Now, I'm sure that your heard the PSA for [
freeradioonmyphone.org] where FEMA says it would be a good idea to disasters to turn on the FM chips that are supposedly in today's smartphones and that more folks would listen to FM radio again that way. (Ironically, I hear this aired on AM stations.) Well, I'm not really against the idea, but want to contemplate just how practical having that feature in the smartphone would be. I know why AM isn't available on such phones, and you only have to set your smartphone next to an AM radio's bar antenna to hear why. Not practical unless you're sitting right next to an AM TX to where you could hear it on your teeth fillings anyway. However, FM RX'ing I suspect wouldn't be much better. Just try puting your smartphone by a telescopic whip antenna of a portable radio and tune across the dial. What would you hear? What I hear is just the phone's digital hash noise and can only pick up the very strongest 50KW stations, or lower ERP station very close, and even they had digital hash heard on them. So, just how practical is that? The FM proponents of that site claim more folks would listen to FM radio on their phones? Not for my observations they wouldn't. I do agree with that FEMA dude in the site's VID when he says bringing a portable radio is a good thing to have. I'll go even further to say to have a portable with both AM / FM bands. Heck, any junk store should have those 1980's shirt pocket AM / FM Stereo Walkman portable for a $1.00, or so. Even those early 90's credit card radios would be an improvement. I'm open for comments on this, and I'll take my answer off the air. (Ha-ha...)
