The AM Forum

Just poking around various WebSDR sites tonight and it occurred to me that they could be used to facilitate long haul 75 meter AM QSOs for example from the Notheast to the West Coast by having a West Coast station listen for a Northeast station on the K3FEF WebSDR in northeast PA, and the East Coast station listen for the West Coast station on the KFS Half Moon Bay WebSDR.  I’m pretty sure it would work technically, but would it be legal? Kind of like cross band QSOs in a way...locally each station would to others appear to be talking to themselves with dead air while the opposite station was transmitting.  Or like working DX cross frequency on 75 or 40. Likely you could even link up two nets such as the Old Military Radio Net on the East Coast with West Coast MilRad operators.

There's nothing illegal about it.  The law doesn't say anything about it wither way.  There are a few DXers who do it, and that's where the ethics come in.  The DXCC award people frown on it.  While there's not much wrong with using a remote station located in your own entity (country), the use of a remote receiver closer or better situated to the rare DX is frowned upon. 
Due to the latency delay in the typical internet connection, it's relatively easy to spot the fellows using remote receivers as they tend to wait just a bit too long to pick it up on an "over".  There's a fellow over in Europe who operates in the 80 meter DX window who is famous for that.
But then again, the DMR folks often operate with an internet assisted connection and nobody cries about it.  It just doesn't seem like 100% real radio to me, but I won't fault anyone else if that's their choice.  So if someone wants to unite the Left Coast gang with the East Coasters for fun, why not?  And if someone uses remote receivers to win a coveted AM-only WAS award, then they know how they won that game and, given that any of the ham awards won't get ya anything of value, who cares.  It's just another way to skin a cat.

The newly installed grow lights, solar system and my neighbors new something or other (I believe it's the same TV I QRM pretty bad) has made local reception of all but huge signals impossible.

I'm looking to rent my place and move now.  Tired of this.

If not for remote receivers, I'd be screwed.  And it's fun to listen to you right coasters, too.   WA1HLR, K1JJ (once) and k4kyv are the only ones whom I've heard, even when on a full size 160 dipole up 7k feet in the mtn.

--Shane
KD6VXI

I use this when I am on the road to check out my antennas to see if I am even getting out. I brought my 4 Watt out paraset down to North Carolina and dropped a window hotel wire and later a flightline dipole where I was working.  Having the SDR stations scattered around - Texas, DC Area PA etc...allowed me to see my own signal. Plus I just like to listen to the AMers when I am doing overnights for field work.

Check out the waterfalls on the various signals on the Old MilRad Radio CW net tonight. Mike.  Some very interesting displays indeed...

I do the same thing on travel, and when mowing the lawn when there’s no Sox or Pats game on.  Gives a whole new meaning to “listening on the outside speaker”!

Lately, in the early part of the Saturday morning 3885 Old Mil Rad phone net I have been listening on the Half Moon Bay CA and North Utah WebSDRs to hear Ted 3PWW and the rest of those who can actually each other until the band shortens up after sunrise.

  Out here in the DPRK we have a Vintage SSB Round Table on 75 meters on Tuesday nights, often the net control stations are in Southern DPRK or Arizona and so are a lot of the check ins too. When the band goes long they can't hear each other but I can hear them all fine 400 miles or more north in the Bay Area. So the net control station will use the Half Moon Bay SDR which is about 30 miles from me. Seems like a useful tool.