The AM Forum

I actually worked someone on 10 am ( 29mcs) today about noon. I got so excited that I lost his call.
He was a  w5   near Baton Rouge LA....Quite a bit of slopbucket activity also...
Keep  listening and call some CQs...
Frank
K3 San Quentin Prison

Funny you should mention that, Frank. I was talking with N1FCU on 3885 yesterday afternoon and he told me 10 was open, and there had been traffic on his 10m repeater most of the afternoon.

After I cleared with him, I wandered up to 10, and sure enough, there was sideband activity just above 28.500, and some more around 28.400.

Skimmed around 29.0 to 29.1 but didn't hear anything, and it was hot in the shack, so I didn't bother walking out to the tuner to switch coils and tune up.

But if you're hearing 10m activity today as well, maybe we should make it a point to listen around 29 megacycles when we're in the shack. Two solid afternoons in a row seems like more than a sporadic-E opening to me. I know I really miss 10M AM, and I've never had the chance to fire this Ranger up on 10, so I'm looking forward to it!

--Thom
Killer Aircraft One Zeppelin Goes Crash

Just now I was hearing lots of activity on 29.6 FM and on 50.4 AM I hear KA4EJ? talking with Pete W1VZR.  I can't hear Peter though.

Just flipped on the portable here in the home office and hear a number of SSB stations on 10 M. Don't hear any AM activity. Also hear some SSB activity on 6 M with the portable, but only using a short indoor antenna, so signals are very weak.

Well, I guess I'll have to do some 6m & 10m AM operating after work.  I'll concentrate on 6m (around 50.400 MHz), going to 10m if 6 gets slow.  I will do 10m if any of you want to try it.  I'm out of here in a half hour or so.  I hope condx. are good, and I can QSO with some of you.

73
Ellen - AF9J
Grid EN52xx

I have listened around on 10 but nothing today.  I check the beacons on 28.2 but nothing there either.  From time to time the band is active up to about 28.8 but the proagation just isn't there above 29.0.  Maybe be need a secondary AM calling frequency lower in the band for periods of time when the entire band isn't open.  Is there an AM calling frequency on the 24 MHz band?  I was looking at my DX-100 and the old "11 Meter" band position on it.  I am thinking about changing the VFO frequency to allow operation on the 12 meter band using the 11 meter position.  That position used a different VFO operating frequency and the circuits could easily be adapted to operate on the 12 meter band.  I think a lot of the older Johnson stuff also had an 11 meter position.
Larry W7IXZ

I just worked Ed W4EW, Commerce Georgia on 29010 AM.  Ed was using a Gonset G-28 and 3-element home-brew Yagi.  I am using a Viking II, trap vertical, and a Drake R-7 receiver.

WA3KLR, 40 miles north of Philadelphia, listening on 29010  _._  4:27 p.m. EDT

6 is open now.  I'm listening to KE4EG (Jacksonville, FL).  10-20 over S9 on a wire loop antenna here in NJ.  Unfortunately I'm at work and only able to listen via my remote receiver.   :(

Tom,

Go to 6 if you have the capability.  Your skip is under 400 miles on 10m, which is a good indicator that 6 may be open for Es for you.  I'm outta here.  I'll have the rig fired up within the hour, when I get home.

Ellen - AF9J

Thanks for the tips. This is the time of the year for these openings 'till June.
G'day
Fred

Heard on 50.400 AM in New Jersey today...

KE4EG, N4WQB, K4MF, KM4CU all in Florida.

KC5QKG, Arkansas.

KF4MND, Georgia.

Nothing's happening on 6.  I called CQ on 50.400 for about 5 or 10 minutes.  I finally moved down to 10.  I'm hearing signals on SSB from W4 & W5-land.  I called CQ-AM for about 10minutes on 29.010.  Nothing heard.  I have to get washed up and eat supper.  I'll try again later on.

Ellen - AF9J

Not sure what you mean Fred. The late Spring/ Summer E season normally starts around this time and generally extends to late August or September. Normally in June or July, working Europe on 6 meters on E skip is easy to do especially for the eastern half of the country. If the 6 meter band opens up during the June VHF contest, which it usually does, the activity is like listening to Field Day on the HF bands.

Worked KM4CU on 50.4 about an hour or so ago with 10 watts on the old SR-34, 10 is still hopping, but heard no AM. Some FM up in the high end..........Larry

Sounds like there's some buckets, and some fm'ers on there now. It's 9pm EST and I'm spinning around from 28.4 up to around 29.3. Some 4 landers, etc, and some locals.

It's nice to hear 10 get used once and a while.

OK,

6 is still toast here, but 10 seems to have opened up again.  I'll call on 28.900.

Ellen - AF9J

10m got bubbly into NC from here (Sorycuse)....  still is   klc

I'm hearing a few on SSB around 28.450, but when I called on 28.915, on AM for 10 plus minutes, no takers.  6 is still dead.

Ellen - AF9J

Ashtabula Bill calling CQ on 7290 at 0235 Z

and he's on 7290 (40 over) with me right now if anyone is interested ...

KS2AM you're in the noise, no copy here. I am recording -- get him to say slopbuckets cannot bother him.

Well jump in and say hi to him because I have to jump out soon.  (what happened to the shout out box on this board?)

SRI, not rigged up fer 40M right now. Gud copy on him tho.


mp3....

