(I get it - sometimes it seems to others that I'm lost in space regarding my thinking about certain issues)
Kirk Bayne
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"AM for Every Vehicle Act" is flawed - we need a "Future of Radio Act"
- Thread starter Michi
- Start date
Kirk Bayne
Look, Kirk, nobody is trying to beat you up here. Your views are welcome, and if nothing, even entertaining sometimes. The problem is you frequently chime in with the same view over and over. In particular, whether AM radio can be a reliable line of communication to the masses in the 2020's. As many have tried to explain, average consumers don't listen to AM, let alone have a portable radio around. History has shown that many emergency services aren't trained to operate EAS, nor do many even bother practicing its use.
Now, I think you should concentrate on more important things by saving up some money and buy one of these: Life-size "Lost in Space" Robot Only $25K | TechCrunch
A good friend of mine has one just inside his front door entry.
It's all good 
I was going to mention the life size B9 robot too...
Perhaps all the Federal gov publicity about AM (in car radios) will remind local governments to be sure their emergency training is all up to date (such as EAS usage, I hope).
Anyway...back to the regularly scheduled thread...
Kirk Bayne
I was going to mention the life size B9 robot too...
Perhaps all the Federal gov publicity about AM (in car radios) will remind local governments to be sure their emergency training is all up to date (such as EAS usage, I hope).
Anyway...back to the regularly scheduled thread...
Kirk Bayne
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Did you use the switchhook to pulse dial your phone, or did you use the operator to make calls?
@kevtronics @radiofan2023 I know this is woefully off topic, but I'm going to try out a device called Cell2Jack, which essentially converts a landline phone into a Bluetooth handset that can pair to a smartphone. I think it supports pulse dialing, but I'm not sure. I'll find out when I try my Western Electric model 500 dial telephone on it, though
If it works, it should be an effective way of futureproofing antique phones since they can continue to work regardless of what the network looks like, so long as the Cell2Jack is paired to a smartphone that supports it and can connect to it.
c
If it works, it should be an effective way of futureproofing antique phones since they can continue to work regardless of what the network looks like, so long as the Cell2Jack is paired to a smartphone that supports it and can connect to it.
c
Not something I personally would use often if at all, but thanks for posting.. Someone who has an older phone or system they want to keep going for whatever reason, or to continue to be able to use or demonstrate a rotary / pulse dial might find this helpful.
Completely off the stated original topic of this thread as well, but I'm one of the 73% of US residents who doesn't have a landline, and only has a smartphone. My parents still have wall phones in their home, but a few years ago when they asked for faster speed DSL, AT&T showed up, disconnected their copper lines and put in 1 modem that handles both their wall phones and internet. When they complained and asked for the copper line to be reconnected, the phone company refused, and referenced a bill that had been passed granting them that right. When my parents complained about not having phone service in an emergency when the power fails, AT&T "graciously" showed up and installed a UPS that will keep their phone modem going for about an hour after they lose power - very kind of them. So much for folks keeping their land lines in service to be used in an emergency or when power fails. //off soapbox//
I’m totally ignorant of the underlying telco systems in use today. How many areas a phone companies no longer have traditional “Copper” landlines?
Rand Paul has unwittingly become the Grim Reaper of Ancient Modulation lolRand Paul attempts to explain his reason for not supporting the AM for Every Vehicle Act and equates AM with the 8-track and cassette which also disappeared from cars. Paul's solution for the noise issue with AM and EV's? Just don't buy EV's and get rid of the government subsidy and they'll eventually go away. Amazing logic!
Rand Paul Defends AM Bill Move, Says Targeting Electric Car Tax Breaks A Better Way To Help.
Senator Rand Paul may have scuttled an attempt Tuesday to quickly get a pending bill through the Senate that would help ensure AM is in vehicle dashboards, but the Kentuckywww.insideradio.com
Of all the things for me to actually agree with.
The FCC gave phone companies until 2022 in the US and until 2024 in Puerto Rico the option to allow some local phone companies to not sell “plain old telephone service” lines, according to the news release here:
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-358873A1.txt
“Specifically, the FCC granted certain legacy telephone companies (called price cap incumbent local exchange carriers (LEC)) relief from outdated and burdensome requirements from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 designed to foster competition in the market for local telephone service—(1) a requirement they offer competitors “analog voice-grade copper loops” on an unbundled basis at regulated rates and (2) a requirement they offer legacy services for resale at regulated rates.”
It sounds like the cost of selling the services at the regulated rates was losing these certain phone companies money, so now they can set their own rates for reselling the legacy services.
Here’s the summary of the order:
www.fcc.gov
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-358873A1.txt
“Specifically, the FCC granted certain legacy telephone companies (called price cap incumbent local exchange carriers (LEC)) relief from outdated and burdensome requirements from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 designed to foster competition in the market for local telephone service—(1) a requirement they offer competitors “analog voice-grade copper loops” on an unbundled basis at regulated rates and (2) a requirement they offer legacy services for resale at regulated rates.”
It sounds like the cost of selling the services at the regulated rates was losing these certain phone companies money, so now they can set their own rates for reselling the legacy services.
Here’s the summary of the order:
FCC Grants Relief From Outdated, Burdensome Phone Industry Regulations
FCC Grants Relief From Outdated, Burdensome Phone Industry Regulations
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Well, in this corner of the southwestern desert...it's not a matter of the incumbent phone entity not using the POTS lines, but in the maintenance of the system.
I'm in a 35 year old neighborhood, which was once cotton fields. So, all of the infrastructure (phone, electric) was installed during the development.
Over the decades, while the power still seems to be intact, more than a few of the copper pair in the ground (under the streets, as they didn't develop this area with traditional between-parcel alleyways) have failed due to a number of reasons.
I finally gave up on ADSL service (80/12) for about $45/month about a year ago when I had confirmed by the legacy phone service technician that a splice that was repaired shortly after moving in for one of the two copper pair that service each lot had failed. I know it was repaired because I had it repaired; remember back in the '80's it was fashionable for some to have a dedicated circuit for modem/fax/second voice service.
I can just imagine that there will be more POTS failures, due to lack of maintenance.
In many markets, Verizon is no longer issuing service calls, and even notifying customers that they will be discontinuing DSL circuits.
Same goes with the old 'equalized broadcast circuits' and POTS lines.
This guy was able to get a copper landline repaired -- but only because he works for the phone company and did the repair himself:
I knew exactly where the damage was; right in front of my neighbor's driveway.
In fact, up until about a year ago, when the neighborhood was repaved, it was easy to see the exact spot in the street the pavement was replaced 30 years ago.
C'est la vie - we move on.
I'm surprised that viable ADSL service lasted that long where you are. I'm in a neighborhood where the infrastructure is just slightly newer than yours, and I had to dump ADSL service a decade ago after the steady degradation of the copper pairs slowed the service to the point where I was getting somewhere around 100 kb/s data rates.
Getting back to the discussion on AM, I still think there is a place for AM particularly in locales where there are no more available channels on the FM band. It may be that AM's days as a medium for music have passed but there is still a great deal of spoken word programming that is popular. A friend of mine, in his late 30's, loves to listen to a show about money management and investing. Listens to it everyday. It's only available on AM. The FM stations, most of which are carrying a music format, don't seem interested in spoken word programming, NPR being the exception.
What modern towns or cities have no FM coverage from stations in town, or nearby larger cities?
You mean right wing talk? Nothing new there.
I'm sure one can find rare individual exceptions with just about anything. We're not talking about a 100 year old form of media being heard by an occasional exception. More the norm.
Many larger market news and sports stations have moved to FM because that's where the listeners are.
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