AM (MIA) Missing In Action

[Mike Sheridan]

People have predicted the end of AM radio for years now. I remember my doctor who is 10 years older than I am being astonished some 30 years ago that people still listened to AM radio.

Recently I looked around for a new clock radio, There is the great Bose which is way too expensive for my taste and then everything else which is junk. In addition to being cheap looking I found another surprising thing. Most of them lacked AM, they are FM only! Most people may not notice until they get it home, that is if anyone bothers to use a clock radio anymore, I get the feeling most just use the alarm on their cell phone.

 

[TheBigA]

The Bose radios have been FM only for quite some time. Hard to promote fidelity when the signal sounds worse than a phone.

The FCC, which could do something to improve fidelity, instead offered ways to move AM stations to FM. Even they have given up.

 

[KeithE4]

The Bose radios have been FM only for quite some time. Hard to promote fidelity when the signal sounds worse than a phone.

The FCC, which could do something to improve fidelity, instead offered ways to move AM stations to FM. Even they have given up.

What could the FCC do to improve fidelity, other than raising the upper audio limit to 15 kHz, the same as FM? That would make each AM signal 30 kHz wide instead of the current 20 (IIRC), and with increased interference to match. Plus, with the Medium Wave band being what it is, static, electrical interference from devices in the home, and propagation issues will still be there.

 

[TheBigA]

What could the FCC do to improve fidelity,

The static and interference problems are within their purview.

 

[KeithE4]

The static and interference problems are within their purview.

Correct, to a point. They can, but they most probably won't. They're not going to go after the Chinese manufacturers' Part 15-violating light dimmers, LED/CFL light bulbs (although they are much better than they used to be), PCs, TVs, and the like. And how does a simple Ancient Modulation signal gain fidelity without increasing the signal bandwidth?

Nobody can do anything about acts of God like atmospheric-based static or propagation. DSP circuits and/or synchronous detectors in receivers help, but they add cost. I don't think anyone is buying AM radios (with or without FM) of any kind these days, let alone AM receivers with DSP circuits if they were ever to be built.

 

[Kelly A]

What could the FCC do to improve fidelity, other than raising the upper audio limit to 15 kHz, the same as FM?

Uh oh now you've done it. Here comes the six AM stereo proponents with the wild claims of how "if stations would just broadcast AM stereo, the world would be a better place... blah, blah"

 

[davideduardo]

Uh oh now you've done it. Here comes the six AM stereo proponents with the wild claims of how "if stations would just broadcast AM stereo, the world would be a better place... blah, blah"

Any sentence including "If" and "AM Stereo" should be sufficient grounds to invoke a corollary to Godwin's Law.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Any sentence including "If" and "AM Stereo" should be sufficient grounds to invoke a corollary to Godwin's Law.

How about we enact same here on RD and call it "Gleason's Law"?

 

[KeithE4]

Uh oh now you've done it. Here comes the six AM stereo proponents with the wild claims of how "if stations would just broadcast AM stereo, the world would be a better place... blah, blah"

Who mentioned AM Stereo? I was talking about strictly a simple Ancient Modulation mono signal.

 

[Groove1670]

The final act has been played out with the implementation of the 250 mile waiver, with some relief on nighttime coverage. Those who use the opportunity will benefit. This is a bandaid for a problem that will not be solved. FM has issues that will supersede any AM issues. With emerging technologies AM is not a priority in the scheme of things.

Most of the major articles I have scanned are from AM engineers, owners and fans who have multiple solutions that would take a lifetime for the FCC to enact.

Interference is not going to be cured. The AM section of radios is not going to be improve, and for the sake of economic reality, AM will probably be the first to disappear from the auto dashboard.

 

[CTListener]

The final act has been played out with the implementation of the 250 mile waiver, with some relief on nighttime coverage. Those who use the opportunity will benefit. This is a bandaid for a problem that will not be solved. FM has issues that will supersede any AM issues. With emerging technologies AM is not a priority in the scheme of things.

Most of the major articles I have scanned are from AM engineers, owners and fans who have multiple solutions that would take a lifetime for the FCC to enact.

Interference is not going to be cured. The AM section of radios is not going to be improve, and for the sake of economic reality, AM will probably be the first to disappear from the auto dashboard.

How does the plight of owners of AM radio stations not parallel that of buggy whip manufacturers after the automobile made the horse obsolete for transportation, other than government licensing and the "public service" aspect of broadcasting? The buggy whip makers went out of business. Tough luck for all involved, but that's the price of progress. Why is it so unthinkable that the band will one day be abandoned and the broadcasters there told to fend for themselves -- find something else to produce or go belly up?

 

[KeithE4]

How does the plight of owners of AM radio stations not parallel that of buggy whip manufacturers after the automobile made the horse obsolete for transportation, other than government licensing and the "public service" aspect of broadcasting? The buggy whip makers went out of business. Tough luck for all involved, but that's the price of progress. Why is it so unthinkable that the band will one day be abandoned and the broadcasters there told to fend for themselves -- find something else to produce or go belly up?

One big difference: Cars got much more, and much better, miles of road that got better and better between the first paving of highways around WW1 to the building of the Interstates beginning in the late 1950s that continues today. The current FM spectrum was set in 1945 at 100 channels in a 20 MHz band that cannot be expanded, no matter what.

About all that could be done would be to reduce the FM signal deviation from +/-75 kHz to +/- 45 kHz (reduce the modulation index from 5 to 3), and reduce the channel spacing from 200 to 100 kHz. That would obsolete every receiver ever made, and nobody is going to buy new radios that aren't attached to something else, such as a car.

 

[TheBigA]

the broadcasters there told to fend for themselves

I thought that's basically what the FCC said a few months ago.

On the other hand, there are some isolated parts of this country where AM radio and a satellite dish are about it for communication. So there's always that.

 

[umfan]

I think it'll endure in auto receivers for some time to come. There's minimal cost to include it and in many major markets, the primary source for radio traffic and weather is on the AM Dial. There was no good rationale for Bose to include it, the same for the real el cheapo bed stand sets. There's more competition at home from phone, computer and tablet based listening because one can use wi-fi there instead of data.

 

[Kelly A]

Some Honda, Ford and GM in-vehicle entertainment systems have already eliminated AM. Honda for Pandora, Ford for other In-Sync features and GM for in-car streaming. AM is gradually being squeezed out for more modern choices.