Will Radio Exist As We Know It in the Next Twenty Years?

640 KFI's Leo Laporte, "The Tech Guy," gleefully announced today that the FCC's action to take away VHF from TV and replace it with digital in 2009 is a good thing that will create more "real estate" on the airwaves. He also speculates that the FCC will do the same to radio, making it go digital. Some of the technical details are clearly explained on Wikipedia. Is this digital move inevitable? The FCC seems to think so. Here they tell you how to get ready for digital radio on the Official FCC Site. For an even more technical explanation of "going wireless and digital," CLICK HERE.

I'm no techie and I don't know what the ramifications of going digital means, but I suspect radio as we now know it won't be recognizable. The nostalgia part of me dreads the change, but in the end I am no luddite.

Comments

[Ed S.]

Evolving things tend toward greater complexity. In the case of digital radio, and your question about will it be recognizable: all I can say is you won't be able to pick it (an AM radio broadcast) up with just a rusty razor blade and a "cat's whisker" any more.... But you can't pick up FM signals or cellphone signals like that anymore, either.

[Mike W]

I've wondered about this topic for years now, and the question of how digital radio would eventually be implemented has been around since at least the 90's. DAB and DRM in Europe are not exactly resounding successes, and digital radio in the US is pretty much a failure by this point. Intel has been extending the range and decreasing the hardware cost for rural wifi, and perhaps something viable will lie in that direction rather than in a broadcast model.

Here's an article from quite a ways back now that I have read and re-read over the years, because even though some of the technical details are over my head, I think that Paul Baran (the inventor of packet switching and much else) is on to something and just sees further ahead that the rest of us :

http://www.privateline.com/Switching/gilder.html

[Tom Welch]

Click http://www.publicradiofan.com/ for alternative to local radio.

[Jeff McMahon]

Ed, Mike, Tom,

I think if I'm going to keep Herculodge relevant in terms of radios, I'm going to have to keep up on the changing technology. At what point does buying a conventional radio not make sense? I don't think we're there yet, but I need more knowledge to get a better, if not general, idea.

[Mike W]

Tom, Jeff, that's a great link and I just bookmarked it. I have been streaming off the internet more lately, often with a small FM transmitter to allow me to still use my conventional radios as receivers. Mostly I have been using a website called Reciva :

https://www.reciva.com/

Which is the basis for most wifi internet radios, including the relatively affordable Grace wifi radio. I considered one of those a while ago but decided to wait for the technology to mature a little more first, especially since I don't use a wifi link for my PC or printer as of yet.

[Jeff McMahon]

Mike,

Sangean has an attractive, highly-reviewed WiFi radio, but like you I want the technology to "settle down" before I enter the fray.

Jeff

[Tom Welch]

Clink link beow for a FM transmitter that helps you marry the internet with your radios throughout your house:

http://www.wholehousefmtransmitter.com/internet-radio-fm-transmitter.php?gclid=CLGg4aOE-pICFRwsagod33_3Fw

[Jeff McMahon]

Thanks, Tom. I'll pass that link to my wife's grandfather who may need that. $99 is a good deal. BTW, I just put 3 radios for sale on Amazon to make room for some new ones such as the PR-D7.