[TenTec] Orion on AM

[Craig Roberts]

A few months ago I sold my boatanchors in order to provide some 
financial support to an ailing family member.  I thought I'd miss the 
old stuff -- but I don't, well, not anywhere near as much as I thought I 
would.

One of my favorite modes is AM.  I enjoy it more for its audio quality 
than for its nostalgic value, though -- being an old broadcaster -- I'm 
sure reliving the "good old days" enters into the enjoyment equation.

The absence of my old black wrinkle finished boxes certainly compromised 
my ability to operate on AM, though. My Pegasus is great on digital 
modes and CW, pretty nice on SSB, but, of course, it is not an AM rig.  
My modified Drake TR-7 can be made to work pretty well on AM (A3M 
anyway), but still...  And, while I love to have an Orion, it's not 
feasible at the moment. 

So, I purloined a schematic and put together a Pulse Width Modulated AM 
exciter with DSP.  A recording of its initial on-air test can be heard at:

www.aerialacts.com/AM test_initial.mp3

The hiss on the clip is an artifact of the receiver -- A Hallicrafters 
SX-42 with the antenna shorted to ground.  My point is -- as others have 
testified -- solid state AM works and can work very well.  Once I've 
finished building my 250 watt amp for this little exciter, I expect to 
be represented adequately among the Valiants and Rangers and Globe Kings 
and 32Vs. Better yet, I will have spent about 300 bucks putting together 
a nice AM transmitter that fits into three vertical inches of a relay rack.

I'm certainly not arguing against that beautiful old "big iron" or the 
lucky guys who run it but, frankly, if I had an ihobby budget and had 
the choice of acquiring a "classic" plate modulated AM broadcast 
transmitter or a new solid state one like the Nautel J1000, I'd 
certainly choose the transistor radio.

73,

Craig
W3CRR