Knowing your vehicle
823
AM and FM radio signals are broadcast
from transmitter towers located around
your city. They are intercepted by the
radio antenna on your car. This signal is
then received by the radio and sent to
your car speakers.
When a strong radio signal has reached
your vehicle, the precise engineering of
your audio system ensures the best pos-
sible quality reproduction. However, in
some cases the signal coming to your
vehicle may not be strong and clear. This
can be due to factors such as the dis-
tance from the radio station, closeness of
other strong radio stations or the pres-
ence of buildings, bridges or other large
obstructions in the area.
AM broadcasts can be received at
greater distances than FM broadcasts.
This is because AM radio waves are
transmitted at low frequencies. These
long, low frequency radio waves can fol-
low the curvature of the earth rather than
travelling straight out into the atmos-
phere. In addition, they curve around
obstructions so that they can provide bet-
ter signal coverage.
FM broadcasts are transmitted at high
frequencies and do not bend to follow the
earth's surface. Because of this, FM
broadcasts generally begin to fade at
short distances from the station. Also,
FM signals are easily affected by build-
ings, mountains, or other obstructions.
These can result in certain listening con-
ditions which might lead you to believe a
problem exists with your radio. The fol-
lowing conditions are normal and do not
indicate radio trouble:
AUDIO SYSTEM - HOW CAR AUDIO WORKS
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