The CAR RADIO of the FUTURE? (1971, BBC Archive)

Started by ZLoth, January 11, 2025, 07:00:29 AM

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ZLoth

From the BBC Archives... 1971 Tomorrow's World...

Quote"Anything that can be done to soothe us, as we fight our way through our own, private traffic jams, is obviously a good thing."

William Woollard demonstrates the latest in car radio technology. The new radio has been designed entirely using solid state circuits and can therefore be very small, so it can be mounted in front of the windscreen, or even in the middle of the steering wheel. It automatically tunes itself to the strongest signal, thus eliminating the need to frustratingly retune as you travel, and gives consistent, crystal clear sound quality. Theoretically, the radio could also be switched on by a radio station to transmit emergency traffic reports and weather warnings to the motorist. Is this the future of in-car entertainment?

Clip taken from Tomorrow's World, originally broadcast on BBC One, Friday 26 November, 1971.

Don't Drive Distrac... SQUIRREL!


1995hoo

"Automatically tunes itself to the strongest signal" doesn't strike me as very useful unless what they mean is that somehow it can figure out what sort of station you're listening to and is able to find the same. That is, suppose I drive across West Virginia and the strongest signal is country music. I'm not interested in listening to that and it does not help me for the radio to select that automatically. (Hence a major benefit of having satellite radio when you travel.)
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

02 Park Ave

I would like to see motor cars outfitted with radios capable of receiving the NOAA weather radio band.  Then, with such a radio onboard, it would be beneficial to have one which "Automatically tunes itself to the strongest signal".
C-o-H

ZLoth

Quote from: 02 Park Ave on January 11, 2025, 10:53:24 AMI would like to see motor cars outfitted with radios capable of receiving the NOAA weather radio band.  Then, with such a radio onboard, it would be beneficial to have one which "Automatically tunes itself to the strongest signal".

I 100% agree with your statement. If they are fighting to keep AM on car radios, why not NOAA? Of course, the powerful NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) would be opposed to NOAA weather stations instead of the commercial ones.

However, with a streaming app such as Radio Garden, I can listen to KEC56 for Dallas/Fort Worth through my computer or (more importantly) through my phone.
Don't Drive Distrac... SQUIRREL!

Dirt Roads

Quote from: 1995hoo on January 11, 2025, 09:13:27 AM"Automatically tunes itself to the strongest signal" doesn't strike me as very useful unless what they mean is that somehow it can figure out what sort of station you're listening to and is able to find the same. That is, suppose I drive across West Virginia and the strongest signal is country music. I'm not interested in listening to that and it does not help me for the radio to select that automatically. (Hence a major benefit of having satellite radio when you travel.)

The article makes sense, given the fact that BBC Radio was the only licensed broadcaster in Britain back in 1971.  My understanding is that you would pick your favorite genre that was currently being broadcast, and then flip back-and-forth as you drive as you travel away from one transmitter and closer to another.  There were four different BBC broadcasts, aptly named "Radio 1", "Radio 2", "Radio 3" and "Radio 4".  ("Radio 5" was added in the early 1990s).  It wasn't until 1978 that the BBC started to reorganize the broadcast frequencies so that you could stay on the same part of the FM spectrum.  (For instance, nowadays "Radio 1" only broadcasts on transmitters between 97MHz and 99MHz).

In that vein, one could envision a regional network on simulcast stations that the user would like to stay tuned to.  So as a West Virginian, I should respond that the solution here would be that all radio stations in the Mountain State be a simulcast of WWVA in Wheeling.  Sadly, even then there would be a big part of the state that you couldn't pick up "the strongest frequency"

mgk920

When did you no longer have to buy annual licenses to listen to radio in the UK, like you still have to wirh broadcast TV receivers?

Mike

freebrickproductions

Quote from: mgk920 on January 11, 2025, 02:56:56 PMWhen did you no longer have to buy annual licenses to listen to radio in the UK, like you still have to wirh broadcast TV receivers?

Mike

1971, apparently:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

Max Rockatansky

Still a marked improvement over the shitty touchscreens we get nowadays.

