DECEMBER 1990

ISSUE i363

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Letters

Number 1 on yduf Feedback card

Mike Wengert 9M8XX Have bean ac- tive on 17m tateiy. Know what you mGBn about "con test -type" operation. Hate hi Everytime I gel on, nobody wants my opinion. . just m y OS L card! Wham, bam, thank ya ma'am! The Eu- ropeans won't gimme a minute's peace. There ate &till a few people who like to chatp but mosi ar© looking for a new country on a new band. Would like to get some mittdle and high school ham clubs going here, but licensing requires you !o be at least 18 years old. SelMefealinQp isn'iit?

Consiifering that before iheARRL 's in* c&ntivB Ltc&nsing debacte, 80% of a// rww AmBTican hams were under tS, that*s one way to kBep Sabah from get- ting kids interested in high tech ca- reers. . Wayne

A Maine reader writes: KtMAN has been given a fcae of $1 ^500 for "willful and Imentionai interfere nee'' by the Belfast iME) FCC office! I like your arth des abOLJt tf^js SfG MOUTH. He does nothing tor the area here in Maine; nor do we want htm on our repeaters We have NO USE for him in this area, and t am only some 35 air miles from him. Plus f belong to the Augusta Maine Am- ateur Radio Clut>, ar^d we all feel the same about him. Please keep up the *^good work.'* Nail hrm every chance you get!

Yep, ifs a pity, Baxter*s tARN is a worthwhile idea, and when not end- tessfy promoting Baxter, does some worthwhiie traffic handfing. But this seems mosity because Ifte ARRL has so totaify dropped the bait in providing needed emergency senrices. When St Lucia was devastat&d by a hurricane a few years ago. the ARRL did nothing, so f sent a good operator down with a targe suitcase of ham gear to heip out And help it did^ Doesn't it make sense for the ARRL to initiate and coordinate emergmrcy services instead of ieaving it to chance?. . . Wayne

Ozzie KAIifK Wayne Green. "Never Say Die'—eflher this guy was just re- teased from iha institution or he is ab- solutely brilliant

To attract new people to ham radio* you need to sprinkle "radio dust" I remember as a young boy about nine years old peering into the back of a radio and seeing the strange ar^d magi- cal gJow from the gtass tjOttles^ and when I got my nose close enough. I inhaled "radfo dusf' and it went direct- ly into my blood stream. Once in the blood stream, it's there for life.

Radio dust 4S a unique dirst baked from the heat of the vacuum tubes and the aroma of melting wax from con- densers and warm resistors. 11 will hook anyone into the weird world of radio. Alas, there is no more radio dust: vacuum tubes have all but disap- peared, and 50 have wax-covered ca-

From the Hamshack

pacilors, Wayne Green's idea for re- cruiting hams by aud^o visual methods is probably very good. Wayne, maybe f1l meet you on the air or in the institu- tion.

8ni Wells N4VSK/AA, Atlanta GA As a 37-year-old entrepreneur m the com- puter business with almost two years as a licensed ham and ink still wet on my advanced ticket, I was appalled when 1 opened a letter from President Price requesting money to provide ' 'special support" for representation at WARC-92, What kind of tdiois do they take us to be? Belter yet, what kind of idiots are running the ARRL?

irs lime for th« League to start spending our money more wisely. I saw the letter as nothing more than a self- ingratiating espousal of what President Price hasn't dor\e, i.e.. get new hams. The cost of mailing that letter to ARRL members could have purchased (at cost) a lot of cop res of Tune in the World tor schools and clutis. which m turn would produce more hams. We, rank and f^le members Of the ARRL, need your help in purging om direc- tors.

I propose that you give a full page ad to anyone who runs against an incom- bent director until the house is finally clean. Sure, it will cost the magazine a lot of money, but as you said, you've never lost enough money to put the magazine out of its misery.

Heck, 111 provide whatever space it takes to help get some new faces in the ARRL annaai reports.

Alas, thousands of brain^washed members wilt get out their checkbooks and send Price money. , . Wayrw

Delvin R. Bunton, Vancouver WA Wayne, I like your editofials They make me think and take stock of my prejudices and cherished opinions. You've finally convinced me to change ffiy priorities and gel my license. I ar^ t^cipate taking my Novice test soon and upgrading to Technician shortly after I get my license.

Even as a nonham subscriber for several years (I think about 10), I re- cruited the locat ham clyb (Clark Coun- ty Amateur Radio Club) to set up a booth at several Boy Scout activities {which they did), but it didn't result in any new hams that t know of.

Over the years. I've attended ham club meetings where NO ONE came up to me {an obvious non member) and asked my name, interests, or anything else. Small wonder harrvdom is dyirvg off when potential new members are r>ot welcomed in a way that encour- ^es return visits.

Stephen Wfmmer WUiF, Raymond MS Having been a service tech for nearly 12 years (I quit 3 years ago), I enjoyed Gordon West's "Service Sur-

vey Wrap-Up." I heartily agree with 1. improve your correspondence. A note that simply says 'doasn^t work" is a sure srgn that the radio does work, and that the problem is an accessory. Which brings me to a point I don't un- derstand: S. No accessories, please. Too many times I have spent two or three hours on a radio t»ecause I be- lieved the customer's note, only to find out later (when I finally got hold of the customer) thai the real problem was Iha mike or some other accessory nor- mally used with the radio. The really bad part about this is that I stilJ have to charge them (my kids need to eat, too). Nejct. i want to expand on 4. Better phone nt/mbers. Remember this coun- try has four time zones. Please give more than one number where you can be reached, and include the limes you can be reached at which number, as well. If you use an answering machiae, PLEASE piay the tape back once a day. Also, it has also been my experi- ence that answering services are even worse.

Steve Weldon NGPZV, TJeCAR I just received your fourth notice for not re* newing my subscription. For the record, I have every intention of renew- ing my subscription as soon as I relo- cate in the states in a couple o( months.

Most "junk" mail t receive gels thrown out before it's even opened, but a letter with "73" printed on it arouses my curiosity. Why? Because your e<fi- toriats are interesting, to the point (most of the time), and generally right on the mark. Tm stationed in Okinawa. Japan where entertain rpont of any kind js greatly appreciated.

There have been many times when fellow hams have sat around their ra- dios on a slow evening and had a lot of fun discussing your ediioriais. Some- times when we don't receive our issues of 73 at the sanrie time, entire quotes are transmitted on the local 2m/70m simplex frequencies, Believe me, most hams are extremely happy to have someone with guts representing our hobby.

73 is the bast ham radio monthly publication of its kind. There's really Ifttle debate on this between the 50 or so American hams stationed in Oki- nawa. QST is plain boring, but very informative on the political side of things, as well as giving currant con- test information Tm sure somebody us- es. CQ tsnH bad, but for the most part il seems to be put together hastily and without much of a plan. Kind of like someone decided at the last minute to put out a magazine. On second thought. I guess it is l>ad, sorry for the lapse. At least it isn't as dry to read as OSZ

73. on the other hand, is a lot ot fun to read. The magazine opens up wrih what we call "Crazy Green's" bitch session. Then you have ''QRX/' which k^ps us abreast o( the most cun'eni news in amateur radio (OS 7 is normal- ly good for the fine detaits), followed by a variety of interesting artrcies perti- nent to the current generation of hama* Fox hunting, projects , equipment re-

views, and "Ask Kaboom" artafi inter- esting to read and informatrve.

My biggest complaint with 73 is all of the excellent articles on projects I'd like to build and reviews of equipment I'd like to purchase, with absolutely no verification from your staff. Let's face it, most hams who submit articles are "amateurs" (pardon the pun) in the electronics field. We need input like this, bul these guys make mistakes, heck even professionals make mis^ takes, and a double-check method is mandatory tor almost anything in this area.

Having a member of your staff asr sembie and buikl these projects and report on assembly, function, and rela- tive worth, along with possibfe Im- provements, would be a major step- ping stone in 'professionalising" these articles.

Next. OS F provides the best equip- ment reviews in the business. You can always count on the same set of specs being tested on every radio^ Sure, there is some good m formation in your articles, but they don't carry enough weight tor me to make a purchasing decision For that, 1 go lo QST,

Do 1 expect you to agree wlh me? Doubtful, as you seem to have already thought out most aspects of your mag- azine, and Vm sure the reason for my complaint \s it just costs too much.

Thanks for your great letter . Readers' opinions and criticisms are important to us, especiatty when they're as welt- stated as yours. Let me address your two matn points: construction projects and reviews. Though many of our projects are submitted by "amateurs, " the majority of construction articles we pubttsh are written by professionals wfio have some conneciton to the elec* tronics field. Your suggestion that a third party also build every project was greeted with enthusiasm by WBBELK. Unfortunately, we ne0d htm to &dit the magazine. We simply don't have the staff to re-buHd every project.

In the area of reviews, t agree thai OST do&s a fine technical review. Why should we repeat their efforts? We want to give a true user's perspecttve in 7Z. You could calf our review styfe a 'Afield test" review. 9y doing this type of review, we feel thai we add to the reader's information about a product, and provide a perspecttve that you can 't get anywhere e/se. Once again, thanks for taking the time to wnie . . .

[>avidNtGPH

As you say, even professionals make mistakes. Always check the '* Up- dates" department for improvements, f\ew information, and changes. That's what it's for. If you think there's an error in a construction article, get m touch with the author first, just in case. Send us a copy of your letter to the author so we can foitow op on it. We check out alt reports of possible errors. If you look over 'Updates" for the past couple of years, say, you'lt find that there are very few errors in our cofh struction articles, . .

Linda KAWKM/KT

2 7$ Amateur Radio Today • December. 1990

THE TEAM

PUBLISHER/EDITOR Wayrse Green W2NSD/t

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER OBvidCassiOyNIGPH

MAMA0ING EDITOR Bill Brown WB8EIK

PRODUCTION EDITOR Hope Currier

SENIOR EDITOR Linda fler*eauKA1 UK M

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Joyce Sawtelle

CONSULTJ^G EDITOR MiksfihjgemWBaGLO

COr^TRJEUTING EDITOHS MikeBrvceWeeVGE David CowhJgWAILBP MiClia&tGeierKBlUM JtmGrayWlXU/7 Chuck Hoijghton WBSlGP Ar Hie Johnson N1 BAG Df Marc Leavey WA3AJR A/Ki^MacAlltsierWAszre Joe M(M KlOV Jim Morrrssert K6MH Bilf Pasternak WA6ITF Carole Perry WB2MGP Bot»WifmW5KNE

ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES Dan Harper

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Repdnts : Be first copy of an articte $3.00 (eacti additional copy-$l .50). Wnte to 73 Amateur Radio Magazine. WGE Center. Forest Road. Hawock, NH 03449.

T^Amateur

DECEMBER 1 990 Issue #363

Radio Today

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEATURES

9 Behold the BackPacketl

Go take a hike with packet radio. , NW6H

19 Upgrade Your HD-4040

KISS your Heath HD-4040 and keep

AX.25too! N2BU

24 The vox Plus HT Accessory

Enjoy base station performance — witti your HTi . . . WA2EBY

35 Pack Your Seabag, ''Sparks''

Do you want to be a ship's Radro Officer? , N0MM

54 Audio Powered Tape Recorder Controller

Add convenience to your ham- shack KE0UV

REVIEWS

22 Ten-Tec's Hercules II Model 420

Turn your rig into a 550 watt transceiver! , . . , N4LSJ

30 The Lightning Bolt Dual-Band VHF/UHFQuad

Two antennas in one compact package ,.*,,., WB8ELK

Take a hike!. , . see p. 9.

32 The PacComm PSK-1

Connect to the world via the MiCFosatsf WA3USG

38 The ICOM IC-726

The HF+6 road warrior. , , NIGPH

40 PT-340 Tuner-Tuner from Palomar Engineers

Adjust your antenna tuner without transmitting, * KA1 LR

Cover by Alice Scofield

Cover Operatfng portabfe packet from Monhegan Isiand, Maine, (i to r): Evan Cooke. Adsm Cooke and Mike "Nuge'* Nugent WBBGLQ. (Photo by Henry Levy.)

DEPARTMENTS

61 AbQve and Beyond 72 Ad Index 64 Ask Kaboom

75 ATV

80 Barter n' Buy 46 Dealer 01 rectory

76 DX

17 Feedback Index 17 Ham Profiles 48 Hams with Class

61 Hamsats 50 Homing In

2 Letters

56 Looking West 4 Never Say Die

60 New Products 84 Propagation 66 ORP 7 QRX 04 Random Output

57 RTTY Loop

76 73 Intern ati on aT 52 Special Events ea Ungle Wayne's Bookshelf

62 Updates

66 199QAnnijallndex

ft:kdback...

Ft:KDBACK! It's like beinf tJwfe— light hen in our office^ f How? Jui^t take advantage of our FEEDBACK canl on page 1 ?. You'll notkc a f-Kdback number at the beginniiig ufeach article and column. We'd like you to mte whet ynu iTttJ so tlikal UFe cm pnnl what lypcs of EhJJiigs you likt best And then we will draw one Fecdbttcfc c^fd each nronlh for a fwc subsiCripticHt to 73 .

¥

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Manuscripts Contributions in the form of manuscripts with draiA^ings and/or photographs are welcome and ^i^l be considered for possible publication We can assume no responsibiEity for loss or damage to arty mateftal Please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope with each submission. Payment for the use ot any unsolicited material will be made upon publication. A premium will be paid for accepted articles that have been submitted eiectronicaily (CompuServe ppn 7031 0,775 or MCI Mail' ' WGEPUB" or GEnie addi^ass "MAG73") or on disk as an IBM-compatibie ASCII file. Vou can also contact us at the 73 BBS at (603) 525-4438. 300 or 1 £00 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, one stop bit. All contributions should be directed to the 73 editorial offices. "How to Wnte for 73'^ gutdelinesare ava»lable upon request. US citizens must include their social security numtwr wiUi submittecl manuscripts.

73 Amateur Radio Today (ISSN 1052-2522) is pubHshed monthly by WGE Pjblishfng, Inc.. WGE Cemer. Forest Road. Hancock, New Hampshire 03449. Entire contents 1990 by WGE Publishing, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced witlioul written pefmission from the publisher. For Subscription Services write 73 Amateur Radio, PO Bok 56866, Boulder, CO 60322-8866, or call 1 '600-2 690388, \n CO call 1-303-447-9330. The subscription rate is: one year $24.97: two yeafs $39,9? Additional postage for Canada tsS7 GO and for olherloreign countries. $19 OD surface and $37.00 airmail per year. AH foreign orders must be accompanied by payment is US funds Second class postage paid at Hancock, New Hampshire aixj at additional mailing offices Canadian secorid class in ait registration number 9566- Microfilrti Edition— Uriiversily Microfilm, Ann Arbor. Ml 48106 Postmaster: send address changes to 73 Amsteur Radio, PO Box 58866. Boulder, CO 80322^866.

Contract: By being so nosey asio read thts fine pnni, you have just entered irrto a binding agmement i*iith 73 Airtaieur Radio Today . You are hereby obligated to do somettitng nice for a ham fnend — buy him esubscrlpTion to 7$. What? Ail of your fiam friends are already subscribers? Donate a subscriplion to your local school iibraryl

73 Amateur Radio Today • December 1990 3

«M

Number 2 an your Feedback card

Never sa y die

Wayne Green W2NSD/1

CQ Owensboro

Some i ale resting leriers tiave come from Owensboro (KY) with shocking news regarding W40YI, the ARRL di- rector and his sycophant minions Be- fore I jump off the deep end Kd like to hear from other local hams and OARC members about what's been going on with the cfub and the incredible ctvit defense scandal. Name$ will of course be kepi in confidence.

ARRL Bashmg? Me? Forsooth!

A lerter tn^m a Movice mentioned something about me bashing the ARRL . . and !he pmsFdent of his \qcsA ham c^ub teanng up a letter from 73 in front of his club members. You can imagine what I think of this jerk.

Despite oonsiderable pressure from some directors to gat me to hang ARRL dirty finen out for you, Tve tried to keep my editortaJ comments 10 ways to im- prove the League, not how to hurt it. 1 have little (o gain from bashing the League and a lot to gain from improv- Ifig it. This is my hobby too, you know.

The next tme someone gripes about me bashing the ARRL you'M find that (1J I've been an active member far. far lorrger than he (or she) has (I have my 50-year pin, how's he doing?). (2) I've kept very close track of the League for tfie last 40 years and known most of the directors, Ihe officers and the HQ peo- ple personally. (3) I've been more ac- tive in amateur radio than anyone else tn the world, I believe. I say that trnm the viewpomt of the hamming iVe done. . such as DXing from over 50 countries, working via OSCAR, work- ing 350 countries, pioneering RTTY, repeaters. NBFM, SSTV. and SSB; won Sweepstakes, VHF. DX and other contests: built my own gear for many years: worked moonbounce. seven states on 10 GHz from NH, been pub- lishing ham mags for 39 years. FCC's NIAO member for years, four^ding member FCC'sLRPC, represented US at ITU in Geneva, have addressed ham clubs and conventions all over the world, etc. So why IS it out ot place for me to make suggestions for ways the ARRL can be improved? Who better in the hobby knows?

I hear the inside dirt from disgusted ARRL directors. I've heard the FCC's side Of everything for the last 40 years loo, having talked with many of the Commissioners personally, I've regu-

larly heard from disenchanted HQ staffers.

Do you suppose that the people in the Industry know what's reaily going on? You better bet ihey do. And how many of tfrem have yow talked with con- fident! ail y? I know most of 'em person- ally and you It get your eyes opened ^f you talk with some of them.

Now tell me thts, whal do you imag^ ine ( have to gain from bashing the AFtRL? Tve heard that this is supposed to sell magazines and that Wayne is out after the buck. 1 have never heard thai from anyone with an IQ in three digits or who actually knows me . - .and I don't expect lo. Bashing ihe ARRL does not sell magazines, it just makes blirrdty loyal members so angry they could spit. Mon-memt^ers rrK>stly could care less. There aren't many ARRL-haters. . Just mostly lovers who betieve the ARRL can do no wrong

. and then there are about Iwo-thirds of the hams who really don't give a damn and realiy don't want to be both- ered- Most dori'l read any ham maga- zines at alL

Aboirt Money

People wtio are hung up ofi money are to be pitied, 1 sure don't envy peo- ple who spend like Donald Trump, i probably spend less money on myself than most of you. yet t see ways to make money everywhere I turn. There are incredible opportunities, once you lune your mmd to that wavelength. I could start at least pne new, profitable business every day.

Tm an entrepreneur, Afways have been. When J was 12 1 started a mail order stamp business. If you read more than comic books and OSTyou know that entrepreneurs go into business for Ihe fun of it and few. if any, are money* oriemed. Oh, we know we have to make money or we go out of business, so we tend to make money. But the money is never the goal

7Jhas lost a little money most, \\ not atl, of the 30 years since I started it Sure. I could set the ad rates higher and make a profit . .or charge more for subscriptions. . but as long as it doesn't lose a lot. big deal. ) publish it because I enjoy it.

When I published computer maga- zines t put everything I made right back into startmg more magazines and ser« vices. I published dozens of books.

hundreds of programs, and seven computer magazines. Whenever it looked as if we might get some money ahead I'd start a new publication gr service

r4ow Im doing Ihe same thing again. I recently listed some of the new com- panies I've formed and am forming. There are even more now. with only our difficuHy in finding people slowing us down.

I've er>joyed hamming for over 50 years and Td like to be able to continue for what few years I've probably got left But Ihis means trying to get you to get the ARRL to do what needs to be done, f4ow tell me, do you honestly think my detractors know better what needs to be dorte than I do? Have they done their homework? I have.

And tell me agairt about how they say Tm just trying to get more 73 sub^ scrit^ers because of greed . .and TU think they are nitwits. My apofogies to the other nitwits.

i suppose, if the current ARRL direc- tors have tfieir way and you don't re- place them in the next election, I can always get started with some landline bulletin boards and CompuServe and get more involved with my Mac as a substitute, (t won't be the same as working DX on 20m. but it'll be fun reminiscing at)out our hobby after it's gone.

Things can move fast these days. Look how quickly East Germany disap- peared. Arvd how fast the communist Eastern countries changed! The 1992 ITU conference will soon be upon us. There we will face pressures from ev- ery country in Ihe world to gWe up our bands. Wilt we even have the support of our own government? How much would you like 10 bet?

Friends tell me my problem is that Tm too much involved with amateur radio . - - that I care too much. After all, it's only a hobby f Mayt>e they're nght and 1 should spend more time on other things . . like music and education.

Hold on, someone's calling me on the repeater. . gotta go.

If Yqu Were President. , ,

Of the ARRL. nOI America- . let's not bite off too much al once. Bush has his hands full with Iraq, the budget the baJance of payments, the S&L mes£. the bank bomb (Third World loans)* our education debacle and so on.

4 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

And we In amateur radio have a dis- couraging srtualbn facing us. Here we are with large chunks of our spectrum allocations under siege from every quarter. What few of us are left are more involved with fighting each other than the enemy. If you are going to be anything more than a caretaker League president, arranging the deck chairs on Ihe Titank: as we sink, yog have an awesome responsibility. What would you do?

Spectrum needs are avalanching upon us. The information Age means communications. We're talking tens of millions of personal telephones m shirt pockets, and that's just for starters. The next generation will be pocket per- sonal communications centers that will allow us to talk, handle voice-forward* ed messages I FAX, snd even data and graphics. We're talking major spec- trum needs, even with spread spec- trum commun^qations and data-com- pacting algorithms.

Our delivery giants such as UPS and Federal Express wfll warn to be able to trace any package right down to the truck it's on . . . instantly. High defini* lion television, digital sound, world computer networking, and hypermedia access all mean more spectrum needs.

Whal priortty would you give a bunch of testy old codgers, mostly retired, al- most none bfack or any other minority^ not even many women ,. .if you were going to be fair m allocating spectrum for them to while away their few re^ maining years instead Of watching TV or playing golf?

You might want to listen and see what they're doing with the billions of dollars in frequencies they're using. Lei's see now, their most important band, by far, is 20 meters . .how's that doing? This is the band that a hun- dred Third World countries would give aJmost anything to use to broadcast to their expatriates and keep them in touch with their homeland.

You start at the low end of Ihe Ameri- can phone band and you hear the pile- ups. . each with hundreds of crazed old men calling and cursing each oth« er, trying frantically to get through to a rare one. You hear the CaJifornia *'kilo- watts", . .which sound more like 50,000 watts, all calling endlessly so that no one can even hear the weak DX station. You hear catcalls. You hear frustration and anger, not people hav- ing fun.

Tfre beleaguered DX operator has little control of the mess he has gener- ated and no matter how he pleads for cooperation and a chance to actually talk with someone, the hordes are mer* ciless. This is blood. Thfs contact must be made. Just give me a signal report, never mind your damned name, you jerk. And break, break, who*s your OSL manager again?

W«th a stgh you tune up the band. The next SQ kHz is full of chirping carri- ers. Slow-scan, Hmmm, pinup pictures from Penthouse and Gaftery. And one chap with a computer typing at about three words per miniJte onto his slow- scan raster.

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KENWOOD

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TS-950SD

The newTS-950SD is the first Amateur Radio transceiver to utilize Digital Signal Processing (DSP), a high voltage final amplifier, dual fluorescent tube digital display and digital meter with a peak-hold function

^ Dual Frequency Receive Function*

The TS-950SD can receive two fre- qyencies simultaneously.

• Newl D^gltai AF filter Synchronized with SSB IF slope tuning, the digital AF filter provides sharp characteristics for optimum filter response.

• New high volteoe final ampitfier 50 V power transistors in the 150-watt final section, resulting in minimum dis- tortion and higher efficiency Fulhpower l<ey-down time exceeds one hour.

• Newl BulH-ln micropriK^seor controlled automatic antenna tuner,

^ Outstanding general coverage mm Receiver performance and sensitivity Kenwood's Dyna-Mix" high sensitivity direct mixing system provides incred- ible performance from 100 kHz to 30 MHz. The Intermodulation dynamic range is 105 dB,

• Famous Kenwood Interference reduction circulls. SSB Slope Tuning, CWVBT (Variable Bandwidth Tuning), CW AF tune, IF notch filter, dual-mode noise blaniter with level control, 4-step RF attenuator (10. 20, or 30 dB), switch- able AGC circuit and all-mode squelch.

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• High performance IF filters built-in "^ Select various filter combinations from the front panel. For CW 250 and 500 Hz, 2,4 kHz for SSB. and 6 kHz for AM, Filter selections can be stored in memory!

• MutthDrt¥e Bmnd Pbss F/rter (BPF) circuitry. Fifteen band pass fflters are available in the front end to enhance performance.

Tk vUl^QUP

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• 100 rnfirtirtr^ ..,jnnet8. Store inde- pendent transmit and receive frequen- cies, mode, filter data, auto-tuner data and CTCSS frequency

* Digital bar meter

Additional Features: • Built-in inter- face for computer control Program- mable tone encoder Built-in heavy duty AC power supply and speaker Adjustable VFO tuning torque Multiple scanning functions ' MC-43S hand microphone supplied

Optional Accessories

• DSP*10 Digital Signal Processor* SO-2 TCXO * ^ VS-2 Voice synthesizer YK-88C-1 500 Hz CW filter for 8 83 MHz IF* YG-4 550-1 500 Hz CW filter for 455 kHz IF* VK-88CN-1 270 Hz CW filter for 8.83 MHz IF YG'455CN-t 250 Hz CW filter for 455 kHz IF* YK*88SN-1 18 kHz SSB filter for 8.83 MHz IF

^ YG-455S-1 2.4 kHz SSB filter for 455 kHz tF*

^ SP-950 Externa] speaker w/AF filter

" SM*230 Station monitor w/pan display

-SW'2100 SWR/power meter

- TL-922A Linear amplifier (not for QSK)

* Built- tn for the TS-950SD t Optional lor the TS^950S

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' Separate frequency display fo ^maln" and *'sub-band:

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Stores everything you need to make operating easier Two channels for "odd splits:

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« CTCSS encode/decode selectable from front pane* or UP/DWN keys on mfcrophone. (Encode built-in, optional TSU-6 needed for decode,)

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• SP~41 Compact mobile speaker

• SP-50B Deluxe mobile speaker

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and 2 m/70 cm mobile antenna ,inount not supplied) • MB-11 Mobile bracket MC-43S UP/DWN handmic.

• MC-48B 16-keymWF hand mia

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QRX. .

Numlwr 3 on your Feedback c«nl

EDITED BY UNDA RENEAU KA 1 UKM

Radio Ofllcers NeediNl

Radio officers are urgently needed! If you

have a valfd FGC radiotelegraph license with a 6-months endorsement (or one that has not lapsed more than five years), a U.S- Coast Guard license, and good health ; and if you can accept an immediate sea assignment, contact Mr. Bernte Sloller of the ARA (a radio officers union) at (201) 795^5536. You can also obtain additional information from Mr. Chhs Krusa, U.S. Maritime Administration, at (202) 366- 5755 for referral to a shipping company, As- signment will be to a ship from the ready-re- serve fleet. So far, due to the Persian Guil crisis, 40 ships have been activated and more wilt be in the near future. TNX WSYI R&port. Vol. 12, Issue tfl9. Also* see the anicle "Pack Your Seabag, 'Sparks/ '' in this Issue ol 73.

FCC Investigatiofls

Ttie FCC's Field Operation Bureau Is in- vestigating reports of interference wiih the TIKI distress call on the maritime net frequern cy 14.313 MHz on the morning of May t9. Any amateur radio stations with tapes of the inci- dent are requested to mail them to Mr. John R. Hudack, FCC Room 744. 1919 "W St, Washington DC 20554.

On another matter, the FCC has asked Glenn Baxter K1MAN to justify his praclfce of running taped "news" and bulletin transmis- sions without regard for QSOs in progress at the time the bulletins begin. The FCC also cited K1MAN for improper identification and running illegal phone patches*

Concurrently, it seems, KIMAN sent the FCC a notarized affidavit charging KV4FZ, who was in contact with WD4GDP. with refus- ing to relinquish 14.275 for emergency logisti- cal Red Cross medical traffic with a station in Iran. The affidavit states there was malicious and intentional interference later the same day. KIMAN was quoted as saying that if the FCC doesn't take some of his recommended actions against KV4FZ, WD4PZT, and NR6X for repeated interference, he plans to take the FCC to the Circuit Court of Appeals in Wash- ington DC. Since Baxtef KIMAN, as the pro- ponent of AM modulation, took the FCC through the courts to the Supreme Court, this may be no idle threat. TNX B-N-T, Vol. 18. Issue 9, and the Balanced Modulator, VoL XXV, No. 9.

Do Not P Kowalt

A QSO with a Kuwaiti amateur could cost him his freedom or his life. Accofding to a message issued last September by the Radio Society of Great Britain via its QB2RS broad* casts, under no circumstances should you

hold a QSO with any station operating from

Kuwait. This is for the Kuwaiti amateur's safety. The RSGB says that the Kuwaiti Em- bassy in London requested Ihem to issue this bulletin to amateur operators woridwide. It is not known if the Kuwaiti ambassador to the U.S. made a similar request to the FCC or ARRL. TNX WBSilink Report, Sep. 28. 1990.

lyesiionalile Questions

Two questions in the outstanding pools may cause problems in future testing. The first is: 2H-t^. 1 What emission designator de- scribes singfe-sideband suppressed-carrier (SSB) voice transmissions? When this ques- tion was originally written, the answer was J3E. of course. But now that Part 97 has t>een rewritten, the answer according to the present wording of the rules is **sideband phone.** Thus, the question now gives away the an* swerf

The second question is: 4A04.2 How mucft farther does the radio-path horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon? This question was originally released in the fall of 1986 with this answer as correct: **By approxfmately 1/3 the distance.*' The dtstractors (wrong an- swers) included ''twice, 1/2, and four times the distance/' respectively. Having reservations about the answer, the ARRL asked their prop- agation technical advisor (not on the League staff) to look into the matter. He eventually determined that none of the answers were accurate. The Technical Advisory Committee for the Question Pool Committee advises that there is not a solid answer to the question in the frrst place. The committee believes at this point that the most practical way to handle both of these questions is to formally remove them from the question pool. TNX Western Carolina Amateur Radio SocietyA/EC Inc,

Solar Cycle 22

Recent activity suggests there's still some life left In Cycle 22. During the week of August 27t the solar flux index soared to a level of 317. The is close to the highest solar flux reading of 335, which occurred during the second week of July in 1989. The latest rise stayed above 300 for six days, and was ac- companied by several massive solar flares.

Normally, a solarcycle lasts about 1 1 years. If the peak did occur last summer, as some suspect, that would put Cycle 22 on a 6-year schedule. But then again, since this is only the 22nd solar cycle ever documented, maybe we don't yet know what the ''norm" is.

Propagation expert Jim Gray W1XU re- minds us Ihat sunspots have t>een observed and recorded for only 250 years, and the sun is several biltion years old. Since even our best records reveal only the briefest instant in the sun's life, it's likely that we have a great

many surprises in store for us regarding the sun's behavior. TNX The Ground Wire, VoL IV, No. IX, and 73 "Propagation" columnist, Jim Gray W1XU.

Digital Audio

Canada has been testing DAB — wide- spectrum digital audio broadcasting. First re- ports indicate quality far surpassing FM stereo. Expert observers in a specially equipped minibus reported superb audio with no multipath distortion, even when traveling in downtown "canyons'* and over steel bridges. Some of the passengers even suspected trick- ery, believing that there was a hidden CD play- er aboard the minibus.

The transmitter for the first round of tests was a 1 kW unit modified to operate on UHF TV channels 68 and 69. Many observers ex- pect DAB to eventually replace both AM and FM broadcast stations in Canada, and per- haps the world. Canadian broadcasters are looking for American support at the 1992 WARC Conference for a proposed digital ra- dio band. The desired spectrum would be somewhere between 100 MHz and 1 .5 GHz.

It seems like everyone in the world is out to get more megahertz at WARC '92. Particular- ty worrisome to the ham community are tech- nologies like DAB and High Definition TV, which require very big blocks of the spectrum. TNX The LCARA Patch, AARCOVER. and Miles At^ernathy N5KOB for this information from Radio World, a magazine for commercial broadcaster.

Dldali Publishing

Do you ever have trouble locating past articles in the ham magazines? Some of the 73 staff ran into Didah Publishing at the Deeffieid, New Hampshire, hamfest. In From Beverages thru OSCAR— A Bibliography, Didah has indexed every article ever put>- lished in OST, CO, Ham Radio, and 73 Maga- zine. It also includes 10 years of RadCom, Updates are available every Decernber. The entire data base is available on disk or mi* crofiche. They also provide printed lists, one Indexing over 3400 product reviews. You can contact Didah Publishing at P.O. Box 7368, Nashua NH 03060-7368. TeL (603) 878-3628/ 883-5152.

m

• It

. . .to all our contributors. You can reach us by phone at (603) 525-4201 or by marl at 73 Magazine, Forest Rd. , Hancock NH 03449; and by e-mail on CompuServe ppn 7031 0. 775, MCI Mail *'WGEPUB" and the 73 BBS at (603) 525-4438 (300-2400 bps), 8 data bits, no parity, one stop bit.

73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990 7

■^

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Mumber 4 on your Feedback card

Behold the BackPacket!

Go take a hike with packet radio.

by Jon Trent Adams NW6H

I'm an explorer, so I enjoy amateur radio partly because of the security and com- panionship i[ affords me when I journey out alone into the badlands of the Southwest. Whether Fm away from home for just a night, for a weekend, or for a week or tw^o at a time, I always try to carry along some piece of equipment that will let me {or at least let me attempt to) communicate with local hams, or even with my friends back home.

Carrying a little HF rig around is pos&ible, but stuffing a TH7DX and power supply into a suitcase is a bit difficuh. The AC cord is always a bear. In the Southwest, at least » I can carry a VHF or UHF handheld radio that mually lets me communicate locally— and sometimes all ihe way back to Los Angeles*

Sofnettmes It Gets Lonciv Out There

Not that 1 usually have very much to say— rd just like to know if the house is still stand* ing, perhaps try to set up a schedule on 40 meters with friends back home, or maybe yak, jusi for the novetiy of ii, from some remote, isolated slab of sandstone near Moab, Utah, or from atop a big btock of ancient txrean reef in West Texas. Of course, underlying all these whimsical desires is the true purpose: To be able to provide reliable communications at a moment's notice from any weird location I find myself in.

What's the best way of doing this? 1 could carry a QRP 40 meter CW rig. I could set up a station in a hurry with a small 10 wan radio, a battery and a long piece of wire, Then, as- sudung that an operator can be found out there in the QRM and N to hear my weak station, we might be able to communicate. Bui I might not be able to work locally, I might not be able to battle the big guns suc- ces^iiilty . I would have to be at the equipment

Photo A. T7w individual components of ihe BackPacket.

Photo B. Carving the foam for a snug fit.

when the messages came in and, of course, operate the equipment when a message need- ed to be sent repeatedfy to get through the chaff {Yd also have to bone up quite a bit on my decidedly poor CW fist and ear,) Not a good solution for my predicament.

Enter Packet Radio

Packet provides a mode of communications liiat is relatively automatic and error-free. Given that there are now packet radio digipeaters in most parts of the Southwest (even in the wilds of Springerville, Arizona, and Pecos, Texas) there exists (in theory) a possible method for me to get information back and forth between almost any two far- flung points. Since I picked up my first TNC, linle more than a year ago, I have seen the activity on packet grow and expand into a somewhat viable network.

\ needed a prototype mobile terminal to get into the system and lest the concept. My first attempt was with an MFJ-1270 TNC. I bought a little Epson PX-8 laptop computer, complete with built-in telephone modem, tape drive* serial ports and RAM disk. In my truck I installed the TNC, a Yaesu FT-209 handheld 2 meter radio with mobile charger, and a quarter-wave mag-mount antenna stuck on the fender and dedicated to that radio. With a custom-made cable harness and dash- mounted interface box, I had a mobile packet station that allow ed me to use either the hand- held, low-power radio or the 25 watt mobile radio for the packet station.

There it was! My first mobile packet station (don't type while you drive)! A moderate success, limited only by the 5 watt output of

the FT-209 and the horrible amount of 2 meter interference generated by the TNC. Bui I was able, in my short two week vacation through the Southwest, to keep in touch with the local packeieers and, occasionally, the hams back home. In fact. I generated quite a few* of the local contacts {o\xx there* local is within two hundred miles) simply by trans- mitting a beacon through the nearest dig ipe ate r with beacon texts like: ''Hoi a from NW6H mobile on US 60 near Datil, New Mexico," It was like shooting fish in a bar- rel—I lured them in with those names of ex- citing, exotic places*

My friend Greg Noneman WB6ZSU was on vacation, driving from Los Angeles to Denver and back. He installed a similar sta- tion in his ir^ick. With it (relying occasion- ally on 40 meters— at that time the packet digipeaters in New Mexico were few and far

Confimted on page 12

Photo C Operating position when using the laptop computer.

Photo D. The BackPacket ready for the hike. 73 Amateur Radio Today * December. 1990 9

I

The Morse Machine MM*3 Keyer

Tlie Morse Machine has aft the features you need in a memory keyer, including 2 10 99 WPM speed selection and over 8.000 characters of soft-partitioned memory. Twenty memories store your messages.., as short or as long as you like. Memory can be expanded to 36pOOO characters, All memory is backed up by an inlemal lithium battery.

Comprehensive Morse training facitities are built-in, A Proficiency Trainer for random code group practice, A Random Word Generator which generates tour- letter words and A QSO Slmulatof whicti albws you to call stations, answer a CO or listen to realistic on-the-air QSO's.

The MM-3 also features aulomattc serial number insertion and increment- ing in any memory message Use the front panel knob to adjust your sending speed or enter a precise speed with the keypad, toggfing between the two at any time. Exchafiges can be expedited by having parts of your message sent at a higher speed. You can even add remote switches for four of the memories to send your response or call CQ. The MM-3 can also be programmed for automatic beacon use. The RS-232 compatible serial I/O port provides computer control of the MM-3 and monitoring of the Morse training features.

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Unique operating features wfth a proven hardware and software design make AEAs PK-B8 your best choice in packet radio-now with MailDrop, an 8KByte efficient personaf Mailbox, The PK-BS also allows multiple single frequency QSO'St digipeating and networKing, Its a superb v^ue, packed with aH the most needed packet radio features such as direct interface capability with NET/ROM and TCP.''1P. In addition to all the fea- tures of a "standard" TNC. the PK-88 offers features not found in any other TNC:

• WHYNOT command - Shows reasons why some received packets are not displayed.

• "Packet Dump Suppression"

- Prevents dumping unsent packets on the radio channel when the link fails.

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- Suppresses display of non- ASCII packets from Level Three switches and network nodes.

^

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PK-232MBX Mutti-Mode Data Controller

With over 40,000 units sold worldwide, the PK-232MBX is the world^s leading multi-mode data corrtroHer. Combining afl amateur data communication fT>odes in one comprehensive unit, the PK-232MBX offers Morse Code. Baudot, ASCII, AMTOR/SITOR 476 and 625> HF af>d VHF Packet. WEFAX receive and trans- mit. TDM, as well as commefdal standard NAVTEX automated marine information services.

All software is on ROM,

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IsoLoop™ 14-30 MHz Compact HF Antenna

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The inherent hi-0 of the IsoLoop makes it like a very sharp tunable filter that radiates. The narrow bandwidth suppresses harmonics from your trans- mitter, and also attenuates out-of-band signals that could overload your receiver.

The omni-directionaJ IsoLoop makes an excellent attic or balcony antenna, and because it weighs only 12 pounds is also perfect for portable use.

it

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The ET-t features a precision duaJ- movemenl meter to simultaneously monitor power af>d SWR-

Unique engineenng designs have made AEA one of the leading innovators in the amateur radio industry. That same quality and superior technical support make the ET-1 your best deal for an antenna tuner.

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An outstanding mechanh cal and electricai design make the IsoPole the best choice for an economical cm ni -directional VHF or UHF base station antenna. All IsoPole antennas yield the maximum gain attainable for their respective lengths and a zero degree angle of radiation which puts the most signal on the horizon. Exceptional decoupfjng resulfs Ijx simple tuning and a significant reduction in TVI potentJaf. Decoupling cones offer great efficiency over obsolete radiais which radiate in the horizontal plane. The IsoPoles also have a broader frequency coverage than any com- parable antennas. Typical SWR is 1.4 to 1 or better across the entire band I

All mounting hardware is stainless steel. The decou- pling cones and radiating elements are made of cor- rosion-resistant aluminum alioys, Aerodynamic cones are the only appreciable wind load and are attached directly to the support (a standard TV masl. not supplied).

IsoPoles are ideal for packet radb. The decoupling cones stop computer hash picked up by the outer shield of the coaxial cable from being passed to the receiver

\

AEA'S New ATV SyMem

Add a new dimension to your amateur radio communications with AEA's Amateur Television (ATV) sys- tem. If you hold at least a tech- nician-class license, you can trans- mit and receive live or taped audio and video Fast-Scan TV (FSTV) in- formatron that rivals broadcast quality. Now you can share nnore than conversation over the air with this new mode of "personal com- munications."

It's Easy and Inexpensive. If you

have a video camera or camcorder and a standard TV set. you may already own the most expensFve components of an ATV system. AEA's ATV system includes a Iranscerver and antenna. Simpfy connect the camera, TV and the antenna to the transceiver, and you're on the air LIVE with one watt PER! If you want to broadcast with more power, AEA also offers a 50 watt mast-mounted linear amplifier and GaAsFET preamp with power supply. Your TV set will monitor your transmitted and received pictures. Amplifier Now Available.

Specificotiom subject to change without notice or obfigotion. Dealer inquiries invited. Copyright 1990

CIRCLE 6S ON

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CIRCLE 65 ON READER S£RVK;E CARD

Cmttinuedfrom page 9

bctweeo) he and I were able to leave mes- sages wiih one anoiher. We even scheduled a rendezvous in Roswell, New Mexico, at the local Dairy Queen!

This success spurred me onward, I was ready for the big lime. By now, most of our Jiitle group of packeteers were packet- mobile, some always, others on an hour's notice. We decided to stretch our muscles.

The First Public Experiment

Our dedicated group of bit-bangers were invited by the organizers of the ** Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run" to put lo-

geiher a packet radio demonstration by providing an alternate, redundjmt, and com- pletely experimental route for important status and welfare cominunications for the n^rly sixty runners in the race. This ultra- marathon foot race was held in Sepiember 1 987 in the San Gabriel mountains above Los Angeles. The packet stations, spread out over the course of the race, were set up to pass runner times and location information to our main database computer at race headquar- ters, where Search and Rescue personnel would be able to monitor the runners' pro- gress.

I found that generally the information col- lected via our network was available at race headquarters more quickly via our fledgling packet network, set up that weekend, than when it was sent on the established voice network that we paralleled. Our system did not work perfectly, but at least it proved that the ability was there*

I called it another success. After the race, our group realized that what was really tieed- ed was a dedicated digipeater or tw^o placed in ideal spots on isolated mountain peaks where there was no access except by foot. Perhaps we could also add a few terminals a couple of miles from any power or vehicular access. These devices would need to be robust, easily transportable, and fully self-contained. It wouldn't be easy to lug a bunch of radio equipment up a four-mile trail in a briefcase. It had to be packaged correctly.

Enter the BackPacket!

The BackPacket consists of a PacComm Micropower-2 TNC, an Epson PX-8 laptop, a Yaesu FT-203 handheld, a 7 amp-hour sealed lead -acid battery, all encased in a very sturdy Ensolite laminate in a JanSpon day pack. The external pockets of the BackPacket hold antennas, connectors, chargers, extra cable, maps and other necessities. This ts important because it lets you grab the bag in a hurry without having to remember all the little parts that usually get lef^ behind.

When operating just as a digipeater it has a lifetime of nearly four days; when used as a terminal it has sufficient battery life for any- where from one to three days, depending on the duty cycle of the terminal.

What is the most critical problem when atiempnng to assemble something like this? Number one on the list is RFI— radio fre- quency imcrfercnce! l^t's face it— the digital world and the analog world (TNCs, laptop computers and radio transceivers) are quite

incompatible. The common cure for RFi complaints involves bypassing and shielding. When that doesn't work, the next step is to put separations between the interacting equipment.

The first two methods can help some, but the shielding can add extra weight, something I don't need here. Separation is an impossibil- ity because of the al ready -defined space of the day pack. The only other possibility is orientation: sometimes a few extra dBs can be squeaked out there.

Constructing the BackPicket

The BackPacket^s components are encased in a laminated sandwich of Ensolite, the ma- terial used for sleeping bag pads- This materi- al is a '^ inch thick closed celL den^« flexible foam that is available from most camping supply stores and is used to pad hips and shoulders when used as a sleeping pad. It also provides excellent protection for the laptop, TNC, radio and battery.

My first step was to find a proper pack, I spent several weeks lurking around the vari- ous backpacking shops in Los Angeles, at- tempting to find a sturdy, durable bag that not only had enough physical volume to hold the parts but also had external pockets, gussets and other widgetry so that all vital accessories could be carried as pan of the package.

Unfortunately, almost all of the bags I looked at weren*t designed for my purpose, (Don't these guys ever think of carrying a laptop computer and a 15 -pound battery around?) I considered briefly, then discard* ed^ the idea of building my own custom bag. I also looked at the plethora of camera bags. Most of these w^erc not deep enough to hold the computer, and all were frightfully expen- sive, (i figure that the camera bag manufac- turers know that you*ve gotta be rich to buy these fancy modern cameras,) Also, a back- borne bag would be easiest to carry and would leave my hands free; a camera bag flops around too much. 1 realized that most bags would require extensive modification to suit my needs.

1 finally found a reasonable bag made by JanSpon: the Super Sack. This bag had just enough internal volume to hold all the re- quired equipment and not much more. At the least-protected points there would be no less than a half-inch of foam between any compo- nent and the outside. The bag is made of Cordura, a very tough, heavy nylon weave. Leather gussets and bosses are sewn on the bag at various places as attachment points and there are two long vertical pockets aside the main pack body. The entire base of the bag is made from a single piece of heavy, top-grain cowhide. It looked like a very durable bag* So, it came home with me.

I needed a template showing the internal shape of the bag. The pack body itself js somewhat tear-shaped. I made a rough mea* surcment of the interior, cut a piece of heavy cardboard slightly oversized, then, through successive fittings, pared the cardboard down to size.

