HD RADIO COMES TO NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA
The Secret’s Out!
HD Radio is a new technology that enables over-the-air radio stations to broadcast programs digitally, a tremendous technological leap from today's familiar analog broadcasts. It differs from analog radio broadcasting in a number of ways. First, these digital broadcasts provide listeners with radically improved audio quality and reception, as well as expanded services. The quality of our HD signal (the signal you can pick up as 89.1 on analog radio) is closer to compact disc quality than anything else available as a broadcast service. Signal fading, static, hisses and pops are a thing of the past. The second and even more important improvement is that we can now broadcast additional signals and program services with FM quality sound to our listening area. In other words, where once we provided just one station, this conversion to HD makes WUFT-FM into multiple stations. Check out our schedules for HD channel 2 and HD channel 3.
We've fielded a lot of questions since the change, some of which are below:
How can you hear HD Radio?
To hear an HD radio broadcast, you will need a new HD Radio receiver
that is tuned into the station.
Will WUFT broadcast both digital and analog
signals? Can I still hear it on my regular radio?
Yes. We will have our regular over-the-air signal, and you can still pick
it up on any FM radio.
Will WUFT-FM maintain its current position on the
dial?
Yes, WUFT-FM will maintain its current frequency of 89.1.
Can I hear the improved sound quality on a regular
radio?
While we have made some changes to generally improve our audio quality in
conjunction with the shift to HD, a regular radio will not pick up the extremely
high quality HD signal.
Will my reception problems be fixed with HD Radio?
If you've been having reception problems with WUFT, HD Radio may or may not fix
them. It depends on what type of interference you're experiencing. In
addition, the range of the HD signal is a bit less than our analog signal, so if
you are some distance away from our Gainesville transmitter, you may not be able
to pick up the HD signal.
Can I hear HD on WJUF, Naturecoast 90?
No--unfortunately, our HD signal is for now limited to in and around the Alachua County area. (We are working on expanding this!)
If I purchase an HD radio receiver,
will I be able to listen to stations that are broadcasting in digital and analog
signals?
Yes, the HD radios will receive analog if the station isn't broadcasting HD, and
automatically switch to HD when it receives a digital signal.
What other programs is WUFT broadcasting on HD?
The HD 1 schedule is the one you have been listening to since we signed on the air. HD 2 brings you the Beethoven Network, Diane Rehm, This American Life, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, What’DYa Know, Talk of the Nation and The World. Our HD 2 service counter programs our current (HD 1) air signal. In other words, if you are listening to Morning Edition on HD 1 then you could turn to HD 2 for classical music from the Beethoven Network. Or, if you are listening to Richard Drake and Fanfare on HD 1 you could be listening to News and Notes or Diane Rehm on HD 2. Our HD 3 service is 24 hours a day of old time radio programs such as Gunsmoke, X-1, Suspense, Escape, Fibber McGee and Molly and many others. So whenever you tune in 89.1 you can choose from three different program services depending on what you would most like to hear at that moment.
You can check all our HD schedules on our schedule page here.
When did all this happen?
HD radio is something that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Public Radio and public radio stations across the country have been exploring and developing since 2001. With the considerable assistance of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting WUFT-FM was converted to HD and began digital broadcasts at noon on January 6, 2006. We added the Second Channel broadcasts on March 24 of 2006. Our Third Channel signed on in June of 2006.
Where do I get an HD radio, and how much are they?
The range of prices for HD radios runs from $160 to almost $300. We have been able to test many of the emerging radios and our engineering staff agrees that the best sounding table top radio is the Boston Acoustics Receptor Radio HD. The Radio Shack Accurian HD Radio also produces satisfying sound and excellent multi-channel decoding. The car radio we like is the JVC KD HDR1 and it ranges from $160-$190. It gives you many other options as well and is also a cd and mp3 player and can be used for satellite radio reception. Prices have seen some small drops and Ibiquity, the company that has developed this technology occasionally runs rebate programs to further reduce the cost of these radios. Staff members report that you can see some of these radios at Circuit City in Gainesville and Radio Shack can order the Boston Acoustic for you, or you can try their own Accurian HD radio that can range from $150-$199.
Here are some very good websites for more information on HD radios and broadcasting:
Ibiquity—the creator of the HD technology: http://www.ibiquity.com/
National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/about/press/050418.tomorrowradio.html