The AM Forum

Band Watch => 40 Meters => Topic started by: W2PFY on September 21, 2011, 03:10:44 PM



Title: JUST GOT BACK
Post by: W2PFY on September 21, 2011, 03:10:44 PM
I spent the last ten days at my camp near Westport, NY. 40 meters AM was very active from 7.285 to 95. I made about 15 contacts and most of them were new AM'ers to me. Most were running low powered vintage equipment that they already had while others went out and purchased vintage gear. There were a few first timers on there too using rice boxes and were happy to try AM for the first time.

It seems to me that in the last few years that 40 meter AM activity has been sparse but surprisingly, it's alive and well now. I had a modulator problem with a set of 100T's that were out of balance but that was an easy fix by replacing one tube. The tubes I'm using now are 70 years old. One guy said he was wanting to talk to a ham that had an excellent sounding BC-610 transmitter that he had heard about on 40 meters. I told him I was running a BC-610D but there could have been others. He said he has not heard 610's very often on 40 meters so maybe I was the station he was talking about? How's that for a pat on my own back ;D ;D ;D  BTW, my camp computer broke down after the first day there and I spent the remainder of my time there without a computer! I didn't know what that would feel like until now. I didn't miss it all that much!


Title: Re: JUST GOT BACK
Post by: KX5JT on September 21, 2011, 05:04:06 PM
Right on Terry!  I'm guessing you did most of your operating on 40 during the day?  It would have been an honor to work you but that would have only happened during dark hours.. and on those frequencies, more likely early morning after midnight.


Title: Re: JUST GOT BACK
Post by: Opcom on September 21, 2011, 10:21:32 PM
Camping is so cool. I have a road trip coming up, maybe I should take the IC706 and some wire. I'm nervous about the desert though, warned about snakes at night.

How would I even get an AM signal launched with such a QRP rig.. If camping, it is a 12 volt thing..


Title: Re: JUST GOT BACK
Post by: W2PFY on September 21, 2011, 11:00:31 PM
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It would have been an honor to work you but that would have only happened during dark hours.. and on those frequencies, more likely early morning after midnight.

I'll let you know when I go to the camp again ;D ;D

Quote
How would I even get an AM signal launched with such a QRP rig.. If camping, it is a 12 volt thing..

There was a guy who would go to the White Mountains in NH every year and take a back pack radio running one watt on AM. He would work all over the place with a dipole strung in the trees. I worked him a bunch of times but cannot remember his call?



Title: Re: JUST GOT BACK
Post by: Opcom on September 22, 2011, 01:30:19 AM
ahh.. well I could give it a shot, but the desert is not as crowded with AM enthusiasts as NH. OTOH the IC-706 is a good SSB rig. Any contact would be interesting.


Title: Re: JUST GOT BACK
Post by: KL7OF on September 22, 2011, 01:43:58 AM
Camping is so cool. I have a road trip coming up, maybe I should take the IC706 and some wire. I'm nervous about the desert though, warned about snakes at night.

How would I even get an AM signal launched with such a QRP rig.. If camping, it is a 12 volt thing..
I just spent 4 days camping in the Nevada desert...... and even with the scorpions an the snakes it wasn't that bad.....the snakes and scorps aren't looking for trouble...I found that if you leave them alone,  they go away...they don't want to be around you any more than you want them around...No worries.........So far so goood..
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