Date: Wed, 6 Apr 94 04:30:34 PDT
From: Ham-Equip Mailing List and Newsgroup <ham-equip@ucsd.edu>
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Subject: Ham-Equip Digest V94 #96
To: Ham-Equip
Ham-Equip Digest Wed, 6 Apr 94 Volume 94 : Issue 96
Today's Topics:
Icom IC-W21AT?
Kenwood 830 & MFJ tuner
Proper wire to connect a key? (3 msgs)
SGC tuner
TS50 INFO NEEDED
Where can I get a good leather case for an HTX-202?
Send Replies or notes for publication to: <Ham-Equip@UCSD.Edu>
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Archives of past issues of the Ham-Equip Digest are available
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We trust that readers are intelligent enough to realize that all text
herein consists of personal comments and does not represent the official
policies or positions of any party. Your mileage may vary. So there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 6 Apr 1994 04:09:58 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!galaxy.ucr.edu!library.ucla.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!wupost!bigfoot.wustl.edu!cec3!jlw3@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: Icom IC-W21AT?
To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu
I'm getting ready to get my first rig, and I think I've decided on the
IC-W21AT. My question is: I have heard some rumors that because of the
ECPA, the magic key-sequence opening up wideband rx will be/is no longer
applicable. Has anybody who has bought the ht recently tried it? Does
it still work, and will I have any anticipated complaints with the ht?
It's pretty much between this and the Yaesu FT-530. I plan to purchase
sometime within three weeks. Please respond to jlw3@cec.wustl.edu or post
response!!
--jesse (still waiting, 102 days and counting. . .)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 1994 10:29:02 GMT
From: agate!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!news.umbc.edu!haven.umd.edu!darwin.sura.net!gatekeeper.es.dupont.com!esds01.es.dupont.com!GRIB%esvx17.es.dupont.com%%@ihnp4.ucsd.edu
Subject: Kenwood 830 & MFJ tuner
To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu
In article <Troyce-040494073700@idmb-secretary.tamu.edu>, Troyce@bio.tamu.edu (Troyce) writes:
>Ok, I have a Kenwood 830 I just bought, an MFJ 949E Versa Tuner II, and
>have installed an Alpha Delta multiband dipole antenna in the attic.
>Following the manual, I started tuning the transmitter, placing the mode on
>tune, switching the MFJ to dummy load, peaking the drive and load, and
>dipping the plate. During this process, the meter on the MFJ also
>registers. Then the manual says to switch mode to CW and key down while
>dipping the plate again, but nothing shows on the Kenwood meter when I do
>this.
>
>Following this, I switch the MFJ to coax and attempt to match the antenna
>to the rig. The MFJ instruction sheet says to key down on the keyer, then
>set the transmitter and receiver calibration dials. The problem is, when I
>do this, nothing registers on the MFJ meter once again. I have also tried
>another keyer, and still no problem. Someone said they usually did all
>their tuning with the send/receive switch on the rig, and by placing the
>mode switch on tune, this did get a reading on the MFJ.
>
>Any suggestions from anyone familiar with the Kenwood 830 and the MFJ
>tuner? Am I doing something wrong?
>
>Troyce
>KC5CBI
>
>--
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Please read THE ELEMENT OF FIRE by Martha Wells, a Tor hardback at
>quality bookstores near you. I live with the author and want
>to go back to Disney World this year :)
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Troyce,
To get the CW mode to work with Kenwood transceivers (and most Yaesu, and
Icom's), you must have both a key plugged in, and the VOX turned on. If you
leave the VOX off, then you can sorta practice sending CW without having the
transmitter go on the air. Other than that, I don't know what would be wrong,
check the book, and see if there's any other problem with the rig, but if
you're getting power out of it on tune, then you should be able to get full
power out when you're in CW. Usually most people just tune the rig up with
the tune position, and then go to SSB and adjust the mike gain accordingly.
One thing I might mention you consider is one of the different gadgets to
adjust your tuner without putting your rig actually on the air. Both reduces
QRM to other stations, and also saves your rig's finals. MFJ, and several
other companies make gizmo's that do this pretty cheaply (about $100) which
are a heck of a lot cheaper than a service call (no matter how minor) to
Kenwood or any of the others.
Good Luck,
Joe KI3B
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 1994 12:54:44 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: Proper wire to connect a key?
