Given that the US Congress is moving to make AM radio mandatory in cars, do you think we will get a hardware retrofit to enable receiving over-the-air?
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AM radio retrofit?
- Thread starter canYdan
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Not likely, unless I'm reading that article wrong: the bill "would require all new vehicles to include AM radio at no additional charge", by which they apparently mean new models not all new production, because "In the case of EV models that have already eliminated AM radio (from BMW, Ford, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo), carmakers would be required to disclose the lack of AM access to consumers" but not add it. And I doubt enough people would pay for a retrofit so Tesla's unlikely to offer one for sale.
Key statement in the article you linked to, that was posted today (05.17.2023)
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The proposed legislation, to be introduced today by Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and others, would require all new vehicles to include AM radio at no additional charge.
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If you are expecting "Proposed legislation today" = "Coming soon", you may be in for a surprise. There is no guarantee it even passes, and at what speed, and by what time it would be enacted, etc. EVEN IF this was passed, you could be looking at years before it was actual law, so discussing "will we get a retrofit" is super, duper, duper premature.
"Some experts say the reception problems are not insurmountable. Electromagnetic interference could be controlled with shielding cables, filters and careful placement of the electrical components in the vehicle, said Pooja Nair, a communications systems engineer at the entertainment technology company Xperi Inc., which owns HD Radio technology.
"But such changes require money and effort..."
In a Future Filled With Electric Cars, AM Radio May Be Left Behind
Carmakers say electromagnetic interference causes static and noise on AM transmissions, annoying customers. Broadcasters say they could lose a connection to their core listeners, who rely on the radio for emergencies.
Right. Sure. Even a large Amp in a car is enough to interfere with AM. The shielding required fur an EV would be prohibitive. Trust me. Your not gonna see it. Ever.
Mike_TV
Active Member
Yes and for Tesla they've already provided a decent workaround by letting you get access to an AM radios stream via TuneIn in the US and other options (Bluetooth via your phone).
The Nissan Leaf has an AM radio. IIRC, early Tesla MS and MX had AM radios but reception was an issue because Musk would not allow external antennas.
yes my original 2012 S had AM radio.. it worked fine.. the only issue was I picked up the wrong station sometime within 5 miles of my house (i lived ~ 20 miles outside of atlanta at the time)... even better was the XM though.. that was really nice for road trips when there was no radio / cell service in the middle of nowhere
THANK you. Sooo much misinformation in this thread.
It is not only possible to make AM work in EVs, but Tesla, Nissan, and others have already done it, and based on my experiments with shortwave ham radio installations I know it can be further improved.
Furthermore, mentions of TuneIn etc. miss the point of the proposed legislation: for emergency broadcasts, streaming over cellular data is not a reliable substitute. In civil defense and disaster scenarios, many or all cell towers and satellites will be overloaded or offline, but AM radio will continue to cover wide areas.
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The AM reception in early Tesla's AND in the leaf is severely degraded. The super long range reception you used to get with AM was significantly downgraded, and the reception was far from perfect.
AM is a dinosaur. In the early part of the 20th century, it worked great for cars as many cars were 6 volt electrical systems. When 12 volt systems became the norm, AM reception was greatly reduced, and FM took off. With EV's, and 24 and 48 volt ICE vehicles coming into play, AM reception will be further reduced. The AM stations themselves know thus, abs that's why they are increasingly hitchhiking their signal onto the secondary FM HD stations as a way to stay relevant. This is not "misinformation", it is fact. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be a need to publish articles about how AM reception could possibly work in EV's, would there?
The emergancy broadcast system works over FM, as well. AM was an advantage in the 50's, because of the vast distances you could receive AM. That's no longer the case, and this reception distances continue to decline, the more voltage that gets added to vehicles (even ICE vehicles).
It's the end for AM. Accept it. Move on.
AM is a dinosaur. In the early part of the 20th century, it worked great for cars as many cars were 6 volt electrical systems. When 12 volt systems became the norm, AM reception was greatly reduced, and FM took off. With EV's, and 24 and 48 volt ICE vehicles coming into play, AM reception will be further reduced. The AM stations themselves know thus, abs that's why they are increasingly hitchhiking their signal onto the secondary FM HD stations as a way to stay relevant. This is not "misinformation", it is fact. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be a need to publish articles about how AM reception could possibly work in EV's, would there?
The emergancy broadcast system works over FM, as well. AM was an advantage in the 50's, because of the vast distances you could receive AM. That's no longer the case, and this reception distances continue to decline, the more voltage that gets added to vehicles (even ICE vehicles).
It's the end for AM. Accept it. Move on.
lots of bad information here..
1 - FM took off because of fidelity not because of battery voltage
2 - DC to DC converters are cheap
3 - AM still has advantage in range over FM
AM is probably dead though because of XM / FM / CELLULAR and the terrible fidelity
In addition to my Tesla, I have a Mini Cooper, with quite a large stereo system. The interference from the amplifiers has rendered AM reception useless, for all but the largest wattage AM stains in the area. And even the range for receiving those is quite reduced.
If the interference from an EV battery pack were not enough to create the same or worse interference, why then, would there be a need to write articles about how, with enough engineering, enough shielding, and careful placement of components (like maybe towing the battery pack behind the car, lol), you might be able to get AM reception to an "acceptable" level?
You can mock what I'm telling you all you want. But there's no going back to AM in future vehicles, and attempts to legislate will ultimately fail.
If the interference from an EV battery pack were not enough to create the same or worse interference, why then, would there be a need to write articles about how, with enough engineering, enough shielding, and careful placement of components (like maybe towing the battery pack behind the car, lol), you might be able to get AM reception to an "acceptable" level?
You can mock what I'm telling you all you want. But there's no going back to AM in future vehicles, and attempts to legislate will ultimately fail.
gx9901
Active Member
Just out of curiosity, what would be the reason to require cars to have AM? I guess because there's still a sizable audience that listens to AM?
When I first got into my Tesla I wished it had AM purely because our local baseball team's radio broadcast was on AM only. Since then they also broadcast on FM and I've never needed AM radio since.
When I first got into my Tesla I wished it had AM purely because our local baseball team's radio broadcast was on AM only. Since then they also broadcast on FM and I've never needed AM radio since.
AM has the potential to reach more of the country especially in rural areas (better range)... given that most emergency broadcasts can be done via cellular, however, i doubt the legislation is going to go anywhere
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