Ford to drop AM radio in new vehicles

[telstar_1]

Automotive News has reported on the progress of the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act” (AMRFEVA) through the House:

But do they set any performance standards?

 

[harshness]

But do they set any performance standards?

The House bill (H.R.8449) doesn't contain the words "performance", "minimum", "standards", "reception", "sensitivity" or "quality".

Thus far, the only requirement is that an AM radio must be present.

 

[TRG]

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has been going on since last Saturday. Today a hot air Balloon hit the guy wires of a local AM antenna causing it to collapse. Radio station KKOB transmits on 770 and 96.3. The tower collapse took 770 AM off the air.

I listen to this station a lot for news, weather and talk. Today I drove just South of Taos, NM. About 130 miles from Albuquerque to meet with some friends for a day hike. Normally I can receive the AM signal all the way there. I lost the FM signal about 20 miles outside of town. So yes, AM signals travel further, a lot further. Especially in mountainous areas where line of sight can can be lost due to terrain.

When I lived in Colorado Springs for 2 years I was able to receive the KKOB AM signal reliability at night. That's more than 400 miles "as the crow flies."

Tower collapses after balloon strike near Balloon Fiesta Park