AM Radio

Generally, AM reception problems are from increased noise and the usual reason for that is deterioration of the ground connection at the antenna mount. Dunno about the 2004, but certainly for the first generation it requires getting past the headliner to do anything about that.

The fix for a bad ground is pretty straightforward. The antenna mount is removed from the body and the body is scoured with Scotchbrite (or sandpaper, but in my experience Scotchbrite is quicker) where the conductive part of the mount contacts the body. The shined area is then coated with a thin film of petroleum jelly, dielectric grease or silicone grease to ward off rust and the antenna remounted, making sure it is tight on the body.

Years ago I worked on avionics (aircraft electronics) in general aviation. I was always impressed by how sensitive ground connections for ADF sense antennas - which work in the AM band and somewhat lower - were to ground quality. We had a pair of really nasty chemicals to clean and passivate the aluminum skin where the antennas mounted, and I quickly learned that made the difference between mediocre performance and exceptional performance. When the antenna was mounted on a painted area without any scouring, as we sometimes saw, the performance was *really* miserable.

Mike

Recent advances in HD radio etc has seemed to degrade the AM signal something fierce - seems the radio stations are just giving up trying to offer high wattage, high quality AM stations - any other thoughts on this? My AM reception is pretty poor too.

The only other comment I have is that I don't have this issue with my

Tweecer wrote:

Today, I tried out the AM reception northwest of Boston in my 2005 with the standard radio. I used the seek button to find stations and counted those that I considered to have clear, "listenable" sound.

Driving along I-495, seek found about 20 decently listenable stations in a pass across the AM band. I was surprised to find a slightly smaller number (maybe 16 to 18) of similar quality while driving along Rte 128. The number was somewhat reduced by static when driving some local roads with power lines.

Al

The Prius radio, the JBL model at least, has an effective shit filter. You weren't trying to tune-in Rush Limbaugh were you? Sean Hannity?

No - I'm trying to listen to WEEI - sports talk radio and station that the Red Sox games are broadcast on.

I drive from Billerica to coastal New Hampshire. I'm trying to listen to WEEI (850AM), I consider it unlistenable now. The reception is deteriorating, it used (6 months ago) be much better. When I first purchased the car in 2004 one of the things I checked was AM reception, it was very good when it was brandy spanky new. 50K miles later, it sucks.

A Sherman wrote:

usually the problem with am radio is that there are far too many republi "con" talking point shows with hosts that are filled with too much hate, anger and vitriol and these loudmouth republi cons like hackhead hannity,el druggo limpballs, and vibrator boy billy o :lie" lly from fox non news spin network. thats the problem with am radio

if i ever accidentially were to tune in the flush limbaugh show ot hackhead hannity, i'd have to get rid of my prius cause my car would comtaminated with right wing bullshit

Okay....

What's right with AM radio is that traffic reports are more comprehensive on many of the AM stations that use a news/talk format. After all, AM is not very music-friendly and it has to have some draw. My favorite station used to be KTAR in Phoenix, before they changed to the call-in and agitation format. Even today, if you turn down the yak, you can get superb traffic info every ten minutes during rush hour. On FM you're lucky to hear a report before you get home, even if you wait an hour in the snarl you could have avoided if only you'd known.

Sadly, KTAR no longer has the news team that 15 years ago made it the only news source I had any faith in. Unlike Fox or the wire services (the AP and Reuters should register as PACs) they had a "just the facts" approach combined with deep background that was just as meaty.

Mike

XM Radio, Ch. 224 -- Traffic and weather for Phoenix repeated about every four minutes 24/7/365.

Circa 69 commercial-free music channels in a wide variety of genres.

Drama, news, sports...

Who needs AM /or/ FM!?

Davoud

AM is free. I don't like music or entertainment enough to pay for it, so I don't need XM. To each their own....

Mike

Michael Pardee:

Davoud:

Michael Pardee:

You said it yourself -- call-in agitation format. Between that and commercials, I find that I have to /pay/ too high a price for AM radio.

Davoud

It sure is nice living in the boondocks. Do you need a musical horn to hold a traffic jam or do you just beep the original equipment?

Ya got me on that.

Mike