{"id":67498,"date":"2026-10-29T10:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T14:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=67498"},"modified":"2026-10-29T10:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T14:40:10","slug":"when-the-grid-goes-dark-am-radio-is-americas-last-line-of-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/when-the-grid-goes-dark-am-radio-is-americas-last-line-of-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"When the Grid Goes Dark, AM Radio Is America\u2019s Last Line of Defense"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Robert Gulley K4PKM<\/p>\n<p>I ran across this interesting article this morning dealing with AM radio&#8217;s role in emergencies from Nic Anderson, a former radio station general manager, in support of the The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act before the Senate.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/columnists\/nic-anderson\/2026\/10\/29\/when-the-grid-goes-dark-am-radio-is-americas-last-line-of-defense-n2685503?utm_source=thdaily&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=nl&amp;bcid=474218c1e0441aeb4f7b26f9ce38f165176d5e902f755cebcd815adaa1bbb70b&amp;lctg=29695465\">When the Grid Goes Dark<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Robert Gulley K4PKM I ran across this interesting article this morning dealing with AM radio&#8217;s role in emergencies from Nic Anderson, a former radio station general manager, in support of the The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act before the Senate. When the Grid Goes Dark<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":67500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[373,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-am","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-hyG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62807,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/radio-your-lifeline-when-the-grid-goes-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":67498,"position":0},"title":"Radio: Your Lifeline When the Grid Goes Down","author":"Thomas","date":"May 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Richard Cuff, for sharing this article from Metro.co.uk: \u201cRadio is still the ultimate survival tool during blackouts and emergencies.\u201d The piece underscores radio\u2019s enduring role as a reliable source of information when modern digital networks fail. In an age of increasing reliance on internet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo by Parker Coffman on Unsplash","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Power-Outage-Power-Lines-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Power-Outage-Power-Lines-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Power-Outage-Power-Lines-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Power-Outage-Power-Lines-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Power-Outage-Power-Lines-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35131,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/winter-radio-life-and-preparing-for-power-outages\/","url_meta":{"origin":67498,"position":1},"title":"Winter radio life and preparing for power outages","author":"Thomas","date":"December 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Here at SWLing Post HQ we've been under a Winter Storm Warning since yesterday--it's not set to expire until sometime tomorrow. This storm hasn't been all snow--it's a mixture of snow and ice. If this continues, I fully expect to lose power at some point today. In general, we're prepared\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommRadio-CTX-10-Startup.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommRadio-CTX-10-Startup.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommRadio-CTX-10-Startup.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommRadio-CTX-10-Startup.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18519,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/off-grid-radio-portable-power-recommendations\/","url_meta":{"origin":67498,"position":2},"title":"Off-Grid Radio: Portable power recommendations?","author":"Thomas","date":"April 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This year, I have a lot of portable radio play in mind as I travel across the continent. At some point, I even plan to spend several days\u00a0in an off-grid cabin on the coast. In the past, I've powered my 12 VDC ham radio transceivers with a system comprised of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Accessories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Elecraft-KX3","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Elecraft-KX3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Elecraft-KX3.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Elecraft-KX3.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26980,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/off-gridrv-enthusiasts-need-a-radio-quiet-solar-charge-controller-reader-advice\/","url_meta":{"origin":67498,"position":3},"title":"Off-grid\/RV enthusiasts need a radio-quiet solar charge controller: reader advice?","author":"Thomas","date":"July 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm currently in the process of adding 200-300 watts of 12-volt solar panels to my truck camper. Solar panels will keep my camper's 12V deep-cycle battery topped off, thus allowing longer stretches of time for boon-docking or primitive camping, during which an occupied camper is off-grid from shore power. My\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Accessories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Solar-Charge-Controller.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":52930,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/a-little-off-line-off-grid-camping\/","url_meta":{"origin":67498,"position":4},"title":"A little off-line, off-grid camping","author":"Thomas","date":"June 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"You might have noticed a lack of posts this weekend and that would be because I was completely off-grid and off-line, camping with two good friends in Pisgah National Forest. It was brilliant, actually. I got to hang with friends I've known for over 30 years, test my new one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Field Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Field Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/field-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Elecraft-KX1-e1654469508703.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Elecraft-KX1-e1654469508703.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Elecraft-KX1-e1654469508703.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Elecraft-KX1-e1654469508703.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Elecraft-KX1-e1654469508703.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61167,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/11\/alan-roes-at-a-glanceprogram-grids-for-rri-and-the-bbc\/","url_meta":{"origin":67498,"position":5},"title":"Alan Roe&#8217;s &#8220;At-A-Glance&#8221;program grids for RRI and the BBC","author":"Thomas","date":"November 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who writes: I have attached a new \"at-a-glance\" programme grid of all Radio Romania International English programmes on shortwave along with an updated BBC WS in English programme grid. BBC World Service Programmes B-24 Season v2.0 [PDF] R Romania Int English Programmes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Panasonic-RF-2200-Dial-Angle-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Panasonic-RF-2200-Dial-Angle-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Panasonic-RF-2200-Dial-Angle-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Panasonic-RF-2200-Dial-Angle-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Autoradio_panasonic.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67498"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67501,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67498\/revisions\/67501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}