[Hallicrafters] AM calling freqs or whatever!

[Carl]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Todd, KA1KAQ" <ka1kaq at gmail.com>
To: "Peter Markavage" <manualman at juno.com>
Cc: <hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2008 2:11 PM
Subject: Re: [Hallicrafters] AM calling freqs or whatever!


> On Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 5:35 PM, Peter Markavage <manualman at juno.com> 
> wrote:
>> Hanging out in an imaginary AM Window severely curtails the
>> spread and fun of the AM mode to the rest of the amateur world. 
>> Fortunately,
>> at one of my station setups, I always have a spectrum analyzer 
>> (panadapter)
>> on the receiver, so I can find AM signals very quickly and be there 
>> in the
>> click of a mouse. Personally, I dislike spending my amateur radio 
>> time in a
>> "box".
>
> Bravo, Pete. I agree with your approach completely, and saw no ill
> intent in yours or Carl's post beyond stating the obvious. AM is just
> one of *many* modes available to amateurs here in the US. To treat it
> as though it needs to be segregated or should only be found in
> specific areas puts you in a box. This box gets smaller and smaller as
> more and more AMers try to join in. And you're stuck putting up with
> whatever is going on in that box, or shutting off the radio.
>
> There's another problem with listing frequencies for meeting up: not
> everyone who subscribes to a list is there to be friendly and get
> along with others. On more than one occasion, information listed by
> AMers has later been heard being recited by some station on SSB when
> they decide to jam their conversation (yes, it's true: some hams
> intentionally jam, and it's not mode-specific). It's not a large
> number, but it doesn't have to be when you're on HF using more than
> 100 watts. I've personally witnessed this with respect to the AMers
> trying to work European AMers on 80m.
>
> So rather than boxing yourself in or painting a target on your
> callsign, try this: spin the VFO dial around as Pete suggests, and
> look for a QSO to join. Better still, find a clear frequency within
> your license class and call CQ! You'd be amazed how many people are
> out there listening, too shy or timid to do the calling. This is
> especially true above 40m with weak propagation. And look beyond the
> usual haunts: there's an active AM community on 80m as well as 75. On
> 40m you can find activity below 7200, or create some. More than one
> frequency on 160, etc. If your license class doesn't permit it, you
> can upgrade.
>
> It's not a matter of telling anyone where they can or can't operate.
> But if you insist on using only a certain few frequencies for AM, you
> can bet that's what others will come to expect. All one needs to do is
> listen in the 75m 'AM ghetto' (credit to N3DRB for the tag) in the
> evening to witness the results: 2-3 QSOs crammed into 10-15 kcs of the
> band (do the math even at 6kcs wide), with SSB stations doing their
> best to make life miserable. Like others, I prefer to keep my options
> open, and create activity rather than waiting for it to happen for me.
> There is SO much unused spectrum sitting out there.
>
> And since it's still basically a free country (for now, at least),
> everyone can choose the approach they prefer. No purchase required,
> your mileage may vary, and so on. Just remember, it's supposed to be
> fun.
>
> de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ/4


I believe that the 3 of us agree on that Todd.

I have no use for crystal control either or being restricted to any box.

Most of my AM QSO's are down in the lower regions of the bands, 
especially on 10M.

Youve probably heard me on the new 80M frequencies working Europeans. 
With vertical polarization and at least 20dB F/B plus Beverages on 
receive attempts to deliberately QRM me are more humorous than 
effective. I sometimes switch the TX array direction to make a 
"statement", and then go back to enjoying a QSO.

The 304TL's look nice on modulation peaks!

Carl
KM1H