Free Discussion
| AM | FM |
|---|---|
| AM stands for Amplitude Modulation | FM stands for Frequency Modulation |
| In AM, a radio wave known as the "carrier" or "carrier wave" is modulated in amplitude by the signal that is to be transmitted | In FM, a radio wave known as the "carrier" or "carrier wave" is modulated in frequency by the signal that is to be transmitted. |
| The frequency and phase remain the same. | The amplitude and phase remain the same. |
| AM has poorer sound quality compared with FM, but is cheaper and can be transmitted over long distances. It has a lower bandwidth so it can have more stations available in any frequency range. | FM is less prone to interference than AM. However, FM signals are impacted by physical barriers. FM has better sound quality due to higher bandwidth. |
| AM is more susceptible to noise because noise affects amplitude, which is where information is "stored" in an AM signal. | FM is less susceptible to noise because information in an FM signal is transmitted through varying the frequency, and not the amplitude. |
| Transmitter and receiver are simple | Tranmiter and receiver are more complex |
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