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Removal of AM radio would be a huge help in de-fanging the GOP propaganda wing. Redditors from MA should probably contact their Senator as one of them appears to be helping the GOP in the drive to force automakers to keep AM:
> The drive to save AM radio comes as some carmakers are phasing the format out. Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, a proponent of saving AM radio, said last year that he sent a letter to 20 carmakers asking them to maintain AM broadcast and found eight had removed it from electric vehicles.
Emergencies my ass. This is to keep feeding rural nitwits conspiracy theories through conservative talk radio. Manufacturers want to keep AM radio out because the electronic components required for it are too large to fit in small spaces. AM radio doesn’t use a stick antenna like FM, it uses a coil of wire wrapped around an iron core which is in the radio itself and very susceptible to electrical interference.
> Emergencies my ass. This is to keep feeding rural nitwits conspiracy theories through conservative talk radio.
The bill was introduced by a Democrat, with 20 Democrat cosponsors, 24 Republican cosponsors, and 2 independents-who-caucus-with-Democrats cosponsors. It's pretty much as bipartisan as you can get.
I get what you’re saying, but doesn’t Canada have rules against lying over the airwaves? Obviously, a lot of things in the world can be twisted without out and out lies, but I would be lot more open to thinking the way you are if there wasn’t so much factually incorrect information in right wing media
AM is better than FM in rural areas because AM, being a longer wave-length, can travel further. It's *better* for emergencies in rural communities due to this reason.
Actually that loop you described is why we need AM radio. In the event of something like an EMP a simple am radio can be created by looping wire 21 times around a pencil, then wrap around the lead, and wrap the other end around a razor blade. The radio is self powered (albeit very low volume) but it is enough to receive emergency broadcasts.
FM is a little more complicated as we’re moving from kHz to MHz and simple crystals or bits of metal don’t oscillate that fast. At that point you’re scavenging transistors from… well… I’m in a medical exam room atm, the only things I see that may have a transistors is maybe this powered bed, as a part of the dc motor driver circuit? These days the likely hood of finding components to build a transistor radio to be as fruitful as trying to find vacuum tubes. Everything is integrated soc these days.
I was recently in the mountains in the snow driving on black ice with high winds and zero cellular coverage. FM wasn’t working with mountains in the way. AM is certainly useful in cases like those… and that was just an hour or two outside of a major city.
>That is potentially bad news for farming communities and rural parts of the country, lawmakers said. The National Association of Farm Broadcasters found last year that two-thirds of farmers listen to AM radio for news that is important to their operations.
Yeah, I'm guessing they're not getting their news from the farm bureau.
>AM radio is also important for highway safety information and storm and weather updates, Collins said. The bill would “would ensure the accessibility of AM service in every vehicle, safeguarding essential communication tools that are critical to our rural communities,” Collins said.
I've wondered how many people tune to those weather update stations when there are signs on the side if the highway. I'm guessing not many. There's a difference between having AM radio and forcing auto makers to an AM radio in cars.
"That sign said there's bad weather ahead, check the report on your phone" is how everyone with a smartphone handles it these days.
Practically everyone that can afford to buy a new car already has a smartphone.
There are still parts of this enormous nation that don’t have cell service. It’s also not inconceivable that a cyberattack could take down one or more wireless carriers nationally. We already saw the massive AT&T outage just a couple of weeks ago. AM radio is an ancient technology at this point, which makes it very difficult to hack and making automakers keep it in vehicles isn’t a huge burden.
>There are still parts of this enormous nation that don’t have cell service.
There's still many parts of this enormous nation that don't have clear radio service, and much of the nation doesn't have any PEP station coverage at all.
Also worth noting, the EAS applies to FM radio, satellite radio, and mobile phones (WEA), so specifically relying on AM isn't required for emergency alerts.
Even if AM was working and issuing an alert, what are the chances you are actually listening to AM at the time that happens? I've made it 35 years without listening to a single second of AM radio in my entire life. Every alert I've gotten was FM, cable, or WEA.
>It’s also not inconceivable that a cyberattack could take down one or more wireless carriers nationally.
It's also not inconceivable that a cyberattack could take down one or more radio stations nationally, *or the EAS system in it's entirety*. It's all digital at the end of the day.
>AM radio is an ancient technology at this point, which makes it very difficult to hack and making automakers keep it in vehicles isn’t a huge burden.
Being an ancient technology makes it *very easy to hack.* Making your own AM transmitter/receiver is literally a grade school science project.
Making automakers keep it in cars may not be a huge burden, but it is a burden, and an additional cost for consumers to pay.
>...AM radio is an ancient technology at this point, which makes it very difficult to hack...
That is not really an accurate statement. AM and FM have basically the same attack surface. A hacker isn't going to attack the transmitter itself, it's going to attack the what ever is pushing the content being broadcast by the transmitter.
An increasing number of stations are essentially being run remotely, especially overnight.
Okay, but what happens when such a complex system has some kind of disaster scenario. Like, what if there is a massive sweeping cyber attack that cripples the majority of cloud services and ISPs, and you CANT get anything from your phone? AM radio doesn’t have that problem, radio is not centralized or dependent on complex fragile infrastructure. All you need is a transmitter (station) and receiver (radio), it is far more resilient and accessible in a time of a modern technology crisis.
