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It would be very cool to replace the stock radio with a software-defined radio receiver. I really doubt vehicle manufacturers would be interested in offering th

It would be very cool to replace the stock radio with a software-defined radio receiver. I really doubt vehicle manufacturers would be interested in offering that, though.

yurishimo 5y ago
It's also expensive. The infotainment is the gateway to whatever you'd likely want to do and with the emergence of CarPlay and Android Auto, your "radio" is updating constantly. The actual circuit to make a radio work is also tiny. Some early smartphones included a radio tuner in the hardware.
- Johnythree 5y ago
  The problem however is the RF interference generated by the central processor and the display. Adding an AM or FM radio is easy. The hard part is adding the necessary shielding.
- PickledHotdog 5y ago
  Some still do. Recent model Motorolas still sport FM radio functionality
- jeffbee 5y ago
  It can't be that expensive. The Pioneer Supertuner III came out in the 1980s and it is considered a state-of-the-art receiver even today. If they could put it in a < $500 head unit 35 years ago, it should cost a nickel today.
Johnythree 5y ago
SDR is not really the answer. To make a good radio requires high quality RF filtering, whether it be an SDR or a discrete design. The SDR part only replaces the IF stage and Detector.
- oakwhiz 5y ago
  If you say so. I'm having a lot of fun with a bottom-dollar setup. There is no perceptible tuning delay and there's a lot of functionality in such a small space. The parent comment was referring to the lack of responsiveness as a result of the digital age, and a lot of the real-time thinking behind SDRs can be applied to take back control and be able to read different competing radio formats and receive on various bands. The problems with the data parsing are sometimes baked in to ICs and software, but the whole idea behind SDRs is to separate the act of receiving radio and decoding it so that there is less friction to changing how it works.

It would be very cool to replace the stock radio with a software-defined radio receiver. I really doubt vehicle manufacturers would be interested in offering that, though.

yurishimo 5y ago

It's also expensive. The infotainment is the gateway to whatever you'd likely want to do and with the emergence of CarPlay and Android Auto, your "radio" is updating constantly. The actual circuit to make a radio work is also tiny. Some early smartphones included a radio tuner in the hardware.

Johnythree 5y ago
The problem however is the RF interference generated by the central processor and the display. Adding an AM or FM radio is easy. The hard part is adding the necessary shielding.
PickledHotdog 5y ago
Some still do. Recent model Motorolas still sport FM radio functionality
jeffbee 5y ago
It can't be that expensive. The Pioneer Supertuner III came out in the 1980s and it is considered a state-of-the-art receiver even today. If they could put it in a < $500 head unit 35 years ago, it should cost a nickel today.

Johnythree 5y ago

SDR is not really the answer. To make a good radio requires high quality RF filtering, whether it be an SDR or a discrete design. The SDR part only replaces the IF stage and Detector.

oakwhiz 5y ago
If you say so. I'm having a lot of fun with a bottom-dollar setup. There is no perceptible tuning delay and there's a lot of functionality in such a small space. The parent comment was referring to the lack of responsiveness as a result of the digital age, and a lot of the real-time thinking behind SDRs can be applied to take back control and be able to read different competing radio formats and receive on various bands. The problems with the data parsing are sometimes baked in to ICs and software, but the whole idea behind SDRs is to separate the act of receiving radio and decoding it so that there is less friction to changing how it works.