Just the other day, I accidentally hit the radio button in my car and switched from my usual FM radio station to an AM one.
The sudden difference from music to static when I switched was stark and woke up my curious side. Today most people tune into FM stations to get their daily dose of music while commuting or lounging about.
Somewhere in the history of radio, there seemed to be a divergence between FM and AM radio. At least, that’s what I thought initially and I was dying to know how this mysterious radio wave came to be.
To satisfy my curiosity, I looked into why AM radio is so different from FM. After all, when was the last time you tuned into an AM frequency on purpose? It is always there, yet no one seems to use it, so why was it developed in the first place?
Hey everybody! Stacy Smith here, back to share what I found out. If you are a curious soul like me, I’m sure the history of AM radio is something you feel an urge to dive into.
To give you all these answers, let’s get right into it!
Radio signals by themselves are not that strong and don’t travel very far. That’s why AM radio was developed to solve this problem.
To allow radio signals to travel farther, AM radio waves sort of “piggyback” one set of waves off of the original waves sent. By measuring the amplitude (or how high or low) this piggybacked radio wave is, the original signal can be reproduced.
Whether the signal sent is an audio or visual signal, these slight changes in amplitude reflect the original radio signal. This method of sending two sets of radio waves is known as Amplitude Modulation or AM radio.
Crediting the invention of the AM radio was given to Lee de Forest and Reginald Fessenden in 1906. After working on his new concept of radio transmission for six years, Reginald sent the first AM signal from his garage. Radio-equipped ships that were hundreds of miles away were able to hear this voice message, giving birth to AM radio.
By 1909 the first AM radio station was set up by Charles David Herrold in San Jose, California. Additionally, the concept of a “commercial” radio station was born in 1920 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, called CINW.
Moving on, Frank Conrad was an innovator in America, setting up the first commercial AM broadcasting station in Pennsylvania. He was also the first to find the world’s first licensed broadcast station, the KDKA. Today the KDKA is owned by CBS Radio, with the transmitter located in Allison Park.
In the years before the first World War, AM radio became more widely used. And the number of radio stations using AM waves increased even more, especially after the war ended.
In 1933 FM (frequency modulated) radio was developed and exploded across the world. This form of broadcasting was preferred by stations as it had a better quality of sound.
FM radio uses a different method of sending and receiving radio waves. Instead of measuring the differences in amplitude in the second wave, it measures the differences in frequency itself.
Understandably, the shift from AM to FM radio was swift. This new system had a far superior reach than AM radio due to which the quality of the signal received is much better in an FM signal.
Of course, AM waves were not the best as they are not as widely used today. They have unique drawbacks that have forced them to take a backseat in the modern age.
For instance, AM radio signals are prone to becoming distorted due to many modern obstacles. Tall buildings, metal structures, light bulbs, and even domestic appliances can alter the clarity of an AM radio signal.
But despite being seen as a radio signal of the past, AM radio is still used in some areas. It may be considered old-fashioned, but it still performs reasonably well for talk radio, news, and sports stations. For stations that rely more heavily on the quality of the audio being produced, like music broadcasts, FM radio is more preferred.
On the other hand, FM radio waves may have more extensive coverage, but there are still places where the signal is unavailable, or there are few FM radio stations. These are usually rural locations where the population is not as dense.
Mountain regions are another area where AM radio is more commonly used due to the natural barrier formed by the mountains. Today, depending on where you live, finding an AM radio station can be like finding a needle in a haystack; there are not many stations broadcasting anymore.
If you do happen to stumble across one, chances are it’ll be a country or regional music channel that is still broadcasting. Regardless, AM radio is still widely used in this modern age. There may not be many listeners tuning in, but the signals will always be present, traveling through the air around us.
Now that you are a bit more informed, you can rest easier knowing what this once mysterious AM radio signal is.
These small facets of human life are usually overlooked and will help you appreciate how far humankind has come. And despite their limited benefits, AM radio waves are silently present, whether people acknowledge them or not.
When they do come into the consciousness, it serves as a modern reminder of times long gone. Humans have progressed so far in terms of technological development that interacting with a dated piece of tech can be shocking.
So, it is important to take a step back here and there to remember the old ways. With that, I’ll take my leave.
See you soon, readers!
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