Radio AM to FM: May 2, 2003
Satellite Radio for your PC
XM Satellite Radio has released a new XM radio receiver. For
your computer.
Not to be confused with an internet stream player, the XM PC receiver still
gets its signal straight from the satellite. But special software allows you
to control it with your PC, and you can instantly see what's playing on any
of the 100 or so channels right on your computer screen. In addition, if you
enter in your favorite bands, the software will alert you whenever they are
played on any of the available channels.
Retail cost is $70. The receiver will begin shipping today for Windows computers;
Macintosh and Linux compatibility will be coming in the near future.
Marathon Results
The big 36-hour KNX/KRTH (1070 AM/101.1 FM) radio marathon
last weekend raised over $200,000, with funds earmarked for expansion and renovation
of the Bob Hope Hollywood USO at the Los Angeles International Airport.
No word on why a Hollywood USO is located at LAX.
Marathon II
KRLA (870 AM) was in Oceanside yesterday for its own marathon,
raising money to help support families of military servicemen and women serving
in Iraq.
The station, along with other Salem talk radio stations across the country,
joined forces with Feed the Children for this event. Many of our military personnel
are reservists or members of the National Guard, and in leaving their civilian
jobs to serve in the military have found their pay reduced up to 50% while in
active duty. With a fundraising goal of $1 million, the organizers hope to offset
those reductions; the final figures were not available by the time this column
was printed.
Play Thing
KPCC (89.3 FM) celebrates Cinco de Mayo early tomorrow with
a special late edition (due to station fundraising) of The Play's the
Thing, 9 PM to 11 PM.
Called Culture Clash in Bordertown, the play takes a "seriocomic"
look at the San Diego/Tijuana region and explores the area's unique character
through satire and humor. The production is written and performed by Richard
Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza ... better known as the comedy troupe
Culture Clash.
Time Change
KLAC (570 AM) has changed their schedule a bit, so my mention
a few weeks ago of local artists on Fabulous Finds needs a
quick correction. Fabulous Finds is now heard Sundays at 7 PM, followed
by Frank and Friends from 8 to 10.
Improvement Update
In-band, on-channel digital radio has been hyped for years as the future of
radio, giving FM supposed "CD quality" sound and AM "FM quality"
sound.
Sound samples that I have heard make those claims dubious, at best, though work
continues on the system. What turns out to be exciting is the renewed interest
in broadcast quality itself, including a system from Motorola called "Symphony"
that works in a radio receiver to digitally process a regular analog AM signal
-- mono or stereo -- to clean up interference and noise and leave a full-sounding
high-fidelity broadcast.
Let me be clear: I have not heard the Symphony system myself, though I have
heard samples from another company with a competing design that sounds absolutely
fabulous.
The advantage of designs such as Symphony is cost and compatibility. The chip
is expected to add almost nothing to the cost of a typical radio, and the system,
because it works on the receiver end rather than the transmitter end, doesn't
make all current radios obsolete as the IBOC blueprint eventually does.
More on this as it develops.
///
Copyright © 2003 Richard Wagoner and The Copley Press.
To subscribe to The Daily Breeze, call (310) 540-5511