AM Radio
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Most definitely.Cooper said:Does anyone else have problems getting AM reception. I can not get any local radio stations in Seattle. So no more sports talk.
I have provided feedback on this issue to both the local dealership and directly to Fisker. I also note this issue on my personal blog.
The dealership claims that the AM reception is not qualitatively different to the other marque of cars they sell (BMW). However, I still doubt that.
I suspect the antenna design/placement is the problem. As such, if you are tuned to a particularly strong signal, then indeed you will not really notice any difference to the quality of reception on another vehicle. However, because the signal strength delivered to the radio receiver is weaker with a poorer antenna, the radio has to work harder to amplify the signal and you'll bring in a lot more noise (particularly on AM, which doesn't discriminate as well as FM at picking out the actual desired signal from a range of other signals and noise).
In terms of my experience, I can unequivocally state that my old Audi used to pick up the local AM news radio station with absolutely no problem (except in one small stretch of my drive to work where the road is under some trolley bus power lines that radiate quite a bit of noise). In the Fisker, I hardly get any signal at all in the downtown core, and even when I drive out into the 'open' the signal is hardly excellent (merely acceptable and intelligible). Also, when the radio is having trouble receiving the station, I can often hear local noise from the car's electric motors (or its power circuits).
Anyway, in a nutshell, AM in the Fisker is not so good in my experience too.
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When I picked my car up, the dealer said that the AM radio for all intents and purposes wouldn't work. That the antenna was never installed. So if you are picking up the signal its probably a very strong signal. Honestly I don't think there is an AM antenna installed on the car, anywhere.
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You are definitely NOT the only one with this problem. As you can see form my signature, I have a number of cars. The AM radio receptions is noticeably degraded in the Karma as compared to that in my other cars. I have always hoped that a software update will correct this.Cooper said:Does anyone else have problems getting AM reception. I can not get any local radio stations in Seattle. So no more sports talk.
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While I agree the Karma should be able to recieve AM better than it does, there are other workarounds to your dilemma. Some of the sports teams I follow only broadcast games on AM or only broadcast in their local markets so I was out of luck until I discovered RadioTime, now known as TuneIn (http://tunein.com/)Cooper said:Does anyone else have problems getting AM reception. I can not get any local radio stations in Seattle. So no more sports talk.
TuneIn digitally broadcasts damn near every AM and FM station in every market I've ever cared to check, as well as thousands of Internet-only "radio stations". They have client apps for virtually all mobile devices (iOS, Android, Windows, webOS and Blackberry). I have my Palm Pre connected to my Karma via Bluetooth, so I can listen to AM stations and more static free, and with none of the AM reception problems even cars with good antennas experience. I can even set Favorites and search across all stations to find ones playing the game I want to listen to. That way, not only can I find the game, I can pick the broadcast whose annoucers are biased for the same teams I am.
I just checked Seattle and they broadcast KIRO 710 and KLDY 1280, for instance. See all ~20 Seattle stations available here: http://tunein.com/radio/Washington-r100516/
I might also mention that it's free.
Brent
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