A great AM Rally (even if it did end with a zorch)

[KD1SH]

Another AM Rally is in the log, and it was great. I think - albeit with no stats to prove it - that it was better than last year's. This was my first Rally with a real 40 meter antenna, and I think I spent more time and logged more contacts there than anywhere else. Some good 10 meter activity, too. I managed to work a few familiar calls from AMfone, too, for the first time. While I miss the days when the League was on the air with the Gates BC1-T, the crew at the Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut, W1VCM, made up for it, with the Gates at its new home. Thanks to Bob, Larry, and Tina and the rest of the crew! Now I just need to get busy transposing my cluttered chicken-scratch paper logs to the official form and send it in.
The only sour note was that, in the final hours of the Rally, while talking to Tom VU and Clark, N1BCG, my faithful DX-60 sputtered out. I'm thinking it's something in the output section: the load control has suddenly become mostly ineffective. I can get plenty of RF out of it by playing with the tune cap, but I can't load it down. At first I thought I'd lost a padding cap on the loading air-variable, but there isn't one, although the tune cap is padded. Well, at least it got me through all but the last few hours, and now it's on the way down to my workshop.
Thanks to Steve and Clark for organizing this excellent event!

[AG5UM]

Yes, It was a privilege to hear so many great sounding classic, vintage and modern AM-transmitters on the air, doing great.  NE5TX David in Texas was doing a great job, holding the fort on his very Cool "Harvey Wells" AM-transmitter. He has a great signal into Oklahoma. Don K4KYV, of course a wonderful signal, as always, on 160 mtrs. It was great to hear so many AM-signals on 10, 20, 40 mtrs. etc. through the days also...like GW8TBG in Wales on 10, N9AMI, etc. very Cool.  So many great signals and cool transmitters on so many bands, wonderful. Also, heard alot of sidebanders trying out the AM button for the first time, Maybe thats a good sign for AM popularity...hope so.  Heard Tim WA1HLR and Steve WA1QIX also, thats always fun. GREAT JOB to ALL that participated in the wonderful AM-Rally 2023!!  AG5UM/Donnie.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Didn't pursue the 'competition' side of if but did have a great time working a lot of AM stations over the weekend. The 80m side of the station is not quite ready for prime time so I confined activity to 40m, 7.270-7.292 mainly. Did here K1D1SH try to jump in during a Saturday roundtable but I don't think Buddly heard you, and by the time he finished talking about his amps, you were gone. I see you're in my log, not sure now if we worked or not.

First contact for me Saturday was none other than Chuck, K1KW on 7.275 at 1346. Casually logged another 27 contacts ending with Gary/K7EK in KY using a 2 el. 40m yagi at 70ft. I was using the 30K-5/75A-4 combo, about 250w out from a single 4-125A being yelled at by a pair of 75THs.

Some of the high points:

After taking a lunch/dinner break from 1400-2000 I got back on 7.285 and called CQ. Was answered by Ed/K8DI stretching the legs on his newly-launched RCA broadcast transmitter. Worked a couple more stations and was joined by that Big Signal from 'Stateside' WI - Robert/W0VMC. 40 was in great shape, especially for nighttime. We ran a roundtable until almost 2200 with numerous stations coming and going. Robert wasn't hunting points either, but like others in it just for the fun, we were happy to give out whatever info folks needed for a "contact".

Got a good night's sleep and returned Sunday morning at 1157. First station worked was a real treat, as we hadn't talked since I lived in NC, probably 2014 or so. Don Chester/K4KYV was calling CQ and though not loud initially, was coming in well from Woodlawn, TN so early in the day. We talked for nearly 3 hours(!!!), catching up on the last 9 years. His signal built as we carried on and several stations came and went into early afternoon.

Took a lunch break at 1400 or so and returned at 1630 just in time to catch Nick/VE3OWV near Ottawa who I used to work often but again, not for several years. Then worked Chris/W4SVA just up the road near Harrisonburg VA. Chris told me the HB rig he was running was inside the cabinet of a big transmitter he hauled off from my place when we lived up in Manassas. Excellent!

Worked a few more stations and took a break. Came back at 2137 and the band was still in great shape. Ended up working Matt/KD0EZS in Tribune, KS near CO. We were joined by John/WA0FDV near Fargo, ND running an Elmac AF-67.....into an amp running a pair of 4-400s. We were later joined by Bob/KA7WOC near Seattle (Whitby Island?). He was also running a HB pair of 4-400s modulated by a pair of 813s. Gary/K7EK joined in at 2222 and I think I finally 'threw the big switch' a bit before 2300 with my first coast-to-coast AM contact logged.

