The 2025 AWA AM QSO Party was held on Saturday September 27 and Sunday September 28. From my QTH the participation seemed to be robust with many AM signals heard on 10 through 80 meters. 160 meters was quiet for all signals here in North Dakota. For some reason however, only six log and score sheets were submitted. I’m not sure why this happened, but for now, no major changes are planned for next year. If anyone has a theory why log submissions might have been down, I’d love to hear from you. Again, the AM activity seemed fairly normal, but log and score sheet submissions were down.

Aside from a very quiet 160 meter band, signals seemed to be plentiful, but QRN was causing difficulty at some locations. As usual, there were many contacts made by “first timers” to AM. I think that, except for certain “AM windows” such as the 3880-3885 segment, many ops have never heard an AM signal on air. When we hold this event on multiple bands, they notice, and they frequently join in, just to see if their rig actually works on AM if nothing else. They invariably report it as a positive experience. I have included in this year’s soapbox comments an e-mail from KJ4CYV. Stu did not send in a log sheet, but he sent me those comments. I thought I should include them in the soapbox comments since they are very typical of the things that ham radio operators say about their first AM operating experience.

This year’s high score went to a very deserving N2BE with a high score of 34. John has been a regular for this event over the past few years and he usually runs low power, so he has to work twice as hard to stir up contacts HI. But John is relentless and always turns in a good score, not to mention a very detailed post event report. Please take a look at his soapbox comments from this year’s event. It is quite interesting. Furthermore, John is the ultimate gentleman on the air, and a very good ambassador for ham radio and for AM. He was my first contact this year (on 20 meters) and then later we had a nice rag chew on 40. Because of his habit of running low power, I usually have to strain my ears to hear him, but this year’s contact on 40 meters was 100% armchair copy. I was already in a nice rag chew contact with Rick VE6CQ when John broke in. I could hardly believe my ears at his signal strength. His Globe Champ 150 was pumping out 150 watts of melodious AM audio. All three of us carried on for about 30 minutes. It was fun, relaxing, and harkened back to an earlier time when amateur radio was much simpler. Congratulations John, your persistence has paid off. 

Editor comment – Some years ago after winning all the AWA “On Air” events multiple times, John requested that his winning plaque go to the second highest scorer in the event.  Congratulations goes to Craig – W2NTN and Steve – N3TE both with a score of 32.  Each one of you  will receives this years  plaque!  This was Greg’s first year operating the AWA AM QSO Party which makes this award extra special for him!  

So in summary, I thought propagation this year was good, if not great. I know that conditions at my QTH were very adequate, at least on 80-10 meters. Participation was also good, I made 22 contacts, and I could have probably doubled that number if my aging body didn’t need so much sleep. I also had some unavoidable daytime chores that took some time away from operating. Eight horses need lots of attention! On thing I did notice this year was that there were relatively fewer vintage rigs, and a higher percentage of modern solid state equipment, both commercial and homebrew. I believe that this was the first year that nobody was transmitting with a converted broadcast transmitter.

Despite the low number of logs and scoresheets submitted, I think I can safely say that the 2025 AWA AM QSO Party was another success. Those who participated had a good time, and many learned that there is a viable alternative to SSB for voice communication. At this time there are no changes planned for next year’s event which will again take place the last weekend of September. As always, I welcome comments and suggestions to improve the AM QSO Party. I enjoy being the event coordinator, and want to make the event as enjoyable as possible for everyone who participates. I have always been fascinated and at times wonderfully amazed by the magic of radio communication. AM and CW have always been my favored modes, probably because they represent the roots of our hobby and remind us all of simpler times. 73 for now. I hope to hear your AM signal next September.