Some registered account users are experiencing password recognition issues. The issue appears to have been triggered by a PHP update last night. If this is occurring, please try logging in and using the "forgot password?" utility. Bear in mind auto-generated password reset emails may appear in your spam folder. If this does not work, please click the "Contact Us" option near the lower right hand corner of the index page to contact me via email.

Thank you for your patience!
- M.W.

Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

The technical side of broadcasting. Think IBOC is a sham? Talk about it here! How about HDTV? Post DX reports here as well.
User avatar
audiophile
Posts: 9236
Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 9:21 pm
Location: Between 88 and 108 MHz.

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by audiophile »

MWmetalhead wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 1:17 pm What ever happened to free market economics? Let the car makers decide which features to include or not include. Continue to require them to accurately disclose on the sticker what is or is not included. If consumers like the product, they'll purchase it. If they dislike the product, they'll go elsewhere.

The notion AM radio is an indispensable emergency management tool is silly. Many AM stations change pattern and have much worse reception across a good chunk of their daytime coverage areas at night. They also perform terribly during lightning storms. I cannot think of any place in the lower 48 that is actually inhabitable where FM radio cannot be easily heard.

The removal of the AM band by some carmakers has absolutely nothing to do with conservative news/talk programming. The same cars that lack an AM band feature Sirius XM, which offers multiple conservative news/talk channels. In many parts of the country, conservative news/talk can be heard on FM, sometimes on 50 kW or even 100 kW signals.

In most places, the bulk of the AM band features ultra niche programming (foreign language, Christian preaching, brokered programming, a syndicated sports/talk network, etc.), much of which is either pre-recorded or non-local.

And by the way, if I'm concerned about obtaining emergency info during a power outage, etc. , chances are - I'll be listening to audio content from my home or workplace, not from my vehicle.

There's no mandate that the NOAA weather band be included in cars for emergency info purposes; why should AM radio receive special treatment?
Oh we're going to play the "Free Market" card?

Electric Car subsidies are not Free Market.

Supply AM radio or no more subsidies...problem solved.
Ask not what your country can do FOR you; ask what they are about to do TO YOU!!
User avatar
Turkeytop
Posts: 9303
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by Turkeytop »

audiophile wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 12:33 pm
Oh we're going to play the "Free Market" card?

Electric Car subsidies are not Free Market.

Supply AM radio or no more subsidies...problem solved.
YES!
User avatar
audiophile
Posts: 9236
Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 9:21 pm
Location: Between 88 and 108 MHz.

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by audiophile »

I appreciate your consistency!

In ICE vehicles the AM section cost is near zero as the chipsets and antennas already contain the hardware. Certainly, less than $10, probably under $5.

WJR is the state PEP, FEMA installed an EMP proof generator and transmitter there. Remember electric grid failure took out most radio stations in 2003 after a few days. My landline stopped working too, as the local telco vault has no generator.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technol ... r-AA19yPKF
Ask not what your country can do FOR you; ask what they are about to do TO YOU!!
User avatar
Ben Zonia
Posts: 2464
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:35 pm
Location: Honor

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by Ben Zonia »

Somebody at Consumers near Bay City, an old timer who remembered the East Coast blackout in the 1960s, realized what was happening and disconnected the anastomosing lines between Consumers and DTE, and hence Consumers was spared except briefly. Near Utica, when WQBH/WDTK 1400 was down, and there was no electrical interference, WSAM 1400 was coming in very well.

The late Glen Clark had a company that installed the pulse resistant rudimentary studios and transmitters on 50 some stations according to an administrator on another board. It was called Defarsys. If you can figure out what that was short for, your IQ is likely to be very high.
"I had a job for a while as an announcer at WWV but I finally quit, because I couldn't stand the hours."

-Author Unknown
Marcus
Posts: 400
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 1:08 pm
Location: Sarnia, Ontario

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by Marcus »

Without the electrical interference from a cities power grid AM radio really gets out on a sensitive radio. Some of the Toronto stations were perfectly clear in Sarnia that day on a factory car radio.
km1125
Posts: 3789
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2019 3:09 pm

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by km1125 »

audiophile wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2023 9:27 am I appreciate your consistency!

In ICE vehicles the AM section cost is near zero as the chipsets and antennas already contain the hardware. Certainly, less than $10, probably under $5.

WJR is the state PEP, FEMA installed an EMP proof generator and transmitter there. Remember electric grid failure took out most radio stations in 2003 after a few days. My landline stopped working too, as the local telco vault has no generator.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technol ... r-AA19yPKF
Not sure if I really care if they drop the AM band on cars, but we probably should maintain the EAS system on the AM band. Where else can you get that amount of coverage in sq miles of territory and be able to pick up the signal with a very basic receiver... even a crystal radio?

I'm curious who your provider was on the telco issue. Most landline installations had battery backup systems (-48VDC) what would last for a LEAST two days. It may have gone down, but it could have been a failure mode and not as it was designed (or could have been poorly maintained).
MWmetalhead wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2023 11:05 am In my neck of the woods, I had access to most of my usual FM stations at all times during the August 2003 blackout. Some were off the air initially but then resumed broadcasting at reduced power.

It's unclear to me why AM would be any more reliable.

Good point regarding phone lines. I cannot recall if it was my landline that worked or if it was my cell phone that worked. At least one of those worked, because I do remember making phone calls.
It was most of the radio stations going off-air in 2003 that clued me in that it was a much bigger thing than just a local power outage. I was able to get on the road and make it all the way across town with little traffic problems because I got on the road right away. Had I waited any length, it would have doubled my trip as everyone else started meandering around without power.

Most of the landlines still worked but cell towers got quickly overloaded with traffic. While they were still working for at least a day, you still had trouble connecting and making a call. Lots of those tower sites did run out of battery though, because not all had backup generators.
User avatar
TC Talks
Posts: 12065
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:41 am

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by TC Talks »

Why don't we shift the EBS funding to stabilize cell towers?
For Kristian Trumpers are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
-Romans 16:18

Posting Content © 2024 TC Talks Holdings LP.
edj
Posts: 2234
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2022 8:54 pm

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by edj »

Problem is, many cars that do have AM skimp on quality. They’re not wired properly either so plugging anything into the cigarette lighter causes interference.

I was out of town during the blackout of 2003 so all of the stories from people are interesting. I would have loved to explore the band and see what was coming in.
Mega Hertz
Posts: 4508
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:09 pm
Location: Brighton

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by Mega Hertz »

edj wrote: Sat Apr 08, 2023 7:51 am Problem is, many cars that do have AM skimp on quality. They’re not wired properly either so plugging anything into the cigarette lighter causes interference.

I was out of town during the blackout of 2003 so all of the stories from people are interesting. I would have loved to explore the band and see what was coming in.
The only thing I can really remember is I was driving when it happened. I remember noticing traffic and stoplights out, so when I scanned the dial to see if any station had a traffic report, it just kept rolling and rolling, stopping on no certain frequency. Eventually it stopped on 104.3 and that's when I heard the wonderful news 😆
"Internet is no more like radio than intravenous feeding is like fine dining."
-TurkeyTop
User avatar
audiophile
Posts: 9236
Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 9:21 pm
Location: Between 88 and 108 MHz.

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by audiophile »

km1125 wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2023 4:33 pm
audiophile wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2023 9:27 am I appreciate your consistency!

In ICE vehicles the AM section cost is near zero as the chipsets and antennas already contain the hardware. Certainly, less than $10, probably under $5.

WJR is the state PEP, FEMA installed an EMP proof generator and transmitter there. Remember electric grid failure took out most radio stations in 2003 after a few days. My landline stopped working too, as the local telco vault has no generator.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technol ... r-AA19yPKF
Not sure if I really care if they drop the AM band on cars, but we probably should maintain the EAS system on the AM band. Where else can you get that amount of coverage in sq miles of territory and be able to pick up the signal with a very basic receiver... even a crystal radio?

I'm curious who your provider was on the telco issue. Most landline installations had battery backup systems (-48VDC) what would last for a LEAST two days. It may have gone down, but it could have been a failure mode and not as it was designed (or could have been poorly maintained).
MWmetalhead wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2023 11:05 am In my neck of the woods, I had access to most of my usual FM stations at all times during the August 2003 blackout. Some were off the air initially but then resumed broadcasting at reduced power.

It's unclear to me why AM would be any more reliable.

Good point regarding phone lines. I cannot recall if it was my landline that worked or if it was my cell phone that worked. At least one of those worked, because I do remember making phone calls.
It was most of the radio stations going off-air in 2003 that clued me in that it was a much bigger thing than just a local power outage. I was able to get on the road and make it all the way across town with little traffic problems because I got on the road right away. Had I waited any length, it would have doubled my trip as everyone else started meandering around without power.

Most of the landlines still worked but cell towers got quickly overloaded with traffic. While they were still working for at least a day, you still had trouble connecting and making a call. Lots of those tower sites did run out of battery though, because not all had backup generators.
At the time, Verizon formerly GTE. It went out very soon after power outage.
Ask not what your country can do FOR you; ask what they are about to do TO YOU!!
User avatar
Ben Zonia
Posts: 2464
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:35 pm
Location: Honor

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by Ben Zonia »

Speaking of WGRD, WGRD 1410 with 1000 watts used to come in in Genesee County on a really good radio when WAMM 1420 was off the air. Strangely to some of you, it came in stronger than WOOD 1300 with 5000 watts nondirectional Day. I think being further East and possibly in a sweet spot of conductivity was the reason. It also was stronger to the East, like around Ionia, back in the Day, than WMAX 1480 with 5000 watts from the dump site where WLAV/WJRW 1340 and WFUR 1570 are still located.
"I had a job for a while as an announcer at WWV but I finally quit, because I couldn't stand the hours."

-Author Unknown
Marcus
Posts: 400
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 1:08 pm
Location: Sarnia, Ontario

Re: Congressman Says Make AM a Mandatory Car Safety Feature

Unread post by Marcus »

On FM the old 91.3 WSGR Port Huron was off the air so I heard CJAM Windsor when it was on 91.5 that evening.
Post Reply