The AM Forum

It's been a while, since I've contemplated doing 40m AM.  Why? Well, my antenna peformance on 40 was so awful, that even when not running QRP, people had a hard time hearing me.  This was bad enough on CW, but it was far worse in the phone portion of the band.  Well, by a lucky accident on New Year's day (I decided out of desperation, due to mediocre condx. on 10 & 20m, to give 40 a try - AGAIN!, and ended up being in a bit of a hurry, when I loaded up my differential t-match), I ended up using different settings than I normally used (I was surprised that the thing [like a dual variable capacitor t-match] had more than one SWR null - it only has one differential capacitor).  Be still my beating heart!  People could hear me for a change on 40, and hear me well to boot!  My old t-match setting must have been mucho lossy!

Sooooo, having new tuner settings, I now I have a hankering for some 40m AM.   I know about the 7290 AM window, but half the time, it seems to be a pain to operate there, due to the "no traffic netters", and BCI.  So, I'd like stay below 7200.  I know that after the 40m phone sub-band expansion, some AM was happening around 7160.  Is this the case anymore, or has AM become slim pickings below 7200?

Thanks for any info,
Ellen - AF9J   

Unfortunately, it didn't take but a few weeks for the novelty of 7160 to wear off, and now there is rarely ever any AM activity heard down there, at least during the evening hours.  Kinda like 75m below 3700.

Awwwww, bummer!  :(  Oh well, 7290 it is.  Thanks for the info Don.   :)

why does no one seem to use 7190? that frequency is almost always clear here, usually at least enough room for one AM signal around that area. that's where i'm gonna try running this weekend since i finally changed things around here to be able to use the 40 meter dipole with the ft-901 and the amp.
shelby

Gotta time in mind?

well, i was doing some modeling with VOACAP, and it looks like they best time to work anyone between the east coast and the rockies (basically up to something like 700-800 miles out) from here is between 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM, before 3:00, the band is really short. after 9:00, it starts going long.

probably the best thing to do is use below 7200 for nighttime use, and the 7280-7300 area for daytime. right now, there are qso's on 7280, 7289, and 7295. after dark, these are usually taken up by SWBC stations, but 7180-7200 is usually open enough to fit a station in somewhere.

The problem with activity below 7200 remains the same as when folks moved below 3800: a lot of followers, few leaders. When someone doesn't show up to start the part for them, the followers return to their old haunts rather than calling CQ or organizing some activity. Same thing happened below 3800, but a group of us persisted and there is plenty of activity found in that part of the band regularly. 40 should be no different.

I think 7190 is a great idea. It's usually clear in the afternoon after the foreign broadcasters invade 7290. I'm calling CQ now but no takers. This morning there were three concurrent QSOs, 7284, 7290 and 7295 ???!!! I know old habits die hard but really...I think sometimes we are are own worst enemies. Plenty of open space.

Phil

Well that was fun while it lasted. Calling CQ on AM is like ringing the dinner bell for the slopbucketeers. Had a brief AM QSO with KB3GFF until I was told by Donald Duck to check the band plan! He continued to make noises for the duration. After I signed, a ssb QSO immediately started up. Hmmm.

You should have indicated you were following the modified international integrated band plan and continued operating.

Just tell him the band plan says fone from 7125 to 7300 kc.

I consider it my burden to edgicate the unwashed. - You to can help.

klc

Or tell them if they can't find a frequency for their slopbucket QSO in the existing phone band, to petition the FeeCee to expand the voice allocation down to 7100, to open up that sparsely used 25 kc/s of wasted frequency space for some activity.

If they try to intentionally QRM, just quietly turn up the wick with no further comment.

just quietly turn up the wick with no further comment. When you only have 4 1/2 watts its hard to do  ;)
I would have no trouble BTW setting a sched for somewhere in 7100 to 7190. Afternoons are not bad or havent been. I am running a homebrew transciever  > two tubes in the tx, two tubes in the rx. Screen modulated. I am about 1/2 through building a 5 tubes Am rig with a pair of 6AG7s in the final. Another low level modulated rig. (Cause I want to learn all the methods) I have two 6l6 based linears I can drive. Someday I may get a whole 15 watts AM out.

No, everyone insists on piling on top of each other, and fighting broadcasters and the no-traffic net on 7290 or 7295

Life is too short for QRP.

This is not entirely true Don.  7160 has quite a bit of AM activity around Texas during the early afternoons.

I haven't played radio in daytime for quite some time.  That's the reason I haven't yet got the 10m rig fired back up.

I used to hear some AM activity start up ~7160 about 4 PM and run well into the evening until the skip went long or the Ethiopian jammers wiped out the band.  But lately, nothing.  Last few times I tried calling CQ, no responses (I ignore the SSB gripers who come on and P&M about my AM signal in that part of the band).