1995hoo

Quote from: Dirt Roads on January 11, 2025, 02:27:34 PM(Interesting historical explanation of British broadcasting deleted)

Thanks for that explanation. I was not familiar with that history, although certainly I'd heard of the "pirate broadcasters" in the 1960s, especially in the context of The Who Sell Out, but it never really meant anything to me. Interesting explanation. I guess that's the origin of the station now called "Radio One" that I've occasionally listened to on XM?
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

Dirt Roads

Quote from: 1995hoo on January 11, 2025, 03:41:42 PMI guess that's the origin of the station now called "Radio One" that I've occasionally listened to on XM?

Right idea; wrong country.  XM Channel 169 is CBC Radio One.  CBC used to do the same kind of thing as BBC Radio in the late 1990s:  CBC "Radio One"; CBC "Radio 2" and CBC "Radio 3".  "Radio One" is the original CBC Radio news network; "Radio 2" is now "CBC Music"; but "Radio 3" is now an Indie network that is almost entirely broadcast as online streaming.  Thanks for the tip; as I hadn't put those CBC channels in the same playbook as the BBC.

Before I forget, there is now also a "BBC Radio 5" all-sports network and a "BBC Radio 6" (which is Alternative and Indie, kind of like CBC "Radio 3").

1995hoo

No, I'm referring to BBC Radio One. It might not be on XM anymore, but it definitely used to be.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

vdeane

Quote from: 02 Park Ave on January 11, 2025, 10:53:24 AMI would like to see motor cars outfitted with radios capable of receiving the NOAA weather radio band.  Then, with such a radio onboard, it would be beneficial to have one which "Automatically tunes itself to the strongest signal".
That would be a good poison pill to insert into attempts to mandate AM radio in cars, and test how much the "emergency broadcast" argument is actually real and not just the NAB looking for an AM bailout.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Road Hog

The radio in this BBC hit was probably typical of the Euro dial of the day: long wave, medium wave (AM), and two bands of FM that stopped at 104 MHz.

I saw lots of old car radios into the 1990s that stopped at 104. The 105-108 MHz part of the spectrum didn't open up in Europe until sometime in the late 1970s.

By the time I got there LW was a thing of the past except on some Radio Luxembourg AM house adverts (208).

Henry

Quote from: Dirt Roads on January 11, 2025, 02:27:34 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 11, 2025, 09:13:27 AM"Automatically tunes itself to the strongest signal" doesn't strike me as very useful unless what they mean is that somehow it can figure out what sort of station you're listening to and is able to find the same. That is, suppose I drive across West Virginia and the strongest signal is country music. I'm not interested in listening to that and it does not help me for the radio to select that automatically. (Hence a major benefit of having satellite radio when you travel.)

The article makes sense, given the fact that BBC Radio was the only licensed broadcaster in Britain back in 1971.  My understanding is that you would pick your favorite genre that was currently being broadcast, and then flip back-and-forth as you drive as you travel away from one transmitter and closer to another.  There were four different BBC broadcasts, aptly named "Radio 1", "Radio 2", "Radio 3" and "Radio 4".  ("Radio 5" was added in the early 1990s).  It wasn't until 1978 that the BBC started to reorganize the broadcast frequencies so that you could stay on the same part of the FM spectrum.  (For instance, nowadays "Radio 1" only broadcasts on transmitters between 97MHz and 99MHz).

In that vein, one could envision a regional network on simulcast stations that the user would like to stay tuned to.  So as a West Virginian, I should respond that the solution here would be that all radio stations in the Mountain State be a simulcast of WWVA in Wheeling.  Sadly, even then there would be a big part of the state that you couldn't pick up "the strongest frequency"
I don't think it would be too bad an idea to have a bunch of stations in smaller towns simulcast whatever the leading main AM broadcaster was. So in IL, it would be either WBBM, WLS or WGN in Chicago distributing their respective simulcast to the smaller stations. But unfortunately, AM radio is in a sad decline with hundreds of stations going off the air, so it will be a very tough sell.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!



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