1,.1,1.,II,.,.11,.,III,.,1 .. 11,,1 ,.1.,1,1,I,I,., i.

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on 1174"8'5';'I1087Z'slllf,
 Now There Are Three!
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• 522 KHz - 16Hz Range- on www.etinco.ccm

OJ·X10 Wide·Range
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• 100 KHz - 26Hz Range* • "Beginner" and "Expert" modes
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• Cel lular blocked ~ USA mode's Unblocked vers,ons 81illilable for e:qJ01'l and authorized use, •• Patent applied for, '''Accessory stereo headptloo ~ or speakers req uired,
 THETEAM MARCH 200 1
ISSUE #4 8 4
EI Suprem o & Fo under
Wayne Gree n W2NS D/1
THE NEW!
Associate Publi sher
F. I. Marion
Amateur
Executi ve Ed ito r
Jack Burnell Radio Today
Managing Ed itor
Joyce Sawte lle
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Te chnical Ed itor
Larry Anto nuk WB 9RR T
FEATURES DEPARTMENTS
Co ntributing Cu lprit s 10 Way Co ol Rocket Project : Part 2 - N4XVF 49 Ad Index
M ike Bryce WB8VGE This 70cm rocketborne radio telemetry system is strictly 64 Barter 'n ' Buy
Jim Gray II for kids - NOT ! 37 Calend ar Events
Jack H elle r K8 7NO 50 The D igital Port - KB7NO
46 Hamsats - W5ACM
Chuck Hou ghton W861G P 18 Build Yourself an NVIS - VE2EQL
3 9 Homing In - K00V
Andy Mac Alliste r WSACM If you want to talk to the guy in the next county on HF,
4 Never Say Die - W2NSD/l
Joe Moell KOO V of course. 48 New Products
Steve Nowak K E8YNJ5
38 On the Go - KE8YN/4
Dr. Rick Olse n N6NR 19 Insi de Digita l TVNe R Tuner s - W6WTU 60 Propagation - Gray
Pari 7: Conclusion . 43 ORP
Ad vertising Sales 1 ORX
Evelyn Ga rrison WS7A 23 Build This Variable AC Bench Supp ly - K81HQ 63 Radio Bookshop
21 704 $ ,E. 35th 51. If you can find a Varia c transformer, that is.
Issa qua h WA 980 29
425-557-9611 26 $5 Infrared Remote Tester - WA 9PYH
Fax: 425- 557-9 612 Build this and look like a hero.

Circu lation 28 QRP Drives Ham Nuts - NY9D E-l\tail

Fra nces Hyvarinen Buys "critical mass " of parts and then goes on bizarre design73 @ao l.co!ll
building spree.
Data Entry & Oth er Stufl
Norman Marion 31 Bookbind THIS ! - Part 1 - W6WTU
Get organized, and save money, too.
Business Office Web Page
Editorial . Advertising • Circulafion 34 Guessless Beam Pointing - W9PJF www.waynegrccn.corn
Feedback - Product Rev iews This has been around for years , but for you newcomers ...
73 Amateur Rad io Toda y Magazine
70 Hancock Rd. 53 The Hi story of Ham Radio - W9CI
Pete rboroug h NH 03458·1107 Pari 4: The early 1920s.
603·924-0058
Fax: 603-924-8613 56 Read All About It! - K8JWR
Part 5 of good stuff from The Hertztan H era ld .
Reprints: $3 per article
Back issues $5 each

Printed in the USA

QRH • • •
regulations an d set up the plans for o pe rating the
ARISS station now and into the fu ture.
Manuscr ipts: Contributions for De legates from th e U nite d States and Russ ia
T he re's a b rig ht new sta r in th e sky. T he Inte rna-
possible publication are most were joined by their counterp arts represe nting a con-
welcome. We'll do the be st we can to tional Space Station is up a nd runni ng, and so is the
A RISS a ma teu r rad io sta tio n on boa rd . so rtium of Eu rop ean nations, Ca nada, and Japan.
return anything you request, but we
assume no responsibility for kiss Wh ile so la r wings w e re bei ng deployed and T hey ele cted Frank Ba ue r KA3H DO to cha ir the Ad-
or damage. Payment for submitted bro ug ht on line to provide power to the stat ion , the m inistrative G roup l or the ne xt two yea rs . That's the
articles will be ma de after publication.
intern atio nal team that set up A RISS met at NASA's
Please submrt both a disk and a
hard copy 01 your article [IBM (ok) Goddard Space Flight Center to pin down rules and Co n tin ued U ll puge 6
or Mac (prefefred ) lormats]. carefully
checked drawings and sere-nates, 73 A ma te ur Ra dio Toda y (ISSN 1052- 2522) i s pu bli she d monthly by 73 Maga zin e, 70 Hancock Rd .,
and the cearest, best focu sed and Pete rborou gh NH 03458-1107 . Th e e ntire con tents 02 001 by 73 Maga zin e. No part of this publication ma y be
reprod uced with o ut written perm iss ion of the pubns ner. which is not a ll that d iffic uit to get Th e subsc r iption
iighted photos you can manage. 'How rate is: on e year $24.97, t wo years $44 9 7; Ca nada : one yea r $34 .2 1. t wo yea rs $5 7.75 , includi ng postage and
to write for 73" guidelines are available 7% GS T. Fo reig n po stage : $ 19 surface , $42 airma il ad ditional per yea r, payab le in US fu nds on a US ba nk.
on request. US citizens. please Second cla ss posta ge is paid at Pete rborou gh, NH, and at additional mailing off ices . Ca nadia n second clas s
include your Social Security number mail regi stratio n #178 10 1. Cana dia n GS T regis tration # 125393 3 14. Microfi lm edition : Un iversity Microfi lm , Ann
wilh submitted manuscripts so we can Arbor M I 48 106 . POS TMA STER: Send add ress chan ges to 73 Amateur Radio Today, 70 Hancock Rd.,
subrmt rt to 00 know who. Peterboroug h NH 03458-1 107. 73 Amateur Radio Today is owned by Shabromat Way Ltd. of Hanco c k NH
B A~N
O "~ 0 "
9 Autry Irvine, CA 92616
(949) 456-7277 • (949 ) 456-0626

