{"id":15627,"date":"2025-10-15T12:51:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T07:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/?p=15627"},"modified":"2025-10-15T12:51:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T07:21:12","slug":"how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/","title":{"rendered":"How many of you are trying AM now?"},"content":{"rendered":"<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mNZWLcGXnso?si=IJ0zcwkCfy78tdBE\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was a regular AM or Amplitude Modulation operator in the initial days of my ham radio activity. Started by adding a modulator to the 7W VU2VWN QRP with BD139 RF final and TBA810 IC audio amplifier. Later I moved on to 3 x 807 vacuum tube radio with 120W DC input. If I remember correctly, I was using screen modulation using a solid state audio amplifier. Though plate modulation would have been better, that would have needed a powerful audio amplifier which I did not have. While I could get only local contacts on AM with the QRP setup, I could get an occasional DX contact from Indonesia on AM with the latter setup. A few months back I could hear VU3IZD from Thiruvananthapuram using VU2VWN QRP along with a 25W push-pull linear amplifier, both homebrew. Though some of my friends could copy him 5,9 on 7055 kHz, I could hardly know that he was transmitting. So I have not tried AM with my FT-710, which incidentally can give only 25W on AM, though the PEP on SSB is 100W.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a lot of discussion on <a href=\"https:\/\/forums.qrz.com\/index.php?forums\/amplitude-modulation-the-am-forum.108\/\">AM on the QRZ forum<\/a>, with a lot of enthusiasm, probably because of the better audio quality on AM. SSB signals may occupy only about 3 kHz bandwidth while AM with a carrier and two sidebands can occupy up to 10 kHz of bandwidth. I can see that there is provision for a narrow band AM (AM-N) in my radio, which also I have never tried. Higher noise level these days due to innumerable consumer devices around pumping RF into the air, AM seems to be a difficult option for me currently. In the US it seems AM activity is around 29 MHz in the 10m band and in upper part of the 80m band (75m) which we do not have access to in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is one situation where AM still rules in the world of communication. That is air traffic control, where aircraft to control tower traffic is invariably on AM, with definite reasons. On FM, the <a href=\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/what-is-fm-capture-effect\/\">FM capture effect <\/a>would override weak signals and emergency breakthrough communication from an aircraft in distress may not be possible when a channel is in use by a stronger station. In case of SSB with requirement for more precise tuning, Doppler shift from a fast moving aircraft may de-tune the signal, though the speed of an aircraft is only a small fraction of the speed of electromagnetic waves. You may be aware that Doppler shift does shift signals up to 10 kHz on UHF in case of Low Earth Orbit satellites like International Space Station, which are moving about 15 times faster than conventional aircrafts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was a regular AM or Amplitude Modulation operator in the initial days of my ham radio activity. Started by adding a modulator to the 7W VU2VWN QRP with BD139 RF final and TBA810 IC audio amplifier. Later I moved on to 3 x 807 vacuum tube radio with 120W DC input. If I remember [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15629,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amateur-radio-ham-radio"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How many of you are trying AM now? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How many of you are trying AM now? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I was a regular AM or Amplitude Modulation operator in the initial days of my ham radio activity. Started by adding a modulator to the 7W VU2VWN QRP with BD139 RF final and TBA810 IC audio amplifier. Later I moved on to 3 x 807 vacuum tube radio with 120W DC input. If I remember [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Johnson&#039;s Techworld\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-15T07:21:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-15T07:21:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/How-many-of-you-are-trying-AM-now.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1201\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Johnson Francis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Johnson Francis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Johnson Francis\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027\"},\"headline\":\"How many of you are trying AM now?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-15T07:21:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-15T07:21:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":454,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/How-many-of-you-are-trying-AM-now.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Amateur Radio (Ham Radio)\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/\",\"name\":\"How many of you are trying AM now? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/How-many-of-you-are-trying-AM-now.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-15T07:21:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-15T07:21:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/How-many-of-you-are-trying-AM-now.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/How-many-of-you-are-trying-AM-now.jpg\",\"width\":1201,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How many of you are trying AM now?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/\",\"name\":\"Johnson's Techworld\",\"description\":\"Johnson&#039;s Techworld\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027\",\"name\":\"Johnson Francis\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/channels4_profile.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/channels4_profile.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/channels4_profile.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Johnson Francis\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/channels4_profile.jpg\"},\"description\":\"Amateur Radio Operator VU2JO. Originally licensed as VU2JFP with Grade 1 license in 1985. Upgraded to Advanced Grade in 1988 and was allotted new callsign to VU2JO\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@johnsonstechworld\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/author\\\/jf\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How many of you are trying AM now? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How many of you are trying AM now? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld","og_description":"I was a regular AM or Amplitude Modulation operator in the initial days of my ham radio activity. Started by adding a modulator to the 7W VU2VWN QRP with BD139 RF final and TBA810 IC audio amplifier. Later I moved on to 3 x 807 vacuum tube radio with 120W DC input. If I remember [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/","og_site_name":"Johnson&#039;s Techworld","article_published_time":"2025-10-15T07:21:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-15T07:21:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1201,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/How-many-of-you-are-trying-AM-now.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Johnson Francis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Johnson Francis","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/"},"author":{"name":"Johnson Francis","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#\/schema\/person\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027"},"headline":"How many of you are trying AM now?","datePublished":"2025-10-15T07:21:10+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-15T07:21:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/"},"wordCount":454,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#\/schema\/person\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/How-many-of-you-are-trying-AM-now.jpg","articleSection":["Amateur Radio (Ham Radio)"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/","url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/","name":"How many of you are trying AM now? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/How-many-of-you-are-trying-AM-now.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-15T07:21:10+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-15T07:21:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/How-many-of-you-are-trying-AM-now.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/How-many-of-you-are-trying-AM-now.jpg","width":1201,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/how-many-of-you-are-trying-am-now\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How many of you are trying AM now?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#website","url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/","name":"Johnson's Techworld","description":"Johnson&#039;s Techworld","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#\/schema\/person\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#\/schema\/person\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027","name":"Johnson Francis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/channels4_profile.jpg","url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/channels4_profile.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/channels4_profile.jpg","width":600,"height":600,"caption":"Johnson Francis"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/channels4_profile.jpg"},"description":"Amateur Radio Operator VU2JO. Originally licensed as VU2JFP with Grade 1 license in 1985. Upgraded to Advanced Grade in 1988 and was allotted new callsign to VU2JO","sameAs":["https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@johnsonstechworld\/"],"url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/author\/jf\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15627"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15630,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15627\/revisions\/15630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}