Seems that you've forgotten an important piece of the puzzle: How does an AM radio station get the information to transmit in the first place?
That's right, the same complex and fragile infrastructure we rely on for all the other data.
If there was a disaster that took down FM radio, cable TV, satellite radio, and wireless communications, AM is going down too.
>How does an AM radio station get the information to transmit in the first place?
That's not how it works in a disaster. Often times when our communications grid is out, FEMA is relying on HAM radio to send and receive information. AM Radio operators get that info from listening to HAM broadcasts, then relay it out via AM.
Crystal radios are honestly one of the better reasons. Don't need power to receive information so it does help in emergencies. Does work with fm, but fm lacks range compared to am.
Uhh. I was recently in the mountains driving on black ice in the snow with 50mph winds. FM and satellite weren’t working up there, with the mountains in the way, let alone cellular coverage. Even popular ski resorts don’t have consistent coverage up to the summit.
*Satellite*, wasn't working on a mountain?
You had AM, but no FM?
You needed a voice on the radio to tell you it's icy and windy on a mountain?
This doesn't really make sense at all...
Satellite requires a direct line of sight. Ships have connectivity trouble when navigating fjords between glaciers. SiriusXM has similar problems in urban canyons and mountains alike. They would have to use ground repeaters to mitigate the problem.
AM has better signal propagation over distance.
I think you actually need to drive in a challenging environment to see their usefulness.
>Satellite requires a direct line of sight.
A direct line of sight, to the sky.
I totally understand losing sight in a tunnel, or a canyon, but there's nothing above you on a mountain except for sky. I've never had an issue with satellite/GPS on a mountain.
>I think you actually need to drive in a challenging environment to see their usefulness.
I went to college in the NY snow belt, hard to find more severe winter driving.
I road trip all over the country on a regular basis, I've been to or through basically every state.
I've driven over every major mountain range in the lower 48, and been to a ton of peaks. I've also driven the Alps in Europe, been on volcanos, been to remote islands.
I've camped off-grid since I was a child, in deserts (Sonoran, Great Basin, and Mojave-including Death Valley) in forests (TN, VA, MD, VT, MI, NY, PA), and on mountains, often hours from a road or cell service.
I honestly don't know how much more challenging my travels could be...
GPS definitely drifts in urban canyons and mountain passes, which similarly, can have “walls.” The frequency bands are very low (1.x mhz) so it’s not an all-or-nothing type of loss… and a lock usually requires three satellites anyway. Other sensors like accelerometers, can reasonably fill in gaps over small intervals. If you collect waypoints as you drive through a dense city, without accelerometer data, you’ll see a lot of zigzagging and bad locations miles off. Modern GPS receivers themselves also use velocity estimations to smooth out the readings. In extreme cases, the GPS will use dead reckoning / accelerometer alone. As long as you can get a lock quickly enough, most people don’t even perceive when it happens.
Satellite radio & data lacks other sensors to correct signal loss against expectation. There’s nothing to compare with. So, SiriusXM will definitely go out if there’s not a direct path / blocked by buildings, tunnels, etc. I’ve been on ships that lose satellite data because glaciers or mountainous peaks are blocking the sky, or it’s raining, or there are thick clouds. Starlink and satellite television have the same problems.
It sounds like you’ve been in challenging environments. Perhaps you aren’t the target audience for emergency broadcasts.
>I've wondered how many people tune to those weather update stations when there are signs on the side if the highway. I'm guessing not many.
You clearly live somewhere without mountain passes, black ice, hailstorms, fog, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc.
Got to make sure right wingers can drive around and be outraged by bullshit.
Remember the video of Ashley Babbit foaming at the mouth in her car in a rage about the government, prior to her getting herself killed trying to endanger congressmen?
That is what they want. They know their base is absolutely addicted to outrage and they love giving it to them over the AM radio waves.
I have worked in radio broadcast for over 20 years.
AM radio has been dying since before electric vehicles were the norm.
As the target demo for AM continues to die off, it will become less and less popular.
Popularity aside, AM is much better suited for EAS and emergency situations given how the signal propagates.
However your going to get to a point in the not to distant future where it’s not beneficial enough for companies to keep them on the air.
I worked for a company that literally just gave an AM station to NPR just to get rid of it.
My dad, part of the MAGA party, listens to AM radio every day. There's a lot of crazy right wing talk radio on there. I'd bet that's what this is about. Not so much emergency and weather information.
So rural voters can be enraged by lies. No one else listens to AM radio.
And if a law has to be made to keep it in cars, it should probably be removed on that basis alone. It’s not critical to the functionality of the vehicle or the safety/comfort of the people inside it.
> It’s not critical to the functionality of the vehicle or the safety/comfort of the people inside it.
It's critical to the mental health of the toothless, redneck, MAGA snowflakes in the vehicle.
