Boss Radio is back

[tall_guy1]

 

[Weiserguy]

The trouble with "almost nothing" is always the "almost" part.

They sell about 3 million aftermarket units these days---so let's imagine one company's got a 25% market share. That's 750,000 units.

Even if the fix was only a buck a unit, that's three-quarters of a million dollars for a solution almost no one is asking for. (emphasis mine)

Steve Jobs (paraphrasing): Our customers don't know they want a new feature until I show them what it is.

Gonna argue with Steve?

 

[michael hagerty]

Steve Jobs (paraphrasing): Our customers don't know they want a new feature until I show them what it is.

Gonna argue with Steve?

Steve never tried to sell AM radio.

 

[Kelly A]

Steve never tried to sell AM radio.

That's right up there with saying Elon Musk tried to sell acoustic modems.

 

[cc333]

Steve never tried to sell AM radio.

If anything, he might've been inclined to advocate for doing away with terrestrial analog and HD radio altogether, in favor of some sort of Internet-based device.

Of course, this is happening, but fairly slowly and unevenly. He would've turned up his Reality Distortion Field and made everyone want to switch sooner.

c

 

[michael hagerty]

If anything, he might've been inclined to advocate for doing away with terrestrial analog and HD radio altogether, in favor of some sort of Internet-based device.

Of course, this is happening, but fairly slowly and unevenly. He would've turned up his Reality Distortion Field and made everyone want to switch sooner.

c

And we have proof of that. Steve was repeatedly urged to include FM capability in his devices and said no.

 

[Kelly A]

And we have proof of that. Steve was repeatedly urged to include FM capability in his devices and said no.

That would be like requiring space for a small horse-drawn carriage in the rear hatch of a Tesla Model Y.

 

[cc333]

And we have proof of that. Steve was repeatedly urged to include FM capability in his devices and said no.

With one conspicuous exception: the 5th generation iPod Nano.

No other Apple devices or computers built in the past 23 years have had any sort of FM radio tuner in them, although Apple did actually produce a TV/FM combo card that came preinstalled in various Macs back in the 90s (but, of course, since it was developed and sold well before Steve became CEO of Apple in 1997, it's safe to say he had nothing to do with it).

c

 

[Robert Douglas]

First of all, I'm not in the biz anymore but still love radio as a listener.

So, pretend for a moment that you are like me and AM radio is the primary method of entertainment - talk, sports, religion, Mexican music, classic country, nostalgia, etc. Occasional switch to FM for Jazz or Classical, but 21st century pop music is never gonna happen - it literally makes me sick.

Now, pretend that I'm in a demo that has most of the money to spend, but cannot stand advertising. I need to have those six buttons and a dial to switch instantly between channels. When I don't switch, I do sometimes listen to the ads for car dealers, doctors, dentists, plumbers, roofers, water softeners, HVAC, remodelers, restaurants, etc. All the injury and divorce lawyers get tuned out immediately, of course. How much of that can anyone take?

Now, pretend that I buy a new car and suddenly the letter S has been removed from my AM radio by the 3Khz low pass filter. The old car was good for 7Khz and sounded fine.

Now, pretend that I give up and start using iHeart, TuneIn, etc and find that I get a pile of commercials every time I try to change stations. Dangerous while driving. I might crash into you.

By now y'all are saying that this old viejo needs to just die off and let his beloved AM band go with him. I agree, but I hope you kids provide something better for yourselves than what we have now. I'm keeping the old car.

 

[cc333]

@Robert Douglas I agree wholeheartedly!

Except I got clever and made myself my own Part 15 AM station to listen to because I'm that frustrated by the lack of local content on any of the local radio dials (AM and FM).

My station:

• Sounds as good and clean as I can make it, with full range ~35-10kHz frequency response and AM STEREO,
• Plays any music I want, on demand, and
• Plays no commercials
• If I want, I can even use it to rebroadcast internet streams so I don't have to be tethered to a phone or computer to hear them

The only thing it lacks is imaging (it's literally nothing more than an infinitely repeating playlist of songs. No voice overs, no jingles, no station IDs).

Am I cheating? Probably.

Do I care? Absolutely not!

c

 

[radiofan2023]

@Robert Douglas I agree wholeheartedly!

Except I got clever and made myself my own Part 15 AM station to listen to because I'm that frustrated by the lack of local content on any of the local radio dials (AM and FM).

