The AM side of an AM/FM simulcast is still useful when the FM signal gets wiped out by tropo, like what happened to me this morning.
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Fewer cars with AM radios...
- Thread starter davideduardo
- Start date
There is one hope for the younger generation, and I think it's a bug that's bitten almost everyone here: Dxing. Sometimes you get taken over by this curiosity of what's actually out there, but it's less likely to happen today. Although, I will run across some Dxers from the younger crowd, even on here!
In my case, I grew up on FM as opposed to streaming, and one day, a local station had powered down so much that an adjacent station from a ways away was actually stronger than the local. On top of that, a good friend of mine was listening to an AM station in his car. I didn't think much of it, but when I got home, I immediately checked the AM band in my vehicle, and was pleasantly surprised at how far out I could get. Things kind of snowballed from there, as I would discover tropo, AM skip, E-skip, and finally Shortwave. I would consider myself lucky to have grown up in a time where the radio was still important, because I don't think it's that simple today.
In today's world, with SXM and streaming, nothing really takes over "by accident". Someone else that I chat with had his local station destroyed by costal tropo, and that just doesn't happen with the new ways of radio. If you get tropo on your cellphone signal, chances are you will either not notice it, or you get random roaming charges. But, when a local AM/FM gives way to something farther away, you get a sense of wonder. So in order for the radio bug to bite, perhaps someone would get bored with their options (not likely), or someone would have to introduce them (that could work).
Even back in my youth, in the 1960s and '70s, DXing was not a thing for most people, other than hams, which were about 0.1% of the population when I was first licensed in 1970. More people owned portable radios with shortwave included (usually one band, 4-12 or 6-18 MHz, usually with no bandspread) than today, but they were still an extreme minority. They allowed people to listen to the BBC, VOA, the big European and Asian services, and not much else. I don't recall seeing those on the store shelves after 1980 or so.
And now, with streaming, why would anyone bother? I rarely listen to SW broadcasts now, what with 15,000 or more available streams on TuneIn and the other streaming services. DXing via radio is an activity who's time is just about gone, and it probably isn't coming back.
I used to listen to my high school's football games on the radio, and my interest began when I heard the man say the other team's radio station had their announcers at the game too. I decided to see if I could find the other team's station. I never did, but I found something even more amazing. A radio station in Cincinnati which played this great music I had never heard on the radio before.
Except when nobody even bothers with AM, let alone know it exists.
Exactly. Radio Nerds keep banging the drum like radio didn't have competition from other sources. Content is, and always has been King. There are many ways of consuming content other than radio. Radio transmission has become just one of a hundred different ways people consume media here in the 21st Century.
Just like AM listeners, many of the died in the wool radio listeners are...well..dying off. Probably a fair percentage of DX'ers are over 55. Just age alone will eventually phase interest in capturing distant commercial radio signals.
Can I do it on my phone like a game? If not, then forget it.
When your phone is reaching a site within 500 yards from your location, don't think tropo has ever been an issue.
Only if AM/FM is the only option for consuming media. News Flash: It's not that way anymore.
Do you, or know anyone who owns a smartphone with applications (apps) installed? Doubtful anyone is getting bored with them.
It is fair to say that Radio Hobbyists have always been in the minority, however that 0.1% still amounts to a good 340,000 people, and to put that in perspective, this website has 37,000 members, so we have a good pool to draw from. Regardless, I don't think of Dxing as a popular hobby, and that's probably a good thing, as those ham bands would otherwise be so congested that no-one can use them.
That is my point as well. It's harder to attract people to the hobby nowadays, but it's still doable. Also, you mention SW, but considering that the content has fallen drastically on that band, it's just not the same place anymore.I don't personally use TuneIn, but I have easy access to IHM stations and Audacy stations on my phone, and I have an echo dot.
That is unfortunately the truth. When I began Dxing, a lot of the alternatives we have today just didn't exist. Now that they do, I'm definitely happy to have such easy access, although it does make me wonder if I would be on this forum if I had the Alexa back then. The funny thing, is that humans (like myself) like to defy logic for some reason, and I suspect there will be at least some number of Dxers for the next few generations, or I hope.
Actually you can!
Almost all phones have a FM chip, and at least 2/5ths have a built in FM app. Alternatively, you can download an app that activates your tuner (I have used NextRadio before), or there's an SDR app as well, but you have to buy a $40 dongle for it. You can also practice AM/SW dxing by using an Internet SDR like Kiwi for free. Okay, I'm starting to sound like an advertisement, LOL.There was a thread on here about San Diego citizens getting "international charges" on their phones without ever leaving the country. I think @DavidEduardo knows which one I'm referring to.
That's what I said as well.
Agreed with you here. I'm typing from my phone as we speak, and I can play games or scroll Facebook for hours on end. But I was referring to the music options. Have you noticed that SXM tends to repeat itself in the playlist department?
It's a lot like ham radio. There are younger people (below 50) taking tests and getting licensed, but few immediately jump in and start buying radios or installing antennas. At my home near Washington D.C., we have something like eight repeaters. In spite of locals getting their licenses, it's a transmission ghost town. I asked a new ham in his 20's when he was planning on getting on the air. His response? He just wanted to get the license, but isn't that interesting in the hobby per se'.
But that's the thing; who's going to bother with a radio with antennas when you can just stream it, or literally find thousands or millions of other options? Only a handful of radio nerds.Actually you can!
Native to my iPhone are iTunes and Apple Music. I have playlists of over 1000 songs right there on my phone.
