kwsmith30 Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 I just got my new 2017 Legacy on May 2nd. I like it so far except for the HD radio, which fades in and out at random. It's really annoying, so I went into the radio settings and turned off the HD radio function. Now it works like a traditional radio, and I get a consistent signal. But the fidelity of the HD radio, when it would work (which never was for a period of time longer than a couple minutes), was really nice. I live and drive in the southernmost Massachusetts area of where I-495 and I-95 intersect. I do a lot of driving in northern Rhode Island as well. Is there a workaround for this, besides just disabling the HD part of the radio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoda_One Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 To get HD radio over standard FM broadcast your reception has to do with Line of Site (Google it for clarification) Buildings, Trees, Overpass, etc. weakens, so the signal strength of HD transmission is lessen, which in turn the loss the extra channels. Where I live, UCF and other station broadcasting in HD is fairly strong ( Large Power Transmitters) but if I move out of this area signal converts back to standard FM. Laughing at oneself and with others is good for the Soul! Laughing at Oneself and with Other is good for the Soul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opie Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Normal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwsmith30 Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 Thank you Rowlette for your input here, and for the reference to Line of Sight. I did check all that out (I also got to know about the Fresnel Zone as well), and I checked some other forums, and I am not seeing any workaround for this annoying dynamic of random fading in & out of the HD signal. To me, it seems like just turning off the HD capability is what works for me in the area that I am in. But I am all ears to any other inputs that would pertain to any type of workaround or "hacking" of this condition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdc782 Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Hi, this is not the cars problem. It is a problem with the signal strength from the radio station. This is not actually random, it likely happens in the same areas all the time. The station can broadcast a standard signal (FM/analog) much more reliably than it can transmit the HD (FM HD/digital) signal. It's akin to cell signal. Sometimes you are just out of range. There is no way to make the signal stronger. You could try complaining to the station, but they won't do anything until they get enough complaints and setup another relay or increase the signal strength. I live closer to central ma along 495 and travel to 495/3/95 daily. Some stations will stay in HD the entire time (107.9, 102.5) others will vary and switch between HD and standard often (92.9, 101.7). I agree it is annoying and I also dislike it. Personally I wish there was a way to turn off HD for a single station not overall. I would turn it off for the few weak stations and leave it on for the better quality signals. http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hd-radio.htm Below is exactly what you are experiencing. and i agree it is annoying especially if the analog/digital signals are out of sync by a few milliseconds and the song seems to jitter. "... If an HD Radio receiver loses the digital signal, it seamlessly fades back to analog FM until the digital signal returns." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwsmith30 Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 Thank you cdc782 for your inputs and explanations. If using the radio in HD mode, I can be driving down I-95 with the same radio station on, and it will fade out and in and out of HD, all in the distance of 10 minutes of driving down the highway. Yes, I also would like to disable the HD only for those radio stations that do the "fade in and fade out" the most. This is the kind of workaround - and anything else - that I am trying to find out if it exists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdc782 Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 ^^ this fade you describe is actually losing the HD signal, defaulting back to analog, and then back to HD digital again. There is currently no way to prevent this behavior for one station. You must disable it for all stations. Global change. All or none. Please let me know if I'm incorrect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwsmith30 Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 For my radio, it is "all or nothing." I went into my radio's settings and just turned off the HD function. It's less disruptive for my listening experience to have it in "normal FM radio mode." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwsmith30 Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 I have seen some youtube videos where a person has "hacked" their radio by simultaneously pressing the "Preset Station #1" button, a different "Preset Station #" button, and the knob for manually changing radio stations, all at the same time. This enabled them to slightly modify the capabilities of their radio. But this youtube video was for a Harman Kardan radio that was for an older Subaru model. So I was wondering if there are any similar "hacks" for a newer radio regarding the HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocktman Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I have the same issue, but it seems as if it only started last Dec (got the car in Aug). Before then it didn't really happen much. Now HD is fairly useless. I don't recall my 14 Legacy being this bad. It's damn annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrya07 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 As a retired broadcast engineer for both FM and TV I can give some insight on HD radio systems. First thing to know about these systems is that the HD radio transmitter is 14% of the power of the main analog FM transmitter. They both are transmitting on the same frequency which is the reason for the power difference. The biggest problem for the station is keeping the audio in sync between the two transmitters so when the HD signal drops off the audio is not disrupted. With all the audio processing that happens with the HD signal the analog signal has to be delayed anywhere from 5 to 7 seconds so the audio will be in sync. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.