Around a week before Thanksgiving, I made the decision to take two of the ASMAX2 AM Stereo transmitters that had recently returned from Greece and install them in Shirley at the flagship antennas. Then, either next Spring, or whenever a break occurred in the weather, I would either install the two SSTran AMT-5000's (which have served each station since 2014) in Worcester, or swap them for two more Asmax2's, depending upon how well the Asmax2's performed in Shirley.
After putting up with some brutal, late November weather conditions on my roof, I am pleased to announce that the whole project was completed by sunset Saturday. The result has been inspiring and certainly better than what I expected. The range is either just as good or better than with the SSTran's and the audio quality is even better, even on a typical mono receiver.
Since putting Troubadour on the air in 2004, my desire had always been to somehow go AM Stereo. Analog AM Stereo is well suited for Part 15 stations which cover most of their tiny ranges with a weak, secondary signal. Unlike analog FM stereo (and certainly HD AM), the AM Stereo pilot signal is receivable with channel separation to the very end of a station's coverage.
To many of us who were professional broadcasters in the '80's and early '90's when AM stereo had its biggest impact, it's eventual lack of mainstream acceptance, and the subsequent introduction of HD in the early 2000's - with muddy sounding, narrow banded analogue AM radios becoming the norm - is something we never accepted or get over.
There are now three AM Stereo signals receivable during daylight hours in the Shirley Center, North Shirley, and Woodsville neighborhoods: WJIB, 740; Liberty & Justice 1640, and Troubadour 1710. At least that's better than just one.