To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu
In article <hamilton.765474668@BIX.com> hamilton@BIX.com (hamilton on BIX) writes:
>Okay, real dumb question. (Except that I'd feel even dumber if it turned
>out this isn't a dumb question and I should have asked! :-)
>
>I've just bought a Bencher iambic key. I was a bit surprised to see they
>didn't include any wire with it. Offhand, I assume any reasonable 3-
>conductor wire can be used, right? I'm guessing it's just low voltage
>low current (logic levels) DC involved, so not even any reason to use
>a shielded cable, right? Just any decent, flexible light cable should
>work, I'm assuming.
Oh, dear. Remember that your keying waveform is a square wave with
varying duty cycle. A squarewave is made up of all odd harmonics from
the fundamental up through infinity. You need to use oxygen free copper
Monster Wire(tm) to avoid distortion of the dynamics of the waveform.
The cable must have 8 twists per inch to achieve the proper pitch.
(Experiments were conducted with 7.5 twists per inch, but there was
a large pitch shift over the length of the cable.) Gold connectors
are required, attached to the cable by pressure bond to avoid any
chance of oxygen contamination of the copper. (Copper oxide is a diode,
and will cause spurious harmonic generation.) I can sell you a nice
set of pre-terminated cables for only $99.95 plus shipping and handling.
:-) :-) :-)
Really, the only concern you may have is RF pickup. In that case you'd
want to use shielded wire. Standard shielded pair audio cable works
fine. Connect the shield to the paddle, and one of the pair wires to
each of the dot and dash contacts.
Gary
--
Gary Coffman KE4ZV | You make it, | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
Destructive Testing Systems | we break it. | uunet!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary
534 Shannon Way | Guaranteed! | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary
Lawrenceville, GA 30244 | |
------------------------------
Date: 6 Apr 94 02:48:12 GMT
From: dog.ee.lbl.gov!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!news.ucdavis.edu!modem58.ucdavis.edu!ddtodd@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
Subject: Proper wire to connect a key?
To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu
gary@ke4zv.atl.ga.us (Gary Coffman) writes:
>In article <hamilton.765474668@BIX.com> hamilton@BIX.com (hamilton on BIX)
writes:>>Okay, real dumb question. (Except that I'd feel even dumber if it
turned>>out this isn't a dumb question and I should have asked! :-)
>>
>>I've just bought a Bencher iambic key. I was a bit surprised to see they
>>didn't include any wire with it. Offhand, I assume any reasonable 3-
>>conductor wire can be used, right? I'm guessing it's just low voltage
>>low current (logic levels) DC involved, so not even any reason to use
>>a shielded cable, right? Just any decent, flexible light cable should
>>work, I'm assuming.
>Oh, dear. Remember that your keying waveform is a square wave with
>varying duty cycle. A squarewave is made up of all odd harmonics from
>the fundamental up through infinity. You need to use oxygen free copper
>Monster Wire(tm) to avoid distortion of the dynamics of the waveform.
>The cable must have 8 twists per inch to achieve the proper pitch.
>(Experiments were conducted with 7.5 twists per inch, but there was
>a large pitch shift over the length of the cable.) Gold connectors
>are required, attached to the cable by pressure bond to avoid any
>chance of oxygen contamination of the copper. (Copper oxide is a diode,
>and will cause spurious harmonic generation.) I can sell you a nice
>set of pre-terminated cables for only $99.95 plus shipping and handling.
Four days late Gary? :-)
>:-) :-) :-)
>Really, the only concern you may have is RF pickup. In that case you'd
>want to use shielded wire. Standard shielded pair audio cable works
>fine. Connect the shield to the paddle, and one of the pair wires to
>each of the dot and dash contacts.
>Gary
>--
>Gary Coffman KE4ZV | You make it, | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
>Destructive Testing Systems | we break it. | uunet!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary
>534 Shannon Way | Guaranteed! | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary
>Lawrenceville, GA 30244 | |
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Apr 1994 03:43:52 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!n1ist@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: Proper wire to connect a key?
To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu
In article <hamilton.765474668@BIX.com> hamilton@BIX.com (hamilton on BIX) writes:
-I've just bought a Bencher iambic key. I was a bit surprised to see they
-didn't include any wire with it. Offhand, I assume any reasonable 3-
-conductor wire can be used, right? I'm guessing it's just low voltage
-low current (logic levels) DC involved, so not even any reason to use
-a shielded cable, right?
Yes and no... It is logic-level so the type of wire shouldn't be too
important, but I would use two-conductor shielded wire, so any RF in
the shack wont false-key or damage the inputs in the keyer. Definitely use
stranded rather than solid. You may want to wire in a DPDT reversing switch
so you can swap paddles if you switch hands (or someone else uses your
shack). Actually, I'd put the switch in the keyer, that way you can use any
handy paddle, without worrying about how it is wired... Useful during
Field Day and things like that.