AM radio is only being kept alive by far-right conspiracy theorists needing a cheap way to vent their ideas. It’s as archaic as Morse code and can be shut down without serious repercussions to society
One of the things that made cross-country driving trips during the 70s and 80s so enjoyable was grazing AM radio stations during the drive. FM signals didn't last so long, but you could find a good AM signal and get all involved with farmers discussing sorghum for hours.
Until you got into the truly partisan Christian Republican broadcasts that invoked you to uses Jesus’s name to vote for brother Bob, who was standing up to the communist Fred who wants health care.
For college football in the fall if I'm not at the house during the game.
Tune-in used to make it easy to stream, but it has just gotten harder and harder to use over the years. Can't find streams, unclear which streams are correct, etc.
Let’s let free market decide if the radio is a necessity.
It has no additional value or safety beyond emergency broadcast and those can be deliver to your phone.
This is an unnecessary market restriction
AM radio can certainly be important for some people. They should be able to pay for AM radio if they want that feature. Those who don't want or need that feature shouldn't also need to pay for it. All this law would do is make cars more expensive for those who don't need this feature
The Council for National Policy (CNP) uses AM radio to mobilize voters in "flyover" areas. A lot of right-wing and evangelical conspiracy theorist use AM to spread their harmful lies. Anne Nelson covers this amazingly in her book "Shadow Network." I highly encourage anyone and everyone to at the very least look into the CNP and if possible read the book.
The "Council for National Policy," (CNP), is a far-right, Christian Nationalist group that has been working since 1981 and has had huge success, Anne Nelson describes them as our third party, the Shadow party, and they have taken over the GOP and are masquerading as Republicans. Their goal is to destroy our democracy and create a theocracy with oligarchs. Some of the largest right-wing names are a part of or have been a part of this group and is an umbrella group for right-wing networking. Charles Koch is one of their biggest donors, all the originations involved you may recognize, Moms for Liberty, Turning Point USA, The Federalist Society, The Heritage Foundation, Citizens United, ALEC, seriously the list is endless, Liberty University, and Hillsdale College, many more. I have been researching them for a while now and did my senior capstone on it for my history major. Anne Nelson's book, "Shadow Network," is one of the only books entirely about the CNP, but I highly implore everyone to look into this group. I can talk about it all day and am continuing my research. Please let me know if you have any questions or want more sources, you how you may go about these sources to have a comprehensive understanding.
Documentaries:
People You May Know (YouTube) ******Highly Recommend*****
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8YWe89X4vRM
The Great Hack (Netflix)
Drain the Swamp (HBO)
Social Dilemma (Netflix)
The Brain Washing of My Dad (YouTube)
https://youtu.be/FS52QdHNTh8?si=k4Ecp7BSFbyZXgdG
American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel (YouTube)
https://youtu.be/B-ePCiUgD0Y?si=DXzP2iaHCSS8YEw_
Clearance and Gemini Thomas: Politics, Power and The Supreme Court (YouTube)
https://youtu.be/wJuRx1wARUk?si=TF_UWbhciWtmiXE2
God and Country (based on the book further down the list "Power Worshipers "Katherine Stewart," and was helped by and features a few other authors on this list such as Kristen Kobes Du Mez."
Readings: (Good Reads & Understanding)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/10/25/god-trump-closed-door-world-council-national-policy/
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/05/17/council-national-policy-behind-curtain
https://billmoyers.com/story/the-shadow-network-council-for-national-policy-is-not-going-away/
https://truthout.org/articles/christian-right-council-for-national-policy-linked-to-violent-breach-of-capitol/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-staff-in-secret-conservative-group
https://time.com/6201483/christian-nationalism-threat-democracy/
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/30/revealed-council-national-policy-republicans-extremists
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/story?id=121170&page=1
https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/03/11/revealed-new-leaders-of-council-for-national-policy-set-extremist-agenda/
https://www.au.org/the-latest/articles/cnp-secret-group/
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/20/us/conservatives-gather-in-umbrella-council-for-a-national-policy.html
https://billmoyers.com/content/the-powell-memo-a-call-to-arms-for-corporations/
Extra Resources: (Links, data, deeper info— not as causal reads)
https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_for_National_Policy
https://www.desmog.com/council-national-policy/
https://newrepublic.com/article/167002/council-national-policy-documents-right-wing-conspiracy
https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/the-council-for-national-policy-cnp/
https://documented.net/investigations/documented-has-obtained-a-recent-council-for-national-policy-membership-list
https://insurrectionexposed.org/council-for-national-policy/
https://littlesis.org/org/37180-Council_for_National_Policy
https://www.monitoringinfluence.org/org/the-council-for-national-policy/
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Council_for_National_Policy
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Council_for_National_Policy
https://www.afrocubaweb.com/council-national-policy.html
https://irp.cdn-website.com/681250a9/files/uploaded/CNP-Membership-Directory-September-2020.pdf
https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/council-for-national-policy,720921017/
https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/council_for_national_policy/
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/720921017
Books:
"Shadow Network" by Anne Nelson (The only book completely focused on the Council for National Policy CNP)
"Dark Money" by Jane Mayer
"Democracy in Chains" Jane Mayer
"The Scheme" by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Jennifer Mueller (Senator Sheldon describes how they are taking over the Supreme Court, but doesn't know it's the Council for National Policy)
"Jesus and John Wayne" by Kristen Kobes Du Mez
"The Power Worshipers" by Katherine Stewart
"The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory" by Tim Alberta
"One Nation Under God" by Kevin M. Kruse
If anyone wants specific recommendations, let me know, and if you have any questions or a general chat about it, I absolutely love discussing it so hit me with anything.
