3710 kc/s

[k4kyv]

I just got an e-mail from Henk, pe1mph, regarding an alternative AM operating frequency in Europe. They seem to have a QRM problem on 3705, as I have often noticed when trying to work Jean, F6AQK. Apparently there is a German SSB group that operates 3703 kc/s, and refuses to budge from the frequency no matter what (sound familiar?).

They are looking a clean AM frequency, especially during the morning (late evening in N America). Many AMers in Holland use 3705 and have crystals for that frequency. They are considering a move to 3710 kc/s where it would be unnecessary to modify antennas, since 3710 is so close to 3705. Henk mentions that they also have crystals for 3600 kc/s, but stations in the USA can not operate phone that low.

The problem I see is the digital SSTV operators that hang out just above 3710.  I am not sure if they usually operate late enough into the evening to interfere with transatlantic AM efforts on 75. 0500Z is about the earliest I ever hear the Euro-AMers here on 3705.

I'll try to remember to monitor 3710 to see what kind of QRM problems might exist in N America. Maybe some observations from other parts of the country would be useful as well, before they go to the expense of ordering new crystals for that frequency.  

[pe1mph]

I just got an e-mail from Henk, pe1mph, regarding an alternative AM operating frequency in Europe. They seem to have a QRM problem on 3705, as I have often noticed when trying to work Jean, F6AQK. Apparently there is a German SSB group that operates 3703 kc/s, and refuses to budge from the frequency no matter what (sound familiar?).

They are looking a clean AM frequency, especially during the morning (late evening in N America). Many AMers in Holland use 3705 and have crystals for that frequency. They are considering a move to 3710 kc/s where it would be unnecessary to modify antennas, since 3710 is so close to 3705. Henk mentions that they also have crystals for 3600 kc/s, but stations in the USA can not operate phone that low.

The problem I see is the digital SSTV operators that hang out just above 3710.  I am not sure if they usually operate late enough into the evening to interfere with transatlantic AM efforts on 75. 0500Z is about the earliest I ever hear the Euro-AMers here on 3705.

I'll try to remember to monitor 3710 to see what kind of QRM problems might exist in N America. Maybe some observations from other parts of the country would be useful as well, before they go to the expense of ordering new crystals for that frequency.  

Don!
All standing above is correct.
So for the most AM-lovers in Holland, can be 3710 khz a good option.
Sure the reception on that freq. is better....
No splattering anymore from many! strong ssb (Germans!).

I have been 'monitoring' a few weeks between 3600 - 3720.
The 3600 is a good freq. in the morning, but USA 'may' not use this.
In the late afternoon/early evening there is already an AM net from France.

I got many emails from 'Holland' AM lovers, to 'try first' the 3710 khz.
For the dx-ers (who want to qso with usa) in the morning and perhaps...
Maybe most 'Holland' AM lovers move to 3710 during daytime, but not soon....

So, if you want, monitor 3710 khz for us.

Greetings,

Henk /  pe1mph
Dokkum / The Netherlands

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

There's a SSB net that took up residence there a couple years back, I had a run in with them up north once when they came on and started to call their net while I was in contact with one of the guys down this way. Cooler heads prevailed, and a week later we both received Good Guy reports from an OO who was impressed that we handled it maturely. Then this past fall I heard them in there again, same old saw, "We're getting sick of waiting to start our net" when a few AMers were using the net. Guess Walt forgot the discussion we had about having an alternative frequency +/- like the good ol' days.

I think their net ends around 9-10PM sometime, so it probably wouldn't be an issue. Just be aware that someone already thinks they own the frequency, just like the nitwit SSTV goobs on 3712. They have no issue with coming on to jam anyone who is using the frequency when they show up.

Not sure if it's legal for them to do so, but if so, it might be a good idea for the guys in Holland and Europe who don't have a VFO to buy or build one sometime. Nothing sucks as much as being stuck on the same frequency day after day, especially when it's self-imposed.

