AM Aircraft vs AM Broadcast

[BC2001]

So, I have listened to AM radio stations a lot and they obviously reach farther and come in stronger at night.

Since aircraft is AM as well, would this mean that air traffic would be reaching farther at night? Or is it also about the frequency band (I do know VHF is line of sight)? Im not very good with the technical stuff, obviously.

Thanks in advance for the answer(s).

 

[Randyk4661]

AM broadcast is on 0.530 MHz to 1.750 MHz (medium wave band) vs aircraft 108 to 136 MHz.(VHF High band). AM broadcast use thousands of watts vs aircraft that use tens of watts. You might be able to hear aircraft a little better at night but I would not expect it. It's the frequency ranges that give the distance not the modulation.

 

[techman210]

The type of modulation doesn’t have anything to do with it. It’s the frequency that matters.

 

[BC2001]

AM broadcast is on 0.530 MHz to 1.750 MHz (medium wave band) vs aircraft 108 to 136 MHz.(VHF High band). AM broadcast use thousands of watts vs aircraft that use tens of watts. You might be able to hear aircraft a little better at night but I would not expect it. It's the frequency ranges that give the distance not the modulation.

The type of modulation doesn’t have anything to do with it. It’s the frequency that matters.

Thanks guys. That makes sense, you learn something new every day.

 

[Alain]

BC2001,

Here in Southern California, I love taking advantage of a weather phenomenon called "inversion", "skip" or "tropospheric ducting". I'm sure that some similar weather phenomenon occurs in Kentucky. I won't take up server space to explain it here, you can just Google the terms.

When it occurs here, usually around April and the first week or so of May, you can hear like you thought you never had before! Hundreds of miles away you can hear VHF FD's and law enforcement and yes, aircraft! I have heard aircraft from as far away as San Luis Obispo and inland into Arizona, all depending on where the fog/inversion/tropo exist. It's great fun to monitor when ducting time comes around.

How do you know when the time is right for this type of atmospheric occurrence in your area? Glad you asked...

There is a website owned and operated by a great guy named Bill Hepburn. His website is: DX Info Centre

From that website you can access any part of the U.S.A, or the world for that matter. Navigate to the upper L.H. corner drop-down menu that says "SELECT REGION".

You can also access the tropo/skip board on RR from here: Skip / Tropospheric Ducting Forum You may find someone in your area to share ideas and logs with.

Hope this helps,

73 de Me

 

[BC2001]

BC2001,

Here in Southern California, I love taking advantage of a weather phenomenon called "inversion", "skip" or "tropospheric ducting". I'm sure that some similar weather phenomenon occurs in Kentucky. I won't take up server space to explain it here, you can just Google the terms.

When it occurs here, usually around April and the first week or so of May, you can hear like you thought you never had before! Hundreds of miles away you can hear VHF FD's and law enforcement and yes, aircraft! I have heard aircraft from as far away as San Luis Obispo and inland into Arizona, all depending on where the fog/inversion/tropo exist. It's great fun to monitor when ducting time comes around.

How do you know when the time is right for this type of atmospheric occurrence in your area? Glad you asked...

There is a website owned and operated by a great guy named Bill Hepburn. His website is: DX Info Centre

From that website you can access any part of the U.S.A, or the world for that matter. Navigate to the upper L.H. corner drop-down menu that says "SELECT REGION".

You can also access the tropo/skip board on RR from here: Skip / Tropospheric Ducting Forum You may find someone in your area to share ideas and logs with.

Hope this helps,

73 de Me

Thank you for that information! It's useful, and I will check that website out.

 

[StoliRaz]

BC2001,

Here in Southern California, I love taking advantage of a weather phenomenon called "inversion", "skip" or "tropospheric ducting". I'm sure that some similar weather phenomenon occurs in Kentucky. I won't take up server space to explain it here, you can just Google the terms.

When it occurs here, usually around April and the first week or so of May, you can hear like you thought you never had before! Hundreds of miles away you can hear VHF FD's and law enforcement and yes, aircraft! I have heard aircraft from as far away as San Luis Obispo and inland into Arizona, all depending on where the fog/inversion/tropo exist. It's great fun to monitor when ducting time comes around.

How do you know when the time is right for this type of atmospheric occurrence in your area? Glad you asked...

There is a website owned and operated by a great guy named Bill Hepburn. His website is: DX Info Centre

From that website you can access any part of the U.S.A, or the world for that matter. Navigate to the upper L.H. corner drop-down menu that says "SELECT REGION".

You can also access the tropo/skip board on RR from here: Skip / Tropospheric Ducting Forum You may find someone in your area to share ideas and logs with.

Hope this helps,

73 de Me

We can often hear CHP on their lowband frequencies when conditions are right...all the way over here in New England.

 

[FKimble]

And big radio stations turn up the power at night!

Frank

 

[rivardj]

And big radio stations turn up the power at night!

Frank

Not so, see below from FCC website:

Most AM radio stations are required by the FCC's rules to reduce their power or cease operating at night in order to avoid interference to other AM stations. FCC rules governing the daytime and nighttime operation of AM radio stations are a consequence of the laws of physics. Because of the way in which the relatively long wavelengths (see Footnote 1) of AM radio signals interact with the ionized layers of the ionosphere miles above the earth's surface, the propagation of AM radio waves changes drastically from daytime to nighttime.

Why AM Stations Must Reduce Power