Bruce Elving
Encyclopedia
Bruce F. Elving was a publisher, FM-radio enthusiast, DXer
, and college professor from Duluth, Minnesota
. He held a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, a master's degree from Iowa State University
, and a Ph.D.
from Syracuse University
.
His interest in FM radio
began while the technology was still in its infancy and AM
was more popular. He was the author of the FM Atlas, a directory of FM radio stations and translators throughout the United States
, Canada
, and Mexico
. FM Atlas has been published approximately every 18 months since 1971 and is currently in its 21st edition. Elving also published FMedia, a monthly newsletter updating the FM Atlas, compiled from Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) data, along with information contributed by subscribers. Publication of FMedia began in 1987, continuing until mid-2007, when Elving announced that he was looking for a hobbyist who would take over the newsletter under new ownership. The publication remained out of print for several months, until Elving eventually created a multi-month issue to catch readers up with the changes in station data. Elving's eldest daughter, Kristine Stuart, took over FMedia in January 2008, with Elving taking on a new role of mentor and contributing editor. In March 2010 Kristine published the last issue of the newsletter, when it again went out of print.
Elving was twice given the DXer of the Year award by the Association of North American Radio Clubs, first in 1973 and later in 1986.http://pl703.pairlitesite.com/ANARC.html He had a desire to introduce others to the world of FM DXing, and the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association website includes an article by him, explaining the process.http://www.anarc.org/wtfda/intro_to_fm_dx.htm A commentary in the DX Listening Digest, June 19, 2005, listed Elving among those who had helped create today's DX hobby. The column referred to FM Atlas as "the FM equivalent of the NRC Log" and noted that Elving was a columnist for DXing Horizons magazine.http://www.worldofradio.com/dxld5100.txthttp://www.mail-archive.com/irca@hard-core-dx.com/msg07330.html
As an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota-Duluth during the 1950s, Elving helped found the KUMD radio station (now 103.3 FM), which actually started as a pirate station on AM: "The FCC sent their 'cease and desist' letter to KUOM *770 AM, because they had not heard of a University of Minnesota campus in Duluth. That was after the disgruntled engineer quit and 'spilled the beans.' I wrote an article about that experience, which was published in 'Radio World' newspaper."http://www.worldofradio.com/dxld6133.txt KUMD celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007, and a photo of Elving is featured on its website as one of its founders.http://www.kumd.org/50thphotos
Elving was also noted for his mail order
sales of radios modified to receive subcarrier
signals emanating from FM radio stations. These little-known signals, which require special receiving equipment to hear, often consist of background music
for retail establishments, newsfeeds, and reading services for the blind. Elving advocated these services as superior to newer technology such as HD Radio
. In March 1989, Monitoring Times published an article by Elving entitled "SCA: FM Radio's Alter-Ego—The Radio the FCC Doesn't Want You to Own."http://www.textfiles.com/hamradio/sca.txt In 1997 Elving was quoted in a New York Times article discussing Radio Data System
(RDS) signals, which ride on FM subcarriers and were thought for a time to be the future of radio.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E7D7103FF935A25755C0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
Elving advocated expanding the FM broadcast band
below its current 88 MHz limit following the transition from analog to digital television
, freeing up the frequencies used for television channels 2-6, and even reinstating the original 42-50 MHz FM band for hobbyist and community broadcasting. This band is currently assigned to a seldom-used two-way communications service. The FCC has issued a long-term experimental license to one broadcaster, WA2XMN 42.8 MHz, to use this band.
Elving, 76, suffered a heart attack and died on July 24, 2011, in California. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Carol, and three daughters: Kristine Stuart, Karin Clements, and Kimberly Misson. Online tributes to him in the radio community reflect his impact on the DXing hobby and on the FM industry, describing him as a "professor of FM radio" and a champion of the underdog.http://www.radioworld.com/article/bruce-elving-dxer-publisher/24096 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2011/08/11/bruce-elving-professor-of-fm-radio/ http://www.wtfda.info/showthread.php?6458-Bruce-Elving-Passes
DXing
DXing is the hobby of tuning in and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making two way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens' band radio or other two way radio communications. Many DXers also attempt to receive written verifications of reception from the...
, and college professor from Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
. He held a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, a master's degree from Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
.
His interest in FM radio
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
began while the technology was still in its infancy and AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
was more popular. He was the author of the FM Atlas, a directory of FM radio stations and translators throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. FM Atlas has been published approximately every 18 months since 1971 and is currently in its 21st edition. Elving also published FMedia, a monthly newsletter updating the FM Atlas, compiled from Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) data, along with information contributed by subscribers. Publication of FMedia began in 1987, continuing until mid-2007, when Elving announced that he was looking for a hobbyist who would take over the newsletter under new ownership. The publication remained out of print for several months, until Elving eventually created a multi-month issue to catch readers up with the changes in station data. Elving's eldest daughter, Kristine Stuart, took over FMedia in January 2008, with Elving taking on a new role of mentor and contributing editor. In March 2010 Kristine published the last issue of the newsletter, when it again went out of print.
