Date: Thu, 3 Feb 94 09:11:29 PST From: Info-Hams Mailing List and Newsgroup <info-hams@ucsd.edu> Errors-To: Info-Hams-Errors@UCSD.Edu Reply-To: Info-Hams@UCSD.Edu Precedence: Bulk Subject: Info-Hams Digest V94 #108 To: Info-Hams Info-Hams Digest Thu, 3 Feb 94 Volume 94 : Issue 108 Today's Topics: Boring WWV Programs Dayton Parking: Hell on Earth! Field Day Logging Program Freebies from ARRL HQ Help - your Vertical Ant. experences. Kenwood TS940 pll-car unlock....HELP! RAC FORUM QUESTIONNAIRE RAMSEY FX TRANSCEIVER (2 msgs) Rtty Dx Notes WWCR 5.810MHZ 8pm 12pm Eastern(CHECK IT OUT!!) Your experiences on 40 meter CW QRP Send Replies or notes for publication to: <Info-Hams@UCSD.Edu> Send subscription requests to: <Info-Hams-REQUEST@UCSD.Edu> Problems you can't solve otherwise to brian@ucsd.edu. Archives of past issues of the Info-Hams Digest are available (by FTP only) from UCSD.Edu in directory "mailarchives/info-hams". 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: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 20:43:20 GMT From: metro!news.cs.su.oz.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!yeshua.marcam.com!news.kei.com!eff!news.umbc.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!library.ucla.edu!news.ucdavis.edu!chip.ucdavis.@munnari.oz.au Subject: Boring WWV Programs To: info-hams@ucsd.edu ARMOND@delphi.com wrote: : Those WWV people are not nice at all. I was just trying to be helpful : when I called to tell them that my S-38 (which I got at a swapmeet : for $15) inmdicated that WWV was about 10 kilocycles off. That, when : they were not drifting. I suggested they go to crystal control. : I got this really neat Timex watch at a yard sale for $5. It sez that : ] WWV is about 30 seconds off. What snotty people work at WWV. They did : not appreciate my helpful call at all. Perhaps you should have used the telephone instead of calling them on frequency. BTW: yopu were 59 in No. Cal ;-) -- *---------------------------------------------------------------------* * Daniel D. Todd Packet: KC6UUD@KE6LW.#nocal.ca.usa * * Internet: ddtodd@ucdavis.edu * * Snail Mail: 1750 Hanover #102 * * Davis CA 95616 * *---------------------------------------------------------------------* * I do not speak for the University of California.... * * and it sure as hell doesn't speak for me!! * *---------------------------------------------------------------------* ------------------------------ Date: 3 Feb 94 13:56:18 GMT From: news-mail-gateway@ucsd.edu Subject: Dayton Parking: Hell on Earth! To: info-hams@ucsd.edu >They're going to use the money saved to print up nice award certificates >for all the hams who earn WAS while trapped in the traffic jam. :-) yeah, but Gary, the Dayton guys always seemed to have trouble getting organized on mass transit. maybe they should 'qsy' to some place that can handle large crowds routinely -- say Orlando....not that the OARC would approve...8) of course, maybe we should just get everyone organized to park at the mall -- "economic turmoil reigns! Salem Mall closed by invading hordes of radio hams...McDonalds makes emergency deliveries to restaurant after the entire food supplies were consumed by the horde..Noble Romans reported improved sales reached 'sluggish' levels over the weekend..residents report lamps glowing with power turned off, wavy lines on their TVs and strange thumping out of stereo and radio speakers..young children frightened..strange vehicles roaming the streets -- could they be operators of cat detector vans? are your cat licenses up to date? is it the end of the world? is Elvis there?" maybe the hamfest should be at the mall...any old NCR warehouses unused? and has anyone found a use for the old Western Electric plant in Indianapolis? That place even has a very large parking lot AND a huge amount of space under cover and an International Airport that's on an Interstate and easy to get in and out of (unless Dayton's changed a bunch..) maybe dayton needs another big event around september/october so having a large parking area at the Hara Arena would be more practical -- maybe the arena could be leased out to the Tonya Harding Physical Therapy Center for Injured