The AM Forum

7100-7200 primary amateur, effective 29 March 09

Same for Ireland recently. Now is the time to start working some Euro AM on 40 meters.

Très Bien

Correct!
By my receiver is lying a piece of paper.
I want to note on which freq. during the morning is clean/free.
Still between 7100 - 7200 many European broadcaststations on air!

So I shall listen mornings to find possible AM freq. to use in Europe!

Greetings,

Henk
PE1MPH
The Netherlands

Hopefully, most of the broadcasters will move by the 29th, but I suspect many will drag their feet.  I doubt that UN forces are going to send in troops or tanks to force a few broadcast stations to QSY.

The world financial crisis will be a convenient excuse for the broadcasters to stay put, pointing to the costs involved in finding new frequencies and re-adjusting equipment and antennas (kind of like the burden US AM'ers claim it would be to QSY from 3880-3885 to frequencies below 3750).

At least, in Europe, you will be allowed to operate on 7125-7200, so that two-way phone contacts with the US will be possible without having to waste spectrum space by operating split frequency. But don't be surprised if this still means finding holes in the broadcast QRM.

Maybe we'll be able to find some common frequencies that are relatively QRM-free on both sides of the pond for transatlantic AM.  40m is optimum for transatlantic propagation during the prime evening hours in the US, which coincides with pre-dawn and early morning operation in Europe.  This is especially true after about 0530 GMT when most US slopbucketeers are about to go to bed, while early risers in Europe are already up, for making a few QSO's before leaving for work or having a leisurely breakfast.

A great pity that the US phone band expansion didn't extend down to 7075.

But in any case, we will have no transatlantic AM QSO's on 40m unless someone transmits on AM there.

Already possible. Contacted dozens of European stations over the weekend. There seemed to be quite a few holes in the BC noise. We can hope it will only get better.

Some countries, UK and Italy for sure, and I believe Spain, have had 7100-7200 privileges for about a year now.  I have heard them strap between SWBC stations during the wee hours, often calling CQDX with no N. American replies.

After calling CQ over and over and getting no AM replies, I took at quick band scan between 7.125 and 7200 kHz. At 8 PM EDT (2400 Z) I got the following


Freq (kHz)     BC Station     Signal Strength

7125               Y              5/9+20
7130               Y             Very Weak
7135               N                 
7140               Y             Very Weak
7145               N
7150               N
7155               N
7160               N
7165               Y             Very Weak
7170               N
7175               N
7180               Y             Very Weak
7185               Y             Very Weak
7190               N
7195               Y             Very Weak
7200               Y              5/9+10


By very weak, I mean, I could only tell there was a carrier there with the BFO on. You could easily have an AM QSO on these frequencies.

It'll be great to have more stations across the pond to work and hopefully some additional AM activity from that side of the globe as well.

Nice chart, Steve. That's basically what I've witnessed in that end of the band too, including the absence of any AM activity and oftentimes - SSB also. I'm guessing most 40m activity takes place online now. ;)

I just got back from vacationing across the pond and I can tell you that those stations are very strong in Europe and they are there a good part of the day.  I did make several contacts back to the US in that frequency range but it was all on sideband because there was usually so little room to operate without getting swamped by the BC stations.  I made most of my contacts between 7.050 and 7.100 (sideband).

Hopefully all or most of the BC stations will all disappear from 7100-7200 as scheduled.



Sam / KS2AM

Sorry to hear that. Damn BC stations!

So I guess you were working some USA bootleggers below 7100. The CONUS USA fone allocation ends at 7125.  ;)

The contacts below 7100 were all legal.  On this trip: Europeans, Russians, Aruba, Australia, Antarctica (FT5YJ).

Nice DX action! The propagation appears to be there. If we can find a clear spot, there is hope for intercontinental AM contacts.

Well, Canadians can go all the way down to 7000 if they wish.  The phone band expansion should have at least given us down to 7075.  They got it right on 80m, but why not 40?

Damned subbands.

My list, I listen between 05.25 - 05.55 mornings Londen GMT time:
 
Freq (kHz)     BC Station     Signal Strength

7125               Y              S9 +20!!!, very strong
7130                           
7135               Y              S1, very weak           
7140               Y              S1, Very Weak S1
7145               
7150               Y              S9 +10, strong
7155               
7160               
7165               Y             S1, very weak
7170               Y             S9, strong
7175               Y             S2, weak, fair
7180               Y             S1, fair, many fading
7185             
7190               
7195               
7200               Y              S3, but some times off air????

Thats all.
I know some Russian stations are sometimes off air.....
And can be next day on air!

Good DX,

PE1MPH

Do you think any of the above frequencies would be free enough from sideband splatter from adjacent broadcasters to be usable for AM contact?  Usually, when I hear only one unoccupied 5 kHz channel between adjacent broadcasters on both sides, it is totally obliterated.

