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Full text of "73 Magazine (December 1998)"

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DECEMBER  1998 

ISSUE  #459 

USA  $3.95 

CANADA  S4.95 


Get  more  features  for  your  dollar  with  our 

REP-200  REPEATER 


A  niicmproces£Qr-cQntTo||ed  repeater  with  full  auto- 
patch  and  many  versatile  dtmf  remote  control  fea- 
tures at  iess  than  you  might  pay  for  a  bare  bones 

repeater  or  control  ler  alone! 


'  flE'Vatw  K&SAna 


•  kit  smonty  $1095 

•  f3  ctory  assembfed  s  till  only  $  1295 

50^54,  143^174,  ?13-23-a.  420-475-  MHz.  ^902-925  MHz  sr-o^ily  higher.) 
**■  FCC  lypB  acceptgd  forcQinniciciat  scrvece  hi  15fl  i  450  MHi  bands. 

Digital  Voice  Recorder  Option,  Allows  message  up 
to  20  sec.  to  be  remotely  recorded  off  the  air.  Play 
back  at  user  request  by  DTMF  command,  or  as  a 
periodical  voice  id^  or  both.  Great  for  making  club 
anriouncements! .../only  $100. 

REP-20QC  Economy  Repeater.  Real-voice  ID,  no 
dtmf  or  autopatch Kit  only  $795,  w&t$1195, 

REP-200 N  Repeater.  Without  controller  so  you  can 
use  your  own .i^^n^^. Kit  only  $695,  w&t  $995. 


You'll  KICK  Yourself 

If  You  Build  a  Repeater 

Without  Checking  Out  Our  Catalog  Fir$t1 


Hamtronics  has  the  world's  most 
complete  line  of  modules  for 
making  repeaters.  In  addition  to 
exciters  J  pa's,  and  receivers,  we 
offer  the  following  controllers, 

COR-3.  Inexpensive,  fiexibJe  COR  moduSe  with  timers, 
courtesy  beep,  audio  mixer.   ,,... only  $4S/kit,  $79  wit 

CWID.   Traditional  diode  matrix  iD'er kit  or^ly  $59. 

CWID-2.  Eprom-controlted  IDer only  $54/hit,  $79  w/t. 

DVR-1.  Record  your  own  voice  up  to  20  sec.  For  voice  id 
or  playing  ciub  announcements.   ., $59/kit,  $99  w/t. 

COR-4.  Cornpiete  COR  and  CWID  all  on  one  board.  ID  in 
eprom.  Low  power  CI\^OS only  $99/kit,  $149  w/t. 

COR -6.  COR  with  real- voice  id.  Low  power  CMOS,  non- 
yolatiie  memory kit  only  $99^  w/t  only  $149. 

COR -5.  |jP  controller  with  autopatch,  reverse  ap,  phone 
remote  control,  lots  of  DTMF  control  functions,  all  on  one 
board,  as  used  in  REP-200  Repeater $379  w/t. 

AP'vi.  Repeater  autopatch,  reverse  autopatch,  phone  line 
remote  control.  Use  with  TlD-2.  ......kit  $&9. 

TD-2.  Four-dtgit  DTMF  decoder/controfler.  Five  tatching 
on-off  functions,  toll  calf  restrictor. .kit  $79, 

TD-4.  DTMF  controller  es  above  except  one  on-off  function 
and  no  toll  call  re  stricter  Can  also  use  for  selective  cailing; 
mute  speaker  until  someone  pag^s  you. , ,....klt$49. 


SUBAUDIBLE  TONE  ENCODERiDECODER 


Access  all  your  favorite 
closed  repeatersf 

*  Encodes  all  standard  CTCSS 
tones  wUh  crystal  accuracy  and 
convenient  DIP  switch  selection 

*  Comprehensrue  rnanual  aiso  shows  how  you  can  set  up 

a  front  panel  swjtch  to  select  tones  for  several  repeaters. 

*  Decoder  can  be  used  to  mute  receive  audio  and  is 
optimized  for  installation  in  repeaters  to  provide  closed 
access.  High  pass  filter  gets  rid  of  annoying  buzz  in 
receiver     ©  ISiew  low  prices  I 

-TD-5 CTCSS  Encoder/Decoder  Kit  now  only  $29 

*  TD-5  CTCSS  Encoder/Decoder  Wired /tested .,$49 


LOW  NOISE  RECEIVER  PREAMPS 


LNG-{   )   GaAs  FET  PREAWIP 
STILL  ONLY  $59,  wired/tested 

•  Make  your  fhends  sick  with 
envy?  Work  stations  they  don't 

even  know  are  there. 

•  Install  one  at  the  antenna  and 
overcome  coax  losses. 

•  AvaHable  for 28-30,  46-56,  137-152,  152-172,210- 
230,  400-470,  and  800-960  MHz  bands. 

LNW«(   )  ECONOMY  PREAMP 

ONLY  $24/kit 

•  Miniature  MOSFET  Preamp 

•  Solder  terminals  allow  easy 
connection  inside  radios. 

Avaiiable  for  25^35,  35-55,,  55-90,  90-120,  120-150, 
150-200,  200-270,  and  400-500  MHz  bands. 


TRANSMITTING  & 
RECEIVING  CONVERTERS 


No  need  to  spend  thousands  on 
new  transceivers  for  each  band! 

•  Convert  vhf  and  uhf  signals 
to  &  from  1 0M. 

•  Even  if  you  don't  have  a  1 0M  rig,  you  can  pick  up 
very  good  used  xmtrs  &  rcvrs  for  next  to  nothing. 

■  Receiving  converters  (shown  above)  available  for 
various  segments  of  BM,  2M,  220,  and  432  MHz. 

■  Rcvg  Conv  Kits  from  $49.  wired/tested  units  only  $99. 


Transmitting  converters 
for  2M,  432  MHz. 

Kits  only  £39  vhf  or  $99  uhf. 
Power  amplifiers  up  to 
SOW  output. 


|HM>-K  WfilTMIP  HF^T'IVT'' 


WEATHER  ALERT  RECEIVER 


A  sensitive  and  selective 
professional  grade  receiver  to 
monitor  critlcai  NOAA  weather 
broadcasts.  Good  reception 

even  at  distances  of  70  miles  or 
more  with  suitable  antenna.  No 
comparison  with  ordinary  consumer  radios! 

Automatic  mode  provides  stomn  watch,  alearting  you  by 
unmuting  receiver  and  providing  an  output  to  trip  remote 
equipment  when  an  alert  tone  is  broadcast.  Crystal 
controlled  for  accuracy;  all  7  channels  {162.40  to  162.55). 

Buy  just  the  receiver  pcb  module  in  kit  form  or  buy  the  kit 
with  an  attractive  metal  cabinet.  AC  power  adapter,  and 
built-in  speaker.  Also  available  factory  wired  and  tested. 

RWX  Rcvrkit..  PCB  only $79 

RWX  Rcvrkit  with  cabinet,  speaker,  &AC  adapter $99 

RWX  Rcvrwireditested  in  cabinet  with  speaker  S  adapter $139 


WEATHER  FAX  RECEIVER 


R1  afe  ivea  fhep-  fajh  mcei  ve;^ 


V 


Join  the  fun.  Get  striking 
Images  directly  from  the 
wsath&r  satellites] 

A  very  sensitive  wideband  fm 
receiver  optimised  for  NOAA 
APT  &  Russian  Meteor  weather  fax  on  the  l37MHz  band. 

Designed  from  the  start  for  optimum  satellite  reception;  not 
just  an  off-the-shelf  scanner  with  a  shorted-out  IF  filter E 

Covers  all  5  sateElite  channels.  Scanner  circuit  &  recorder 
control  aliow  yoij  to  automatiGally  capture  signals  as 
satellites  pass  overhead,  even  while  away  from  home. 

•  R139  Receiver  Kitless  case  , $159 

•  R139  Receiver  Kit  with  case  and  AC  power  adapter  $189 
»  R1 39  Receiver  w/t  in  case  with  AC  power  adapter  ...$239 

•  Internal  PC  Demodulator  Board  &  Imaging  Software  $289 


Turnstile  Antenna  .,.. 


<4-)-l-iH-i4+4-ll-*-ni-B--i^-l-«-l^->l-< 


.S119 


-  Weather  Satellite  Handbook ,.„, 520 


SYNTHESIZED  FM 

EXCITER  &  RECEIVER  MODULES 


NEW 


We   recently   Introduced   new   vhf  fm 
exciters  and  receivers  which  do  not 
require  channel  crystals. 
NOW,.,  uhf  modules  are  also  available! 


Exciters  and  Receivers  provide  high  quality  nbfm  and 
f sk  opera  t  io  n .  Fea  tu  r es  i  rrcl  ude: 

•  Dip  switch  frequency  sefection. 

•  Exc&ptianBt  modulation  for  voice  and  ctcss. 

•  Very  iow  noise  syn  th  esizer  for  repeater  s  erv/ce. 

•  Direct  fm  for  data  up  to  960Q  baud, 

•  TCXO  for  tigiit  frequency  accuracy  in  wide 
range  of  environmentai  conditions. 

•  Next  day  shipping.  No  wait  for  crystafs. 

EXCITERS: 

Rated  for  continuous  duty,  2-3W  output. 

T301  VHF  Exciter;  for  various  bands  l39-174MHz*. 
216-226  MH2. 

•  Kit  (ham  band5onfy)  ...$109     (TCXO  OpliOn  ^40) 

•  Wired/tested,  ind  TCXO... $189 

T304  UHF  Exciter:  various 

bands  400-470  MHz*. 

•  Kit  (440-450  hajm  ba  im  only) 

IncI  TCXO  ...$149 

•  Wired/tested... $1S9 

■  (Or  g<jv'l  &,  export  use. 

RECEIVERS: 

R301  VHF  Receiver:  various  bands  139-174MHz*, 
216-226  MHz. 

•  Kit  (hamtandsorly)  ...Only  $139       (TCXO  OptiOP  $40) 

•  Wired/tested     $209 
(includes  TCXO) 

R304  UHF  Receiver,  various   M 

bands  400-470  MHz*, 

•  Kit  (440-450  ham  bflnd  ctr^ly} 

inci  TCXO.  $179 

•  Wired/tested,..  $209 


TRADITIOniAL  CRYSTAL-COAITROLLED 
VHF  &  UHF  FM  EXCITERS  &  RECEIVERS 


FM  EXCfTERS;   2W  output  coritinuou'S  duty. 

•  TAS1:  foreM,  2M,  220  MHz  „._.„.kit  S99,  w/t  S169 

•  TA451;  for  420-475  MHz. kit  $99,  w/t  Si 69 

•  TA90t:  for  902-926  MHz,  (0.5W out) w/t  S1B9 


VHF  &  UHF  POWER  AMPLIFiERS. 

Output  tevelsfrom  10Wto  100W Starting  at  $99 


FM  RECEIVERS: 

Very  sensitive  -  0.1  SpV 
Superb  selectivity,  >100  dB  down  at  ±12  kHz.  best 

available  anywhere,  flutter-proof  squeEch.  For  46-54, 
72-76,  140-175,  or  216-225  MHz.  ...  kit  $129,  w/t  $189 
•  R144    RCVR.      Lil<e    RlOO,    for    2M,    with    helical 

resonator  in  front  end kit  $159.,  w/t  $219 

.  R4S1  FM  RCVR,  for  420-475  MHz.    Similar  to  RlOO 

above,  kit  $129,  w/t  $189 
-   R9D1  FMRCVR,902'928MHz  $159,  w/t  $219 


WWV  RECEIVER 


Get  time  &  frequency  checks 

without  buying  multiband  hf 

rcvr.  Hear  solar  activity  reports 

affecting  radb  propagation. 

Very  sensitive  and  selective 

cr/stal  controlled  superiiet.  dedicated  to  iistening  to  WWV 

on  1 0  MHz.    Performance  rivals  the  most  expensive  rcvrs. 

-  RWVW  Rcvr  kit,  PCB  only $59 

,  RWWV  Rcvrkit  with  tabl.  spkr,^  12Vck  adapter $89 

SI  29 


RWWV  Rcvr  w/t  In  cab!  witln  spkr  &  adapter 


Buy  at  low,  factory-direct  net  prices  and  save! 

For  complete  info,  call  or  write  for  complete  catalog. 

Order  by  mail,  fax,  email,  or  phone  0-12, 1-5  eastern  timeK 

Min*  $€  S&H  charge  fof  I"  lb.  plu^  add'l  wetght  &  insurance. 

Use  Visa,  MC,  Discover,  check,  or  UPS  C.O,D. 


See  SPECIAL  OFFERS  and  view 
complete  catalog  on  our  web  site: 

www.hamtronias.com 

tmail:  Jv@hanntronics.coni 


Our  36'^  Year 


ronics,  inc 

6S-D  Moul  Rd;  Hilton  NY  14468-9535 
Phone  716-392-9430  (fax  -9421}) 


4' 


& 


ASTRON 

CORPORATION 


9Autry 

Irvine,  CA  9261 8 

(949)  458-7277  *  Fax  (949)  458-0826      www^astroncorp.com 


SWITCHING  POWER  SUPPLIES 

CONT.  ICS  WT,(LBS) 

SS  10  7  10  3  2 

SS-12         10  12  a4 

SS-18         15  18  3  6 

SS-25         20  25  4.2 

SS-30         25  30  5.0 


SS-25M  With  volt  t  amp  meters 
SS'30M  With  volt  &  amp  meters 


ASTRON  POWER  SUPPLIES 

HEAVY  DUTY  •  HIGH  QUALITY  •  RUGGED  *  RELIABLE 


SPECIAL  FEATURES 

•  SOCIO  STATt  ELECTRONICALLY  HEGULATH) 

•  FOLO-BACK  CURRENT  LIM|T^NG  Protects  RM«r  Supply 
from  excessive  current  &  contrnuQUS  sh^^rted  output 

•  CROWBAR  OVER  VOLTAfiE  PROTECTION  on  all  Models 
!j(cipl  RS-3*,  RS-4A.  flS-SA.  RS4L  RS-SL 

•  MAINTAIN  REGULATION  &  LOW  RIPPLE  at  low  Tlrte  input 
Votage 

•  HEAVY  DUTY  HEAT  SINK  •  CHASSIS  MOUNT  RJ^ 

•  TWREE  CONDUCTOR  POWER  CORD  except  for  RS-3A 

•  ONE  YEAR  WARRAI^TV  •  MADE  tN  U.S  A 


PERfORMANCE  SPECIFrCATlONS 

•  INPUT  VOLTAGE  105-125  VAC 

•  OUTPUT  VOLTAGE:  tlB  VOC  +  0.05  volts 
(Intefnally  Adjystatle:  11-15  VDC) 

•  RIPPLE  L&ss  tt^an  5mv  peak  to  peak  (fuN  load  & 
low  line) 

•  All  units  available  in  220  VAC  input  voltage 
(except  for  SL-11A) 


SLSE 


•  LOW  PROFILE  POWER  SUPPLY 


MODEL 

Coloft 
Sny     BliGk 

Continuaus 

Duty  [Amps] 

fCS* 
(Amps) 

SL'IIA 
SL^IIR 
SL-11S 
SL-11R'RA 

•          • 

7 
7 
7 
7 

11 
11 
11 
11 

Size  (IN) 

Shloplflo 

^v.  *  m  X  ¥h 

12 

2%^?    "W 

12 

m  =<  Tk  X  9V< 

12 

A^k'l    "9^4 

13 

RS-L  SERIES 


•  POWER  SUPPLIES  WITH  BUILT  IN  CIGARETTE  LIGHTER  RECEPTACLE 

ConllnttDU£  ICS*  Size  (IKl 

Duly  |Amp«|  (Anpt)  H  ^^  W  ^  13 


Shipping 
Wi  [lbi!l 


RS-4L 
RS^SL 


T^-^Vk^l 


M. 


6 

7 


m  SERIES 


Duty  jAmpf) 

9 

25 

37 


MODEL  ftM-35M 


19"  RACK  MOUNT  POWER  SUPPLIES 

Continuaus 

mm. 

RM'12A 

RM-35A 

RM'SOA 

RM^&OA 

Separate  Volt  arrd  Amp  Meters 

RM-12M  9 

RM'36M  25 

RM-50M  37 

RM^eOM  50 


ICS- 

lAnpt] 

12 

35 

50 
55 

12 

50 
56 


Size  (Ml 

NxWxD 

5'A  X  19  K  e% 

b%  X  19  X  12^6 

5Vi  X  19  X  Wh 

7x19x12^^ 

S'A>cl9x8^A 

5Vi  X  19  X  12% 

5^Ax  19x12% 

7xl9x12'A 


SMpjinn 

WL  mx 

% 
3S 
50 
60 

16 

3a 

50 

60 


RS-A  SERIES 


MODEL  ftS-7A 


MODEL 

RS-3A 

RS-4A 

RS-5A 

FIS-7A 

RS-10A 

RS'12A 

RS'12B 

RS-20A 

FtS-35A 

RS-50A 
RS'70A 


Colors 
Qriy       Black 


« 

* 
■ 


CHliiitii 

PUT  (A-Ml 

23 

3 
4 

5 

7.5 
9 

16 

25 

37 
57 


ICS' 

3 
4 
5 

7 

10 

12 

12 

20 

35 

50 
70 


Sill  tmi 

N  X  W  X  B 
3  X  4^/4  X  5^ 
3^*  X  6V3  X  9 

Z\k  x6Vfi  X  7V4 
3^/4  X  6^/?  X  9 

4x  Vh  X  ^Q% 
4^y^  X  8  X  9 

A  X  Tk  X  Wk 

5  X  9  X  10V? 

5x  11  X  11 

6x  13^^  X  11 
fi  X  WA  X  12*4 


Sltippini 
WL  (titj 

4 

S 

7 

B 

11 

13 

13 

IB 

n 


t 


RS-M  SERIES 


MODEL  RS'35M 


MOQEL 

Switcliable  vdt  ifid  Amp  meier 

RS^I^ 

Separate  vott  and  Amp  meters 

RS-aOiWI 

RS^aSM 

RS-50M 
fiS-70M 


Clitiiiftut 
fiiltf  [Aapsj 

9 

16 
25 

37 
57 


ICS* 
|Al|t) 

12 

20 
35 

50 

70 


Ski  IIH) 
IxWxl 

41i  X  fl  X  9 

5  X  9  X  TO^ 
5  X  11  X  11 

6x  13^  X  11 

6  *  13V*  X  12\ 


5bip|ih| 
HfL  |Jlt.| 

13 

18 
Z7 


48 


VS-M  AND  VRM-M  SERIES 


Separate  Volt  and  Amp  Meters  •  Output  Voitage  adjustable  from  2-15  volts  *  Current  limit  adjustable  from  1.5  amps 


MODEL  VS-35M 


t€  RjII  Load 

MODEL 

VS-T2M 
VS-20M 
VS-35M 

VS'7DM 

Variable  rack  mount  power  supplies 

VRM-35M  25 

VRM-50M  37 


Ctilinion 

Dtly  |Ari$| 

#13  8VDC  @10VDC  @5VDC 


9 

16 

25 

37 
17 


5 

9 

15 

22 

34 

IS 
22 


2 
4 

7 
10 
IS 

7 
10 


ICS* 

@13.8V 

12 

20 

35 

50 
70 

35 
50 


Si2i  (IMI 
IX  Wx  II 

4'j^  X  8  X  9 

5  X  9  x  10^^ 
5x  11  X  It 

6  X  13^  x  t1 
6ic13'^^x12'; 

5Vi  X  19x  Wk 
5V4  X  19  X  IZVi 


Sli|pli| 

WL  [III] 

13 

20 
29 
46 
49 

38 
50 


RS-S  SERIES 


MODEL  RS-12S 


Built  in  speaker 

MODEL 

RS-7S 

ftS-lOS 

RS-12S 

RS^20S 

SL'IIS 


Calors 
Gray       Slack 


• 


Cinllniiii 
Dtjly  [Aapi] 

5 

73 

B 

16 

7 


Ampt 
7 
10 
12 
20 

11 


Size  |1N| 
H  X  W  X  D 

4  X  7^^  X  10'^ 

4x7'hx  WA 

4'k  X  8  X  9 

5  X  9  X  Wk 

2=^  X  7^-i  X  9% 


Shijlplil 
WL  [llr| 

10 

12 

13 

18 

12 


«C&— Intermitttnl  Commtjnicaliofi  S^v^ce  (50%  Oirty  Cycle  5<tiin  on  5  mi n,  off) 


CIRCLE  16  ON  DEADER  SQ1VICE  QAFID 


J 


World's 
'  Smallest 


Transmitlers 


WecalUhemlhe^Cubes'., 

Perfect  video  transmission 

from  a  transmitter 

you  can  hide  under 

a  Quarter  and  only 

as  \h\Crk  as  a  stacl< 

of  four  pennies- 

ttiafs  a  nicl^el  in 

the  picture! 

Transmtis  color  or  B&W  with  Fantastic  quality  -  aJmost  like  a  direct 

wtred  connection  to  any  TV  tuned  to  cable  channel  69,  Ciyslal 

controlled  tor  no  frequency  drift  with  performance  that  equals  law 

enforcement  models  that  cost  hundreds  more!  Basic  20  mW 

model  Lransmits  up  to  300'  while  the  high  power  100  mW  unit 

goes  up  to  1/4  mile.  Audio  units  Incfude  sound  using  a  sensitive 

built-in  mike  that  will  hear  a  whisper  15  feet  away!  Units  mn  on  9 

volts  and  hook-yp  to  most  any  CCD  camera.  Any  of  our  can^eras 

have  been  tested  to  mate  perfectfy  with  our  Cubes  and  work 

gr&at.  Fully  assemblect  -  just  hook-up  power  and  you're  on  the  air! 

C-2000,  Basic  Video  Transmitter  Cube, ...,.., „ $89-95 

C-3000,  Basic  Video  and  Audio  Transmitter  Cube ,„,.S149.95 

C-2001,  High  Power  Video  Transmitter  Cube .-$179.95 

C'3001,  High  Power  Video  and  Audio  Transmitter  Cube $229.95 


mmm. 

— TT 

1 

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k 

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Super  Pro  FM  Stereo 
Radio  Transmitter 


A  truly  profes- 
sional frequen- 
cy synthesized 
FM  Stereo 
transmitter  sta- 
tion in  one 
easy  to  use, 
handsome  cab- 
inet. Most  radb 
stations  require 
a  whde  equipment  mck  to  hold  all  the  features  we've  packed 
into  the  FM-IOO.  Set  frequency  easily  with  the  Up/Down  ireq 
buttons  and  the  big  LED  digitaJ  display,  Plus  there's  input  low 
pass  fiftering  that  gives  great  sound  no  matter  what  the  source 
(no  more  squeals  or  swishing  sounds  from  cheap  CD  player 
inputs!)  Peak  I im iters  for  maximum  'punch'  in  your  audio  -  with- 
out over  modulation,  LED  bargraph  meters  for  easy  setting  of 
audio  levels  and  a  built-in  mixer  with  mike  and  line  level  inputs. 
Churches,  drive-ins,  schools  and  coiieges  find  the  FM-100  to  be 
the  answer  to  their  transmitting  needs,  you  will  too,  No  one 
offers  aJI  these  features  at  this  price!  M  includes  cabinet,  whip 
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THE  TEAM 

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Michael  GeierKBIUIVT 
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Dr.  Marc  Leavey  WA3AJR 
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DECEMBER  1998 

ISSUE  #459 


Amateur 
Radio  Today 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


FEATURES 


DEPAFITMENTS 


10    Probing  Auto  Electronics  —  W6WTU 

Help  your  neighbor  identity  his  car's  problem 
and  be  an  electronlo's  hero! 

14    Announcing  the  QRFeanut  —  N5GZH 

Here's  a  compact  QRP  transmatch  you  can  build 

for  next  10  nothing. 

17    Keys  to  Better  Operating  —  W6BNB 
Yes.  much  otitis  common  sense ... 

27     Electronic  Bug  Emulator  —  W4LJD 
Put  some  personality  back  into  your  CW. 

31  Low- Voltage  Detector  -  W6WTU 

...  k>r  a  number  of  uses, 

32  George's  XE-lent  Adventure  -  WB2AQC 

Part  2:  Days  10-18. 


WB6IGP 

39 

AtMve  8l  Beyond 

49 

Ad  Index 

64 

Barter  'n'  Buy 

K4IPV 

42 

Carr's  Corner 

KB7N0 

45 

The  Digital  Port 

W5ACM 

45 

Hamsats 

NZ9E 

43 

Ham  to  Ham 

6 

Letters 

W2NSD/1 

4 

Never  Say  Die 

46 

New  Products 

KE8YN/4 

47 

On  the  Go 

W1XU/7 

62 

Propagation 

8 

QRX 

6,8, 

2a 

Radio  Bookshop 

62, 

63 

39 

Special  Events 

REVIEWS 


24     A  Real  Handful  -  VE3EGA 

Inside  Alinco's  DJ-C5  dual-band  transceiver. 

29    Seeing  Drts  and  Dahs  —  N1FN 

The  K2659  Morse  Decoder  Kit  from  Velleman  Electronics. 

52    The  Drake  TR  Series;  No  Introduction  Needed  -  W2BLC 

,..  but  here's  the  skinny  on  some  of  the  best  vintage  equipment 
available  today 


On  the  cover:  And  how  many  hams  out  there  have  visions  of  these  two  sugarplums  dancing  in  their 
heads?  Photo  of  ICOM's  IC-Q7Aand  IC-T8A  handheld  FM  transceivers  by  Norman  Marion,  Happy 
Holidays  to  all! 


Feedback:  Any  circuit  works  better  with  feedback,  so  please  lake  the  time  to  report  on 
how  much  you  like,  hate,  or  don't  care  one  way  or  the  other  about  the  articles  and 
columns  in  this  issue.  G  =  great!,  O  =  okay,  and  U  =  ugh.  The  G*s  and  O's  will  be 
continued.  Enough  U's  and  it's  Silent  Keysville.  Hey,  this  is  your  communications 
medium,  so  don't  just  sit  there  scratching  your.. .er,.. head.  FYI:  Feedback  ^'number"  is 
usually  the  page  number  on  which  the  article  or  column  starts. 


73  Amateur  Radio  Today  (ISSN  1052-2522)  fs  published  monthly  by  73  Magazine,  70  N202,  Peterborough  NH 
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Number  1  on  your  Feedl^scH  csrct 


NeUER  SnV  DIE 


Wayne  Green  W2NSD/1 


JYl 

I  was  discouraged  to  read 
that  His  Majesty  JYl  was 
back  at  the  Mayo  Clinic  in 
Minnesota  and  still  '*fighting" 
cancer.  The  normal  treat'- 
nicnts  for  cancer  are  legalized 
torture,  with  chemotherapy, 
radiation  and  surgery.  I  wish 
there  was  some  way  to  (a)  get 
word  to  him  and  (b)  convince 
him  that  he  doesn't  have  to  be 
tortured  and  then  die.  Even  at 
this  stage,  which  obviously  is 
very  far  along,  if  he'd  read  the 
book  by  Dr.  Bruno  Comby 
(Maximize  Immunity),  which 
I've  been  recommending  for 
several  years  as  a  book  "you're 
crazy  if  you  don't  read,"  Fm 
convinced  he  could  be  totally 
well  now,  complete  with  a 
full  head  of  hair  instead  of 
totally  bald. 

We  get  cancer  for  one  reason 
only:  We've  compromised  otir 
unmune  system.  Our  bodies 
generate  tiny  cancers  con- 
tinually, but  our  immune  sys- 
tem cleans  them  up  for  us. 
Then,  when  we  weaken  our 
immune  system  enough,  it 
isn't  long  before  a  cancer 
somewhere  is  going  to  win 
and  then  we're  in  deep  doo- 
doo.  That's  when  we  hear  the 
two  words  from  our  doctor 
that  we  never  want  to  hear; 
"Uh-oh," 

The  National  Cancer  Insti- 
tute and  the  American  Cancer 
Society  have  been  doing  ev- 
erything they  can,  with  the 
help  of  the  AMA  and  FDA,  to 
make  sure  that  alternatives  to 
chemotherapy,  surgery  and 
radiation  are  stopped  from 
being  developed  or  known. 
Hey,  if  we  stop  making  our- 
selves sick  we  could  stop 
spending  a  trillion  and  a  half 
dollars  a  year  —  ihal's  one 

4  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  *  December  1998 


and  a  half  thousand  billion 
dollar  a  year  we're  costing 
ourselves.  Of  course,  that  would 
put  thousands  of  hospitals  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  doctors 
out  of  work,  and  virtually  wipe 
out  the  pharmaceutical  and 
insurance  industries. 

Gee,  lough. 

So  don't  upset  things  by 
changing  your  habits  and  take 
your  chemo  torture  like  a  man. 
Chemo  and  radiation  both  wipe 
out  your  immune  system,  so 
your  first  and  last  lines  of  de- 
fense against  cancer  are  gone. 
Yes,  the  last  stages  of  cancer 
can  be  extremely  painful,  but 
the  doctors  won't  give  you 
the  painkillers  you  need  for 
fear  of  losing  their  Hcenses. 
The  needed  narcotics  can  be 
addictive,  you  know,  so  the 
medical  review  boards  are  al- 
ways on  the  lookout  for  any 
doctors  who  are  prescribing 
narcotics,  and  never  mind  if 
there  are  good  reasons. 

In  1996  the  Federation  of 
State  Medical  Boards  met  in 
Chicago  and  agreed  to  coor- 
dinate a  national  network  to 
punish  any  doctors  who  used 
alternative  methods.  For  in- 
stance, there  was  Dr.  Glen 
Warner,  who  had  been  using 
the  required  cancer  therapies 
for  more  than  20  years  at  one 
of  Seattle's  largest  hospitals. 
He  left  and  started  his  own 
cancer  institute  and,  using  al- 
ternative therapies,  had  one 
of  the  best  records  for  success 
of  any  doctor  in  the  country. 
They  revoked  his  license. 

Dn  Warner  said,  "We  have 
a  multi-billion  dollar  industry 
that  is  killing  people,  right 
and  left,  just  for  financial  gain 
.. .  doctors,  oncologists,  they 
don't  want  chemotherapy  to 
be  disproved.  That  is  where 
their  money  is," 


From  John  Robbin*s  book 
Reclaiming  Our  Health:  '\.. 
the  vast  majority  of  studies 
show  that  radiation  cannot 
cure  cancer,  and  that  it  can 
rarely  extend  life  for  people 
with  the  disease  ...  the  truth 
is  that,  for  more  than  90%  of 
people  with  cancer,  chemo- 
therapy had  next  to  nothing  to 
offer  ...  oncologists  say  that 
they  would  not  allow  chemo- 
therapy to  be  given  to  them- 
selves or  their  families  .., 
oncologists  characteristically 
downplay  the  level  of  suffer- 
ing involved  with  chemo- 
therapy- 

The  chief  chemotherapist 
at  the  Mayo  Clinic  admitted 
in  a  published  paper  that  he 
gave  chemotherapy  to  cancer 
patients  which  he  knew  would 
not  help  them,  right  up  to 
their  deaths,  in  order  to  keep 
them  from  trying  alternative 
therapies. 

No,  it  is  not  easy  to  change 
a  lifetime  of  eating  habits,  but 
as  you  eat  you  should  be 
aware  of  what's  ahead.  And 
not  even  the  wealth  and 
power  of  a  king  will  be  able 
to  save  you  from  what  you've 
done  to  yourself. 

Hear  Wayne  Talk! 

On  my  way  to  a  short  As- 
pen ski  vacation  Til  be  stop- 
ping off  in  Denver  to  give 
a  talk,  1  hope  you  can  make 
it.  ItMl  be  at  the  Airport  Em- 
bassy Suites,  January  5lh  at 
7  pm.  Yes,  it's  free.  So  what' 11 
1  be  talking  about?  The  same 
things  I  write  about  in  my 
editorials  —  amateur  radio, 
your  health,  how  to  make 
money,  and  so  on.  Or,  for  that 
matter,  anything  you  ask  about, 
This  Ml  give  me  an  opportu- 
nity to  meet  you  personally, 


and  maybe  answer  some 
questions  for  you. 

At  the  recent  Peoria  hamfest 
one  chap  asked  me  if  the  uni- 
verse is  expanding  or  not.  The 
preponderance  of  evidence  in- 
dicates that  it  isn't,  that  it's  a 
steady-state  universe. 

If  you're  planning  to  come 
it  would  be  most  helpful  if 
you'd  let  me  know  so  I  won't 
try  to  fit  a  hundred  people  in 
a  20-person  meeting  room. 

How  About  Skiing? 

ril  be  skiing  at  Aspen 
January  6-1 1  and  I  really  hate 
to  ski  alone.  It's  a  lot  more 
fun  to  be  with  some  others  on 
those  chair  rides,  and  to  share 
the  incredible  excitement  of 
whooshing  down  the  slopes  at 
breakneck  speed.  I  love  it.  The 
English  language  is  the  pits 
when  it  comes  to  explaining 
emotions  like  that- 

And  it's  fun  to  go  to  the 
many  superb  Aspen  restau- 
rants with  friends.  And  lalk. 
If  you  can  get  away  for  a  few 
days,  this  is  the  low  season 
time  at  Aspen,  right  after  the 
New  Year's  holidays,  so  the 
slopes  are  relatively  open  and 
the  lift  lines  normally  zilch.  I 
hope  the  weather  cooperates. 
Last  year  it  snowed  all  but 
one  day  during  my  visit, 
which  took  the  fun  out  of  it, 
reducing  the  visibility  to 
inches- 1  like  to  see  where  I'm 
going  and  get  there  fast  rather 
than  feeling  my  way  along. 

Yes,  of  course  FU  have  an 
HT  in  my  pocket  tuned  to  the 
local  repeater. 

Scramble 

The  Kachina,  featured  on 
our  August  cover,  seems  to 
have  left  the  rest  of  the  ham 
industry  in  the  dust,  scram- 
bling to  catch  up.  I  think 
we*ve  now  seen  a  good  pre- 
view of  what  our  top  21st 
century  ham  rigs  will  look  like. 
Well,  it  only  makes  sense  Lo 
marry  our  rigs  and  comput- 
ers. After  all,  our  rigs  have 
been  increasingly  computer- 
ized with  frequency  synthe- 
sizers and  digital  signal  pro- 
cessing, so  the  move  to  a 
knobless  rig  that's  100%  com- 
puter-controlled is  an  obvious 
next  step. 

I'll  bet  the  engineers  in  To- 


kyo  and  Osaka  are  working 
overtime  to  catch  up  with  this 
American- made  evolutionary 
producL 

If  you're  fortunate  enough 
to  get  a  Kachina,  let's  hear 
how  it's  doing  for  you.  With 
the  sunspots  perking  away, 
opening  our  DX  bands  for 
more  and  more  hours  a  day, 
let  me  know  what  goodies 
you've  dug  out  of  the  pileups. 
Oh  yes,  if  you  luck  into  a 
truly  interesting  contact,  please 
make  a  note  of  it  and  let  mc 
know  the  details.  I  keep  fan- 
tasizing that  such  a  thing  is 
possible,  but  I  need  some 
sort  of  evidence  to  prove  this 
isn't  just  another  W2NSD/] 
fantasy. 

Skills 

Talk  about  fuzzy  thinking! 
The  FCC  believes  we  should 
have  several  license  classes  to 
"to  encourage  amateur  opera- 
tors to  advance  their  skills/' 
Skills  have  never  been  devel- 
oped by  memorizing  a  Q&A 
manual  —  they're  built  by 
doing,  so  the  whole  idea  thai 
different  classes  of  licenses 
will  build  skills  is  really 
dumb.  It's  a  crock. 

If  you  want  to  build  your 
packet  skills  you  get  involved 
with  packet.  Ditto  satellite 
communications,  fox  hunting, 
and  all  of  the  other  fun  facets 
of  our  hobby.  Unless  you're 
too  damned  lazy. 

Which  is  why  1  think  that 
having  more  than  one  license 
class  is  a  holdover  from  the 
pre-war  ham  days  when  a 
Class  A  license  permitted  you 
to  operate  in  the  two  narrow 
phone  bands  on  75  and  20m. 
In  those  AM  days  there  was 
room  for  about  nine  round 
tables  and  that  was  that,  so  it 
was  necessary  to  make  it 
more  difficult  to  get  the  privi- 
lege. Well,  that  was  1940  and 
now  we're  going  on  2{XX),  and 
it's  about  time  our  regulations 
were  tailored  to  meet  today*s 
world  instead  of  one  a  few 
old-dmcrs  like  me  remember. 

It's  nice  that  the  ARRL 
grudgingly  has  proposed  that 
we  cut  back  to  only  four  li- 
cense classes.  Only?  Lordy! 

rd  like  to  see  this  whole 
class  business  junked.  Then  Fd 
like  to  see  a  lot  more  articles 
telling  our  somnolent  brelh- 


'  ren  how  much  fun  you're 
having  on  6m,  with  slow  scan, 
and  so  on.  Fan  the  flames  of 
interest.  Tell  'em  what  fun 
you're  having  on  our  ham 
satellites.  Show  us  some  of 
the  stuff  you're  doing  on 
slow  scan. 

How  about  getting  your 
club  to  start  putdng  together 
some  videos  showing  what 
can  be  done  with  moon- 
bounce,  with  fox  hunting,  and 
so  on.  I'll  be  glad  to  help 
make  copies  for  other  clubs 
to  show  at  their  club  meet- 
ings. We  desperately  need  to 
get  some  life  into  club  meet- 
ings. So  how  about  producing 
some  20-minute  or  half-hour 
ham  videos  which  will  help  get 
a  few  hams  off  dead  center? 

What's  happening  down  on 
160m  these  days?  Do  a  video. 
Next  summer,  how  about  a 
video  of  your  club's  Field 
Day  effort?  Don't  tell  me 
your  members  don*t  have 
video  cameras  —  so  get  busy. 
You  could  do  some  great  vid- 
eos of  fox  hunts.  How  about 
one  on  getting  on  RTTY? 

Clubs  go  on  DXpeditions 
every  now  and  then.  So 
when's  the  last  dme  you 
saw  a  video  report  made 
available  for  other  clubs  to 
enjoy?  A  video  could  in- 
clude both  video  and  slides. 

We  build  our  skills  by 
doing  things,  so  iei's  get 
rid  of  our  many  classes 
and  get  busy  encouraging 
hams  to  get  involved  with 
new  modes  and  bands, 
which  really  will  help 
build  their  skills. 


Unlimited  Memory 

Yes,  I  know,  I've  written 
about  memory  before,  but 
since  (a)  there  are  some 
new  readers  and  (b)  your 
memory  of  what  Tve  writ- 
ten is  probably  approach- 
ing zilch,  let's  walk  through 
all  this  again. 

Firstly,  scientists  don't 
know  where  our  memory 
is  stored.  Oh,  they  know  if 
they  poke  an  electrode 
into  the  brain  about  here 
they  can  stimulate  a  spe- 
cific memory.  But  that's 
like  sncking  a  test  prod 
into  a  telephone  switch- 
board. 


If  you've  read  much  about 
the  brain  you  know  that  we 
have  had  people  who've  sur- 
vived accidents  which  de- 
stroyed around  90%  of  their 
brain  with  no  loss  of  their 
memory  or  other  functions. 
Worse,  other  people  have  also 
lost  90%  of  their  brains,  but 
another  90%,  and  they're  do- 
ing just  fine,  too.  We  don't 
seem  to  have  any  limit  to  how 
much  we  can  learn.  Our 
memory,  unlike  that  of  our 
computers^  seems  completely 
unlimited.  Not  that  possible 
memory  limitations  are  much 
of  a  potential  problem  for  most 
people.  They  read  (but  not 
much)  and  they  forget  most  of 
what  they  We  read. 

Inputting  Data 

Reading  makes  it  possible 

for  you  to  gel  your  informa- 
tion from  the  most  knowl- 
edgeable people  in  the  world. 
It's  a  direct  line.  It's  also  an 
excellent  source  of  strongly 
held,  but  unfounded,  opin- 
ions, so  you  have  to  be  picky 


about  what  you  accept  as 
valid  data. 

Most  of  us  are  taught  to 
read  in  school.  But  just 
barely.  A  growing  percentage 
of  our  graduates,  even  from 
college,  are  virtually  illiter- 
ate. Lordy,  I  wish  you  could 
see  some  of  the  letters  I  get! 

Reading  is  a  skill  and  as 
such  it  can  be  improved  by 
you  forcing  yourself  to  read 
faster  and  faster.  But  yoy 
have  to  push.  It's  the  same  as 
with  running  or  swimming. 
You  get  better  at  skills  by 
pushing  yourself  and  then 
pushing  harder.  The  really 
great  thing  about  reading 
faster  is  that  the  faster  you 
read,  the  more  you  retain  of 
what  you've  read. 

Undl,  with  your  help,  I  can 
get  our  educational  establish- 
ment to  start  producing  out- 
standing educational  videos 
that  will  teach  all  of  the  K-12 
subjects  in  a  fraction  of  the 
usual  time,  and  make  the  ma- 
terial available  anywhere  the 

ContUiued  on  page  57 


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CIRCLE  335  ON  READER  SERVICE  CARD 

73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    5 


Lehers 


Nuntbor  $  on  yaiir  Feedback  csrd 


From  the  Ham  Shack 


Richard  Tlninipsiw;  Abi-      indusiry  ai  ihis  lime  and  who 


lene  TX.  I'm  hoping  ihaf  the 
Raders  of  73  Magazine  can  liclp 
me  with  some  research  ihal 

I'm  carrying  oui.  Vm  ^u^rking 
on  a  btKJk  on  ihe  devefopmeni 
of  quarlz-cryslal -control led 
coinniunicationb  during  World 
War  n. 

As  Vm  sure  many  of  you 
know,  the  Army  waited  until 
1940  to  decide  to  su  iich  lo  crys- 
tal-controlled radios.  At  the 
lime,  they  feU  thai  *;ince  we 
weren't  in  a  war,  the  handful  of 
companies  manufacturing 
quartz  crystal  unii!>  (QCUs) 
could  handle  the  demand.  WelK 
in  another  year,  we  were  in  the 
war.  the  demand  for  QCUs  was 
far  beyond  what  they'd  esii- 
mated,  and  diere  was  no  way 
that  the  cuircni  crystal  industry 
could  luuidlc  I  he  job. 

The  response  by  the  Army 
was  10  form  ilic  Quari/  Crystal 
Section,  under  the  Signal  Corpus, 
whose  job  it  was  to  develt>p 
mass  production  lechniqucs  for 
QCUs  anil  ihen  in  find  I  he 
manufaciurcrs  lu  prod  tic  c  ihem. 
A  small  yrtHip  of  civilians  (ge- 
ologists, engineers,  and  physi- 
cists) liierally  created  an 
industry  from  scraich.  A  scci>nd 
problem  thai  develojied  afier  the 
indusirv  came  on  line  was  the 
"aging"  problem  with  crystals: 
a  niystcrinus  increase  in  the 
natural  oscillating  frequency 
after  a  shon  time  in  the  field. 
The  physicists  at  the  Signal 
Corps  Lab  in  Fl.  Monmouth. 
New  Jersey,  were  called  on  to 
find  the  reasim  behind  this  prob- 
lem and  develop  a  solution. 
which  ihey  did. 

For  my  boi>k,rm  kxiking  for 
first-person  accounts  uf  ihesc 
events.  Tm  interested  in  two 
major  areas:  L  I  would  like  to 
make  coniacl  with  anyone  who 
may  have  worked  in  the  crvstal 


would  know  something  of  what 
i[  took  for  this  industrv^  to  be 
created,  or  a  ham  who  might 

know  snniething  about  the  state 
of  ihe  an  in  crystals  at  the  bc- 
sinnins  of  the  war:  and  2.  Anv 
military  veterans  (especially 
Army  .-\ir  Corp^)  who  might  re- 
member tlie  efiecLs  on  commu- 
nications of  firsL  the  shortage  of 
cnstal  units  at  thebesinnins  of 
the  wan  and  second,  ihe  prob- 
lems caused  by  the  aging  prob- 
lem (one  of  my  sources  who 
worked  in  the  Quartz  Crystal 
Section  speaks  of  an  urgent  tele- 
gram to  ihe  Pentagon  from  Gen. 
Eaker  of  the  Hth  Air  Force 
complaining  of  a  serious  problem 
with  communications  and 
sia>iig[y  urging  that  a  solution  be 
found). 

Any    B-I7   radiomen   out 
there?  I  would  love  to  hear  what 
you  have  to  say.  I  can  be  con- 
tacted at  the  following  address: 
Dr.  Richard  J.  Thompson.  Jr 
McMuiiy  University 
McM  Station,  Box  38 
Abilene  TX  79697 
Phone:  (915)  793-3875 
E-mail:  [rihompson@mcm. 
edu] 

How  aboui  ir?  Lefs  dim  off 
some  memories!  —  Eif. 


John  G.  Boles  KA6LWC,  I 
would  like  to  comment  on  a  re- 
cent "QRX"  article  in  the  Octo- 
ber 1998  issue  of  73  Amaieur 
Radio  Today,  "What  to  Do 
About  YourTechnician  Accenr 
bv  Bill  Smith  N2SZW. 

In  the  second  paragraph,  he 
mentions  not  to  use  the  word 
"clear"  when  nobody  replies  to 
the  announcement  one  is  on  fre- 
quency. This  ts  a  "lerri  tonal** 
issue,  because  in  many  areas,  it 
indicates  that  the  operator  is 
leaving  the  locaJ  frequency  and  is 


not  monitoring  Ihe  repeater.  (Iius 
ending  liis  cuiiimunicatiuns  or 
attempted  commimicalions.  Tn  the 
second  paragraph  from  the  bot- 
tom, beginning  "Avoid  endless 
.,,,"  he  proceeds  lo  state  that  the 
use  of  "clear**  is  acceptable  to  end 
a  con>municalion.  This  appears  to 
be  a  contradiction  because  when 
one  ]e^ve%  the  local  frequency, 
there\s  an  end  lo  communicaiions 
and  monitoring. 

Another  issue:  The  letters 
PTT  have  often  been  used  to 
indicate  Pnsh  To  Talk,  If  vou 
think  about  it,  it  really  means 
Push  Think  Talk.  The  Ihink  de- 
lay'* allows  transmitter^  auJ  re- 
peaters time  10  get  into  the 
transmit  nuKle  so  thai  the  first 
worIs  ane  not  cut  off. 

1  notice  that  "QRX*'  has  no  E- 
mail  address  for  respt>nses,  nor 
is  there  any  E-mail  address  for 
73  Magazine.  It  would  be  help- 
ful to  note  any  E-mail  addresses 
available  on  a  separate  eolumn/ 
masthead. 

Aciuallw  73*5  E-mail  address 
is  on  ihe  '"Table  of  Contents** 
poi^c  a /id  is  (he  same  for  all 
Depanmenis :  {design  7S@aoL 
comf.  —  Ed. 


Ned  Stevens  K7ELP, 
Murray  UT.  I  really  enjoyed 
the  urliclc  "WhaTs  the  Scoop  on 
the  Lazy  ljK>p?";  by  WA2UGT 
ill  the  September  1998  issue. 
Besides  being  very  interesting  to 
me  it  was  timely  as  1  was  in  the 
process  of  deciding  what  low- 
band  antennas  to  install  at  this 
QTH.  It  sure  proves  the  more 
wire  you  have  in  ihe  air  the 
belter  you  will  do. 

