mandating AM radio...they're serious about this

[C.R. Rivian]

Correct, but not on FM broadcast band. It needs a receiver capable of receiving NOAA frequencies which are outside of FM broadcast band. Also, NOAA does not address local emergencies, only regional weather.

I posted elsewhere that my vacation beach community has an AM transmitter that notifes us of a flooded road. Without that broadcast, we have to drive about 10 miles to discover that the road is flooded, and then back track, wasting 20 miles. I now carry a handheld in the Rivian that receives AM just for this reason. I don't have a problem with this bill. Also, depending on the type and level of interference from the EV, in theory the noise could be reasonably suppressed by using DSP and SDR chips for AM radio. Rivian appears to already be using an SDR FM receiver. If you try using the FM Radio, you'll see that it dynamically updates the local stations it can receive. Easy with an SDR.

If it's cheaper to give the buyer an AM radio to carry, as you do, I think that ought to be an option for companies like Rivian. If the chip solution works and is not more expensive, well, companies could do that...a little flexibility to meet a mandated end would be a good idea. Of course, expecting nuance from Congress may be too big an ask these days.

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[PappaBolt]

Satellite? But then what happens when a rogue state launches a bunch of giant nets into earth orbit to take out every satellite up there?

Don’t worry, you’ve got your seat on the Mars launcher right? Elon will save (a few of) us.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Satellite? But then what happens when a rogue state launches a bunch of giant nets into earth orbit to take out every satellite up there?

Maybe not giant nets, but countries are testing space based anti satellite weapons right now so...

 

[Supratachophobia]

H.R.3413 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2023 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

Listened to some of the hearing on CSPAN this morning. The cover for this is the emergency broadcast system which was built around AM radio and that AM has the greatest reach. Some acknowledgements that lots of folks don't have AM in their house, but, hey, they can go to their cars to get emergency broadcasts. Some truth to that (see Electric cars are ditching AM radio — a critical safety tool (axios.com) ). Turns out though what really had some of the folks in the House spun up is that AM is the go-to place for conservative talk shows...somehow not having AM in vehicles like the Rivian is part of the Elite's plot to stifle conservative voices ( New electric cars won’t have AM radio. Rightwingers claim political sabotage | Media | The Guardian ). Of course, you can get pretty much whatever you want from tune-in, but never mind.

Big fan here of safety regulations, not so much a fan of going beyond that. I still have an emergency radio that can run off batteries or by winding it up. If Congress is going to go the safety argument on this issue, companies should be given the option to of giving customers an AM radio they can take with them rather than having to reengineer EV wiring so that AM is 'listenable'.

Going to send a note to my representative.

AM radio is hands down the best option for communicating in emergencies. The hardware requirement is light, the system robust, the distance unmatched by terrestrial means. So I get the argument for those reasons. But I just can't wrap my head around the conservative talk radio reasons. It's unbelievable to me that's a selling point.

 

[COdogman]

If it's cheaper to give the buyer an AM radio to carry, as you do, I think that ought to be an option for companies like Rivian. If the chip solution works and is not more expensive, well, companies could do that...a little flexibility to meet a mandated end would be a good idea. Of course, expecting nuance from Congress may be too big an ask these days.

That's a pretty good idea. They could make each camp speaker to include weather band radio or AM radio.

 

[PeterSK]

Interestingly, the i3 has a built in AM radio, but it was disabled by default by BMW at the factory in all the i3's so no one even knew the hardware for AM was actually already in the vehicle.
Once Bimmercode (software for tweaking hidden BMW vehicle features via the ODBII port) was released, you could re-enable the AM radio and use it with even presets working. FWIW- it works really well without static when the car isn't moving. Perfectly fine for listening while sitting in a parking lot, etc.. As soon as the electric motor starts spinning... lots of static to the point of being unusable.

My 2013 Tesla Model S had an AM radio that worked fine - I guess they put shielding around the motor or something. When I swapped it for a 2-motor Model X in 2016, the X didn't have AM. I imagine shielding two motors was more involved than just one, and Tesla likely had collected and studied the data on how many Model S owners ever listened to the AM radio, and how often.

 

[PappaBolt]

That's a pretty good idea. They could make each camp speaker to include weather band radio or AM radio.

I thought we already have the emergency broadcast system on FM, and on our smart phones? Remember those “covid is surging in your area” texts?

 

[COdogman]

I thought we already have the emergency broadcast system on FM, and on our smart phones? Remember those “covid is surging in your area” texts?

I'm not an expert on any of it, but there are multiple systems that overlap depending on the situation.

The Emergency Alert System replaced the National Broadcast System. It gets the alerts to radio, TV, satellite radio, and local info like weather and AMBER alerts.

NOAA radio is a nationwide radio network that exists on the FM band at 162.400 - 162.550. It broadcasts info from the nearest NWS to your physical location.

Wireless Emergency Alerts include weather alerts and AMBER alerts.

FEMA's mobile app also provides alerts for different disasters.

https://www.ready.gov/alerts

 

[PappaBolt]

I'm not an expert on any of it, but there are multiple systems that overlap depending on the situation.

With all these redundant systems, I think it’s ok to retire an obsolete one. Advertisers and station owners will disagree.

 

[Cycliste]

I brought a little portable radio just to see how much buzz was on AM radio, and I forgot to take it out of the center console after the test. The buzz was definitely noticeable, and I would not spend a long time listening to it. But it wasn’t horrible like listening to conservative whining because I’m not listening to them. I rarely play anything while driving because I like the quiet and it certainly would not be anything about politics.

 

[COdogman]

With all these redundant systems, I think it’s ok to retire an obsolete one. Advertisers and station owners will disagree.

Exactly. There is an entire market of "emergency radios" out there that will inform us of impending doom. If that truly is all we care about and not all the other AM stations, then all we need is something like this:

 

[HeresRonnie]

Oddly enough I didn’t even know my R1T DIDN’T have AM radio until earlier this year. Went to a Mariners game and they were in the 11th inning and I had to get home. I figured I would catch the rest of the game in the truck. Got out to the truck and discovered no AM radio so I missed the game. Went to the 15th inning or something crazy. Wish I could have listened but lesson learned for sure.

 

[93Dawg]

I'm curious about something. How am I supposed to know that there is a national emergency broadcast and that i should run out to my car and turn on the AM radio?

 

[COdogman]

Oddly enough I didn’t even know my R1T DIDN’T have AM radio until earlier this year. Went to a Mariners game and they were in the 11th inning and I had to get home. I figured I would catch the rest of the game in the truck. Got out to the truck and discovered no AM radio so I missed the game. Went to the 15th inning or something crazy. Wish I could have listened but lesson learned for sure.

What station was it supposed to be on? Most AM stations have migrated to FM now. Some do both.

 

[COdogman]

I'm curious about something. How am I supposed to know that there is a national emergency broadcast and that i should run out to my car and turn on the AM radio?

The chip that NOAA implanted in your brain at birth will tell you to turn on your radio.

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