[LAU] Proposal for 'lo-fi' music competition

[david]

On 03/16/2014 10:30 PM, Chris Bannister wrote:
> On Sun, Mar 16, 2014 at 07:25:32PM -1000, david wrote:
>> Or maybe you mean how music sounded on old battery-powered AM
>> portable radios?
>
> Isn't stereo AM supposed to be better than stereo FM?
>
> P.S. I've never personally heard stereo AM, but the stations compress
> the bejesus out of their FM transmissions -- bloody horrible!

I couldn't tell. I don't think I've ever heard stereo AM. They probably 
compress the bejesus out of AM stereo transmissions, too, because they 
have to overcome the same problem regardless of frequency range 
(variable signal strength), right?

When I was listening to AM radio on old portable battery-powered AM 
radios, there was no AM stereo. FM was the only broadcast option for 
stereo at the time. I quit listening to AM radio in 1970 when the local 
Top 40 station's listeners voted a very young Michael Jackson "male" 
vocalist of the year.

But regardless of the signal type, the radio circuitry that converted it 
to audio generally wasn't even close to the best, and they certainly 
didn't put a pile of money into the single, typically small, speaker. 
Then add in the possible effects of aging on components.

Someone on the list must have an old portable AM radio still hanging 
around in a box in the attic. I might have one, but it's off somewhere 
on the mainland if it even still exists. Well, my mother probably still 
has the old AC/Delco "battery" AM radio my dad's former employer gave 
away ages ago. What an eBay-collectible item that would be now!

-- 
David W. Jones
gnome at hawaii.rr.com
authenticity, honesty, community
http://dancingtreefrog.com