This  article  reminded  me  of 
an  experience  1  had  some  30 
years  or  so  ago.  I  was  on  active 
duly  with  the  US  Coasi  Guard, 
stationed  at  Lualualei,  Hawaii 
(northwest  section  of  the  island 
ofOahu,  a  lew  miles  from  Ho- 
nolulu). 1  was  in  charge  of  a 
conuiiunications  station  trans- 
mitter site.  We  were  having 
some difficultN  in communicat- 
ing  with  our  ships  in  the  nonh- 
west  Pacific  Ocean,  At  the  time 
all  our  transmitting  uniennas 
were  either  conical  monopc>Ies 
or  an  occasional  quarter-wave 


wire  vertical.  The  conical  mnno- 
poles  were  broadbanded,  as  I 
recall.  They  were  operated  from 
about  4  MHz  to  16  MH/,  The 
site  had  enough  space  for  a 
longwire  antenna  so  we  built  a 
horizontal  V  antenna,  with  Uae 
vertex  poind ng  to  the  location 
of  the  ships.  Wc  made  each  leg 
four  wavelengths  Ions  at  the  16 
MHz  frequency.  We  used  a 
small  ham  CW  transmitter  tuned 
to  16  MHz  to  tune  the  antenna. 
As  1  recall,  the  transmitter  was 
an  ATL  We  were  fonunate,  as 
the  feedpoint  of  the  antenna 
turned  out  to  be  200  ohms.  We 
then  made  aquaner-wave  batun 
out  of  the  large  coaxial  cable  we 
used  for  transmission  One.  The 
coax  was  5\J  ohm  but  about  one 
inch  in  diameter.  This  aiuenna 
improved  the  signal  to  the  ships 
by  a  iremendouN  amount  as  the 
communications  went  from  mar- 
ginal to  05  at  tx>ih  ends.  Some- 
thing in  my  memory  tells  me  that 
we  designed  the  V  antenna  for  the 
radiation  angle  fur  the  distance 
that  we  wea^  transmitting. 


Rich  Mollentine  WA0KKC 

Shawnee  Mission  KS.  Ham  ra- 
dio is  a  hobby,  but  on  occasion 
sotnc  take  it  as  an  obsession — 
lu  the  detriment  of  1  heir  family 
and  friends.  It's  like  anylhing 
else:  ll  shoutd  lie  baktiiccd  with 
the  other  things  of  life.  Many  an 
XYL  will  question  why  we 
spend  24  hours  straight  in  a  con- 
tesl  talking  to  strangers  in 
Borneo  or  Pago  Pago  but  have 
no  time  for  rhem. 

Balance  your  hobby  with  your 
other  family  oblifiations. 


WANTED 

Fun,  easy-to-build 

projects  for 

publication  tn  73. 

For  more  info, 

write  to: 

Joyce  Sawtelle, 

73  Amateur  Radio  Today. 
70  Route  202  North, 

Peterborough  NH  03458, 


6  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  *  December  1998 


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www.icomamerlca.Qom 


QRK  .  .  . 


Nutnb^r  8  on  your  Feedback  card 


Who's  Your  Hero? 


Each  year  the  ARRL  honors  four  dedicated 

ham  radio  instructors,  teachers,  and  recruiters. 
Clubs  or  individuals  are  asked  1o  complete  a 
romination  form  for  the  nominees,  More  infor- 
mation about  the  awards  can  be  found  at  [htip;// 
www.arrl.org/ead/award/).  If  you  do  not  have 
internet  access  and  would  like  a  nomination  form, 
please  contact  Jean  Wolfgang  WB3I0S  at  (860) 
594-0219,  in  the  ARRL  Educational  Activities 
Department. 

•  Nomination  forms  must  then  be  sent  to  your 
ARRL  Section  Manager  before  January  31 , 1 999. 
A  list  of  ARRL  Section  Managers  is  available  at 
[http://www,arrl.org/field/org/srTilist.html]  or  can 
be  found  on  page  12  of  any  QST. 


Ham  Astronomer  Honored 


James  Moran  K1AKE,  of  Concord,  Massachu- 
setts, has  been  elected  to  the  prestigious  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  one  of  60  new  members 
announced  last  April  28.  Moran  is  a  radio  astrono- 
mer at  the  Harvard-Smitiisontan  Center  for  Astro- 
physics and  a  professor  at  Han/ard  University,  He 
is  best  known  for  his  application  of  the  techniques 
of  Very  Long  Baseline  Interferometry  to  the  study 
of  astronomical  masers. 

From  the  ARRL,  via  Newsline,  Bill  Pasternak 
WA51TF,  editor. 


Hams  Serve  in  Times  of 
ISIatura!  Disaster 


Ham  radio  was  en  the  scene  as  flash  flooding 
hit  Mexico  City  on  Monday,  September  28th.  Five 
people  died  and  thousands  were  left  homeless  af- 
ter mudslides  unleashed  by  weeks  of  heavy  rain 
buried  homes  in  the  Mexican  capital  and  left  entire 
suburbs  underwater. 

The  storms  and  mudslides  knocked  out  utilities 
and  telephone  service  to  the  affected  parts  of  the 
city.  According  to  news  reports,  ham  radio  opera- 
tors stepped  in  to  provide  lines  of  communications 
forsearch-and-rescue  groups  and  relief  authorities. 
They  also  worked  at  warning  the  people  of  the  dan- 
gers in  the  area  and  gave  basic  recommendations 
to  avoid  danger. 

Ham  radio  operators  in  the  Balkans  were  also 
on  the  spot  with  reports  as  a  tremor  rocked 
Belgrade  and  central  Serbia.  The  quake,  which 
measured  5.4  on  the  Richter  scale,  rocked  the  area 

8  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


early  on  Wednesday,  September  30th.  ft  caused 
minor  damage  in  the  center  of  Belgrade,  knock- 
ing out  power  and  telephone  service  in  parts  of 
the  city. 

Reports  from  amateur  radio  operators  said 
people  in  the  area  had  run  from  their  homes  in 
their  nightclothes.  clutching  their  children.  The 
reports  said  that  rubble  from  one  building  did 
crash  into  a  city  street,  but  nobody  was  injured.  A 
ham  in  the  town  of  Valjevo  reported  slight  damage 
there,  as  well. 

From  VHF  Reflector,  published  news  reports, 
via  Newsline,  Bill  Pasternak  WA6ITF,  editor- 


Yet  Another  Visit 
from  You  Know  Who 


Twas  the  night  before  Christmas,  and  all 
through  two  meters. 
Not  a  signal  was  keying  up  any  repeaters. 
The  antennas  reached  up  from  the  tower,  quite 


To  catch  the  weak  signals  that  bounced  from 

the  sky. 
The  children,  Tech^Pluses,  took  their  HTs to  bed, 
And  dreamed  of  the  day  they'd  be  Extras  instead. 
Mom  put  on  her  headphones,  I  plugged  in  the 

key, 
And  we  tuned  40  meters  for  that  rare  ZK3, 
When  the  meter  was  pegged  by  a  signal  with 

power. 
It  smoked  a  small  diode,  and,  I  swear,  shook 

the  tower. 
Mom  yanked  off  her  phones,  and  with  all  she 

could  muster 

Logged  a  spot  of  the  signal  on  the  DX  Packet 

Cluster, 
While  \  ran  to  the  window  and  peered  up  at 

the  sky 
To  see  what  could  generate  RF  that  high. 
It  was  'way  in  the  distance,  but  th  e  moon  made 

it  gleam— 
A  flying  sleigh,  with  an  eight-element  beam, 
And  a  little  old  driver  who  looked  sNghtly 

mean- 
So  I  thought  for  a  moment  it  might  be  Wayne 

Green! 

But  no,  it  was  Santa,  the  Santa  of  hams, 
On  a  mission,  this  Christmas,  to  clean  up  the 

bands. 

He  circled  the  tower,  then  stopped  In  his  track, 
And  he  slid  down  the  coax,  right  into  the  shack. 
While  Mom  and  I  hid  behind  stacks  of  CO, 
This  Santa  of  hamming  knew  just  what  to  do. 
He  cleared  off  the  shack  desk  of  paper  and 

parts, 


And  filled  out  all  my  late  QSLs  for  a  start. 

He  ran  copper  braid,  took  a  steel  rod  and 
pounded 

It  into  the  earth,  till  the  station  was  grounded. 

He  tightened  loose  fittings,  resoldered  connec- 
tions, 

Cranked  down  modulation,  installed  lightning 
protection. 

He  neutralized  tubes  in  my  linear  amp— 

Mever  worked  right  before— now  it  works  like 
a  champ! 

A  new  low-pass  filter  cleaned  up  the  TV; 

He  corrected  the  settings  in  my  TNG, 

He  repaired  the  computer  that  would  not  com- 
pute. 

And  he  backed  up  the  hard  drive  and  got  it  to 
boot. 

Then  he  reached  really  deep  in  the  bag  that 
he  brought 

And  he  pulled  out  a  big  box.  ''A  new  rig?"  1 
thought. 

'A  new  Kenwood?  An  ICOM?  A  Yaesu,  for 
me?!" 

(If  he  thought  Td  been  bad  it  might  be  QRPI) 

Yes!  The  Ultimate  Station!  How  could  I  deserve 
this? 

Could  it  be  all  those  hours  that  I  worked  Public 
Service? 

He  hooked  it  all  up,  and  in  record  time  quickly 

Worked  100  countries,  all  down  on  160. 

I  should  have  been  happy— it  was  my  call  he 
sent, 

But  the  cards  and  the  postage  will  cost  two 
months'  rent! 

He  made  final  adjustments,  and  left  a  card  by 
the  key: 

'To  Gary,  from  Santa  Claus.  Seventy-three;' 

Then  he  grabbed  his  HT,  looked  me  straight 
in  the  eye, 

Punched  a  code  on  the  pad,  and  was  gone— 
no  good-bye. 

I  ran  back  to  the  station,  and  the  pileup  was 
big, 

But  a  card  from  St.  Nick  would  be  worth  my 
new  hg. 

Oh,  too  late— for  his  final  came  over  the  air. 

It  was  copied  all  over  It  was  heard  everywhere. 

The  ham's  Santa  exclaimed  what  a  ham  might 
expect; 

''Merry  Christmas  to  all  and  to  all,  good  DXI" 

From  Squeich  Tale,  Dec.  1996,  newsletter  of 
the  Chicago  FM  Club,  Inc.,  Timothy  M,  Garrity 
WD9DZV.  editor, 

Sorry,  but  we  don't  have  a  clue  who  Gary  is 
(assun}ing  Gary  is  the  author  of  this  year's 
parody),  or  we'd  definitely  have  given  hjm 
credit— Ed 


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Probing  Auto  Electronics 

Help  your  neighbor  identify  his  car's  problem  and  lye  an  electronics  hero} 


Hugli  Wells  W5WTU 

1411  18th  Street 

Manhattan  Beach  CA  90266-4025 


Being  a  ham.  youVe  expected  lo 
know  everything  about  elec* 
tronics  regard le^*^  of  ihe  appli- 
cation. So  have  vou  ever  had  some 
neighbors  drop  over  and  indicate  thai 
they  needed  your  help  with  their  car? 
Chances  are,  ihcv've  indicated  thai  it 
won't  sLarl  or  runs  poorly,  or  that  the 
battery  is  dead. 

In  most  casesi,  the  symptoms  de- 
scrihed  seldom  fit  the  actual  situatit>n. 
Bui  because  you're  a  ham,  you  re  looked 
upon  to  be  "the  neighhorho*xi  electron- 
ics resource."  So  how  do  you  approach 
Ihe  problem? 

Do  you  agree  lo  lake  a  look?  Or  do 
you  shine  ihcm  on  and  suggest  ihat 
they  go  see  the  local  mechanic?  Let's 
assume  that  you're  at  least  willing  to 
take  a  look  at  the  problem  Lo  help  sort 
out  the  details,  which  may  lead  lo  a  so- 
lution if  the  problem  is  electrical.  And 
if  it's  mechanical  you  may  have  lo 
suesest  the  mechanic  after  all. 

Electrical  problems  and  solutions  in 
older  cars  were  usually  easy  to  sort 
out,  but  the  compulers  used  in  modern 
cars  make  Uie  problems  more  difficuU 
for  a  ham  to  diaiznose.  In  fact,  the 
things  thai  one  might  be  able  to  do  are 
limited  to  only  a  few  things,  but  thoj^e 

10   73  Amateur  Radio  Todsy  *  December  1998 


could  have  an  ideniitlable  solution 
within  your  grasp. 

Three  situations  are  discussed  here 
that  can  help  solve  many  aggravating 
problems  that  cars  experience  and  are 
not  under  computer  control.  These 
situations  involve  the  spaj^k  plugs  and 
HV  wiring,  alternator  and  baUery.  and 
curi'ent  leakage  paths  that  run  a  battery 
down  unexpectedly.  The  test  equipment 
for  troubleshooting  these  three  situations 
is  typically  available  on  a  ham's  work- 
bench: oscillosci^pe:  digital  %ollmeter/ 
animeien  and  #1 157  (ot#1034)  taillight 
bulb.  So  there  is  ver\'  little  financial  in* 
vestment  required,  beyond  whal  a  ham 
normally  has  available. 

Most  hams  have  had  some  exposure 
to  Ohm's  law  problems  as  part  of  their 
electronics  training.  The  logic  and  cir- 
cuitry involved  in  Ohm's  law  problems 
is  exactly  the  same  as  that  required  for 
solving  electrical  problems  in  a  car*s 
electrical  system.  Troubleshooting  then 
becomes  a  matter  of  developing  a  plan 
or  procedure  lo  follow  in  sorting  out  ilie 
various  measurements  and  symptoms. 

Spark  plugs 

Being  able  lo  diagnose  a  problem  in 
an  automobile's  hish  voUatic  i*inition 

ik^  ■_-  c^ 


system  is  both  interesting  and  satisfy- 
ing. Because  of  the  pulse  nature  of  the 
system,  it  can  be  analyzed  dynami- 
cally. Using  an  oscilloscope  provides  a 
means  of  looking  at  the  HV  pulses  for 
one  or  all  of  the  cylinders.  Observed 
conditions  can  be  related  to  inequality  of 
spark,  weak  spark,  shorted  spark  plug, 
dereclive  plug  wiring,  or  intermittent 
plug  firing. 

In  the  case  of  a  standard  ignition  sys- 
tem (ptmils  and  capacitor),  the  point's 
dwell  time  can  also  be  obser\  ed  to  deter- 
mine if  coil  saturation  is  being 
achieved.  Dwell  time  is  not  a  factor  in 
electronic  is2niiit>n  s\  stems.  The  oscil- 
loscope  display  can  be  focused  for  de- 
tailed analysis  on  one  or  all  of  the 
spark  plugs  to  help  sort  out  differences 
between  them. 

To  make  up  an  engine  analy/.er  using 
an  oscilloscope,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
make  up  a  couple  of  interface  boards 
10  be  used  as  scope  probes  as  shown  in 
Figs,  1  and  2.  S}iic  tor  the  horizontal  of 
the  scope  is  obtained  from  the  high  volt- 
age using  the  circuit  shown  in  Fig- 1 .  A 
wire  cuff  or  broadfaccd  spring  clip  is 
used  to  provide  a  capacitive  coupling 
to  the  HV  wire,  as  a  direct  eonneclion 
is  not  desirable.  The  circuit  integrates 
the  HV  pulse  to  create  a  single  con- 


I«jHVGLTjICE 
PUUGWCE 


OJfF. 


y *AA/* — * — lAAA 


10  K 


10  K 


"1  COAX 


r^^vv     f   u — H fr^ 

^  I  TO  HOftlZi 

— ^-1 


HOftlZQWrAL 


100-500^         W-20V 
5dOV  zp@ 


f  i^-  /<  Sync  input  circuit. 

slant  amplitude  (a  zener  diode  is  used 
as  an  amplitude  li miter)  trigger  pulse 
suitable  for  synching  the  scope. 

The  HV  pulse  train  to  be  analyzed  is 
obtained  from  ihe  primary  side  of  the 
ignition  coil  using  the  circuit  shown  in 
Fig,  2  and  is  applied  to  the  vertical  in- 
put of  the  scope.  All  HV  sensing  is 
done  in  the  primary  of  the  coil,  not  in 
the  actual  HV  circuit.  All  of  the 
system's  performance  is  viewable  in 
the  primary  more  so  than  in  the  sec- 
ondary, or  HV  side,  of  the  coiL  A  small 
amount  of  integration  is  performed  by 
the  interface  board,  but  only  enough  to 
make  the  pulse  visible  on  the  screen. 

The  amplitude  pot  is  used  to  bring 
the  vertical  signal  amplitude  within  the 
control  range  of  the  scope*s  input  al- 
lenuator.  The  poi  remains  fixed  after 
the  iniiial  adjustment.  In  modem  en- 
gines, there  is  a  separate  ignition  coil 
for  each  pair  of  cylinders.  Therefore,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  move  the  vertical 
scope  probe  from  one  coil  to  another 
to  view  the  next  pair  of  cylinders. 

Construction  of  the  probes  indicated 
m  Figs.  1  and  2  is  not  critical*  Some 
shielding  is  recommended  io  keep  stray 
signals  from  entering  the  scope,  but  even 
unshielded  boards  have  been  used  suc- 
cessfiilly,  TTie  minimum  construction 
should  entail  placing  each  circuit  within 
a  plastic  box  to  prevent  the  circuit  from 
shorting  to  an  engine  component- 
Test  preparation  includes  connecting 
the  interface  circuits  to  and  starting  the 
engine,  and  runninji  the  engine  at  idle. 
In  operation,  the  scope  sweep  is  ad- 
justed to  approximately  20  ms/cm 
when  displaying  all  of  the  plugs  at  once. 
Attaching  the  HV  pickup  (sync)  to  plug 
#1  will  allow  all  of  the  plugs  to  be 
viewed  in  the  order  in  which  they  fire 
(only  when  one  coil  is  used  for  all  of 
the  cylinders). 

Adjust  the  sweep  timing  to  display 
four,  six,  or  eight  pulse  sequences  as 


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73  Amateur  Radio  Today  *  December  1998    11 


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Fig.  2,  Piihe  ininu  cinwi  m  wrrical  anrpliffer, 

determined  by  ihe  number  of  cylinders 
present  (only  two  cylinders  at  a  lime 
can  be  viewed  when  an  ignition  coil  is 
provided  lor  each  pairulcyhnder^j.  To 
^lew  a  single  plog,  attach  the  HV 
pickup  to  ihe  plug  to  be  viewed  and 
adjust  the  sweep  to  approximate!)  1 
ms/cm  or  until  one  pulse  scL|uence  is 
observed.  Move  the  HV  pickup  Ironi 
one  plug  wire  to  another  to  make  pulse 
comparisons. 

Typical  waveforms  suitable  for  com- 
parison are  shown  in  Fig,  3.  Because 
the  wavef[*rms  obtained  vary  some- 
what from  one  engine  to  another,  it  is 
necessary  to  identify  a  "norm"  wave- 
form for  the  engine  being  analyzed.  A 
norm  can  be  deier mined  by  looking 
first  at  all  pfugs  firing  (typical  sweep 
of  20  ms/cm)  and  observ  inn  the  simi- 
larity  as  a  norm.  Then  note  any  differ- 
ences in  the  plug  patterns  observed  for 
a  poieniial  problem.  Obtain  a  closer 


NORMAL  PATTiRN 


analysis  of  individual  plugs  using  a 
sweep  of  about  1  ms/cm  to  provide 
clues  as  to  the  health  of  the  ignition 
system. 

To  aid  in  the  analysts,  look  for  the 
series  of  HV  pulses  thai  occurs  during 
a  plug  firing,  then  look  for  the  short 
delay  before  the  next  tiring-  The  right- 
hand  end  of  the  delav  indicates  the  be- 

■if 

ginning  of  the  firing  cycle  and  the 
left-hand  end  of  the  next  delay  indi- 
cates the  completion  of  the  firing 
cycle. 

The  pulse  waveform  between  the  de- 
lay periods  provides  the  clues  for  com- 
parison to  the  examples  shown,  A 
shorted  plug  wire  can  be  .simulated  by 
holding  a  screwdriver  between  the  en- 
gine block  and  the  top  of  a  spark  plug 
while  ohser\ing  the  waveform.  It  is 
not  recommended,  however,  to  simii- 
laie  an  open  HV  wire  by  removing  a 
plug  wire — as  electronic  ignition  sys- 
tems are  !;ubject  to  damage  when  an 
open  HV  wire  occurs. 

Alternator  and  battery 

Troubleshooting  a  battery  and/or  al- 
ternator problem  is  fairly  easy  with  a 
digital  voltmeter,  and  the  short  lime 
that  it  takes  could  satisfy  your  neigh- 
bors and  make  you  a  hcni.  The  use  of  a 
digital  voitmeter  is  prefeiTed.  bui  an 
analog  volimeier  will  work  with  a  little 
less  satisfaction  in  determining  spe- 
cific voltage  values.  But  the  general 
function  of  "what's  happening^  can  be 
displayed  with  an  analog  voltmeten 


COIL 
SATURATIOiS 


I*— T1W£ 


STANDARD  IGNmON 


]r~ 


OPEN  PLUG  WIRE 


DEFECTIVE  COIL 
OR  CAPACITOR 


SHORTED  PLUG 


Fig.  5.  Typical  igmhn  wave  panems  exhlbuing  specific  conditiom.  Dwell  rime  pattern 
is  specific  ia  a  siandard  ignition  system, 

12  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  *  December  1998 


Test  condiiii>ns  involve  the  logic  of 
what  happens  during  static  and  dy- 
namic conditions  where  static  condi- 
tions occur  when  the  cneinc  is  turned 
off.  During  this  period  both  loaded  and 
unk^aded  tests  can  be  performed  on  the 
battery  to  clclcrminc  \\^  ptcscnl  health 
regarding  being  charged  or  discharged. 

What  you  may  not  know  at  this  time 
is  whether  the  battery  has  been 
charged  rcccnih  or  disclursed  due  to 
an  inadvertent  current  leakage  path. 
But  the  first  test  involves  performing  a 
load  lest  v^hich  begins  by  placing  the 
voltmeter  across  the  hailery  terminals 
and  noting  the  vintage  indication, 
which  should  be  approximately  1 3.5  V. 
While  observing  the  meter,  the  head- 
lights are  turned  on.  Typically,  if  the 
batter)  is  heallhyv  the  voltage  indica- 
tion will  remain  above  12.6  V  and  the 
lights  will  be  fairly  bright.  The  small 
voltage  drop  between  the  load  and  no- 
load  test  indicates  the  battery  to  be 
healthy,  If  the  battery  has  not  becji 
charged  recently,  perhaps  if  the  alter- 
nator has  Tailed,  then  the  voltage  dif- 
ferential would  be  hiiiher — makine  the 
battery  suspect.  But  before  installing 
another  battery,  the  alicmator  will  re- 
quire testing.  Because  the  battery  and 
alternator  together  make  up  ihe  power 
system  for  the  automobile,  they  must 
be  tested  as  a  system, 

Test  conditions 

LA.  To  determine  if «  battery  is  ca- 
pable of  starling  the  engine,  you  need 
only  to  engage  the  starter.  Assume  first 

that  the  solenoid  just  clicks,  with  the 
starter  failing  to  turn.  This  indicates 
one  of  three  conditions: 

1 .  The  battery  charge  is  low. 

2.  TliL^  battery  is  dolective. 

3.  The  starter  is  defective. 

B.  Two  tests  are  required  for  an 
evaluation  of  the  batterv,  because  if  the 
battery  is  good  and  the  solenoid  still 
just  clicks,  then  the  starter  is  suspect. 
The  starter  and  solenoid  are  both  sus- 
pect if  Ihe  battery  is  fully  charged  and 
the  solenoid  fails  to  click.  The  first  test 
of  die  battery  involves  measuring  the  ter- 
minal \oltagc  under  k>ad  (headligliLs  on) 
with  the  engine  ojf.  Record  the  voltage 
readings.  Tlien,  after  char^inn  the  bat- 
ter>'.  the  load/m>load  tests  ;ire  repealed 
and  the  voltage  salucs  compamd. 


C,  Expected  results: 

L  ir  the  battery  will  retain  a  charge, 
the  lenninal  voltatje  will  he  ahtjve  12.6 
V  for  bdlh  K)ad  and  no-load  tests, 

2.  ir  the  batlerv  terminal  voltaiie  is 
below  12,6  V  after  beioe  charued,  then 
the  battery  is  susjpccl,  as  it  ma)  be 
defective. 

ILA.  Deierminin«i  the  status  of  an 
alternator  is  much  easier  and  consider- 
ably faster  than  testing  a  battery.  Alterna- 
tor testiniz  is  alwavs  done  witli  the 
engine  running.  With  one  exception,  the 
engine  bhimld  not  be  running  when 
checking  for  alternator  diode  leakage. 

1 ,  Tti  perform  a  diode  leakage  test  on 
an  alternator,  the  following  procedure 
is  used.  With  engine  off,  the  hatler>' 
cable  is  removed  from  the  aUernalor 
and  a  voltmeter  is  placed  between  the 
terminal  and  the  cable.  Because  of  the 
high  reverse  resistance  of  the  dindes.  a 
voltage  indication  of  less  than  12.8  V 
should  he  expected.  If  the  leakage  is 
more  than  might  he  expected,  a  #1 157 
(or  #1034)  light  bulb  with  pigtails  al- 
tached  to  one  filament  may  be  placed 
between  the  cable  and  terminal  as  an 
additional  test  method.  The  light  bulb 
should  not  exhibil  any  fiUuncnt  glow. 
If  the  bulh  filament  does  glow,  then 
suspect  leaky  diodes  in  the  altemaLot; 
Another  symploni  of  a  bad  alteniatoiV 
regulator  (particuUirly  if  the  filament 
gkmrs  during  the  light  bulb  lest)  will 
be  a  dead  battery  after  a  lew  hours  of 
non-use, 

2.  Dynamic  tests  on  the  alternator 
will  also  check  the  regulator,  brushes, 
and  diode  conductitMi.  The  terminal 
voiiage  across  the  battery  vulh  the  en- 
sine  runnimi  at  or  above  idle  should 


VOLTAGE 


CONDITION 


15.2 
13.2 -14  J 


13.0 


12.7 


11.5 


Overcharging 

Normal  Range 

Not  Charging 

Possible 
OpenyDefective  Diode 

Low  Battery 


Table  i.  Expected  battery  lermmai  volt- 
age values  based  upon  typical  system 
cotiditkms. 


yield  a  voltage  between  1 3.2  and  14.7  V 
The  voltage  value  should  remain  ap- 
proximately the  same  whether  or  not 
the  headlights  are  turned  on. 

B.  Expected  results: 

1.  If  the  terminal  voltage  remains 
fairly  constant  at  a  value  between 
13.2-14J  V  with  or  without  a  load, 
then  the  alternator  and  regulator  are 
functioning  OK. 

2.  If  the  terminal  voliase  is  at  12.8  V 
or  below  with  or  without  a  U>ad,  sus- 
pect the  alternator/regulator  as  being 
defective. 

i.  If  the  voltage  appears  to  he  regu- 
lated but  hangs  at  about  12.7  V,  then 
suspect  an  open  diode  in  the  alternaHir 

C.  Table  1  provides  a  guide  for  mak- 
ing diagnostic  decisions  regarding  an 
automobile^s  electrical  system.  Be- 
cause  of  the  cost  factor  of  replacing  a 
battery  or  alternator  replacement  deci- 
sions should  be  based  upon  as  many 
symptoms  and  available  lest  data  re- 
sults as  possible.  It  is  best  to  perform 
aU  of  the  tests  and  compare  the  results 
of  each  to  identrfy  the  bad  component. 

IlLA,  One  of  the  most  dilTicull 
electrical  problems  to  diagnose  is  a 
current  leakage  path  that  Lends  to  run 
down  the  battery  during  a  short  pe- 
riod of  unuse — 24-48  hours,  perhaps. 
Because  of  the  elusivencss  of  llic  prob- 
lem, only  a  few  hints  can  be  provided 
as  to  how  you  would  go  about  solving 
it.  Hams  have  a  solution  for  almost  all 
electronic  problems,  even  those  in- 
volving cars.  The  best  suggestion  is  to 
consider  the  car's  electrical  system  as 
an  Ohm\s  law  problem  in  which  there 
is  one  voltage  source  feeding  a  great 
number  of  parallel  current  paths,  U 
will  then  be  necessar\  to  deicmiine  the 
current  flow  in  each  path  when  each  is 
intended  to  be  open  circuited. 

B.  Before  starting  a  troubleshooting 
process,  make  sure  that  all  lights  in- 
eluding  the  glove  box,  irimk,  engine 
compartment,  map  light,  etc.,  are 
turned  off.  It  may  be  necessary  to  tem- 
porarily remov  e  them  from  their  sockets 
to  niaJ^e  sure  they  are  compleieiy  tunn^ 
off.  It's  also  a  good  idea  to  remove  the 
cisarette  lighter  from  its  socket.  It  tiiu^i 
be  recognized  that  the  clock  and  com- 
puter will  draw  some  current,  but  the 
value  should  be  relatively  small   in 


comparison  to  what  a  glove  box  light 
might  draw. 

C.  The  first  step  in  chasing  a  leakage 
problem  is  to  determine  the  magnitude 
of  ihe  leakage  path.  This  can  he  done 
by  removing  the  battery  cable  from  the 
battery.  This  operation  can  wipe  out 
the  theft  code  on  some  electrical  de* 
vices,  such  as  the  radio,  within  the  ve- 
hicle, so  you  must  be  prepared  lo 
re-enter  the  proper  codes  following  the 
troublcNhouting  i^rocess.  Otherwise,  do 
not  remove  the  battery  cable  fi"om  the 
battery. 

D.  Assuming  that  the  above  items 
have  been  accounted  for  and  fotind  to 
not  be  a  problem,  a  DVM  and  a  #1 157 
(or  #1034)  light  bulb  can  be  used  as 
diasinostic  tools  for  tmcins  currenl  paths. 

I*  Remove  the  battery  cable  and 
place  the  light  bulb  between  the  cable 
and  batter\'  terminal.  If  the  bulb  fila- 
ment  glow  s,  then  take  note  of  the  bril- 
liance ^i>  a  reference  for  later  measure- 
ments. Place  a  DVM  set  on  the  amps 
scale  and  measure  the  current  value, 
Anvihins  greater  than  about  50  mA  is 
considered  suspect.  The  measured  value 
is  essentiallv  the  current  value  that 
must  be  traced  to  the  suspected  branch 
circuit  causing  the  leakage  path.  It  is 
assumed  here  that  the  alternator  and 
regulator  have  been  found  to  be  OK  and 
checked  as  in  step  number  II  above. 

2.  Circuits  Ihai  do  not  normally  go 
through  the  fuse  block  are  the  head- 
lights, cornputer,  transmission  shift  in- 
dicator, temperature  sensors,  starter, 
alternator,  etc.  If  no  problem  is  found 
in  the  fuse  block  test  (below),  then 
each  of  these  circuits  will  require  an 
examination.  Each  of  the  circuil>  listed 
will  have  a  switch  or  relay  that  pro- 
vides power  to  the  circuit.  It  will  be 
necessarv  to  examine  each. 
i  3.  Reconnect  the  batterj^  cable  to  the 
battery  and  move  to  the  fuse  block. 
Each  fuse  is  to  be  remo\  ed,  one  at  a 
lime,  and  the  current  measured  in  that 
path.  Either  the  light  bulb  or  ammeter 
may  be  used  as  a  current  indicator. 

E.  Expected  results: 
L  The  current  in  each  circuit  path 

should  be  zero  if  the  circuit  is  open, 
2.  The  circuit  containing  the  high 


Continued  on  page  23 
73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    13 


NtimJwr  14  on  your  Fwiil>ack  cartt 


Announcing  the  QRPeanut 

Here's  a  compact  QRP  transmatch  you  can  build  for  next  to  nothing. 


James  R  Fisher  N5GZH 

RO.  Box  856 
Kyle  TX  78640 


When  I  was  faced  with  the 
need  tor  a  cheap  and  com- 
pact matching  unit  for  por- 
table. lo\\ -power  operation,  ii  soon  be- 
came clear  that  my  options  were 
limited.  Available  units.  I  found,  were 
larger  than  I  needed  for  QRP.  And  be- 
sides, who  needs  an  ATU  ruled  at  200 
watts  when  yoif  re  camping  or  back- 
packing on  batteries  al  only  five?  Enter 
the  foriiivinii  bcaulv  of  QRP  and  a 
simple  solution!  Low  voltages  encoun- 
tered at  QRP  pDw  er  levels  make  ATUs 
easv  to  home-brew.  And  as  Ihev  say 
about  traveling,  "Gettin"  iherc  is  half 
the  fmi."  Hence  the  QRPeanut. 

Design  and  building  details 


Design  of  the  QRPeanut  is  a  sU"aight- 
forward  adaptation  of  the  classic  T  net- 
work as  described  by  Doug  DeMaw 
and  others.  The  chief  advantage  of  this 
design  is  its  obvious  simplicity  (see 
Fig,  1).  On  the  dow  n  side,  it  has  a  "high- 
pass  characteristic,"  which  means  that  it 
wonl  liltcr  oui  spurious  haniionics. 
However,  if  your  QRP  signal  is  dean 
to  begin  with,  this  shouldn*t  matter 
much. 

1  made  LI,  L2.  and  L3  from  #22 
enamel  wire  wound  on  loroids  (Am- 
14  73  Amateur  Radio  today  •  Decembef  1998 


idon  T8()"2  for  LI  and  L2,  TKO-6  for 
L3),  chosen  for  low  loss  and  compact- 
ness. (Toroids  are  easy.  I  would  rather 
wind  10  of  them  than  one  of  those  cy- 
lindrical things.)  The  coils  arc  center- 
tapped  and  mounted  on  a  "one  size  fits 
air'  type  of  circuit  board  from  Radio 
Shack.  After  soldering,  it's  not  a  bad 
idea  to  check  connec lions  for  DC  con- 
tinuitv,  since  residual  amounts  of  the 
wire's  enamel  coating  wiU  sometimes 
produce  a  bad  solder  joint. 

Size  and  type  of  enclosure  are 
mostly  up  to  the  builder,  but  the  from 
panel  should  be  nonmetallic  for  rea- 
sous  I  will  explain  later  I  boil  I  mine  in 
a  Rve-inch  by  two-and-a-half-inch  by 
two-inch  ABS  plastic  box  (Radio 
Shack  270-1803).  Important  tip:  Un- 
less you  have  the  hands  of  a  neurosur- 
geon and  tlie  paiicnce  of  Job,  wijing 
the  rotaty  switch  in  place  with  a  box 
this  size  will  be  nearly  impossible.  If 
compactness  is  your  goal,  consider 
wirins  the  loroid  board  to  the  rotarv 
switch  on  a  simple  "jig"  (see  Photo 
A).  Radio  Shack  was  kind  enough  to 
package  this  line  of  enclosures  with 
both  a  plastic  lid  and  one  made  of  alu- 
minum sheet.  I  made  my  jig  by  drilling 
mounting  holes  for  CI,  C2,  and  the 


rotary  switch  and  I  hen  adding  a  right 
angle  bend  roughly  one-hall-inch  wide 
for  a  foot.  This  a! loured  me  to  nnumt 
the  jig  on  a  small  block  of  wood  with 
screws,  formins  a  stable  base  on  w  hich 
to  work.  The  compleied  assembly  was 
then  removed  from  the  jig  and  eased 
into  the  enclosure  with  a  little  wire 
bending  wliere  appropriate. 

The  stiffness  of  the  wiring  is  prob- 
ably enough  to  hold  the  board  in  place. 
1  used  a  lump  of  Coax  Seal  -  as  addi- 
tional insurance.  An  inductance  meter 
is  also  handy  for  checking  to  be  sure 

Cofi tinned  on  page  16 


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Photo  A.  The  wired  ATV  on  the  assembly  jig, 

the  rotary  switch  and  toroids  are  wired 
correctly. 

Since  the  affordable,  air-spaced  vari- 
able capacitor  seems  to  be  going  the 
way  of  the  dinosaur,  I  chose  to  use  a 
lype  of  mica  compression  trimmer 
having  a  boill-in  shaft  (ARCO  S463). 
There  are  tradeoffs.  The  S463  is  a  bit 
quirky;  operation  is  not  linear,  and  the 
metal  shaft  is  electrically  common 
with  one  side  of  the  capacitor.  Do  not 
attempt  to  use  these  capacitors 
mounted  directly  to  a  conductive 
paneL  They  seem  to  work  fine 
mounted  on  plastic  and  with  plastic 


ri     flt 

Photo  B;  Top  view, 

knobs.  Since  the  single  mounting 
screw  is  also  '*hot,''  use  nylon  hard- 
ware or  simply  tape  over  it,  (Did  I 
mention  the  beauty  of  QRP?)  All  in  all, 
a  small  price  to  pay  for  components 
that  are  compact  and  cheap. 

Choose  your  favorite  flavor  of  co- 
axial connector,  but  since  the  chassis  is 
plastic,  it's  a  good  idea  to  strap  the 
ground  sides  together  with  a  bus,  I 
used  SO-239s  for  universality.  You 
may  want  to  build  even  smaller 

A  couple  of  la.st  tips  about  those  cheap 
but  quirky  capacitors.  For  reasons  un- 
knowTi»  shaft  diameters  arc  a  hair  larger 


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16  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


Photo  C  From  view, 

Chan  one*quarter  inch,  so  it  may  be  nec- 
essary to  drill  the  knob  collars  to  a 
slightly  larger  size;  17/64-inch  is  about 
right  Hold  them  for  drilling  by  mak- 
ing a  hole  in  a  piece  of  wood  in  which 
the  knob  will  fit  snugly.  Also,  giving  the 
adjuslmenl  screws  al  the  back  of  the  ca- 
pacitors a  squirt  of  contact  lubricant  (1 
used  Caig  DeOxit®)  makes  operation 
smoother  and  should  improve  service  life. 
Remember  when  operating  that  most 
of  the  range  of  the  capacitors  is  in  the 
last  two  clockwise  turns.  Other  than 
that  the  QRPeanut  works  like  any 
other  transmatch. 


C1,C2 
L1 


L2 


L3 


Rotary 

switch 


Toroidal 
cores 


Circuit 

board 


Parts  List 

ARCO  S463* 

28  turns  #22  enameted 
wire  on  Amidon  T80-2 
core,  center-tapped 

24  turns  #22  enameled 
wire  on  Amidon  T80-2 
core,  center-tapped 

18  turns  #22  enameled 
wire  on  Amidon  T80-6 
core,  center-tapped 

2-pGle,  6 -position, 

RS  #275-1386,  cut  shaft 

to  5/8" 

2  ea,  Amidon  180-2  (red) 
1  ea.  Amidon  T80-6 
(yellow) 

RS  #276-159 


Enclosure     plastic,  2''x2-1/2"x5' 

*  Source: 

Surplus  Safes  of  Nebraska 
1502  Jones  Street 
Omaha  NE  68102 


Table  1.  Parts  list. 


Number  17  on  your  Feedback  card 


4 

Keys  to  Better  Operating 


Yes,  much  of  it  is  common  sense  . , . 


Bob  Shrader  W6BNB 

1911  Barnett  Valley  Road 

Sebastopol  CA  95472 

[w6bnb@aol.com] 


There  is  a  proper  way  of  operat- 
ing radio  transmitters  on  the  air 
to  produce  the  most  eflicienl  and 
interesting  cohimiimcatTons.  The  basic 
rules  arc  reasonably  simple.  They  arc 
things  with  which  you  will  probably 
agree  if  they  are  considered  a  bit.  The 
undesirable  operating  iteni&  discussed 
here  have  aJI  been  heard  recently  on 
the  ham  bands.  Let's  not  be  the  ones 
who  operate  that  way. 

It  might  be  said  that  the  cardinal 
requirement  in  any  communicating, 
whether  by  telephone,  by  computer,  by 
RTTY,  by  SSB/AM/FM  radiotcleplione, 
or  by  radiotelcgraphic  CW,  is  to  make 
sure  that  ah  of  the  information  trans- 
mitted is  received  by  the  receiving  op- 
erator. Actually  it  is  up  to  both  the 
receiving  operator  and  the  transmitting 
operator  to  do  everything  possible  to 
ensure  that  this  cardinal  requirement  is 
met. 

The  emphasis  here  will  be  on  phone 
and  CW  operating.  One  of  the  things 
that  can  interfere  most  with  receiving 
all  of  the  infomiation  sent  is  speed.  If 
transmission  speed  is  faster  than  can 
be  received  correctly,  regardless  of  the 
ineans  used  to  do  the  communicating. 


all  of  tile  desired  infonnation  will  not 
get  through. 

Radiotelephone  operating 

The  basic  theory  behind  calling  an- 
other  station  is  to  attract  the  attention 
of  the  station  to  be  contacted  (usually 
by  calling  CQ)  and  then  advise  who 
is  doing  the  calling.  Using  voice  com- 
munications, if  two  stations  know  each 
other  wcif  the  desired  station's  callsign 
can  be  transmittedp  fi>llowed  by  'This 
is/'  then  the  callsign  of  the  calling  sta- 
tion, piobably  transmitted  only  once. 

When  stations  are  not  known  to  each 
other  too  well,  if  at  all,  the  called 
station's  callsign  can  be  sent  once 
(maybe  twice),  then  "This  is/'  and 
then  the  calliniJ  station's  callsisn,  first 
with  regular  spoken  letters  and  then  re- 
peated phonetically.  If  conditions  are 
not  good,  callsigns  may  have  to  be  re- 
peated more  than  this. 

There  have  been  many  different  * 'pho- 
netic alphabets"  used  in  amateur  radio. 
Some  used  names,  some  used  cities, 
some  used  .states  or  countries,  and  some 
were  just  supposed  to  be  witty.  Today 
the  generally  accepted  international 
phonedc  alphabet  is: 


A  fa 

1 

1 

November 

Bravo 

Oscar 

....    ...... 

Charie 

Papa 

Deta 

Quebec 

Echo 

Romeo 

Foxtrot 

Sierra 

Got 

Tango 

Hote 

Uniform 

India 

Victor 

Ju  iett 

Whiskey 

Kio 

X-ray 

Lima 

Yankee           ; 

Mike 

Zulu 

73 


Table  1.  hitenmrionaUy  recognized  "phonetic* 
alphabet. 

Amateur  Radio  Today  *  December  199S    17 


A  suggested  protitinciaiioii  of  the  1 0 

nuiiibc!>  k^  make  tliem  more  distin- 
guishable when  spoken  mighi  be: 


1 


i 

8 


Wun-uh 

Too-uh 

Thu-ree 

Fo-wer 

Fy-yiv 

Sicks 

Seven 

Ale 


M         Ny-yun  or  Nine-er 
0         Zee-row  (not  "Oh^ 


Table  2.  Promnmve  the  fnimerals  so  there 

urn  be  iiuli'  possibifify-  ofcvnjimon. 

As  an  example  of  the  use  of  phonei- 
icH,  suppose  you  warn  to  call  an  ama- 
leer  station  with  a  call  such  as 
''VESBCG."  Since  Lhis  call  is  made  up 
of  all  *'ccc**  sounding  letters  and  num- 
bers, unless  very  carefully  eiuiiiciated, 
some  of  the  letters  could  easily  be  mis- 
undcrsluud,  U"  spoken  as  "Viclor  Echo 
Thu-ree  Bravo  Charlie  Golf,"  there  is 
little  chance  of  receiving  the  letters 
incorrectly, 

Claritv 

Clarity  is  one  of  the  things  which 
can  interfere  with  the  cardinal  require- 
ment of  phone-lypc  operation.  Received 
signals  may  not  be  understandable  if  the 
transmitting  operator  is  not  using  the 
microphone  properly,  if  the  modula- 
tion circuits  are  not  functioning  prop- 
erly, if  the  microphone  gain  control  is 
not  set  properly,  if  words  are  mispro- 
nounced, or  if  the  person  doing  the 
talking  does  not  enunciate  clearly. 

Microphones  can  be  misused.  There 
is  always  a  certain  amount  of  noise 
generated  in  audio  circuits,  hut  the  mi- 
crophone signal  should  be  about  30  dB 
above  that.  If  this  value  of  signal  is  used, 
your  contact  is  likely  to  be  successfui- 
18  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  *  December  1998 


This  value  can  be  found  by  on-lhe-air 
tests  to  determine  how  close  the  mouth 
should  be  to  the  microphone,  and  llie 
point  where  the  audio  gain  control 
should  be  set  Since  most  amateur  ra- 
dio station  rooms  are  not  sound- 
proofed, if  the  moulh-to-mike  distance 
is  more  than  perhaps  four  or  five 
inches,  the  mike  sain  may  have  to  be 
raised  to  w  here  room  echoes  begin  to 
be  picked  up  and  transmitted.  I  have  a 
wire  guard  on  my  microphone  that  ex- 
tends out  tw^o  inches.  If  the  guard  wire 
is  held  to  the  upper  lip  the  modulation 
will  be  kept  reasonably  constant. 

It  would  be  nice  to  be  able  to  set  the 
mike  on  the  desk,  lean  back  two  or 
three  (eel  from  it  and  talk  (in  sound- 
proofed rooms  at  broadcast  stations,  this 
is  possible  and  is  what  tliey  often  do). 

If  amateurs  speak  too  far  from  the 
microphone,  room  noise  and  echoes 
will  usually  become  annovin<r  to  lis- 
leners  and  can  interfere  with  under- 
standiuii.  Wiih  ttx)  hish  a  sain  scrtini^,  if 
a  telephone  rings,  or  another  receiver  in 
the  room  sounds  off^  or  people  are  talk- 
ing nearby,  or  dogs  are  barking  outside, 
all  of  these  will  create  interfering  out- 
put sounds  from  the  transmitter  If  the 
speaker  is  too  close  to  a  microphone^ 
aspirant  letters  such  as  B,  R  S,  T  and  X 
tuay  produce  a  puff  of  air  or  a  hissing 
that  hits  the  diaphragm  and  causes  a 
distorted  output  signal.  Rubber  foam, 
cemented  over  the  microphone  front, 
may  reduce  this  effect.  If  the  operator 
speaks  across  the  microphone  from  a 
distance  of  about  an  inch,  rather  than 
directly  into  it,  the  unwanted  aspirant 
effect  will  be  lessened.  A  person  who 
speaks  in  u  loud  voice  can  be  farther 
aw  ay  from  the  microphone  tlian  some- 
one who  has  a  more  subdued  voice.  All 
of  these  items  must  be  considered 
when  setting  the  microphone  gain  con- 
trol. The  best  way  to  determine  gain 
settings  is  to  check  with  some  other 
ham  on  the  air. 

Pronunciation,  the  proper  sounding 
of  letters  and  syllables  in  words,  is  im- 
portant. Foreign  amateurs,  not  skilled 
in  speaking  your  language,  are  often 
unable  to  pronounce  even  some  fairly 
common  words,  When  speaking  to 
these  people,  slow  your  speech  materi- 
ally, clearly  enunciate  all  words  and 


pronounce  them  carefully  and  prop- 
erly. Think  of  yourself  as  helping  to 
teach  foreign  hams  the  proper  u>e  of 
your  language. 