Elving was twice given the DXer of the Year award by the Association of North American Radio Clubs, first in 1973 and later in 1986.http://pl703.pairlitesite.com/ANARC.html He had a desire to introduce others to the world of FM DXing, and the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association website includes an article by him, explaining the process.http://www.anarc.org/wtfda/intro_to_fm_dx.htm A commentary in the DX Listening Digest, June 19, 2005, listed Elving among those who had helped create today's DX hobby. The column referred to FM Atlas as "the FM equivalent of the NRC Log" and noted that Elving was a columnist for DXing Horizons magazine.http://www.worldofradio.com/dxld5100.txthttp://www.mail-archive.com/irca@hard-core-dx.com/msg07330.html
As an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota-Duluth during the 1950s, Elving helped found the KUMD radio station (now 103.3 FM), which actually started as a pirate station on AM: "The FCC sent their 'cease and desist' letter to KUOM *770 AM, because they had not heard of a University of Minnesota campus in Duluth. That was after the disgruntled engineer quit and 'spilled the beans.' I wrote an article about that experience, which was published in 'Radio World' newspaper."http://www.worldofradio.com/dxld6133.txt KUMD celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007, and a photo of Elving is featured on its website as one of its founders.http://www.kumd.org/50thphotos
Elving was also noted for his mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
sales of radios modified to receive subcarrier
Subcarrier
A subcarrier is a separate analog or digital signal carried on a main radio transmission, which carries extra information such as voice or data. More technically, it is an already-modulated signal, which is then modulated into another signal of higher frequency and bandwidth...
signals emanating from FM radio stations. These little-known signals, which require special receiving equipment to hear, often consist of background music
Background music
Although background music was by the end of the 20th century generally identified with Muzak or elevator music, there are several stages in the development of this concept.-Antecedents:...
for retail establishments, newsfeeds, and reading services for the blind. Elving advocated these services as superior to newer technology such as HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
. In March 1989, Monitoring Times published an article by Elving entitled "SCA: FM Radio's Alter-Ego—The Radio the FCC Doesn't Want You to Own."http://www.textfiles.com/hamradio/sca.txt In 1997 Elving was quoted in a New York Times article discussing Radio Data System
Radio Data System
Radio Data System, or RDS, is a communications protocol standard for embedding small amounts of digital information in conventional FM radio broadcasts. RDS standardises several types of information transmitted, including time, station identification and programme information.Radio Broadcast Data...
(RDS) signals, which ride on FM subcarriers and were thought for a time to be the future of radio.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E7D7103FF935A25755C0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
Elving advocated expanding the FM broadcast band
Broadcast band
A Broadcast band is a segment of the radio spectrum used for broadcasting.-See also:* North American broadcast television frequencies* Dead air* Internet radio* radio networks* Music radio* Old-time radio* Radio astronomy* Radio programming...
below its current 88 MHz limit following the transition from analog to digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
, freeing up the frequencies used for television channels 2-6, and even reinstating the original 42-50 MHz FM band for hobbyist and community broadcasting. This band is currently assigned to a seldom-used two-way communications service. The FCC has issued a long-term experimental license to one broadcaster, WA2XMN 42.8 MHz, to use this band.
Elving, 76, suffered a heart attack and died on July 24, 2011, in California. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Carol, and three daughters: Kristine Stuart, Karin Clements, and Kimberly Misson. Online tributes to him in the radio community reflect his impact on the DXing hobby and on the FM industry, describing him as a "professor of FM radio" and a champion of the underdog.http://www.radioworld.com/article/bruce-elving-dxer-publisher/24096 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2011/08/11/bruce-elving-professor-of-fm-radio/ http://www.wtfda.info/showthread.php?6458-Bruce-Elving-Passes
See also
- Second audio programSecond audio programSecond audio program , also known as secondary audio programming, is an auxiliary audio channel for analog television that can be broadcast or transmitted both over the air and by cable TV.-Usage:...
, subcarrier system used for alternative audio programming on television channels - Subsidiary communications authoritySubsidiary Communications AuthoritySubsidiary Communications Authorization in the United States, and Subsidiary Communications Multiplex Operation in Canada, is a subcarrier on a radio station, allowing the station to broadcast additional services as part of its signal.-Background:"Subsidiary Communications Authorization" is the...