Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dennis Dura, who shares this article from the Ponte Vedra Recorder highlighting how Hurricane Helene has exposed the critical need to protect AM radio as a vital emergency communication tool: https://www.pontevedrarecorder.com/stories/helene-milton-exposed-need-to-protect-am-radio,129870
The SWLing Post
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I sat out Hurricane Wilma listening to AM radio to give warning to where spin off tornadoes might touch down in Broward County FL.
Immensely powerful Wima had passed over Cancun MX,
had made a near right-angle Eastward turn toward Florida’s Everglades,
and was supposed to hit Florida’s East Coast further diminished after over passing so far over 117 miles of land that it was expected to be down to a 70 mph Tropical Storm.
Instead Pompano Beach’s Airport recorded 121 mph winds, and there was a very distinct Eye passover.
After the Eye passed over
my up-until-then unscratched pickup truck had its ARE brand fiberglass tonneau ripped in two,
and a 6000 lb air conditioning cooling tower got ripped from the roof of the next door 13 story high condo, which landed on the grass 81 feet from my one story house.
While sitting through hours of Banshee-Wailling like wind noises it was somewhat calming to hear the AM radio giving vocal proof that civilization had not completely been flattened.
Longwave (LW), Mediumwave (MW) and, a fortioti, Shortwave (SW), AM is still very much in demand. Unlike digital networks (DAB+, 4G/5G), which require local transmitters, AM can be used to serve vast areas, with transmitters located far from areas affected by natural disasters or war (and even digitally, with the DRM technology adopted by India).
What’s more, it’s certainly cheaper and far easier to power, maintain and protect a single transmitter site than a myriad of small retransmitters. What’s more, AM can easily be received with a simple battery-powered radio (under €15); DAB+ receivers – for example – are very power-hungry and quickly drain batteries and rechargeables!
Long live AM
AM radio has been the first line of public disaster information for many decades. I have been an avid AM DXer for many years, and one can listen in real time to weather conditions in areas hundreds of miles away around the clock. One major crash of the internet is all it would take to send perhaps millions of people into a panic. Local AM stations have always taken their civic duty to inform locals seriously.
Good article, thanks. Welcome to Hurricane Season, everyone!
The Solar Observer is the best emergency radio that I own.