Foundations Of Amateur Radio

Foundations of Amateur Radio A little while ago I spent some time discussing how to test if your radio was on frequency. It generated lots of comment and email with various suggestions on other ways to do this test, but it also caused one listener to ask the question, what's this Upper Side Band and Lower Side Band thing you're talking about? In the past I've discussed the history of these two, but I've gone back to check and it doesn't appear that I've ever actually explained what exactly Upper Side Band and Lower Side Band might be and how they work and more to the point, why they're important. Let's start where you find these modes. In amateur radio, some bands use Upper Side Band and some use Lower. From a usage perspective it's pretty straightforward, but not obvious. Essentially everyone uses Upper Side Band all the time, except radio amateurs below 10 MHz. There is one exception in that, the 60m band - 5 MHz - uses Upper Side Band. The mechanics aside, what is the point, how does it work and why do