The AM Forum

In 1991-1992, Electric Radio ran a three articles by Jim Musgrove K5BZH on the history of ham radio SSB.  Now, I realize this is the AM FONE forum, but I think you guys would find this very interesting.  The articles discuss how early SSB guys engaged in some on-the-air mentoring of the AM ops, showing them how to use their BFOs to make the Donald Duck talk understandable.  We discuss all this on the latest episode of the SolderSmoke podcast: 

http://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2017/04/soldersmoke-podcast-195-we-need-some.html

73  Bill   N2CQR

Fifty years? SSB was invented around 1920.

But you didn't hear it on the ham bands much until the mid fifties.  Used primarily in the telephone industry before that.

Yep, those hams! Always on the leading edge. ;)

Thanks for the link to your podcast Bill.  Enjoyed our 40 meter SSB QSO the other night between your newly built BITEX 40 SSB transceiver and my 63 year old Central Electronics Multiphase exciter and Halli SX-71.  In fairness to Bill, I think that when the articles came out in ER back in the early 90s, the fifty year reference was appropriate, amateur SSB was first discussed in QST in the early 30s, but only really took off after WW2.

The first phone radio between indonesia , the city of Bandung ( Dayeuh Kolot, Jalan Radio 1 ),  and Holland , radio Kootwijk  where made  in ssb already in 1927... Before that time they had only a CW  1 MegaWatt sparktransmitter in Malabar.
One of the receivers still exists in a museum in Amsterdam (cdvandt ). Its 3 Meter in length and 2 meter in  height....  All made with plugable units with 1 tube inside .
The transmitter was 10 kW. Ua was 6kV was made by dynamotors. Transmitting Tubes localy made by craftsman in a workshop.  Both  buildings as well  in Bandung and in Kootwijk still exists .
Anton