Two Types Of Signals; Electrical Disturbances; Am Reception; Fm Reception - Chrysler town & country 2007 Manual

220 UNDERSTANDING YOUR INSTRUMENT PANEL
you understand and save you concern about these "ap-
parent" malfunctions, you must understand a point or
two about the transmission and reception of radio sig-
nals.

Two Types of Signals

There are two basic types of radio signals... AM or
Amplitude Modulation, in which the transmitted sound
causes the amplitude, or height, of the radio waves to
vary... and FM or Frequency Modulation, in which the
frequency of the wave is varied to carry the sound.

Electrical Disturbances

Radio waves may pick up electrical disturbances during
transmission. They mainly affect the wave amplitude,
and thus remain a part of the AM reception. They
interfere very little with the frequency variations that
carry the FM signal.

AM Reception

AM sound is based on wave amplitude, so AM reception
can be disrupted by such things as lightning, power lines
and neon signs.

FM Reception

Because FM transmission is based on frequency varia-
tions, interference that consists of amplitude variations
can be filtered out, leaving the reception relatively clear,
which is the major feature of FM radio.
NOTE: The radio, steering wheel radio controls (if
equipped), and 6 disc CD/DVD changer (if equipped)
will remain active for up to 10 minutes after the ignition
switch has been turned off. Opening a vehicle front door
will cancel this feature.
I n f o r ma t i o n P r o v i d e d b y :