https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2023/am-radio-dead Skip to main content Jeff Geerling Main menu * Blog * Projects * About Is AM Radio Dead? January 31, 2023 ...that was the question I asked my Dad, a radio engineer for many decades, who worked at the biggest AM station in St. Louis, KMOX. The station is approaching its centennial in 2025, as are--some YouTube commenters argue--its primary audience! I recorded that video during my convalescence at my parents' house (I am feeling much better now, thank you!), and my Dad discussed a few reasons why AM radio--at least in the US--is not dead. But it is suffering. In the video, I pointed out the current dichotomy: On the one hand, the FCC Commissioner advocates for preservation, and cites the popularity of AM radio for farmers and emergency coverage. On the other, companies like Tesla stopped shipping AM radio entirely , and if you want to add it on, they'll gladly retrofit your EV for $500. Radio transmission tower on mountain top The video's comment section has run the gamut, from Hams advocating preservation and expounding the simplicity of AM signals on 'Medium Wave' bands, to those who cheer as each AM transmitter is switched off. Very recently, the UK's Absolute Radio 100 kw transmitter was powered off for the last time, and its signal migrated to DAB+ and online streaming. Here in the States, market-leading AM stations mostly simulcast on the FM band and constantly push listeners to download an app to 'listen anywhere.' I wanted to ask my Dad about this topic specifically because he still works with multiple AM stations in the midwest, and he has a lot of insight into FM, AM, and broadcast radio in general, as he's seen the transition from tape to CDs to digital, from mono to stereo FM, and ultimately to a failed rollout [that's me, editorializing... I haven't asked his opinion] of HD Radio in the US. Satellite radio seemed neck-in-neck with digital radio for a time, until the Internet came in and ate everyone's lunch. Even still, some commenters longed for the 'warmth of the AM signal' when listening to their favorite baseball team, or enjoyed 'knowing a storm was approaching from the crackle in the signal'. There's a lot of nostalgia, too, for the first time someone built a crystal radio set, and discovered the magic of radio. Radio station AM KMOX St. Louis Cardinals skywave bounce signal propagation The AM band is known for it's huge range--at nighttime, signals can travel for hundreds of miles, bouncing between the ionosphere and the ground in an effect known as skywave. And before the days of smartphones and always-on Internet connections, such long-distance broadcast felt like magic, as people could hear, in real time, the goings-on from other parts of the globe. But my Dad made two other points about AM that may be its downfall: narrowbanding and interference. Due to the nature of AM signals, or 'Amplitude Modulation', any interference on the broadcast frequency becomes noise that completely blocks out the signal. A lightning strike, high power lines, AC motors... or nowadays almost any electronic device with digital circuits that isn't properly designed and RF shielded--all these things make the AM radio listening experience disastrous. Some AM signals have had their bandwidth cut down too, for various reasons, leaving only a few kHz of spectrum--that's about what you get with an old fashioned telephone call! Gone are the days of the 'warm, soothing AM stereo' sound. Music has all but left the AM band, with FM (Frequency Modulation) offering far superior listening experience, in terms of interference rejection, stereo signal, and noise floor. But FM requires line-of-sight transmission, necessitating taller or more numerous towers. It also can't be received on an empty roll of toilet paper with some wire wrapped around it! AM radio has a long legacy behind it. My Dad mentioned 'content is king', and if you have the content people want to hear, they will seek out ways to listen to it. But as more and more radio stations in the US are controlled by ever fewer radio conglomerates, the local flair that endeared so many people to AM stations in the past fades off. Possibly at the same cadence as AM's relevance in our always-connected society. Further reading * 1 Million Watts of RF - how the FM Supertower works * Exploring a 1 MW FM Radio Tower with my Dad * Raspberry Pi KVMs compared: TinyPilot and Pi-KVM v3 am radio geerling engineering video youtube * Add new comment Comments Jonathan B. Horen - 6 hours ago "The AM band is known for it's huge range--at nighttime". I grew-up listening to AM radio in the late-1950s/early-1960s -- WABC and WMCA -- on my Hallicrafters S38-C. At night -- especially during the Winter months -- I was able to listen to basketball games from Chicago and Boston! When I got older and hitchhiked cross-country (and back), AM radio filled the empty, silent miles (3am on the Kansas Plains). * Reply Dave Pawson - 5 hours ago Try using Internet radio in your car on a long journey? All (OK most) options are near 'home' based, no interest in longer range since that's where the ad revenue is. OK, restricted in many ways, but of use? Yep. Most definitely. * Reply Anonymous - 4 hours ago Hi Jeff, good to know about your recover. AM is not dead I still listen to it a lot. But I do agree that it is struggling. * Reply James A. Chambers - 3 hours ago That's some fascinating technical limitations from your dad's background working with this technology. I didn't realize it was so prone to interference from modern digital devices. It certainly isn't hard to find devices with improper RF shielding to say the least. This isn't unprecedented as we've gone through the same thing now with standard definition TV. On my HackRF SDR when you tune to all the frequencies used for UHF/VHF it's completely dead. In my area there's absolutely nothing but apparently in some areas they've actually started using this spectrum for other things. I wonder if we'll eventually see the AM spectrum similarly assigned to other uses potentially here or if it will just eventually go silent. Fascinating article, thanks Jeff! * Reply RJ - 2 hours ago Here in England UK, AM is dying mainly due to the transmission energy costs and DAB coverage across the country. Although more remote parts of UK struggle with DAB so are committed to AM - remote parts of Scotland and mountainous Northern England. The BBC are also under pressure to cut costs from the government set licence fee, funded by the public. Hence they have closed many BBC stations in medium wave. Only two are left. * Reply Steve - 1 hour ago There's some information being left out when the article references FM as requiring line-of-sight transmission. That in particular isn't a function of the modulation (FM vs AM), but instead the propagation characteristics of the bands assigned by the FCC to those modulation methods. That is, if FM had been placed in the mediumwave band as AM had been, its propagation characteristics would be the same. There are characteristics of FM that are inherent to the modulation, such as interference rejection, and the FM "capture effect". * Reply Luther - 1 hour ago Every so often, I still enjoy turning on WWL 540AM (New Orleans) and hear what's happening back home, especially since my parents kept the station blasting 24/7 while I was growing up. Still find it amazing that living in St. Louis, I can still pick it up. * Reply defdefred - 1 hour ago How about digital AM? * Reply Jeff Geerling - 1 hour ago In reply to How about digital AM? by defdefred There are precious few HD Radio stations on the AM dial--in St. Louis I think there's only one! HD Radio seems to have failed spectacularly by this point, with such low adoption (not even all new cars include it yet!)--even on the FM side. * Reply Steven - 1 hour ago Your dad is right. The content isn't there. AM is mostly sports talk, right-wing talk with a smattering of foreign-language broadcasters -- and I look to the latter to keep the MW band alive. But for general radio listeners? It's over. * Reply Don S - 1 hour ago I would be very sorry to see AM go. There was nothing more magical than being on a very long road trip in the middle of the night and Art Bell was providing spooky entertainment that kept me awake. Something about the feel of AM with its low fidelity and static made it even more intriguing. If the station fell out of range, another clear channel AM station could always be found to continue. * Reply Mike - 46 min ago The sound of a good AM station is a unique experience in radio. Warm and comforting. Even better if there are glowing tubes... * Reply Search [ ] [Search] Geerling Family Crest All content copyright Jeff Geerling. Top of page.