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GE MARC SERIES SS·12MC
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ICeM IC-Fll020 & IC·F2020 SS·101F. SS-121F
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 NEUER SRY 0 I E
Wayne Green W2NSDII
w2nsd @aol.com
www.waynegreen.com

Dayton 2001 Most o f the ham supe rstars

have died recently - Barry
In cleaning o ut my files for Goldwater. Jean Shepherd.
the new century. I ran across King. Hussein - hut how
a four-year-old letter from a about gelling Art Bell to give As I' ve mentioned. every weird things resu lting from
Dayton Hamvemion assistant a talk '! How about Walter cell in your body. and that in- blood tran sfusions. A recent
chai rman asking for suggcs- Cronkite? cludes every cell in your lab test with ce lls from an
tions. Of course I o ffered a Something need!'. to be blood. is in constant contact athlete's heart beat ex actly in
bunch. Far's I know, no nc of done by co mmittees to ma ke with ev ery other cell. even pace with his heart as he
'e rn were eve r impleme nted . their hamfcsts more exci ting when separated from you by walked and ran . even though
For instan ce . I suggested so they' ll be better atte nded. thousands of miles. When he was miles away.
they do a survey of their at- PR lakes work hut, unlike ad - you get a transfusion of some-
tcndccs to Find ou t what they vertising , it's free. Where one else's blood, yo u' re get- School RCI)Orl
enjoyed the most and liked I' ve been asked to gi ve ting a part of the m integrated
the least about the Hamven- ham fe st talks I've o ffered to into your mind/body system, In Virginia, reformers. in an
tion - j ust as manufacturers get there a couple o f days and not just yo ur body. You'll effort to improve their schools.
survey customers on their carly and help with radio and also ge t a good co llection of req uired that at Icast 70% of
products. Did the y attend any TV talk shows. Having been any poisons the y were carry- the students pass the slate ex -
talk s? Ho w would the y rate a radio DJ and a TV prod ucer- ing around, such as alcohol. ams or a school wo uld lose
them? What d id they buy? director. I have no problem nicot ine. caffeine. and a ny it s accreditat ion . When o nly
About how much did they with these media. You can get other dru gs, viruses. microbes. 7% passed the exams. the re-
spe nd? A survey o f the ex- a free sample by listening (0 parasites. fungi , or yeasts in q uireme nt was quietly thro wn
hibit ors would ask what they arc hive rec ordi ngs o f my their blood . And maybe some o ut.
liked best and what leas t. guest appearance s on the to xic metals. too. In Arizona, its requirements
and how the Ham vcntio n Coast To Coast AM radio If you think I'm exagger- were withdrawn when only
might be made bcuer for show via lwww.coasttocoast ating, you haven ' t bothered 10% of high schoo l so pho-
the m. How did the y do ? The urn.com] and Real Audio. to read Th e Sec ret Life of mores passed a new math
fl ea market exhibitors should Hamfcsts and ham co nven- YOIlT Cells yet. I've reviewed exam. And Wisconsin had to
also be surveyed . tio ns have to be kept in tunc it in my ed itorial. and in my ca ncel a test stude nts we re
These surveys would enable wi th thc times. likc an y Secret Guide to Wisdom . supposed to pass before thcy
the convention com mittee to other product or service. Even though the new blood could graduate.
improve the product plus give Alas. in my experience, ham- is the same type as yours, it is Our publi c sc hools are
' em added ammuni tion to tests have changed little in from another person and your gelling worse an d worser.
co nvince more companies to the last 60 years. immune sys tem will ge t busy The educa tion establish-
exhibi t. eliminating the invader. That' s me nt is being run by educa -
I suggested that the Ham- Transfusions jus t wh at you need at a time tors who don't know how to
vent ion could he used as a when yo u need all o f the ed ucate. and teachers who
sales pitch for the ho bby - Doc tors are doing million s strength your immunc sys tem don' t know how or what to
promoting the ir sho w in the o f blood transfusions every can muster to help you re- teach. As long as school-
local newspapers, TV. and ra- year. and I'll bet you' re com- cover fro m whatever caused teachers an d admin istrators
dio shows, aimed at you ng- plctcly convinced that this is the doctors to give you the arc coming from the bottom
stcrs. and enco ura ging local a good, lifesav ing procedure. transfusio n. 20% of high school students.
