Police radios have been P25 digital for over twenty years. Now they use a cellular approach, using multiple sites around the geographic vicinity.
The digital radio also sends dispatch data to the laptop in a patrol car.
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Fewer cars with AM radios...
- Thread starter davideduardo
- Start date
The digital radio also sends dispatch data to the laptop in a patrol car.
P25 and 8VSB television are two different animals and cannot be compared. I work for the state of Texas taking care of the state troopers! I maintain their P25 radio systems on VHF and the 800 MHz trunked systems. On channel interference will cause trouble no matter what mode is being used. Tropo causes the biggest problem along the Gulf Coast.
Actually the laptop gets its data via broadband air card on FirstNet. Sending data via the same channel as the voice just ties it up even more.
Florida family drives into electric car problem: a replacement battery costs more than vehicle itself
A Florida family ran into a major problem after buying an electric vehicle, the replacement battery costs more than they bought the car for.
As of this post, all I found out is that this Ford EV has a Sony radio w/HD.
A Kmart (ICE) car battery display indicated that the typical car battery lasts about 3 to 4 years (in the Midwest USA).
(one battery in my 1985 Chrysler K-Car lasted about 2 years, one battery in my 2004 Civic lasted about 8 years)
Kirk Bayne
EV and hybrid batteries generally are warranted for 8 years—-the exact age of the used, discontinued Ford in this story. But it’s worse. Ford only did 5 year/60,000 mile warranties on the Focus Electric.Florida family drives into electric car problem: a replacement battery costs more than vehicle itself
A Florida family ran into a major problem after buying an electric vehicle, the replacement battery costs more than they bought the car for.www.foxbusiness.com
As of this post, all I found out is that this Ford EV has a Sony radio w/HD.
A Kmart (ICE) car battery display indicated that the typical car battery lasts about 3 to 4 years (in the Midwest USA).
(one battery in my 1985 Chrysler K-Car lasted about 2 years, one battery in my 2004 Civic lasted about 8 years)
Kirk Bayne
Failure at this point is rare, though. There are first-gen Toyota Priuses (as many as 24 years old) still rolling here in California with their original battery pack.
That said, buying an EV with a battery almost or completely out of warranty is a risky move. $11,000 seems to be about $2,500 above the average of what an 8-year old Focus Electric sells for, and it’s unconscionable to sell one to someone without a thorough explanation of the costs they would face should the out of warranty battery fail.
A good lawyer could probably eat the dealership alive.
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... with salt and lemon!
One additional note: The Focus Electric is not a typical case. Battery replacement costs for other EVs are dropping (they’re still in production, as are replacement parts) and in California, no matter what the EV battery warranty is elsewhere, by state law it is 15 years/150,000 miles.
After the George Floyd murder awakened more people to the needs of police reforms and openness, there have been some calls for the dispatch channels at least to be unencrypted. Seen at least one or two news articles quoted or linked on radio hobby websites.
Some of the drive towards digital encryption and digital transmissions was related to sell jobs by the manufacturers, at least according to some on the scanning hobby websites.
I think the drive towards full encryption of police and other transmissions is counterproductive. It definitely hasn't decreased the crime rate in my region.
But that's obviously a different issue.
RE: ethnic broadcasters on AM: I would be curious to know just how healthy many of them are financially. I know one large Spanish AM broadcaster in my metro (KKMO 1360 El Rey) seems to be doing OK, at least as far as advertising. There is some on the station, as well as its website. The Regional Mexican FMs in the area get the same, non-reported ratings. They have adverts, too.
Agreed. That's why I said 20-30 years, depending on how the electrical supply is increased.
Interesting observations. My concern is that most people who drive cars need them to run. no questions asked, when they are headed to and from work. In other words, the charging has to be dependable, 24/7, just as they need heat available 24/7 during winter cold snaps and AC 24/7 during summer heat waves.You turned my engineering mind loose, so I did some math:
First, yes, it appears household solar is not counted. Only grid-scale solar.
The total utilization for the whole year tells you little about the peak capacity. The grid today has significant surplus capacity during off-peak hours on just about any day of the year.
Let me start by saying I looked only at household charging, for which a common standard is 32A at 240V or 7.7 kW. This is similar to the load from two household central air conditioners. The rapid charging varies a lot and I didn't want to try and model that. I looked at the Mid-Continent Independent System Operator, because that is where I live. They serve about 1/8 of the United States population, serving portions of 12 states, from Minnesota to the mouth of the Mississippi.
For example, on May 1st, 2022, there was enough theoretical capacity in the Midcontinent region to charge 6 million EVs. During midnight to 8am, that stretched to 8.5 million. Because this condition lasted all day, and most EVs will charge in 8-10 hours, there could have been enough grid capacity to fully charge 20-25 million cars.
The hottest or coldest days of the year are a different question. On June 21, when the temperature reached 100 degrees in Chicago, the available capacity in the grid was much lower. I can't say exactly how much lower, but the available capacity on the afternoon of the 21st was probably 10s of thousands and not millions of EVs charging.
The good news is that, should it be necessary for grid stability, automakers and electric utilities could implement load shedding, similar to how utilities will give you a small rebate if you let them cut off your A/C for an hour.
In spite of all the figures I quoted above, I agree that we probably aren't ready today for a wholesale changeover. But I figure someone must be thinking ahead as far as what would be needed in the grid for a large scale changeover. Call me an optimist if you will
There are forces in our government and political system who want a complete changover to EVs, and some of them seem to want it ASAP. Hence, in my state they want to ban new gas vehicle sales 8 years from now -- it doesn't matter how much mileage the vehicle gets per gallon -- they simply want a changeover to EVs because of carbon footprints.
