# Why do devices come with FM but no AM? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436 "2012-08-14T03:33:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/1 "2012-08-14T03:33:19Z")
I’m in the market for a nice MP3 player but I also really want an AM tuner to listen to talk radio, but Ipods only come with FM tuners. Why would they come with one tuner and not another? I’m sure the answer has to do with “cost”, but why bother with one type of tuner and not another? When I think of “radio” I don’t think I want just FM, or just AM, I want to listen to the whole spectrum. And I’ve seen other non-apple devices with only FM. Why is it only FM, why is AM so hard to find? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/2 "2012-08-14T03:39:44Z")
for FM the head phone cord can become the antenna. AM antennas are very long and still take up space when coiled. pocket transistor radios had the AM antenna take up the full width of the radio, much bigger than mp3 players. also the device may make a lot of radio noise which would kill any AM radio signal in such a small package. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/3 "2012-08-14T04:12:46Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > I also really want an AM tuner to listen to talk radio Hey . . . at this site, we are dedicated to fighting ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/4 "2012-08-14T06:05:22Z")
Hey, I gotta stay informed, and Rush tells it like it is. 😉 I had no idea AM tuners needed longer antennas than FM, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![allotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@allotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/allotrope)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/5 "2012-08-14T06:20:13Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > for FM the head phone cord can become the antenna. > > AM antennas are very long and still take up space when coiled. pocket transistor radios had the AM antenna take up the full width of the radio, much bigger than mp3 players. also the device may make a lot of radio noise which would kill any AM radio signal in such a small package. In addition, I think that it was the ferrite bar type of antenna that was used in virtually all transistor radios (as opposed to the loop type). But as johnpost said, space would likely be the main concern. That plus the fact that such antennae are somewhat directional. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/6 "2012-08-14T06:26:05Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Hey . . . at this site, we are dedicated to fighting ignorance. So start listening to talk radio. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/7 "2012-08-14T06:30:16Z")
Yup, the above pretty much has it. AM is not as noise immune as FM, and would have lot of trouble with the noise both in and around a small device. There are chips that do both AM and FM, but they still use a ferrite loop antenna - which would probably double the size of many players. The actual electronics to turn the AM signal into audio is now tiny, and can share some of the same path as the FM receiver, but getting a noise free signal in the first place will be a challenge. Some of the chips that are used in portable devices get you WiFi, Bluetooth and FM, all in something not much bigger than a grain of rice. But they don’t do AM. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/8 "2012-08-14T06:43:08Z")
Are there any decent personal AM radios out there? It doesn’t need to be as small as an ipod but is there anythnig close? ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/9 "2012-08-14T07:25:01Z")
This use to be a problem for me as well until I realized that all old favorites and some new favorites were available for free with perfect reception anytime I want using cool podcast apps. Better than the dial. ---
**Author:** ![allotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@allotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/allotrope)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/10 "2012-08-14T07:48:59Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Are there any decent personal AM radios out there? It doesn’t need to be as small as an ipod but is there anythnig close? I used to have one of [these](http://www.amazon.com/RCA-RP7887-Super-Radio-3/dp/B00120WRSU) that worked quite well, but I would also look at the offerings from Sangean, Grundig and even Sony. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/11 "2012-08-14T08:18:55Z")
Thanks but I was actually thinking of something I could use like a personal device - like to listen to baseball while mowing the lawn or grocery shopping. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/12 "2012-08-14T13:31:33Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > Hey, I gotta stay informed, and Rush tells it like it is. 😉 Yep, vital to get the druggie perspective on things. Pillheads know their shit. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/13 "2012-08-14T13:54:22Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Thanks but I was actually thinking of something I could use like a personal device - like to listen to baseball while mowing the lawn or grocery shopping. Sangean, Grundig, Panasonic, Eton are brands. Best Buy and Radio Shack sell them in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/14 "2012-08-14T15:40:03Z")
Since the actual question has been answered I’ll make a couple of suggestions. I know they’re not exactly what you want, but if you have a smartphone you may be able to listen to the station you want over the internet, if they broadcast online it will certainly work when in range of your wi-fi signal (assuming you have one) and should work when in range of a decent signal from a cell tower. Also, what about podcasts or similar? Doesn’t everyone do them now? ---
**Author:** ![babygoat666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@babygoat666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babygoat666)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/15 "2012-08-14T15:44:53Z")
> [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](#): > > So start listening to talk radio. That’s one-way radio. How does one fight ignorance by listening to it? ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/16 "2012-08-14T15:57:54Z")
> [@babygoat666](#): > > That’s one-way radio. How does one fight ignorance by listening to it? By first reallizing that one needs to fight one’s own ignorance? ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/17 "2012-08-14T16:00:26Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > Hey, I gotta stay informed, and Rush tells it like it is. 😉 > > I had no idea AM tuners needed longer antennas than FM, thanks! Limbaugh, like many other syndicated radio shows, has an app that you can use to stream their show live or as a podcast. You can also use an app like IHeartRadio to listen to AM stations over wifi or cell networks. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/18 "2012-08-14T16:10:16Z")
Radip Shack (if you can find one that still sells anything besides phones) actually offers an [assortment of AM/FM radios](http://www.radioshack.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4390407&s=A-StorePrice-RSK&s=A-StorePrice-RS&znt_campaign=Category_CMS&znt_medium=RSCOM&znt_source=CAT&znt_content=CT4388390). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/19 "2012-08-14T16:22:19Z")
Is [this one](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA04E0A64802) small enough for your purposes? ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436/20 "2012-08-14T20:49:32Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Limbaugh, like many other syndicated radio shows, has an app that you can use to stream their show live or as a podcast. You can also use an app like IHeartRadio to listen to AM stations over wifi or cell networks. Please don’t impugn my good name implying I was not joking when I said I need to keep up with Rush. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-devices-come-with-fm-but-no-am/631436.md?page=2)