ham groups to set up displays My advice'? Do everythin g If you have made any effort have union-guaranteed ten-
whic h would demo nstrate our you can to avoid one! to devel op your psychi c abil - ure. and pay that has no con-
various special intere sts such I used to work in an office ity, once you ' ve had a trans- nccti on to the ir performance.
as repeaters. DXing. slow- o n 43rd Street in Manhattan. fusion yo u' ll be able to pick nothin g i ~ going to change -
scan. packet. hamsats, and so On the floor below our pub- up many of the though ts and other than o ur kids are going
on. We' ve go t a ton o f excite- fis hing o ffi ces .....as a blood feelings of the person from to continue to get poorer and
mcnt and adventure to sell. bank , so I go t a good look at whom yo u've received the poore r educations.
but we ' ve been keeping it a their clientele over the five blood. One woman wrote a Thi s is a cancer which is
secret. years I worked there - and it hook about an organ transplant slowly making America less
How about several tethe red was mostly homeless winos. where she wa s able to sense and less competitive in a world
balloon rides so atten dees gett ing en ough money for an- the name o f the donor and where lowering communicat ions
could take pic tures from two other bottle of the cheapest feel his feeli ngs. And thou-
or three hundred feet up? wine they could fi nd. sands o f people have reported Con tin ued on page 8
4 73 Amateur Radio toaev » March 2001
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QRH • • •
conrrnuedjrcm page 1 space. And if you are not satisfied with what you commercial users as well as to the U,S. military
see, you can zoom in or slew the picture in just and other government users. The State Depart-
group that runs ARISS, Frank will be joined by about any direction. And some of the photos are ment already owns 2,000 Iridium handsets lor
Gaston Bertels ON4WF as Vice Chair and so good that large antenna systems are visible. use in remote spots on humanitarian missions.
Rosalie While K1STO as Secretary-Treasurer. Thanks to Jim Damron NBTMW, via Newsline, Thanks to Newsloe. Bill Pasternak WA6ITF.
Those names should sound familiar. Frank is a Bill Pasternak WA6I TF. editor. editor.
Vice President of AMSAT and Rosalie is an ex-
ecutive at the ARRL; both were key players in
SAREX, the Space Amateur Radio Experiment
that led 10 the formation of ARISS. FAR Scholarship",s _ Ham-Palm
In final , approved form , the ARtSS station will The Foundation for Amateur Radio, Inc.. a Thanks to Jeff Davis N9AVG , you can now
continue on the air with the present equipment nonprofit organization with headquarters in catch up on the latest ham radio news over your
and antenna in the FGB section of ISS Alpha. Washington, DC, plans to administer 67 schol- PalmPilot. All you need do is visit [www.
The crew currently is using voice on 2 meters . arships for the academic year 200 1-2002 to as- callingcq,orgj and subscribe to the new AvantGO
They plan 10 fire up packet operation in the next sist licensed radio amateurs. The Foundation, channel titled "CALLING CQ. ~ Then, each time
week or so. composed of over 75 local area amateur radio you sync your Palm OS or Win CE device, you'll
Frequencies for public contacts are 145.800 clubs, fully funds 10 of these scholarships with the receive the most comprehensive news and in-
packet and voice downlink and 145,990 packet income from grants and its annual hamfest. The formation available for amateur radio enthusiasts.
uplink , Other uplinks can be found in the ARISS remaining 57 are administered by the Foundation Thanks to N9AVG, via Newsline , Bill
Web page , Call letters are NA1SS and AZ3DZR. without cost to the various donors. Pasternak WA6ITF, editor.
The Russians are trying to change the latter to Licensed radio amateurs may compete for
RSC'lISS. these awards if they plan to pursue a full-time
Russia's Chief Delegate , Sergej Samburov course of studies beyond high school and are
RV30R, was given approval to send up another
enrolled in or have been accepted for enrollment
DARA Scholarship",s_ _
station next spring, using upgraded MIR hard-
at an accredited university, college, or technical The Dayton Amateur Radio Association is now
ware to be installed in the Service Module. Slow
school. The awards range from $500 to $2,500 accepting requests for their annual scholarships.
Scan TV, being developed in the U.S. by a team
with preference given in some cases to residents These scholarships are awarded in varying
led by Miles Mann WF1 F, with hardware support