Just out of curiousity, has anyone heard the beautiful music from 7125?? "Radio something or other"
Definitely need the big speaker hooked up for this one!!!!! The wavefrom is something to see on the 'Scope

fred

Maybe 7160 and 7185-7195 I think.
But, Russian stations are comming & going.....
I mean not all freq. are at the same time free/clean!!!
The best way, to 'monitor' some time this (above) freq. to be sure....

Greetings,

Henk
PE1MPH
Dokkum
The Netherlands

7160 would be a good one if it would work; that is a longstanding US AM operating frequency.

I also hear a big blank spot in the region of 7185-95.

Don - K4KYV and I are on 7160 kHz right now. Have been there for about 15 minutes. Excellent conditions.

Band abruptly went long about 0030 GMT.  I could still hear the carrier and some modulation, but the signal was unreadable.  Dropped from full strap to barely perceptible in about 5 seconds, and signal strength never came back up.

It went quick. Seemed to come back later as I was hearing midwest stations quite well.

I've tried calling CQ on 7190KC (AM, of course) but usually eun into a broadcaster either ight on or near that frequency. Perhaps after 3/29 we won't have this problem anyome in the 7100 to 7200KC segment.

It also seems that ssb DX is pretty hot around 7185-7200 in the early hours of the evening, and periods where no foreign broadcasters are heard. It would be great to establish some sort of AM "Garrison" on 7190KC!

Just my two cents worth..........

Joe Cro N3IBX

Hello Joe!
Evenings after 22.00 GMT is only 7145 khz. free by me on 40 mtrs.
Mornings 7160, 7145 and 7180 to 7200 khz. free.

But next days I 'monitor' between 7125 - 7200 for possible AM qso freq.

Good DX,

PE1MPH
The Netherlands

I would start using 7190 day and night.   7290 is still going to get wiped out in the afternoon.

Henk,
      Good hearing from you OM! I have to do some minor work to one of my my transmitters before I can run hi-power on 40M AM, and will let you know when I'll be on calling CQ. In the meanwhile, I'll listen for you on the frequencies you specified.

Hope to talk to you on 40M. It would be great!

Mod-U-Later,
                 Joe Cro N3IBX

I have worked Europe two nights in a row in the vicinity of 7160, between 0530 and 0730 GMT.  The first night was with an Italian station.  He was running only 10 watts SSB using a homebrew transceiver.  Last night, I worked Jean, OR4U in Antwerp, Belgium.  We signed out about 0730 GMT.  I was running AM, of course, while Jean switched between AM and SSB.  He was perfectly readable with both modes.  He expressed interest in more of the same at later dates, and I filled him in on the European AM activity on 75m.

I was using the 8005/805 rig running estimated 300w carrier output using 80m dipole @ 110', broadside to Europe, fed with open wire tuned feeders.  Apparently it is possible to have good quality two-way AM contact with Europe using modest power, late in the evening to early morning, when most US hams are in the process of calling it a night, while European early risers are getting in some  radio time before going to work or otherwise starting their day.

Jean mentioned that European amateurs are facing a new problem with "little" broadcasters as the "big" ones move out of the segment. (Relatively) low power broadcasters beaming to Europe from Asia seem to be moving in onto the vacated channels to fill the vacuum left when the high powered ones relocate per the WARC agreement. Apparently, they are taking advantage of the situation with the knowledge that no-one can force them off.  Jean said they do not generate quite the QRM level of the multi-hundred kilowatt major broadcasters, but they are still running 10-20 times the power amateurs are allowed to use, and are causing major QRM.

I called CQ last nite on 7190  for  45 min. Nothing heard. Frequency was clear.. I noticed some
" I can't get my dxcc/was by myself, so i'll get on a  list" net lower in freq.  Man thats as annoying as
as the 7290 No traffic net....
Will try 7190 tonite if its quiet..
Frank
K3SQP

I listened about 2330 GMT last evening, and there was a wide swath of spectrum, broadcast-free, in the vicinity of 7190 and elsewhere, along with several rather strapping broadcast signals.  Evidently condx were good to Europe and plenty of DX slopbucket activity was to be heard.

Problem was, it being the time right at the prime evening hour when people in N. America have returned home from work and want to play radio, while in Europe it's not quite bedtime for many, it was utter bedlam, full of pile-ups, worse than a slopbucket DX QRMtest.  Condx to Europe may be excellent at that time of day, but I suspect it will be a very poor time to try to establish rag-chew type of transatlantic AM contacts.

I tried again later, at about 0800 GMT.  There was very little heard but the white atmospheric background noise and a few broadcasters.  I heard one or two US slopbucket signals, but they were very weak and fluttery, like there may have just been a solar event.  I ran the automated CQ several times, but all I could get was a pissweak US slopbucket that I couldn't even copy.  No Europeans, AM or SSB.

