80m Action, Excellent Conditions Again

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Saw the post from Thom on the 3885 activities, so I figure a report on the 80m portion of the band is in order.

Good group on 3733 until 1830 of course, when the frequency must be surrendered. Band was still a bit wishy-washy at that point.

Came back in around 1930 to find K2FW elsewhere in QSO with N4AK and joined in as the N4 signed out. An enjoyable night of relaxed, AM Roundtable activity followed with the following miscreants taking part:

K2FW - Eico 720/730
KA1KAQ - KW-1
W2DTC - Highly modified Viking II +
WA2PJP - KW-1
W3JN - GPT-750
K2WS - CE-100V +
W0VMC - HB 304TL 'Power Block'
WD8BIL - Icom 718 +
W8JMF - DX-100
K4KYV - HB HF-300 rig

The mix of gear was quite interesting, Alan's CE-100V sounded especially nice. There was also a station (N2***) in early from Daytona Beach, FL who was running a Valiant and hearing Steve 'FW and myself fine. I had trouble hearing him as he was right around the noise floor in VT. Ken came in shortly afterwards and, well....you always hear Ken's signal, loud and clear. Last night was no exception.

Just can't say enough about the conditions - they were spectacular. Everyone was at least 20db over S9 or better here, with many signals 40+ over. If you listened closely, you could sometimes hear a static crash, but they were so minuscule at my location as to be unnoticeable. It was very quiet, with the band being neither long nor short - just right. It was as if everyone was sitting in the room with me, having a beer and socializing.

Topics ranged from old gear finds to the great band conditions to restoration work to the great band conditions to Timonium to old Super Pros and ship-to-shore radio to 'JN's Sync project, Minnesota/Wisconsin snow storms, great band conditions, Frank's pharty, and so on. Joe was setting up a new equalizer/compressor box he recently picked up to try out, with a huge signal behind it.

Don was coming onto the frequency as I was calling it a night around 2300. Buddly was still strapping in. The band was holding up nicely.

We had a wonderful time, glad to hear there was a good group up in the 75m portion doing the same. AM was well-represented last night, that's the name of the game.

Not bad for a Monday night!

[KA1ZGC]

Spun down and heard you, Buddly, and Joe at some point (Joe had been adjusting his audio, I think) and was jealous at the crystal-clear frequency you guys had!

Would have come down and joined you, but we were having way too good a time on 3885, in spite of the QRM and garbage.

Still, fantastic band conditions last night. Let's hope this is the start of a trend.

--Thom
Killer Agony One Zipper Got Caught

[AF9J]

Yeah Todd & Thom,

Big groups can be a blast.  I remember back in my college days in the late 80s, when I used to check into a big group that met every night on 1850 kHz LSB.  It used to be a good time.  Occasionally when condx. were good on 160, we'd hear 50 watt stations at 20 over 9, even if the noise was S9.

73,
Ellen - AF9J
Wondering what's in store on the bands tonight.

[pe1mph]

Good group on 3733 until 1830 of course, when the frequency must be surrendered. Band was still a bit wishy-washy at that point.

Nice to read so much AM Lovers on air!

But you are all welcome in 'ROOM 3705'.
You comming, so you are...
Be free, but only AM Lovers...


Greetings,

Henk
PE1MPH

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

It would be great to get a month or so of nice conditions like this before T-storm season gets into full swing, considering the lousy winter radio season. Last night seemed to be just the right mix: folks coming onboard as folks left, a nice roundtable that only got up to 5 or 6 at it's highest point, and then only briefly. In a perfect world, folks would move between groups to keep the numbers low and QSO moving, but we never quite seem to get to that point.

Henk, we were in your neighborhood last night but learned a while ago not to post frequencies on here ahead of time as it makes a target for those who seek their enjoyment by interfering with others. We move around down in that part of the band to avoid getting penned into one spot.

And yes Thom/Ellen - it's good to see/hear folks getting on the air more frequently. Many familiar voices of course, but some we don't hear often or haven't heard for a looong time. Interest in AM continues to grow over time, and being on the air plays a large role in attracting more folks to the mode. Looks like at least a couple dozen folks on last night - small in comparison to those who call themselves 'AMers', but large in presence: especially compared to recent activity levels.

FB!   

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

It seems we've had quite a few nights of very good conditions since the time change. Probably a coincidence, but some of the best conditions (low noise and good propagation) of the winter season have occurred in the last month.

[KA1ZGC]

Henk, we were in your neighborhood last night but learned a while ago not to post frequencies on here ahead of time as it makes a target for those who seek their enjoyment by interfering with others.

In that case: I'll be on 3872 and 3892 all night! 

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

That certainly has been the case Steve, and no doubt the time change has helped some. We probably wouldn't even notice were it not for the CRAPPY winter band conditions. Even 40 has been lame. But the last month or so has really shown an upswing. You and John were in here like locals this past weekend.

Thom....more power to ya.