Skaters. Dayton may have had the "natural" for a large convention and has certainly worked to get this spot as the "big one", but maybe it's ripe for plucking given the constraints forced upon them by the area. bill wb9ivr ------------------------------ Date: 3 Feb 94 13:55:40 GMT From: news-mail-gateway@ucsd.edu Subject: Field Day Logging Program To: info-hams@ucsd.edu Hello, Well it's time to start planning for Field Day. It's my job to find a good logging program. So I am looking for suggestions and opinions and will summarize the responses in case anyone else is doing the same. Please e-mail direct to me. Thanks and 73 Tom, kv2x -- ------------------------------------------------------------- | Thomas J. Jennings | Tel: (716) 273 7071 Development Engineer | Fax: (716) 273 7262 | ABB Process Automation | Post Office Box 22685 | Rochester, New York 14692-2685 | | ------------------------------------------------------------- Internet: jennings@jennings.rochny.uspra.abb.com ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Feb 1994 18:44:48 GMT From: ucsnews!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!news.intercon.com!psinntp!psinntp!psinntp!arrl.org!lhurder@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Freebies from ARRL HQ To: info-hams@ucsd.edu A reminder to all that the American Radio Relay League continues to make available to Amateur Radio Operators and non-amateurs alike a wide variety of free materials and services. Of particular interest to the not-yet-licensed individual would be the ARRL Prospective Ham Package. In the PHP, one would find: - 1. Printouts of Volunteer Examination session opportunities in his/her area. - 2. Listings of Amateur Radio clubs in his location. - 3. Helpful promotional material about the Amateur Radio Service. - The already-licensed individual might well be interested in another free ARRL publication, the ARRL Public Service Communications Manual. The PSCM represents the "bible" of public service communications, and clearly/concisely points out how the ARRL National Traffic System and the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service function as a cohesive unit to provide the maximum support to the public both in times of disaster as well as "normal" times. - To obtain these free ARRL services, please provide me with: - A. Your name B. Your mailing address C. A Specific request for either of the two services (the PHP or the PSCM) mentioned above. - 73! - | | | Deputy Manager, Field Services, ARRL. | |___| The ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service, the ARRL | uck | |urder National Traffic System, The Amateur Auxiliary to ------ | | the FCC's Field Operations Bureau, the ARRL KY1T Field Organization and the ARRL Monitoring System. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- lhurder@arrl.org Prodigy - MGTS39A, BIX - ARRL, MCI Mail - RPALM, MCI Mail - "ARRL", America On Line - "ARRL HQ" Compuserve - 70007,3373 (ARRL HQ) -- Genie ARRL.HQ ------------------------------ Date: 31 Jan 1994 20:53:21 GMT From: metro!news.cs.su.oz.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!yeshua.marcam.com!news.kei.com!eff!news.umbc.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!cs.utexas.edu!news.tamu@munnari.oz.au Subject: Help - your Vertical Ant. experences. To: info-hams@ucsd.edu >is one of the best all band verticals around. Don't know too much about the >others but the R5 is a vertical dipole and as such does not have as much gain >as a quarter wave gound plane or similar antenna. Note the Butternut as well Probably depends on where in the pattern you are, can't think of any inherent reason for a quarter wave ground plane to have more gain than a vertical dipole. If I understand what is meant by a quarter wave ground plane its a 1/2 wavelength antenna but the bottom leg(s) are not in the same plane as the upper. Greg Taylor, KD4HZ // g-taylor4@tamu.edu // 409-845-4445 // Fax-847-8744 ------------------------------ Date: 1 Feb 94 21:14:59 GMT From: mvb.saic.com!connected.com!news.sprintlink.net!nic.hookup.net!paladin.american.