But I think transatlantic AM may be easier near midnight our time / early morning European time, than at early evening our time / near midnight European time.

I can just imagine how US slopbuckets would pile all over the top of a weak European signal making a long transmission on AM at 6:30 in the evening.

I hope that English-speaking South African religious station vacates 7160 by  the 29th.  They strap into  here until s/off at 0600 GMT,  apparently transmitting to English speakers all over Africa, and that puts us right in line with their path to the west African coast.

Lots of big sigs out of EU near their sunrise. But that makes it 0100 or 0200 local for those of us on the east coast of the USA. This will be less of a problem on weekends - at least for some of us.   ;D

I've noticed that 7190 is fairly quite, I've called CQ on there tonight around 7 pm. The 7100-7200 seems to already be fairly quite here already.
Shelby KB3OUK

Late yesterday afternoon, Mike(y), W3SLK and I attempted to get on 7190KC for a ragchew session, and in hopes of attracting other AM ops. Unfortunately, the path between us on 40M wasn't at a optimum and we couldn't copy each other, so we decided to take up residence on 80M, outside of the AM window.

Getting back to 40M, there was a large group on 7188, "County Hunters" or something like that exchanging signal reports, and yet another group on 7193. Establishing a "Garrison" of AM Ops on 7190 may be easier said than done. The band conditions on 40M were lousy (also evident by PW CHU signal) and in spite of it there was quite a flurry of activity by slopbucketdom. The band segment from 7175 to 7200 can be very congested with all sorts of activity and special interest slopbucket groups and nets.

All we can do is to give it a try on 7190. It only takes one "Tall Ship" to call CQ and try to maintain the frequency. Two tall ships are better, three, better yet, I digress.......

I'd say that we're not going to hold the frequency with our DX-60's, unless they're connected to a rather large and strapping leenyar!

We had a nice group on 7160 from about 6-8 PM Friday.

Hello Joe and other AM Lovers!

This morning around 06.00 I received weak AM on 3885.
To weak to copy names or calls.
On 3705 many SSB, so not possible to receive AM!
On 3550 weak AM from France.
 
Around 07.00 GMT I heard many SSB between 7130 - 7160 khz.
At that time no BC stations between above freq.....
I am 100% sure I heard USA in SSB, but they talking for me to fast to copy calls/names. Many DX between these freq.!
Evenso stations from Italian, Spain, Germany and England calling.
 
So maybe for (strong) USA I need to listen earlier...

This can be very handy:
http://www.dejuistetijd.nl


Thats all,

Henk
PE1MPH
The Netherlands
 

Yes, that was a lot of fun Steve... even a bit later 40 meters was very promising.

W3TIM and I had an awesome hour long qso on 7.190 between 4:00 and 5:00 GMT this morning.  (Well yesternight for me from 11pm to midnight central daylight.)  After a few minutes the nearby sideband stations finished up and we were Free and Clear and it was amazing!.  I was thinking someothers would join but I did get an email from a listener praising the audio he heard and encouraging us.   8)   ;D    :D   ;)

KX5JT

I wonder if they didn't change something when they moved CHU from 7335 to 7850, because I can barely hear them anymore, and they used to come in strong all the time on their old frequency.
Shelby KB3OUK

I heard you guys. Tim is only about 90 miles from me, but I could still hear him, barely.

Both Don-K4KYV and I called CQ on 7160 from around 0600Z to 0620Z. No answers.

I would have gotten on 40, I was tuned up and ready to go on 7190, if I was home this afternoon. Was outside helping to clean up a fallen apple tree from a few weeks ago and took almost two to three hours to do that, couldn't get the tractor (a 1950s Farmall Super C) to start, then kept stalling it and had to push start the thing cause the starter quit working (we think the switch is shot) adnc ouldn't shut it down cause we didn't want to keep pushing it to start it. And I haven't got on since cause a broadcaster was on 7190 when I last checked.
Shelby KB3OUK

Radio Ethiopia usually comes in well on 7110 until they fade out after 0700 GMT. By then the sun is getting pretty high in the sky in Ethiopia.  But I hope that South African religious station moves off 7160.  They completely wipe out the frequency here until they close down at 0600.

Also, hope these are not typical of the "little" stations Jean was talking about, that are rushing in to fill the vacuum when  bigger ones like Moscow and Deutsche-Welle QSY.

Around 02.30 GMT I were listening on 40 mtrs.
On 7150 - 7165  (and more freq.) I heard Chinese? stations.
It 'sounding' as Chinese..... I could not understand...
Weak to fair signals...

At 06.00 GMT:
7150 BC station closing

NOW at 06.35 I heard Steve WB3HUZ on 7160.

Later +/- 07.05 GMT I heard Steve talking with Ken W2DTC.
But after 07.15 I receive nearly nothing anymore on 40 mtrs...
Conditions are over at that time???


Greetings,

PE1MPH