Using the template, I cut 12 pieces of En- solite in this shape. At one half- inch per

piece, 12 pieces slack up to provide a six-inch

block of Ensolite sandwich. This stack of foam fits quite well into the bag volume, with Uttle gap.

Next came the hard part: laying out the individual components, routing the cabling, and cuning out spaces in the Ensolite. 1 began with a single piece of foam as the base layer. This provided a minimum half-inch of foam between my back and any component in the BackPacket. On this layer I organized the TNC. baner> and radio. I drew the outlines of the components on the surface of the succeed- ing foam layers, and proceeded to cut out two pieces of foam with those exact cutouts, (A new X-Acto blade will last about two minutes in this service; be prepared to change the blades regularly.) These fit snugly on the bottom piece, with the individual layers of foam cemented to one another using standard contact cement* I-aycrs six through twelve were cut to house the battery, computer and control panel. I used this same construction technique to build up the full six-inch height of the foam block. The block breaks open between layer three and layer four to provide access to the radio and TNC.

Once the components were in place. 1 built shielded cables and carved channels in the foam to accommodate these interconnects. I used shielded cables and metallized cable hoods wherever possible to keep the installa- tion electrically clean.

The TNC, radio and battery base are locat- ed at the bottom of the foam stack. On top of the TNC and radio, separated by another half-inch of foam, rests the Epson laptop. The final foam layers surround the laptop and the rest of the battery, Two cutouts of foam protect the top of the laptop when the Back- Packet is in transit.

I built an interface panel to control the whole thing. I brought out the antenna con- nector to an accessible point, away from the buried radio. 1 routed the audio output from the radio so that I could listen to the channel. In addition I installed power connectors to charge the battet^, and charge the laptop off the main battery, as well as fuses and power switches to protect the whole thing.

A cast metal Budd box serves as the mount- ing plate for all this hardware. A one-inch speaker ai>d a toggle switch provide channel audio when required. A simple one-resistor charger supplies current to the laptop when needed to charge the computer buttery.

Finally, a jutnper cable routes the antenna line from this interface panel to the antenna mounting plate at the top of the BackPacket. I cut a bracket of 0:062 -inch aluminum that rests between the top of the Ensolite laminate and the packcloth. Gravity holds the bracket in when the BackPacket lies flat; when in transit, the two closure zippers on the main bag hold the plate in. but still allow the anten- na connector to project out of the hag so that you can connect either an antenna cable or a rubber duck antenna.

Accessories

The BackPacket still needed some acces-

12 73 Amateur R^dio Today • December, 1 990

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sories. The laptop, and to a much lessor ex- tent the TNG, generated a great deal of RF noise. This caused a very high receiver noise level in the radio, located no more than an inch or so from either: Moreover* when a rubber antenna was attached to the connector at the top of the BackPacket. the noise level climbed quite high. At this noise level it re- quired signals of many microvolts to produce readable packets. I needed a transponable, easy antenna that was also very durable*

r buili a simple rope dipole. Starting with 20 feel of RG223 cable, 1 stripped off 19 inches (quarrer-wave at 2 meters) of the shield from one end of ihe cable. Then I slipped on a 19-inch piece of braid over that eiKl and sUd it down so that it formed an electrical dipole, with the outer jacket of the cable forming an insulator between the coax shield and the added braid. Liberal use of polyvinyl tubing and heat-shrink potyolefin tubing sealed the whole antenna and made it quite durable. A rubber ring eye at the end of the dipole provided a hook for hanging the antenna from a branch or rope. A BNC connector at the other end completed the amem^.

I needed a wall chaiger for the main bat- tery, various adapter cables and connectors for a variety of installations, a TNC instruc- tion book, plus writing instrumenis and pa- per. I also packed a clip-on, battery -powered reading lamp with a gooseneck so that the LCD screen could be read in the dark. The lantp also provided enough illumination to work the keyboard welL A magnetic-base mobile 2 meter quaner-wave antenna com- pleted the suite. All these accessories were packed in a couple of nylon stuff sacks to keep the small parts from wandering away.

Final weight of the BackPackei, with all accessories included, is about 25 pounds. However, since it is carried on the back, it is a minor encumbrance; the most important thing is that it can be cotmted on to work and work well in almost any environment or lo- cation.

Future Plans

Futune modificattons to ihe unit may in- clude some sort of LCD meter thai indicates battery voltage. Also, it would be handy to know if someone has connected to the Back- Packet even with the computer off. I can achieve that either by building a small circuit within the TNC that will generate an audio beep lone on the local speaker, or less inva- sively« by constructing an optically-coupled sensor that monitors the status of the CON- NBCr lamp, and generates the saine beep tone if the lamp lights up. In addition, Td like to try some of the latest micro-size TNCs and miniature HTs now available. This would cenainly help to reduce the current drain and overall weight of the system.

But for now, the BackPacket, along with a suitable digipeater. provides an exceUent and reliable communication method anywhere that I can hike, climb or bike.

Jan Trent Adanis NW6H, 1139 S. Truro Sl, Inglewaod CA 9030L

CII^LE 1 ON READEfl SERVICE CAFm

14 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

Hr Eqiiipmc?nl Regular SALF

IC-76S Xcvr/ps/keyer/aulo tuner 3149,00 2699

IC-781 Xcvf/Rcwf/ps/tun€r/scope,„. 6149 SISS

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219 00199** S900

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IC 735 HP icvr/SW fEvr/mM:.„. 1149 00 96^*

PS 5S Ejdernal power supply ..„„,. 219 00 199" AM50 Automatic antenna tuner .... 445 00 389«

FL'32A 500 Hz CW filter ..„ 69.00

EX" 243 Eie^ctronsc Neyer ynft, ....*... 64 50 tJT-30 Tone encoder ,.„,.,,..... 18.50

IC-725 Hf )(cvr/SW TLvr. ...... (Sjemh 949 OD 799*^

AH-3 AutoFPaiic ani tuner., (Sp@m 489 00 379*^

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SM-6 Desk micropttone. ..».„.., 47,95

SM-8 Desk mic two cables, scan 89.00

AT' 100 lOOW Sband auto, anl, tuner ... 445,00 389^ AT-50a 500W 9^band auto, ant tuner ... 589.00 519^^ AH-2 8-band tuner w/mount & whip .... 758 00 689^^ AH-2A Ant tiioer system, only.. (Spiem 559.00 469'^ aC'5 WorfdGiock„„„......,..fClM»fy 91.95 69'^

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THE REMOTABLE

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The ALINCO Model DR-590T is a full featured/dual band trance! ver that is user friendly, and puts the fun back in Radio.

The DR-590T is packed with more features than most hams will ever use But it is engineered so thai you dont have to be an engineer to understand and use the various functions. The easy LCD display lets the operator know, at a glance, which functions are in operation.

ALINCO has listened to you, the Ham, and incorporated many of the features you told us you wanted in a Dual Band ( VHF/UHF) radio. And we did it while keeping the operations truly user friendly.

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permits requi

FEATURES

• ShBuitaDeous

R«:eiviiig on both band.s at the same lime Scanning iniermix scan mode! on both bands at the same time,

• Independent VHF & UHF Controls

• Detachable

With Ihe optional remoling kit, the front panel can be seperated from the main uniL

• DSQ (DTMF Squelch) Functian

• Code Squelch Function

You can program a 3 digit code that will open the squelch only when the s^ime code s%nal is receive from another transceiver. This allows for selective receiving. Addition- aOy, with the optional tone ^uelch unit, the

code squelch and tone squelch work together as a powerful calling function.

Various Useful Paging Functions for ing Calling ana Individual

DR-590T

Remote Control Microphone

With this microphone there are several functions thai can be controlled remoieiy: L Direct seuing of frequencies in VFO mode 2. Up/ Down of memory channels In

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Scanning Features

Memory Scan, Program Scan, ARM Scan, Band Scan, and more Scan.

Memory Channels

The unit has 28 memorv channels, one independent 'Call* channel and 10 ARM memory channels (40 channels in total). You can program set tones, shift frequences^ shift directions, and channel steps in each of the 28 memory channels.

ARM (Automatic Repeater Memory) Function

10 repealer channels can be memorized

automatically. While ARM mtwle is active, scanning stops at vacant channels and pauses, then starts again automatically. This function is useful to find vacant repeaters.

■ ABX (Automatic Band Exchange) Function

* Bell Function

' Dimmer Function

Selectable 2 different brightness of LCD

light

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- Repeater Operation

The DR-S90T can be used as a cross band repeater

* Full Duplex Cross band Operation

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1 Auto Dialer Function

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5. DTMF Monitor Function

4 38 Sub-Audible Tones bulli-in

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ALINCO ELECTRONICS INC.

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CIRCIX 67 ON READER SERVICE CARD

Feedba ck

In our continuing effort to presani the best in amateur radio features and columns, we recognize the need to go directly to the source — you. the reader. Articles and columns are assigned feedback numbers, which appear on each ar- tlcleycotumn and are also listed here. These numbers correspond to those on the feedback card oppo- site th»s page. On the card, please check the bo>t which honestly rep- resents your opinion of each article or column.

Do we really read the feedback cards? You bet! The results are tab- ulated each month, and the editors take a good, hard kx>k at what you do and don't like. To show our ap- preciation, we draw one feedback card each month and award the lucky winner a free one-year sub- scription (or extension) to 73.

To save on postage, why not fill out the Product Report card and the Feedback card and put them In an envelope? Toss in a damning or praising letier to the editor while you're at it. Yoy can also enter your QSL in our QSL of the Month con- test. All for the low, low price of 25 cents!

Feedback* TtUe

1 Letters

2 Never Say Die 3QRX

4 Behold the BackPacket!

5 Ham Profiles

6 Upgrade Your HD-4040

7 Review: Ten-Tec Hercules II

8 The VOX Plus

9 Review: Ltghtning BoU Dual-Band

10 Review: PacComm PSK-I

1 1 Pack Your Seabag, *^ Sparks"

12 Review: ICOMlC^726

13 Dealer Directory

14 RTTYLoop

15 Looking West

16 Hams wcth Class

17 Homing In IB Updates

19 Audio Powered Tape Recorder Controller

20 New Products

21 Above & Beyond

22 Special Events

23 Ask Kaboom

24 QRP

25 1990 Annual Index 26AdfndeKl2/90 27 ATV 2B 73 International

29 DX

30 Barter 'n* Buy

31 Hamsats

32 Random Output

33 Propagation

34 Review: PT-340 TunerTuner

fiumbef S on your Feedtsack card

Ham profiles

There are no "average" hams!

Photo A. Left to right: Gem UA9MA. Chuck {Charfes Emify) WWW, and Serg UA9MC, visiting WINW in November 19B9. They are hokiing tophies W1NW 53AND DXCC, 5BAND WAZ 5BAND WAS.

Greetings from West Siberfa

Gennady Kolmakov UA9MA writes us that he found out about amateur radio when ha was a freshman in the Institute of Railroad Engineers in 1972. At thai lima, there was an active collec- live radk} station, UK9MBA, at the insti- tute. He soon received hts personal call UA9MAF, and he built his first di- rectional antenna. Since then, his main interests have been DXing and con-

Photo D. Steven O. Seifers N5GZP wins joumalism awards.

From Interest to Career

Licensed as an amateur radio opera- tor at the age of 12. Steven O^ Sellers' interest in the hobby led to hts first job — in broadcasting at a small, local station in his hometown of Kenedy k Texas, when he was 15.

Steve N5GZP is active on 10 meters. He's a member of TEN-X Internal ionaf, the ARRU and the Palomar Amateiir Radio Out) in the IModh County region of San 0 1 ego.

Recently, United Press International presented Steve with two broadcasting awards for two radio documentaries he produced and reponed. The awards were tor best investigative documefF tary in the Western Region and out- standing achievement in reporting in the Western Region TNXKGMG-AM/

testing. In the near future, he plans to learn about RTTY and packet.

Olga, his wtfe, doesn't share his In- terest in amateur radio* although she accepts his hobby with respect and un* derstanding. But his sons, nine-year- old Mike and six-year-oid Alex, are suc- cessful ly studying CW.

Besides radio, Gennady is interest- ed in music. He likes all kinds of Ameri- can con temporary music, such as all fom>sof jazz,

Cunantly, he is vice-president of the West Siberia DX Cfub and he spends much time domg the admintstralive and c^rganizational work. In particular, tie's arranging a DXpedition to one of the far regions of the U.S.S.R. He*s also QSL manager for radio stations 4K201L, 4K2BOU, 4K20KV, 4K2BA2. and4K4AB.

'Td like to use this occasion to send through your journai my warmest wish- es to all Amencan ham radio fans. Td li^e to hope that radio helps people of our planet to understand each other

Photo B. Off to a good start, s/x-yesr- oki Terry Van Sickfe KB5NTC pians to get his Extra in a few years.

Going Far— Fast

The Piano Amateur Radio Kltib (PARK) congratulates Terry Van Sick- le, son of Brenda NSL£U and Terry Sr, WQ5WXI, on passing the Novice Class amateur radio exams last August. Six- year-old Terry had been studying in a class taught by Tad Derx N50DR. The class, sponsored by PARK^ had 45 sty- dentsf

Since Terry KB5NTC couldn't wrtle fast enough to copy Morse code by hand, he passed his code test by typing the code test portion on a laptop com- puter.

Terry is a first grader at The Green- hill School in Addison, Texas. He's in- terested in learning how to work ama- teur satellites. He hopes to have his Extra Class by <he trme he's tO of 11. TNXJohn T Beadfes.

belter and bring peace to the world/ TNX, Gennady, for your greetings and wishes. Aiso, thank you for sending ex- amples of the t>0auttfijf awards of the West Siberia DX Ciub. which we were happy to pui>fish m "73 intemattonai" from October 1939 until the summer of 1990.

Let s Talk!

Bob Weinstein K£2FE, assistant principal of Richmond Hill High School, says that these high schod students love to talk with other high school students and they QSL "100%

directly." They rapidly become disen- chanted when eti they get is "59 old man, QSL via the bureau. . /' dunng contests To Wayne, KE2FE says. "\ really agree with your idea about limit- ing credits for DXCC to certain contest dates."

I

Photo C. Bob Weinstein KE2FB (far back, on the right) and his ciass of high scfKX^t hams.

73 Amateur Radio Today • December J 990 17

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Upgrade Your HD-4040

KISS your Heath HD^4040 and keep AX.25 too!

by Mark Dieter N2BL!

■ was in the mood to try sotnething new. I had a copy of K A9Q's Iniemet package for my Macintosh, but my old TNC would not support il (it requires KJSS). I didn'l want to invest lots of money in a new TNC, and I knew a KJSS upgrade would noi allow me to u.'ie the TNC in normal AX, 25 mode. I have an excellent temiinijl program thai would be useless without a full-function TNC, I wanted both, and T didn't wanl lo spend any money. Sound familiar? So I put the little gray cells to work and this is what I came up with.

The KISS

KJSS flCeep It Simple Stupid) provides di- rect computer-lo-TNC communica lions us- ing a simple protocoL Normal TNCs were designed to interface with humans, not com- puters. By designing the TNC for humans, it actually makes it harder to interface the TNC lo conipuier applications, KISS removes many of those restrictions by placing most of the TNC functions within the attached com- puter. A KJSS TNC only converts between asynchronous data for the computer to syn- chronous HDLC (High Level Data Control) for the radio, and it controls the transmitter. This allows the computer to maintain multi- ple connects, run new protocols, and other advanced functions, Some software packages like bulletin boards, TCP/IP (the KA9Q soft- ware), and others require a KISS TNC.

The TNC 1 KISS upgrade from TAPR con- sists of a single EPROM. It costs about S12. For notmal installation, the new EPROM would replace the existing EPROM at hex address SEOQO. That^s U12 in the Heath HD- 4040. If you replace that EPROM with the KISS one, your TNC will work fine in KISS mode. It's not even necessary to remove the other original EPROM chips. The TNC will ignore them. Of course, your TNC will not be able to operate in its normal AX.25 mode. But remember, wcVe not willing to give up our normal TNC functions for a KtSS!

Making It Work

What if we could mount both EPROMS in the TNC? Then all we have to do is t md a way to switch between the two EPROMS, right? Lucky for us there is already a socket in the TNC for an additional RAM or ROM chip — U8. So mounting the new chip is easy. But these EPROMS have 28 pins. How can we

switch them a!I? The answer is: We don*t have to! All the address, data, and control signals, except one (more about that later), are the same as U 1 2. The only problem left is that the starting memory address of U8 is 4000. The KISS EPROM must be installed at address SEOOO.

All devices thai communicate with the mi- croprocessor have specific addresses as- signed to them . The address dect>ding circuits ensure thai the correct device is '"enabled" when it is addressed by the microprocessor. Each ROM chip makes up one 8-kilobyic segment of the entire memory. The starting address of each chip (8-kilobylc segment for ROM) is determined bv the address decoder y4. This IC decodes the high bits of the address from the microprocessor and pro- duces a chip select signal to the memory device that holds the particular memory loca- tion the microprocessor wants. The chip se- lect **enables" a particular memory chip and

Figure L DPDT switch wiring demils.

Figure 2. iMcmion of wires A, B, and Con the TNC I circtiir hoard (wire D amneas to the 5 volt bus),

73 Amateur Radio Today • December. 1990 19

Photo A. The Heath HD-4040 TNC.

Phoio B. The insides (note jumper wire locanansi^

allows it to react to the address, cantrol, atid data signals from the microprocessor. Essen- tially, it turns the chip on or off. Remember, I said there is only one signal thai i*; different between U8 and U12. Yep, you guessed it! It's the chip select.

What we want to do is re-map the starting address of chip socket U8 (starting address $4CKXJ) to U 12 (starting address SBOOO). This can be done quite easily by connecting the chip select signal for U12 to the chip enable pin on U8, then cutting the normal chip select traces from U4 to U8 and U4 to Ul2. The chip select of the unused EPROM must be tied to 4*5V. This effectively disables the chip and removes it from the circuit.

By doing this we can make US have a starting addr^s of SEOOO, and we can disable U 1 2 , If we take the chip select sign^ for U 12 and switch it between IJ12 and U8 (and switch ihe unused chip to -i-5V) we can switch which EPROM is seen by the mi- croprocessor at address SEOOO.

So it turns out that we only need to switch one signal* the chip select. When we flip the switch and toggle the address SEtXX) between socket U8 and U 12, we toggle between KISS and AX -25 mode,

Installation— Step by Step

Very few parts are required to install this upgrade in your TNC: the TAPR KISS TNC I EPROM, a good quality DPDT switch, and a few strands of small-gauge

20 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

wirc (ribbon conduetor works great).

In the following instructions I will be refer- ring to positions on the TNC circuit board. It is important that we have a common refer- ence to locate items on the board. All my instructions will refer to the board, looking at it from the component side, with front toward the front of the cabinet (LEDs are mountoJ in the front of the board) .

Fir^, open the HD-4040 case. Find a spot in the case lo locate the DPDT switch. Make sure it will clear the board and aU compo- nents. I put mine in back near the power regulator.

Second, remove the circuit board. When you make the hole for the switch you will be making lots of aluminum filings which could short components on the board. To remove the board you must remove seven nuts hold- ing the board in, and unplug the 7'pin power plug J4. Gendy pull the front LEDs back to clear the case.

Next, put a hole in die case for the switch. Depending on the size and type of switch you have, the method will vary. Then reinstall the board into the case.

Locate U4, U8, and U12. Everything should be marked on the circuit board. Care- fully install the TAPR TNC 1 KISS EPROM into socket U8. The notch end should match the notch shown on the circuit board. Make sure you do not bend any of the pins!

Solder four 9Hnch wires onto the DPDT switch, as shown in Figure i. Mount the

DPDT switch into the case. Insert wire "A*' into the hole in the circuit board, near the front left comer of 15, and solder. (See Figure 2.) Take your time — the hole is very tiny.

Insert wire "*B** into the hole in the circuit boaiti directly forward of the left-most pin of iP8, and solder. Insert wire *'C" into the hole forward of U4 slightly lo the right of its centerline (it's the closest hole to U4 towards the front), and solder.

Insert wire * * D' ' into one of the holes in the +5V bus (on the front right-hand side), and solder. Locate the circuit trace from U4 pin 9 to U 12 pin 20, Since the board has traces on both sides it^s not obvious. It is the same trace that wire "A** is connected to. (See Figure 2,)

Now, the tricky part. Take a very fme- tipped knife or scribing tool and cut the trace somewhere to the right of where wire * 'A" is connected. I found that a scraping motion was most effective. Make sure the trace is cut completely through.

Locate the circuit trace from U4 pin 2 to U8 pin 20. It is the same trace diat wirc **B" is connected to. {See Figure 2.) Cut the trace to the right of where wire B is connected. Place jumper JP6 to the right. Place jumper JP8 to the right.

Operation

With the upgrade in place, you're ready to try it out. Power-up your favorite terminal emulator and the TNC. If you don*t see the norma! welcome message from your TNC, power the unit off, flip the * 'Normal / KISS" switch^ and turn it back on. One position or the other will be the normal mode. CAU- TION: I recommend that you always turn the TNC off when changing the ** Normal / KISS^' switch. In normal mode your TNC should behave exactly as before, without so much as a changed parameter.

To try out you r TNC 's new-found capabili- ties, you will of course need KISS software. Unfortunately, TAPR did not provide in- structions widi my EPROM. I found out that the TNC in KISS mode is fued at 4800 baud, 8 data bits^ no parity^ and I stop bit. Your KISS software is probably already config- ured for that setup. None of the normal TNC settings have any effect on KISS operation. Remember all those TNC functions are done in your computer in KISS mode. If you have the optional Heath HDA-4040-1 TNC status indicator, the indicator LEDs will not work in KISS mode.

Postscript

Unfortunately, this upgrade uses up the socket for additiotial RAM (I wasn't going to

add more anyway), but nothing is completely free, right?

The KISS EPROM ps well as the KA9Q Internet Software Package is available from TAPR. To get an order form write to: Tucson Amateur Packet Radio, P.O. Box 12925, Tucson AZ 85732; {602) 749-9479,

You may camact Mark Dieter N2BLI at 86 Hiddenwood Dr. , Rochester NY J 461 6,

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73 Review

by a Drayton Cooper III, N4LBJ

Ten-Tec's Hercules II

Model 420

Turn your rig into a 550 watt transceiver!

Ten-Tec. Inc.

Highway 411 East

Seviefville TN 37862

Phone:(615)453-7172

Model 420: $1275.

Power supply 9420: $795.

Ten*Tec's new Hercules II solid state linear amplifier fills an tmporlant niche in the equipment line-up available to today's ham. and does it with elegance and techno- logical appropriateness. 1 have operated the model 420, as the Hercules 11 is known at Ten-Tec. since March 1990. and il has per- tormed op to specs every lime I've turned if on. it is extremely easy to drive, requiring only 35-50 watts Input to produce the full rated output of 550 watts. U is exceedingly quiet. It is. far and away, the simplest amplifier to oper- ate thai I've ever used.

The Medium Power Niche

First, a word about its power output capabili- ty. The 420 is not a classic "rock crusher." The ham who chooses the Hercules II should realize from ^he outset that this is a medium- power amplitJer.

There is definitely a place tor a mediym- power amplifier in today's world. The rules and regulations we operate under stress the importance ol running only enough power to maintain satisfactory communication. It's very difficult to run a 1600-watt amplifier at much less than ^ull output without developing pfob- lems of reduced thermal efficiency in the final tubes. Generally speaking, reliable communi- cations can be maintained at much less power than the maximum allowable by law. It should be noted that Ihe difference between a 500 watt power level and the full legal limit of 1500 watts will only raise your signal a Httle less than an S-unit. That extra S-unit can be cosily If you look at the price of a full-power amplifier.

Oulet, Easy, and Fast

For years, solid stale technology has been portrayed as basically simple, straightfor- ward, and highly reliable. Yet with a few nota- ble exceptions, we have used the benefits of solid state technology only in QRP rigs and in transceivers up to the T00-t50 watt class .

The Hercules II provides us with an opportu* nity to use the positive characteristics of solid state devices in a kilowatt-input-class amplifi- er. And the benefits are quickly recognizable the minute you switch on the 420. It is incredi- bly quiet, amazingly easy and simple to oper- ate, and it provides instantaneous QSK. or full break-in CW!

Complete setHjp of the 420 can be accom* plishad in about 15 minutes. Open the box.

22 73 Amateur Radio Today ■ December. 1990

takeout the RFdeck, make the three intercon- nections to the transceiver, screw in the PL- 259 from the antenna, conned the power sup- ply cable, and you*re ready to operate. it*s honestly that simple.

A No-Sweat Amp

Assuming you have an SWR of less than 2:1 on your fe^line. you just turn il on and talk. There's no warm-up pericxi, no waiting for ca- pacitors in the power supply to charge up. no tube filaments to heat. And there's rK> grid drive fo peak or final circuit to dip. If you 're the lype who enjoys fiddling with his gear, this may be disconcerting at first. But believe me, it's a welcome change after years of worrying about loo much, or too little, grid current; about whether or not the final was loaded up "tightly'' enough; or about a fatal parasitic wiping out a $200 tut>el

Since the theory of how Ten-Tec achieves 1000 watts input with 12*voli transistors has been thoroughly covered elsewhere. I won't get into that. Suffice it to say that they do, and if something were to go wrong, the transistors would be much less expensive to replace than 50-voll models.

The 9420 Supply— Heavy is the Word

Another feature of the Hercules II that should appeal to many in today's space-con- scious age is its size. The 420 takes up no more space in your shack than a full-sized transceiver. In fact, the Hercules il essentially matches the Tan- Tec Paragon or Omni-V transceivers for compactness.

To accomplish this, the RF deck and the power supply had to be separated, as in the tradition of the Ten -Tec Titan amplifier. Herein lies the only disadvantage that I have discov* ered in the system. Naturally, a power supply capable of providing ef^ough current at 12-14 volts DC to run a kilowatt-input linear has to be heavy. Unfortunately, the 9420 supply Is

over the UPS weight limit and must be shipped separately from the RF deck of the amplifier. Larry Worth. Ten-Tec's service manager, told me that technicians at the fac- tory have successfully run a 420 on a heavy- duty car battery and an automatic trickle chargef. In some of their advertising, Ten-Tec suggests this as an alternate way of powering the Hercules IL It certainly would be a less expensive way to go.

However, my experience with the 420-9420 system since last March leads me to recom- mend biting the bullet and going with the com- plete package. As heavy as the 9420 is, It can be conveniently placed out of the way. Since it is controlled by the onoff switch on the ampli- fier, constant access to it is not necessary. Just put it where air can circulate around its heat sinks.

Incidentally, the 9420 is wired so that it can provide power for a 1 00-watt class transceiver as well as the 80-amp amplifier Believe me, you don't have to worry at)out whether it's stout enough to handle both the amp and your rig.

Remote Control Feature

A final feature of the 420 should be men- tioned. Ten-Tec designed the amplifier so that it can be fully remote-controlled. They provide a remote head for the unit, and you can con- nect the RF deck to the head with a 12-foot multi-conductor cable. The remote head, which contains all the function controls found on the front panel of the amplifier, including the LED-dhven PEP output Indicator, can be placed on the operating desk, and the ampli* fier itself can then be situated in any location the operator chooses.

This feature was originally designed so that the 420 could be operated as a mobile ampli- fier (RF deck in the trunk, remote head under the dash), but it may also be a valuable feature for anyone whose shack is smalL

Since fii^ using a linear back in the early '60s (a home-brew pair of 4-400s), I have sampled a variety of the breed. Each of them needed some degree of special handling to get it to perform up to snuff. Thus far, howev- er, the 420 is the first amplifier I have ever used that actually feels and acts like an exten- sion of the transceiver itself. In fact, using it makes me feel like I'm running a 550*watt transceiver.

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2 WAY RADIO SERVICE MONITOR

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2M POWER AMP

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FANTASTIC 2M FM TRANSCEIVER

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2 M & 220 BOOSTER AMP

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4

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The vox Plus HT Accessory

Enjoy base station performance— with your i-iT!

by Mike Kossor WA2EBY

After a long, busy season of fleamarke- teering, I managed to reallocate suffi- cient funds to finally invest in a 2 meter rigi With all the fine equipment available^ the selection wasn't easy. 1 wanted a rig that 1 could take with me to hanifestST operate mo- bile, and use at home. The obvious choice? A full-featured handi-talkie, of course!

The handheld I chose was perfect for taking to hamfcscs. I added the optional speaker mike, plugged the external 12 volt DC power cable into the cigarette lighter jack, made a mounting bracket, and enjoyed excellent mo- bile operation as well . But when I tried oper- ating the unit at home, it became apparent I was having to compromise.

Unhandy Talkie

During a recent VHF contest, I found myself joggling the HT, logbook, and pen^ trying to log and call CQ- 1 did my best at making contacts running a mere 2.5 watts RF output. Being limited to a single mode, FM, took its toll on my score, since 1 was unable to make CW contacts worth bonus points. 1 did try operating MCW (Modulated CW) using the tone pad, but the battery start- ed dying during the awkward QSO.

With the battery gone, and out of the con- tost, J had plenty of time to think about how nice it would be to operate VOX on the hand- held, as I do on my HF gear. Logging would be so much easier. It would also be nice to operate MCW with a real key, and transmit the fiill 5 watt RF output available without having to worry about taxing the batteries to exhaustion.

It also occurred to me that an MCW mode would be especially usefiil to individuals with Technician Class licenses who only have FM transceivers. How could they upgrade with- out practicing CW?

My thoughts soon turned to action. My goal was to design an add-on accessory that could provide these desirable features, at a cost and complexity well within the realm of the average radio amateur.

Features of the VOX Bus

Whai evolved is the VOX Plus. This acces- sory uses the external microphone, speaker,, and power jacks of a transceiver, and adds the features of VOX operation or break-in MCW. It uses a clean 800 Hz sine wave oscillator complete with sidetone. A pro- grammable regulated power supply is also available to power transceivers requiring six to ten 500 mAh NiCd batteries, at full RF power output*

24 73 Amateur Radio Today • Decembef, 1990

*0 © 0

Photo A. The VOX Ptus setup. (Photo by Eric Wagner,)

These features resolved the initial short- comings of HT base station operation. How- ever, since I was using an external speaker, I decided to add an active audio filter, too. This way 1 could separately adjust the low and high frequency response of the received audio. Compensating for poor frequency response of transmitted or re-transmitted signals, I could customize the received audio for opti- mum readability, and also use the filter to attenuate annoying CTCSS tones, if present. A 2 watt audio power amp was added to provide sufficient audio output.

One final feature I thought desirable was an audio tape interface for MCW. With this in- teii'ace, taped bulletins or code practice can be s^nt with full break- in operation.

Circuit Overview

The VOX Plus circuit is a combination of transistor switches and common op amp cir- cuits described in detail in many textbooks.

Two good books on the subject are Analysis and Design of Integrated Electronic Circuits , by Paul M. Chirlian (chapters 13, 14 and 18), and Basic Electronics, by Michael M. Cirovic (chapters 14 and 15). The circuit does get a bit cumbersome when all the indi- vidual circuits are grouped together. Howev- er, Figure l, a functional block diagram, should give you a general idea of how the system operates.

Referring to Fig, t, VOX operation re- quires MODE switch SI to be in the voice position. Switch SI A disables the MCW os- cillator while segment SIB connects the transceiver's microphone input to the VOX Plus microphone amplifier, The circuit is considered to be in an idle state when the operator is not talking and the transceiver is not receiving any signal.

In this state, the positive input of compara- tor U2C is biased at 50% of the supply voltage, +0.5V, and the negative input is biased at +0,6V. The output of comparator U2C is tow (0 volts) because the negative input is at a higher potential than the positive input. The re-iriggerable monosiable multi- vibrator (or "one-shot") is also in an idle or stable state with its output low because it has not received a positive trigger voltage from comparator U2C. ptt switch Q3, controlled by the one-shot, is in the open state, placing the transceiver in the receive mode.

Transmit Mode

When the operator begins talking, the voice is picked up by the internal VOX Ptus elect ret microphone and amplified by UlA. The signal is then applied to the input of VOX amp UIB via switch SIB for farther amplifi-

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cation. The highly amplified voice signal at the output of VOX amp UIB is then rectined by diode D3,

The positive peaks of the rectified audio charge capacitor CJ7, which is connected to the positive input of comparator U2C. The +0,5 V DC bias level normally present on the positive input of U2C increases in direct pro- portion to the amplitude of the operator's voice.

When the voltage level increases to about

4-0.77, it exceeds the +0.6V value present on the negative input of U2C, and the com- parator's output goes high ( + V volts). This in turn triggers the one-shot and turns on ptt switch Q3, keying the transceiver. The out- put of the one-shot is also used lo mm on audio MLVTE swiich 04 toeliminaie * 'pc^'' in the speaker when switching from receive to transmit and back to receive.

A sample of the operator's voice is fed to the microphone input of the transceiver and

transmitted out. The trans- ceiver w ill remain keyed as long as the operator's voice is of sufficient amplitude to keep capacitor C17 charged, maintaining the positive input of compara- tor U2C at a higher level than the negative input. When the operator's voice ceases, capacitor C17 dis- charges quickly through re- sistor R22, and the positive input of comparator U2C returns to its normal value of +0.5V.

Upon reaching its normal value, the circuit is back in the idle slate, which causes the output of comparator U2C to return to low. Thus the trigger pulse to the one- shot is removed, allowing its output to return to low after a predeter- mined lime delay set by VOX delay poten- tiometer RV3. PTT switch Q3 returns to the open state when the one-shoi '* times out," putting the transceiver back into the receive mode. If the operator pauses during his trans- mission and begins to speak before the one* shot 'limes out," the new^ positive trigger pulse from comparator U2C resets or re*trig- gers the one-shot circuit before it releases ptt switch 03* The transceiver will drop out of

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Figure S. Scheinafic diagram ofihe VOX Pius. i^^To use the VOX Plus with other HTs, wirepin 2 for PIT when grounded and pin 5 for MIC audio out. For proper operation of the XM IT indicator LED, attach pin 4to -\- V and add a blocking diode in the F'fT tine as shown.)

73 Amafeur Radio Today * December, 1990 25

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M(W VQICE MDDE

erator*s voice. The presence of the 800 Hz audio signal at the input to the VOX amp is con- trolled by MC W mute, Q 1 . A key or keyer activates MCW mute Ql and allows the 800 Hz signal to reach the VOX amp. The same process takes place as described for VOX operation, using the MCW signal instead of the opera- tor's voice.

A second method of controlling MCW mute Q 1 is to use an audio tape player. Code practice^ CQ^ or CW message is recorded on audio tape. When played back into digitizer Q5, on/off keying pulses are generated, which con- trol MCW mute Q 1 . Note that since the tape audio only gener- ates on/off keying pulses, no tape hiss, hum, or background noise is heard. Taped code is QRM-free

transmit mode between words if the VOX delay is set too short*

Receive Mode

When the operator is not talking and an incoming signal is received, the audio signal from the transceiver is conditioned by active filler UlC, then passed to a 2 watt audio power amplifier capable of driving a 4- to 8-ohm speaker at a respectable level.

A sample of the transceiver's audio taken from the active filter output is used to can- cel the effect of the audio picked up by the VOX Plus' electret microphone; this pre- vents the received signal from keying the transceiver. The transceiver's audio sample is taken from active filter UlC and amplified by anii"VOX amp UID, Diode D4 rectifies the audio sample.

The positive peaks of the rectified audio charge capacitor C21, which is connected to the negative input of comparator U2C. The H-0,6V DC bias level normally present on the negative input of U2C increases in direct proportion to the transceiver's audio. The anti-VOX gain, conrroiled by potentiometer RV4, is adjusted so that the bias level in- crease on the negative input of comparator U2C equals the bias level increase on the positive input.

The net result is that comparator U2C remains in its idle or low state because the negative input tracks the positive input bias level, and remains lower in level. The opera- tor can sdll initiate a transmission by begin- ning to speak while an incoming signal

Table 1 . Power Supply Voltage
Programming Resistor Values
R51	R52	Output	NiCd
(1%)	(1%) ^	Voltage	Cells
4.7k	5t0	t2.8V	10
3.9k	5t0	to.sv	g
2.2k	330	9.6V	8
2.7k	470	8.4V	7
3.9k	820	7.2V	6

is being received. The voice will cause an additional increase in the bias level only on the positive input of comparator U2C*

When the in- crease on the posi- tive input of U2C exceeds the nega- tive input, the VOX Plus will key the transceiver and op- erate as described previously. Resis- tor R44 is used to discharge capacitor C27 when trans- ceiver audio ceases, returning the bias level on the nega- tive input of com- parator U2C to its normal value of 4-0. 6V.

MCW Mode

MCW operation is selected by plac- ing switch SI in the MCW position. This starts the 800 Uz sine wave oscil- lator, U2A, which applies a sample of its output to the transceiver's mi- crophone input and disconnects tJie in- ternal electret mi- crophone. Break-in MCW operation is identical to VOX operation, except the 800 Hz sine wave signal takes the place of the op-

PhotoB. An internal view oj the VOX Pius. (Photo by Eric Wagner.}

^*

Photo C Close-up view of the completed circuit board, (Photo by Eric Wagnen)

26 73 Amateur Radio Today ■ December, 1990

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	Table 2. Handi-Talkie VOX Plus
Resistors
All resistors are V* W, 5%.	unless otherwise noted.
R12	2,7	ohms
R33,47	10	ohms	V2W
R52*	510	ohms	1%
R9	680	ohms
R1 1,13,1 4,20,31, 32	tk	ohrns
R49,53	2.2k	ohms
R37,38	3.9k	ohms
R34,35,42	4.7k	ohms
Rsr	4.7k	ohms	1%
R1,2,3	5.6k	ohms
R5,6.7,10J5,16,17,19,	10k	ohms
39,40,41,43,48
R36,45	15k	ohms
R8.25,26,30,46	47k	ohms
R22,27,28,44,50	100k	ohms
R18	150k	ohms
R23	190k	ohms
R4	330k	ohms
R21, 24,29	1	megohm
RV1,3	100k	ohms	1 turn trimmer
RV4	1	megohm	1 turn trimmer
RV2.5,6	100k	ohms	linear taper pot
Capacitors
C51	18	pF, 25V	ceramic disc
C15	470	pF, 25V	ceramic disc
CI, 2,3	0.01	pF, 50V	ceramic disc, (NPO) or Mylar
05,11.38,39,40.41,42,	0,01	pF, 50V	ceramic disc
43,44.45,46,47,48
C49,50	0.01	pF, 1 kV	ceramic disc
C6	0.02	pF. 25V	ceramic disc
010,18,25,29,32,33,34	0.1	pF, 25V	ceramic disc
C16	0.033	pF, 25V	ceramic disc
G21,22	0.047	pF, 25V	ceramic disc
C23	0.0047 pF* 25V	ceramic disc
C 17.27	1	pF. 25V	electrolytic
C36	1	pF, 25V	tantalum
C7.8	Al	pF, 25V	electrolytic
04,13.14,19,20,24.26,	10	pF, 25V	electrolytic
28,35
C30	47	pF. 25V	electrolytic
09,12	100	pF. 25V	electrolytic
Oil	1000	pF, 25V	electrolytic
031	2200	pF35V	electrolytic
SemiconduGtors
BR1	50V, '	I.5A	bridge rectifier
LED1.2	Tl style	red
D1,2	1N52318, 5.1VDC	ViWzener diode
D3,4.5,6	1N4148	switching diode
01,2,3,4,5	2N3904	NPN. transistor
101,2	LM324	quad op amp
103	LM380	2.5W audio amp
104	LM317	adjustable voltage regulator
Other Components
Tl	18V.;	Ik	power transformer
SI	DPDT toggle switch
S2,4	SPST togg e switch
S3	normally open	push button
J1,2	mini-audio	jack
J3	5-pin	DIN	jack
J4	RCA phono	jack
F1	V2A fuse	with hoEder
Electret condenser microphone
PC board
AC power cord
tieatslnli
enclosure
knobs
5-pin DIN plug, mini-audio plugs (2), coaxial power plug.
*See Table 1 . for R51 & R52 values.
Parts kits are availalble from Micro Mart, 508 Central Ave., Westfield NJ 07090. Tel. (201)
654-6008. PC board and components are $29.95, plus $2.50 S&H; the parts kit, less
enclosure, heat sink, and knobs.	is $49.76, plus $3 J5 S&H; the PC board only is $12.95, plus
$2*50 S&H; and the power transformer Is $4.75 plus	$3,50 S&H.

and indistinguishable from hand-sent code.

Other Features

FUNCTION switch S2 disables comparator U2C so you can operate in manual mode. In this mode, you must use PTT switch S3 to key the transceiver. This feature is useful in voice mode when the room noise level causes false XCVR keying, or in the MOW mode to use the VOX Plus' sidetone as a code practice oscillator. A programmable regulated power supply is available for powering transceivers that operate from six to ten 500 mAh NiCd batteries. The output voltage is program- mable by changing the value of resistors R51 and R52. See Table 1 for programming resis- tor values.

Design Details

A few words need to be said regarding some of the * 'basic** op amp circuits, since their physical implementation is slightly dif- ferent from the theoretical description. The design of the RC phase-shift oscillator re- quires some practical modification to attain dependable operation.

In theory, ihe circuit will oscillate when the gain is set to a value of 1/29. This is a very critical value. If the value is slightly less, the circuit will not oscillate. If the value is slight- ly more, the output waveform will clip, re- sulting in distortion. This problem is over- come by adding amplitude compensation to the circuit.

Back-to-back zener diodes are placed in parallel with feedback resistor R4, The zener diodes decrease the gain of the oscillator as the output amplitude approaches the positive power supply rail to prevent it from clipping and distorting the w^aveform. Because of the zener diodes, you need more gain to get the oscillator started, thus the gain is higher than i/29.

In theory, the frequency of oscillation of the RC phase-shift oscillator is given as: / - 0. 065/RC, The addition of amplitude com- pensation using the zener diodes causes the actual frequency to be lower. It is difficuh to predict the actual frequency of oscillation be- cause zener diodes are nonlinear devices, and therefore, linear analysis can not be used to determine it. The theoretical equation does, however, give a good place to start*

A practical note penains to the use of the LM324 op amp. For capacitively coupled loads, a resistor should be used from the output to ground to increase the class A bias current and prevent crossover distortion {see the National Semiconductor Corp. 's Linear DamBook J 1988). This is the purpose of resistors R19 and R39, Notable distortion was present without them.

The one-shot circuit corjsists of transistor switch Q2 and comparator U2D. The trigger pulse is applied to the base of Q2 via R25, which limits the base current to a safe value. Each lime a positive trigger pulse is applied to R25, Q2 discharges capacitor C 19 to ground. The voltage across C J 9 is applied to the nega- tive input of comparator U2D; the positive input of U2D is fixed at V/2, When C19 is discharged to ground » the voltage across CI 9

28 73 Am^tBur Radio Today • December. 1990

THC

falls below V/2 and the ouipui of comparator U2D goes high.

The output remaitis high uniil ihe voltage across C 19 rises above V/2 volis . The charge time of C19 is controlled by the series combi- nation of resistors R26 and RV3. VOX delay. The circuit is re-triggerable because capaci- tor C19 can be discharged repc;iicdly by a trigger pulse, effectively resetting its charge time. MUTE switch Q4 is activated by the output of the one-shot by charging capacitor C30 via diode D6 and resistor R3 1 .

The voltage across C30 supplies base cur- rent to Q4 via base resistor R49. Q4 turns on and bypasses to ground the audio present at the junction of the voltage divider that con- sists of R40 and R4L preventing it from reaching the audio power amp U3.

Capacitor C24 provides DC isolation. When the one-shot times out, diode D6 pre- vents C30 from discharging immediately. Mirra switch Q4 remains on while C30 dis- charges through resistors R49 and R50* and keeps the audio path shunted to ground. In this way, the attack and decay of the mute switch are controllied. and the introduction of noise by the action of the mute circuit itself is prevented.

Construction

Only common components are used in this project. Most of them can be found in your junk box. If you don*t have a junk box, you can get all the pans from Micro Matt (see parts list).

Due to the number of compHjneots, I chose PC board construction. You could also use poinl*to-point wiring. Photo B. shows the circuit board mounted in a Radio Shack steel enclosure. Note that voltage regulator U4 is mounted on the copper side of the board, keeping the leads as short as possible to mini- mize RF pickup and lo maintain load regula- tion. This also simplifies access to the alu- minum heat sink mounted to the bottom of the steel enclosure. The steel enclosure does not make a suitable heat sink because of its lower thermal conductivity. The dimensions of the aluminum heat sink are 6" % 2.5" X 0.0625",

Connect the transceiver's power, micro- phone, and speaker jacks with a 5-pin DIN plug, its receptacle mounted on the rear pan- eL Bypass capacitors C40. C43» C44» C45 and C48 are mounted at the 5-pin DIN recep- tacle lo prevent RF from disrupting circuit operation. Access to the key input and tape AUDIO input are made with 3.5mm phone jacks. An RCA audio jack is used for the speaker output . Bypass capacitors C39, C41» and C42 associated with these terminals are also located on their respective jacks.

Setup and Optrathm

Check the circuit carefijlly before applying power. If all Uxsks good, set the function switch S2 to manual and set the mode switch SI to the MCW pof^iition. Set bass and tre- ble to center position, and Mtc OAtN control to minimum. Sei sidetone level control RVl to minimum by turning it CCW; then turn it H turn CW. Set VOX delay RV3 and anti- VOX gain RV4 to center position. Connect a

4- to 8-ohm speaker to the speaker jack and a telegraph key to the KEY input.

Before connecting the VOX Plus to your transceiver, turn on power switch S4 and check the programmed power supply voltage to ensure its value is correct, as selected from Table 1 . The supply voltage should be wiUijn 5% of the selected value. Press the telegraph key and listen for the 800 Hz sidetone from the external speaker. Adjust sidetone level RVl to the desired level.

Connect the transceiver to the VOX Plus. Be sure to use an external antenna to prevent strong RF fields from causing undesirable operation. Tune in a QSO and try varying the BASS and treble controls. You should be able to make muffled signals or tinny signals more natural sounding, and attain better read- ability.