of specified geographical areas or the pursuit of amounts up to $2,000. An applicant for a DARA
from Lou McFadin W5DID, also shoukf be activated
ce rtain study programs. Clubs, especially those scholarship must be a graduating high school
at that time.
in Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsyl- senior in 2001 and must also hold a valid United
Future plans involving the Habitation Module
vania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin, are en- States-issued FCC amateur license. To fin d out
and a remote station in an Express Pallet on the
couraged to announce these opportunities at more or obtain an application , please send a self-
outside of the ISS were channeled to member
their meetings, in their club newsletters, during addressed stamped envelope to DARA Scholar-
nations for processing and evolution.
training classes, on their nets, and on their World sh ips, 45 Cinnamon Court, Springbo ro OH
There was much discussion of school contacts
and third-party traffic. It was ag reed that this is Wide Web home pages, 45066. Completed applications must be post-
one of the most important aspects of AAISS. The Additional information and an application marked no later than June 1st, 2001 .
first school contact was to be set up as soon as form may be requested by letter or QSL card, Thanks to DARA, via Newsline, Bill Pasternak
possible. ARISS hopes that the asnonautsvcos- postmarked priortoApril30, 2001, from FARSchol- WA6ITF. editor.
monauts' busy schedule may accommodate a arships, P.O. Box 831 , Riverdale MD 20738.
school contact a week, once the station settles The Foundation for Amateur Radio, incorpo -
into routine operation.
The delegates even agreed on a QSL card.
rated in the District of Columbia , is an exempt
organization under Section 501 (C)(3) of the In- ca de C02KK
It's a beauty, complete with a cover picture of ternal Revenue Code of 1954. It is devoted ex· On Ihe international scene, famed Cuban VHF
the Intern ational Space Station, the permanent elusively to promoting the interests of amateur DXer and CO Magazine writer Arnie Coro
home in space for amateur radio. radio and those scientific, lite rary, and educa- C02KK continues to host a radio program called
Thanks to Roy Neal K6DUE, via Newsl ine, Bill tional pursuits that advance the purposes of the CQ OX Unlimited . Arnie's show is broadcast in
Pasternak WA6ITF. editor. Amateur Radio Service, English over Radio Havana Cuba and is aimed
Thanks to FAR for this news item as well as mainly al shortwave listeners and beginners in
all their efforts. amateur radio. CQ OX Unlimited is broadcast on
Eye in the Sky: Tuesdays at 2115 to 2130 UTC on 13.750 MHz
AM and on 13,660 MHz SSB. Be sure to listen in.
Your a TH from S p~ac~e,----_ The Many Lives of Iridium Thanks to G4NJH, via Newsllne. Bill Pasternak
Ever wonder what your home QTH would look WA6ITF. editor.
Motorola's seemingly doomed constellation of
like if you were trying to view it from Earth orbit? Iridium low Earth orbiting telecommunications
Well, now you can find out without ever leaving satellites has gotten a new lease on life. This, as
your hamshack, if it has a connection to the the U.S. Department of Defense signs a two year Ham Radio History
Internet. 72 million dollar contract with the newly formed
All you have to do is take your Web browser Iridium Satellite LLC to keep the satellites in or-
Remailer
over to [www.globexplorer.com]. Globexplorer is bit and functional. The Ham Radio History E-mail reflector was
one word, Then cl ick in the word explore and Under the agreement, Iridium Satellite has founded in September of 1998 in an effort to re-
enter your complete address in tile area provided, contracted with Boeing to take over operation of searchand preserve as much of ham radio's past
Click the go button, and in less than a minute the 66-satellite cluster from Motorola. Iridium
you will be looking at your neighborhood from Satellite LLC will then market their services to Continued on page 61
6 73 Amateur Radio Today. March 2001
 FJ T
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n"
than ever. Gives minimum SWR at only one load, QRAf-FTf'e PreTrm e scratch proof \11' ,1-903, $49,95, Like MFJ -906,
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NEUER SRY DIE Boners Coast-To-Coast A M has o n man ip ulate cl o uds wi th yo ur
conrin ued J rom page 6 fo r a guest. My ins tru ment o f mind . You do n' t have 10 pray
Our politicians have pulled choice for this is th e Son)! to God , to Jesus, 10 Allah. or