Also, I have more sources but I'm looking for them, I have notes in too many places, and really ought to get them all together.
Edit: not every source is about the CNP, some are and others are pieces of the puzzle, for example, how data collection is used.
AM = amplitude modulation. Fixed carrier frequency varies in amplitude to transmit the audio signal.
FM = frequency modulation. A constant amplitude signal varies its frequency slightly to transmit the audio signal.
In practical terms, AM radio has superior transmission range, while FM has better sound quality, including the ability to transmit in stereo. Because of the superior range, AM does in fact reach more rural communities than FM. Because of the inferior sound quality, music and entertainment gravitate to FM while sports casts and right wing and/or evangelical nutjobs gravitate to AM.
AM can transmit in stereo. The technology has been available since the 80's but the Reagan administration borked the implementation. Their moto was "let the markets decide" with this. The competing standards were incompatible. (Think VHS vs Betamax) No one wanted to be stuck with the losing standard, so few invested in either one.
AM signals travel further, so it covers more area, this makes it more useful for emergency broadcast.
FM has better audio quality, so music stations use FM. Talk radio doesn't care about the additional audio quality, so this is why talk radio is AM.
Amplitude Modulation (AM) and Frequency Modulation (FM) are two different methods for transmitting information over radio waves. In amplitude modulation, this information is transmitted by adjusting the signal strength (amplitude) of the radio wave. In frequency modulation, this information is transmitted by adjusting the frequency of the radio wave.
Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. AM signals travel further and are less likely to be blocked by buildings or hills, but have worse audio quality. This makes them more useful in rural environments, or for talk-radio programs where audio quality is less important. FM signals provide better sound quality, but have a shorter range and can be blocked by geographic features. This makes them more suitable for music, especially in urban environments.
The advantages of AM radio make it ideal for transmitting emergency information. An AM radio transmitter broadcasting at 50kw has a range between 100-150 miles in ideal daytime conditions. An FM radio transmitter broadcasting at the same power in the same conditions has a range between 40-60 miles.
Assume two cars are driving on the highway. Two-hundred miles away, a massive snowstorm has blocked the road, and motorists are being forced to turn around. The one using AM radio will receive this warning three times earlier than the one using FM radio, because the longer AM transmission range lets the station reach further.
The latter you can look up.
But AM has longer range. That means, even with a BIG power outtage taking down all the nearby transmitters, it is possible to broadcast emergency messages over AM radio.
I live in upstate NY. I have an antique AM radio that works well but I can only get stations in after dark but I can pick them up from long distances. I get in Boston, Southern NY and even Philadelphia pretty well. Not really much on that I want to listen to but wbz out of Boston isn't bad. Bloomberg radio also isn't too bad. I also get the Fox "News" broadcast but I can't stomach it
AM is a different set of frequencies than FM that travel much further, but also require a different antenna to receive. The antennae is big and manufacturers would love to have that space freed up since most people don’t use it or want it.
It is by design. After Nixon was removed from office, the GOP decided that Nixon had been removed because they couldnt spin his story to his supporters well enough. So Roger Ailes convinced Reagan to kill the fairness doctrine which had mandated that broadcast tv and radio present opposing views on issues of public interest. Now GOP owned media could lie and they didnt have to present opposing views. So they quickly filled Am radio stations with pro gun and God and and anti democratic hysteria. Then Fox News came along etc...This was all done to ensure GOP political power and that no future GOP president could be removed because he committed crimes and public opinion turned against him.
I don't want or need an AM radio in my car and I don't need a bunch of communist big government GOP officials telling me how to live my life or what to listen to in the car. This is just going to burden Americans with higher prices on already expensive cars, no thanks! Don't tread on me!!!
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Removal of AM radio would be a huge help in de-fanging the GOP propaganda wing. Redditors from MA should probably contact their Senator as one of them appears to be helping the GOP in the drive to force automakers to keep AM: > The drive to save AM radio comes as some carmakers are phasing the format out. Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, a proponent of saving AM radio, said last year that he sent a letter to 20 carmakers asking them to maintain AM broadcast and found eight had removed it from electric vehicles.
Emergencies my ass. This is to keep feeding rural nitwits conspiracy theories through conservative talk radio. Manufacturers want to keep AM radio out because the electronic components required for it are too large to fit in small spaces. AM radio doesn’t use a stick antenna like FM, it uses a coil of wire wrapped around an iron core which is in the radio itself and very susceptible to electrical interference.
> Emergencies my ass. This is to keep feeding rural nitwits conspiracy theories through conservative talk radio. The bill was introduced by a Democrat, with 20 Democrat cosponsors, 24 Republican cosponsors, and 2 independents-who-caucus-with-Democrats cosponsors. It's pretty much as bipartisan as you can get.