Heard a KH6 mobile on slopbucket..... around 1030P local  (0230).  lots of slop, no AM    klc

Boy, was it frustrating last night.  I heard nothing on 6.  I heard the "other" mode on 10, but no AM.  I called around 28.900 and 29.000 on AM, and had no takers.

I heard Ashtabula Bill, W8VYZ on 7290.  He had beautiful 20 over 9 signal, but he only briefly heard me calling him with the ricebox (the Cheyenne still isn't up and running).  I took a nosedive down into the noise (signal strengths were good, but the QRM was high - I've encountered this situation on 160, but usually not on 40), and we never were able to connect.  I listened to his roundtable with Sam, KS2AM, and a KB9 station whose name and call I can't remember.  Bill mentioned that he seemed to be having problems with his transmitter.  On keyup, with no modulation, the plate current would peg the meter.  But when he started talking, it would settle back down to normal.

Ellen - AF9J

Still heard here in NJ  some 10 M SSB activity around 1 AM this morning, 5/10. Signals weren't as strong as earlier, but there was still a number of QSO's going on. Around the same time, 6M was showing lots of signs of scatter with signals bursting in and out of the noise.

On another reflector, Gary, N3JPU, reported working these guys on 6 yesterday.
Several countries worked here from FM19 today
YV4
PR8
9Z4
PJ4
TI8
8R1
HP3

10's still open to 4-land and 5-land from here in 9-land. I just worked a station on SSB.  I used my Kenwood TS-820 for the QSO.  I figured the 6146Ws needed workout. Gonna have to replace the 12BY7A driver though.  I get about 135W on 160-20 with the rig, but I was only getting 70W or so on 10.  That's usually a sign the driver is going (I replaced the finals last year).  I'm gonna try a little AM around 28.800 for the next 10 minutes or so. 

Ellen - AF9J

Looks like 10 is moving right along. Made a bunch of 4 and 5 land slopbucket contacts on a 100w ricebox, not too bad. Had the junkston 500 idling, but didn't hear any AM at all. Better luck next time i guess.

edit: hey, this is post number 300, did I win anything?

Ashtabula Bill on 7290 0200 Z

10 m wide open to... GA, IN, NC,Fl w/ slop.........  Who is on 29.008??? klc

Hearing any Midwest?   10 just opened up here. I'll be calling CQ around 29.010 on AM.

Ellen - AF9J

11M jammed with hetrodynes so 10M must be open here. Listening 29.010....

?? 4ogo  in GA  29.010

I just had an AM QSO with Mark, K3MSB about 10 minutes ago on 29.010.  Both of us were using the riceboxes (him the IC-746, me the FT-897D).  The path was unstable, with some fast QSB that cause both of us to go from S9 to nothing several times.  I finally lost him about 10 minutes ago.  Mark is thinking of setting the DX-100 on 10, now that it's showing some propogation.  I've gotta work on the Cheyenne tomorrrow.  10 is still open (I'm hearing SSB sigs  down below 28.450).  It looks like KC, KB2WIG is on 29.010, so I'm going to 29.020, to minimize QRM.  Thanks for answering my call, Mark.  :)

Ellen - AF9J
On 10m AM at the moment

... go for 29.010  I cant hear notin above 29.000.....  slop section still bublin.....   klc

10s still open.  But it's spotty and unstable.  Signals are fluctuating.  I'm hearing a repeater on 29.620 ( l listened to a 2-lander using it).  SSB is still coming in.  I have a noise source on 29.020.  I'll be calling right on 29.000, it's quieter for me there.

Ellen - AF9J

11M open, no AM hrd on 10M, but 40M propagation building daily. Ashtabula Bill on 7290 starting at 0130 Z.

Hi,
Every Sunday at 2000 Hours Zulu myself and a few friends, locally here south of Boston,
get on 29.039 Mhz AM for a rag chew. It would be interesting if some of you could work us.
We will be listening hard!
Regards
Q
W1QWT
 

I tried to get on 10M yesterday afternoon but my aerial just seems to have too much reactance. I put the ricebox on with the auto tuna, just to see if I could hear any activity, and nothing. I went down to 15M with the same results. 20M was sparsely active. The last time I got on 10M AM (and this will be turning the clock back) I had an endearing (and loooong) QSO with Ozona Bob. He gave me a dissertation on receivers, specifically the HQ-100 I was using at the time.;)

Hi Mark. 

Yeah, that was starting to turn into a nice long QSO, when 10 went south on us.  Bummer!   Both 10 and 6 have been toast since yesterday.  20 even sounds dead.  I briefly heard a weak one on 10 SSB in the morning yesterday, and that's been it.  I even tried the 6m Sprint last night - all I heard and worked, were a couple of weak locals.  I just checked the NOAA radar map - the weather's quiet all across the US. There are thunderstorms, but none of them are severe (the severe ones, are the ones that send sprites shooting up to the E-layer, which they think are one of, if not the major cause of Sporadic E).  The solar flux numbers are very low again, hence the reason why 20 is sounding like 10.  Oh well,  I think I'll work on the Cheyenne.

73,
Ellen - AF9J

Yeh I had to curtail my HAM activities also because of Mothers Day and also my wife and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary.

But we get on 29.039 every Sunday at 2000 hrs zulu so if you remember listen for us as
we would love to work someone outside the local area.

Best Regards
Q
W1QWT

It would be nice to see the space Wx on the main page like it used to be.
Fred