Enunciation  is  improved  by  using 
the  lips,  tongue  and  jaw  to  altow^  all  of 
the  syllables  of  all  words  to  be  pro- 
duced properly.  This  is  very  important 
when  speaking  into  a  microphone.  When 
you  speak  face  to  face  with  someone, 
their  lip  movements  are  seen  as  their 
voice  is  heard.  When  a  microphone 
alone  is  being  used,  the  assistance  of 
reading  the  lips  and  facia!  expressions 
is  gone,  It  is  therefore  more  dilficult  to 
understand  what  is  being  said.  InsulTi- 
cicnt  movements  of  the  lips  can  result  in 
mumblinii.  which  interferes  with  com- 
prehension.  Keep  those  lips  nioving! 

CalUtig  and  an5\veri||| 

When  calling  CQ  on  phone,  listen 
first  on  what  is  apparently  a  clear  fre- 
quency for  a  while.  Make  sure  your 
transmitter  is  on  the  same  frequency  to 
which  your  receiver  is  tuned  by  turn- 
ing off  the  RIT  control  nn  newer 
equipment.  If  the  frequency  appears 
not  to  be  in  use,  and  if  tuning  is  neces- 
sary, tune  up  on  the  tVeqiicncy  as  rap- 
idly as  possible  and  ask,  "Is  this 
frequency  in  use?"  If  there  is  no  an- 
swer, after  a  few  seconds,  call  ''CQ''  a 
couple  of  times,  sign  once  a  little 
slower  than  normal,  using  plain  letters, 
then  repeat  the  callsign  phonetically, 
ending  with,  '^Over,''  or  perhaps, 
"Standing  by."  If  no  one  answers  it 
probably  means  no  one  happened  to  be 
tuned  to  and  lislcninn  on  thai  fre- 
quency.  A  single  short  "CQ"  only  pro- 
duces results  if  someone  happened  to 
have  his  receiver  mned  to  that  fre- 
quency. The  chances  arc  poor  that 
someone  will  happen  to  tune  across 
your  frequency,  let  alone  zero  in  on  it 
precisely  during  the  few  seconds  that  a 
short  CQ  takes.  Look  al  it  as  if  you 
w^ere  Ushing.  You  would  not  throw  a 
line  out  and  then  in  10  seconds  pull  it 
back  in  again  and  quit  llshing  for  the 
day.  After  about  1 5  seconds  try  another 
CQ  to  try  to  catch  someone  tuning 
around.  This  time  call  ''CQ"  four  or 
five  times  and  sign  once.  Repeat  this 
two  or  three  times  so  anyone  tuning 
across  your  frequency  will  have  time 


to  zero  in  on  your  frequency.  After  ihe 
last  CQ,  sign  once  using  plain  letters 
and  then  phonetically,  followed  by  an 
'Over"  It  is  not  good  to  string  a  long, 
long  series  of  CQs  together  that  lake 
up  a  minute  or  more*  Use  20-  to  30- 
second  CQs.  If  no  one  answers,  iry 
again  after  10  or  15  seconds.  Unless 
you  are  after  DX  contacts,  don't  an- 
swer the  CQ  of  a  station  you  cannot 
hear  well,  particularly  if  you  are  using 
low  power 

Remember,  when  using  SSB  there  is 
essentially  no  carrier  being  transmitted 
that  a  receiving  operator  can  hear. 
Many  times  a  u-ansmitiing  operator 
hesitates  at  the  end  of  a  sentence  and 
the  other  operator  starts  talking,  think* 
ing  it  has  been  turned  over.  Unfortu- 
nately at  Ihe  same  instant  the  first 
operator  may  resume  speaking.  The 
resulting  "doubling"  results  in  neither 
operator's  hearing  the  other.  Always  try 
to  use  an  "Over,"  or  the  other  operator's 
name  with  a  rising  inflection,  or  your 
callsign  at  the  end  of  transmissions,  to 
indicate  you  want  the  other  operator  to 
start  talking.  When  listening,  wait  for 
some  kind  of  indication  that  the  other 
operator  is  expecting  an  answer 

To  check  into  an  SSB  net,  if  trans- 
mitter carrier  and  antenna  tuneup  is 
necessary,  either  zcro»beat  the  fre- 
quency of  the  station  transmitting  to 
do  your  tuning,  or  move  to  a  clear  fre- 
quency three  or  more  kilohertz  away. 
In  the  laiter  case,  when  tuned,  shift  to 
the  net  frequency  and  wait  for  the 
transmitting  station  to  turn  it  over  to 
the  next  station.  If  the  net  is  operating 
properly,  the  next  station  should  not 
start  transmitting  for  a  second  or  so,  to 
give  any  station  wanting  to  break  in  a 
ct^jice  to  do  so,  A  break-in  station 
should  say,  "Break,*'  or  perhaps  "Here 
is  XXXXX'^  (your  callsign).  The  net 
control  should  step  in,  recognize  the 
new  station,  and  advise  the  proper  ac- 
tion to  be  taken.  Always  allow  the  net- 
control  station  to  handle  break-in 
stations.  If  two  or  more  stations  try  to 
handle  a  break-in  station  there  will  be 
confusion  on  the  frequency. 

Any  time  a  u^ansmitier  emits  a  signal 
on  the  air  the  FCC  requires  it  to  be 
identified  by  callsign.  At  the  end  of  a 
tuning  session  always  transmit  your 


callsign.  Station  identification  is  also 
required  every  10  minutes  during 
QSOs.  It  is  not  necessary  to  continu- 
ally identify  if  making  short  back  and 
forth  transmissions  which  require  only 
a  few  seconds  to  a  minute  or  so.  Keep 
track  of  ID  times  with  all  QSOs.  A 
wind-up  timer  works  nicely  for  this. 
Whenever  you  transmit  your  station 
callsign  set  the  timer  to  10  minutes. 
When  it  rings  it  is  an  indication  that  it 
is  time  lo  send  your  callsign  again  as 
soon  as  it  is  possible.  Tt  is  wise  to  ID  at 
the  beginning  of  any  transmission.  If 
one  of  your  transmissions  lasts  more 
than  10  minutes,  at  the  bell,  stop  at  the 
end  of  a  sentence,  sign  your  call  and 
then  continue  with  the  transmission. 
Most  phone  QSO  transmissions  do  not 
take  10  minutes,  but  each  lime  you 
sign  over  to  another  station  your 
callsign  should  be  given  and  the  timer 
set.  Station  ID  is  always  required  when 
a  station  makes  a  final  sign-off.  There 

Continued  on  page  20 


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Keys  to  Better  Operating 

cant  it  luedj'rom  page  19 

is  apparently  oo  requiremeiu  thai  ihe  ! 
other  siaiion's  calls isn  must  be  sent, 
bui  il  seems  only  proper  courtesy  lo 
sejid  il  ai  Icust  when  signing  olT. 

CW  operating 

The  term  **CW'  means  "Continuous 
Wave,"  a  diflerent  kind  of  a  wave  ihan 
the  original  spark-type  emissions  used 

in  ihc  early  days  oramaieur  radio  code 
irtmsmissions.  Spark  tranKmitters  pro- 
duced waves  Ihai  varied  up  and  down 
at  sonic  audio  rate.  U  was  Lhc  varia- 
tions that  the  old  receivers  delected. 
When  vacuum  tubes  were  developed 
and  were  used  in  RF  oscillalors,  ihcv 
produced  a  consiaul-ampHludc  wave 
output,  thus  the  term  CW.  WTien  spark 
Ifaa^niiltcrs  were  outlawed  on  the  ham 
bands  in  the  late  1920s  the  tenn  CW 
continued  on  as  meant ne  Morse  code 
radio  iransniissions. 

Radio  code  operating  has  many  well 
estahiishcd  and  excellent  communicat- 
ine  rules  first  developed  by  commer- 
cial railroad  Morse  operators  and  then 
seagoing  and  point-to-point  radio  op- 
erators. Such  jobs  depended  on  mak- 
ing perfect  copy  of  all  Lransmissjons. 
Over  the  vears  thcv  ironed  out  all  of 
the  undesirable  methods  of  sending 
CW  on  die  air.  It  is  from  their  basic 
rules  that  our  modern  CW  und  even 
most  of  the  phone  transmission  recom- 
mendations above  were  developed. 

The  basic  caUing  procedure  with 
CW  is  to  caTI  a  station  hv  sendins  its 
catlsign.  then  "DE"  (meaning  "tVooi"), 
and  then  sendinii  the  calliniz  station's 
callsign.  If  conditions  are  good  and  the 
two  stations  know^  each  other  well. 
sending  the  calls  only  once  may  be  ad- 
equate, hi  many  cases  in  amateur  ra- 
dio»  two  stations  will  not  know^  each 
other  well.  When  answering  a  CQ. 
v\'ilh  nrodern  equipment,  probably  one 
transmission  of  the  calling  station's 
callsian  is  suincienl  but  after  the  DE 
the  answering  station  should  always 
send  ihe  answering  siutioii's  call  at 
least  twice.  Even  if  the  path  is  good, 
fur  a  variety  of  reasons  an  answering 
station  should  repeat  his/her  callsign 
two  or  three  times.  It  is  not  often  that  , 
73  Amateur  Radio  Today  *  December  1998 


the  called  stadon's  cfttlsign  must  be  re- 
peated— that  station  can  recognize  its 
own  callsign  quite  easily,  even  through 
QRM  and  QRN.  An  exception  would 
be  when  the  answering  station  is  not 
on  the  frequency  of  the  calling  station. 
In  this  case  it  may  be  necessary'  to 
transmit  the  CQing  station's  call  sev- 
eral times.  WTien  an  answering  station 
does  not  answer  very  close  to  the  caU- 
ing station's  frequency,  troubles  may 
develop. 

Obviously,  if  an  operator  sends  too 
fast  to  another  operator,  time  is  being 
wasted.  Only  minimal  information 
will  be  received.  Tf  an  operator  can 
only  receive  at  13  words  per  minute,  it 
will  be  Liseless  to  send  at  20  wpni.  On 
the  other  hand,  ii  30-wpni  operator  can 
slow  to  13  wpm  v\iih  no  trouble.  If 
CW  operators  try  to  send  faster  than 
they  can  copy  well,  there  is  htUe 
chance  that  the  higher-speed  transmis- 
sion will  be  ton  readable.  (Of  course,  if 
a  keyboard  is  used,  sending  speed  \\ ill 
only  depend  on  the  nping  abilit)^  of 
the  person  at  the  kc)  board,)  Try  to  de- 
termine the  other  operator's  highest 
correct  receiving  speed  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. Whenc\cr  quesiions  are  asked 
but  arc  not  answered,  the  sending 
speed  is  probably  too  fast,  assuming 
the  sendinc  is  faultless.  If  break-in 
keying  is  being  used  and  there  are  loo 
many  breaks  being  made,  slow  the 
sending-  It  may  not  be  poor  sending  at 
the  sending  end.  nor  poor  copying  at 
the  receiving  end;  it  may  be  QRN 
crashes  or  QRM  signals  which  may  be 
unheard  at  the  sending  end  that  are  in- 
lerfering  with  the  copy.  Do  not  hesitate 
lo  use  "QRS  "  (send  slower)  when  con- 
ditions are  poor.  When  QRN  is  bad.  al- 
ways reduce  sending  speed.  The 
longer  doLs  and  dashes  of  slower  send- 
ing extend  the  time  of  each  letter, 
causing  only  part  of  a  letter  lo  be  bro- 
ken rather  than  possibly  two  or  more 
letters  by  a  static  crash.  One  broken 
letter  can  usually  be  guessed,  but  two 
or  more  may  cause  confusion  at  the 
receiving  end. 

If  sending  CW  with  a  keyboard,  de- 
termine what  speed  a  receiving  opera- 
tor who  is  not  using  a  machine  can 
copy  adequately.  Do  not  exceed  that 
speed.  If  an  operator  is  hand-sending 


at  20  wpm  and  it  is  being  diij^Myed  oil 
a  monitor  fairly  welL  send  no  faster 
than  that  when  answering.  If  answered 
on  a  keyboard  at  25  wpm,  ihe  sending 
operator  will  probably  try  to  speed 
up,  may  make  a  nic:^^  of  il,  and  the  car- 
dinal communications  requirement  is 
defeated. 

When  an  operator  is  sending  by 
hand  to  a  computer  keyboard  monitor- 
ing station,  the  operator  musi  send 
only  up  lo  the  speed  at  which  letters 
and  spacing  are  error-tree.  Machines 
can  only  copy  Morse  code  letters 
which  are  made  within  certain  lime 
limits.  The  dots  must  be  close  to  one- 
third  the  length  of  the  dashes,  and  the 
space  times  between  dot  and  dashes 
must  he  equal  to  the  length  of  a  dot. 
Spaces  between  words  must  be  more 
than  those  between  letters.  Letters 
must  not  be  split.  Diditdahdii  is  F,  but 
(Hdif  dahdit  is  IN.  It  ma>  ^ound  almost 
the  same  to  the  ear,  but  ihe  machine  is 
not  fooled!  When  there  is  QRN  at  one 
or  both  ends,  slow  down,  even  when 
using  a  machine. 

Splittini!  letters  or  mnnins  two  let- 
tcrs  or  words  together  when  sending 
Morse  code  is  easy  lo  do,  hut  can  be 
very  confusing  lo  the  receiving  opera- 
lor.  If  GT.  MA.  TK.  or  Q  is  sent,  but 
the  word  MET  is  wha(  was  supposed 
lo  have  been  sent,  the  receiving  opera- 
tor can  get  confused.  When  an  L  is  sup- 
pcjscd  10  be  U"ansmitted  hut  il  comes  out 
''dhlahdii  dit:'  that  is  RE.  which  re- 
sults in  a  misspelled  word  and  possible 
confusion.  Make  sure  there  is  spacing 
in  between  all  letters,  but  no  added 
spacing  in  between  the  dots  and  dashes 
of  letters.  Furthermore,  ihere  should  be 
more  space  between  two  sentences 
than  between  two  words.  If  "deter 
mine*'  is  sent,  does  it  mean  that  or  was 
it  supposed  lo  mean  'deiemiine?" 

While  it  is  quite  proper  to  use  key- 
board*iype  punctuation  marks  on  the 
air,  such  as  a  period  at  the  end  of  sen- 
tences and  commas,  amateur  opera- 
tions have  come  down  through  ihe 
decades  with  the  general  character 
"BT''  used  to  mean  the  end  of  a  sen- 
tence, or  end  of  a  paragraph,  or  just  a 
means  of  stalling  while  thinking  about 
what  is  eoin^  to  be  transmitted  next.  It 
is  noi  required  to  send  a  'KA"  at  the 


start  of  operations,  nor  is  anylhing 
other  than  a  K  needed  to  turn  over  to 
another  station  in  most  cases.  In  DX 
operations  the  use  of  KN  is  OK  as  it 
indicates  *1  am  not  finished  talking  to 
this  station;  please  do  not  break  in." 
Never  use  KN  after  a  CQ! 

A  hard  and  fast  CW  sending  rule  is: 
"If  an  error  is  made  while  sending  a 
word,  slop,  send  an  error  sign,  go  back 
to  the  beginning  of  the  word,  then 
resend  the  whole  word."  Never  stop 
and  send  only  the  mis-sent  letter  cor- 
rectly. Worse  yet,  do  not  add  a  missing 
dot  which  was  supposed  to  have  been 
the  last  pan  of  the  previous  letter! 
Send  only  whole  letters,  never  broken 
letters.  Send  only  whole  words,  never 
broken  words.  The  correcting  rule  can 
be  expanded  to: 

•When  an  error  is  made  in  sending 
the  first  letter  of  a  word,  stop*  send  an 
error  sign,  go  back  and  resend  the 
whole  word  before  the  improperly  sent 
letter  and  continue  on. 

This  is  absoltitely  necessary  when 
handling  traffic  messages. 

How  is  an  error  sign  made?  Interna- 
tionally it  is  eight  dots,  although  "?"  or 
**??**  may  be  used,  and  sometimes 
"SN"  is  used.  Whatever  error  sign  is 
used.  It  really  only  has  to  be  something 
that  cannot  be  copied  as  a  letter,  num- 
ber, or  a  misplaced  punctuation  mark. 
It  has  to  be  something  that  stops  the  re- 
ceiving operator's  copying. 

As  with  phone  communications,  af- 
ter 10  minutes  of  operating,  a  station  is 
required  to  send  its  callsign.  End  all 
five-  to  lO-tninute  transmissions  with 
your  callsign  and  a  K.  If  a  short  answer 
is  required,  after  sending  the  question, 
end  with  the  question  mark  and  a  K. 
With  such  short  transmissions  do  not 
bother  with  callsigns.  Wait  for  the  10- 
minute  period  to  come  up.  Operators 
often  use  "BK,"  apparently  meaning, 
"Back  to  you."  The  letters  ^^BTU" 
mean  the  same  thing. 

It  is  standard  procediu^e  in  DX  pile- 
ups  to  call  the  DX  station  with  jusl  the 
callsign  of  the  calling  station  once  or 
twice,  close  to  the  DX  station's  fre- 
quency, or  on  any  frequency  to  which 
it  indicates  it  is  listening.  The  loudest 
station  being  heard  by  the  DX  station 
will  be  the  first  worked,  of  course.  But 


keep  trying  every  time  the  station 
signs  clear.  However,  do  not  use  this 
procedure  when  answering  non-DX 
CQs — it  may  sound  to  the  CQing  sta- 
tion like  some  statiijii  is  ending  a  test, 
or  some  station  is  being  improperly 
called,  A  CQing  station  wants  to  know 
that  whoever  is  answering  is  actually 
calUng  the  CQing  station.  In  many 
cases  the  CQing  station  may  not  be 
tuned  to  the  answering  station*s  fre* 
quency  for  some  reason  and  may  not 
hear  the  first  part  of  the  answering  call. 

The  Q  signals 

When  calUng  CQ  on  CW  the  proce- 
dure is  very  similar  to  that  discussed 
for  phone.  With  CW  you  should  nor- 
mally send  at  the  speed  at  which  you 
want  the  answering  station  to  use. 
Don't  be  afraid  to  answer  a  30-wpm 
CQ  call  at  20  wpra.  Most  of  the  better 
operators  are  quite  willing  to  work  at 
somewhat  slower  speeds,  but  it  is  gen- 
erally not  a  good  idea  to  answer  a  30- 


wpm  CQ  with  a  5-  or  lO-wpm  reply.  If 
band  conditions  are  bad,  due  to  QSB 
or  QRN,  always  call  and  operate  at 
slower  than  normal  speeds. 

Using  CW,  before  calling  "CQ"  on  a 
frequency,  use  the  Q-signal,  QRL?, 
which  means,  "is  this  frequency  in 
use?"  Do  not  send  "QRL'^  before  a  CQ 
because  it  means,  'This  frequency  is  in 
use^  please  do  not  use  it.'*  QRL  alone 
indicates  someone  is  replying  to  a 
"QRL?"  call  of  a  station  which  the  lis- 
tening station  may  not  he  able  to  hear. 
If  someone  sends  QRL?  on  a  fre- 
quency you  and  another  station  are  us- 
ing, answer  this  question  with  the 
statement,  "QRL/'  or  possibly,  "Yes," 
Always  remember,  the  station  you  are 
copying  may  be  in  the  skip  zone  of  the 
station  sending  the  QRL?, 

There  are  over  50  intcmaticinally 
used  CW  Q'Signals.  Those  that  ama- 
teurs are  most  likely  to  use  are  shown 
here  in  table  form. 

Coniiniwd  on  page  22 


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ORG 


QRK 


QRL 


QRM 


QRO 


QRP 


QRQ 


QRS 


QRT 


QRU 


QRV  ' 


QRX 


QRZ 


The  frequency  is  .-. 


Your  readability  is  ...  (1  -  5)  (See  QSA  also) 


Tilts  frequency  is  in  use;  please  do  not  interfere 


Interfering  stations 


Increasing  to  ...;  or  using  higher  power 


Decreasing  to  ,„;  or  using  low  power 


Send  faster 


Send  slower 


Stop  sending 


1  have  nothing  for  you 


am  ready;  start  sending 


Wart:  I  will  call  you  shortly 


You  are  being  called  by 


Table 3.  Handy  reference  fo  tlw  mosi  commonly  used  *'Q"  codes. 


QSA 

Your  signal  strength  is  ...  (1  -  5) 

QSB 

Your  signals  are  fading 

QSD 

Your  keying  is  defect  ve 

QSK 

1  can  hear  you  between  my  signals  (1  am  using  break-in)     , 

QSL 

1  acknowedge  or  confirm  receiving  „. 

QSO 

1  can  conimunicate  with  you  ... 

QSP 

Re  ay  a  message  to  .., 

Keys  to  Better  Operating 

€:ontinuedJrofn  page  21 

IMien  followed  by  a  question  mark, 
any  Q-signal  asks  a  question.  For  ex- 
ample, QRG?  means.  ^^Whai  is  my  (or 
your)  frequency?"  QRZ?  means,  **By 
whom  am  1  being  called?"  While  there 
may  be  amateurs  who  discourage  the 
use  of  Q-signals  wiLh  radiotciephune 
CTmrnunications,  some  Q-si^nals  fit  in 
very  nicely  with  such  operating.  As 
examples.  QRM  QRN.  QRR  QRX. 

22   73  Amateuf  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


QSB.  QSO.  QSL  (also  a  continuation 
card  for  amateurs)  and  QSO  are  ollen 
heard.  On  phone.  "Use  VOX"  (Abice 
Operated  Xmissions)  means  the  same 
as  "QSK'*  does  with  CW,  The  use  of 
QSK  and  VOX  helps  greatly  in  QSOs 
and  nets  on  Lhe  amatenr  bands  and 
should  always  he  used  if  possible. 

Tuning 


Tuning  a  transceiver  exactly  to  an-  ■ 
other  station's  frequency  with  CW  is  \ 


more  difficult  to  do  than  with  SSB. 
With  SSB,  il  the  receiving  operator's 
RIT  control  is  off,  when  a  station  is 
tuned  in  so  the  voice  sounds  most  natu- 
ral, the  listener's  transmitter  should  be 
exactly  «vii  the  oilier  station's  I'requcncy, 
This  is  known  as  ''zero- healing"  the  two 
U^ansmitter  frequencies. 

When  tuning  in  a  CW  station  using  a 
transceiver,  and  again,  providing  the  RTF 
conu^l  is  oil;  the  receiving  operator *s 
transmitter  will  be  set  to  something  be- 
tween perhaps  300  and  1000  Hz  from 
the  transmitting  station's  frequency 
when  il  is  tuned  in.  With  most  trans- 
ceivers, whatever  beat-Lone  frequency 
is  produced  by  a  received  signal,  if  the 
tone  heard  when  the  key  is  pressed  is 
the  same,  the  transmitter  sisnal  will  be 
very^  close  to  zero-bcai  with  the  re- 
ceived signal,  ir  the  kcx-doun  and  the 
beat-tone  frequencies  arc  different  by 
500  H?,,  then  the  receiving  operator's 
transmitter  will  be  500  Hz  away  from 
the  other  station's  carrier  frequency.  If 
a  receiver  uses  a  250-Hz  wide  CW  IF 
niten  signals  500  Hz  or  more  away 
may  never  be  heard.  It  is  very  impor- 
lani  when  answering  a  general  type  of 
CQ  to  answer  as  close  to  the  calling 
station  s  frequency  as  possible.  In  DX 
pileups  if  there  are  many  signals  on  the 
DX  station's  frequency,  il  may  pay  to 
detune  a  few  hundred  hcrt/  to  answer 
lhe  DX  station. 

In  older-type  equipment,  where  the 
transmitter  and  the  receiver  are  sepai  ate 
urats,  if  you  want  to  call  '*CQ''  it  is  nec- 
essary^ to  learn  how^  lo  tune  tlie  transmit- 
ter to  a  desired  clear  spot  in  the  hand 
Eidier  lum  ulT  the  final  amplifier  stage, 
or  use  a  duinmy  load  on  the  transmilten 
or  mm  the  transmitter's  output  power 
down  Lo  miuimum  before  tunin^j  it 
across  the  band  until  the  transmitter's 
signal  is  heard  in  the  receiver  as  a  lone 
of  aboul  700  Hz.  A  CQ  can  now  be 
called  on  this  frequency  after  an  unan- 
swered QRL?  is  transmitted.  Unless 
you  are  aller  DX  contacts,  do  not  an- 
swer the  CQ  of  a  station  whose  signals 
are  poor  due  to  band  conditions. 

Zero-beating 

To  zero-beat  a  received  sisnal.  sucb 
as  a  CQing  station,  with  a  separate 
transmitter    and    receiver,    tune    the 


transmitter's  oscillator  until  its  tone  in 
the  receiver  exactly  matches  thai  of  the 
tone  of  the  CQing  station.  Many  trans- 
mitters have  a  "Calibrate"  or  'Test*' 
switch  or  button  which  only  activates 
the  transmitter's  oscillator  to  allow 
zero-bealing  the  local  transmitter  to  a 
received  frequeiKry.  It  provides  a  weak 
transmitter  oscillator  signal  for  the  re- 
ceiver but  produces  no  radiated  signal 
dudng  the  zero-beating  process.  When 
using  more  advanced  transceivers, 
with  their  RIT  control  off,  when  the 
frequency  check  switch  is  on,  the  tone 
heard  must  match  that  of  the  beat- 
signal  tone  of  the  received  transmitter 
signal  to  ensure  zero-beat  operation. 

How  close  to  zero-beat  should  sta- 
tions be?  If  they  are  on  exactly  the 
same  frequency  that  is  as  good  as  it 
can  get.  In  the  case  of  CW  stations, 
they  probably  should  be  within  1 00  Hz 
of  each  other  or  they  may  be  taking  up 
bK>  much  of  the  band.  Vacuum-tube 
transmitters  wiih  VFOs  almost  always 
drift.  They  may  have  to  be  checked  for 
zero-beat  operation  every  few  minules 
while  the  other  station  is  transmitting, 
particularly  if  they  have  not  been 
wanned  up  for  30  to  60  minutes. 

Stations  operating  several  hundred 
hertz  apan  are  just  asking  for  interfer- 
ence troubles.  While  one  of  the  sta- 
tions is  transmitting  the  other  station's 
frequency  is  not  being  used.  It  may  be 
selected  as  a  good  spot  for  a  QSO  by 
two  other  stations,  or  a  good  spot  for  a 
CQ.  If  a  QRL?  on  that  frequency  gets 
no  answer  from  the  transmitting  opera- 
tor, there  is  no  reason  why  that  fre- 
quency should  not  be  used  for  a  CQ  or 
QSO.  It  will  then  be  up  to  the  transmit- 
ting operator  to  advise  the  other  opera- 
tor with  whom  he  is  in  QSO  to 
zero-beat  with  his/her  frequency.  If  the 
transmitting  station  was  using  QSK, 
the  QRL?  call  would  probably  have 
been  heard  and  an  answering  QRL 
could  have  been  sent  to  stop  the  CW  or 
QSO  on  that  frequency. 

It  should  be  meniioned  thai  there  are 
procedures  used  by  the  various  armed 
services  which  may  vary  from  interna- 
tional operating  procedures.  Those 
procedures  were  developed  to  fit  the 
needs  of  their  particular  services.  Ra- 
dio amateurs  have  always  used  the 


procedures  which  are  in  general  use  all 
over  the  world,  those  which  have  been 
explained  here.  Communications  will 
be  much  more  pleasurable  if  all  ama- 
teurs use  the  same  basic  time-tested 
procedures. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  thousands  of 
well-meaning  amateur  radio  Elmers 
are  either  ex-mihtary  people  or  are 
mostly  phone  operators  and  do  not 
know  the  proper  international  proce- 
dures for  amateur  CW  operating.  The 
result  is  many  poorly  trained  new  ama- 
teur radio  operators  on  our  bands  to- 
day.  Poor  operating  takes  much  of  the 
fun  out  of  both  phone  and  CW  operat- 
ing. Hopefully  this  inlbrmation  will 
get  to  some  of  those  Elmers  and  to 
those  they  are  helping  so  much. 


Probing  Auto  ElectronFcs 

continued  from  f>age  13 

leakage  path  should  exhibit  a  current 
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E  Taking  note  of  the  circuit  and  the 
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There  is  an  alternate  test  method  that 
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path  has  been  opened. 

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73  Amateur  Radio  Today  *  December  1 998    23 


Number  24  on  your  feedback  card 


73  Review 


A  Real  Handful 

Inside  Alinco's  DJ-CS  dual-band  transceiver. 


Terry  Bennett  VE3EG A 

PO  Box  293 

Markham  ON  L3P  3J7 
Canada 

[tebenne@ibnn.netl 


A  credit  card-si/cd  iwo-mcler  +  70  I 
cm  transceiver  small  enough  to 
reuUy  go  in  >uur  shirt  pockei  was  loo 
much  for  this  minialiire -radio  lover  to 
resist — I  had  to  get  me  one  of  those 
babies!  As  an  Alincu  DJI-FT  owner.  I 
was  familiar  with  the  company "s  atten- 
tion to  detail  and  ihe  general  reliability 
of  their  prodticls.  A  qtiick  look  at  the 
Q5\  .specifications  convinced  me  that 
the  DJ-C5  had  a  lot  uoijii!  for  it. 

1  had  heard  thai  the  new  Alinco  DJ- 
C5  radio  was  going  to  be  available  al 
Dayton,  so  as  soon  as  the  main  arena 
opened  I  was  chcckini;  out  prices  {the 
Dayton  piice  was  just  under  S20()).  I 
had  previously  checked  the  DJ-C5 
specifications,  so  my  justification  was 
Simply  this — T  needed  a  radio  that  was 
versatile,  easy  to  use  straight  from  the 
bo?£.  and  small  enough  to  can-y  just 
about  everywhere  ( WHD  =  56  mm  x 
94  mm  x  10,6  mm.  2.2  inches  x  3.7 
inches  x  0.417  inch).  What  s  more,  the 
DJ-C5  weiizhs  in  at  a  mere  80  irrams 
(2.82  oz.)  and  operates  off  a  3,8  VDC 
lithium-ion  battery. 

Out  of  the  box  and  on  the  air! 


On  unpacking  the  radio  (al  the 
HamvenLion'j  I  was  delighted  to  find 
that  It  actually  did  work  straight  from 
24  73  AmalGur  Radio  Today  *  December  1998 


the  box — no  battery  charging — as  the 
iniemal  lithium -ion  battery  was  aUve 
and  well!  I  tjuickly  set  up  a  simplex 
frequency  in  VFO  mode  and  was  in 
QSO  within  lU  minutes  of  purchasing 
the  radio — not  many  handheld  manu* 
tacturers  can  guarantee  this  kind  of 
quick  setup!  The  radio  is  housed  in  an 
aluminum  case  and  all  functions  are 
keypad-controlled  except  for  the  on/ 
off  switch  and  PTT.  The  radit>  comes 
complete  w  iih  a  charger  and  clear  plas- 
dc  {1  didn't  like  this!)  carrying  case.  The 
C5's  transmitter  is  3(X)  mW — enoush 
fbr  litie  of  siuht  working,  but  within 
buildings  (Hara  .Arena)  sometimes  hit- 
and-miss.  On  nonrepeater  channels. 
QRP  usually  needs  unobstructed  RF 
takeoff!  Higher-powered  radios  also  had 
their  share  of  probletiis  (due  to  high  RF 
noise  and  obstructions),  so  I  was  not 
unduly  concerned. 

The  radio's  audio  output  level  (60 
mW)  was,  unrorlunatcly,  not  high 
enouszh  to  overcome  the  extremely  hii»h 
ambient  noise  le\  el  at  Davton,  and  even 
an  addniomd  purchase  of  the  liny 
EME-49  speaker/mike  did  little  to  im- 
prove matters.  I  initially  solved  the 
problem  by  initiating  the  Bell  feature 
on  the  radio,  which  gave  me  a  pleasant 
alert  tone  when  someone  called  on  the 
frequency!   However,   T  did   make  a 


mental  ntvte  of  a  neat  solution  for  fu- 
ture Ilea  markets,  so  watch  out  for  a 
future  article! 

First  repeater  contact 

Later  that  day  and  back  at  my  hotel, 
I  was  able  to  find  the  local  (Piqua)  re- 
peater and  exchanged  reports  with  a 
couple  t>f  hams  who  gave  the  radio  an 
excellent  audio  report.  My  Dayton 
friends  challenged  my  wisdom  in  pur- 
chasing a  3(K)  mW  radio  instead  of  a 
topical  higher  powered  unit  (I  was 
ready  for  this  one!)  I  explained  that 
with  two  meters  and  70  cm  on  hoard.  I 
will  always  be  in  range  of  at  least  one 
repeater  practically  everywhere  I 
might  visit  in  the  USA  or  Canada. 
With  dU  memories  to  play  with,  life 
will  never  be  dull! 

iTie  skeptics  were  still  unconvinced, 
hugging  their  brick-sized  radios,  their 
speaker- microphones  hanging  from 
dieir  collars  like  sleeping  bats,  as  they 
mumbled  thimss  about  needins  lots  of 
power.  In  the  meantime,  I  simply 
popped  the  C5  in  my  shirt  pix-kei  and 
off  I  went  to  load  more  repeaters  into 
the  radio's  memor\.  Riuht  now^  (davs 
after  Dayton).  I  am  at  the  office,  C5  in 
my  shirt  pocket  and  ready  for  more 
lunchtime  QSOs — V\\  lake  a  bet  that 


their  radios  sit  at  home  in  their  shacks 
until  the  next  hamfesi. 

Plamitng 

A  word  of  caution!  Loading  50 
memories  needs  some  careful  plan- 
ning— 1  suggest  thinking  carefully 
about  future  trips  and  your  general 
ham  radio  activities.  Enter  frequencies 
according  to  your  own  personal  re- 
quirements! Adding  and  deleting  fre- 
quencies is,  however,  very  simple  with 
the  C5,  and  a  few  minutes  with  the 
manual  will  get  you  started. 

I  set  up  my  C5  so  that  the  first  10 
memories  would  be  two^meter  local 
repeaters,  the  next  10  would  be  the 
major  two- meter  metropolitan  area  (in 
my  case,  Toronto)  repeaters,  and  the 
next  10  would  be  oul-of-lown  ones. 
UHF  repeaters  were  programmed  from 
#30-45,  leaving  room  for  five  simplex 
or  "scratchpad"  channels  as  required! 
The  two-meter  calling  channel  of 
146.520  MHz  was  programmed  into 
the  VHF  call  memory.  I  didn't  bother 
pfOgramming  a  UHF  call  frequency 
due  to  low  activity  on  UHF  simplex  in 
my  area* 

Operating  and  programmins  the  C5 

I  have  noticed  that  most  small  radios 
have  comprehensive  manuals  thai  re- 
quire you  to  sit  quietly  for  an  hour  or 
two  in  deep  concenlration  studying  the 
intricacies  of  the  radio.  Not  the  case 
with  the  C5,  The  folks  at  Alinco  man- 
aged to  condense  theirs  into  an  easy- 
to-understand  (and  remember!)  20 
pages — which  can  also  fit  in  a  shirt 
pocket  if  necessary! 

Programming  the  radio  was  a  piece 
of  cake.  Simply  select  the  desired 
memory  channel  number  (using  up/ 
down  buttons);  return  to  VFO  mode 
(VM/MW  button);  use  the  up/down 
buttons  to  select  the  desired  frequency^ 
press  function  (F);  and  hit  the  VM/ 
MW  button  to  store!  This  procedure  is 
all  that  is  required  to  change  a  stored 
frequency.  The  range  of  repeater  off- 
sets can  be  set  between  zero  and 
99.995  MH7.,  Once  the  offset  is  pro- 
grammed, pressing  Monitor  allows  you 
to  monitor  the  repealer-input  frequency. 
Pressing  Monitor  again  returns  the  radio 
to  normal  operation. 


A  neat  feature  of  the  C5  is  the  inclu- 
sion  of  the  aircraft  band  and  of  Auto- 
matic AM  Receive^ — ^gieat  for  checking 
out  the  action  at  local  air  shows! 

The  DJ-C5  has  CTCSS  built  in  for 
both  TX  and  RX  (as  required);  select- 
ing from  26  standard  tones  will  give 
you  all  the  regular  tones  in  use.  The  C5 
will  automatically  activate  the  encoder 
with  the  same  decode  tone  when  set! 

The  C5  features  Automatic  Power 
Off,  Key  Lock,  Adjustable  Frequency 
Step,  Channel  Scan,  Battery  Saver,  Bell 
and  (for  those  of  you  who  are  overseas 
Uavclers)  Eurt>pcan  Tone  Burst.  As  a 
general  rule  of  thumb,  I  find  that  the 
C5  will  access  local  VHF/UHF  repeat- 
ers that  are  within  an  eight-  to  10-miIe 
radius  of  my  QTH  and  that  the  com- 
munications capability  is  somewhat 
more  efficient  at  UHF  as  the  antenna  is 
much  closer  to  one-quarter-wave- 
length long.  Walking  around  my  town, 
I  found  that  the  audio  level  (range  is  1  - 
8)  was  most  comfortable  at  level  7, 
even  with  vehicular  QRN.  I  find  that  I 
am  now  taking  a  radio  to  places  where 


I  would  previously  wouldn't  have.  If 
you  arc  part  of  an  ARES  group  or  local 
Emergency  Service,  this  nexibility 
may  help  you  to  avoid  missing  a 
callout  message.  I  am  even  consider- 
ing putting  a  DJ-C5  on  my  Yorkshire 


WANT  TO  LEARN  CODE? 


Morse  Tutor  tiold  from  G.G.T JL  i$  the 

answer  for  beginners  and  experts  alike. 

*Get  iho  sctKvare  th*^  ARRL  sel  I  ii  and  luses  ti>  create 

practici;  and  test  tapes:  aiid  %f orsc  Tutor  Gold  is 

approved  ror  VH  exanB  ai  all  levels, 

'Smcf  ]  96T,G<jfTE  has  guided,  nearty  ^.OCOIiveb  md  pro^pectiii'e 
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73  Amateur  Ractio  Today  *  December  1998   25 


Photo  A,  Alinco's  DJ-C5.  actual  slze^ 

tBfiier  to  avoid  f^houting!  The  possi- 
hi  lilies  are  endless  with  such  a  liny, 
liLihtweiuhl  radio. 


Battery  charging 

The  DJ-C5  charger  operates  by 
dropping  the  radio  on  its  hack  into  the 
charger  (a  realK  neat  unit  thai  holdi 
the  radio  in  place).  A  gneen  LED  indi* 
caiefi  charging  and  extinguishes  after 
charging  is  complete.  Maximum 
charge  time  is  two  hours.  A  great  thing 
about  lithium-ion  batteries  is  ihev  do 
not  develop  a  memory  (unlike  nickel- 
cadmium)  and  therefore  uill  offer 
much  longer  periods  of  operation  per 
charge!  The  manual  suggests  that  they 
arc  good  for  500  charges,  so  I  strongly 
recommend  charging  huh  its  diffeienl 
from  those  used  for  nickel-cadmium 
baticiics.  For  example.  If  the  radio 
works,  the  battery  dott^t  need  charg- 
ing! The  reason?  It  has  a  straight-curve 
discharge   (think  of  your  car's   gas 

26   73 Amateur  RadfO  Today  *  December  1998 


tank!).  Using  this  think- 
ing, you  will  be  sure  to 
get  the  maximum  ben- 
efit from  your  liiliium- 
ion  battery  technology! 

Removing  the  screws 
on  the  rear  of  the  radio 
accesses  the  C5's  bai- 
terv  (if  this  is  ever  re- 
quired!).  Gently  lift  off 
the  back  cover  and  set 
it  aside.  I  recommend 
purchasing  a  new  set  of 
tiny  Phillips  screwdriv- 
ers fRadib  Shack®) 
prior  to  attempting  this, 
as  the  screws  are 
tightly  fitted  and  there 
is  alwavs  the  danger  of 
damaue  to  the  screw 
head!  The  battery  takes 
up  about  one  third  of 
the  total  size  of  the  ra- 
dio. To  remo\e  the  bat- 
tery, simply  ease  it  out 
and  unplug  its  connec- 
tor. Replacement  bat- 
teries are  available  (at 
this  time)  from  Alinco. 
priced  at  approximately 

Specificatlotis 

The  DJ-C5  (out  ol'  the  hoK)  covetl 
118-173.995  MHz  R\  (118-135.995 
AM  Rx)  and  420-449.995  MHz,  Tx 
coverage  is  144-147.995  and  420^ 
449,995  in  two  bands. 

A  MARS/CAP  modification  is  avail- 
able (simple)  that  will  extend  the  Tx 
from  136-173.995  MHz  and  380- 
472,995  MHz  faircratt  band  is  unaf- 
fected). 

The  radio's  sensitivity  is  excellent, 
even  with  the  supplied  4.5-inch  llex- 
ible  antenna.  1  receive  the  weather  radio 
stations  quite  well  (gocxl  sensitivity  test 
for  Rx  and  antennas!). 

I  have  not  tried  an  alternative  an- 
tenna on  the  radio,  as  I  felt  this 
uould  compromise  the  threaded  con- 
nector, but  the  radio  may  accept  a 
modified  antenna  for  balloonist  or 
similar  operation. 

As  I  pre\iously  mentioned,  the  Rx 
audio  (60  mW)  is  not  as  high  as  with 


'^brick"  HTs,  but  it  is  more  than  suffi- 
cient for  nonnal  personal  outdoor  US© 
in  parks  or  streets.  An  audio  accessory 
is  recommended  for  Ilea  markets  or  ar- 
eas where  the  ambient  noise  is  likely 
to  be  high.  This  is  a  miniulure  (2.5 
mm)  stereo-type  jack  soclcet  on  the  lop 
of  the  radio  that  accepts  remote  mike/ 
audio  accessories. 

To  date  there  is  a  gotxl  range  of 
Alinco  accessories  that  can  be  used 
with  the  DJ-C5. 1  purchased  the  minia- 
ture speaker/mike  {model  EMS  49) 
and  1  will  ultimately  add  an  ear  mike 
(and  dark  glasses!), 

A  word  of  advice:  Stibminiature 
stereo  jacks  are  hard  to  find.  Those 
of  you  who  want  to  add  your  own 
mike/audio  I/O  (e.g.,  packet)  won't 
find  them  at  Radio  Shack — ^youMI 
need  to  check  out  Mouser  or  a  similar 
supplier. 

Conclusion 

I  love  radios  that  arc  easy  to  under- 
stand, program,  and  operate.  And  I 
hate  hunting  for  the  manual  and  rel- 
evant sections  every  time  I  want  to 
chani^e  something.  For  these  reasons 
alone,  the  C5  is  the  perfect  partner 
for  the  user  who  wants  a  less  conipli- 
catcd  radio,  yet  still  needs  to  retain 
commonly-used  features  such  as  in- 
put-frnqtiency  monitoring,  channel  scan, 
and  quick  frequency  entry.  Plus,  the 
DJ-C5  has  dual-band  versatility,  loo! 

Wilt  1  sell  mine  at  the  next  Ilea 
market  and  get  something  with  more 
power?  No  and  no,  Fll  keep  this  rig, 
thank  vou — well  done.  Alinco! 

Sources 

The  Alinco  DJ-C5  dual -band  trans- 
ceiver is  available  from: 

Alinco  USA 

438  Amapola  Ave.  Suite  1 30 

Torrance  C A  90501 
Tel:  (310)  618-8616 


Further  inlbnnatibn  is  also  available 
JVom  Alinco  al  [www.alincoxoni]. 
And  you  might  he  interested  in  my 
own  Web  page  lwww.angcinrc.com/ 
biz/cqradio],  where  there  is  also  an 
Alinco  link  (a  linko?).  Have  fun! 


-•i 


Number  27  on  your  Feedback  card 


Electronic  Bug  Emulator 


Put  some  personality  back  intoyour  CW. 


J.  Frank  Brumbaugh  W4LJD 

RO.  Box  30— c/o  Defendini 

Salinas  PR  00751 -0030 


How  niiiny  of  us  initially  suc- 
cumbed to  ihe  lure  of  an  elec- 
ironic  keyer  and  sold  our  bugs, 
only  to  become  dissalisfied  at  the  lack 
of  personality  in  our  CW?  Or  made 
keying  errors  with  the  new  gadgets  and 
wished  we  had  our  old  bugs  back?  Yes, 
you  and  me  and  loLs  ul  oltiers.  With 
this  article.  I  hope  to  Lake  many  o^  us 
fomard  to  the  past. 

New  standard  Vihrople3C*l5«igs  cost 
SI  60.  and  the  price  rises  rapidly  for  the 
fancier  models.  This  is  a  cost  most  of 
us  cannot  afford  to  pay.  But  all  is  not 
lost.  Described  here  is  a  very  simple, 
cheap,  and  easy  way  to  put  the  feel  of  a 
bug  back  into  our  operating,  and  it  can 
be  dune  for  less  than  five  dollai-s! 

However  before  \vc  spend  that  five 
dollars  there  is  a  minor  problem  to 
solve.  Some  of  us  already  have  single- 
lever  paddles,  which  is  what  is  needed 
to  complete  the  electronic  bug.  As  far 
as  I  know,  all  such  paddles  have 
grounded  wipers.  This  circuit  requires 
that  the  paddle  have  all  three  coniacis 
floating — dot,  dash,  and  wiper.  Unless 
an  existing  paddle  can  be  modified,  it 
may  be  necessary  to  home-brew  a 
single-lever  paddle  in  order  to  take 
advantage  of  this  project. 


Fig.  1   illustrates  the  simple  clec- 
trnntc  portion  of  the  single  paddle  bug. 


! 


Stalled  with  a  portion  of  a  25-year-old 
design  by  W7Z01  and  made  some 


The  circuit  is  not  original  with  me.  I  j  mudiftcations    to    gel    the    results    I 


RIO 
WEIGHT 


+12^ 


DOT   DASH 


KEYING 
Q2  UNE 


t 


Fig,  L  Schenuaii  of  spaced  dots  generator. 


73  AmaWur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    27 


FROM  02  COLLECTOR 


TO  KEY  UNE 


+12VT0S1 


CONNECT  WITH 

AAALE-MALE  STEREO 

CABLE 


FROM  +T2V 


KEYER 


RIG 


Fig.  2.  Power  and  keying  wiring, 

needed.  The  original  circuit  was  more 
complex  and  did  things  not  needed  in 
this  final  design. 

Both  timers  in  Ul  together  produce 
perfect  dots  and  spaces,  the  speed  of 
which  is  controlled  by  the  weight  po- 
tentiometer, RIO,  which  serves  the 
same  purpose  as  moving  the  weight  on 
a  bug.  When  the  paddle  is  pressed  for 
dots,  a  stream  of  perfectly  spaced  dots 
is  generated  and  keys  the  rig  through 
Q2,  the  Iceying  transistor.  Dot  speed  is 
adjustable,  as  on  a  Vibroplex,  from  ap- 
proximately three  to  25  dots  per  sec- 
ond— equivalent  to  a  keying  speed 
range  of  seven  to  60  wpm. 

