Goodbye AM Radios in Automobiles, starting in 2024

Don't you guys have Waze over there? It's the only traffic alerting system worth using round here...

Martin (G8FXC)

 

I really can't say the last time I listened to AM,FM or any other type of radio except on the very rare occasion we go to the local drive-in theater. 20-some years ago I was really into talk radio, I also did a LOT of driving back then, but I gave it up after seeing how bad it was for my blood pressure. I switched over to using Audible books and haven't looked back since. I'll rarely listen to music but that's either on my phone or a USB stick. I do have my phone linked to the car radio for the rare phone call and to listen to text messages from the wife.

73

 

Yeah, we have Waze (now owned by Google, yea big brother) but IMVHO, it's a very battery intensive application so I don't use it much. I normally drive places I've already been to and I don't really run into much traffic, so it's really not missed by me. The YL on the other hand, uses it every time she gets in her car, no idea why!

73

 

Does battery drain matter when you're in the car? As soon as I sit in the driving seat, my phone is plugged to the charging cable... I use Waze when driving anything more than a few miles - even if I know the route. It is just useful as a notifier of traffic conditions and possible dangers on the road. It's nice to be warned that there is a traffic patrol car parked in the lay-by half a mile ahead!

Martin (G8FXC)

 

So basically, car manufacturers are constructing millions of mobile RFI generators and their solution is to eliminate the radio equipment, not resolve the source of the interference...

Backward thinking...

 

How many times have you heard the old line about not using switch mode PSUs in the shack because they generate RFI? Well, that is usually referring to a 100w SMPSU. The average EV is built around a multi-kW SMPSU - not surprising that it is difficult to get the RFI down to levels that are acceptable for AM reception in the car.

Martin g8fxc

 

I guess my little Prius can't supply enough power to keep these phone charged when running Waze, the XYL was hooked up to a charging USB cable connected to the USB port in the console and my phone was on the built-in wireless charger (also in the console) and both phones went dead within 10 minutes of each other. Unfortunately, this happened just as we were entering NYC at rush hour so we had no navigation to help us through the City other than traffic signs, it was extremely stressful! We remedied that situation by going on Amazon when we got to Maine and ordering the latest Rand-MacNally atlas and having it delivered to where we were staying. Now it could have been serendipity (that day started out bad and it went downhill from there), but my personal observation is that Google Maps has slightly less power requirements than Waze and it appears it doesn't use as much network traffic which is always something that runs down the battery quickly. Again, these are just my personal observations, YMMV as they say.

73

 

That surprises me. I had a Prius for quite a few years, so I know that the 12v system is not high capacity, but I never had any problem keeping my large Android phone charged up.

Martin (G8FXC)

 

This is very surprising.
Aren't EVs (like every other electrical / electronic devices) subject to FCC Title 47, Part 15 EMC emissions ?
You would think emissions strong enough to disrupt AM radios, can disrupt more critical systems as well if they are close enough:
Pacemakers, hearing aids, EMT equipment, hospital equipment, aircraft avionics, etc.

In the early days of AM car radios, they solved the AM interference issue with simple resistive ignition wires.
I am surprised that 90 years later with quantum leaps in electronics they cannot make AM radios that are immune to EV generated noise.

 

I also run Waze every time I'm in the car, even for very short local trips where I know a dozen different ways to get there by memory, specifically for the traffic alerting. The phone goes in the phone mount and gets plugged in to charge. I generally shut down Waze at the other end with more battery reserve than when I started the trip.

I'm shocked that even a Prius would have problems charging a phone, or a couple of phones. It just doesn't take that much power. But my solution would have been a "power tank" battery for the car rather than a paper atlas. Charge up the power tank every night, or every few nights depending on use.

 

I think the point is that the inside of an EV is a radio hostile environment. I own an EV - AM radio reception is marginal and my 2m HT is useless within the car. But if I'm on 40m when my wife drives into our street, the car does not wipe out reception. I have not looked into the EMC rules for large devices such as cars - and our EMC rules in this country are quite possibly different to yours - but I suspect that they only put limits on the levels of RFI that the car can emit into its surroundings - not the levels of RFI that can be present within the body shell.

Martin (G8FXC)

 

I do note, on a second reading, that the OP was referring to Waze running his phone flat when it is on the built-in wireless charging pad of his Prius. It's quite a long time since I had a phone capable of wireless charging, but I do wonder at how much power a wireless charging pad can deliver? Perhaps the OP would have more success if he connected his phone to a USB charging adapter plugged into the power outlet of the car...

Martin (G8FXC)

 

John Catsimatides, the owner of WABC radio 770 in New York is constantly running promos encouraging people to contact their congress people and lodge a complaint about the elimination of AM radios in cars. He took out a full page ad yesterday in the NY Post to let the public know. The emergency broadcast network is on AM radio in case of a disaster---I don't think it is on any FM stations. The rumor going around is that the elimination is because conservative talk radio is mainly on AM stations--That's one way to silence them. Me, I listen to AM talk all the time--at home or in the car, or oldies on FM---NO RAP MUSIC FOR ME !!!

 

Oh yeah, that may well be. I charge mine wirelessly at home to save wear on the connector, because every phone I've ever had fail started by the power jack failing. And it DOES charge more slowly than it does via wired charging. That could well be why. There ARE car phone mounts that charge wirelessly through the back plate of the mount and I've thought about getting one, but this might be a concern.

 

... there is another thing known as ... stopping to ask directions... even in NYC...

that's why men have to travel with at least one female in the car.