[ale] Misc ramblings of a diseased mind

[Chris Fowler]

On Tue, 2009-07-21 at 19:58 -0400, Robert Reese wrote:
> 
> It further reminded me of what that A/B switch was: SSB (Single Side
> Band) which significantly increases the range, as well as the privacy,
> of the users.

I'm not sure if may truckers use SSB.

60% of the power (2.4w) is used strictly for the carrier in AM.  Not
very useful in transmitting info (voice).  In a SSB setup the carrier is
suppressed *before* the signal is sent the the final PA (power
amplifier).    Per FCC regs you can have 4w SSB just like AM so it is
possible to go much further using SSB than using AM.  Of course SSB is
3kHz wide.  CW is what?  500hz  CW will be 6x more efficient than SSB.


One term:  LOS

Location, Location, Location.  VHF and UHF require line-of-sight unless
you are relying on Sporadic E, Moon bounce, or meteor scatter.

when I did my GMRS test we were driving on a rural road in TN.  The road
was very straight but had many hills.  Reception was horrible.  

My foray into amateur radio is based on how crappy FRS/GMRS really is
(at least to me).  I take my 2M  rig on the AT and talk to many folks.
almost had to use it once as one hiker with me sprained her ankle.
Luckily she was able to walk the 4m back to the trail head at Clingman's
Dome.  I did not like how unreliable the little FRS/GMRS radios were and
was searching for something I could depend on.

-.- .. ....- -.-- -- -..