and transportation costs a re some incredible boners d ur- ICF-SW I. II 's 3 x5.x l inches. 10 Mo ha mmed . And it works
moving hundreds of thou- ing the 20th century. Li ke we ighs a half a pound , a nd just as well for atheists as the
sands of jobs to lo wer-w age what'! Like rent control. for covers BC· S W-F)'I - 150- devout of a ny com mercia l
count ries. which provide far- instance . Thi s socialist dream 30.000 kHl . 7 6--108 M H z. Of religion.
better-educated workfo rces. has do ne more to ruin c ities course. it goes w ith rnc o n
T he te achers' unio ns ha ve tha n poverty or drugs. It's de- trips. )1)' Books
rejec ted e very effort to e ven stroyed m uc h of th e Bronx, So, when yo u' re shopping
te s t the te ach in g sys te ms Pa ris, and o ther c itie s around thc Ilea markets, the ham rag I hope yo u' ll read my Se -
which have he e n prod ucing the world. The presiden t of classificds. or the W W W. yo u cret Guide to Hraltti a nd sta rt
amazin g re sults in som e e x- Vietnam said that low rent s had need Fred Oste rman's NREK U c hanging your lifestyl e so
peri m ental schoo ls . Hmm. done more damage to Hanoi Buying (/ Used Shortwave Re- yo u' ll he able to enjoy robu:st
w hy docs that re mi nd me of than all o f the A me rica n ceiver hook . It' s $6 {+S2 slh ). health. Then I ho pe th at you'll
the medical es tablishment re- bombing . 78 page s. a nd gi ves a descrip- do your best to get the word
fusing to a llo w te sts o f thera- Li ke price controls, which tion of 100 of the most popu- to people you care about. so
pies which have been sho wn in every ins tance have re - lar radios. complete with they can regain their health.
to have great promise" sulted in prices skyrocketing. used prices. If you can't find )ly edi torials in 73 a re a liny
But. hey, as lo ng as you When manufacturers find thei r the book at yo ur local rad io le ver. but with your help we
don ' t care what the schools profi ts on a product are fall- store. write Universal Radi o. can make tho u..ands. a nd then
arc doi ng to yo ur kids. norh- ing, the y "i mprove" the prod- 6830 Americana Pkwy, Rc y- mi llion s o f people healthier
ing is going to change . No. uct a nd bring it out a t a highe r noldshurg O H 43068. Vou a nd wealthier. T hi s husi ness
there will he c ha nge, hut it price . mi ght even splurge a no ther o f spendi ng a life time work-
wi ll he . as in the pa st . c han ge Li ke pro hib ition , which $2 for their I Ox-page catalog. ing at jobs - being a " worker"
for the worse. brou ght us the Mafi a and or- It's a beaut. - is ju st o ne more way
Rome d istrac ted its ci tizen s gu nizcd crime. w hich is no ur- we ' ve all been bamboozled.
wit h games w hile the ir civili- ishing j us t fine today. thank Prayer Works Sen d a n SASE fo r a cata log
zation was crumbling. w e're you, a nd in all sons o f busi- o f Illy publication s to Wayn e
busy with hall game s. T V tal k nesses . I found them a con- Yep. the y' ve double-blind - G reen, Hancoc k ~ II 03-J49.
shows. and the political rhcto- trolling force in ne wssta nd prove n it scic mificall v. Read
ric of election campaig ns. di stribution and makin g sure Ro bert Miller's Miracles /1/ w~ \VUl Robbed
Let's ge t more Christians and the higger radio stations only The Maki ng, A riel Press , 289
lions into the arenas. pl ayed the music of the major South Main S treet # 205, Several of the books rc-
Ma ybe you read about the labeb. A lpharctta GA 30201. 128pp.. viewed in m y Secret Guide to
do / e ns o f New York Ci ty Then there ' s the so-culled S I o. I watched a video o f one n 'i.w/om ha ve to do with ho w
teachers a nd principa ls who War o n Po ve rty. W hat a joke. of th e experiments descri bed had o ur sc hool system is, a nd
were fo und to he helping stu- And the War o n D rugs. which in this hook a t a Suhtle Ener- ho w it got tha t ..v ay. In my
dents to c heat o n tests in o r- has huilt a ne w g ro up of gies conference in Mon te rey "spa re time" thar-dc -har) I' ve
der to make the ir sc hoo ls wealthy c rimina ls. plus bil- (C A ). That 's w here O lga been work ing on a hook
look bcucr? lions fo r the bribery o f te ns of Worrall. the not ed psych ic, whi ch has a.. its co re my edi-
tho usa nds of po lice, attorneys, lowered the surface ten sion torial essays o n the su bject.
Yes, M ore As par tame ;\ews judges. and c usto ms agents. of a j ar of water j ust by put- pl us relevant mate ria l from
I' m open for your nomina- tin g her hand.. near it. Then , my now-sold-out Declare l\ru !
One young woman had been tions for other worst ideas of she was sho wn re peating this book .