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!aries!hawley@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Kenwood TS940 pll-car unlock....HELP! To: info-hams@ucsd.edu My TS940 (1987 vintage) unlocks during warmup, receive (or xmit) goes away and a half second later the display goes to all dots. This lasts for a blink to a few seconds each time, and happens zero to a half dozen times only during warmup from cold which takes 5 or so minutes. I have done the following: 1. Inspected the PLL, CAR, and DIG A board for solder breaks...nothing obvious. 2. Flexed (lightly), cooled, and resoldered many connections on these boards. 3. Inspected the VR board and resoldered this and that. 4. Observed no power supply voltage changes during the unlock on these boards. 5. Observed the unlock signal occuring during the problem, but was unable to tell which pll chip was sending it first. During all of this extreme invasion of the 940's guts, the characteristics of the unlocking during warmup has not changed one bit. Makes me think I'm on the wrong boards. I've also checked all the peaking up, and setting of vco ranges on the pll and car boards according to many suggestions and bulletins. R100 on the pll board was not the problem, as once reported here on the net. Is there any particular coil that has been troublesome, or some other part perhaps that anyone knows about? The problem goes away during the summer months. Help. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 07:33:35 From: unogate!news.service.uci.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!eff!news.kei.com!yeshua.marcam.com!zip.eecs.umich.edu!destroyer!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!alberta!adec23!@mvb.saic.com Subject: RAC FORUM QUESTIONNAIRE To: info-hams@ucsd.edu Bid: 7604_VE6YYC From: VE6AFO@VE6YYC.#CGY.AB.CAN.NA To : RACONV@CANADA RAC Forum Questionnaire The First National Convention of Radio Amateurs of Canada will provide an excellent opportunity for amateurs to meet face to face with the directors of RAC and discuss issues that will help to shape the direction of amateur radio in Canada. This questionnaire is designed to help the RAC directors get a feel for the basic issues. The RAC Forum will provide the opportunity for these and other issues from the floor to be addressed as well. Please check the appropriate line to signify your assessment of RAC's handling of the listed issues. Space is also provided if you wish to make any specific comments. For any additional comments or concerns please use a separate sheet. Poor Fair Avg Good Don't Know The RAC Central Incoming QSL Bureau __ __ __ __ __ The RAC Central Outgoing Bureau __ __ __ __ __ The Provincial Incoming QSL Bureaus __ __ __ __ __ (please state province) The Canadian Amateur magazine __ __ __ __ __ Regulations and legal issues __ __ __ __ __ Tower issues __ __ __ __ __ Licensing __ __ __ __ __ EMC issues (TRC-86) __ __ __ __ __ Membership __ __ __ __ __ Headquarters and Administration __ __ __ __ __ Spectrum issues and band planning __ __ __ __ __ Services to members __ __ __ __ __ Field Services Organization __ __ __ __ __ RAC Bookstore __ __ __ __ __ Attracting new people to the ham community __ __ __ __ __ Attracting new members to RAC __ __ __ __ __ Club affiliation with RAC __ __ __ __ __ (your thoughts please) Are you a member of RAC? YES __ NO __ Please submit either on packet radio to Ken VE6AFO @ VE6YYC or mail to: Ken Oelke VE6AFO, 7136-Temple Drive N.E., Calgary, Ab., T1Y 4E7 ------------------------------ Date: 31 Jan 94 08:42:58 GMT From: netcomsv!netcomsv!cruzio!comix!jeffl@decwrl.dec.com Subject: RAMSEY FX TRANSCEIVER To: info-hams@ucsd.edu In article <9401281134.A4225wk@support.com> steven.rosenberg@support.com writes: > >So you're saying they DO work if assembled correctly... Sure. There were some synthesizer spurs that were fixed with judicious grounding. The VHF receiver sensitivity wasn't fabulous (approx .40uv/12db SINAD). The transmitter would oscillate badly when mistuned. Two kits arrived dead and left working. I'm not going to claim that they were fabulous performers. Nor were they stable over a wide range of temperature or power supply voltages. However, they do operate. I didn't see anything "illegal" or dangerous in