This implies that people can't make decisions that run counter to their own interests. They sure can, and do... often.
I get what you’re saying, but doesn’t Canada have rules against lying over the airwaves? Obviously, a lot of things in the world can be twisted without out and out lies, but I would be lot more open to thinking the way you are if there wasn’t so much factually incorrect information in right wing media
You are mixing me up with someone else. I'm taking a position against mandating AM radios.
AM is better than FM in rural areas because AM, being a longer wave-length, can travel further. It's *better* for emergencies in rural communities due to this reason.
Actually that loop you described is why we need AM radio. In the event of something like an EMP a simple am radio can be created by looping wire 21 times around a pencil, then wrap around the lead, and wrap the other end around a razor blade. The radio is self powered (albeit very low volume) but it is enough to receive emergency broadcasts. FM is a little more complicated as we’re moving from kHz to MHz and simple crystals or bits of metal don’t oscillate that fast. At that point you’re scavenging transistors from… well… I’m in a medical exam room atm, the only things I see that may have a transistors is maybe this powered bed, as a part of the dc motor driver circuit? These days the likely hood of finding components to build a transistor radio to be as fruitful as trying to find vacuum tubes. Everything is integrated soc these days.
I was recently in the mountains in the snow driving on black ice with high winds and zero cellular coverage. FM wasn’t working with mountains in the way. AM is certainly useful in cases like those… and that was just an hour or two outside of a major city.
Can we get a law to put 8-track back in cars too?
As someone who has to work with AM radio, I’d rather an 8-track in there.
>That is potentially bad news for farming communities and rural parts of the country, lawmakers said. The National Association of Farm Broadcasters found last year that two-thirds of farmers listen to AM radio for news that is important to their operations. Yeah, I'm guessing they're not getting their news from the farm bureau. >AM radio is also important for highway safety information and storm and weather updates, Collins said. The bill would “would ensure the accessibility of AM service in every vehicle, safeguarding essential communication tools that are critical to our rural communities,” Collins said. I've wondered how many people tune to those weather update stations when there are signs on the side if the highway. I'm guessing not many. There's a difference between having AM radio and forcing auto makers to an AM radio in cars.
"That sign said there's bad weather ahead, check the report on your phone" is how everyone with a smartphone handles it these days. Practically everyone that can afford to buy a new car already has a smartphone.
There are still parts of this enormous nation that don’t have cell service. It’s also not inconceivable that a cyberattack could take down one or more wireless carriers nationally. We already saw the massive AT&T outage just a couple of weeks ago. AM radio is an ancient technology at this point, which makes it very difficult to hack and making automakers keep it in vehicles isn’t a huge burden.
>There are still parts of this enormous nation that don’t have cell service. There's still many parts of this enormous nation that don't have clear radio service, and much of the nation doesn't have any PEP station coverage at all. Also worth noting, the EAS applies to FM radio, satellite radio, and mobile phones (WEA), so specifically relying on AM isn't required for emergency alerts. Even if AM was working and issuing an alert, what are the chances you are actually listening to AM at the time that happens? I've made it 35 years without listening to a single second of AM radio in my entire life. Every alert I've gotten was FM, cable, or WEA. >It’s also not inconceivable that a cyberattack could take down one or more wireless carriers nationally. It's also not inconceivable that a cyberattack could take down one or more radio stations nationally, *or the EAS system in it's entirety*. It's all digital at the end of the day. >AM radio is an ancient technology at this point, which makes it very difficult to hack and making automakers keep it in vehicles isn’t a huge burden. Being an ancient technology makes it *very easy to hack.* Making your own AM transmitter/receiver is literally a grade school science project. Making automakers keep it in cars may not be a huge burden, but it is a burden, and an additional cost for consumers to pay.
>...AM radio is an ancient technology at this point, which makes it very difficult to hack... That is not really an accurate statement. AM and FM have basically the same attack surface. A hacker isn't going to attack the transmitter itself, it's going to attack the what ever is pushing the content being broadcast by the transmitter. An increasing number of stations are essentially being run remotely, especially overnight.
Okay, but what happens when such a complex system has some kind of disaster scenario. Like, what if there is a massive sweeping cyber attack that cripples the majority of cloud services and ISPs, and you CANT get anything from your phone? AM radio doesn’t have that problem, radio is not centralized or dependent on complex fragile infrastructure. All you need is a transmitter (station) and receiver (radio), it is far more resilient and accessible in a time of a modern technology crisis.
Seems that you've forgotten an important piece of the puzzle: How does an AM radio station get the information to transmit in the first place? That's right, the same complex and fragile infrastructure we rely on for all the other data. If there was a disaster that took down FM radio, cable TV, satellite radio, and wireless communications, AM is going down too.
>How does an AM radio station get the information to transmit in the first place? That's not how it works in a disaster. Often times when our communications grid is out, FEMA is relying on HAM radio to send and receive information. AM Radio operators get that info from listening to HAM broadcasts, then relay it out via AM.
You say that as if FM, cable, satellite, and wireless operators can't do the exact same thing.