What do you listen to in your car?

 

[cc333]

My AM station is mostly set up for listening at home, but If I'm within a block or two of my house, I will certainly try to listen to my station, if only to check what my range is (I've determined that it can make it out almost a mile if conditions are right).

Otherwise, I usually tune to KCBS, but sometimes I browse around and usually I can find something distant I can listen to, especially at night (KYNO and KEJB usually come in somewhat reliably, if not well).

If I'm in the mood for something other than oldies or news, I try one of the three tolerable FMs around here (the classical station down in the lower end of the dial, KCSM 91.1, or KOSF 103.7 (aka 80s+), otherwise, if I'm parked in a spot with fair cell reception (not guaranteed in many of the places I go), I'll try one of several streams I've found (yes, I am somewhat up to date!) or else either a prerecorded block of my AM station or iTunes library on my phone.

A bit of a retrospective: back in the late 90s and early 2000s, my mother always had KFRC or KABL playing in the car (always on AM, but sometimes KFRC's FM simulcast when 610 wasn't coming though), and sometimes in the mornings, she'd tune into KDFC on a boombox in her bedroom, which I could often overhear as I woke up.

My AM is an attempt at recreating KABL and KFRC because I miss those times (my mother is still alive and well and plans to be for many more years, thankfully), and I was feeling nostalgic during late late 2020 and 2021.

c

 

[Kelly A]

So, pretend for a moment that you are like me and AM radio is the primary method of entertainment - talk, sports, religion, Mexican music, classic country, nostalgia, etc. Occasional switch to FM for Jazz or Classical, but 21st century pop music is never gonna happen - it literally makes me sick.

You might want to see if those pesky kids are on your lawn.

Now, pretend that I'm in a demo that has most of the money to spend, but cannot stand advertising.

You mean 18-34MF? In that case, you subscribe to Spotify with no commercials.

I need to have those six buttons and a dial to switch instantly between channels. When I don't switch, I do sometimes listen to the ads for car dealers, doctors, dentists, plumbers, roofers, water softeners, HVAC, remodelers, restaurants, etc. All the injury and divorce lawyers get tuned out immediately, of course. How much of that can anyone take?

So, for someone who has worked in 'the business', you do understand that what makes that free music, talk, and entertainment programming possible are those ads, right?

Now, pretend that I buy a new car and suddenly the letter S has been removed from my AM radio by the 3Khz low pass filter. The old car was good for 7Khz and sounded fine.

But as mentioned; 99% of the programming on AM is conversational voice, not opera, so the frequency response doesn't go above about 4kHz. So what's the problem exactly?

Now, pretend that I give up and start using iHeart, TuneIn, etc and find that I get a pile of commercials every time I try to change stations. Dangerous while driving. I might crash into you.

If commercial blocks upset you that much that you can't operate a motor vehicle safely, you may want to consider a streaming subscription and Apple Carplay or do your fellow motorists a favor and start using public transportation.

 

[TexasTom]

Now, pretend that I buy a new car and suddenly the letter S has been removed from my AM radio by the 3Khz low pass filter. The old car was good for 7Khz and sounded fine.

How old was that previous car? I'm guessing about 40 years old...because I think that there were a handful of car stereos in the 80s that had AM stereo and somewhere around a 6 kHz bandwidth. But nothing in a very long time...and even back then, that sort of performance was rare.

 

[landtuna]

... but 21st century pop music is never gonna happen - it literally makes me sick. Me too.

Now, pretend that I'm in a demo that has most of the money to spend, but cannot stand advertising. Yup.

Now, pretend that I give up and start using iHeart, TuneIn, etc and find that I get a pile of commercials every time I try to change stations.

I once had a 1965 Corvair with a Delco AM and one package deck mounted speaker (prolly 9" or so). It had excellent sound, great sensitivity and selectivity. When I converted that car to racing I pulled the radio and speaker and installed it in 3 or 4 subsequent cars as their FM's always seemed to have range or multipath problems. AM's still played music then. It wasn't until 2012 when I bought my Genesis that the radio (with its 17 speakers, digital sound and 500 watt amp) delivered a much better sound than the old Delco beater. I retired the Delco to the workshop and it is still working (although my workshop days are virtually over and I don't find anything on AM worth listening to plus way too much noise). And I carry along in my van a memory stick filled with personal favs and music you don't find easily on today's commercial radio for those times when the FM signal fades.