Stirring up AM activity below 3700

[k4kyv]

Last night, just as I was about to fire up on 3705, I heard W4AUV in Raleigh, NC calling CQ on 3635.  With the remote antenna tuner system now working, I was able to tune to his frequency and give him a call, without having to go down to the tower to re-adjust the ATU, or else operate with mismatch in the feed line.  We carried on for a few minutes, when N5ACR, Laurel MD joined us.  Signals were excellent and everyone had good audio quality.  Then WZ5G from Louisiana broke in, with a very strong AM signal and broadcast quality.  He complimented everyone on their audio, but then asked us to move up a few kc/s, because we were too close to the ESSB group that meets nightly on 3630.  Since the entire segment from 3.6-3.7 was practically vacant, there was no point in two QSOs operating so close as to cause mutual interference, so we QSYed to 3640 and carried on for an hour or more before everyone signed out.

That segment of the band seems practically devoid of AM activity, and often of any activity at all.  But if everyone just listens without transmitting it will be dead. The best way to stir up AM activity is to create a little AM presence on the band, as we found out last night.

[KX5JT]

There was about 15 stations on 3.655 AM a couple hours ago.  Timtron, Warren W1GUD and W5JAY, Jay in Arkansas are still at it.  I might try to say hello.

[Steve - K4HX]

A Florida AM group has a net on the frequency. I forget the day(s) and time(s). Maybe  tonight was one.

[KX5JT]

A Florida AM group has a net on the frequency. I forget the day(s) and time(s). Maybe  tonight was one.

"FL AM GROUP WEDNESDAY NITE ROUNDTABLE AM 7PM PREVAILING EASTERN TIME 3655 KC – LISTENING 3805 KC CROSS BAND "

Yes, they do and you do NOT have be from Florida to check in. 

More info at http://flamgroup.com/

[Bill, KD0HG]

Will be below 3700 tonight!

[KX5JT]

Sadly, I am at work tonight.  Have fun Bill!

[WD8BIL]

Where ya at Bill?
Calling KD0HG on 3705 kHz right now.

[flintstone mop]

I heard you Buddly on 3705. Really nice condx. quiet and peaceful and good signals.
My usual story..........by the time I would QSY the amplifier and re-tune the dipole everyone would be saying 73, as ya'll were when I tuned in.

Fred

[k4kyv]

I called CQ on 3615 last night several times using the half-wave 80m vertical, but no reply.

[W1AEX]

I had a nice chat with Buddly and WA5VGO (Kingwood, TX) on 3705 last night around 9PM. Signals were quite good and aside from a static crash now and then, the band was very quiet. Buddly's Drake was sounding great! I wish you had jumped in Fred!

Rob

[KX5JT]

Nice Rob, I was talking to Darrell WA5VGO about an hour and a half ago and he mentioned he was talking into the northeast with his homebrew 4d32 rig.  He's the guy that builds those sweet homebrew receivers/transmitters I posted a couple weeks back.  Real nice fella. 

The band has been great for longer distances at night last couple weeks.

[WD8BIL]

Yup, it was a gooder nite. Darrell and I chatted on 3705 kHz for more than an hour. Q5+ all the way. His 4D32 moded by 809s was rock solid with only 110w carrier.

Thanks for popping in Rob! Sure was a clear frequency.

[k4kyv]

Rob was strapping in here on 160 last night.  Steve, QIX must have had a rig problem or stepped out momentarily, because I didn't hear him when they turned it over to him, so can't give a signal report on him.  There was another station from 1-land, but he was piss-weak.

I got on 3705 later in the evening and carried on for over an hour with a station in VA.  No slopbucket QRM, no static crashes, no breakers.

But I did notice an unusually high background hiss, to the point that it hurt my ears whenever the other station dropped  his carrier.  I'm thinking of trying to come up with a reliable squelch circuit what would work with AM carriers.

[WD8BIL]

Don said:

But I did notice an unusually high background hiss, to the point that it hurt my ears whenever the other station dropped  his carrier.  I'm thinking of trying to come up with a reliable squelch circuit what would work with AM carriers.

I noticed that too, Don. I finally had to switch over to the R4A SDR and use the squelch on that last night. I hope you come up with something. That hiss will shake your fillings loose!

[K5UJ]

what's the hiss?  just band atmospheric noise or something human raising the noise floor?   I had a 20 dB over 9 hiss last time I tuned 160 and figured it was some kind of hash from a appliance, maybe a TV set.

Rob

[W1AEX]

Steve, QIX must have had a rig problem or stepped out momentarily, because I didn't hear him when they turned it over to him, so can't give a signal report on him.

Hi Don,

Steve was working on a new Class H analog modulator and so he was not running his usual high power rig last night. At one point when we turned it over to him, he forgot to flip the switch to power up the RF deck and the modulator, so all that came out was the tiny signal from the RF driver that managed to leak through the unpowered RF deck. That might be when you tuned in. His new modulator sounded excellent. The other station was Greg, WA1JXR, and he was testing out 3 different rigs on AM: TS-940, Viking II, and Elecraft K3. The two SSB rigs were running exciter power only.

Lately, when I'm playing in the station, I have been spending a lot of time between 3640 - 3733 working the AM mode in the morning, late afternoon, and late night. I'm surprised I haven't come across your big signal, but it is a very big empty swath of frequencies!

Rob

[Ed/KB1HYS]

Heard two QSO's this evening one on 3705 and one lower, around 3685 or 83.  Didn't stick around long as I could only hear one station in each ok, the other was way down.