Car AM radio bill passes House panel

[forcast]

I dated a logger from south west va. Granted very long time ago. The AM radio was how he knew the work schedule. Same for mine workers. We used it for winter school closings. And Listening to Art Bell Coast to Coast High Desert. Fun times. As for cell phone getting emergency notification that depends in your signals. Might get it in my yard but not down my driveway and never sitting in the dollar general parking lot or in our hospital waiting room. Who knows we might not be able to afford a cell phone, computer with internet. Our town uses the volunteer fire alarm with different sounds for different events, fire call, tornadoes, bomb attack.

 

[INresponse]

I suspect if the any of the news reporting mentioned that sports are aired on AM radio the uproar would be different. I suspect most of the pampered arm chair quarterbacks pay hundreds of dollars a month for the paid channels and satellite feeds so they wont care but when driving around in rural areas You will be lucky to find a decent FM signal.
Once the sun starts to set AM radio is filled with a large variety of channels, many from several states away.

NOTE: I don't care much about sports but I used to listen to NASCAR when playing in the hills, and occasionally it allowed me to catch a Michigan/Detroit team if they were playing someone on the western half of the country. I usually did not listen to the entire broadcast but I would check in from time to time.

 

[zoomzoom]

If they remove AM radio, what are all the States going to do with the road signs that say something like:
"For important travel information, tune into AM 1610"

 

[Spikedriver]

I don't use AM a lot, but here in Iowa our predominant news radio station is AM1040. Yes, it carries conservative talk programming. The gen z's hate 1040. But 1040 also carries Iowa Hawkeye games and it's far and away the best radio station for weather reports. I keep a 15 year old boombox in my kitchen just to be able to get 1040 because there aren't any other AM stations I listen to at home.

Since my job requires a lot of long distance driving I search for AM sports stations when I'm on the go. That's another good reason to keep AM in cars.

 

[Haertig]

This is a good and necessary bill. Some folks don't have smart phones, don't have any intention of getting a smart phone, and for news, etc., rely on the signal coverage AM radio provides.

Then why can't they buy themselves an AM radio? Why should their need for one morph into a government mandate that ALL new cars have them?

I require a flashlight and a knife in each of my cars. Should the government mandate that ALL cars have these because I think they are necessary?

Government mandates usually suck. A "good" mandate is quite rare these days. The market should choose this AM radio thing, not the government.

 

[UrbanHunter]

I think that the car companies were about to eliminate the AM radio, possibly the FM too in new cars, forcing everyone to go to pay for usage satellite radio. and the bean counters were betting on life-long subscription fees. This would really impact everyone in the the long run. Us mature folks tend to think of car entertainment systems as AM/FM and something else, the corporate types would like to force us to all switch to something else. My cars all have the capability to receive satellite broadcasting, but I refuse to pay the toll.

In a true SHTF event, the satellite wavelengths would be flooded with people trying to make cell phone calls and things would go south quick...

 

[Neb]

Then why can't they buy themselves an AM radio? Why should their need for one morph into a government mandate that ALL new cars have them?

I require a flashlight and a knife in each of my cars. Should the government mandate that ALL cars have these because I think they are necessary?

Government mandates usually suck. A "good" mandate is quite rare these days. The market should choose this AM radio thing, not the government.

Remember when you could tell your neighbor was vacuuming because of the interference on your television?

Virtually every electronic device sold in the US has a small label stating that it conforms to a FCC regulation. That regulation says the device does not emit blah...

The same interference can be emitted by electric cars if they want to cut engineering costs.

Ben

 

[Haertig]

Virtually every electronic device sold in the US has a small label stating that it conforms to a FCC regulation. That regulation says the device does not emit blah...

The same interference can be emitted by electric cars if they want to cut engineering costs.

Do EV's not have to conform to this same FCC regulation? I thought we were talking about automakers not wanting to install AM radios in their cars as the default. Are we actually talking about EV's no longer having to comply with the FCC interference rule(s)? Those are two very different things.

 

[Mountain trapper]

About all that I can get up here is AM radio. But I agree, there shouldn't be a need for a law. The auto makers should install AM radios out of common decency.

 

[Ekatarina]

There is no radio in my car

I just always transport my a little pocket radio am-fm

 

[bkt]

Umm..no.

*shrug* OK, I guess I'll just have to install my own if I want one.