the operation or design. Again, I do NOT consider the radio a superior or state of the art product. If it had a dual gate GAsFET front end, high level mixer, helical resonators thruout, dual PLL tx/rx local oscillators for fast TR switching, fewer tx spurs, tracking filter rx front end, built in PL, RS-232 control, ad nausium..., I would consider it state of the art. Is there some other kit manufacturer other than Ramsey that has a superior product? >>a while, I drag my Cushman CE-6 service monitor to the repeater >>site and call out tx frequency and deviation for everyone checking >You are a prince among hams! This would be a great service for all such >capable amateurs and local clubs to offer. It's a great way to ensure >that all those FM transmitters are operating properly. Again, I commend >you. I've received 4 pieces of email indicating that this would be a good thing to do. All it would take is making friends with your friendly local 2way shop. I've noticed a trend over the last 25 years. The hams and the commercial operators appear to barely tolerate each other. 25 years ago, every two way tech was a ham. Now days, the techs with ham licences ask me not to mention that they work for a commercial shop. One local ham needed a commercial radio programmed for ham frequencies. This proved to be a major political challenge. My pilgrimage to the local repeater site (5 minutes from my office) is not much of a challenge. I do it whenever I find the excuse. However, 50 check-ins followed by 20 arguements does not encourge repetition. What I ask is that they check in normally. If the deviation is low, I ask them to YELL into the microphone. This shows if the deviation setting is low or if the tx audio gain is low. I have to explain the difference between the audio/mic gain and deviation at least 10 times. The process has lasted as long as 3 hours. Many hams will check in with every radio they own causing me to get confused. The same hams check in with the same screwed up radios every time. Little wonder the commercial shops don't want to spend the time and effort. At the last Winterfest in Montery CA, the KM6DZ group used the latest greatest HP service monitor to check handhelds and mobiles for anyone interested. Most everything was measured. Next year, the box will probably be HPIB (IEEE488) computer controlled so that it can be done automatically. Many of the brand new radios were miserably adjusted. In spite of the large number of handhelds in evidence, only about 50 radios were checked. It makes me wonder if the others even cared. It's not too difficult to turn your repeater receiver into a piece of test equipment. Here's some ideas: 1. Instant replay. Install a speech recorder that records the last 10 seconds of a transmission. If someone wants a signal report, they can hear themselves and judge for themselves. 2. You can measure SINAD remotely. Modulate the rx local oscillator of the repeater to +/- 3.0Khz deviation at 1.0Khz. Notch out the 1.0 Khz tone at the repeater audio with a commutating synchronous filter. The ratio of the audio before and after the filter is proportional to the SINAD. If you want to go high tech DSP, read the June 1993 issue of QEX for a program to do it with a TI320C25 DSP chip. 3. Measure frequency remotely. Many repeater controllers (RLC-1) have A/D converters suitable for measuring the discriminator voltage. Some have remote offset calibration functions for dealing with adjustments and drift. Have the repeater belch the frequency error. 4. There are still a bunch of tunable PL encoders in use. Our repeater K6BJ returns a differnet courtesy tone depending upon whether the PL decoder hears the correct tone. Just tune till the tone changes. You don't need a service monitor to get things right. It helps, it's nice, but it's not necessary. Your repeater can do the job adequately with some construction. If it works, turn it into a kit and sell it. -- # Jeff Liebermann Box 272 1540 Jackson Ave Ben Lomond CA 95005 # 408.336.2558 voice wb6ssy@ki6eh.