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Holy %&@!, Howard Stern's Invading My FM Space

Posted on: Friday, 10 March 2006, 09:00 CST

You're driving down the road, calmed by the soothing sounds from your favorite Christian radio station when, all of a sudden, Howard Stern hijacks your radio.

This is just the most outrageous example of a phenomenon radio station managers in the lower end of the FM spectrum have been hearing from listeners in recent months, a situation they attribute to improperly installed satellite radios.

The improperly installed radios turn automobiles into powerful, mobile transmitters. The interference temporarily blots out specific radio frequencies of nearby automobiles and homes, replacing it with the passing automobile's satellite radio broadcast, which can include Stern's uncensored Sirius Satellite Radio program.

"We've received numerous complaints about this sort of interference," says Charles Loughery, president and engineering director for several Word FM stations that play contemporary Christian music, including WBYO 88.9 in Sellersville, Pa. "We're concerned about this. As (satellite radio) proliferates, you're going to get more and more of this."

Neil Hever, program director for WDIY-FM 88.1 in Bethlehem, Pa., the Lehigh Valley's National Public Radio affiliate, has also received complaints.

"The problem seems worse at our end of the frequency spectrum," says Hever. "A lot of the satellite radios are set by default to broadcast on 88.1"

Mike Starling, a technology specialist with National Public Radio, said he's been hearing complaints about interference from member stations in recent months. "Howard Stern's Sirius broadcast has been mentioned a lot," he says.

The topic has also been discussed on radio-specific technical forums on the Internet.

Starling says the most serious interference is related to improperly installed satellite radios that are added to a vehicle, supplementing the existing AM/FM radio.

Satellite radios connected wirelessly to a car radio don't pose as much of an interference problem. These wireless systems, some of which plug into a vehicle's cigarette lighter, use an encapsulated, or self-contained, antenna that has a very limited range, Starling says. Built-in satellite radios, which come with newer cars, also don't produce interference problems.

The after-market satellite radios _ radios car owners add on after they've bought the car _ come with a switch, which is required by Federal Communications Commission rules designed to limit interference. Once properly installed and engaged when the satellite radio is in use, the switch prevents the satellite radio signal from transmitting over a car's existing FM antenna.

Without the switch, the satellite signal is inadvertently transmitted, and reports have indicated the signal can travel a quarter mile or more.

An FCC spokesman, who requested his name not be used, said the commission has not received specific complaints about the problem, but added the agency receives thousands of complaints a month and it's possible some have been filed.

Starling says the problem increases in densely populated areas. When he commutes to work along the Beltway outside of Washington, D.C., during morning rush hour, he says he routinely experiences interference. The interference is intermittent as his car moves through traffic.

Starling has already been in contact with Sirius Satellite Radio, which features some NPR programming.

He is also trying to convince satellite-radio manufacturers to use a relatively inactive FM frequency, 87.9, as the satellite radio's default frequency.

Use of that frequency, which is mostly used by low-power radio stations, mainly ones connected with small colleges and high schools, would not interfere with broadcasters, Starling says.

An XM Radio spokeswoman, Anne-Taylor Griffith, says the company has not received calls about the interference, but noted the add-on radios represent an older technology. "We haven't used that type of technology for in-dash radios for a couple of years now."

Users of these add-on radios also represent a fraction of XM's 6 million subscribers, she said.

Newer add-ons plug directly into input jacks in the car's radio, or connect to the radio wirelessly, she said.

Calls seeking comment from Sirius Satellite Radio, which has about 3 million subscribers, were not returned.

Other technology improvements may also help reduce interference, says Starling. Newer satellite radios designed for permanent installation in cars are "frequency agile," meaning users can select any frequency on their FM radio to transmit the satellite signal to their car radio. Many of the first satellite radios designed for permanent installation in cars had a limited number of frequencies the installer could choose, and almost all of them were in the lower end of the FM dial, says Starling.

Starling also is pushing to have the Consumer Electronic Association, the major industry watchdog group, include specifics of proper satellite installation in the association's certification course for radio installers. However, not all radio installers are certified by the association, Starling says.

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(c) 2006, The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)

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Howard Stern

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Source: The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania

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