40 Meter AM / Europe

[N1BCG]

This would have been such a simple post had I not added "Europe" to the topic. I've had years of FB domestic conversation in the 7280-7300 neighborhood, but in checking the IARU Region 1 bandplan, it seems as though the only overlap for European stations and Generals here is 7175-7200. And even then, would a Thompson CSF 500kw xmtr and curtain antenna be needed?  I have a Valiant and a dipole, so that's a start.

Anyone with experience spanning the Atlantic on AM?

Clark

[W1ITT]

Intercontinental paths are a rough road if you want anything approaching "armchair copy".  Back in the good old Cold War days when propaganda ruled the airwaves and trashed the 40m amateur allocation after dark, only the biggest budgets spanned the Atlantic.  Good old Radio Moscow operated big transmitters with curtain arrays that not only allowed for azimuth skewing, but also had elevation skewing to match the ionosphere at any given time.  The BBC at it's stations in England did the same, as did many of the VOA stations here.
But many of the kick-butt signals that we heard on this side were actually transmitted on contract via the Sackville Canada site.  Driving past there years ago it seemed to go on for a couple miles of all different curtains. I think it's mostly demobilized now.  I have twice visited and tuned antennas at the Radio Nationale Espana (Spain) site in Costa Rica that they use to ensure solid signals into Central and South America, as well as numerous trips to BBC sites in the Middle East.
If you can manage a kilowatt and a gain array, 40m intercontinental AM operation might be possible on a reliable regular basis with comfortable signals.  I have a modified 8JK array, all wires, suspended between large pines that works pretty well and is relatively cheap.  A yagi would be effective but entails money and worry when storms hit.  And your partners in Europe would need good stations as well to avoid being pushed off the frequency by the locals on their side.  Not saying it can't be done occasionally, but to make it on a regular basis and make it fun, it's going to entail more than a G5RV in the apple tree.

[W1ITT]

I just clicked over to the ARRRL site and saw an announcement that this weekend is the Portuguese National AM weekend.  There ya go...

[flintstone mop]

I was in the Philippines in 2010 and the 40m band is simply mayhem / chaos. There is little law and order in SE Asia on 40m and the adjoining countries. You take what you can get.

Gray line commo is a lot of fun. I love 40m, but it has a lot of bumps.


Fred

[Pete, WA2CWA]

A number of AM operators have worked European stations over the years down around 3705 and 3710 so working European stations on AM on 40 meters should not be an impossible task. Having a great receiver, some power, and a good antenna would make the task easier. Of course, doing it on 10, 15, or 20 meters would be a lot easier.

[W2JBL]

Clark- there is no magic to working Europe on 40. I do it with 100 watts or less on SSB with a dipole at 30 feet almost daily. That's year round too. Trouble is if you try to do it in the DX window below 7200 your'e gonna piss a lot of people off with the AM. The band ends at 7200 for most of the world so 7290 etc. is N/G. I would suggest trying to limit the bandwidth and keeping it above  7175 but there are some silly nets that live up there who think they own the band.

[Steve - K4HX]

http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=23240.msg170185#msg170185

http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=26619.msg201316#msg201316

http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=41868.0


And on 80 meters.

http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=22519.msg163435#msg163435