I have a 757gx and an FT-101B. I have listened to the guys on 75m and wondered if the wattage my radios put out for AM is sufficient to have a good QSO there? The 757 is 25w on AM and the 101 is 30-40w for AM. Do most people use an amp for AM ?
The 101 will have better sounding AM audio. I do not thisk I have seen a modern day rig that has good AM audio nowadays. Wonder why?
Just be sure you have something to add to the conversation if you jump in or you'll take a beating. The AM crowd tends to be highly technical and they don't spare much time for people with nothing to add to the conversation that is going on either.
25 watts carrier power is plenty enough to have fun with on 80 AM.
short occasional contacts are a tad different then what I would consider a "good qso" Guess this all depends upon exactly what wants to be accomplished, but I gathered the OP was interested in partaking in those roundtables with those "Yahoos"Use a good dipole up at least 45 feet in the center and pick operating times when the yahoos are fewest. Just before and during dinnertime. Mid morning weekends are good too. Stay away from giant roundtables and try calling CQ at least 7 kc away from existing AM.
LOL, you must know a different bunch then I do....You will find the east coast folks are not using mostly older transmitters anymore.
Very few modern transceivers are capable of delivering an "excellent sounding signal" on AM, the 101 does a nice job though... You are right though the AM filter in the 101 is only active in RX, and then only after mods.Many excellent sounding signals are made with riceburners like your Yaesu. IIRC that rig doesn't use the crystal filter on AM transmit. Even if it does there are modifications which make it work better than any old tube ham transmitter ever could.
while a couple of the most recent Icom offerings are passable on AM, All modern HF transcievers are low-level AM modulation and simply sound like shit... I guess if your half deaf most of what you say could be considered fact. Guess it all boils down to what you consider passable quality, however they shouldn't have even bothered including AM transmit on 99%...Boatanchors are fun but there's no reason not to use a lot of newer models.
The Five Hurdles
Tom K1JJ.
I often hear new AMers asking " What do I need to put together an AM station that is considered "advanced" "?
IE, "How can I cut right to the chase and be a strapper right away"?
Just what goals or systems do I need in place to fully appreciate what fidelity AM has to offer for both transmitting and receiving?
How do I test my gear to insure it's doing just that?
And, how can I give out accurate audio reports to help other newcomers?
Here's one ham's opinion as to where to focus your energy to arrive at these goals. This and the next series of articles address these and other important questions.
1) I feel the first thing any AMer (worth his salt)should do is set up a decent, ~8-12kc wide-band receiver. It's MANDATORY to pick off the audio from the detector and drive an external >20watt hi-fi amplifier with big, good speakers....four speakers mounted on the four ceiling /wall corners. Audio sweep the complete RX system from antenna to 8 ohm audio output to be sure it is clean and really goes 20-10,000 hz. Those I.F.'s can fool you sometimes.
So many times I've visted shacks where guys think they have good rx audio with a "stock" or even modified receiver...but are really missing the deep lows and high end - not to mention the inherent distortion generated by most receiver audio sections.
Until one has heard the likes of WA1QIX, K1KW, W2INR, WA1HLR, KG2IR, AA3WH and others in ass kicking loud "FM Radio Quality" surround sound, it's hard to accept what I'm saying. It's truly amazing how good these guys sound when they rumble the room and you can hear their subtle breathing, (panting) sighs and the clean high frequency harmonics of their voices.
The receiver detector into a hi-fi amplifier /big speaker system is the only way to get this sound.
Turn up your high end FM stereo on a mellow radio announcer sometime to see what I'm talking about -these AMers sound even better.
Listening to fine Hi-Fi RX audio reminds you of why you are in this AM game in the first place - and motivates.
2) The next challenge is to get your AM transmitter to audio sweep cleanly (VERY CLEANLY) from say 40hz- 7kc or higher. On the scope. This in itself is a challenge.
Once this is accomplished, THEN add the EQ's, processors, expensive mics, etc. Without this transparent transmitter audio, all this stuff is just fooling yourself with trying to match a peaky transmitter with a mic/system that will try to compensate...along with distortion generated by boosting areas that are lacking, non linearities, etc. Cat chasing it's tail... endless asking for reports on the air.
3) Lastly, one needs a good recording system that comes off the detector of the wide band receiver and can play back through your flat transmitter in a transparent manner. This is the best, most informative audio report/service you can give anyone. Nothing else has to be said once it is played....guys react immediately to what they must do once it is heard. Most will then adjust their EQ/processing to satisfy themselves, not the infinite amount of opinions of others who have their own agendas as to what kind of audio THEY prefer or what YOU should sound like.
IE, ask Irb how you sound, then ask Nick...two totally different opinions...and everyone else is gonna say differently too! A clean tape playback is the best way to dial things in to suit your own taste!
IE, ask for a tape, not an opinion when adjusting your rig. And remember, you need a hi-fi RX system as described above to really hear what is being played back to you!
4) Dipole at 50' for 75M.
5) At least 250 watts of carrier and a quiet room background. Little or no blower noise.
Tom - K1JJ
LOL ! Thanks guys. Using an amp is not economically feasible right now. Maybe my best bet is to try and listen for 10m am stations in the 29.000-29.200 area.
But do they drift like the Siltronix ?