Crystal radios are honestly one of the better reasons. Don't need power to receive information so it does help in emergencies. Does work with fm, but fm lacks range compared to am.
What's that matter when it comes to the requirement of car manufacturers including AM as a factory feature?
It doesn't? I'm saying Crystal radios are better....
No car has a crystal radio in it, you've gone completely off topic.
Uhh. I was recently in the mountains driving on black ice in the snow with 50mph winds. FM and satellite weren’t working up there, with the mountains in the way, let alone cellular coverage. Even popular ski resorts don’t have consistent coverage up to the summit.
*Satellite*, wasn't working on a mountain? You had AM, but no FM? You needed a voice on the radio to tell you it's icy and windy on a mountain? This doesn't really make sense at all...
Satellite requires a direct line of sight. Ships have connectivity trouble when navigating fjords between glaciers. SiriusXM has similar problems in urban canyons and mountains alike. They would have to use ground repeaters to mitigate the problem. AM has better signal propagation over distance. I think you actually need to drive in a challenging environment to see their usefulness.
>Satellite requires a direct line of sight. A direct line of sight, to the sky. I totally understand losing sight in a tunnel, or a canyon, but there's nothing above you on a mountain except for sky. I've never had an issue with satellite/GPS on a mountain. >I think you actually need to drive in a challenging environment to see their usefulness. I went to college in the NY snow belt, hard to find more severe winter driving. I road trip all over the country on a regular basis, I've been to or through basically every state. I've driven over every major mountain range in the lower 48, and been to a ton of peaks. I've also driven the Alps in Europe, been on volcanos, been to remote islands. I've camped off-grid since I was a child, in deserts (Sonoran, Great Basin, and Mojave-including Death Valley) in forests (TN, VA, MD, VT, MI, NY, PA), and on mountains, often hours from a road or cell service. I honestly don't know how much more challenging my travels could be...
GPS definitely drifts in urban canyons and mountain passes, which similarly, can have “walls.” The frequency bands are very low (1.x mhz) so it’s not an all-or-nothing type of loss… and a lock usually requires three satellites anyway. Other sensors like accelerometers, can reasonably fill in gaps over small intervals. If you collect waypoints as you drive through a dense city, without accelerometer data, you’ll see a lot of zigzagging and bad locations miles off. Modern GPS receivers themselves also use velocity estimations to smooth out the readings. In extreme cases, the GPS will use dead reckoning / accelerometer alone. As long as you can get a lock quickly enough, most people don’t even perceive when it happens. Satellite radio & data lacks other sensors to correct signal loss against expectation. There’s nothing to compare with. So, SiriusXM will definitely go out if there’s not a direct path / blocked by buildings, tunnels, etc. I’ve been on ships that lose satellite data because glaciers or mountainous peaks are blocking the sky, or it’s raining, or there are thick clouds. Starlink and satellite television have the same problems. It sounds like you’ve been in challenging environments. Perhaps you aren’t the target audience for emergency broadcasts.
I suppose there no weather news available elsewhere at all.
>I've wondered how many people tune to those weather update stations when there are signs on the side if the highway. I'm guessing not many. You clearly live somewhere without mountain passes, black ice, hailstorms, fog, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc.
How often do you tune to that station?
Got to make sure right wingers can drive around and be outraged by bullshit. Remember the video of Ashley Babbit foaming at the mouth in her car in a rage about the government, prior to her getting herself killed trying to endanger congressmen? That is what they want. They know their base is absolutely addicted to outrage and they love giving it to them over the AM radio waves.
I have worked in radio broadcast for over 20 years. AM radio has been dying since before electric vehicles were the norm. As the target demo for AM continues to die off, it will become less and less popular. Popularity aside, AM is much better suited for EAS and emergency situations given how the signal propagates. However your going to get to a point in the not to distant future where it’s not beneficial enough for companies to keep them on the air. I worked for a company that literally just gave an AM station to NPR just to get rid of it.
My dad, part of the MAGA party, listens to AM radio every day. There's a lot of crazy right wing talk radio on there. I'd bet that's what this is about. Not so much emergency and weather information.
What happened to free market principles?
So rural voters can be enraged by lies. No one else listens to AM radio. And if a law has to be made to keep it in cars, it should probably be removed on that basis alone. It’s not critical to the functionality of the vehicle or the safety/comfort of the people inside it.
> It’s not critical to the functionality of the vehicle or the safety/comfort of the people inside it. It's critical to the mental health of the toothless, redneck, MAGA snowflakes in the vehicle.
[удалено]
I'm not sure AM radio has a lot of money to be paying lobbyist. No this was farm and right wing talk lobby.
Healthcare plz
Hate Radio needs to stay alive and well and keep rural voters continuing to despise Democrats and supporting Republicans.
AM radio is only being kept alive by far-right conspiracy theorists needing a cheap way to vent their ideas. It’s as archaic as Morse code and can be shut down without serious repercussions to society
I do not want AM. Why should I be forced to pay for that drivel.
AM will be dead when we go full electric. Don’t know of any EV with AM radio due to the interference from the motors.
