Dynamic carrier control

Dynamic carrier control (DCC) is a method of reducing power consumption in radio transmitters during periods of low audio activity or silence. It is a type of Modulation-Dependent Carrier Level control, or MDCL. All modern high-power (>50 kW) shortwave radio transmitters incorporate DCC of some kind, as well as some mediumwave (MW) transmitters. Dynamic carrier control (DCC) is a method of reducing power consumption in radio transmitters during periods of low audio activity or silence. It is a type of Modulation-Dependent Carrier Level control, or MDCL. All modern high-power (>50 kW) shortwave radio transmitters incorporate DCC of some kind, as well as some mediumwave (MW) transmitters. DCC causes the carrier wave level to be automatically reduced when the audio is very weak or no audio is present. During periods of silence (no audio), the carrier power is reduced by 50%, so the 250 kW transmitter is putting out a carrier of 125 kW during audio pauses. This carrier power reduction saves electricity. This amplitude modulation (and vestigial SSB modulation) energy-saving mode was devised in the late 1930s. The system was originally referred to as the Hapsburg Carrier System. DCC was not implemented in transmitter designs until the 1980s, because of some of the complexities of the control circuit. There are two types of Modulation-Dependent Carrier Level (MDCL) control methods: DCC, as discussed above, and Amplitude Modulation Companding (AMC), developed by the BBC. The AMC design achieves the opposite effect of the original DCC system: the carrier is at maximum when no audio is present, and is reduced by up to 75% when the audio is loudest. The system uses the carrier to quieten the channel when no audio is present, while still realizing power savings. Both DCC and AMC have been a staple in European MW broadcasting for many years, and now AMC is now being used by stations in North America.