To operate break-in MCW, change func^ TION switch S2 to the VOX position and start sending. The VOX Plus will automatically key the transmitter when you start sending code. The transceiver should remain in the transmit nnxle until about i second al^er you stop sending. If the transmitter drops out be- tween letters or words* increase VOX defay RV3 by mming it CW.

To operate voice, change mode switch SI to the voice position, turn the mic gain control to about % , and talk only when you what to transnih. Remember, you are now operating VOX, and you should turn the mi- crophone gain down when you*re not in a QSO.

Mike Kossor WA2EBY, IS M I2th S/. . Kenil- H^rtA NJ 07033

Q

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73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990 29

Numbers oo your Feed bach card

73 Review

by Bill Brown WB8ELK

The Lightning Bolt Dual-Band

VHF/UHF Quad

Two antennas in one compact package.

Lightning BoK Antennas RDlf2, Route 19

Volant PA 16156 Phone:(412)530-7396 Price Cla&s: $50 (2-element 2m, 4-eiemenr 70cm); $80 (4-e!ement 2m, Sneiement 70cm).

Whether heading out for a mountainlop^ foxhunttng or setting up a portable sta- tion at a moment's notice, it's best to iug as little equipment along with you as it takes to do the |ob. For dual-band operation, the biggest hasste is carrying two antennas, along with the associated masts and mounts. All this adds up to additionat weight and increased set-up time.

Mike Duddy of Lightning Bolt Antenna has the answer, He has come up with a dual-band 2jr\f70cm quad that is both lightweight and easily assembled in the field.

The dual-bander pfovfdes you with a 2^le- menl quad on 2 meters and 4 elements on 70cm using just eight Fiberglas'" rods ar- ranged te provide four crossed mounts. A larger version Is available with 4 elements on 2m and 8 elements on the 450 MHz band.

Easy to Carry and Assemble

I had a chance to lest out the dual-bander during a recent expedition out to Monhegan IsJand. Maine (see front cover). The only way out to this remote island is to take a 10-mile ferry boat ride. Nuge WB8GLQ and I ware hoping lo operate packet with the space shut- tle SAREX mission (unfortunately scrubbed) from the vantage point of the lighthouse on top of the island, In addition, we planned to make a few ATV contacts on 70cm using 2 meters for our talk frequency.

The dual-band quad comes packaged in a heavy-duty 3-foot-long mailing tube. Every- thing fits nicely inside, providing an excellent way to transport the quad. After packing our station up into two bags we hopped onto the boat to Monhegan. Once on the island, it was an easy hike up the steep trait to the light- house with our lightweight packet and ATV station.

The onty toots needed to assemble the quad are a small screwdriver and a crescent wrench to tighten the U-bolt clamp to the syppoit mast. The spreader arms are constructed out of W Fiberglas'' rods which have grooves for holding the quad loops. Each rod has a threaded hole to accept the mounting screw. The spreaders are pushed through holes in a 2-foot-long square boom. Each spreader is lettered and matches the letter on the boom- The spreaders can be quickly attached to the boom with the mounting screws. The wire loops are held in place by grooves In the ends of the spreaders. The four large spreader arms support the 2 meter quad loops along the ends, as well as supporting the reftector and the last director of the 70cm loops via

30 73 Amateur Radio Today ■ December, 1990

grooves cut into the middle of the supports. I found that the best method was to install

Photo A. Evan Cooke (() and Nuge WB8GLO (r) use ttie Lightning Bolt quad to make con- tact onAV/ and 2 meters.

Photo B. Close-up view of the dual-bander quad.

the loops as I assembled each set of spreader arms- Once complete^ all I needed to do was lo mount the antenna to my mast with the U-bolt (included with the antenna). This version has holes drilled in the boom to allow end*mount* Ing to the mast. Total assembly time was about 10 minutes.

The driven elements tioth have female BNC connectors attached, I found that the quad loops seemed somewhat loose m their grooves. However, this provided an easy way to change polarization quickly just by sliding the wire in the grooves. For a more permanent installation, you might secure the loops with a dab of epoxy. Lightning Bolt can also provide you with drilled holes instead of grooves for permanent mounting of the loops. Also. I found that the Ftberglas tx>om seemed a little rough in appearance. It may be a good idea to sand it down some to avoid the "itchy finger" syndrome.

Our total station consisted of a Radio Shack Model 100 laptop computer, a Heath pocket TNC» a Kodak Diconix" printer, an ICOM 2m HT, a t-watt P,C. Electronics ATV transmitter, a GBC CCD-100 miniature TV camera, a Radio Shack pocket-sized color LCD TV receiver and. of course, the Lightning Bolt dual-band quad.

Island-Topping with the Lightning Bolt

Although the space shuttle launch was scrubbed, we did make a number of packet contacts up and down the coast of Maine, Also, we made a very successful contact with Jon WA2YVL in Freeport. Maine* on 2m and ATV. The gain is about what you'd expect from a 2-element quad on 2 meters: about S to 7 dBd. On the 440 MHz band we saw about 9 dBd gain. This certainly made the difference, since the quad brought Jon's signal from two lights on my HT to a full-scale reception. On 439.25 MHz ATV the 4-elemem quad made the difference between a 50% snowy picture (using a V^-wave whip) to a full-color, nearly closed circuit image (using the 4-element quad). We observed about a 3 dB improve* ment over my home-brew 6 dBd 2-element quad. The front-to-back ratio seemed excel- lent, and we saw a nice clean pattern as we rotated the antenna.

After a fine afternoon island-topping, we quickly disassembled the quad and headed down the hill for our return boat.

We found the Lightning Bolt dual-band quad to be a great choice for portable opera- tion, and to be sturdy enough to survive a good deal of abuse!

r

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COR'4 kit Complete COR and CWiD ail on one board for easy construdJon. CMOS iogic for bw power consumption. Many new features, EPROM pro- grammed; specify call $99

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73 Review

by Dick Goodman WA3USG

The PacComm PSK

Connect to the world via the Microsats!

1 PacComm

3S62 West Cypress Street Tampa FL 33607 (813) 874-2980, (800) 223-351 1

Price Class: $250 (Includes power suppfy. manual, and TNC/radio/lelemetry.)

Orbiting the Earth at an altitude of approximately 800 kilamelers are four satellites which may be accessed and com- municated through via packet radio. These birds have something in common that is not shared by the other active ham salellrtes: They must be accessed using PSK (Phase Shift Keyed) modutation, rather than wtth corv ventionaJ AFSK (Audio Frequency Shift Key- ing), wtirch is the present terrestnal packet standard. These satellites are also known as "Microsats" because of their small size. •OSCAR 16 (PACSAT): euill by AMSAT HA. Can presently be used as a digipeater. Uplink frequenctes are in the 2 meter band, using conventional FM transceivers: downlink is in the 70cm band, using SSB reception, in the near future it will support a store-and-fonward mailbox.

•OSCAR ie (WEBERSAT): Built by Weber State University in Utah. Contains an on- board CCD camera that downlinks its pictures via packet radio. Also contains an ATV experi- ment which will be activated in the future. •OSCAR 19 (LUSAT): Built by AMSAT Ar- gentina. Same characteristics as OSCAR 16. •OSCAR 20 (FUJI-2): Built by AMSAT Japan. Packet store-and-forward mailbox. Uptink 2 meter FM; downlink on 70cm, using SSB re- ception.

Why Use PSK?

Current packet radio TNCs come with an AFSK modem installed. These are fine for ter- restrial packet communication over high qual- ity VHF links, but fail miserably when subject- ed to poor signal-to-noise ratios or frequency shift due to the Doppter effect. Existing AFSK packet modems must be maintained to within approximately i-50 Hz of the center frequen- cy. Since the Microsats are in low Earth orbit* their velocity in relation to the user is great. This equates to a very large Doppler shift when me satellite is at its closest approach. This shift is so great that a signal tuned in will drift completely out of the receiver bandpass in a matter of minutes. Existing AFSK modems would be virtually impossible to keep tuned dunng these conditions.

The signals from these OSCARs are also taking fades from spin modulation and are sometimes weak. This is due lo the nature of the low gain antennas used on the satellites, arKl to the orientatior^ of both satellite and ground station antennas (eg: cross polariza- t!onJ.

Rnaify, the present AFSK standard was ac- tually developed in the 1970s for use in com-

32 73 Amateur Radio Today • December,!

poter telephone modems. It was put lo use in TNCs because it was cheap and available, but it's certainty not state-of-the-art! What is need- ed for satellite work (especially low orbit satel- lites) is a modem that will perform well in the environment identified above,

The Answer

The PacComm PSK-l satellite modem tills ttiis requirement nicely. It is a small package, approximately T-^* high. 6" wide and 9" deep. It requires 12 VDC arid comes supplied with a small plug-in power supply. The PSK-1 will do the following:

1. Lock on and copy signals that are off fre* quency by as much as +400 Hz,

2. Automatically tune the receiver to maintain proper center frequer>cy,

3. Give excellent performance during poor signal-to-noise conditions.

4* Allow you to stiti use the AFSK modem in your TNC for conventional terrestrial packet operation.

5. Copy the telemetry data from Phase 3 satel- lites {OSCAR 10 and 13) from their engineer- ing beacons.

Interconnections to Your Equipment

PSK-1 to your VHF FM radio; The cable provided by PacComm has a 5-pin DIN plug lor PSK-1 connection on one end; the other end has stripped and tinned ieads for attach- ment to your radio. Note that this is the same pinout configuration for the TAPR PSK Modem.

PSK-1 to your UHF radio: The cable provid- ed by PacComm has a 5-pin DIN piug tor PSK-1 connection on one end: the other end has stripped and tinned leads for attachment to your radio. Note that this is NOT the same pinout configuration as the TAPR PSK

Modem. This connection MUST be made if you want the PSK-1 to automatically compen- sate for Doppler.

FSK-1 to your TNCs * 'Radio" connector: The cable provided by PacComm has a 5-pin DIN plug for PSK*1 connection on one end: tfrie other end has stripped arKJ tinned leads for connection to your TNCs "Radio" port. (Note: Your VHF FM radio is no longer con- nected directly to your TNC, but is routed through the PSK-1 modem. This configuration will allow you lo switch to either the TNC*s AFSK modem for conventional packet opera* tion, or to the PSK-1 for satellite work.)

PSK*1 to your TNCs modem disconnect header: The cable provided by PacComm has an S-pin DIN plug for PSK- 1 connection on one end; the other end has stripped and tinned leads for attachment to your TNCs modem disconnect header. Also provided is the 20-pin plug to attach to any TAPR TNC-1 or TNC-2 clone inline header. The stripped and tinned leads attach to this and it simply plugs into the TNCs modem disconnect. (Note: The operat- ing manual included with the PSK-1 goes into considerable detail. It took me 15-20 minutes to wire the header plug. If you are presently using a TAPR PSK modem, your existing ca- ble will work finel)

PSK-1 to your computer's serial port (RS- 232 & TTL both supported): Please note that actual packet data is still routed via serial ca- ble going to your TNC. The connection identi- fied here allows control of many PSK-1 parameters from youf computer. This is atso the port where Phase 3 telemetry data Is rout* ed (since it is simply ASCII data and not for- matted into AX. 25 packets).

Once the PSK-1 is correctly interfaced to your computer, INC, and Radio(s) the fun be- gins. When power is applied lo the PSK-1 the

.1

Photo A. The PacComm PSK- 1

990

front panel LEDS cycle through a short self- test procedure and the modem Is ready for use. The front panel of the PSK-1 is fogically laid out with 9-status LEDs (which also func- tion as a bar graph tuning indicator), two up/ down tuning LEDS, a PLL "LOCK" LED, and two switches which can control set up of the PSK-1.

Operating thePSK-t

The PSK-1 may be set up by two methods. The first is with the function and select push buttons on the front panel. The fumction switch cycles through each of the four PSK-1 functions. The select switch allows each of these functions to be configured independent- ly. For exampte, press the function switch until the mode function status LED is lit (each press of the push button cycles through one of the four functions). Now, by pressing the SELECT switch you can configure the mode function for Manchester PSK for satellite oper- ation, tenrestriaJ PSK, or 400 baud Phase 3 telemetry gathering. Press the function switch again and the modem funclton LED will light. By pressing the select switch, the entire PSK-1 unit can be toggled in or out, thus allow- ing easy access to your TNC's internal AFSK modem. Pressing the function switch again will IHuminate the jt/sp function LED. De- pressing the select switch here selects which radiD(s) will be used with the PSK-1. In the jttNT position, all PSK-1 data (both TX & RX) will be routed from the VHP port on the PSK-1 . In the SPLIT position, TX data will be routed from the VHP port of the PSK^l to the VHP radio and RX data from the UHF radio to Ihe UHF pon on the PSK-t . Pressing the function switch again lights the afc function LED. Ttie SELECT switch now controls how the PSK*1 tunes the UHF receiver to compensate for Doppler.

The other method of setup is by computer control. The serial port of your computer must be connected So the PSK-1 SERIAL PORT (not ttie TNC serial port). I recommend using an A-B switch on your computer's serial port to accomplfsh this (A to your TNC, B to the PSK-1 serial port). The same terminal program that you use for your TNC will work fine for con- trolling the PSK-1 . The default baud rate of the PSK-1 serial port is 1200 baud, no parity, 8 bit word length, 1 stop bit (1200, N3. 1). so initially set your terminal program to those parame- ters. You can change the PSK-1 serial port baud rate to match your computer to TNC baud rate later. Powering up the PSK-1 will present an entire series of menus which will allow setup of all previously specified parame- ters, plus options not available from the front panel switches.

Either method of setup is detailed ade- quately in the PSK*1 user manual. I would strongly suggest reading ft from cover to cover before using the modem.

tJ^ing the PSK-1 on the Birds

Tune in the signal from one of the four Ml- Crosats on your UHP receiver in the SSB mode. Also, ensure that your TNC is in Ihe MONiTOf^ mode and mall is on. I found the lock LED on the PSK-1 to be a bit over-sensitive.

and it wtll (Itcker on rafKJom receiver noise* But, when the satellite is tuned anywhere close to being on frequency, the lock LED will illuminate constantly, and the front panel status LEDs will function as a bar graph tun- ing indicator. If you have the automatic Ctoppler shift compensation feature active, the PSK-1 will finish tuning itself in arid you will not have to touch the receiver while tuning for the duration of the passf To use the auto tume feature, you must be using a UHF radio that has mike click up/down tuning capability. If you are tuning the receiver manually, use the CENTER TUNE feature on the bar graph. You should now see data from the Bird scrolling down your screen.

I have used the PSK-1 with a TS-71 1/811 combination in the automatic [>Qppler mode and it works Cfuite well. My home station uses a Hamlronics UHF receive converter driving a Kenwood R-2000 HF receiver, I have to tune the receiver manually, but the FSK-1 main- tains lock on the signal to about 500 Hz off frequency.

To transmit, dial in the correct uplink fre- quency on your VHF radio and issue the ap- propriate connect request with your TNC. Since the satellites have automatic Doppler compensation on the uplink, you don't have to worry atx>ut keeping the VHF radio on fre- quency. Ensure that you don't over-dhve the VHF transmitter because PSK is a linear mode. There is an external adjustment for the modem's audio output on the rear panel of the PSK^1 .

Some Final Thoughts

The PacComm PSK-i is an excellent piece of equipment that should appeal to anyone Interested in using packet communication through any satellite. Since PSK is more im- pervious to weak signal and fading conditions than AFSK, it works quite well on the Phase 3 birds, and is superior for terrestrial packet un- der ORM and QSB conditions.

The PSK-1 will intertace to many TNCs. The operating manual details the following inter- face requirements: TAPR TNC 1 and 2Ctones fTNC 1 will not work on OSCAR 20). Pac- Comm Tiny-2 (what I am using), MFJ'1270, MFJ-1274. MFJ-1278, AEA PK-232 (read the manual carefully). AEA PK-8B, AEA PK-B?, Kantronics KAM, KPC-4 (KPC-1 & KPC-2 will not work with PSK-1 ).

1 was amazed at how well the PSK-1 copied signals under conditions where an AFSK modem would totally fail. Tuning ts not at all critical— get within 400-500 Hz on EITHER SIDE OF CENTER and the data starts scrolling by! Once you've read the operating manual, mode changes and operation are in- tuitive. The ability to do rapid mode/funcbon changes from the front panel, or more de- tailed configuratton changes via computer control, is a real plus. Finally, the fact that the PSK*1 will decode Phase 3 telemetry blocks adds Ihe capability that would normally re- quire an additional dedicated $100 modem. A program to convert these blocks lo intelligent parameters is still required and available from AMSAT.

I hope to see yoo on the birds!

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Pack Your Seabag, ^^ Sparks

Do you want to be a ship's Radio Officer?

by Michael A. Davidson N®IV!M

9?

Lijibon, Naples. Palermo, Alexandria, Karachi. Singapore. CUL, lAR, SUH, ASK, 9VG: Ports visited and coastal stations worked by "Sparks/' a Merchant Marine radio officer* on a typical voyage. Is this something you always thought youM like lo do? Pack your seabag and come aboard!

Prelend that two days ago you received a call: * *She*s a freighter going to the Med and Singapore. Do you want the job?** Sure you do!

It's been a busy day. The plane trip, com- ing aboard, signing on. Now it's quiet. Here yoti are, on your first "solo"' job as a ship's radio officer. You go over the radio room equipment with the vacation-bound radio of- ficer. You've said your goodbyes, and the ship is your home for the next three months. The radio equipment looks familiar. The con- sole with the R/T MF and HF transmitters and receivers, the SSB and linear amp, the SITOR and SATCOM consoles over in the cx)mcr, don't look too different from the gear you became familiar with last year, while sailing as assistant radio officer.

The Merchant Marine

What is the Merchant Marine and how do you become a ship's radio officer? When people ask me what I do for a living, and I tell them [ sail in the Merchant Marine, they often respond. *'0h» yes, my son [brnther* etc.] is in the Marincsf**

In the Merchant Marine, you Ve a civilian. The only direct military con- oeciion is with the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Inspec- tion and Safety Division. In addition to their governmen- tal duties, they set training and experience levels, con- duct examinations for deck and engineering personnel, and issue Merchant Marine seaman's papers. In time of war, the Merchant Marine would come under naval command and protection. For more information, call theU,S,C,G. at(3l4)425" 4655.

The vessels of fiie Mer chant Marine Heet are owned by companies whose business is maritime cargo transportation. Some spe- i ciaiized vessels are oil tankers, chemical and liquid

gas carriers, bulk carriers, car carriers, and container ships or freighters. Merchant Marine ships carry almost anything that's impractical to transport by air due to weight, bulk, or quantity. The ships range in size from small coastal vessels with only a few crew members, to ULCCs (Ultra Large Crude Carriers) that measure up to 1 ,500 feet from stem to stern, w ith crews of 30 or more.

On board there are four departments: deck, engine, radio, and steward. The first officer (chief mate) supervises the deck; the chief engineer, the engine room; and the chief steward, the ship's galley and housekeeping. Each is responsible to the ship's master or captain.

Bui the radio depanment is unique. Unlike the other departments, it consists of only one person, the radio officer, who works directly under the captain's orders.

What Does an R.O. Iki?

By international law, ships equipped with a radio telegraph station must carry a radio operator to stand watch on the calling and distress frequencies, 500 kHz (W/T) and 2182 kHz (R/T). There are some exemptions for coastal voyages, but generally the SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) regulation applies.

At sea, seven days a week ' 'sparks " stands an eight-hour radio watch. The usual hours are from 0800 to 1200, 1500 to 1700, and 1800 to 2000. He monitors 500 kHz and 2 1 82 kHz and logs all traffic sent and received, and

Fhofo A. Radio adveniure on the high seas.

silent periods observed. Sparks is also on-caU 24 hours a day for emergency repairs to elec- tronic equipment.

In addition to the radio officer*s basic du- ties, he handles the transmission and recep- tion of the ship's traffic. The traffic could be CW (W/T) on medium-wave frequency (450 to 535 kHz) or on the high frequency mar- itime bands (2 to 22 MHz) using either W/T or voice (R/T), radio telephone, or telex via SITOR on HF (basically the same as AMTOR), Using the satellite communica- tions terminal, SATCOM. traffic is passed telex or voice mode via INMARSAT. Fac- simile is being installed in more and more ships. This mode uses a voice channel on the SATCOM for transmit and receive, and il can also be used on HF channels.

Although W/T (Wireless Telegraphy) and R/T (Radio Telephony) are United Kingdom abbreviations, they are used in ITU publica- tions and understood throughout the maritime radio world.

Arrival and departure limes can be busy, with messages lo the ship's owners » charter- ers, and agents; observer weather reports; private calls for the crew via the high seas operator on R/T and SATCOM; and reports to the U.S.C.G. Amver system. Amver is a maritime assistance program that provides search and rescue (SAR) efforts. Participa- tion is mandatory for U.S. registered vessels and voluntary for **foreign flag" vessels on voyages over 24 hours long.

Weadier reports at saa and FAX weather charts are copied daily by the radio of- ficer. The weather reports are broadcast on CW, SITOR, and voice by the U.S.C.G., U,S.N., and commercial and national coastal stations around the world. And in the winter months, on-station North Atlantic weather ships known as OWSs (Ocean Weather Stations) transmit up-to-date forecasts and storm warnings. They ako accept observer weather re- ports from ships passing throui^h their areas.

Simple accounting for traffic charges IS also part of the R.O.'s job. Traffic charges are based upon word count or duration of

73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990 35

the message or telex. Charges, if not known .

are requested from the coast station worked, or if via satellite, from INMARSAT tariffs in the radio room. The R.O. is, in effect, an agent for the ship's radio accounting authori- ty or company. It may sound complex and involved, but in practice it's quite simple. After completing your six months under the guidance of an experienced radio officer, you would be very familiar with these proce- dures-

On arrival in port, you are usually free to go ashore. Maybe even have an **eyebtn QSO' ' with hams you worked off watch at sea. A visit with three JA's in Yokohama, one a Shinto priest, was the result of a QSO on a trip to die Far East, So if you don*t have any repairs or inspections coming up in pon» you can head down the gangway. But don*i forget to check the Sailing Board; you must be aboard one hour before sailing time.

Becoming a Radio Olfker

To be employed as a radio officer in the U.S, Merchant Marine, you must be a U.S. citizen and have the following licenses, en- dorsements, and documents:

L An FCC radiotelegraph license. It must be at least a Second Class Ra- diotelegraph license with a Six Month Ser- vice Endorsement.

2, A U.S, Merchant Marine Officer^s license, issued by the United States Coast Guard.

3. A U,S, Merchant Mariner's Docu- ment (Z-Card), issued by the United States Coast Guard.

In order to sail as the sale radio officer on a U,S. Merchant Marine ship, your ra* diotelegraph license must have a Six Month Service Endorsement. According to FCC Rules and Regulations, Part 83, in order to get the endorsement you must have '\ . -at least six months satisfactory service as a qual- ified radiotelegraph operator in a station on board a ship or ships of the United States/' Catch 22? Not really. If you have military or naval sea time experience with CW, as a radioman or radio operator, you could possi- bly get some credit for the service endorse- ment. Check with the FCC. Failing this, all is not lost. Later, TH describe various methods to get that **sea time*' and the endorsement. First, the license.

The Radiotelegraph License

As a prospective radio officer, your first step is to pass the FCC examination for the Second Class Radiotelegraph license (T-2), This two-part examination is held at FCC offices. The code test consists of transmitting arid receiving plain language at 20 wpm and 16 code groupji per minute. The written, mul- tiple choice test consists of Elements U 2, 5, and 6. lt*s similar to the Genera] Radiotele- phone license examination, but emphasizes radiotelegraph practices and procedures, maritime equipmem, and radio direction finding. The FCC examiner may require you to draw block diagrams or schematics. On my exam, I had to draw a block diagram and

3$ 73 Amateur Radio Today • December. 1990

schematic of a direction finder. Til never forget that the antenna has a *'gap"I

An excellent license preparation manual, the Marine Radioteie graph Operator License Handbook, by Edward M. Noll, is available from WPT Publications. 979 Young St,, Suite A, Woodbum OR 97071. Tel. (503) 981-5 159, If you would rather not tackle the theory and code in one sitting, you can take the examination for the Third Class Ra- diotelegraph Permit (T-3) and get the code requirement out of the way first. This exami- natioQ consi^ of the code lest already men- tioned, plus Elements 1, 2, and 5, which cover basic law and operating practices.

Then you can then concentrate your studies on Element 6, electronic theory. And while you're in the study mode, don't forget ihe Ship Radar Encorsement, Element 8. This endorsement will allow you to service and maintain the shipboard radar system. You can take Element 8 separately or with Ele- ment 6,

Shipping Out

All that effort and study pays off. Let's say you have your Second Class Radiotelegraph license with the Ship Radar Endorsement. You can almost smell the sea air. But what about that Six Month Service Endorsement? If you have a letter from either a shipping company or a maritime union stating thai you have been offered shipboard employment as an assistant radio officer or apprentice radio officer, the Coast Guard will issue you the U.S. Merchant Mariner's Document, or Z- Card, and the Merchant Marine Oflficer^s License.

As suggested above, you can get the sea time for the endorsement through an inde- pendent shipping company. You would sign on as an ordinary seaman, engine room wiper, or galleyman. In your off-watch hours, you would stand watch in the radio room. You would have to keep a log for the FCC to evaluate, of the dates and hours you stood the radio watches, and have it signed by the radio oITicer and master, or captain. This can be a lengthy process, but it's a method

Maritime CW (W/T) Working Frequencies (kHz)

4188,5 to 4219.5

6285.0	10	6324.3
8377.0	(0	0435.5
12565.5	to	12651.0
1 6754.0	to	16858.5
22250.5	to	22261 .5

Sample Ships SITOR (F1 B}

Working FrequenGies (kHz)

Dial Setting

4170.8

6257.4

8344.3

12489.8

16658.8

22197.8

4174.8

6365.8

6356.8

12516,3

16688-3

22220.3

that has been successhjlly used to obtain the

endorsement.

Sailing on ''foreign flag** ships as a radio operator is another way to obtain experience. This sea time would not be app!ieable toward the service requirement, but it could put you in a favorable position when applying to an independent company or to a union for an assistant radio operator position. Sailing for- eign flag, you would not be required to have the U,S,C,G, license or the Z-Card- You'd only need the FCC Second Class Ra- diotelegraph license and the appropriate country's seaman' s document.

In the past^ ships of Panamanian and Libcrian registry have been traditionally used by * 'unendorsed'* radio officers seeking ex- perience. But with the increase in countries that offer '* flags of convenience" to ship owners (companies that don't have an agree- ment with a maritime AFL/CIO radio op> erator*s union), the possibilities have also increased. Without any prior ship radio opier- ating experience, it can be toogh. But serious listening on the maritime CW frequencies, and close study of the radiotelegraph proce- dures in the text, can give you the knowledge and confidence to tackle a first assignmenL See the table for frequencies.

Training ProgrBms

Certainly, the least cotnplicated way to go would be through acceptance into a union training program. The two major maritime radio officer unions are: The American Radio Association » M.M.&P. 26 Journal Square, Suite I SOL Jersey City NJ 07306^168, (201) 795-5536: and The Radio Officers Union, 1415 Nfoylan Road. Panama City Beach FL 32407, (904) 234-8448.

These maritime unions have agreements with shipping companies to provide licensed radio ofllcers for their vessels. Depending upon (heir membership needs, the unions have programs for persons with the Second Class Radiotelegraph license, but without the Six Month Service Endorsement. Upon ac- cept^mce inm the program* you would sail as assistant or apprentice radio officer, gaining service lime (endorsement time) under an experienced radio or radio-electronic officer. Both the A.R.A. and the R.O.U. have resi- dent schools, where their qualified R.O.s can take the necessary courses to obtain certifica- tion as a radio-electronic officer, with the opponunity for taking advanced courses after certification.

Signing maritime mobile has led to many QSOs where Tve been asked about the seafar- ing life, and how one becomes a ship's sparks. Getting that information on your own can be frustrating. This article should give you a gocKl idea about what those ^^sparkies** out on the high seas arc doing, and about those faraway places. Ready to pack your seabag?

You can contact Michael A. Davidson N0MM at 1118 1 3th St. (A'54}, Boulder CO 80S02. Don*t expect a quick answer, though: he could be anp%'here in the world right now! The last we heard, he was in Saudi Arabia.

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73 Review

by David Cassidy NIGPH

The ICOM 10-726

The HF+6road warrior.

ICOM America, inc,

2380 1t 6th Avenue N.E.

Beilevue WA 98004

(206) 454-761 9 Price Class: $1,300.

At the beginning of last summen television reception in the non-cable towns and villages of central New Hampshire turned strange. Every night, stations usually received with extreme clarity were fuzzy and filled with interference for most of the evening. For the rest of the world, this was another of the minor "inconveniences of living with old-fashioned broadcast TV. For a ham, it could mean only one thing: 6 meter DX\

Signals were comtng from places like Texas and Florida (I even saw the ID screen from a Dallas station). With this evidence of great 6 meter propagation staring me in the face (liter- altyj), it was time to take a look at some of the available 6 meter equipment.

On The Road

Not too long ago, getting onto 6 meters meant buying or building separate equipment for that band. But not anymore. Now you can get the 6 meter band Included with your HF rig. ICOM took their 10-725, added 6 meter capabilities, and re-christened it the IC-726. I've had the chance to put in several hours behind the mike of this rig, and this is what 1 found.

The layout of the operating controls on the 10-726 Js prelty straightforward. The mode se- lection buttons are stacked to the left of the main tuning knob, and the frequency controls are stacked to the right.

The first thing I did after unpacking the rig was throw It on the front seat of my car, attach the antenna and power, and tune in the 20 meter band. Then I started driving the 40- minute commute home from work. After scan- ning the phone portion of the band with the tuning controls on the supplied microphone (a very handy feature for mobrle operation), I called "CQ; ' For the next 20 minutes I had a very enjoyable QSO with a gentleman in Flori- da. By the time I pulled into my driveway, my hands were finding the controls without look- ing at the rrg. Even switching bands was no problem; you just push the button marked BAND, use the mike controls to select the band you want, then push the band button again, A quick glance at the frequency display, and that's all there is to It. A push of the lock button disables the main tuning knob but leaves the

up^Dowiv but- tons on the microphone functional, so bumping the main tuning knob while reaching for the volume has no effect. This was my first expe- rience with mobile HF, and I was hooked. The 10-726 Is now my con- stant copilot during my daily commute.

Back in the Shack

Once I arrived home, it took only a few sec- onds to set up the IC-726 at the operating desk. There is a plate on the back of the rig that tells what each jack, switch and plug is for, so the confident need not even look at the manual. In fact, this rig is so plainly laid out that anyone familiar with modern transceivers probably won't need to read what is, with few exceptions, aweli-written instruction manual. (Once the initial excitement of any new piece of gear wears off, I would suggest spending 30 minutes or so with the manual, and if you are adding a linear amplifier or other gear to the chain, I would strongly urge that you lake the time to go through the manual first.)

The spec rundown for the IC-726 is fairly standard for a modern HF rig: general cover- age receiver, two VFOs, 26 memory channels (with two channels holding split frequencies), RIT, band and memory scanning, and variable tuning rates. One feature that I found very helpful was the built-in 10 dB preamp. Espe- ciatly during mobile operation, that extra push in thesignal4o-noise ratio can make the differ- ence. The built-in noise blanker was also quite helpful in eliminating ignition noise. The back- lit amber display is something else that 1 liked very much. All operating fur^ctlons have an indicator, so you only need to look In one spot to remind yourself exactly where you are and what you're doing (another handy feature for mobile operation}.

On-the-Afr

1 spent several weekends operating the \C- 726 on every band, and in every available mode. Audio reports were consistently su- perb, even on AM where the newer rigs can't realty compete with the audio quality of some vintage equipment.

Receiver audio is average, as long as you don't use the tiny speaker built into the cabi- net. Almost any extension speaker will sound better. If you plan to go mobile with this rig, an extension speaker is a must. The built-in speaker started buzzing at relatively low audio output in the quiet of the shack. Mobile opera-

tion, even with the rig on the passenger seat and the speaker facing directly at me, was next to impossible.

This is reaNy not a criticism of the trans- ceiver. In order to put a larger speaker in the cabinet, the cabinet would have to be larger. Consider the built-in speaker as sort of a back- up, and you'll have no problems or com- plaints.

As stated earlier, band changing is a snap. Tuning is very smooth and precise, even when tuning down to 10 Hz steps. The knob tension is easily controlled by a front panel screw, so those who like a bosef or stiffer tuning can be accom m odated .

What passes for tuning up in a modern transceiver is quick. Set your power level, check your SWR, and you're on the air. The lC-726 will give you 1 0O watts (40 watts in AM mode) on 160-10 meters and 40 watts (10 watts in AM mode) on 6 meters into an SWR of 1.3:1 or better. The automatic protection cir- cuits kick in at higher SWR and your total output will be reduced accordingly.

QRP operation is a simple matter of turning down your RF power. Even when the power is turned fully counterclockwise, you'll still get about 1 0 watts output. This is due to the idling current supplied to the driver and final transis- tors to obtain bias voltage. If you want to oper- ate serious QRP, a simple attenuator could be put in line.

What 1 Liked

1. Of course, 6 meter capability has to top this list. It's great to have that extra band. Vou don't get it for free, though. Only you can decide whether or not its worth around $300 to have the extra band. The way I look at it, you're already spending a lot of money so you might as well shell out a little more.

2. The front panel layout of this rig Is excel- lent. Mobile operations are safe and easy.

3. The variable tuning steps are eas[ly ac- cessible. If you want to go from the FM portion of 10 meters to the Novice/Tech SSB sub- band, a simple button push lets you tune 1 kHz or even 1 MHz at a time.

3. The 10 dB preamp is greatf I never real- ized I needed one until I had one. Now. I couldn't live without it,

4. The back-lit amber display is well thought out and easy on the eyes. Everything you need to know is contained in about four inches of space, which adds another safety margin in mobile operation.

5. The band stacking registers will remem- ber where you were the last time you were tuned to a certain band. At first I thought, "big deal/' but I found this feature very useful. Before tuning to another band, I always leave the VFO on a special frequency (the center of the phone portion, or maybe a net frequency). As I'm scanning the bands, that special fre- quency is waiting for me when I return.

38 73 Amateur Radio Today * December, 1990

6. The smoolh and precise tuning is a real plus. Many rigs get a bit cranky when you're tuning 10 Hz steps. The IC-726 was easy to tune and never wavered.

What I Didn't Lite

1 . ICOM's biggest sins are sms of omission. It woyld be nice if the tone encoder and CW fitter were standard instead of options, but to not indude the carryrng handle. . .shame, shame, shame. For a rig that is marl^eted as a base/mobile unit, the carrying handle should be standard equipment.

2. The nr^anuat falls short in helping you set up digital modes. In today's world of packet TNCs and multimode controllers, the trans- ceiver manufacturers ought to get a bit more specific on how to set up their rigs for these modes,

3. The noise blanker circuit does not oper- ate in the AM or FM modes. This made mobile AM work rather aggravating.

Options

ICOM has an extensive line of options for the IC'726. These range from the standard

''Now you can get the 6 meter band included with your HF rig.

ff

choice of power supplies, antenna tuners and external speakers, to a programmable tone encoder, mobile mounting bracket and the missing carrying handle.

The GR-64 high-stability crystal unit will improve frequency stabiiity. especially if you will be operating in extreme weather (the CR-64 is rated from -22''Fto + 140°F). There are two different CW filters available. The FUl00isa50OHzy-6dBfilter, andtheFL-t01

isgoodfor250Hz/-6dB.

Other options include the CT-16 Satellite Interface Unit, which provides easy tuning for satellite communications, and the CT-17 Lev- el Converter for remote control of the trans* ceivef through your computer's RS-232 port.

Final Comments

ICOM's usual quality is evident In the IC- 726- After two months of heavy use, including the daily switch from the shack to the car. the rig hasn't given any trouble. The simplicity of operation makes it a breeze lo use, especially when going mobile.

If 6 meters is not your cup of lea, then you might want to save yourself a few hundred bucks and check out the IC-725. But if you're the type of ham who is always interested in putting your callsign out on another band or in another mode, the IC*726 is a great way to get on 6 meters with no hassles. The next summer DX season is right around the oornerl

When he's not motiie or busy in the ham shack, David Cassidy NiOFH is Associate Puhtisher of 73 Amateur Radio Today. You may reach him at 73. Forest Road, Hancock NH 03449.

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73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990 39

Number 34 on your Feedback card

73 Review

by Paul Grupp KAiLR

PT-340 Tuner-Tuner from

Palomar Engineers

Adjust your antenna tuner without transmitting.

Palomar Engineers

1924-F West Mission Road

Escondtdo CA 92029

Tel. (619) 747-3343

Price Class: $100

The scenario repeats itseif hundreds of times every day: Two hams are in the middte of a QSO. Conditions are less than ideal, and both operators are hunched over their rigs, straining !o hear the other's name, QTH, and signal report.

SLfddenly, an S9-f40 carrier comes up on frequency, obliterating any hope of complet- ing the QSO. Sound familfar? If you spend any time on the HF bands, you probably have lots of stones to tell about OSOs you've tost due to "carrier pollution, "

Tuning Your Tuner

Soma of the carriers whining away on the HF bands come and go with such precision that they are obviously the work of some fruit* cake intent on disrupting communications. Fortunately, the number of carriers transmit- ted as intentional jamming is small compared to those used to tune up rigs, amplifiers, or tuners.

You'd have to be living under a rock not to know that you're supposed to use a dummy load to turie your rig or amplifier. However, a surprisingly large number of hams are un- aware that there is also a method of accurately tuning an antenna tuner without transmitting a carrier, which brings us to the subject of this revfew: The Palomar Engineers PT-340 Tuner-Tuner.

The Tuner-Tuner allows you to adjust an antenna tuner without transmitting. On the front panel of this simple device is a rotary switch with Iwo positions, off and tune. A red LED Oashes rapidly whenever the switch is in the TUNE position, On the rear panel are Iwo SO-239 connecters, one marked transceiver and one marked tuner. A 9 volt battery clip and battery holder are also provided.

Just Hook It Up

Installation and operation couldn't be easier. Simply connect the Tuner-Tuner between your transceiver and antenna turh er, and set the front panel switch to tune. (You'll hear a loud hissing noise from the tiansceiver.) Tune the receiver to a frequen* cy near where you wish to transmit, and turn ils AGG off. Then adjust the tuner's controls until the noise level is as low as pos- sible. Bingof You've adjusted your an*

tenna tuner for minimum SWR,

The Tuner-Tunef must be switched off t)e- tore transmitting. The front panel LED flashes at a rapid rate whenever the Tuner-Tun r^r is on to help you remember this. If you lorget to switch it off before transmitting (and believe me, you will at least oncel) an AGX 1/100 amp fuse protects the unit against damage. One spare fuse is provided, and a good thing^ too. Just try finding an AGX 1/100 amp fuse at your local hardware store.

Tuner-Tuner tn Use

I installed the Tuner-Tuner In my shack just after moving to a new QTH. This provided perfect condilions for a test* since the tower wassliti in pieces on the ground, and !he only antenna installed was a lOO-foot wire about 35 feet high, center-fed with ladder line. The an- tenna was matched with an Ameritron ATR-1 S antenna tuner, and ted with a Kenwood TS- 940S transceiver. Since the antenna and loca- tion were not familiar to me, I had no idea what the correct settings for my tuner controls would be.

Ease of use varied from band to band. The first band I tried was 10 meters. Adjustment of the tuner's controls produced an obvious dip in the noise level from the TS-940S- On 15 meters the dip wasn't as obvious, and it turned out that the dip was an extremely narrow range that was very easy to miss when adjust- ing the controls. Once I found it, it was jusi as deep as the dip on 10 meters, but I had to adjust the controls carefully to avoid missing the dip altogether.

On 75 meters, the effect was exact- ly the opposite. The dip was wide and gradual, and large move- ments of the tuner's con- trols produced a barely ooticeable reduction in the noise level Switch* ing the receiver to AM and following the S-me- ter helped. Dips in the noise level thai were barely perceptible to the ear were immedi- ately obvious on the S- meter.

In every case, the

antrnma tuner control settings I came up with using the Tuner-Tuner corresponded to 3 low SWR reading on the TS-940S built-in SWR meter. Most readings were around 1 .2 to 1 , which is a perfectly accept- able match.

My only complaint is that when the fuse is blown (by accidentally transmitting when the unit is on) the Tuner-Tuner still appears to work. The noise level is lower than usual, but the nulls still appear, although with incorrect settings of the tuner controis. resulting in high SWR. This could easily cause problems for a casual user who is unaware of the internal fuse. I'd like to see a mod that causes the Tuner-Tuner to ga completely dead when the fuse LS blown, removing any ambiguity about Its condition.

Conclusions

After using the Tuner-Tuner for a few weeks, I find that it takes a little longer than to simply tune for minimum SWR while transmit- ting. But that's a small price to pay for elimi- nating my contribution to the carrier pollution problem. If even ha^f of the amateurs who use antenna tuners used a device like the Tuner- Tuner, the outrageous level of carrier pollution heard on the bands would be significantly re* duced. If you use an antenna tuner, you should seriously consider adding a Tuner- Tuner to your shack.

Contact Paul Grupp KAILR at 22 Lawrence Street Pepp&reU MA 014B3,

40 73 ArrtatBur Radio Today • December, 1990

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42 73 Amateur Radio Today • Dec embers 1990

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HOW TO ENTER

Visit yourlocaJ participating amateur radio dealer and fill out an Official Entry Survey. Only one entry' per month per person. Dupiicaic entries will he disqualified.

Once every month, we will pick 5 names from every partici- pating retail outlet. * One of these lucky hams will receive that month's prize package, but all of them will be entered in the Grand Prize Drawing, to be held in April 1991-

Visit you local retailer cver>" month to check if your name is on the Ham It UpJ Tote Board* which lists all the Grand Prize entrants from that store. While you're there, fill out the next month's Official Entry Survey, Remember, you can enter once every month. You get six chances to win a fabulous prize package and six chances to be included in the Grand Prize Drawingf

After weVe given away all of the monthly prize packages, well take the Grand Prize Drawing entries (30 from each par- ticipating retailer) and give away over $30,000 worth of great ham gear,

'ir^nu arc uitabk lo tmier i| 1 locst r^taikr, you nu^ crfmin an orficta! EEltr>' Survey by isoKliiig an S.A.S.E lo Hiiiii It Upl Smcrpstakcs. "^ Amateur Rsdio Todav. Fofesi RokJ. Hancodc, MH 03449^ Rtrtum ihe tnay litrn'r)* to ihc vimc addims, and yo4] wfff be cuic^ftHt

This Month's Prize Package is worth over $1,200,001

If you Ye this month's winner, you'U receive an MFJ Priate Package.

including:

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MFJ-n 12 Multiple DC oudei

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MFJ -30 Golden Classics of Yesterday by David Ingram K4TWJ

MFJ'32 Packet Radio ts Made Easy by Buck Rogers K4ABT

MFJ-35 The Wonderful World of Ham Radio

by Richard Skilnik KB4LCS MFJ- 1 281 Easy DX Software (IBM compatable) MFJ-1286 Gray Line DX Advantage software (IBM compatable)

Plus, the A£A Isoloop HF Antenna

You'll also receive these grtat prizes. . .

Outbacker mobile HF antenna

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Antenna Specialists glass mounted 2 meter antenna

Unadilia 5 band antenna kit GGTE Morse Tutor software

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46 73 Amateur Radio Today ■ December. 1990

Number 13 on your Feedback card

Dealer directory

CALIFORNIA

San Ptego

Hard to find parts » surplus electronics, standard line ilems. Hams, hobbyists, industrial professionals — from nuts A bolts to laser diodes. . .Electronically speaking. Gateway's got it! M^F 9- 5:30. Sat. 9-5. GATEWAY ELEC- TRONICS, 9222 Chesapeake Drive, San D»ego CA 92123. (&19) 27d- 6802.

COLORADO

Denver Hard lo find parts, surplus electronics, standard line rlems Hams, hobbyists, industrial professionals — from nuts A botts to laser diodes. . .Electronicalfy speaking, Gaieway's got it! M-F 9- 5t30, SaL 9-5. GATEWAY ELEC- TRONICS. 511S N, Federal Blvd. ^32- B, Denver CO 00221. (303^ 45S-S444.

DELAWARE

New Castle

Factory authorised dealer! Yaasu, ICOMp Kenwood^ Ten-Tec» AEA, Kanfronics, DBSI Mfg., Amerdfon, CLfshcratt. HyGain. Heath Amateur Radio, hiell Sound. DELAWARE AMA> TEUR SUPPLY, 71 Meadow Road, New Castle DE 19720. (302} 32a- 7728,

fOAHO

Preston Ross W87BYZ has the largest slock of amateur gear in (he intermountain West and the bes! prices. Over 9,000 ham related gear in stock. Calt us tor "all" your ham needs today. ROSS DISTRIBUTING CO., 78 5. State. Pre^ ston to a32&3. (208) 352-0830.

KANSAS

Wellington We have it! AEA, ASTRON, BUTTER- NUT, CALLBOOK, COMET, DIA- MOND, HEATHKIT, HUSTLER, KANTRONICS, LASER COMPUT* EFIS, MFJ. RADIO SHACK. SMILEY AltfTtNNAS, TEN^TEC, VALOR AN- TENNAS ^ more. SmafI town service wtth discount prices. DANDYS, 120 N* Washington. Wellington KS £7152, (316) 32e-€314. Circ^ Reader Ser- vice 263 for more infomiation.

MISSOURI

St. Louis

Hard to find parts, surplus elet^troniCSi standard line items. Hams, Inobbyists, Industrial professionals— from nuts & bolts to laser diodes. . . Elect ronically speaking, Gateway's 901 it! M-F 9- 5:30. Sat 9-5. GATEWAY ELEC- TRONICS. 8123 Page Biyd., St. Louis MO 63130. (314) 427-61 16.

NEW YORK

Jamestown Western New York's finest amateur ra-

dio dealer featuring ICOMM^rsen- AEA-Hamtrontcs-Astron. New and used gear. 8 am Jo 5:30 p.m. , Sat. and Sun. by appointment. VHP COMMUNl- CATIONS, 280 Tiffany Ave., Jamestown NY 14701. (716) 664- 6345. Circle Reader Service number 129 for more information.

