20 meters?

[KA1ZGC]

Listening around this morning, I heard quite a bit of sideband activity on 20. Naturally, the band was packed solid from 14.200 to 14.300, not really leaving us any room, but the band seems usable otherwise.

Anyone still listen around on 20? I know 14.285 is commonly used as an AM calling frequency, are there any others?

Since 40 has been kind of washed-out lately, 20 may be a good daytime band for us. Any thoughts?

--Thom
Killer Aircraft One Zeppelin Goes Crash

[Sam KS2AM]

Anyone still listen around on 20? I know 14.285 is commonly used as an AM calling frequency, are there any others?
Since 40 has been kind of washed-out lately, 20 may be a good daytime band for us. Any thoughts?
--Thom
Killer Aircraft One Zeppelin Goes Crash

14.285 is listed several places as a QRP calling frequency so you probably didn't hear all of the activity on the 14.286 AM calling frequency. 
Seriously, I haven't heard much activity on 14.286 in a while. When its there it seems to peak late afternoon, US Eastern time, but YMMV.
As for 40, there is lots of interesting phone activity from Europe and elsewhere at the low end of the band at all times of day and night.  If we could only get some of the AM ops on the other side of the pond to start listening between 7135-7200 we might be able to get something going.

Sam / KS2AM

[AF9J]

Here's a thought Thom,

Like you, I'd love to do some 20m AM.  Unfortunately, 20m is a zoo where the AM calling freq. is (actually 20m is a zoo anywhere in the General Class portion of the band).  From 14.200 to 14.215, you have to contend with DXpeditions.  But, below 200, it starts to get quieter.   While I'd love to QSO in the Extra Class portion, many can't.  I don't want to limit myself too much.  How about say trying AM between 14.180 & 190, when it's clear (going below 14.180 risks having people in the Extra Class portion [that goes up to 14.175], hearing an AM signal that's centered at 14.178 or lower).  We'd have to be savy (there is still some activity in the 180-190 range, especially during contests), but it would be much easier to try to QSO in this range, than in the zoo higher up the band). 

Another thought also occurs to me - typically if I hold an SSB QSO on 20, it's below 14.200. But oftentimes during the weekday, 20, is pretty quiet in many places below 14.215.  Typically, the AM calling freq. on 20, is located in an area of the band that is like the AM Window on 75 - in other words, you have to contend with nets, and "this is OUR frequency"; dead air groups.  Especially on weekends. As a result, I've hardly ever heard AM on 20m.  BTW - 14.285 isn't used much for QRP, due to the fact, that most hardcore QRPers are CW oriented (I've been doing QRP fror 20 years, and I've seldom been able to scare up a QRP to QRP phone QSO).

I'm game to try 20 if anybody else is.  My antenna starts to give me some good gain characteristics on 20, and is a decent player on this band.

73,
Ellen - AF9J

[KA1ZGC]

Yes, unfortunately for Generals, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence for pretty much every band. Not a bad idea at all.

The only downside is that my 200' flat-top runs north-south, and I suspect most of the radiation will be off the ends of the wire, so I may not be throwing much RF your way. Of course, there's only one way to find out for sure.

I'm game. Perhaps 14.185-ish some afternoon? It sure would be a releif from the General portion.

--Thom
Killer Album One Zappa's Greatest Compositions

[AF9J]

Hmmm, OK.  Sounds good to me Thom,

Today, my schedule is pretty full until at least 7 PM your time (unless we make a go of it within the next hour or so), since I have to help out at the animal shelter for a few hours, and then go visit one of my coworkers at the hospital (where she's recovering from back surgery).  After work during weekdays might also be worth a try.  It may even be wiser to give this a test run during a weekday, due to the lower activity levels.  I'm typically home from work by 5:45 PM your time.

Like you, my antenna is quite long for this band (125-150 feet - yeah it's the rain gutter on my building, and it's up 30 feet or so), and is oriented facing East-West.  But I do usually  work into the New England area with it on 20.  You may have the same situation I have on the higher bands with your flattop - multiple lobes in the radiation pattern, and those lobes may help make it at least sort of omnidirectional.

I monitor the AM Forum, and my home e-mail, off and on all day, while I'm at work.  Here's my home e-mail if you want to give it a go and want to contact me to set up a sked (yeah, I know most AM QSOs start spontaneously, but this is uncharted territory, and until it's determined that it will work, and regular activity results from it, it might be a good idea to set up skeds to avoid callling CQ forever and a day [something that might set off the slopbucketeers], and getting no results):

ellenjoanne2003@sbcglobal.net

Like you, I hate to exclude the Generals, but QRM in the General portions often drives me down into the the Advanced & Extra phone subbands.  I guess the grass is greener down there.  I know the relative lack of QRM down in the Advanced portions, are what helped drive me to get my Advanced back in 1993.  The Extra (gotten in 1994) was done more on a lark.  I can't wait until the solar flux picks up.  I remember reading in ER back in 1995 (I was on AM for a very short time back then) about decent AM activity taking place above 21.410.  Yeah!  My antenna setup rips on 15.  And  I've not only heard AMers in that freq. range, but there aren't many SSBers up there.

73,
Ellen - AF9J

[KL7OF]

I have found 20 meter AM activity on 14286 Khz from Wa State at around 1-3 PM..Typically W8VYZ and W9AD and others...On the West coast the freq is plugged up with nets until afternoon and then some AM is tolerated...This winter wasn't as good for propagation as lastwinter but I still made contacts..I am using a pair of 100ths modulated by triode connected 813s to a full wave loop at 35 ft...About 300 watts carrier.....  There are quite a few AM stations that monitor 14286 so make some noise when you can...

[flintstone mop]

20M is a finiky band while the sunspots are low. The chance of a large roundtable is not good due to the skip characteristics of 20M. You might get lucky with 2-3 ops.
I have run into Ashtabula Bill when I was in Maryland, and that was a weak signal. 20M has good opportunity for Europe and beyond as does 15M, but that's in the same soup as most of the HF spectrum is 'till we get higher numbers from ole Sol.
Fred