Automakers Are Starting to Drop AM Radio in New Cars. Here's Why

[jeffandnicole]

From Car and Driver:

Don't Touch That Dial: AM Car Radio Is Not Dead Yet
Not if the U.S. Congress has anything to say about it. The lawmakers want it mandated in all vehicles so it can be used for emergency and safety notifications.

• The AM For Every Vehicle Act is close to passing, making broadcast AM capability a requirement in new cars sold in the United States.
• The Act has wide support in both Senate and Congress, on both sides of the aisle.
• Proponents say passing the Act is about providing emergency services or free speech. But there is a cost to manufacturers.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

As far as I know, radios and audio equipment aren't mandated in cars currently. And there's no mandate AM stations must be aired and transmitted, nor that they must reach all areas of the country, nor that they must air emergency announcements.

[1995hoo]

Plus, even if they do air an emergency announcement, there's no guarantee the driver will have the radio turned on at any given time.

[ZLoth]

And there's no mandate AM stations must be aired and transmitted, nor that they must reach all areas of the country, nor that they must air emergency announcements.

See https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-11 . If you listen to the EAS alerts, you will often hear the term "voluntary cooperation", and the FCC does come down HARD on stations who do not have proper EAS equipment.

Of course, if they are mandating carriage of AM stations on car radios, why not also mandate the carriage of the NWS frequencies? They are just slightly higher in the FM band, but the National Association of Broadcasters may disagree with that suggested mandate.

[vdeane]

Mandating the NWS frequencies would probably be more useful, especially with the states discontinuing Highway Advisory Radio.  Couldn't repeaters be used in areas where FM is sparse?

[Life in Paradise]

And there's no mandate AM stations must be aired and transmitted, nor that they must reach all areas of the country, nor that they must air emergency announcements.

See https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-11 . If you listen to the EAS alerts, you will often hear the term "voluntary cooperation", and the FCC does come down HARD on stations who do not have proper EAS equipment.

Of course, if they are mandating carriage of AM stations on car radios, why not also mandate the carriage of the NWS frequencies? They are just slightly higher in the FM band, but the National Association of Broadcasters may disagree with that suggested mandate.

One would think with today's technology a car radio could be set up to automatically come one if an EAS signal was received and go to the strongest signal (either AM or FM) to broadcast the message.  Weather radios are set up to go off for warnings.

[wxfree]

A US House committee has passed a bill to require AM radio in new vehicles.  Will it be passed, or added to another bill?  Who knows?  The report says it has broad bipartisan support, with only one No vote, from a representative saying it's solving a problem that doesn't exist.  I'm reading it in a newspaper, so I have no link.  I'm sure it's online somewhere.

[Bobby5280]

AM radio in a vehicle? I suppose it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Still, I barely listen to any broadcast radio anymore.

I grew up listening to AM and FM radio stations from the 1970's into the 1990's. The music industry was still creatively adventurous during that era. In the late 1970's my family was stationed in Japan; our only American entertainment was an AFRTS TV station and AM radio station on the Marine Corps base. My dad worked there; his MOS was Public Affairs. He brought home a lot of cool music -promotional albums given to the radio station. I was blown away the first time I heard Van Halen. They couldn't play heavy rock like that on the radio station; it was mostly Top 40 format. When we lived in Japan my dad bought a portable radio that could pick up other frequency bands in addition to AM & FM. It was fun seeing what we could find on short wave frequencies.

AM radio was great for long road trips. We would pick up radio stations from some pretty distant places. My parents had a collection of 8-track tapes for the zones of "radio hell" where nothing would come in good.

Our local radio stations used to be pretty good, but one by one they all got bought out by larger companies again and again. With each buy-out the station's music library got cut down farther. Thanks to legalized corporate payola all the stations have their play lists dictated to them from on high via the home office. You'll hear the same 10 songs on repeat for many months, punctuated by lots and lots of commercials.

The only local station I can tolerate is KCCU, a station run by Cameron University. And that's only when I want to listen to Jazz or some other more "artsy" kind of music. The station is a NPR affiliate, but I'm not into listening to talk radio.

