[BULK] - [pct-l] RE: Music On The Trail

[msaenz at mve-architects.com (Mike Saenz)]

Hey!
I was just in Sacramento last Monday and Tuesday!
Had a meeting in Turlock and Sacramento seemed better than the Bay Area
terminals to fly into...

Had I known, I would have invited you to an Oillcan!

Re: AM

I'm no radio expert, but I think the longer wavelengths of AM have
something to do with it's broadcast (or maybe reception) capabilities.
The signal may decrease in quality, but can still be picked up from far
away. FM, however, has much shorter wavelengths, which provide much
better broadcast quality, but at the expense of shorter range. I notice
that if I'm driving through a tunnel, AM will "go out", but FM will
still be received (to a point) as the tighter wavelengths will still
bounce around inside the tunnel...
If I remember my High School science lessons, the spectrum of radio
waves, from very, very tight microwaves to broader frequencies can use
their characteristics for specific purposes...but those lessons are
fading as I type....

Anyway- I can recall tunes from memory and play them in my head well
enough to forgo hiking with earphones. I usually have a tune running in
a loop which provides a sort of cadence that keeps my feet moving in
that rhythmic groove that tears through the miles! But there's been many
a night when I would have enjoyed hearing a good sportscaster describing
a ball game...


M i c h a e l   S a e n z
McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc.
A r c h i t e c t u r e    P l a n n i n g    I n t e r i o r s
w  w  w  .  m  v  e  -  a  r  c  h  i  t  e  c  t  s  .  c  o  m


-----Original Message-----
From: John Coyle [mailto:jcoyle@sanjuan.edu] 
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 2:42 PM
To: Mike Saenz
Subject: RE: [BULK] - [pct-l] RE: Music On The Trail

Mike,

This message came to my private e-mail address for some reason, but I
don't mind, I'll answere it anyway.  You are absolutely right about
signals from AM stations traveling farther than FM.  You would be lucky
to receive a FM station more than 40 miles away, while  at night I
routinely receive AM stations from as far away from Sacramento as Denver
and LA, and sometimes even farther depending on conditions.  For some
reason AM signals travel much farther at night.

I know what you mean about missing the sounds of nature while listening
to a radio.  I always use the earbud type of headphone because they are
smaller and lighter than the other type, and you can still hear some
outside sounds with earbuds.  To be honest I mostly listen to news  and
talk at night and rarely listen to the radio while hiking for the reason
you described.
 
I don't know of any MP3 with an AM radio, but I'm with you; I wish there
was one with an AM/FM radio.  That would be the best of both worlds.

John Coyle
Sacramento
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Saenz [mailto:msaenz@mve-architects.com]
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 1:23 PM
To: John Coyle; pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: RE: [BULK] - [pct-l] RE: Music On The Trail


Maybe AsABat can answer this:

It's my understanding that AM wavelengths travel further than FM. True?

I've always seemed to get more AM stations than FM stations while
driving in remote locations...

For the record, I'm one who enjoys the sounds of nature on my walks. If
I had earphones on with music, I would miss so much alongside the trail:
The buzz of insects, the wind in the trees, the sweet, sweet sound of
water falling over rocks hidden under grass!

I would like to have a radio for the evenings and when I'm tent bound
from weather, though! But I could pass time more easily listening to a
ball game or talk radio...

If AM in fact DOES travel further, I'd like to see an MP3 player with AM
instead of FM, which they all seem to have.
 


M i c h a e l   S a e n z
McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc.
A r c h i t e c t u r e    P l a n n i n g    I n t e r i o r s
w  w  w  .  m  v  e  -  a  r  c  h  i  t  e  c  t  s  .  c  o  m


-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net] On Behalf Of John Coyle
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 12:29 PM
To: 'pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net'
Subject: [BULK] - [pct-l] RE: Music On The Trail


The best AM/FM radio I have found for the trail is the little Aiwa model
from Sharper Image.  I've never weighed it, but it can't weight more
that 1 oz with battery (1 AAA.)  Light, great reception, excellent sound
quality, no MP3 though.  Go to Sharper Image.com and enter Aiwa in the
search box, you'll go right to it, they have only one Aiwa product.  

I lost my original earbuds, so I bought the Panasonic earbuds RP-HV278K
for
$12.99 at Circuit City.  Best earbuds I have ever had regardless of
price, much better than the ones that came with the Aiwa radio!

John Coyle
Sacramento 


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