Car Radio Reception; Safety Belt Tensioner - BMW Z3 COUPE 2002 Owner's Manual

Car radio reception

166n
The AM frequency bands (medium-
wave, long-wave and short-wave) make
it possible to receive stations from a
great distance, because the broadcast
signals travel not only along the ground
as surface waves, but also as atmo-
spheric waves that are reflected from
the ionosphere.
Frequency-modulation (FM) provides
substantially better sound quality than
AM. However, because FM transmis-
sions rely on line-of-sight broadcast
waves, their effective reception range
is limited.
The limitations which are inherent to
radio reception in a moving vehicle
have been minimized by the use of
innovative systems.

Safety belt tensioner

The safety belt tensioner responds to
severe collisions by tightening the belts
to ensure that occupants remain firmly
positioned in their seats. A gas-pres-
sure system retracts the buckle
assembly to tension the shoulder and
lap belts within fractions of a second.
This tends to further reduce the
tendency to slide under the lap belt.
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