No real AM or FM radio in the R2

[TexasBob]

I do not care one way or another, but this is just a $25 problem isn't it? Am/FM rechargeable, usb with bluetooth output. (I am sure one of many)

https://a.co/d/07dxqp3b

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[TexasBob]

I do not care one way or another, but this is just a $25 problem isn't it? Am/FM rechargeable, usb with bluetooth output. (I am sure one of many)

https://a.co/d/07dxqp3b

Oh and in case you were wondering who this is for, here is their ad picture on AMZN

 

[Mos Eisley]

I find it a bit shocking--and this isn't a directed attack on you--that people don't know it already is legally mandated. Every phone for...maybe a decade? Maybe more? Has had this built in. I'm surprised you haven't received one, there was a test some time ago that woke me up, and I disabled it. By default they are just there, enabled, on all phones, by law.

I've received them - but I then turned off Amber alerts which you can do. Presidential alerts (WEA) cannot be turned off but have never been used. It's supposed to be tested once every three years but hasn't actually been tested for several years. It went out once a while back but it was a mistake - and freaked everybody out. These are not to be confused with the EAS tests that AM/FM and Satellite radio do monthly (at least it used to be monthly, not sure now). They trigger those locally at a time convenient to the station within a test window.

 

[Mikey]

I don’t like this. I get saving money, but the local news/weather/traffic station is on my FM radio every time as soon as I sit in *any* car. Don’t need another streaming service playing ads over-top of when I want to hear the traffic report or glitching the stream because the data signal is weak, for example.

I get that I’ll need to learn to live without FM radio someday. Just like how my wife won’t buy any new car because she’s not ready to give up her CD player yet. But this definitely knocks my opinion on this vehicle down a notch.

I will continue to keep my emergency AM/FM/Shortwave/Weather radio in every vehicle I own for emergencies.

When I get in my car the radio is always on. Listen to NPR, news and local jazz stations. I stream Pandora when we travel. Having the ability to listen to local events (earthquake, hurricane, tornado alerts) should be standard issue in a car, especially a higher-end model.

 

[Mos Eisley]

Having the ability to listen to local events (earthquake, hurricane, tornado alerts) should be standard issue in a car, especially a higher-end model.

Some Congress down the road will likely mandate connectivity to the WEA/EAS in some fashion. The tech bros are very good at breaking things and ignoring practical conventions... then regulation will catch up to it.

 

[LevelHeaded]

I do not care one way or another, but this is just a $25 problem isn't it? Am/FM rechargeable, usb with bluetooth output. (I am sure one of many)

https://a.co/d/07dxqp3b

That’s kind of the point. The cost to include it in the vehicle would’ve been minuscule, along with grab handles in the cabin. Both things that are actually useful when on “adventures.”

 

[oregonridet]

I do not care one way or another, but this is just a $25 problem isn't it? Am/FM rechargeable, usb with bluetooth output. (I am sure one of many)

https://a.co/d/07dxqp3b

We are not talking about occasional use. We are talking about daily use.

 

[Thebandit]

FM has a useful radius of 75ish miles. If you have plenty of FM station access, maybe you are not adventuring.

Bro. A 150 mile wide circle encompasses a lot of area.

 

[LevelHeaded]

Bro. A 150 mile wide circle encompasses a lot of area.

Not to mention a cell tower covers FAR less area than an FM radio tower.

 

[SwampNut]

Not to mention a cell tower covers FAR less area than an FM radio tower.

I can't believe it has to be mentioned, that there are vastly more cell towers than radio towers. In my closest adventure area nearby, there's ok cell coverage and no radio. Too far.

 

[LevelHeaded]

About half of my adventure areas have better cell service than


I can't believe it has to be mentioned, that there are vastly more cell towers than radio towers. In my closest adventure area nearby, there's ok cell coverage and no radio. Too far.

How hard is to understand that your experience is not the same as everyone else’s?

Where I live, at my home (which isn’t exactly off the beaten path, mind you: 10 miles as the bird flies to the center of downtown Seattle), there is a WEAK 1 bar of cell service on all cell carriers, and I get tens of FM radio stations no problem.

The point is, if would’ve been very cheap for Rivian to include an FM radio, and that wouldn’t have made the vehicle worse for people like you who stick to areas with good cell service. You would’ve been able to stream Internet radio to your heart’s content. But by removing FM, the comms in the vehicle become useless for anyone, who like myself, frequently find themselves in areas with little to no cell service and great FM coverage.

BTW, this is also very common on my camping trips on the Olympic Peninsula. My literal next camping trip in a week or so is to Kalaloch on the Pacific coast of the Olympic Peninsula. No cell service. Plenty of FM. And I actively use that FM to understand the (frequently) rapid changes to the weather either on my drive out there or while I'm there.

 

[KRIV_ian]

We are not talking about occasional use. We are talking about daily use.

I think the occasional use is because for most people on most days they are within cell coverage and can use the radio app in the car. You only need to use an ancillary radio when you are outside cell coverage or if your preferred station isn't in the iHeart system. I'd much prefer if the R2 had kept the radio antenna but I can see it not being an issue for those that don't adventure out of cell signal.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

I’m not seeing the issue here if you can buy a portable AM radio that can be forever powered by the battery pack you are driving.

 

[SwampNut]

How hard is to understand that your experience is not the same as everyone else’s?

I very specifically pointed out ONE case.

 

[oregonridet]

I’m not seeing the issue here if you can buy a portable AM radio that can be forever powered by the battery pack you are driving.

Correct. You are not seeing the issue.
There is no option to stream NPR in the R2. When my wife is driving she listens to NPR. You want her to lug along a portable radio in a $67K car?

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