I think they're waaaayyyyyy too optimistic. Even in this state, which gets most of its electricity from hydroelectric. Because we are rapidly growing in population.
Either way, it will be an interesting next 10 years. By 2032 we'll see just how much progress has been made towards EV mass adoption.
Just because its not as popular as it was in the 1950's doesn't mean it still isn't useful in some places or context for the right content in the right circumstances. NYC where the dial is overcrowded is one good example. Forcing the option out makes it seem like its not important or never mattered when in fact it doesn't cost much to continue to support the medium. Take it with a grain of salt AM can still survive as long as advertising isn't the main focus. IMO
There is one AM station in Spartanburg SC,
WASC 1530 that plays R&B hits, yes I wish they were on FM or can get an FM translator, but that still wouldn't stop me from listening to them if they have some great stuff on the air.
There is one AM station in Spartanburg SC,
WASC 1530 that plays R&B hits, yes I wish they were on FM or can get an FM translator, but that still wouldn't stop me from listening to them if they have some great stuff on the air.
Because I don't subscribe to the ratings..they raised the price so much it's ridiculous
KLVI is a 5kw class B at 560... Mine doesn't have that kind of coverage..
But those who are subscribed see the ratings for stations that are not subscribed.
The market is only three counties and 85% of the population is in Jefferson and Orange.
Of course if your station does not even cover that then you can not be attracting all those young adults...
Which only adds to the question of how you determine that “a lot of 20-30 year olds” listen and like the music library.
Are we gonna keep doing this with an eye dropper or can we get specific about call letters, frequency, power and format?
"A lot" is a relative term, and can be any number. One could possibly say that a lot of African Americans in the Seattle region listen to BIN. The estimated cume, acc. to the 6+ ratings, is around 4,000 people over the past month. That's twice as many people as the average attendance to a local WNBA game here.
I suppose it's conceivable that if a person knew a lot of people in the African American community, they might be exposed to at least some of those estimated 4,000 BIN listeners, and get the impression that a lot of people listen. Just as if you're a WNBA sports fan or heavy duty basketball fan here, you might meet a lot of fellow WNBA fans, and get the perception that they are popular.
Talk station KVI 570, in Seattle, is a conservative station that's been on that format since the 1990s. They got a 0.8 in the 6+ ratings the last month. Their estimated cume was 43,900, about the population of a small city (and more than twice the average Seattle Kraken attendance). Now, if all of my circle were conservatives, I'm sure that I'd find some KVI listeners in that circle, just as if my circle were mostly heavy duty sports fans, chances are high I'd meet more than a few who went to a Kraken game.
In my own anecdotal experience, any time I talk to people about radio, they say they hate hearing the same tried and true classic songs over and over again. I've never yet met a person who told me "I love hearing Kokomo / Free Bird / Hotel California being played several times every day!" But the research apparently speaks differently.
Perception always comes into play, doesn't it. I know I've had it. Took me a while to realize that when it comes to preferences in what I hear on the radio, I'm an outlier, as probably a lot of us are here.
PS, this isn't aimed at Continuous Wave. It's just a general observation. There have been threads on this sort of perception thing on RD before -- many of them I've been a part of. I hope his station is doing OK. It's a tough economy now for a lot of stations. I hope he has those younger listeners, too.
I suppose it's conceivable that if a person knew a lot of people in the African American community, they might be exposed to at least some of those estimated 4,000 BIN listeners, and get the impression that a lot of people listen. Just as if you're a WNBA sports fan or heavy duty basketball fan here, you might meet a lot of fellow WNBA fans, and get the perception that they are popular.
Talk station KVI 570, in Seattle, is a conservative station that's been on that format since the 1990s. They got a 0.8 in the 6+ ratings the last month. Their estimated cume was 43,900, about the population of a small city (and more than twice the average Seattle Kraken attendance). Now, if all of my circle were conservatives, I'm sure that I'd find some KVI listeners in that circle, just as if my circle were mostly heavy duty sports fans, chances are high I'd meet more than a few who went to a Kraken game.
In my own anecdotal experience, any time I talk to people about radio, they say they hate hearing the same tried and true classic songs over and over again. I've never yet met a person who told me "I love hearing Kokomo / Free Bird / Hotel California being played several times every day!" But the research apparently speaks differently.
Perception always comes into play, doesn't it. I know I've had it. Took me a while to realize that when it comes to preferences in what I hear on the radio, I'm an outlier, as probably a lot of us are here.
PS, this isn't aimed at Continuous Wave. It's just a general observation. There have been threads on this sort of perception thing on RD before -- many of them I've been a part of. I hope his station is doing OK. It's a tough economy now for a lot of stations. I hope he has those younger listeners, too.
Exactly, because the assumption is purely anecdotal. Probably a friend of a friend who's 20-something son told me they've listened...
Probably and doubtful.
Cue REO Speedwagon's "I heard it from a friend".
Thank you for playing. We have a nice prize for you...
Could it be.....'The San Francisco Treat'?
It's confirmation bias, and every one of us has it. If we like something (music, art, food) and we talk to fifteen people in the course of a week who like it too, our brains register that as anything from "a lot" to "everybody". If it's something we created or helped create, we start to allow ourselves to think it after maybe only five people.
It takes training (journalism and polling/ratings methodology were mine) to break that natural instinct and realize that if even 50 people in a city tell you something, you've learned something about the likes of---50 people. If you apply solid statistical and polling practices, 50 people can tell you about a lot more---but if we're just taliking about conversation, e-mails, social media, then, no.
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I'll accept the accessory...
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