Thanks to all who provided input on this subject!
It's good that the Tesla auto is RF quiet. The other automakers
will have no excuse if their cars/trucks are RF noisy.
I noticed: "Major automakers are eliminating AM radio from new vehicles,
arguing
the antiquated system is unnecessary and is incompatible with electric
engines".
That says it all right there. One can conclude that Major Automakers
don't want to deal with the RFI on the AM band and will probably
claim it's too expensive for the consumer to filter out.
"...incompatible with electric
engines"...yeah, right. :(
I don't think AM is "antiquated", but that's just me and probably a LOT
of other folks.
One of my favorite programs is broadcast at night from WHAS which is
hundreds of miles away from the Kansas City area. WHAS is a clear
channel station running 50kw on 840kHz from KY. :D)
73,
Charlie, N0TT
On Mon, 22 May 2023 15:20:29 -0400 Charles Coldwell <coldwell@gmail.com>
writes:
> This was in an email from the New York Times
>
> Major automakers are eliminating AM radio from new vehicles, arguing
> the
> antiquated system is unnecessary and is incompatible with electric
> engines.
>
> But House lawmakers will convene a hearing in early June to discuss
> the
> importance of keeping AM radio in cars, committee spokespeople
> confirmed
> exclusively to The Technology 202.
>
> House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair *Cathy McMorris Rodgers*
> (R-Wash.)
> and ranking Democrat *Frank Pallone Jr.*(N.J.) will hear testimony
> from
> public safety experts about why they think AM radio is still
> essential for
> vehicles.
>
> *The hearing comes as lawmakers in both the House and Senate **sound
> the
> alarm*
>
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a1532d/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
de4e21a848908c7/11/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>
> *on **AM radio being phased out*
>
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a1532f/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
de4e21a848908c7/12/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>*,
> a move they say could prevent Americans from receiving public
> emergency
> notifications and stifle political discourse.*
>
> AM radio was popular through the 1960s and �70s, but once FM radio
> came on
> the scene, it was able to provide better audio quality at the cost
> of
> transmitting across a shorter distance.
>
> *The debate has made unlikely alliances, as lawmakers argue that AM
> is a
> crucial service that can reach Americans in life or death situations
> when
> FM or other transmission methods fail.*
>
<https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=690291&li=technology202&m=6b6f603
646bfd6ba3e2649ec9cfef2c2&p=646b712246cd7852d9380726>
>
<https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=690292&li=technology202&m=6b6f603
646bfd6ba3e2649ec9cfef2c2&p=646b712246cd7852d9380726>
> 46b712246cd7852d9380726>
>
>
> - A bipartisan, bicameral bill introduced last week would direct
> the
> National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue a
> rule
> requiring carmakers to keep AM broadcast radio in their vehicles
> without a
> separate payment or fee.
> - It also requires automakers selling cars without AM radio
> before the
> effective date to disclose that AM is not present.
> - The bill, titled the AM for Every Vehicle Act, has endorsement
> from
> Sens. *Edward J. Markey* (D-Mass.) and *Ted Cruz* (R-Tex.), as
> well as
> Reps. *Josh Gottheimer* (D-N.J.) and *Tom Kean Jr.*(R-N.J.).
> - It also has endorsements from Federal Communications Commission
> Chair *Jessica
> Rosenworcel* and Republican Commissioner *Nathan Simington*, who
> call it
> a �clear public safety imperative.�
>
> �AM radio plays an essential role in our communities, especially
> during
> public emergencies when other alert systems that rely on the
> electric grid
> and cellphone networks may not work. I�m looking forward to the
> Energy and
> Commerce Committee holding a hearing on this important matter
> soon,�
> Pallone said in a statement to The Technology 202.
>
> *Republicans have also argued that popular conservative talk shows
> that
> rely on AM airwaves could suffer from the phaseout.* Eight of the
> country�s
> 10 most popular radio talk shows are conservative, as our colleague
> *Marc
> Fisher *previously reported
>
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a153f8/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
de4e21a848908c7/16/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>
> .
