HD FM cutting out

[FieSTa Blanca]

Hi, all.

One of my favorite local HD FM radio stations has a bad habit of dropping out when I drive down streets with overhead power lines. Is this to be expected? Or is it a fault with my car's system or antenna?

Thanks in advance!

FB

 

[jdubs]

I'm sure this varies largely by area, but mine was always fine with the stock antenna. Now that I have a shorty though I said goodbye to HD. Good thing I rarely listen to the radio.

 

[FieSTa Blanca]

Thanks for the reply! Guess I'll experiment with it and try to get a better idea of what's causing the problem.

FB

 

[wolrah]

That's pretty normal if the signal is low. HD is encoded in the sidebands of the main signal, and since it's digital without much bitrate to spare there's not error correction. It's designed to fall back to the analog signal, so if you're listening to HD2/HD3 channels you will lose it entirely.

HD Radio is not a good technology and should not have become the standard.

 

[TrickSTer]

I listen to a local station in HD.

I noticed it starting to "echo", "skip" and "stutter".

Rather than take it in to the dealer, I stopped by the station and asked for a tech. As one wasn't available, I described my problem to the receptionist and those nearby her.

The station does have a technical problem, exactly as I described; they are addressing it with their equipment supplier. They suggested just turning off the HD and listening in regular FM, in the meantime. (It's a new technology, let's be patient!)

So: talk to your station before rushing to the dealer to have your head unit replaced!

(For those in Southern Ontario, the station is KX 94.7)