AM Phone-- The Slight Return

Heheh, yeah Paul, it wasn't the Space Spanner (which like many started me off) but it wasn't a lot better either! Just a tired old "plastic" radio, an Icom IC-781, and a wire dipole 10m AGL.

 

This may help; hat tip for the recording to KC9IEQ... a very nice 12 minute monitoring on his NC-300 that gets across the flow ..


http://youtu.be/5dToo4IvkAk


Thanks to Perry, K4CWW at the microphone for giving us a heads-up to the YT link, via the Southeastern AM Radio Club reflector



Heard: "..first time I've worked AM in a long time..." said KA4TLC at Fayetteville NC

 

AM activity rapidly dwindled during the 1960s, and Incentive Licensing seemed to be the final nail in its coffin. When I returned to the US during 1970-72, there was very little activity to be heard on the bands, and one had to search hard to find an AM QSO on any band. ARRL and the major amateur radio publications essentially proclaimed the AM mode dead. Then, in the early 70s, there began a renaissance of AM activity, first in the north-east, then spreading across the continent. The people at the FCC's Private Radio Bureau, led by the then-bureau chief, responded by doing everything in their power in an attempt to kill it once and for all. For nearly two decades to follow, a steady stream of rulemaking proposals and petitions to the FCC would have severely crippled AM in some way if not eliminate it entirely, starting with the infamous Bandwidth Docket 20777. But the AM community reacted throughout the period with effective opposition and the mode survived, and has been gaining ground ever since, to the point that AM is now considered a mainstream speciality mode on the order of modes like SSTV and RTTY.

Considering that the AM comeback began in the early 1970s, AM has now been "coming back" for many more years than it was ever supposed to be dead.

 

In about 1982 or 1983 I acquired two 75A4s. The first one, from the old Ham Trader Yellow Sheets, with 3.1 kHz filter only, for $200. I rigged non-standard filters in it for more choices of selectivity. Then, shortly afterwards I spotted another one in the QST Ham-Ads, best offer. I offered $100, and the guy took me up on it. It had all 3 filters, although the vernier mechanism and spinner knob were badly damaged, to the point that I had to destroy the vernier mechanism to get it off the shaft. But a couple of months later I found a brand new never-opened vernier knob conversion kit in the Yellow sheets for $35. So for the grand total of $335, I ended up with two 75A4s, each with good spinner knobs and vernier drives, and one with all 3 filters. Back in those days, it was just an "old receiver" and the ham community didn't attach much value to it.

During the 1970s, hamfests were real gold mines for parts and goodies. Hams were dumping their old AM and homebrew gear in droves, and equipment could be found at flea markets for a few pennies on the dollar, if the owner didn't simply dump it all in the trash and not even bother trying to sell it. I used to return from larger hamfests with the car loaded down almost dragging the ground with my flea market finds. Hams watching me load the stuff would sn¡gger when they observed me grabbing up all that "worthless old junk". Consider prices the stuff brings to-day, it was I who got the last laugh though, plus I now pretty much have my own private radio parts warehouse and can build practically anything I want with minimal need for scrounging.

 

On 11/30/11 KE0ZU sold his HRO-60 on Fleabay for $1880. You can see the details in auction # 130604810841
I did sell my SX-88 in 91 for a ridiculous price and it was never rebuilt/recapped, just very clean.

I first got on AM in 1956 within days of getting my General with a HB 2E26 rig on 2M and soon followed by a 829B on 6, a DX-100, and a Viking I for HF; I hated the DX-100 but in its defense it was the first production with a few problems and wrong parts and I knew nothing about treating 6146's properly; couldnt kill the Vikings 4D32.

In 57 I got on SSB with a used CE 10A/BC-458 VFO and a HB amp at maybe 100W but most activity was still CW and AM as it is today except for my serious SSB and CW contesting phase in the 80's and 90's. I use AM VOX at times as its more convenient for some discussions as well as PTT or just lean over and flip the switch. Im not into long winded transmissions, maybe 5-10 min, but can stay in a 1:1 or rountable for hours.

It doesnt take rocket science to understand when a QSO is not particularly interested in a breaker on any mode. Some just have a huge ego and think the world would enjoy having them join. Many of my best conversations resulted from answering or calling CQ.