>
> *AM radio has largely been **discontinued in electric vehicles*
>
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a15330/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
de4e21a848908c7/17/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>*
> made
> by companies like Tesla, Ford, BMW, Mazda and Volkswagen on the
> grounds
> that the motors in those vehicles create electromagnetic frequencies
> on the
> same wavelength as AM radio and could lead to interference.*
> Automakers
> also argue that AM�s phaseout trends with the population that grew
> up with
> AM: one that is getting smaller and older.
>
> The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an automaker trade group,
> has
> previously
> said
>
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a1597f/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
de4e21a848908c7/18/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>that
> AM mandates are unnecessary and that the Integrated Public Alerts
> and
> Warning System can be transmitted across AM, FM and other types of
> radio,
> as well as cellular networks in case of an emergency.
>
> Former Federal Emergency Management Agency officials in February
> wrote to
> Transportation Secretary *Pete Buttigieg*
>
<https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3a15331/646b712246cd7852d9380726/59730117a
de4e21a848908c7/19/73/646b712246cd7852d9380726>arguing
> that the United States should seek assurances from automobile
> manufacturers
> to keep AM in new cars.
>
> �AM radio plays an essential role in our communities, especially
> during
> public emergencies, and we look forward to hearing from public
> safety
> experts about the importance of ensuring this continues to be a
> resource
> for Americans,� McMorris Rodgers said in a statement to The
> Technology 202.
>
> On Mon, May 22, 2023 at 02:34 Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
> wrote:
>
> > On 5/21/2023 6:11 PM, n0tt1@juno.com wrote:
> > > Personally, I think it's
> > > because they don't want to deal with filtering out all those RF
> > > square waves in the vehicles. Or maybe they know that
> > > EU is, or has already, discontinued Broadcast AM radio.
> >
> > This has been widely reported in the press for several months.
> I've been
> > driving a Tesla Model 3 for 2.5 years, and have a VHF/UHF FM rig
> in it,
> > no observable RF noise. When looking for installation advice, I
> came
> > across several youtube videos from an OT in 5-land who first did
> that,
> > then advanced to an HF rig. He reported that to be pretty noise
> free as
> > well. The 12V system won't support a lot of power. I've charged at
> home
> > from the outbuilding that houses my shack, first from a 120V/15A
> outlet,
> > now from 240V/30A, can't hear any noise with my Kenwood TH-F6A
> > (wide-band RX) probing along the power cable, or in my radios in
> the shack.
> >
> > The Tesla designers were VERY good about RF shielding that's quite
> > frequency-selective. A talkie with a duck is deaf inside the
> vehicle,
> > but cell phone works great inside the vehicle at knee level in the
> > center pedestal (and, of course, in my pocket).
> >
> > As to RFI to the AM band -- I haven't probed that, but no issues
> on 160M
> > when charging.
> >
> > Vehicles are sold worldwide, so discontinuance of AM broadcasting
> in any
> > large market could drive mfrs to drop AM in vehicles. AM has been
> on a
> > long downward spiral for several decades, and noise has long been
> a
> > problem. A colleague was chief engineer at WLS in the '80s and
> '90s
> > (maybe longer, don't remember when he retired). Their 50kW clear
> on 890
> > kHz was maybe 25-30 miles S of Chicago, and had chronic complaints
> of
> > ignition noise from Fords that wiped them out in the northern
> suburbs --
> > I'm guessing 50 miles or so from their omni stick. And as we all
> know,
> > noise has increased exponentially in the intervening decades, and
> the AM
> > band takes the greatest hit.
> >
> > Starlink, a related company, is quite the opposite. The PSU for my
> dish
> > is mondo-noisy, took a half-dozen ferrites with multiple turns to
> quiet
> > it down. I love that system, which I bought as redundancy for
> ComCast,
> > whose power backup was next to non-existent. They've since
> improved
> > quite a lot. But with no cell service in the mountains, we can't
> be
> > without internet, so it's great to have both systems.
> >
> > 73, Jim K9YC
> >
> > 73,
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > RFI mailing list
> > RFI@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
> >
> --
> Charles M. Coldwell, W1CMC
> Belmont, Massachusetts, New England
> "Turn on, log in, tune out"
> _______________________________________________
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> RFI@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
>
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