I think you missed the part where he said he has no cell service. Wouldn't that make iHeart and TuneIn not options in that case?
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How to listen to AM radio stations?
- Thread starter thwni382
- Start date
Yes, I missed the part where he said he has no cell service.
A few years back I searched for an AM receiver/FM transmitter but didn't find any. The reason I didn't aim for a bluetooth transmitter is I didn't think the car would interact well with it.
I think AM radio is something that a lot of people miss on their Tesla, and may turn some buyers away (not in and of itself, but one small checklist item that's a negative). On other forums the debate over the importance of AM can get heated. Some say "yeah, where's my 8 track tape player", etc.
Lots of other EVs have AM radios that seem to work OK. ICE cars have AM that suck (my wife's Hyundai for example).
Anyway, it would be cool if someone made a standalone AM receiver that you could use with a Tesla somehow.
Lots of other EVs have AM radios that seem to work OK. ICE cars have AM that suck (my wife's Hyundai for example).
Anyway, it would be cool if someone made a standalone AM receiver that you could use with a Tesla somehow.
I'm not going to debate the importance of the AM band, but I will state that I had access to a loaner model S that did have an AM receiver built in, and the results were mixed:
How to listen to AM radio stations?
Yep on the $10 paying for LTE, but you cannot listen to anything without it, except FM. I don't know about AM, since I never listen to it. I listen to CNN and MSNBC sometimes on Tune-In, and yes, they have lots of commercials, as you probably know. Ha ha. But I don't think you can listen to any...
teslamotorsclub.com
Ya, I realize that's the same thread!
I've looked around a good bit, and the best potential solution for AM reception is a handheld AM radio with AUX output that you could feed to a cigarette lighter-based FM transmitter.
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I keep a small Bluetooth transmitter in my travel bag. It’s super handy on airplanes with a seat back screen; I can use my fancy noise cancelling headphones this way.
Something like this plugged into a transistor radio would actually work fine!
Were it me, I’d have to use this radio …. Just so I can say I put a Studebaker radio in my Tesla.
How would that work with the Tesla interface?
I get that I'd have a Bluetooth transmitting device, kinda like another phone that I'd connect. In fact, I guess I'd have to pick it as a phone and select Phone from the audio sources on the Tesla screen. That's seems OK. But what happens when I get a phone call on my iPhone?
Will I still be able to run the phone in hands-free mode through the Tesla audio system? Maybe yes, since it will be a high priority device?
Correct - you’d connect it as another phone. But if a call came in, no, you wouldn’t get it via the car speaker. The Tesla software (currently) maintains a Bluetooth connection to only one device at a time.
Other vehicles can do more than one — why Tesla hasn’t implemented that, I don’t know.
If I’m being honest, I do my best to avoid taking calls in the car. I don’t like the distraction.
A better solution(IMHO) is not to use bluetooth for getting the AM to the Tesla's sound system, but rather use FM. There are dozens of devices that will happily send a short-range FM signal, and then your phone would stay connected and even interrupt the FM stream when a call came in.
Though I am not sure if this will help @MikeGracz if he is indeed in Fritz Creek, AK, but many AM stations are simulcast on the additional HD bands (HD2, HD3, etc.) of an FM station. For example, here in the Los Angeles area, the Dodgers are available on 570 AM but that signal is also available on 98.7 (FM) HD2.
I just got back from an 11K mile road trip with my M3, across the USA. I think having a functional AM receiver is still very important today as there were several times that I wanted to listen to local highway/national park information that could only be obtained via AM. For one the cellular coverage in many of our National/State parks is spotty at best, which means radio is the only source of information. While we our on cellular coverage, the receiver on the Tesla is pretty abysmal as there were many many places that I had decent services on my phone but the car could not connect. I was told that Tesla uses ATT as its SP and that is what I use for my phone. The Tesla should also download the map data when it detects that your planned route takes you through a dead zone, because once you are in a dead zone you can't do anything with respect to the map (so rerouting, detours, etc become difficult). If your phone still has connectivity, then you can use your phone and do the range calculations manually...PIA. This should be relatively simple feature to add as I've done this with GoogleMaps for decades.
BTW how do Tesla owners in New Mexico stand it. It seems like a large percentage of the time that I was in NM the map was black. I even stopped at Tesla Service in Santa Fe to ask what the issue was and while they were aware of it, they had no solution.
BTW how do Tesla owners in New Mexico stand it. It seems like a large percentage of the time that I was in NM the map was black. I even stopped at Tesla Service in Santa Fe to ask what the issue was and while they were aware of it, they had no solution.
I have a new Model Y and can't find 'TuneIn' on it anywhere... Guessing they removed it for some reason?
But yes, I would LOVE to be able to get AM radio for the for the road information (you know, those blue signs they have up in several areas) as well as to listen to things in national parks and such... But I am guessing that even if I DID have TuneIn, it would need a 'cellular' connection for it to work and stream, unlike old fashioned radios that grabbed it from the airwaves...
But yes, I would LOVE to be able to get AM radio for the for the road information (you know, those blue signs they have up in several areas) as well as to listen to things in national parks and such... But I am guessing that even if I DID have TuneIn, it would need a 'cellular' connection for it to work and stream, unlike old fashioned radios that grabbed it from the airwaves...
Yes, you'll need a cellular connection.
I haven't heard Tunein was removed. Look under 'sources' in the audio section. The button for Tunein might be disabled.
The National Park broadcasts are not going to be on TuneIn, so it won’t matter if you have mobile data coverage. Carry a USB-C chargeable portable AM radio. Or if you want to be fancy, connect an AM tuner over Bluetooth.
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MikeGracz
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