Is this a sign of the future for AM Radio?

[DavidEduardo]

A friend wrote to me saying,

I took my Mini in for service this morning and received a 2021 Mini as a loaner. To my surprise, the radio only has FM and SiriusXM. This is the first I’ve heard of a gasoline vehicle omitting AM radio, and doesn’t bode well for the future of the band.

Is this an exception, a trend or something else. It sounds rather distressing for operators of AM stations if more marques go this way.

 

[oldradiotapes]

Could be a slowly emerging trend. My best mate's '17 Toyota Tacoma T.R.D. is that way. I mean, portable radios without mediumwave coverage have been available for decades.

I'm sure the automotive industry probably studied it extensively and determined it's a feature that few customers would miss or even notice if it were removed. It's just not a selling point any more with most people under about 70. A large percentage these days stream radio simulcasts through their mobile telephones or play self-compiled libraries. Car radios these days have gotten so refined to a cost that any more, it's just lines of code in a DSP or firmware module anyways.

That said, I think I'm years ahead of the trend because when I installed my car's Pioneer radio in 2010 I didn't even bother to hook up the aerial, since I really only meant to use it for the CD player and line-in port.

Check out shango066's personal review of a cheapo you-get-what-you-pay-for Blaupunkt knockoff. Skip to a few minutes or so towards the end. Yes, it turned out to be a cheap piece of rubbish but that's probably a sign of mediumwave's future in car radios, like it or not. http://youtube.com/watch?v=hHfcWYOYLPs

 

[PTBoardOp94]

I feel like I've heard of another model of car that didn't have an AM radio. Maybe something designed for Europe, like a Volvo? Can't remember.

I know for a fact that many cars have poor AM radios. I remember listening to KOA while visiting Colorado and driving a Hyundai SUV, and the station sounded as though it was using equipment that hadn't been upgraded since Alexander Graham Bell.

I also know that I have only rarely pressed the AM/FM button on my car radio.

 

[TheBigA]

I know for a fact that many cars have poor AM radios.

And I think that's the reason why some car makers drop AM. They build these luxury cars with high tech sound systems, and AM simply sounds lousy. If electronics manufacturers invested in better receivers, they'd sound better. But they technology has actually gotten worse over the last 50 years. If digital AM succeeds, and electronics manufacturers make better quality AM receivers, I'd expect car manufacturers would give AM a second look. But as long as AM sounds worse than CB radio, worse than phone quality, we will see fewer AM radios in cars.

 

[KeithE4]

I know for a fact that many cars have poor AM radios. I remember listening to KOA while visiting Colorado and driving a Hyundai SUV, and the station sounded as though it was using equipment that hadn't been upgraded since Alexander Graham Bell.

Add the Nissan Versa to that list. The Ancient Modulation radio in my car (a '14 Versa) is a joke. At night, it doesn't even pick up KFYI and KTAR well, even when my portable AM/FM/HD radio gets most of the locals, at least when I move it outside.

 

[Oldie919]

A fair number of auto radios have virtually NO antenna attached to them!!!!
Recently I took the little "stub" off my 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage (it unscrews from the mount) and replaced it with a 36" section of 10-24 threaded steel rod....
FM is MUCH improved......AM.....meh....!
Remember, too......a high-quality AM radio will only sound as good as the station's broadcast.....if the transmitted signal sounds like 2 tin cans and a string....
GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage OUT).....
Long gone are the days of the Delco tube radios in GM cars....they sounded GREAT --- and helped keep you warm if your heater went out!!!

 

[michael hagerty]

A friend wrote to me saying,

I took my Mini in for service this morning and received a 2021 Mini as a loaner. To my surprise, the radio only has FM and SiriusXM. This is the first I’ve heard of a gasoline vehicle omitting AM radio, and doesn’t bode well for the future of the band.

Is this an exception, a trend or something else. It sounds rather distressing for operators of AM stations if more marques go this way.

David, ask your friend what model of MINI it is. If it's the Mini Cooper SE, it's electric. And a few pure electrics (Tesla included) have omitted AM radios because of electrical interference from the car itself. Interestingly though, other EV manufacturers have figured it out. The Chevy Bolt has a standard AM radio. as does the Jaguar I-Pace.

 

[kwthom]

A friend wrote to me saying,

I took my Mini in for service this morning and received a 2021 Mini as a loaner. To my surprise, the radio only has FM and SiriusXM. This is the first I’ve heard of a gasoline vehicle omitting AM radio, and doesn’t bode well for the future of the band.