When  the  paddle  is  pressed  for 
flashes,  this  is  a  "key  down"  condition 
exactly  as  in  a  bug,  allowing  the  opera- 
tor to  make  his  own  dashes  and  bring- 
ing back  the  familiar  bug  "feel."  In 
addition,  the  dash  side  of  the  paddle  can 
be  tapped  just  as  if  it  were  a  hand  key  for 
those  times  when  it  is  necessary  to  key 


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very  slowly.  Also,  this  function  is  re- 
tained even  if  the  circuit  is  not  powered. 

Construction 

The  spaced  dot  generator  can  be 
constructed  on  a  small  piece  of 
perfboard  or  a  general-purpose  printed 
circuit  board,  or  you  can  use  the  *yead 
bug"  style  of  ugly  construction  on  a 
small  piece  of  unetched  printed  circuit 
board.  Parts  placement  and  lead 
lengths  are  not  critical  It  can  be 
mounted  in  a  small  enclosure,  or  possi- 
bly right  on  or  inside  the  base  of  the 
paddle. 

To  reduce  clutter,  it  will  be  prefer- 
able to  solder  three  jumpers  on  the  bot- 
tom of  Ul  before  mounting  it,  whether 
a  socket  is  used  or  noL  Strip  the  insula- 
tion from  a  short  length  of  stranded 
wire  and  separate  the  strands.  Solder 
one  strand  between  pins  4  and  10  on 
the  bottom  of  the  chip,  making  the  sol- 
dered connections  high  on  the  pins  of 
the  chip,  and  clip  off  any  extra  lead 
lengths.  Solder  another  jumper  be- 
tween pin  3  and  pin  11.  Place  a  small 
piece  of  cellophane  tape  on  the  bottom 
of  the  chip  covering  these  two  jumpers 
as  insulation.  Now  solder  a  final  jumper 
between  pin  10  and  pin  14  as  before. 

Power  can  be  supplied  by  an  internal 
battery  or  by  taking  operating  voltage 
from  the  rig  it  will  be  used  with.  Fig.  1 
includes  an  optional  On/Ofif  switch 
and  LED  if  an  internal  battery  is  used. 
In  this  case,  you  may  or  may  not  want 
to  include  the  voltage  regulator  U2, 

If  taking  power  from  the  rig  for  op- 
erating this  unit,  a  stereo  jack  must  be 
added  to  the  rig.  It  will  carry  +12  V, 
ground,  and  the  keying  line  through  a 
connecting  cable.  The  ring  carries  the 


C1,C5 

C2,  C3,  C4 


D1,  D2 


D3 

Q1,Q2 


R1.  R8 


Parts  Lrst 

1  jiFlO  V 

0.1  iiF  disc  or 
monolithic 

1N4148,  1N914,  or 
equivalent 

LED 

NPN  bipolar  transistor 
(2N3904,  2N4400, 
2N2222i  etc.) 

33  k  5%  1/4  W 


R2,  R5,  R9        47  K  5%  1/4  W 


R3,  R6 

R4 

R7 

RIO 

R11 
SI 

Ul 

U2 


100  5%  1/4  W 
10  k  5%  1/4  W 
2.2  k  5%  1/4  W 

10k  linear 
potentiometer 

2.4  k  5%  1/4  W 

SPST  toggle  or  stide 

switch 

556  dual  timer  iC 
78L05  regulator 


Table  1*  Parts  list. 

keying  line,  the  tip  carries  +12  V,  and 
the  sleeve  is  common  ground.  Fig,  2  il- 
lustrates using  a  stereo  jack  on  both 
the  dot  maker  and  the  rig,  and  connect- 
ing the  two  through  a  three-wire  cable 
with  stereo  plugs  on  each  end.  How- 
ever, the  cable  can  be  hard-wired  into 
the  electronic  circuit  and  the  stereo 
plug  on  the  other  end  plugged  into  the 
new  jack  on  the  rig. 

This  circuit  draws  only  about  10  mA 
with  U2  installed.  If  you  wish  to  have 
audio  monitoring  of  your  keying,  per- 
haps for  practice  sessions,  a  smaU  pi- 
ezoelectric alarm  can  be  connected 
directly  between  the  +5  volt  bus  and 
the  collector  of  Q2.  This  will  add 
about  10  more  milliamps  to  the  total 
drain  with  key  down. 

Forward  to  the  past 

Now  that  you  have  your  new  elec- 
tronic bug  emulator,  no  one  you  QSO 
with  will  have  any  idea  you  aren't  using 
a  Vibroplex! 


28  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


73  Review 


Number  29  on  your  Feedback  c^rd 


Seeing  Dits  and  Dahs 

The  K2659  Morse  Decoder  Kit  from  Velleman  Electronics 


Marshall  G,  Emm  N1FN 
2460  S.  Moline  Way 
Aurora  CO  80014 
[n1fn@Mp.rs.eX.coml 


AS  one  whose  ham  activities  are 
95%  HF  C W,  I  hiivc  long  held  the 
view  that  when  It  comes  to  copying 
code,  the  human  ear  will  beat  a  com- 
puter every  time.  An  experienced  CW 
operator  can  copy  code  that  is  barely 
audible^  signals  plagued  with  QRM, 
QRN,  and  QSB. 

Computers  need  a  good  solid  sig- 
nal with  a  high  signal-to-noise  ratio. 
And  when  conditions  are  sood  enough 
for  compulers  to  copy  Morse,  there 
are  far  more  efficient  modes  available 
io  them.  The  Velleman  Morse  Decoder 
has  done  nothing  to  change  my 
opinion,  but  it  was  fun  to  build  and 
does  indeed  have  some  practical 
applications. 

I  saw  the  decoder  kit  at  Tech  America® 
where  some  30  different  Velleman 
Icits  are  Svdilable  (Velleman  makes 
about  150  different  kits),  along  with 
kits  from  several  other  suppliers. 
The  Velleman  kits  are  made  in  Bel- 
gium, and  reflect  an  unusually  high 
standard  of  packaging — the  kits  are 
in  plastic  boxes,  which  are  useful  for 
sorting  parts  during  inventory  and 
construction. 

In  many  cases  the  box  can  be  used 
as  a  permanent  enclosure  for  the 
completed  project. 


How  it  works 

The  Morse  Decoder  kit  includes  a 
small  microphone,  which  is  placed 
near  the  speaker  of  a  radio  receiving  a 
Morse  code  signal.  The  audio  from  the 
microphone  goes  through  an  A/D  con- 
verter, which  passes  a  digital  signal  to 
a  microprocessor. 

When  the  unit  is  correctly  tuned,  die 
digital  signal  is  either  on  or  off  de- 
pending on  whether  a  tone  is  being 
sent.  Three  pots  are  used  to  process  the 
audio  signal  before  conversion.  They 
control  the  audio  bandwidth,  the  center 
frequency  of  the  audio  bandwidth,  and 
the  sensitivity  of  the  microphone.  An 
LED  is  used  in  tuning,  and  blinks  in 
time  with  the  Morse  signal  when  die 
unit  is  properly  adjusted. 

The  processor  analyzes  the  pattern 
of  dots  and  dashes  and  inteiprets  them 
as  characters  which  are  scrolled  along 
a  16-charactcr  LCD  display.  The  de- 
coder recognizes  the  alphabetical  char- 
acters, numbers  0-9,  and  most  of  the 
prosigns  ordinarily  used  in  CW  traffic. 
The  manual  says  the  unit  will  read  code 
at  ' 'almost  any  speed/'  and  that^s  pretty 
much  true. 

How  well  it  does  ail  this  is  a  matter  of 
judgment,  but  Til  save  my  comments  on 
performance  for  later. 

I 


73 


Construction 

The  decoder  kit  was  relatively  easy 
to  build,  with  step-by-step  instructions 
in  the  manual.  It  took  me  about  an  hour 
to  put  the  kit  together  As  is  my  usual 
practice,  I  installed  the  IC  sockets  first, 
even  diough  the  instructions  don't  have 
you  do  them  until  aftej'  the  resistors  and 
diodes.  With  nothing  else  on  the  board, 
so  it  will  Ue  Hat  on  the  tahle.  the  sockets 
ai^e  a. lot  easier  to  manage, 

The  PC  board  was  of  very  high  qual- 
ity, sillc-screened  with  component  lay- 
out on  one  side  and  solder-masked  on 
the  other.  Generally  I  found  the  com- 
ponents to  be  of  high  quality  and  easy 
to  identify,  with  ihe  exception  that 
some  of  the  terms  used  for  component 
types  were  not  what  I  am  used  to  in 
kits  from  US  manufacturers.  For  ex- 
ample, there  was  one  capacitor  de- 
scribed as  "100  nF  MKM"  and  three 
described  as  '"sibattit."  Fortunately,  the 
pans  count  was  low  enough  that  these 
were  quickly  idendfied,  even  though 
the  MKM  proved  to  require  the  tail 
end  of  the  process  of  elimination.  Last 
one  left?  Fits  the  spot?  Must  be  it! 

All  of  the  axial-lead  components 
CTlaf'  resistors,  diodes,  etc.)  were 
supplied  mounted  on  a  single  ''ammo 
strip,''  and — ^get  this — they  were  on 
Amateur  Radio  Today  *  December  1998    29 


L.£  NIRN  m\ 


*/1 


Photo  A,  Test-dn'ving  the  \sencr  seiup. 

the  strip  in  the  order  m  which  they 
were  called  for  in  constiuction.  That 
lit^  made  it  a  lot  easier  to  find  the 
components  when  they  were  needed! 

The  installation  of  the  LCD  disp[ay 
was  a  bit  tricky,  as  was  llie  LED.  The 
display  is  mounted  above  the  main 
board  on  metal  stand-offs,  and  is  con- 
nected by  14  plain  wires  (supplied  on 
the  ammo  strip!)  which  go  through  a 
hole  in  the  display  and  then  through  a 
hole  in  the  circuit  hoard,  and  are  sol- 
dered in  both  places.  I  discovered  that 
the  spacing  of  the  wires  on  the  ammo 
strip  was  sucli  that  every  other  wire 
matched  a  pair  of  holes,  so  I  cut  them 
apart,  leaving  seven  wires  still  at- 
tached by  one  side  of  the  ammo  strip.  I 
fed  them  through  the  odd  holes  Th  the 
display  and  down  through  the  circuit 
hoai'd,  and  the  remaining  piece  of  ammo 
strip  tape  held  them  in  place  while  I  sol- 
dered Uicm  on  the  circuit  boai\i.  Then  it 
was  a  simple  process  of  trimming  the 


leads  above  the  LCD  display  and  sol- 
dering that  end.  and  finally  repeating 
the  process  lor  the  remaining  seven 
wires  in  the  even  holes. 

The  instructions  for  the  LED  read, 
"The  upper  side  of  the  LED  should 
slightly  overlap  the  display."  That  took 
me  a  minute  or  two  to  figure  out,  but 
what  it  means  is  that  the  LEDs  ai^e  in- 
serted only  a  little  way  into  the  holes 
so  that  the  top  of  the  LED  is  flush  with 
or  a  little  higher  than  the  top  surface 
of  the  display.  Now  that  I  think  about 
it,  Lm  not  sure  how  I  would  have 
described  it  myself! 

The  instructions  tell  you  to  connect 
the  microphone  using  a  '^ screened 
cable/'  but  the  manuars  illustration 
shows  the  microphone  soldered  direct 

30   73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


to  its  connecting  pins  on  the  front  side 
of  the  circuit  board.  It  seemed  reason- 
able  to  me  that  you  would  w^ant  to  put 
the  display  between  yourself  and  the 
audio  source,  so  a  microphone  on  the 
back  of  the  unit  would  make  more 
sense  than  on  the  front.  I  used  shielded 
audio  cable  long  enough  to  locate  the 
microphone  at  the  back  of  the  reader. 

No  real  problems  were  encountered 
in  construction,  but  I  mention  the  com- 
ponent ID  and  documentation  situa- 
tions because  I  can  imagine  that  these 
could  be  serious  problems  in  a  more 
complex  kit. 

The  smoke  test 

The  power  supply  for  the  decoder  kit 
can  be  either  a  small  transformer  pro- 
viding 7-8  VAC  at  250  mA  (there  is  a 
rectifier  circuit  on  board)  or  DC  at  9- 
12  V.  The  circuit  includes  a  voltage 
regulator,  so  I  connected  my  13.8 
WDC  shack  supply  without  further 
consideration.  Actually,  there  was  a 
little  consideration  necessary  because 
they  tell  you  to  connect  power,  but  not 
exactly  where.  TTiere  are  three  pins, 
marked  VA,  VB,  and  a  symbol.  A 
quick  look  at  the  board  and  the  sche- 
matic should  tell  you  that  the  symbol 
indicates  the  common  or  ground  termi- 
nal, the  VA  and  VB  pins  are  both  used 
if  you  are  connecting  an  AC  supply, 
and  +DC  can  be  connected  to  either 
VA  or  VB.  There  is  no  on/off  switch. 
As  soon  as  power  is  connecledj  the 
display  reads  ^'VELLEMAN  KIT^ 
and  you  can  use  a  small  trimpot  to  ad- 
just  the  contrast.  At  that  point  you  are 
ready  to  place  the  microphone  neai' 
your  radio  and  start  to  copy  code. 


The  Morse  Decoder  in  operation 

Aeain.  the  documentation  is  rudi- 
mentarv  at  best.  Which  is  unfortunate, 
because  the  decoder  is  not  particularly 
easy  to  use.  They  give  you  starting  set- 
tings for  the  three  controls,  and  then 
have  you  adjust  them  until  the  LED 
flashes  and  the  decoded  text  is  dis- 
played. The  adjustment  can  take  a  few 
attempts  but  you  get  used  to  doing  it 
with  a  Uttle  practice. 

There  are  some  things  they  could  tell 
you  that  would  make  life  a  lot  easier. 
For  example: 


•A  character  is  not  displayed  until 
the  following  character  has  been  sent, 
or  after  about  tlu:ee  seconds  of  silence. 

•The  unit  takes  a  considerable 
amount  of  time  to  synchronize  to  the 
speed  of  the  received  code.  When  the 
speed  changes,  meaningless  characters 
will  be  displayed  for  several  seconds 
until  the  decoder  can  re-synch.  This 
seems  to  be  less  of  a  problem  w^hen 
speed  is  increased.  When  the  speed  is 
decreased,  you  will  often  see  the  indi- 
vidual elements  of  characters  sent  as 
an  endless  stream  of  Es  and  Ts.  Some- 
times, in  fact,  it  seems  the  unit  will 
never  re-synch  unless  you  disconnect 
the  power  and  let  the  processor  start 
over. 

There  is  nothing  in  tlie  documcnta^ 
tion  to  indicate  how  non- alphanumeric 
characters  and  punctuation  (periods, 
commas,  and  question  marks)  will  be 
displayed.  An  unrecognized  character 
will  be  displayed  as  an  asterisk.  For 
the  record,  here's  the  list,  as  far  as  I 
was  able  to  determine  from  trial  and 
em)r: 


Sign 

Displayed  As 

BT 

— 

HH 

%  (error  sign) 

CT 

I 

AR 

m 

1 

f  1.' 

AS 

KN 

SOS 

i 

Table  I.  Key  to  the  signs  thai  appear  in  the 
display. 


•I  was  abfe  to  verify  correct  code 
reading  at  speeds  from  7  wpm  to 
around  50  wpm,  using  the  sidetone  on 
my  electronic  keyerand  a  test  message 
sent  repetitively  from  the  kcyer's 
memory.  At  the  upper  end  of  that 
range,  an  increase  in  sending  speed  re- 
quired two  or  three  repetitions  of  the 
message  before  the  decoder  would 
synchronize,    A   reduction    in    speed 

Coatinued  on  page  56 


Number  31  on  your  Feedback  card 


Low- Voltage  Detector 


, .  ,for  a  number  causes. 


Hugh  Wells  W6WTU 

1411  18th  Street 

Manhattan  Beach  CA  90266-4025 


Recently,  a  friend  asked  me  to 
assist  him  in  developing  a  cir- 
cuit thai  he  could  use  on  a  car 
haltery-powered  system  that  he  has  in- 
stalled in  his  ham  shack.  The  battery 
operation,  in  his  specific  application, 
provides  power  to  his  electric  door 
locks,  alarm  system,  enunciatpr,  ham 
gear  a:nd  other  iterns.  The  12  volts 
from  the  car  battery  is  bused  through- 
out his  house  and  shop.  Because  the 
battery  is  the  central  power  source  foi' 
a  multitude  of  critical  systems,  die 
health  of  the  battery  is  extremely  im- 
portani.  Under  most  circumstances  car 
batteries  and  chargers  arc  quite  reli- 
able, but  there  are  occasions  when  a 
power  failure  may  occun  Dislodging 
the  charger's  powder  cord  or  having  a 
commercial  power  loss  happens  more 
often  than  we'd  like  to  admit.  Also, 
car  batteries  fail  upon  occasion — and 
seldom  give  any  warning. 

My  friend  asked  if  a  project  could  be 
developed  to  provide  a  warning  because 
his  system  did  fail  when  the  charger 
became  unplugged,  The  problem  went 
undetected  until  everything  failed,  in- 
cluding his  door  lock  control.  After 
studying  the  variables  involved  in  a  bat- 
tery-operated  system,    we   determined 


that  the  most  predominant  failure 
mode  is  a  loss  of  terminal  voltage, 
which  is  easily  detected.  Because  my 
friend's  12- volt  system  is  bused  every- 
where, wamins  detectors  could  be 
placed  in  strategic  locations  where  at 
least  one  would  be  observed,  should  a 
failure  occur 

The  devised  circuit  is  simply  a 
voltage  comparator  driving  an  LED- 
What  could  be  simpler?  During  the 


development  of  the  circuit,  many 
threshold  detector  designs  were  con- 
sidered and  all  would  have  worked 
well.  The  design  selected  for  my 
friend's  apphcation  is  shown  in  Fig,  L 
The  criteria  used  for  selecting  the  cir- 
cuit required  a  variable  threshold  ad- 
justment and  a  circuit  that  would  drive 
an  LED.  The  use  of  an  audible  alarm 

Contmued  on  pc^e  38 


SOURCE 
+11-15  V 


Fig.  1.  Low  battery  voltage  detector. 


73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1 998    31 


George's  XE-lent 


Part  2:  Days  10-18 


Number  32  on  your  Feedback  card 


George  Palaki  WB2AQC 

84-47  Kendrick  Place 

Jamaica  NY  11432 


iiesday.  The  Radio  Club  Azteca 
doesn't  have  its  own  place,  so 
it  holds  its  meetings  twice  a 
month  at  fhe  Federation.  Not  having  ils 
own  place,  it  doesn't  have  a  station, 
but  it  does  have  a  beatitiful  QSL  card: 
XE 1  RCA.  However,  this  does  not  com- 
pensate 1  or  those  XEs  who  have  stations. 
do  operate,  and  promise  QSL  cards — 
when  they  don't  even  have  one. 


iP6unded  in  1932,  Azteca  is  the  old- 
est amateur  radio  club  in  Mexico  City, 
presently  having  about  30  members. 
Once  a  year,  the  club  organizes  a  na- 
tional contest,  Theodoro  XEIYQQ  and 
Rosa  XEIYQR  drove  me  to  the  Fed- 
eration in  the  evcnins.  There  I  met 
Memo  XEINJ,  the  director  of  lARU 
region  2,  area  C,  and  the  executive  sec- 
of  the   Federation.    Memo,   a 


Photo  A,  Ai  the  XEILM  chih  station,  stanJing,  left  to  right:  Efraim  XEIJGM,  Manuel 
XEIJRL  Artnro  XEINAD,  Carlos  XEIEOX.  Smin^,  left  to  right:  Felipe  XEIMHF,  Jean- 
Pierre  XEI YVE,  Emir  XEIPAR. 

32  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  ■  December  1998 


buildinjj  adniTnistrator,  was  licensed  in 
1978;  he  is  a  DXer  with  317  countries 
conllrmed,  and  works  only  SSB  on  10- 
15-20  meters.  His  wife  Rebeca  is 
XEI  RUN  and  she  is  active.  His  son 
Memo  Jr  is  XEiOJ,  and  his  daughter 
Ady  is  XEJ  NG — both  arc  inactive. 

In  1985,  Memo  participated  in  the 
DXpedition  to  Reviilagigedo  when  the 
XF4MDX  call  was  used. 

Wc  met  some  of  the  members  of  the 
Azteca  radio  club  (Photo  A).  First  to 
arrive  was  Arturo  XEINAD,  the  club's 
president  (Photo  B),  Every  year  they 
have  an  election  for  president  and  you 
can  be  re-elected  just  once.  1  visited 
his  station  the  next  day. 

I  also  met  Felipe  XEIMHF.  He 
works  in  the  printing  industry,  w^as  li- 
censed in  1990,  and  operates  only  on 
SSB,  mostly  on  two  meters.  His  wife 
Olga  XEI  XZT  was  licensed  in  1 996. 

Jean-Pierre  XEIYVE  is  a  French- 
born  electronics  engineer,  licensed  in 
1988;  Emir  XEI  PAR  is  a  retired  doc- 
tor who — despite  his  name — does  not 
have  a  harem,  I  visited  Emir  three  days 
later. 

Manuel  XEIJRI  sells  and  installs 
computers,  and  trains  the  users,  I  saw 
him  and  his  family  of  amateurs  the  fol- 
lowing Saturday. 


i 


Photo  B.  Armro  XEI  NAD,  president  of  the 
Radio  Club  Azteca,  is  active  on  satellites 
en  144/432  MHz  and  on  6  m  with  a  rotas- 
able  dipole. 


Carlos  XEIFOX  is  assistant  director 
of  lARU,  region  2,  area  C,  and  also  di- 
rector of  the  Federation.  Carlos  works 
in  advertising.  He  is  a  DXer,  works 
only  SSB,  and  has  over  200  countries 
conliimed. 

Efiraim  XEl  JGM,  is  a  past  president 
of  the  club;  I  had  visited  him  three 
days  earlier, 

I  took  some  group  photos  at  the 
XEILM  club  station  (the  one  that 
seems  not  to  have  QSL  cards),  said 
'*Hasta  la  vista^**  and  returned  to  my 
hotel. 


Wednesday 

In  the  morning,  AfiMIO  XEINAD, 
the  president  of  the  Radio  Club  Azteca, 
picked  me  up  from  the  hotel  and  took 
me  to  see  his  station,  Arturo,  a  physi- 
cist, is  the  system  manager  for 
Penoles,  the  world's  largest  silver- 
mining  company,  Arturo  is  very  enthu- 
siastic about  amateur  radio  and  has 
plenty  of  excellent  equipment.  He  was 
licensed  in  1994;  operates  SSB,  RTTY 
and  satellites;  and  has  a  nice  QSL  card* 
He  has  a  40-foot  tower  on  the  roof, 
120  feet  from  the  ground  On  that 
lower,    Arturo    has    a    three-element 


Photo  C.  Lorenzo  XEIU  has  two  great  sta- 
tions: one  in  Mexico  City,  the  other  in 
Tepottotlun. 


monobander  for  1 0  meters;  a  three-ele- 
ment TH3-Jr  that  is  a  three-element 
yagi  for  10-15-20  meters;  and  a  two- 
clement  yagi  for  40  meters.  He  also 
has  a  roiatable  dipole  for  17  meters 
and  a  rotatable  dipole  for  six  meters. 
Furthermore,  a  G5RV  is  used  for  10  to 
80  meters  and,  with  a  luner^  for  160 
meters. 

Arturo  is  working  satellites  on  two 
meters  and  70  cm,  in  the  B  mode,  and 
is  planning  a  setup  with  a  L2  GH/  for 
uplink  and  a  24  GHz  for  downlink, 
operating  on  S  mode.  Arturo  XEINAD 
is  a  contester;  he  created  his  own  con- 
test computer  program.  In  his  car,  he 
has  a  duaiband  mobile  rig  for  144 
MHz  and  432  MHz.  Arturo  is  also  an 
excellent  amateur  photographer,  and  in 
martial  arts  he  has  a  black  belt,  second 
dan.  His  E-mail  address  is:  [arturo_ 
enriquez@penolesxom.mx]. 

Arturo  look  me  to  the  office  of  Luis 
XEIL,  in  a  beautiful  Spanish-style 
building  surrounded  by  tail  office 
buildings.  Tt  is  easy  lo  find  Luis'  builri- 
ing  because  it  has  a  tower  with  a  large 
yagi  on  the  top. 

Luis  took  me  to  see  Lorenzo  XEIU, 
who  has  a  Ph.D.  in  civil  engineering 
but  works  in  insurance  as  the  vice 
president  of  La  LatinoAmericana 
(Photo  C).  Lorenzo  is  fluent  in  En- 
glish^  French,  and  Italian,  and  besides 


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73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December1998    33 


thoto  D.  Keytui  XEILMV  tiiul  her  iiiofher, 
Olga  XEINBJ. 

Spanish,  he  also  speaks  u  dialed  used 
in  the  Canary  Islands.  Licensed  in 
1969,  Lorenzo  has  a  Iremendous  sta- 
tion, but  is  nol  a  DXcr:  he  works  only 
SSB  mostly  with  tVicnds,  His  Lower  is 
66  leel  from  ihe  roof,  90  feet  from  the 
ground.  On  the  lower  Lorenzo  has  a 
30-elcnient.  veriically-ptjlari/ed  yagi 
for  two  meters:  a  TA-33-40  yagi  for 
10- 1 5-20-40  nicteni:  a  wire  dipole  for 
40  and  80  meters:  and  three  verlicats 
for  144  Mil/,  432  MH/.  and  1 .2  GH/. 
He  likes  40-nieter  SSB.  And  lo  lop  ii 
all  off,  he  has  a  separate  room  just  for 
consimcting. 

In  Tepotzotlan,  he  has  a  second 
house  with  a  complete  station;  an  82- 
foot  tower  with  a  30-elemenl  yagi  for 
two  metecs;  a  TH7DX  type  of  antenna 
which  is  a  seven-element  yagi  for  10* 
15-20  meters:  a  two-element  yagi  for 
40  meters:  and  an  1 8HTS  vertical  from 
Hy~Gain  for  10  to  160  meters,  Lorcn/o 
XEl  U  has  a  nice,  colorful  QSL  card. 

Thursday 

For  this  day  I  had  scheduled  a  visit 

with  a  ham  who  did  not  show  up  and 
did  not  even  catl  to  cancel  the  appoint- 
ment. I  went  people-walching,  and 
again  [o  the  two  large  artisans'  mar- 
kets. I  prefer  lo  shop  where  there  are 


Photo  E.  Mux  XEIXA.  wiih  his  antennax 

for  safellire  and  EME  ioiuffumhaiious. 


fixed  prices;  1  really  don't  like  hag- 
gling. As  a  dilettante  in  bargaining,  I 
am  no  match  for  the  professionals.  No 
matter  how  much  time  1  spend  check- 
ing out  prices  and  trying  to  push  them 
down,  after  making  the  purchase,  I  al- 
waj  s  Inid  heiter  buys.  That  is  the  rea- 
son I  prefer  to  do  my  shopping  on  the 
last  day  of  my  trip — at  least  then  1 
don't  see  that  I  have  made  bad  deals. 

Some  merchants  spoke  some  En- 
glish, but  many  of  them,  even  after 
dealing  for  years  with  foreign— mostly 
American — -tourists,  knew  very  little. 
When  asked  abcmt  prices,  they  showed 
them  to  mc  on  their  calculators. 

Friday 

Today  Emir  XEl  PAR  came  to  the 
hotel  and  took  me  to  his  house-  Emir  is 
a  retired  medical  doctor  who  worked 
as  a  hospital  adminisiraion  He  was  li- 
censed in  1984.  His  daughten  Maria* 
Eugenia  XEl  PAT,  is  an  architect  living 
in  Leon  Guanahuato:  they  have  QSOs 
every  day  on  40-meter  phone. 

Rmir  has  a  40-root  tower  on  his  root 
which  itself  is  33  feet  from  the  iiround. 
His  antennas  are:  a  six-element  yagi 
for  10-15-20  meters;  a  Ringo  for  two 
meters:  a  Diamond  for  two  meters  and 
70  cm:  and  a  wire  dipole  with  traps  for 
40  and  80  meters. 

Emir  XE  [  PAR  has  a  second  house  in 
the  state  of  Morelos.  where  he  takes 
his  Kenwood  TS'440  or  his  Drake  TR- 
3  lo  use  with  a  wire  dipole,  Emtr  has 
QSL  cards. 

In  the  afternoon,  I  took  a  taxi  to  sefe 
Nellie  XEICL  who  lives  in  a  very 
high-class  section  of  the  town.  The 
taxi  driver  stopped  four  times  to  ask 
for  directions:  twice  he  w^as  scnl  the 
wroni!  wav.  To  enter  the  buildinq.  I  had 
lo  pass  two  security  checks.  When  I 
got  to  the  lobby  and  entered  the  eleva- 
tor and  pushed  the  button  for  tiie  filth 
(NcUie's)  floor,  the  ele%'ator  went 
dow  n  instead  of  up  because  the  lobby 
is  on  the  eighth  floon  That  really  can 
contiise  aburslar! 

If  you  talk  about  Mexican  YLs  or 
Mexican  DXpcditioners.  then  you  talk 
about  Nellie  XEICI.  She  was  licensed 
in  1 968:  her  late  husband  Max  XE  1 TX 
was  also  a  very  active  amateur.  Her 
three  daughters  and  their  husbands  are 


also  hams:  Patricia  XEITX  ,  who  got 
her  lather's  call;  Dcbora  XEIXYZ; 
and  Lorena  XEIXYW,  Thev  are  nol 
as  active  as  Nellie  XEICL  but  who 
is? 

Nellie's  tower  is  165  feet  trom  the 
ground  and  has  a  30- foot  mast.  She  has 
the  following  antennas:  an  omnidirec- 
tional two-meter  vertical  on  the  top;  a 
12-  or  24-element  (she  did  nol  remem- 
ber exactly)  vertically-polarized  yagi 
lor  two  meters;  a  THI IDX  vasi  from 
Hv-Oain  for  10-12-15-17-20-30  meters; 
a  Cushcraft  two-element  yagi  for  40 
meters;  and  an  inverted-V  wire  dipole 
for  80  meters,  Nellie  XEICI  works  on 
SSB.  RTTY  and  satellite.  She  is  on  the 
No,  1  Honor  Roll  and  has  the  SB  WAS 
with  YLs  only. 

In  Nellie's  radio  room,  among  aTI 
kinds  of  interesting  ham  memorabilia, 
I  saw  a  dedicated  photograph  of  JYl, 
King  Hussein  of  Jordan. 

Nellie  has  operated  in  many  DX- 
pcdiiions  and  from  many  locations, 
such  as  Easter  Island  XR0Y;  Rcvil- 
lagigedo  XF4CI;  Jordan  YJ8XE;  Israel 
4X/XE1CI:  Guantanamo  Bay  KG4CI; 
Puerto  Rico  XH1CI/KP4:  Belize  V31CK; 
Grenada  J37NL;  St.  Pierre  FP/XEICI; 
British  Virgin  Islands  VP2V/XE1CI; 
as  well  as  in  Venezuela:  German v: 
Sweden;  Hilton  Head  Island  IOTA 
NA-I  10;  Isla  del  Carmen  in  XE3;  etc., 
etc.  Her  E-mail  address  is:  [xelci@ 
mail  internei.com. nix]. 

Saturday 

Manuel  XEIJRL  whom  1  had  just 
met  at  the  Radio  Club  Azteca  meeting, 
came  to  get  me  and  take  me  to  his 
house,  where  I  met  his  spouse  Olga 

XEINBJ,   and   their  pretty   daughter 


Photo  F,  Vic  XEIViC  is  on  the  Honor 
Rolls  for  Phone  and  Mixed,  No.  I  Honor 
Roll.  5BWAZ,  58 WAS.  etc. 


34   73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1 398 


Reyna  XEILMV,  who  was  just  finish- 
ing college  (Photo  D).  All  three  were 
licensed  in  1992. 

Manuel  XEIJRI  is  the  most  active 
ham  in  the  family;  Olga  XEINBJ  is 
mike-shy  and  Reyna  is  busy  with  her 
studies.  They  have  a  small  station  and 
a  wire  dipole  for  40  and  80  meters,  but 
no  QSL  cards.  Their  QSOs  are  virtu- 
ally only  with  Mexican  stations.  The 
standard  excuse  for  not  working  DX  is 
that  they  do  not  speak  a  foreign  lan- 
guage. This  may  be  so  in  the  case  of 
Olga,  but  Manuel  speaks  enough  En- 
glish  to  be  able  to  use  it  in  QSOs,  and 
Reyna's  English  is  even  better  Be- 
sides, there  are  a  great  number  of 
countries  in  Central  and  South  America 
where  the  hams  do  speak  Spanish,  so  I 
wish  the  Mexican  amateurs  would  get 
over  this  presumed  language  barrier 
and  start  to  talk  with  the  world, 

Manuel  XEIJRI  is  active  in  public 
service  communications;  he  relayed 
messages  after  various  hurricanes  de- 
stroyed part  of  the  public  communica- 
tions system.  The  Mexican  amateurs 
have  drills  preparing  them  for  poten- 
tial disasters  created  by  earthquakes, 
hurricanes,  and  the  possible  eruption 
of  the  Popocatepetl  volcano.  Once  a 
year,  Manuel  participates  in  the  Boy 
Scouts  Jamboree  demonstrating  ama- 
teur radio  communications  to  children. 

We  agreed  to  meet  with  Max 
XE1XA  (Photo  E)  in  a  restaurant, 
halfway  between  Manuel's  and  Max's 
houses.  They  had  never  met  before,  but 
hams  can  always  find  each  other  So 
we  met,  and  I  went  with  Max.  First,  we 
went  to  the  house  of  Vic  XEIVIC 
(Photo  F).  Vic  is  an  accountant;  he 
was  licensed  in  1978  and  is  one  of 
Mexico's  Big  Guns.  He  has  a  very  big 
station  with  lots  of  equipment.  His 
tower  is  75  feet  high  from  the  roof,  95 
feet  from  the  ground.  It  supports  a 
TH7DX  which  is  a  seven-element  yagi 
for  10-15-20  meters;  a  two-element 
yagi  for  40  meters  from  Cushcraft;  a 
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vertical  for  40-80- 160  meters;  a  short- 
ened wire  dipole  for  160  meters;  and 
an  inverted-L  for  160  meters.  He  can 
also  resonate  his  tower  on  160  meters. 
No  w^onder  he  has  over  100  countries 
worked  on  this  band.  Vic  has  a  nice 


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73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    35 


Photo  G,  Marisa  XEIIRF  and  her  da  tighter, 
MarizaXEIJVK 


QSL  card.  What  was  suiprising  is  that 
Vic  does  not  use  computers — he  does 
noi  like  tbem. 

A  member  of  the  Mexico  DX  Asso- 
ciation and  Mexico  DX  Club,  Vic 
XEIVIC  is  on  the  No.  1  Honor  Roll 
has  both  Phone  and  Mixed,  and  has 
5BWAZ,  5BWAS,  160WAS,  and 
scores  of  other  awards  difficult  to  ob- 
tain. He  has  twice  gone  on  DXped- 
itions — ^to  XF4  Revillagigedo  and  to 
4J1  Malyj  Vysolskij, 

I  saw  that  Vic's  house,  Uke  many 
Mhers  in  upper  class  neighborhoods,  is 
protected  by  pulsating  high  voltage, 
among  other  devices.  I  wonder  if  that 
creates  any  radio  noise. 

After  finishing  at  Vic's  place,  we 
went  to  see  the  staUon  of  Max 
XEIXA,  Born  in  Italy,  Max  came  to 
Mexico  for  a  visit  and  then  decided  to 
slay.  He  manufactures  medical  equip- 
ment and  various  electronic  parts  and 
assemblies. 

His  tower  is  40  (eel  from  the  roof, 
and  53  feet  horn  the  ground.  It  has  an 
eight-element  yagi  for  two  meters  and 
a  TA33,  a  three-element  yagi  for  10- 
15-20  meters.  His  claim  to  fame  is  his 
satelUte  activities:  he  has  made  thon- 
sands  of  QSOs  with  over  100  countries 
using  a  16-elemenl  cross-yagi  for  two 
meters,  and  a  40-elemcnt  cross-yagi 
for  70  cm.  Furthermore,  Max  XEIXA 
is  known  for  his  EME  work.  With  his 
home-made  dish.  J6J  feet  in  diameter 
with  a  24  dB  gain  on  70  cm.  Max  has 
made  hundreds  ol'  QSOs  with  28  dif- 
ferent countries.  He  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  AM  SAT  since  1974,  and  has  had 
articles  published  in  the  AMSAT  Jour- 
naL  His  main  interest  is  buildino 
equipment  for  vei7  low  level  signals. 
Max  has  a  nice  QSL  card. 

36    73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1'998 


In  April  1989,  Max  XEIXA  made 
the  first  satellite  operation  from 
Revillagigedo,  making  52!  contacts. 
He  also  operated  via  satellite  during 
the  Easter  Island  XR0Y  DXpedition, 
making  43]  QSOs  with  41  countries, 
uphnk  70  cm,  downUnk  two  meters. 
He  was  pan  of  the  group  who  made 
the  first  six-meter  EME  contact  from 
Easter  Island. 

Max's  E-mail  address  is:  [coramexsa 
@  supernct.com.mx], 

I  returned  to  my  hotel  to  rest  but 
then  I  got  a  call  from  Manuel  XEIJRI 
that  he  had  found  some  more  hams 
willing  to  be  photographed.  I  could  not 
miss  the  opportunity,  Manuel  came 
over  and  drove  me  to  the  Tioine  of 
Roberto  XEINDN,  an  oithopedist.  A 
family  of  four,  all  hams!  Roberto 
XEINDN  was  licensed  in  1990;  his 
wife  Maris  a  XEIIRK  a  kindergarten 
teacher,  hcensed  in  1992;  his  daughter 
Mariza  XEIJVF,  a  university  student 
studying  business  administration,  li- 
censed in  1992  (Photo  G);  and  son 
Roberto  XRl  JRS,  a  salesman,  Hcensed 
also  in  1992, 1  have  noticed  the  tendency 
in  many  families  to  give  tlie  children  the 
same  fu^st  names  the  parents  have, 

Roberto  XEINDN  was  saying  that 
he  has  to  have  three  jobs  to  suppt>n  his 
family.  I  told  him  that  in  the  US  medi- 
cal doctors  make  quite  a  iol  of  money, 
and  the  best  season  for  orthopedists  is 
winter,  when  people  slip  and  fall  on 
ice,  and  break  some  bones.  In  Mexico* 
there  is  httle  chance  for  ice.  "Oh/'  said 
Roberto,  "Santa  Palineta  takes  care  of 
us  orthopedists!"  He  was  referring  to 
accidents  caused  bv  children  on  roller 
skates. 

Here  I  found  hams  acting  more  like 
CBers:  no  logs;  no  QSLs;  only  short 
distance  contacts,  mostly  with  friends, 
w^ithout  trying  to  extend  their  radio 
coimmuni cations  to  faraway  places  in 
other  countries.  Again,  the  unjustified 
excuse  was  that  they  don't  speak  for- 
eign languages.  Roberto  XEINDN  has 
a  computer,  T>ut  does  not  use  it  to  its 
full  capabilities,  for  example,  to  log 
his  QSOs.  After  taking  their  pictures  I 
returned  to  mv  hotel  wishing  I  could 
go  home — but  according  to  my  sched- 
ule and  airline  tickets  I  had  two  more 
days  to  stay. 


Sunday 

In  the  moniine  I  went  with  Tlieodoro 
XEl  YQQ  and  Rosa  XEIYQR  to  a  big 
market  which  had  two  distinct  sec- 
tions: one  with  the  usual  new  clothing; 
and  the  other  one.  a  real  Ilea  market 
with  genuine  antiques  which  I  have 
rarely  seen  in  other  places.  I  did  not 
buy  anything,  but  it  was  fun  to  foolc  at 
them. 

In  the  afternoon,  all  three  of  us  went 
to  Palacio  de  Bellas  Aries,  a  few 
blocks  from  my  hotels  and  saw  tbur 
very  well  executed  and  imaginative 
modern  dances  presented  by  the  Cam- 
pania Ncicional  dc  DanzcL  1  especially 
liked  the  ballet  created  to  the  music 
by  Georges  Bizet,  on  the  theme  of 
Carmen.  It  was  fantastic.  The  best  seat 
in  the  house  costs  about  14  dollars. 

The  Palace  of  Fine  Arts,  an  architec- 
tural masterpiece,  had  a  painting  exhi- 
bition with  the  works  of  Diego  Rivera, 
his  wife  Frida  Kahlo,  Siqucros,  Orozco, 
and  other  great  Mexican  artists. 

Monday 

The  end  of  my  trip  was  approaching, 
[  did  the  last-minute  shopping  and  I 
took  everything  I  bought  to  Theodoro's 
hardware  store,  where  they  packed  it 
in  two  cardboard  boxes  that  were  later 
taken  to  my  hotel. 

During  the  last  few  days,  I  had  got- 
ten .sick  of  the  spaghetti  I  had  eaten 
almost  daily.  I  had  not  wanted  to  ad- 
venture in  typical  Mexican  food,  so  I 
had  bought  in  the  market  the  bread, 
cheese  J  and  tomatoes  that  T  would  eat 
three  times  a  day. 

I  noticed  some  peculiarities  in 
Mexico  City.  The  subway,  which  has  a 
very  extensive  network,  is  very  cheap: 
1 ,5  pesos,  which  conies  to  18  cents. 
However,  the  highway  tolls  are  much 
too  expensive.  Going  to  Cuernavaca 
we  paid  50  pesos  each  way  for  about 
an  hour's  drive. 

On  the  streiefs  of  Mexico  City,  esipe- 
cially  in  the  business  districts,  there 
are  men  with  red  flags,  some  with  a 
large  letter  E,  others  without  it  or  just 
with  a  piece  of  rag,  jumping  around 
and  waving  their  flags  to  get  the  atten- 
tion of  the  drivers  and  attract  them  to 


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CIRCLE  41  on  RBADER  SERVICE  CARD 


ihelr  piridng  garages.  The  letter  E 
stands  for  estacionamiento. 

Buses  and  minibuses  often  have  a  man 
standing  in  the  open  front  dotir  yelling 
out  the  route  and  invidng  passengers  to 
gel  on. 

The  traffic  is  tremendous  and  noisy, 
with  impatient  drivers  blasting  their 
ftoms,  cops  blowing  their  whistles,  and 
scores  of  cars  tTOssing  the  intersections 
after  the  lights  turn  red. 

Tuesday 

I  look  a  whole-day  tour  going  to 
Puebla  and  the  pyramid  of  Cholula. 
Pucbla  has  3,000,000  inhabitants.  There 
we  visited  the  Hidden  Convent  of 
Santa  Monica,  filled  to  the  brim  with 
religious  paintings  and  car\ings.  Just 
on  the  two  lours  alone  that  I  have 
tiiketi,  I  have  been  to  so  many  churches, 
chapels,  and  convents,  and  bowed  my 
head  in  from  of  so  many  crosses  and 
various  saints,  that  I  now  believe  I 
have  earned  my  place  in  Heaven. 

As  usual  the  guide  took  us  to  a  "fac* 
tory,"  this  dme  to  a  TTalavera  ceramic 
factory."  During  my  travels,  when  I 
took  tours  I  was  taken  to  many,  many 
*Tac lories'*  but  never  saw  a  worker;  the 
**faclories"  were  just  stores  only  for 
foreign  tourists^  where  the  guide  gels  a 
commission  on  everything  his  group 
buys,  and  that  makes  the  prices  higher 
than  if  you  shop  by  yourself. 

Another  bit  of  information:  For  ab- 
solulely  the  same  tour,  various  travel 
agencies  charge  different  prices.  For 
example,  I  found  three  brochures  from 


three  agencies  asking  for  the  above 
lour  $35,  $43,  and  $46.  Why  do  I  say 
that  it  is  the  same  tour?  Because  in- 
stead of  sending  three  buses  with  three 
drivers  and  three  guides,  they  combine 
everybody  in  a  single  bus,  no  matter 
where  you  booked  the  tour  and  how 
much  you  paid.  I  paid  $43  (silly  me) 
and  a  guy  sitting  near  me  paid  $35.  So, 
collect  all  the  tour  brochures  you  can 
Tmd,  decide  on  a  lour,  and  book  the 
cheapest  one. 

Wednesday 

1  had  return  tickets  for  an  afternoon 
flight,  but  I  went  to  the  airport  early  in 
the  morning  and  changed  my  tickets 
for  an  earlier  flight  I  had  kind  of  fm- 
ished  my  job  and  run  out  of  money, 
and  il  was  very  hot,  I  was  anxious  to 
gel  home. 

At  the  Dallas/Ft  Worth  airport,  I  had 
to  pass  immigration  and  customs  and 
change  planes.  I  was  the  lucky  winner 
of  perhaps  a  random  selection  by  the 
customs  officials  and  they  checked  not 
only  all  three  pieces  of  my  luggage, 
but  also  I  had  to  hand  them  my  Jacket 
for  inspection.  They  examined  it  care- 
fully, even  the  books  I  was  carrying: 
DX-Aku,  Messages  from  the  Easier  Is- 
land Expedition\  and  VK0IR;  both  by 
KK6EK,  received  as  gifts  from  Luis 
XEIL. 

I  believe  it  was  not  a  routine  customs 
inspection.  Initially  I  had  had  the  in- 
tention of  taking  a  side  irip  to  Cuba  to 
visit  some  hams,  and  that  is  forbidden 
because  of  the  embargo,  I  had  told  this 


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73 


CmCLE  1S0  ON  READER  SEflVlCE  CARD 

Amateur  Rad/o  Today  •  December  1998   37 


I  J 


to  a  couple  of  people.  Perhaps  word 
got  around  and  the  authorities  were 
waiting  for  me.  I  certainly  do  not 
match  the  profile  of  a  smuggler,  and 
they  could  have  brought  their  sniffing 
dogs  to  check  me  out.  But  the  dogs 
wouldn't  find  any  proof  that  I  was  in  a 
forbidden  place.  For  that,  sniffing 
people  were  needed.  Let  me  express 
my  restrained  opinion  about  the  em- 
bargo: it  is  completely  useless,  and  is 
restricting  the  freedom  of  US  citizens 
to  travel  wherever  they  want, 

I  truly  enjoyed  the  trip,  despite  the 
unusually  hot  weather  I  met  really 
nice  amateurs  and  non-amateurs  alike. 
Mexico  has  everything — and  even 
more  than  you  could  expect  on  a  vaca- 
tion. And  you  don*t  even  have  to  cross 
the  pond  to  get  there;  it  is  right  in  our 
own  backyard  I 


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CiRCLE  36  ON  READER  SERVICE  CARD 


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CIRCLE  351  ON  flEADER  SERVICE  CARD 


Low-Voltage  Detector 

continued  from  pv^e  31 

sQunder  was  rejected  in  this  application 
even  though  die  circuit  is  capable  of 
driving  a  Sonalert'^^  or  similar  sounder 

An  LM741  op  amp  was  chosen  to  be 
used  as  the  detector  because  of  its  avail- 
ability and  low  cost,  not  for  any  specific 
technical  reason.  Yes,  a  voltage  com- 
parator, which  was  designed  for  the  pur- 
pose, would  work  equally  as  well  in  this 
application.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  if  you 
decided  to  use  a  voltage  comparator, 
there  would  be  no  changes  to  the  circuit 
except  for  the  device  pin  numbers. 