paralyzed from the waist down the 20lh ccm urv. from over a thousand miles Our school syslcm is both
• Get •vour
• a car accident • But a... a
by word processor going and away whi le the camera ra n. by far the most expensive in
reg ular d rin ker of " Diet snail- or E-mail me at w2nsd This book is packed with the world. and the worst. at
Coke" or Pepsi with aspar- @ao l.co m. the proo f of prayer 's power. least in the de vel o ped world.
lame INutra'iwccu in it. .. he In o ne ex perimen t wit h a O ur kids come in ar rhc bouom
was soon paral yzed f rom the Ru .,..in2 Rad ios large g roup o f peop le w ith o n international tests .
neck down . T hen there was a high blood pressure , psychics I' ve co mpla ined that o ne
you ng hoy who had become If you or a frie nd arc in the were able to pray fo r ha lf o f res ult of th is d um bing do wn
bra in dama ged by diet sodas marke t for a shortwave rc - them and substa nt ially lo wer process has been u lack of ge-
containi ng uspurunuc . Not ccivcr. you want 10 make an their blood pressure . No one niuse s. I' ve noticed this par-
everyone becomes brain dam- educated huy. so you wo n ' t in the group kne w w hic h o f ticul arly in the mus ic field .
aged or scrni-parclyzcd 10 the get hornswoggled. There seems them were bei ng prayed for W hen I tu rn to a classical m u-
(',\11:01 that it\. immediately 10 be a n unlimited supply of and wh ich weren ' t, so it wasn't vic station I kno w almost im-
and dramatically noticeable hc mswoggfers. so you need any placebo e ffect. med iate ly who the compose r
- we all have differen t sus- (0 approach the situation not l ' vc reviewed several o the r is, even if I' m not famil iar
ccptibilitics. different de - too information-challe nged. books w hich prove that just wi th the piece. Beet ho ve n.
toxing c apab ilities - bu t I don ' t know a bout you.but wishi ng for something can Wag ner. Copland. a nd so on.
why knov..-ingty put a proven I kee p a radio which incl udes make it happen, so this proof all have their sta mp on the ir
poison in your 110dy '! We shortwave coverage at m y of the powe r o f prayer isn' t a m usic, It turn s out that I' m
unknowi nal o .v put in eu o ue
0 h bedside. so I can c heck out a bi g stre tch. not the o nly person to no tice
as it is . T he dam age c a n well couple o f the more interesting T hi s takes lIl C hack to N eil thi s phe no menon .
I1c cum ulative a nd show up sho rtwave statio ns, c heck th c Slade' s hook , where he ex·
latcr. C HU limc lic ks, a nd Sl'e w ho plai ns how s im ple it is to Con tin ued on puye 6 2
8 73 Amateur Radio Today· March 2001
FM EXCITERS: A microprocessor-controlfed repeater with full
Rated tocconunoocs duty. 2W continuous duty outpur. autopatch and many versatile dtmf remote
T301 Synthesized VHF Excite r: for various bands control features at less than you might pay for
139-174MHz , 216-226 MHz. Dip switch freq settmq. a bare bones repeater or controller alone!
• Kit ~ WO<l' '''''') .. ,$109 (TCXO option $40)
• Wi red/tested. incl TCXO...$189 Exciti ng new AM
TJ04 Synthesized UHF Ex cite r: receiver f or the
variou s bands 400-470 M Hz , 118-137 MHz aircraft ba nd.
• Kit 1440-' 500 ~.m bo<><l only) • Ideal for monitoring at small airports,
incl TCXO ... $149 • Allows pilot control of run way lighting.
• Wlredltested ._$189 • High-quality ELT monitor to detect and locate • kit stlfl only $1095
CRYSTAL CONTROL L ED: downed aircraft. • factory assembled s tlfl only $1295
• lAS1: tor 6M, 2M, 220 MHz klt $99, wit $ 169 • Dip switch frequency selection, ~5-4. 1 ~ 3· 17 ~.21 3·233, 42lH7S "'Hr,
• TA451: fo r 42 0-475 MHz, kit $99, wit $ 169 ... FCC ' . ... ace.pled for oommert:iaI ""Nice in 150 & 450 101Hz baod.
• Superior sensitivity and selectivity.
• lA9a1 : for 902-928 MHz. (D,SWOll!) . .. wlt $1 69 "R 12 1 Receiv er module w ired/tested . $209 Digita l Voice Reco rder Opt ion . Allows message up
R121 Receiv er in A87 cabinet . , $299 to 20 sec. to be remotely recorded off the air Play
VHF & UHF POWER AMPLIFIERS. back at user request by DTM F command , or as a
Ou tput levels from 10W 10 100W. St artI ng at $99 periodica l vo ice to. or both Great for making clu b
LOW NOISE RECEIVER PREAMPS annou ncements ! ....... " ..." o nly $100
FM RECEIVERS: RE p·200C Economy Repeat er. Rea l-voice 10. no
Very sensitive - O,2jJV, LNY-( ) ECONOMY PREAMP ONLY dtmf or autooatcb . ...... Ki t on ly $795 , w &t $1195
Superb selectivity, >100 dB down al :J:12 kHz, best R EP -200N Re peater. Without controller so yo u can
available anywhere, flutt er-proof squelch. / '.. $29Ivv&t