[pe1mph]

I think their net ends around 9-10PM sometime, so it probably wouldn't be an issue. Just be aware that someone already thinks they own the frequency, just like the nitwit SSTV goobs on 3712. They have no issue with coming on to jam anyone who is using the frequency when they show up.

Not sure if it's legal for them to do so, but if so, it might be a good idea for the guys in Holland and Europe who don't have a VFO to buy or build one sometime. Nothing sucks as much as being stuck on the same frequency day after day, especially when it's self-imposed.

Sad news....
But the same problem we have on 3703 with German SSB stations.
Sometimes we start on 3705 a qso, no station on 3703...
Then a little later, some testing/talking on 3703!!
And when we stop qso-ing on 3705, then the 3703 is empthy!
But we will try 3710, maybe we hear one day USA there....
Otherwise we must go (illegale) to your am freq.!
I have a 3885 crystal....

Greetings, Henk pe1mph

[ve6pg]

henk..try 3725..usually fairly open, and many guys hang-out there..
..tim..

..sk..

[pe1mph]

Hello AM Lovers,
Very early I awake this morning...
So I listen to sw, but no USA AM around 3885.
But a little after 6.00 o'clock I heard Jean F6AQK calling on 3710 khz.
Thats 04.00 UTC/GMT time in the morning by us in Holland.

I could not believe how good I heard Jean.
Without splattering from 3703 khz... unbelievable so nice to hear.
So I 'run' to my studio and connect the Yeasu FT 901 DM 25 Watts to my antenne.
I must, because I have no 3710 crystal, and used my Inverted V ant.

Jean make a little joke, he said: 'the man with Japanese audio'..... hi, hi...
But I were happy to hear him so good, totaly free on freq.
Later I heard more stations on 3710 khz, here the results:

F6AQK, Jean, S5 - S9+5, good audio
PE1BIW, Martin, S8 - S9 +15, less fading, Power 60 Watts
W3GL, Ralph, S3 - S5, good to understand!
M0MDL, Mike, S7 - S9, less fading

A pity W3GL could only hear Jean.
Maybe we used to low power?

But for me, It were a super nice qso this morning on 3710 khz.
So if some of you have such crystal(s) for us.....
If nobody has, then Martin shall orde this by 'Bry Carling' in the USA.

So for all of you, you are welcome early mornings on 3710!
The new AM dx freq.....


Greetings,

Henk
PE1MPH
Dokkum

[KM1H]

How about a little split frequency operation? EU transmits on 3705, US transmits on 3710. If Todd could ever get that KW-1 reliable enough it would set the pace

Carl

[pe1mph]

How about a little split frequency operation? EU transmits on 3705, US transmits on 3710. If Todd could ever get that KW-1 reliable enough it would set the pace

Carl

Hi, hi....
My first qso with the USA, were a 'cross-freq.-qso'.
I remember: Bob W2ZM, Brent W1IA and Ken W2DTC all on 3885.
And I (later more AM-ers) on 3705!
But to talk on the same freq., I prefer....

Greetings, Henk

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

How about a little split frequency operation? EU transmits on 3705, US transmits on 3710. If Todd could ever get that KW-1 reliable enough it would set the pace

It was reliable enough Saturday for Jean to hear and call Steve and I.  Even with my low dipole.

I heard the German SSB stations on  3703 around midnight last night. Called CQ on 3710 for a while with no activity and called it a night. The European stations seem to come through best from maybe 11:30-11:45 until 12:15-12:30AM.

[ve6pg]

,,if i'm ever up late, i'd like to try 40, to see what might be out there...

..tim..

..sk..

[pe1mph]

It was reliable enough Saturday for Jean to hear and call Steve and I.  Even with my low dipole.

I heard the German SSB stations on  3703 around midnight last night. Called CQ on 3710 for a while with no activity and called it a night. The European stations seem to come through best from maybe 11:30-11:45 until 12:15-12:30AM.

