I have a problem with the Consumer Technology Association's (CTA) and auto industry's opposition to AM radio. The auto industry's concern is with EVs (electric vehicles). They are worried EMI (electromagnetic interference) from the vehicles' electric motors will result in customer complaints of poor-quality audio when listening to AM radio. Well, as an air traffic control radio technician for many many years, that tells me there is a lack of EMI/RFI shielding on those motors! And for the record, spark plugs and ignition distributers in traditional ICE (internal combustion engines) vehicles have been a major source of EMI/RFI since the invention of the spark plug. And auto and radio designers have been able to deal with that just fine. There are all kinds of electronic systems in today's vehicles that are at risk due to improperly, or insufficiently suppressed EMI/RFI. These include the radio, but also GPS, security alarms, auto-adjust cruise control, collision warning systems and more. Not to mention, interference to and from surrounding vehicles, microwave and cell phone towers and more. So control of EMI/RFI emissions, as well as EMI/RFI suppression from outside sources is already a big issue and already being addressed. I mean, where are all the complaints now about poor quality AM reception in EVs due to interference from the EV's electric motors? I don't see them. Setting aside the fact, FM radio offers significantly superior audio quality inherently, AM radio listeners already understand that, accept that, and know the difference between that limitation and "noise" from EMI/RFI. So that is just a flimsy and unsubstantiated excuse by the car makers wanting to get rid of AM. As for CTA's argument. I believe their survey is flawed. They claim they surveyed 800 people. Okay. But these were NOT 800 AM radio listeners! They were 800 people who heard the test of the nation's Emergency Broadcast System - most heard it on their phones, others on TVs, then FM and finally AM radio. And they decided since only 1% heard the emergency alert test through AM, AM is not important and needs to go away. NONSENSE! Those 800 people (again, NOT 800 AM radio listeners, just 800 people) were supposedly from all walks of life, and geographical locations. Fine. But how many "city-slickers" listen to AM radio when there typically are multiple FM stations nearby? Compare that to the "country bumkin" living in rural areas where there may be no FM stations at all! Remember, FM radio has a typical "line-of-sight" range 30 - 40 miles while AM can travel for 100 miles and more, and even "over the horizon". It seems to me those proponents of ditching AM radio in cars have totally forgotten (or could care less ) about rural Americans, many of whom have AM radio in their cars as their only option. I note there are over 4,000 AM radio stations and over 80,000,000 AM radio listeners. That is a lot of people to ignore.
My assumption would be that to my understanding most EVs don't have AM radio and the ones that do probably aren't listening to them. It does make me wonder if they put out enough interference to cause issues with other cars near them.
Well, by reading the articles and following the links, one can easily see that most EVs sold and currently on the market do indeed, have AM radios - for now. Some manufacturers are trying to remove them from future EVs. Others are addressing the issue by moving the radios and their antennas, and/or adding more shielding to suppress EMI/RFI. So no assumptions there. I do agree that most people (regardless the type of car) probably do not listen to AM. But I would assume that is most likely due to where they live. I doubt many country folk are buying EV cars in the first place simply because charging stations are likely few and far between. Some may be buying hybrids, but the article is talking about EV buyers. As far as interfering with other nearby cars, it seems to me if that were a problem, the FCC would be getting inundated with complaints now. I don't see that happening.
I would assume that the average AM radio listener if getting interference from a nearby EV would not recognize it as the reason why so FCC complaints would seem unlikely. Aside from a Tesla I wouldn't notice myself if something was an EV. Even if I was listening to AM, was getting interference, and noticed a nearby EV and assumed it to be the cause, the odds that I would contact the FCC are about zero. Not wanting to sound argumentative, but if we are being realistic, I doubt most people even think about the FCC while they are out and about.
Some may not. But if an EV comes close and interference starts, then the interference goes away as the EV moves off, after a few times of that, it would be not hard to figure out the cause. As far as reporting it, all they have to do is Google, how do I report radio interference?
