samrc

News Items of Interest.

Added a nice picture of the guys at the Huntsville Hamfest. Under the tab Great Events Pt. 2

Added a brief history of the SAMRC. Check it out below.

Net Time: Every Tuesday evening. Pre-net: 22:30 GMT. Net Time: 23:00 GMT.

Be sure to check out the safety information toward the bottom of this page. It is good for all of us to take note of how to be safe as we work on these boat anchors and transmitters.

A 20 V3 restoration in progress.... Check it out under the Restorations Pt. 4 tab.

Be sure to check out the Items for Sale in the Swap Shop!

If you need help getting your DMR radio to work, check out Eddie's procedure listed in detail. Click on Strays and Wanderings section and download the instructions.

Have you ever wondered about Part 97 of the Amateur Radio rules established by the FCC? Check out the Resources tab and read all about FCC regulations regarding things like power and spectrum use, etc.

Are You an SWL?

If you are an avid listener to short wave radio, and you have discovered the net on 3885 k.c. each Tuesday evening, then please drop us a line and let us know. We will send you a QSL card. W4AMI

205 Dixon Circle

Williamson, Georgia 30292

About Us

The Southeastern AM Radio Club

The Southeastern AM Radio Club (SAMRC) was founded in the year 2000 for the purpose of preserving and protecting the vintage AM radio mode of operation, vintage AM radio equipment, its preservation and restoration, the exchange of equipment through purchase or selling, and for the fellowship of like-minded AM radio Amateur operators. The club functions to promote the hobby, fellowship, and good will across the Amateur Radio spectrum as it relates to the AM mode of operation.

Tuesday Night Net

The SAMRC operates a weekly net on 3885 kilocycles. The time of the net changes depending upon propagation. (See above) The net is a directed net and all stations are asked to follow the instructions of the net control.

Help Promote AM

Help preserve the wonder of tube type vintage AM equipment. Tell a friend about SAMRC and the net. And be sure to join the Gulf Coast Mullet Net on Thursday evenings, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

Welcome to the Net

When we founded the SAMRC, we wanted a club callsign that reflected our support of AM International. So, what better callsign than W4AMI.... We use it on Tuesday evening to call the net.

Our History

A Brief History of the SAMRC

Hamfests have served for decades as a way for Amateur Radio operators to meet together and trade equipment, and to see what the latest piece of equipment looks like. While some hamfests are legendary in terms of size, there are always regional hamfests around if you are willing to take a weekend and visit them…

Even though the hamfests provide a forum for trading in the bone yard, by far one of the most important functions is the opportunity to have an eyeball QSO with old friends and the opportunity to meet new hams…. Sometimes the aisles are so crowded with hams chatting with old friends, that a person can hardly pass through to the tables…

These regional hamfests have led to some creative gatherings. For example, there was a small gathering each year in Dalton, Ga. at Praters’ Mill during the 1990s. It was a nice spot to camp overnight on Friday, and then enjoy the swap meet on Saturday morning. Sitting by the campfire, alongside the stream at the Mill, fostered the trading of stories well into the night.

During the late 90s, we often talked about some kind of opportunity to keep in touch on a more formal basis, and we even talked about some kind of formal meeting time on the air. The 1990s was a time of explosion of interest in AM and old equipment, and often on the air, we would mention some piece of equipment that was for sale, or that we were looking to obtain.

One of these creative gatherings took place in Tallassee, Alabama. There was an old hotel there, the Hotel Talisi, that Sam Timberlake knew about, and he invited several of his friends to come over and enjoy the fried chicken at the hotel…. So, a group of us got together in 1997 to eat there and tell some stories…. And the tradition was born. From that time onward the “eatin meeting” also included a tail-gate in a parking lot nearby. The annual gathering came to an end, however in 2009, when the hotel was damaged and closed due to fire.

It was at Tallassee, on a Saturday in the early Fall of 2000, that Andy Howard, WA4KCY, Sam Timberlake, KF4TXQ, Lou Duncan, K4MNY, Steve Waters, AE4IN, and Ron Johnson, WB4GWA, stood together chatting in the parking lot during the tail-gate, and the idea was born that we ought to do this kind of thing more often…. That conversation led to the idea of having some kind of net where we could check in each week and even plan for other gatherings.

