This was in an email from the New York Times
Major automakers are eliminating AM radio from new vehicles, arguing the
antiquated system is unnecessary and is incompatible with electric engines.
But House lawmakers will convene a hearing in early June to discuss the
importance of keeping AM radio in cars, committee spokespeople confirmed
exclusively to The Technology 202.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair *Cathy McMorris Rodgers* (R-Wash.)
and ranking Democrat *Frank Pallone Jr.*(N.J.) will hear testimony from
public safety experts about why they think AM radio is still essential for
vehicles.
*The hearing comes as lawmakers in both the House and Senate **sound the
alarm*
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a1532d/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117ade4e21a848908c7/11/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>
*on **AM radio being phased out*
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a1532f/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117ade4e21a848908c7/12/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>*,
a move they say could prevent Americans from receiving public emergency
notifications and stifle political discourse.*
AM radio was popular through the 1960s and ’70s, but once FM radio came on
the scene, it was able to provide better audio quality at the cost of
transmitting across a shorter distance.
*The debate has made unlikely alliances, as lawmakers argue that AM is a
crucial service that can reach Americans in life or death situations when
FM or other transmission methods fail.*
<https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=690291&li=technology202&m=6b6f603646bfd6ba3e2649ec9cfef2c2&p=646b712246cd7852d9380726>
<https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=690292&li=technology202&m=6b6f603646bfd6ba3e2649ec9cfef2c2&p=646b712246cd7852d9380726>
<https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=690294&li=technology202&m=6b6f603646bfd6ba3e2649ec9cfef2c2&p=646b712246cd7852d9380726>
- A bipartisan, bicameral bill introduced last week would direct the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue a rule
requiring carmakers to keep AM broadcast radio in their vehicles without a
separate payment or fee.
- It also requires automakers selling cars without AM radio before the
effective date to disclose that AM is not present.
- The bill, titled the AM for Every Vehicle Act, has endorsement from
Sens. *Edward J. Markey* (D-Mass.) and *Ted Cruz* (R-Tex.), as well as
Reps. *Josh Gottheimer* (D-N.J.) and *Tom Kean Jr.*(R-N.J.).
- It also has endorsements from Federal Communications Commission
Chair *Jessica
Rosenworcel* and Republican Commissioner *Nathan Simington*, who call it
a “clear public safety imperative.”
“AM radio plays an essential role in our communities, especially during
public emergencies when other alert systems that rely on the electric grid
and cellphone networks may not work. I’m looking forward to the Energy and
Commerce Committee holding a hearing on this important matter soon,”
Pallone said in a statement to The Technology 202.
*Republicans have also argued that popular conservative talk shows that
rely on AM airwaves could suffer from the phaseout.* Eight of the country’s
10 most popular radio talk shows are conservative, as our colleague *Marc
Fisher *previously reported
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a153f8/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117ade4e21a848908c7/16/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>
.
*AM radio has largely been **discontinued in electric vehicles*
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a15330/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117ade4e21a848908c7/17/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>*
made
by companies like Tesla, Ford, BMW, Mazda and Volkswagen on the grounds
that the motors in those vehicles create electromagnetic frequencies on the
same wavelength as AM radio and could lead to interference.* Automakers
also argue that AM’s phaseout trends with the population that grew up with
AM: one that is getting smaller and older.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an automaker trade group, has
previously
said
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a1597f/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117ade4e21a848908c7/18/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>that
AM mandates are unnecessary and that the Integrated Public Alerts and
Warning System can be transmitted across AM, FM and other types of radio,
as well as cellular networks in case of an emergency.
Former Federal Emergency Management Agency officials in February wrote to
Transportation Secretary *Pete Buttigieg*
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a15331/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117ade4e21a848908c7/19/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>arguing
that the United States should seek assurances from automobile manufacturers
to keep AM in new cars.
“AM radio plays an essential role in our communities, especially during
public emergencies, and we look forward to hearing from public safety
experts about the importance of ensuring this continues to be a resource
for Americans,” McMorris Rodgers said in a statement to The Technology 202.
On Mon, May 22, 2023 at 02:34 Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:
> On 5/21/2023 6:11 PM, n0tt1@juno.com wrote:
> > Personally, I think it's
> > because they don't want to deal with filtering out all those RF
> > square waves in the vehicles. Or maybe they know that
> > EU is, or has already, discontinued Broadcast AM radio.
>
> This has been widely reported in the press for several months. I've been
> driving a Tesla Model 3 for 2.5 years, and have a VHF/UHF FM rig in it,
> no observable RF noise. When looking for installation advice, I came
> across several youtube videos from an OT in 5-land who first did that,
> then advanced to an HF rig. He reported that to be pretty noise free as
> well. The 12V system won't support a lot of power. I've charged at home
> from the outbuilding that houses my shack, first from a 120V/15A outlet,
> now from 240V/30A, can't hear any noise with my Kenwood TH-F6A
> (wide-band RX) probing along the power cable, or in my radios in the shack.
>
> The Tesla designers were VERY good about RF shielding that's quite
> frequency-selective. A talkie with a duck is deaf inside the vehicle,
> but cell phone works great inside the vehicle at knee level in the
> center pedestal (and, of course, in my pocket).
>
> As to RFI to the AM band -- I haven't probed that, but no issues on 160M
> when charging.
>
> Vehicles are sold worldwide, so discontinuance of AM broadcasting in any
> large market could drive mfrs to drop AM in vehicles. AM has been on a
> long downward spiral for several decades, and noise has long been a
> problem. A colleague was chief engineer at WLS in the '80s and '90s
> (maybe longer, don't remember when he retired). Their 50kW clear on 890
> kHz was maybe 25-30 miles S of Chicago, and had chronic complaints of
> ignition noise from Fords that wiped them out in the northern suburbs --
> I'm guessing 50 miles or so from their omni stick. And as we all know,
> noise has increased exponentially in the intervening decades, and the AM
> band takes the greatest hit.
>
> Starlink, a related company, is quite the opposite. The PSU for my dish
> is mondo-noisy, took a half-dozen ferrites with multiple turns to quiet
> it down. I love that system, which I bought as redundancy for ComCast,
> whose power backup was next to non-existent. They've since improved
> quite a lot. But with no cell service in the mountains, we can't be
> without internet, so it's great to have both systems.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
>
> 73,
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> RFI mailing list
> RFI@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
>
--
Charles M. Coldwell, W1CMC
Belmont, Massachusetts, New England
"Turn on, log in, tune out"
_______________________________________________
RFI mailing list
RFI@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
|