HD Radio Stations drop/slow to reconnect

[toy4rick]

Hey all,

 

2017 Legacy with Kardon sound system. When I select a HD radio station, it take 5-7 seconds to connect. Randomly and at specific spots around town the station will drop and it then takes 5-10 seconds to reconnect

 

My dealer says the radio is running the latest software and that it's the HD radio service that is to blame

 

Thoughts?

Rick

[ncted]

Hey all,

 

2017 Legacy with Kardon sound system. When I select a HD radio station, it take 5-7 seconds to connect. Randomly and at specific spots around town the station will drop and it then takes 5-10 seconds to reconnect

 

My dealer says the radio is running the latest software and that it's the HD radio service that is to blame

 

Thoughts?

Rick

 

That is the experience I've had with every HD Radio I've ever owned. Subaru, Mazda, and Toyota head units all did this. In my discussions with other folks, the general consensus is it is the rolling hills and uneven terrain where I live. When I replaced the head unit in my wife's Forester, I didn't bother getting the HD Radio version. Also, HD Radio isn't "HD" per se. Sounds like a bad MP3 from Napster to me.

[larrya07]

HD radio transmit at a much lower power than the main FM signal. The FM transmitter useally is 100K watts but the FCC limits the HD signal on the same channel to at most 10K watts. To make matters worse the HD signal is much more affected than the FM signal when your in the glass and brick canyons of cities.

[coldsoda]

normal for every car I've owned, including aftermarket head units from Alpine and Pioneer. I live kind of close to a regional airport and any time I get close to there the HD stations cut out, even though I'm in a big city. HD stations are great, but require a really good signal to work well.

[Yoda_One]

Like he said it is normal. When HD is lost it defaults to SD( standard FM).

 

Laughing at oneself and with others is good for the Soul![emoji2]

[toy4rick]

In my case, when HD drops, I get dead air, no dropping back to Standard FM. And the other option for this station is AM... Oh well

 

Thanks for the info

Rick

[ncted]

In my case, when HD drops, I get dead air, no dropping back to Standard FM. And the other option for this station is AM... Oh well

 

Thanks for the info

Rick

 

I have some stations that I get dead air on. Others will give me the analog broadcast, although it often isn't in sync with the digital broadcast, so it is really confusing, especially if I am listening to a sporting event.

[larrya07]

(I have some stations that I get dead air on. Others will give me the analog broadcast, although it often isn't in sync with the digital broadcast, so it is really confusing, especially if I am listening to a sporting event.)

 

 

When I was dealing with HD radio at the station I used to work for this was the biggest headache we had to deal with. To sync the analog to the digital signal you have to delay the analog signal by as much as two seconds and hope it doesn't change.

 

Not sure about the dead air when HD goes away. The HD receiver must be still detecting the signal but unable to decode it.

[laufu]

(I have some stations that I get dead air on. Others will give me the analog broadcast, although it often isn't in sync with the digital broadcast, so it is really confusing, especially if I am listening to a sporting event.)

 

 

When I was dealing with HD radio at the station I used to work for this was the biggest headache we had to deal with. To sync the analog to the digital signal you have to delay the analog signal by as much as two seconds and hope it doesn't change.

 

Not sure about the dead air when HD goes away. The HD receiver must be still detecting the signal but unable to decode it.

 

I think the dead air is because the radio is tuned to a sub channel. If the listener is listening to the primary channel and loses HD, it defaults back to analog radio. If it is a sub channel, the will be dead air. When the listener gets the HD signal back, there is about a 2 second delay for the radio to process the sub channel. It is annoying, but I have gotten use to it on my 13 Legacy.

 

I am not sure about the 18/19 Legacy/Outbacks, but my Ascent, the radio never really turns off. I am guessing it is a bug in the software. The plus side to this it allows the radio time to tune into the HD and process the sub channels on startup so my HD sub channel is ready for me.

[ncted]

I think the dead air is because the radio is tuned to a sub channel. If the listener is listening to the primary channel and loses HD, it defaults back to analog radio. If it is a sub channel, the will be dead air. When the listener gets the HD signal back, there is about a 2 second delay for the radio to process the sub channel. It is annoying, but I have gotten use to it on my 13 Legacy.

 

I am not sure about the 18/19 Legacy/Outbacks, but my Ascent, the radio never really turns off. I am guessing it is a bug in the software. The plus side to this it allows the radio time to tune into the HD and process the sub channels on startup so my HD sub channel is ready for me.

 

Yes, the Legacy has the annoying, not-really-turning-off, radio.