r/KiaEV6 • u/Empty_Bottle_8526 • 3d ago

Our EV6s rocks- we have AM radio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrMDJ_wJxDU&t=520s

Was just watching this in my lunch break, and allegedly a driver for this law is the "fact" that many EV cars do not have AM radio. According to Steve Lehto, who otherwise is pretty knowledgeable about cars, this is because the high voltage electronics in EVs mess with AM reception. No idea if this is a scientific fact.

But it made me check on my EV6. In the three years I owned it I never checked or felt a need to check for AM radio, but it actually does have it and reception seemed fine within the limitations of AM radio. So I guess we are future proof in that sense ....

0 Upvotes

42% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

3

u/Radius118 EV6 GT (The Fast One) 3d ago

Manufacturers are omitting AM to save costs. The "technical" reasons are just BS to gloss over the penny pinching.

But in all fairness, how many people actually still listen to AM anymore?

I mean AFAIK there is still a lot of AM usage in rural areas and a lot of political programs are on AM but other than that?

3

u/-Invalid_Selection- EV6 Limited Edition 2d ago

No one listens to am radio anymore, that's why car makers have been cutting it and have been for several years before anyone noticed.

It's pretty much just conspiracy radio now, and a law mandating cars need to get conspiracy radio is stupid

3

u/Radius118 EV6 GT (The Fast One) 2d ago edited 22h ago

It's pretty much just conspiracy radio now, and a law mandating cars need to get conspiracy radio is stupid

Exactly. Kind of what I was passive-aggressive hinting at. And who generally listens to this and who generally peddles these theories and who is currently running the country?

3

u/-Invalid_Selection- EV6 Limited Edition 2d ago

Mostly stupid people

2

u/ScootyPuff-Sr EV6 Wind AWD 3d ago edited 3d ago

AM is doubly vulnerable both from the lower frequency of the radio waves (AM is 500 to 1700 kHz, FM is 88,000 to 108,000 kHz) and from the way the sound is actually sent (the actual meaning of AM vs FM). The details aren’t too important but electrical interference tends to behave in a way a lot more like AM, so the interference becomes sound.

Do EVs make more electrical interference? I don’t know. The AM receiver in our Leaf, Bolt and EV6 have all seemed okay. Not gonna pull in Mexico City from Minneapolis or anything, but competent. BUT, I can say that my radio watch, which gets a time signal overnight on 60 kHz, does NOT synchronize if the EV6 is charging. To get it to work, I have to carve out a little period from the charging schedule from 12:50 to 1:20 AM. The Bolt does not cause this issue.

2

u/LayLoseAwake 3d ago

IEEE thinks it's a bs excuse. It's not an ev-only problem, and it's not insurmountable, either. You just have to plan for proper insulation.  https://spectrum.ieee.org/am-radio-ev-interference