Gentlemen! Start your whining!

[ki4itv]

Which one is the "common mode" , anyway ?

It only happens when you park your AM rig on one 75m frequency for over 7 years. This results in your actually being married to all the regulars of the net in the eyes of the law, and the resulting breakups can be rather messy.
;)

[KJ3N]

There is ONLY 1 mode. ;)

...and it's not AM...

Most assuredly not in this shack. Ancient Mary reminds me too much of CB.

[n2ize]

I've even worked a contesters or two on AM. Both times they didn't notice the carrier :

[n2ize]

Most assuredly not in this shack. Ancient Mary reminds me too much of CB.

I'm just the opposite. I wouldn't be caught dead using anything other than AM on HF. Only exception I make is up on vhf/uhf. But then again, anything above 8 mc is evil.

All kidding aside, I like the depth, warmth and fidelity of AM. It's kind of a throwback to days gone by. Besides, ham radio is for me an opportunity to go retro and play around with old school electronics. I like using equipment that operates at high voltages, gets very hot and glows and which I can troubleshoot by looking for where the smoke, sparks, ozone, and burn marks are coming from.

[n2ize]

If you've ever taken notice, the ones whining the loudest about contests have single-mode-only rigs, at least where the transmitter side of the equation is concerned - and any incursion onto their "channel" by other users of the radio spectrum is immediately met with howls of derision.

This happens a times amongst some of the guys who lock themselves into the so called "Am Window" on 75 metres. They don't seem to realize that its perfectly legal to operate AM outside of the "AM Window". There is no hard fast rule etched in stone that states you must only operate between 3880 and 3890".

It doesn't do one any good to tell these folks they should QSY, or select another operating mode. Most of them cannot; further, their equipment seems to be stuck in a time warp.

Some of the guys are using very old transmitters that only run AM and CW. This was particularly true in the old days when boatanchors dominated that part of the spectrum. Things have changed now that a lot of the guys are operating newer rigs or are at least using more modern rigs as drivers.

Thus, you are expected to accommodate them.

What I would generally do is if the "AM window" on 75 was crowded due to a contest or other reason I'd QSY up or down the band until I found a quiet spot and I'd operate there as opposed to trying to operate over an existing contester. Even under the most crowded condition I could almost always find a quiet spot. And with some selective tuning and narrowing the filters I could usually notch out adjacent noise pretty well. Otherwise I could usually find a clear place on 40 or 160. Beyond that the only other sticking point was trying to convince some of the guys to leave the "window" and join me.

Why some guys lock themselves into one narrow spot on the band and don't use their license privileges is something I cannot comprehend. :(

[K7SGJ]

This happens a times amongst some of the guys who lock themselves into the so called "Am Window" on 75 metres. They don't seem to realize that its perfectly legal to operate AM outside of the "AM Window". There is no hard fast rule etched in stone that states you must only operate between 3880 and 3890".



Some of the guys are using very old transmitters that only run AM and CW. This was particularly true in the old days when boatanchors dominated that part of the spectrum. Things have changed now that a lot of the guys are operating newer rigs or are at least using more modern rigs as drivers.



What I would generally do is if the "AM window" on 75 was crowded due to a contest or other reason I'd QSY up or down the band until I found a quiet spot and I'd operate there as opposed to trying to operate over an existing contester. Even under the most crowded condition I could almost always find a quiet spot. And with some selective tuning and narrowing the filters I could usually notch out adjacent noise pretty well. Otherwise I could usually find a clear place on 40 or 160. Beyond that the only other sticking point was trying to convince some of the guys to leave the "window" and join me.

Why some guys lock themselves into one narrow spot on the band and don't use their license privileges is something I cannot comprehend. :(

Dunno, might be the same reason some old folks never move. They get comfortable in the old neighborhood, and are afraid to venture out of their element.

Then again, they might just be fucked in the head.

[n2ize]

Dunno, might be the same reason some old folks never move. They get comfortable in the old neighborhood, and are afraid to venture out of their element.

Then again, they might just be fucked in the head.

I can fully understand that someone can become attached to the physical neighborhood where they live and not want to leave. But I guess some people get attached to their "radio neighborhood", that one spot on the VFO dial that feels like home. Only problem is that it doesn;t cost them anything to leave and they can always turn the dial and come right back.

[KC2UGV]

There is ONLY 1 mode. ;)

Carrier Wave... We've not figured out how to use subspace yet

[kb2vxa]

"Captain, it's an old fashioned carrier wave modulated by a simple binary code... radio."
Spock

Speaking of CB, I'm gonna jump up and down like James Brown and hold my breath until I turn blue... GET OFF MY CHANNEL!!!! WWWAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa...................
(;->)

[NQ6U]

Carrier Wave... We've not figured out how to use subspace yet

Even that's not true—it's possible to communicate using vector potential (VP) momentum waves as well as the common transverse electromagnetic (TEM) waves we've all been using. There was an article in the July/August issue of QEX about doing just that.

Some more info here.