5 ms·

Question to the knowledgeable group here, is AM radio frequency useful for anything else? Would terminating commercial radios benefit any other industry?

908B64B197 3y ago
> is AM radio frequency useful for anything else? Emergency broadcasts.
- ewgoforth 3y ago
  You do see signs saying tune in to XXXX Hz to hear information about road construction, air port traffic, etc.
  - massysett 3y ago
    And do you actually do this? Whenever I do, the station isn’t working.
    - ars 3y ago
      I do it all the time, never once had a station that didn't work. Usually it's just a a couple boring boring words on a loop.
  - hnburnsy 3y ago
    Pretty soon this will be...install our app to access the latest road/construction information...
- salad-tycoon 3y ago
  Sorry, I definitely should have mention any other commercial* gains? As in, any possible chance of a not glaringly obvious 3rd party angle?
formvoltron 3y ago
AM radio is low frequency radio, right? Good for long distance but you can't pack too many bits into it. Perfect for finding lost objects / dogs / cats. Weather announcements. What else??
- creeble 3y ago
  Not good for finding lost dogs / cats unless hey carry a very large battery and antenna. Good for long distance, but only with a band-matching antenna (and plenty of power) at the transmitting end. But fantastic at reaching multiple simple receivers simultaneously over a very wide area with voice-quality transmission when you do.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- bradfa 3y ago
  I believe AM commercial radio broadcasts in the USA are medium frequency, not low frequency. My AM radio tuner on my desk goes from 530 to 1700 kHz. Making good antennas for this frequency range generally requires rather physically large antennas as the wavelength is quite large, so finding objects is not really a good use of these frequencies.
  - ianburrell 3y ago
    The wavelength for 1700 kHz is 578 ft. Antenna would be half that, 289 ft. AM stations usually have a tower that is the antenna.
throw0101b 3y ago
See previous discussion: * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35416627 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35416627 Bad weather, traffic, mountain passes, etc.

908B64B197 3y ago

> is AM radio frequency useful for anything else? Emergency broadcasts.

ewgoforth 3y ago
You do see signs saying tune in to XXXX Hz to hear information about road construction, air port traffic, etc.
- massysett 3y ago
  And do you actually do this? Whenever I do, the station isn’t working.
  - ars 3y ago
    I do it all the time, never once had a station that didn't work. Usually it's just a a couple boring boring words on a loop.
- hnburnsy 3y ago
  Pretty soon this will be...install our app to access the latest road/construction information...
salad-tycoon 3y ago
Sorry, I definitely should have mention any other commercial* gains? As in, any possible chance of a not glaringly obvious 3rd party angle?

formvoltron 3y ago

AM radio is low frequency radio, right? Good for long distance but you can't pack too many bits into it. Perfect for finding lost objects / dogs / cats. Weather announcements. What else??

creeble 3y ago
Not good for finding lost dogs / cats unless hey carry a very large battery and antenna. Good for long distance, but only with a band-matching antenna (and plenty of power) at the transmitting end. But fantastic at reaching multiple simple receivers simultaneously over a very wide area with voice-quality transmission when you do.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
bradfa 3y ago
I believe AM commercial radio broadcasts in the USA are medium frequency, not low frequency. My AM radio tuner on my desk goes from 530 to 1700 kHz. Making good antennas for this frequency range generally requires rather physically large antennas as the wavelength is quite large, so finding objects is not really a good use of these frequencies.
- ianburrell 3y ago
  The wavelength for 1700 kHz is 578 ft. Antenna would be half that, 289 ft. AM stations usually have a tower that is the antenna.

throw0101b 3y ago

See previous discussion: * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35416627 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35416627 Bad weather, traffic, mountain passes, etc.