40m last night

[k4kyv]

Some time after 0400 GMT I tuned across 40, and was surprised and delighted to discover that the QRN was reasonably low.   The Ethiopian jammer pretty much had 7160 out of commission, but I noticed that 7210 to about 7235 was open, with no broadcast or slopbucket.  I called CQ on 7225, but got no reply, although several slopbuckets mysteriously popped out of nowhere as soon as I stood by, calling CQ DX and attempting to call each other.  Evidently I was being heard, but none of the stations wanted to reply to an AM station.  I worked on a project and listened again later, but starting about 0500 GMT, everything above 7200 suddenly became filled with broadcast every 5 kHz.  That is about 7 AM in continental Europe, so the broadcast stations are probably starting up for the day

But apparently the vicinity of 7225 might be a good place to hang out on 40 between 0400 and 0500 while the jamming station is wiping out 7155-7185.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

I've noticed that same hole in the BC stations over the last month or so. Might just wanna put stakes down there permanently.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

It's been so damned hot down here that the rigs haven't been on in several weeks (though the mockingbirds have come to appreciate the 40m ant as a perch). Sure will be glad when the radio room is finished and A/C added. Figured the static would be so bad that activity would be nil anyhow, glad to hear there's still something going on with the bad. 

[flintstone mop]

Geesh I thought the days of jamming were over.
I'm a little behind the times, the jamming is from another country?

Fred

[wa2dtw]

Called CQ repeatedly on 7.160 AM last night between 8 and 9PM.  No takers.  Plenty of SSB activity in the neighborhood.
73
Steve WA2DTW

[k4kyv]

Geesh I thought the days of jamming were over.
I'm a little behind the times, the jamming is from another country?

From the Horn of Africa.  Ethiopia jams the Voice of  the Broad Masses of Eritrea every night, starting at 0400 GMT and it lasts until it fades out about 0500 or later.  They play a cat-and-mouse  game between 7175 and 7165 kHz, wiping out 7160 in the process.  The jamming sounds like DRM or digital SSTV, but it is apparently just random white noise.  The never got the word about the shift of broadcast stations away from 7100-7200.

[K5UJ]

I called CQ for about 45 minutes on 7.164.  No takers.  Noise level not too bad for summer.  running 250 to 300 w.  the frequencies above 7200 were pretty much S/B.  Didn't hear the african stuff; maybe my antenna isn't good enough.   

It wasn't a complete waste of time though.  Last time or two I had noticed something funky going on with my Loop on 40.  I'd tune the transmatch to my operation frequency using a swr analyzer.  get it all tuned up FB.  put the antenna on the rig and start calling CQ.  Then I'd look over at the forward / reflected watt meters at the tuner and see a lot of power coming back (usually I see zero).  did a little checking of this and that with a dummy load etc. and figured on 40 something's heating up in the tuner on 40 and figured I got to get the loop higher up out of some wet trees--something like that.  Then I forgot all about it and tonight started out on 160, then went to 40 and started calling CQ.  Same thing again, start out everything FB then a minute later lots of power coming back.  I flip over to receive and get up walk over to the tuner and put my hand in it on the inductors.  Not even warm.  I reach up to flip the switch on my new MFJ Balanced RF Amp Meter to the 0 to 300 ma range and wow, it's hot, feel around it and it's definitely putting out the heat, rear banana jacks hot, felt like it must have been dissipating 40 watts.   I take it out of the feedline and go back to calling CQ and now everything's back to like it used to be on 40.  How about that.  Guess MFJ doesn't make their balanced amp meter for AM and/or bizarre feedline Z.  Guess I got a balanced RF amp meter for sale now.

Rob K5UJ

[W1VD]

Worked N2EHN, WA2ONK and N2MCC around 9:30 pm. Band was short...the four stations within 120 miles of each other. Worked W3GL about 10:30. (Ralph, I'll drop the rf transformer in the mail Monday). At that point the band was pretty well devoid of any signals. Will be a different matter tonight with FD in full swing.