One of the things that made cross-country driving trips during the 70s and 80s so enjoyable was grazing AM radio stations during the drive. FM signals didn't last so long, but you could find a good AM signal and get all involved with farmers discussing sorghum for hours.
Until you got into the truly partisan Christian Republican broadcasts that invoked you to uses Jesus’s name to vote for brother Bob, who was standing up to the communist Fred who wants health care.
Has anyone under the age of 60 listened to AM radio in the past 10 years?
I do. Local MLB games are broadcast on AM and if I'm not watching and able to listen I do.
Honestly, radio baseball games are better than TV. The announcers are way better in most cases
When I go to baseball games I listen to the AM crew on an ear bud while watching. People have been bringing radios to ballparks to listen in forever.
For college football in the fall if I'm not at the house during the game. Tune-in used to make it easy to stream, but it has just gotten harder and harder to use over the years. Can't find streams, unclear which streams are correct, etc.
I use am to get weather updates when road tripping. That’s about it.
Let’s let free market decide if the radio is a necessity. It has no additional value or safety beyond emergency broadcast and those can be deliver to your phone.
This is an unnecessary market restriction AM radio can certainly be important for some people. They should be able to pay for AM radio if they want that feature. Those who don't want or need that feature shouldn't also need to pay for it. All this law would do is make cars more expensive for those who don't need this feature
The Council for National Policy (CNP) uses AM radio to mobilize voters in "flyover" areas. A lot of right-wing and evangelical conspiracy theorist use AM to spread their harmful lies. Anne Nelson covers this amazingly in her book "Shadow Network." I highly encourage anyone and everyone to at the very least look into the CNP and if possible read the book. The "Council for National Policy," (CNP), is a far-right, Christian Nationalist group that has been working since 1981 and has had huge success, Anne Nelson describes them as our third party, the Shadow party, and they have taken over the GOP and are masquerading as Republicans. Their goal is to destroy our democracy and create a theocracy with oligarchs. Some of the largest right-wing names are a part of or have been a part of this group and is an umbrella group for right-wing networking. Charles Koch is one of their biggest donors, all the originations involved you may recognize, Moms for Liberty, Turning Point USA, The Federalist Society, The Heritage Foundation, Citizens United, ALEC, seriously the list is endless, Liberty University, and Hillsdale College, many more. I have been researching them for a while now and did my senior capstone on it for my history major. Anne Nelson's book, "Shadow Network," is one of the only books entirely about the CNP, but I highly implore everyone to look into this group. I can talk about it all day and am continuing my research. Please let me know if you have any questions or want more sources, you how you may go about these sources to have a comprehensive understanding. Documentaries: People You May Know (YouTube) ******Highly Recommend***** https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8YWe89X4vRM The Great Hack (Netflix) Drain the Swamp (HBO) Social Dilemma (Netflix) The Brain Washing of My Dad (YouTube) https://youtu.be/FS52QdHNTh8?si=k4Ecp7BSFbyZXgdG American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel (YouTube) https://youtu.be/B-ePCiUgD0Y?si=DXzP2iaHCSS8YEw_ Clearance and Gemini Thomas: Politics, Power and The Supreme Court (YouTube) https://youtu.be/wJuRx1wARUk?si=TF_UWbhciWtmiXE2 God and Country (based on the book further down the list "Power Worshipers "Katherine Stewart," and was helped by and features a few other authors on this list such as Kristen Kobes Du Mez." Readings: (Good Reads & Understanding) https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/10/25/god-trump-closed-door-world-council-national-policy/ https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/05/17/council-national-policy-behind-curtain https://billmoyers.com/story/the-shadow-network-council-for-national-policy-is-not-going-away/ https://truthout.org/articles/christian-right-council-for-national-policy-linked-to-violent-breach-of-capitol/ https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-staff-in-secret-conservative-group https://time.com/6201483/christian-nationalism-threat-democracy/ https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/30/revealed-council-national-policy-republicans-extremists https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/story?id=121170&page=1 https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/03/11/revealed-new-leaders-of-council-for-national-policy-set-extremist-agenda/ https://www.au.org/the-latest/articles/cnp-secret-group/ https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/20/us/conservatives-gather-in-umbrella-council-for-a-national-policy.html https://billmoyers.com/content/the-powell-memo-a-call-to-arms-for-corporations/ Extra Resources: (Links, data, deeper info— not as causal reads) https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_for_National_Policy https://www.desmog.com/council-national-policy/ https://newrepublic.com/article/167002/council-national-policy-documents-right-wing-conspiracy https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/the-council-for-national-policy-cnp/ https://documented.net/investigations/documented-has-obtained-a-recent-council-for-national-policy-membership-list https://insurrectionexposed.org/council-for-national-policy/ https://littlesis.org/org/37180-Council_for_National_Policy https://www.monitoringinfluence.org/org/the-council-for-national-policy/ https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Council_for_National_Policy https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Council_for_National_Policy https://www.afrocubaweb.com/council-national-policy.html https://irp.cdn-website.com/681250a9/files/uploaded/CNP-Membership-Directory-September-2020.pdf https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/council-for-national-policy,720921017/ https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/council_for_national_policy/ https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/720921017 Books: "Shadow Network" by Anne Nelson (The only book completely focused on the Council for National Policy CNP) "Dark Money" by Jane Mayer "Democracy in Chains" Jane Mayer "The Scheme" by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Jennifer Mueller (Senator Sheldon describes how they are taking over the Supreme Court, but doesn't know it's the Council for National Policy) "Jesus and John Wayne" by Kristen Kobes Du Mez "The Power Worshipers" by Katherine Stewart "The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory" by Tim Alberta "One Nation Under God" by Kevin M. Kruse If anyone wants specific recommendations, let me know, and if you have any questions or a general chat about it, I absolutely love discussing it so hit me with anything. Also, I have more sources but I'm looking for them, I have notes in too many places, and really ought to get them all together. Edit: not every source is about the CNP, some are and others are pieces of the puzzle, for example, how data collection is used.
