Re:Congress fights to keep AM radio in cars
by ndsipa_pomu on Monday October 07, 2024 @08:04AM
(#41765163)
I'd consider that ensuring that mobile phones have AM reception would be better as some people don't own a car. Consider the case when you have a music festival and thousands of people are camping away from their car if they have one - almost everyone would have a mobile phone either on them (especially if they're using it to buy drinks) or in their tents.
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Re:Congress fights to keep AM radio in cars
by gosub100 on Monday October 07, 2024 @08:18AM
(#41765253)
In this era of SDR radio, I'd be surprised if cell phones don't already have the capability with just a firmware update. I suspect the main reason phones don't allow broadcast radio is to create demand for streaming services.
Re:Congress fights to keep AM radio in cars
by immibis on Monday October 07, 2024 @08:13AM
(#41765220)
IIRC AM radio requires an antenna, and even the smallest type is thicker than a phone. Not that I'd complain about thicker phones at this point.
Older phones used to be able to play FM, requiring a headphone cable to be used as an antenna.
Re:Congress fights to keep AM radio in cars
by ndsipa_pomu on Monday October 07, 2024 @09:07AM
(#41765622)
AM radio does require an antenna of some description, but usually the signal received through even a tiny bit of metal will be more than sufficient. The problem is usually dealing with locally produced noise (e.g. someone using a microwave or switching lights on and off) rather than trying to pick up a weak signal.
For the purpose of emergency broadcasts, maybe using both AM and FM would make sense.