An interesting discussion on ABC RN between host Andy Park and radio futurologist and editor of Podnews James Cridland on the health and wellbeing of AM radio with electric vehicles like Tesla fazing out AM saying it creates electromagnetic interference.
Salient points were equity of access, the fear of a divide between regional Australia and capital cities, the cost of AM in comparison to FM and DAB+, how far the AM signal can travel in rural areas.
Cridland made the point that many households only have AM in their car and buying a portable radio with AM is increasingly hard to do.
Norway stopped AM and FM in 2015, with only DAB+ now as an option.
With AM and FM best in an emergency, do you still have a battery operated AM/FM radio ready to go, just in case?
I have been consisten in my view of not believing the rhetoric of some manufacturers to ditch AM and even FM. Why the latter given the reception of FM signals resistant to electrical noise?
Example:
https://radioinfo.com.au/news/best-and-worst-car-audio-systems-kia-tops-the-ranking-tesla-and-bmw-fail/
It bamboozles me given the b/s to ditch AM from EVs yet Toyota hybrids and the Kia EV contune to have AM. It also includes BMW ditching AM on its fossil-fueled vehicles.
Thus ditching AM from EVs is b/s.
The above article mentioned Norway legislatively ditching AM and FM transmissions replacing it with DAB+ transmissions.
Fine for a smaller landmass such as Norway. But not for vast landmasses such as Australia and the US.
Currently the issue as at July 2023, the US Congress is holding a hearing in legislatively forcing car manufacturers to include AM demodulation.
Support of mandatory AM in cars has bipartisan support.
The US is a large marketplace and may influence what happens in a smaller market such as Australia.
But then India is implementing DRM+ and its landmass is vast and DRM+ coverage is 100%. It is a better alternative than AM or FM which has a smaller coverage area: AM's coverage is larger than line-of-sight VHF FM but not as extensive as DRM+.
In addition DRM+ is an open-source non-proprietary technology compared to HD radio.
But there is no will power in Australia to implement DRM+ in favour of FM conversion which has an even smaller signal coverage than MW AM.
So the issue now is whether the influence AM in cars will continue to be offered in Australia if the US passes the mandatory inclusion of AM demodulation in cars.
Then looking for a portable AM receiver if your car is not equipped with AM. Many portable radios are offerring FM-only reception.
Nevertheless there are offerings for battery-operated AM/FM radios at local retailers such as Harvey Norman and JBHiFi. You can purchase AM/FM receivers even cheaper at AliExpress.
Don't forget to keep the batteries in your portable radio fresh.
Thank you
Anthony, I am consistent, Strathfield South in the land of the Wangal and Darug Peoples of the Eora Nation.
I also said that the government regulator should step in to ensure that ABC Local Radio, which is our emergency broadcaster, is *also* available on FM in capital cities. Being an emergency broadcaster on AM is only good while people have the receivers - which is increasingly not the case.