ADVANTAGES OF AM

[Brian Carling]

WD4NKA holds forth on some of the advantages of AM...

In a message dated 5/26/2006 11:00:27 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
AF4K <bcarling at cfl.rr.com> writes:

> It is not "going back" when you use "Advanced Modulation."

Actually, that's quite correct.  AM is simply another mode, it's not any
more 
"going back" than stepping off a jet aircraft and onto a propeller craft
to 
'puddle jump' you to your final destination.  Both technologies have
purpose, 
and from the beginning the development of the one was never meant
replacing the 
other. There has come to be a sort of techno-arrogance, however, that we
see 
in many areas.  A tendancy to think that technology B is superior to 
technology A, simply because we observe that certain aspects of it may be
more 
efficient to accomplish a certain taskset.  We then superimpose both the
aspect AND 
task of technology B over technology A, and voila!  We have plastic
replacing 
ALL glass, we have folks that think powerboats are superior to sailcraft,
we 
have transistor replacing all tubes (even though a technical article in
QST, 1970 
pointed out that from a receiver standpoint, when it came to crossmod, 
selectivity and gain stability, transistors caused us to take a step
backward until 
finally the dual-gate mosFET appeared on the scene to bring solid state 
receiver up to the level of tube types!)

. . . and quite naturally, SSB is seen as replacing AM.  It's a form of 
technological arrogance that the old soviets knew would be the west's
undoing if an 
all out nuclear barrage were ever to occur.  Which is why they kept their
tube production going.  And why we thought we were so "superior" to their
lagging 
technology . . .  except for the space programme people.  They held a 
different view.  They understood that tossing out the baby with the
bathwater was 
both unscientific and unwise.

Ok, so what is the use of AM then?  Well, here's one example: some time
back 
SW broadcasters set up some SSB broadcasts.  Oh, they were heard, i recall
HCJB's ssb broadcast on 21.450. Did it catch on?   Nope.  Because it was
hard for 
the average listener to tune in, and the music especially suffered.  SSB
was 
inefficient in this case.  My wife still can't stay in the room when i
have 
the product detector on just to play with 10 meters!  AM?  No problem.  

It's not just playing with antiques.

gary // wd4nka

Visit my site at: <A
HREF="http://www.qsl.net/wd4nka/">http://www.qsl.net/wd4nka/</A>

(FROM the FLBOATANCHORS GROUP)



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