Now you have to make sure your car has a radio (at least AM)?

[redpoint5]

I've got a cheap Bluetooth to FM transmitter for the Acura. Strangely in 2006, the car would pair with a phone for calls only, but not anything else. If I want to play anything from my phone, I've got to send it to the dongle and then receive it on the FM radio.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

There still is a way... If you want AM in a Tesla you could either 1) use an AM radio with it's own speaker or 2) use an AM radio hooked up to an FM modulator so you can hear it on the car's stereo through it's FM radio.

Could the AM radio still be hooked up to the 12-volt power outlet which has replaced the cigarette lighter on most new cars?

But this is something that saddens me about new cars: uncustomizability. For an example, cars are no longer designed so you could add your own stereo. True: CD's, cassette tapes, 8-tracks and now AM are things of the past (for most people). But having a non-customizable car means you get what you get, whether it works for you or not. Whether something new suddenly pops up or not, or whether you'd like an old feature or not.

Gone are the days of mixtapes recorded from radio broadcasting of some old songs...

As someone who likes to fix things and is the minority that lives out in the middle of nowhere and listens to AM radio and enjoys hobbies like amateur radio, I don't like the idea of uncustomizable cars.

And even "in the middle of nowhere", FM radios broadcasting on mono instead of stereo have a longer reach. This might explain why some radio stations which used to transmit traditionally on AM, such as news outlets, were turning to FM. Not to mention the interferences which used to be a PITA nearly 30 years ago in big cities, while neither hybrids or EVs were much of a hot topic outside California.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Strangely in 2006, the car would pair with a phone for calls only, but not anything else. If I want to play anything from my phone, I've got to send it to the dongle and then receive it on the FM radio.

The early bluetooth spec had very low audio quality. It was only good for phone calls. I have several mid-aught cars that have BT only for phone calls.

I use auxiliary in ports on those cars + a Tunai Firefly to bluetooth audio into the car's stereo system. I've found that even if the car didn't come with an aux in port, some enterprising soul has come up with a way to hack one in.

[Xist]

I don't have any idea how many years it has been since i listened to AM radio. I accidentally switched to it yesterday hitting a button putting my phone in its mount, which is in the CD slot of my stereo.

I automatically change the channel when people start talking. I will listen to the news, but that is a couple of minutes of people not trying to be entertaining.

I just don't want to listen to people talk when I drive.

[Isaac Zachary]

AM is the only way I can get stations from out-of-town without an internet connection. There's one that's about 70 miles away that comes in during the day. Then at night I can't listen to it as another station interferes, but I get a lot of other AM stations at night.

FM is limited to basically line-of-sight. As soon as I head over the first hill 8 or 10 miles away from town the signal disappears, which is also where cellphone service ends too.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

FM is limited to basically line-of-sight. As soon as I head over the first hill 8 or 10 miles away from town the signal disappears, which is also where cellphone service ends too.

Which is one of the reasons I haven't listened to FM radio much in about 10 years - along with commercials. (I can't watch or listen to broadcast for more than about 15 minutes now - the commercials just drive me crazy)

I download anything I want to listen to at home and the use either AUX in, bluetooth, Android Auto, or CarPlay to connect to the head unit in the car.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by JSH

Which is one of the reasons I haven't listened to FM radio much in about 10 years - along with commercials. (I can't watch or listen to broadcast for more than about 15 minutes now - the commercials just drive me crazy)

I download anything I want to listen to at home and the use either AUX in, bluetooth, Android Auto, or CarPlay to connect to the head unit in the car.

That's great for entertainment purposes, but worthless for emergency purposes. When the cellular is out and you're too far for FM to reach you, AM may be the only option, that is IF your vehicle has it.

[redpoint5]

I mean, an AM radio costs peanuts. Bet there are devices to rebroadcast on an FM station or AUX out, too.

[freebeard]

I have a Grundig S350 AM-FM-Shortwave above the couch, and a hand-crank AM-FM-Shortwave-flashlight in the bugout bag (rattle-can no-glare finish).

But I don't even turn on the AM-FM in the Metro. On long drives I sing to myself or whistle.

[redpoint5]

Back in the elementary days, I was "acquiring" music at the rate of one 5MB song per 25 minutes, and would offer custom 15-20 song mix CDs for $10.

Around that time I discovered one could broadcast in FM, and I had the unfulfilled dream of a mobile pirate broadcast that served my city. I wanted a call-in component where people could make requests or share local gossip.

Then I discovered a movie along that theme called "Pump Up the Volume".

If only I had more nickels. I'd probably have done less prison time violating the FCC than my other pursuits of interest.