#nocal.ca.usa wb6ssy.ampr.org [44.4.18.10] # 408.699.0483 digital_pager 73557,2074 cis [don't] # jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us scruz.ucsc.edu!comix!jeffl ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Feb 1994 20:18:54 GMT From: mvb.saic.com!unogate!news.service.uci.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!newncar!csn!col.hp.com!srgenprp!alanb@network.ucsd.edu Subject: RAMSEY FX TRANSCEIVER To: info-hams@ucsd.edu Greg Bullough (greg@netcom.com) wrote: : In article <CKIEMA.KCq@srgenprp.sr.hp.com> alanb@sr.hp.com (Alan Bloom) writes: : >... I wish QST had MORE construction articles, not fewer. ... : I agree, but I also believe that the construction articles have : to be carefully targeted, and within reach. I'd also like to : see articles on older gear, both generic and specific, that with : some wrenching, tuning, and tweaking, can be made more serviceable : for the average newcomer. : Call them 're-construction' articles. :-) 20 or 30 years ago, when military surplus was plentiful, there were lots of articles in the ham rags about how to convert military gear for ham use. There were also many articles on how to modify commercial amateur gear: "Add a Product Detector to a 75A2 Receiver" "A Q-Multiplier for the HQ-110" "Convert Your Command Set Into an SSB Exciter" etc. Not many amateurs built complete stations from scratch even then, but most did at least some surplus conversion or modifications to commercial gear. I agree with you that QST should do at least occasional articles of that genre. Some years ago, QST virtually banned tube-based construction articles (other than high-power RF amplifiers), and I suppose that's all to the good. But there's a lot of older tube-type gear out there that sells for a song. With a little modification, those old clunkers could have a lot of life left in them. For example, how about a digital readout that could be configured to work with most any transceiver/transmitter/receiver? (With modification instructions for several of the most-popular older rigs?) How about a synthesized external VFO? If it covered the 5 - 5.5 MHz (or so) range it would work with many older radios. I wish I had the time to work on some of those projects! Anybody else have more ambition than I? AL N1AL ------------------------------ Date: 1 Feb 1994 20:25:04 GMT From: mvb.saic.com!unogate!news.service.uci.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!emory!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!concert!inxs.concert.net!rock.concert.net!mikewood@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Rtty Dx Notes To: info-hams@ucsd.edu In article <Angelo_Glorioso_Iii.2mmf@agwbbs.new-orleans.LA.US>, Angelo Glorioso Iii <Angelo_Glorioso_Iii@agwbbs.new-orleans.LA.US> wrote: >VK2SG DX NOTES 28 JAN 94 > >S.M.O.M. 1A0KM. After three years a group of operators will be on from >Jan. 26 to 31 on CW/SSB and RTTY on all bands but no 160. Qsl via >I0IJ.(No report on the Cluster anyway up to now). MOUNT ATHOS. Monk >Apollo, has been quite active recently on 20, 80 and 40 SSB. Keep >fingers crossed for a return also to RTTY. > > Did anyone any where actually work or even hear this Dxpedition? Nothing at all was reported in S.E. USA. Thanks, Mike / NT4O Mike Wood Internet: mikewood@rock.concert.net The Signal Group P.O. Box 1979 ***Avoid company disclaimers by owning the company *** Wake Forest, NC 27588 Phone: 919-556-8477 Fax: 919-556-0115 ------------------------------ Date: 1 Feb 1994 20:28:12 GMT From: mvb.saic.com!unogate!news.service.uci.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!cleveland.Freenet.Edu!eb795@network.ucsd.edu Subject: WWCR 5.810MHZ 8pm 12pm Eastern(CHECK IT OUT!!) To: info-hams@ucsd.edu But socialism is a way to enslave people, do you think it is not? -- Eric Matthews eb795@cleveland.freenet.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 13:55:16 GMT From: pacbell.com!sgiblab!