The AM Forum

Lots of great flavorful AM signals (woops they are supposed to be CW!) heard on the first big weekend. Get that Hartley Oscillator off the shelf and on the calling frequencies:

1800-1810 kHz
3550-3570 kHz
7100-7125 kHz

Are good places to find AWA stations.

It all starts again next weekend at 6PM EDT for another 24 Hour session.

Ask me how I went from picture 1 to Picture 2 in 3 Days just to get on 160M this year! And about my 2 Hour 160M Antenna.

73's Mike WU2D

nice ...

Where's the B+?

LOL

73DG

Where's the B+? Usually in my hand.  :o

Actually I used my TCS supply with a variac so I could fool with the voltage. That is an Choke input filter with a stiff bleeder. I had a decent note at 400 VDC. So the 211 was loafing and that is a secret to making these things sound pretty good. That is a Chinese Shuguang 211 by the way. Beautifully made tube. I think they bought the old Taylor Line  and actually had Corning over to get the glass right for those big valves.

Thats Awesome, I'd love to build something like that, cool. The tube you chose looks good in there. Good job.
Ok--- tell us about your antenna..

It was good working you Mike.  I enjoy all the AWA events, but this one is my personal favorite. 

Don't forget the Linc Cundell event coming up in January.  Then the AM QSO party and the last one of the season is the John Rollins event.  The JR event this year will be multi mode, so AM is a part of it as well as the traditional CW for that event. 

Here is a picture of my 29 station.     

Building 1929 transmitters: Where you spend more time sawing wood and bending pipe than you do soldering!    bill

Great to see the shiny marvels!  Thanks.

Great video on the BK 29 event!

 
https://youtu.be/Lli4DI2XFMQ

Joe-W3GMS

I got a couple of rolls of #14 solid house wire and cut 5 pieces of wire to 135 ft. By luck I had a buried 100' coax run across the yard at the edge of the woods and about 8 ft of it was poking up and taped. So I stripped the coax and attached one piece of wire to the center, and launched a line over the tallest close pine tree and hauled the first piece up. I had some excess wire that was horizontal at the top - maybe 15 ft. So mostly vertical.

Then I took the 4 radials and attached them to the braid. Now All I had to do was drag the radials through the brush at about the 10 ft level. Of course one radial had to come back in the yard so I used two step ladders and a clothesline pole for that one. Hey this monster only has to stay up for a week!

Perfect match at 1890 kHz. So I added about 10 ft of wire and got it down to the very bottom of the band. Let me tell you this thing works. Elevated radials always amaze.

Great photos Mike and Joe.

Joe, what tubes are you using for oscillator and rectifier?

Using a 10 tube in the TNT and an 80 rectifier.  My set was built in 1929 and was handed down to me many years ago.  Its a real gem.  I did build the power supply since I did not get a P.S. with the TNT.

Joe-GMS
   

Thanks, Joe. Your transmitter and Mike's transmitter are awesome!

Nice looking transmitters Joe and Mike. I love tuning in  to these  events. And now with SDR's its great to watch the funky drifty, buzzy, chirpy signals! I made a SDR recording on Sunday morning of 80M. I did not know that the 211 qualifies for these. I want to build  one someday and was not sure which tube to use. I have some 211's and sockets.
I heard you Joe as well as Larry, NE1S. I did not  hear you Mike. Also heard the  AWA  station  W2ICE. I  have a transmitter for the  Linc Cundal event ready. Its partially homebrew consisting of a basic transmitter and power supply on a chassis that has a BC375 plug-in  connector mounted on it. So the chassis can sit on top of and simply plug into a BC375 tuning unit for the desired band. I have tuning units for  160, 80 and 40. The tx uses a 6J5 oscillator and a 6V6 final in the mopar circuit. It runs about 13 watts out maximum. Pretty crude, but it works well. No modulator yet. If I had to give it a name, maybe I could call it a BC-3.75
Larry

Thanks Brad and Larry for your comments. 

A type 10 tube is probably one of the most popular tubes people use in the 29 BK event. 

Yes Brad, the 211 will work fine along with its cousin the 203.   On my list is a 203 modulated with a single 211 like Bob Raide - W2ZM use to do.  Marry it up with an old candlestick telephone  and your all set to go and have some fun with a vintage 29 phone station. 

Will look for you Brad on the LC event coming up in January.  After that in February will be the AWA QSO party, which is always very popular.  Then we finish out the season in March with the John Rollins event.  This year, for the first time, will be AM phone and CW. 

All the material is posted on the AWA website.

Joe-GMS