Ideas flew among us. We decided we needed a name for the net, so we decided to call it the Southeastern AM Radio Club net. And we needed a call-sign. It was decided that we would ally with AMI International, so we wondered if a call-sign with AMI as a suffix would be available. The group asked Ron, WB4GWA, to check it out, and to see if W4AMI might be available.

Officers were elected, or in this case, we just came to consensus as to who would do what….. Andy became the president, Sam the vice-president, Lou the treasurer, Steve the secretary, and Ron would be the call-sign trustee…. We set Tuesday evenings as net time and Andy and Sam rotated as net control. We decided on 3885 k.c. as the place to operate and that lifetime dues would be set at $2.00. It was decided to begin operations the next week with Andy calling the net. Andy volunteered to make up a certificate and we began to enlist members.

W4AMI was indeed available, and Ron sent in the information about the club to the FCC by overnight, certified mail. Information about the new club was also sent to the ARRL. Application for the call sign was made. It took some time. The FCC required proof of the existence of the club and its officers, and it was sent in…. However, the application was not acted upon, and Ron got a notice from the FCC that additional forms were required.

Since we did not want to lose the callsign, and time was of importance lest someone else might snatch the callsign up, all the back and forth to the FCC was done by overnight, certified mail at a significant cost which Ron paid…. Finally, with paperwork going back and forth, the call sign was officially issued on 11-17-2000.

Since those early days, the club has met every Tuesday evening for the purpose of trading or selling equipment, but mostly for fellowship and an opportunity to knit the hams in the Southeast closer together. It has been a grand success, and today the SAMRC is one of the largest ham radio clubs in the country dedicated to AM, the swapping of equipment and fellowship.

Safety Concerns and Cautions

Always remember you are working with HIGH VOLTAGES that can kill you in an instant.

Never take shortcuts. Make safety your chief concern. Use some kind of current limiting device between your project and the mains.

If you are not sure about what you are doing, stop! Do not experiment.

Always seek advice from someone who is familiar with working with high voltages.

Remember there are no second chances when working with high voltages. Always consider all levels of voltage and current as lethal. Do not assume lower voltages are safe. Lower voltage at high current can kill as quickly as high voltage.

Never defeat interlocks or substitute fuses that are too large.

Never work alone. Be sure someone knows what you are doing and ask them to check on you from time to time.

The restorations and circuits on this website are for your information and enjoyment.

If you choose to build or restore any of the equipment listed on this website, please use caution. You are doing so at your own risk. Be very careful. We want you to enjoy this hobby. Never be afraid to ask for help from someone who has experience in the art of restoration and construction of equipment.

What we believe:

The SAMRC believes in the historic foundations of the "gentleman's hobby." We embrace the high standards of the hobby and seek to further them among our members. These standards are based off of the 1928 document known as The Radio Amateur’s Code endorsed by the ARRL. As such, we have adopted the following standards:

Conduct

1. We will always strive to be considerate of one another by treating fellow amateurs the way we wish to be treated.

2. We will support SAMRC with funding and with encouragement and seek to make our club known to others.

3. We will strive to keep our equipment within the guidelines of good operating practice and adherence to Part 97 of the FCC rules.

4. We will never use profanity on 3885 k. c. , nor on the net, nor will we ever use profanity at any time on the air regardless of frequency or mode of operation. We do not want to offend young people who might be listening and considering ham radio as a hobby.

5. We will strive to help one another fix our stations, share resources and knowledge and generally encourage one another to put forth the best signals we can on AM.

Procedures

1. We will follow at all times the lead and instructions of the designated net control station.

2. We will never attempt to be recognized by the net control by inserting a partial callsign. Example: “xyz”. Instead: “w4x**”. Or. “This is w4x**”

3. Should the net control need help, he will call for a relay station. Never break into the net control without FIRST offering to relay another station. Then say, “This is w4x** for relay.”

4. We will never key up and make comments that are unsolicited by net control just for the sake of comment or attempts at humor. We will avoid the use of VOX because of the possibility of intereference to the net.

How to become a member of SAMRC

If you would like to join the SAMRC we invite you to send $5.00 to:

Eddie Brown, KA4AMI