Is DRM going to make all legacy SW receivers obselete?

[raisindot]

I was thinking about getting another SW receiver, when I stumbled onto the Digital Radio Mondiale site. Supposedly, this is going to become the new format for all shortwave transmissions and that every SW broadcaster will be moving to this format.

That said, does this spell the end of traditional SW radios? Is it time to start selling them right now so they don't become tomorrow's boat anchors?

Susie

[tekshogun]

This has not caught on that much, being that it has been around officially for about 5 or 6 years, there is no approval for its use in America, although Voice of America along with many other major broadcasters have endorsed this new technology. However, that is only the major broadcasters. There are broadcast stations licensed all over the world, far outnumbering the large commercial stations. For this to be made a standard across the board will not happen just yet, in fact, it is likely not to happen before the usual FM radio stations are moved over the digital (and there are already digital radio stations, apparently, in the FM band).

So I would go ahead and get that SW receiver, I don't see it happening anytime soon across the board.

[tekshogun]

mistake

[kc2rgw]

Basically listening to DRM now means you take an output tap from a 'normal' receiver and run it into a soundcard input and use software to demodulate it. There are very few receivers that have DRM built in, if any.

Sound quality is pretty remarkable as it's digital after all, but then again, I sort of take the fading and typical analog qualities to be part of the charm of SW or I'd just put the shoutcast stream of the station on.

[tekshogun]

Here is the small amount of equipment available, mostly out of Europe: Radios & Receiving Equipment*:: DRM

[ka3jjz]

tekshogun is quite correct; DRM is just another push of technology that, unfortunately, is not going to solve any of HF's problems. In fact it's the bane of most HF DXers - this is because the sidebands of a DRM signal can cover up an adjacent weaker signal that someone might be trying to hear. This is not unlike IBOC (found on the BCB band) in that respect.

A few years ago, the big push was to sideband transmissions - and that failed just as miserably. In fact, I understand the WARC has given permission for stations in the 60mb to start using WinDRM (and in fact, I just read in a recent NASWA Journal about a station in the Dominican Republic that may start using this soon). What a waste!

The problem is twofold, and it's partly a problem of awareness, partly a part of the medium itself. Here in the US, where HF is practically unknown, there is very little public market awareness of DRM. Therefore, no market. In the rest of the world, where HF is at least somewhat known, folks don't want to use it because of its various problems, not the least of which is poor fidelity. DRM, when it works, addresses the fidelity issue, but like my physics professor once told me, there is no free lunch. As noted previously, there are very few DRM ready radios out there, and modifying one is likely a bit out of the average joe's reach. It's finicky in the best of times (it takes a certain level of signal to maintain DRM decoding - if it goes below a certain threshold, the decoding stops and goes quiet) and without the reliability of FM (and HF will never have that level of reliability), the market dries up.

So get that nice analog HF radio. It will be quite useful for years to come, DRM notwithstanding. 73 Mike

[ka3jjz]

tekshogun is quite correct. Without getting into all the details, DRM is a royal pain for DXers and common listeners alike. The sidebands of a DRM signal wipe out lesser signals on either side, and it's finicky - if the signal level goes below a certain threshold, decoding simply stops and goes quiet. Without the reliability of a FM signal (something HF will never have), DRM is quite likely to go the way of narrow sideband transmissions (something that was proposed, and even used for a time, but has quietly gone the way of the dinosaur). Like what will happen to DRM, given time.

So get that nice new receiver - it will be quite usable for some time to come, DRM notwithstanding

73 Mike

[edit] sorry, I got disconnected from the forums but reconnected - evidently my original message got hung in the queue and was released after I reconnected. My bad :.>>

[kc2rgw]

Better yet, get an SDR receiver.

QS1R if you like high spec, but experimental projects. Runs on Windows, but linux and OS/X too

Microtelecom Perseus, if you want a turn-key but Windows only solution

RF Space SDR-IQ if you want Windows only and cheaper.

Used SDR-1000 QRP model from Flex Radio can be quite a bargain if you shop around....should be available for no more than $400 for a complete configuration with soundcard...again Windows only.

[ac7xc]

Originally Posted by raisindot

I was thinking about getting another SW receiver, when I stumbled onto the Digital Radio Mondiale site. Supposedly, this is going to become the new format for all shortwave transmissions and that every SW broadcaster will be moving to this format.

That said, does this spell the end of traditional SW radios? Is it time to start selling them right now so they don't become tomorrow's boat anchors?

Susie

Well the problem is that the digital radios cost a lot more then a regular SW radio and they require a lot more power so portable operations need new batteries every couple of hours. While this may not be a problem in Europe or North America for the third world the likely hood that a villager will plonk down $500 for a SW radio is nil. SW will continue to be used in third world areas for quite a long time and support for a expensive digital format is nil by the users of SW in those areas.

[ab3a]

Gosh, I can recall arguing about whether DRM would be successful over ten years ago. It still isn't, largely thanks to the chicken/egg problem of capable radios versus broadcast program material.

It still hasn't happened. At this rate, I seriously doubt there will be significant DRM program broadcasts in the future. For that matter, I'm not sure how many stations will find it economically efficient to continue broadcasting on SW. The Internet and mobile phone technology is getting to the point where anyone who wants to listen to a foreign broadcaster can probably do it with better fidelity and less investment by going online.

[nickcarr]

Personally, I think it's dying out. The internet has changed most of what DRM was intended for and no one wants to have to buy a "DRM-capable" radio just for a few programs - especially if these can be found online.

[Nubz]

oops wrong window my appologies

[MPSCS]

TEN-TEC has a computer controlled DRM capable receiver:

TEN-TEC RX-320D HF Receiver RX320

[k9rzz]

As long as there's anything out there to tune in, my receivers won't be obsolete with me! LOL

Did digital TV make analog TV's obsolete with DXers? No. Now TV DXers have central and South America as targets without the annoying stateside interference. HA !