Worked a lot of new stations, hopefully they will stay active and add their signals to the bands regularly. Some were new to AM entirely. Others were returning to AM after years, sometimes several decades away from it. And I only operated on 40m. Many spoke of 10, 15, and 20m activity as well.

There was one last little treat for me. When I checked email a couple days later, there was a note from a ham named Ed who "was a radio operator in the USMC many years ago." He sent a short movie he made showing the dial of his Zenith H500 Transoceanic receiving my signal. Now THAT was cool.

Will be back in the basement this weekend working on the station and looking for activity on the bands. Might even get 80 up and running. Hope to bump into some of you.

[KD1SH]

Yes, we did work; I've got you in my log as a contact. I heard Buddly quite well, got all his information, but didn't log him as a contact because we didn't actually communicate directly. I'm kind of fussy about that, even though it's not a "real" contest. I will log stations as contacts in a round table if I hear them mention me as part of the group, and I get their data and am reasonably assured that they got my data as well, but if all I do is hear them, I don't count them as contacts, just to be honest about it.
In any event, it was loads of fun, and I'm already looking forward to the next one. The best part, really, is sharing a little AM camaraderie and hearing all the different rigs.
My DX-60 zorch was minor, by the way, and it's ready to get back on the air.

Didn't pursue the 'competition' side of if but did have a great time working a lot of AM stations over the weekend. The 80m side of the station is not quite ready for prime time so I confined activity to 40m, 7.270-7.292 mainly. Did here K1D1SH try to jump in during a Saturday roundtable but I don't think Buddly heard you, and by the time he finished talking about his amps, you were gone. I see you're in my log, not sure now if we worked or not.

[WD8BIL]

Sorry about that Bill! I might of been a bit quick on the trigger. I did hear you later as I was working on the bench. Nice signal in Ohio!

And yes, Todd, working Don K4KYV was a real treat. He actually checked into the What's for Dinner Net Friday evening and surprised us all with his booming signal.

[KD1SH]

No worries, Buddly. Things get a little wild and woolly; it's the nature of thing, and it's what makes a horse race, as they say.
I did hear Don, K4KYV as well, and really wanted to work him, but he also got lost in the shuffle. It's all part of the Rally, and the best part isn't the competition and scoring; it's hearing all the AM ops getting together for some fun.

Sorry about that Bill! I might of been a bit quick on the trigger. I did hear you later as I was working on the bench. Nice signal in Ohio!

And yes, Todd, working Don K4KYV was a real treat. He actually checked into the What's for Dinner Net Friday evening and surprised us all with his booming signal.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Sorry about that Bill! I might of been a bit quick on the trigger. I did hear you later as I was working on the bench. Nice signal in Ohio!

I figured it was just band conditions, Bud. Sunday when I was on talking with Chris/'SVA, he was the channel master at +50 on my guessmeter. An hour or so later I heard someone say his call and heard barely a murmur in response, though the other guy was hearing him fine. Just 40 being 40.

Phil, glad your zorch wasn't serious. It's no way to end a fun weekend of operating! I had 2 zorches myself, both taking place in the unused tank portion of the RF deck. The last one was a light-dimming event, accompanied by the Sci-Fi *BZZZZZRRRRRRRRRRRRRR* zorching transformer sound. Unkeyed and re-keyed both times and it was gone. Maybe one of the basement spiders got in there.

FYI, Don turned 80 this past June and sounds as sharp and spry as ever. Something for us youngster/newbies (in comparison) to shoot for.

[KB5MD]

I forgot about it!

[W1DAN]

I enjoyed it.

Gave a good run on the repaired Class E rig.

The HRO-60meter pegged on many signals.

Dan

[K8DI]

I can’t really say I had fun operating the rally this year, but rather a lot of satisfaction. As said in other postings, I finally got my converted RCA transmitter on the air and made its first contact. Of course there were then issues discovered as happens with a rig the first time it’s on an antenna instead of a well-shielded dummy load…I spent more time fixing than operating. But each step forward is success. Thanks to those I worked, I appreciated your comments, and look forward to the next one!

Ed