 

[d_marsh]

There is no radio in my car

I just always transport my a little pocket radio am-fm

What kind of car do you have that doesn't have a radio?

 

[Ekatarina]

What kind of car do you have that doesn't have a radio?

Toyota Echo 2004
No radio - No AC
Only vent so I drive my side window open when its warm

My friend JC mecano did put it off and out
because I didnt want one

 

[Hooch]

*shrug* OK, I guess I'll just have to install my own if I want one.

There ya go..can you imagine really..cb is bad enough sometimes..

 

[bkt]

There ya go..can you imagine really..cb is bad enough sometimes..

Yes, of course. I have several radios on while I'm working and much of the conversation isn't too great. Granted, HF is much less coarse than CB. (I almost never have a CB on during work for that reason.)

My point in all this was that if you want a feature, add it yourself. Don't demand Congress enact a law that ensures everyone has one whether or not they want it.

 

[d_marsh]

Toyota Echo 2004
No radio - No AC
Only vent so I drive my side window open when its warm

My friend JC mecano did put it off and out
because I didnt want one

I had to look that up, never heard of a Toyota Echo. So tiny. No room for a radio.

 

[Ekatarina]

I had to look that up, never heard of a Toyota Echo. So tiny. No room for a radio.

I can fill that little car with 4 boxes of 50 lbs cat litter a 40 lbs of dog dry food bad
big cat dry food bags ..my bags of grocery + + +

Edit: I forgot to say a 200 lbs great dane can sit on the back seat

And very cheap on gas


I had long ago a very nice Ford 150 diesel

 

[M0del_31]

I think that the car companies were about to eliminate the AM radio, possibly the FM too in new cars, forcing everyone to go to pay for usage satellite radio. and the bean counters were betting on life-long subscription fees. This would really impact everyone in the the long run. Us mature folks tend to think of car entertainment systems as AM/FM and something else, the corporate types would like to force us to all switch to something else. My cars all have the capability to receive satellite broadcasting, but I refuse to pay the toll.

In a true SHTF event, the satellite wavelengths would be flooded with people trying to make cell phone calls and things would go south quick...

⬆This is the answer

 

[Haertig]

In a true SHTF event, the satellite wavelengths would be flooded with people trying to make cell phone calls and things would go south quick...

Phones would not suddenly shift from the cell phone bands to the satellite bands. Nor to the AM radio bands. These are all different frequencies, regulated separately. It's not just one big glob of frequencies that anybody can use for anything, thus interfering with each other.

 

[UrbanHunter]

I think my post may have been a little miss stated. If there were no AM/FM radios in the car people would be forced to use either satellite pay radio or they would have to stream music off their phone (least expensive option), that would mean that more people would be on the cell phone all the time, even if they are not making a call and that would help tie up all the bandwidth when people needed to make calls in a SFTF event trying to get information that would normally be broadcast on the EBS AM channels.

I think that @Neb 's post about the static is true too, AM radios are great at picking up static and electric motors are great static makers, it is expensive to try to filter all those devices. I believe that drive behind trying to get rid of AM in cars was a money thing on several fronts.

 

[Haertig]

I believe that drive behind trying to get rid of AM in cars was a money thing on several fronts.

Of course it is. Supposedly, people are clamoring for EV's. Those are expensive. More so if the manufacturers have to spend more money trying to filter RFI generated by their electric motors. And supposedly, people are not listening to AM radio as much as they used to. According to some sources, AM radio is used very little (that of course is debatable).

I can see where EV manufacturers might be coming back to the government and saying, "Look, you want us to build EV's that are easier to afford. And at the same time you want us to add costly RFI shielding so AM radios, that few of our customers actually use, will not be affected. What exactly are you expecting us to do?"

They have a valid point. You don't get RFI shielding for electric motors for free. Maybe they could offer AM radios as an option at purchase. Price: $2500. $100 for the radio, and $2400 for the shielding necessary to make it work well in an EV. Some technologies just don't get along well together. If you want an EV powered by electric motors, AND you want an AM radio, well ... you're gonna have to pay for the technology required to make that happen. You don't get to make EVERYONE pay for that by raising prices on ALL vehicles, you have to pay for it YOURSELF.

 

[d_marsh]

I can fill that little car with 4 boxes of 50 lbs cat litter a 40 lbs of dog dry food bad
big cat dry food bags ..my bags of grocery + + +
View attachment 162859

I don't know how. I would have to step outside just to change my mind.