I've had a Sirius|XM subscription for my truck since I bought it in 2018. Due to price hikes I'm fixing to cancel the service. I think Amazon Music Unlimited is a better deal at $10 per month. I have a factory CD player in my truck, but rarely ever use it. Instead I have a 500GB SSD plugged into one of the USB ports. I have my whole music library on it in the form of 320kb/s MP3 files. I could also plug my Android phone into my truck (or beam Bluetooth) and have Amazon Music playing.

[kalvado]

A US House committee has passed a bill to require AM radio in new vehicles.  Will it be passed, or added to another bill?  Who knows?  The report says it has broad bipartisan support, with only one No vote, from a representative saying it's solving a problem that doesn't exist.  I'm reading it in a newspaper, so I have no link.  I'm sure it's online somewhere.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1669

[Max Rockatansky]

Is there a particularly good reason for cars not to include AM radio?  I can't say that I care for the feature to be legislatively mandated.  All the same it seems to me as though AM radio is cheap enough to remain a basic piece of automotive equipment.

[GaryV]

Electric car motors cause interference with the AM signal. So there has to be extra effort (and cost) put into the vehicle to make AM radio usable.

[Max Rockatansky]

Yes, that struck me as being incredibly cheap considering how much EVs presently tend to run.

[Bobby5280]

I guess they can ditch the AM radio capability in EVs if they want to do so. But it's a bunch of crap if they want to get rid of it in regular gasoline powered vehicles. It's not like the AM radio capability involves a bunch of moving parts, such as a built-in CD player.

[kalvado]

I guess they can ditch the AM radio capability in EVs if they want to do so. But it's a bunch of crap if they want to get rid of it in regular gasoline powered vehicles. It's not like the AM radio capability involves a bunch of moving parts, such as a built-in CD player.

Bulky magnetic antenna for one. 

Electric car motors cause interference with the AM signal. So there has to be extra effort (and cost) put into the vehicle to make AM radio usable.

Actually ignition sparks are interfering as well.

[MikeTheActuary]

I guess they can ditch the AM radio capability in EVs if they want to do so. But it's a bunch of crap if they want to get rid of it in regular gasoline powered vehicles. It's not like the AM radio capability involves a bunch of moving parts, such as a built-in CD player.

My primary hobby these days is amateur radio.

Trust me when I say that there are a LOT of RF-noisy electronic components even in dino-powered modern cars these days.

[kalvado]

I guess they can ditch the AM radio capability in EVs if they want to do so. But it's a bunch of crap if they want to get rid of it in regular gasoline powered vehicles. It's not like the AM radio capability involves a bunch of moving parts, such as a built-in CD player.

My primary hobby these days is amateur radio.

Trust me when I say that there are a LOT of RF-noisy electronic components even in dino-powered modern cars these days.

I have hard time believing in electronic RF noise, but electric - especially things like sparks and fuel injectors - easily ..

[Life in Paradise]

AM radio in a vehicle? I suppose it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Still, I barely listen to any broadcast radio anymore.

I grew up listening to AM and FM radio stations from the 1970's into the 1990's. The music industry was still creatively adventurous during that era. In the late 1970's my family was stationed in Japan; our only American entertainment was an AFRTS TV station and AM radio station on the Marine Corps base. My dad worked there; his MOS was Public Affairs. He brought home a lot of cool music -promotional albums given to the radio station. I was blown away the first time I heard Van Halen. They couldn't play heavy rock like that on the radio station; it was mostly Top 40 format. When we lived in Japan my dad bought a portable radio that could pick up other frequency bands in addition to AM & FM. It was fun seeing what we could find on short wave frequencies.

AM radio was great for long road trips. We would pick up radio stations from some pretty distant places. My parents had a collection of 8-track tapes for the zones of "radio hell" where nothing would come in good.

Our local radio stations used to be pretty good, but one by one they all got bought out by larger companies again and again. With each buy-out the station's music library got cut down farther. Thanks to legalized corporate payola all the stations have their play lists dictated to them from on high via the home office. You'll hear the same 10 songs on repeat for many months, punctuated by lots and lots of commercials.

