I have had a Sony HD Am Fm radio for some time now, and agree 
with what Mike and all have said here.  I have no experience with 
the newer HD models.  When I first got my HD radio, I tried to 
pick up KNX, 1070 in LA from the San Francisco area where I live.  
Although I can and could hear it fine, it never would go to HD 
mode because the signal just wasn't strong enough no matter what 
kind of antenna I used.  The strongest HD Am station I can get 
where I live is KCBS.  After a couple seconds, the high 
frequencies improve and the audio just sounds more like Fm.  My 
other experience with Am was when we had a car with an Am stereo 
radio in it.  In that case, You could get stereo on weak stations 
when the signals were strong, but when they faded down, the 
station would become mono again.  In my opinion, the separation 
was never that good on Am stereo.  I was really surprised when I 
heard our local baseball team, the Oakland A's in stereo on Am.  
The only thing that you really could get was the crowd noise in 
stereo, but it was cool.  Other than that, I think Am stereo is a 
waste and I  apologize for diverting this off topic to even more 
off topic.  Jim WA6EKS.

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Behler <[log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Date sent: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 20:49:11 -0400
Subject: Re: Off Topic:  HD Radio In New Vehicle

Steve:

Thanks much for the clarifications.

The radio has the usual tuning knob, so it will be easy for me to 
experiment
with when we get into an HD radio area again.

And, I never even thought to try it on A M.

I guess I've always been turned off to digital A M radio because 
of the
limits it puts on A M D X ing at night, but I suppose the cleaner 
audio
could be easier on the ears.

Anyway, I appreciate your and everyone's help with this, and will 
let you
know what I find in my future explorations.  Of course, I can't 
do it hear
in my town, so things may have to be delayed a bit.

Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Dresser" <[log in to unmask]
To: <[log in to unmask]
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 8:14 PM
Subject: Re: Off Topic: HD Radio In New Vehicle


 Tom,

 Tune to the main frequency of the station you have in mind.  
After a few
 seconds, the radio will acquire the HD signal if there is one.  
Your XYL
 will be able to tell by the display, but you may hear a subtle 
change in
 the
 audio (usually a slight stutter) as the HD locks on.  If you're 
doing this
 on AM, the audio will become a lot sharper and clearer (unless 
there's
 static or noise, in which case you won't be able to acquire the 
HD).
 Getting back to FM, since that's the only place where you'll 
find stations
 with more than one HD subprogram, once the HD has been acquired, 
press the
 Up button (or tune clockwise one click if the radio has a tuning 
knob) to
 get to the HD2 subchannel, and continue the process to get to 
subsequent
 channels.  In most cases, HD2 is the limit, but you may find an 
occasional
 station with HD3.  If you go past the maximum number of 
channels, you'll
 hear the familiar white noise that happens between stations.

 Steve

 ----- Original Message -----
 From: "Tom Behler" <[log in to unmask]
 To: <[log in to unmask]
 Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 19:03
 Subject: Off Topic: HD Radio In New Vehicle


 Hi, all.

 Well, the xyl and I regularly lease our vehicles, and today we 
picked up
 our
 newest one.

 I was interested to learn that the radio in the vehicle has HD 
radio.

 This is not helpful in the semi-rural part of Michigan where we 
live, but
 could be interesting to experiment with when we are traveling to 
larger
 metropolitan areas.

 But, my question is this:

 How do you access the given HD radio stations?

 I know that many stations have their main frequency (say 99.5 
FM), but
 how
 do you access their HD sub-channels for other program 
selections?

 Do you start on the main frequency for the given station, and 
then go
 from
 there?  Or, does it depend on how the given radio is set up?

 I know this is off topic, so please respond off list to:

 [log in to unmask]  if you have some suggestions.

 Of course, the radio in the new vehicle also has XM/Serious 
satellite,
 which
 I'm really going to have to be careful not to get addicted to, 
since we
 only
 have a four-month trial subscription.  Sure is tempting, though, 
due to
 the
 terrific program variety selection, and no commercials!!  
(smile)

 Tom Behler: KB8TYJ, Big Rapids, MI