No matter what yours really looks like, this is what it will forever look like in my mind:

 

[M0del_31]

Of course it is. Supposedly, people are clamoring for EV's. Those are expensive. More so if the manufacturers have to spend more money trying to filter RFI generated by their electric motors. And supposedly, people are not listening to AM radio as much as they used to. According to some sources, AM radio is used very little (that of course is debatable).

I can see where EV manufacturers might be coming back to the government and saying, "Look, you want us to build EV's that are easier to afford. And at the same time you want us to add costly RFI shielding so AM radios, that few of our customers actually use, will not be affected. What exactly are you expecting us to do?"

They have a valid point. You don't get RFI shielding for electric motors for free. Maybe they could offer AM radios as an option at purchase. Price: $2500. $100 for the radio, and $2400 for the shielding necessary to make it work well in an EV. Some technologies just don't get along well together. If you want an EV powered by electric motors, AND you want an AM radio, well ... you're gonna have to pay for the technology required to make that happen. You don't get to make EVERYONE pay for that by raising prices on ALL vehicles, you have to pay for it YOURSELF.

There is a whole lot more reason for RFI shielding than just for AM broadcast radio. Military, civilian ocean communication, amateur radio operators all use HF coms. A year or so ago, some banks or money changers were wanting some of the HAM band to do global transactions because "it was faster" or some other nonsense.. Most business and military prefer satellite these days but no one should assume those will always be available. Besides direct interference, they'll need to shield for the harmonics of the RFI as well. I don't see how the regulatory environment we live in would allow them to run those without shielding.

 

[Haertig]

There is a whole lot more reason for RFI shielding than just for AM broadcast radio. Military, civilian ocean communication, amateur radio operators all use HF coms.

Agreed. But none of these examples given are a reason to require extra shielding in EV's. For one, the electric motors in an EV are only going to interfere with electronics in that specific EV. They're not strong enough to affect other things in the vicinity. And the body of the EV itself probably makes a darn good shield for anybody else near it.

Military use is certainly not a reason. Most consumer stuff is not used by the military, is not appropriate for military use, and is not mil-spec. I don't see why EV's should be forced to be. Ocean communications are not going to be an issue for current EV's. I don't think they float well enough to get more than a foot or two off shore before something would short out. As far as hams - there are plenty of things that create interference that we have to deal with. A prime example being LED lightbulbs. Those are horrible - most of them create a ton of RFI. So much so that if you're a ham, it's probably best to turn off all LED lights in your house when working. The government is not mandating shielding for those LED bulbs to help hams out. If you're a ham, don't buy LED bulbs or buy the more expensive kind that don't create a ton of RFI. If you're a ham and want to use your radios while mobile, don't buy an EV. Or spend more money and choose the shielding equipment option.

I know there are all kinds of things that RFI can create problems for. But I see nothing that would require a government shielding mandate for EV's, especially since any RFI produced is just going to effect that one EV that is producing it. If that's a problem for certain customers, they can buy a more expensive EV with shielding included. This is not something the general public should have to fund by way of higher overall car prices - to put shielding in every single car to help out the few people that actually need it.

I'm not trying to discuss the benefits/costs of RFI shielding in general. There are times when it is really needed. But I don't think that requiring it in EV's, per government mandate that will increase construction costs across the board, is necessarily one of those times.

 

[viking]

Yeah, I know, your'e Popeye the sailor man. What's funny is that I went commercial fishing one time with an old Norwegian fisherman that had pull fishing lines by hand so much that his forearms looked just like the cartoon Popeye's arms.

 

[M0del_31]

Agreed. But none of these examples given are a reason to require extra shielding in EV's. For one, the electric motors in an EV are only going to interfere with electronics in that specific EV. They're not strong enough to affect other things in the vicinity. And the body of the EV itself probably makes a darn good shield for anybody else near it.

Military use is certainly not a reason. Most consumer stuff is not used by the military, is not appropriate for military use, and is not mil-spec. I don't see why EV's should be forced to be. Ocean communications are not going to be an issue for current EV's. I don't think they float well enough to get more than a foot or two off shore before something would short out. As far as hams - there are plenty of things that create interference that we have to deal with. A prime example being LED lightbulbs. Those are horrible - most of them create a ton of RFI. So much so that if you're a ham, it's probably best to turn off all LED lights in your house when working. The government is not mandating shielding for those LED bulbs to help hams out. If you're a ham, don't buy LED bulbs or buy the more expensive kind that don't create a ton of RFI. If you're a ham and want to use your radios while mobile, don't buy an EV. Or spend more money and choose the shielding equipment option.