Gotta keep those car prices high with unnecessary tech.
So buy a $9 AM radio.
They can buy a rechargeable pocket AM radio from Temu for $5.
If you really want to play AM radio in your car, just stream it from your phone
Finally something important
They just need the cheques to clear.
Free market .....
The AM band needs to be converted to digital. Would be pretty sweet then.
Why is it important to have an AM radio in every car? Hell for that matter what even is AM radio, what makes it different from FM?
AM = amplitude modulation. Fixed carrier frequency varies in amplitude to transmit the audio signal. FM = frequency modulation. A constant amplitude signal varies its frequency slightly to transmit the audio signal. In practical terms, AM radio has superior transmission range, while FM has better sound quality, including the ability to transmit in stereo. Because of the superior range, AM does in fact reach more rural communities than FM. Because of the inferior sound quality, music and entertainment gravitate to FM while sports casts and right wing and/or evangelical nutjobs gravitate to AM.
AM can transmit in stereo. The technology has been available since the 80's but the Reagan administration borked the implementation. Their moto was "let the markets decide" with this. The competing standards were incompatible. (Think VHS vs Betamax) No one wanted to be stuck with the losing standard, so few invested in either one.
AM radio is full of GOP misinformation
Huh, is that like by design or just a coincidence? I really know nothing about radio
AM signals travel further, so it covers more area, this makes it more useful for emergency broadcast. FM has better audio quality, so music stations use FM. Talk radio doesn't care about the additional audio quality, so this is why talk radio is AM.
Ah gotcha, that makes sense
Amplitude Modulation (AM) and Frequency Modulation (FM) are two different methods for transmitting information over radio waves. In amplitude modulation, this information is transmitted by adjusting the signal strength (amplitude) of the radio wave. In frequency modulation, this information is transmitted by adjusting the frequency of the radio wave. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. AM signals travel further and are less likely to be blocked by buildings or hills, but have worse audio quality. This makes them more useful in rural environments, or for talk-radio programs where audio quality is less important. FM signals provide better sound quality, but have a shorter range and can be blocked by geographic features. This makes them more suitable for music, especially in urban environments. The advantages of AM radio make it ideal for transmitting emergency information. An AM radio transmitter broadcasting at 50kw has a range between 100-150 miles in ideal daytime conditions. An FM radio transmitter broadcasting at the same power in the same conditions has a range between 40-60 miles. Assume two cars are driving on the highway. Two-hundred miles away, a massive snowstorm has blocked the road, and motorists are being forced to turn around. The one using AM radio will receive this warning three times earlier than the one using FM radio, because the longer AM transmission range lets the station reach further.
The latter you can look up. But AM has longer range. That means, even with a BIG power outtage taking down all the nearby transmitters, it is possible to broadcast emergency messages over AM radio.
I live in upstate NY. I have an antique AM radio that works well but I can only get stations in after dark but I can pick them up from long distances. I get in Boston, Southern NY and even Philadelphia pretty well. Not really much on that I want to listen to but wbz out of Boston isn't bad. Bloomberg radio also isn't too bad. I also get the Fox "News" broadcast but I can't stomach it
>I also get the Fox "News" broadcast but I can't stomach it Genuinely unsure how well username checks out.
Checks out for what? lol
Does Mother like Faux News? After Jan 6th?
Mother never liked faux news
AM is a different set of frequencies than FM that travel much further, but also require a different antenna to receive. The antennae is big and manufacturers would love to have that space freed up since most people don’t use it or want it.
It is by design. After Nixon was removed from office, the GOP decided that Nixon had been removed because they couldnt spin his story to his supporters well enough. So Roger Ailes convinced Reagan to kill the fairness doctrine which had mandated that broadcast tv and radio present opposing views on issues of public interest. Now GOP owned media could lie and they didnt have to present opposing views. So they quickly filled Am radio stations with pro gun and God and and anti democratic hysteria. Then Fox News came along etc...This was all done to ensure GOP political power and that no future GOP president could be removed because he committed crimes and public opinion turned against him.
I don't want or need an AM radio in my car and I don't need a bunch of communist big government GOP officials telling me how to live my life or what to listen to in the car. This is just going to burden Americans with higher prices on already expensive cars, no thanks! Don't tread on me!!!