AM Radio, How Long Until It's Dead?

Well, talk radio is making record profits on AM, so as long as the money is there it will be there, too.

I can't imagine who or what would be interested in that spectrum. The real action is VHF, UHF, and beyond.

Will always exist. Maybe not for private music, but certainly because of longer reach.

I agree in full. The range of AM is far reaching and economical. Untill a FM saturation of remote areas has taken place, AM will continue to thrive.

AM and FM are on the way out. If you see new car adds they are starting to put Web Based systems in cars. Very soon you will be able to tune in WEB based radio and that will phase out all FM,AM and even Sat. radio. You will no longer need a GPS as it will be on the WEB along with weather, traffic, and anything else you may ever need on your trip.

Now, how would you get you location off the net?

Not sure I know what you are asking, but if you mean for the GPS part it would much like your cell phone does. I was listening to a talk show today that was talking about the future of radio and they all agree once the service is in cars you will have no need for AM,FM or SAT. radio.

Look at some of the new fords you can now hit a fuel button and get all the gas stations in the area you are in and the cost per gallon. That is all WEB based info, much like SAT radio (that I love ) you can punch in the type of music you like and hear it all with no interruptions.

Not sure I know what you are asking, but if you mean for the GPS part it would much like your cell phone does.

A cell phone has a GPS receiver built in. The web does not tell you where your vehicle is.

I think DennisMEP: has a good handle on the future. I personally agree we are headed in this direction. It will be pretty nice to pull over and check gas prices , and what ever on the web. I saw a commercial showing a screen built into the dash of a car.This is wonderful technology, no doubt. But I am puzzled by one thing. How long before some car crashes ban this from the new car sales. The police go nuts over people texting, talking on the cell phone, and they are going to put a screen in the dash to check the web.?? We all know people are not going to pull over. I can`t believe the insurance dept. or the Transportation Industry would even allow this. What bubble head thought this up. The only way this is going to work is if the screen is disabled while the car is in gear.Then they will have to park it to use it. Please, someone tell this old man that is the plan. You can bet your bottom dollar that someone will figure out a way around all the safety features. Its pretty hard to get through life when your stupid!! Unfortunately, I know a few.

You wrote, "I was listening to a talk show today that was talking about the future of radio and they all agree once the service is in cars you will have no need for AM,FM or SAT. radio."

The flaw with that thinking is that it will take a long time for that transition to happen. People don't just rush out and buy the latest car off the lot. Even when they do, those cars traded in get resold to someone else.

Yes, you can retrofit the technology, but will not be cheap to install and it will be another monthly bill for the service to pay. For that investment there has to be a compelling enough reason to do it and the benefits are limited.

What benefits can you expect? I guess you could get up-to-date maps, traffic reports, and emergency information. However, Sirius XM Radio already offers all of that and it isn't exactly taken the road by storm. My radio is capable for that, but I have no compulsion to add that service. My in-dash GPS is fine and even that is just a convenience and not a necessity.

SNARF! NOT, unless the web based services are free. Good luck with that pal. The infra structure alone would be phenominal. Imagine the Austrailian out back, the largest deserts, massive mountian regions and the deepest jungles.

As long as the sun rises,the rooster crows,and the snooze alarm works, there will be AM

Depends on how long me and my fellow hams live?? We talk on AM only. We are AM junkies. We scour the country, the news paper ads, the ham fest, and we find these vintage tube transmitters, and receivers.We restore them, and put them back on the air. I just purchased another Heathkit DX100, and it will be on the air shortly. I also salvaged a Globe Champion 300-A , and its back on the air. I get great reports all the time about my signal strength, and my wonderful crystal clear audio.I wish I knew how to upload pictures to this forum, I would show you some wonderful old radios that work every day, not just to look at.Just about all my gear is vintage radios. If we have a EMP attack as a lot of people believe we will, I`ll still be talking. My Kenwood 850S, and all my FM and VHF gear will be toast, but my vintage gear will still be putting out a glorius signal. With CW, thats Morse Code, I can talk around the world with no problem. I`ll still be in the know. I`ll be able to communicate with others when everything else is down, or fried. As long as big brother don`t come in and take them from me. That is always a possibility. Just like guns, us ham operators are all licenced, and big brother knows where we are. In the event something happens in this country, we are the unsung heroes who spend many hours passing messages, dispatching fire and police, we carry the ball when all else fails. BUT, we can be taken out first by big brother also, then you have a disaster. Keep those tubes glowing!! Bob KC0VEA

HD radio has the potential to obsolete AM broadcast. Many AM stations are sending an HD version simultaneously right now (same for FM). The HD digital modulation is not as subject to noise as is AM modulation. In the FM case, it is debateable whether HD is any better fidelity than FM. HD is essentially MP3 quality, which is not as good as CD, and probably worse than FM broadcast quality.

I believe AM radio band per se may not go extinct at all, but rather may be filled-in, or taken over by another useful applications. Applications that are suitable to that particular range of frequencies. Frequency Bands are typically allocated or assigned due to their inherent physical and electrical characteristics. Characteristics that may be both limiting and/or advantageous to a given application. Applications such as in weather forecastings, disaster and other emergency related applications where distance and wide area of coverage is a key requirement to reach the public.

O.K. I like AM radio, especially Tube radios. Still popular for a select group of enthusiasts.

My Pontiac Fiero had AM STEREO and 890AM Chicago broadcasts in stereo. There is still potential in AM.

Probably when construction workers (esp. painters) no longer listen to them.

I`m glad you mentioned all the noise on AM. Vertical antennas pick up all the hash and trash out there on the AM band. I listen to many of my favorite talk shows on AM with a HORIZONTAL antenna. If you string a copper wire horizontally about 20 feet or so, you can pick up most all of the traffic on AM. A horizontal antenna removes about 99% of the noise. You are now receiving whats known as the AM ground wave. This little known secret is fast putting people back to listening to AM broadcast. Notice the cheap wire antenna on some home units, they tell you to lay it horizontally along your wall, not to use it vertically.They save money on AM filters this way, which makes their product cheaper to buy. Really good AM filters are not cheap, which adds to the cost of the unit. You don`t have to spend a lot of money going to satellite, or buying high dollar FM radios. All you need is a horizontal antenna with any existing AM or FM radio. Try it, you will see how crystal clear, and noise free your favorite AM station will become. Have a great day. Bob KC0VEA

Even better is a horizontal loop with all corners at the same elevation above ground. You get the advantage of the ground wave, even more noise reduction, skip propagation, and it is omni-directional, whereas a simple horizontal dipole is not.

The downside is a properly tuned loop is going to be big at that end of the RF spectrum if cut to resonance, but a smaller loop still does well.