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HD Radio in Washington D.C.

What is HD Radio?

Unfortunately, HD Radio has a misleading name. The letters “HD” stand for nothing. They only mean that it is digital instead of to analog. Digital does not mean that it is higher definition or higher quality than analog. It does mean that radio stations can fit more channels on the same spectrum.

What does HD Radio give you?

The Washington D.C. metro area has some great HD Radio stations. HD Radio gives you free extra channels to listen to outside of what is available on a normal AM/FM radio. Every channel listed below with a -2 or -3 is an extra channel that is not offered in analog AM or FM.

Washington D.C. HD Radio Listing

WAMU-HD 88.5 FM Nws/Tlk/Inf, American University
WAMU-HD2 88.5-2 FM Bluegrass, American University
WAMU-HD3 88.5-3 FM BBC / NPR / WTMD, American University
WPFW Soon in HD 89.3 FM Jazz, Pacifica Foundation
WCSP-HD 90.1 FM Nws/Tlk/Inf, National Cable Satellite Corporation
WCSP-HD2 90.1-2 FM C-Span, National Cable Satellite Corporation
WCSP-HD3 90.1-3 FM C-Span 2, National Cable Satellite Corporation
WETA-HD 90.9 FM Clscl/NPR, Greater Washington Educational Telecomm Association
WKYS Soon in HD 93.9 FM Urban AC, Radio One Inc.
WTGB-HD 94.7 FM Alternative, CBS Radio
WTGB-HD2 94.7-2 FM Adult Alternative – The Jam, CBS Radio
WPGC-HD 95.5 FM CHR/Rhymc, CBS Radio
WPGC-HD2 95.5-2 FM Gospel, CBS Radio
WHUR-HD 96.3 FM Urban AC, Howard University
WHUR-HD2 96.3-2 FM WHUR World, Howard University
WASH-HD 97.1 FM AC, Clear Channel
WASH-HD2 97.1-2 FM Smooth Jazz, Clear Channel
WMZQ-HD 98.7 FM Country, Clear Channel
WMZQ-HD2 98.7-2 FM Classic Country, Clear Channel
WLZL Soon in HD 99.1 FM Tropical, CBS Radio
WLZL-HD2 Soon in HDon 99.1-2 FM Hispanic AC, CBS Radio
WIHT-HD 99.5 FM CHR, Clear Channel
WIHT-HD2 99.5-2 FM New CHR, Clear Channel
WBIG-HD 100.3 FM Oldies, Clear Channel
WBIG-HD2 100.3-2 FM Oldies 50’s & 60’s, Clear Channel
WWDC-HD 101.1 FM Rock, Clear Channel
WWDC-HD2 101.1-2 FM eRockster, Clear Channel
WMMJ Soon in HD 102.3 FM Urban AC, Radio One Inc.
WTOP-HD 103.5 FM News, Bonneville International Corp.
WTOP-HD2 103.5-2 FM iChannel -Global Unsigned Bands, Bonneville International Corp.
WTOP-HD3 103.5-3 FM Traffic and Weather, Bonneville International Corp.
WPRS-HD 104.1 FM Black Gospl, Radio One Inc.
WJZW-HD 105.9 FM Oldies, Citadel
WJZW-HD2 105.9-2 FM Smooth Jazz, Citadel
WJFK-HD 106.7 FM Talk/Sprts, CBS Radio
WRQX-HD 107.3 FM Hot AC, Citadel
WWWT-HD 107.7 FM Talk, Bonneville International Corp.
WTNT-HD 570 AM Talk/News, Red Zebra Broadcasting
WMAL-HD 630 AM News/Talk, Citadel
WXTR Soon in HD 730 AM Sports, Red Zebra Broadcasting
WTEM-HD 980 AM Sprts/Talk, Red Zebra Broadcasting
WYCB-HD 1340 AM Gospel, Radio One Inc.
WOL-HD 1450 AM News/Talk, Radio One Inc.
WWWT Soon in HD 1500 AM Talk, Bonneville International Corp.

How to get HD Radio?

HD Radio’s Wikipedia page lists several HD Radio receivers for your car and home.

One of my favorites is the Sony XDR-F1HD. This costs about $100 and needs to be connected to an amp/receiver. It can not be connected directly to speakers unless they are powered speakers that can be connected with RCA cables.

If you need a new amp/receiver, there are some that have HD Radio built-in. My favorite of these is the Yamaha RX-V863, which can be ordered for $619 currently with a little haggling.

Is HD Radio worth it?

HD Radio has been around since 2002 and has been somewhat slow to take off. But if you like the extra stations it gives you, it can be worth the cost of the new equipment. Unlike Sirius and XM, there is no subscription to get HD Radio.

Washington D.C. offers more HD stations than most markets. The extra stations cover many genres and niches such as News, Bluegrass, Alternative, Country, Oldies, Jazz, and Gospel. If any of those stations interest you, give HD Radio a try.

