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AM is even simpler and even more robust. I think we never should have switched it off.
by gpvos 2y ago
AM is even simpler and even more robust. I think we never should have switched it off.
- HeatrayEnjoyer 2y agoBut AM isn't switched off.
- ale42 2y agoDepends where. In Switzerland it is.
- ClassyJacket 2y agoI looked for a source for this but can't find any mention of it.
- zuminator 2y ago"Most European countries are now running a reduced AM radio service with fewer transmitters, fewer services and lower power. Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Norway (except Svalbard), Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland have completely closed their AM radio services. Denmark retains a part-time long wave service for mariners. Lithuania has closed domestic AM radio, but retains a medium wave transmitter for international broadcasting. Only Cyprus, Hungary, Iceland and Romania (together with England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Spain) are continuing with a comprehensive AM radio service." http://frequencyfinder.org.uk/AM_Other_Countries.pdf http://frequencyfinder.org.uk/AM_Other_Countries.pdf
- tempcommenttt 2y agoThis is outdated. Denmark closed its long wave transmitter last year. The biggest hold out is bbc radio 4 and they stopped special long wave programming and the service is only still on the air because it doubles as a digital signal for some power meters.
- georgeburdell 2y agoMy new car doesn’t even have an AM tuner
- hulitu 2y agoBecause it raises the costs (antenna + cable) so the profit is lower.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- gpvos 2y agoMost European countries have switched off all their major transmitters, or are preparing to switch off the last few that are left. E.g., in the Netherlands, there are now only low-power hobbyist stations, which will remain I think, but have a near-zero audience.
- a_paddy 2y agoLW is simpler still and incredibly robust. It's a pity it has been turned off.
- coin 2y agoLW isn’t a modulation
- gpvos 2y agoLong wave is a frequency band just like medium wave. Amplitude modulation is used on both; it's the same technology, LW needs much larger antennas though. FM is often used to refer to a frequency band, but that is actually called ultra-short wave, and frequency modulation is used on it.
- voldacar 2y agoAM sounds painfully awful
- kalleboo 2y agoFor a while there was an AM Stereo which sounded much better
- jamesbfb 2y agoAnd there are some stations in the US still broadcasting in AM Stereo AKA C-QUAM, if you have an AM stereo capable receiver that is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-QUAM https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-QUAM
- hulitu 2y agoYou should listen to some DAB+ for comparison. I heard that 56kbps can make wonders. /s
- ugjka 2y agoThat's he-aac so 56kpbs is not that bad, it gets dicey below 32kbps when you need tricks like parametric stereo. But he-aac's spectral band replication does add metallic taste to everything, i would agree
- jen729w 2y agoAgree for music. Hard disagree for voice. Especially in the car! I can’t make out voices on FM at all. But AM, easy.
- lebuffon 2y agoThat "sound" is partially due to the design of the current AM system. It was built to pack more transmitters into the allocated frequency range. There are no technical impediments to high fidelity audio because of amplitude modulation. In the past the big limitation was the bandwidth of intermediate frequency (IF) amplifiers in the receivers which were typically tuned for maximum gain and not flat audio band response. The transmitters have flat response out to the legal limits. Radio stations have a monitor receiver that has proper IF audio response and the sound of those are very good.
- userbinator 2y agoIn the US, AM is still very common and there are efforts to keep it that way: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40234871 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40234871
- ekianjo 2y agoAM was switched off?
- bamboozled 2y agoIt sucks though, sounds horrible.
- lenerdenator 2y agoI wouldn't say it's more robust. One pass under a bridge proves that AM has problems. It also has lower fidelity.
- genter 2y agoAM only has lower fidelity because of the low broadcast power and shitty receivers. 80 years it was much higher quality with the huge transmitters and high quality tube radio.
- odiroot 2y agoI'm going to dust off my spark gap radio.