Manhattan Manhattan's largest and only ham and business Radio Store. Featuring MO- TOROLA, ICOM. KENWOOD, YAE^ SU, AEA. SONY, BJRO, TEN-TEC, etc. Full stock of radios and accessories. Repair lab on premises. Open 7 days M-F, 9-6 p.m.; Sal & Sun.. 1 0-5 p.m. We ship wo^ldw^de, BARRY ELEC- TRONICS, 512 Broadway, New York NY 10012. (212) 925-7000. FAX (212)92S-700n

OHIO

Cotymbus Central Ohio's full-line authorized dealer for Kenwood, ICOM, Yaesu, Al- inco, Info-Tech, Japan Radio, AEA, Cushcraft, Hustler, and Butternut. New and used equipment on display and operational in our 4000 sq. fl. store. Large SWL department, too. UNIVER- SAL RADIO. 1280 Aida Drfve, Reynoidsburg (Columbus) OH 43068.(614)866-4267,

PENNSYLVANIA

Trevose Authortzed tactory sales and service. KENWOOD. ICOM, YAESU. featuring AMERITRON, B&W, MFJ, HYGAIN. KLM. CUSHCRAFT. HUSTLER. KANTRONICS, AEA. VIBROPLEX. HEIL, CALLBOOK, ARRL Publica- tions, and much more. HAMTRONICS, INC., 4033 Brownsvnie Road, Tre- vose PA 19047,(215)357-1400. FAX (215) 355-8958. Sales Order 1-800- 4^-2820. Circle Reader Service 379 for more information.

TEXAS

Dallas In DaHas since i960. We feature Ken- wood, ICOM, Yaesu. AEA, Butternut, Rohn. amateur publications, and a full line of accessories, Facotry authorized Kenwood Service Center. ELEC- TRONIC CENTER, INC, 2809 Ross Ave., Dallas TX 75201. (214) 969- 1936, Circle Reader Service 74 for more information.

Houston Hard to find parts, surplus electronics. Standard line items, Hams, hobbyists, industrial professionals — from nuts & bolts to laser diodes. . . Electronically speaking, Gateway's got it! M-F 9- 5;30. Sat. 9-5. GATEWAY ELEC- TRONICS, 9890 Westpafk Drive, Houston TX 77063. (713) 978-6575,

DEALERS: Your company name and message can contain up to SO words for as little as S420 yearly (prepaid), or S2 10 for six months (prepaid). No mention of mall-order business please. Directory text artd payment must reach us 60 days in advance of publication. For example, advertising for the April '91 Issue must be in our hands by February 1 st. Mail to 73 Amsteur Radio Todsy^ Box 276, Forest Road, Hancock NH 03449.

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73 from 72

TTie melodious sound of "73 fronn 72*' hes become famifiaron 28.303 MHz every Tuesday and Thursday a1 12:30 p.m. EST Gordon West WB6N0A and I began The CO All Schools Net two years ago in re- sponse to the ARRL's challenge to get more school kids exposed to the airwaves.

I open ihe Net as the East Coast Net Control from Intermediate School 72 in Staten Island, New York. With over 400 youngsters a term taking my course, "to* IfOduciion to Amateur Radio/' we felt that the Net provided a great opportunity to involve our students with other schools across ttie country. Neither Gordon nor ( realised that there were so many schools with access to ham radio. We were also delighted lo receive letters from many teachers who we^e listening to us wiih SWLca|>abtlfties. Irt many cases, listening 10 the othet children on the Net was the molivaiion fof these classes to gtt irv votvedinhamradK).

Either Gofdofl or Joe N6CftX is Wesi Goest Net Control, inviting schtoo^s across Amenca to check In with us . So ma n y won* dftfful hams t^ave been supportive by act* tng as relays during efratic conditiorts on Ihe 10 meter band^ We ctiose 10 meters so that all Novices would feel welcome to join us.

Benefits of the Net

As any good salesperson can teil you^ it's important that your customers (m this Case, studenis) expenence a relevance to their lives when you're trying to sell them on an Idea The t»enetits of getting young people on the air talking to other young- sters are readily observable. Classes speaking with oitier classes in different parts ol the work) verifies that it's OK to have fun in school and on the ham radio.

Speaking with their peers gives the chil- dren a chance lo discuss matters oi muiu* af interest m addition to ham radio. In* evitably, Inendships begin to form between the students at ditferent schools. We began some toliow-up activities which added ii>credib^e enrichment to our radio experiences. We'd like to share some of these «deas with other instructors who are concerned with keeping the interest level high.

One of the immediate benefits of enrich- ment activities is that every siudeni can pursue his own particular interest at his own speed. Remember that in a regular classroom, ham radio should be used as the vehicle to motivate learning and to sti m u late creat i v ily i n a II ot h er areas of the school's curricula.

Extras and Enrichments A pen-pat exchange is usually the fust

Number 16 on your Feedback eaftJ

involved with the exchange to see what a school in another part of the country was

mW[^9^ B^r f m tfV ^^Hi#l'^^^9 ^^^^ several months of wonderlut e%-

changes of letters, pictures, videos, and

"skeds." Bob and I decided to share our experience with other inslructors. The fol- lowing IS an excerpt from Bob's writings on our coasl4ocoast connectKjn,

Recently, we spoke with Ban^ KB6RAA, a teacher in Los Angeles, California. Tfie kids in hts class t>ad recently expenenced a minor earthquake. What a drfference it ntade to be aWe to sp^k directly to chil- dren who cou^ tell us what the earth- quake fett like from a chitd's perspective. My students were able to ask, 'Was ft scary^ Oid you go home or slay If* school when the earthquake hit? What precau- tions do the schools in your part ot the country take?'' II was absolutely fascinate ing[

The Net has provided some real firsthand current events lessons tor us. Many ot the children in Barry's class ex- changed letters with my classes, It was

From Sob Jost AA6AQ

Amateur radio in fhe ciASsroom has sparkBda unique partners^tp i^etwetn tha students at tntermediate School 72 in Staten isiEand. New Yofk, and Manchester GATE Bfementary Schoci m Fresno. Ceii- iomm. These two schoais at opposites ends oi the country have been meeting on The CO M Schools Net {2&,303 MHz) Tuesdays and Thursdays at t730 UTC, exchanging video-taped school tours end writing pen-pal tetters

For the sixth grade students at Manchester GATE (a Gifted and Taisnted

Photo. The children dtd projects on earthquakes as a resuit Of cur contact with Barry's Class in Los Angeles.

follow- up to some really good OSOs.

7$ Amateur Radio Today ■ December, 1990

interesting to compare the newspaper coverage in their local Los Angeles papers with what we were reading on the East Coast We had some real thought-provok- sng discussions in class about media cov- erage of disasters that we had been able to monitor ourselves in cfass on the radio

The next step was to encourage Ihe pen pials to make their own arrarvgements to speak With each other on the air Any teacher woukl be thrilled to see the excite- ment that these "skeds" generate m the classroom. So many excellent communi- cations skills come out o1 these foltows^p adivities that they really quality as leairv ingatitst>est.

Another terrific foitow-up activity we do with some of the schools we've contacted is to exchange videos. We recently videotaped a tour of our school in Staten Island, showing the different types of classes and what the building and the sur- rounding community look like. Each child got on Ihe tape and inlrodLiced him or her* self and told something about their hob- bies and likes and dislikes. We sent the tape to the Manchester Elementary School in Fresno, California, where we had made contact with the teacher, Bob Jost AA6AQ, In return we received a copy of the video that his students made lor us. It was entigfitentng for all the youngsters

Education magnet school in the Fresno Unified School District) and me. it started when we heard through tha ham grapevine that WB2MGP and the kids from IS. 72 were reguiarfy getting on W meters to chat with hams atl over the world. Several times during the fall guar- ler. we tried unsuccessfully to check into the Net. Then on January 23. f990Jthap^ pened. We met Carole, and the kids had a great BO-minute QSO. We promptly matted a QSL card and a list of dass mem- bers. When a QSL card from New York arrived in FresDO. tt created quite a stir. Several days later we met on the atr agmn. and as we concluded our chat. Carole cryptically told the class, ' ' You "re going to iike what we 're sending you*"

Students at Manchester impatiently checked the mail every day to see if the "mystery from Staten Island 'had arrived. After several days of disappointments, a thick package arrived at my home. The first item of business the following school day was the viewing of a wonderful videO' taped tour ot iS. 72 led by several stu- dents^ The tape concluded with Carole's cfass members introducing themselves. A lively discussion ot the simtlanttes and differences between the two schools and the kids with the "strange accents" fottowed.

The students in Room 2f qukkty voted to write letters to their new pen pais and to produce a video-taped tour of our school. An exciting day ot deciding what to fiimt planning camera angles, and scnphm^ting fottpwed. We decided to start with anottier CQ Atl Schools Net cor^tact with WB2MGP. Conditions on W meters were dismal, but Jack N5PSJ in Friendwood, Texas, was able to copy both Califomta and New York. As tie swung Ins beam back and fcrfh i?efween the EMt and Wesf Coast, Jack refayed the message ttrnt the videotape from New York fiad arnved in C^Woma. and that as we spoke, we were filming the Fresno video.

Most Of f^bruary 15, 199&, was ^>ent touring the school and filming the sights at Manchester GATE. The whole school was buzzing about "the kids in New York," and several other classes asked to see the Staten Island video. Students in Room it concluded the tape with each class mem- tier presenting a short monologue intro- ducing themselves to IS. 72, After some editing (the original tape was Over 90 min- utes long}, the final copy was mailed along with the ftrst batch of pen pal letters.

i established a marginal contact with WB2MGP on February 20 and several stu- dents managed to say hello to tfteir new friends before fading stgnais ended the Q$0. Tfien on February 27, Carote came right back i^m^ we called Tfie VH^otape had arrived* Sixth graders crowded around the radio in the back of the Ctas$- room to ^k to equally exated New York' ers. The per^pat fetters began amving once or twice a week Dehghfed kids claimed their personally addressed letters or vied for the ones addressed to ^"any sixth grade boy/girt'' or "aomeww who tikes The N&¥ Kids on the Block' " or 'someone into martial arts.^* Return fet- ters came bacA regularly. Some students bypassed the school mail and exchanged letters and photographs directly.

As the school year progressed^ extend- ed QSOs between WB2MGP and myself found the students talking about a variety of topics ranging from their favorite music groups and sports teams, the weather, school dress codes, after^school activi- ties, homework, and all the other topics intermediate grade students find interest- ing. The students at Manchester reguiarfy remind me when it's ttme to listen for WB2MGP. The tetters may have sl&wed down a bit, but the interest in amateur ra* dio and the excitement of talking to some- one on the other Side of the contityent re- mains. Students m the ahef-schoot Ham fliadio Club at Manchester GATE School are wortmg on getting thetr own tickeis, like ''those kids in New York. "

Station de^is: Bob Jast AA6QA, Room 2t, t^anchester GATE School; 2305 E Dakota, Fresno CA 9372S. {209} 44 f^ 6747. Or 5055 E. Hedges, Fresno CA

93727 {209} 255-9553.

Listen for Us

Many interesling and friendly ham radio operators have checked Into the Net to encourage the children to get involved with ham radio. Their spirit and enthusi- asm are contagious over the ainvaves right into the classroom.

Please join us on The CQ All Schools Net and help us to show young people all that IS exciting and stimulating in amateur radio,

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Throw Your Voice

Surprises are what give competitive transmitter hunting tts excitement. When you set out from the start point, you have no idea where you will end up or how long it will take to get there. Usually, you know nothing atx>ut what the fox's setup will look like. The hid- den T could be a bunch of gear in an old ice chest, or a riandie-laJkte in the bustle. The antenna could be plainty visible in the dear, or deverty camou- ffayrBd.

The hi<iden Fs modulation seldom gives a good clue. One Sunday sfter- noori, t had the hunters checking under freeway overpasses instead of in the tranquil park where I was located. All it took was some tape-recorded speeds way sounds playing in the background as I tafked to the hunters^

Things get even more interesting when the hunters drive up to the hid- den operator, but Ihe transmitter arid antenna are nowhere m sight, "You mean this isn'i the hidden T7 We've beefi Itstenirvg to you talking /' Some of my favorite hiding axperienees have been times wher? 1 was alj^e to watch ail the fun from a nearby otsser^ vaiion point, while talking to the hunters through a distant hidden trans- mitter.

A dual-band mobrle transceiver makes this easy. Many models such as the Kenwood TM -62 1763 1/72 1/731 se- ries are easily modified to serve as a crossband repeater. Set it to transmit on the 2 meter hunt frequency, conceal it with a storage battery and antenna at

Radio Direction Finding

the hiding spot, and talk through It on the 220 or 440 MHz band from your vantage point.

Dual-band hand-helds can make great remote hidden transmitters, too. On one Sunday afternoon hunt, f put an 100 M IC-32AT and a motorcycle bat- tery down in a sprinkler hole along the Santa Ana River bicycle trait. I talked to the 2 meter hunters through the dual bander via 440 MHz. It was great fun watching the hunters wander around trying to figure out wheie the transmit- ter was, but there were sonve dose calts--a couple of hunters almost stepped on the rig!

I( you try this trick, be ^ry careftil to provide cooling for the radio. I wrapped the tC-32AT m a towel and put it in a plastic bag to protect it from jarnng and moisture. In doing so, I gave it too much thermal insulation, i was only transmitting intermittently, but by the end of the Inunt, the back of the hand- held was hot enough to fry an egg! (Well, almost.) Fortunately, it didn't fait. Next time Til be sure to allow for free air Flow and perhaps include a small fan.

The Fox Commander

Saturday night transmitlor hunts in the Los Angeles area require the hider to transmit continuously. Some hiders use endless tape fecordmgs to provide the continuous audio, but most have concocted some sort of tone/iD box. Adding remote control to either system is easy and provides a lot of conve- nience,

That brings us to this month's con- struction project. The Fox Commander is a simplet effective remote control system for your hidden T's push-to-talk

(PTT) and audio. By adding the circuit Shown In Rgure 1, you can "throw your voice." ma km 9 short or long transmissions throu9h the concealed bunny using your UHF handheld or mobJIe rig. The Fox Commander also lets you (urn the target transmitter arid Its audio ton^ on and off with the con- trol transmitter's DTMF buttons.

The heart of this project ts a tiny (2^>^'' K V/2'*} single-channel UHF re- ceiver {Photo A), Originally designed for pocket pagers, U has a sensitive MOSFET input dual conversion drcuH, with fractional microvolt sensitivity and excel rent adjacent channel rejection. It draws only about 10 mA from a + 6 volt power source ■

These surplus UHF receivers are available for $12.^5 each, plus han^ dling charges,, from Lynn Johnson Etectronks (UE), (Lynn WA61-NU has quantity prices for larger orders.) The UIE receiver has no speaker oulpyt stage, but this isn't necessary for this project. The audio output is just the right leveJ to drive subaudible tone (CTCSS) and dual-tone (DTMF) de- coders.

There is atso no squelch on the re- ceiver, but using a CTCSS decoder In- stead of carrier squelch makes your control link more secure. It also adds immunity to squelch trips from inter- mod ar^d RFl The MC3357 IF chip in the receiver has provisions for a carrier squelch, if you are willing to do some miCfO-surgery to add it, but I recom- mend the CTCSS method instead.

Cryslalling Up

As shipped, the t_JE receiver is tuned up on a 454 common-carr^er frequency. The first thing to do is to decide on your control frequency and order a crystal (XI). Hams can legally do controlling anywhere in the 420- 450 MHz band, e^tcept in the 431^33 and 432-435 MHz segments.

Choose a quiet frequency in keeping with the band plan in your area. A call

mc III PUT

w

Photo A. The matchbox-size LJE re- ceiver mounts under the afuminum cover pfare with adrtes/ve foam. Keep the i^id k> the anienna connector

SiiOft.

10 your UHF frequency coordination council may be in order.

Calculate the crystal frequency by subtracting the (F frequency (21.4 MHz) from the receive frequency, then dividing by nine. For example, a 47.1778 MHz crystal sets the receiver for 446.0 MHz.

Figure T. SchBmatic diagram of the Fok Commander. 50 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

Photo S. The Fox Commander circuit ffts easily inside the Un-Mustc Box. The aiuminum cover piste forms a ground plane for the UHF control antenna.

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73 Amsteur Radio Today • December, 1990 51

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FECIAL EVENTS

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DECI

APACHE JUtyCTlON, AZ Ta^ Syperslrllon ARC wit! spofVSOt 0 K^tnitr?! ai !t>B R^M Rod«0 Grounds irom 7 AM-£:30 P1U AdMirssion Si, sales spatx S3 TsMt-tfi on 147 tgf 7^ OommcA

FAmSAULT , WN TTw afinual Coupage Cemm WWnm Hamlet mM b« hAJ 81 ItW Lajfut Oub. Mating wflti r^gtuiition at 9 AM "Hmm w« b« a HancNHam flqutpAWm aucliofi. dirliWr if rwOfi and iiro^ram Taiit'in on Vna 1 4& 79 rapMMf Con- (act Ofjn f/anj Irt^RfT. 1114 Rar* ^i*-. 4/&eff L^d MN 56007

DEC 2

HAZEL PARK. Ml TTie Nazal Park ARC will spoflsof ii3 251 h annual Swap A Shop ai the Hazd Park Higti School from B AM-2 PM Advan^a ad- missiQni %2, S3 ai tn# dcKi^r Ttckm and talblii ra«ar~ V9t!pn$ by mail MP ARC , PO Sa* 36*. Hji/ef

DEC 21

VERONA. NY Th» MadiSorvOwidd AlC noUS VE Exams, me [firid: F^ncta^ oi avary month it itw MadisorvOneiiJa BOCES on Spnng Rd Tlm«: 7 PM Technician fhrou^h Extra ctass lasts cost $4 95 Talk'tn on 145 37 ConTid L^CfnJtrd Pep/- Ack WF2V. ^315} 853-8974. Can also tM raachfld on 146.79. 145,37, WF2V^ WA2TVE, orPOPY- A CK# TOFB20 RADC AF MtL

PEC 30

SOUTH BEND. lU Trts Ftepea^^f v^iiiry Ham- last Commidefi ■*iM ^t>4d a Hamf esi Swap & S^%p at Century Carrter on US 33 Tsbtes iSiS' round; SlS/ax2.5 red angular S20/e WaM Ioe«ii0«i«^ Tifc4n on S2'S2, 99-39. 65^-09= 3*-**, t4§,29 Contact fcVa>4M M^#ns K^X(/. rai9llpMM»diiDr.. South8en&m4SSJ6 01^233-5307

SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS

D&C 1-3

FLAMmGO. B. HieEvsri^todMABCwiBoper- ^ W4SV1 from 1400£SSL->900Z Sun to CQla< braile th9 43fd anniversary ot Evargiadaa Naiionaj Park FraquwioesPhone^T ^30, 14 240.2133(1 andS837S,CW-7|}30, 14lld0*rid2l T30 Stfid QSt and two urtft) of po^agt for unfciidsd cettiii- cam to EAIIC; ^O Sox I f % MxnatfOBd R. ^3090- 0113

DEC1S-16

NEW JERSEY Tha Major Armstrong Memorial ARC will opgrate W2XMN S«t rrqm 1300- 1S00UTC and Sun from 1900-2200 UTC, Fe- quei^cies. 10 meters 2B.400 h25 kHz due lo QRM Special caniiicates will ba aenl to alt sta- lions making contaqi with us on ihoaa ciays and tim&s Ploasa send a SASE iB^^' x 11 "J te W A W A P C , POBojr 5B1. A^no HJ 07620.

DEC 29- J AN t

PASAOENA, CA ^rv# R^it > Flep«a?#r ARC opfiratv KE6PE ?rcT^ T&OOZO-ioaZ, Sal. afld Sun , (rom tha Wngley Mansiofi. to cornmeiiioiatB Ihd l02ri(|Anntv«rsaryoi^diaTouririame^ofRo9p es. ffaquAficiH' T4.2S0, 21 335 and 2B 4S0. Ain^ ateirs in Caifbmia^tevada can cofiUd the ^a- tioft on 2 maiors via iha cliitu fspeatcf 144.0701147 4l0or0f? 220 rtMtts vid Th# Gomjo? Coflnectkm For certificate send OSL and 9 )f 12 SASE (50 cents) lo Relay Rep^ster Club, PO Box 8h Atcadia CA S JOm-SOiB.

EVERY WEDN E SD A Y N IGHT TrJvJa Hei is held eveiv Wedntitidav night al 7:30 PM onlJi* 145.17 and ^4 ti6t«p«Bti?r3 kicated m Rhode tsiand Net opefators ftf« D»/t K>« tBf/Q Biv^LonKAl OCf

EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT The RJ Technical Talk Ro4jnd Table giDUp rrweta awy Thursday evening ai 7 PM on the 223 Bfl (KAtPBS re- pmAi&ti Th«pMrpoa»dfthan«Cisioh«lpameieiM« «¥ith arsvren to taclinimiy ratoed aJiiacta. The COOrtinatdr ^ Hie net is MVC t<A lEGY-

Oontimmd from pag& 50

I ordered m^ cryst^ from CaJ Crys- tal > a locaf company, tf you order fmm Cal, just gtve your receive frequency an^ state ttrat ttie crystal Is for the Uyrm Johnscn receiver. Cost is $12.50* $16.00 postpaid, depending on how fast you want rL

If you order frgm another crystal company, give the receive frequency and crystal frequency, and specify IHC- 18 holder, ^QO-size en closure, end 8.5 pF toad capacitance. Better yet, send along with your order the 454 MHz crystal supplied in tt^e receiver. This wilt hefp the manufactufer make a crystal that fits and works perfectly on yoijr chosen frequency.

Wiih the crystal fof 70cm installed, control range using a 6V4 " whtp ante fi- ne wilt be several blocks without any further tuning up. If you have access to a weak signal source or a signal generator, peak the RF and multiplier stages tor maximum sensilivtiy. UE supplies a schetnafic and parts layout with your order to help you find the tuned circuits.

The TS-32P CTCSS decoder (^7.95 from Communicatrons Spe* cialists) Is ideal for this project tiecause it has a built-in audio filler 10 buffer the received audio and get rid of the sut>^ audible tone ahead of the DTMF de- coder circuit. Before installing the TS- 32 P, use the supplied layout drawing to find jumper JU-1 and cut it.

The SS1-202 DTMF decoder IC is fast, non -falsing, and lOleranl of audio sfipui level varialions Seller yet, it is cheap and works with an ordinary TV color t>urst crystal {X2), It's hard to go wrong with this circuit if you use good construction practices, Put sock- ets en U2 and U3« and check the wir* tng before plugging in the iCs. Bypass the U3 Vcc supply with C3 right at the socket,

A 7805 or LM309H regulator (U1) supplies +5 volts for all parts of the unit excepi the TS^2P and PTT control. The UE receiver works fine at this sligl^tly reduced voltage. Diode 01 pro- tects you from (he agony of reversing the 12 volt supply polarity and frying the circuit In your haste to get the fox on the air. (I learned that lesson the hard way.)

Photo B shows a typical tone/ID box with the Fox Commander installed.

Unless you plan to be a long way from the hidden station, a 6V4 " whip Is

adequate lor a control antenna. I nevm bother with an etched board for a sim- ple non-RF project like liiis, since poini-to-point wiring on pert board lakes only a few minules.

Beep— You're On

Operating the Fox Commander Is simple. Just key your UHF control transmitter (with CTCSS on) and you are talking through the hidden T.

K1 closes, overriding the tone box audio with the control receiver audio. K1 opervs when you ynkey the control link. Rip-f^op U2 a/b controls the hid- den transmitter*s PTT. Key the controf link and press DTMF 1 to turn on the hidden rig; press 0 to turn it off.

Audio input can come from a por- table tape recorder or your favorite tone generator circuit. (See; Moetl and Curlee, "TheUn-MusicBox/'pp. 193- 200. in Transmitter Hunting^Radio Di' recUon Finding Simpfified, TAB Books #2701 , available from ''Uncle Wayne's Bookshelf", and Morrow, '*Huni the Auto-Fox*" in 73 Amatmjr RadtQ Ta- daft August 1965, p, 48.) Automatic CW identification is nice, but not nec- wss&xy if you remember to identify your hidden transmitter by voice every ten nynutes using the control link. Set R7 for proper deviation of the repeated control audio, You may need to change the value of R1 to equalize the levels between your audio source and the control receiver output.

Two transistors (01 and Q2) Insure enough drive to cJose the PTT relays in most transceivers. If hunt mles c^ll for regular, tinned transmissions, just add a circuit to cycfe the PTT off and on by pulling the base Of Q2 to ground.

U2c sets the flip-flop to key up the hidden T automatically at power-up. This allows local use of the tone box without the control link, and assures immediate resumption of the fox's transmission tf the battery connection Is interrupted momentafily. It you woutd prefer the unit to come up in the OFF mode ai power-upt remove the wires from U2-10 to U2-5 and U2'1 to U2-2. then wire U2*5 to U2-3 and U2- 1 0 toU2-1,

Remoiety operating your rig will add a new dimension of fun to being the hider, so get started on your Fox Com- mander. My next column will have more to say about the perils and plea- sures of hiding.

Parts Sources

UHF Receiver: Lyilfl Johnson Electronics, P.O. Box 51 268, San Jose CA

96 1 51 -1 268; (458) 274-2534.

UHF CrystaJ (X1): Cal Crystal Lab. inc.. 1142 fi. GWMTt St.. Anaheim CA 92S01; (714) 991-1580, {SOOJ 333-9825.

CTCSS Decoder: Communications Specialists, Inc., 426 W, Taft Ave., Orange CA 92666'4296: (71 4) 998-3021 .

Small Parts (Radio Shack Numbers) SSI-202 OTMF Decoder (U3) 276-1303

Color Burst Crysial (X2) 276-1310

5-vOJt regulator (Ul ) 276-1 770

Relay (K1) 275^241

52 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

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73 Amat&ur Radio Today • December, 1990 53

J

Nyrnber 10 Qfi your Feedback card

Audio Powered Tape Recorder Controller

Add convenience to your hamshack.

by Gregory R. Mclntire KEOUV

Have you ever needed a device that would turn a tape recorder on and off through the presence or absence of the audio being recorded? I wanted to record the trans- missions from the Russian cosTnonauts on 2 meters, but 1 could never be at home when they were active, i needed just such a device, with a few more requirements. In addition to stopping and starting on its own, I wanted it to operate without external power. I already have too many plugs in the wall. Nor did I want 10 use batteries, since the device would be in service for long periods of time.

Audio Activated Ciretiit

After much trial and error experimenting widi various types of transistors, T devised a simple yet effective circuit. The finished de- vice is basically a switch that will open or close any circuit {such as a tape recorder mo- tor supply line or pause control), of up to 3 amps or up to 60 volts (it mu<it not exceed 20 watts), by the presence or absence of an audio signal. It requires no batteries or power sup- ply. The audio signal itself supplies the power to operate this switch.

The actual switch is a power MOSFET. Although it requires an extremely tow amount of gate current for operation, it does require at least 4 volts at the gate. Voltage at an 8 ohm audio source is much less than 4 volts at normal audio listening levels. In fact, I consider the audio quite loud with a peak voltage of only 1.5 volts across an 8 ohm speaker. So» unless the audio source is a ghetto blaster cranked up lo full volume, the voltage levei of the audio must he increased in order for it to turn the MOSFET on.

Photo A. The recorder controller circuit, housed in a small plastic box, is ready to be hooked up.

Increasing the Voltage

An 8 to 1000 ohm audio transformer is used for two purposes: First, it presents an 8 ohm load to the audio source (such as the external speaker jack of a radio), and secondly, it multiplies the voltage several times. It still does not step up the audio voltage enough at low or moderate volume levels, though. Therefore, 1 used a network of four diodes and four capacitors to quadruple the voltage output of the transformer. This reduces the available current, but there is still much more current than the MOSFET requires.

Since using an external speaker jack will usually disconnect the receiver's speaker^ 1 included an external speaker jack in this cir- cuit. A second jack supplies the actual audio source for recording. Except for a slight at- tenuation of the audio, caused by the resistors in series with the jacks, this device has no effect on the quality of the audio source.

Circuit Operation

Audio from an 8 ohm source is fed to the

B20n

H\-l OUTPUT

-® 1/9" P

HOH£ ^ACK

LO'I OUTPUT

® 1/a* PHOME. JACK

ea TO I KO

AUDIO TfiANSFOfiMER

C2

E)4

1

D1

Rl

:c3

^C4 :;

IQMEG

X

C5

.05

-0-4

[RF5II

TO TAPE

RECORDER ON /OFF SWITCH

4 —

fW' PHONE PLUG

01-04 IN9I4 CI-C4 O.I^F

2ENER IS AMY VALUE FROM € TO 18 VOLTS

Figure /, Schemaric of the audio-powered tape recorder controller. 54 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

8 ohm windings of a small audio trans- former. The audio is also connected to two other jacks through appropriate resistors, to provide audio sources for external speaker and/or tape recorder input. The output (high impedanee) windings of the transformer is fed to a * *diode, capacitor voltage quadrupler circuit/' This provides enough voltage to switch on the power MOSFET. A zener diode is used at the MOSFET gate to clamp the voltage to a safe level, since a high audio level from the source can be multipiied above the maximum gate voltage.

The output of the MOSFET (drain to source) does not supply any voltage or cur-- rent, but rather acts as a single-pole, single- throw switch- This switch opens and closes the circuit of the tape recorder's motor via a relay in the tape recorder or via a remote control jack on the recorder. That iSj the

2 im

V4'

T(k TAPE RECCfflDEA ON/QFF SWITCH WILL Switch UP TO •BOVtlC AT 3 4MPS VTItH AUEQU^TE HEif SINK GU P^WEH MOSFET

Figure 2. (a) PC board foil pattern, (b) Parts placement.

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Figure 5, (a) Two methods of connecting the tape recorder controller to the motor of the recorder.

(b) Controlling the recorder via the built-in remote control/pause jack. [Ed Note: Some recorder pause controls have a grounded center pin; just switch polarities on the con- troller output in this case.}

Parts List

All components are available at Radio Shack stores.

1

T1

C1 ,C£,C3,C4

C5

D1,D2,D3,D4

D5

R1

R2

R3

R4

iRF511 power MOSFET

audio transformer

0,1 ^Fcaps

0.047 ^F cap

1N91 4 diodes

^ener diode

resistor

resistor

resistor

resistor

plLfgs and jacks as required (see text)

* Or any zener value between 6 and 15 votts.

** For tape recorder lime input use an 820 ohm resistor; for mjc

input use a 100k resistor or pot.

A blank PC board is available from FAR Circuits, 18N640 Field Court, Dundee IL 601 1 S for $3 + $1 .50 postage.

CmCLi 1S3 ON READER SERVICE CARD

56 ZS Amateur Radio Today • December. 1

MOSFET can be inserted into the tape recorder motor supply line if the recorder does not have buik-in remote control on/off operation.

Construction Notes

Any construction technique can be em- ployed here, as nothing is critical about this circuit. I made a printed circuit board, as 1 fmd this method of construction simpler and more goof-proof than perfboard or point-to- point wiring.

I used a small plastic box (Radio Shack 270-230) to house the unit. I also wired one '/^ " mini phone plug to the input of the device and another such plug to the switched output, as my radio speaker jack and tape recorder ON/OFF jack are both the same. Use whatever type of plugs and/or jacks you need for inter- facing your own equipment.

Although it wouldn't cause any damage to put the wrong plug into the wrong jack, I advise labeling the plugs. The IRF51 1 power

MOSFET is internally protected against stat- ic shock, but it's still a good idea to take care when installing MOS devices.

Two jacks mounted in the plastic box are connected to the audio source via limiting resistors. They are used for a source of audio for the tape recorder and a source for an external speaker. The 22 ohm resistor is put in series with an external speaker because the transformer already provides an 8 ohm load to the audio source (scanner, transceiver, etc.). This also ensures that an external speaker will not drop the voltage below the threshold of the MOSFET.

Ready to Record

Plug the audio input side of the device into the external speaker jack of any audio source. Plug or connect the high impedance jack into the tape recorder audio input. (If your audio source already has a tape jack for recording, this will not be necessary, of course.) If your recorder has a line input, R4 should be 820 ohms. If you use the mic input then R4 should be a 1 00k resistor or pot. The switched output of the controller should be hooked up to the recorder's PAUSE/REMOTE control jack (Fig- ure 3b). If your recorder has no pause/ REMOTE control jack then you can connect the output of the device into the motor circuit of the recorder. If you use the direct connect method, the IRF3 L L MOSFET must be inserted into the nega- tive or grounded side of the mo- tor or motor relay (Figure 3a). Cut the wire on die motor and connect the drain pin of the MOSFET to the motor or the motor relay. Connect the source pin to ground.

Now turn on the tape recorder and set it to record. Slowly turn up the volume of the audio source until the recorder motor starts turning. This should oc- cur at a low to moderate volume level. If it doesn't, check your wiring and connections. Also be sure you have the polarity correct on all five of the diodes.

I tried several minor variations of this cir- cuit (with different transformers^ capacitors, and resistors) and it worked just as well. The main requirement is to send 4 volts minimum to the gate of the MOSFET to switch it on.

The MOSFET switches on fast, but when the audio source stops, it waits a second or two before it switches off. This way it doesn't switch off during pauses between words. At the start of a transmission, you rarely miss a single syllable* and the end doesn't drop off in mid-sentence.

For a couple of months now, I have been using this device, sometimes connected to the 2 meter rig and sometimes to a scanner. It works very well; and perhaps best of all, it doesn^t require batteries, wall transformers, or any other source of power!

RS 276 2072 RS 273-1380 RS 272-135 RS 272-143 RS 276-1 122 RS 276-562* 1 megohm

10 megohm

22 ohm 820 ohm*"

Gregory R. Mclniire KE0UV, Hillsview Tn a, Loi92 , Belle fourche SD 5 771 Z

990

Number 1 4 on your Feedback card

TTY LOOP

Marc I Leavey. M.D., WA3AJR € Jenny Lsne Baltimore MD2t20B

ICOM Computer Control

Ai ihis lime of year I am always lorn between putting together a column devoted to gift giving — * ' Everything the RTTYfcomputer ham always wanted but didn't know how to ask for*' — or a column devoted to suggestions on whai 10 6a while locked m the shack on these cold wmter evenings. Well, some material on th% fatter topk: crossed my desk, and ti is so good, I just have to share it wt(h you all.

r found this little gem in the amateur radio database on Delphi, and after discusstng the matter with the SYSOP, Vm presenting it lie re. Cart Clawson N7KBV originated this piece on com- puter control of ICOM amateur radio gear.

N7KBV: Several ICOM products fea- ture a buift4n computer interface con- nected to a ^/i " phone jack ort the rear paneK ICOM gives no information about this interface in the mstruction manuals ttiat Cve seen, but my dealer managed to get it frt>m ICQM for me.

This interface, called the "Ci-V," m standard on the following models: 735. 761 , 275, 375. 475, and R7000. Eariier models (751 , 271, 471, 1271 , and R71) used the CI-1V parallel interface, which can be connected to Cl-V by ICOM's UX' 14 converter.

Thie information I received was writ- ten with the 735 in mindt but a iisting of a BASIC program to control the R7000 was appended. I beHeve it will help with the other models, loo. The control codes and data format should be the same for ati of them.

The computer tnterface allows you to do such things as: set and read the frequency and modulation mode; set VFO A. VFO B. or memory mode; se- lect memory channel: store displayed frequency into memory; and transfer displayed memory-mode frequency to a VFO.

Even without a computer, you can run a cable between the remote conirof jacks of two rigs, and whenever the frequerrcy or modulation mode of el- ther is changed, the other will track it if possible. (If (he rigs have incompatible frequency coverages, like the 735 and R7CMX), funny things can happen,)

The btdi^reciKinal interface uses TTL levels on a singfe line for sending and receiving serial ASCII data. You may need an appropnate hardware intor^ face io convert the RS'232 to TTL, for example^ (I understand Commodore computers have TTL inputs and out- puts, and require no interface.) I used the Motorola MC14B8 and MC14B9

Amateur Radio Teletype

chips powered by two 9«volt batteries to interface to my RS-232 line. Table 2 lists the pinouts tor this interface. If you'd rather buy something, ICOM sells ihe model CT-17 level converter fortheRS'232.

The interface uses a 'carrier-sense, muitiple-access with collision detec- tion'' local area network protocol so that multiple rigs can be connected in parallel without difficulty. Thus, you can use the same RS-232 tine and lev- el-converter fnlerface to control many rigs. Each ng must have a unique ad- dress, which is set by internal jumpers. Each model comes factory preset to its own address, which is 04 for the 735 and 08 for the R7000. Table 2 has infor- mation on the jumper settings.

In the following fist, ^'receive'* and "send" refer to dala transmission. Thus a "receiver" isn't necessarily an R7000; it's any device receiving data from the Cl-V bus^ "Rig" means an ICOM product using the CUV interface. The rigs send and receive data in vari- able packet lengths, formatted as fol- lows:

Data Format Byte ff Contents

1	hex *FE* (I.e. 11111 1 tO binary.
	254 decimal)
2	hex -FE*
3	<RX>
4	<TX>
5	<Code>
6^n	< BCD data of variable length >
n + 1	Jiex TD"

The two hexadecjmai FE bytes sig- nal the beginning of a packet^ and the FD byte signals the er^d. <Code> is the control code sent by the computer to the rig, which determines the action that the rig will lake. In some cases, the receivirtg rig wilt fnclude a control coda in its response to the sender; sdO Table 1, <TX> ts the address of the device sending the data, and < RX > is

the address to which the data is being sent. When a hg responds to a data packet. It addresses that response to the <TX> in the packet. Thus, if your computer requests a rig lo report its frequency, tl will address that report to the computer and other rigs wilt ignore Ihe data. (Of course, the computer can lie about its address and trick orve rig mto talking to anotherf) Your computer should use its own yniquei non-zero address on the network. I wilf assume in the examples that the computer is at address 02. There are two control codes that can cause any rig on the network to respond when sent with < RX> =0; I discuss these beiow.

Bytes #6 through #o contain data re- quired by the control code, in BCD for- mat with 2 decimal digits per byte. Fre- quency dala is sent starting with the byte containing the 1 Hz and 10 Hz digits. These digits are sent even if they are not used by If^ rig, so that the data format ts the same for all rigs re* gardiess of their frequency covefage and resolution. For example, 25.13244 MHz is broken up into two-digit groups: 25, 1 3, 24, and 40, then coded in BCD. In other words, consider each digit group to be a hexadecimal number in- stead of decimal. The decimal values of these BCD digit groups are 2x16-1- 5 = 37, 1 X 16 + 3 = 19, 2x16 + 4 = 36, and 4 x 16 + 0 >= 64. Now send ttiese groups, sianing wrth the least significant. The complete dala packet will be. in hexadecimal: FE FE < RX> <TX> <Code>40 24t3 25FD.

tf you have more than one rig on the neh^ork. you may occasionally receive a sequence of 5 bytes of hex TC\ This is the "jammer code" used by a rig to Indicate that a collision has occurred. Each rig, when sending, monitors the interface. If It does not receive exactly what it sent, a collision occurred, i.e., another rig was sending data at the same time. If a rig delects a colHsion, it wrN send the Jammer code as soon as the netwofk is idle. A ng that receives this code realizes that a collision has occurred and ignores the previously re- ceived packet. Because the ICOM re- mote control ports are bidirectional,

HS23Z Conned tar

!

Z 3 4 S

0

o-

Xmkt

4

o

4

ficv

1^

M

D 1

mm

Am

L Orh

/Tlf

'1

Rn«i

489 Recctvpf

ram

1

fCOM

Remole

plug

ICOM

RS232-TTL

Converter

+9*

^'I'l^^'jil

9^

Figure. BS-232 to TTL cortverter

your computer will receive everything it sends, so you can check for colMstons from your oompyter, too.

Conlrot Codes arYd Responses

Mosi of the codes are addressed to a specific rig, whrch addresses an ac- iMiowledgmeni pacltet to the <TX> contained m the control packel. The firsi two codes. 00 and Ot , can be sent to the ''group call" address, 00, in which case any rig will receive ihem without sending an acknowledgment. These two codes are sent In this way by any rig when its mode Or frequency is changed by manual control, and are received by any rig on the network. This allows a number of rigs to track each other in frequency and mode witlKKft computer intervention. Rigs con be inhibited from sending and re- ceiving group call packets by an rnter- nal jumper. See the tables for more details. Jh&se codes can also be sent with a specific, non-zero <RX>, in which case they will be received by the addressed rig even if the group call function is disabled.

Here are some examples for the 735. The 735 is at address 04 and the com- puter Is at 02. First, let^s find out what's in memory channel 1 (code 08 to set the channel, and code 03 to read the frequency). Assume the 735 has the frequency 7.12750 MHz stored in memory #1 .

Computer to 735: FE FE 04 02 08 01 FD 735 to computer: FE FE 02 04 FB FD Computer to 735:FE FE 04 CS 03 FD 735 to computer FE FE 02 04 03 00 75

1207FO

Now let's change the frequency and mode to 14.02500 MHz USB (codes 05 ancfOS).

Computer to 735: FE FE 04 02 05 00 50

0214FO 735 to computer: FE FE 02 04 FB FD Compulef to 735:FE FE 04 02 06 01 FD 735 to computer FE FE 02 04 FB FD

Now store the new result in rnemory if\ . This channel is already displayed, so all you need is oo<te 09, the store command.

Computer to 735:FE FE 04 02 09 FD 735 to computer: FE FE 02 04 FB FD

^8-232 to TTL Converter

This Is an easily built converter that will run your ICOM gear from a sfan* dard RS*232 line. You can build it fn an hour or two for alKDut $10. 11 uses two inexpensive, wideiy-a vail able chips — the Motorola MC14SS line dhver and the MC1489 line recervef (see the fig- tire). The only other things you need aie a box. connectors, a power switch, and a couple of 0,01 or 0.1 capacitors 10 bypass the power supply leads. I used two 9V tjatteries for power. Power for Ihe 1488 can be ±9 to ±15 volts,

Contmue^onp. 59

73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990 57

Number IS on your Feedback canl

OOKING WEST

Bill Pasternak WABiTF 28197 Robin AveftUQ Saugus CA 9t350

Handicapped Waivers: The View of an Expert

Aprlt Moell WA60PS is opposed to the granting of waivers to handicapped individuals who claim Ihat they cannot pass Mors^ <x}de tests in excess of five words per ininute. Moeil is an expert in the ti^id of rthdbiiitation of handi- capped persons. Now in pri^^vate pfac* tice, she spent 15 years serving as the Director of Occupational Therapy at St, Jude Hospital and Rehabililation Cen* ler in FuHerton, California, where in T977 she developed and introduced the Rehab Radk) Program.

A licensed amateur sir^ce 1976. Apnl Moell holc^ an Advanced Class ticket She is an expert in the field of using amateur radio as a therapy tool. In this interview with me, as producer of Newsline Radio, she shares some stafiling mslghts into the issue of waivering CW testing for haiid^capped appficanis for amateur radio upgrades,

Hewftline: The FCC says that it will waive Morse test requirements for handicapped radio amateurs who claim that they cannot copy Morse code at speeds greater than five words per minute. What effect do yoy see this havmg on the handicapped in gener^al?

Moell: I am concerned about it be- cause people who are not disabled sometimes say things like. '^Isn'UNs a nice thing to do for the poor handi- capped?'' which immediately puts ev- erybody with a disability into one cate- gory. 3t is a put-down because you are saying to anytiody with a disability, "You are not as capable as the rest of us.

We have many disabled peopte in the hobby who have shown us Ihat they are equaHy capable, and in some cas- es, more capable. I can think of several hams who are deaf and blind, but who got N censes. I know a 9entteman« a quadfiplegiCt who had to leam the 13 wpm code in his head because he is ynabre to write.

I think that putting afi people with disabilities in one group, and assuming they are not capable, is a very bad precedent .

Newsline: You indicate that the gen- eral public does not understand who the handicapped are, and groups them all together. Has this been a problem for the handicapped?

Moell: The non-handicapped make a lot of assumptions about the liandi- capped. That has been an ongoing problem. The handicapped are individ- uals with individual differences and ca- pabilities, just like you and me.

Newsline: fn teaching amateur radio to handicapped individuals, have you

ever run into someone who could not leam the code and who could not get a license?

Moell: Yes, I have, and ttiose have been people wfro have suffered certain kinds of brain damage so that they can- not process adequately. I think that we have to havs certain requireinents [for becoming licensed], if a person can't process adequately, he's probably not going to be able to function adequately on the radio.

I don't see it that ditf erenlly from driv- ing issues. You do not waive the re- quirements for a driver's license for someone who may not be safe as a driver. In the case of radio, Iwhile] it might be nice for the severely disabled to hold licenses, if they cannot process information property, they will not tie able to operate con^ectly or safely with their equipment. But these persons can still enjoy amateur radio as a third party, with a licensed ham running the equipment.

Newsline: Could any of these peo- ple who were unat^e to learn Morse code have passed the theory ejtam?

Moell: If they haven't t>een able lo handle the code, they often have not been able to handle theory, either, because they couldn't retain the in* formation or became confused. Or they may have trouble learning new maierial, even though they might be fine with things they teamed several years ago.

Sometimes the code has been a real t>Qan for people with physrcal limita- tions because it's the only way they can communicate, Some have prob- iems expressing themselves, and it's easier to communicate \n Morse code than by voice. Vm concerned that if ihe FCC grants too many waivers, it'll de- crease the pool of amateurs wfm are usir>g code, and we may make it harder for the disabled people who need to communicate in code. They are not go- ing to have anyone to communicate with.

Newsline: Then you consider the code a valuable tool for the handi- capped?

Moellr Again, you can't group all handicapped people together, but I am aware of a number of disabled hams to whom code is the primary mode of communication. I think it's important that learning the code be affered to them [the handicappedt. To assume Thai because someone rs handi- capped, she or he can't leam the code is a very faulty assumption.

Newsline: Apparently this waiver system came about as the res u it of one person who contacted King Hussein JYl, who in turn contacted President Bush, who then contacted the FCC and said^ '*Vou will do this." Was it fair lo the handicapped of this nation for the leader of another nation lo dictate poli- cy toward them?