This morning on 3710 (just after 04.00 GMT):
F6AQK, Jean
PE1BIW, Martin
9H1ES, Fortunato
F1???

No splattering anymore from 3703!
But till +/- 04.20 other Germans on 3707....
Lucky they were not long on air...

Greetings,

Henk / PE1MPH

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

We had electrical storms here last night, Henk. I shut down early on and disconnected everything. Maybe tonight will prove better.

[ve6pg]

..lots of static crashes here...t-storms expected...even 40 is noisy...wx is warming up...65* right now, blue skies here...

..sk..

[pe1mph]

We had electrical storms here last night, Henk. I shut down early on and disconnected everything. Maybe tonight will prove better.

Therefore I did not heard any AM station from the USA.
Evenso this morning nothing around 3880!

Today very nice Sunny weather in Holland.
But a fresh (little cold) wind...

Greetings, Henk - pe1mph

[pe1mph]

..lots of static crashes here...t-storms expected...even 40 is noisy...wx is warming up...65* right now, blue skies here...
..sk..

Now, Sunday afternoon, Sun in Dokkum.
But still a fresh wind...
This morning on 3710:
F6AQK, Jean, S9+15 and FREE on air!!!
PE1BIW, Martin, S9, little fading
GW8TBG, Mervin, S9, little overmodulated
9H1ES, Fortunato, S3 on +/- 3707 khz
And 2 French stations F1??? but very weak.

Now I go back to the Sun, greetings,
Henk - pe1mph
Dokkum - The Netherlands

Note:
This afternoon I were on my bike.
Sunny and windy weather.
See:
http://www.waldnet.nl/waldkykjes/show.php?nid=1302372611
(Photo not taken by me)
Here I were 'cycleling' this afternoon on my bike.

[pe1mph]

The results!

Now we using the 3710 a few weeks early mornings.
Till now only 1x morning Romanians (lsb) near 3710.
But Jean and Martin ask them to qsy.....
And they did!

Very important is that we using first this freq.
I mean, in the early morning....
Hopefull others know there is AM on 3710 khz.
Therefore Jean (F6AQK) is calling every morning.

Now the Sun is high, poor reception USA AM lovers around 3885.
But I remember some years back during the summer...
We heard USA AM (Ken and others) 'loud & clear' on the camping.
So perhaps....

Greetings,

Henk / PE1MPH
Dokkum / The Netherlands

[WA3VJB]

Henk, on weekday mornings I am usually pouring first coffee around 0815 GMT and can come out and play.

What do you mean by "early morning" when stations are on 3710kc  I see on earlier posts you mentioned 0400 or so, Greenwich, well that's a little too deep into my sleep cycle, but maybe could be a late night here on the weekend.

[k4kyv]

Paul, you must really go to bed and get up with before the chickens!  0400Z is 11PM EST, and 0830Z is 3:30 in the morning, often about the time I am going to bed. No wonder I don't hear you on the air as much as I used to.

Regardless of when I turn in, I still call it "evening" or "night" before I go to bed, and it's not "morning" until after I get up.

[KX5JT]

......
Regardless of when I turn in, I still call it "evening" or "night" before I go to bed, and it's not "morning" until after I get up.

Don't I know this Don!  As a night dispatcher my day starts at about 4 to 6 pm when I wake up.  I get off my shift at 7 am.  Of course on nights off I tend to keep night hours which is great for radio.  As you know, we have often QSO'ed after midnight.

Around 2:30 am my time, the early risers get on the air and I'll often say "yesterday" or "tommorow" which doesn't mean the same thing to them!

If I had a rough night, on occasion, I'll stop at the quick stop on the way home and get a sixpack of beer.  But this is South Louisiana and the clerks there don't even think twice about someone buying alcohol in the morning.  One clerk commented there's often people waiting in the parking lot before they open to get their beer..... surely a lot of that are the Cajuns filling ice-chests on the way to their favorite fishing spots.