RJ D1 Sy nt h esIzed V HF Re ceiver : various bands

• M iniature MOSFET Preamp. 10
DOli'
~ . .-" .• " $ "
use your own. .. , .. Kit only $695, w&t $995
• Low noise figure
139· 174MHz, 216 ·226 MH z.
• Klt (~.m t>a_ on':l) ..,on ly $ 139
• Wiredltested .. $209
(TCXOoption $40)
• Available for various bands
from 28 to 450 MHz,
>
.- QP, UO C" "
" ..'" e You'll KICK Yourself
(includes TCXO) LNP-( ) PRESELECTOR ON LY $39Iw&t
If You Build a Repeater
R304 Sy nt hesize d UHF Rece iv er: Without Checking Out Our Catal og First!
• Eliminate intermod!
vari ous bands 40Q..470MHz. • Low noise preamp
• Kit (~4(l-4$O ham baod onIi'l • Sharp a-secnco filter Hamtronics has the w or1d 's most
inel TCXO . .$179 • Available for bands complete nne of modules for
• Wiredltested .. $209 from 137 to 170 MHz. making repeaters . In addition to
CRYSTAL CO NTROLL ED: exciters, pa's, and receivers , we
• R100 R CVR . For 46_54 . 72-76, 140-175. or 216-225 o ff er the fo ll ow ing controllers.
MHz. . kit $129, wit $ 189 LNG-( ) GAAs FET COR·3. Inexpensive , flexible COR module with timers,
• R144 RC VR. Like R l00. for 2M , wnn helical
resonator In front end . ......k it $159, wit $2 19
PREAMP courtesy beep, audio mixer "" on ly $491klt, $79 wit
S TILL O NLY $59, wired/tested CWID,2 , Eprom·controlled ID'er only $54/kit. $79 wi t
• R451 RCVR, for 420-475 MHz. Simi lar 10 Rl00
atcve. . kit $129, wit $ 189 OVR·1. Record your own VOK:e up to 20 sec. For voice
• R9 01 RCVR, 902-928MHz kit $159, wit $219 id or playing club announcements. . " ......$5911<11, $99 wit
COR-4. Complete COR and CWiD all on ooe board. 10
SUBAUDIBLE TONE ENCODER/DECODER WEATHER FAX RECEIVER in eprom. Low power CMOS . . on ly S99/kl t, $149 wit
COR-6. COR with real-vnice id . Low power CMOS. non-
Access all your favorite Join the fun. Get striking volatile melllOl)'. . , kit o nly $99, w/1 o nly $149
closed repeaters! Images directl y from the COR.5. liP controll er with autopatcn, reverse ap. phone
• Enc od es all standard CTCSS _ather satellltes! remote contrOl , lots of DTMF control functiol1s. all on one
jon es wijh crystal accuracy and A vllf)' sens~ive wideband tm board, as used in REP-2oo Repeater. .... ,..... $379 wit
conven ient DIP switch seledion. receiver opti mlll1d f or NOAA
AP-3 . Repeater eutcpatch. reverse autopatch. phone line
• oeceeer can be used to mute receive audio and is APT & Russian Meteor w eather fa x on the 137MHz band,
remolecontrol. U se w~ I'I TD· 2 "" klt$89
optimized for installation in repeaters to provide closed Covers all 5 satellite channels. Scanner circu~ & recorder
control allow you to automatically capture signals as TD-2. Four·dig,t DTMF oecccerrcontroner Five latching
access. High pass Mer gets rid of annoying rcvr buzz
satellltes pass overhead. even while away from home on-oft functions, toll call restrictor ..... k it $79. wit $129
• TD-5 CTCSS Encoder/Decoder Kij " ..now only $39
See product review w~h actual satellite pictures in June TD·4 . DTMF controller as above except one en-ott
• TD·5 CTCSS EncoderlOecoder Wiredltested"" $59 function and no toll call restrctor ", , wit $89
1999 OST, along w~h into on software and antennas.
• R1 39 Rece iver Kit less case " ......$159
• R1 39 Rece iver Kit wijh case and AC power adapter $189
• R1 39 Receiver w/1 in case w~h AC power adapter ...$239
• Internal PC Demodulator Board & Imaging Software $289 A se nsitive and selective
• Turnstile Antenna . . " ,$135 professiona l grade recesver 10
• Weather Satellije Handbook . ", $20 monitor critica l NOAA weather
No need to spend thousands on
new transce ivers for each band !

• Co nvert vhf and uhf sIg nals ~ • j

broadcasts. Good reception
even at distances of 70 miles or
more wijh suijab>e antenna No
-
comparison with ordinalY consumer radiOS!
to &fro m10M. Get t ime & frequency cheeks Automatic mode provides storm watch. alerting you by
• Even Wyou don1 have a 10M rig. you can pick up without buying mUltlband hf
very good used ~mtrs & rcvrs for next to noth~ c\) unmuhng receiver and providing an output to tri p remote
• Receiving converters (Shown above) available for
various segments 0/ 6M, 2M, 220, and 432 MHz
rcvr. Hear solar activity reports
affecting radio propagation
Very sensitive and selecti ve
,~ - -- equipment when an alert tone is broadcast. Crystal
controlled 10< accuracy: all 7 c hann els (162.40 to 16255)
Buy just lhe receiver pcb module in kij form or buy the kit
• Revg Conv Kits from $49. wiredltested unijs only $99, crystal controlled superhet. dedicated to listening to WWII w~ n an attractive metal cabinet, AC power adapter, and
on 10 MHz, Pertormance rivals the most expensive rcvrs.
• Trans mitting co nverters lo r bui"·in speaker. Also available factory wired and tested
• RWWV Rcv r k~ . PCB ooty "." ". " " $59 RWX Rc. , k ~. PCB ooly . . , .... $19
2M. 432 MHz.
• K~s only $89 vhf or $99 uhf. • RWWV Rcv r k~"';th ca bt. spkr. & 1'Noc adapter ".$89 RWX Rc.r k ~ with cabinet. speaker, & AC adapter ".... S!l9
• RWWV Rcv r wit in cabl"';l11 spkr & adapttlr $129 RWX Rcvr wiredllested in cabinet with speake, & adapt er $1 39
• Power amplif>ers up to SOw.
David Babulski N4X VF
2677 Colony Circle
Snellville GA 30078

Way Cool Rocket Project: Part 2

This 70cm rocketborne radio telemetry system is strictly fo r kids - NOT!

Part one of this series described the construction of a 433 AfHz telemetry transmitter
and recei ver. Part two will describe constr uction of a 433 MHz telem etry recei ving
ant enna and integration of the telemetry transmitter in to th e rocket payload section.
Let's begin with construction of the telemetry receive antenna.

he telemetry receive ante nna of about 30 degrees. With two antennas polar ization of the receive antenna s

