Do you use the radio in you car? I do.

AMKC

There is a new demand to replace radios with devices that have direct online access :( .

Why can't new cars have both?

lertsnim

I'd use the FM radio only on weekends really. Weekdays I listen to music, online radio etc. via Bluetooth.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058359199/do-you-use-the-radio-in-you-car-i-do

They do.

I listen to the radio in the car. I also listen to Spotify, BBC Sounds etc via Android Auto/my phone.

Atlantic Dawn

I'd probably listen to the radio 25% of the time and either stream music or play from USB the rest of the time. I wouldn't buy a car that didn't have an inbuilt radio.

Madd002

I have 3 favourite channels I flick between in morning and on drive home from work, Spotify long journeys. Same as above I wouldn't buy car without one.

Comhrá

I listen to the radio 95% of the time. Very occasionally I use Android Auto and/or a usb stick for playing music.

I can't imagine owning a car without an FM radio.

o1s1n

I didn't realise folks still relied on the radio so much. Don't think I've really listened to radio stations since the late 90s / early 2000s.

It's all Bluetooth music whenever I get in the car.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058359199/do-you-use-the-radio-in-you-car-i-do

Its not really a demand, rather its lack of demand. The direction of travel is that more and more people are using streaming services to keep themselves entertained in-car and if people are not using FM then its a cost ripe to be cut. Almost all FM radio services can be listened to through streaming like audials.

The bit in the media today is the Radio industry preempting the shift to new consumption methods and defending their patch. If FM radio goes the way of AM in cars, then the medium is finished.

Hooked

I drive my 07 Opel Astra to work - I only have the radio. LOL

The Continental Op

My radio still has an extended AM tuner that tunes LW so I still listen to BBC Radio 4 Longwave in the car.

_Kaiser_

I listen to FM a fair bit in the car (or FM stations via the RadioPlayer app if I'm out of coverage). Current affairs/news and drive time type stuff.

I use Spotify and even my own MP3 collection a lot though too. Depends on the day and time that I'm in the car really.

Alonzo Mosley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122367891#Comment_122367891

I drive an 04 Liana and the radio is broke !!!!🙂

SteM

I stick the FM radio on for short journeys. Streaming music/audiobook/podcast/8Radio/Radio Paradise for anything over 30 minutes as the generally inane chatter on FM drives me nuts.

Hooked

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122367908#Comment_122367908

you win

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122367889#Comment_122367889

I think Irish radio will slowly be fading away. Outside of Dublin there is not much choice on FM, and AM from the UK is getting turned off and shut down more and more. There is a good amount of high quality news on BBC Radio 4 on LW but that's to be turned off as well. Also they denied the DAB choice other countries have Ireland, with some lame answers like "we didn't need that technology" or "this ship has saild".

Thus more and more people will be streaming via bluetooth.

Patrick2010

Streaming uses up valuable data for pay as you go users like me! On my drive or walk home I usually listen to the various news stations on the car radio or my mobile with a built in radio.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368066#Comment_122368066

Are you on an ancient phone plan? I haven't worried about pay as you go data with my phone in what feels like a decade or longer now.

Currently on Three's 20 euro a month plan and it's all you can eat data, there's no limit.

Whocare

Listen radio in newtalk most mornings Usually have some things about Climate change very mornings unbelievable how they are doing it

lucalux

I only listen to fm radio in the car, no CD player (it's broken) and no bluetooth/aux/whatever

Even if I did have those tho, I wouldn't always have mobile signal when driving around, so I'd hate not having a fm radio as a standard

mikeecho

I listen to FM every day in the car. When travelling abroad (france) the radio is awful, so i try and get BBC R1 when in the north of France, and after that i switch to TuneIn.

German & Dutch FM is alright.

BlakeS94

I listen to CDs most of the time because of the superior sound quality, but other than that it's radio FM, so yeah I use it most of the time

KaneToad

Long trips I tend to listen to podcasts/music. Short trips it's always the radio.

Long trip = anything over 1 hour.

elperello

I use the radio in the car all the time.

Lyric is a particular favourite, very calming.

I would avoid purchasing a car with no radio.

furiousox

Haven't listened to FM radio for years.

Planet Rock, Spotify, Podcasts in that order.

