In article , Jim Lesurf
scribeth thus
In article , tony sayer

wrote:
In article , Jim Lesurf
scribeth thus

Well its not really a broadcaster problem Jim after all what can they
do about it?..

IIRC one of the comments Hawker makes is along the same lines. The
classic, "Well, it was alright when it left us." :-) However it
strikes me as somewhat naughty if they are saying this *knowing* that
the results may well be much poorer for a large section of the audience
for reasons outwith the listener's control. ...unless they move house!

Yes but even so what can they do?..

Well, what they *could* have done is:

1) Carried out some decent research on the how much this crops up, and how
that varies with circumstances.

They don't seem to do that or much of it anymore;(..

2) Investigated measures to help reduce problems.

Well -what- in practice can they or anyone reasonably do other then to
use the best RX directional aerial they can muster and hope they have
someone who can deal with it. Our local rigger has been rigging for
years but I rather doubt he'd have anything for assessing it.

His answer to an FM aerial requirement is a Horizontal Halo;!..

For really severe cases theres always satellite...


3) Publish the results and ensure people (makers, dealers, and end users)
are aware of the outcomes of (1) and (2)

As number 1 !..

However it seems that the BBC did a bit of (1), then didn't publish the
results. Instead we have had decades of "It isn't really a problem, and if
you get it then buy a better tuner/antenna and waggle the antenna". When
the reports I have seen thus far indicate it often simply isn't that easy.



Now, of course, there are many other transmission/distribution systems
and the choice isn't as simple as it was a few decades ago. So perhaps
time for the skeletons in the FM cupboard to be revealed. :-)

Well just what sort of percentage of the population find it a problem in
practice?..

Hard to tell for various reasons.

Indeed, but you very rarely hear complaints about it perhaps because it
isn't as obvious as say ghosting on analogue TV...


One is that I can find almost no research that even addresses questions
like, "How many people have their FM listening affected by a level of
multipath that increases the distortion?" The only report I have seen is
via Hawker. This showed it was the *norm* for reception to be degraded by
multipath. But this BBC work was apparently never published.

Another is that most people aren't aware of the problem. So aren't
listening for it. Non audio-enthusiasts will just be using radios,
portables, etc, and will simply assume what they hear is what is what they
can expect. With no clue or interest in reasons. Audio enthusiasts have
been led over the years to expect FM to deliver good results if they have a
decent tuner and antenna. So, again, tend to assume that what they hear is
OK, and if not, have had no reason to suspect multipath. Nor, indeed, are
likely to be able to test for it or measure it.

And how many tuners around now have the required outputs on them
anyway?..

Although my Audiolab T8000 has the REVOX B261 or Denon's haven't!..

As you will know, most people have no real expectation of 'hifi' or have
ever heard what a really good audio system can do when fed excellent source
material. How would they realise they had a 'multipath problem' given they
are have probably never heard the term?

Plus, of course, radio has been largely ignored in audio mags during recent
decades... Perhaps because - apart from R3 - the sound on most music
stations is awful.

Indeed though some of the smaller ones like for instance Radio Jackie on
South London go out of their way with regards to audio quality..

And as I've muttered before the BBC services ought to all be available
on high bitrate satellite which is an excellent medium for high quality
Audio..

You really ought to try Bayern Klassik 4 for what digital radio can
do) Puts the BBC to shame for detail..can be had from Maplins for
around a 100 quid..


So many people may not think they have a problem caused by multipath. But
some of them might be surprised if they heard the same broadcasts *without*
their local multipath and say, "That sounds quite different to my FM
radio!" This is a curious point, given that Vinyl LP also tends to produce
higher levels of distortion for high frequency and amplitude combinations,
and higher for L-R. People may prefer this as a result of habituation and
being led to think it is what the sounds should be like! :-)

Well how many young people are being bought up on a diet of compressed
radio and MP3 players have any idea what it should or could be like?..


Slainte,

Jim

Ah!, Your getting old like a lot of us ... who do know better;-))


--
Tony Sayer