The AM Forum

I know AMers have too much sense to participate in contests but see what one looks like anyway

ARRL Contester
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bASrVjhqoBM

Not really true. We just called them something else. AM'ers participate in the Heavy Metal Rally, AWA Amplitude Modulation QSO Party, AM Transmitter Rally, Classic Exchange

There are probably many closet contesters within the AM ranks. Contesting is fun, competitive, challenging, and makes you feel alive. Far more enjoyable then sitting through a 10 person roundtable unless you like pain, boredom, or relish catnaps in front of your rig between transmissions.

Interesting that this topic generated only one reply, more or less neutral on the topic.  An identical thread on QRZ.com generated an avalanche of flames.

Teaching children makes me feel alive.
If contesting makes you feel alive, are you alive?

I find the idea of a co-ordinated effort to over run complete bands for weekends at a time that render them almost useless to anyone else rather rude.

On the other hand, contesting is about as useful as general ragchewing, which is to say both serve no purpose whatsoever except to the enjoyment of the person doing it. I highly doubt the military will be needing our radios and message relaying skills anytime soon.

For these reasons contesting doesnt really get me riled up so much. When I tune across the bands expecting to hear about Joe Blows triple bypass and chemo treatments and only hear "your 5/9 good luck in the contest", I just shake my head and shut everything back down for the weekend.

In case you haven't noticed, this isn't QRZ. Most of us don't care what happens on QRZ. If we did, we could read it there.

That statement could be rephrased, "In case you haven't noticed, this isn't slopbucket. Most of us don't care what happens with SSB. If we did, we could operate that mode."

But nevertheless, there seems to be considerable content on the topic of SSB in messages posted on these forums. I would place discussion of what is seen on QRZ.com and discussion of SSB (and that includes "vintage SSB"), in pretty much the same off-topic category. Perhaps we would be better of without either one... But maybe not.

It is sometimes informative, if not amusing or even hilarious, to take a peek at the other side.

QRZ.com and SSB share one thing in common: they are looked upon by most of the ham community as "mainstream" amateur radio. We are not.

Remember, by definition the "average" IQ is 100.

We are in agreement. The video is out of place here. What this point has to do with QRZ is beyond me.

I don't think the video is any more off-topic here than discussing so-called vintage SSB when the subject involves the cheap circa 1963 "sideband for the masses" radios (Swans, Galaxies or Heapshit "Hotwater" rigs and their ilk), or anything the the 30 years or so that followed.  To me, "vintage SSB" means something homebrewed from the era before the appliances became affordable to most hams. The ultimate "vintage SSB" station would be to build a replica of the 75m exciter described in the 1934 R/9 magazine article.

"Vintage SSB" has to be the worst of all possible worlds. In the "vintage" era, mainstream thought was that audio quality was unimportant, even something to be disdained. Most commercially manufactured rigs were deliberately built for the space shuttle sound. OTOH, a lot of the contemporary stuff that I hear on the air, when a good microphone is used and everything is adjusted properly, can be made to sound almost as good as conventional DSB AM w/ carrier, when precisely tuned in using a good product detector. This includes many but not all of the signals from ESSB crowd.

Yes, SSB is a form of AM. And yes, I do sometimes monitor SSB QSOs.  But "AM", as defined by the name of this BB, is an abbreviation understood by most users to mean double sideband AM with carrier.

Regarding QRZ.com, I find the difference in responses to the video there and from this forum to be an interesting commentary on the communities that follow the two forums. A minor piece of trivia.

Hmmm... Yaz's "Excellent Adventure" is right on topic, no?     ;D


http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=21375.msg152014;topicseen#msg152014

Hey Tom,  I love that sail kayak rig!  I have been thinking of building something similar, only using a canoe.  The outriggers look cool.  I wonder where you got the hardware to make the right angle connectors on the ends?  Is that dock hardware or what?  Also what are those tapered ends on the PVC that look like funnels on the end of the outriggers.  I was also thinking about adding a little put-put outboard on the back with some sort of a home brew transom.  Then just add the marine-mobile rig and I'm all set.   ;D

73,  Jack, W9GT

Hi Jack... ;D

Yep, sure is fun. I did up a canoe too, but can't seem to find the pictures. The canoe can take a much larger sail because you can bolt a frame to the gunwales, and is better when the water gets cooler in the fall. Kayaking is a water sport and we always get pretty wet, in contrast.

The outrigger infrastructure is aluminum walkway rail 2" fittings. I always bolt them together for extra strength.  The torpedos have plastic gas funnels on the ends.  


Here's an earlier rig I had on the kayak which I later transferred to the canoe. Bigger sail = faster ride.

We Tried an AM contest last year. Some of us spent 16 hours straight working 3 bands in honor of a good Friend and Silent Key using HIS transmitter.  The contest was a failure since after many of us sent in logs, They where never scored.  Just tossed in the trash I have to guess.

So I agree, Its a total waste of time.

C

All the more reason just to get on for the fun, not the points. Sorta like buying old radio equipment to use and enjoy rather than for investment potential.


Still a form of AM, regardless of how anemic. To me, 'slopbucket' is more of an operating style, and there seems to be plenty of it heard on AM in the ghetto at times. This style involves some perceived ownership of specific frequencies from previous use, listening to what those using the other mode are saying about you, then bitching about it while trying to annoy and jam them. The SSB slopbuckets must love the power they've gained over the AMers by bringing them down to the slopbucket level. Fortunately, slopbucket behavior is more the exception than the rule in both modes.

Getting drunk is optional, but it certainly adds to the entertainment value.  ;D

One could also ask the point of posting about sailing/canoeing in this thread. This isn't sailnet.com.  :D

At least it's showing an activity by a member of this Forum.

Come on Pete. Show us some pix of your contest activity!

    Bruce, I really pay little attention to these videos and while I am a former
    contester (Frankford Radio Club) I agree this video is QRZ fodder not worthy
    of AMFone exposure.(My opinion!)

    As for the interviewer, it has to be the guy behind the camera K1OIK. I actually
    took a peek at the video and your right on the lisp.  It's sorta scuttle but it's
    there  :D :D :D

     Pete, as for the sailing stuff initiated by Tom, K1JJ, most anything he does
     is spectacular in its own way and much more interesting than that particular
     video clip. 

     Just my inflated $0.02 worth  ;) ;) ;)

I agree, but that wasn't the point of my post.
---------------
Changing gears:

And, not everything one posts about a particular topic will be of an interest to all members in the forum. In this case, a forum member posted his video with a contester. We have members here who participate in contests. Whether the video is QRZ-like or QRZ fodder (whatever both of those phrases really mean) is totally irrelevant. If someone is not interested in contesting, don't review the video and just move on to another thread.