Moell: This issue is really of serious concern to me— whether it has to do {pnmafily] wtth the handicapped or not To have a citizen go to the leader of another country lo gain something for personal benefit, and to have our gov- ernment react as it apparently has. is appalling. I am as concerned about how Ihis was done as I am about the result.

Nftwaflrw: Tirte evidence is that ihis ts what happened. Should tire issue now be brought to our legislators or would an appeal to them be a waste of time?

Moelt: I would hate lo think that in our country that would t>e a waste of time. Maybe we won't get the decision reversed, but I certainly think that we stiould let our representatives know that we are not happy with Ihat pro- cess. This might be considered small potatoes to some people [an issue im- portant only to hams]. But what other things are going to be done this way?

Newsline: What about our other elected repfesentatives, the Amer^c^n Radio Relay League?

Moetl; I think that the League needs to take the lead in saying, " How did this happen, and why wasn't the ham com- munity involved in it? Why weren't we asked about it? Why weren't opinions gathered?" I think the League should be very rrnlignanl about the process .

Nobody is saying that we shouldn't make reasonable accommodaiions for people with disabilities, and I think that reasonable accommodation is being made in the VE system. I have been involved in some of that, where we have had people with disabiiities tesl- ed. But. we are not talking about that. We are talking about a process that was done in a very inappropnate mafh ner, and 1 think that is where the League needs lo focus*

Newsline: You are considered one of the national experts on using ama- teur radio in rehabilitation. You say you were never contacted? Do you find it a btt strange ttiat the experts like you and Handi-Hams were left out of the deci- sjon process?

Moell: Yes. It bothers me to think thai (he leader of a foreign government can call and say, "Gee— what about this poor soul?" and have a policy changed [without our government] get- ting infonnation from nationally recog- nized groups, especially the Handi- Haifis, and the ARRL

Newsline: How do you think handi- capped people who fought for their li- censes might react?

Moell: I would certainly hope that people fwith disabilities] who currently have amateur licenses will share their thoughts and feelings about this situa- tion. I think it would shed some light on the fact that there are many varieties of disability, and to show [our Congres- sional representatives] how dangerous and inappropriate it is to try to group everybody together.

There are hams who are essentially bed-bound or lK>use-bound because of cardiac candtlions. There are people who are bVir\d, and wtio have severe cerebral palsy and limited motor con-

in>l. They operate with mouth sticks and mouth switch^ and use Morsa code! I would like to think that some ol those hams will comment about what rl took for them to upgrade and how they feel about this new policy.

NewsHne: What about the future?

Moell: I am concerned about the precedent that we may b^ setting. Will someone claim thai medication makes it hard to concentrate on teajning the rules? Or thai a learning disability keeps him from learning and using Ohm's Law? Will there soon be preS' sure for theory waivers?

Newsline: Playing devil's advocate for a moment, who are we the healthy 10 decide who should or should not hold an amateur license based on a physical or even a mental handicap?

Moell: I don't think we are deciding that. We're talking about guidelines, and I think we have set some up for people to operate reasonably and sate- ly on the air, Peopte who can meet those requirements with reasonable ac com modal ion^w ho can show in some way Ihat they understand the rules and regulations of safe operation and can understand the required code^ should receive theEr licenses. It is not discrimination wher^ you set up basic requirements and then let any- one who can achieve them be a part of the Amateur Radio Service.

I do not decide who can drrve a car. What we do as 3 government is lo set up guidelines saying that m order to drive, you have to pass these minimum requirements* Many disabled people drive. We make accommodations for them with hand controls, sensUized steering, and things like that. I don't see amateur radio as being different. We are not deciding that som&tKKly with a particular disability should or shouldn't be in ham radio. What we are saying is that we have reasonable stan- dards and we do what we can to help people meet those standards. I don't think it is inappropriate or unrealistic for us to say that rK>t everytxxty should be able to upgrade,

Newsline: There are some who dis- agree With your position. A Mr, Mon- cure in Virginia feels that this waiver system does not go far enough, and It Is a handout to the handicapped. He says he may agair> litigate to get ail Morse code requirements eliminated for the handicapped, As sonteone wtio has worked with the disat;>led for so many years » how do you feel about a handicapped person like Mr. Moncure taking that view?

Moell: Maybe the code has been dif- ficult for him, but there are some dis- abled people tor whom theory is as much of a hindrance as code, just as in the rest of the ham population. Some have had problems with theory for maybe some of the same reasons that he cites as causing trouble with the code. It couid be medication, but again I am concerned with the blanket ap- proach that says all handicapped are the same. He assumes thai everytx>dy (handicapped] has the same prot^ terns, instead of focusing on ways he m^ht help his own particular situation.

58 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

He sounds like he is bright and en- ergetic enough, that I think he coy Id pass a flexibly admin jstere<l exam if he applied )he same energy lever and par- si sience to studying the code!

Newsline: Winding up. v^hat M^ould ^u like 10 see as a result of all that has happened?

Moell: t would like to see the FCC stop for a momertt and take anothar look. Say [to themselves], "Hey. waiE a minute, what are we doing? Is this real- ly the ri^ht way to go? Let's talk with people who have had experience along these lines.'*

If, after careful study, the FCC de- cides that waivers are the way. I hope they wiJi talk wilh groups like Hand!- Hams, because i don't feel that ail physciar^s can sign off for someone and say that that f here is a good m&on for them not to he able to learn the code. I think you need to have people who are e)(perienced in the areas of physical medicine and rehabilitation making the decisions, and not the gen- eral practitioner or opthomofogist, for example.

I hope that we will be able to get our ieaders at the League and our leaders

in Congress to take a look at the pro* cess and explain 10 us why they did what they d(d. That's wtiat I hope fw, and I aJso hope that rtothirig like this ever happens again, in this way.

Late News

On Friday July T3, the United States Senate passed, and sent to the presi- deni for his signature, the omnibus Americans in Oisabi lilies Act of 1990. The House of Representatives had previously passed an almost identi- cal bill, and President Bush promised to sign it into law as soon as it ar-

rived on his White House olfice desk. Tlie bill directs the public and private sectors to make sweeping accom^rK^ dat^ons for the nation's several mitlion disabled c'rtizens. and does this wi^ the force of federal law Peyton Mon- cure^ the indivdual who has been the moving force behind abolishing all Morse Code testing for handicapped applicants for amateur radio ticienses. has vowed to use the terms of the act ifi court to achieve this goal before the end of 1 990. It appears 1 hat the next act m this drama will be with Mr. Moncure. de WA6ITF

Continued from p. 57

Table 1 . Codes and Respons«*

00 Set frequency. See the text ior format of frequency data See code 05 below for more details.

01 Set modutation mode. One Of two data bytes are required to indicate the mode desired.

Data	Mode
00	LSB
01	USB
02	AM
03	CW
04	RTTY
05	FM
0500	SSB {R7000)

02 Report tunmg rai^ge, No data required. The rig will report its frequency limits in the fomtat:

re FE <RX> <:TX> 02 <ypperlimit> 2D < lower limit> FD (Hex 2D iS the ASCII hyphen.) Ac^^rdtng to I COM, some rigs report ihe lower hrm first.

03 Report frequency. No data required. The addressed ng returns its dis- played frequency to the sender in the format:

FE FE <RX> <TX> 03 <Frtquency> FD

04 Report modulation mode. No data required. The addressed rig returns its mode to the sender using the codes listed atiove. Rigs wtih selectable bandwidth return an additional byte indicating the bandwidth in the format:

FE FE <RX> <TX> 04 <Mode> < Bandwidth > FD

	Bandwidth Codes
Data	Bandwidth
01	Width 1 (widest)
02	Width 2 (narrower)
03	Width 3 {narrowest)

05 Set frequency. The data format is given above. If the data contains fewer digits than the rig uses, the digits sent wiil t>e changed and the rest wtII remain the same. If the rig receives valid frequency data within its tuning range, it responds with a packer containing the data "FB":

FE FE <BX> <TX> FB FD If It didn't like the data, it responds with "FA":

FE F€ <ftX> <TX> FAFO These acknowledgment codes are used by alT following commands. The 735 responds to out-of- range frequency data by sending the "FA" acknowledgement and: 1) II the frequency it receives is less than 0,1 MHz. it sets its frequency to 0.1 MHz. 2) If it received 4 bytes of frequency data more than 30 MHz, it sets itseif to 30 MHz. And 3) if it received more than 4 bytes of freqyency data, the data is ignored.

06 Set modufation mode, li one byte is sent, it sets the mode per the atiove table If two bytes are sent, the second is the IF bandwidth,

07 Set VFO status. If no data is sent, the ng changes from MEMORY mode to VFO mode. If data OO or 0 1 is seni . Ihe rig sets VFO A or VFO B fespecii vety.

Ofi Set memory chanrtel. if no data is sent, the ng changes from VFO mode 10

MEMORY mode. If BCD channel data is senl. the ng changes to that

memory channel. 09 Store displayed frequency and mode into displayed memory channel. No

data required. OA Write Irequency and mode from displayed mernory channel to a VFO. No

data required.

and the 14B9 requires +5 to +10 volls. With a stitlable DC-DC converter chip, and a 7BL05 or 78LQB. you could power the circuit off o( your 13,8-V suppty. Or, rf you" re devefn you could figure out a way to iriChle charge two 9V NiCds off of youf RS-232 line. See Table 2 for pinouts and jumper selec- tions.

There are jumpers in the ICOM rigs to set the device address and baud rate, and to enable the group call fea- ture. You must look on the schematic to find them. The jumper to enable the group call feature is called the ''trans- cetve" bit by ICOM. and may be la- beled with ■ TRV" on the schematic The others are labeled 'D8n'" on the 735 and R7CK}0* looh tor something similar. The rigs are factory-set to 1 20Q baud, iransceive enabled

The table gives specific information

from ICOM on the 735 jumpers, and for I ha R7000 1 make a Itkeiy guess based on the 735 codes and schematic.

Last Words

I certainly thank CaH for his fine work, and I hope that this material will enable mar^y of you to more fully use Ihe features in some of the more so- phisticated amateur rigs.

Next month, who krrows! Maybe I'll have something from youf You see, 1 reafly do read my maiL and I appreciate your comments, suggestjons, and tips. Pass them along to me by maiL at the above address, or on Delphi (user- name MARCWA3AJR) or Compu- Serve (ppr> 75036,2501) Until next time, my best wishes to you and yours this holiday season, tor a Happy Han* nukah. Merry Christmas, and a happy^ heatthy new year. ^1

Table 2. PInouts and Jumper Selections

ForthB M68:

For the 1489:

Pin

1 2 3 7 U

1 3 7

14

Connect to

■V

ICOM remote jack center conductor

RS-232pin3{RD)

Ground

+V

RS-232pin2(TD)

ICOM remote jack center conductor

Ground +V

Ground pin 7 of the RS-232 line aod the outer conductor of the tCOM remote [ack, and you're on line.

Jumper Selections For the 735- The jumpers use lines labeled DBO through D65 at connector J22 on the PL board. Lines DBO through DB2 set the device address. Line DB3 is the transceive enable. The baud rate is controlled by DB4 and DB5 accord- ing to:

0B4	DBS	Baud
0	0	undefined
t	0	9600
0	t	1200
1	1	300

The 735 ts set at the factory to address 04.

For the R7000 Th©|ompefs use Ifnes DBO through DB7 at connector J1 7 on the lo^ board. The address is set by DBO through 0B4; DBS rs the transcei ve enable, and the baud rate is set by DBS and DB7. The factory address is 03.

For other ngs: Determine the address by hooking the rig up to your computer and manualty changing the frequency or modulation mode. You will receive a group call packet that contains the address of the rig as its 4th byle.

73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1 990 59

Number 20 on yDur Feedback cand

New products

Compiled by Hope Currier

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH

MFJ ENTERPRISES, INC.

MFJ-207

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60 73 Amateur Radio Today * December. 1990

Mumber21 on your Feedback car^

Abo ve and beyond

at. Houghton WBSfGP San Diego Microwave Group 6345 Badger Lake Ave. San Diego CA 921 19

5670 MHz LO & Converter

Browsing through back issues of Feedpoint, the North Texas Mi* crowave Society newsletter, I found a design for a 5.6 GHz microwave build- ing block PC board in the July 1988 issue. The original article was pub- lished in Germany and is ysed in this oolumn courtesy of CQ-DL magazine^ 12/87. Credit for this converter design goes to Roman Wesolowski DJ6EP and Jurgen Dahms DC0DA.

This project was just what the doctor ordered, everf in time for Christmas. I could not balfeve the sfmplicfty of the design and the methods for construct- ing such a truly fine converter for 5.670 GHz. This discovery completed the search for a working design that I thought was not available. Prior to this I was assembling components to put a system together, and I had not com- pleted the gathering phase, This PC board made the job a lot easier I have to praise our German amateur counter- parts for their workmanship. See Fig- ure t for the schematic.

Circuit Description

The circuit uses two GaAsFET am- plifiers, one for the receive pre-amplifi- er stage, and the other for a transmit ampfifier stage. The transmft amplifier provides about 5 mW power output and helps balance out the filter loss. The 5.6 GHz filters, ir^terestingly designed, use two 3/4 -inch copper pipe caps with Vb'inch stubs for coupling rnto the fil- ters. The depth of the stub determines the bandpass and filter loss. One- fourth of an inch is a good compromise. Each filter is fed from independent transmit and receive mixers, further simplifying ihe circuitry. See Figure 4 for details -

The mixers use any good mixer device^ such as the ecofiomicai HP 5082-2711 to the high performance stnpNne HP 5082-2794. Alpha 6-5827- 00 strjpline types are also suitable. The RFC for the 144 MHz cojpEing mixeT" input/output is an a fr- wound colL I used 5 turns of ^32 wire, If you want a form, use a 1 meg V4W resistor.

Other parts for the PG board, such as the transmit attenuator, are com- mon, Use carbon resistors, not wire- wound types. The variable inductor L in the preamp stage is a NEOSCD 5061 . A suitable replacement can be made by winding 4 turns of #26 magnet wire over a l^-inch slug tuned form. The stripline PC board is etched from dou- ble-sided 0.031 -inch Teflon'" stock. Leave the side opposite of the stripline un etched to act as a ground plane. Af- ter drilling the board, I used a V4-inch sharp drill bit to ream out the holes on

VHF and Above Operation

the ground plane to ailow the compo- nents' leads to pass through without shorting out. Please note that those connections indicated with a ground symbol on the schematic should be jumpered from the stripline side of the board directly to the ground plane side. Most of the components including the pipe cap filters are mounted on the ground plane Sfde. The chip capaci- tors, RF chokes, the mixer diodes and a few of the resistors are mounted on the stripline side. See Figure 2 for parts placement and the foil diagram.

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Modificatioris

The IF system for this converter works at 2 meters and has an on-board U-310 receive 2 meter preamp. If you desire, you can replace this preamp with other preamps by coupling direct- ly out of the U-310 input ctrouit.

I have made several modifications to the original PC board to suit my re- quire ments. For exam pi 61 I removed the crystal multiplier that was part of the Jocal oscH later drive circuit. The system as onginaily designed used a crystal oscillator running at 117 MHz,

Figure 1. Schematic of the 5.6 GHz microwave converter.

and one tripler and five doublers multi- plying the crystal frequency to 5616 MHz, The final doubler circuit, located on the main PC board, is driven by 2808 MHz from the oscillator PC board.

I modified the circuit by eliminating the crystal oscillator PC board and re- moving the multiplier (doubler) on the main converter PC board. I replaced this entire circuit with a 5.6 GHz, phase-locked "brick" local oscillator (see Figure 3). The brick provides a

local oscillator output directly at 6.615 GHz, (5760 operating frequency - 145 MHz IF frequency = 5.615 GHz local oscillator.) This greatly improves sta- biMty and simplifies cor^struotion. There^s nothing wrong with the multi- plier string, but if a high quality oscilla- tor is aval lab la from surplus^ why not use it?

Phase-Locked Bnck Oscillators

The phase-locked brick oscillator can be described as a compacts self-

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73 Amateur Radio Today • Decennber, 1990 61

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figure 4. The ^-inch pipe cap Mer for the SB GHz converter. Adjust the pin tengrh for fffter shape Bnd kxss (approxtmateiy 14 tnchfong}. Use RG-SWUcemer conductor feaving the foam msuiation mtaci Adjust the Mt for remfiar^:^ al 5670 MHz or cfe- sired frequency^

coniainod system for local oscHlalor irv ieclion, hence the name ''brick/' Availat?iHtv depends on the drifting Winds of surplus. The circuitry internal lo a bftck is qufie extensive; new, they COS1 atx^ut S1 70O each.

WDrking surplus bricks were prcced at S2S lo $35 when I hey first slaited to show up, bm prices on all micfo- wave related components have fcioeri steadily rising. I have seen tested, cer- tifiabid bricks sell for a ^ow of $50 and a high of aOout $75, depending on their condition, Tve picked up bargain bricks at S5 each, only to find them in serious trouble.

The crystal oscillator for controlling the tarick can be internal or externa j lo the basic brick. The bricks with internal oscillators make the system simpler, bill Ihey are getting hard 10 find in surplus.

If the brick you obtain needs an ex- ternal oscillator circuit, see the Sep- tember and October issues of 73 tlris year, in which I describe a crystal oscif- fator circuit and a ternperalure control circuit in this column.

The brick I am using does not have an Internal oscillator, so Tve put the external oscillator and temperature cir- cuit lo use. It is a lot easier to build the crystal oscillator and buffer stage than the entire multiplier siring.

Two transistors lof a 100 MHz oscil- lator and a single op amp for tempera- ture control are not difficult to put to- gether. Ttie external oscillator supplies the brick's harmonic gejierator. whose overall multiplication ratio is 60. That means that the crystal is multiplied 12 times, arxi controls the high power os- ciitalor. phase-locking it at the I2th harmonic. A dfode multiplier multiplies this phase-locked signal five times to the 6 GHz range. The crystal myttiplier (12J. times the hamionic multiplier (5)^ ectual5 60.

The oscHlaiors showing up on the surplus market are coming from tele- phone companies, who are shifting from microwave lo fiber optics for com- munications systems. Most equlpmenl is junked out to scrap metal dealers at ten cents a pound. Now this sounds great, but don't forget that the bricks come with about 300 pounds of relay rack and support equipment, After this is removed, the Junkyard still has Ihe bulk of iron and unusable equipment left over. You have to find the brick oscillators before they're turned into scrap metal People are catching on and demanding higher prices for them*

All is net a bed of roses, as you must purchase this equipment without any form of guarantee. My local scrap deaU #r has lold me several limes in price negotiations tJiali "*Vou canl romance a junk man." Their price is firm I Look* ir^g for treasure in a scrapyard can t>e tols of fun^ tMjt it takes time aitd ts wrought with dead ends

Crystal MultifiUers

Here are a few hints on how to prop- erty tune a crystal multiplier for com- parison. Some oMhe details are appli- cabfe to general building at higher frequencies. Component parts and construction techniques are very im- portant, and not paying attention to de* tan will give poor results.

First, let's assume a multiple stage circuit like the original one used for the 5,6 GHz converter. Adjust each multi- plier stage for a clean stable output, making sure the output is on the in- tended harmonic. Don't tune the circuit for maximum, as a system, by the tweak and peak method. Sure, it puts out power, but on what frequency? And what about oscillator garbage? I bet it'd have lots ol false outputs and be somewtrat unstatile^ It's better to tune each stage as a separate output ttetore piooeeding on to the next stage, mak- ing sure it's on frequernry and not seM- oscillating. (PutI the cfysial; the system should be stable and not oscillate).

As t staled earlier, circuit constnjc- tion techniques are very critical be- cause at microwave frequencies, the Size of the components becomes a larger and larger fraction of a wave- length. A short wire connection at low frequency can be a very large imped- ance, or RF choke, at microwave fre- quencies. Poor construction tech- niques and solder blobs can render a microwave circuit useless. Don't leave solder rosin on the PC board. Clean it with alcohol or other thinners. Just as you tune one stage at a lime, do Ihe same when building. Do not populate Ihe entire PC t>oard with component parts at one time. You could place most of the ''nonvolaifle" parts, tran- sistors, and diodes only as needed while testing. This should minimize any circuit problems.

Mailbox Comments

Junjf Tamara JHtMOY of Tokyo in- quires about ttie brick oscillators for both 10 and 6 GHz bands We are sending him detatts on the bncks He reports thai a 2.4 GHz ropaaler was settled m Tokyo recently, and activity has increased on that band. He be- lieves that soon this wave of interest will cover all of Japan. Well, Jun[i, I hope the interest spreads and maf^y other amateurs enter the fascinating world of microwave communications. I started in amateur microwave several years ago, being Interested In building simple and practical circuits for our mi- crowave bands.

Ray Kajma of Farrell, Pennsylvania, writes that he is looking for an APQ-1 1 0 radar manual. He's also looking fnto small antennas, and has researched a spiral antenna capable of operation

over many GHz. A spiral antenna, like a log array, starts smalt in the center and spirals out. the dual elements get- ting broader as they circle out. Contact Ron at 317 FJorida St.. Farrell PA 16121.

Terry N8SIF questions the pola- plexer. Does it function as a circulator and detector? Also, he wants me to describe my TWT and power supply. Well. Terry, ihe polaplexer is not a circulator, in that no magnetics tsolate the detector from the transmit source. The polaplexer was first used over 40 years ago with ttn cans of resonant size. The polaplexer derives its isola- tion from the fact that transmit Is 180 degrees offset from the receive, one horizontal and one vertical In the waveguide or tube< Local oscillator Injection is controlled by upsetting the inherent balance by a B/35 brass bolt. This boll Is positioned at 45 degrees, and its depth of penetration controls transmit injection of current into the detector diode for bias.

The TWT or traveling wave tube that I use is a surplus item from telephone equipment for analog microwave transmitters that became obsolete. The TWT ts a helix tube 6 to 0 inches long, its plaie structure a spnng-ltke, spiral-wound coil tt is surrounded by special magnets to cor^taln an electron beam Ughtiy focused in the coil. The power supply requires several high voltages— 600. 1200. 3000 volts— which are adjusted to each tube type, Cun-enls are quite low; in the 3 to 25 mA range for lOW types.

My TWT funs off 24 volts DC at 3 amps on transmit and has an output of 10 watts. My Reld Day station has two options. One is the lower, more conve- nient solid state amplifier with 200 mW output for 1 2 volts at 1 ,3 amps on trans- mit The other Is the TWT with Its power supply. The power supply is as wide as a relay rack (19 inches). It's 8 inches high and weighs about 10 pounds. The tube is 10 inches long in its protective case.

The large battery supplies that the TWT needs for a lull day's operation (two 12V. 26 Ah) pose a problem for Field Day microwave contests. The battery might tie overktil, but Ji can last a full weekend without recharging.

Bricks Available

By the way, I have obtained several extra 6 GHz brick oscillators similar to the ones described m this column The bricks are as good as new, and ril make them available for $50 each, postpaid U.S. They require an external oscillator {^00 MHz crystal, approxi- mately). All have been tested and are in good condition, phase-locking at 6 GHz, with the typical 6 GHz output 50 lo 1 00 mW { +20 dBm maximum).

The last weekend of the ARRL 10 GHz Contest is about to start, and I hope to get some pictures to let you know what's happening. As always, I will be glad to answer any questions concerning this and other VHF/UHF microwave -related items. Please in* elude an SASE for a prom pi reply. 73 Chuck WB6IGP

62 73 AmaieuT Radio Today • December. 1990

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Still More Troubleshooting

Last month we discussed the ins and outs of various radio circuit stages, with aslant toward andarslanding and fixing them without schematic dia- grams. There's plersiy more to go. so let's get righi to it.

Detectorsi Tfits ts rather a broad area. The circuit conf guration will de- pend, Of course, on the mode (AM, SS8. FM, etc.) being detected, fn a muttimode rig, several detectors will be present. The simplest detector is the diode used in basic AM 4'eceivers.

You will find it hanging off the end of the last IF transformer. Generally, it ei- ther works or it doe^nH. However, most rigs, even if they receive AM. avoid tt^e diode detector because there are much better-performing schemes. The product detector is a balanced ar- rangement whose outpui is the product of a local oscillator and the receivad signal. By "product'* I mean lli© math- ematical kind, as in multiplication. So, this circuit has some gain, instead of Ihe loss inherent in the passive diode defector. Atso, by feeding in the BFO instead Of the local oscillator, the product detector makes a very nice SSB and CW demodulator. Consa- querttly. i1 is common in sidet>and HF rigs. As with all detectors, look for it at theendolthe IF chain.

It may be an IC or it may have diodes, transistors or FETs. The giveaway is ttiat it has two inputs and only one out- put, it IS essentially a mtjcer, so it looks like one. If it doesn't seem to be work* ing; check tfiat both ifiputs are there before you Start yariking any parts. If you do puii parts to check them, pyll and replace them one at a time to avoid unbalancing the circuit by swapping ^'identical" components.

FM Is another story altogether. Vari- ous detector schemes have been de- veloped over the years, including the ratio detector, discriminator, pulse in* tegratof, etc. Tf>e job of the FM detec- tor IS to convert wiggles in the incommg carrier frequerK^ into corresponding voltages. Tlie result of this process is reconstruction of ttie same audio sig* nals which caused the frequency wig- gles at the transmitter. Most rigs use discriminator-type detectors, which consist of two diodes and an IF coil with an extra winding. The coH has to be tuned to the unmodulated carrier fre- quency for the circuit to produce good audio. If It is even a little bit off. tr>e recovered aiKJio will be significantly distorted. I remember of^e rig that re- ceived clear audio when disassem- bled, but always sounded distorted when the case was put together. It turned out that someone had replaced the original, magnetically-shielded speaker with a cheap , unshielded one.

The Tech Answer Man

The new speaker's magnetic field was detuning the discriminator coll when the case was assembled, t^ecause it was right on top of iti Moral: Never take ANYTHING for granted.

Some rigs use ceramic discHmina- tors. These are smalK pretuned. three- legged beast ies. Because they have no adjustments, they can be looked at as either/or devices; Either they work, or they don*t. They have no active com- ponents, so they usually work.

Pulse integrators are not common tn radio equipment, but Ihey are excel- lent, low-distortion FM detectors and are worth exploring , as Ihey are handy for home-brewtrvg. The ides is simple: Make narrow pulses from the incoming carrier by applying it to a monostable multivibrator (one-shot), Now inte- grate, or low-pass filter, the pulses with a simple resistor/capacitor (R/C) fitter, and voiia, aydtoE As the carrier tre- quertcy increases, the "on" time of the pulses wilt be more freqoent, causing tho capacitor's voltage to rise. As the frequency decreases, tt^e '*oii" tirne will be less frequent, and the cap's voltage will decrease. The flyctuating voltage will correspond to the original audio signal.

Low-level audio amps: If you have a signal at the output of the detector, but have no audio closer to the speak- er, check tiie low-level amp stages. These are straightforward circuits, and they may be made of transistors or iCs. In some rigs they're op amps, in any event, their function is to build Ihe sig- nal up enough to dnve the speaker amp stage. The signal voltage should get bigger at each stage or , in the case of an emitter follower stage, it should stay about the same.

You may wonder al the purpose of an amplifier that seems lo have no gain. Why is it there? Because tt^ere are two kinds of gain. When the signal gets bigger, that's voltage gain. When it doesn^t. the purpose is most likely current gain. In other words, the stage's Output can drive a lower Impedance load without getting wiped out. Current amplifiers are called "buffers." especially when they are made from op amps.

Noise blinkers: There are various types, but the basic idea is to blank the audio output at the instant of a noisd pulse because the brain finds the ab- sence of sound far less intrusive than a sudden "pop." Blankers use a high- pass filler to look for noise pulses, which hawe a far faster rise time than normal audio. It can be hard to tell when noise blankers are broken. They can be pretty particular regarding which noises they will eliminate, even when ihey work. Unless you have some handy source of impulse noise, such as an electric drill you will have to check components out-of 'Circuit.

Some noise blankers can be fairly compIeK, with variable levels, thresholds, time constants, etc. These can involve digital gates and decision* making circuits. Jysl as with the sim-

pler variety, you need to inject noise to do any reaJ tfouble^iooting. If you do try. simply trace the noise pulses through the highisass filter into the noise amp and any circuits that follow.

Squelch circuits: These can fool you into thinking your low-level audio amps are not working because they gate the audio on Bn6 off. Some squelches have their own gate transis- tors* while others stiort out the base of the first low^evet audk> amp. If the amp doesn't seem to worlt. always check the squelch first.

Although some SSB rigs have squelch circuits, they are most com- mon on FM rigSf where they're an ab- solute necessity because of the loud Wank-channel "whoosh"' which would otherwise drive you crazy. Ttte usual FM squelch technique ts to exploit that whoosh. The annoying notse contains lots of high-frequency audio energy which is outside the normal signal passband that would be delivered by a transmitting station. A high-pass filter, followed by a rectifier and smoothing fitter, will deliver a DC voltage when the noise is there » and next to nothing when a carrier is present. (Even if there's plenty of audio modulation on the carrier^ it will never approach the high*frequency content of the noise.) The output of ttre rectifier/filter drives the squelch gate transistor. Some squelch circuits can be a bit more com- plex, but the basic scheme is the same. If you have no audio, check the squelch gate. It may be shorted. If the audio's there but the squelch won't work, it may be open Of course, check the in- put to the transistor first*^lhe trouble may lie farther upstream.

AM/SS6 squelches work just the Other way around. They look for an al>- sence of signal, champing the audio off when the signal drops below the threshold you set with the squelch con- trol . With AM and SSB, of course, there is no loud wideband noise because the iF stages are not being driven to their saturation point. In fact, amaprobjec^ five is that the front end and JFs be as quief as posaibie. The troubleshooting procedure is pretty muc^ the same as for FM rigs, except that ttm iignal lev- els in the early stages are inverted < and there is no high-^pass filter. It all still comes down to a gate being driven by the received signal.

Audio power amps: These, of course, drive the speaker. Usually, the audio power amp is a current amplifier arKJ does not exhibit voltage gain. If discrete, it is almost certainly a posh- puti circuit* or some vanat^n. Irt this scheme, there are two transistors and each one amplifies only one half of the audio waveform. Severe audio distor- tion in the power amp is nearly always caused by one of those transistors fail- ing. If it is accompanied by hum which does not vary with the volume control, suspect a shorted transistor. It not, kx>k for an open. Often, these transis- tors are matched pairs, and should be replaced the same way. Using off-the- shelf + unrelated parts can cause over- heating and increased distortion. Also, when you replace a shorted transistor, be sure to replace any resistors con- nected to its emitter, as they may be damaged, tf the transistors are good, see if there is a large, electrolytic cap

t>elween the amp and speaker A short- ed or leaky one will often cause symp- toms which mimic a bad transistor.

IC power amps are becoming in* creasingly common. When they go* they usually get so hot you can't touch them for more than a second. If the audio looks good going in but nettling comes out, and the speaker coupling cap is OK. the IC b protiably bad.

By the way, tjefore you get too in* vof^d in tracking down power amp troubles, check that the speaker is good and is CONNECTED. A bad ear- phone jack or blown voice coil can waste lots of your time. Blown speak* ers are especially common in HTs be- cause they are often played at high volume in cars. Also, some HT speak- ers are rated far t?elow tfta power level the rigs' amps can deliver.

The Circuits

Now, let*s look at some drcMte pe- culiar lo transmitters.

Speech processors: There are two types, AF and RF. The audio frequency processors usually are compressors, and work much like the automatic level control circuits on cassette tape recorders, only faster. They attempt to keep ttie average audio level close to the peaJc level, Altfrotigh the Hf tech- nique has domrnated for many years, AF processors have begun to reap- pear, and they are remarkably effec- tive. If the processor passes audio but does not compress, check the variable gain element h Typically. it*s an FET connected between the input and oul- pul of Ifie amplifier stage passing the audio. If there's jusi no audio at all. Check the amp itself.

RF processors are considerably more complex. They actually work at IF frequencies. The basic scheme is to take the modulated IF signal and detib- erately overdrive it so that the peaks are clipped off. The result is that the average level is close lo the newly- dipped peaks. To avoid the horrerv dous distortion and splatter this seem- ingly ugly process generates, the signal is then fed through a tiandpass filter which amoothes the edges and keeps the signal within the normal 3 kHz limits. If there's no output, check all stages, starting from the proces- sor's input, for the presence of a modu^ lated carrier. You need lo put audio into the mike, artd you actually may have to operate your transmitter to do this test, so use a dummy kiad. Under no circumstances should you be on the air as you talk into the mike and start probing for signals. Needless to say, be careful to avoid injury when working near a live transmitter.

If the processor passes a signal but does not seem to have much effect on it, there probably isn't enough gain to drive it to clipping. Remember, bBkm the dipping point, the whole thing is just an amplifier. You should be able to see the d^ppjng on the signal at the bandpass filter entry point If not. check the gain stages between the mike and the fitter.

Weill once again I'm out of room, and we still aren't finished! Next month, we'll wrap this up ar>6 move on to something else -

64 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1 990

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73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990 65

Number 24 on your Fe«dback card

Mike Bryce WSaVGE 2225 May^Qwer NW MassiHon OH 44B46

The Varfabte Crystal Oscillator

When you slart talking about QRP^ without question rhe conwersation turns to portable-mobile setups. Portable requirements are a bit dif- ferent as opposed to home station use. Not©, however, that when I'm talking portable, Tm really talking portable. Smali figs you can carry into places you wouldn't dare take a commercial rig. Wes Harward WTTOl described such equipment tn his mountain- eering figs. Smaller ccwtrols. less ener- gy use. and frequency stability are utmost- In keepfng with the topic of frequency control, this time weM) look al a special type o( frequency control: the VXO.

The Variable Crystal OsciJIatorp or VXO. Is a very good compromise be- tween being rock-bound or using a I ess-th an -perfect VFO. In portable use. a VFO can sometimes be extremely hard to keep stable, due largely to the temperatures you encounter in the out- back Mechanical stress also affects the stability of the VFO. It is dlfftcuR to |<eep capacitor siaior-shaft bearings, drives and vernier dials operating OK- rectly while sitting on top of a rock. A

Low Power Operation

VFO win more than likety get trounced off frequency if the rig is dropped a small tieight. say off the top of our rock iedge onto the ground.

Comparisons to the VFO

A VXO can overcome most of the troubles affecting the VFO~at s cost. We lose a great deal of flexibility. Even the best designed VXO has a limit on the amount of swing one can ''rubber'* the crystal, depending on the frequen- cy used. Tlie type of crystal and circuit of the VXO will give tis the required frequency spread. We can get atXHJt 2 to 12 kHz of swing. The tower the opef* atfng frequency, the less the amount of frequency swing. For SO and 40 me- ters, you can took at atXHit 2 (o 4, may- be 5 kHz worth. As you go higher in frequency, you can achieve a much wider frequency swing. At 20 meters, you can have a VXD with a 10 kHz swing. On 15 meters, you Can some- times get a VXO range of 12 kHz— maybe more. Above 15 meters. yoLi don't see too much use of the VXO. just too much ground to cover. You' It still need a shoe box futi of eryslaJs 1o cover all of the 1 0 meter band.

Because the VXD can give you crys- tal control stability with the movement Of a VFO, now and then we'll see them used in VHF gear. IRunning the VXO at

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$6 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

cnntal

4.rK

vw^^^^

2H2222

10K

*TQ

ZOuH cmi

7"^v

VXOtiJt«!

or

5.1 votts regulated

Figure. The ciBSsic VXO circwt. The inductor gives the crystaf more swing.

a lower frequency, we can get est eel* lent slal^tlity wilti multiplier sieges in the kans#iiner to achieve the required operating frequeney^ Changing th0 fre- quency of the VXO will result in a large frequency shtft at the final stage, Voti'll see this scheme often used in home- brew 2 meter if ansmitters-

Crystal Type

Often, the type of crystal you use will make or break Ihe VXO. The popular FT-243 crystals wilt not work very well with a VXO. in many cases, the VXO just won't work at all, You 'If find the frequency swing to be very litlie, and \n some cases, unstable. The best bei is fhe AT cut crystals. I get my crystals from Jan Cryslats /see ' 'Updates" tn this t$su0 for thff correct phone num- ber}. I use a 30 pF load capacitance in a HCQiU holder. You can use the least expensive crystals; you're not launch- ing missiles with these, so get the 0 Ot% tolerance rocks and put ihe change m your p<K;ket.

I've used various VXOs in the past Some have worked great and others have been vast disappointments. All but a few real pocpers have provided stable operation.

The figure shows a classic VXO cir- cuit. Note the coil in series wiih ihe crystal. This inductor gives the crystal an even greater swing. But you have to t>e careful not lo increase the mduc- tar>cetoo much, or you il losecortirol of the crystal and the circuit will then l>e- come a VFO. Youll need to experi- ment. A good rule of thumb m to use atKJUt 1 5 liH for 30 meters, 20 yH for 40 meters, and 12 ^K for 20 meters. Again, these are starting vaJues Nolh- ing js set in stone, so you must experi* men I for accuracy.

Selecting Crystal Frequency

Deciding on the frequency of the crystal can be frustrating! IVe found out the hard way I ha! you just can't be sure where the crystal will oscillate! An- other rule of thumb is to choose a crys- tal iow0f in frequency than what you need. Most VXOs will oscitlaie the crys- tat higher ihan the frequertcy marked on the crystal, so the VXO control will then allow for frequencies higher xhary the marked frequei^.

If you order a crystal at 10.102 MHz, the oscillator will output a frequency of 10.102.7 MHz because of the 001% tolerance of the crystal, tf the crystal is used in a local oscillator, you can add

capacitance to towerihe operating fre- quency of the crystal. Since we're not using the crystal in this application^ we have to adjust the outptit to suit our needs. When we connect the VXO ca- pacitor, we swing the cry staJ's frequen- cy even high&r than marked. With the VXO I have t>een using for some time, I can 9et about 7 kHz worth of swmg, all on ttte higher end of the marked fre- quency.

Now just when you thought it was safe to break out the crystal catalog, you have to consider that some VXOs will move the crystal frequency both lower and higher than the marked fre- quency. This seems to happen when the Pierce crystal oscillator is used as a VXO. In most cases, the VXO will only altow you to move the frequency higher.

Even though the VXO Is crystal con- iTolfedt be sure to include vottage regu- lation to the oscillator You don't want a ctttrpy signal on ihe air. You can use a small zener diode I prefer the 7BL08 three-terminal regulator for VFOA/XQ use. They're cheap, easy to use. and work great.

As in the construction oi VFOs, be sure to enclose the circuit with some type of shielding. Double-sided PC board is great for this.

You may also want to use a vernier drive attached to the mam VXO capaci- tor. This will help in tuning in the need- ed frequency. Sometimes the VXO capacitor and crystal combination cause a nasty littla problem. The tuning becomes nonlinear The frequency spread is not distributed evenly thoughout the tuning range of the ca* pacitor. This results m having the en- tire tuning range of the VXO bunched together on one end. Best bet is to re- place the crystal and or tuning capaci- tor.

Don't Overlook It

A VXO can prove a good trade-off between moving all over the place with a less than perfect VFO, to moving a tittle bit with rock- sot id slabtlityf Don't cut the VXO Short for your next trans- mitter pfoject. Look for a VXO 30 meter transmitter coming very soon next year. Next month vwll start on a sta- tion transmit control board. Also, we'll Mnven the Drake "B'" and "C" series receivers for the WAAC bands.

Until next month, everyone have a good holiday season, and see you next year, here m the ''QRP' column

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1990 Annual Index

Subject/ Article Amplifiers, Audio.

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MFJPICEXE

packet

PC QSO TLJtor(B)

Plan"t3(R)

Portal SyslemfH)

Prodigy

Proiet EasylraxtR)!

R080-C0PY

RTTY BAS

Super-RATT

TNC programs, 13

Vfdeo CapTijre

Converters

5 67d GHz PTT Ieve4 ViF eOAU

Oigltar Modes: CW. RTTY

tOm packet

iQvnpacitei

9600 bps

AHPANETflntemet

Betiold tne BackPackei

EPROM CW Keysf

CW keyef , mobile

CW offset tfidieatty

0C£ Expenrrrtefil

Ha4040Upgr»>e

IO'r44VKenwood

modems

Packet FlAOlO

PK-232 Oonrved Memory

PK-232.MFJ-1270

ROBOT ftOO

HPITEST

llslirig

IPVconversfon

FCC study disks

HF.PC

computer qorlrol of

0-64: Apple tret, article)

video digitizer

LAMLINK.WHATSUP

QSO Sohware

tracking OS' 13

rec ham- radio, Usenet

RTTY Loop

PCa tayout

software lor CW

source of

RTTY for Apple It

dIgHal modes

VC-lQOOt)oard

w/GaAsFETs interlacing radios (o>f 80tT( receiver?

, Packet, etc.

USB/L SB packet QQOHzs^ift modem a^cuit fww equipinefil ptttltile system programTnai>te iDer Teri-Tec & NMne-brew ustng LCDs Hamsats

fiMJiB bW AMTOR Packet Talk 2mTNC torpedtel ad|u£lrFienta RTTY utiit

N5HNN

W6YUY

KA9NEH

NlCTl

KBKJV

WB6«3P

WBBIGP

WB6IGP

VE5XZ

WA3UKC

WA2EBY

VESEFC

W1XU

KA5DNP

N8KDD

W8MOV

WA3EKL

KAdOGD

DA1QB/WB7T4ZCJ

KlOV

KA8CNI

W5VUY

AASKB

W1GV

K1NIT

W880-K

KC3Y8

KA7FQW

K3YWY

K«OV

KiOV

WASZm

W»WU2

WV8R

W4RNL

WAtLBP

KH6FMT

WA6ZQS

ItAILCO

KASN

WA6SVT

W9DUU

WB2QSZ

WA5ZIB

K6YDW

KA9CS0

K9EYY

WA3AJR

W5JG

WA3AJR

Q.H^L.N.

KA1TGA

WB&JNW9

Nt4RVE

WA3AJR

WB9RRT

WB9DY!

WA3AJR

WA3AJR

WA3AJH

WASAJR

MAR SEP

JUL

DEC

MAR

APR

tsiOV

FEB

JUN

UAY

weeiGP

WB6RON WD4PU

WA1L6P nDnnun NW6H WB^GP

W08VGE

wAszm

M2eLl WA3AJF)

WB6R0N

WB6ROt4

WaGOi

WB6RON

WA3Ajrt

DEC

APR JUN

AUG MAY JAN

oec

JUW

MAY

OCT

DEC

DEC

JUL

FEB

JUL

JUL

MAR

SEP

36

36 32 45 54 58 62 71 10 32 24 31

RTTY

RTTY cross display RTTY, tuning m RTTY video icmrt TNC Connect Alarm lone warbler TS-4306 AGC

conirollens.itmtrs tuning scope pulse generator VC-1000 wttti ffip-flop for EPROM keyer mo(^ for AMTOR

OCl	41
JUN	10
SEP	2S
MAY	m
SEP	IS
JUN	57
NOV	41
FEB	45
APR	60
JUN	77
MAR	4a
OCT	^
JUN	45
JUN	22
APR	ae
SEP	44
hbB	B
JUN	24
JAN	54
SEP	68
NOV	51
APR	44
NOV	12
OCT	22
MAY	24
JUL	42
SEP	29
JAN	18
APR	B9
AUG	10
JUL	9
JAN	41
APR	57
JUL	26
JUN	21
JUN	26
DEC	57
JUN	77
APR	52
MAY	58
JAN	35
MAY	U
JAN	24
JUN	61
hta	13
OCT	26
JUL	70
AUG	42
MAR	61
ttB	40

61

S4 30

48

76 24 58

70

6i

46 81

19 70 58

5e# Btso CofTifHiters anti Software

56

64

General Interest

AB4RL Arthur Tan

AL7KU. Gilbert Monroe

Alaska t^am graduates

SeaHam?

Bhutan

Bouvel Ktand

Burton. Rjchaid

CaJIsipgnS

Carft)4e Perry

Communcelor

Convmynicaiof

Communicaior

COSIN

CQ All Schools Nei

oxcc

OXCC, enclaves

DXOA Countries

DK Dynasty Award

DXfiet»

harkjicapped waiver

handicapped wairver

Htgfi on ATV

Hooked on Foxtnuntntg

Jamboree RadM)

Japan

Just Do It!