/mike
--
\|/ Michael L. Ardai N1IST Teradyne ATB, Boston MA
-*- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
/|\ ardai@maven.dnet.teradyne.com n1ist@netcom.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 94 22:06:50 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!gatech!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!alberta!adec23!mark@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: SGC tuner
To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu
greg@netcom.com (Greg Bullough) writes:
>I keep hearing wonderful things about SGC's automatic antenna tuner.
Deserved.
>Does anyone have anything *bad* to say about this beastie?
If you have a close to resonant (but still bad match) antenna, the tuner can
search till the cows come home, rattling away mindlessly at it's relays. A
manual antenna tuner with cross-needle display takes about a minute to tune
up on a fresh antenna and comparitively can match *anything*, which the SGC
tuner can *not* (but damn close in any case). Only purchase this if you want
hands off tuning desparately, I believe this tuner is the best on the market,
if you prefer to run long wires in the middle of nowhere, bring along a manual
tuner *just in case*.
If your aligator clip slips off the antenna feedline while running with the
tuner in the shack, be prepared to watch in horror as your tuner matches up
the short little alligator clip wire on 160M, then promply starts a lightening
burst and fire ball from the arcing ... ;-/
The tuner does *not* retune if it has better than a 4:1 match after switching
bands, you will need to reset the power to the tuner before it will tune up
on the new band.
Ciao -- 73 de VE6MGS/Mark -sk-
------------------------------
Date: 5 Apr 1994 23:41:28 -0400
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!news.mtu.edu!news.mtu.edu!not-for-mail@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: TS50 INFO NEEDED
To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu
Hi all,
I am seriously considering the TS50s as my next rig purchase. I would
like to hear comments/suggestions from owners of this radio. I guess
I am just a bit leary of such a small rig. How does it perform? I am
not a big contestor, I just like to ragchew with people on the air. I
also enjoy chasing DX. My main interest isn't mobile, but perhaps its
because I have an older ( and BIGGER) rig with Tube finals. Perhaps
I would do some mobile work if I had this rig.
Anyway, I am interested in hearing from people who have this radio. How
does it stand up to the larger rigs? Is it missing any features that you get
with a larger rig? Are these features greatly missed? Would you buy it
all over again?
I am also interested in the current street price if anyone has been shopping
around for one.
(Also who has the best deal)
Thanks for your help!
Chris -=- N8PBi
------------------------------
Date: 2 Apr 94 19:47:01 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!sgiblab!uhog.mit.edu!nntp.club.cc.cmu.edu!godot.cc.duq.edu!toads.pgh.pa.us!n3igw!sprouse@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: Where can I get a good leather case for an HTX-202?
To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu
I've just ordered an HTX-202 (on sale at Marymac Industries for $169) to
replace my Icom IC-2AT. I have carried the Icom for years and one of
the reasons that it still looks almost brand new is that is has a good
fitting leather case. I'de like to have one like it for the 202 but the
shack doesn't offer one. I plan to talk with my friends that target
shoot and or hunt to find a local person who does holsters and such and
get one made for it. If there is already some one out there doing this
they would probably be cheaper. Please reply by mail, if there is
interest I'll compile a list of vendors and post to the net. Thanks.
73's
----Ken / N3IGW
--
Ken Sprouse / N3IGW sprouse@n3igw.pgh.pa.us
GEnie mail KSPROUSE
Packet radio n3igw@w2xo.pa.usa.noam
Compu$erve 70145,426
------------------------------
Date: 5 Apr 1994 20:18:48 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!gatech!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!zip.eecs.umich.edu!yeshua.marcam.com!hookup!news.sprintlink.net!bga.com!redoutey@network.ucsd.edu
To: ham-equip@ucsd.edu
References <2n8h7b$nvh@gaia.ucs.orst.edu>, <2n9g8d$9su@crcnis1.unl.edu>, <2n9jr0$6nt@auggie.CCIT.Arizona.EDU>a
Subject : Re: WARC Bands for Ts-520S?
Howard Lester (hlester@nelson.as.arizona.edu) wrote:
: Does anyone know how to modify (and/or are there mods available for) the Kenwood
: TS-520S to operate in the so-called WARC bands?
: Howard KE7QJ hlester@as.arizona.edu
Howard,
I contacted Kenwood several years ago, and they said that the radio will not
handle any kind of mod for the WARC bands. Great radio otherwise!
--
Bob Redoutey - Austin, TX
Amateur Radio KF5KF
redoutey@bga.com
redouter@ccmail.us.dell.com
------------------------------
End of Ham-Equip Digest V94 #96
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