AM AND FM RECEPTION IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT
AM AND FM RECEPTION IN A MOBILE
ENVIRONMENT
Although you may be familiar with both AM and FM reception in your home, you will experience notable differences in reception while driving.Both AM and FM provide excellent listening enjoyment and supply the diversified entertain- ment necessary to relieve the boredom of hours behind the wheel. FM recep- tion, although unique in its characteristics while driving, provides a different listening experience compared to that of AM. The few reception inconveniences common to FM are compensated by the rich sound quality of its wide frequency response and stereo effect.Your new AM/FM radio has been built to the strictest engineering standards available today and through quality components and con- struction will provide maximum performance under all conditions. A few minutes reading this section will enable you to obtain the most from the unit and answer your questions about the differences between mobile AM and FM
reception.
SOME FACTS ABOUT AM AND FM RECEPTION
1.RECEPTION IN TUNNELS: Although you will lose AM reception when driving through tunnels and large bridges, it is common to continue to receive FM re- ception under the same conditions.
2.THE NUMBER OF STATIONS IN YOUR AREA: Depending on your location, you may find that you can receive a greater number of AM stations in your area than FM stations. In most urban and suburban areas, the numbers of AM and FM stations are comparable.
3.RECEPTION DURING STORMS: Local electrical thunderstorm activity often produces sharp static sound when listening to AM stations although you will find that FM is unaffected.
4.ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE: When listening to AM stations, you may exper- ience some buzzing sounds or static when passing roadsidz electric power lines which do not interfere with FM reception. Conversely,FM reception may be affect- ed by electrical noise from passing cars and trucks while AM reception is not affected.
5.FM RECEPTION RANGE: FM reception range is usually limited to about 50 miles from the broadcast station. FM signals radiate straight out from the broadcast antenna. They do not follow the earth's curve and are not reflected back to the earth by the atmosphere, resulting in
FM RECEPTION WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING
6.AM RECEPTION RANGE: AM stations can often be received hundreds of miles from the broadcast station. AM signals follow the earth's curve and are easily reflected back to earth by the atmosphere. Therefore an AM signal may be more easily received far from the broadcast station antenna than an FM signal.
FM RECEPTION WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING
Since FM signals become weaker as you drive further from the broadcast sta- tion, you may experience flutter, noisy reception and fading in the poor signal fringe areas. Through the use of advanced circuitry in this radio,the Fringe Area has been greatly reduced, providing a larger reception range.Even with this improved circuitry however, eventually the FM signal will become too weak to provide quality reception. When this occurs, it is best to change to a stronger local FM station. Although FM signals are not reflected by the atmosphere, they are easily reflcted by solid objects. This characteristic of FM signals can produce two different reception possibilities. First, an FM signal can "bounce" between tall buildings resulting in reception in areas where AM reception is not possible. Second, the same effect can result in the loss of an FM signal if a large obstruc- tion such as a mountain or building is located between you and the FM broad- casting antenna so that it blocks the signals. In such cases, it is possible to have poor FM reception even if you are not far from the broadcasting station.
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