The only local station I can tolerate is KCCU, a station run by Cameron University. And that's only when I want to listen to Jazz or some other more "artsy" kind of music. The station is a NPR affiliate, but I'm not into listening to talk radio.

I've had a Sirius|XM subscription for my truck since I bought it in 2018. Due to price hikes I'm fixing to cancel the service. I think Amazon Music Unlimited is a better deal at $10 per month. I have a factory CD player in my truck, but rarely ever use it. Instead I have a 500GB SSD plugged into one of the USB ports. I have my whole music library on it in the form of 320kb/s MP3 files. I could also plug my Android phone into my truck (or beam Bluetooth) and have Amazon Music playing.

Have you called Sirius and asked them about the rate?  I do every year and I am on the premium plan for just a little bit above $10 a month paid yearly.

[Bobby5280]

I had that deal. Then I recently got a renewal bill due the end of October; they're wanting over $200. Screw that.

[ZLoth]

I had that deal. Then I recently got a renewal bill due the end of October; they're wanting over $200. Screw that.

I've always threatened to cancel my SiriusXM to get the deal... until I got unlimited data on my cell phone. Then, it became a very permanent cancellation.

[CtrlAltDel]

The report says it has broad bipartisan support, with only one No vote, from a representative saying it's solving a problem that doesn't exist.

I am with this representative. The last time I turned on the radio in my car was during the test drive.

[SidS1045]

One of the most misunderstood phrases commonly used in broadcast, and it's purely the FCC's fault for calling it "voluntary."

"Voluntary cooperation" actually means:  All stations, with very few exceptions, must have functional EAS encoding and decoding equipment.  All stations, with very few exceptions, must originate a weekly EAS test.  All stations, with no exceptions, must monitor two other local stations within their listening area plus NOAA weather radio, according to the state EAS plan.  All stations, with no exceptions, MUST transmit, LIVE, the Emergency Action Notification (EAN), which is another term for "national emergency" (i.e., incoming bombers or missiles headed for targets in the US), any national EAS tests, and must relay within 60 minutes a monthly EAS test.

No stations are required by the FCC to perform any other EAS functions.  That's the extent of "voluntary."

Merriam and Webster are spinning in their graves.

[JayhawkCO]

I had that deal. Then I recently got a renewal bill due the end of October; they're wanting over $200. Screw that.

I've always threatened to cancel my SiriusXM to get the deal... until I got unlimited data on my cell phone. Then, it became a very permanent cancellation.

When you threaten to cancel, you always get a better offer.

[formulanone]

...with only one No vote, from a representative saying it's solving a problem that doesn't exist.

Now we know who's being paid off by Big Nothing.

[drebbin37]

While I'm not a fan of most government mandates, I also wouldn't buy a car without AM radio.  I listen to local news on my morning commute, political commentary on my afternoon commute, and baseball games in the evening.  None of the shows I listen to are available on FM around here, and I refuse to pay for satellite radio or any wireless service.  I've learned, though, that the automakers are not interested in selling anything to people like me.  I'd prefer to drive a vehicle that's not a rolling internet device.  Now, get off my lawn!

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm just waiting for the day where you'll be locked out of working on your own vehicle.  The technical learning curve is so high with EVs already that it effectively already is a thing in that market segment.

[ZLoth]

The only over-the-air radio station that I listen to in my market on a regular basis is WRR 101 which, about two years ago, converted over to a not-for-profit station.  If you look at the list of DFW radio stations, I have Bluetooth in both of my vehicles and unlimited data, so I'm better off streaming my music from my self-hosted Plex server via PlexAMP or audiobooks from my self-hosted instance of AudioBookShelf. Sometimes, I'll even use Radio Garden to find a out-of-market station.

As for emergency alerts... for DFW, the Local Primary-1 is WBAP 820 AM and the Local Primary-2 is KSCS 96.3 FM, and both monitor the NWS station of KEC-56 162.4 VHF. In "voluntary cooperation", all of the DFW stations receive and rebroadcast the EAS alerts. Plus, I have a properly programmed SAME radio to alert me plus notifications on my mobile device.

If they want to mandate AM reception, then why not the NWS frequencies as well?