The AM Forum

Where is everyone?? ???

10 has been opening up nice lately yet I have made only a dozen or so AM contacts in the last few days.  The beacons and the ducks are really quacking down band but 29 to 29.1 is fairly quiet.

Hope to qso some of you guys...it is my only chance to work you folks in the east.  ;)

Chris

I made a nice QSO today in the little time I had in the shack.  S8 signals from California to my QTH in Louisiana.  20 watts carrier. 29.000

I heard W6WRE testing on 29.010 and called him with 20 watts using an ancient vertical sitting on a 15 foot pole. He heard me, but not well enough for a QSO as the band was not quite there yet. I have a very broad receiver sitting on 29.0 when I'm in the station during the day. Lots of carriers come and go but I rarely hear anyone actually making a call. 

29 kHz?

Dang.  I switched the mono-band hex beam to 10 meters today. It's all tuned up at 28.300 which in some ancient time was a popular AM frequency.  The SWR at 29 is a zillion to one.

Is that really where every one is, 29 kHz?  If so, I have work to do.

Jon

If you ever get that 29Khz working you might just have all the dogs where for 10 miles howling!  8)

Jon, there's been an ongoing discussion on the AM email list about 10 meter frequencies, but if  yo really want to work some AM on 10, I suggest retuning your beam for 29Mhz OM!  That's where you'll find us!

Jon,

If you want to get on 10M, you'll do better if you tune to 29Mhz.  You won't hear much on 29KHz.  Just thought I would give you a heads-up on it.

Keep us posted as you make further progress.

Fred

What's a factor of 1000 among friends?

Anyway you jokers are hanging out way up there at 29 MEGA hurts not down at 28.3.  Do any of you remember 28.3 as a preferred AM frequency a sunspot cycle or two ago.  That's what I remember and that's what my antenna remembers.

10 meters was open until after 9:00 PM here last night.  I worked several stations on 29.000 MHz or (there-abouts) on AM, including KB6BKN, W7ACM, W7DFO, AA6DD, KD6SW, and WA5TVO/6.  Super conditions and great fun!

73, Jack, W9GT

Hmm... maybe it's finally time to convert one of my junkbox CB's to 10 meters. I've got a clean Lafayette "Telsat SSB-75" which is also capable of that other mode.  ;D

Will I be able to make any contacts with a dipole and a PW, or will I need a 10m leen-yar too...

W8VYZ used to operate on 28305.
I'm beginning to think it would be a good idea to operate AM just below 28.6MC.

Great QSO today with Dennis, W7QHO from Glendale, CA.  I only had about 30 minutes to play but we stretched it into a 45 minutes... S9 and steady... 10 is waking up people! :)

I couldn't agree more. I have yet to hear any activity above 28.500 here in the midwest.

I think 28.385 would be a good frequency!

Phil - AC0OB

Yeah Phil, 28385 might be a good place. There is a ton of activity in that part of the band. At least some of the activity is from the Tech licensees who are stuck in that part of the band on USB. But they can receive AM legally, and maybe hear AM for the first time. Some folks might hear an AM signal in that portion and just think that it was one of the out of band CB'ers with an illegal radio. Could be fun. .........Larry

You're killing me.  I heard nothing on the high end of band meanwhile you're talking with Dennis for 45 minutes?  I bet he was using a green radio.

Time to figure out what is going on at my place.  I did talk to T32C (Christmas Island) yesterday but I'm hearing zip, zilch, nada AM.

No. It was very energy inefficient.

Yes and I followed his drifty Elmac up into another QSO!  We started around 29.050 and ended up passed 29.013 before I suggested he follow me back down! lol...  so yeah had I had more time to spend on the radio, I could kept going with Dennis or spun the dial and made more contacts.. it was really opened up.

No, he wasn't on military gear this time it was an Elmac AF-... 67 or 68

Yes

Is there anybody OUT there?  



California, Washington State... and Maine (Timmy was booming in)

I should wake up early every weekend off! :)

Coast to coast the past few days with 100W into just the DE of my busted yagi at 100'. First time Ive made Q's with either HT-9 on 10M. Using a HT-18 for the VFO and NC-183D.

Carl

It is Monday and things will be a little slower, but I will be out in the shack off and on today calling CQ on 29.0.  Pouring rain right now here in the soggy pacific NW...good day to hunker down and play radio.

The left coast pounds into C NY in the afternoons... at least it do the last few days.....  I'm going to work some SSB untill I hear AM.... 

klc

i use to test on 28.500 it was with wa3js Joel old call was N3EYR!

Just had my first international AM contact on 10 meters.  VK4VN Steve made it through all the non-sense that was going on 29.000....  I really wish people could figure out they need to move off of a "calling frequency" to have a ragchew.  Yeah I know it's not in the rules and it's gentlemen agreement and all that but it really makes for smoother operating.

I worked k7ewe Jim today 29.020

Shoot!  didn't get a chance to get out in the shack yesterday after all.  I will try again today.

Nobody agreed to move off 29000. Someone decided to call that spot a calling frequency and it has created confusion.

We can't even get a standard definition of calling frequency among AM people on this b-board who actually operate radios.

Been doing it this way for a lot of years.

Well it would be really handy to have a "calling frequency" there. 

JL1JXQ posted that 28.305 is the AM calling frequency for Japan. 

thought there where all slopbuckets cause most there radio only tx ssb mostly but there getting better at it!

What?

I see there is no JA AM below 15 meters.  WHY?  ???  Glad I don't live in JA land.  That really sucks.

...way too many on 29.600...guys in europe, south america, north america....need spread out, and call cq...

..sk..

Pete that was some interesting info on JA AMing..hard to believe they chose 28.305 for a calling freq..that always was a stomping ground for "illegal" ops mainly fisherman and the like in and around the Gulf of Mexico..wonder if they figured there must be lotsa AM activity heard there soooo why not..??..I'll have to look back thru the logs and see if I've ever worked JA around 29mhz..I know I've worked them on FM up a bit..say 29.350 or so............so far as 15mtrs go never heard a one on AM..not yet anyway

           Big day today on both bands for AMing..agn tnx for the info Pete         73 de DAVE

Phone operation is allowed there on all the lower bands so no clue as to why they don't show any AM activity there.

In poking around the Internet (and my Japanese is almost non-existent) , I get the impression that 28.305 seems to be only the in-country calling/chat AM frequency. They show the "DX" U. S. and European AM hangouts, so I suspect if they want to work us, or the rest of the AM world,  they just have to turn the VFO knob. The lower end of 10 meters has always been plagued by SSB and AM free-banders.