Posted on 07/23/2017 8:19:33 PM PDT by lee martell
I decided it was time to replace my very old home stereo system from Magnavox. It had a CD player, an AM/FM radio and a pair of speakers. I must have bought it back in the late 90's. I knew it would be difficult to find an affordable CD player vs one that took DVDs or other. What I didn't know was how difficult it would be to find a home stereo system that allowed me to get AM radio. All the systems I saw online offered FM. That was no problem.
I went into Best Buy and was told I would have to connect to AM by using my iphone's Bluetooth App. The Bluetooth App would then be used to link up and connect with my home stereo, which would then provide access to AM radio.
Oh. said I. I didn't want the bother and all the extra fiddling needed to make that connection. So I looked online, and settled for something from LG for a little over $200. According to the online Ad, I could have both FM AND AM radio. I was thrilled, since I rely on AM to get most my talk shows. A few days pass, it's delivered, I set the home stereo system up , only to find, you guessed it. I still would be expected to use Bluetooth to establish the connection to Am. Damn!
After lots of silent grumbling, I decided, Okay, I guess I'll just have to learn how to connect. Eventually, I found the App, but the Bluetooth was only able to connect to a port with a headset symbol above it. Meaning, I suppose, Am Radio is only accessible via headphones. (Oy!!)
At this point, I just dug up one of my old CD players. A small model by Memorex, and I now use this to access AM Radio until further notice. I had to hunt for a replacement cord for it. Seems most stores don't even sell your basic appliance cords anymore. They are sold online for about $17. adding postage, brings that to about $26. No thanks. I found one stuffed in my box of old souvenir from college days. It still functions fine. Life is for learning, right?
What caught my eye about that one verses some of the others I looked at on Amazon was it’s a stand alone unit. A tuner, receiver, and amp so it just needs speakers and wire. If you just need a tuner to add to a component type setup; this wouldn’t work for you.
There’s something to be said for both type setups.
RIP Dr. Bose: November 2, 1929 – July 12, 2013
Goodwill thrift. Store locator. http://www.goodwill.org/locator/ My problem is odd adapter plugs, like, for a Radio Shack mini piano keyboard, 9 volts 300 milliamps. All Yamaha full size keyboards use the most standard 12 volts 1,000 milliamps. (Casio plugs can’t be found.) Look for one of those Bozes, it will be less than $20. The employees work for $2.50 an hour.
I am sure after 100+ replies, someone has mentioned this. I use iheart radio app, Bluetooth to a variety of listening devices, including our TV sound bar.
Actually, you might be the first to bring up iHeart.
Pardon me, if I’m wrong.
I keep reading short articles that iHeart is going to soon declare bankruptcy, ever since early May of this year. Still has not happened. May be more Fake News from a competitor.
It is not. Majorly over extended. Too much too fast. iHeart is in serious financial doo doo.
You forgot the part about firing up a doobie.
Sounds like a Fisher. The best news is that they are again manufacturing those tubes, if you don't mind buying Russian.
A few years ago, Rush disappeared from the local AM outlet where he had been for years, and he popped up on an FM station. He sounded awful, the victim of overzealous digital processing. His voice was barely recognizable. I don't know what his ratings were on that FM station, but that didn't last long, and now he's back where he belongs, and courtesy of Ancient Modulation, he sounds like himself again.
I’ve got about 20 NOS bottles.
The real problem with AM (aka Ancient Modulation) today is the vast quantity of RF trash that is constantly emitted by all the digital devices which infest our world.
This endless enveloping sea of RF trash comes to you from CFL bulbs, many LED bulbs, cell phones, chargers, computers, digital TVs, anything with an SCR in it (dimmers mostly), all kinds of digital stuff riding on the power lines, just about every modern appliance, etc.
If you have a battery-powered AM radio, an eye-opening (actually ear-opening) experiment is to tune across the AM band during a power failure, when most of those digital devices shut down. You will find out what AM used to be like.
And if you don’t have a battery radio, you should.
I can’t dial “800” telephone numbers on my rotary phone.......
Don’t bother. The recent AM receivers have rotten AM reception, anyway, and don’t even allow an external antenna. I buy good old=fashioned ones at the local Salvation Army stores. A basic receiver (no CD, Tape, speakers, etc., usually has a far better radio section than you can buy today. Get one late enough to have PLL tuning, and make sure the display is bright enough to see with the lights on. Get one that still has the AM loop antenna. Some of them have funny plugs.
I bought a Sony at Best Buy about two years ago. CD player, AM and FM, twin speakers and Blue Tooth.
I just got a great portable made by these guys. It has amazing sound and digital tuning for around $75.00. I can run my MP4 player through its speakers as an added bonus.
http://www.sangean.com/products/all_products.asp
btt
There was a brief period before multiplex stereo FM was approved in which stations broadcast one channel on FM and the other channel on AM. Occasionally you see an old tuner or receiver that was set up for that mode of operation (separate tuning knobs for AM and FM).
True stereo FM put an end to that, and in 1964, the FCC also dictatorially limited the amount of time that stations with both AM and FM licenses could simulcast (i.e. run the same programming on both channels), in a misguided attempt to diversify and promote FM. What that meant, for example, that you would never again have the opportunity to hear classical music on AM, or a baseball game on FM.
CCrane CC Radio 2E
I have one in my office to pull in weak AM stations.
You can’t buy just a radio at Radio Shack anymore. Sad.
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