Tag: grant goddard

Goddard Writes Chronicle of KISS FM

Grant Goddard, the U.K.’s go-to analyst on all things digital radio, has just finished a substantial history of KISS FM – a London commercial radio station that began as a pirate more than 25 years ago.
KISS broke new ground on London’s airwaves by giving airplay to what was once called “black music,” now more popularly identified as soul, R&B, hip-hop and various elements of electronica. Continue reading “Goddard Writes Chronicle of KISS FM”

U.K. DAB Policy Goes Back to the Future

Grant Goddard, the go-to analyst on all things related to digital radio in the United Kingdom, penned a post this week about regulators’ latest attempt to “understand” the deficiencies of digital audio broadcasting (DAB) in an ongoing effort to “correct” them.
Here’s the kicker: this will require the intensive study of analog FM radio. The exercise’s apparent goal is to provide some sort of benchmark-metric for explaining why DAB’s proliferation has not lived up to expectations. Continue reading “U.K. DAB Policy Goes Back to the Future”

Digital Radio Books of Note

There is now a mini-library of published books available on the subject of digital terrestrial radio broadcasting. Two are domestic and technical; the other two are more globally-oriented and critical. (I’m writing the domestic-critical book!)
First up is the oldest: The IBOC Handbook: Understanding HD Radio™ Technology is a must-read for any broadcast engineer saddled with the task of implementing HD on a broadcast station. Published by the National Association of Broadcasters and authored by David Maxson, the book is an excellent technical overview of the protocol as well as its potentials and pitfalls. (It’s also the only one of the books I’ve actually read yet.)
HD Radio Implementation: The Field Guide for Facility Conversion was written by Thomas Ray III, WOR’s chief engineer and (until recently) a very staunch proponent of HD Radio. If you’re a broadcast engineer faced with HD, this is the second book you should read – Maxson’s book explains the theory, while Ray’s book looks at the issue from the applied angle – how to not only just install, adjust, and maintain an HD signal, but also how to optimize the entire station’s air chain to accommodate it. Continue reading “Digital Radio Books of Note”