KSKEJ, Orrtn Brand

KA2 VL P. Martin Gruen

KA3WDW. Andy Robmsofi

KA3WMS, Stepfianie Hassan

KASWMJ, Jennifer Doerrie

KBHyBDV, Aaron Gremer

K92IQF, Chris MignemS

KB2IGG, Mary Ales Ira

KB2IGY. Mery Seteraj

KB2JFU, Avraham M Broges

KaSAQV, Kevin Biekert

KB5AWP. Ken Cameron

KB5NTC, Terry Sickle

KC6MJJ. IDavId Pioirowskl

KC9HP. Hap Holly

KF7LX, Toddimie

KF8CP, Sieve Mindy

King and Us. Tt^e

marketing ham radio

Memories

N4YZW, Michael Johnson

N5GZP. Steven O Sellers

N6PNY, Kelly Howard

N6WRL Mark Hendrl^cson

NSGEV. Michael Adams

N8HEY,MaryBeardslee

ND5Y. Dwjghl KaJim

OSCARS in Classioom

Pack Your Seabag

pile-up techniques

proper OSUng

OStingprodlems

OSL roiJt^

ROFing, clubs

Rchmond Hill HS

San Francrsco Quake

SAREX. space

ServKe Survey

5erv>ce Survey

S#rvice Survey

Sermee Stjrvey

Service Sufvey

Service Survey

Service Survey

Shanng the Adventure

Solar Car Race

Soviet Union

Soviet Uniofi

teaching ham radio

UAdMA. Gennady Kolmakov

VHP iBlening

W9L0V. Dale Shimp

WA4SIR- Ron Panse

WASaKD. Rev. Gil Pries

WA8UMT. Rich Redoi^ey

WAavWY.JimSftala

HamProfites

Ham Profites

Ham Profiles

boking tor Elmer

QXc^umn

DX column

Looking lAtesI

mfofmailKMi in

mterviewr

Looking West

Looking West

Looking We^

student netuforti

benefits

new applications

DX column

corrected lisA

member^

awards difectofies

WA60PS interview

WS3HGW ifT^fview

beioon marnage

account

ham scouts

Biggest Ham Country

Hams with Class

Ham Profiles

Ham Profites

Ham Profiles

Ham Profiles

Ham Profftes

Hem Profiles

Ham Profiles

Ham Profiles

Ham Profiles

Ham Profiles

Ham Profiles

Ham Profiles

Ham Profiles

Ham Profiles

Ham Prolites

Ham Profiles

Ham Profiles

King Hussein VE6/JY1

Hams with Class

the 1940s

Ham Profiles

Ham profiles

Looking West

Ham Profsies

Ham Profiles

Ham Profiles

Ham Profiles

aclivities

merctiant marines

DX cxilumn

DX coluTTirt

standards

DXcolumri

lun for kids

ham graduates

1989

NistOfY

Ajtnoo

ICOM

KnniMiood

IBpiflif mJHII

Teft-Tec Wrap-up Yaesu

Mary Duffield & public service oariisigfis Cattstgns quaiitfesrweded Ham Profiles above & isekTw 2m Hasn Profiles Ham Profiles Ham Profiles Ham prof jtes Ham Profiles

WA3AJR

WA3AJR

WA3AJR

WASAJR

UA1AU.We9EGA

WB6IGP

KAtSUN

Staff

stfldH

staff

r46SlW

WSl^NE

W5KNE

WASflF

W5KNE

KB2IGG

WAsnr

WASTTF WABfTF WB2IIIC

WB2MIGP

W5KNE W5KNE

OCT AUG JAN FES MAY

W5KNE

WA6ITF

WASITF

KS8J

N9FHF

WQ4eNU

WAILBP

WB2MGP

staff

slaK

staff

staff

slaff

staff

staff

staff

siaff

staff

staff

staff

steff

staff

staff

staff

staff

McGregor a VE6V

WB2MGP

W6CK

staff

stall

WA6ITF

staff

staff

staff

staff

NaiWJ

NSMM

W5KNE

W5KNE

W5KNE

WSKNE

K80V

Staff

WASriT

WAeiTF W86NOA

WB6NOA WB&NOA WB6NOA WB6NOA WBeNOA

weeNc^

KA1UKM

WBSELK

WSKNE

WSKhtE

WB2MGP

staff

r^2DUP

stalf

staff

Staff

staff

staff

JUN

APR

JUhr

OCT

JUN

NOV

JAN

AUG

AUG

MAY

APR

JUN

JUL

JUN

DEC

SEP

FES

OCT

SEP

MAY

DEC

OCT

AUG JUL MAR MAY NOV JAN SEP AUG OCT SEP JUN MAR FEB JAtsI JUL APR MAY DEC MAY MAR JUN APR iPJAN SEP JUN OCT DEC FEB SEP SEP SEP AUG MAR DEC APR MAR OCT DEC FEB DEC FEB MAY SEP JUN APR MAR JUL OCT AUG MAY OCT JUN JUL OCT DEC OCT FEB MAY OCT JUL JUL

78 42 64 48 14 89 77

17

17 17 B4 52 46 66 73

20 41

38 84

18 48 59 84 80 81 80 58 60

ts

58 1§ 24 56 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 9 43 66 17 17 7B 17 17 17 17 11 3S 55 54

50 78 62 17 16 38 20 40 70 28 14 38 46 IB 34 85 73 56 17

62 IT 17

17 17 17

60 73 Amateur Radio Today • December. 1990

Subject/Article

DescHptionyColumn Author

WLTexQ, erynSitzer	Ham Profiles	■taff
WL?BXR, eilzabelh Bitzer	Ham P/ofiles	staff
WL7BXS, Sarah 8rrzef	Ham Pforiles	^laff
Worlds of Gus Browrting	DX pioneer	W4BP0
For other news, see the "Lett&rs, " "ORX. " and "73	fntemattooi
Newr Say Die ' ' ana edrtortals by K6MH. WB^ELX, and N IGPH
New Prociiicts
AAA Engineerinig	Signal Sentry	^ratf
AEA	HFteotnnn	siaff
Almco Elect rtHifcs	aHWUl an<f4e0T	SlAtt
Amefitron	AL-811 amp	statf
Afrwfitron	AL-flPamp	staff
ARl/Ani&rc^n l^^ianpa	AFM70O	staff
Ashlorr FTC	Aries-2	staff
AstTOnCorp	SL-1 1 A po*9r supfsly	staff
Baylin Pubiicaikoos	Ku^Sartd Sat TV	staff
B^ylm P^&lcaiiofks	scrambling mettioffs	staff
Baylin Publications	TVRO, ant software tXKWs stati
Bird El&crroiiicCorp. 4410A	wattmeter	slaff
Bfian Be«;(ey	MNC program	staff
Brian Beezley	MN &YO ant software	^laff
Cellular Security Gfoup	MAX aniennai^	staff
Chester QSL Cards	order by BBS	staff
Communications Specialists	DCS-23	staff
CompuEer AutomaHQrr
Technology	CAT'IOO	staff
Connect Sy stems Inc.	Model CS-700	staff
Contact Ea&l	catalog	stafi
Contact 8as(	catalog	staff
Contact East	catalog supplement	staff
Contact East	catalog supplement	staff
CuJ-ry Communicatior^s	ANB-I089preamp	Slaff
Curlis Manufactunng Co.	CabJe Organizers	start
CushcraftCS28M	mag mount antenna	statf
Cu&licfaft D3W	WAHCdipQie	atetf
Cushcraft Tea-3	yagi	staif
Cusiom Antenna	omfw	stall
CyberRe search	PC S^iems Handbook	staff
Electron Processing, Inc.	Antenna PlitR-l	•iaff
	LPF-f Mm	staff
Oscifofi ProciftBBino. Jnc,	Sc^rtTKf Fitidk:	staff
	Signal gen/counter	(Etaff
Rfie Tuning	Pfoceedtnffs	^aft
H€li|X^vifer. Ir^	SotefPoMef Pack	ttaff
ICOM iO<V??OQAJH	diial-band FM mobile	fltalf
COM IC'9?0	muJi3)ari(J trar^sceivef	staff
International Radio and
Comput&rs	T^ Enhancer	stiff
Japan R adio Co, JST-1 35	HFtransc^fver	itsff
K-COM	tetephone fillers	staff
Ktfby KommnnkcaUOf^	vehjcte window mount	stall
MFJ ^nisrprtsoa	1112 multiple outlet	^alt
MFJ Enterprises	207 HFSWR analyzer	staff
MFJ Entarpris$$	&&0 voltage monitor	ditf
MFJ Enierprtses	924 &0OW ant. tuner	staff
MFJ Enierpffflfls	548 300W ant, tuner	staff
MFJ Enterprises	speaker/mEkes	aiaff
Micro-Circuits Co.	shielding dessgn	staff
Mic roc raft	code scanner	staff
Motorola Inc.	Rnel telemetry radios	staff
Nemaj Etectronica	cables	staff
Nevada preamps	J.t.M.MlOOGaAsFET	staff
OpEoefectronics 2210* A	treq. finder/counter	staff
Pajomar Engmeefs baluns	high power	staff
Periphex. Inc.	PB-ZS and &S	siatf
Phjdystran	HPTG'l"	slaff
Poyntek Associates	FuU-Santd antenn«is	staff
Rad K} Amateur QallbOQ^. Inc.	on dtsk	staff
Rad>a Works	BemoteBalun	staff
RF Tronics	CAD-CYCLER	staff
Rotating Tower Systems SGC SB-2000	Wire & bases	staff ttilf
Ht^ ssd radioteieptiiMw
Somerset Electror)te«	MICFKK)EC	st«ti
Spi-^Mfg	2rr» baf% sta. ariL	Stan
Sufpjys Sales of Nebraska	AFT terminal	staff
SVSPEC INC OVP-tZ	ovefvoliage R^B	iiall
System One Control, inc.	FOlogi	itril
TAB Books	T^k 10 ttve World	^ifl
Tripp Liter	EPG-t200	siaif
Van Gorden Eng^fieorihg	HhQ snt & ins.	staff
VtS Study Cartts	Novice thru Eirtra	stall
Waiter Scientific Inc.	ELF-50 monitor	staff
Witiicer Scientific Inc.	ELF-50D monitor	staff
Yaesu USA	FT- 1000 xcvT	•tail
YaflsuUSA	G-2&D nstator	staff
Holjday Buying Guide	1990	staff
Power Supplies
1 ampragulaied	using dead VCR	WSiVGE
dual voltage	bencti supply	WeWTU
fow voltage	current limited	WA3AJR
mobile organizer	for 12V hookups	AH2AR/8
Switching Power Supplies	FETs	WB6IGP
switching power supply	60 Hz, 11 OV	WB6IGP
UNi-e	porta-power adapter	W3RW
Receivers
LORAN	& locator manufactyrera	hJY3F
NR5At7mQRP	receiver convener	WBSVGE
Ramsey HR-4	eictending range	NBKDD
Receiver Hunl	flORng	WA4TEM
fegenefativfl	1 transistof	WB«NQM

Issue	Page	Subjecl/Ailicle	De^c ript 1 a n /Colu in	in Author	Issue	Page
AUG	17	Reviews: Books, Tapes, MIsc,
AUG	17	Cuckoo's Egg	by Sloli	WA5ZI8	JUN	37
AUG	t?	Elements of Microwaw
NOV	40	Technology	byCarr	WBdHHI	APR	2d
s, f^us W2NSn's	H0« Ham Radio Handbook	byK9£tD	N4RVE	MAR	44
		Rad^o Joumai 19t2'-40	byWiCRC	HA5E	jur^	26
		I une rn on Te4ephofie Calte by K2AES	WASZU	FEB	60
		Fof ^ftwaf0 reviews, s®e	' 'CompuWrs and Sotrwsm. ' '
JUM	62
J UN	64	Revtevra: EquTpmefit
APR	92	A& A Engineering	Signal Sentry	WB6ELK	OCT	t4
DEC	60	ACE AR^SaO	pCiCkQt scanner	N3aAH	JUL	48
MAR	70	AEA430A	tor FSTV	WA4UUU $ K4IMHN AUG	24
OCT	68	AEA IsoLOOp	HF antenna	KA7LDN,KQ/UA	SEP	10
APR	tz	AEAMM<3	Morse Machine	KA3ELV	FEB	36
^P	aa	AEAMX^	$mSSeCWHT	WB6IGP	FEB	30
JLN.	62	Al^flCO DR-570T	2m/70cm motiia	NSIB	l-fcB	26
Jim	62	Amentron AL-62	linear amplifier	WA4R10	SEP	S2
AUG	70	Anwritron RCS-4	coax switch	WA4BLC	JUL	36
FEB	68	Antennas West	OuiCk Launch	WIXU	OCT	26
OCT	ea	Cetlulaf Security Sy^em	MAX'l46amefina	NIGPH	NOV	B
MAR	70	Command Techrrotogies	MF-2500	f^^E	APR	32
JUL	61	Cushcratt D3W	WARC dipole	WA49LC	MAY	32
UCI	es	ElencoMl90Q	digital multimeter	WB9RBT	MAR	38
OCT	66	Engineering Consutfing	Com shack 64	N7{PY	FEB	32
		GAP Antenna Products	GAP DX^VI	K5CNF	OCT	m
DEC	60	Heath Company	adapter & coax kit$	WB9RRT	NOV	47
JUN	62	ICOI^ tSGATHT	w/1 2GH2 0p. too	WBStGP	JAN	36
JAN	75	ICOM 725	mobile rig	N4RVe	FEB	54
JUL	6^	ICOM 726	mobile w/6m	N1GPH	Dec	3fl
SEP	62	ICOM 765	DDS unit	WAIEYP	FEB	22
DEC	60	ICOMCT-16	satellite interface	KA7LDN	JUL	34
APR	92	Jotm Fluke Mfg. Co	Model 67 DM M	WB9RRT	SEP	45
DEC	60	Lightning Bolt Arriennas	VHF/UHFquad	WB6ELK	DEC	30
JUN	64	L L. Grace	Kansas City Tracker	WA3USG	AUG	64
JAN	74	MFJ^6	Grandmaster memory
FE3	sa		keyOf	WA4BtC	APR	30
lAAY	56	MFJ -9410	Versa Tuner II	KT2a	FEB	37
AUG	70	PacComm	P&K-1 sat. modem	WA3USG	DEC	32
MAR	70	PaJomar Engirwers	P 1 -340 Tirner-Tuner	KAIi-R	DEC	40
JUL	62	PC Elecironfcs 1 250 MHz	ATVdowncon & ant.	Kiov	AUG	36
JUU	64	P^po Comm u niir^iions	p.7 0TMFpad	W5PFG,W50RW	JUN	54
JAN	74	Pytam^ Sound	PS-£5sup^	NtCTl	JUN	12
DEC	60	Ram^^y SA-7 RF amp	QfoacitTafw	AH2AR/e	FEB	ao
AUG	70	Stnilti Design	portable spectrum prdbe N4RVE	JAN	30
SEP	62	T.D. Systems	ATV system	NtfVN	AUG	49
MAY	56	TaMff Inc.	the CEUACK	NU3T	ftlOV	se
		Ten^Toc, Inc.	Hef€4ilesiiMod9i420	N4Laj	DEC	22
FEB	m	TefrTec, inc	OMNf-V HF xcw	WA4fll.G	APR	10
MAR	70	The Coope€ Group	WeOef Pyropen	KA9KAF	SFP	55
JUN	64	UnidBn NR'2600	moblterig	WA1R	MAR	32
DEC	60	YdmiFT-lOOD	transcerver	WA4a*-C	OCT	16
JUN	64	Yaesu FT-4700RH	mobile Irar^sceivei	K3RVN/Gt£ZZ	JAtJ	20
DEC	60	For software reviews, see "\	Cotnpijters and Softwi^e. "
JAN	74
SEP	6t	Satellfte Operation
AUG	70	BADR1.DOVE	Ham^als	WABZIB	OCT	76
MAY	&e	F^-20 & other sets	treqs. and modes	WA5ZiB	MAY	46
JUL	62	GPS	saielNte location system	NY9F	JUL	18
JUL	61	Micfosais	Hamsai&	WASZiB	AUG	44
JUL	62	A^ode B Ground Station	torO-S-13	ND9T	APR	22
FEB	ea	modems for ha msats	BBS, digipeatsr	WASZIB	JUN	ST
JUN	64	Phase IN Hamsat	sign^al reporting	W3LOY	MAR	40
JUN	6?	portabl4» setup	briefcase-size	WASZlfl	SEP	66
JAN	74	ROBOT ID Keyer	Hamsats	WA5ZFB	APR	57
APR	^	Rudak2,U-a9, 13	Hamsais	WASZIB	JAN	78
JUL	61	Rudak 2/AMSAT'U	Hamsats	WASZIB	JUL	62
JUL	61	SAREX'90	ttams In space	W3IWI WA4StR,
DEC	60			W3X0	MAY	90
MAY	56	SARE3C	Hamisata	WASZIB	MAR	9
AUG	70	Spa<^ SyfTipc^ium	fiamsats	WASZIB	FEB	50
APR	92
FEB	66	Test Equipment, Misc.	Circuits, Repair
SEP	62	coii E&si«r	L A f escmartt itfK\	N4Tlrit	SEP	48
SEP	62	oocnpui ing countec	HP5360A	WRRIGP	FEB	45
MAY	56	continuity beeper	tow power	W90TW	JAN	%
JAN	74	dumrny loads tor DC	usmg headlights	VE1GM	SEP	22
JUN	62	Held strength meter	baste pfp^ect	KM4KT	SEP	9
MAY	56	field strength meter	tiorRlS^ing	ictov	MAY	60
OCT	S8	frequency eountafs	Above $ Bayorid	WB6fGP	JAM	62
OCT	68	FSM sniffer	for ROFirig	KtOV	JUL	7B
SEP	62	rSMsfkifter	LM294imod	KIOV	AUG	66
MAR	70	gauss meter	A cal%fator	fCB4ZGC	JUN	34
JUL	61	inductance/capacitance	C-64mflter	KOgCN	JUL	54
JIAN	74	oscillatof	100 MHz overtone	WB6IGP	OCT	64
OCT	66	Poor Man & Servr^R Monitor	multiple tests	N6MWS	JAN	10
NOV	61	proiect ion circuit	using MMiCa	WBBfGP	MAY	77
		Sp^trum AnaJyzef	Si 0 circuit	KE«UV	FEB	41
		temperature control	circuit	WB61GP	SEP	70
JUL	77	VXO tutorial	& classic ciircuil	W88VGE	DEC	66
OCT	10
NOV	57	TheorVt Conslmction Tips, How-To
SEP	24	baslcioolkii	Ask Kaboom	KB1UM	FEB	70
JUL	66	basic tool kit	Welcome Newcomers	KAIUKM	JAN	2
AUG	64	circuit stagey	recognizing I hem	KB1UM	(40V	54
MAR	14	CTCSS	what II is	N6MWS	JAN	77
		fix or ship?	AskKaboom	KaiUM	APR	42
		frequency	sta^iEity&shill	KBIUM	MAR	85
JUL	2t-2	Ground Rules	PCBs& circuits	WB-iEHS	MAR	25
FEB	:^	Hamlest Shopping	tips	K8SI	JUL	40
MAR	12	lieatgun	construction uses	WA1FHB	SEP	26
JUL	12	fKvikirvg up right	connections	K81UM	JUL	60
MOV	34	hot glue gun	use in construction	WA4aLC	APR	45

73 AmatBur Radio Today • Decemb©f. 1990 69

Subt^t/Article

^mpec&f^oe matching jammeflMflfing jammer b^jsting junk box Kitauirding Make Your Own math for hams Painless RGBs power regulation power igpplkes RTTY fundament^ Tune Dtvfsiofi MuniplM

troubleshooting iroubleshoorSng troubleSl^ooting VFOfl&VXOs

Descrfption/Column Auttior

AskKaiKKVR

nDFing

flDFing

sidckirtg up

rips; Ramsey

Circuit Boa rd«

lerms, notaiions

making loil diagrams

Mk Kaboom

Gw^ttching & linear

RTTVlJOop

biiMtepace meMte

lips

w/o schematic

w/o schematic

w/o schematic

useful lips

Se& Ih0 "Propagation*' coiumn (or predictions on the 'Vnci& Wayn&'s Baokshetf "

Transcctvers TDGHiFun CaaMite Box Special tkskmTBS

Fire-eall xcvr

IC-735 rrifld

mamgry bank for TS'940S

TTL j<cvr

Transmitters

2m W Ftre-Sal! 2m W Fir^-BaH ^nVVFire-eaJ] Sml^l^pOW^ FM

3Qm\ gtmdif^ crystdi

30m mods

40/aOm 2-ttJbe 6C4

De2S xmtr

ELTa

EUTS & PELTS

Fox Commander

JAeUVG3 controller

One-Tube

VFO circuit

VFO Ctf cuil

Updates

2m portable quad Alinco DJ 500

eOfUfilete system

aom.sw

Irof^t etid mod "Smoke Deiector" lor QRP external circuit for 40m

»ceiuM

KiOV

tc»ov

WBaVGE

K4ZRA

WfiWTU

KBIUM

W89RRT

KBIUM

KB1UM

W4TAL KA9KAG KB1UM KeiUM KdlUM WBaVGE bgst tirtf^s tp op^ratG,

WB6IGP

KfilUM

K3VLO

wB«esv

WBAVGE WQ0NQM

Fof iJOQ^S, B66

caiibrarion WB^ESV

OBflsmjctiDil WBdELK

slOir K»600 lighrw^igM. expefidable WA4AOG

kMhCOSt iseaooft WA4ADG

OfiP WB8VGE cofitroHer^ sideton^ gen WBBVGE

w/Pierce osc 6A05 WBSVGE

ORP WBSVGE

RDFIng people KCOV

proposals K&OV

!of hidden T KiOV

FAX t ransm iss Kjn W A 1 LBP

ORP xmtr AUefi

ORP wtevGE

refinements Wa8VG£

re June '90 K3YWV

ra Sep, 90 staff

Issue Page Subfect/Artrcle

JAN 48 AMSATBBS

MAR 52 ARSWOCUO

JUN SO G-&4 & tS4t convefSNm

APR 85 OaJtas Remote Imaging

JUL 32 OXD A corrections

SE P 36 Easy Tu n i ng fof the H R-^S 1 0

AUG 69 ferrjte rod ant schematic

JAN 22 Flavorigl

MAY n FSM artcle

JUN 50 GEEIectronjc Service number

JAM &4 GM. Scotiand

MAI^ 20 Gool-Proofl*egefircw

JUL 24 Ham Profiles

SEP 5e JASIJY G3 FAX

OCT 58 Jan Crystals

DEC 64 Kenwood Service Mum ber

AUG 78 Kenwood Warranty

PodablelOCBBS

ORP circuit

ORP column

ROBCKiOPY

T.D Systems address.

TecJfiTips

TTVKiCVT40m

USSDrum

variac danger

Video; ATV.FSTV.SSTV

73 ATV bat loon

ATV ballooning

ATV & travel

BACAR

canwrps

Color SSTy for Ataii ST

kite ATV

kite/balloon

MFJ-1292

mobile equipment

Model Rocket ATV

pOftable ATV

R/C airplanes

RC Helicopter ATV

siwittimstoo

VldtoCl^ure

video RDFirtg AUG 22 WEBERSAT

NOV 84 WEBER SAT

Description/Column Author

APR	18
APR	46
JUW	32
NOV	24
JUN	76
APR	34
NiOV	30
NOV	22
f40\f	18
MOV	14
AUG	U
JUL	tfi
JAN	52
pm	38
MAR	66
NOV	76
OCT	52
NOV	86
DEC	50
MAY	24
NOV	38
SEP	48
OCT	59

phone number

rieMafctt'90

re Jufy '90

reFets'SO

re Qci 90

re Nov. "89

re Feb, '90

DigvKey part number

re Sep '30

reAp4ir90

re Aug 90

re Nov '90

re June "90

re May '90

m Aug. '90

new

new program

re Aug. '90

re July '90

re Aug '89

re Oct 90

re Aug. 90

reOcl. '89

re Nov. '90

re Apfit '90

re June 90

WA5ZIB stalt

WA4W0L Staff K4EQY K3JML

wseiGP

KB1UM KM4KT

GM7CXM

staff

PT2KU

WAlLfiP

staff

staff

Bta^

Huge

N6PQP

stall

WB9DYI

stati

K5BDZ

KS1UM

staff

WA2RGB

Iswe	Page
APR	45
APR	45
SEP	61
APR	45
DEC	82
FEB	59
MAY	47
MAY	76
OCT	75
JUL	59
NOV	84
DEC	83
OCT	TS
NOV	64
NOV	84
SEP	81
DEC	82
OCT	75
OCT	75
JAN	59
DEC	82
S£P	61
JAN	59
DEC	82
MAY	47
SEP	61

I BaMoons

summer "90 high attitude h«lpfu[ttps

for ATV video

Part II

delta wing

ATV

video digitizer

ATV

& flight computer

RS Pocketvision

8DayTon"90ATV

ATV

VO-1000

ATV

ATV

equipment

WBBELK

W&eELK

WB8ELK

ZS8AKV

WB8ELK

WB50S2

WQBELK

W08ELK

WA3AJR

weaELK

N81Y0

weaELK

WB8ELK WA8HTF

W68ELK WA3AJR WB6ELK WB8ELK W88ELK

NOV	74
AUG	30
SEP	79
MAR	to
Jim	B2
JAN	41
OCT	54
FEB	76
APR	52
APR	SB
AUG	52
DEC	75
AUG	74
AUG	57
MAY	53
fEB	48
JUt	50
MAR	64
MAR	64

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R.S.^ page

109 A i A Engineering 83

164 Ace Communicatbns oi Indianapoiis 4^ 1 Advanced Computer Control! ...... 14

65 Advanced EEectraric

Applicatjons .... 10,11'

as Aerospace ConsuJTlng 83

67 Alinco EJectfonics 16'

194 All Electronics Corporation 37

* Amateur Electronics Supply . . . , . . IS*

1 96 Antenna Service ».,,....,, SS

1 07 Antennas West 79

1 35 Antennas West 83

13a Antennas West 65

5 Antenr^as West . 79

90 Antennas West 51

89 Antennae West 29

236 Antennas West 47

• Antique EJectronic Suppty 79

271 AnliQue Radio Clas&ifjed 83

• Associated Radio 42

16 Astron Corporation 18

£43 AXM, Jnc 53,85

21 B&B.Inc 47

53 Barker & Williamson 79

41 Barry Electronics Corporation 21

42 Btlaf Company 51

• BMG Engmeering Depot 47

197 Brainstorm Engineering 71

118 Brian BeezJey K6STI 29

84 Broadcast Technical Service ...... 55

56 Buckmaster Publishing 79"

170 Buckmaster Publishing 47*

168 Buckmaster Publishing 49*

7 Buckmaster Publi:$hing 65*

■ Sutternu! Electronics ....... 34

165 C&SSales, Inc. 37

116 CATS. . 51

HSJ page

• CB City International 79

127 Cellular Security Group 51

13 Cellular Security Group S3

HO Cellular Security Group 65

1 66 Coaxial Dynamics , 42

156 Commpute Corporation . 67

99 Communication Concepts, Inc. ... 65

121 Communications Electronic 27

10 CommunicationsSpeciali&l 13"

40 C<imputer Automation Technology . 67 15 Comteico 79

12 Connect Syslems , 1

1 46 Creative Control Products .^ . . , 71

134 Crystal Creations SB

• De I aware Amateu r S uppl y v * . . . 53

13 Doppler Systems , 14*

• Down £ast Microwave . 71

143 Eteciron Processirtg 67*

133 Electronic Center, Inc. 47

165 Electronic Engineering , 71

S Elktronics 34

• Engineering Consulting 74

268 Etched Call Sign Cups 67

169 G & G Electronics 82

193 GGTE .47*

1 7 QLB Electronics 46

72 Gien Martin Engineering 41

192 Grapevine Group 47

• Ham Radio Toy Store ...... 63

57 Hamtronlcs, Inc 31

179 ICOM America GV2*

77 Interfiex Systems 71

42 Isotron 51

• K-Comm , , .... 42

• Kenwood USA Corporation . . 5,6,CV4" 234 Lentinl Communications 47

R.S.^ page

47 Link^Com .,..., 42

• M Sc N EI&clFonics 65

25 Madison Electro rbic Supply .... 49

lOl Maxcom, Inc. 65*

241 Media Menlcrs 63'

44 Metro Printing ................... 37

86 MFJ Enterprises 8

160 Miicro Computer Concepts 76

144 Micro Control Specialities 41

119 MicroR&D 47

32 Midland Technologies S5

• Missouri Radio Center 88

• N.E.Lilsche 71

91 HBO Distributors 46

54 NCG , . . , . 33

23? NCG 39

• Nenial Electronics — . , B5

78 North Olmsted Amateur Radio 79

• OmarEleeironies , es

96 Orlando Hamcation 34

• PC Electronics 70"

• PC Electronics ... 74*

152 Pac-Comm 61

178 Pacific Cable Company, Inc 53

1 99 Palomar Telec^jm ;'k> ^ 65

68 PeriphOK 85

1 d8 PliffC Electronics h G5

» Procomm 77

235 Quem^nt Electronics €6

1 32 Ouernent Electronics 52

24 Quorum Communications 82

31 Radio Amateur Callbook 39

76 fladio Engineers 71

48 Radiokii 74

34 Ramsey Electronics 23'

14 Renaissance Development 53

254 floss Distributing .......... 79

R.S.# page

• Royal Instruments Company . . ^ . . 65 71 Rutland Arrays . , , 85

153 SalelUte City 56'

182 SCO Electronics 87

182 SCO Electronics 67

95 Sensible Solutions 65

250 Software Systems , 79

244 Software Systems , , 77

183 Spectrum tntsmational 42

87 TCELabs 71

232 TE Systems 55

1 24 Texas Bug Catcher Antenna 53

6 The Antenna Specialist 41

• The Ham Center 42

131 The Ham Slation 49

150 The Radio Worlds 71

1 1 5 The RF Connection 42

62 TMR 55

49 Traxit, Inc 83

• Tropica] Kamboree - 63

• Uncle Wayne's Bookshelf 86^87

• Universal Amateur Radio 63'

1 20 Van Gorden Enginsering 83

1 04 Van iderstine & Sons, Inc. 51

79 Vanguard Labs — 51

• VHP Communications 67

195 Vlbroplex Company, Inc. ........ . 29

1 91 W & W Associates 77

38 W9FMN Aniennas i : : :, 51

2Q Wolfe Communications 51

• Yaesu Eleciroftics Corporal ton CV3

69 ZCo Corportation S3

•These advertisers pfefer to be contadEd directly.

BdM listiRfs are 73!*s new ajdvertisers this month .

'Advertisers wlio have conLributad to the National Industry Advisory CorrTniltee

(NIAC).

72 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

Continued from p. 4

Now we're up to 14.275 and there's Glen Baieier K1 MAN with his tapes that go on for whai seems like hours, byl he claims only last 45 minutes. Now he's bragging that he transmils his "bul- letins" over 100 times a week, Oh^ there, he*s doing a commercial for Ra- dio Scan magazine.

Atwve I hat. for the next 50 kHz. we find we're m the middle of what seeriis likea waf . Hai&. frustration, artger, bad language, jamming, more catcalls. Hey, Uiis is a hobby?

So ttifs is the b^si amateur radio has to offer, eh? Utis rs thetr famous 20 meter band? Why, this is a sewer. This is disgusting! Why should some obviously deranged old men be per- mitied to waste such a valuable re- source? What on earth Is the mat- ter with the FCC? How can they not close down this mess entirefy and turn these jncredibfy valuable frequencies over to someone who has better use for them?

Well, let's give one more listen and see what wa can find in between the DX piie-ups, the slow*scan porno and the lotal chaos above 14,275. Sure enough, there are some retired old men in there tafking with each other. Thay*re endlessly repealing their calls, a signal repon, their 'handte/' a bhef weather report, the make and rroxJel number of their transceiver and anten- na, and a mention that sorry, they didn't get much of the last transmissiofi dye to OR M,

You know that in just a littfe over a year representatives of every coun!ry in the International Tetecommunrca- tions Union will t^e meeting in Madrid to decide how to reshuffle the spectrum for better usage.

You also know that the Third World countries have little use for amateur radio. Few of the African hams are black, ft's a white man's hobby. . . and most of the men who get on the air while visiting these countries ig- nore their laws, run Illegal power, and even talk home via phone patch- es. Why should these countries be interested in giving up frequencies they need so a handful of oW American men can waste them? Of what pos- Sib\e benefil is amateur radio to their country?

Your Job, ,,

Let's see. as the ARRL president all you have to do is gel amateur radio growing again, particularly by attract- ing youngsters; cteari up the bad oper- ating on our bands: and get the Third World counihes to fscogmze how valu- able amateuf radto can be for them and thus protect our bands ai the 1992 Madrid and 1993 Geneva WARCs, You're not going to do all this with something simple like a no-code li* cense, that's for sure-

No, you're obviously going to have to mount a barrage of new programs. Worse, unless a bunch of new direc- tors have been elected, you're proba- bly going to have to fight around 13 directors for every program you want to inrtlale. On the other hand, you have some power at your command too. It

you can gel control of the Executive Committee you've got QST at your beck. . andthelARU.

Now, the programs. . .it's going to take a bunch and you've got to gel moving quickly.

Okay, first you1l have to get to work deaning up our bairds so we can be proud of them. We know the FCC doesn't want to get involved, so we* re going to have to do this ourselves. Well, we're supposed to be self-polic- ing anyway. We've always bragged to the FCC al>out this, so it's about time to live up to our billing.

One thing we do need from the FCC is a way to at least temporarily suspend

prodded !o get radio clubs started In an *"adopt-a-school" program. They need coverage in the local newspapers, on radio and TV,

It tsn*t going to be easy prying kJdS away from TV, but it can t>e done. We have a lot to offer kfds, but as long as they've never even heard of amateur radio, we aren't going to get far-

We need vi^leos thai e^plair) the fun we>e having and ftow litlte t\ can cost to get started. They need to know about repeaters, fox hunting, OSCAR. packe!. QRP. etc We m^ghl StaJl to Class action libel suits against TV or movie producers who depict hams as nerds. Of course Ihey might claim truth

"Why should these

countries be interested in giving

up frequencies they need so a handful

of old American men can waste them?

Of what possible benefit is amateur

radio to their country?"

the licenses of troublemakers. . plus an immunity from legal harassment which might result. Could we make it a felony to sue over an amateur radio matter? I would prefer capital punish- ment, but Td settle for a felony convic- tlonn

The next move would be to set up a team at headquarters to organize the ARRL member clubs to get out there and bury the bad apples in suspen- sions.

The DX pileups can be cured, as Tve mentioned before^ just by limiting award credit to contacts made during contests. Once the DXCC and Honor Roll pressures are taken off, the pile- ups will blow away. This not only will clean up our bands enormously, it'll eventually result in us seemg thou- sands of hams getting on from rarer countnes. This isn't gotng to hurt when the votes are counted at WARC.

Ne>n we need to get back where we were 25 years ago and start attracting youngsters again. Hundreds of thou- sands of youngsters, not jusi the dozens we're getting now.

There's no easy fix on this like (here is for cleaning up our bands Here we need another HQ team, dedicated to promoting amateur radio growth. This means organizing every member club in the project. It means helping them understand the importance of public relations. . of making amateur radio visible and getting across to ktds that it's fun . No kid should be able to get out of the fifth grade without knowing about how neat ham radio is.

Clubs need to get a newsletter help- ing them organize community oommg- nicdtions efforts. . for parades, races, walkathons and so on. They need to be

as a defense, playing tapes of our 20m band^

But What Abotit WARC?

There's never been an attempt to get ham ambassadors to visit the leaders of Third Worfd countries and explain to them how amateur radio can benefit them and their countries, Afl it would take is a couple retired hams with some lime and a few thousand dollars in trav- el expenses.

Heck, I went to Jordan and talked His Majesty King Hussein into setting up amateur radio. YouVe not going to find a stronger supporter of amateur radio today than Jordan. If I can do it, so can the ARRL. . .and they should.

Voujust talk money, that's aJt. Third World countries have to pay through the nose to import technicians to help set up. operate and service com muni- cations, efecironics and computer sys- tems. These techs can cost £500 to SI .000 a day vs. a few doHars il they had some of the?r own people. So put ham sEatfons in ihe schools, provide a teacher, and soon you'll have hun- dreds and then thousa n ds of you n g amateurs, all anxious to team t>ecause it's fun. It works. Heck, it'll even work here, it used lo before the League wiped out our school radio clubs with their "incentive licensing" proposal 25 years ago.

Yes, there's a lot to be done. . .but it's all do-able if you have someone with guts and drive as president. That you? You're going to have to draw straight lines, even if they bisect a few balky old directors.

Simitar Situation In 1969. when I spotted FM and re-

peaters as a possible way to help get amateur radio growing again after five years of losing newcomers, I went at it every way i coukf, I set up my own repeater so Td know what I was writing about, t published hundreds of articles on the subject. I organized repeatar conferences around tfie country to get dubs to cooperate and standardize Channels, I published a monthly re- peater magazine and a flurry of books. if worked! Within two years re- peaters were the biggest ham activity in the country and I'd gerverated a new $100 million industry ^

When I saw the potential for the mi^ crocomputer in 1 975 f started one mag- azine after another, organized industry meetings to set standards, put on a huge microcomputer industry show in Boston, established one of the first mass produced software companies, started some software retail stores (ended up with a 56 Softwaire Centers Chain), and so on.

Right now Vm tackling the music in- dustry, it^s dominated by a cartel of s\x iniernalfonal megacorporalions fowned by Sony, Mitsubishi, etc.) and I want to break their hold over some 5.000 independertt music companies. I've got a long list Of projects Tve formed or am forming to do this. Each has to be profitable, but the end goal is to sell more independent music.

Wait'll you see all the ways I'm pro- motirrg the sale of indie music vta samplers in hotels, dance studios, m^ftu rants, book stores, hi-fi stores, discount stores, etc. I've already start- ed releasing samplers and I'm gearing up to crank out up to a dozen a month I Then there's my international talent hunt, looking for undiscovered per* formers who should be record* ed . and wrH be on indie Eabels.

If you were to take over as president of the ARRL you'd be faced with one heck of a job, just as I was. But it would be a challenge and fun. Just as it was tor me. You have the tools you need to make it happen, all you have to do is organize and manage the many efforts it's going to take.

You'll be talking with the FCC Com* missioners and selling them on what you want to do. That won1 be hard t>ecause you 11 be solving many prot^ lems for them . . . and helping to cut not only ttwiraggravatkin, but saving {hem money. Further, by attracting young- sters to our hobby, you'll be laying the groundwork for a much stronger Amer- ica in a few years. That Information Agesiulf isn't hype: it's where the mon* ey is right now and where it's going to be even more concentrated in the fu- ture.

You'll have to get out and visit some Third World leaders to get this program started. It'll take a selling Job. but you have so much to offer you aren't going lo get many tumdowns,

You're going to be the keynote speaker at every major ham test and convention, whipping up excitement and cooperation. You're going to make videos to help sell member clubs on cooperating. You're going to have to find some good ham writers and set

f

I I

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them 10 turning gut the n&od&d support publicatkins.

You're going to have to cultivate an atmosphere of cooperation al HQ. tl ^"l going to t» easy, titjl you aren't going to gel much done if everyone is tied up with inlemal politico. ..and afraid to say anything.

You're going to have to work with the QST edliof$ to get ihe covers Into the '90s and out of Ihe *50s. Then you can put QST on the newsstands so it can help attract newcomers. I'd even plan on starting a newcomer's magazii^e, once the dam has been broken and we Stan seeirkg new blood.

Using determination and creativity, the president of Ihe ARRL can change America's role in the neict oeniury, helping lo gel badt ou r consumer eleC' tronic industries, revivirig our research lal^. The a Her native is the gradual death of amateur radio in America.

Japan understands how critically inv porta nt amateur radio Is to their suc- cess in electronics manufacturing and research and how it's the powerhouse behind their financial power. This is the power that's made it possible for them to buy mora and mora of our antertaln- mant industry ^

Oh, You Don*! Agree?

On what point don't you agree? Do you disagree that our bands need cleaning up? How about our need for growth? Our ham industry is down to 25% of what it was 25 years ago. You

disagree that we need to attract young- sters? Or maybe that we can?

How about WARC? Hech, if you're an AHRL member you got a letter ask^ ing for money, Cfting a N>ng list of the problems we face tn Madrid in 1992. I think you're a sucker if you sent mon- ey. Many true believers will, no doubt.

I didn't bring up gettmg the National Traffic System onto packet instead ot Chugging along al around TO wpm on CW. I didn't suggest organizing teams to be sent to emerger\cy areas to set up communications oentare . . Jike In Saudi Arabia lo handle welfare traffic for ou r m iti tary wh o a re sitti ng in the hot sun with little lo do.

How about sending loams to Jordan, Egypt and India to handle traffk: for the thou^nds of refugees streaming into Jordan from Iraq?

When St. Lucia was devastated by a hun'tcane i sent 73 staffer Tim Daniel MBRK down wFth severaj trunks of ham gear, ft helped to tide them over and we got a very n ice commendation from ttie island governor. So where are the ARRL emergency teams when they're needed? Heck, even K1 MAN and his blithering has been able to do better than the ARRL In helping with emer- gencies. Far tjelter,

If you ware president of the Laague, wouldn't you have a ball getting ama- teur radio going again? I know I would. But it's going lo take guts, creativTty, and wofid^iass problem soling skills. It'll be fun, if you take it on

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74 73 Amateur Radio Today • Decombor, 1990

Atv

Number 27 on your Feedback card

Biil Brown WB8ELK %73 Magazine Forest Road Hancock NH 03449

The Mt. Washington DXpedition

On August 4, a group of enter- prising hams ascended to the top of Mt. Washington, New Hamp- shire, to hook up the 146-655 re- peater and to try for some real ATV DX. This 6,288-foot peak is the highest point in New England and provides 2 meter coverage from as far as Albany, New York, to the mid coast of Maine. \Vs also the home of the worst recorded weather in the world! Winds ex- ceeding 238 mph have been recorded (just before the ane- mometer broke!) . . , . Even on a hot summer's day it can be down- right bone-chifling on the summit.

Mike WA1PTC drove his ATV- filled van up to the top, Cal WA1W0K brought along NIKK's 10 watt ATV station and headed up the mountain along with Mike

Photo A, Working Mt. Washington from Monhegan lslar}d, Mame^ From left to right, Adam and Evan Cooke holding the portable ATV package.

Ham Television

N1CGF, Chan KA10U and Vern NiCKX. Situated on top of the weather observatory, they in- stalled the beam and hooked up their 10 watt ATV transmitter to provide New England with an af- ternoon of excellent video. They knew they were in a good spot when the first signal received was a P4 picture from the KAIAFE ATV repeater in N. Andoven Mas- sachusettSi nearly 100 miles to the south.

Meanwhile p somewhere off the

coast of Maine I hauled my

portable ATV station out to Mon- hegan fsland. Situated 10 miles off the coast, the view from the base of the lighthouse provided a line-of-sight path to Mt, Washing- ton (100 miles to the west). On a clear day you can actually see the peak's silhouette just after sun- set. Assisted by Bob KC1MC, atong with helpers Adam and Evan Cooke, we hauled every- thing up to the top of Lighthouse Hill.

After setting up, we gave the crew on Mt- Washington a call and got an immediate full-scale reply on 2 meters! Mike WA1 PTC point- ed the beam our way and provided us a bird's-eye viewof the visitor's center with a P4 full-color picture complete with great subcarr ter au- dio. My receive setup consisted of nothing more than a stock Radio Shack Pocketvislon'^ 23 LCD TV with its onboard whip antenna! Visitors to the lighthouse museum on the island were amazed to see the live pictures of the cog railway chugging up the side of Mt. Wash- ington, complete with its whistle btowing.

We were also able to send a P2 picture up to the mountam with just 1 watt to a vertical V4-wave whip. Jon WA2YVL tn Freeport exchanged two-way P5 pictures with the Mt. Washington crew as well as with our station on Mon- hegan Island.

Tugboat TV

Jon WA2YVL is the captain of a large ocean-going tugboat. Every two weeks he heads out on a two- week journey up and down the Eastern Seaboard with a large barge in tow. On October 4 he set sail from Providence heading to- wards Delaware. He brought along a 1 watt ATV station and

•

Photo B. Bill WBSELK receives the Mt. Washington signal with his portable LCD TV (Monhegan Is- land).

transmitted a signal on 426.25 MH2 in hopes of stirring up some activity. His antenna is mounted 90 feet above the water on a mast above the bridge. Bob WA1WVJ from West Haven, Connecticut, first saw him on the morning of

up to Block Island, over 50 miles away.

Jon plans to add a live camera to his station on the next couple of trips and may be covering differ- ent areas of the East Coast, pos- sibly as far north as Portland, Maine. Anyone seeing his signal should give him a call on 144.34 MHz. If you'd like to find out his schedule, drop him a line via packet radio. His packet address is WA2YVL @ K1RQG.ME. Also, we will announce his schedule and location during the weekly ATV net on 3.871 MHz at 8 p,m. eastern time.

You never know just where Jon will end up in his journeys up and down the coast. At the time of this writing he's in New Haven harbor having a great time work- ing W2W0D, KB2BUA, WA2FNQ and KA1 DBS.

Since band enhancements oc- cur somewhat frequently along the seacoast, Jon thinks it may be possible to work stations from Maine to South Carolina with a good opening from his seafaring vantage point. If anyone sees the tugboat signal, you can QSL to Captain Jon Andrews WA2YVL, P.O. Box 367, So, Freeport, ME 04078-^357.

Photo C. Tugboat ATV.

October 5. Even though the tug- boat was over 70 miles to his south, and shooting over a good part of Long Island, he was P3 to P4. The tugboat signal was even able to access the WiNRE ATV repeater In West Haven as well. A few days later on the return trip from Delaware. Jon was rewarded with successful ATV contacts at distances up to 100 miles away thanks to a band opening. John WAItAO in northern Connecticut received a P2 picture at times, Dave WA1UQC and Fran N1GAU both received the signal near the Hartford area. WA1WVJ started receiving the tugboat transmis- sion at 9 a.m. and could see him all day long as the boat travelled

Photo D. Jon WA2YVL at the helm of the A TV tugboat.

73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1900 75

Number 2S on your F^^dback card

INTERNATIONAL

Arnie Johnson N16AC 103 Did HomestBad Hwy. N. Swanzey. NH Q3431

Notes from FN42

winter in New England is upon us again. We have moved past a very beautiful fall foiiage season with leaves in shades of red, gold, brown f yellow^ and orange. Those of you who have not seen New England in October should try to visit then.

You can enjoy a late afternoon and night on Friday, and a whole day on Saturday, at the Hosstraders Ham Fleamarket at the Deerfield Fairgrounds in Deer- field, New Hampshire, The fall date has stabilized on the first Sat- urday in October, and the Spring Edition is the first Saturday In May. It Is said that the best deals happen on Friday night.

You can also enjoy the N&w England ARRL Conference and ham fleamarket at Boxboro. Massachusetts, the second week- end in October. This year the weather was wonderful at Deer- field, but Boxboro was deluged by rain from the remnants of two hur- ricanes.

At Deerfield, I had the great pleasure of meeting our Ham- bassador from Kenya, imagine my surprise when Hooked up from my selling table and saw a name tag with Rod 5Z4BH on itl Rod Hallen was back in the United States for a conference. He had heard about a "small ham flea market" and he decided to attend.

There were over 5,000 paid ad- missions. The entire proceeds went to the Shrine Hospital Burn Clinic In Boston.

Rod and I had a very nice chatf and he informed me that he has extended his stay in Kenya for one more year so we will have the pleasure of his informative obser- vations and news from Kenya for another year. "It*s a small world, Part II, " took place at the same table when one of the hams I was selling with^ Dave N2GE, came over and reintroduced himself to Rod. Dave had been in Kenya dur- ing the summer and had met Rod at the embassy. Unfortunately, this was the one day I didn*t take my camera with me, so I couldn't get a picture of Rod for this column.

I have had a very rewarding and satisfying year with 73 Amateur Radio Today and *7$ Internation- ai " The news from our Hambas* sadors has been timely and inter- esting. But we've lost a few of our past Hambassadors along the way. I feel this is an appropriate time to recognize those who have contributed so much during the past year, and make a plea to our readers for volunteers to increase our staff of Hambassadors,

If you do not see your country represented in the following list of Hambassadors and wish to volun- teer, please drop me a note at the address above or the address of the magazine. You can also reach me through the 73 BBS. (See the 'Table of Contents" page.)

