I would like to hear what folks in rural mountain areas think of this. Go
around a bend while listening to an FM station and you just might lose it
altogether. Same as with VHF/UHF. Line of sight is much more of a thing
at signals way over the MUF. Personally I am usually listening to Sirius
or a memory stick, but if you need local weather or news AM usually has it
available.
On Mon, May 22, 2023 at 8:23 PM <n0tt1@juno.com> wrote:
> Thanks to all who provided input on this subject!
>
> It's good that the Tesla auto is RF quiet. The other automakers
> will have no excuse if their cars/trucks are RF noisy.
>
> I noticed: "Major automakers are eliminating AM radio from new vehicles,
> arguing
> the antiquated system is unnecessary and is incompatible with electric
> engines".
>
> That says it all right there. One can conclude that Major Automakers
> don't want to deal with the RFI on the AM band and will probably
> claim it's too expensive for the consumer to filter out.
> "...incompatible with electric
> engines"...yeah, right. :(
>
> I don't think AM is "antiquated", but that's just me and probably a LOT
> of other folks.
> One of my favorite programs is broadcast at night from WHAS which is
> hundreds of miles away from the Kansas City area. WHAS is a clear
> channel station running 50kw on 840kHz from KY. :D)
>
> 73,
> Charlie, N0TT
>
>
> On Mon, 22 May 2023 15:20:29 -0400 Charles Coldwell <coldwell@gmail.com>
> writes:
> > 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/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
> de4e21a848908c7/11/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726
> <https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a1532d/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117ade4e21a848908c7/11/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>
> >
> > *on **AM radio being phased out*
> >
> <https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a1532f/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
> de4e21a848908c7/12/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726
> <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=6b6f603
> 646bfd6ba3e2649ec9cfef2c2&p=646b712246cd7852d9380726
> <https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=690291&li=technology202&m=6b6f603646bfd6ba3e2649ec9cfef2c2&p=646b712246cd7852d9380726>
> >
> >
> <https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=690292&li=technology202&m=6b6f603
> 646bfd6ba3e2649ec9cfef2c2&p=646b712246cd7852d9380726
> <https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=690292&li=technology202&m=6b6f603646bfd6ba3e2649ec9cfef2c2&p=646b712246cd7852d9380726>
> >
> > 46b712246cd7852d9380726>
> >
> >
> > - 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/3a153f8/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
> de4e21a848908c7/16/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726
> <https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a153f8/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117ade4e21a848908c7/16/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>
> >
> > .
> >
> > *AM radio has largely been **discontinued in electric vehicles*
> >
> <https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a15330/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
> de4e21a848908c7/17/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726
> <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/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
> de4e21a848908c7/18/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726
> <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/3a15331/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
> de4e21a848908c7/19/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726
> <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
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> RFI mailing list
> RFI@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
>
--
Jim K0XU
jim@rhodesend.net
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