The radio spectrum is a wide and varied thing. FM—frequency modulation—is the most popular, and you’d think that it would be the same all over the world. It’s not.
The worldwide standard has it on your radio between 87.5 and 108.0 MHz In North America, this allows for 100 channels for radio stations, spaced at a minimum of 200 MHz apart. That means we only have stations on at .1, .3. 5. 7. and .9. North American does allow for a station to be at “107.2,” for example.
Japan is different. Their FM band is located much lower. That’s because when TV came along, channels 1 to 3 were given 90 to 108 MHz, forcing FM to the space between 76 and 90 MHz In 2011, after digital television replaced analogue signals, Japanese FM has since been expanded up to 95 MHz
Meanwhile, there are parts of Eastern Europe where FM is found on an old FM band called OIRT, which runs between 65.8 and 74 Mhz. That’s been phased out, though. More on radio frequencies next time.
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