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Australia

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Brazil

Carlos Vienna Carneiro PY1CC Afonso Pena, 49/701 a0270 Rio de Janeiro Brazil

Buigaiia

Milan Postadshteff LZ2MP PO Box 237 7000 Russe Bulgaria

Cyprus

Aris Kaponides 564JE PO Box 1 723 Limassol Cyprus

Hong Kong

Phil Weaver VSSCT Flat 39C Two Park Towers 1 Kings Road Hong Kong

Israel

Ron Gang 4X1 MK Kibbutz U rim D.N, Hanagev 85530 Israel

Kenya

Rod Hallen 5Z4BH Box 55

APO New York 09675

Republic of Korea

Byong-joo Cho HL5AP PO Box 4, Haeundae Pusan 61 2-600 Republic of Korea

Liberia

Mahnr^DUd Idera-Abdullah EL2CE PO Box 20*4262 1000 Monrovia 20 Liberia. West Africa

Lithuania

Jonas Paskauskas LY2ZZ PO Box 71 Siauliaip2354D0 Litliuania

Mozambique Phil Gray KA7TWQ cfo CARE, C.P. 4657 Maputo Mozambique

New Zealand

Des Chapman 2L2VR 469 Kennedy Road Napier New Zealand

South Africa

Peter Strauss ZS6ET PO Box 35461 NorthciiffZA-2115 Republic of South Africa "Silent Key'

,p»

Spain

Woodson Gannaway NSKYB/EA Aparlado 1 1

35450 Santa Maria de Gufa (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) IslasCanahas, Spain

Sweden

Rune Wande SM0GOP Ffejavagen 10 S-1 55 00 Nykvar n Sweden

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Gennady Kolmakov UA9MA

PO Box 341

Omslc-9g

USSR

not need to be perfect. That's what I am here for. But I am not perfect, either, so that is why Wayne hired wonderful people like Linda, Hope, and Joyce, to keep the rest of us straight. Don't be afraid. WE NEED YOU!

You will never get rich in the publishing business (ask Wayne), especially by becoming a Ham- bassador. The pay is a FREE air- mail subscription to 73 Amateur Radio Today as long as you sub- mit timely information three to four times a yea r. The rewards are see- ing your name in print AND know- ing that the rest of the world is made aware of the newsworthy ham events happening In your country.

As a matter of fact, I just re- ceived a letter from a ham in Bul-

garia who wishes to become a part of 73 Magazine. Keep an eye out for offerings from t\4(len Postadshieff LZ2ti4P. His address appears In this column for those who wish to communicate with him.

This is B holy time for many reli- gions, and it*s the end of the present year and the beginning of a new year. I am sure that I can speak for our 73 Hambassadors when I pass to all the best of wish- es for the holy season and the coming new year. May there be peace and prosperity to alt, and may all hams in all nations make the world a better place to live.

And now, the list of 73 Hambas- sadors who have submitted infor- mation during 1990.—Arnie, N1BAC\

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73 Amateur Radio Today * December, 1990 77

Number 29 on your Feedback card

Bob Wmn W5KNE c/o(mZDX P.Q.BOU 8322m Richsrason TX 75063

The Colvins

Uoyd ar>d Iris Colvin, W6KG aird ^mOL r«spdctiv«fy, are of> The DXpedLtion trail aQaln. The first two operations of this six- month DXpedition. they signed 5HBQL and 707KG- TTiey usually remasn at each local ion iof ihree or four weeks. They'll feiurn home in March Contacts with the Colvins count for the YASME Award. For all of their operations, QSL via YASME, P.O. BOK 2025, Castro Valley CA 94543,

VPflWW and XUI DX— Pirates? There is considerable doubt thai the

Hams Around the World

September operation by VP6WW was legitarnate. The operator gave hts location as South Georgia and said td 05L via G3hVVW, G3HWW is the eal»sign of the York Amateur Radio Sooeiy. and the secretary erf the society knows nothifvg about VP8WW! Ttvanks OX News Sheet ei al.

J A1 NUT notes thai ttie recent operation by XU1DX was r^ot [egitimate. The or^ly operator currently active from Kam- puchea/Cainbodia is Sokun^ who oper- ates XUBDX, She is not prctlcient at CW and seldom operates the mode,

CEiSanFeliM

Weak rumors mention the possibility that one of the members ot the military garrison may be an amateur radio opera-

tor, with expected arrival around January 1,1991.

Leningrad InternatioiiglHamventlon

Plans for next year's convention in Leningrad, to be held the first week in Au- gust 1991. are underway. Further details may be obtained by writing to Amateut Radio Center Inter-Radio, P,Q Bo* 73, Lenin^r^ 1 96070, USSR.

QSL Notes

T3$BC. ZL20W is not the QSL manager fof Henry T3f6C She has not received togs from Henry since April , The new man' agerisKTEHI.

QSL manager WN5K. due to Sickness in the family, is no Conger the OSL manager for YSWD. YSiMAE, VP5U, VP5DG, VPSHG, VPSHL and VP5JD. The last six stations will find stateside managers, but cards for VSIOD should be mailed to the Ca/^ijoo^ address, Thanks WN5K.

HS0B, HS0M, HS&SMandHSMCQSl cards now go to NY2E. Note that NYSE

has a new address: Ray Riker, 433 Palo Alio Drive, Palm Sprmgs FL 33461, WA4BCO is ill and can no longer hairdle these cards. Thanks NY2E.

KC4AAA Antarctica Bo£5 NC6J has in- formed the ARRL thai he can only confirm contacts for this station for the period Au- gust 1 966 through October 1 989. The iww support group operating there now won*! send him the logs Bob suggests the fd^ lowing OSL route: Antarctic Support As- soc., 61 Inverness Drive East, Suite 300. Ertglewood CO aoiia. Thanks NJ1Q of the ARRL

7Z1AB Ssuifi Arabia, There are several QSL routes for the Am eric art Embassy station in Saudi Arabia. For op- erators flick (NeTRE), Dirk (WB3ZIZJ and Dau (DL7ALC) QSL via WB2WOW. Cards for operator Don KS9F go to WA1S

XU8DX. JA1 NUT can only confirm con- tacts made after April 19, 1990. Contacts made with YL Sokum made before that date should be sent to F2YSW2

1^9eCW

4K4Q0

4K4/UA6WCG

4U1ITU

SHKQL

5T5HH

5V7SA

Tpsew

707KG

707XB 7Z1AB

6P9HR

efil/WtCOC

9H1XX

9H3CT

9J2AL

9N1NF0

9Q5PL

A35KB

A15P/WJ4

AY9F

BY4RSA

C3(SCAG

CRfEl

ED1ISI

i05»PE

F3JD/CE7

FPA/E1DXX

FRSCN

FWiOD&FWfET

GMWA/

G4WyG/ST4

QB5eB0B

GXiANT

GS6UW/P

GX6UW

HL3iAP

HSeE

J2dX

J73BM

jT7eSH

JWdKSB

KBeFUE/DU3

KC6CW

KC6DX

KC6EE

KC6GV KH2I/KHB

LX2PA

LZSf^

U5Z

N6BUV/KHB

005YU

OH0BT

0H2AQ/DJB

0N4USA/P

0Y3QN

A piratel Don't QSL via KA6V/7.

via RA 1 GO'S 1 990 CaUbook address

via IBYRK

circa SepL 1 1 . 1990: USA via AA6MC: Europe via G0MFO

via YASME (see 707KG)

H. Hourtofi, Box 1 172. NouakcfKin. Mauntania

RTTY via KBaSS; Other via WB4LFM

viaZSseK

YASME. P.O Box 202S, Castro Valley VA 94546

via U7XB

For op^ators Rich (M6TRE), Oirk (WBaZlZ) arMJ Dau (DL7ALC)

wa WB2W0W. For operator Don (KS9F) OSL via WA1 S.

vtaK4eAI

viaABtU

vJaDL2GBT

via VS6CT

Should be QRT QSL via bureau ONLY,toWD0HHM.

viaWB4NF0

Peter Laschan, Koernerslr 1 3, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria

Bo3< 1, Nuku alofa, Tonga

viaAJ5P

via LU6FHF

Bo^ 538, Nanking, People's Republic of China

Wiliy Petit, Rue Jules Valtes. BT E No, 1

F' 76920 Amfreviile La Mi Voie, France

viaCTlCQK

viaEAlANE

via EA5GE0

via F6AJA

viaVElAL

vi a FR4CN

SamTorop#. Box 3040, Noumea, New Catedortia

viaGSGWA

viaG4aHX

To G(&KUC via RSGB bureau

via64XTA

viaGSZAY

viaG43AH

viaHLBAP

via K9EL

viaF2VX

Marcus Bristof, Box 245, Oomtnica

P O. Box 11 27, Ulan Bator. Mcmgolia

viaWB4ZBI

PSC 5, Box 1 055a. APO San Francisco CA 964^0 USA

viaJA2fslQG

JH2BNL, Yuji Wada, P.O. Box 73, Sekishi 431-31 . Japan

viaLAlEE

via LA2GV

viaJKIKRS

via PA3DKC

viaLZlRU

viaLZIKDP

viaWD6DNE

Box B, Tripoli 604, Lebanon

via DL4DSR

viaQH2BVF

viaONSPL

via 021 ACQ

QSL Routes
P29NEP	Nathan, PC- 60x769, East Highlands Province. PNG
P299C	viaWBlGWB
PAiGAM/ST2	via PAiGIN
FA3FAC/SU	via PA3FAC
PJ6MS4E	YiaWS4E
PY1QN/PV8	viaPYlON
RIAJ	via UZejWA
R1S0	via RA3YF (see this i$sue)
RA3YF	Vlartimtr Scheft^kov. Box 27, 241000 Srynsk. USSR
RLiPiKASZYF	P.O. Box 1 489. Santa Monica CA 90406-14»
ALC) R09W	vtaUOiGWW
flYlBAJWaSG	P.O. Box 1 161. 460051 Orenburg. USSR
S79NBD	viaJGlNBD
S03HRA	viaOJilF
ST0YD	viaf6AJA
ST2YD	via F6AJA
SVeHS	viaDJ8MT
T32HK	viaJL3UIX
TM1BRE	(CW) via FBI MUX; (SSB) via F6GMS
T080NR	via F6ELE
TR8RY	viaFF6KGU
TU2UI	viaWABZWR
U9W/KA6ZYF	see RL0P/KA6^YF
U9W/W6/G3MHV	see flL8P/KA6ZYF
UA6U/VE6JO	via VE6J0
ULTP/G3IWHV	seeRLBP/KAeZYF
UMflQDX	Sox 1 , Kadzhi-Sai 722452, Kirghiz, USSR
UW2F	via UA2FM
UW4HM)RL4L	Sox 6267, Kuibyshev 4443067. USSR
V31BB	via Gordon Silverman. N3ADC, 77 Homestead RoaJ,
	Levittown PA 19056-1349
V47NXX	viaKB2XR
V51BI	viaDF2AL
veaAN	viaJA2NQG
V63AH	viaJA2BNL(seeKC6DX)
V73BL	viaWB4CSK
VPSfVrNSXX	viaNSXX
VPSVAA	viaWS4E
VQ9TB	Tom aenlon, P.O. Box 55. hPU San Franctsco CA 96€i5 USA
WA^NWHHa	ATvin Blevins. 8090 1 5th St. E, Samsota Ft 34243
WB4CSK/KH6	viaWB4CSK
XE2XSQ	viaKSTSQ
XX9XJ	Two routes mentroned; K6JJ and K&JJE; neither call is in the
	^moCaftbook.
Y9iAf^	viaY2lR0
YE®K	P.O. Box 77, JKWB, Jakarta 10270, rndonesia
YJflAI^H	via KF7PG
YN1CC	Jos0 says via Box 2971 . Managua, but W3HNK &ays via
	W3HE^K
YS1HUKE	via N8FU
ZDBS	ViaAKOM
ZDBZ	via W6CF
ZF2NBZF8	via W5ASP
ZF2PM	viaNE4L
ZF2PN	via NE4L
ZM7Af^0	viaZLlAMO
2S6®PTA	viaZSEfB
ZWiJR	via PP5JR
ZYBBl	viaPYBBl

78 73 Amateur Radio Today * D&ceml>ef, 1990

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73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990 79

Number 3Q on your Feedback card

ARTER 'N'BUY

Turn yoyf M ham and computer gear ir>to cash now. Si^re, you can wad for a Immfest to iry and dump ii. but you know you 11 gel a Taf more reansfic price if you have it o«l where 100,000 active ham poieniial buyers can see it than rtie few hundred local hams who come by a flea market rai^te. Check youf attic, garage, cellar and closet shelves and get casli lor your ham and compirtef gear befofe it's too old to sell, You know you're noi goJng to ose it agam^ so why leave it for your widow to throw out? That stuff isn't getting any younger!

The 73 Bea Markei, Saner 'n' Buy, costs ytju peajtuts (almost) — comes to 35^ a iMWd for individual jnoncomrnercidl) ads ami $t .00 a word for commerciai ads. [}on't piQft on lelting a long story. Use abbreviatioos, cram it in . But be tionest Ttiere are ptefUy 04 hams who love to fi% things, so if it doesn't worff, say so

Maice yOiir JiSt, count the words. mcJuding your calt. ^dress and phone numt»ef ■ include a chedc or your credit card ntrmbef and expiration. U you're placing a commeroat ad; include an additional phone numtier, separate frum your ad

This is a monttriy magazine, not a daily newspaper , so figure a coupte monihe b^ore the action starts, then bo prepa/ed. H you get too many cafls, you pri^^d ft low. If you don't get many calls, too high

So get busy Blow Iho dust oft, check everything oyt. make sure ft still works right and mayt)e you can help make a ham newcomer or retired okl timef happy with tt^ rig you're rioi using now. Or you might get busy on your compcfter and put together a gst of small gear/parts to send to those mteresied?

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V SSSS USED Dm^emhef (ONLY) SPE- CIALS: KENWOOD TS-830S S899 90. TS- 520S.DC.CW W99 90. H-5000.VK-«eA.VS-t $869 90. TM^S2tA $4?9 90. TSOOS.WAT SV300 (XI. iCOlyl IO-7B1 $4659 SO. lC-761 S1je»9a. K>730 $539 90. PS-15 $122 90. AT 100 $249 90. Yaes^j FT'727R $279 90. FT-22SRO $589 90. NC-flA $©5 90. NC-3A $39 90. MFJ^g84 $229 90. MFJ 9893 ^29.90: DEKtTBOl^ GLA-iOOO $3^9 90. CtlPPERTON L $200,00 AS IS LOOKtMQ FOR SOMETHIMGl«3T USTED''' CALL OH SEND S.A S E , HAVE OVER 190 USED ITEMS m Slock. MENTION AD PRICES CASH FOB PRESTON HOURS TUESDAY - FRIDAY 9 00 TO 6 00. 9 00-2 00 P M UOH- OAVS CLOSED SATURDAY A SUNDAY

ROSS DISTRIBUTING COMPANY. 78 SOUTH STATE. PflESTON ID 83263. (208) S52-0830. 8NB654

WRITTEN EXAMS SUPEREASY. Merrxsry aidfi from p&yctiio>ogisl/er>gineef cut study- time 50%. Nohrtce. Tech, Gen: $7 each Ad* vanced, Extra: 512 each. Moneybackguaran* lee. Batir, [>epl 73^ 1 T9S Crtrys. Palmbay Fl 32905. SNB^SI

ROSS* $$5$ NEW December (ONLY) SPE^ CIALS: J S.C- f^G-213500FT. $150 00; KEM- WOOD TM^631 A $629,90, TR^S4{>0 $349 90, TM-701A $452.90. TH-41AT S209 90. TM^ 241 A $394 90, TS-940S/WAT $2055,00. TS^ 440SyWAT $1199.90. TH'75A $43490, TH- 31 5A S339.99, TH'31BT 5229.90; tCOM IC'765 12609,90. lC-781 $5099.90, IC-24AT $539,90, lC-735 S919.90, IC-2SA $289,90. IC'28AT $317.50. 10-471 H $939.90; YAESU FT-411E $329.90, G-5400B S445,90, FT- 1000D $3619.90, FT-4rO $394 90, FV- 101 DM $229,90. FT-33R $259.90, VR-901 $499,99, TOKYO HY-POWER HC-20Q $109.90, HL-t02V S239.99, HL*t60V $299,90. HL-e2V $139.90, MFJ 127BT $299,90, ALL LT.O, (LIMITED TIME OFFER} LOOKING FOR SOMETHING NOT LIST^ ED?? CALL OR WRITE. Over 9O04 harrvre- tated items In stcx:k for immecttate shipment. Mention ad Fnces casti, FO.S. PRESTON HOURS TUESDAY-FRIDAY 9lO0 TO 6;00. 9:00-2:00 P.M. MONDAYS CLOSED SAT* UROAY & SUNDAY. ROSS DISTRIBUTING COMPANY, 78 SOUTH STATE PRESTON ID 83263 {208} 852-{%30. BNBT09

HAM RADIO REPAm sA ma»tes. models Ex- penenced, reliable service Robert HaiJ Elec- rronics. Bex 28D3€3, San Francisca CA 94 12^^0363. (406)729-8200. BNB751

WANTED: Ham eqiripnient and oftiei ptoper- ty Tha Radio Club of Junior High Schocri 22 NYC, Inc . ts a nonprDfit organization, grant- e<l 501 (CK3) status by the I RS. mcorpofaied with \\m goal o^ usir^ the theme d^ ham r^tio to furthjar and enhajice ttie ediicatjon ot young people oatiomvide. Your profierty do- nation or firtancial support would be greatly afipiQctaied and acimovdadgsd with a rece^ lor your tax deductible cofrtnbutkm. As 1990 draws to a dose, pfease lodt over whatever unwanted equipment you maY tiave, amj call IIS We wil pick up or arrange shipping, You will fBcerve The lax ded t/ction , but ff»osl impot- lant. tt^ pnvifege of knovrtfig ttiat your gitl

really made a dlft^renc^ in the educaiiart artd upbringing of a youngster. Write us atr RC of JHS 22. PO Bow 1052. Mew York NY 10002- Round the cPOCk HOTLINES: VOJCE (516) 674^072. FAX (51 6j 674-9600. BNB762

*'HAliLO^ ' COMPUTER PROGRAM Full featuraf. iB modules. Auto-Jogs, 7-&arid WAS/DXCC Apple. IBM. CP/M. KAYPBO. TANDY , CR8 S24 95. 73-KA^ AWH. PB 20 ! 5, Peabody MA 0 1 960. BNB775

LAMBDA AMATEUR RADJO CLUB Interna- tional amaleyr radifOf^futi for gay and l^bian hams On-air skeds. monthly newsletter; and annual ga[lterin$ at Daylon t215) 978- LARC, PO Box 24810, PhllddaJphia PA 19130. BNB812

HAM RADIO REP Am CENTER, quality work- ma/^ip Solid state ^ tut^e. aiJ makes arx) mMffits. Al&i? repair HF amptifier^ A-Z Eiec- UDOic Repa[r, 363a East. Indian School Rd^. Fhfwmx AZ SSO^B. (602^ 956-30(24 BNS874

INEXPENSIVE HAM RADIO EQUlPUENT. Send postage stamp for Ii5t Jim Bracfy— WA4DS0. 3037 Audrey Or . Gaslonia NC

280S4 BNesso

WANTED: BUY h SELL All types of Electron Tubes Call lofl tree i (BOOJ 421-9397 or 1 (612) 429-9397 CAN Electronics. HarohJ Brar?al«dl4 6104 Eyg Lake Road. Hugo MN 55038. BNB900

ELECTRON TUBES: All types 4 sizes Trans- milling, receiving, mic^rowave Large m- vontory * ^^^w day pipping Ask about our 3^5002 special Daily Electronics. PO 6or 5029. Compton CA 90324 ^8003 340- 6867, eNS9t3

COMMODORE 64 HAM PROaRAMS— & dJSk sides over 200 Ham programs £16 95 25^ stamp gels unusual software catalog of UliUtlas, Gamas. Adult and Britfshi Disks. Home-Spun Softuvare^ Bo* t064'BB, Estero FL 33929. BNB917

BATTERY PACK REBUILDING: SEND YOUR PACK / 4eHR SERVICE ICOM; BP^ BP3fBP22 $19,95, BPS S2S 95, QP7/BP& $32.95. BP70 $a.&S. KENWOODi PB21 S1SJ5. P621H $21,96, P825/2e $34,95. VAESUF»^B9S19.95,FNB10S23.95,FNB11 $27 95, FNB4/4A $36. 95. 'U-OO-IT IN- SERTS'" ICOM; BP2 $17.50. 6P3 $1695, BPS S22 95. BP7m $27.50, BP22 $17.95, BP70 $25 95 KENWOOD: PB21 $12,95. P021H$ie.95.PB24A25/26Si9 95 TEMPO; SI/2/4/15 $22.95, YAESU FNB4/4A $32 95. FNB9 $16 95. FNBlO |1S 95, A20EN: $19.95. 'NEW PACKS W/CASE:'* iCOM aPSB (9 4V/800 BASE CHG ONLY) Sa4.95. YAESU: FNB2 $19 95. FNB 12 $44.50. SAN- TEC: 142/1200 $22,95 FREE CATALOG, $3.00 Stupping/order, PA+6«V%. V1SA~M/C - $2. CUNAflD. R,0. 6 Box t04^ Badford PA 15522. (914} fi23-7000. BNB^l

WANTED: Manuals and/or schematics for Hammanund HO- 100 & HO-145X, copy OK. Wayne Nortti. 542 Watert^oni^ Melbourne FL 32934

SATELUTE MONTHLY AUDIO CODES \ (900 J HOT SHOT intended lor lasting only. S3,50 per call eMB93S

COD€ HTTY Send Receive Dtsk V1C'20. C- 64^ Mnd $5 Tape $6 Codeware, BoJi 3091, Nashua NH 03061. 3110940

KOME^BREW^PIIOJECTS UST SASE WB2eUF. Box TOe. Easi Hampton NY 1 1937

BNB943

WANTED IBM^PC/CLOHE AND PACKET equiprn#nt tor Ru55«an amateur emefg^ency

radio Service — tax deductible. Dave Larsen KK4WW, PO Box 341 , Floyd VA 24091 (703) 763^331 1/382-4458. BHB94S

WANTED: Manuajs (including Sctifimatics) tor LAFAYETTE SIGNAL GENERATOR TE- 20 Meyef Minchen AG5G. 4635 SW FWY. H04jston TX 77027. (713}622'^161. BNB952

HIGH PERFORMANCE 2M BEAM. Oratnati* catly improve your Cusht^ratt llHalernant beam's DiRECTIVITY & GAJN. EASY conver* Stan pians needing tvq extra parts Or hMorrw- bfew &^lerfient beam from irKluded dimen- sions. $10, check or money order WB90ZB. De0. 73« P.O. Box 357, t^Oimt Prospect IL

eoose. BNB^s

WANTED; Pro^ 1380 mcfocompvlefs and pufolicatior^ tor musei^jni. KK4WW, Dave Im^^n.^ Blacksbuig Group. PO So* 1 . B4acha- t34Jfi9 VA 24063 (703) 753-331 1 ,

WANTOl: Yourt>dp donating iSM-PC ckxie, lechnicai and calllx>oks for LARN emertiMK^ radio sendee in USSR I «ili personally deipver equipment io UB5WE David Larsen KK4WW- (703) 7B3-3311 . &NB967

25-420 MHz MILITARY AVIATIOH FRE- QUENCY OIHECTORteS tor NORTH AMEH- IGA — over 20.000 newly researched iisiirt^s. HAP3. BOK 754, Fteminglqn NJ 0Se22*07S4 {201)806-7134. BNB95S

BACK-PACKET Jump tjack-and-foriti be- tween packet radio and any MS-DOS apfiica- tion with the press ot a key. Source code induded, ^19.95 to WA4APU 6521 Creeh- stone Place. Charlotte NO 2821 3. BNB959

FREE Ham Gospel Tracts. SASE. N3FTT, 51S3 Gramercy, Clifton Hi^ PAl90ia

BNB960

FIVE WATTSl Nine partsl 30/40 melerlrana- mitler! Radio Stiack parlsf Plans— S2 plus stamp! Bill Lauterbach, 1709 North W@st, # 1 03, Jackson M 1 49202. B IM B 962

THEY OFFERED PEANUTS for your trade- in? Contact Radio R^cycJers for a quote on 'For Sale" list. 3221 W, Lincoln Ave.. MHwau- Kea Wl 53215. (414) 383-9001. BNB963

AMIGA, MACINTOSH, ATARI XL/XE/ST Amateur RadJo pubNc domain software, $4,0O/dtsk. SASE tof catalog Specify com* puiarj WA4EFH, Bok 1646. Orange Park FL 32067-1646. 8N89€5

PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS lor projects in 73, HAm Radio. QSL Aflfli Handbmk. List SASE FAR Circuits. 18M&40 Fietd Ct . Dun- dee IL 60118. BNBdee

AUTHORIZED AMIGA & COMMODORE Ser- vice Center. Send SASE for pnce list Caltan- der Eledronics. PO Box 363. Bakerstown PA 15007. BNB87t

TRADE FOR tOM TRANSCEIVER Panason- ic RF-B6S. Covers: LW, MW, SW, FM (153 kHz-2d,9d§ IcHz). BFO tuning ror SSB 36 memo, doctc (ocaiAjTC Digital read-out, dl- reci access keypad GecKge Moa^PO Box 8^. Jacksonvitie Fl. 3^20 1 (904) 387-37 f 5 after 1 500 hr. BNB972

NEEDED: Schematkr for ^maiS 2 meter amp. N^MJ. (412> 531-7443 anytime. 6^6973

MscSAMUEL HORSE CODE TUTORtAL SOFTWARE tor the Macmtos/i Sp«<eds io 90 ViTpfn StandanJ or Fransworlh mode. Ran- dom ctmractef and word genefatkm. Bandofit QSO simulation Also, send code Irom yottr ovtm XQia files. Send $^ 00 plus S2.00 snip- ping and haridting to: Avant Sysimns, F^ Box 5437. Pitts&urgii PA 1 5205 BNB97^

m 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

H.

Number 31 on your Feedback eard

AMSA TS

Andy MacMister WASZfB 14714 Knightsw&y Drive Houston TX 77083

Packet via Satellites

Packet via amateur sateifites has been around since the early days of pacl<6t radio acttvity. Even before the first ARRL Amateur Radio Computer Networking Convention in 1981 at the National Bureau of Standards in Gaithersburg, Maryland, AMSAT ear- marked Special Service Channels (SSGs) for packet communications on future high-orbit ^at@llite$. Dr. Hank Magnuskt KA6M, designer of one of the first packe! diglp eaters, was in charge of setting standards for S3C use. This came at a time when AMSAT was stilj recovering from the loss of Phase 3 A^ which was to have been the first high-orbit, long-life hamsat. Phase 3 A met a watery end when its Ariane launcher failed to achieve orbit tn early 1980.

Packet operation thfough analog satellite transponders is comparable to direct user-to-user packet procedure. Early tests were made al 1200 baud, but acllvity at 300 baud using HF modems was more reliable due to the weak-signal nature of satetlite commu- nications at the time. The use of the analog transponder space for packet experiments was never popular, though. The store-and-forward poten* tiaf of the AX. 25 protocol was not ad- dressed via the transponder medium. A digipeater in space, or some other digital mailbox system for handling packets, was needed.

Determining the Standards

At the 1983 ARRL Amateur Radio Computer Networking Convention in San Francisco, California, Phil Kam KA9Q presented the paper, "Modula- tion and Access Techniques for P AC- SAT," and Don Connors KD2S pre- sented 'The PACSAT Project/' Don^s paper described the design goal of "total global access by all hams to a St ore- an d-f or ward packet message handler'* via satellite systems. He ex- planned the need for packet satellites and described the on-board systems and technical parameters for a If satel- lite subsystems.

PhiKs paper on modulation tech- niques ^ when viewed with Don's, laid down the blueprint of today's Mi- crosats from frequency choices to modulation methods, it was obvious that a form of phase-shift keying (PSK) would work better than standard audio- frequency-shift keying (AFSK) on an FM carrier for packet-satellite down- links, and that ^s what we have today.

AFSK-FM has advantages that in- clude low cost, simplicity, and easy Doppler tracking, but it has some seri- ous disadvantages. These include in- efficient bandwidth use and poor noise performance.

Amateur Radio Via Satellite

The UoSAT-OSCAR-11 FM down- link requires 1 5 kHz to support a 1200 baud signal, while a PSK signal with the same bandwidth coutd easily carry 9600 baud. AFSK-FM exhibits a sharp noise threshold at a relatively high car- rier-to- noise ratio. Problems with im- pulse noise are also evident. Anyone who has been active with VHP packet has noticed that even strong signals are difficult to copy when powerline and auto ignition noise get into the re- ceived signal.

Other concerns with satellite down- links include fading and polarization fosses due to spacecraft rotation and orientation with respect to the ground observer.

The DCE Experiment

In 1984 when U-0-t1 went to orbits it carried the Digital Communications Experiment (DCE) which provided a proof-of-concept testbed for PACSAT work. The experiment continues to act as a mailbox in orbit to test digital com- munication software and provide data on hardware survivability, current con- sumption, arid operational behavior in space. Only a small number of hams around the world are active as gateway stations through the DCE, but others can route their messages to these gateways for uptinking to UO-1 1 , Mes- sages can sometimes be seen be- tween telemetry frames on the 145.825 MHz FM downlink at 1200 baud.

When Fuji-OSCAR-12 was launched in August 1986, hams had their first opportunity to find out what PACSATs were all about. Whenever the mode "J" (2 meters up and 70cm down) digit- al transponder was active, stations could access the mailt>ox and leave messages for hams on the other side of the world. Signals were good, but bat- tery problems made continuous activi- ty impossible. After only a day or two the system needed recharging, with corresponding down periods and loss of all the messages in memory. EvQn with these problems, the open mailbox was an exerting packet experience.

Fujl-OSCAR-20, faunched in Febru- ary of this year, is e»<periencing similar difficulties, but this time they are relat* ed to temperature problems. The satel- lite is too hot. High current consumers (ike the digital system must be shut off for long periods to keep the internaf temperature at a reasonable level to avoid serious battery damage. Sched- ule annourvcements from the JARL {Japanese ARRL counterpart) have provided some relief to those stations listening for the satellite,

Today's Packet Satellites

In January 1990, an Ariane-4 rocket placed four AMSAT-built Mi crosats in- to a nearly perfect sun-synchronous or- bit at 800 km. The satelliteSf nine inch- es on a side, all carry similar pay loads of packet and scientific experiments.

All of this group of Microsats have store-and-f onward capability, with two of the four carrying packet com muni ca* tions as their primary payfoads. The other two are for more educational pur- poses and include a charge-coupled- devlce (CCD) camera for Earth imag- ing and adigitai speech synthesizer.

In addition to the packet communica- tions systems, the Microsats incorpo- rate highly efficient so Ear panels, inno- vative power supply designs. VHF and UHF transmitters with DC to RF effi- ciencies as high as 76 percent, and computers using 1.3 micron surface- mount technology (SMT) devices with a megabytes of memory that use only about half a watt. All of this (batteries included) goes into a nine-inch cube weighing less than 22 pounds.

The packet systems are primary to AMSAT-OSCAR'16 and LUSAT OSCAR-19. They each have five uplink receivers and two downlink trans-

order a copy from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington. DC 20402-9325, for $2.25, shipping included. Ask for GPO stock number 052-003-01 1 74-3,

Easy Packets from Spac#

D-0-17 transmits standard packet using AFSK-FM on 145.825 MHz. It is the perfect place to get started with satellite packet activity. Typical power levels from the satellite provide a 10 dB improvement over U-O-ll signals and can be heard on almost any antenna. Anyone who rs currently active on VHF packet can hear the signals and see the resulting raw telemetry and mes- sages on their CRT or other display device.

For those who can capture the data to disk, programs are available to de^ code the data and display information on the satellite's activities and health. One program found on many bulletin

Photo, WEBERSAVs view of the sun. Taken on 8/WBO at 0508 UTC. Photo courtesy of Weber State Coltege.

mitters. WhNe all receivers are on si- multaneously, only one transmitter per satellite is usuafly active for packet downlinking. A complete frequency chart of uplinks and downlinks can be found in the May 1990 "Hamsats."

While the objectives of DOVE- OSCAR-17 and Weber-OSCAR-tB dif- fer from the store-and-forward objec- tives of the other two satellites, they offer exciting possibilities to those with educational interests.

Microsats are small and light be- cause it costs 1 6 times more per pound for AMSAT to get their pay loads into orbit now than it did five years ago. A $20,000 satellite launch in 1985 would cost $320,000 today. Interest in the Mi- crosal or Itghtsat concept has height- ened in recent years. As the world be- comes aware of the potential of the small or "micro'* satellite, AMSAT finds itself competing for launch space once filled with ballast and nearly free for the asking.

Just after the launch of the Mi- crosats, a background paper for Congress became available. Entitled "Affordable Spacecraft: Design and Launch Alternatives/' it covered sev- eral different ideas on satellite con- struction from 'Mlghtsats" to "fatsats" and from simple devices to highly com- plex and compact designs. You can

boards is NK6KTLM. It is usually listed as NK6KTLM.ARC (for archived). After "un-arc'ing"' the file, the "readme" document explains how to activate the easy-to-use program, Fifty-seven channels of data can be decoded and examined with this program.

Picture Packets from Space

W-0-18 takes snapshots of the Earth near the equatorial regions and sends them to Earth in packet form on 70cm,

The picture information is stored on the satellite in digital form and sent on one of the 70cm PSK transmitters. It's not sent pixel-by-plxel; two good passes are needed to coltect a com- plete image. On one pass, odd-num- bered lines are sent, and on the next pass, the even-n umbered iines. When data from two subsequent passes are received and merged, a complete image can be put together. Any gaps that occur can be filled with values from adjoining pixels to make a clean picture.

Each day the satellite typically sends data for one picture, allowing Earth stations four to six opportunities to col- ^ect enough data to build a complete picture.

To capture and display the images, you need a PSK modem in conjunction with a standard packe! terminal node

73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990 81

Kr'

#^i_ii* ^^H^t^v*^ 9)<

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Images and Charts

on your PC

with Quorum^s

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The easy to leitrn and use Menu driven program 4illows you to ciipture, store, retrieve, view and print images with a. few simple keystrokes. Im- ages can be colorized from a palette of u p to 262.000 colors wben using a VGA di^phy.

System coiiifigurations capij b te of N AFAX recept io n start at S39?.0n while fully cupablc systems can be con- figured for S 1500 to S2OO0.O(K providing professional quality ^t low prices.

For complete information £ind a Demo Difik, call or

write;

Quorum Communications, fnc, 102G S. Main St. Suite A, Grapevine, TX 76051 (SI7) 488-4861. Or, download a demo from our Bulletin Board by Ciilling (817) 421- D228 using 240O baud, 8 data bits and No parity.

^ttI

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Amateur Software

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AIR-1 : A complete interface system for send and receive on CW, BTfY {Baudot & ASCI!} and AMTOR, for us© with Commodore VIC 20, Operating program in ROM.

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SWL; A receive onty cartridge lor CW, RTJy (Baudot Si ASGIi) for use with Commodore 64^ 128. Operating program in flOM .

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AIRDISK: An AIR-1 type op- erating program for use with your intedace hardware. 8oth VlC-20 and 064/128 programs on one disk. $39.95

AIR-ROM; Cartridge version of AIROISK tor 064/128 Only.

MORSE COACH

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OF MARYLANQ

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controlter (TNC). Several modems have been described in recent "Harrr- sat*' columns. They include the G3RUH unil available in kit form from Radiokit, the TAPR kit from the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Corporation^ the PacComm Microsat PSK modem from PacComm, the DSP- 12 Multi- mode controller from L.L, Grace, and |h0 Microsat Demodulator as de- scribed by W60IJ in the September 1990 issue of QEX. A receive system capable of operation at 437 MHz SSS with digital frequency control from the PSK modem is needed. Finally, to complete ilie system, you need an an- tenna (omni is fine), a PC compatible computer with EGA or VGA graphics, and appropriate software.

The most commonly used data-col- lection software is TLMDC version 3 by N4HY. Like NK6KTLM for DOVE de- coding, you can find it on many BBSs.

First the TNC is put in the KISS mode by sending it the command KISS ON followed by RESTART. Then TLMDC is run according to its ''readme" docu- ment. Norma! deta and messages are displayed on the screen while a raw- data file is collected and stored by the program during the course of a pass. Upon exiting the program, a second program is needed to read the raw- dara file and display the results.

WEBERWARE 1.0 from Weber State University is avai!able from AM SAT and is currently the best sys- tem for picture display and manipula-

tion. This collection of programs allows the user to change parameters of the viewed image, merge in other passes of the same picture, fill mixed piKels* print the results in black-and-white, or colorize the scene according to color- burst information sent with the picture file from the satellite. To get the TNC back to normal operation, it may be necessary to give it a hardware reset by turning it off and disconnecting the back-up battery.

W*0*1 8 is also capable of receiving and storing an image from Earth. It has a 1265 MHz receiver for standard ama- teur television (ATV) reception. On commands from the control station in Ogden, Utah, it can take a snapshot of a picture sent from an Earth station and retransmit it via the packet system. Early experiments with this scheme have demonstrated that very high-pow- er or high-gain antennas on the ground are needed for picture uploads.

SAREX 2 Update

NASA officials were forced to scrub the launch of STS-35 on September 11. 1990 due to another hydrogen leak in the rear engine compartment. The next opportunity for Columbia and the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment is in early December. AMSAT will once again publicize the frequency plans and schedule information for the mis^ sion as the launch approaches. Check the May 1990 issue of 73 for back- ground information.

Upda tes

Number 1 8 on your feedback card

CIRCLE 169 OK READER SEfiVICE CARD

82 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

DXDA Corrections

See the OctOliei' '90 issue, pag€ BP. S^ipan and Rtsia Is^ami should tolh b« KHI, not KH2. These are

tt)« onl^ t^o cofrections. h^anBuia IslarMl and TimirBn, also KHiJ, are cofrect as iisied. Guam iscarrecUy fisted as KH?. TP4X Paui Swanzeniinib&f K4EQY sn KH§^ fartdiorcaitfDgus.

RO BO-COPY

See the alwv* artfcle in the Od. '90 ]s&u% f age

28. Mil<e Hansen WB9DYI: "Thanks to input from readers,. I've verified Biat there are Ewo errors in the ppn selectiofi^soltware versioni (or the iignaJ inpjl to R08C>COPY. These errcrts aJfect SOME bui noE alt pin seleclionteoftware combinaiions. If you are noE geitirkg any respofise from ROSO-CGPY once the main screen appears, one ol Ifie following fixes should cjre the prabiem.

"For sottware downloided Iromthe 73BBS prior to October 16: The version qt the software labeled ROBO-EXE uses the 'DCD' (dala carrier detect) sig^a^ tor input, WTthe Wiring indic:^tor} a$ sfa/etf in the aftsde.

"FIX 1] Move the signal irpui Irom llw 'fll' pin to 'DCD.' The correct ssgnal input pin for the ROBO.EXE version is pin 1 on a DBS connector and pin 8 on a 0625.

"F(X 2. Download the updated soJrwara ^rs^on R0BQ2.EXE from the 73 BBS. Ctteck to make sure that M signal pin is it^ed 'fli/ The "Rr pin is number 9 on a DB9 and pift 32 on a DB25 . Note fhaf W for ihe DBS5 type conmctor is statsd if}corf$^fy in the ariscfe. The D&9 pin numhef is listed cqirectiy. There are no other dilfeiences between ROBO.EXE and R0B02.EXE ^KC&pi the pqn seiection char^gee.

"For software received directly (rom WB9DYI; The only software version sent I h rough the mail is ROBOZ.EXE. even jhough i1 is labefed ROBO.EXE, You may want to rename your copy to match the new name. Check lo maike sure thai tht signal pin is indeed 'RL"

"I'm sorry fof thii mix-up. I changed co^nputers dur- itig Ihe f\n^\ stages ol Ihe ROBO-GOPY check ojt and must have archived the wrong vefsion oi the soU-

New Kenwood Warranty

Kenwood anrtaunces a new Wisnranty progrftm

for all nevv amaieur radio products purchased in the United States. Effective October 1, 1990. all new Kenwood transceivers, receivers, accessories, and Dptions carry a lull qne^year warranty Irom the elate of purchase.

New waira/ity cards a/e beir>g issLied loi existing dealer stock, but (hey may not be avaNable iniliaHy. A sales receipt dated or^ or after October 1 , 1990, is She only dwumentatton necessary tor warranty claims. Additional information is availatile by mail from Ken- wood: USA Corpofation, Amateur Radio Customer Ser* vice, P.O. Boi 2274S, Long Beach CA 9O801; by phone al|S IS) 761-7140; or via the Kenwood BBS at (?13J 761-82^4 (2400 baud max, & bits, no parfty, 1 stop (>i(.}. Add this new wananty into to the Kenwood servioe article by WB6N0A In the April 'SD issue. TNX, Kenwood, forMbutlstin..

Goof -Pro of Goof

See "Goot^Pfooi Regenerative Receiver'^ \n the Nov. '90 issue, page 3^, Figure 4. The parrs piace^ rmeni should indicale Headphor>e3 (i^ using the head- phones-only option— in which case you don't need to buM ^tie LM33^ audio anip section) where il shows Audio output. The S ohm speaker is attached where rt shows SPKdeWBflEU(

KANDs, not ANDs

Se« ''TTL Transceiver for 40 Meters" In the Ngv. '90 issue, page 30. Look at the "IC Layout" in the

upper Ie4t comer o1 Figure 1 , The little circles were left off the top ot the syrnixal describing the type of gate, rendering them AJ^Dgate^ when they should be f^AND gates. See the proper symbol in the ligure. TNX

KBWM for caiching this.

Figure. Thefittfedfcieoniop signifi^ that tft& gate is s NAf^Dgate.

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73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990 83

Number 32 on your Feedback ca rd

R, Number 12 9n your Feed!

ANDOM OUTPUT

David Cassidy NIGPH

agic

My generaiiorj (thirtysomethfnig) is ttie last generation itiat will be amazed by radio. The fad ttiat t can sit in my bedroom and talk to some cither per- son sitting in their bedroom on the other side of the globe slill f ill^ me with wonder. Thai, in a nutshell, is why I became a radio amateur. To this day, I still have a childlike feeling of awe every time I turn on a tmnsceiver. Oh, I know why \he whole thing works and I even have a pretty good grasp on how the whole thing works. I don't care about Marconi, the ARRL study guides or the FCC exam. I know that radio is magic!

Kids loday grow up with magic. It has become commonplace. They have dozens of channels of cable TV piped r?gh| info ttieir homes with no intederence They learn at>out com- puters before they learn to read. They don't realtze thai a computer is magic. They have never known a time when ordinary men and women didn't climb to the top of tall rockets and travel into space. It wasn't so long ago thai a space launch was an international event. Now, the major networks don't even provide live coverage for space shuttle launches, Space travel ts mag- ic, and they don 'I even know \l. And what about communication satellites? In a world where 1 can si! in my car (my car^) and talk to anyone, anywhere In the world on a telephone, what is ihe big deal abo^t a bunch of old men sit- ting in their ham shacks? Radio is low tech. Even packet is a dinosaur when you compare H to wfiat your average iwelve-year-old can do with a Com- modore 64 and a modem.

I feel sorry for today's kids because they don't have that magic. Even though I grew up in the age of televi- sion, it is personal communications by radio that has always fascinated me (what is television, after all. but radio witf^ pictures?) 1 still remember vividly, as Tm sure most of yoo do. the first time 1 9at aJone t^&hind the key of a code rig and sent my own callsign, Somewhere in Texas another person sat by his code key and returned my CO. There \l wasi My own catlsign. coming over the speaker — coming out of thin air. Jt was magic,

I think kids today have lost that sense of magic Sure, they car) re- create the experience that rrrost of us had— sitting behind a radio that gEows in the dark, the smell of warm dust on the tubeSt tistening for that faint CO. They can buy the old rigs and have a ball with them, but I don't think they have the same sense of amaze* ment many of us experienced , Modern transceivers are great. They have all kinds ot bells and whislles that we only dreamed of len years ago But still, don't you sometimes wish you had a radio the size of a Volkswagen sitting on your desk— all dials and knobs and meters — just sitting there, waiting for you to '"Ihrow the big switch"?

I kr^ow 1 sound Jike an old-timer grumbling about the "good ol' days.*' but all of this is leading up to somrethmg I'd like you all to consider.

The problem of getting young peopEe interested in amateur radio has been

84 73 Amateur Radio Today • December, 1990

talked to deaih. The reasons why kids never get involved in this great hot»by are numerous and have been stated and restated to the point of redundan- cy. To be sure, there are a few bright spots. People like Carole Perry WB2MGP are actually doing some- thing about it. (Dd you realize that she teaches amateur radio to 400 students every semester? Four hundred^ Not all of those kids get or keep a license, but can you imagine what would happen if only one school in evsrf state could follow her example?) The fact remains thai unless we figure out a way to mar- ket and self amateur radio to kids, many of us wilE live to see the end o1 this hobby. Unless we have the numbers that demand attention, and the youth- ful enthusiasm to fight for the dispro- portionate amounl of spectrum we oc- cupy, It won't be long before amateur radio is reduced to repeater wars on 2 meters and two old men calling CO OX on 20 meters (both on the same fre- quency, no doubt).

It all boils down to this: We have got to find a way io put the magic back into amateur radio. We have got to figure out a way to show yoyng people that they can have a blast with this hobby. Do you think your aver- age tweive-year^id wants to spend his Saturday afternoons sitting behind a desk saying, '^You^e 5-9. I'll QSL through the bureau/' or "You're num- ber ISS'—good luck In the contest," or "Rig is . . antenna is , QTH is . , 73 and CUL** That*s not m^cl Thafs boringi

There are so many things about amateur radio that would fascinate a kid. Carole Perry has dozens of kids running around the hatis of her school with little code practice osciilators that look like Star Trek communicators. These kids know a secret language— l^orse code— and they think it's great. Tbey know that radio is magic be- cause they can rroid the magic m their hands.

