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July 20, 2009

Table of Contents

It’s True...AM Once Sounded Great; At WHAV, the Legacy Broadcast Medium Still Does

Barbara Walters’ Producer Tony Seton to Speak in Haverhill September 21



Listen Anywhere

Web

Xelocast.com
WHAV.net
StreamingSuperstation.com

Cable TV (WHAV)

• Andover: Channel 8
• Groveland: Channel 9
• Haverhill: Channel 22
• Methuen, Channels 8 + 22 (Comcast)
& 32 (Verizon Fios)
• Sandown, Channel 17

A special thanks to the boards, management, staffs and members of the public access television stations above for bringing WHAV to those without Internet access! If you would like to hear WHAV on your cable television system, call your cable company or public access station. For more information, call (978) 374-2111.

Radio  (WHAV)

Tune to 1640 on your AM radio in select areas.

Cell Phone

Go to www.WHAV.mobi and listen with PocketTunes® on your cell phone. For more information Click Here.



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Program Highlights

Tony Seton Commentary

Author, producer and news anchor Tony Seton provides his take on current events in a daily, two-minute commentary. Seton is a veteran broadcast journalist who covered Watergate, eight elections, five space shots and produced Barbara Walters’ news interviews. He also won several national awards for his production of ABC’s business-economics news..
WHAV
Mon.–Fri., 6:00 and 11:00 p.m. (following News)

Jack Bevelaqua

Open Mike Show
with Host Jack Bevelaqua
Sponsored, in part, by Merrimack Valley Magazine

Jack Bevelaqua hosts the popular Open Mike Show. The two-hour  program presents timely guests and gives area residents a chance to call and discuss issues of concern. Viewers of HCTV Channel 22, Haverhill, also have an opportunity to watch the program live from WHAV’s Ward Hill studios.
WHAV
Mon., 6:30 p.m. (repeated Thursdays, 6:30 p.m.)


Full Program Schedule


 


CBS anchor Walter L. Cronkite, who died Friday, has been heard recently on WHAV’s retromercials for “Answer Please,” a 1958 radio feature.

It’s True...AM Radio Once Sounded Great
At WHAV, the Legacy Broadcast Medium Still Does

Before you dismiss those “old timers” who claim AM radio used to sound better than it does today, consider this: it’s true…and can be true again.

The sound quality of the oldest method of broadcasting is surprisingly nearly full fidelity leaving the transmitter. To the contrary, many of today’s receivers poorly reproduce AM audio. Years ago, manufacturers gradually reduced the bandwidth – and therefore the fidelity – of AM radios. This is why some old radios seem to sound better. The intent was to reduce interference between stations as more broadcasters crowded the dial, fought “loudness wars” with one another and – oversimplifying – used more than their allotted space on the dial. Radio station owners believed listeners would tune in to louder stations. In addition, the nature of AM – amplitude modulation – means louder stations transmit further.

“WHAV carefully balanced these technical considerations last year when it placed its upgraded AM operation on the air at 1640,” says Tim Coco, WHAV president and general manager. “WHAV’s brand new AM facilities transmit higher fidelity sound while taking advantage of the best part of the loudness wars to achieve greater range,” he explains (see related box below).

“In this day and age, the vast majority of WHAV listeners prefer the station’s free CD-quality digital offerings worldwide at www.WHAV.net, on seven cable television systems and, for portability, on cell phones at www.WHAV.mobi. For those, however, who enjoy “DXing” (distance listening) by AM radio, WHAV’s AM station fits the bill,” says Coco.

Technical Advances Bolster WHAV’s Signal

The new WHAV operations would not have been possible absent a few logistical and technical developments. A decision during the 1990s by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expand the AM radio band from 1605 to 1705 kHz helped solved the problem of too many stations crowding the dial. An industry trade group, The National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC), also created new broadcasting and receiving standards called “AMAX certification.”

AMAX certification requires AM receivers to return to wide bandwidth reception as broadcasters limit the amount of space they occupy on the dial, allow tuning the expanded AM band and use “noise blanking,” among other improvements.

WHAV tower
For those interested in the technical details…WHAV uses the latest multiband processing to increase the volume of its audio without introducing distortion, takes advantage of asymmetrical modulation to favor its signal’s positive peaks which improves transmission distance and utilizes a FCC type-accepted Rangemaster transmitter.
Unfortunately, however, only a few manufacturers (such as the RCA RP7887 AM/FM Super Portable Radio) have produced improved  “wideband” radios. This may be because, while the FCC adopted the NRSC standards, the federal agency has little credibility with receiver manufacturers and others because of two major mistakes – AM stereo and “in-band, on-channel” (IBOC) digital transmission.

During the early 1980s, the FCC decided to take a “let the marketplace decide” approach to introducing AM stereo. Four competing – and incompatible – systems were launched. Few manufacturers wanted to risk making receivers that might become obsolete and few listeners wanted to buy for the same reason. By the time Motorola’s C-QUAM AM stereo system emerged victorious, few were still making the equipment.

But, FCC Bows to Special Interests, Slowing Progress

Completely opposite, the FCC during this decade chose a new digital standard for AM radio called IBOC that cuts sound quality in half on existing AM radios, greatly increases interference between stations and creates a choppy and unusable digital signal for the very few digital radios consumers have purchased. Many broadcasters have refused to adopt IBOC since, for the first time, the FCC imposed onerous licensing conditions that send listeners’ and broadcasters’ dollars to IBOC’s creator, iBiquity Digital Corporation.

If you’re feeling nostalgic, try tuning in WHAV’s AM signal at 1640. Better yet, try listening on an AMAX certified radio. Otherwise, CD quality sound is still available at www.WHAV.net.

Barbara Walters’ Producer Tony Seton to Speak in Haverhill September 21
Event Schedule

Monday, July 20: Michael Gerardi, owner of Mountain Dogs Alpine Outfitters, Plaistow N.H., is Jack Bevelaqua’s guest on the Open Mike Show, 6:30 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 21: Save the date! Tony Seton, Barbara Walters’ and ABC-TV senior producer, kicks off WHAV’s distinguished speaker series. Seton, whose “SetonnoteS” commentary airs daily on WHAV, covered five space missions, six elections and Watergate, among other news events.

To Be Announced: Dedication of the “Edwin V. Johnson Newsroom” at WHAV. Johnson joined WHAV in 1951, beginning what would be a 34-year career with the station.

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