Is this an exception, a trend or something else. It sounds rather distressing for operators of AM stations if more marques go this way.

Apparently, been going on for a bit now...

It turns out that several European countries are in the process of ending analog radio broadcasts altogether, replacing them with digital audio. Norway will turn off FM radio this year. In the U.S., fewer than one in five people now listen to AM radio, while use of satellite and Internet radio has risen rapidly. Perhaps BMW simply anticipated its inevitable decline, choosing not to make the effort to protect its audio system against interference with analog reception?

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098893_bmw-i3-electric-car-quirk-no-am-radio--but-why

Like everything else in manufacturing, BMW (owner of the Mini marque) may simply be down-sizing the receiver variations in it's vehicle models.

 

[kevtronics]

Check out shango066's personal review of a cheapo you-get-what-you-pay-for Blaupunkt knockoff. Skip to a few minutes or so towards the end. Yes, it turned out to be a cheap piece of rubbish but that's probably a sign of mediumwave's future in car radios, like it or not. http://youtube.com/watch?v=hHfcWYOYLPs

I bought the same model and mine actually has excellent sensitivity and selectivity on AM, albeit with the typical narrowband audio response. Maybe his unit was defective -- what do you expect with a car radio that sold for $12?

A fair number of auto radios have virtually NO antenna attached to them!!!!

My 2018 VW Jetta uses the rear window defroster grid as the antenna. AM reception is actually very good, although the audio is very narrowband and it has "birdies" on some frequencies when the ignition is on.

Add the Nissan Versa to that list. The Ancient Modulation radio in my car (a '14 Versa) is a joke. At night, it doesn't even pick up KFYI and KTAR well, even when my portable AM/FM/HD radio gets most of the locals, at least when I move it outside.

My dad's 2015 Nissan Versa Note has very good AM reception, and the audio is surprisingly wideband (good response up to at least 6 kHz). But despite the similar name, the Versa Note hatchback is not based on the chassis as the Versa sedan, so maybe yours is different.

And the AM tuner in modern Jeeps is actually a little too wideband on AM -- it lacks NRSC de-emphasis, so it sounds shrill and strident unless you turn down the treble!

BMW's i3 electric car ships with the AM radio tuner disabled, but the dealer can enable it upon customer request. However, reception will be poor due to the combination of interference from the electric motor and the car's plastic body shell.

 

[CTListener]

My 2018 VW Jetta uses the rear window defroster grid as the antenna. AM reception is actually very good, although the audio is very narrowband and it has "birdies" on some frequencies when the ignition is on.

Same on my 2008 Jetta. I get some really nice "gray line" reception of AMs in central and western NY and PA around local sundown from my location here in central CT, and during the day WROW Albany and WSBS Great Barrington are no problem. Of course, at any intersection with a traffic signal, the ambient electronic hash wipes out all but the strongest AM signals.

 

[anotherguyTN]

My 2019 Hyundai Elantra has the antenna built into the rear window and AM is actually pretty decent, but there's nothing I want to listen to on it that doesn't have an FM translator. But the fact is that I really don't listen to FM that often either unless someone else is riding with me. Otherwise I usually listen to either Bluetooth or USB.

 

[DavidEduardo]

It turns out that several European countries are in the process of ending analog radio broadcasts altogether, replacing them with digital audio. Norway will turn off FM radio this year. In the U.S., fewer than one in five people now listen to AM radio, while use of satellite and Internet radio has risen rapidly. Perhaps BMW simply anticipated its inevitable decline, choosing not to make the effort to protect its audio system against interference with analog reception?

That item you quoted is wrong.

The national average of AM uses is about 30% of the population. And keep in mind, 10% of the population does not use radio at all, so about 33% of radio users do use AM.

The wrong figure comes out of the failure of some observers to understand the difference between the share of actual listeners at any given time and the total listeners during the course of a week.

AM in the best of markets gets well under a 20% share of listening. But AM stations are used regularly by a third of the total radio users. That is a big group to ignore.

Considering that all markets have many more full signal FMs than they have good signal AMs, that is a rather surprising and high number of regular AM users.

 

[DavidEduardo]

David, ask your friend what model of MINI it is. If it's the Mini Cooper SE, it's electric. And a few pure electrics (Tesla included) have omitted AM radios because of electrical interference from the car itself. Interestingly though, other EV manufacturers have figured it out. The Chevy Bolt has a standard AM radio. as does the Jaguar I-Pace.

