Tom,

You get all the commercials on HD1, but not on HD2 or HD3 unless one of 
those channels rebroadcasts another station, which is a sneaky way for 
broadcasters to simulcast on both AM and FM.

Steve

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Behler" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 20:16
Subject: Re: Off Topic: Accessing HD Radio In New Vehicle


> Mike:
>
> This is excellent, and thanks so much!
>
> I guess the main advantages of HD radio, as I understand them, are simply 
> a
> cleaner-sounding signal, and better program variety.  However, at least 
> for
> the commercial stations, I suspect you still have to put up with as many
> commercials as you do with the analog stations.  Anyway, it will be
> interesting to experiment with when traveling.
> As far as I know, the closest fm broadcast market area to me that has HD
> radio is Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is approximately 55 miles to my
> south, and is where we picked up our new vehicle earlier today.
>
> I wonder how much people actually use HD radio, but that's another topic 
> for
> another day, and maybe another list.
>
> Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike Duke, K5XU" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 7:59 PM
> Subject: Re: Off Topic: Accessing HD Radio In New Vehicle
>
>
>> Tom,
>>
>>   There is no manual switch or menu setting to change to or
>> from HD Radio.
>>
>> When you tune to a station that is transmitting HD, the
>> radio will automatically switch to the first HD stream, *if
>> the analogue signal is clean. HD doesn't like noise or
>> flutter.
>>
>> This change can take as much as 30 seconds to occur.
>> Depending on the setup at the transmitter, you will either
>> hear only the change in the sound of the signal, or what
>> sounds like a major hiccup in the station audio for a few
>> seconds. That is, sometimes the delay between the analog and
>> HD stream is such that the change will sound as though
>> somebody at the station hit the "back up by 10 seconds"
>> button.
>>
>> When the radio goes into HD mode, it automatically lands on
>> the "HD1" stream. By mandate from the FCC, this stream is
>> always the same programming that is heard on the traditional
>> analogue channel. Some stations only broadcast this single
>> HD stream.
>>
>> If a station is broadcasting two or more HD streams, a
>> single press of the up button will move you to the second or
>> third stream just as it moves to the next station in the
>> analogue mode. The down button will return you to the
>> previous stream.
>>
>> Once you tune past the last stream of a given station, the
>> radio automatically goes back into analogue mode to find the
>> next station, and the process begins again.
>>
>>
>> Most stations are broadcasting two streams, and some have
>> three. While there is no rule against it, I do not know of
>> any station currently broadcasting more than 3 streams.
>>
>> The greater the number of streams, the more narrow the
>> frequency responce of each one. Thus, the HD3 streams I have
>> encountered tend to be mostly talk or foreign language
>> channels, and not be in stereo.
>>
>> In HD mode, the visual display will usually show the call
>> letters of the station, followed by HD, HD2, etc.
>>
>> Most receivers have buttons which will cause the display to
>> also display song titles, other program information, etc.
>> There is a major experiment in the works to use that display
>> mode to communicate weather warnings and other disaster
>> information to people who are deaf. Right now, that
>> experiment is only along the gulf coast, and includes one of
>> the stations in the network that I work for here in
>> Mississippi.
>>
>> Hope this wasn't more than you really wanted to know.
>>
>