Yeah that could be a problem. However there are FCC rules covering emissions of RF signals that even EV cars are subject too. If they are not in compliance, they could have a problem.
It will probably surprise no one that I listen to am when I am in the car. As a trucker, I had to carry my own radios and antennas from truck to truckIt got pretty tedious trying to keep finding fm every 30 miles. powerhouse am stations are sometimes in range for all of a 500+ mile trip at night, which is when most of the freight moves.
Unless I was travelling with another rig from the same company, I only turned on the CB in bad weather.
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Most of the stations I listen to have either switched to FM or are on both bands, local station that was on AM for 92yrs sold the rights to that frequency and went to FM only. The local news station that kids would listen to on snow days to find out if they had to go to school, before you could ever get a text or check online for that sort of thing.
I’m curious, mandated by who? Unless you have something to back that up,I’m calling B.S.
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We do have a wide range of ages responding. I can remember when used car advertisements said “includes R&H”, meaning radio and heater, both radio and heater were options, not standard.
As far as interference on AM, do any of you remember installing wrong spark plugs or wrong spark plug wires would result in hearing each spark firing on your AM radio?
On the early Corvettes the chrome cover over the distributor was not for appearance, but was there to reduce ignition noise on the radio.
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AM vs FM has nothing to do with polarization.
Polarization is determined by configuration of the antenna, in the case of RF.
Even circular polarization is possible.
EMI is polarized in no particular way, being unintended.
FM is a more sophisticated way of encoding information and requires more complicated circuitry.
I like to think of it as “pseudo digital”.
There are exemptions for automobiles that preclude them from meeting the specific and restrictive rules most “consumer electronics” are subjected to meeting. They still need to meet some basic compliance and it is the best interest of the manufacturer to limit both emission and susceptibility to EMI. The EMC rules do not preclude emission but limit it to various bands and levels. Outdated AM radio is less of a concern for manufacturers as digital radio has replaced the old analog standard for the most part. And there are many intentional emitters on cars these days used for proximity detection, collision avoidance and so on. The legacy AM bands are going the way of the dinosaur…
What year make vehicle is that? Haven’t heard of a vehicle coming only AM since the early 70’s.
IIRC, George has stated that his Ford pickup is 50 years old.
Please , George posts enough about his old vehicles without prompting.
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Good for you. I don’t keep track of everyones vehicles. Glad you do.
No matter what the subject or question, George will relate it to his 50 YO truck or his 30(?) YO Corolla.
Always a good story!
I will occasionally mention my 49 Studebaker convertible, AM tube radio.
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I’ll concede this one. I cannot find anything to back up my statement.
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I never listen to AM, but years ago when I worked late nights a distance from my home, I’d blast the radio to stay awake- and hear WLS Chicago as I headed over a reservoir in NYS. It was wonderful. "Sixth caller gets “Chuck Berry’s Greatest Hits”! Couldn’t call back then.
One night back in the 80’s dad was driving back down from Crystal Mountain ski resort near Mt Ranier and tuned the AM radio in the Rabbit to the first station he found, turned out to be KTIL out of Tillamook Oregon which is the station Mom grew up listening to. Clear as a bell even. Not sure exact distance but outside of what you’d normally expect to pull in a station from that area.
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Driving from Albuquerque, NM to Elk City, OK on I-40, much of it after dark, in October 1991, the only clear radio I could pick up was AM.
A lot of lonely, empty miles on that route, at least back then.
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In the mid-sixties a friend had a Cadillac with a Wonderbar Radio, we were at a drive-in movie watching The Sand Pebbles, long intermission, tapping the Wonderbar, picked up WLS on skip.
To me, little if anything on AM, much like over the air TV, many channels but most are either in Spanish or are send me your money religious programming.
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I remember when AC was an option, but not the heater.
My family had a three on the tree chevy or ford station wagon with an after market AC.
The engine would overheat on our family trips.
We had a gunny sack water bag to put in front of the radiator to try and keep it cool.
I was too young to work on it and never got to drive it before it was sent to the junker.
AM is vertically polarized and FM is horizontally polarized, period. It is due to how the antenna is oriented but AM (broadcast radio) is always vertically polarized and FM (broadcast radio) is always horizontally polarized. I also know how to build a circular polarized antenna. I have built fractal antenna’s as well.
I also know the difference between AM, FM and PM (phase modulation used for digital modulation).
Most EMI is vertically polarized, that is one of the reasons that FM and TV chose horizontally polarization.
Regarding the BWM I3 EV:
“AM is not offered due to negative performance influences of the electromagnetic interference of the electric drivetrain,” said Rebecca K. Kiehne, a BMW product and technical communications spokesperson. "Electric motors cause interference on AM which is why BMW decided to remove this option. “While it could be offered, BMW’s performance standards are very high and we don’t offer a product that meets less than those high standards.”
“[I]t turns out the BMW i3 does have AM radio built in–but BMW has disabled it.”
“Some owners, we later learned, have gone in and modified the software in their cars, known as “coding” the i3 (which we suspect may void some or all of the warranty).”
The BWM I3 has a carbon fiber body shell that likely allows the EMI from the motor to be more likely distributed to the nearby antenna. However, one might be able to use some metal to shield the antenna.
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