The AM Forum

Listening on 14286 AM

AC4R

2223   5/22/10

I need to throw up a 20 meter antenna!  I enjoyed working 20 meter AM when the band stays open passed midnight.  I think we are approaching that time of season again.

You probably wont really see consistent 20 meter openings past midnight until the years 2013 through 2015:

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/29may_noaaprediction/

Last summer 20 stayed opened till about 1am here from mid June till passed August!  I'm not talking wide open worldwide but it was open to somewhere in the states which made for some nice quiet QRM free AM QSOs.

Could be because the sun is over the Northern Hemisphere during the summer, the nights are shorter, and the D layer doesn't totally disappear during the shorter hours of darkness.

Could be but it indeed does stay open later and later till the summer solstice and beyond.  I really had some fun on 14.286 there last summer.  I'm going to have to put at least a dipole for 20 this year.  If I can scrape together some money to build a ground plane that might even be better.  With the Henry Amp repair and trying to get a smaller plate modulated rig to drive it, I'm already tapping most of my summer ham money, but dipoles are easy to build.

I attempted a number of AM CQ's last night (between 9:00PM and 11:20PM cdst) on both 20m (14.280) and 40 meters (7.180) and but no takers.

With 75 m so noisy and with almost continuous lightning crashes, we need to make our presence known on 40 and 20.

Phil - AC0OB

Seems lately as long as there is daylight, there is 20M. It has its very good days and so so days like the other bands.
Ole Sol is slightly more active than 6 mos ago.
And AM activity is strictly your luck. I think Jack K9ACT admits to a "calling CQ machine" trying to stir up activity on 20M
Fred

we are on 24.286 now.. Talking to Austin TX on the globe king.   12PM Arizona time

C

12 meters right?  I don't think I have ever even had a qso on that band.  don't think the Matchbox will tune it but maybe it will now that I think about it.

I used to tune around on it but never heard anything so quit trying it.   Should have called CQ.

My problem during the week is between working, the unpredictable wx and QRN, I'm too lazy usually to hook everything up, get it all going, listen to static during a QSO, then have to shut everything down and disconnect all the antennas etc. before I turn in for the night.   it is a lot easier to just hook up a dipole to my CW rig and work someone on 80 or 40 CW and save AM for weekends when I can start everything up on Saturday morning and leave it all on all day.

24.286 is not in the amateur band:
12 Meters (24.89-24.99 MHz)

And, see the ham band chart:

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Hambands_color.pdf

Well.. 75 is full of noise.  I tried 40 but its SSBers and BC stations righ in the AM portion of the band. I went to 20 meters and found a ton of people on SSB. DId not call CQ.  But lots of traffic on 20. 

C

That was a typo.. I meant 14.286.   

C

I had a 3-way AM QSO last night about 9:30PM CDST with a fella in Ga. and San Jose.

Conditions were fair with some QSB.

Yep, that was a typeo.

Phil - AC0OB

 

Beings that 12M was mentioned by Rob, I had very few SSB QSOs on 12M, even as the last cycle was finishing. But that was during my rich dayz of buying Yagis for 12 and 17M.
17M is a little more of an adventure for some reason.
Sorry....a little off-topic

Fred

I will try 12 and more 15.  My vertical tunes on those bands

C

        Now  there's a new one...    Wat's  "QRB"  ?

Maybe it's less dramatic fading than QSB?   8)

I believe QRB is an old radio telegraph abbreviation for What is your distance? / My distance is ____.  ....  but I think he meant QSB.

Before he passed away it may have meant "I'm being QRM'ed by IRB"   ;)