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President's Message
I hope everyone is getting settled into the school year routine again. As much as I try to avoid it, September, not January, is the beginning of my new year. Anyway, Bob, W1RH, has lined up some great speakers, and we're working on some more. This month's speakers will take us on a DXpedition, followed by the usual post flea market expedition to Italy.
Speaking of the flea market, it's no reflection on the fantastic efforts of our volunteers, but I'm sure you have all heard that last weekend's flea market turnout was pretty dismal. We spent some time discussing this at the board meeting, and we came to the conclusion that there are several factors involved. One is that we're clearly in competition with MIT's monthly juggernaut. Another may be that some combination of location, timing and publicity is just not bringing the people in.
In order to rejuvenate the flea market, and as a result of Bev's desire for a break, we have decided to take two actions. First, we have created a flea market committee, consisting of Spencer Goldstein, N1JWB, Bob, W1RH, Ed Collins, KB1CQI and Bev, N1LOO. Spencer has offered to act as chairperson, and lend us the benefit of his experience, both running fleas and as a vendor. Second, we have asked the committee to explore alternative dates which will allow us to take advantage of our location, and perhaps take us out of competition with MIT. So, stay tuned, and watch for the news.
73,
Peter, KA1AXY
High Definition . . . . . . Radio?
By Bob, W1RH
High definition radio? Well, not exactly. All the buzz lately in the broadcasting world has been about high definition television which is a byproduct of digital television. The development of digital radio, however, has been quietly progressing and is about to come to your local radio station. Digital radio, also known as DAB - Digital Audio Broadcasting - will change the way you listen to radio and it's not to far off in the future. Two forms of DAB are currently under development. Satellite delivered DAB and IBOC DAB. IOC stands for In-Band/On-Channel. This article is about IBOC DAB.
The IBOC digital audio concept was initially developed by a consortium of radio broadcast companies. Three different companies, Digital Radio Express, Lucent Digital Radio and the original proponent, USA Digital Radio, are vying for the prize - to have their system chosen by the National Radio Standards Committee and/or the FCC as THE IBOC DAB system. The idea is to convert the existing AM and FM analog services to digital and the way they are going about it is very cool. In a nutshell, within about two years, all AM and FM stations will be able to broadcast digital audio over their existing transmitter. For instance, an FM station currently broadcasting on 103.3 MHz, will also be able to transmit a digital signal on 103.3 MHz without compromising the existing analog service. Similarly, an AM station will be able to broadcast a digital signal without compromising the existing analog service, hence the term "In-Band/On-Channel." This is really quite remarkable technology considering the FCC has had to award every over-the-air television station an additional channel to broadcast digitally.
OK, so in a couple of years you will be hearing about a lot of local stations going digital. What do the listeners get out of it? Well, let's start with the AM band. You remember the AM band, don't you? Try to listen to an AM music station. The quality is terrible and,
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