Station is broadcasting digitally

Listeners will need a high definition radio to pick up the high quality signal.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- WYSU-FM is now broadcasting in high definition, but most of its listeners probably can't tell the difference yet.
It requires a special receiver to pick up the digital signal that is "basically CD quality," and most people don't have one -- at least not yet, said Gary Sexton, station director.
Those high definition radio receivers are just coming onto the market, he said.
The station began broadcasting in high definition at 88.5 on the dial at the end of December, but didn't announce it until it was sure all the bugs had been worked out, Sexton said.
The changeover doesn't boost the signal's power but greatly improves the quality, he said.
Converting to high definition carried a rather large price.
The project cost 195,000, and WYSU got some strong support, Sexton said, noting the Corporation for Public Broadcasting kicked in 75,000, the local Raymond J. Wean Foundation contributed 60,000 and the WYSU members contributed 22,000.
The rest, 38,000, was raised by Sexton in what was dubbed the "WYSU Power Run," a 50-mile marathon he ran in Traverse City, Mich., in 2005. He lined up pledges for each mile he ran and netted 38,000.
The money was used to replace the old transmitter with a new unit that broadcasts in both analog (the old signal) and digital.
Listeners without one of the new receivers still hear the analog signal, Sexton said.
Going high definition gives the station the capability to add a second signal -- a secondary audio channel-- that can also be broadcast simultaneously over 88.5 FM.
Picking up that second channel will also require a special receiver, Sexton said.
gwin@vindy.com