Amplitude Modulation
Yes folks, Amplitude Modulation on the "ham bands" is still being used. Common bands used are 29Mhz, 3.8Mhz and 1.8Mhz bands. There's a wide variety of AM equipment in use. They range from old fashioned high level modulation that feeds audio into a Class C amplifier, through to modern rigs acting as a VFO, fed into a class C or better amplifier with modulation added into the amplifier.
I can recall the thrill of using AM on 29Mhz back in about 1990 with 40w to a long wire antenna. Best DX was to Uraguay. On this web page I will try to assemble some recordings of AM mode usage for posterity and encouragement.
Here's some recordings to an "AM-Fest" back in February 2021 on 80m. The recordings were via the K5MO Kiwi receiver. These recordings are also mirrored here - https://qsl.net/g0ftd/other/am-recordings/
And below, here is myself in QSO with K1IED, who was running 250w of carrier, compared to my 1.5w of carrier and a bit of wire.
I'll add more as I get them, but for now you can also search Youtube for more examples. Got an FT817 ? AM sounds pretty good on an FT817 with just a small tweak, see here.
Links -
AM FONE Forum - http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php
VMARS - https://www.vmars.org.uk/