[AMRadio] Bands open, 40m

[Donald Chester]

For those interested in 40m, I  have made the following observations the
past few evenings.

I hear the AM group on 7290 about every evening, but most participants seem
to sign out around 0300 GMT. That's a good time to start up a smaller
roundtable or a one-on-one. Sometimes some of the gang stays around longer
if someone new calls in after the main group goes away.

The problem is the broadcast station on 7295. A very strong one, apparently
from somewhere in the middle east, fires up promptly every evening at 0358Z.
Its  lower sideband wipes out 7290. Earlier in the evening there is another
broadcaster on 7285, weak, but still enough to make 7290 a better frequency.
I have noticed it is completely gone by 0400, so when the 7295 station comes
on, one can easily continue the QSO by QSYing 5 kc/s down, to 7285 and enjoy
a clear frequency. That lasts almost another hour, until about 0455, when a
strong broadcaster fires up on 7285, but nevertheless it opens a window for
another full hour after 7290 is blown away.

After 0500Z, broadcasters can be heard on 7295, 7285, 7275 and 7250 pretty
much wiping out  the top end of the band, but there usually are clear spots
in the vicinity of 7260 and a whole swathe of clear frequency around
7220-40, if there are no slopbucketeers using it.

The past couple of evenings I have been operating 7290 until just before the
top of the hour at 0400 GMT, then shifting down 5 kc/s for one more hour. By
the time the 7285 BC station comes on, I'm usually ready to call it a night
anyway.

Of course, there is no guarantee this will last, since the BC stations tend
to shift around often and change times and frequencies.

Don k4kyv