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thewayneThere's a lot going on here.
Teslas have never had AM radio in their cars. Recently, Ford announced that they were eliminating AM from their 2024 Mustang and probably from future models. WELL, Congresscritters can't have that! So they've stepped in and eleven of them have co-sponsored a bill to REQUIRE car manufacturers to include AM radio at no cost to the buyers!
There's a few issues at play here.
The bill's originators say the government needs a medium that ensures emergency broadcasts can be received by everyone.
Contrary point: for a broadcast to be received, the radio must be turned on and tuned to the correct frequency. And an awful lot of people carry portable radios in their pockets most of the time these days that can receive emergency broadcast messages. This was demonstrated with people receiving government broadcast messages during the pandemic.
Additional point: AM radio - and FM - are rapidly declining markets due to streaming. Is this an effort to prop up a buggy whip market?
For the car makers, there is a very, verymajor technical issue here: EMI. Electro-magnetic interference. You might have noticed EMI first-hand if you've ever listened to Bluetooth headphones while making microwave popcorn: it's not uncommon for there to be a little bit of EMI leakage from the microwave, and Bluetooth is a very weak signal, so your headphones are frequently a little staticky while making your popcorn.
Guess what?
Electric cars - I'm not sure whether hybrids also have this problem - generate HUGE amounts of EMI! It is extremely hard to get a clean AM radio signal inside an electric car.
THIS is probably the biggest reason why car makers don't want to bother with AM radios in future cars - they know it's going to be one giant humongoid PITA! They don't want to have to repeatedly try to explain to the average customer why the AM signal, which is never of that great of quality, is even worse in their brand-new car.
I'm not going to get into the details of what the differences are between AM and FM radio types. But if you've spent any significant time listening to AM during the summer, you've probably heard the *pop* with nearby lightning strikes and such. AM is very sensitive to EMI. FM is not. AM has the advantage of the signal carrying a lot further than FM, but with much poorer signal quality. each mode has its trade-offs, but each is also losing market share to the internet and streaming. For me, the only time I listen to the radio is when I'm in Phoenix and I'm frequently listening to NPR or the local classical station. Otherwise, I'm streaming music or podcasts from my iPhone. And I've been doing that for 20+ years now.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/05/ev-advocates-join-tech-groups-and-automakers-to-oppose-am-radio-mandate/
Teslas have never had AM radio in their cars. Recently, Ford announced that they were eliminating AM from their 2024 Mustang and probably from future models. WELL, Congresscritters can't have that! So they've stepped in and eleven of them have co-sponsored a bill to REQUIRE car manufacturers to include AM radio at no cost to the buyers!
There's a few issues at play here.
The bill's originators say the government needs a medium that ensures emergency broadcasts can be received by everyone.
Contrary point: for a broadcast to be received, the radio must be turned on and tuned to the correct frequency. And an awful lot of people carry portable radios in their pockets most of the time these days that can receive emergency broadcast messages. This was demonstrated with people receiving government broadcast messages during the pandemic.
Additional point: AM radio - and FM - are rapidly declining markets due to streaming. Is this an effort to prop up a buggy whip market?
For the car makers, there is a very, verymajor technical issue here: EMI. Electro-magnetic interference. You might have noticed EMI first-hand if you've ever listened to Bluetooth headphones while making microwave popcorn: it's not uncommon for there to be a little bit of EMI leakage from the microwave, and Bluetooth is a very weak signal, so your headphones are frequently a little staticky while making your popcorn.
Guess what?
Electric cars - I'm not sure whether hybrids also have this problem - generate HUGE amounts of EMI! It is extremely hard to get a clean AM radio signal inside an electric car.
THIS is probably the biggest reason why car makers don't want to bother with AM radios in future cars - they know it's going to be one giant humongoid PITA! They don't want to have to repeatedly try to explain to the average customer why the AM signal, which is never of that great of quality, is even worse in their brand-new car.
I'm not going to get into the details of what the differences are between AM and FM radio types. But if you've spent any significant time listening to AM during the summer, you've probably heard the *pop* with nearby lightning strikes and such. AM is very sensitive to EMI. FM is not. AM has the advantage of the signal carrying a lot further than FM, but with much poorer signal quality. each mode has its trade-offs, but each is also losing market share to the internet and streaming. For me, the only time I listen to the radio is when I'm in Phoenix and I'm frequently listening to NPR or the local classical station. Otherwise, I'm streaming music or podcasts from my iPhone. And I've been doing that for 20+ years now.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/05/ev-advocates-join-tech-groups-and-automakers-to-oppose-am-radio-mandate/
no subject
Date: 2023-05-26 08:16 am (UTC)I never had a ham license. My family coulnd't have afforded to buy me the equipment. I never had to learn Morse code! But I got a first class radiotelephone operator's license around 48 years ago, and I might be able to convince the FCC to reinstate it somehow. (Not that I'm going back to a job in radio - not at my age!)
no subject
Date: 2023-05-26 07:32 pm (UTC)The ham radio licenses no longer require learning Morse, you just have to pass the technical tests. And you can buy a dual band handheld (2m/440) for about $150 these days!