Fm Characteristics - Mazda 626 Owner's Manual

Driving Your Mazda
FM Station
40—50 km
(25—30 miles)
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I FM Characteristics
An FM broadcast range is usually
about 40—50 km (25—30 miles) from
the source.
5-76
Form No. 8P95-EA-00G
Because of extra coding needed to
break the sound into two channels,
stereo FM has even less range than
monaural (nonstereo) FM.
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Ionosphere
FM
AM wave
wave
FM wave
100—200 km (60—120 miles)
Signals from an FM transmitter are
similar to beams of light because they
do not bend around corners, but they
do reflect. Unlike AM signals, FM
signals cannot travel beyond the
horizon. Therefore, FM stations cannot
be received at the great distances
possible with AM reception.