Creamy Goodness

In my 18 years of driving, I've never listened to the radio. I've always used aux/fm transmitters/bluetooth connected to my phone/iPod.

Why would I listen to Irish radio when I can listen to an infinite amount of audio?

traffic reports - Google Maps/waze has better info (as it uses accelerometer data of people using maps/android phones even if not using maps).

special interest shows - podcasts are there for super niche interests, even if there's something I want to hear from traditional radio, it's often put up in podcast form

music - Spotify / Apple Music has all I need

weather - I look out the window / use an app.

There's nothing else traditional fm radio gives.

Do think cars should have the ability to receive FM but can't deny it's days are numbered.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058359199/do-you-use-the-radio-in-you-car-i-do

I only listen to the music I like, haven't listened to a single radio station in well over a decade or at least not on purpose. I have a family member who is just an absolute nutter for frantically flicking through the various channels while driving and never just settling on one. Drives me up the walls. Can only imagine what they'd be like if they had one of those touch screen centre consoles.

Personally I'd rip the out OEM radio and just replace it with a bog standard Bluetooth speaker system that I can connect my phone to and play spotify. I don't even care for the android or apple car play stuff. My sound system doesn't have to be a "smart" device, it has one job.

Furze99

I wouldn't buy a car without a built in radio. In fact if I had any say in regulations, I'd insist that cars should only have simple devices like radios with on/off switch and decent sized push buttons to change preset stations.

Far, far too much tippy, tappy technology in modern cars - leading to driver distraction.

Creamy Goodness

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368587#Comment_122368587

is that not conflating two different issues though? Many new cars have buttons on the steering wheel to change stations leading to you not even take your hands off the wheel and eyes of the road. These same controls can be used for audio apps and the likes.

I rarely even look at my main infotainment screen. audio is controlled on the steering wheel, maps are in the instrument cluster.

I dislike touch screens as much as the next person but steering wheel controls and voice has replaced 95% of what I'd use the main screen for.

Calahonda52

My C30 and C45s cassettes still function, I upgraded from the 8 track😎

@Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368615#Comment_122368615

The positioning of these features varies depending on manufacturer, model, year, etc but I can see @Furze99 's point. It's easy for those who weren't raised with this tech to be disciplined about it's use on the road but teens just starting out now or even millennials like myself are going to be very easily distracted by them because of how integrated touch screens have become in every day life. My phone goes on silent and airplane mode and gets chucked into the glove box because I just know the second I'm stopped at a light or in slow moving traffic it'll be in my hand and then I'll be the wanker I despise.

CalamariFritti

I can't stand daytime radio. Between the ads the sh1te music and the haha hoho yayyay presenters and the inane crap they're talking about it's simply unbearable. Lyric FM is ok but not always in the mood for that either. BBC Sounds it is.

Patrick2010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368080#Comment_122368080

Usually put 20 credit on my phone every 4 months or so, mainly for calls and text, also get 250 Mb data. Use it mostly using home or work Wi-Fi but I also have a work phone if needed. I get that some people have no interest in news stations but they are my interest and I still enjoy flicking around radio music stations

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368080#Comment_122368080

You sure there isn't a "fair use" policy in the T&C's? I use 48, 100GB, any network text and calls for 10.99. Never run out of data and I'm almost always using Spotify or YouTube.

Edit: pretty certain they also have 12.99 deal that has double the data, if you "need" more than 200GB a month for just your phone you're probably up to no good 😁

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368687#Comment_122368687

Yep, using your phone as a hotspot would burn through data alright.

SuperBowserWorld

Internet - 4G - Spotify App on Phone - Bluetooth - FM transmitter - FM Radio - Speakers

I use all the networks to get Spotify to my car speakers 😁

Thing about FM/AM/Radio though is that it's "free", can broadcast 1 way to everybody in the country and uses very little power. The amount of power and bandwidth required to deliver the broadcast is the same for 1 user or a million users. Also the receivers require very little power.

I would imagine some form of communication like this would always be necessary, especially in disaster situations.

4/5G has black spots, uses a lot more power and bandwidth, and this goes up as the number of users go up.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368801#Comment_122368801

The 4/5G blackspot issue is why I download all my Spotify playlists and podcasts to my devices local storage and just run the app in offline mode most of the time.

