why did FM become the most popular radio frequency and what difference did it have over AM?
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FM allows higher quality audio than AM, along with some other benefits and less interference. This higher quality audio is actually not just a bit better, its a lot better for music and clarity, along with very clean clear talk.
However, AM does have some advantages such as longer range and being easier to both transmit and receive a signal
A deeper, stranger question is why didn’t short wave, which in a broad sense has similarities to AM, basically completely die from a commercial perspective, despite it being open and ready to use
FM isn’t a frequency. FM stands for Frequency modulation. Modulation means change. It’s tuning your radio by changing the frequency of the waves. The frequency is like the width of the waves. AM stands for amplitude modulation. Amplitude is like the height of the waves. FM tends to provide better sound so music stations like to be on an FM channel.
FM allows higher quality audio than AM, along with some other benefits and less interference. This higher quality audio is actually not just a bit better, its a lot better for music and clarity, along with very clean clear talk.
However, AM does have some advantages such as longer range and being easier to both transmit and receive a signal
A deeper, stranger question is why didn’t short wave, which in a broad sense has similarities to AM, basically completely die from a commercial perspective, despite it being open and ready to use
FM allows higher quality audio than AM, along with some other benefits and less interference. This higher quality audio is actually not just a bit better, its a lot better for music and clarity, along with very clean clear talk.
However, AM does have some advantages such as longer range and being easier to both transmit and receive a signal
A deeper, stranger question is why didn’t short wave, which in a broad sense has similarities to AM, basically completely die from a commercial perspective, despite it being open and ready to use
FM isn’t a frequency. FM stands for Frequency modulation. Modulation means change. It’s tuning your radio by changing the frequency of the waves. The frequency is like the width of the waves. AM stands for amplitude modulation. Amplitude is like the height of the waves. FM tends to provide better sound so music stations like to be on an FM channel.
The difference between AM and FM is in the how the waves are modulated. (with AM it is the amplitude that is modulated to carry the sound information, with FM it is the frequency that is modulated.) AM has poorer sound quality as compared to FM, but it is cheaper to transmit, and can be transmitted over longer distances. Plus it is low bandwidth so you can have more stations available. (It is still more popular in rural areas where FM is hard to receive unless you are close to the station broadcasting it.) FM has better sound quality than AM, and is less prone to interference because it doesn’t carry as far. But it is more expensive to broadcast and takes up more bandwidth. It is more cost effective to broadcast FM in more populous areas where the transmission doesn’t have to travel far to reach a large enough audience to justify the extra cost. Which is why it became popular in cities and suburban areas.
FM isn’t a frequency. FM stands for Frequency modulation. Modulation means change. It’s tuning your radio by changing the frequency of the waves. The frequency is like the width of the waves. AM stands for amplitude modulation. Amplitude is like the height of the waves. FM tends to provide better sound so music stations like to be on an FM channel.
The difference between AM and FM is in the how the waves are modulated. (with AM it is the amplitude that is modulated to carry the sound information, with FM it is the frequency that is modulated.) AM has poorer sound quality as compared to FM, but it is cheaper to transmit, and can be transmitted over longer distances. Plus it is low bandwidth so you can have more stations available. (It is still more popular in rural areas where FM is hard to receive unless you are close to the station broadcasting it.) FM has better sound quality than AM, and is less prone to interference because it doesn’t carry as far. But it is more expensive to broadcast and takes up more bandwidth. It is more cost effective to broadcast FM in more populous areas where the transmission doesn’t have to travel far to reach a large enough audience to justify the extra cost. Which is why it became popular in cities and suburban areas.
The difference between AM and FM is in the how the waves are modulated. (with AM it is the amplitude that is modulated to carry the sound information, with FM it is the frequency that is modulated.) AM has poorer sound quality as compared to FM, but it is cheaper to transmit, and can be transmitted over longer distances. Plus it is low bandwidth so you can have more stations available. (It is still more popular in rural areas where FM is hard to receive unless you are close to the station broadcasting it.) FM has better sound quality than AM, and is less prone to interference because it doesn’t carry as far. But it is more expensive to broadcast and takes up more bandwidth. It is more cost effective to broadcast FM in more populous areas where the transmission doesn’t have to travel far to reach a large enough audience to justify the extra cost. Which is why it became popular in cities and suburban areas.
Basically fm took over because it sounds way better
Switch to an am station next time in your car.
Am has longer range though. So the early days an stations made more sense. A few stations could service most of the country
But when you listen to music you want it to be higher quality. So fm became popular for radio as we know it as we moved from talk shows and news and sports casts to mainly music on the radio.
Am is still generally where you get talks shows still though.
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