[Amps] Modern AM Broadcast Transmitters

[Donald Fox]

Gents:
If I understand what is being said correctly, you are describing a different way of modulating an AM carrier which in appearance sounds like it would look more like am FM carrier on an analog meter.
The old school way of running the carrier at 25%, and then allowing modulation to swing up to the 100% level at full power is what I learned as a young ham.

I am guessing that the new technology allows the same goals to be accomplished without the need for all of the "heavy iron", ie modulation transformers needed back in the day.
Stepping back into history a moment, I think of the massive size of the iron required to run the much fabled and storied WLW 500 KW system back in it's heyday. I am lucky to live about a half an hour from Mason, Ohio, and can recall well what the nearby Voice of America site with its now gone 625 acre antenna farm with Rhombics galore looked like.

So, if WLW ran the "old school" way of modulation, and had at one time an actual 500 KW carrier, would their meters have stood at 500 kw steady, or hung around 125 KW with 0 modulation and then swung up to 500 from there?
I was under the impression they ran a full 500 KW carrier. Wrapping one's mind around a constant carrier at 100 or 200 KW is a bit mind blowing, never mind 500 KW compared to what we as hams are used to.

For those here who may have not read up on the history of WLW, there is a great amount of reading here on the 'net. It is said that WLW was used to relay coded messages to our troops abroad during WW2. I also understand that Hitler himself referenced it during one of his many radio addresses, and had no kind words to say about how it was helping out countries efforts to defeat him!
I find that pretty darned fascinating!!!!!!!!

Don    N8ECH