• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Kahn Powerside AM Transmitter Booster

What is the point of that with digital center-tuned radios?<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
> What is the point of that with digital center-tuned radios?

I would assume it effectively adds more coverage area by moving the amount of power the sidebands put out to the center of the channel, so you actually would be using that power instead of just letting it fizzle out into the atmosphere. I don't think it would have anything to do with reception, really, it would be more of a coverage thing.

Of course, this is just what I gather from the description on the page. I could be off entirely.<P ID="signature">______________
radiodude.jpg

http://theradioblog.blogspot.com</P>
 
From what I understand, it moves all the energy to a single sideband..so you have to slightly detune it to get the most power.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
> What does this thing do? Does it work? It's for sale on
> ebay, and NO I'm not the one selling it!
>
http://cgi.ebay.com/KAHN-POWERSIDE-AM-BROADCAST-TRANSMITTER-BOO> STER_W0QQitemZ5675364407QQcategoryZ26261QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
>
Used to work for a station that had one of those. A square wave generator! Engineering replaced a lot of the PA modules until it was disconnected.
 
> From what I understand, it moves all the energy to a single
> sideband..so you have to slightly detune it to get the most
> power.
>
Powerside is very effective for AM directional stations that "lose" the carrier in nulls. It is very handy also if your antenna is not "flat."
Now, in layman terms! If you have a directional AM station there will be areas where the signal is strong in some directions and areas where the signal will be weak in some directions. Sometimes, in the weak areas, the main carrier "goes away" and only the sideband energy is left. This can cause severe distortion in many AM receivers.
The same thing might happen to even a non directional station. Often, if powerlines near the transmitter site re-radiate the stations signal, the signals arrive out of phase and cancellation of the carrier occurs. Again, distortion in the receiver occurs.
When matching the transmitter to the antenna, the "match" must be good at the carrier frequency to efficiently transfer the power to the antenna. The antenna must also offer a linear impedance (or "match") to the sidebands....above carrier and below carrier. When the above carrier "match" and below carrier "match" are not equal, then distortion occurs in the receiver and the transmitter does not operate efficiently.
Powerside can be used to operate with sidebands above, or below carrier. It effectively becomes a single sideband system. Your radio does not care if both sidebands are there or not.
See last month's Radio World (radioworldonline.com) for an article by Jerry Smith addressing Powerside. Jerry has always loved it and swears by it.
But you won't find it on many stations.....you see it in racks from time to time but most just don't run it!
 
,
> Powerside can be used to operate with sidebands above, or
> below carrier. It effectively becomes a single sideband
> system. Your radio does not care if both sidebands are there
> or not.
But because the digital tuners don't give you the option to detune slightly, it doesn't help as it did with analog receivers.

Powerside is Kahn's "compatible single-sideband" which resulted in his independent sideband stereo system.
 
> ,
> > Powerside can be used to operate with sidebands above, or
> > below carrier. It effectively becomes a single sideband
> > system. Your radio does not care if both sidebands are
> there
> > or not.
> But because the digital tuners don't give you the option to
> detune slightly, it doesn't help as it did with analog
> receivers.
>
> Powerside is Kahn's "compatible single-sideband" which
> resulted in his independent sideband stereo system.
>
Yes....good point concerning digital receivers!
Kahn's system could be heard with two mono radios, one detuned to the upper, one to the lower. No one in Atlanta ever ran Kahn's system, to the best of my knowledge.
Are you Billy Bie, the infamous director of engineering for the Rivers family?
 
A better way to flatten the directional antenna across the full bandwidth of the station and minimise those narrow distorted nulls is to delay the signals to the towers with precisely measured lengths of coaxial cable from the phaser in stead of using coils and capacitors. Ls and Cs are much narrower.<P ID="signature">______________
Proud 2 B a pioneering satellite radio subs¢riber
Ai4i is always on the trailing edge of technology
______________</P>
 
> A better way to flatten the directional antenna across the
> full bandwidth of the station and minimise those narrow
> distorted nulls is to delay the signals to the towers with
> precisely measured lengths of coaxial cable from the phaser
> in stead of using coils and capacitors. Ls and Cs are much
> narrower.
>
Modern computer modeling has improved directional design too. Most of the really bad directionals(not all, but most) are old systems. Most could be improved with some time and, of course, $$$!!
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom