The AM Forum

I just got home from the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas. Continental Electronics is a major US proponent of the DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) system of digital transmission of voice/music over shortwave.
http://www.drm.org/

Right now they are demo'ing reception of this mode at their convention booth, using a 30 watt special transmitter about 12 miles from Las Vegas. It is -retransmitting an NPR feed from KNPR, and they are using a custom TCI-designed skywave-suppressing antenna, so it may be tough hearing anything on 26.02 MHz. Its going until Thursday, 24 hours/day. If you hear anything at all, it may only be a hiss, unless you have a DRM decoder circuit.

Yay.  Just what we need.  More digital trash on HF.

To get a good sample of DRM, listen any evening on 3990-4000.  Radio Deutsche-Welle completely wipes out the top 10 kc of 75 whenever propagation opens to Europe.

I sometimes hear a similar signal on about 7260.

If too many of these things start up, there will be no sharing of frequencies with SWBC stations.

I have never actually heard one of these signals demodulated, but they claim near-CD quality audio via shortwave.  If they will just keep them out of the ham bands I have no gripe.  Sounds like it might be better technology than IBOC.

I would actually like to use this in the ham bands, might be a good alternative to AM when the bands get noisy.
but only if it sounds as good or better than AM.

I heard at NAB that a ham down under already built up a DRM setup and ran it over the air. He was supposidely an employee of Austrailian Broadcasting Co.