A  zener  diode  is  used  to  establish  a 
stable  voltage  reference  at  a  convenient 
voltage  level  between  4.5  V  and  8  V  and 
is  connected  to  pin  3  of  the  LM741. 
Also,  the  voltage  at  pin  2  of  the  LM741 
must  be  adjustable  above  and  below  the 
zeher  value  in  order  to  achieve  a  detec- 
tion threshold  level.  The  voltage  value 
on  pin  2  normally  remains  higher  than 
the  voltage  on  pin  3,  and  as  long  as  it  is 
higher,  the  output  ai  pin  6  will  remain 
low.  Potentiometer  R2  is  adjusted  to 
allow  the  voltage  at  pin  6  to  rise  when 
the  supply  voltage  falls  to  and/or  be- 
low a  selected  leveL  In  my  friend's 
situation  the  threshold  voltage  was  set 
for  11  volts.  At  that  value  his  critical 
functions  would  still  continue  to  oper- 
ate while  the  flashing  LED  would  pro- 
vide a  warning  of  a  potential  failure. 

Although  turning  on  a  light  is  a 
warning,  a  steady  glow  might  not  be 
noticed.  A  flashing  light  has  a  much 
better  chance  of  attracting  attention  to 
a  potential  problem.  To  make  a  flash- 
ing light,  a  555  IC  was  used  as  a  low- 
frequency  oscillator  for  controlling  the 
LED  on/off  function.  An  LED  with  a 
built-in  flasher  would  perform  just  as 
well  in  this  application,  and  would  sim- 
plify the  circuit  by  eliminating  the  555. 
The  actual  flash  rate  is  not  critical  as 
long  as  it  attracts  attention. 

There  is  nothing  critical  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  low  voltage  detector  Ad- 
justment of  the  threshold  is  performed 
by  attaching  the  detector  to  a  variable 
voltage  power  supply.  The  output  of  the 
supply  is  adjusted  to  the  desired  detec- 
tion voltage  threshold  value.  Then,  R2 
on  the  detector  is  adjusted  until  the  LED 


Parts  List 

R1       1k  1/4  W  resistor 
Jameco  #29663 

R2        10  k  pot 

Jameco  #43001 

Hosfelt  #38-120,  #38-145, 

#38-192 

R3       4.7  k  1/4  W  resistor 
Jameco  #31 026 

R4        1 00  k  1/4  W  resistor 
Jameco  #29997 

R5        33  k  1/4  W  resistor 
Jameco  #30841 

R6        330  1  /4  W  resistor 
'  Jameco  #30867 

CI        1  jmF  50  V  radial  cap 
Jameco  #29831 
Hosfelt  #15-550 

Zener     1 N4734  {4.5-8  V) 
Jameco  #36118 
NTE#5013A 

Ul        LM741  op  amp 

Jameco  #24539 
Hosfelt#LM741CN 
RS  #276-007 

U2       555  timer 

Jameco  #27422 
Hosfelt  #NE555 

LED      red  LED 

Jameco  #9451 1 ,  #94529, 

#1 04248 

Hosfelt  #L01,  #25-307, 

#25-325 

RS  #276-041 


Table  h  Parts  list  for  the  low  battery  volt- 
age detector^  including  part  numbers  of 
suppliers. 


begins  to  flash.  The  correct  setting  is 
then  verified  by  raising  the  supply  volt- 
age sUghtly  above  the  threshold  until 
the  LED  stops  flashing.  The  supply 
voltage  is  then  lowered  until  the  LED 
starts  flashing  again. 

The  low  voltage  detector  can  be 
used  for  a  wide  variety  of  applica- 
tions— you  are  limited  only  by  your 
imagination.  It's  suitable  for  use  on 
any  battery-operated  system  subject  to 
a  voltage  loss  situation,  including  an 
automobile.  Build  the  circuit  and  try  it 
out  on  your  12- volt  battery  and/or 
power  supply  system. 


38  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


Number  33  titi  your  Few^tMCk  cttd 


Specirl  euents 


Listings  are  free  of  charge  as  space  permits.  Please  send  us 
your  Special  Event  two  monttis  in  advance  of  the  issue  you 
want  it  to  appear  in.  For  example,  if  you  want  it  to  appear  in 
the  March  *99  issue,  we  should  receive  it  by  December  31. 
Provide  a  clear,  concise  summary  of  the  essential  details 
about  your  Special  Event 


JAN  2 

MORRtSTOWN,  TN  The  Lakeway 
ARC  will  host  a  Hamfest  and 
Computer  Show  on  Jan.  2, 1999, 
attheTaliey  Ward  Rec.  building  in 
Monrislown  TN.  For  info  please 
contact  Perry  Henstey  N4PH, 
(423)  826-4848,  E-mail  [n4pt}@ 
juno.com};  Kemp  Lawson  KF4AGB, 
(423)  587-3320,  E-mail  [kemp- 
lawson@aol.com}:  or  write  to 
Lakeway  ARC  KF4JJJ,  P.O.  Box 
BBS,  Talbott  TN  37877-0985.  Talk- 
in  on  147.030(+)  and  53,03O(-)- 

JAN  16 

ST.  JOSEPH,  MO  The  Missouri 
Valley  ARC  and  Ray-Clay  ARC 
will  hold  their  9th  annual 
Northwest  Missouri  Winter  Ham* 
test  8  a.m.-3  p.m.  at  the  Ramada 
lnn»  1*29  and  Frederick  Ave.  {Exrt 
47  on  h29),  in  St.  Joseph  UO. 
There  will  be  special  room  rates 
for  hamfest  participants.  VE 
exams,  major  exhibitors  and  flea 
market  all  indoors.  Free  parking. 
Advance  tickets  $2  each  or  3  for 
$5;  at  the  door  $3  each  or  2  for 
$5,  Pre-registration  requests 
received  after  Jan.  5, 1 999,  will  be 
held  at  the  door.  Dealers:  Swap 
tables  $10  each  for  the  first  two 
tables.  Commercial  exhibitors 
welcome,  write  for  details: 
Northwest  fi/tfssouri  Winter  Ham- 
fest, c/o  Gayten  Pearson  WB0W, 
P,0,  Box  1533,  St.  Joseph  MO 
64502,  or  E-mail  IWB0W@ 
IBM. Neil 

JAN  17 

HAZEL  PARK,  Ml  The  Hazel  Park 

ARC  will  hold  its  33rd  Annual 
Swap  &  Shop  on  Jan.  17,  1999, 
at  the  Hazel  Pad^  High  School, 
23400  Hughes  St.  Hazel  Park  Ml. 
The  pubfic  is  welcome  8  a.m.- 
2  p.m.  General  admission  is  S5 
in  advance  or  at  the  door.  Plenty 
of  free  parking.  Tables  $14; 
reservations  for  tables  must  be 


received  with  a  check.  No 
reservations  by  phone.  Talk-in  on 
146.64(-),  the  DART  rptr.  For  info 
atx)ut  the  swap,  tickets,  or  table 
reservations,  mail  to  HPARC,  RO, 
Box  368,  Hazel  Park  Ml  48030. 

SPECIAL  EVENT 
STATIONS 

DEC  13 

AURORA,  CO  The  Second  First 
Annual  Great  Colorado  Snowshoe 
Run,  sponsored  by  the  Colorado 
QRP  Club,  will  be  on  the  air 
03002-05002  December  13th, 

1998.  This  equals  Dec.  12th  in  tfie 
following  time  zones:  7  p.m.-9 
p,m.  Pacific;  8  p.m. -10  p.m. 
Mountain:  9  p.m -1 1  p.m.  Central; 
10  p.m -12  midnight  Eastern.  40 
meter  CW  only.  7.040+.  Power:  5 
watts  maxrmum  for  all  entrants, 
but  QRO  stations  can  be  worked 
for  credit.  CertHicates  will  be 
awarded  to  the  highest  scohng 
Station  in  each  antenna  class,  and 
the  highest  scoring  station  in  each 
SPC.  Full  details  are  on  the  CQC 
Web  site  at  [http://www.cqc,ofg], 
or  E-mail  [cqccx@cqc.org].  Up  lo 
three  contacts  with  the  same 
station  are  allowed,  30  minutes 
apart.  Logs  must  be  postmarked 
or  E-mailed  no  later  than  30  days 
after  the  event.  Mail  to  Colorado 
QRP  Club,  Inc.,  P.O.  Box  37 1 B83. 
Denver  CO  80237-1 883,  or  E-mail 
(ASCII  text  files  only)  to: 
[cqccx@cqc,org]. 

JAN  26-27 

ST.  LOUIS,  MO  All  Amateur 
Radio  Clubs  of  St  Louis  MO  wiJI 
sponsor  Special  Event  Station 
WOK  during  Ihe  papal  visit  of 
Pope  John  Paul  M,  Jan.  26-27, 

1999,  Operations  from  the 
Monsanto  Amateur  Radk)  Assn. 
shack  will  be  on  1 0-80  meters,  24 
hours  per  day.  QSL  with  #10 
SASE  via  Rev.  Mike  Dieckmann 
KAOIAR^  703  Third  Sf.,  HIHsboro 
MO  63050  USA. 


Hboue  &  Bevond 


Number  3B  on  ytwr  F^Mlhack  card 


VHF  and  Above  Operation 


C.  L.  Houghton  WB6I6P 
San  Diego  Microwave  Group 
6345  Badger  Lake  Ave. 
San  Diego  CA  9211 9 
[dhough@pacbelLnet] 


HP  power  meters  and 
thermistor  mounts: 
Evaluating  surplus 
material 

Due  to  several  requests  for  an 
overview  covering  Hewleii- 
Packard  and  similarmicrowave 
power  meters,  I  will  re-explore 

power  meters  and  how  to  evalu- 
ate them  at  a  swap  meet  to  at- 
tempt lo  avoid  spending  big 
bucks  on  a  defective  unit.  Most 
important  is  the  evaluation  of 
the  power  head,  as  this  is  the 
most  important  piece  of  equip- 
ment in  the  evaluation  equation. 


There  are  several  tricks  of  the 
trade  that  can  he  brought  ro  t>ear 
to  eva]uate  surplus  niaierial  "on 
the  fly"  at  swap  meets  and  other 
events  we  micro waven  delight 
in.  For  one  thing,  1  usually  cany 
(in  the  glovebox  of  the  car)  a 
suiiablc  set  of  simple  tools  lo  help 
in  testing  should  the  opportunity 
present  itself* 

The  first  item  I  want  to  cover 
is  just  what  to  pay  for  surplus 
power  meters  and — most  impor- 
tant— the  RF  head  and  connect- 
ing cables.  Other  questions  to 
answer  include  what  conditions 


TRANSMITTER  LOCATION 


Mew  fixed  site  direction 

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CmCLE  13  ON  READER  SERVICE  CARD 

73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    39 


to  expect  and  huw  you  know  if 
scaitething  is  in  working  condi- 
fibn.  I  know  wc  need  a  sc[  nltL^si 
parameiers  ihrtnigh  which  lo  pul 
a  device  lo  avoid  the  purchase 
of  another  doors  tup.  Well.  I 
can'i  guumnicc  you  thai  these 
pointers  will  be  100%  perfect, 
btit  perhaps  they  will  help  lo 
iiiininTi/e  aiiv  a*;i!ravatioiL 

1  am  basing  my  observations 
here  on  ihc  Hewlett-Packard 
431-type  power  meter  with 
matching  RF  cable  and  478-iype 
power  meter  head,  which  is  the 
most  common.  There  are  several 
other  typos  of  meters,  such  as 
those  by  General  Instruments.  I 
picked  the  Hewlett-Packard  43 1 
because  it  is  an  inexpensive  sur* 
plus  meter  thai  seems  lo  be 
prevalent  on  I  he  surj^lus  market. 

When  you  happen  upon  a 
power  meter  at  a  sw  ap  meet  or 
flea  market,  its  kind  of  hard  to 
really  evaluate  it  in  its  opera- 
tional Slate  unless  \  t>u  have  AC 

■r 

power  and  a  source  of  RF  to 
fullv  lest  it.  However,  there  are 
some  basic  operations  you  may 
perform  nn  the  unit  liulclcniiine 
ifit  is  indeed  "alive/* 

In  this  example,  our  HP-431/ 
HP-47S  system  should  he  able 
to  measure  freipiencies  from  10 
MHz  to  over  12.4  GHi  with 
ease  and  accuracy  using  the  "N" 
coaxial  connector  of  the  478A 
power  head.  Oilier  heads  are 
available  wilh  waveguide  in- 
stead of  coaxial  input  cnnncc- 
tors.  The  478A  coaxial  head  is 
the  must  popular,  us  it  has  I  he 
most  comnion  frcqtiency  range 
of  use.  However  \  i )  and  1 8  GH/ 
waveguide  heads  are  \  cry  goud 
also. 

The  division  of  cost  can  be 
split  up  into  the  three  compo- 
nents of  the  HP'43!  power 
meter  system.  First,  the  meier 
itself  is  valued  at  $25  to  $40:  it 
is  readily  avatlahle  as  a  stand- 
alone device — but  it  Is  useless 
wtlhoui  the  control  cable  and 
power  head  i478A|,  which  are 
the  two  more  cxpcnsi\  c  pans  of 
the  systems.  The  RF  head  cable 
is  valued  at  S40  and  the  power 
head  type 478 A.  slightly  higher 
at  $50,  making  a  package  price 
in  the  S]5i)  range  somewhat 
common.  I  have  seen  meters 


with  cables  and  4fS  ft^3s 
priced  at  over  $200.  but  ihey  sti  II 
reappear  month  after  month 
with  no  one  purchasing  them  at 
swap  tiicets  here. 

Don't  rush  to  pick  up  a  meter. 
First  gel  a  cable,  and  if  you  w  ant 
lo  check  it,  a  simple  ohmmcter 
check  of  continuity  will  do  tlie 
job.  1  have  never  found  a  surplus 
cable  defective — just  ver>^  dirty, 
and  sometimes  with  cracked 
cable  covering  (fixable  with  a 
little  black  electrical  tape). 
Didn't  look  ven  swift,  but  it 

m 

functioned  well.  If  you're  a  pur- 
ist, get  some  gray  electrical  tape 
and  do  the  best  you  can. 

Recently  I  evaluated  three 
|K)wer  heads  with  a  wa\  eguide 
input  for  the  frequency  range  of 
12.4  lo  18  GHz  and  lound  unly 
one  suitable  for  purchase.  I  also 
applied  the  same  techniques  to 
evaluate  seven  coaxial  General 
Microwave  power  heads  and 
tbund  them  all  defective.  They 
all  carried  sticker  prices  of  S40 
each^ — not  too  bad  for  a  door- 
stop. Jusi  don't  ict  your  pick- 
il-up'itis  get  in  the  way  of 
reason — evaluate  what  you  are 
con  tempi  all  ng  purchasing. 

The  cosl  of  a  complete  powder 
tneter  package  with  cord  and 
themiistor  mouni  should  be  less 
than  S200.  A  setup  like  this  can 
measure  power  from  10  MHz  to 
over  12.4  Gil/  with  ease  and 
accuracy,  using  a  terminating 
*'N  "  ccaxia]  con  nee  Lor.  T  have 
also  seen  systems  go  for  a  lot 
less,  with  $125  or  so  being 
more  commonplace.  Remem- 
ber, there  are  a  lot  more  431- 
typc  meiers  around  than  cords 
and  the  scarce  thermistor  heads. 
Thermistor  heads  can  go  for  S8() 
to  $  100  each  depending  on  con- 
dition (appearance).  If  youTe 
desperate  and  have  a  batikrolf 
well,  judge  it  for  yourself.  I 
would  purchase  a  lower-priced 
head  providing  I  couid  test  ii 
with  an  ohmmeter  Used,  gotxl. 
chec  ked-oul'b  ul'-gru  ngy  -appear- 
ancL'  h  jads  demand  the  lower  fig- 
uie.  while  new  checked-out  heads 
command  the  top  price  at  swap 
meets.  This  is  somewhat  back- 
ward from  a  calibration  stand- 
point, which  would  make  more 
sense  to  me. 


Bvaluaiion  at  swap  meets  can 
be  difficuh,  hut  if  there  is  AC 
power  you  can  plug  in  the  mclcr 
and  see  if  you  can  make  DC  bal- 
ance wilh  I  he  RF  head  attached. 
(Set  the  meter's  resistance 
switch  on  the  front  panel  to  2(M) 
ohms  when  usinii  the  478 A  RF 
head.)  Adjust  the  meter  balance 
controls  for  zero  indication  us- 
ing both  the  coarse  and  fine  bal- 
ance pntcntiomelers.  Usually,  if 
a  power  meter  will  balance,  it's 
in  reasonable  condition. 

While  in  the  AC  p*)wer  mode, 
pull  out  your  little  RF  test  gen- 
erator to  make  an  on*scale  read- 
ing. It's  a  single  TTL  high 
frequency  crystal  oscillator 
module  and  its  9  V  transistor 
radio  butterv.  Tlie  unit  t  built  is 
quite  small,  and  only  uses  eight 
components,  including  a  crystal 
oscillator  module,  a  nine- volt 
battery,  five-voll  zener  with  load 
resistor,  and  three  resistors  in  the 
output  attenuator  circuit  to  limit 
output  to  zero  dBm  or  so. 

If  .^C  power  is  not  available, 
you  can  still  confirm  several 
good  test  conditions  to  deter- 
mine if  il  indeed  is  a  bargain. 
What  you  want  to  detennine  is 
whether  the  RF  therm islor  head 
is  "alive."  To  accomplish  this, 
wc  make  a  DC  resistance  check 
of  the  thentiistors  in  the  478A 
thermislor  mtuinL  For  these 
me  as  LI  re  men  Is,  yini  need  an 
older-style  POVM— that's  a 
Plain  Old  Volt  Meter,  or  more 
exactly  a  VOM,  analog-  or  digi- 
tal-type. The  new  digital  types 
work,  hut  with  autorangingyou 
don't  get  repcatablc  results. 
What  is  desirable  is  a  range  sel- 
ling like  xlO  that  does  not  pro- 
vide high  current  output  like  the 
xl  scale,  or  the  higher  voltages 

Si-  ■■- 

used  w^hen  in  ihc  megohm 
ranges.  The  times  ten  scale  of 
an  analog  resistance  meter 
(VOMj  isperfcei. 

Make  a  DC  resistance  check 
between  the  shell  i ground)  of 
the  HP-478A  thermistor  head 
and  the  pins  that  would  connect 
to  ilie  meter's cortl.  You  will  find 
one  pin  open  and  three  pins  con- 
nected to  ground.  The  remain- 
ing two  pins  are  direct 
connections  to  the  thermistor 
leads.  Pins  1  and  3  are  the 


ihermistorVs  to-eround.  Pins  2, 
4.  and  6  are  grounds.  Pin  5  is 
open.  One  of  the  thcnnistors  is 
the  actual  RF  thermistor  that 
responds  to  RF  power,  and  the 
other  is  isolated  and  is  used  to 
provide  temperature  stability  bal- 
ance lo  the  hridee  circuit.  Both 
thermistors  must  be  matched  to 
balance  the  power  meter  bridge 
circuit.  I  measured  on  my  bench 
this  way  and  got  3.22  k  ohms 
on  pin  1  and  3.75  k  ohms  on  pin 
3.  This  unit  just  would  not  bal- 
ance on  the  power  meter.  A  bel- 
ter head  measured  2.96  ohms  on 
pin  1  and  3.01  ohms  on  pin  3 
and  balanced  perfecdy  w  iih  lots 
of  balanced  range. 

In  desperation,  heads  can  be 
fixed  by  adding  some  extra  bal- 
anced resistance  lo  the  pan  of 
the  thermislor  circuit  thai  is  un- 
balanced rinstde  the  43 1  meter). 
Of  course,  catibralion  will  be 
affected  but  you  get  a  balanced 
unit  when  there  is  no  other  pos- 
sible fix  available.  It's  not  too 
bad,  considering  the  alternative 
without  any  meter  at  all  This  is 
a  drastic  last  step  to  tide  you 
over  until  you  can  get  a  good 
balanced  head — one  that  will 
give  you  some  service  until  that 
time.  Just  remember  that  if  the 
difference  is  loo  great,  the  unit 
will  not  balance  on  the  HP-431 
power  meter. 

Now,  what  follows  is  not  a 
Hewlett-Packard  thermislor  se- 
lection  process  but  rather  a 
simple,  quick,  and  casy4o*per- 
fonn  DC  resistance  check.  The 
resistances  of  the  thermistors 
should  be  quite  close  in  relation- 
ship U>  each  other.  Nomiiiatly,  I 
have  made  readinss  near  the 
3000-ohm  area  using  a  1000- 
ohm-per-volt  VOM  a  Radio 
Shack  SIC  special.  The  specific 
resistance  is  not  important — just 
thai  the  ihemitsiors  are  in  the 
range  and  close  to  each  other. 
What  is  critical  is  the  match 
between  the  two  thermistors. 

I  have  observed  some  power 
head  thermistors  read  2.758  ohms 
and  2.786  ohms,  1 320  ohms  and 
1285  ohms,  3.956  ohms  and 
3-984  ohms.  Others  1  have  tested 
all  showed  being  in  the  vicinity 
of  each  other  (let\  sav  to  less 
than  5wf  or  so).  If  this  match  is 


40   73  Amateur  Radio  Today  *  December  1998 


quite  close,  the  head  should 
worL  Out  of  25  or  so  heads  veri- 
fied in  this  manner,  only  two 

showed  problems.  One  was  tcm- 
peramental  in  that  it  showed  in- 
siabilities  like  a  microphonic 
connection,  and  the  other  one 
was  5  dB  off  in  calibration  and 
not  linear.  The  other  unitji  evalu- 
ated out  of  a  batch  of  some  75 
heads  considered  over  many 
years  were  not  suitable  for  fur- 
ther evaluation.  Most  had  one 
thermistor  open  or  the  match 
was  quite  bad. 

Examples  of  bad 
thermistor  heads 

A  bad  or  defective  thermistor 
head  is  one  that  has  one  ther- 
mistor open,  usually  the  RF 
detection  thermistor  In  an  HP- 
478 A  mount  the  maximum  RF 
power  to  be  detected  is  10  mW. 
I  usually  suspect  that  10  watts 
or  some  excessive  power  above 
10  mW  caused  the  themitstor  to 
go  up  in  smoke  .,.  Usually  the 
RF  head  will  handle  an  over- 
range  input  of  +20  mW  for  a 
short  dme,  but  you  are  '*tickling 
the  tail  of  a  dragon'"  if  you  try. 

Over-range  input  power  also 
has  caused  matched  thermistors 
to  heat  up  excessively  and 
change  their  resistance  values, 
rendering  a  previously  matched 
set  of  thermistors  unmatched 
due  to  excessive  RF  healing. 
The  result  is  a  head  that  will  not 
zero-calibrate  and  is  considered 
smoked  just  as  much  as  one  that 
is  open  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses. When  this  happens,  you 
will  not  be  able  to  balance  the 
meter,  rendering  the  RF  head 
useless. 

Checking  the  themiislor  heads 
in  this  case,  you  might  obtain 
DC  resistance  readings  that  vary 
according  to  the  Lype  of  meter 
you  use.  Just  be  sure  that  the  two 
thermistors  are  somewhat  close 
to  each  other  and  you  should 
be  OK.  200  ohms  imbalance 
should  be  OK,  but  as  it  gets 
higher,  suspect  trouble*  If  the 
price  is  low,  give  it  a  try.  If  the 
price  is  quite  high*  I  would  avoid 
heads  that  are  over  ihc  200-ohm 
range  unless  you  can  test  ihem 
on  a  workbench  or  gel  a  return 


guarantee.  The  resistance  must 
be  less  than  200  ohms  difference 
to  be  able  to  bring  die  HP-431 
power  meter  to  balance.  100  ohms 
on  the  HP-432  proved  to  be 
OK,  but  1  could  not  find  any 
over  200  ohms  to  test  on  my 
bench  meters  to  confirm  my 
resistance  speculation. 

The  pinout  is  the  sam^;lbr 
many  different  manufacturers 
besides  Hewlett-Packard  that 
also  make  the  43 1 -type  power 
meters.  I  suspect  most  are  au- 
thorized duplications  made  un- 
der contract  to  HP  but  carry 
other  designations  and  are 
physically  identical  to  the  HP- 
478A  thermistor  heads.  Most 
were  manufactuied  by  Struthers 
and  other  manufacturers.  Re- 
cently I  picked  up  an  18  GHz 
waveguide  head  that  was  manu- 
factured by  PRD.  It  was  strik- 
ingly similar  to  the  HP  types. 
Even  the  connector  seemed 
identical,  so  I  tried  the  old 
POVM  meter  I  carried  in  the 
car  glovebox  and  put  it  to  a  test. 
Out  of  three  tested,  only  one 
proved  to  be  any  good  in 
matched  thennistors, 

T\vo  other  units  tested  with 
both  thermistors  showing  con- 
tinuity, but  their  resistance  read- 
ings seemed  at  the  edge  of  my 
tolerances.  I  talked  the  surplus 
store  into  letting  me  take  the  two 
heads  on  credit,  to  be  returned 
that  day,  if  a  home  test  proved 
them  not  compatible  with  the 
HP  meter  system.  WcIK  I  am 
happy  to  report  that  the  one  PRD 
head  that  tested  within  close  tol- 
erance balanced  and  reads  quite 
accurately.  The  other  two  heads 
that  seemed  to  be  at  the  edge  of 
my  tolerances  would  not  bal- 
ance and  were  returned  to  the 
surplus  store.  Did  not  wunl  to 
make  a  costly  mistake  again. 

Terminations  and 
RF  attenuators 

The  other  components  needed 
to  make  good  power  measure- 
ments into  the  microwave  region 
are  a  good  set  of  various  attenu- 
ator values.  Usually  a  set  in- 
cludes 3,  6.  10,  20,  and  30  dB 
two- watt  attenuators  or,  as  more 
commonly  called,  pads.  Two 


things  are  important  in  selecting 
or  paying  a  price  for  a  pad.  Pads 
are  rated  in  frequency  and  at* 
tenuation.  If  you  intend  to  use  a 
pad  at  10  OH/.,  make  sure  that 
it  is  rated  for  operation  at  this 
frequency. 

Usually;  the  auenuation  and 
frequency  characteristics  are 
printed  on  most  pads.  If  it  is  not, 
you  are  on  your  own  as  far  as 
frequency  is  concemed.  I  have 
had  some  very  high  quality  pads 
that  looked  top  of  the  line,  but 
as  far  as  perfonnance  was  con- 
cemed, they  became  screwball 
and  nonlinear  as  to  attenuation 
when  the  frequency  increased 
beyond  6  GHz. 

At  10  GHz,  diis  particular  pad 
exhibited  some  35  dB  of  loss; 
at  8  GHz,  loss  was  32.4  dB;  and 
at  6  GHz.  it  measured  30  dB. 
Decreasing  frequency,  the  30 dB 
loss  maintained  stable.  This 
showed  that  this  pad  was  not 
designed  for  operation  at  all 


above  6  GHz,  By  the  way,  it  did 
not  have  any  frequency  marking 
or  rating  on  it.  I  have  tested  HP 
pads  that  are  rated  to  1 2  4  GHz; 
they  are  quite  good  even  far 
above  their  1 2.4  GHz  frequency 
limits. 

The  other  rating  that  is  impor- 
tant is  the  loss  value  of  the  pad. 
Here  we  can  make  some  deter- 
mination just  if  the  pad  is  OK. 
Enter  the  handy  VOM  again.  An 
attenuator  or  pad  is  usually  con- 
structed  in  a  '*T'  fashion,  giv- 
ing equal  resistance  to  both  the 
input  and  output  coaxial  con- 
nectors with  respect  to  ground. 
Ustial  construction  comes  in  the 
form  of  a  small  cylindrical  in- 
put and  output  resistor  fonning 
the  center  conductor  of  the  "T' 
pad.  The  shunt  or  center  resis* 
tance  to  ground  is  a  very  large 
diameter  resistor  coihill  kd  at  its 
center  to  die  two  input/output  re- 
sistors. Being  circular  in  design, 
its  outer  edges  are  connected  to 


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73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    41 


Chrr's  corner 


Number  42  on  your  Feedback  catd 


Joseph  J.  Carr  K4IPV 

P.O.  Box  1099 

Falls  Church  VA  22041-0099 

[carij||@aoLcom] 


Hyhrid  couplers  are  an  mlcr- 

esliiig  class  of  devices.  Tlie  must 
inlercRling  property  is  thai  they 
wilt  split  an  input  power  two 
ways.  Each  of  those  outputs  re- 
ceives -3  lIB  of  the  input  power 
{i.e.,  a  two-way  split).  Some 
hybrids  produce  in-phase  oui- 
puts,  olliers  (called  "quadiiuure" 
hybrids)  produce  *>0-degree  out- 
put?v.  and  oiherK  pR^duce  180- 
degree  (out  of  phase)  oulpuUv. 
There  are  a  number  of  devices 
that  are  useful,  but  among  those 
thai  1  find  most  inleresling  are 
the  Magic^T  device.^.  In  this 
month*s  column  we  will  take  a 
look  at  the  lascinatins  Mai!ie- 
T.  The  Magic-T  produces  180- 
degree  out  of  pha.se  outputs. 

The  Magic-T  transformer 

Fig,  I  shows  the  Magic-T 
iruasibnner  hyhrid.  Ii  consists 
of  one  centeM lipped  winding 
and  one  non-lapped  winding. 
Which  of  those  windings  will  be 
used  ;\s  llie  input  or  output  de- 
pends  on  the  applicalion.  The  re- 
hnionship  of  the  impedances  is 
shown  in  Fig.  1.  The  system 
impedance.  R^,  appears  ai  the 
ends  of  the  center-tapped  wind- 
ing tPun'2  and  Pon-3i,  while 
!he  impedaiiLC  at  the  lap  (Port- 
4 J  IS  R /2.  The  impedance  ai  [i\c 
unerounded  end  of  the  non- 
tapped  winding  ( Pon-1 )  is  2R^, 

Let's  take  a  look  at  two  situa- 
tions. First,  a  signal  is  applied 


ground  and  it  acts  as  a  shield 
between  Lhe  input  and  output  at 
the  pad. 

Well.  1  hope  I  have  given  you 
some  good  information  with 
which  10  evaluate  power  meters 
and  power  meter  heads.  Good 
hunting  at  yournext  swap  meeU 
73.Chuck\vB61GR 


'  lo  PonK  If  Ports  2  and  3  arc 

I  properly  terminated  in  the  sys- 
tem impedance,  then  the  power 
wit!  split  3  dB  to  each  port,  but 
the  voltage  appearing  at  the  twt^ 
ports  is  ISCroul  of  phase.  Port- 
3  is  thus  180^' with  respect  to 
Port -2.  Both  Porl-2  and  Port- 3 
are  -3  dB  with  respect  to  the  in- 
put level.  Because  Port-4  is  the 
common  between  pori^  2  and  3, 
lhe  vol  I  age  is  zero,  so  Port-4  is 
the  isolated  port. 

The  next  case  would  be  a  sig- 
nal applied  lo  Pon-4.  This  sig- 
nal is  split  l^^o  ways,  -3  dB  each 
10  Port- 2  and  Port-3.  The  signal 
at  Pon-1  will  be  zero  because 
equal  bui  opposite  currents  from 
Port- 1  /Pon-2  and  Port-  i/Pon-3 
are  induced  into  the  untapped 
winding*  thus  canceling  each 
olher. 

Practical  50-ohm  example 

The  comhiner/splitter  shown 
in  Fig-  2  is  designed  to  50-ohm 
systems,  so  the  tap  is  terminated 
in  a  25-ohin  noninUuclive  resist- 
lor  The  input  is  the  non-iapped 
winding.  In  order  to  reduce  die 
100-ohm  impedance  ihat  one 
vv ould  expect  from  the  previous 
ease*  where  the  turns  ratio  is  1 : 1 , 
the  turns  ratio  is  adjusted  lo 
1 .4 14:  i .  although  in  practice  a 
1.5:1  ratio  is  normally  used. 
This  tratisforms  the  impedance 
to  close  to  50  ohms. 


Transformer  matched 


Magic-T 

A  different  approach  to  input 
impedance  transformation  is 
shown  in  Fig,  3.  The  circuit  is 
otherwise  similar  to  the  previ- 
ous circuit,  except  that  the  trans- 
former turns  rado  is  the  same  as 
the  straight  Magic-X  i.e.,  1: 1 .  A 
second  transformer,  T2.  is  used 


10  transform  the  100  ohm  im- 
pedance reflected  from  the 
tapped  winding  lo  50  ohms. 
Transformer T2  is  an  auiotmns' 
former,  a  transformer  made  with 
a  single  tapped  winding  rather 
than  I  wo  windings  The  lap  is 
placed  at  the  two-thirds  point 
from  gn>und. 

Construction 

The  Magic-T  can  be  built  for 

any  power  level  using  appropri- 
ate toroidal  ferrite  or  powdered 
iron  cores  for  transformer  TL 
Vov  receive-only  Magic-Ts  you 
cnn  use  cores  such  as  the  T-50- 
2andT-50-6inthe  I  to  30  MHz 
high  frequency  (HF)  region,  orT- 
30-15  in  the  100  kHz  lo  15  MHz 
medium  wave  region.  For  re- 
ceiver applications  use  #24AWG 
or  #26  AW  G  enameled  wire. 

For  QRP  transmitters,  you 
can  use  a  core  of  lhe  same  ma- 
terial (the^'dash  number"  in  the 
type  numbers  abtive),  hut  you 
should  increase  the  size  to 
something  between  ihe  HK)  ( l- 
inch)  and  240  (2.4-inch)  sizes. 
Use  wire  of  #22  AWG  to  #  1 8 
AWG,  or  larger  if  power  levels 
are  more  than  a  few  w^atis. 

If  you  build  one  for  transmit- 
ting at  higher  power,  then  you 
will  need  lo  use  one  of  the  larger 
hybrids  commonly  found  on 
high  power  balun  transformers. 
Also,  scale  the  wire  si/.e  up  ac- 
cording to  the  power  level  used. 

One  of  the  applications  of  this 
type  of  coupler  is  to  combine  the 
signals  from  two  antennas.  Al- 
though any  type  of  antenna  can 
be  used,  let's  consider  the  case 
of  the  quaner-wavelcngth  vcr* 
deal  spaced  a  half-wavelengih 
apart.  These  can  be  fed  either  in- 
phase  or  180  degrees  out  of 
phase,  depending  on  the  direc- 
tion that  you  want  to  squirt  sig- 
nal. A  high  power  Magic-T  and 
some  switching  can  be  used  for 
feeding  the  antenna. 

Why?  One  fellow  told  me  that 
he  would  simply  use  a  half- 
wavelength  extra  of  coax  to  the 
IKO-degree  antenna,  and  that 
would  take  care  of  the  phase 
shin.  Yes.  it  would,  but  it  also 
distorts  the  pattern.  Loss  in  lhe 
coaxial  cable  means  that  the  two 


Fig.  1. 

hybrid. 


Magic-T  inmsjormer 


antennas  will  receive  different 
currents,  and  thai  messes  up  the 
radiation  pattern.  By  using  the 
Magic-T  device  you  can  use  equal 
lengths  of  identical  coaxial  cable 
lo  the  two  antctiuas.  If  you  want 
to  feed  them  in-phase.  then  don't 
use  the  Magic-T  But  i  f  you  want 
to  feed  them  out  of  phase  con- 
nect  the  Magic-T  into  the  circuit 
such  that  Port-2  and  Pon-3  go 
to  the  two  antennas,  and  Port- 1 
goes  to  the  transmitter* 

Other  matters  „. 

Several  readers  over  Uie  past 
year  have  asked  me  about  the 
avaihibility  of  small  parts.  Too 
many  distributors  rcituire  a  high 
minimum  order  or  won't  deal 
with  amateurs  at  alL  The  list  be- 
low is  compiled  from  the  infor- 
mation I  have  available  of  ouUlts 
that  .sell  small  quantities  of  small 
parts  at  reasonable  prices.  Con- 
tact me  if  you  know  of  others. 

Parts  suppliers 

Small  Wonder 
Dave  Benson  NN 1 G 


1 


M 


■^WV- 


/ 


t 

ism,ri" 

mo  DftUS 


/77 


^?7 


Fig.  2.  Cotubiner/splitier, 


42   73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


Hrm  to  hrm 


Humter  43  on  y&ar  W^^Oback  card 


Your  Input  Welcome  Here 


Dave  Miller  N29E 
7462  Lawler  Avenue 
NilesIL  60714-3108 
[dmillerl  4  @  juno.coni] 


High-tech  cleanup 

Here's  a  Iiajidy  little  gadget 
thai  I  ran  across  recently  at  the 
hardware  store.  It's  called  a 
PrepPen*.  and  it's  made  by  Pro 
Molar  Car  Products  of  Clear- 
waien  Florida,  The  intention  of 
the  maiuifac Hirer  is  that  the 
PrepPen  be  primarily  used  for 
line-detail  standing,  such  as 
those  hard-io-get-ai  contours  in 
fancy  miiiwork,  or  the  *iniall  re- 
cesses in  nicta!  castings  that  are 
otherwise  inaccessible  to  normal 
sandpaper  and  other  grit-based 
materials. 

In  fact.  Pro  Motor  Car  Prod- 
ucts bills  its  PrcpPen  as  "The 


Hieh-Tech  Sandina  Tool," 
While  cleaning  wire  ends  prior 
to  soldering  is  mentioned  on  the 
package,  Fvc  found  that  the 
PrepPen  can  be  us^  for  all  man* 
net  of  electronic  cleaning  jobs 
around  the  shop.  In  addition  to 
sprucing  up  highly  corroded 
wire  ends,  it's  also  handy  for 
burnishing  terminal  connec- 
tions, PC  board  solder  pads, 
corroded  portable-equipment 
battery  contacts,  soldering-iron 
lips,  and  anything  else  that 
needs  fine  touch-up  cleaning 
prior  to  use.  While  the  PrepPen 
will  reniove  some  of  the  softer 
enamel-wire  finishes,  h  won*! 
w-'ork  (by  itself)  on  Fornivar*^' 


and  others  that  are  extreniely 
lough.  They'll  still  need  to 
scraped.  It  can,  however,  be 
used  for  the  final,  just-before- 
tinning,  cleanup. 

Physically,  the  PrepPen  is 
about  ihe  diameter  of  a  husky 
marking  pen,  which  makes  it 
easy  to  handle  and  control.  Its 
plastic  pen-shaped  body  houses 
a  bundle  of  20,000  very  fine 
strands  of  glass  fibers  (each 
Fmcr  than  a  human  hair),  at- 
tached to  a  screw-thread  feeder 
cartridge.  You  can  adjust  the 
length  of  the  fibers  exposed 
from  the  wurking  end  of  the 
"^pen'*  by  simply  turning  the 
adjusting  post  al  the  far  end. 

Fig,  1(a)  shows  the  overall 
concept  of  the  PrepPen.  and  (b) 
how  the  glass-fiber  replaceable 
cartridge  iabi^ui  an  ei*2hth  of  an 
inch  in  diameter)  itself  looks- 
Some  of  the  other  jobs  that  the 
manufacturer  mentions  tin  ad- 
dition to  cleaning  ends  of  elec- 
trical wires)  are  removing  cor- 
rosion from  plumbing  parts; 
brushing  rust  from  small  areas 


GL6SS 

FIBER 
TIP 


PEN  BODY 


WCOMI 


END  POST 

{TURN  TO 
ADJUST 

I 


t 


4-3/4' 


M-3/T6H 


t\ 


Fig.  /-  The  PrepPen^  by  Pro 
Motor  Car  Products  features  a 

rephiteahle  sflass-fiber  car- 
trid^e  ami  can  be  med  jbr  a 
number  of  fine'demil  cleaning 
jobs  on  your  ham  radio  work- 
bench , 


of  chipped  paint  prior  to  touch- 
up  (such  as  on  an  automobile); 
sanding  hard-to-get-at  recesses 
j  prior  to  painting;  preparing  parts 
for  gluing  til  dulls  a  shiny  tin- 
ish  nicely);  and  cleaning  battery 
contacts, 

[We  recently  had  occasion  to 
u\  to  remove  some  silk-screen- 
ing  fmm  the  fn>nt  of  an  older  rig, 
in  order  to  change  it  according 


«QNMl 


i 


1 


1    iHigT 


nrmmi 


Fig,  J*  A  differed  approach, 

80  East  Robbins  Ave. 
Newington  CT  061 1 1 
[bensondj@aol.coml 

Dan*s  Small  Parts  and  Kits 

Bo.\  3634 

Missoula  MT  59806-3634 

Phone  or  FAX  (406*  258- 
2782 

f  h  1 1  p  :  /  /  w  w  w  ,  f  i  X  .  n  e  t  / 
dans,  html  J 

Buckeye  Electronics 
10213  Columbus  Grove  Rd. 

Bluffton  OH  45817 
[buckeye@alpha.wcoiLcumJ 

S  &  S  Eneineerine 
14102  Brown  Road 


SmithsburgMD  21783 
Phone:  (301)416-0661 

FAX:  (301)  4 16-0963 

Milestone  Technologies,  Inc* 
3140  S.  Peoria  St,  Unit  Ki56 
Aurora  CO  80014-3155 
(303)752-3382 

(800)  238-8205 

Kanga  Products 
Sea  view  House 
Crete  Road  East 
Folkestone  CT18  7EG,  En- 
gland UK 
Tel/FAX  (44)  01303^891106 
[sales  #  kanga.demon.eo*uk] 

Reading  list 

Another  tftftig  people  ask  me 
about  is  books  on  RF  and  related 
topics  (such  as  antennas).  I  im- 
modestly recommend  a  couple 
of  ray  own.  but  the  Ltst  is  below. 
Use  it  for  what  it's  worth, 

L  hiirodKcin^  QRP:  Dick 
Pascoe  G0BPS.  £6.95,  USS15. 

2.  Pascite  Is  Penm  Pinchers:  Dick 
Pascoe  GOBPS,  £4.95.  US$8. 


3.  QRP  Notebook:  WIFB 
(ARRI.). 

4.  WIFB  s  Design  Notebook: 
fARRL). 

5.  WiFB's  QRP  Notebook: 

(ARRLK 

6.  Your  QRP  Operating  Com- 
panion: KR7L* 

7.  flow  to  Get  Srartciiin  QRP: 
K4TWL 

9.  The  Joy  of  QRP:  WORSR 

10.  Practical  Antenna  Hand- 
book, 3rd  Edition:  Carr,  Joseph 
J.  McGraw-Hill.  New  York 
(1998). 

1 1 .  Microwave  and  Wireless 
Comnnm ications  Technology: 
Carr.  Joseph  J.  New  nes.  Boston 
(1997). 

12.  Secrets  ofRF  Circitir  De- 
sign, 2nd  Edition:  Carr.  Joseph  J. 
McGraw-Hill,  New  York  i  1996). 

13.  Radio- Frequency  Elec- 
tronics: Circuits  and  Applica- 
tions:  Hagen,  Jon  B.  Cambridge 
Univ.  Press,  Cambridge,  UK 
( 1996). 

14.  High  Frequency  Circuit 
Design:  Hardy,  James.  Reston 


Publishing  Co.  (Olvision  of 
Ptentice-Hall ).  Reston  V^  i  1979), 
!5.  Standard  Radio  Conmnt- 
nica lions  Mauuoh  with  Jnstrn- 
mentation  and  Testitig  Tech- 
niques: Kinley.  R.  Harolds 
Prentice-Hal  L  Englewood  Clilfs 
NJi:i985). 

16.  Practical  Microwaves: 
Laverghetta,  Thomas  S.  Howard 
W.  Sams,  Indianapolis  IN 
0984). 

17.  Microwave  Devices  £ 
Circuits:  Liao,  Samuel  Y. 
Prentice- HalK  Fngtewood  Cliffs 

NJ(I9y0X 

18.  HF  Radio  Systems  &  Cir- 
cuits. 2nd  Edition:  Sabin«  Will- 
iam E.  and  Schoenike.  Edgar  O., 
editors.  Noble  Publishin|,  At- 
lanta GA  (1998), 

19.  Electronic  Communica- 
tion, 3rd  Edition:  Shrader.  Rob- 
ert L,  McGraw-HilL  New  York 
(1975). 

20.  RF  Design  Guide: 
VizmuUer,  Peter.  Artech  House, 
Boston/London  (1995). 

^      2i,AUoftheARRLsbooks. 


I 


I 


73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    43 


SW-1 


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SW-2 


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TRAVELER  B 

I  HOT 


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TRAVELER  A 


SW-1 


SW-3 


TRAVELER  8 


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SW-2 


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TRAVELER  D 


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C— -^  1  t  hot'\ 

C    ^  }  120  VAC 


lb) 


TRAVELER  A 


TRAVELER  C 


SW-1 


SW-3 


TRAVELER   B  | 


SW-4 


TRAVELER  E 
SW-2 


TRAVELER  0 


TRAVELER   F 


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Ic) 


Fig,  2,  ia\  Well-known  rhree-way  s^iiehmg  configitrathn.  (b) 
Four-M'ay  smTching  configuration  allow ing  On/Off  ionirot  from 
three  distinct  locations,  (c)  four-way  invitching  configuration  allow- 
ing  OnlOffcoumi!  from  four,  fivt\  six  or  more  distinct  locations.  Note: 
'Travelers''  are  defined  as  conductors  benveen  switches. 


to  a  mod  we  had  done.  Some  slv 

Hi 

testine  showed  ihat  nothing — 
including  rubbing  compounds 
and  soft  abrasives — seemed  lo 
work  wiihout  atlcciing  and  mar- 
ring, however  slightly,  the  un- 
derlying finish.  Nothing,  thai  is, 
until  retired  Grumman  Corp- 
icchnician  Stan  lev  Rasanen  of 
Nesconset  NY  pulled  an  ancient 
fiberglass  penoiuof  his  JLiiiktx>x, 
hoarded  ^^ince  die  '60s,  and  sug- 
gested using  it  as  an  eraser  Same 
idea  as  llie  PrepPcn,  and  workcai 
gfeat  for  this. — Ed  J 

The  Prep  Pen  measures  four 
and  tliree-quarters  inches  long 
and  is  about  nine-sixteenths 
inches  in  diameter  at  its  widesf 
points.  The  giass41ber  cartridge 
is  one  and  three-sixteenths 
inches  long.  and.  of  course. 


wears  down  as  the  tool  is  used, 
but  it  still  should  last  a  reason- 
able amount  of  lime  before 
needing  replacement.  With  my 
PrepPen,  the  manufacturer  had 
thoughtfully  packaged  one  spare 
cartridge  in  the  hollow  of  the 
rear  adjusting  post  Uhe  unit  eas- 
ily comes  apart  for  cartridge  m- 
placemenl).  The  PrepPen  is 
available  at  most  automotive, 
hardware,  and  home -center 
stores  nationwide. — de  NZ9E. 

