Pio1980
AK Member
That is the default free OTA model in the USA since 1921. It follows popularity, not necessarily quality.
Yeah, IBOC was a major fail for sure.
Pio1980
AK Member
That's what pays for throwing all those electrons at the U.S. sky. It's hard to be against commercialization and an advocate of free market enterprise in the same breath, as I've seen in criticisms of the U.S. broadcast industry.
Subscription is one alternative that hasn't really yet found solid long-term market traction. Publically subsidized broadcasting is the other alternative here. On the internet, it's generally pay to play to avoid the first mode.
Pio1980
AK Member
I oddly hadn't considered the effect that switch-mode power control systems would have on an on-board AM radio. Putting AM in cars was quite a challenge in the beginning (early 1930s) with so many noise sources and flakey groundings in the average vehicle having to be addressed.
Pio1980
AK Member
I think that between the technical difficulties and the decreasing relevance of AM as a viable general entertainment medium as once was, this shouldn't be a surprising if inevitable development for electric vehicles.
Short form, it's more trouble than it's worth to tack the cost of making it work on top of the cost of the vehicle.
mister-fixit
Active Member
Yes, while noise may be hard(er) to mitigate in electric vehicles, it would cost too much to implement noise reduction tech and benefit a small group of buyers.
AND since EV's are considered 'higher tech', the implementation of AM would seem a step back 100 years - into the 1920's - in some ways.
I'm glad the OP has pointed this omission out though, and as someone previously mentioned, in some remote areas of the planet, AM is reliable and may be the only available commercial radio service.
E.Man
Super Member
Not just commercial radio, but public broadcaster which is our official emergency information source.
Pio1980
AK Member
I have a powerful long term sentimental relationship with AM radio, but I see the handwriting as the absence of the medium in electric vehicles as the leading edge of its fading away. Due to technical difficulties with the costly required transmitting antenna systems, it's by far the most cumbersome mode, and, with more AM stations "going dark" and the towers being dropped as the stations go unsold as uneconomically viable, other media going toward an on-call model will replace it. For remote areas as well as everywhere else, a mobile Starlink satellite network may well become the standard technical mode of broadcast, with FM for local interest OTA, both generally resistant to the noise hash of electric vehicle operation.
I lament any loss of commercial radio because of the "human element". I have Spotify Premium, but find myself using Pandora more because the music is "curated" (albeit electronically). When I'm in the car, I use the radio much more than either Spotify/Pandora just because there's a human element to radio stations (FM or AM). TuneIn is a streaming option that is workaround, but it's pain to use (and switch stations) in the car versus AM/FM presets.
The sound quality of AM is pretty bad for music, but it's kind of what's burned into your brain to expect for talk radio. I wonder if listening to those same talk shows you've always heard on AM would sound weird when you first listen to them with full fidelity.
The sound quality of AM is pretty bad for music, but it's kind of what's burned into your brain to expect for talk radio. I wonder if listening to those same talk shows you've always heard on AM would sound weird when you first listen to them with full fidelity.
I’m fine with electric vehicles doing away with AM due to the noise as long as the AM stations become available on the FM band. Need the traffic and weather on my way to work and I don’t want to futz around with a phone / Bluetooth connection while I’m driving.
Chicago has had a long history of good local AM programming. I'm a bit of a sports fan and really like the local WSCR 670 as the personalities can be fun to listen to. So I would miss AM a bit in the car. I think a big part of the problem with AM radio is that the local content as eroded to the point of non existent. This is where AM would flourish, but the corporations wouldn't probably sell the AM stations as they look to sell advertising and promote how many total listeners they have. Now in the car I have found I love to listen to audiobooks which is my go to.
Well, in the DC area long ago (60s-70s), I used to listen to Felix Grant on WMAL-AM (630 kc).
He had a wonderful jazz show for many years.
But Mr. Grant is long gone, and - those glory days of AM radio are gone too!
He had a wonderful jazz show for many years.
But Mr. Grant is long gone, and - those glory days of AM radio are gone too!
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Pio1980
AK Member
Don Wolff had "I Love Jazz" Saturday nights on KMOX for several years.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/art...e-attorney-known-for-sharing-his-love-of-jazz
The plot thickens ...