I've been beating this drum ...

...for as long as I can remember.  AM radio has worsening reception issues, but not because there are other stations in the way.  Every single electronic "thing" out there is making the problem worse, from stoplights to cell phones to lighted traffic instructions to electronic billboards and power lines.  They all leak AM RF and they all interfere with AM broadcasting.

Here's from Tom Taylor:

One solution to AM’s reception problems – permit major power increases of 4-10 times current levels.

Will the FCC take this new petition for rulemaking seriously? Engineering consultant Richard Arsenault says the biggest headache for AM during the daytime “is no longer interference between stations”, as it was when the AM service was established decades ago, and there was far less general RF in the air. Now it’s “interference from electronic devices and power lines”, and that’s only getting worse. New Jersey-based Arsenault previously filed petition at the FCC about authorizing more PSA (pre-sunrise) time for certain AMs, and he’s got an even bolder prescription for all AMs in the daytime. He says otherwise “AM radio service will further decline, without serious intervention.”

Read his petition here.

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