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Testing RAM

You should test new RAM to make sure that it works. You should also test existing RAM when your computer is acting weird. Computer RAM does go bad. When it does, you can see erratic behaviors such as computer freezes, incorrect screen drawings, and corrupted files. Most people assume that this is due to a virus.

A few years ago I saw a manager in a Reston, Virginia office reprimand an employee because the manager assumed that the employee somehow infected a computer with a virus. The important computer documents had been corrupted and could no longer be opened. We figured out later that the real culprit was just bad RAM that had incorrectly written the files to disk.

Testing RAM on a PC

Using a bootable CD such as Ubuntu or the Ultimate Boot CD as described in my Live CDs post will allow you to run utilities to test PC RAM.

Testing RAM on a Mac

Thanks to command-tab.com for creating a utility for thoroughly testing RAM on a Mac computer. Run their install package, shut down the computer, boot up while pressing the Command and S keys (to go into Single User mode), then type memtest all 2 in order to run the memory test twice.

I recently ran this test after adding more RAM to a computer for a Washington D.C. customer.  The test showed that the new RAM had no problems.

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Google Chrome Browser First Impressions

Today, Google has launched their own browser called Chrome.  There’s no doubt Google is trying to control all things on the web and this is yet another step towards that goal.  Their search engine is dominant and they’ve been trying to push online applications such as Google Docs.  By creating their own browser, they can more tightly integrate their web applications with the browser.  

Speed

The first thing I noticed when trying out Google Chrome was the speed.  It felt very fast to me so I ran some simple speed tests trying to render amazon.com using the latest Firefox and Safari.  Firefox and Safari were very similar taking slightly less than 5 seconds.  Chrome did the same site in less than 3 seconds.  There’s no doubt it is a fast browser.  Google claims it has the fastest javascript engine which may be the reason it loads faster than the other browsers.

Bookmarks?

Chrome tries to simplify their browser.  The end result is the default has no visible bookmarks, menus, or even a button to add bookmarks.  Type something in the address bar like “firef” and it will list the Firefox site that you can arrow down and select.  It does this even if you’ve never been there before so the browser has some intelligence about where you might be trying to go.  It is as if Google is saying bookmarks aren’t necessary.  Another feature saying you don’t need bookmarks is the most visited page which is the default page shown when you load.  It displays the 9 pages you visit most with thumbnails of each displayed so you’re one simple click away from your most favorite sites.  You can add a bookmarks toolbar but there is no menu of any kind.

Mac? Linux?

I expected Chrome to be lame and pointless since there are already several good browsers out there.  But its speed has impressed me and makes me want to see more.  Unfortunately, they have not released Chrome on Mac or Linux yet.  I’m sure they eventually will but it could be a while.

Endgame

Google recently extended their deal with Mozilla, makers of Firefox, until 2011.  Google pays Firefox to have google.com be the default search.  But what will happen then when Google no longer needs Firefox to point to their search?

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Encryption on USB Flash Drives

USB Flash Memory Drives have become the replacement of the floppy disk.  You can get a 16GB flash drive for around $50 so they offer a great backup and travel option.  But what if you have your important data on it and you lose it?  Then whoever finds it will have easy access to all your data.  That’s why encrypting your data on a flash drive is so important.

Mac OS X Disk Utility

Some operating systems like Mac OS X have built in features to create encrypted volumes.  This can be done through disk utility.  You create a file of whatever size you want and that becomes a new mountable volume once you double click it and enter your password.  Without the password, you just see a single file that you can do nothing with.  This is a great option for Mac OS X but then if you find you need to access your files on Windows or Linux, you are out of luck.

TrueCrypt

The best multi-OS solution is TrueCrypt.  You can download versions of TrueCrypt for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.  You should then copy each of these versions to your flash drive.  Then you can run the appropriate version on whatever OS you are on.  With TrueCrypt, you can create an encrypted file of whatever size you want. Within the program, you can then select the file to mount it as an accessible drive.  In Windows, that means you’ll assign it to a drive letter.  On Mac or Linux, you should see the volume appear on your desktop.  Then use it like you would any other volume.  When you are done, you can unmount it and remove the flash drive.  

It does take these few extra steps of mounting your volume to get to your data but it is well worth the ability to access your encrypted data from any OS.  If your data is at all sensitive, you should definitely consider using TrueCrypt.

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Easy Webcam Setup with Ustream

A friend who fled New Orleans and Luling, Louisiana showed me his webcast on Ustream. Ustream allows Mac and Windows users to share their video on a Ustream page. Unlike broadcasting a live feed straight from your computer, Ustream can handle thousands of visits, as my friend’s page had before his house lost power when hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana this morning.

Another service like Ustream is Stickam. Both are free so I suppose their business model is to just be purchased by Google.

If you have a webcam and a nice view from your window, give Ustream a try. Or you can just use it to watch emergencies like this.

Best of luck to everyone in the storm.