The AM Forum

From the ARRL Letter:

Countdown to Third Annual AM Rally Has Begun

The third annual AM Rally (http://www.amrally.com/) is on the near horizon -- just about 6 weeks away -- beginning at 0000 UTC on February 2 and continuing until 0700 UTC on February 4. The event aims to encourage the use of AM on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, and 6 meters while highlighting the various types of AM equipment in use today. The event is open to all radio amateurs running AM using any type of radio equipment -- modern, vintage, tube, solid-state, software-defined, military, boatanchor, broadcast, homebrew, or commercial. It's an incentive to dig out that old AM-capable tube gear that's collecting dust and spiderwebs in the attic or basement.

"We're very excited about the upcoming AM Rally in February, given its growth over the past 2 years and the positive comments we've received," said Clark Burgard, N1BCG, who is spearheading the event with Steve Cloutier, WA1QIX, and Brian Kress, KB3WFV. "In particular, it's great to hear how so many ops are giving this classic mode a try, many for the first time, and of the help offered to them by those who have mastered the technology."

For many, if not most, radio amateurs getting on AM is as simple as pressing the AM mode button on the front panel. Numerous transceivers in use today offer AM capability. A lot of hams enjoy restoring and using vintage Amateur Radio equipment, which typically means a separate transmitter and receiver. Until SSB subsumed it on the ham bands, AM was the primary HF voice mode.

Today, a group of dedicated radio amateurs keeps the flame alive, getting on AM frequently, and for many of them, AM is their primary operating mode. The AM Rally gives the uninitiated a chance to dip a toe into the pool, so to speak.


AM superstar Tim Smith, WA1HLR, with the Gates BC-1T AM broadcast transmitter he helped to restore for occasional use under W1AW or under the ARRL Headquarters Operators Club call sign, W1INF.

The event website (http://www.amrally.com/) has complete AM Rally details, contact information, award categories, logging, and tips on how to get the most out of your station equipment in AM mode. Contact  (http://mailto:n1bcg@internetwork.com)Clark Burgard, N1BCG, for more information.

The event is sponsored by Radio Engineering Associates (REA (http://www.radioassociates.com/)), in cooperation with ARRL, which supports all modes of Amateur Radio operation. W1AW will play a leading role in the event, as it has for the past 2 years.

Certificates will be awarded to stations scoring the highest number of points in each of the five power classes, regardless of rig category, both for most contacts and most states/provinces.

"AM superstar Tim Smith, WA1HLR...."

How true!

Tim is also a former Teenage Idol heart throb!    ;D ;D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kEDa6bXnA8

I'll never be so famous but I hope to have the Colonel here stabilized by then.
Moved him to 3890 and he's gone nuts.
http://bunkerofdoom.com/crt_ware/mule_skinners.mp4

Steve (WA1QIX) discusses the AM Rally on Bob Heil's "Ham Nation":

https://youtu.be/hhXoLH82J_w?t=3509 (https://youtu.be/hhXoLH82J_w?t=3509)

Here we get to see a glimpse of what's behind that massive signal

Caught you on the Ham Nation Steve. Good segment and nice promo for the rally  :). I plan to participate again this year now that I've got the Glob King 500 back on the air.

A new version of the AM Rally Logging software is available.

This version adds support for ADIF files.

Feel free to test, experiment and/or become familiar with the logger (whether you use ADIF files or not) - use the software as if the event were live, enter stations, upload logs to the server, etc.

I will clean out all uploaded test logs from the server just prior to the start of the event.

The software can be found at: http://www.amrally.com/amtrlog.htm

Ooohhh! This wasn’t around the last time I was on AM! Can’t wait!

I'm all set. I'm going to take the wife out for dinner on her Bday, in the Day Light. Maybe this will work out.... I just might even have my Hi-Par Saturn 6 hanging up in the living room for the event.

klc

ADIF users, please download 4.0.5 of the AM Rally software.  I corrected an upload problem.  4.0.4 will still work ok, but one field is missing in the upload that, if it is there, will make parsing the country fields a whole lot better.  Thanks!

This only affect folks importing and uploading ADIF logs.

75 meters has been going very long during the evenings recently.  This pattern may persist through the AM Rally. 

For more local contacts, 160 meters may be the place to be.  For working the folks from far away at night, 75 meters will probably be pretty good for that. 

75 has been GREAT in the afternoons right up to early evening.

Uncle Steve's AM Rally Official Chilli Recipe (guaranteed to provide a disruption-free shack)

Ingredients:

    1 Pound of high quality ground beef (or other ground meat of your choice - I use Beef)
    3 Cans of Organic Chili beans from Westbrea Natural (that's the brand). These are Organic chili beans containing 3 types of beans - Kidney, Black and Pinto
    3 Jars of Green Mountain Gringo Salsa as follows:
        1 hot, 1 garlic, 1 mild.
        Note: The quality of the salsa makes a HUGE difference in the quality of the chili.
        Green Mountain Gringo is the best. Most salsa has too much tomato sauce which makes a poor chili. I would stick with Green Mountain Gringo

To prepare: Brown the meat in a large pot, breaking it up into very small pieces. Add the chili beans and salsa, stirring as you go. Stir completely, and bring to a low boil (heat on medium). Stir the mixture occasionally to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Reduce the heat to low. Let cook for 2 or 3 hours (simmer) - make sure it doesn't burn on the bottom or stick to the pot. The heat has to be low enough. Do not over-stir, or the beans will get mushy.

If you want to serve the same day, let sit for a while to cool off for a couple of hours, then reheat. Usually better the next day, but sitting and re-heating works just fine.

Best served with cornbread! A simple and VERY good cornbread mix is made by Jiffy (usually in the baking isle someplace).

Help make AM stand out!

While keeping a log isn’t a requirement, those who submit logs help us document the popularity of the AM mode, and leaders in the following categories and classes will be recognized. Either way, it’s helpful to mention your station’s category and class as a benefit to others.

Your station falls into both a transmitter category and output power class as shown below:

Rig Type Categories (A-I)

A) Vacuum tube / Commercially made
B) Vacuum tube / Home made
C) Solid State / Commercially made
D) Solid State / Home made
E) Hybrid / Commercially made
F) Hybrid / Home made
G) Converted AM Broadcast
H) Military
 I) Software based/defined (SDR)


Output Power Classes (1-5)

NOTE: This is the measured power of the unmodulated carrier at the output of the final stage of amplification.

1) 5 Watts or less (QRP)
2) Greater than 5 up through 30 Watts
3) Greater than 30 up through 100 Watts
4) Greater than 100 up through 250 Watts
5) Greater than 250 Watts, to the FCC legal limit

For example, W1AW is a “G5” station that uses a Gates BC1T transmitter running over 250 Watts.

What type is your station? Be sure to mention your type of station when making contacts!

You can download the AM Rally Operating Info document to help identify the stations you work here and for locating popular AM operating frequencies:

http://www.amrally.com/docs/Operating_Info.pdf

Have fun in the operating event and thanks for helping promote the AM mode!

W1AW 3885 AM

W1AW 3885 AM (part 2)

It's nice to see a display in the rack. There's one case where newfangled items need not detract from the classics.