1 of 1- RadioActive
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If The U.S. Forces Car Makers To Keep AM Radio, Will Canada Follow?
It's called the "AM For Every Vehicle Act" and it's slowly making its way through the various levels of government in the U.S. Support for the law, which would require automakers to keep AM radio in all new vehicles, is gaining bi-partisan support down south, agreements between parties that is increasingly rare in these otherwise polarized times.
Bill to Require AM in Cars Moves Ahead in the House
So if it passes down there, and given the interactivity of car manufacturing between this country and the U.S., would Canada be forced to follow suit? Right now, most electric vehicles don't carry AM because of the interference it causes on the signals. There may be some ways around it with filters, but it's not a cheap fix - and it may not work that well in the long run.
I don't see how we won't be forced to do the same thing here almost by default, since the assembly of our cars often requires trips to the U.S. and back.
We've invested billions on battery plants and electric vehicles on this side of the border. Will the fight for AM radio be fought in the Great White North as well? Or will it just be a given? My guess - we may not have a choice.
- mace
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Re: If The U.S. Forces Car Makers To Keep AM Radio, Will Canada Follow?
All the more reason to keep my boring beige 2006 Toyota Camry. It runs well, gets me safely from point A to point B, has only 107,000 km on it AND most importantly to me it doesn't have an entertainment system. Just AM [6 presets] and FM [12 presets] I recently discovered it also has a CD player, but since I don't own any CD's, I never knew it was there.
- Skywave
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Re: If The U.S. Forces Car Makers To Keep AM Radio, Will Canada Follow?
If it passes in the U.S. it will happen here by default. The receivers at the very least will have the chip set capable of AM reception, and there really wouldn't be any point in configuring the software to turn it off.
What isn't clear is whether the European and Asian manufacturers will have to retool. All-in-one chip sets for AM/FM/DAB/DRM/HD such as the NXP SAF360X have existed for many years. As many internal combustion vehicles still have AM reception capability, I'm guessing that it's a simple matter of enabling it in software.
As I've said in earlier posts, having the reception capability doesn't mean that the reception quality in electric vehicles will be acceptable except in the strongest signal areas.
- paterson1
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Re: If The U.S. Forces Car Makers To Keep AM Radio, Will Canada Follow?
I would think that manufacturers would do the same here. However cars sold in Canada at times are different than the US counterpart. Biggest difference up until recently was daytime running lights. .All new cars sold or imported in Canada have had daytimers since Dec 1, 1989. Car manufacturers for the US market have only recently made this standard on most new cars.
Same with ignition immobilizers which must be standard on all cars sold in Canada. In the US most manufacturers do install them as well but not mandatory. A few like KIA and Hyundai in the US have only recently been installing immobilizers in their cars. One reason why KIA's and Hyundai products were stolen much more in the US than here.
- pinto
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Re: If The U.S. Forces Car Makers To Keep AM Radio, Will Canada Follow?
Bought a new Hyundai in 2017, all the bells and whistles, made in Korea. No HD Radio! Same car "assembled" in the US... had HD Radio. Can't tell me the infotainment systems were different.
- RadioActive
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Re: If The U.S. Forces Car Makers To Keep AM Radio, Will Canada Follow?
This story on the NAB's response to potentially losing AM radio in cars contains one of the silliest suggestions I've seen on this topic yet. It comes from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which opposes forcing carmakers to keep the band in vehicles.
"For those consumers who want AM radio, automakers would consider offering portable AM radios, similar to first aid or tire kits, AAI President and CEO John Bozzella told the Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce last month."
Yes, because a portable AM radio would work so well inside of a car, electric or otherwise!
What a stupid and pointless suggestion.
The NAB’s fight for the future of AM radio
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Thread Starter- RadioActive
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Re: If The U.S. Forces Car Makers To Keep AM Radio, Will Canada Follow?
As the bill to force AM radio to remain in cars trundles its way through the various U.S. government bodies, one congressman, a New Jersey rep. named Josh Gottheimer, is suggesting all cars without the band be forced to prominently display the sticker below on the window to make sure buyers are aware of what they're missing.
How weird would it be to see this on your new automobile?
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Thread Starter- RadioAaron
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Re: If The U.S. Forces Car Makers To Keep AM Radio, Will Canada Follow?
LOL....It's almost parody at this point.