[pe1mph]

Henk, on weekday mornings I am usually pouring first coffee around 0815 GMT and can come out and play.

What do you mean by "early morning" when stations are on 3710kc  I see on earlier posts you mentioned 0400 or so, Greenwich, well that's a little too deep into my sleep cycle, but maybe could be a late night here on the weekend.

Thats correct:
But a little after 6.00 o'clock I heard Jean F6AQK calling on 3710 khz.
Thats 04.00 UTC/GMT time in the morning (by us in Holland).

Maybe you listen during the weekend longer....

Greetings,

Henk / PE1MPH
Dokkum / The Netherlands

[pe1mph]

Hello AM lovers,

Till now we have good results on 3710 khz.
Much better then 3705 in the early morning.
This freq. (3710) is mostly clean from ssb-signals.

Maybe in the AM lovers in the USA can use evenso 3710 khz.?
Or are there already AM stations on 3710 khz.?

A pity, last weeks bad conditions on 80 mtrs.
Last weeks I receive, early mornings by me, no AM from the USA.
I mean around 3880 khz, only very weak signals...

Greetings,

Henk / PE1MPH
Dokkum / The Netherlands

[pe1mph]

Hello AM Lovers,

Still we using 3710, but....
Sometimes we have splatters from 3714 khz!
Some Danish stations using that freq. in ssb mode...
Therefore AM stations (we ) were moving, if necessary, to +/- 3707 khz.

- Last Mondaymorning, around 06.15 by me, some using that freq.!
Qso between:
F6AQK
PE1BIW
PA3FAU
Later Carlos a Spanish station, but very weak by me.
And an unknow station, with only a weak carrier.

- The day before, Sundaymorning, evenso AM around 3707 khz.
F6AQK, 9H1ES and PE1BIW were talking.
I thought I heard AM from the USA on 3705 khz.
But to weak to understand who were talking.
Later on Sundaymorning I got an email from PE1BIW.
He heard the same like me on 3705 khz!
So maybe we heard really AM from the USA??

Oh by the way, Sundaymoring I heard AM around 3880.
But weak signals, to weak to understand who talking...

Greetings,

pe1mph / Henk
Dokkum / The Netherlands

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

- The day before, Sundaymorning, evenso AM around 3707 khz.
F6AQK, 9H1ES and PE1BIW were talking.
I thought I heard AM from the USA on 3705 khz.
But to weak to understand who were talking.
Later on Sundaymorning I got an email from PE1BIW.
He heard the same like me on 3705 khz!
So maybe we heard really AM from the USA??

Henk -

You were probably hearing Don K4KYV, Rob K5UJ, and myself KA1KAQ. We were on 3.705 from late Saturday evening until well into the morning hours here (2:30-3AM) Sunday. Static conditions were much improved and we had a great chat for several hours.

I was on there again last night, but not as late. As conditions improve moving into the autumn and winter seasons, we will no doubt be hearing more of each other one both sides of the Atlantic. The guys over here are certainly looking forward to it.

[kg8lb]

Are European amateurs allowed on 3695 ?  If I recall correctly their phone band starts at 3600  

[pe1mph]

Henk -
You were probably hearing Don K4KYV, Rob K5UJ, and myself KA1KAQ. We were on 3.705 from late Saturday evening until well into the morning hours here (2:30-3AM) Sunday. Static conditions were much improved and we had a great chat for several hours.
I was on there again last night, but not as late. As conditions improve moving into the autumn and winter seasons, we will no doubt be hearing more of each other one both sides of the Atlantic. The guys over here are certainly looking forward to it.

Thanks for your info!
So I wrote above, we heard AM on Sundaymorning on 3705!
And Mondaymorning I heard an unknow AM signal on 3705!

Hopefull next time better conditions,

pe1mph / Henk
Dokkum / The Netherlands