It is a fossil fuel powered unit. He does not have a home charger, so could not have gotten an electric loaner.

 

[oldradiotapes]

I bought the same model and mine actually has excellent sensitivity and selectivity on AM, albeit with the typical narrowband audio response. Maybe his unit was defective -- what do you expect with a car radio that sold for $12?

Probably was. I mean, he ordered two and they forgot to include one of the power leads on one of the wiring harnesses, so he had to solder-tack it in.

No word on the other unit's performance. If he installed it he hasn't reviewed it yet.

 

[semoochie]

That item you quoted is wrong.

The national average of AM uses is about 30% of the population. And keep in mind, 10% of the population does not use radio at all, so about 33% of radio users do use AM.

The wrong figure comes out of the failure of some observers to understand the difference between the share of actual listeners at any given time and the total listeners during the course of a week.

AM in the best of markets gets well under a 20% share of listening. But AM stations are used regularly by a third of the total radio users. That is a big group to ignore.

Considering that all markets have many more full signal FMs than they have good signal AMs, that is a rather surprising and high number of regular AM users.

Isn't this comparable to saying that brushing one's teeth is popular because everyone does it once or twice a day for two minutes? It pales next to the time spent eating(TSE)breakfast, lunch and dinner! P1s would include anyone who snacked between meals or overate.

 

[michael hagerty]

It is a fossil fuel powered unit. He does not have a home charger, so could not have gotten an electric loaner.

Hmm. I thought maybe, since BMW builds MINI and BMW didn't include an AM radio in the BMW i3 because of interference problems. I reviewed one back in June, but I honestly don't remember if there was an AM band in the audio system or not. I think I'd have noticed, and mentioned it in my review, as I usually set a button for KCBS. The Monroney (window sticker) just mentions "HD Radio" and Apple CarPlay.

But---all the press materials for the rest of the MINI line show AM radio as standard equipment.

That said, MINI's radio interface is the least intuitive thing in the world, so it's possible it was there and your friend just couldn't find it.

 

[kevtronics]

The owner's manual for the 2021 Mini Countryman (the model you're most likely to get as a loaner) still lists both AM and FM radio, although it says "Depending on the vehicle equipment and country version, it may not be possible to receive AM stations." See page 228:

https://www.miniusa.com/content/dam...rmanuals/MY21/2021_COUNTRYMAN_W_Connected.pdf

 

[michael hagerty]

The owner's manual for the 2021 Mini Countryman (the model you're most likely to get as a loaner) still lists both AM and FM radio, although it says "Depending on the vehicle equipment and country version, it may not be possible to receive AM stations." See page 228:

https://www.miniusa.com/content/dam...rmanuals/MY21/2021_COUNTRYMAN_W_Connected.pdf

I think the key there is country---there's a radio ops guide video online, shot in the UK, and the only OTA frequencies available are FM.

Also, it's possible that EV models don't have it. Again, I would have thought I'd have noticed it during the week I had one, but I may not have.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Hmm. I thought maybe, since BMW builds MINI and BMW didn't include an AM radio in the BMW i3 because of interference problems. I reviewed one back in June, but I honestly don't remember if there was an AM band in the audio system or not. I think I'd have noticed, and mentioned it in my review, as I usually set a button for KCBS. The Monroney (window sticker) just mentions "HD Radio" and Apple CarPlay.

But---all the press materials for the rest of the MINI line show AM radio as standard equipment.

That said, MINI's radio interface is the least intuitive thing in the world, so it's possible it was there and your friend just couldn't find it.

"Friend" is a broadcast engineer and company-wide computer systems manager. A car system is not going to be much of a challenge to him. Oh, and he manages my website, too.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Isn't this comparable to saying that brushing one's teeth is popular because everyone does it once or twice a day for two minutes? It pales next to the time spent eating(TSE)breakfast, lunch and dinner! P1s would include anyone who snacked between meals or overate.

No, because when there are vastly more viable FM signals in a market, part of the reason for lesser AM use is the lack of good signals with attractive formats.

For example, AM listening in Phoenix is low because there is no AM station that reliably and easily covers the whole market day and night, and most of the AM stations are very limited in market coverage. But there are fifteen FMs that cover the whole market, and another handful that cover better than the day and night coverage of any AM.