Analyzing  .„  the  problem! 

From  Stephen  Reynolds 
NOPOU;  A  word  ivt  se^'eral)  of 
caution:  "Using  an  RF  antenna 

analyzer  to  determine  the  accu- 
racy of  the  match  for  an  HF 
antenna  am  sometimes  be  mis- 


leading ...  especially  if  a  strong 
local  broadcast  station  is  on  the 
air  in  the  area.  Strong  RF  fields 
can  tliruw  die  analyzer  off  be- 
cause it  can't  distinguish  between 
locally  strong  uut-of-band  sig- 
nals and  the  signal  that  the 
analyzer  itself  is  developing  " 
Interesting  point,  Stephen 
also  mentioned  that  you  must  be 
very  careful  when  connecting 
the  coax  connector  onto  the 
Autek  RF  Analyst^:  Any  twist- 
ing of  the  connector's  center 
pin.  during  inslallaiion  or  re- 
moval, can  break  connections 
on  the  inside  of  the  unit,  neces- 
sitating time-consuming  (and 
perhaps  costly)  repairs,  His  an- 
sw^er  to  the  problem  was  to 
permanently  install  a  UHF 
right-angle  adapter  onto  the 
AuLek's  UHF  fitting,  and  only 
install  the  coax  cable  connector 
to  that  right-angle  adapter,  thus 
absolutely  avoiding  an\  twisting 
of  the  instrument's  buili-in  coax 
fitting  during  normal  usage* 
Good  lip.  Stephen, 

Stay  in  control 

From  Jim  Kncsis  WA9PYH: 
How  lo  control  just  about  any- 
thing that  you*d  like  to  turn  on 
and  off.  from  as  many  locations 

as  you  can  imagine:  '*Tf  you  need 
to  control  a  circuit  from  several 
different  locations,  then  this 
mav  be  just  the  thing  vou've 
been  looking  for!  Using  two 
SPDT  switches  to  control  a  cir- 
cuit from  two  distinctive  loca- 
tions is  no  big  secret  „.  so-called 
three-way  circuit  switching  has 
been  used  for  years  in  the  elec- 
trical trade  and  it's  likely  that 
you  now  have  one  or  two  light- 
ing circuits  in  your  home  con- 
trolled by  three-way  electrical 
switches.  Fig,  2(a)  shows  how 
the  circuit  is  wired,  and  of 
course  it's  used  to  turn  the  same 
lights  on  or  off  from  two  differ- 
ent places.  But  what  if  you  want 
to  have  more  than  two  diflerent 
conuol  locations? 

"Eleelricians  use  four- way 
switches  (DPDT  switches  that 
are  crosswired  internally  so  that 
only  four  of  the  six  lemiinals  are 
brought  outside)  to  accomplish 
just  I  hat  task.  Fig,  2{b)  shows 


how  it's  done.  SW-l  and  SW-3 

are  SPDT  three- way  switches 
and  SW-^2  is  a  DPDT  internally 
cross  wired  four- way  switch.  No 
matter  what  position  any  of  the 
switches  ends  up  being  left  in, 
at  any  of  the  locatiuns,  the  cir- 
cuit can  be  turned  on  or  off  from 
any  other  location. 

"Now  take  a  look  at  Fig.  2(c). 
Here  we  see  two  SPDT  three- 
way  switches  and  two  DPDT 
crosswii'ed  lour-way  switches* 
This  combination  allows  us  to 
control  our  circuit  from  ari>  of 
four  distinct  locations,  again, 
regardless  of  what  position  any 
of  the  switches  is  left  in  ai  any 
of  the  other  locations.  In  fact, 
just  by  adding  more  DPDT 
crosswired  four-way  switches, 
you  can  control  the  circuit  from 
as  many  positions  as  you  wish 
(jusi  remember  that  you  need 
to  end  up  ^a  ith  the  SPDT  four- 
way  switches  ai  each  end  of  the 
circuit  as  shown), 

'in  addition  to  using  this 
scheme  to  cunirol  a  lighting  cir- 
cuit, yuu  can  use  it  to  turn  on  or 
off  anvthrne  vou*d  like,  such  as 
a  whole-house  speaker  audio 
feed  from  vour  ham  shack!  Just 
use  miniature  SPDT  and  DPDT 
toggle  switches,  capable  of  han- 
dling  the  voltage  and  current  of 
the  circuit  that  you  wish  to  con- 
trol, and  wired  as  shown  in  Fig. 
2(cK  Of  course,  if  you're  con- 
trolling a  120  volt  AC  circuit, 
use  only  UL-approved  three- 
way  and  four-way  electrical 
power  switches  and  wiring  spe- 
cifically manufactured  for  that 
purpose/* 

Why  ane  they  called  Jiree-way 
switches  when  they  are  installed 
in  two  dilTensnl  locations?  Only 
Edison  know  s  for  sure,  but  the 
best  answer  is  that  *  thrcc-way*' 
refers  to  three  different  modes 
of  operation.  In  Fig.  2tii),  the 
lamp  can  be  turned  on  and  off 
from  SW- 1 .  on  and  offfnom  SW- 
2,  or  on  fmm  one  switch  iind  off 
from  the  other— three  distinct 
ways  that  die  circuit  can  operate. 

Pot  luck! 

From  Herb  Foster  AD4UA: 
*The  MFJ-418  Pocket  Morse 
Code  Tutor  is  a  realty  handy 


44  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


lilUe  device  and  trulv  does  lit 
easily  in  jus!  ahaiit  any  pocket. 
The  e;irphonc  opt  ion  is  p^micu- 
larly  nice,  sparing  innocent  by- 
standers from  the  pain  and 
miseiy  of  the  Morse  code  disci- 
ptine!  Since  I  use  mv  418  datlv 
lo  keep  my  CW  speed  up  to 
par,  11  eventually  developed  a 
scratchy  volume  control,  appar- 
ently just  froiii  plain  wear.  The 
obvious  fix  was  to  replace  the 
control  en (i rely;  it's  a  10  k  pot 
Willi  a  switch,  and  is  available 
from  MFJ  i(601)  323-5869  for 
credit  card  orders]  for  $3.48. 
including  sliipping. 

''Here  are  a  few  lips  to  make 
replacing  the  4  I8's  vnlume  con- 
trol a  hit  easier:  Be  sure  to  use 
care  when  opening  the  case. 
since  there's  a  flat  ribbon  cable 
that  connects  the  board  lo  the 
LCD  display.  Try  to  disturb  this 
cable  as  little  as  possible.  The 
old  pot  comes  oul  easily  by  us- 
ing a  pair  of  niinialure  side -cut- 
ters to  cut  the  five  connecting 
straps  that  connect  the  pot  to  the 
board.  Then,  a  fast  touch  w  ith  a 
fine- tip  iron  will  remove  the 
stubs  of  these  straps.  Save  the 
knob,  as  the  replacement  pot/ 
switch  doesn't  cojik  with  one. 
After  you*ve  soldered  ihe  con- 
nect! jig  straps  lo  Uie  new  pol  Jusl 
drop  it  in.  solder  down  the  five 
conned ioj)s  to  the  board,  and  in- 
stall the  (^Id  knob  (ii  rakes  a  mi- 
cro-tipped Phillips  screwdriver). 

**When  tlie  nine-voli  battery 
gels  weak,  you'll  notice  the 
LCD  display  blinking  in  time 
with  the  transmitted  code.  This 
is  a  gotxl  indication  that  it's  time 
for  a  new  battery, 

**I  feel  thai  MFJ  mav  have 
slipped  on  one  small  point  in  the 
design  of  the  4 18,  If  you  like  to 
be  able  to  observe  die  LCD  dis- 
play as  you  use  the  Morse  Tu- 
tor in  your  CW  practice,  the 
natural  tendency  is  to  lav  ii 
down  on  a  desktop  with  ihe 
LCD  display  facing  upward, 
UnforiLMiately.  this  also  puts  the 
speaker  facing  downward  to- 
ward the  desktop,  and  the  sound 
becotiies  muffied. 

*The  fix  to  this  is  to  buy  a 
package  oi  rubber  bumper  feet, 
available  widetv  from  hardware 


stores  and  supennarkets,  and  cut 
oul  small  pieces  about  three- 
eighths  of  an  inch  square.  Put 
these  at  the  four  comers  (on  ifie 
underside),  where  the  speaker 
grill  is  located.  Two  of  them  %vifl 
end  up  lui  the  comers  of  the  bat- 
tery cover.  Now  you  should  be 
able  to  put  your  418  on  a  desk- 
top  with  the  display  upw  ard^  and 
hear  the  code  audio  loud  and 
cicarf 

"By  tlie  way,  use  the  MFM18 
in  the  practice  QSO  mode,  and 
after  a  few  exchanges,  die  cull- 
ing station  will  say  that  he  must 
QRT  for  a  variety  of  reasons — 
the  most  imaginative  one  being 
lo  change  the  baby!  These  are 
the  ^ 90s.  aren^t  they r 

Murphy's  Corollary:  A  "fail- 
safe'  circuit  w  ill  usually  destroy 
the  circuit  tfs  protecting! 

As  always,  our  thanks  go  out 
to  those  who've  contributed  their 
ideas  to  this  month's  column, 
including: 

Stephen  Reynolds  N0POU 
510  S.  130th  Sl 
Omaha  XE  68154 

Jim  Kocsis  WA9PYH 
53 1 80  Flicker  Ln, 

South  Bend  IN  46637 

Herbert  L,  Foster  AD4U A 
M)2ii  Pennsylvania  St, 
Melbourne  FL  32904-9063 

If  you're  missing  any  past 
columns,  you  can  probably  find 
thetn  at  7i*s  **Ham  To  Ham" 
column  home  page  (with  special  ^ 
thanks  to  Mark  Bohnhoff 
V\  ayUOMK  on  the  World  Wide 
Web,  at:  [hup ://w\vw.rrs ia.com/ 
hih]. 

Note:  The  ideas  ami  sugges- 
tions contributed  to  this  column 
by  its  readers  have  not  necessar- 
ilv  been  tested  bv  die  column's 
moderator  nor  by  the  staff  of  73 
^ta:^azif7t\  and  thus  no  guaran- 
tee of  operational  success  is 
implied.  Always  use  your  own 
best  judgnieiU  before  modifying 
any  electronic  item  from  the  origi- 
nal equipment  manufacturer's 
speci  n  caiions.  No  responsibi  1  ity 
is  ijnplietl  b\  ihe  moderator  or 
73  Magazine  for  any  equipment  , 
dantage  or  malfunction  resulting 


Hrmsats 


Number  45  an  your  Feedback  c&rd 


Amateur  Radio  Via  Satellites 


Andy  MacAliister  W5ACM 
14714  Knights  Way  Drive 
Houston  TX  77083 


If  youVe  wailing  expectantly 

for  Ihe  launch  of  Phase  3D, 
don* I,  Once  a  launch  opportu- 
nity is  announced,  it  wil!  still  be 
a  while  before  the  actual  event. 
But,  with  the  addition  of  two 
new  digital  satellites,  TMSAT- 
0 SCAR -3 1  and  Cfunvin-OS- 
CAR-32  (Techsai-Ifi},  and  tnore 
hamsats  on  the  way.  there  are 
plenty  of  exciting  opporlunitit-^ 
coming  soon. 

TMSATI  (T0'3l}  from  Thai- 
land  and  the  University  of  Sur- 
rey should  be  ready  for  general 
use  by  the  time  you  read  this. 
Although  there  is  some  concern 
about  the  transmitter  output 
level  on  436,923  MHz  dropping 
from  1 .8  W  to  0.9  W,  the  other 
onboard  systems  are  work! tig 
very  w^ell.  Many  excellent  pic- 
tures ha\  e  been  taken  by  the  sal- 
elliie  and  can  be  downloaded 
directly  from  the  saiellile  or 
viewed  via  the  Intemel  on  the 
AMSAT  Web  page  at  Ihtlp:// 
www.amsat,org].  Just  look  lor 
the  links  to  TMSAT  The  direct 
URL  (Universal  Resource  Loca- 
tor) to  TMSAT  is:  [http://www. 
ee.surrey.ac.uk/EE/CSER/ 
UOSAT/amateur/lmsal/]. 

Although  T-0-31  h  capable 
of  running  9600  baud,  it  is  ex- 
pected that  38.4  kbps  (kilobits 
per  second)  wiil  become  a  stan- 
dard downlink  speed  due  lo  the 
large  size  {33  Mb)  of  tlie  Earth- 
imaeimi  pictures  the  satellite  is 
producing.  The  compressed  im- 
aees  available  via  the  Internet  arc 
over  5(K)  K  each,  JPEG  format, 


I  so  there  is  some  minor  image 
quality  loss.  For  the  multi-spec- 
tral images,  data  irom  the  Nar- 
row Angle  Camera,  sensing  in 
the  green,  red,  and  near-IR  spec- 
tra, is  processed  to  create  an 
image  1 020  x  1 020  pixels,  cov- 
ering an  area  of  100  x  100  km 
at  a  mean  ground  resolution  of 
98  melers/pixel.  The  T-O-JJ 
picture  of  San  Francisco  shows 
excellent  dctiiil  w  iih  many  easily 
recognizable  areas. 

Informaiion  has  been  a  bit 
slow  about  activities  surround- 
ing the  new  Israeli  hamsat 
Gnrwin-OSCAR-32.  The  pri- 
mary dow^nlink  has  been  on 
435.225  MHz  19600  baud*,  but 
the  sateUite  can  also  transmit  on 
435.325  MHz.  During  ihe  test- 
ing phase,  a  three-second  burst 
of  daia  could  be  heard  once  ev- 
ery 30  seconds,  but  while  the 
satellite  is  in  nomial  operation, 
signals  can  be  contiiuioLis.  espe- 
cially during  picture  downloads, 
G-0-32  has  already  taken  sev- 
eral pictures  from  space.  Like 
the  ones  taken  by  7-0-31.  the 
Techsai  ioKtges  can  be  found  on 
the  Internet,  To  find  out  the  lat- 
est informaiion  and  look  for 
Eanh-imaging  pictures,  check 
iheL^L:  [hllp://lechsat.  intemet- 
zahev.oet/]. 

New  signals  from  space 

There's  more  on  the  way!  The 
SEDSAT-1  satellite  project  has 
been  moving  slowly  forward 
for  nearly  a  decade^  and  launch 
is  imminent.  Another  exciting 


from  information  supplied  in 
this  culunuL 

Please  send  any  ideas  that  you 
would  like  to  see  included  in  this 
column  to  the  address  at  top.  We 
will  make  every  attempt  lo  re- 


spond to  all  legitimate  ideas  in  a 
tiniely  mannen  but  please  send 
any  specific  quesdons,  on  any  par- 
ticular lip.  to  the  originator  of  ifie 
idea,  not  to  this  column's  mod- 
erator nor  to  73  Mamzine. 


73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1 998    45 


Phofo  A,  TMSAi  OSCAR-31 

rook  rhi\  shot  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Bar  urea. 


progriun  is  ARISS  (Amateur 
Ruclio  on  ihe  International 
Space  Station  h 

SEDS  slands  for  Small  Ex- 
peiidahle  Do  plover  System.  A 
2()-km  tether  is  used  to  deploy  a 
small  satellite  uui  lo  a  higher 
orbit  froiii  a  larger  mass  while 
both  are  connected  together  via 
a  cord  or  lether.  The  satellite^ 
SEDSAT'  L  has  three  basic  pay- 
loads,  incUtJini!  SEASIS  (SEDS, 
Earth,  AuuoJiphere  and  Space 
Imaging  System ).  TAS  (Three- 
Axis  Acceleration  Measurement 
System),  and  ihe  ham-radio  pay- 
load. 

SEASIS  wilt  provide  some 
scientirie  experimciii^  and  allow 


for  unique  pictures  from  space. 
The  CCD  camera  systems  use 
a  lelephoto  lens  and  also  a  PAL 
(Panoramic  Angular  Lens  J  that 
will  pnn  ide  360-degree  pictures. 

The  TAS  unit  is  pan  of  the 
dala  coltectiofi  system  to  study 
the  dynamics  of  a  mass  { the  sat- 
ellite) deployed  with  a  leiher. 
After  the  initial  tether  experi- 
ments are  complete,  the  amateur- 
radio  pay  load  will  be  available 
for  use. 

The  ham  radio,  analog  Mcxle- 
A  transponder  has  an  uplink  pass- 
hand  from  145.915  to  145»75 
Mik  coupled  to  a  downlink 
iTom  29  350  lo  29.410  MHz.  It's 
the  firsl  American-made,  Mode- 
A  linear  transponder  in  many 
years. 

The  digital  communications 
system  uses  a  1268.213  MH? 
uplink  with  a  70-cm  downlink 
on  437,907  MHx.  It  is  capable 
of  96(K)  band  like  the  current 
high-speed  digital  satetlites. 
Other  experimental  digital  modes 
and  higher  speeds  can  he  sup- 
ported. Check  the  SEDS  AT  Web 
page  at  [htip://www*  seds.org/ 
scdsat/I  and  the  AMSAT  Weh 
page  at:  [hiip://www: ambat.org]. 

ARISS 

Manned-space  ham  acrivities 
will  experience  a  quantum  leap 


Photo  C*  SEDSAT-1  is  ^mier  comtntcikm  in  Himts\ilh\  Alabama , 


Shunle  Anmlcur  Radio  Fxpcri- 
ment.  was  delivered  lo  orbit 
with  STS-9  on  November  28, 
I9S3.  The  small  Motorola  two- 
meter  HT  and  window-mounted 
antenna  systems  have  done  ex- 
tremely well  lor  over  a  decade 
and  have  been  enhanced  with 
SSTV  (Slow-Scan  Television), 
packet,  and  FSTV  (Fast-Scan 
Television)  gear  As  NASA 
Principal  Investigator  until  his 
retirement  just  a  few  years  ago, 
L4)u  McFadin  W5DID  supponed 
the  effort  from  its  inception. 
Since  then.  Matt  Bordelon 
KC5BTL  has  taken  over  to  pro- 
vide continuity  for  the  program, 
AMSAT  Vice  Presiiloni  of 
Manned  Space  AcliviUes  Frank 
Bauer  KA3HD0  is  the  designer 


with  the  full  implementation  o 
ARISS.  or  Amateur  Radio  on 
the  InLernalional  Space  Station. 
White  the  advances  of  voice  and 
packet  operations  on  MIR  have 
pnn  ed  to  be  incredibly  valuable 
for  educational  and  recreational 
activities,  they  will  be  viewed  as 
only  a  step  on  the  path  to  a  rather 
significant,  full-featured  ham 
station  in  orbit,  in  just  a  few 
years. 

While  a  very  simple  amateur- 
radio  pay  load  was  propiised  for 
Owen  Garrioit'sSlT/ai?  mission 
in  1973.  it  would  be  10  years 
later  w  hen  Owen  finally  got  to 
operate  from  space.  NASA  did 
not  approve  she  Sky  la  h  ham  stu- 
lion  due  to  time  constraints  and 
olher  factors,  but  SAREX,  Ihe 


PhoioB,  This  view  of  Earth  wm  taken  from  Gyr\\in-OSC^VR-32. 
4S  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


Photo  D,  ARISS  Coonlmator  and  AMSAT  VP  Manned  Space  Ac* 
mities  Frank  Bauer  KAMiDO  sh(>i\*s  off  the  insiife  of  an  ISS  fmHfule 
mockup. 


On  the  Go 


Numt^f  47  on  your  Feedback  card 


Mobile,  Portable  and  Emergency  Operation 


Steve  Nowak  KE8YN/4 
1011  Peacock  Ave.  NE 
Palm  Bay  FL  32907-1371 
[keSyn  @  juno  comi 


Up,  up,  and  away 

Part  of  the  run  of  opcnuing 
jnohilc  or  poriahle  is  ihc  actual 
operation,  whj  le  an  equal  pari  is 
the  location  or condi lions  under 
\^hjcli  you  operate.  Nol  every 
mobile  operation  is  in  a  car.  and 
some  vehicies  are  more  chal- 
lenging than  others.  Although 
wc  arc  licens^ed  to  operate  our 
iransmiriin^  eguipmeni,  ^ome- 
limes  that  alone  is  not  sufficient 
to  permit  ike  uperatiun  of  a 
transinitier.  In  some  operating 
postttons  there  are  others  v^ho 
can  dictate  as  to  whether  or  not 
a  station  may  he  operated.  Two 
classic  cases  are  on  board  a  boat 
or  ship  and  aboard  an  aircrafL 
Botli  situations  are  similar  be- 
cause ihe  master  of  the  vessel. 
whether  a  ship's  captain  or  the 
pilot  in  command  of  an  aircraft, 
must  give  permission  before 
someone  may  operate  a  station 
i)n  hoard. 

Operating  aeronautical  mobile 
can  be  a  lot  of  fun.  bui  a  number 
of  factors  must  be  considered. 


J^irst*  it  cannot  be  done  on  a 
commercial  scheduled  Hight, 
since  all  airlines  nor  only  pro- 
hibit the  operation  of  transmit- 
ters by  passengers,  but  also  die 
operation  of  radio  receivers. 
This  is  because  there  are  con- 
cerns that  electronic  equipment 
may  interfere  w'tth  the  aircraft's 
electronic  eciuipmenl.  which 
provides  bulh  communications 
and  navigation  support.  Virtu- 
ally all  commercial  flights  are 
operated  in  controlled  airspace 
under  instrument  flight  rules 
which  require  frequent  coiurnu- 
nieation  w  rih  air  trafFic  control. 
Transmissiims  which  occur 
within  the  skin  of  the  aircraft 
may  create  inierlerence  lo  the 
navigation  equipment  There  are 
even  concerns  that  receivers  can 
cause  interference  because  of 
the  intermediate  frequencies 
which  they  produce.  Given 
some  of  the  interference  we 
hams  have  seen  with  cnnsimicr 
electronics,  this  is  not  an  idle 
concern.  How^  manv  times  have 

■r 

you  heard  of  RFl  problems  with 


electric  organs,  inexpensive 
telephones,  or  even  doorbells? 
On  some  aireraft  radio  opera- 
tjon  may  he  possible,  "Aiirraft" 

may  mean  a  hnl  air  balloon »  a 
glider  or  sailplane,  a  blimp,  or  a 
private  plane.  While  radio  op- 
eration may  be  possible  on  a 
helicopter  most  helicopters  pro- 
duce enough  noise  to  make  it 
impractical. 

Of  all  of  the  t^ptions,  the  one 
you  may  have  the  greatest  op- 
pori unity  to  try  is  on  a  private 
plane.  Once  again,  remember 
this  is  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  pilot  in  command.  Courtesy 
and  curiosity  should  dictate  be- 
ing aware  of  the  pilot's  radio 
equipment  belbre  considering 
die  addition  t>r amateur  commu- 
nications. Navigation  is  gener- 
ally between  108  and  1 18  MHz. 
Communicaiions  among  aircraft 
or  beiv^een  aircraft  and  the 
gRiund  are  generally  conducted 
between  118  to  137  MHz.  These 
fi^quenctes  use  amplitude  m(x!u- 
lation,  wliich  is  not  as  commnidy 
used  as  either  FM  or  single  side- 
band>  Tve  read  \arious  anicles 
which  Slate  dial  this  is  because 
there  is  too  much  old  equipment 
to  convert  to  FM.  but  there  is 
also  another  explanation  which 
nuiv  be  more  accurate.  FM  receiv- 
ers capture  the  stronger  of  two 
signals,  whereas  AM  allows  two 
signals  to  bodi  be  heard  to  some 
degi^ee.  With  AM,  if  an  aircraft 
were  to  make  an  etnergencv  call 


while  another  aircraft  were 

transmitting,  the  emergency  call 
could  be  heard.  Some  aire  rait 
may  have  other  navigational  tc- 
ceivcrs  (ox  nondirectional  radio 
beacons  (NDB)  or  for  the  glo- 
bal pusitioning  satellite  system. 
Interestingly,  aircraft  are  not  re- 
quired to  have  radio  equipment 
if  not  flown  in  an  area  which  is 
under  air  traffic  control,  al- 
though iiTosi  do  have  several  ra- 
dios, often  backed  up  by  an 
aviation  hand  handie-talkie. 

An  aircrai't  with  radio  equip- 
ment operating  in  most  areas 
will  he  in  communication  with 
some  form  of  air  traffic  controL 
Tliis  mav  t>e  a  tower  of  a  center. 
If  no  traffic  control  is  available, 
a  common  frequency  will  be 
used  as  a  unicujn  or  cojiuiiun 
traffic  advisory  frequency  for  a 
panicularairlleld.  Many  aircraft 
will  use  a  second  radio  to  moni- 
tor the  emergency  frequency  of 
121 J  MHz,  which  is  used  both 
to  request  ass  [stance  and  by 
emergency  locator  beacons. 

Naturally,  operating  as  an 
aeronautical  ninbile  amateur  ra- 
dio station  will  have  cenatn  re- 
strictions based  on  room  for  a 
rig  and  an  antenna  UTtile  exter- 
nal antennas  can  be  configured 
from  many  frequencies,  the  an- 
tenna creates  drag  on  the  air- 
craft, which  mav  affect  its 
performance.  A  vertical  antenna 

C^yniinued  on  page  50 


and  chief  organ tzer  of  ARISS. 
His  three-stage  plan  to  make  a 
permanent  place  for  ham  radio 
on  the  buernational  Space  Sta- 
tion has  required  many  hours  of 
dedicated  effort. 

The  first  stage  of  Frank's  plan 
calls  for  two-meter  and  70-cm 
FM  capabiUty  with  an  external 
antenna.  In  addition  in  voice,  an 
automatic  packet  BFiS  (bulletin- 
board  system)  would  be  in- 
cluded. The  radios  would  be 
imrinsically-safe  commercial 
HTs  from  Ericsson.  Thev  are 
simple  to  operate,  include 
screen  displays  for  frequency 
and  other  data,  and  cdi\  be  eas- 
ily reprogrammed  in  orbit  via 


the  laptop  computers  carried  on 
the  ISS.  The  TNC,  or  Terminal 
Node  Controller,  for  packet  op- 
eration is  to  be  a  PicoPacket  unit 
from  PacComm.  It  should  func- 
tion in  a  very  similar  fashion  to 
the  uniicurrenilv  on  MIR^ 

The  second  stage  of  the 
project,  in  about  five  years,  is  to 
arrange  for  space  on  an  Express 
Pallet.  This  is  an  externaily 
motmted  experiment  container 
tiv^i  ean  be  loaded  with  ham  gear 
that  can  emulate  a  ham-radio 
satellite  and  attached  to  the  ISS. 
The  contents  are  not  brought 
aboard  the  station,  but  are  pow- 
ered from  the  ISS  and  can  be 
controlled  from  the  statinn  or 


from  the  gromrd.  A  repeater  or 
OSCARlike  linear  transponder 
system  could  he  built  into  die  con- 
lainer.  complete  with  external 
antennas. 

The  third  and  final  currently- 
plaimed  stage  of  the  >VRJSS  pro- 
e;ram  includes  ham  near  in 
permanent  rack  space  in  the 
habitation  module  of  the  space 
siaiion.  The  proposal  has  been 
approved  and  the  gear  is  in 
development. 

Goals  for  the  svstem  include 
voice,  packet,  satellite  and  ATV 
(Amateur  Television  J  concur- 
rent operation.  Based  on  the 
goals,  the  envisioned  hardware 
would  require  24  inches  of  rack 


space  and  would  draw  200 
watts,  Multiple  transceivers 
would  be  used  to  cover  10 
meters,  two  meters,  70  cm,  23 
cm  and  higher  bands.  Power 
output  will  be  five  to  25  watts 
except  on  ATV,  where  lOU  watts 
is  more  appropriate.  External 
onvni  antennas  would  be  incor- 
porated except  for  gain  antennas 
Un  satellite  uJid  liigh-daia-rate 
disital  communicaiions. 

The  ARISS  program  is  pn> 
gressing  verv^  well  with  partners 
from  tnany  countries.  You  can 
study  the  details  tor  yourself  via 
the  Internet.  Start  at  the  URL 
lhltp://garc,gsfc,nasa,go_v/ 
-ariss/]. 


1 


73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    47 


New  Products 


NumbBr  4&  on  your  fsedbsQk  cBrd 


\ 


I 


\ 


3  El  6  m  Yagi  from  MFJ 

A  direcljonal  anlciina  is  es* 
sentLiI  lor  long-disiance  VHF 
communication.  B>  linjusing 
transmitter  power  onto  ihe  ho- 
rizon in  a  single  dircLtioii. 
MFFs  three-element  six-meier 
yagi.  Ihe  new  MFJ- 1 762,  qtm- 
drtiples  effective  radiated 
power  over  a  half- wave  dipole, 

Al  the  same  time,  the  sensi* 
liviiy  toward  ilie  front  of  the 
anicnim  is  greatly  improved, 
while  unwarned  noise  and  in- 
terference are  minimi/ed. 


Snip,  Snap 


did  you  last  replace 
your  wire  cuuers?  Wouldn't  it 
be  nice  lo  make  effortless  flush 
cuts  on  copper,  annealed  steel, 
and  allowed  wires — ^clean. 
squaie  cuts?  \ou  bcL  So  check 
out  Xurnn  Corptvra!ion\  l.X 


Series  Micro-Shear^  Hush  cut* 
ters,  They  nestle  tuiiiforlably 
in  your  hand  and  the  patented 
Light  Touch^^^*  return  spring 
needs  just  that.  Millions  of 
beautiful  cuts  for  $13.00 — or 
S  14.00,  if  you  go  for  the  ta- 
pered LXT  version*  or  the 
LXF.  wiih  ji5  facior>  installed 
lead  retainer  to  prevent  flying 
leads.  For  more  information, 
contact  Xuron  Corporation.  60 
hiduitrial  Park  Road,  Saco  ME 
04072;  call  (207)  283-1401: 
FAX  1207)  283-0594:  or  Ujok 
around  where  you  buy  better 
tools. 


Two  MFJ- 1 762s  can  be  slacked 
to  double  the  transmitter  FRP 
and  the  received  signal  over  a  ' 
single  anienna.  Stacked  anten- 
nas have  greater  capture  area, 
which  can  improve  reception 
even  more* 

The  MFJ'  1 762  is  an  excellent 
choice  for  six-meter  portable  or 
rover  operation  because  of  its 
compact  size  (six-foot  boomK 
light  weight  (two  pounds),  and 
easily  removed  elements.  It's 
bargain-priced  atS69.95^and 
of  course  it*s  covered  by  MFJ  *s 
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unconditianal  warrant  v.  See 
your  dealer  or  call  (800)  647- 
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(601 )  323-6551 :  or  write  to  MFJ 
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We  Could  Show  You  the  Photo  ... 

...  but  then  we'd  have  lu  kill  you.  You  know,  those  covert- 
action  agency  guys  lake  ihese  Lintennas  very  seriously.  So  can 
you — aiiiennas  designed  Wrv  the  FBI,  US  Marshalls,  DBA.  ei  al., 
are  now  avaihibk'  on  ham.  SWL,  and  scanner  frequencies! 

If  you  need  slcakh  antennas  for  HF,  VHF.  or  UHF,  or  if  you 
need  high-pcrlonnaiice,  low-cosi  invisible  antennas,  you  should 
be  browsing  Ihrougli  Hamco's  new  catalog  of  covert  antennas. 
It\s  packed  wilh  infornialioii  about  hidden  antennas,  and  all  you 
need  to  get  one  is  $2.00  for  shipping  ik  handling.  Send  the  two 
bucks  to:  FlilCK.  Sie.  f239193,  3590  RcmndboLlotii  Road.  Cin- 
cinnati OH  45244-3026,  [uid  request  the  Hidden  Antennas  cata- 
log. You  dun' I  even  have  to  give  a  password. 


I 


I 


Code  Practice  for  Your  Connmute 

Buckmaster's  Copy  This  and  Paxs^^^  audio  CD  collection  wi 
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Keys  of  the  (United)  Kingdom 

Gordon  Cnou  hurst  G4ZPY,  as  aficionados  are  awafe,  has  long 
been  handcrafting  premiumqualily  keys  and  paddles.  The 
straight  keys  range  from  simple  brass  keys  on  stone  bases  to  the 
Sovereign  presentation  key;  with  engraved  plaque.  British  gold 
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Paddles  range  from  the  postage  slamp-sized  ihree-in-one  to 
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48   73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


Rduertisers'  Indek 


351  Absolute  \felue  Systems ...  38 

68  Advanced  BaAery  Systems  1 6 

•  All  Electronics  Corp. ■,..  23 

•  Antennas  &  More 59 

16     Astron  COTpora!ion 1 

il     Barry  Electronics  Cojp 37 

^     Bilai  Company €1 

168  Buckmasier  Publishing  „,.  19 

Hi     Buckmaster  Publishing 54 

222     Byers  Chassis  Kits 61 

184  C  d  S  Sales,  Inc. ..............  35 

186    Coaxial  Dynamics ..-...-.  25 

99  Communicalbn  Concepts    11 

to  Communications  Speciajists35 

13      Doppler  Systems „.  39 


114      EH.  Yost  .. 

75      Fair  Radio  Sales 


193     GGTE 


page 

19 

57 


7a     Hamsure  «. _ ..,  33 

•  Hamtronics,  Inc. CV2 

*  iCOM  America.  Pnc .-.„...  7 

42     isotfon 61 

243  Jan  Crystals  ..,„„„«..«.......  59 

156  Japan  Racflo  Co. ............  CVS 

KachJna  CommuriicationsCV4 

275  Lake  view  Company  Inc. ...  11 

150     Llttllte ,....37 

335     Menu  Plus 5 

96      MFJ  Enterprises...... »*.„*& 

150  Mtcrp  Compyter  Concepts  €1 


B.S.#  page 

136     Milestone  Technologies  ....  33 

136     Morse  Express  ,,.. 33 

193     Morse  Tutor  GoW  ..»»..,.....  25 

246     Molron  Electronics  *,.« 57 

64      Mouser  Electronics  , 53 


114     Mr.  isiicd 


...19 


page 


•  MultlFAX  .................,....„,_  55 

64  NCG »„.«33 

•  OCENS ..49 

•  Omega  Sales 49 

«  PC  Electronics  .,.,..„,... 61 

•  Peel  Bros .„., ,„  21 

66  Perlphex 16 

•  Radio  Book  Shop 6 

«  Radio  Book  Shop  .„,„„,..„„.  6 


B.S.# 

•  Fladio  Book  Shop ,  23 

•  Radio  Book  Shop  .............  62 

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34  Ramsey  Etecimnics  ,»„„„„,  2 

•  RF  Pans ,.„ $i 

254  Ross  Distribuling . 54 

36  ScrambHng  News 38 

241  Season  Connpary ..,.„..  54 

167  Sescom,  Inc.  ..,,...„„„.„ 59 

141  The  Nicad  Lady 11 

•  Thomas  Miller.. 26 

22  Tri-Ex  Tower  Corp .,  41 

•  Universal  Radio .53 

•  Wm.  M.  Nye  Co.  .,♦.....- 59 


When  you  buy  products  from  these  adverttsef,  please  tell  them  that  you  saw  their  ads  In  73. 

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73  Amateur  Radio  Today  *  December  1998   49 


Number  50  on  your  i^eedback  card 


The  Digitrl  Port 


Jack  Heller  KB7NO 
P.O.  Box  1792 
712  Highland  Street 
Carson  Cily  NV  89703 
[iheH6r@sierra.net] 


^fon  may  have  read  or  heard 
,€ii0iments  about  the  stale  of 
amateur  radio  and  how  wc  need 
to  get  off  our  duffs  and  gei  back 
lo  culliag-edge  lechnology.  Tlial 
is,  wc  need  lo  gel  beyond  the 
work!  ol  rag-chewing  on  repeal- 
ers and  SSB.  There  are  commer- 
cial out  fits  out  there  who  are 
wiOing  lo  push  hams  right  off 
the  spectrum  map  so  they  can 
purchase,  uitli^e  and  make 
bucks  using  the  frequencies  wc 
lake  tor  granted. 

Additionally,  these  capitalists 
justify  their  right  to  purchase 
**Oiir  air  space"  by  taking  the 
position  that  ham  radio  has 
ceased  to  contribute  to  the  de* 
velopmcnt  of  the  an  of  commu- 
nication and  is  merely  Following 
its  lead.  If  that  isn't  enough, 
many  Incni  government  emer- 
guncy  coordinators  are  not  st^kl  i  m 
the  value  of  ham  radio  in  an  emcr- 
gcncy  and  choose  to  rely  on  ihcir 
own  sophisticated  syslems. 


While  pondering  these  vicw- 
points»  I  reviewed  a  recent  letter 
from  Bob  W6EUZ  concerning 
his  experiences  with  SSTV.  He 
wrote  because  he  had  read  t>f 
some  of  my  experiences  and  felt 
he  could  help  mc  "gel  a  grip" 
(my  phrase — not  Bob's)  on  re- 
ality about  HF  SSTV  in  the 
western  stales. 

Bob  was  not  having  the  in- 
stant success  I  had  promised  and 
expressed  some  needs  for  pos- 
sible organization  of  40>  and  80- 
meter  SSTV  activitv  out  west. 
The  more  I  ilioughi  about  ihib, 
the  more  sense  il  made.  Experi- 
ence had  taught  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult at  best  to  work  the  folks  in 
the  east  on  14.230  \vithoul  an 
amplifier  (At  this  writing.  I  am 
Slid  without  the  amplincr  that 
smoked  during  a  reccnl  RTTY 
session.) 

As  the  above  two  facts 
chewed  on  my  senses  tor  a  few 
days,  it  became  obvious  that 


something  more  in-depth  than  the 
return  letter  to  Bob  was  justified. 
He  hadn't  left  his  phone  number, 
so  1  started  tracking  it  duw  n.  This 
was  a  little  comicaL  My  first  at- 
fempt  was  to  look  in  the  Internet 
*%hite  pages"  listings. 

There  was  one  listing  that  al- 
most fit  Bob's  description,  and 
1  called  hoping  it  was  a  relative. 
No,  there  are  just  a  lot  of  list- 
ings with  the  same  lirsi  and  last 
name.  But  I  had  the  area  code 
now.  Still  il  would  seem  that 
one  of  fhe  on-line  databases 
should  come  through*  I  was  be- 
gii^ning  to  think  he  was  unlisted. 

One  more  try.  Dialed  inlor- 
tnation  on  the  otd-fashioned 
land  fine  and  ...  Bingo!  I  had  a 
number  The  lesson?  Those  da- 
tabases on  the  Net  are  not  com- 
plete. Enough  of  that.  I  could  have 
saved  45  minutes,  but  you  know 
the  male  ego  when  it  comes  to 
slopping  to  ask  for  directions. 

Bob  had  some  interesting  in- 
put. He.  like  most  of  us*  at- 
tempts to  be  a  frugal  ham,  SSTV 
can  be  done  on  a  budget,  as  I 
have  demonstrated,  but  filings 
go  wrong.  He  told  me  of  a  nifty 
new  unit  by  Kenwood  that  1  had 
noi  heard  about.  I  looked  up  a 
description  of  il.  U  appears  to  be 
a  digital  camera  that  nut  only 
interfaces  to  the  computer  hut 
also  to  Kenwood  radioes,  it  is 
model  VC-Hl. 


Ttiai  sounds  very  inno\  ative 
and  should  be  an  ideal  setup.  He 
says  il  works  great  interfaced  to 
his  Kenwood  HT  for  VHF  as 
well  as  to  his  Kenwood  HF  rig, 
but  that  the  compan>  ib  still 
workjno  out  the  details  (cables) 
to  work  with  other  rigs.  I  found 
the  scam  details  listed  on  the 
Kenwood  Web  siie.  but  Bob*s 
info  filled  in  ihc  chinks.  The 
little  camera  should  be  a  great 
addition  to  anyone's  array  of 
Kenwood  gear  and  other  lines  as 
cables  are  made  available. 

Bob  and  1  arranged  to  meet 
on  40  meters  ihe  next  day  to  see 
what  conditions  were  like,  They 
sounded  good*  so  wc  made  tin 
attempt  on  the  next  weekday 
morning  to  try  a  litllc  SSTV 
operation.  It  looked  good  at 
about  7 J 65  and  I  sent  him  an 
image  which  was  recognizable 
on  his  screen— far  from  first  rate 
but,  nevertheless,  a  workable 
image. 

This  was  without  the  help  of 
an  amplifier  or  any  fancy  an- 
tenna at  either  end.  What  was 
suiprising  to  mc  was  that  there 
was  something  close  to  that  fre- 
quency that  was  cutting  up 
Bob's  SSB  signal  badly,  yet  the 
audio  carrying  Ihe  image  still 
worked.  At  least  we  came  uway 
assured  that  low^  power  was  not 

Continued  on  page  5 1 


On  The  Go 

continued  from  page  47 

will  be  limited  to  VHF  or  UHF 

frequencies,  while  an  HF  antenna 
would  create  a  greater  chal- 
lenge* It  is  possible  to  run  a  wire 
from  the  tail  of  the  plane  to  the 
fuselage,  or  to  trail  a  wire,  but 
these  arc  not  practical  for  most 
applications.  Fortunately,  a 
hnndie-ialkie  with  a  rubber  duck 
can  produce  some  interesting 
results,  so  we'll  stick  to  UHF  or 
VHP  frequencies. 

VHF  transmissions  are  lim- 
ited U\  line  of  sight,  which  is  one 
of  the  reasons  that  effective  ra- 
diated power  ( ERP)  is  a  func- 
tion of  output  power  and  the 
height  of  the  antenna.  A  few 


milliwatts  can  be  quite  efifective 
at  7500  feet  above  ground  level. 
This  is  one  of  the  reasons  that  it 
is  considered  very  bad  form  to 
ever  use  a  repeater  from  an  aero- 
nautical  mobile  unless  it  is  an 
emergency.  An  HT  in  an  air- 
plane can  bring  up  every  re- 
peater on  a  given  frequency  for 
hundreds  of  miles,  which  is  not 
appreciated  by  the  other  users  of 
those  repeaters.  Incidentally, 
this  is  another  reason  that  cellu- 
lar telephones  arc  not  permitted 
lo  be  used  on  aircraft  Since 
each  cellular  phone  is  low 
power,  the  expectation  is  that  il 
will  reach  only  a  few  cell  tow- 
ers and  the  computer  can  pick 
the  strongest  signal:  from  an  air- 
craft the  cellular  telephone 


would  sin^iiliifteously  affect 
many  cells  over  a  wide  area,  ere- 
atjng  problems  for  the  network. 
Simplex  frequencies  are  the 
way  to  go  for  aen)nauiical  mo- 
bile operations,  although  a  few^ 
more  caveats  are  in  order.  First, 
never  forget  tJiat  the  pilot  is  in 
full  command.  If  things  get  busy 
in  the  cockpit  and  he  or  she  tells 
you  to  cease  transmissitm,  you 
must  comply.  Second,  remem- 
ber thai  some  simplex  frcqucn' 
cies  have  designated  purposes. 
The  standard  two-meter  calling 
fi-equency  of  146.52  is  also  used 
as  the  wilderness  protocol  fre- 
quency, with  priority  the  tlrst  five 
minutes  past  the  hour  from  7:00 
a,m.  until  10:05  p.m.  This  is  why 
it  may  be  inten^^stin*!  to  lake  an 


^  HT  along  on  a  prixate  plane  even 
if  you  do  not  expect  to  transmit. 
If  the  pilot  in  command  allows 
you  to  at  least  monitor,  you  may 
be  surprised  by  what  you  hear 
from  that  aliiiudc.  Besides,  one 
more  working  radio  is  good  in- 
surance in  any  cockpit. 

What's  the  most  interesting 
place  you  operated  a  station,  ei- 
ther mobile  or  portable?  What's 
the  most  interestini:  ihinc  ihat 
has  happened  lo  you  when  op- 
erating? What  wt>uld  von  like  to 
do.  do  again,  or  do  differcnl?  Let 
mc  know,  either  by  E-tnail  or 
snail-mail  to  the  address  at  the 
lop  of  the  column.  I  hear  a  lot 
of  mobile  and  portable  stations 
out  tlicre.  Why  not  share  your 
experience? 


50  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1 998 


a  hindrance  to  working  slow 
scan  on  40  meters* 

What  IS  needed  is  u  clear  fre- 
quency ai  the  righl  time  of  day. 
In  ihe  eastern  pari  of  ihe  coun- 
try, the  recommended  frequency 
is  7. 1 7 1 .  However,  neither  of  us 
had  heard  a  40-mclcr  slow  scan 
signal  from  this  end  of  the  coun- 
try and  there  is  an  apparent 
broadcast  signal  close  by. 

We  decided  to  meet  as  often 
as  we  could  in  the  early  pan  of 
the  aflemoon  ai  7.100,  a.^  ihat 
sounded  like  it  had  the  least  in- 
terference. Bob  was  in  a  iransi- 
tinn  between  rigs  and  1  had  to 
be  out  of  town,  so  it  was  a  week 
or  so  befon^  we  gin  our  schedule 
together. 

Incidentallv.  iher^  is  SSTV 

activity  oii3  J85, 1  ran  aonoss  it 
one  evening.  An  anempt  to  copy 
failed  due  to  the  splauer  from 
an  adjacent  (about  3  kHz  away) 
ham  engaged  in  ensuring  he 
could  he  heard  in  the  next 
counly.  Been  ihal  way  ever  since 
I  can  recall  on  75  meters.  Tliere 
must  be  some  simple  justifica- 
tion lor  the  California  Kilowatt, 
hut  I  have  never  heard  iL 


What  does  this  mean  fur  40- 
meter  SSTV  in  the  w est?  If  vou 
arc  like  nianv  of  us  who  feel  it 

■V' 

shouldn*  t  take  a  megabuck/- watt 

station  to  play  with  SSTV.  lis- 
ten around  7.190  at  approxi- 
niaiely  1  to  1:30  p.m.  Pacific 
lime.  If  you  cnrne  by  when  ihcrc 
is  no  activity,  give  a  call.  There 
may  be  someone  just  like  you 
listening  for  an  organized  net,  A 
net  it  is  not.  It  is  just  a  place  to 
meet  to  uy  t>ut  some  of  this  fun 
stuff  and  exchange  ideas. 

As  I  was  talking  to  Boh,  sev- 
eral ideas  came  to  mind.  The 
first  was  establishing  a  place  and 
time  to  play.  Another  was  the 
fact  that  most  folks  who  would 
like  to  get  involved  don't  know 
where  to  stan  and  soon  discover 
a  lot  of  the  ad \  ice  falls  short  or 
just  plain  misses  the  mark. 

Don't  let  it  get  confusing 

Many  of  today's  digital  modes 
require  a  relatively  small  invest- 
ment- especially  when  com- 
pared with  a  few  years  back 
when  the  approach  was  expensive 
hardware.  Computers  have 
made  a  huge  difference. 


