The AM Rally Returns - Feb 2-4 2018

well 40 m. sucks here right now. Getting a lot of noise, a bc station on 7285 and east coast hams wafting in and out of the noise level here which is high.

 

well 40 m. sucks here right now. Getting a lot of noise, a bc station on 7285 and east coast hams wafting in and out of the noise level here which is high.

 

Yep, just hung it up a few minutes ago.

 

I'm running K6YVM on the Northern marine radiotelephone (type N535 transmitter, type N620 receiver), on the ship's long wire.

yeah 40m is difficult, very deep and slow QSB. But I made two QSOs, both to eastern OR, so I'll keep trying for a while.

(not bothering with 1925khz, getting AM BCB QRM, not surprising with 5 transmitters within a couple miles. And 3870 and 3885 have some other QRM.)

 

I helped keep AM going on 160m Fri and Sat nights. Noise was low here, but propagation was not at its best, with signals fading down into the noise level at times. Some SSB ops were unhappy with the expansion of AM activity while the event was going on.

 

Consolation fruitbaskets will be sent to them.

 

OK, got a few QSOs today, all on 40m. thanks for the fun event. here's the log:

 

NICE! Be sure to send logs to logs@amrally.com in order to be counted!

 

I was surprised to hear W1AW Saturday night just before midnight EST calling CQ AM Rally! Great to hear the support from HQ.

 

Not only that but they prepared for the AM Rally for weeks by putting up a dedicated set of antennas optimized for 3880 and 7290. The K7DYY transmitter that was reviewed in the September 2017 issue of QST was used as the transmitter and a Flex 5000 as the receiver. An informal poll was even taken as to what band(s) the ARRL should modify their recently acquired Gates BC1-T AM broadcast transmitter to operate on.

Bob Allison (WB1GCM), the Assistant Lab Manager at the ARRL, made over 300 contacts (he's still on as I write this) including an aeronautical mobile contact with a Boeing 737 airliner pilot and a true OM who hadn't worked AM since 1960 and was welcomed back to the mode by W1AW.

I can say with great conviction that I'm profoundly impressed by The League's support of this event. Somebody pinch me...