Re: [ARSCLIST] FM reception way back when

[Robert Cham <cham@xxxxxxxx>]

Hi Folks,

New to the list here.  I've been a recording and radio engineer for 
more than forty years.  Speaking as the latter, I can tell you that 
FM Stereo takes about ten times as much signal as Mono.  When I was 
with Vermont Public Radio, we would turn off the stereo pilot 
whenever we broadcast news shows to increase the reach of the 
stations.  When I first started at WHA in Madison, in the early '70s, 
we would turn the pilot off for mono music recordings.

The problem lies with the multiplex system that we use.  When FM went 
STEREO, the FCC didn't want to obsolete all the mono receivers, as 
they had when the band changed frequency.  Thus we broadcast L+R 
(mono), and L-R, which are combined to make stereo.  It doesn't 
exactly make for a robust stereo signal, but it is compatible.

I know what you mean about WFMT.  When I lived thirty miles South of 
Madison, I ran stacked ten element yagi antennas aimed south so that 
I could listen to Studs Terkel over breakfast.  I also remember 
listening to Jean Shepherd and others out of the city when I was kid 
living in Syracuse.

Don't get me started, I'll go all night!

Bob Cham

> Mono FM is STILL better in most places. Even with the best tuners, 
> stereo only works if the signal is strong and uninterrupted. The 
> only way any FM is listenable in my fringe area is in mono. Since 
> all I listen to over-air is NPR talk-heavy stuff, this is just fine.
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Olhsson" <olh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 10:53 AM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] FM reception way back when
>
> > Some of the most stunningly beautiful audio I ever heard was Chicago's WFMT
> > picked up in mono around 1965 from my college dorm room in Olivet Michigan.
> > (Top notch mono hi fi gear was available really cheap at that time.) I had
> > no idea what FM was capable of before I heard that station.
> >
> > Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN
> > Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
> > Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined!
> > 615.385.8051 http://www.hyperback.com    http://www.thewombforums.com