Despite What Anti-AM Radio Folks Say, There Really Is A Place for AM Radio In EVs

Over the last few weeks, the auto industry has been pouring cold water over AM radio. The argument that they have been putting forward is that in electric vehicles (EVs), AM radio doesn’t work. In truth, the industry makes an interesting argument, but it is also an issue that is hardly true.

AM Radio Is Alive And Well

Despite the claims by the head of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), John Bozzella, AM radio is alive and well and waiting to work.

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Jim Farley, CEO and president of Ford put forth the argument, at first, that there was little future for AM radio. However, he was forced to walk back the claim when an act was filed in Congress, the AM for Every Vehicle Act (AMEVA). He took Ford out of that conversation very quickly. However, AAI, which turns out to be a subsidiary of Ford, has been pushing for eliminating AM radio from EVs.

AAI’s argument is based on 1. Interference, and 2. Cost. First, AAI maintains that AM radio is a moot issue because of the electrical interference inherent in EVs. The truth be told that AM radio is susceptible to the many noises generated by battery-driven vehicles. Without various filters – things like toroids, chokes, and the like – it is true that EVs generate a huge amount of interference. However, it isn’t anything that can’t be overcome with a bit of ingenuity and a few devices.

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For example, though EVs generate vast amounts of hash (static) due to the currents coursing through the high-voltage wiring that carries power from the batteries to the various systems in the vehicle, it is something that, as noted, can be eliminated. All it takes is an upgrade to the vehicle wiring using a shielded and grounded cable to eliminate the noise that pours out of the vehicle’s speaker system. Then, adding the other devices, as needed, will cause the hash (noise) to fall back down to levels right around zero.

Some Interesting Cost Figures

To clean up the shooting match, AAI estimated recently that it would add about $20 or $30 to a vehicle. With the average EV running anywhere between $27,500 (Chevy Bolt) through $47,500 (Ford Mustang Mach-E) and on up to six figures, adding another $30 to the cost is a rather specious argument.

Why is it essential to continue using AM radio in a vehicle? Here’s the reason: information. In Torque News last week, we discussed the need to continue using AM radio. It all comes back to the Cold War era when CONELRAD (the original AM emergency system) was prominent in our national conversations about emergency info. If you are old enough to remember – or if you are into older radio systems – you may remember seeing a couple of triangles on the dial of AM radios. One was at about 530 kHz, and the other was on the other side of the dial at 1600 kHz. Those two triangles denoted frequencies over which emergency information would have been broadcast.

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Across the nation, 79 major radio stations are authorized to broadcast emergency information on those frequencies. They are the predecessors to today’s Emergency Broadcast System, which is authorized to broadcast on not only the old frequencies but also newer ones and over new systems, like cable TV systems or the internet. The problem with this somewhat disingenuous information outbreak, or heavy rain, is that the EBS can effectively cease. Yes, the radio backbone system of linked FM stations is still available nationwide. However, note that these stations are FM. They are part of the VHF information system authorized for the EBS. They form the local backbone, out of which information is supposed to flow nationwide. The problem is that when the network that ties all the stations together – the internet, also a network – will be gone. In a significant storm situation, it is likely that things we take for granted, like the internet and local FM radio, and even cable, will be out. However, the 79 Emergency AM stations will be there.

The stations are known as “clear frequency” stations, like 1030 kHz or nearby 1060 kHz, which will be available as they also have emergency back systems to keep them on the air. They also broadcast at 50 kW and are invariably resilient in emergencies. Further, AM stations can broadcast at far greater distances, depending on the sunspot cycle. At some points in earlier sunspot cycles– every 11 years – “clear frequency” stations were heard thousands of miles away from their cities of origin. That is an added benefit to the AM Emergency Radio System. If one more local station can’t be heard, the chances are good that another one will be accessible.

That’s a pretty good reason to keep AM radio. No, it isn’t cutting-edge, but it works. AAI would have you believe that, given the “complexity of” AM radio systems and the fact that there’s a huge amount of interference, then it isn’t any good. Indeed, if you follow this line of reasoning, it will appear that AM systems are far too fragile to continue to operate. But they aren’t. The full-power AM stations still have their capabilities.

Some Interesting Comments

Interestingly, if you were to listen to AAI and some state emergency management system public relations managers, you would think that AM radio has ceased to exist as they both extol all of the outlets available in emergencies. It is a shame to find them caught in an exaggeration.

Indeed, there’s a type of AM radio now available – digital – which doesn’t need as much “cleaning up,” if at all, because it is digital that offers a real breakthrough over analog radio signals (the current standard) because it is far more resilient than straight AM signals. While it offers significant advantages, the service is still in its infancy.

So, AM radio looks like it has a future in EVs, despite those automakers trying to cut it out. For many reasons, AM is still here to stay despite the efforts of some who want to push it away.

Torque News would like to thank Inside Radio for analyzing an AM mitigation study. Also, Torque News Senior Reporter Marc Stern is an amateur radio operator. His experience over near.h half a century, emphasizing sunspots, also helped to broaden this story.

Ford Motor Photo

Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971 when an otherwise normal news editor said, “You're our new car editor," and dumped about 27 pounds of auto stuff on my desk. I was in heaven as I have been a gearhead from my early days. As a teen, I spent many misspent hours hanging out at gas stations (a big thing in my youth) and working on cars. From there on, it was a straight line to my first column for the paper "You Auto Know," an enterprise I handled faithfully for 32 years. Only a few people know that I also handled computer documentation for most of my earnings while writing YAN. My best writing, though, was always in cars. My work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, etc. You can follow me on: Twitter or .mstern001">