We published a letter a few months ago from a gentleman who was help* ing his grandchildren put together crystal radio sets. You give an eight- year-old a pile of parts, show her what to do, then watch her face as voices start coming out of something she has tHJiH tierself . You won't have to expiair* to that eight-year-old about the magic of ham radio. She'll know it's magic. It's right there in front of her, and she did it herself.

Joe Fairdough WB2JKJ is the driv- ing force behind the Junior High School 22 radio Club in New York, He has taken a bunch of street kids from tfve toughest pan of a very lough city and changed their Irves, He is literally changing lives with nothing but ama- teur radio. You don't have to explarn to his kids that radio is magic. They are living proofl

Do you remember what it was like, the first time you heard your very own caJIsign coming through the speaker? Dkj any of you feel you had the power of the universe right there at yoar fin- gers? Do you, oh patient reader, re- member the magic?

Can we get the magic back... please?

Numtwr S3 on your Feedback c«rd

M^^ Numcwr 33 on you

Fropagation

Jim Gtby WiXU

2 we: Chateau CIrcte

PaysonAZB5541

A Few Good Days

Unfortiinately, December is MOT predicted to be a particularly good month for DX on the high frequency bands. The "Good" days, indicated by '^G" on the calendar, are expect* ed to center around the 6th and the leth: the "Poor" days. "P" on the catendar, center around the 10th and the 25th. All the oth- er days of December trend from "Fair" (F) to "Poor^^P) orfronr>"Poor"to'Talf;*

Coupled with an unsettled- to-active nriagntettc field on the ■ ' Poor" ' days . you can ex- |-^^ pect earty darkness in the Northern Hemisphere, with bands above 20 meters clos- mg shortly before or after dark. The bands beiaw 20 meters will Itkety be quite us- able, even on the "Poor" days. You can expect DX across the equator, especial- ly across the north pole Into the USSRp during evening hours local time.

Winter solstice propaga^ tion on the higher HP bands of 20-1 0 meters is likely to be daytime only, with some short skip possibilities occur'- ring on many days. . but don't expect too much for 10 and 12 meters. Any DX you ,c*iwLa5NE \m

Jim Gray WIXU

half. Listen just before and after dark, and just before and after dawn . I hope my gloomy forecast is wrong, and Tm looking forward to giving yoy a better one nead month. Remember to monitor WWV at 18 minutes after any hour and look for LOW "A" index and HIGH solar flux reports for your best conditions* Trends are always helpful if you keep a I09 every day. The best of Season's Greetings to a*i of you

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CIRCLE 71 ON READER SERVICE CARD

CIRCiE 2S2 ON READER SERVrCE CARD

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FLC78 7/8" CAbtewave cotr. copper bfkjkttt 4.25/fi

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RL?5aAM Amph0noi PL259

PUi^rs Pass te/ion Ir^/Aifvar ptat^,... PL2S8AM Amphenoi femsie-temste (barrsi)

iX^l75/VGl7€ feducm^ fo4 RQ5e/59 {^pecif^

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UCi255 $0239 to BNC pkjg adapter, An^^hmwi.^ S023a4M LHF cfaisis rt^ f^Ctpt^cieAmpher^.,^ UQ&3C BNC Ptug AG SB, T42

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CHICLE 68 ON RE:ADER SERVICE CARD

73 Amateur Radio Today * December, 1990 85

Uncle M^ayne's Bookshelf

I

m&5i * 199t Pnssportlo World Band Radb ify inttmmotitfi HnHidcaHing

You can have the wortd it yom iui^atipfi. You'dl ^ the bda( Hi- tion luid linw; grid*, ihe 1991 Buypr'!! Guide and mott 384

Al^.^l^M • W«attier Sateirite Harrdbook t4th Ed.)

KcM oH the i*n:^&t Ekpandcd ^nd revised to reflect lodiy'i vi^eatlvr- bH Htdl 1^ techttkOk^ . 120. CM

Aftl-W ♦ CDinpinion S<jtt- wan for W«itHer S si«I^Ke Kindboofc

5 S4 - h4S- DOS noppy S lO.M

VIS Study C«rtl«

Advance the c<b> vtv^ wiih VIS Study Onh. CoaipKt. Up-tt^-ilite Raih Cuds wiih Key-wortii, UiviefitaKl, Ou« on bvck, fmnrnh^ wTortcd Dtu. SclktHHlici fli your fiaiertips. Uicd SLCCESSFirLLY by ^ges 6

NOVICE visai $11. fS

TECW VlSOa 10.95

GENKJIAL VIS 03 9M

ADVANCED VfSW «.«

EXTRA VtSOS 14,45

Lam* Coda Pragrams — (Availaijla on 5% * cllak,^

Incj^mHjvc conplcte ^umJ) gv ' ^ '- "iiifiaui for bulli the €61^128 Cuffmnoduret and the JBI^l i^utuf — . -, i^rafrmfm iidiKie ufdaljed FCC imiltifrie cfadke ara^vn^ fiTtmuiaji. whemiik iymboU. dia- and unwLBJsd | VE) upnfHc tf ^t

[DMF^fftf Cmimoflor^ ^an #

Movke mi40L

Tecfi ie«4(l2

Gesentl WM03

Advsfioe tEMCM

€xin(NcwPkK4) IBM05

COMOI

COW02 COM03 COMIM

CO%f05

Prka:

$14.^ SIC95 $14.95 flf.95

IBM97 • Amateur Rad^o Pact 97 Ftuiaa ( includes updated, revi^ied Comiiu!bs,icin $ Rules. Vf<L-«nhiCf JU* t9S9J 5 "A* 4isis IBM compaiible

IQMO 1 2 • Map Library fry Xt^i& AmaJttir Callho&k Inc.

EiKltMks: I Prefix M^jpufihc World 4 colwf W 4 2»'

I Map p-f Ntmh America 4'Cic*(of 30" x 15" I GfcMt Clrtk CK»rl iilthc World 4-color JO* x 35* I Wurld Atkfr 4-i;ciliv 2fl pfi.|;t.-s $ ] 2 »00

ARRL BOOKS

AR22UU - Ant«nn«

Imp&tfance Matching

irv Wiifred N, Ctttyftt Advanced amncL^urs, unienrj dcM^ai finginccrs, (4;cliriJi:iaiih. Mdsl cfifn^ prchc.'inijivL* buijk. WriLlL'n isii usin^ Smtlh Charts in Nolvinj;! iiTipcdunce niaichmgprcihlems- $I5.1KJ

AR2472 • Tune In Ihe ^oiid

with Ham Radio Kit (Bth ed) BrpUJid New Edition. Haitier td rcAd, rcvlMrd lex I tovcrii ihc cjitettiian pool Si on IVovJE^e euni:^ |iv<Mi on November I , I ?*89 u^d Inter. Ctjdc- it^achinf and ciidc-priciicc cii&- M;[itbii included m ij'ie kit $1 ^i^oo

AIU46« • Tun« In the World Booli only %HM

At%21«^7 » Dalaaook VBUiAblc aid in the R P dca p n c ng:i ■ nctr,. techhician, mdm anauiilcur. antttfupeririifntcr, CornnKinly uccd tables, irhirui. and tboK Imrd-tf)- reitimibcr fomiulas . $11.00

ARAS4I * Interfereno*

Handbooll Wntlen from an RFJ »lci]ili% per- jpCiCliwe. His expcn^u:^ m iol*'ifi| \mc rf ctr nee prabknu. 1 1 l.M

ARilPl » WlFB'aH«lflfC»r

HawKamt

Guides liie nev^ciMnirner ihroui^h ihc male oC nciii' opcr^tmp ind leciuuc*! pnjcffikrci Pyi k^gelht' s sttfkm jnd f0 an the AIT Ili.lO

AM4L4] « WlFB'sDea^

07D9I * oxer's Directory, 1d90-§1 Ednion

ComjKted hf Frt4 Oiirrrri&n Miv^i complete list oi radio listen^ crs ever! Feanires over IIWO li>.lcji- eR from ovei 7^5 caumries Alio included is full iufcmiuiikm ofi over 100 mdb clubb woridwkle f4.95

aiF04-t * 44 Pow^rSuppliei

for Your Electronic Proved

b\ Robert J. Tnu3ittr amd

Jammkam L. M^o

Writtef) at the ba^ic levd, perfect

fw iim begizmcr. Tbc rcad^ is

given caaa^ ckOftNiw theory to

ufldcntBiid the cooceptt expkined

dtrooElKM the ^wk $15.9$

10W020 • HSRJ Origlnat 2nd

Op ^1 7iJii RMffffrty SiMJ

A iie« editifon in m eafy-to-vsc ^^^vhed" lornui. Sioifi^ tihd ihc pic&c md ifisaacly ^ve avadibk B^xni bcadn:^, Cdotioesi ideaifi- C)iaicn$, Znor ideiiiicaniDii, I^Mat

Iff- 15

t6PB6* Packet User's Notebook

If^ SBf* Abfrn K4ABT Qv^r ^ diagr^irtk ihuw Uicd aiid true CQitnectioni for popular T^Ca, im^ri^ver^^ and c«npyt- er^, A gemiine nuts^-^od belts bow- tixln mamial Brand new! $9.95

09D22 • The WofW Him Hel

Directory A^ tftir WitA^wtii' New— liecood editifln now o^cr 60O net [isitings. Thit hook intro- duces the spcemJ mtcixst ham nuJtu networks 3TK} show*; ycm wlun 4inii where vcRi can tL re them in S9.>0

15*002 • Scanner and Shortwaire Anawer Book

hy Bifh Grvrr Wheth&r ytHi have difTiculi)' cal/x- laung world time Eonet «f ire ay- tng to figure oui ktloheru, mcfa- lieruL, and meicr band, this book >" 1 1 ^ prriivtcfc The a nis wcrs 1 1 J.lAS

lOFOTI • 1991 tnterrulional

Caltbook The new 1991 Inteniatkiiiil CkU- bcHjk Hm 500,000 littiiaed tvdin amiiatrs ifi ifie contatm omside ^kifili AnKTka h £«^en South Anwfka^ Europe. Ainca, Aita. tntJ thr ^dlk ««■ (cxdnsive gC Hawaii AAd dK U.S. rmriyrnai?

M9.95

1QD091 • 1991 North Anwrtcan CaJltwolt Tfcc 1991 N<mb Ameocon Call boo^ \^» At calUi. names, and kI- drew infommkHi foro*ef 500.000 liccraed rodau anuteunh in all t,-iitin- tnesdl'NqrUi America, from Pana- iBaipCaiBda rnfctudingGnealaDd, Bemttnli. and ihe Cafthl)£3fl tt- landik pluv Hawaji and ihe US. puMc^iHtim. S29,95

05A4!i • Eaay-up Arrlennaa for Radio LJateners and HmmM hfBtnmfdM.Soti

Ltltc t« (cam hu» mcmunriKt !"«f - ci)sl ^ easy - ioerect intennax ^ tin \ up Antemut will heip ytm 1 1 6 ,50

i)tD40« DXPowar

iftectlve Techn^rque* for

Radio Arrrflteura

by Eugttte H. Tiitaa k^KSCw 2 5(5 page I* , 1 0 1 1 1 LiNtraiiurki. . S9 . 50

Here's jmc the hut4 fur the a^id builder c^ AmlRff Railki equip- mem* This ploid-Lugu^ bcxii ts filled widt lanplc proLUcai pm^octi thai am he Niili yvtng reodiK availoMe cumipuiicfas and amnxvi hand ontf t94 i^agei. fti^M

ARIWl • ARRL 1991 Handbook (6Sth ed\)

W L-hiifcpicrs, ttaiuring 2.100 !ii- hlL's, fj^Urcx und churls. The mnst ciimprcficnsive, well urbanized uiul ijlT(iriJuh]i? i^Lmrct; nf Amateur RadiEi rcfertncc miiicriiil. 1232 pugCH. $25.00

AH04U2 * Solid State Design Chick full of gtxxl, bftsjc inlorma^ iH'ii — iafiTUil dc!ti^nR and applica- Tions; descriplitmN of recti veri, TratiKmitfcrs. power supplies, and tciit equipnicnt St 2,00

Af^i^O^S • ARAL Antenna Book RcptcvcnLs tiK Ih!s1 ami mti^t high- ly re^Mr'd>i^iJ infonriBtinn on anicmia fLndflnKnLiiLs. tran^mtssipn lintv dc^^igh, and von&trijctiun of wire antennia. SIH.DO

ARiaH6 « ARRL Operating

Maniial Pacri^ With infcHmaikHi on how io make ihc bcsi lue of your stabon. including: uMeriKing home comi-

icurn^ ttS.M

AJIOJ56 - Iforse C«ide:

The Essential Language bv i.. iVtcr CwTOB Jr. W30KV Tc I E% tif cvohuiaa fhui strai|bt ke^' tu t/omfui^i. Gi^es ptoctkaJ ad- vicr oti Irommg the code imd its modnti'day ieks. S5.il

J^RH»;^ • TheDXCC Compoiikm

bf Jim Kimrmm KRIS The DXCC Compamon qDdb aid to umpk. itniftaforuani leniB^ what yau need lo be a siiaaeafal DXef Tlte rcwicT wdU Ic^a atam equipment Matriintt proptfjaksn and ptirupfi. Ti'&all hne and ci'iv to undermoind. J28|;Ages. S6.a0

AR22Sb« First Steps In

Radio by Doug DeMitii WIFE Series of QSTiirtide*. See camptv nent,s tLs.^mbled Into pniciical cir- CLjils and huw the cirtiuil^ rniike up your radio gear %5A)iO

AR2%0 • Transmission Line Transformers (2nd Ed) by Dr. Jtrry Sevick WlFMi PraciicaJ de-signs, speciHc infor- rnatian on consiruction techniques and sources of male rial, More de- signs for antenna tuners, hybrids, and for ibe VHP jind LIHF handM 272 pp, iZ(i,m

AR0194 • Antenna

Compendium Vol. 1 M.^[c rials on vcrtiiruU, qiiAdb, Joopi^ Yagji* nc4uced uic anten- nas, bafuos, Smi:ih Cham. Amen- na palarizolkm, and other inlerei^t- iag subjects , S 1 0<00

AR2545 • Antenna

Ccunperutium VoL 2 41 papers cove rift g venicals^ yj^t&, quods. muhrbatKf and brcmd- band iivsieins, anternu sctcctitm^ and QKicbmiOfc. $12.00

AR2636 • Companion Soft- ware for Antenna ComperKiiurti Vol. 2

5^* MS-DOS ]liipp> tlO.iO

AR£M«& • WIFE'S Antenna Notebook

{rjDotigDeM9»WJFB

Gel the best pcirformalKC nut of

iinpbmisve *irc mtennis and ^er-

; ticals. Build tuner and SWR

bnd^Es SS.OI

AAO^S * QBP Noiebook

bytkmgDeMawWtrB

Presents caeitnictkM projiects foe the QRP opefouir. tmm a simple 1 watt cr>^sSal-i::ofKfi)nfid trsttuniner lo moK eomplei tiaasoeiver de-

HgB. 14.01

AR 1 250 • tog Bo<i4(—

ARfIL License Manuat BeiEinnmg wdh Vunt m the WtwM With Hum Mutlm l-uf ihc Novice and pfoj^rcs^mi?; [hroti^h the crhlically avi; la Lined AKKL tjr^me Mtitiutit wrie?. for tjijc Tec time Ian throuijti EjilruCldHit; occur Qie te\lexplinu- Liom of [lie mBterinl covered along iiVith FCC question ptwb and «n- (twcr ktsys,

AR2375 * Technician Cl«ft« AR2^3i:} • General Class AR0L66 • Advanced Class

KucU$4i.OO AR239i * Extra Claas UM

AROJIO* Yagl Antenna Deiign

Hum ktMittf publi!«he!d a ieri$t of aniclcs on Vagii^^ T^c mftienai friHn thc^ articles thit in pre»nUsd hcfc wa% polisihcd itnd eiipaniifed by Dr. UifrAon. SlS.OO

AR2tn,i • Hovlce Antenna Notebook

No^icei. ^\\\ learn, ajnong a^m diinf &, hew nmennu openue, and wh4t £ovenu their efleeljvene?i« for ihort^ and lai^^iitanx com municatioa. iW.OO

AR0437* AHRLn*pealer

Directory 1990-1991 AJmou Ifli.iiOU liuufi tiBcla^Df updated Iturnft fiw MS. GA, ST. NC. TN. KY, WV^ittJ VAl with over 220D dijt.ipeaiBn, Band ploib. cress (PL^ Tone Chart, oompl- tAkn of frequeiKY ccmdlnildri, ARRL Specui Service Clubs, ad beacon lutioffH frcm MM Hz lo

24catg um

AR20«3 • Complete OX 'er 2nd Ed. by Boh ijH-krr W9KM hcAtti h0w iQi latot OX Mttd dbaatt hard HQ^icf OSL CWfe. MM

AR5tbQ • ORP Classks CoUeeoM 4tf tntsk* from Uy 15 yn of ARRL fnMicitiom ixt bitild- lE^ Tccenvent, namminen. tnn-^ sonv^, aEismriei. 2SK pp^ %%1M

QIC Ml • The Commodore Ham^B Companion

hy Jim Gmltbs K9EJ 160 pafes of uicbil inft^mMioit on wlccling a Commodore ctnnputcr ff»r The ham shock, where Vi Tind special iied i^tiigiiims. ftie Com- modorc-pac-kel coan^rtiaai. and mofc! S?JO

03S 1 1 ' Shortwave Receivers Pnt and Preaent

Caaaii£ guide ts 2D0+ ilaviws ve noeivm nambcanvd in the let 20 >eafi . Gi^es lu^ mforiDalkni Ob cocfa model int^faidii^ c<r«rrage» ibtptogF. CEici&l lype^ pcffomiaace, new vifoe. med vsiat. ett. T^sxas IX) nmst models. Tie Blue Book of tharvuk^vc rttib lolnc. I9B7. ICH p^ces -. vTt % 11. M.95

0!^H24 • Radio Handbook,

MO pages ^ cver^iiMng vou woia- ed to know ohoui rodao coaunuoi- cofion. Indepdi snuh' of AC/DC futHJonxmols^ SSB. loijenBas^ am- piilkti.. power aqjplie:^. and more- S29.5(l h»rd cover dohr

tJ3Rui * World Press Servfcaa Frequencies (RTT¥)

^ JhiMniu Harrmp&n WEQSfV A compfulifi ns [ vc mony^il ':o^cnng R^tnteletype news oionitaring — i.i7nntn$ oil tnformoiion — anccnna^ recciven, terminal units, plus three eittcnsive frequency lisis- Co^eri 65 World Press Services bruadcBsiing iin English. "The OriglnaJ Preu Book." S4 pages.

S8^

AR0477 • Low Send 0X1 ng How lo meet the thiilieng^ of the di:fter^nt forms of 1 60. 30, amJ 40 ineier propagation with cf fee Live antenna^, tquiptnciiL ^nd Dfieral- itig siratcgiic^. $LO.(KI

IHB65 • The Beginner 'a Handbook of Amateur RBdicM-2nd£dlton

Combines thec^- and practice in an euy-io-iiniieri^und fDnnaf, and pnrvi'idcj. informaiion for choosin|( sod io^LidJing rad>o recci^'er& and ijansmitiers, antcnai:is, transmit- Stan Itnes^ and les cquipmem. 400 page&, 291 LIluiumiiMis. IIS.IV

AR2CL10 • YourGafeway to

Packet RadI o 2nd £di t ion Filled with infurrnaUon fur all anta- Icuni TeJIs everything you iieed to know about this popular new mode: how to get started, equip I rent you need, and more. $12.00

AR2456* FCC Rule Qook

(athed) This New Edition is almost 50% falter, The tutorial chapters in the froni of the book aiu a nmjor up- grade oVcf liif- piEviotis cdllon^. A musi for evcr^ Active todio oma- leur^ S^.DO

AR21T1 • HInis and Kinka Find the answer to that tricky protk- lem. Ideas ior istiing np ^our gear fpT €OmJpiflnble and cffkrienl opcr- olion. ^M

AR2I0? < Saleinte Anthology The latest inknialion on OSCARs 9 dirough 1 3 H well » the RS saiel - liics. rnfonnatioD do the osc of dt- gtiaJ modc§, ttsckiiiE, .aicieniias^ ttUDAK. microcompuier. and hkitg! SS.OO

AROCw^ • SatefTlte

Experiment ^'''^ Hoi^booik Ufidnr cnie ixy^^ ' tfac Ana-

lewr Radio Openitor needs to knan'

\A Utdef ttl ^tmtmaanratt! flirough

OSCAR sdElfitEs. Sit-tl

AR2S9§ • Space Atmanac

by Ai^hmy X. Cartis iU ATA' E^fTODidtnar)' boal,. C^Jtures the breaihukme; recem news^ from ipicr. biclydes olMui 40 pages oo Aduieitr Radio saiellites. Find al- musi sRythaof you nuthf waot no kootir iluut men's nip id ihe imn.

CrTR25 • Tha RTTY Llatener

by Fftd OitwrmoM Cotnpiles tssucf I ihri:iy:gfi 2fJ of liie RTTV Lisiener Se«-aetaer. Coo^ fains iqMOMdale, hard^li^-rindi W^ fomuiion on advance l^tTY «ii FAX moniionng technMiiue* and fnK|iKDcies- 156 pp. llf^fS

Q5C6? « Commodore 64 Troiih^eshoQtir^ & Repair Gukje bytUA^fiC.Bramtf SiEp b^ sirp ihrough the complcjii- ti£& of ttiokjng himfik repam to jixavComavdorehil' SlI^SQ

tDA345 • Beam Anianna Handbook

frr ^^imam Qtt H ASA// Staurf GnntH M'2IJr

Yagt beam theory, coaiyruclifm, ap^ration. Wire beoitis. SWR curvci. Matching tyiiemi. A ' ' imisi' ' for .%erinus DXers- 11 1 *9S

0IA87 • The Shortwave

Liatenaf' a Antenna

HarKtbook Ai' fu^btrtj. Ttnisttt Beef up i^hunwavi: reccpiuin. «:■< paciiy and increase liAiening enjoy- ment easily and inrApensively.

Sll.lM

\}Til6 • aaslo Electron lea

Prepared by ike Burtau af Navai Ffm&rtntt Thoroughly revised in 1V72 Cov- its the iinportiint a&peut& of applied elt:i]t.ronii:bi und clriiironicii com- municaiiorts. 567 pp. $10,95

\:aa\ * Second Layal Baalc El ect ron Ics Frfpartif by rhf Bureau ofXavtJ frrsonnri Sequei to BmU^ Eittfrnnivx , ihcff> opjeh I regiment of the mtirr ad- v^niccd levels of applied cld^tron- 1CS. Includes m^rowave receiving and irawimitiing Hundred* of e*^ cclleni dijigrams, 325 pp- $7.S0

IGM44 > Wortd Attas by Radio Amaleur Ct^ibiiiok IttCk I 20 pp. of fiilL color. HI ' k lOH '> I comainik NiHth Polaj projiecfian (?f

the w^ivrld: mopi of all bcvcn i:onii'

nems. We$4 IndiekCanbbfinn aiea.

and Pairific Oeeom. iS^M

01 P22 • The Packet Radio Handbook

by j£MM*aa JL Maiy9 JPtTT ". .an eKcelleni piece of wort. Weil wtmh feaimi; for b^ the e&penenced and the new pai:|i:a' tecT- .- die defimtj^eg^ude loams' teor pKJwi ppcntwa."

— Giiryn Retdy WIBEL Oaly f I4J0

09C09 « Shortwave CtandeaUne Conf Idential

ky Cerry L. Dtxier

CovcTf all daodcfttne twoadcaat* inf. 001101? by coui^: telli fre* quenS^, oihrr unpubHili^ istat- mtboo: spy, nsMiT^tAM, freedom figtuers. rebel, oaarchui todia, seerci radio. Cvrrcnt pvlMicaiMni. M pages. 18.50

I AS 10 • Air Sc^n Guide to Aeronautical Commuiiica- tion* (5th Edition)

by Tom Kneitel K2AES iasi coifiprLihcnsi ve gu ide tci inon ■ oring aemnauiitjiil commuEJca- i:)n m (he US, Expanded lo cover I Canadian land airports and ^ptanc bdiKCfj^ p]ii^ listings ff^r entral Amertca, the Caribbean^ orth At far He, and the Pacific :;rri[ortc>;. $14*95

* RTTV Tcday by Oave tngram K4TWJ nly up^tJO-date RTTY book inex- Lence, Covers all fatcts^jf RTTY . lOhi cOETiprchKniJkvu RTTY guide 'erpLibliiihed, FuJIy Jllu^^t rated. A jsi. 1 12 pages, S8*S0

SC30 • The Commodore Ham's Companf on

byJimGrubbsK9Et

a pages of information on seJect' g a Commodore for the ham ayk, where XQ find !i.pecia[i?ed

ograms, [he CcimmodorE'- packet mnection. and ti)oine1 $9*50

M22I < USMilflafV Gommujiications (Part 1J

:!ab witli US Miilitary eommunl- rioFi channelh on short Vt'avc, >vt:rs frequent: ie.^, background : point lo poinl frequencies for [he lilipplrtes. Japan and Korea, Indi- and Pacific Oceans, and more. 2 pages SI 2.95

1^222 * USMihtary Communications (Part 2)

>vcr* US CtKLSlguard, NASA, \P, FAA, Dept, of Energ>\ Ped- al Emergency Management jiency. Disaster Comniunica- ■ns, FCC, Dcpi. of Jujitice. From KC to 9073 KG 79 pages.

$12.95

M223 • US Military Communicattons (Part 3)

lis part complietes the vast overall iquenty lijii of US Mililary jicr- ?cs, from 89^3 KG lo 27,944 :.7KpaEe!^ $t2.95

im\ • 1^90 Shortwave Directory 6th Edition

by Bob Gr&ve I excellent refsfCrtce for ^forlh nerican shortwave lisleners. this idr'is bible i£ crammed with up- date, accurate frequency and rf LrLformation from lOKHz to

I0A343 • All AlK>ut Cubical Quad Antennas

by Wiliiiim Orr W6SAIJ Stuart C&tmn W2LX The ''CJaKsic*' on Quad design. theory. constTucHon, operation. New feed and matching systems. New data. $9.50

10A344 • The Radio Amateur Antenna Handbook

by WUtiiWi Orr W6SAI/ Stuart Cownn W2LX Vagi beam ihtory^ construction. operation, wire l^eanis, SWR curves. Matching systems. A "must" for serious DXeni. SH.SO

tOA346 • Simple, Low-cost Wire Antennas for Radio Amateurs

by Wmimt Orr W6SAI/ Stuart Com an W2LX Ail Nev*''! Low^coit, mukt-band an- tennas; inexpetisive beam^. "l!n- viivibie"' antenna.^ for ham^^ in "lough" lotaE ions' New data.

$IJ.50

I0A342 • AH At>out Vertical Antennas

ty Wiffiam Orr W6SAt/ Stuart Cawaa W2IJC Effective^ kiw-cost verticals 10- I6(J m. -DX, rnu]tiband; compact verticals for small spaces; ground- ing: te^^c equipment: lightening.

$Jft.SO

mA347 • All AtioutVHF Amateur Radio

by Wiitiom Orr W6SAI DX propagation. VHP Yagi gnd Quad beams, repeaters and how they w.ork. fJSCAR satellites and how to use tliem. SIL9S

I5A24 « Verticat Antenna Handbook, 2nd Edition

by Paui ff^ U? mPl A claiisie. Reprinted with updaief?, including an addendum on antenna dcsigT3 for 1 60 meters. Also, feed- ing and matf^hing, .ihort veriicalfi, ground effects, and more. 139 pages, paperback. S9-'9'5

09V] J • The Basic Guide to VHF/UHF Ham Radio

by Ed^a/ti M. !\alt This book provides a first rate in- Eroduciion to life on the 2.6 and ] .25 mteter bands as weH as 23* 33> and 70 CM. $6.50

t>4M54 • GGTE IMorse TtJtor F[oppy disk for IBM PC, XT, AT, and compatibles. Learn the Inter- national Morse etxie or improve your capabilities. One diskette wi]l lake you from t>eg inner through ex- tra class in eas-y self- paced iesii^oaii. Standard tjr Farns worth mode. Code speeds^ from I to over 100 words per m inuie . $1 9.5&

n'^E94 * Crash Course Tn Electronics Technology

by Louis E. Pr^metjr. With a proven format of pro- grammed in.*itructioTi, thi^ book teaehes you the basics of electricity and electronics in a step-by-stepn easy-Co-undenstand faftbion . $2 1 »S0

OIB033 • Talk To The World;

Getting Started In Amateur

Badio ^v Ume^ P. r>ax K3JD

and Morton Keyser i\3MK

Pfovides irtformaEion and practical

tips on obtaining a novice license.

Authors take the mystery tTut of

technicat and procedural aspects of

ham radio. Si 1+50

09S42 • The Scanner Listener's Handtat>ok

by Edward Si/omre iV2BFF Get the tnon out of your scanner radio. Covers getting started, ,':ican- ncfsartd receivers, antennas, coas- ial cabEe, accessories, computer conlr{>l]Eid monitoring.^ mtjue.

%t4M

03S208 * Radioteletype Press Sroadcasis

by Michaei Schaay Covers schedules of Press Services hy time, frequency, and ccumtry broadcasting in EngK^h. French. German. Spanish, and Portuguc.^. £>etfliled Press Agency Portraits. 120 pp. S13.95

t>IC80 • Master Handbook of 1 01] 1 C if cu its— S o\ id-State Ed. by Keiulait Webber Sgi&ians With this outstanding reference in hand, electronics hohbyist,s and professionals; sviM never have to search for schematics again. Com- pletely update^, the book is thor- oughly indexed and ail 1001 eir- cu i IS a re clea riy il I u.'it rated .430 pp. $19.5(^^!lctiyer

I1TS8 • Tune tn on Telephone Cal la hy Tom Kn^tef K2AES Fonnatted as a ffequiii]i;y list with detailed description of each service and its location in RF spectrum. Provides basic inforniaiEOn fot casu- al listeners getting started and de- tai Is for ardent eni husiasts . $ ) 2 . 95

0^P33 - The Pirate Radio Directory 199€ Edition

bj George Ze I Jer

Contains data on some 100 pirate stations }ietive during t989 How to tune in pirate broadcasts and get QSLs f rotn the stat ioni . $7,95

THEVORLD $4.00

OlTOl • Transmitter Hunting: Radio Direction Finding Sft^ipl^fied by Joseph £>, Moefi K§OV and Thomm S. Curlee WB6UZZ ^i6 pages , 248 ill usts . $ 1 7 .50

03K205 • Guide to Radio- teletype {RTTY J Stations

by J. Ktingenfusx Updated book covers all RTTY sta- tions from 3MHz-30MHz. Press, Miiitary, Commercial, Meteo, PTTs> Embassies,, and more. 105 pp. SJ2.#5

15S003 • Comrnunicatlons SatellHes (3rd Edition)

by Lany Vim Horn Chapters on channelization band plans, transponder identification^ Lacematianal sateliii£;s^ Diore. $7.04

07A66 • Aeronautical Communications Handbook by Robert E. Evans Exhaustive,^ .scholarly treatment of shortwave aeronautical listening. Wet I organized J up-to-date. 266 pp. $19*95

07R2O • A Radio Journal 1912-1940

Hy Russ Rmnnker W9CftC

A fascinating trip through lime. [Eajiy to read and informative, edu- cational and entertaining. A trip down memory larte to the ear[y dniys of radio, $7.95

03SD4 • The Hidden Signals on Satellite TV

by Thomas P. Harrington and flfl* Cooper Jr. Tune in thousands of Telephone, Data, Telex, Teletype, Facsimile Signals on most of the TV Satel- lites; plus ail 5Ut>carrijers. Covem equipment, hookups, where to tune 234 pages. tl9.50

0lP6a * Pirate Radio Stations^ Tunfng Into Underground Broadcasts/i^' Ajidrm^ iL Ytider Cotnpfeheitsive guide to tuning in^ identifying, and contacting the tnost unpredietable stations on the radio spectrum. 192 pp. $12^50

How can the World's Bt^st DX Map cost onJy $4,00? Obvi- ously, a serious bJ under which you should lake advantage of before we discover it. This is the only world map in bliick and white so you can color in the countries as you work them ! Further, it has almost all of the official lARU 400 countries on tt. which no other nnap at any price has.

CODE TAPES

ttc am hrW rrt ffw lt(t i-inie timu-hu-ha ii a* maii- fftf tvdi' m ilmpii tu Itarrt thai it 's •mn-priihiem. llerewifh the worid '.¥ eusieai rtnif ctmr'H' — tiitii (tfth£i\i^(ia<i^ i?fhattL'f \vf gtittf^r shfir ifcfTLtfs thi.s nfftnzirsg tff h- shornW "hwy, fi's fiuiu-fe-proof. Mosi '<ip!e are uhie II* whip (hraaf;h thr Ninycrr iesi ajier ipendinf^ ie\s than shref h^ivrx •fh /m GfwsiK and Jtif i"?^"ft/f/'. PeftpSt" i^fut fuav '^hftt »p on ofhi^mxle Viturufi ui fhis tme dt?*:i the^oh in ajijfy. Gcfin/f after ytmr C^rtprp/.' ti V fihtM4i timi'. t}.\^ she ifi. Bffakfr nmf yatf 'ii Iff tit^tr i^fitre you kntm' it. .A wre*: ihunkf do it. FfuFTf rrr^. hipm ciiiif almoinS iftv-ariahh- appfnr.i Sa ftxuse trrfpnmfjfe, iri'fVffS'af*!^, petifUi- fH b^tm\ diimafie. Um'le W^yne atrfept.i rttr re^ponsihitiiy ivhaifver for artythinij It ftappefLX U.> those vfhf> arejhrfiiih enough tt^ usf the QtiUf^gequi lihvptn tapt^.

20MO9<> * Computing Across Atnerica

by Stei^ett K. Roberts N4NRVE Roberts has written anicles tor 73 \fagijzme about the technical as- pects of his US tour on his recum- bent bicycle. Covers his adven- tures^ people be met, and peaces he saw, [f your tifestyle seems a little conrmin^^re^thishw}]*;. S9*95

IIRFIS ■ The "Top Secfet" Registry of US Government Radio Freqy en isles {7th Ed.) by Tom Kneiid ii2AES Thii scanner directory has become the standard reference source for frequency and other importam in- formation riclaiing to the communi- cations of fedetal agencies. 25 lo 470 MH7. " S19.95

0 1 A70 • Practical Antenna Handbook by Joseph J. Carr

Design, build, modify', and install your own antennas. Carr, a 20-ycaf veteran of technical writing, has a unique ability to present complex technicaE concepts in an easy-to- understand way. 416 pp. $21^50

1 1 F52 • Feireirs Confidential Frequency Li^

Compiled by A, G. Iftdfi^ey All frequencies from4MH7-2^MH2: covering ship^ embassy, areo, Vol- met, Interpol, nutnbers. Air Force One/Two,, more 37ft pp. $19.^

IISR97 * National Directory

of Survival Radio

Frequencies

by nm KneU^I K2AES HarKJy and concise reference guide to high interest communications frequencies required by survivaE- ists. Includes chapter on building errtergency com EnunicaiioiLS anten- na svstem,'^. $^*95

I ISM n * Scanner Modifica- tion Handbook by Biii Creek

Provides straight forward step-by - step instructions for expanding the operating capabilities of VHF scanners. Filled with inte resting text-, helpful photos, tables, and figures. S17.9S

nE:B06 • Guide to Embassy Espionage Communications byTomKneitdKlAES Candid and probing examination of

worldwide cmliassy and (alleged) espionijge communication sy sterns

and networks. Extensive nation- by -nation directory of embassy sta- tions is included. Slfl.^S

105 "Genesis** $5.*S

*pm— This is the beginning <t^ taking you through the letters^ 10 nutntjers, and nec- ary ptinctualion. complete h practice every step of the Y. The ease of learning gives ifidence even to the faini of n.

ri3 **Back Breaker" SS.*5 f wpm — Code groups again,

I brisk l3-»- wpm so you'll l>e lly at ease when you sit down front of a steel y-ey (id voiun- r cxatniner who starts scnd- you plain language code at y 13 per. You'll need this ra margin to [ivcrc{>mc the :er panic universal in moist I siiuations. You've come i far. so don' I get code shy

73T06 ^*The Stickler'" $5.yS 6+ wpm— This is rhe practice tape

fnrlhow who survived the ,S wpm tape, and it\^ also the tape for the Novice and Technician licenses, ][ i;^ comprised of one solid hour of €{jdc. Characters arc .sent at 13 wpm and spaced at 5 wptn. Code groups arc entirely random charac- ters sent in groups of five— defi- nitely not tiiemorizable!

73T20 "Courageous'- $5.95 20+ wpm— Congratulations! Okay, the challenge of code ib what's gutEen you this far« io don't quit now. Go for the extra clafls ticense. We send the c<jtle faster than 20 per. It*s like wear- ing^ lead weights on your feet virhen you run: You'll wonder why the examiner is scruiing so slowly!

Uncle Wayne's Bookshelf Order Form

You may order by mail, telephone, or fax. All payments are lo be in US funds. Allow 3 weeks for delivery.

Item#

Qty.

Price

Total

Name Street City_

U.S. orders add $2.50, Canadian orders add $3.50 -* Shipping TOTAL

state

Zip

TOTAL $

Card#.

nAE DMC nVISA n Check/Money Order

Telephone: (603) 525-4201 FAX: (603) 525-4423

Expiration Date

Mall: 73 Magazine, Attn. Uncle Wayne. Forest Road, Hancock, NH 03449

MasterCard— VISA— Discover— COD

Missouri

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£ in

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31

Hiir TEN-TEC

OMNIV

AMERICA'S BE&THF

• Superior Phase Noise Performance

• Dual VFOs • 10-160 Meters

• 25 Tune/Scan Memories

SPECIAL SALE! CALL TODAY

KENWOOD

I DUAL-BAND SALEI

TH-7SA TM-701A

* 26 I'll ^^is on 2 Mattr

* 3) Mefi^ry Ch«>tn«?i

* FkiJI Duplex -&o» Bsri<a Operation

136449 996 ^IH£

OONT DELAY— CALL TODAY*

KENWOOD

TH-225A

• Now 5 Wat^s Output

• Odd Off Sets

• Wideband Frec|u#ncy Coverage

• Same AcLces^ories asTH-jr?

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yAEBU

FT-1000

THE SEST OF THE BEST

» 200 Watts Output

> All Amateur Bands

» Dual Receive

i DDS-Dlrect Digital Synthesis

CALL FOR ALL THE DETAILS?

FT-736R VHF UHF BASE STATION

• SS8, CW. FM on 2 Meters and 70 cm

• Optional 50 MHz, 220 MM? or 1.2 GHz

• 25 Watts Output on 2 Meters, 220 and 70 cm

• 10 Watts Output on 6 Meiers and 1 2 GHz • 100 Memories

FT-470

COMPACT DUAL BAND

FM HANDHELD (2M/70CM}

21 Mefriories tot Each Band

Dual VFO's for Each Band

Up ID ^ W^tt$ Power

Buillm CTCSS

Bu«M in lO-Me-mory DTMF

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Fiberglass Construction Vz Wave Gain Antenna

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1C765

ADVANCED PERFORMANCE HF TRANSCEIVER

DD5 (Direct Digital Synthesizer) Auto. Antenna Tuner 100 Watts Output 99 Memories

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AUNCO

DR<S90

2 METERmO MOBILE

• 45W/2Meter35W/UHF

• Cross Band Repeater Function

• Receiving and Scanning on Both Bands

• Detachable Front Control Panel

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ICOM

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IC-735

PROVEN HFWtNN EH

Compact and lightweight 100 Watts Output Noise Blanker General Coverage Receiver CALL TODAY!

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VHF/UHF TWIN OANOER

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DUAL BAND

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• 140-150 MHz 440-450 MHz

• Compact and Lightweight

• Up to 5 Watts Output

• Versatile Scan Functions

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DJ-160T

DELUXE METER HANDHELD

• Receive 137 173995 MH£

• 20 Memories

• 3 Watts Stafrdenl

• 3 Scan Modes

• Store Dyplex/ Simpler Pairs, Call Cfianne!,

33 Encoding Sublones

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Kantronics

Data Engine

• Hign Speed Packet

• Internal 1200 Baud Modem

• Off The Shelf 9600 Baud Packet With The DVR 2-2

• Internal 9600 Baud, G3RUH Type Modem Available

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• RS7A	S49	• RS35M	SI 59
• RS12A	$70	• VS35M	$174
• RS20A	$69	• RS50A	$199
• RS20M .	$109	• RS 50M	$219
• VS20M .	$124	• RM50M	$259
• RS35A .	SI 39	• VS50M	$232

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To be 7 a star in

^ international competition, you > have to play your cards right. Stack the deck in your favor with \^esu^s FT-1000. It has aU the features world-class mnners demand.

Our Direct Digital Syn- thesis (DOS), for exam- pie, utilizes two lO-bit , and three 8-bit DDS for y-^ fast lock- ?^* up and h * lower <J^- "^ >^ noise than traditional PLL systems. And continuously adjust- able RF Power Output of up to 200 watts gi^ es you excellent ** Barefoot" output for pileups, plus generous drive for your linear, UTiile the Stereo Dual Recebe gives you two tun- ing knobs for easy spotting and

simultaneous reception of two different fre- quencies — for cross- band dual receive or diversity reception using tTto antennas^ add the optional BPF-1 I

module, Anto^.^t^]

The FT4000 also cimrit^

has the optional Digital \bice Storage (DVS-2) to let you play back i6-seconds of receive

memory and two " - ^ 8-second

^^'^ (or four 4-

second) mes- y sages in ' transmit. A y fast-action y Automatic Antenna Tuner offers 39 memories for quick band changes. The QRM Rejection Systems include cascaded filter selections, IF width control, IP shift, IP notch fUter, all-mode squelch ^ dual- mode noise blanker and CW

audio peaking niter. ■j Additional features ' include:

• 100 Memories.

• High D>Tiamic Range- lOBdB.

• Multimode Selection on Packet/RTTY.

• CW Spot.

• Independent mode and filter selection on SSB/CW.

• Mode/Frequency/Filter Infor- mation Stored Independently in each VFO,

• Built-in Electronic Keyer Module.

• Twin Frequency Displays.

• Standard (FMOOO) and Deluxe (FT-IOOOD) Versions.

Be a Star Performer, For more information on the FT' 1000 and other Yaesu ama- teur radio products call the Yaesu Dealer nearest you.

s^

Performance without compromise.

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rut ii*

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•W^im ,*^^H

TH-77A

Compact 2m/70cnfi Dual Band HT

Here's a radio that deserves « double-^take! The TH-77A is a feature- packed dual band radfo compressed into an HT package. The accessories are compatible with ourTH-75,TH-25,andTH-26 Series radios. Repeater and remote base users wtii appreciate the DTMF memory that can store all of the DTMF characters f, #, A, B, C, and D) that are usually required for repeater functions!

• Wide band receiver coverage* 136-165 (118-165 [AM mode 118-1361 MHz after modification) and 438-449.995 MHz. TX on Amateur bands only. (Two meter section is modifiable for MARS/ CAP. Permits required,)

• Dual receive/dual LCD display. Separate volume and squelch con- trols for each band. Audio output can be mixed or separated by using an external speaker.

band repeat function.

• Dual Tone Squelch System (DTSS),

Uses standard DTMF to open squelch.

• CTCSS encode/decode bullt-tn.

• Forty-two memory channels. All channels odd split capable,

• DTMF memory /a utodialer. Ten 15-digit codes can be stored

• Direct keyboard frequency entry. The rotary dial can also be used

to select memory, frequency, frequency step. CTCSS, and scan direction.

• Multl-functaonf dual scanning. Time or carrier operated channel or band scanning,

• Frequency step selectable for quick QSY Choose from 5. 10, 12.5, 15, 20, or 25 kHz steps.

• Two watts (IS W on UHF) with supplied battery pack. Five watts output with PB-8 battery pack or 13.8 volts. Low power is 500 mW.

• DC direct-in operation from 6.3-16 VDC with the PG-2W.

• T-Alert with eiapaed time Indicator.

• Automatic repeater offset on 2 m.

• Battery-saving features.

Auto battery saver, auto power off function, and economy power mode.

COfnpTe re sent^ice manu&fs am &vaifabfe tor ilf Kenwood trBnsoeiv^m^ and most Bcctssorhs^ Sp9citiC3tto^s and f^aturss sfb sutifeQi ro Change wrr/rcHff n&ticG orcbligatiQn.

• Supplied accessories:

Flex antenna, PB-6 battery pack (7.2 V. 600 mAHX wall charger, belt hook, wrist strap, keyboard cover.

Optional accessories:

• BC-10; Compact charger* BC-tl: Rapid charger • BH-6: Swivel mount • BT-6: AAA battery case • 0C-1/PG-2Vr DC adapter

• DC-4; Mobile charger for P8-10 • DC-S: Mobile charger for PB-6, 7. 9 • PB-5: Z2 V, 200 mAh NiCd pack for 2.5 W output

• Pe-6> 7.2 V 600 mAh NiCd pack • PB-T: 7.2 V, 1100 mAh NiCd pack • PB-8: 12 V, 600 mAh NiCd for 5 W output • PB'9:

7.2 V, 600 mAh NiCd wrth built-in charger

• PB-tl: 12 V, 600 mAh OR 6 V, 1200 mAh, for 5 W OR 2 W • HMC-2: Headset with VOX and PTT* PG-2W: DC cable w/fuse

• PG-3F: DC cable with filter and cigarette lighter plug « SC-26, 29: Soft case

« SMC-30/31: Speaker mics. • SMC'33: Speaker mic, w/remote control • WR-1: Water resistant bag.

KENWOOD U.S.A, CORPORATION

COMMUNICATIONS &TEST EQUIPMENT GROUP RO. BOX 22745, 2201 E. Dommguez Street Lang Beach. CA 90601-5745

KENWOOD ELECTRONICS CANADA INC. RO. BOX 1075, 959 Gana Court Mississauga, Ontario. Canada L4T 4C2

KENWOOD

, . . pacesetter in Amateur Radio