Ive known Chuck almost 30 years also and remember him tearing up 75 on SSB and AM to a big HB amp into a 3el KLM yagi on a 120' tower on top of his high ridge QTH. He doesnt sound any different in person and we had lots of good times here and at his home plus closing down or getting thrown out of Mexican restaurants in 2 states! With 4-5 of us it got a bit loud be we all enjoyed it. BTW I bought that yagi along with a HD 200' BCB tower that was local but didnt have the cojones to put it up as the neighborhood was going to hell with yuppies building McMansions; it is now in Southern IL. I already had 4 towers up on 5 acres including a 4/4 for 40M on the 180' one so didnt think having a chopper fly over with that monster was a good idea. With the winds on this hill it likely wouldnt have lasted a year anyway.

These days I have several TX; Ranger, V-1, V-II CDC, Valiant, 32V3, 1940 and 46 HT-9's, ATC (USN ART-13) and several 25-90W rigs, plate and controlled carrier; AF-54, AF-67. Adventurer with factory modulator, DX-35, DX-60, Globe Chief 90A with HB PP 5881 modulator, Eico 720 with HB PP 807 modulator, Knight T-150A, Heath Seneca and Clegg Zeus with Interceptor B.

I also have a clone or the original QST Jan 1954 cover rig, a single 813 with 811A modulators but havent decided if I want to restore it or just leave it on a shelf; it is sort of historical.

Too many receivers to list covering 1931-70.

A CE100V, HT-32B, GSB-100 do double duty on AM and SSB with a pair of NCL-2000's and DTR-2000L.

A TS-950SD makes its share of AM Q's usually when Im doing final test on customer amp repairs; its amazing what you can get out of a pair of 8877's and three 3CPX800A7's! Otherwise it drives a LK-500ZC with the external transformer/cabinet option; it loafs at a 350W carrier with a slight bias mod.

Dont knock 10M even on a low part of the cycle, evening grayline from here in NH to VK/ZL is very common on SSB with a decent yagi and many times signals are Q5 on AM with a good receiver. Dont even bother with a dipole and stock HQ-129X and no preamp in a noisy enviroment! I use a slightly souped up NC-300 which is more stable than some early riceboxes; if that is tied up on another band/bench with a different TX I'll use the HRO-500, or souped up HRO-60......I do like pushing useable sensitivity to the limit and not what some magazine articles or self appointed experts claim it is.
December openings to SA/CA and even some AF are somewhat common especially with everyone watching DX spots. Multi hop E Skip does not depend upon the MUF altho it could link to it or other modes.

Enuf for now, off to bed.

Carl

 

I like this thread, I worry about the inevitable demise of analog amateur communication altogether, either by FCC mandate or the bands being filled with nothing but data transmissions, it's good to hear people showing an interest in classic comm modes. I'm just getting back into ham radio after a long hiatus and am looking forward to working SSB and some AM using my HT-32 and SX-115.
73
Bob
N3UIQ

 

Same here.

As stated several posts above, a DX-60 makes a good AM rig for a newbie. I ain't much of a newbie, but I do still use a DX-60B. I just ordered parts to improve the audio and modulation. I also ordered what I needed to make a "no holes" modification to run the DX-60s 6146 final amplifier in class AB1 when fed with either my Heathkit SB-10 or my Argonaut 505.

My old HQ-100AC is happy to be back in AM service. About thirty years ago I replaced the detector circuitry with solid state components, otherwise it is all original -- including the speaker/cabinet. The circuit I added operates as a product detector when the mode switch is moved to "BFO". Great old radio for AM/CW/SSB/RTTY.

Look for me on AM at the high end of 10 meters. My 135' doublet with home made ladder line and a homebrew L-match/1:1 current balun seem to work reasonably well up there.

But, I really enjoy the HF digital modes. My Argonaut is stable enough for them, except on 10 meters. I find that 2-3 watts sure goes a long ways with the digital modes.

I still love AM, but the digital modes are sure a lot of fun when running QRP and a simple wire antenna.

Anyway, this is all part of my grand scheme to make a modern communications station using nostalgic equipment.

Now, I just wish I could figure out how cat's whiskers were made - and the wire they were wound with.

Ken
K8KJG