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!ukma!rsg1.er.usgs.gov!junger@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Your experiences on 40 meter CW QRP To: info-hams@ucsd.edu In article <2ie8ki$2ih@clarknet.clark.net>, Andrew M. Cohn <andy@clark.net> wrote: >If you work 40 meter CW, with 5 watts or less, and use less than ideal >antennas (no beams, dipoles or rhombics, etc), I would like to hear about >your experiences. No...I'm not writing a book; I just want to know what >I can expect before investing in a QRP station! > >Many thanks & 73, >Andy, K4ADL >andy@clark.net > The key for me in working 40 CW successfully (and I'm not all that successful!!) is having a good receiver and listening carefully and diligently. Band conditions seem to vary quickly and drastically on 40; you should be able to recognize when it is a good time to work hard for DX and when you just might as well rag chew with the guy down the street. I wouldn't (and don't) use any antenna that was "worse" then a resonant dipole in performance. You might consider some of the "shortened" dipoles if space is a factor; but I don't have any experience with them. BTW, I use 100W; I'm not bored enough to try QRP yet..... I believe that most successful QRP operators have spent lots of time working with "normal" rigs before they go to QRP. At least that's the impression that I have. cheers -- John, W3GOI ------------------------------ Date: 2 Feb 94 04:14:50 GMT From: ucsnews!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!cis.ohio-state.edu!news.sei.cmu.edu!toads.pgh.pa.us!w2xo!durham@network.ucsd.edu To: info-hams@ucsd.edu References <1994Jan27.134222.1@tntvax>, <2ibe9h$6lk@cascade.ens.tek.com>, <gtaylor.315.0@taex003n.tamu.edu>s.acs.oh Subject : Re: Help - your Vertical Ant. experences. In article <gtaylor.315.0@taex003n.tamu.edu> gtaylor@taex003n.tamu.edu (Gregory S. Taylor) writes: >>others but the R5 is a vertical dipole and as such does not have as much gain >>as a quarter wave gound plane or similar antenna. Note the Butternut as well > >Probably depends on where in the pattern you are, can't think of any >inherent reason for a quarter wave ground plane to have more gain than a >vertical dipole. If I understand what is meant by a quarter wave ground If you are really interested in the relative gains, etc, of various lengths of vertical radiators, you can get a copy of the FCC rules and regs for AM broadcast stations. This used to be available for a very small sum from the government printing office. In it is a chart showing the field strengths developed by various lengths of vertical radiators. You will see that a quarter wave vertical does *not* have more gain than a half wave, actually less. The signal strength continues to increase as the length of the radiator is increased and tops out at 5/8 wavelength..hence the popularity of the 5/8 for 2 meter mobile work. Also at work here is the fact that a 1/2 wave radiator has a very high driving impedance. Consider the antenna and ground to be in series, like two resistors. If the ground connection is high impedance,like when you have no radials, then, if the antenna is low impedance (1/4 wave), most of the energy is dissapated in the ground connection.. not at all what you want. However, if the antenna is high impedance (1/2/wave), then a much larger part of the RF is consumed in the antenna, which is what you want. It's still probably a good idea to ground even a half wave vertical. It won't hurt and probably will help. Otherwise you're depending on the capacitance of the coax feedline to act as a ground and then there's the lightning thing... One note concerning ground plane antennas. They don't work as "ground plane" antennas until they are sufficiently high that the RF field from the antenna flows more in the ground plane wires than in dirt. If it is too low, you get severe losses from a quarter wave ground plane. This can be overcome by increasing the number of ground radials. THe FCC used to require 120 radials to achieve proper efficency when the vertical was right on the ground. When it's higher, then you need fewer. Since the half wave antenna has mostly voltage at the bottom and not current (high impedance), then the RF field is highest at the middle of the antenna and does not flow in the ground so much..ergo, the efficiency is higher when ground mounted..unless you want to put 120 radials on the 1/4 wave! Hope this helps.. Jim, W2XO ------------------------------ End of Info-Hams Digest V94 #108 ****************************** ******************************