Amplitude modulation on PMR446

[ryan_paul]

Dear all
I was reading the specification for PMR446 and I Noticed that AM modulation is permitted.

Has anyone come across any rigs that are AM or even any NFM/AM rigs?

Although NFM suits itself better to this application I thought it was interesting.

[Transmission1]

That's interesting. I had not picked up on that. I don't think I've come across any radios with AM capability for the 446 band either here or in Europe, maybe there is no real demand. The biggest advantage of AM is the ability to open the squelch fully without the white noise. It's basically so quiet, this also means that you can generally hear more distant stations - anyone used AM CB? It's more relaxing to listen to on DX than FM is. The only real problem with the AM mode is that you can easily break through to nearby hi-fi equipment that usually has inadequate shielding. I can still remember back to when I was a kid and it was common to hear the police through my stereo system as the patrol cars drove past my house, they were using about 25W on AM and it was sufficient to break through even at some distance!

That said, it would be very nice to have the choice on a radio, don't suppose it will happen.