In the past, car radios were "disdained" by many car companies, but now there has been a dramatic change. China, the United States, and other countries have planned to force the installation of car radios, and this phenomenon has attracted widespread attention. With the continuous advancement of technology, the automotive industry has also ushered in a wave of intelligence. Cars of various cutting-edge brands and models have gradually replaced traditional car radios with audio software such as online podcasts and music streaming transmitted by the Internet. These emerging audio methods are not only rich in functions but also meet the personalized needs of users, making the frequency of use of car radios less and less.However, just when people thought that car radios were about to become history, China and the United States proposed plans to force the installation of car radios. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China publicly solicited opinions on the mandatory national standard formulation and revision plan project of the "Car Wireless Broadcast Reception System", and the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee also passed the "2024 Car AM Broadcasting Act". In addition, countries and regions such as the European Union and Japan also attach great importance to the car wireless broadcasting function.The reasons behind this phenomenon are worth our in-depth thinking. On the one hand, car radios play an irreplaceable role in emergency situations. When natural disasters or wars occur, communication base stations and power facilities may be destroyed, making modern communication means such as mobile phones and the Internet unusable. Car radios do not rely on complex infrastructure and can receive signals through radio waves to provide people with important information. On the other hand, although modern car systems are powerful, in some cases, such as electromagnetic interference, they may affect their normal use. In contrast, the technology of car radios is relatively simple and more stable.In short, the return of car radios is not accidental, and its importance in emergency communications and special circumstances cannot be ignored. This also reminds us that while pursuing scientific and technological progress, we cannot ignore the value of traditional technology.Reasons behind the mandatory installation of various countries(I) Responding to natural disasters In the face of natural disasters, modern communication means often appear fragile. Taking super typhoons as an example, large areas of disaster-stricken areas may have no signal for a week or two, and the phone cannot be dialed or the Internet cannot be connected. Once family members go out, they are completely out of touch, and they don’t know whether they can reach their destination when they drive on the road. At this time, the radio can play an important role. The simplest AM radio station abroad is installed on a car. It only has a car-mounted antenna, which can transmit broadcast signals well to more than ten or even dozens of kilometers. When a natural disaster occurs, the radio can receive information from authoritative channels, including the airdrop location of food and fresh water, when the rescue force will arrive, where the safe zone is, etc., providing important survival guidance for the affected people.(II) Wartime emergency communication In war, infrastructure such as communication base stations are easily destroyed. Once the base station is destroyed, smart devices are basically unusable. The radio is different. It is a completely passive radio one-way receiving device that does not radiate any signals outward and will never be discovered. In a war environment, the radio can receive information from authoritative channels and provide people with important information about the location of shelters, food and water acquisition methods, etc. For example, it can be seen from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the Gaza conflict that the targets attacked by the warring parties are not limited to military targets, and sometimes they will attack infrastructure such as power stations. If electricity and the network are affected, smart devices are basically unusable, and the radio becomes an important means of obtaining information.(III) Reliability of information transmission In extreme environments, network information is easily interfered with and false information is easily generated. Radio can transmit simple voice information from authoritative channels, and its signal is not interfered with by the network, making it more reliable. Today's society has entered an era of "information explosion", and all kinds of information can be spread anytime and anywhere. But it is precisely because of this characteristic that some untrue information has a breeding ground, especially in extreme environments such as war and natural disasters, where news from some authoritative channels is very critical. At present, the main cable of the network still relies on wired transmission. If there is a war, tsunami, earthquake, etc., it may be the first to be interrupted. For example, in the 512 earthquake, the communication network was completely interrupted, and the disaster area was not aware of the government's disaster relief policy and was easily panicked. With the radio, it was different.(IV) Strong maintenance and damage resistance The pure analog circuit of the radio makes it easy to repair and has strong damage resistance. Mobile phones are very complex electronic devices, and it is difficult to repair them when they fail. Without the coverage of the mobile base station network, they are almost equivalent to bricks. But AM radios are very simple, with pure analog circuits, which are also easy to understand and repair. In modern society, its parts are everywhere, greatly increasing the chance of survival. Even car-grade radios have very strong resistance to damage. It is rare to see radios completely damaged and unusable in various car accidents. The most dismantled parts of old cars are radios.(V) Cultivate emergency awareness We should popularize radio usage skills, cultivate children's emergency awareness, and retain communication capabilities under extreme conditions. More and more children only know how to use mobile phones and tablets, but do not know how to use radios to receive radio wave signals. This is an educational problem and also a concept problem for every family. Popularize this concept early and attract their interest in responding to possible wars and disasters in the future, at least leaving them with a skill that can bring hope. The ancients said that if you are prepared, you will not be in trouble. The outbreak of war is just something that happens in an instant when certain events touch a critical point of interests. Especially in the current situation where the major countries are in a severe struggle for survival resources, scientific and technological resources, and economic wars are constantly heating up, retaining communication capabilities under extreme conditions is bottom-line thinking.
05. March, 2025
