WASHINGTON — Todd Lockwood, a 56-year-old writer in South Burlington, Vt., often finds an annoying hitchhiker in his Audi when he tunes in to his local National Public Radio station. The outbursts of Howard Stern's program, which airs on Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., sometimes blare from the dial and are particularly unwelcome when his three children are in the car.
"It will literally replace the station," Lockwood said of the shock jock's signal. "It's starting to feel more and more like an intrusion."
The invasion is caused by wireless devices that people use to listen to their portable satellite radio receiver, iPod or other MP3 player through their car radios. These devices, called modulators, are sometimes so powerful that they inadvertently send signals into nearby vehicles such as Lockwood's.
The interference has been a major problem for NPR because many "plug-and-play" modulators come preset to the 88.1 FM frequency, which is used by 36 NPR stations, including WXLU in Peru, N.Y., which serves the Burlington area, and KKJZ, which broadcasts from the Cal State Long Beach campus.
"The complaints really started coming in the past year and a half and have kind of been at a steady clip," said Toni Beron, a university spokeswoman. A handful of listeners to the classic jazz station complain each week, usually about interference from Stern's show.
Ken Stern, NPR's chief executive, wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin on Oct. 12 to ask for a technical review of the devices and for a recall of any that transmit with too much power. His recall request echoed one last summer by the National Assn. of Broadcasters, which complained that stations elsewhere on the dial also experienced interference.
Just how widespread is the problem?
Mike Starling, NPR's chief technology officer, estimated that 3.4 million modulators were sold in 2005. "It looks like it's such a huge problem we want to make sure they pinpoint the most likely source ... and hopefully recall the ones that are still in the marketplace," Starling said of the FCC.
The FCC is reviewing the matter, spokesman Clyde Ensslin said.
Modulators are sold as accessories to some portable satellite radio receivers, or separately for as little as $20. They plug into a vehicle's cigarette lighter and transmit from the receiver or MP3 player to the car radio.