I know there are all kinds of things that RFI can create problems for. But I see nothing that would require a government shielding mandate for EV's, especially since any RFI produced is just going to effect that one EV that is producing it. If that's a problem for certain customers, they can buy a more expensive EV with shielding included. This is not something the general public should have to fund by way of higher overall car prices - to put shielding in every single car to help out the few people that actually need it.

I'm not trying to discuss the benefits/costs of RFI shielding in general. There are times when it is really needed. But I don't think that requiring it in EV's, per government mandate that will increase construction costs across the board, is necessarily one of those times.

In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates electromagnetic emissions under FCC Part 15, which applies to any electrical device that emits radio frequency energy. EVs and their components must meet these standards to avoid interfering with communications devices, such as radios and cell phones.

Whatever the issues, the FCC already regulates EFI, sets standards for EVs and acceptable EFI levels. This was in place prior to the death of chevron so the regulation will be with us a few more decades at least. One the other hand, its not like the auto makers would have passed the savings of noisy auto electrical systems on to the consumer anyway.

 

[Neb]

... One the other hand, its not like the auto makers would have passed the savings of noisy auto electrical systems on to the consumer anyway.

Exactly!

My jeep Liberty (that I love) demonstrates that.

When in park and starting it there is terrible interference with the AM reception. But when I shift into drive and the automatic breaking engages the noise goes away. Jeep got away with it and I can live with the short interruptions.

While I still believe AM radios should be standard for the EBS, the question of an additional law is correct.

Isn't it the Swiss that every citizen own a gun ?

I see a similarity.

Ben

 

[M0del_31]

Exactly!

My jeep Liberty (that I love) demonstrates that.

When in park and starting it there is terrible interference with the AM reception. But when I shift into drive and the automatic breaking engages the noise goes away. Jeep got away with it and I can live with the short interruptions.

While I still believe AM radios should be standard for the EBS, the question of an additional law is correct.

Isn't it the Swiss that every citizen own a gun ?

I see a similarity.

Ben

Yeah, there is going to be some noise but the question is it harmful to others or in your case, is the noise coming in on the antenna or through onboard power system through poor filtering. In the 90's I witnessed some cars cause EFI on my CBs and HF Ham gear. Some as much as 10 feet away. The neon lights atop Sonic drive through was horrible. I wasn't licensed then so didn't know anything about the FCC but today they absolutely are concerned with harmful EFI. One of the few things they do for Ham operators is make owners of harmful EFI fix the problem...that includes utilities like cable and power companies. There's no way they'll turn a blind eye to EVs. BTW, I'd give it even odds your interference is coming in on the power supply side vs the antenna.

 

[Neb]

Yeah, there is going to be some noise but the question is it harmful to others or in your case, is the noise coming in on the antenna or through onboard power system through poor filtering. In the 90's I witnessed some cars cause EFI on my CBs and HF Ham gear. Some as much as 10 feet away. The neon lights atop Sonic drive through was horrible. I wasn't licensed then so didn't know anything about the FCC but today they absolutely are concerned with harmful EFI. One of the few things they do for Ham operators is make owners of harmful EFI fix the problem...that includes utilities like cable and power companies. There's no way they'll turn a blind eye to EVs. BTW, I'd give it even odds your interference is coming in on the power supply side vs the antenna.

Agreed power supply 100%.

Ben

 

[mml373]

I think that the car companies were about to eliminate the AM radio, possibly the FM too in new cars, forcing everyone to go to pay for usage satellite radio. and the bean counters were betting on life-long subscription fees. This would really impact everyone in the the long run. Us mature folks tend to think of car entertainment systems as AM/FM and something else, the corporate types would like to force us to all switch to something else. My cars all have the capability to receive satellite broadcasting, but I refuse to pay the toll.

In a true SHTF event, the satellite wavelengths would be flooded with people trying to make cell phone calls and things would go south quick...

I'm too old for the BS and I'm not really that old. I resent the kind of thing happening that you describe. I also resent the notion of "you'll own nothing, and you'll be happy". Life is not a subscription-based endeavor. I refuse to play.