
Stereo. I want to share with you what a difference it has made for
us, even in this time when AM Stereo is supposed to be dead. First
of all, I have been truly surprised at the number of cars out there
which have AM Stereo radios. While I cannot pretend to give you a
precise statistical analysis, I can legitimately tell you that we
have had a constant stream of listeners let us know they do hear our
stereo. What is universal about this is the change in their AM
quality perception. It is like going from night to day. In just the
past few weeks, we've been visited by a Chrysler Van, a Navigator, A
couple of Ford Explorers, another Thunderbird, and even a 1992
Cadillac Sedan DeVille and a 93 Allante. My primary point is that I
don't think my fellow broadcasters have any idea how many car radios
are out there. For years, while AM Stereo stations were turning off
their generators, car makers were continuing to expand the number
and models of radios capable of AM Stereo.
If I had to spend the money over again today to convert to AM
Stereo, I would do so without a moment's hesitation.
Now, about IBOC and my radio station. I have all of 500 watts at
900 AM. If I put IBOC on the air, I will degrade my analog signal,
and yet I won't get anything from IBOC in full area coverage like
what I get from my analog. While I cannot pretend to speak for a
larger and more powerful AM station and its impact from IBOC, I know
for sure that IBOC is not my answer to long time longevity.
I do not wish failure for IBOC, but I think it is going to be a
failure, at least as far as AM is concerned. Thus, I still urge my
fellow broadcasters to turn on their AM Stereo generators, or buy
the equipment, and let it be known they are broadcasting in Stereo.
AM broadcasters need to stop complaining and start doing some
creative programming. With just a little thought and planning, and
with today's technology, a "small" station can think and act big.
People like the ones on this forum can help by calling the AM
stations in their markets and let them know there are people who
will listen.

Sometime in the next few days, now that we have had time to "fine
tune" or audio here, I am going to put up an mp3 aircheck taken from
one of our AM stereo tuners. someone who can do so, please compare
it to IBOC somewhere.

Thanks for letting me ramble.
Bill"

I second his call to action. There is no reason why an AM station should not be broadcasting in C-Quam if it isn't already broadcasting IBOC.

db