To  get  started  in  SSTV,  1  tell 
people  thai  with  a  good  com- 
puter ihc}  can  get  their  feet  wet 
for  under  $50.  One  method  in- 
cludes using  free  soHware  (EZ 
SSTV  from  Pasokon)  and  build- 
ing a  serial  modem  as  described 
on  the  Pasokon  Web  site  (see 
Table  I)  plus  cables,  If  you  ap- 
proach it  this  way.  you  witi  have 
a  lot  of  fun  watchine  somethine 
work  thai  vou  have  built  from 
scratch.  This  is  DOS  program- 
ming and  it  works.  If  you  like 
what  you  see,  they  have  upgrades 
for  exU^a  bucks  and  you  can  en- 
joy U'uly  great  perlbruiajiceH 

There  is  another  way  that  is 
even  more  painless  in  the  pock- 
etbook  for  a  budget  introduction 
to  SSTV.  This  one  uses  the 
soundboard  in  your  PC.  w  i  th  no 
modem  to  build,  and  no  hard- 
ware except  a  few  cables.  Con- 
nect vour  transceiver  to  vour 
PC.  and  you  are  in  business.  The 
initial  otUlav?  Tlie  cost  of  the 
cables.  I  used  some  old  audio 
cable  v^  ith  a  few  new  plugs  and 
eot  the  svstem  workine  for  un- 
der  Slot  Check  out  ChromaPIX 
in  Table  L 


There  is  a  slight  catch,  but  it 

is  not  reaOv  anno^in^.  This  is 
shareware — a  lot  of  work  went 
into  it,  and  the  authors  deserve 
to  be  paid  if  the  program  works 
for  you.  The  program  is  not 
crippled  and  you  can  use  it  for- 
ever without  registering,  but  it 
will  only  run  for  30  minutes  at 
a  time  until  you  pay  your  dues. 
You  will  find  that  is  enough 
lime,  if  you  plan  your  sessions 
wiseh ,  to  get  a  g(x>d  feel  for  this 
excellent  program  and  decide  if 
it  is  for  you. 

Help  for  your  soundcard 
SSTV  operation 

One  of  the  problems  when 
using  a  soundcard  for  digital 
coiiununications  r^  that  there  is 
no  way  for  the  soundcard  to  au- 
tomatically operate  the  pushto- 
talk  (PTT)  on  the  transceiver. 
When  I  first  tested  the  Cliroma- 
PIX  program  I  found  that  Uic 
method  to  tniliate  the  transmis- 
sion of  an  image  was  to  manu- 
ally place  my  rig  in  transmit 

Cordinued  on  page  56 


Current  Web  Addresses 

Source  for: 

Web  address  (URL) 

HF  seria  modem  plans  +  software 

http://www,accessone.com/-tmayhanyindex.him 

PCFlexnetcomiTiunications  free  programs 

http://d10td,afthd.tb-darmstadt,de/-f!exnet/index.html 

Tom  Sailer's  info  on  PCRexnet       -                                           i 

http:>/www.ife.ee.ethz.ch/-^sailer/pcf/ 

SV2AGW  free  Win95  programs 


http :// w  WW.  f  0  rth  net .  g  r/s  v  2a  g  w/ 


Bay  Com  -  German  site 


http://www,baycom.de/ 


Pasokon  SSTV  programs  &  hardware 


ht1p://www.uHranet.Gom/-'Sstv/lite.htmf 


Winpack  shareware  for  Windows 


http://www.duGkles.demon.co;uk/ham/wp.htm 


Baycom  1 ,5  and  Manual.zip  in  English 


Source  for  BayPac  BP-2M 


Tucson  Amateur  Packet  Radio — where  packet  started — new 

modes  on  the  way 


http:y/w  wwxs.wvu.edu/-acm/gopher/SoftwarejTjayconi/ 


htlpiy/www.tigertronics.conn/ 


'  TIMC  to  radio  wiring  help 


http:y/wwwJapr  org 


http://prairie.lakes.com/--meclcalf/ztx/wire/ 


ChromaPIX  &  W95SSTV 


http://www.silicQnpixels.com/ 


Timewave  DSP  &  former  AEA  prod 


http://www,ti  mewave.com 


VHF  packet  serial  modem  kit 


http://wwwJdgetectrQnics.CQm 


Table  L  Current  Web  addresses.  All  of  ihe  above  were  cm  and  parted  direaly  from  rhe  Web  page  fo  avoid  the  inevitable  errors  h  Aeif 
copying.  If  you  encounter  a  problem  \\ith  a  European  address,  the  netivork  is  often  at  fault.  Try  again  later. 

73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    51 


73  VINTAGE  REVIEW 


Numtysr  52  on  your  F^tdtsck  c^rd 


The  Drake  TR  Series: 
No  Introduction  Needed 

.,buf  here^s  the  skinny  on  some  of  the  best  vintage  equipment  available  today. 


BiU  Clarke  W2BLC 

764  Altamont-Voorhaesville  Road 

Altamom  NY  12009 

[BillClarke@bigfoot.com] 


In  ihc  early  1960s,  ihe  R.L.  Drake 
Company  introduced  a  very  suc- 
cessful line  ofSSB  ham  cqaipmcnl.  As 
a  resull.  Drake  equipmenl  became 
tnown  for  its  high  quality  and  high 
dollar  \aiue.  Tt>day,  Drake  equipment 
is  again  becominj;  pupuLir,  as  \  image 
equfpment^rcpnesenting  an  era  of  ham 
radio '^5  past 

Capability- wise,  Ihe  Drake  TR  se- 
ries ol  HF  uranscei\  ers  o Iters  good  sia-  i 
biliiy,  has  excellent  receivers  with 
great  selectivity,  and  can  do  better  than 
200  wutl5  outpul.  Another  real  positive 
feature  Is  that  they  are  supported  by  a 
company  thai  is  still  in  business. 

The  TR-3 

The    Drake    TR-3,    introduced    in 

1963.  was  Drake's  first  HF  transceiver, 

r 


Photo  A,  The  face  phte,  with  dials  in 
dunwd  good  shape,  of  rhe  TR-4C.  Phoms 
by  Joel  Thitndl  KSPSV. 

52  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


It  was  to  become  the  basis  for  the 
TR'4  series  thai  followed. 

The  TR-3  used  three  lubes  in  the  final 
RF  amplirier,  as  do  aJI  the  TR  series 
ifaiisceiveiTi.  unlike  its  contemporaries  from 
CoUias.  HalUcrdJteni.  and  National 

The  chassis  of  the  TR-3  is  copper- 
plated,  although  most  units  you  will 
see  today  have  some  xuhi  showing 
through.  The  IVont  pinel  is  labeled  by 
reverse  engraving  (brushed  meiu!  thai 

is   sliiihth    hiiiher   than    the   painted 

■b-      »        ^>  i^ 

background).  There  is  very  little  in  the 

TR-3  ihul  is  solid  state, 

A  new^  TR-3  sold  for  $550,  Accesso- 
ries were  priced  at:  AC  supply  $79.95, 
MS  3  speaker  SI 9.95,  RV-3  remote 
VFO  $79.95.  In  1 998  dollars  the  entire 
station  would  ha\c  cost  about  $35U0, 

SpecifiLations  for  the  TR-3 

GENERAL 

•Frequency  coverage;  10-80  meters 
in  seven  600  kHz  ranses 

•Modes:  LSB,  USB.  CW,  and  AM 

•Built-in  sidctone 

•Automatic  T/R  switching  on  CW 

•30  lubes  and  semiconductors 

•VFO  with  I  kHz  dial  divisions  (on 
the  VFO  knob  skin) 

•Dimensions:  5-1/2  inches  high,  10- 
3/4  inches  wide,  14-3/8  inches  deep 


•Weight:  16  lbs. 

TRANSMIT 

•Input  pi>wer:  SSB  300  watts  PEP 
•AM  260  waits   PEP  controlled 
carrier 
•CW  260  w  alts 
•Adju  stable  pi -network 
•VOX  or  PTT 

RECEIVE 

•Scnsitiviiy:  >]/2  (.iVfor  lOdB  S/N 
•IF  selectivity:  2 J  kHz  @  6dB 
•3.6  kHz  m  60  dB 

•AGC  (fast  attack,  slow  release  in 
high  noise)  , 

•RF  izain  control 
•Noise  blanker 
•Diode  detector  lor  AM  lipcpiion 

ACCESSORIES 
•MS-3  Mytching  speaker 
•RV-3  Remote  VFO  (XMIT/RX  or 
split  operation) 
•AC-3  Power  supply  (120  VAC) 
•DC-3  Power  supply  (12  VDC) 

# 

The  TR-4  series 

Progressing  from  the  TR-3  into  the 
TR-4  series,  the  early  TR-4  transceiv- 
ers had  a  TR-3-stvlc  main  tuning  knob 
(kHz.    markings    on    the    VFO    knob 


Phoia  B.  Rear  view. 

skirt).  The  9  MHz  sideband  filters  used 
in  early  TR^s  are  four  poles  and  are 
enclosed  in  sealed  boxes.  The  tubular 
capacitors  used  in  the  radio  are  white 
in  color  and  were  manufactured  by 
CD.  No  noise  blanker  control  is  oa  the 
front  panel  and  there  are  no  provisions 
for  its  installation  (no  receptacle)  on 
the  chassis. 

Late  TR^  transceivers  have  the  TR- 
4C  style  main  tuning  knob  (1  kHz  divi- 
sions on  the  dial),  a  VFO  "in  use" 
indicator  (used  in  conjunction  with  a 
remote  VFO),  and  some  front  panel 
markings  different  in  color  from  the 
early  units.  The  9  MHz  filters  have 
eight  poles.  Internally,  the  tubular  ca- 
pacitors are  yellow  in  color  and  manu- 
factured by  CDE.  There  is  a  noise 
blanker  control  on  the  front  panel  and 
provisions  for  its  installation  on  the 
chassis. 

As  with  the  TR-3,  the  TR-4  series 
chassis  was  copper-plated  until  the 
TR-4C  came  along.  After  that  time,  it 
was  no  longer  plated. 

The  TR4CW/R1T  was  the  final 
model  in  ihe  Drake  TR  scries.  Appear- 
ance-wise, it  has  the  RJT  control  posi- 
tioned tn  the  lower  right-hand  comer 
where  the  noise  blanker  control  was  on 
earlier  models.  Two  push  switches  on  the 
lower  front  of  the  panel  turn  the  RTT  and 
noise  blanker  functions  on/off. 


Photo  C\  The  top  view  of  the  interior.  Note 
the  noise  blanker. 


By  the  time  the  series  had  worked  its 
way  through  to  the  TR-4CW/R1T,  the 
following  features  had  been  added: 

•CW  sidetone 
•Optional  noise  blanker 
•Receiver  incremental  tuning  (RIT) 
•Selectable  500  Hz  CW  filter 
•Redesigned  dial   showing    1    kH? 

calibration  points 
•Redesigned  main  tuning  knob 
•Relative  RF  power  output  monitor 
•Changed  final  tubes  from  1 2JB6s  to 

6JB6S 
•Solid  stale  FIX)  (permeability-tuned 

oscillator) 
•Fully  silk-screened  front  pan^l 

Overall,  the  TR-3  and  TR-4  series  of 
transceivers  saw  few  major  changes 
externally  and  only  what  amounted  to 
upgrades  internally.  Also,  some  bells 
and  whistles  were  added  along  the 
way,  such  as  the  noise  blanker,  op- 
tional filters,  and  RIT 

Drake  made  a  15-year  run  of  this  se- 
ries before  moving  on  to  fully  solid 
state  equipment,  and  then  slipping  into 
obscurity  in  the  ham  radio  field. 

Specifications  for  the  TR-4 
($599v95  in  1965,  less  power  supply) 

GENERAL 

•All  amateur  bands  10-80  meters  in 
seven  600  kHz  ranges 

•Solid  state  VFO  with  1  kHz  dial  di- 
visions 

•Modes:  LSB,  USB,  CW,  and  AM 

♦Built-in  sidetone  and  automatic  T/R 
switching  on  CW 

•30  tubes  and  semiconductors 

•Solid  state  VFO  with  1  kHz  dial  di- 
visions (on  the  VFO  knob  skirt) 

•Dimensions:  5-1/2  inches  high,  10- 
3/4  inches  wide,  14-3/8  inches  deep 

•Weight:  16  lbs. 

TRANSMIT 

•VOX  or  PTT  on  SSB  or  AM 
•Input  power:  SSB  300  watts  PEP 
•AM  260  watts  PEP  controlled 
carrier 
•CW  260  watts 
•Adjustable  pi-network 

RECEIVE 

•Sensitivity:  >l/2  jiV  for  10  dB  S/N 


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•IF  selectivity:  2.1  kHz  @  6  dB 

•3.6  kHz  @  60  dB 
•AGC  full  on  receive  modes 
•Variable  with  RF  gain  control 
•Fast  attack,  slow  release  with  noise 
pulse  suppression 
•Diode  detector  for  AM  reception 

ACCESSORIES 
•MMK-3  Mobile  mounting  kit 
•MS-4  Matching  speaker 
•AC-4,  DC -4  Power  supplies 
•RV_4  Remote  VFO  (includes  five- 
inch  speaker)  and  space  for  AC  supply 
•34-NB  Noise  blanker 

m 

The  TR-4C  sold  for  $599.99  in  1972 
(less  power  supply).  Here's  how  it 
compared: 

GENERAL 

•All  amateur  bands  10^80  meters  in 
seven  600  kHz  ranges 

•500  MHz  CW  filter  on  CW  models 

•Solid  state  VFO  with  1  kHz  dial 
divisions 

•RIT  (receive  incremental  tuning)  on 
CW/RIT  model 

•Modes:  LSB,  USB,  CW,  and  AM 

•Built-in  sidetorie  and  automatic  T/R 
switching  on  CW 

•30  tubes  and  semiconductors 

•Dimensions:  5-1/2  iiK;hcs  high,  103/4 
inches  wide,  14-3/8  inches  deep 

•Weight:  16  lbs. 

TRANSMIT 

•VOX  or  PTT  on  SSB  or  AM 

•Input  power:  SSB  300  watts  PEP 

•AM  260  watts  PEP  controlled  carrier 

•CW  260  watts 

•Adjustable  pi-network 

RECEIVE 

•Sensitivity:  >l/2  ^V  for  10  dB  S/N 
•IF  selectivity:  2  J  kHz  @  6  dB 
•3,6  kHz  @  60  dB 
•AGC  full  on  receive  modes 
■Viuriable  with  RF  gain  control 
•Fast  attack,  slow  release  with  noise 
pulse  suppression 
•Diode  detector  for  AM  reception 

ACCESSORIES 

•MMK-3  Mobile  mounting  kit 
•MS-4  Matching  speaker 
•RV-4C  Remote  VFO 


.AC-4,  DC-4  Power  supplies 
•FF-1  Fixed  freqiiehcy  adapter  (two 
fixed  channels) 

•34-PNB  Noise  blanker 

Getting  older 

Interested  in  getting  a  vintage  Drake 
rig?  When  purchasing,  owning,  or  using 
any  older  ham  gear,  lake  note:  Age  will 
lake  its  toll.  Below  is  a  list  of  several 
common  age-related  problems  associ- 
ated with  Drake  equipment: 

MECHANICAL 

•PTO  end  play  needs  adjustment 

•PTO  lubricant  dried  out 

•Vernier  drives  wear,  dry  out,  and 
become  stiff 

•Switch  and  control  shafts  dry  out 
and  become  stiff 

•Switch  contacts  wear  out,  corrode, 
or  get  dirty 

•Dirt,  dust,  and  rust  on  chassis 

ELECTRONIC 

•Electrolytics  dry  out  (particularly  in 
power  supplies) 

•Small  parts  such  as  resistors  and 
ceramic  caps  fry 
•AC  line  cords  need  replacing 
•Tubes  become  weak  with  use 
•Alignment  is  required  annually 
•Unknown  and  undocumented  modifi- 
cations by  past  owners 

APPEARANCE 
•Blemishes  on  case/face  plate 
•Lost  or  incorrect  screws 
•Control  knobs  missing,  damaged, 
or  discolored 
•Front  panel  spacers  missing 
•Dial  plates  scraped  or  discolored 
•Clear  plastics  are  scratched 
•Blue  filters  wash  out 

Maintenance  hints 

This  recommendation  is  not  just 
for  Drake  owners,  or  even  vintage 
equipment  owners;  it  applies  to  all  of 
us.  Start  and  maintain  a  logbook  for 
each  major  piece  of  equipment  you 
own  (transmitters,  receivers,  transceiv- 
ers,  amplifiers,  computers,  etc,)^  A 
single  logbook  will  suffice  for  all  the 
small  stuff,  such  as  tuners,  filters, 
scopes,  switching  systems^  and  anten- 


Photo  D.  Bottom  view, 

nas.  Don't  use  a  segmented  logbook, 
as  you  wiU  one  day  have  to  remove 
some  of  it  (when  you  sell  or  trade  a 
piece  of  equipment).  A  loose-leaf 
binder  with  dividers,  however,  would 
be  quite  appropriate. 

In  these  logbooks,  enter  information 
about  the  equipment,  including  its  his- 
tory, source,  past  owners,  price,  serial 
numbers  (for  insurance  purposes),  date 
of  purchase,  when  it  was  placed  into 
service,  and  other  comments*  Every 
time  you  perform  maintenance,  do  an 
alignment,  make  a  modification,  etc., 
make  a  logbook  enliy  describing  what 
work  was  done.  These  entries  can  prove 
invaluable  as  dme  passes — and  you  for- 
get what  you  have  di>ne  to  the  rig.  Re- 
vere engineering  of  past  mods  is  not 

A  complete  logbook  will  also  help  a 
new  owner  in  understanding  the  equip- 
ment and  anything  unusual  about  it 
(such  as  old  modifications). 

Owaiag  a  vintage  Drake 

A  vintage  piece  of  Drake  equipment 
is  a  piece  of  history.  It  is  also  a  rugged 
unit  designed  to  be  used  and  enjoyed. 
Do  just  that!  Get  it  on  the  air  and  have 
a  balK  Of  course,  seeing  that  the  rig  is 
probably  20  to  30  years  old,  a  little 
care  should  be  taken.  No  doubt  some 
servicing  will  be  necessary  before  you 
place  the  rig  on  the  air,  unless  you  got 
really  lucky  and  found  a  top-notch 
one.  However,  at  someiime  in  the  fu- 
ture you  will  be  servicing  it. 

Service  your  Drake 

Finil  and  foremost— get  a  manual  for 
the  rig  (original  or  copy).  An  "owner's" 
manual  will  normally  suffice,  as  back 
when  these  rigs  were  built,  most  hams 


serviced  and  aligned  their  own  equip- 
mcnl^ — hence  instructions  for  this 
work  were  a  pan  of  the  manual. 

These  Drake  transceivers,  like  other 
equipment  of  ihc  time,  did  not  use  PLLs, 
digital  systems,  elecU"onic  switching,  or 
logic  circuits.  Everything  was  ana- 
log^very  straightforward  and  easy  to 
understand  from  a  schematic  diagram. 

With  some  good  common  sense,  the 
ability  to  read  schematic  diagrams  and 
understand  cincuitiy,  and  armed  with  a 
minimum  of  equipment  and  tools,  most 
hams  should  be  capable  of  maintaining 
this  equipment. 

WARNING:  Unlike  modem  solid 
Slate  ham  equipment  using  12  VDC, 
tube  equipment  uses  voltages  that  can 
be  considered  lethal.  Know  what  you 
are  doing  BEFORE  you  venture  inside 
these  rigs. 

Hints  to  help 

Controls  {potentiometers)  that  sound 
noisy  (cause  crackling  to  be  heard) 
should  be  cleaned  chemically  If  this 
does  not  correci  the  problem,  the  offend- 
ing control  wiU  require  replacement 

Switch  contacts  can  become  inter- 
mittent or  nonconduclive.  Use  chemi- 
cal cleaners  to  correct  the  problem  or 
replace  the  switch,  switch  wafer,  or 
individual  contact 

Lubrication  can  be  made  easier  by 
using  a  medical-type  hypodermic  sy- 
ringe to  inject  lubricant  into  hard  to 
reach  and  tight  areas. 

Only  use  plastic  or  nylon  tools  for 
alignment  work.  They  w  ill  not  damage 
the  fragile  slugs. 

Over  the  years  I  have  found  it  better 
to  replace  relays  than  to  repair  them. 
Che  mica]  cleaning  may  help;  however, 
burnishing  them  is  only  very  tempo- 
rary in  effect,  with  failure  assured  to 
happen  again. 

Pull  each  tube  from  its  socket,  cli^k 
the  socket,  clean  it  and  the  tube's  pins 
chemically,  and  reinsert  the  tube, 

WARNING;  Chemical  cleaners  are 
not  friendly  to  the  user  or  to  the  environ- 
ment. Use  only  according  to  directions. 

A  prime  cause  of  intermittent  prob- 
lems is  terminal  strips  which  are  at- 
tached to  the  chassis  with  a  single 
screw,  nut  and  bolt,  or  rivet.  It  is  a 
good  idea  to  go  over  the  entire  rig  and 


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73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    55 


tighten  each  lermtnal  >irip.  If  rivets  are 
cnctninlered,  yt)ii  can  drill  ihem  out 
and  replace  them  vviih  nuls  and  bulls, 
when  necessary- 
Cases  and  hardware  can  be  cleaned 
us'm^z  LiLiloniotive  materials  such  as 
waxes  and  bulTcrs.  From  panels  are 
another  slory.  If  there  is  significant 
damage  or  wear  to  the  tronl  paneK  yi>u 
may  have  to  hire  the  work  out.  In 
many  cases  it  is  nearly  impossible  for 
an  individual  lo  do  the  work  and  set  it 
10  look  like  new. 

Use  hint 

With  all  those  vacuum  lubes  (glow- 
bugs)  packed  into  a  relatively  smaU 
cabinet  Drake  iran^^ceivers  make  great 
heaters — and  they  get  even  warmer 
when  transmitting, 

1  reci>mmend  vou  use  a  muffin  fan 


over  the  filial  lubes  to  provide  cooling. 

In  the  past.  1  have  put  rubber  feel  on  the 
mutlin  tans  and  just  set  them  on  the  top 
cm  en  This  works  and  doesn't  call  for 
drilling  or  cutting  holes  in  an}  thing. 

Drake  coiiipany 

Drake  still  offers  factory  support  for 
their  equipmcnL  c\en  iliimgh  some 
rigs  are  over  30  years  old.  For  more  in- 
ibrniaiion,  contact  the  l^l.L.  Drake 
Company  at  (513)  746-6990,  by  FAX 
at  (5 1 3)  743*4576  or  by  E-mail  (service 
related  onlyj  at  [hin_frosl@rldnike, 
com].  The  Drake  list  home  page  at 
[www,min-nci/%7Ethom/drakclisl/ 
index.html]  is  the  single  best  source 
of  Drake  inlbniialion  thai  1  have  found 
on  the  Internet.  The  Web  page  is  main- 
tained by  Thorn  LaCosia  K3HRN,  Be 
sure  to  visit  tlie  section  about  modifies- 


I  tions  lo  the  various  Drake  rigs  by 
Wayne  Montague  VE3EFJ:  it  is  very 
complete  and  cxlrcmely  interesting 
(you  could  and  should  spend  hours 
reading  this).  Thorn  also  maintains  the 
Drake  Mailing  List,  which  you  can 
learn  more  about  by  sending  an  E- 
mail  to  [drakcli-St-rcijuestt^'hallimorcmd. 
cxmh]  with  a  subject  of  [helpl*  The  list- 
server  will  reiuni  a  message  lo  you 
with  finlhcr  instructions. 

A  special  thanks  lo  Joel  Thurlell 
K8PSV  for  the  photos  used  in  this  ar- 
ticle, Joel  is  a  specialty  radio  dealer 
and  operates  The  Radio  Finder,  a  Web 
site  fi^r  the  buying,  trading,  and  selling 
of  lube- type  amateur  and  military  ra- 
dio equipment.  The  address  of  The  Ra- 
dio Finder  is  [wuvvradiotlnderxom] 
or  you  may  contact  him  at  11803 
Priscilla.  Plymouth  MI  48 1 70, 


Seeing  Dits  &  Dahs 

continued  from  page  30 

(from  any  starling  point)  most  often 
resulted  in  a  scries  ofTs  and  Es  being 
displayed  for  30  seconds  or  so,  and 
someiimcs  retiuired  a  ^'hard  vcseC  by 
turning  the  unit  oiX  and  then  on  again. 
Often  it  seemed  that  the  decoder  could 
correctly  interpret  characters,  but 
could  m)l  quile  figure  oul  ihe  breaks 
between  words. 

The  decoder  requires  a  very  steady 
signal,  so  using  it  to  receive  off  the  air 
is  dilTiLuh  imless  you  are  trying  to 
copy  a  WIAW  bulletin  or  something 


similar,  cbnsisting  of  perfect  code  with 
astiong  signal. 

But  the  Velleman  Morse  Decoder  is 
very  good  at  one  application,  and  that 
is  in  evaluating  hand- sent  code.  Since  I 
had  a  straight  key  hooked  up  to  my 
keyen  il  was  simply  a  matter  of  switch- 
ing over  10  the  key  to  determine  \\  hether 
I  can  send,  by  hand,  Morse  code  that  a 
machine  can  read-  The  answer  was  .., 
yes.  with  a  bit  of  praclicel  I  Ihoughl  my 
fist  was  better  tlian  iliat  but  it  didn't  take 
Ions  lo  coord inaie  sending  and  readins* 
SO  that  I  CiJulU  adjust  my  sending  to 
what  must  be  darned  near  periccl 
spacing  and  speed  consistency. 


As  a  training  aid  for  sendina*  Ihc  de- 
coder  has  considerable  potential  and 
could  be  worth  the  S89.95  price  tag. 

Sources: 

Velleman  Components  N,V, 

LcMn  Heirwei!  33,  B-9890  Ga\  ere, 

uiuni 
+32  (0)  9  384.36. 1 1 

[www.vcllcman.be] 


TechAmerica 

P.O.  Box  1981 

Ft.  Worth  TX76I0I-I981 

(8{)0>  613-7080 

[www.techam.ciiml 


I 


The  Digitrl  Port 

continut^d/ront  page  51 

I^Dde,  then  lell  the  program  lo 
transmit  the  image. 

Thn!  works  pLN-rccily  well,  hut 
How  ynu  Will  find  iwo  eircaiis 
delBiled  on  ihe  ChromaPK  Web 
sile  that  facilitate  simultaneous 
automaiiu  keying  of  the  trans- 
ceiver an  J  iransmiiuil  of  the 
image. 

I  opted  to  build  ihe  simpler 
circuit,  as  pieturcd  in  Photo  A» 
Lo  bring  one-handed  push-but- 
1011  operation  inio  the  shack. 
56  7B  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


So  ,„  what  are  w^e  going  to  do 
to  attract  youth  to  the  ham 
ranks?  What  do  kids  do  loday 
ihal  is  similar  lo  what  we 
thought  was  cuuiiig-edge  when 
TV  was  black  and  while?  (Oops, 
revealed  my  age.)  All  right — 
lei's  look  Qi  when  I  was  a  kid 
for  a  minute,  1  had  pui  together 
a  short w^ave  radio  trom  a  kit 
(Knight.  I  think — probably 
about  S20  woithj  and  listened  to 
the  most  fascinating  signals 
imaginable.  Ordinary  people 
were  talking  lo  each  other  from 
all  over  ihe  counU^y  and  some- 


limes  from  other  countries. 
They  were  having  tun  anil  I 
wanted  Ki  be  a  part  ut  iL 

Today  s  youth  are  caughi  up  in 
the  IiilemeU  satellite  TV',  hLUidhcld 
games,  cell  phones,  pagers  and  so 
many  gadgcis  and  toys  that  w  ere 
nearly  inconceivable  just  a  few 
years  back  except  for  readers  of 
**Buck  Rogers'*  comic  strips.  Thai 
is  quite  a  load  of  technology  to 
compete  w  idi,  and  1  doubt  ll  can 
be  done  by  making  hain  repealer 
access  available  to  the  masses. 
If  that  is  alt  ham  radio  has  to 
otter,  we  lose— big  lime. 


Ask  yourself:  What  holds  my 
interest  in  ham  radio*^  W'hv  am 
I  reading  this  maeazmc?  You 
know  the  answers.  There  are 
still  rrontieis  to  explore  via  ham 
radio  that  simply  are  not  avail- 
able by  purchasing  a  few  toys  at 
the  local  electronics  discount 
emporium  and  plugging  them  in. 

Those  toys  are  good  antl  u.^e= 
fuK  but  ihey  don't  make  the  user 
different.  He  cannot  express 
himself  any  dilTerently  than  ev- 
eryone else  who  made  the  same 
purchase*  He  can't  modify  and 
inipruve.  There  are  no  contests 


Neuer  shv  die 

continued  from  page  5 

student  is,  your  best  bet  for  learning  is 
reading  books.  The  trick  is  to  find  books 
that  are  both  easy  to  read  and  reliable. 
I've  made  a  stab  at  this  wiLh  my  Secret 
Guide  to  Wisdom  review  of  around  a 
hundred  outstanding  books.  But  I  keep 
asking  my  readers  and  listeners  to  keep 
their  minds  peeled  for  outstanding 
books.  And  Fve  been  keeping  Barnes  & 
Noble  busy  trying  lo  get  ihem  for  me. 

Improving  Your  Memory 

You  can  retain  virtually  everything 
you've  read  if  you  take  a  little  time  to  re- 
fresh your  memory.  This  is  a  secret  tech- 
nique that  I've  never  seen  mentioned  by 
anyone,  and  it  is  simple. 

This  is  best  done  with  the  help  of 
someone  else.  Someone  with  patience. 
They're  going  to  sit  down  with  you  and 
help  you  refresh  your  memory.  What 
you  do,  just  after  you've  finished  read- 
ing a  book,  is  to  sit  or  lie  down  and  get 
comfortable.  Close  your  eyes  and  go 
through  the  book,  from  beginning  to  end 
in  your  mind,  remembering  every  detail 
you  can.  Your  helper  will  stop  you  every 
now  and  then,  asking  you  where  you  are 
and  what  you  are  remembering.  Then 
you'll  continue  scanning  the  book. 
When  you  get  to  the  end,  go  back  and 
start  all  over  again,  remembering  every 
detail  from  the  first  scan,  and  adding  other 


parts  that  you  missed  the  first  time 
through,  as  they  come  to  mind.  You'll 
find  you  can  scan  the  first  run  through  in 
a  fraction  of  the  time,  but  without  skip- 
ping anything.  When  you  are  stopped 
you*  11  be  able  to  say  right  where  you  are 
tn  the  booL  By  the  fourth  scan  of  the 
book  you'll  take  just  seconds  to  cover 
every  detail  of  the  whole  book. 

Every  couple  of  months  you'll  want  lo 
refresh  your  recall  of  the  details,  so  scan 
the  book  again  in  your  mind  a  couple  of 
times  to  get  back  up  to  speed.  In  this 
way  you'll  be  able  to  keep  the  details  of 
hundreds  of  books  right  fresh  in  your 
mind. 

Like  any  muscle  or  (^mr  fuiKJtion  of 
the  body,  the  more  you  use  your  mind, 
tlie  more  powerful  it  will  get,  They  say 
we*m  using  about  2%  of  our  brains.  I  sus- 
pect Ihafs  a  serious  understatement.  It*s 
probably  more  like  0,1  %  of  its  real  poten- 
tial. Alas,  laziness  being  what  it  is,  many 
(most?)  of  us  tend  to  avoid  thinking  as 
much  as  possible.  And  exercising,  too. 
Thus  many  of  us  end  up  doddering,  hunch- 
backed geezers  who  haven't  thought  an 
original  thought  in  years. 

Spirit  Memories 

When  we  are  able  to  contact  departed 
spirits  via  psychics,  Ouija,  tape  recorders, 
near-death  experiences,  etc.,  we  find  that 
the  spirits  seem  to  still  have  all  of  the 
memories  they  had  when  they  were 
ahve.  If  our  memories  aren't  electrically 


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for  proficiency — only  the  day- 
to-day  repetitive  use.  Curious 
people  demand  more. 

There  lies  one  of  the  great 
secrets.  Pique  a  man's  curiosity 
and  soon  there  will  be  no  holding 
him  back.  He  will  move  moun- 
tains to  satisfy  his  desire  to  know 
and  do  more.  You  know  ihere  are 
hams  working  at  culdng-edge  in- 
novations for  communications 
and  we  have  mentioned  them  and 
their  waj^s  in  this  column.  Take 
a  look  at  the  Web  sites  in  Table  1 
for  some  ideas.  Look  closely  at 
the  TAPR  Web  site.  We  hams 
have  a  lot  lo  offer. 

If  we  take  advantage  of  what 
is  available,  use  it  frequently, 
invite  the  young  people  in  our 
Uves  to  observe  what  they  can 
do,  and  give  a  hint  where  it  is 
going,  we  just  may  convey  to 
the  up-and-coming  generation 
that  there  is  something  beyond 
the  horizon.  If  these  things  couJd 
be  introduced  to  school  groups 


and  Scouts,  the  kids  just  might 
take  the  ball  and  run.  If  they  do, 
they  will  become  the  greatest 
asset  ham  radio  has.  It  is  up  to 
us  to  stimulate  that  appetite. 

Apology  for  missing  last 
month's  issue 

I  had  a  great  project  going  last 
month,  but  it  just  wouldn't  pan 
out.  I  had  worked  several  days 
past  deadline  time  with  nothing 
to  show  for  it  and  no  backup 
plan,  I  was  quite  disturbed  and 
embarrassed  by  the  time  I  called 
in  to  the  73  office  to  say  I  wasn't 
making  it  for  November. 

I  enjoy  the  feedback  from  this 
column  and  realize  there  are  fatth- 
fill  readers.  If  you  will  accept  my 
apology,  I  will  attempt  to  not  let 
that  happen  in  the  futttre.  And 
please  keep  those  cards  and  let- 
ters (E-mail  responses  are  very 
appropriate)  coming.  You  give  me 
a  lot  of  great  ideas. 


If  you  have  questions  or 
comments  about  this  column, 
E-mail  me  at  [j heller @  sierra, 
net]     and/or    CompuServe 


[72 1 30 J 352].  I  will  gladly 
share  what  I  know  or  find  a  re- 
source for  you.  For  now,  73^ 
Jack  KB7NO. 


Fhoto  A.  To  add  to  the  collection  of  dedicated  cables  and  little 
black  boxes,  this  is  my  version  of  the  PTT  circuit  when  using  the 
soundcardfor  SSTV,  The  circuit  is  available  from  the  ChromaPIX 
site.  The  size  of  the  box  is  overkill  for  the  few  components,  but  it  was 
what  1  had  on  hand  and  keeps  it  neat.  The  computer  cable  connects 
to  the  serial  port.  The  audio  cable  connects  the  soundcard  Lineout 
to  the  accessory  jack  on  the  back  of  the  ICOM  735, 

73  Amateur  Radio  Today  *  D9cember1998    57 


or  cheinically  stoneii  in  our 
brains,  hui  in  stniic  oiher  me- 
dium which  we  don't  yei 
underslaml,  thai  could  help 
explain  how  wc  can  have 
un limited  memory  storage. 

This  isn't  cxaellv  a  new 
idea  —  !  wrote  ahoul  Ihis  al 
leasi  30  vears  a 20.  Blu,  vtm 
know,  in  spite  ot  the  many 
books  Tve  read  on  ihe  hruin 
and  the  mind,  I  dotil  reeall 
anyone  else  propi)sing  such  a 
controversial  concept.  But 
thai  might  help  explain  why 
people  who  have  lost  lar^e 
parts  of  ihe  brains  in  acci- 
dents still  have  all  of  iheir 
memories. 

We  mav  be  dotn!:  well  w ith 
otir  electronic  lechnolagy,  bui 
when  it  conies  to  conscious- 
ness, we* re  still  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  We  know  plants  can 
communicate  with  each  other, 
and  with  us.  We  kntm  we  can 
also  communicate  with  any 
living  thing,  but  we  have  few 
dues  as  to  how  it  works.  We 
know  our  cells  are  able  10  stay 
in  instant  communication  w^ith 
u^,  nn  matter  hou  far  remo\  ed. 
Again,  no  clue  iis  to  how; 

Tliere  are  still  [itnvcrlul  bar- 
rier:^ preventing  research  into 
this  area.  Barriers  of  disbe- 
lief, kept  in  place  by  a  refusal 
to  look  at  the  data.  Barriers  of 
a  lack  o\'  funding.  After  all. 
even  if  it's  all  true,  where  are 
the  bucks  to  be  made  from 
funding  consciousness  sttidics? 

Ice  Age? 

Looking  at  the  temperature 
data  across  the  nt^rthern  tier 
states  from  Washington  to 
North  Dakota,  temperatures 
since  194Q  have  fallen  lower 
now  than  they  were  in  1890, 
when  they  had  the  Little  Ice 
Age.  This  agrees  with  the 
similar  decline  in  temperature 
since  1940  in  every  Scan- 
dinavia countrv.  also  with  ris- 
ing  precipitation.  This  agrees 
with  tlie  declining  tempera- 
tures reported  by  satellites 
and  balloon  radiosonde  data. 
It  also  agrees  with  tree  ring 
data  from  weslem  and  snuth- 
em  L'S  and  Europe,  with  the 
temperature  high  ariiund  1940, 

The  US  Dept.  of  AgricuL 
lure  Plant  Hardiness  Zone 
Map  shows  a  southern  tlellec- 
tion  of  one  zone  or  ID  F  be- 
tween their  I960  and  1990 


maps.  This  strongly  affects 
plants. 

In  New  Hanrtpshire,  Vermont 
and  Ltpstate  New  York  we're 
secina  a  migration  of  moose 
coming  dow  n  from  Canada,  so 
perhaps  Robert  Felix  is  right  in 
his  predictions  in  his  book^ 
Not  By  Fire,  But  By  Ice.  So 
much  for  slobal  warmins.  eh? 

American  researchers  al 
the  South  Pole,  who  have 
been  keeping  accurate  records 
for  over  40  years*  reported 
that  Jul}  1 997  was  the  coldest 
month  on  record. 

Yes.  I  know  about  the  Ant- 
arctic ice  pack  starting  to 
melt  and  a  lump  the  size  of 
Connecticut  calving  off  So 
what's  reallv  soina  on  here? 
Come  on.  fellas,  vou  can't 
hu\ e  it  both  ways.  Are  we  i20- 
ing  to  need  heavier  parkas  or 
more  bathing  suits  and  sun 
screen? 

Child  Psychology 

It's  been  a  while  since  1 
pushed  you  to  subscribe  to 
The  Nen'  Yorker,  so  1  can  un- 
derstand if  you  missed  the 
great  article  in  the  August 
1 7th  issue  about  child  behav- 
ior. Too  bad.  for  it  was  an 
amazing  article. 

It  turns  out  that  child  psy- 
chologists and  behavior  ex- 
perts have  had  it  wrong  about 
the  influence  that  parents  have 
on  the  development  of  their 
children.  It  seems,  on  the  nui^- 
ture  side,  thai  parents  have  far 
less  of  an  impact  on  their 
kids'  behavior  than  do  their 
peers.  Kids  don't  v^^ant  to  be 
like  adults,  they  want  to  be 
like  other  kids.  So  they  dress 
like  the  other  kids,  talk  like 
the  other  kids,  and  act  like  the 
other  kids. 

It's  pertinent  that  the  kids 
of  recent  immigrants  almost 
never  retain  iheir  parents"  ac- 
cents. And  that  the  children 
of  deaf  parents  learn  how  to 
speak  as  well  as  those  with 
normal  parents.  It  also  turns 
out  that  it  doesn't  make  any* 
where  near  as  much  differ- 
ence as  supposed  if  there  is 
one  parent  or  two. 

Thi^  goes  counter  to  Freud 
and  the  teachings  of  profes- 
sional psychotherapists,  but 
is  in  line  with  the  results  of 
recent  research  aimed  at  find- 
ing correlations  between  par- 


ents and  how  thctr  children 
turn  out.  The  Newsweek  edi- 
tors apparently  read  The  New 
Yorker,  because  the  Septem- 
ber 7th  isstie  had  the  report  as 
the  cover  fcaiure. 

Serendipity 

Do  you  believe  in  reincar- 
nation and  i>ur  having  past 
lives?  My  first  introduction  to 
past  lives  surprised  me.  Oh, 
rd  read  a  little  about  'em, 
and  then  there  was  the  fa- 
mous Bridey  Murphy  case, 
but  that,  I  thought,  had  been 
explained  a\va>'.  Then  one  day 
I  was  regressing  a  patient  un- 
der hypnosis-  trying  to  find 
the  rtH)t  of  a  problem  that  had 
been  making  his  life  miser- 
able. We  went  back  and  re- 
lived several  relevant  earlier 
traumas,  removing  their  im- 
pact on  his  life  for  him.  Then 
1  asked  him  10  go  to  an  earlier 
event  which  was  connected  to 
his  problem  and  suddenly  he 
was  telling  me  alx>ut  some- 
thing which  had  happened  in 
an  earlier  life. 

I  didnM  know  if  it  was  real 
or  not,  so  1  had  him  reli\c  the 
traumatic  event  just  as  if  it 
were  one  fixim  his  present  life, 
and  he  was  never  bothered  by 
this  problem  again.  Hnnii.  It 
didn't  make  any  difference  to 
me  whether  it  was  real  as  long 
as  decnnditioning  the  iramna 
did  the  job. 

After  several  more  patients 
had  nipped  into  past  lives,  and 
more  often,  past  traumatic 
deaths,  the  rcalitv  that  these 

w 

weren't  just  the  mind's  way 
of  handling  a  current  life 
painful  event,  but  were  some 
sort  of  past  life  memories,  I 
began  to  help  my  patients  ex- 
plore and  retTiember  more  of 
their  past  lives,  I  found  that 
they  ctmld  recall  pet)ple.  places, 
and  events  with  a  remarkable 
degree  of  detail  and  that  iliese 
memories  could  be  tied  to 
historical  records. 

That  realitv  took  some  get- 
tins  used  to.  The  rami  Ilea- 
tions  look  even  more  getting 
used  to,  and  got  me  to  ques- 
tioning the  accepted  beliefs  in 
HeaN'en,  Hell,  Gtxl,  Satan,  and 
so  on.  It  got  me  to  reading  to 
see  what  other  people  had 
discox  crcd  or  thought. 

If  you  don't  believe  in  past 
lives  and   reincarnation,   it's 


because  you  haven't  ix^ad  very 
much  about  it.  There  are  sev- 
eral books  reviewed  in  my  Se- 
cret Guide  to  Wisiiom  which 
wall  help  fill  in  this  neglected 
pan  of  your  education, 

Sunday  school  teaches  you 
about  heaven,  but  the  "real 
world"  teaches  that  w  hen  you 
die,  that's  it.  and  never  mind 
all  that  Bible  baloney. 

Tve  told  this  storv  before, 
but  knowing  how  short  your 
memory  is>  TU  repeat  it.  It 
has  to  do  with  how  I  discov- 
ered a  book  that  I  recommend 
anyone  read  who  wants  to 
know  about  death.  It's  a  great 
book  forcomfoninsj  someone 
with  a  recent  loss. 

My  mother  had  always 
been  sensitive  to  things-  Us- 
ing a  Oiiija  board,  she  found 
out  that  her  uncle  would  be 
return  in  u  from  France  after 
WWl,  and  was  able  to  de- 
scribe his  cabin  and  exactly 
when  he  would  land  and  call. 
One  time,  when  I  was  in  the 
middle  of  the  most  upsetting 
moment  of  my  lite,  she  called 
and  asked  what  was  wrong. 
Thai  was  the  only  time  she 
c\erdid  that. 

One  day,  a  ct^uple  of  years 
after  her  nmihen  Net  la.  had 
died,  mother  was  washing  the 
dishes  and  one  of  the  elastic 
straps  holding  her  stretch 
pants  down  suddenly  broke. 
She  thought,  "Oh.  darnl  Fm 
going  to  have  to  drive  down 
10  Littleton  atid  get  a  new 
elastic," 

When  she  finished  the 
dishes  she  sat  down  to  rest 
and  read  a  little.  But  it  was 
kind  of  cooU  so  she  decided 
to  go  out  to  the  barn  and  see 
if  she  could  find  a  shawl  in 
Neita's  clothes  trunk.  She 
dug  down  into  the  trunk  and 
found  the  shawL  When  she 
shook  it  out,  an  elastic  strap 
fell  to  the  floor,  "Hmm/"  she 
said.  "Neita,  are  you  trying  to 
tell  me  something?" 

She  went  back  to  the  house 
and  sat  down  again  to  read. 
But  none  of  the  magazines 
kx)ked  interesting.  She  sud- 
denly got  the  notion  to  go 
back  out  to  the  barn  and  pick 
out  a  btx)k  at  random  from 
the  old  books  in  one  of  the 
cow  stalls.  These  were  books 
from  her  father-in-law's  es- 
tate w  hich  had  been  moved  lo 
the  bam  and  just  left  there. 


58  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


She  picked  oul  a  book  with  no  title 
showing  on  the  spine  and  went  back  to 
the  house  to  read.  The  book  turned  out  to 
be  a  1920  book.  Neither  Dead  Nor 
Sleeping,  by  Mae  Sewail,  with  an  intro- 
duction by  Booth  Tarkington.  The  story  it 
told  gave  my  mother  the  answer  to  her 
queslion. 

Mae  Sewall,  who  was  a  world  famous 
wonfian  of  her  time  in  the  woman's  rights 
field,  told  about  how  her  husband,  after 
he'd  died,  contacted  her  to  help  her  find 
several  missing  papers  she  needed.  He 
then  went  on  to  set  up  a  communications 
system  and  did  cxperimenis  with  his 
friend  on  the  other  side,  the  pianist  Amir 
Rubensiein,  It's  a  fascinating  story  and 
one  of  the  best  Tve  found  about  communi- 
cating with  the  dead.  But  it's  obviously 
long  out  of  print. 

A  few  years  ago  I  attended  a  lecture  , 
by  Dr.  Hal  Huggins,  the  dentist  who  has 
been  fighdog  the  ADA  over  the  use  of 
amalgam  fillings.  I  read  his  book,  Ifs  All 
In  Your  Head,  and  included  it  in  my 
Guide  to  Books.  Huggins  had  proven  that 
the  mercury  from  our  fillings  was  poi- 
soning us.  Then  I  found  Dr.  Judd's  Goad 
Teeth,  Birth  to  Deaths  which  also  damned 
mercury  and  the  illnesses  it  causes. 

The  next  step  was  when  1  was  being 
interviewed  by  An  Bell  on  his  talk  show 
a  couple  years  ago  and  I  pointed  out  that 
good  health  depends  a  good  deal  on  our 
not  pt>isoning  our  bodies  with  stuff  like 
mercury.  An  got  all  upset.  His  dentist 
had  assured  him  that  amalgam  fillings 
were  harmless  and  he  believed  hen  Ser- 
endipity stepped  in  when  two  dentists 
called  the  show,  both  confirming  what  I 
was  saying. 

More  serendipity  when  a  btxik  arrived 
in  the  mail  from  Dn  Lydia  Bronte.  The 
Mercury  In  Your  Mouth.  This,  too,  im- 
mediately was  added  to  my  Guide  to 
Books,  I  sent  Lydia  a  copy  of  my  Guide 
to  Books  and  she  called  to  say  that  some- 
one sure  ought  to  get  busy  and  reprint 
some  of  the  seriously  out  of  print  books 
rd  reviewed.  I  agreed,  but  said  I  just 
didn't  have  the  time.  Further,  if  I  both 
recommended  a  bm>k  and  sold  it,  that 
would  be  a  confiici  of  interest.  She  said 
okay,  sheM  do  it,  which  book  would  I 
recommend  to  start  with.  I  looked 
through  my  Guide  and  decided  the 
Sewall  book  would  be  the  one  which 
might  do  the  most  gtHxl  for  people. 

