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(Continued from page 1)
about ham radio issues and concerns. Try me on 146.94-, call 503.709.7620 or email
n7rx@arrl.net
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One evening I started out on 20 meters but conditions weren't good and I only made two States, with lots of effort.
Next I switched to 40 meters and was sadly disappointed. The entire SSB section of the band was taken up with Commercial and Bandit AM broadcast stations. You couldn't make a contact if you had too with out switching to CW.
The next morning I tried out 10 meters ( the Magic Band) and had a wonderful time! I heard Russia, Germany, Italy Africa, Chile, Hawaii, England and made contacts with North Carolina, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana Missouri, Georgia and with Ken W7INX in Portland Oregon.
Now if your wondering what the Anchor is for at the start of this article I'm coming to that. The contact I made with KEN W7INX was on 10 meters AM. He told me a bunch of HAMS like to keep the Old Rigs on the air and operate AM mode between 29.000 and 29.100 mhz of the 10 meter band.
These dedicated HAMS love their old Boat Anchors that others seem to through away. Parts for them are hard to find and they end up doing most of the repairs them selves.
I run a Yaesu FT 101-E on HF, so I fit right in with the group. I need new tubes for the finals, so I only get about 40 Watts on 10 meters but I'm still getting contacts and haven't repaired it yet.
The difference between AM and SSB is amazing. No Mickey Mouse SSB sound, but the signals do fade in and out. When good contact is made the Audio is great.
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The next Day I tried out 10 meter AM and a funny thing happened. The night before I had made contact with Joe, KA0IL in Bonner Springs. Kansas on SSB. So I was tickled when I contacted Ron K0ETD in Bonner Springs, Kansas on Am mode. Joe thought it was funny too because there are only three HAMS in Bonner Springs. Next I contacted Dave K2DP in St Louis Missouri and Toshi JI2TER in Japan also on AM mode. Dave is a real aficionado of Boat Anchors with four different rigs from Collins to Heath Kit radios in his shack and great fun to talk to.
So if you haven't tried it yet, give 10 meters a try and this is just another reason to upgrade to General Class or above because you cant run 29.000 Mhz with a Technicians Ticket!
Next time your at a Ham-fest don't pass those old Boat Anchors by so quickly. You might even find an old 10 meter mobile rig with AM mode. It's lots of fun and you talk to some real interesting folks.
Maybe we should start a real Boat Anchor Club. Nah! That would only make the old Boat Anchors popular again and drive up the prices!
There are some conversions that can be done to make old CB radios into 10 meter radios. Anyone interested in doing this?
Chuck Parker KC7PDI
Have you had fun doing something different lately? How about writing an article for the sPARCgap.
The editor.
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