Introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) in response to automakers removing AM radio from some new vehicles. My man Pallone gets his emergency scoreboard alerts from 66 WFAN too
Introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) in response to automakers removing AM radio from some new vehicles. My man Pallone gets his emergency scoreboard alerts from 66 WFAN too
Our department of transportation gives updates over AM radio and it’s easier to do while driving vs going into the 511 app to see what’s up. And since it’s statewide it’s pretty useful. That’s the only thing I use AM for. They’ve got signs in major corridors that flash to tell you there’s a new message. Old school, but reliable.
That’s a good point, there are still a lot of those information/alert radios around and they’re basically all a low powered AM station. That could be important for people driving by and not having that option reduces safety. I have a hard time believing that AM receivers are that expensive for cars that it’s really worth the trade-off. It’s probably not something that gets used often, but when it’s needed you want people to have it.
Its not about the cost of the radio, the hardware for a digital am receiver at this point is pennies… The issue is electric and hybrid drivetrains generate a lot of very strong localized EMI from the motors and motor inverter drives, and AM is inherently bad at rejecting EMI so it usually wipes out most stations unless they are very strong. It gets really expensive trying to reduce or filter that out.