There has been a recent theme of nostalgia. Nostalgia comes for us all at various points. For some reason it is resonating more readily lately.
Back in the day, I purchased my first automobile. It was used, I was reasonably new, and we got along well. The car had been built with power steering, power windows, and automatic transmission. But, it provided entertainment through an amplitude modulated (AM) radio. That was not the "latest and greatest" at the time. But someone had decided that frequency modulated (FM) was not worth the extra money.
After that car rolled off the assembly line in Norwood, Ohio, the trend turned to FM radio. It was not new, FM had been around since the 1930s. But, it was in 1978 that FM overtook AM in terms of listeners. The revolution inspired music. Steely Dan released a song in 1978, titled simply FM. The lyrics are reminiscent of much of the 1970s, much of it unfortunate and sexist, but the hook was the new FM primacy, the lack of static, and modern age.
No static at all (no static, no static at all)FM (no static at all)
I listened to AM in that old car until I could afford an eight-track. The eight-track was introduced in 1964 and revolutionized music. Only two years later they began releasing music on the cassette. How the eight-track survived that for even two days I will never know. But somehow, many of us clung to the eight-track. I remember large, bulky, and frankly ugly eight-tracks in new luxury cars into the 1980s. Not to mention CB radios (citizen's band).
I remember in the early 2000s when people were prosecuted for downloading and sharing music on the internet. But in the 1970s and 1980s we recorded millions of minutes of music from the radio. That was not "stealing," was not frowned upon, and was never an issue. I have struggled to understand how the internet changed anything but the method (and arguably the recording quality). If you wonder what happened to eight-tracks, you could not readily record on those at home. You figure it out.
As I drove back in those days, we looked for the "big stick" stations. These were the 50,000 watt, "clear channel" broadcasters. These companies had been granted an AM frequency that no one else in the country used. They were numerous but were perceived as rare. My favorites included WGN Chicago, which I recall broadcasting both music and talk programs. It all depended on when you tuned in. Another was WWL New Orleans. I recall it being "talk radio," but memory fades with the decades.
Other stations had that serious wattage, but not a clear channel. Therefore, their signals could face competition or interference from other stations broadcasting on the same frequency, but far away. Some of those cut their transmission power at night to accommodate that complication and to avoid interference with one another. I recall many hours listening to such a 50,000-watt transmitter out of Ft. Wayne, Indiana WOWO. That station carried the credibility of Westinghouse, once a household name in America.
As I traversed the country, even after the undeniable primacy of FM, I would strive to tune these stations in the dark and lonely hours. You could pick up an AM signal from some of those 50,000-watt clear channels hundreds of miles distant. I recall one night, in particular, listening to WGN as I drove through the night across Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama making for the Mississippi of my youth. The signal would come and go as I traversed low and high ground in the mountains and foothills. See, AM signals don't like physical obstacles like hills.
As time passed, music on AM faded into history. Today's list of the big transmitters illustrates this. Talk radio and sports radio became the norm. Visit your AM band today and you will struggle to find pop music. You may find some gospel though. Nothing wrong with a helping of that from time to time.
Car manufacturers started to eschew the AM band recently. Critics see it as antiquated, anachronistic, and yesterday. One on ARS Technica likens it to "vinyl, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs," and all else that it sees fading into our past. Not without lamentation, but with little more than a whimper perhaps.
Why does it matter? Well, it turns out many car manufacturers are abandoning AM. The New York Times reported on this in December 2022. The point, it says, is interference. That is, noise pollution:
"electric vehicles generate more electromagnetic interference than gas-powered cars, which can disrupt the reception of AM signals and cause static, noise and a high-frequency hum."
Electric cars create noise pollution. The manufacturers mentioned by the Times included Ford, Audi, Porsche, Tesla, Audi, Volkswagon, and Volvo. Various other manufacturers have been mentioned in other news coverage of this great historic moment. But wait.
May brought news from the AP that Ford will reverse course and include AM radio. The United States Congress has begun to debate a law that would mandate the "National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require AM in new vehicles at no additional cost." There is a building cacophony that this old technology is something we need to preserve for our future.
In what way it benefits us remains in dispute. The proponents claim that this is a primary method of communication for a large swath of America. They explain that information can be conveyed to people at great distance with this tool. Critics counter that the same can be transmitted through the now ubiquitous cell phone and its persistent dissonance and noise. Those folks are likely to live somewhere with a ready and reliable cell phone signal.
See, we don't all live in such places. I spent a week this spring on a hilltop with no signal. To make a call, I had to drive over three miles to a cemetery on higher ground. I had to gain altitude and avoid the obstruction that hill presented. But, even in that paradise of isolation, the old AM radio still functions. In fact, it receives both WGN and WWL. On a good day, with the right weather, I have even tuned WOWO, but that is rare.
The car manufacturers note that AM and electric don't get along so well. They say that shielding and effort are required to protect that AM signal from the electric motor interference. Some note that this adds weight to the car, and efficiency of a vehicle (range) is all built on the relationship between the force required to move a particular amount of mass against the resistance of friction, atmosphere, and more.
Will AM survive? Does it need to? These are both way above my pay grade. But whatever these powers decide, AM will remain. It will live in my memories of long drives, bad coffee, and often equally bad music. Be offended if you will, but I can leave this earth without ever hearing Delta Dawn, Take this Job and Shove it, or Convoy again (apologies to those who composed, performed, or loved these songs).
I would not miss the static, or the talk, or the news. Come to think of it, what I miss is the odd experience of picturing the Cincinnati Reds play ball as described to me in the play-by-play narration that was a staple of the AM radio of my youth. I am not sure why, but Cincinnatti seemed to be perennial, as were the Cubs on WGN. You could see nothing, and so the announcer described everything. His tone, eloquence, and persistence were wonderous. The world was simpler then. Note that I did not venture into "better," but without a doubt, it was simpler.
Will regulators bring back the floppy drive, the typewriter, or the fax machine? As business lurches into the age of robotics, artificial intelligence, and goodness knows what else, will we anchor to yesterday or embrace tomorrow? That said, is there some reason we cannot do both? It turns out that the cars already sold without AM can be afforded that access with a simple software update. Radios today are just another computer.
The discussion is relevant as we face change. Innovation in drivetrain and near doctrinal fervor over electric cars is driving change. That is impacting older technology, and accepted habits. It is evidenced in anxiety and fear that may be substantive or may be simply about the change. We all hate change, whether we will admit it or not. It is many times easier to swallow when it is shiny and fun (like a new technology or toy). But, it is change nonetheless. As business and employment evolve, the concepts of change, consequence, and legislative reaction may bear consideration.
Will the world move with the times, borne by economic reality? Or will government persist in regulation and mandate?