[AMRadio] Low Power AM Night

[Todd Bigelow - PS]

I couldn't find the net last night. Had the SX-62B on in one end of the house,
HQ-150 in the middle and a 75A-4 in the radioroom(next to the kitchen, of
course!). Tuned in just after 2000EST, listened to the northeast crowd as I cooked
dinner but heard no net. I did hear someone mention something about it being moved
to a different frequency due to noise. Another typical night where you could hear
the big stations, but that was it. SSB ops were doing their best to crowd in close
and interfere, too - you could tell this by tuning to them and listening to their
snide remarks. For all the good in ham radio, there will always be a few idiots
spread around.

The lastest issue of ER arrived as well, so I got to read KW1I's column. Nowhere
did I read or even get the slightest impression that he thinks there is a problem
with high powered stations refusing to talk with or ignoring low power stations.
Quite the opposite - he stated what is basically understood to the vast majority
of us: when conditions are quiet(like, earlier in the day), low power works great
and is a lot of fun. When conditions get noisy and the band gets rough, you need
more power to cut through it all. AMers talk to each other generally, without any
bias to power level that I'm aware of. Sometimes it's possible to utilize low
power, sometimes it's not. Last night was a good example.

BTW, I'm not sure if Warren NY2H listens here, but if so - Warren, your T-3
sounded *sweet!* last night. Never heard one sound so good. Heard a fellow with a
BC-610 too, sounded awful when he tried the carbon mic, then improved dramatically
when he changed it.

73 de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ


KC4QLP at aol.com wrote:

> I was working late...running a Carolina Tarheels basketball game here at
> WGAI-AM and read about the high static levels from the LOWFER guys.When I did
> get home around midnight eastern ,I too was "greeted" by the high static.If
> you werent 20 over S-9 or better...forget it.However Monday and Tuesday
> evening was GREAT!...shame mother nature had to get her "low" power
> transmitter fired up last night.....lol