[AMRadio] 160 meter AM in Arizona

Fri Dec 19 20:01:42 EST 2025

It was probably a bit overboard......N100 respirator (because that's what I
had), rubber gloves, goggles, scrub cap and a Tyvek apron, plus a spray
bottle of dilute bleach solution.

 A lot of time and money was spent teaching me how to work in areas where
it's "shields up" and I figured it was a bad idea to ignore it all just
because I was at home. :-)

Eric
WB6TIX

On Fri, Dec 19, 2025 at 2:14 PM Jim Wilhite <ars.w5jo at gmail.com> wrote:

> Eric,
>
> Be very careful with the  mouse leavings.  In that country they can
> carry hantavirus which is a real booger.  Wear a dust mask and medical
> gloves when working with that transmitter and be careful cleaning out
> the rest.   Once clean and disinfected, you will be ok.
>
> There is/was some activity around here OK, TX on 1.885 in the winter.
> Until my wife became so ill, I operated with the stations that were
> regular at 9 PM.  W5KO, WB5HAK and KG5CW.  I have not been on with them
> in quite a while so am unsure of their activity.  It has been a very
> long time since I have heard much activity from AZ, NM and Southern
> Cal.  Most of the patrons have passed or moved, but there is always the
> possibility of you getting a bunch going.
>
> Two things are required for successful operation on 160.  A very good
> antenna and high power.  As Rob said, put up a good vertical over a good
> ground field.  Here I have very good ground conductivity so I use an
> inverted L.  50 ft. of which is vertical and another 125 ft.
> horizontal.  My tower and mast for the beam is 70 ft. and I shunt fed it
> till I decided to put a TV antenna on it to get the distant larger city
> stations.  Under it I have about 12 radials of varying length and have
> been fairly successful.
>
> I can hear a bunch out in the NE of the USA but many have low dipoles or
> poor antenna systems, so I cannot work them unless I have a beverage,
> which I had till we moved.  Don, K4KYV can, probably be heard if he is
> on, however he has not been as active as he was a few years ago.  If you
> do SSB, there is a weekly net on Tuesday night on 1.960 run by Matt
> KD0OS at 8 PM Mountain Time.  Matt runs it SSB and stations from MO, TX,
> OK, KS, NM, CO, SD and occasionally S. CA check in.  If You can check
> in, it would be a good place to stir up some activity.
> There are several AM capable stations who check in there, Arne/K0AS in
> Spearfish, SD among them.  Give it a try.
>
> 73,
>
> Jim,
> W5JO
> Southern OK
>
>
>
> On 12/19/2025 11:55 AM, VZW engr wrote:
> > I was considering starting out with a TX using a grid modulated 1AD4 as
> the
> > final, and a mobile whip on a wood 4 by 4.   Not really.  :-)
> >
> > I don't yet have any 160 meter TX antennas.   I live on 20 acres and the
> > nearest neighbors are far, far away, so I'm dealing only with "natural
> > noise", both of which help, even if only a little.  I'll have to listen
> on
> > 160 meters and "see what I hear" before I decide "what's next".
> >
> > I (carefully) cleaned out the mouse "debris" from the meter deck of the
> > cabinet.  Unfortunately some mouse "debris" went down the sides of the
> > cabinet and the smell remains.There appears to be no other issues with
> > mouse intrusion.  I do want to remove all the electronics/electrical
> stuff
> > and gently pressure wash out the cabinet interior so I can minimize the
> > mouse smell..not sure if mouse or cigar smell is worse.  :-)  However,
> this
> > will be a summertime project as I don't like "playing in the water" when
> > it's below freezing for most of the day.  After that, a careful
> inspection
> > of the wiring harness in the meter deck will be in order as mice like to
> > chew on stuff.
> >
> > Eric
> > WB6TIX
> >
> > On Fri, Dec 19, 2025 at 8:35 AM Rob Atkinson <ranchorobbo at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >> I think there's 160 m. AM activity in the southwest (S. Cal., AZ and
> >> maybe NM) but I don't know much more about it.  With that transmitter
> >> you have the power and audio.  You'll need to get a decent antenna
> >> which on 160 usually means some kind of vertical with a good ground
> >> system.  You can listen to 160 and get an idea of how good your
> >> receiving setup is.  Using the tx antenna for receiving usually
> >> doesn't work too well.  160 is typically a fall and winter band.  A
> >> few die-hards operate there in the summer, but most of us aren't
> >> masochists.
> >>
> >> 73
> >>
> >> Rob
> >> K5UJ
> >>
> >> On Thu, Dec 18, 2025 at 8:49 PM VZW engr <vzwengr at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>   Does anyone know of activity in Arizona on 160 meters?
> >>>
> >>> I picked up CCA AM-1000D TX that I'm planning on moving to 160 meters.
> >> It
> >>> will be awhile, as the TX just arrived to its new home in my garage.
> >>>
> >>> Eric
> >>> WB6TIX
> >>> ______________________________________________________________
> >>> Our Main Website: http://www.amfone.net
> >>> AMRadio mailing list
> >>> Archives: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/amradio/
> >>> List Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio
> >>> Post: AMRadio at mailman.qth.net
> >>> To unsubscribe, send an email to amradio-request at mailman.qth.net with
> >>> the word unsubscribe in the message body.
> >>>
> >>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> >>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> >>> Message delivered to ranchorobbo at gmail.com
> > ______________________________________________________________
> > Our Main Website: http://www.amfone.net
> > AMRadio mailing list
> > Archives: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/amradio/
> > List Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio
> > Post: AMRadio at mailman.qth.net
> > To unsubscribe, send an email to amradio-request at mailman.qth.net with
> > the word unsubscribe in the message body.
> >
> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> > Message delivered to ars.w5jo at gmail.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Our Main Website: http://www.amfone.net
> AMRadio mailing list
> Archives: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/amradio/
> List Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio
> Post: AMRadio at mailman.qth.net
> To unsubscribe, send an email to amradio-request at mailman.qth.net with
> the word unsubscribe in the message body.
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to vzwengr at gmail.com