I  sent  her  a  copy,  she  had  it  set  in  type, 
and  printed  up  a  short  run  to  see  how 
much  interest  there  might  be.  When  it*s 
finished  being  bound  it'll  be  $15,  plus 
$3  s/h,  from  Quicksilver  Press,  10  E. 
87th,  NYC  10128,  1  guarantee  that  this 
is  a  book  that  you*  11  treasure,  plus  be  buy- 
ing copies  for  any  friends  who  have  suf- 
fered a  loss. 

In  the  Sewall  book,  every^  time  Artur 
Rubcnstein  needed  her  to  make  a  major 


expenditure  for  his  experiment,  those  on 
'*lhe  other  side''  arranged  in  some  way 
for  her  to  gel  a  well-paying  lecture  lour. 

How  much  of  u  hat  we  think  of  as  seren- 
dipity actually  has  been  organized  by  those 
on  '"the  other  side"?  There  are  a  couple  of 
books  reviewed  in  my  Guide  to  Books 
which  cite  some  incredible  "coinci- 
dences." Things  which  have  no  logical 
expl^mation. 

Reports  from  "the  other  side"  try  to 
explain  to  us  that  ttine  is  different  there. 
Il  isn't  linear  as  we  experience  it,  so 
they're  somehow  able  to  arrange  things 
so  they'll  happen  in  our  time  stream  for 
us.  Our  past,  present  and  future  are  just 
another  dimension  for  them  —  which 
puts  a  different  aspect  on  our  birth  and 
death. 

When  something  serendipitous  hap- 
pens, try  not  to  ignore  it.  Follow  it  up 
and  take  advantage  of  the  serendipity. 

The  Raw  Facts 

iferc  I  go,  talking  about  health  again. 
Well,  I  keep  seeing  that  long  list  of  Si- 
lent Key  awards  in  25r every  month  and 
Vm  now  convinced  that  virtually  every 
one  of  those  guys  would  slilt  be  alive 
and  polluting  our  bands  with  vacuous 
nonsense  if  only  Td  managed  to  get 
through  to  them. 

This  conviction  was  reinforced  by  the 
arrival  of  a  book  from  two  of  the  authors 
of  Nature*s  First  Law:  The  Raw*Food 
Diet.  Having  already  been  convinced  of 
the  power  of  raw  food  to  cure  almost 
anything  by  Dr.  Bruno  Comby  and  his 
Maximize  Immunity,  plus  the  writings  of 
Dn  Henry  Beier,  this  new  book  just  fur- 
ther reinforced  my  conviction.  Plus,  the 
whole  concept  makes  perfect  sense.  I 
like  it  when  theories  make  sense. 

What  aJ!  these  experts  are  saying  is 
that  if  you  change  to  eating  all  raw  food 
you're  going  to  get  over  any  illnesses 
you  have.  You  won't  get  any  new  ill- 
nesses. And  you'll  be  able  to  live  in  ex- 
cellent health  to  1 20  and  even  1 50  years. 

How  come?  Just  think  about  it.  Our 
bodies  were  developed  millions  of  years 
ago  when  all  everyone  ate  was  raw  food. 
Il  wasn't  until  we  invented  cooking  that 
we  began  to  gel  sick  and  die  early. 

Dr.  Comby  has  been  nescuing  his  pa- 
tients from  near  death  due  to  cancer, 
AIDS,  and  so  forth  JiLst  by  changing  their 
diet  to  all  raw  tlxxl.  The  Natures  Lmv 
guys  have  a  similar  string  of  successes. 

This  is  a  tough  change  to  consider. 
Sure,  there's  lots  of  raw  food  available. 
But  darned  few  restaurants  serve  much, 
so  if  you  go  out  to  eat  very  often  you  are 
going  to  have  a  major  problem. 

Eating  bananas,  oranges,  apples, 
grapes,  melons,  grapefruit,  cherries,  and 
so  on  is  easy.  Raw  vegetables  are  more  of 
a  problem.  Salads  arc  easy.  Tve  been 


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73  Amateur  RadfO  Today  *  December  1998   59 


eaitns  a  bis  bowl  of  salad  for 
boih  lunch  and  dinner  lor  a 
long  time  now.  Spinach,  beet 
greens,  watercress,  bean,  clo- 
ver and  alllilla  sprouts,  with  a 
few  raisins  make  a  yreai 
salad. 

I've  (bund  ihal  when  I  chop 
up  ra\%  broccoli,  caiiliHower 
and  carrois  thai  the  mixture, 
with  a  tittle  coleslaw  sauce  on 
it,  is  rine.  Raw  cabbai];e  with 
the  sauce  on  ills  good,  too, 

Bui  after  have  eaten  cot^ked 
fotnl  for  a  lifetime,  ifs  dim- 
cult  lo  jusi  Slop,  You  see, 
there's  ihis  liitle  Chinese  res- 
tail  rant  in  Hillshoro  with  a 
Tabulous  biiircl  lunch.  Sigh, 
And  a  slice  of  pizza  now  and 
then?  The  ads  for  the  Taco 
Bell  pocket  sandwiches  Itxiked 
so  inviting  on  TV,  but  when 
we  tried  a  couple  one  even  ins, 
what  we  eoi  looked  aothin^i 
like  the  ads.  Ugh.  Tbose  bi^ 
ovcrslulTed  TV  sandwiches 
had  \erv  little  in  them  when 
the  real  world  struck.  The 
onlv  thins  that  was  the  same 
was  the  price. 

Instead  of  a  howl  of  hoi  ce- 
real for  breakfast,  now  Vm 
eating  three  bananas  tir  three 
oranges.  For  lunch  a  tomato, 
a  big  bowl  o(  salad,  and  a 
bovvlolchuppcd  raw  veggies. 
Dinner  is  about  the  same  as 
lunch.  But  Sherry  stilt  wants 
to  go  out  and  eat.  There  isn"t 
any  way  to  get  her  to  eat  raw 
stuff.  Or  even  fruit  or  veg- 
etables, for  thai  matter.  Fll 
bet  I'll  have  the  same  success 
with  you.  Sigh.  You'd  rather 
die  than  change  your  diet.  So 
who  wants  to  live  to  150  any- 
way? My  bet  is  that  you'll 
continue  to  cat  what  tastes 
got>d  and  go  to  the  dtKlor  for 
repairs  when  your  body  starts 
breaking  down  —  lumine  the 
responsibilit)  (v\ertohim. 

When  you  go  raw  you'll 
find  that  you  can  eat  all  you 
wan  I  and  vour  bit:  fat  eul  will 
gradually  go  away,  replaced  by 
muscles.  You'll  automatically 
get  down  to  your  normal 
hvdy  weight,  Sluhlike  asthma, 
arthritis,  diabetes,  allcrsies, 
and  so  on  will  blow^  away. 
Yoifll  find  vi>ur  body  rebuild- 
ing  itself,  atid  you'll  be  full  of 
energ\  and  enthusiasm.  Or  you 
can  continue  yourpnesent  slide 
into  the  obits  and  a  Silent  Key 
me. 


I've  been  promised  an 
uncock  biKJk  thalMI  explain 
how  I  can  enjoy  raw  potatoes, 
beets,  onions,  and  other  such 
vegetables.  Tvc  always  pre- 
lerrcd  my  cooked  \cggies  al 
ticfUe,  so  now  Fll  chanae  to 
super  al  dvniL\ 

If  you're  game  to  expose 
yourself  to  a  powerful  po- 
emic  —  verbal  overkill  on 


the  subject  —  invest  $15, 
plus  $3  s/h,  for  d  copy  of  The 
Raw  FfHHi  DieL  sent  to 
Nature's  First  L^w,  Box 
900202,  San  Diego  CA92190, 
or  call  800^205^2350.  If  you 
can  read  Ihis  book  and  not 
change  your  diet,  you've  got 
niiuc  resistance  lo  common 
sense  than  L 

Small  Biz 

New^  small  businesses  are 
thriving  in  Europe,  helping  to 
reduce  iheir  serious  unem- 
jiloyment  situation,  and  bring- 
ing  new  life  to  their  economics. 
While  the  targe  businesses 
have  been  cutting  payrolls  by 
4^  a  year,  these  new  small 
businesses  have  been  adding 
employees  at  the  rate  of  16%. 

I  wish  1  had  the  time  lo  or- 
ganize a  lecture  tour  of  Eu- 
rope, including  visits  to  their 
heads  ol  state,  so  I  could  ex- 
plain the  benefits  of  setting 
up  my  new  style  oT  business 
incubau^rs.  Fve  written  about 
this  in  my  past  editorials,  and 
my  system  is  explained  in  de- 
tail in  my  book  24  lltvyv  lo 
Improve  State  Government 
($5).  This  tells  how  business 
incubators  can  be  set  up  in 
any  town  wl^ich  will  help 
fund  and  cuide  the  ojowih  of 
new  small  businesses. 

Large  businesses  are  mo\ - 
ins  their  manufac luring  to  the 
least  expensive  countries  and 
replacing  much  of  their  middle 
management  with  infomiatinn 
systems  ([Lk.a.  ci>jTiputers}.  so 
we  can'l  look  for  job  growth 
there  for  either  blue  or  white 
collar  workers.  Worse,  large 
businesses  tend  to  be  preda- 
tory, looking  always  tor  growth 
by  swallowing  up  smaller  busi- 
nesses, and  to  have  the  political 
clout  to  get  away  widi  almost 
anything  they  want. 

The  health  of  anv  counirv 
increasingly  is  dependent  on 
the  growth  of  entrepreneurial 


businesses  —  and  mv  incubator 
svstem  makes  their  successful 
startup  simple. 

Our  states  and  other  cnun- 
tries  could  do  worse  (anti  will) 
than  sci  aside  a  fund  lor  busi- 
ness incubators  to  draw  on. 
It  would  be  a  profit- making 
no-lose  fund  and  would  result 
in  more  jobs  and  increased 
business  revenues. 

Funny  Coincidence 

A  number  of  scientists  have 

been  claiming  thai  nuclear 
bomb  lesLs,  even  when  under- 
2n>und.  can  have  some  Ions: 
range  effects.  In  mid-May  In- 
dia tested  five  nukes.  A  few 
davs  later  a  killer  heat  wave 
hit  India  and  Pakistan,  killinsz 
scores,  A  few  davs  later  the 
high  pressure  bkxrkage  of 
winds  over  India  brought  mas- 
sive Hooding  to  Cliina,  killing 
I2S. 

The  next  dav  Pakistan 
tested  five  nukes.  The  dav  af- 
ter  that  366  died  from  the 
most  devastating  heal  wave 
that  had  hit  India  in  vears. 
And  the  day  after  that  an 
earthquake  hit  nearby  Af- 
shanistan.  killiniz  2.500.  The 
nexi  day  another  heat  wave 
hit  India,  killing  100  more. 

Four  days  later  the  heai 
waves  in  India  and  Pakistan 
had  killed  over  1,300  people, 
The  same  day  tornadoes  hit 
all  across  the  USA.  iiic hiding 
one  in  Antrim  NH.  just  a 
couple  miles  from  where  1 
li\c. 

A  week  later  the  India/Pa- 
kistan heal  death  toll  was  up 
to  2.500.  with  still  more 
Hooding  in  China. 

In  some  way  the  glolxd 
weather  patterns  seem  lo  haxe 
been  affected  by  the  nuclear 
tests.  So  much  tor  messing 
with  Mother  Nature. 

Hcadstart 

The  governor  of  New  Hamp- 
shire has  been  pushing  hard  to 
ha\e  all  NH  schools  stan 
with  kindergarten  when  kids 
are  five  years  old.  She  was 
pushing  this  agenda  when  she 
and  I  were  on  the  Economic 
Development  Commission 
Education  Subcommittee  a 
few  years  ago,  and  she  was 
as  impervious  to  facts  then 
as  she  is  now.  Her  mind  is 


made  up  and  facts  are  only  a 
nuisance. 

As  Thomas  Sou  ell  says, 
"It*s  ama/ing  how  much  time 
and  ingenuity  people  w^ill  put 
into  defending  some  idea  that 
they  never  bothered  to  think 
through  al  (he  outsell 

Headstart  was  supposed  to 
give  disadvantaged  kids  a  bet- 
ter chance  of  geuing  an  educa- 
tion. With  2000  agencies  and 
36,000  cias.srooms,  it's  been 
an  expensive  expcritnenL  The 
k>ng-lemi  effects  nl  Headstart 
have  been  carefullv  nsscarclied. 
They  found  no  long-lasting  ef- 
t'ects  on  IQ.  teen  pregnancy, 
welfare,  crime,  later  eco- 
nomic success,  etc.  The  only 
people  who  benefited  were 
the  HeadsLtri  employees  and 
adminisirators, 

WTien  the  National  Resejirch 
Council  of  the  National  Acad- 
emy ot  Sciences  reviewed  ev- 
ery post-secondary  training 
prograjii  of  the  last  20  years 
they  found  that  none  of  the 
programs  worked.  Billions  of 
vour  money  have  been  wasted. 

More  Headstart  programs? 
More  social  spending?  I  sure 
hope  ycHJ'll  do  your  best  to 
slop  these  wastes  ol'  money. 

The  Swedish,  whose  stu- 
dents outperform  ours  by  a 
w  idc  niiirgin.  don'i  start  schiiol 
until  they  are  seven  yeiirs  old. 

Nursing  Homes 

Did  you  bother  to  read 
some  of  I  he  horror  stories  in 
the  news  media  citin*!  recent 
Studies  of  nursing  homes?  It 
makes  grim  reading.  w4rh 
beating,  malnutriiion.  dehy- 
dration and  neulecl  bein^i 
more  the  rule  than  ihe  excep- 
tion. The  nursing  home  in* 
dustry  is  powerful  and  seems 
to  have  control  over  the  state 
overseers,  according  lo  a  Ttme 
maga/ine  Aug.  3id  issue  reptm 
im  Calilomia  lionies.  What 
I  hey  found  was  just  awful. 
Yet,  that's  where  a  high  pcr- 
centasc  of  vou  are  headed  un- 
less  you  change  your  diet. 

Indians 

The  Indians  have  been  do- 
ing w^ll  by  setting  up  casinos 
on  their  rcscrA  at  ions,  I'm  see- 
ing more  and  more  ads  on  TV 
by  these  casinos,  so  it's  obvi- 
ously a  thrivinii  business.  Take 


60  73  AmatBui  Radio  Today  •  December  1 998 


the  Foxwood  Casino  in  Conncdleii  Less 
than  15  years  ago  there  were  only  three 
people  Uving  on  the  re&ervaiioo.  Now 
they've  got  gaming  revenues  of  over  a  bil- 
lion dollars  and  the  tribe  has  expanded  to 
260. 

The  Indians  arc  complaining  that  the 
Europeans  came  in  with  higher  technol- 
ogy and  look  their  country  away.  WeJL 
iteyYe  right,  that's  what  happened.  But 
the  same  thing  has  been  happening  all 
through  history.  The  guys  with  the  big- 
ger and  better  clubs  win  and  take  over. 
The  Jews  did  it  when  ihey  pushed  the 
Arabs  aside  and  formed  Israel.  Israel 
then  took  the  West  Bank  away  from  Jordan 
with  their  army;  they've  kept  it,  and  don*i 
seem  to  be  much  interested  in  giving  it 
back. 

It  was  their  higher  technology  that  al- 
lowed the  European  countries  to  take 
over  mosi  of  Africa  and  big  lumps  of  Asia. 
Through  massive  mismanagement  they've 
managed  to  lose  most  of  ii.  They  did  the 
same  thing  in  the  Caribbean,  with  En- 
gland controlling  mosl  of  the  islands,  the 
French  a  few,  and  the  Dutch  a  few.  Spain 
was  doing  fine  until  the  US  shoved  *em 
out* 

All  the  people  who  are  begging  for 
peace  should  take  a  good  long  look  at 
history  and  see  if  they  can  find  any  in- 
stance where  might  didn't  make  right. 
When  you  lay  your  weapons  down  ycm 
are  doing  it  to  grab  for  a  yoke  to  wear. 
And  today,  technology  is  providing  us 
with  the  bigger  club. 

Schools 

A  review  of  a  book  by  Fred  Holden 
had  this  quote:  "Our  system  of  education 
teaches  just  about  everything  except  the 
three  things  that  matter  most  —  How  to 
make  a  hving,  how  to  live,  and  how  to  un- 
derstand life,  especially  in  areas  of  eco* 
nomics  and  politics," 

Since,  if  our  schools  did  teach  these  ba- 
sic concepts,  our  counU7  and  our  lives 
might  be  vastly  different,  1  woiKfer  if  the 
neglect  of  these  subjects  is  entirely  acci- 
dental. These  are  exacily  the  things  F  ve 
been  writing  about,  but  1  should  be  writ- 
ing for  kids  instead  of  old  people  whose 
minds  are  so  closed  thai  the  light  of 
reason  is  unable  to  penetrate  the  gloom. 
Well,  1  may  be  exaggeruiing,  but  that's  the 
impression  I  get  much  of  the  time. 

As  far  as  living  successfully  and  mak- 
ing a  gtx>d  living  are  concerned,  around 
90%  of  the  stuff  that  is  ^laughi"  in  high 
school  and  100%  of  college  is  a  waste  of 
time.  That  was  my  experience,  and  things 
were  supposedly  a  whole  lot  better  those 
days  than  now. 

Most  of  what  I  was  taught  in  science 
classes  has  subsequently  been  proven 
wrong.  Mosi  of  the  math  I  suffered 
through  has  never  been  of  any  real  use. 


and  Fve  been  involved  with  a  lot  of  dif- 
ferent businesses*  The  English  literature 
classes  were  a  huge  waste  of  time.  And 
so  it  went.  Humbug! 

Wagging  the  Dog 

It's  my  fault.  I  haven't  been  ragging 
you  lately  to  subscribe  to  The  New 
Yorker  so  you  wouldn*t  miss  the  out- 
standing articles  they  manage  to  come 
up  with.  Like  the  one  in  the  October 
1 2th  issue,  The  Missiles  of  August,  sub- 
titled, "The  Annals  of  National  Secu- 
rity/* It  had  to  do  with  the  missile  attack, 
just  three  days  after  Clinton's  grand  jury 
testimony  about  his  affair  with  Monica 
Lewinsky;  on  the  pharmaceutical  factt)ry 
in  Sudan,  The  attack  was  claimed  to  be 
in  retaliation  for  the  truck  bombings  of 
the  American  embassies  in  Kenya  and 
Tanzania. 

The  article  quoted  American  business- 
man Bobby  May,  who  was  in  Khartoum 
at  the  time  of  the  attack.  He  was  very 
surprised  because  he  and  Bishop 
Brookings  (from  Nashville)  had  just  vis- 
ited the  factory  a  few  days  before  and 
had  been  shown  every  part  of  the  opera- 
lion.  The  place  was  a  showplace,  where 
kids  routinely  toured  the  plant,  and  not, 
as  the  White  House  spokesman  claimed,  a 
heavily  guarded  chemical  factory. 

The  net  result  of  the  use  of  $60  million 
of  Tomahawk  missiles  was  the  destruc- 
tion of  a  badly  needed  pharmaceutical 
factory  in  Khartoum,  a  mess  in  Afghani- 
stan, no  one  important  killed,  and  an 
entirmous  buildup  of  resentment  through 
the  whole  Arab  world.  Well,  it  did  keep 
Monica  out  of  the  headlines  for  a  few 
days,  so  perhaps  the  White  House  strate- 
gists felt  it  was  worth  the  expense. 

By  the  way,  as  you  read  the  article, 
you'll  see  that  the  Joint  Chiefs  were  not 
consulted  before  the  attack.  You'll  also 
probably  not  be  particularly  surprised  that 
the  intelligence  reports  which  were  cited 
by  tte  White  House  as  an  excuse  for  the 
attack  were  of  the  usual  low  grade  in 
accuracy* 

A  propos,  Vm  enjoying  a  discounted 
book  (S8)  published  by  Barnes  &  Noble, 
Senseless  Secrets,  by  Lt.  Col.  Michael 
Lanning  —  subtitled,  'The  Failures  of  US 
Military  Intelligence  irom  Geoi^e  Wash- 
ington to  the  Present/'  You  no  doubt  have 
suspected  that,  being  government  agen- 
cies, our  intelligence  departments  were 
probably  bungling  almost  everything 
they've  been  doing.  What  1  doubt  you've 
suspecced  is  the  extremes  that  this  bun- 
gling has  often  reached.  Pester  B&N  and 
spend  the  $8.  You're  going  to  be  highlight- 
ing the  hell  out  of  the  book  and  reading 
sections  to  anyone  who  will  listen.  The 
author  said  he'd  spent  several  years  as  an 


Continued  on  page  64 


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73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    61 


Proprghtion 


Numi)^  62  Oft  your  Feedback  CMtd 


Jim  Gray  W1XU/7 
210  E  Chateau  Circle 
Payson  AZ  85541 
Qimpeg  ^^  netzone.com] 


The  HJ-'  bands  in  AugU!ii  and 
September  were  quite  good  at 

times,  with  DX  rolling  in  on  Ire- 
queticies  in  the  bands  between 

40  and  U)  meters.  At  one  point 
the  solar  ilux  ruse  to  176 — tliL* 
highest  I've  seen  it  since  Cycl 


e 


22 — which  h  a  ^uod  sign,  but 
requires  a  word  of  caution. 

Cycle  23  is  likeK  lo  provide 
the  lowest  peak  solar  flux  value 
of  the  last  feu  cycles.  One  fore- 
caster predicts  that  the  peak  will 
occur  in  1999,  which  1  believe 
is  a  year  or  two  early,  if  every- 
thing proceeds  nnrmally.  But 
nothing  about  Cycle  23  has  been 
**normaL"  so  it's  possible  he 
could  be  right.  WeM!  just  have 
to  wait  and  see. 

Propagalion  this  month  is 
likely  to  be  irref^ular  because 
December  is  traditional ly  a 
month  when  HF  propagation  is 
seasonally  low,  and  we  huven^l 
yet  seen  consistently  high  solar 
flux  values  durine  this  cvcle. 
Therefore,  use  the  calendar  to 
pick  ihe  best  days  (G)  for  your 
effons,  but  alwavs  tisien  and 
make  a  few  calls  into  the  void 
on  other  days,  uio,  bee li use  the 
universe  is  full  ul  surprises, 

10-12  meters 

Possible  opcnitigs  to  Europe 

in  the  morning,  midday  openings 
to  Africa  and  South  America,  and 
late  afternonn  openings  to 
Ausinilasiaand  the  South  Pacific, 
Daytime  short-skip  openings 


between  1000  and  2000-f  miles 
arc  likely  as  well, 

15-17  meters 

Worldwide  DX  possible  during 
daylight  hours,  peaking  loward 
turot>e  ajid  the  east  in  eariy  mom- 
ina.  loward  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere  in  the  aftemooc,  and 
toward  the  west.  South  Pacific 
and  Australasia  in  the  late  after- 
noon, with  daytime  short  skip 
from  lOOO  to  over  2000  miles. 

20-30  meters 

Openings  to  Europe  and  the 
east  during  late  aftemoon  hours, 

with  the  bands  remaining  open 
tu  various  areas  of  the  world 
during  hours  of  darkness  until 
shorth  afler  sunrise.  Dav light 
short  skip  lo  1000  miles  and 
2()00  rnikN  or  so  ai  night 

40  meters 

Generally  low^  noise  prevails. 
and  openings  toward  Europe 
and  the  ejst  beginning  in  laie 
afternoon,  with  the  band  re- 
maining open  all  night  until  nf- 
Ilt  sunrise  to  various  areas  of  the 
world.  Daytime  short  skip  lo 
about  1 000  miles  and  over  1000 
miles  at  nighL  This  could  be 
your  best  DX  hand  this  moaih! 

80  meters 

DX  to  all  areas  of  the  world 
between  dark  and  dawn  with 
signals  peaking  loward  Europe 


I 


Great  gift  idea  for  yourself, 

your  ham  friend(s), 
your  child's  school  library 

is  a  subscription  to  73  Magazine... onty  $24.97! 

Call  800-274-7373  or  write  to  70  Route  202  N, 

Peteri^ofough  NH  03458 


December  1998 

SUN 

MON 

TUE 

WED 

THU 

FRl 

SAT 

i 

1     G-F 

2     F 

3   F-P 

4  P 

5   P-VP 

1  6  VP 

7  P 

8  P'F      ' 

9   F 

10  F-G 

It  G-F 

12  F-P 

13P-F 

14  F 

15  F-G 

16G 

17  G 

18  G-F 

19  F 

20F-G 

21  G-F 

22F-P 

23  P 

24  P-VP 

25  P 

26P-F 

27F-G 

28  G  F 

29  F 

30  F 

31  F-P 

1 

and  east  around  midniizht,  and 
to  other  directions  jusi  before 

dawn.  Daydmc  short  skip  to  500 
miles  attd  nightiime  openings  to 
2000  miles  or  so. 

160  meters 

DX  possible  during  WtMy 
evening  and  hours  of  darkness. 
No  daytime  short  skip,  hut  ex- 
cellent possibilities  ai  night 
from  500  to  about  1500  miles. 


Don't  forget  to  work  the  dark- 
ness path  (±30  minutes  around 
load  sunset). 

Check  the  bands  \xbo\c  Liiid 
below  the  suggested  ones  for 
possible  DX  surprises.  It's  of- 
len  a  goixl  idea  to  park  your  re- 
ceiver on  a  seeminslv  unused 
frequency  and  just  wait  ADX 
station  is  very  likely  to  pop  up 
before  any  one  else  hears  him, 
and  you  can  snas  a  good  catch, 
73/W1XU/7. 


.^  -♦  c-^ 


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62   73  Amateur  Radio  Today  '  December  1998 


Here  are  *^)me  of  the  book;fi  Wa^ne 
has  wrjtl4?n.  Some  tan  chiinge  yuur 
life,  if  you11  ki  them.  If  thv  idea,  iif 
being  healthv,  wealthy  unci  wKo  is 
of  interest  toyoii.^tart  reading,  Yes» 
you  can  ht  all  thai,  hul  (snly  when 
you  know  the  sec  re  Is  which  Wayne 
has  spent  a  lifetime  uncovering. 

The  Secret  Guide  to  Health:  Yes, 
there  really  is  aseoet  to  regaining  your 
health  and  adding  30  to  60  years  of 
heaJthy  living  to  your  life*  The  aiHwer 
is  simple,  but  it  means  making  litMiie 
ven  dirncuh  changes.  Will  you  be 
'ikiing  the  ii lopes  of  Aspen  with  me 
w ht?n  you're  90  or  diKktcring  around 
a  nuTiing  home?  Or  pushing  up  dai- 
sies? No,  f  m  nor  setting  any  health 
products.  %5  iH» 

The  Secret  Guide  to  Wealth:  Just  as 
with  health,  youll  find  thai  you  have 
been  brainwashed  by  "the  system^ 
into  a  pattern  of  life  that  will  Iceep  you 
from  ever  making  much  money  and 
having  the  freedom  lo  (ravel  and  do 
what  you  want.  I  explain  how  an\  one 
can  get  a  dream  job  with  no  coJlcgc, 
no  fi^sume.  and  even  w  ilhoul  any  ex- 
perience. 1  expJain  how  you  can  get 
someone  to  happily  pay  you  to  learn 
what  you  need  to  know  to  sian  your 
own  business.  S5  (Mj 
The  Secret  Guide  to  W'i«idom:  This 
is  a  review  of  around  a  hundretl  books 
that  will  help  you  change  your  life, 
No,  I  don't  sell  these  hooks  They're 

■9 

on  a  wide  range  of  subjects  and  will 
help  to  make  you  a  very  inieresting 
person.  Wail' 11  you  see  some  of  I  he 
gems  you've  missed  reading.  S5  (B) 
Cold  Fusion  Overview:  This  is  both 
a  brief  history  of  cold  fusion,  which  I 
predict  will  tie  one  of  the  InrgesI  in- 
dustries in  the  world  In  the  2  ]  si  ten^ 
tury.  plus  a  si  nip  II  L'^pluniitinn  dIIiovv 
and  why  it  works.  This  new  field  is 
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computer  industry  did-  $5  (C) 
The  BJoelectrifier  Hand  hook:  This 
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electrical  gadgei  that  can  help  clean 
the  blood  of  any  virus,  tnicrobe,  para- 
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structions in  ihe  biKik.  $10  tA^ 
Moondoggte:  After  reading  Renews 
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everything  I  could  find  on  our  Mixm 
landings,  t  watched  ihe  \  rdcos.  looked 
carefully  at  the  photos,  read  the 
asfronaughts'  biogmphies.  and  talked 
with  some  of  my  readers  w*ho  worited 
for  NASA.  This  book  cites  25  s!i>od 
reasons  I  believe  Ihe  wtiote  Apotlo  pio- 
gfam  had  to  have  been  faked  S5  iD^ 
Mankind's  Extinction  Predictinns: 
If  an\  one  of  the  experts  who  have 
written  liooks  predicting  a  soon-to-    ( 


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come  catastrophe  which  will  virtually 

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in  die  right  place  at  the  right  time  to 
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There  are  some  ver\'  funny  stories.  If 
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Improvini^  State  Government:  Here 
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applying  a  new  technology,  the  state 
can  make  it  possible  to  provide  all 
needed  services  without  havinc  to 
levy  any  taxes  at  all?  Read  the  book, 
run  for  your  legislature,  and  let's  get 
busy  making  this  country  work  like 
its  founders  wanted  it  to.  Dont  leave 
this  for  'someone  else*^  to  do.  S5  (L) 
Travel  Diaries;  You  can  travel  amaz- 
ingly ine?t pensively  -  once  you  know 
the  ropes. Enjoy  Sherrv^  and  my  bud- 
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bunch  of  other  interesting  places. 
How  about  a  first  class  flight  to 
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for  two,  all  for  under  SLOOO,  Yes, 
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Wayne's  Caribbean  Adveniures:    ' 
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V i s i  I  the  hams  and  sc uba  di ve  most  of   ■  ^^^  onfcieii  ■  use  k 
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visit  1 1  countries  in  21  da  vs.  with  me 
dtvtng  all  bui  one  of  ihe  islands, 
Guadeloupe,  where  ttie  hams  kept  me 
so  busy  with  panics  I  didn^t  have  time 
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it.  Use  il  10  get  rid  of  germs  on  food^ 
for  skin  fungus,  wans,  and  e\cn  to 
drink.  Read  some  botjks  on  ihe  uses  of 
^d\ er  colloid.  it*s  like  inagic.  S15  t Yj 
CJas.sical  Music  Guide:  A  list  of  tOO 
CDs  which  wilt  provide  you  with  an 
outstanding  colleciion  of  the  finest 
classical  mu^ic  ever  written.  This  is 
what  you  need  lo  help  you  reduce 
stress.  Classical  music  also  raises 
youngsters*  IQs,  helps  plants  grow 
faster,  and  \ull  make  you  healthjen 
Just  watt' II  you  hear  some  of  Gotschalk^s 
fabulous  music!  $5  iZ) 
Reprints  of  .M>  EditariaK  Srmn  73, 
Grist  t:  50  of  my  best  ncm-ham  oriented 
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Grist  11:  50  more  choice  non-ham 
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1997  Editorials:  240  pages.  216  edi- 
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new  businesses,  exciting  new  books 
Tve  discovered,  ways  to  cure  our 
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night  KOO,  the  nkbhoina  City  bomb- 
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In  ihrce  S5  volumes.  S15  (O) 

1998  Jan- Aug  Editorials:  1 8B  pages 
in  two  S5  volumes,  Tiringing  you  up 
In  date.  S 10  (Pi 

Hum-to-Ilum:  45  of  my  ham -ori- 
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Code  Tape  (T25)    Same  deaf  It 
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Wayne  Talks  at  Dayton:  This  isa90' 
minute  tape  of  the  talk  f'd  have  given 
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Stuff  I  didn't  write,  hut  \iMi  need: 
NASA  Mooned  America:  Rene 
makes  an  air-tight  case  that  NASA 
faked  the  Moon  landings.  This  book 
wilt  convince  even  you.  $25  (Rl  > 
Last  Skeptic  of  Science:  This  is 
Rene's  book  u  here  he  debunks  a 
bunch  of  accepted  scientific  beliefs  -* 
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luiJ  cticrgy  grojnd  Hoor  is  still  wide 
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I  Foreign  LSS44  b>  sea,  USS67 b\  air  Whew! 


73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998    63 


Barter  'n'  Buy 


Turn  your  old  ham  and  computer  gear  into  cash  now.  Sure,  you  can 
wait  for  a  hamfest  to  try  and  dump  it,  but  you  know  you'll  get  a  far 
more  realistic  price  If  you  have  it  out  where  100.000  active  ham  po- 
tential  buyers  can  see  it.  rather  than  the  tew  hundred  local  hams  who 
come  by  a  flea  market  table.  Check  your  attic,  garage,  cellar  and 
closet  shelves  and  get  cash  for  your  ham  and  computer  gear  before 
It's  too  old  to  sell.  You  know  you're  not  going  lo  use  it  again,  so  why 
leave  It  for  your  widow  to  throw  out?  That  stuff  lsn*t  getting  any 
younger! 

The  73  Flea  Market,  Barter  'n'  Buy,  costs  you  peanuts  (almost)— 
comes  to  35  cents  a  word  tor  individual  (noncomnnerciall)  ads  and 
S1.00  a  word  for  commercial  ads.  Don't  plan  on  telling  a  long  story. 
Use  abbreviations,  cram  it  in.  But  be  honest.  There  are  plenty  of 
hams  who  love  to  fix  things,  so  if  it  doesn't  work,  say  so. 
Make  your  list,  count  the  words,  including  your  call,  address  and  phone 
number,  ir>clude  a  check  or  your  credit  card  number  and  expiration.  If 
you're  placing  a  commercial  ad,  include  an  additional  phone  number 
I  separate  from  your  ad- 
This  is  a  monthly  magazine,  not  a  daily  newspaper,  so  figure  a  coyple 
months  before  the  action  starts;  then  be  prepared.  If  you  get  too  many 
calls,  you  priced  it  low.  If  you  don't  gel  many  calls,  too  high. 
So  get  busy.  Blow  the  dust  off.  check  everything  out.  make  sure  it  still 
works  right  and  maybe  you  can  help  make  a  ham  newcomer  or  re- 
tired old  timer  happy  with  that  rig  you're  not  using  now.  Or  you  might 
get  busy  on  your  computer  and  put  together  a  list  of  small  gear/parts 
to  send  to  those  interested? 

Send  your  ^As  and  payment  ta;  73  Magazine^  Barter  "n' 
Buy,  70  Re,  202N,  Peterborough  NH  03458  and  get  set  for 
tht  phone  calls*  The  deadline  for  the  MiirLli  1999  classitlcd  ad 
I  section  is  Januar>-  10,  1999_ 


I 


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RF      TRANSISTORS      TUBES 

2SC2879,  2SC1971,  2SC1972, 
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Cash  for  ColDns:  Buy  any  Coilins 
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MAHLON LOQMIS.  fNVENTOR OF 
RADIO,  by  Thomas  Appleby  (copy* 
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N3RF, SVANHOLM  RESEARCH 
LABORATORIES.  P.O.  Box  81, 
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HANGUPS  Johan  N3RF,  Send 
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Number  $4  on  your  Feedback  C9rd 

Presider^t  Clinton  probably  doesn't 
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Bench  Reference  but  you  stiould, 
Check  it  out  at  [www.ohio.net/ 
-^rtormet/index. htm]— over  100 
pages  of  circuits,  tables,  RF  design 
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HEATH  COMPANY  is  seJHng  photO- 
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Only  authorized  source  for  copyright 
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Neuer  srv  oie 

continued  from  page  61 

officer  during  ihe  \\  ar  in  Viei- 
nam  and  had  never  gotten  one 
useful   piece  of  information 

from  anv  of  the  inlelliiiciice 
age  nc  ies .  Amiy  In  Le  I  i  igenL  c  uii  iy 
is  aaintradiction  of  terms. 


%o  bad  if  you  missed  the 
New  Yorker  article.  This  was 
the  masazinc  ihat  forced  the 

AM  A  lo  admit  I  hat  ulcers  are 
caused  by  the  Heliotobaaer 
Pylori  germ  and  could  be 
cured  quickly  uiih  antibioi- 
ics,  newh  thai  has  cosi  ihe 
medical  eslahtishment  billions 
of  dollars  in  endless  doctor 
visits  tbr  ihe  uld  ineffective 
ulcer  treatments.  On  the  posi- 
tive side,  a  recent  survey 
showed  that  thousands  of  doc- 
tors are  still  happily  unaware 
of  the  new  ireaimcni  —  and 
probably  inicnU  lu  stay  un- 
aw  are  of  it* 

Sporadic  E 

A  note  from  Neil  Spokes 
AB4YK  points  out  Ihal  spo- 
radic E  is  anything  but  spo* 
radic,  in  the  sen^e  of  being 
non-predictabie.  These  events 
I'cpeat  every  year,  over  and 
oven  on  the  same  days.  Thus 
ihey  must  be  lied  into  W'here 
the  Earth  is  in  its  orbit,  going 
through  something  —  perhaps 
a  comeiaiy  effect. 

My  Ballot 

The  Oftlcial  ARRL  Balldt 
allowing  me  to  vole  for  ihe 

Vice  Director,  arrived.  Appar- 
ently no  one  wa.s  interested 
enoueh  in  the  job  to  run  for 
Director,  ^o  our  old  used  Di- 
rector is  holding  down  the  spot 
for  two  more  years.  I  looked 
o\er  the  promi>iions  for  the 
two  contestants  for  Director  of 
Vice.  One  was  Andrea  Parker 
KIWLX.  Her  promotion  told 
all  about  her  niar\elous  ac- 
complishmenLv  bui  said  noth- 
ing about  bow  I  or  even  the 
hobbv  iru^ht  benefil  from  her 
imporiani  self  being  elected. 
Also,  she  was  not  smiling  in 
her  phott>.  Her  look  said  to  me 
that  she's  very,  very  important 
and  I'm  an  insignillcant  some- 
ihing  that  probably  stuck  to 
iiumeone's  shoe. 

The  opponcni  in  the  elec- 
tion was  Michael  Raisbeck 
KITWR  His  piece  was  al- 
most all  about  the  Ihings  he 
wanted  lo  do  to  make  Uie 
hobby  better,  with  just  a  short 
paragraph  at  ihe  end  about 
himself.  And  he  was  smilinu 
in  his  photo. 

Cane  tu  guess  who  I  voted  for? 
Mtikeawild.stah. 


64  73  Amateur  Radio  Today  •  December  1998 


JRC] 


160-10  Meters  PLUS  6  Meter  Transceiver 


Fifteen  reasons  y\fhy  your  next  HF 
transceiver  should  be  a  JST'245.  .  , 


1 


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All-Mode  Operation  (SSB.CW.AM.AFSK.FM)  on  all  HF  amateur 
bands  and  6  me!ers,  JST-145,  same  as  JST-245  but  withCKJl  6 
meters  and  builHn  antenna  tuner. 

ir  JST-145  COMING  SOON  • 

MOSFET  POWER  AMPLIFIER  -  Final  PA  utilizes  RF  MOSFETs 
to  achieve  low  distortion  and  high  durability.  Rated  output  is  10 
to  150  watts  on  afi  bands  including  6  meters. 

AUTOMATIC  ANTENNA  TUNER  •  Auto  tuner  included  as 
standard  equipment.  Tuner  settings  are  automatically  stored 
in  memory  for  fast  QSY, 

MULTIPLE  ANTENNA  SELECTION  •  Three  antenna  connec- 
tions are  user  selectable  from  front  panel  Antenna  selection  can 
be  stored  in  memory. 

GENERAL  COVERAGE  RECEIVER  •  100  kHz-30  MHz,  plus  48- 
54  MHz  receiver,  EJectronically  tuned  front-end  filtering,  quad- 
FET  mixer  and  quadnjple  conversion  system  {triple  conversion 
forFM}  results  *n  excellent  dynamic  range  (>100dB)  and  3rd  order 
ICP  of  +20dBm. 

IF  BANDWIDTH  FLEXIBILITY  •  Standard  2.4  kHz  filter  can  be 
narrowed  continuously  to  800  Hz  with  variable  Bandwidth  Control 
(BWC).  Narrow  SSB  and  CW  lifters  for  2nd  and  3rd  IF  optional. 

QRM  SUPPRESSION  •  Other  interference  rejection  features 
include  Passband  Shift  (PBS),  dual  noise  bianker.  3-step  RF  atten- 
uation, fF  notch  filter,  selectabie  AGO  and  all-mode  squeldi. 


8  NOTCH  TRACKING  •  Once  tuned,  the  IF  notch  filter  will  track  the 
offending  heterodyne  (  - 10  Khz)  if  the  VFO  frequency  is  changed. 

9  DDS  PHASE  LOCK  LOOP  SYSTEM  •  A  single-crystal  Direct 
Digital  Synthesis  system  is  utilized  for  very  low  phase  noise. 

I  0    CW  FEATURES  •  Full  break- in  operation,  variable  CW  pitch,  built 

in  electronic  l<eyer  up  to  60  wpm. 

I I  DUAL  VFOs  •  Two  separate  VFOs  for  split-frequency  operation. 
Memory  registers  store  mosl  recent  VFO  frequency,  mode,  band- 
width and  other  important  parameters  for  each  band. 

1  2  200  MEMORIES  *  Uemoty  capacity  of  200  channels,  each  of 
which  store  frequency^  mode.  AGC  and  bandwidth. 

1  3  COMPUTER  INTERFACE  •  Built-in  RS-232C  interface  for 
advanced  computer  applications, 

1  4  ERGONOM I C  LAYOUT  *  Front  panel  features  easy  to  read  color 
LCD  display  and  thoughtful  placement  of  controls  for  ease  of  oper- 
ation. 

1  5  HEAVY-DUTY  POWER  SUPPLY  •  Built-in  switching  power 
suppfy  with  'silent"  cooling  system  designed  for  continuous 
transmission  at  maximim  output. 


JRC|  0apan Radio  Co.,Xid, 


430  Park  Ave,,  2nd  Floor  New  York,  NY  10022        Phone;  (212)  355-1 180  Fax:  (212)  319-5227 

CIRCLE  159  ON  READER  SERVICE  CARD 


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PC  not 
induded 


The  Kachina  505DSP  the-art  DSP 

Computer  Controlled  HP  processing  p 

Transceiver  After  twenty  years  capabilities  c 

of  buitding  commercial  ^^^^  wondei 

transceivers  in  Arizona,  Kachina  ^^^^'^  desigr 

has  decided  the  time  is  right  for  a  ^^*"^  ^^^  ^  ^'' 

new  approach  to  amateur  radio,  when  your  a 

The  Kachina  505DSP  ts  nothing  s^rnuitaneoui 

short  of  a  revolution  in  HF  aclivity.  antei 

transceivers.  ^^^^  ^'^'^  '^^ 

forward  and/ 

Why  Use  Knobs  If  You  Have  and  a  host  o 
Windows?  The  old-fashioned 

front  panel  has  become  too  13 

cluttered  to  be  useful  Too  many  Pertornrtani 

knobs,  too  many  buttons.  i^'^^*'  ^^^P' 

Kachina's  505DSP  transceiver  Kachina  505 

connects  to  your  computer's  exceptional 

serial  port  and  is  completely  performance 

controlled  under  Windows'^  With  "brick-wair  d 

optional  cables,  the  radio  may  be  adaptive  not 

remotely  located  up  to  75  feet  ^roise  reduct 

away  from  your  computer  '^^  in-band 

Imagine  combining  a  state-of-  signaMo-noi 

Windows  /s  s  trademark  of  Microsoft  Corp. 

Specifications  and  feafur^s  subject  to  char^ge  wiihout  notice. 


the-art  DSP  transceiver  with  the 
processing  power  and  graphics 
capabilities  of  your  PC  and  you  II 
soon  wonder  why  all  radios 
aren't  designed  this  way  Why 
settle  for  a  tiny  LCD  display 
when  your  computer  monitor  can 
simultaneously  show  band 
aclivity  antenna  impedance, 
heat  sink  temperature,  SWR, 
forward  and/or  reflected  power 
and  a  host  of  other  information? 

16/24  Bit  DSP/DDS 
Performance  In  addition  to 
100%  computer  control,  the 
Kachina  505DSP  offers 
exceptional  16/24  bit  DSP/DDS 
performance.  IF  stage  DSP, 
"brick-wair  digital  filtering, 
adaptive  notch  filters  and  digital 
noise  reduction,  combined  with 
low  in-band  IMP  and  high 
signaHo-noise  ratio,  produce  an 


excellent  sounding  receiver. 
Sophisticated  DSP  technology 
achieves  performance  levels 
unimaginable  in  the  analog 
world.  The  transmitter  also 
benefits  from  precise  16/24  bit 
processing.  Excellent  carrier  and 
opposite-sideband  suppression 
is  obtained  using  superior 
phasing -method  algorithms.  The 
RF  compressor  will  add  lots  of 
punch  to  your  transmitted  signal 
without  adding  tots  of  bandwidth, 
and  the  TX  equalizer  will  allow 
you  to  tailor  your  transmitted 
audio  for  more  highs  or  lows. 


The  Kachina 
•505DSP  Computer 
Controlled 
Transceiver 

I 
eatures: 

Works  with  any  Computer 
Running  Windows  3.1,  95 
or  NT 

Covers  all  Amateur  HF 
Bands  plus  General 
Coverage  Receiver 

IF  Stage  16/24  Bit  Digital 
Signal  Processing  (DSP) 

J  II  DSP  Bandpass  Filter 
Widths  from  too  Hz  to  3.5 
kHz  (6  kHz  in  AM  Mode) 

Band  Activity  Display  with 
Toint  and  Click" 
frequency  Tuning 

I  On-screen  Antenna 
^  "Smith"  Chart.  Logging 
Software  and  Help  Menus 

~  Automatic  Frequency 
Calibration  from  WWV  or 
Other  External  Standard 

"Snapshot**  Keys  for 
instant  Reca  I  of 
Frequencies  and  Settings 

Optional  Internal  Antenna 
Tuner 


Seeing  is  Believing 

American-made  and  designed, 
and  able  to  stand  on  its  own 
against  the  wor Id^s  best,  the 
505DSP  is  bound  to  set  the 
standard  for  all  that  follow.  But 
don*t  take  our  word  for  it 
Visit  our  website  at 
http://www,kachina-az.corfi 
for  detailed  specifications,  to 
download  a  demo  version  of  our 
control  software,  or  to  see  a 
current  list  of  Kachina  deaiers 
displaying  demonstration  models 
in  their  showrooms. 


COMMUNICATIONS,  INC. 

P.O.  Box  1949,  Cottonwood,  Arizona  86326.  U.S.A. 
Fax:  (520J  634-8053,  Tel:  (520)  634-7828 
E-Mail:  sales@kachina-az.com