Although it is not noted for its high-fidelity, AM radio persists as a force to be reckoned with in the radio broadcasting world. This is perhaps due in part to the fact that AM radio waves are not hindered by sight-of-land obstacles as are their FM counterparts. Rather, interference for AM radio waves stems from atmospheric conditions and can be disturbed by solar activity. It is the absence of the sun, or, more accurately, a change in the ionosphere that occurs when the sun goes down, that gives AM radio the ability to be heard many miles away from the original broadcast antennae.
An unsuspecting radio deejay in the hinterlands of North America should perhaps not be surprised when s/he receives a tape through the post from somebody in Greenland who has “captured” their station's call letters. Indeed, hobbyists spend hours encamped on the Arctic plains, meters of antennae stretched across the frozen land, slowly turning tuning dials in the hopes of benefiting from “wave-skip transmission,” a phenomenon whereby even weak radio signals skip like a stone across the night skies and are audible literally thousands of miles away, ready for them to add to their list of quarries captured.
AM radio also embodies a golden age of radio. Listener's imaginations were free to put pictures to the wholesome stories they heard on the wireless. The BBC programme The Archers remains 'the world's longest running radio soap,' having put out more than 15,000 episodes since its inception in 1950.
An unsuspecting radio deejay in the hinterlands of North America should perhaps not be surprised when s/he receives a tape through the post from somebody in Greenland who has “captured” their station's call letters. Indeed, hobbyists spend hours encamped on the Arctic plains, meters of antennae stretched across the frozen land, slowly turning tuning dials in the hopes of benefiting from “wave-skip transmission,” a phenomenon whereby even weak radio signals skip like a stone across the night skies and are audible literally thousands of miles away, ready for them to add to their list of quarries captured.
AM radio also embodies a golden age of radio. Listener's imaginations were free to put pictures to the wholesome stories they heard on the wireless. The BBC programme The Archers remains 'the world's longest running radio soap,' having put out more than 15,000 episodes since its inception in 1950.