SXM works much like radio over the past fifty years. They schedule their playlists, rotating researched music in and out. And just like radio, they don't expect someone to stick around for hours at a time, so they play the hits within that format.
ZantennaG1 said:
But, when a local AM/FM gives way to something farther away, you get a sense of wonder.
Fifty years ago, if you lived in a small town with one mediocre radio station and no outside signals during the daytime, DXing was full of wonder.
In Bishop, California, back in the days when most car radios only got AM and had five pushbuttons, every kid I knew in high school (including me) had KFRC, San Francisco, KHJ, Los Angeles, XERB, Tijuana and KDAY, Santa Monica on theirs---in addition to KIBS.
It made me work harder as a jock from day one---I was on the air at age 15 against Dave Diamond, Humble Harve and Wolfman Jack. And I didn't like hearing "you sucked on the air last night, Hagerty" in the hallways at school the next day.
But hey, that was some big-name talent playing the hits and giving away albums and cash and cars.
As in-car stereos became more of a thing, that kind of died out. People liked being their own PDs.
Today, dialing around the AM band brings you a whole lot of stations carrying essentially the same syndicated fare. Where is this station I'm not all that wild about anyway? Beats me. They call it "Talk (frequency)" or something generic. The commercials don't really give a clue. Gotta stick around for the top of the hour for the actual call letters.
But why?
There's no there there.
But, when a local AM/FM gives way to something farther away, you get a sense of wonder.
Fifty years ago, if you lived in a small town with one mediocre radio station and no outside signals during the daytime, DXing was full of wonder.
In Bishop, California, back in the days when most car radios only got AM and had five pushbuttons, every kid I knew in high school (including me) had KFRC, San Francisco, KHJ, Los Angeles, XERB, Tijuana and KDAY, Santa Monica on theirs---in addition to KIBS.
It made me work harder as a jock from day one---I was on the air at age 15 against Dave Diamond, Humble Harve and Wolfman Jack. And I didn't like hearing "you sucked on the air last night, Hagerty" in the hallways at school the next day.
But hey, that was some big-name talent playing the hits and giving away albums and cash and cars.
As in-car stereos became more of a thing, that kind of died out. People liked being their own PDs.
Today, dialing around the AM band brings you a whole lot of stations carrying essentially the same syndicated fare. Where is this station I'm not all that wild about anyway? Beats me. They call it "Talk (frequency)" or something generic. The commercials don't really give a clue. Gotta stick around for the top of the hour for the actual call letters.
But why?
There's no there there.
I will invoke the U.S. Fifth Amendment.....
I'm generally uncomfortable totally cutting the apron strongs on terrestrial broadcasting....
I was mocked by one of the discussion participants because they just so had to make sure that they justified their point all hell breakin' loose. I see too many TV stations relying on their internet 5G camera packs and one slip and the image goes to Pixelating City.
I was mocked by one of the discussion participants because they just so had to make sure that they justified their point all hell breakin' loose. I see too many TV stations relying on their internet 5G camera packs and one slip and the image goes to Pixelating City.
Not anymore. Now that most smartphones have eliminated the headphone jack, and thus most people are using wireless earbuds, there is no longer a headphone cord to act as an antenna, so most new smartphones either have the FM tuner function disabled, or don't have it at all.
I don't think so. iPhones have not an FM tuner, disabled or otherwise, for several generations.Actually you can!
Ars Technica reports on Ajit Pai remarks, 2017: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...-to-stop-disabling-fm-radio-chips-in-iphones/
Exactly. And even if the chips existed, would anyone actually bother? You could count those who might maybe on two hands.
My new flip phone does have an FM tuner in it, though, including RDS!
And more automakers are making features and options subscription-based. For example, BMWs come with heated seats activated for a "trial period" only. If you don't keep paying BMW to subscribe to that feature once the trial ends, your butt will be cold:
Plus, once you trade in the car, any options you paid extra for suddenly disappear. Tesla has been doing that for a while now. You paid $20k fur the full self-driving and extra-range battery options? Great, but the next owner of your car won't get those features unless they pay Tesla to re-enable them.
It's like those new parking meters that detect when you leave the space and immediately cancel out any remaining time you had on it.
Plus, once you trade in the car, any options you paid extra for suddenly disappear. Tesla has been doing that for a while now. You paid $20k fur the full self-driving and extra-range battery options? Great, but the next owner of your car won't get those features unless they pay Tesla to re-enable them.
It's like those new parking meters that detect when you leave the space and immediately cancel out any remaining time you had on it.
You could always leave the Apple cult and worship the true god of Android, you know.
Sure, and I could become Amish and buy a horse and buggy for transportation. Pretty unlikely for either.
This is so on point with what I have experienced as well. There was this interview with Billy Joel and Don Henley, and they both would listen to the AM clear-channels in their childhood to get early access to the newest music. Those days, sadly, are gone, and you're right that today's AM is a bit bland. When I do DX, I don't necessarily turn away a talk station, but I will challenge myself to find a new music station. And sometimes, I've had amazing results. There's a station in St. Joesph, Missouri on 1550 AM (KESJ) that plays 70's/80s, and only broadcasts with 500 watts at night, and I had to null out some competition to get the station, but it felt 100x more rewarding.
Sadly true. There's still the option of using the USB port as the antenna, however wireless charging might do away with that altogether.
Apple has been known to do this type of thing in order to promote their own services, and as you might expect, people have protested and filed suit. Unfortunately, Apple is still pulling this nonsense. At least you can still get on Safari, and look up a web-based SDR to mess around with.
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