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368834#Comment_122368834

Yeah I do that cause we've 1 account we share here and I have download rights 😁

But, I guess my point was, that won't work for live digital radio over 4/5G for example.

Definitely think a FM/am radio is always useful to have. Maybe it'll go this way. People will have to buy cheap FM/am radios that Bluetooth to the car audio system if they want radio broadcasts.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368853#Comment_122368853

I remember as a kid you could pop off the user interface to deter smash and grabs of your radio, now hardly no one wants them 😁.

Yeah I get your point about the coverage. I guess I'm just one for avoiding streaming where possible. I think we're in the 17th or 18th year of eternally promised and yet undelivered coverage improvements when it comes to cellular and internet coverage. Who knows, they might actually get it done one day. Not holding my breath though!

CalamariFritti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368698#Comment_122368698

I signed up with gomo in 2019 and I'm on unlimited calls texts and data for 9.99 since. It even includes roaming, not quite unlimited but more than enough. I've completely forgotten about having a mobile contract by now. My phone is my car radio. If they have a fair usage policy I havent found the limit yet.

Unless you're like - I dont know what teenagers do these days on their phones, high res video edits in the cloud or gaming or something…? I lost my trail but my point was going to be its hard to need a big contract these days IMO. Only reason I can think of is getting that expensive phone you havent the cash for.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368897#Comment_122368897

Fair usage isn't necessarily a hard limit per se, it's their way of warning you that if traffic on the network becomes congested enough to effect the average user experience they can cut you off at a certain point. Most Fair use policies for "all you can use" data plans quote anywhere from 60-150GB depending on service and provider. When I worked for Eir we had a FTTH bundles with "unlimited Data" that had a monthly fair use cutoff of 150GB unless you were willing to pay the extra beans for an upgraded service. However, this was back between 2017 and 2018.

CalamariFritti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368914#Comment_122368914

I imagine it's way more these days w home broadband. Family w teenagers wfh then 4k streaming and social media all day will go through a 100 gig in no time at all.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368930#Comment_122368930

Given Eir's marketing practices I wouldn't be so sure they don't still do that. Part of the reason why I left that job. I couldn't sell anything because it was all so overtly not a deal by any stretch.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368897#Comment_122368897

Same here, I often hotspot, watch netflix or similar on the train ride home a few times a week, it is a non cost at this point. That 9.99 deal is great.

BrianD3

I have gotten out of listening to the radio but am starting again as I want to wean myself off screens as much as possible (I only look at screens when parked up but the bullsh*t is still a distraction and time sink)

Just got a new aerial for one of the cars in Halfords.

And for the Mk1 Megane, I got bulbs for the dash radio display as they had blown.

Plenty of CDs too.

Shan Doras

What the radio industry lobby group is actually asking is to ensure that Irish radio stations are "easy to find" on modern car radios regardless if it's FM or Streaming

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368930#Comment_122368930

4k films I stream on Real Debrid /Streamio can be 65-70Gb a pop. You'd go through that in a film and a half!

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368992#Comment_122368992

I bought myself a lovely Sony Digital Audio Player, filled it with 300Gb of FLAC music and just use that over Bluetooth. Tend to just listen to albums through without ever looking at a screen, it's great.

Archeron

Would listen to fm radio in the car commuting, but that's it.

CASH MACHINE!!!

Jellybaby_1

The only time I listen to the radio is in the car, Pat Kenny in the morning, or Sean Moncrieff in the afternoon. Unfortunately I rarely get to hear the whole programme but if there is something I want to share with those at home I'll probably pull it up online for them as well. If they get rid of radios in cars I'm bringing me tranny!!! (showing my age there!)

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368643#Comment_122368643

We have learners/ new drivers in that space and I can't believe the amount of faffing about with music/ satnav/ electronic displays, speed limiters etc. The RSA would do well to get out & about, lift their heads up and campaign at EU level on these matters. The phone was just the start of this trend as far as I can see.

Comhrá

Same here. I love current affairs, news and chat when on the road and only resort to music if there's nothing of interest to me on the radio.

A car with no fm radio? I'd find it difficult. I have Gomo on my phone so data isn't an issue but that's more screens and apps to fiddle around with while driving.