[Elecraft] Mod for AM?

Thu Aug 14 15:44:00 2003

I beg to differ! A Johnson Ranger, Viking II, Desk KW, etc. can generate
VERY clean AM!  Also, you can pick up an old Viking II at swap meets for
under $200. Now, you most likely will have to put a bit of work into it, but
that's half of the fun with vintage gear. As far as modern rigs generating
cleaner AM, that's just not true. A corectly set up plate modulated rig is
far superior, and sounds 1000% better! Most (99%) of the solid state rigs I
hear on the air are undermodulated, and sound like the guy is talking
through a toilet paper tube! There are the exceptions, but they are rare.
Randy KK7TV has an Icom 781 sounding very good, but it took a lot of
outboard processing to achive this. AND, we're not talking about this WIDE
BAND stuff, 6 KHz bandwidth is plenty to sound good on AM. Don't nock the
older gear just because you may have heard a guy on the air that didn't have
his set up correctly. The old tube rigs aren't "Plug and Play". You really
have to RTFM and learn how to set it up properly or you will sound bad and
splatter, but then what's the excuse of the SSBers that splatter up and down
the band? Same thing...RTFM and get a scope to check your modulation. Oh,
and speaking of drift, my Ranger stays very stable after about a 30 minute
warm up...

73's Trev KG6CYN
http://www.qsl.net/kg6cyn

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mychael Morohovich AA3WF" <[email protected]>
To: "Elecraft reflector" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2003 11:11 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Mod for AM?

Forwarded to this list at the request of  WB6TMY By AA3WF
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Stuart & Mychael,

Thanks for replying to my appeal for help & also, thank you for your
advice.  At work I am unable to reply to the list, so perhaps one of you
can forward my reply.

I have considered Johnson Callengers, Rangers etc.

#1 They are expensive, #2 They are god-awful obsolete monstrosities that
overmodulate buckshot up and down the band and drift.  I just don't want
one in my house at any price.

A modern SSB rig such as the Kenwood TS850 can generate AM that is stable
and clean without overmodulation.  If it is amplified sufficiently this is
GREATLY preferable!  Remember AM operates at approximately a 9 dB
disadvantage compared to SSB, so to get 100 Watts PEP you must multiply the
power to (8X) 800 Watts PEP.  Johnson Rangers do not "cut-it" powerwise.
When you get into Globe King 500's or Johnson 500's you make the drift +
buckshot even more unacceptable!

Any side band rig is an AM generator if the carrier is not properly nulled,
the problem is that to open up the rig and do this is very inconvient and
until carefully returned to proper settings makes the rig unuseable for
SSB.  Yes, generating a carrier + one sideband is THE WAY TO GO!  Besides
giving drift free and buckshot free operation, it reduces spectrum use.

So I say, once again, does anyone have a mod to easily detune the carrier
null and restore it on a K2?  Perhaps an external pair of wires with a
toggle switch?

Anyone?

Thanks,

TR WB6TMY

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