T consists of two Astron Corpora-

tion Model 4QO..4 yagi antenna
kits cut for 433 MHz operation.
stacked for vertical polarization and fed
in ph ase. the forward gain becomes
9.5 dB . with the verti cal half power
was selected to match the vertical po-
larizati on of the rocket-mounted trans-
mit ante nna. Because the rocket is in
stac ked vertically. a nd fed in phase. beamwidth reduced to about 15 de- moti on. the receive anten na must he
The: Astron Model 400-4 kit ca n he grees. In addition. the verti ca l ca plUre able to follow the llight path to ensure
purchased directly from Astron C0!T'o- area of the antenna is dou bled. With positi ve re cep tion of teleme try data.
rat ion or from Ramsey Elec tronics as only 80 mi lli watts from the transmit- To accomp lish this I created a fully
Ra msey #400-4 . Specifications for the ter. we need all the gain and capture stccrablc ult-azimuth antenn a mount.
a-cleme nt yagi indicate a forward gain area that we can get to e nsure so lid Photo A shows the completed ante nna
of 7 dB . with a half-power bcamwidth copy of the tele metry signal. Vertical array in tracking mode.
Building the ante nna array begins
with construc tion of the tw o -1.-eJe -
ment yagi a ntennas. The Astron
Model -1.00·-1. is s upplied as an un -
drill ed al um inum boom with four sets
of alu minum eleme nt material. (The
dr iven cle ment is prcasscmbled hut not
cut to lengt h.) Element mounting hard-
ware is also supplied . Each clement
must be cut for the operating fre-
que ncy. A chart is supplied with the kit
that gi ves clement dimensions and ele-
ment spac ing for specific frequencies.
In addition to drilling the boom for
the antenna elements. the boom must
abo he drilled for the moun ting hard-
ware and for an antenna counter-
weight. F tg. I is a drawi ng of the
antenna di mens ions that I used in
Photo A. Comptetn t (/1l1l' I1I W array ill tracking mode. building the yagis for 4 33 MHz.
10 73 Amateur Radio Today · March 2001
 ILL
ELE
COR o N

..
•• .... .... Silicon photovottalc cells•
Appro x,male ou tpu t: ~--...
MArEl' Al ; AST~""; CtJ~.
II." " 0.45 Volls 0' 100 rnA. .~
M".~ t. 4""· 4-
)'''''', 4>'r."""" )( IT I 0 .0 1" thick.
CAT' S PL·22
75 C
0.79" l( 0 ,79" (2Omm }( 2Omm ) square .

each
rTOiOfl
~

1 Approximate outPut:
0 .45 Volt s I) SO rnA
0 .79" )( 0 .4" (2Omm )( l Orrvn).
$
::: 00,",,"".
CAT' SPL-12
3 f or S1-00
16 Character X 2 Line
LCD with Backlight
Daewoo" 16216L·5·VSO
Fig. 1. Tracking antenna. 5 • 7 dot format. 2.56- .
0.54- viewing area ,
3.15- . 1.41-mooule size.
LED backlight Includes •
The antenna counterweights are 6- The antenna mount hook·~speC sheet.
inch lengths of II2-inch-diameter so ft CAT # LCD-53 ,,"';'-===:0
steel rod. The counterweights arc in- Three sub-assemblies arc combined 10 for $6.50 each
stalled after the antennas are as- together to form the anten na mount. q~2h 100 for $5 .00 each
sembled and mounted. As a safety These three subass emblies arc the tri-
Nickel-Metal Hydride
measure , these counterweight rods arc pod legs, tripod head. and elevation
AA "Flat- Top" Celts
wrapped with Fluorescent red tape to bearing box and azimuth bearing.
Panasonlc e HHR · 11AAO, 1.2 Volt, 1100 mAh
prevent them heing an eye hazard. The tripod legs and tripod head arc 'nat-top" rechargeable AA cells These ce lls are
Now that you hav e the two antennas built first. Fig. 2 is a dimensioned desigr'l9d for use in battery packs ; they do not
ha vE'! the raised button found on most replace -
assembled and drilled. set them aside drawing of the tripod parts. able batteries. 0,55" diameter X 1 95" long
and begin constru ction on the ant enna Cut six lengths of 1-1 12- x 3/4-inch Large quantity available. Two styles:
mount. clear pine to sixty inches (5 ft.). Each REGULAR-FLAT TOP f\\'lE:;".... 3
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Fig. 2. Tracking antenna tripod pa ns.
73 Amateur Radio Today 0 March 2001 11
 The next step is to cut the tripod leg
, attachment brackets from 3/4~i nch
po plar stock. Use a drill and a 1I4-inch
drill hit to d rill the ho les for the leg at-
tachmcm bolts . as indicated on the
plan . Next. place the tri pod leg attach-

T ment brackets in line with the screw

hol es in the LOp plate . Usc an ice pick
or small nail LO mark the screw hole lo-
"
~"'. ",
catio ns o n the leg bracket s. Use a drill
1r
/
( "'''om......
and a 111 6·i nch bit to d rill sc re w pilot

" Uw fI.'" UA~_ I1U

r '- r_ I U _
E........ I<>Jt
holes in the leg bracket s. Faste n the leg
bracke ts to the tri pod top plate with
I~rr- .......r~ ,......, r) .... "~r {.,_ ' )

~~
I =.':,,=~I
.... wood glue and flathead wood sc rews.
7"~d< ".'6
6~,,o ,,,,,,,
( ..i>~ &!t~_
_rl!"' ·"'~
IU_",,# iJM ' -+,U$
To S<.AU)

..,.u _ <...L"",o r ' u "' .. ~ .~

,. I
,
;r
Tum (he tripod over. center the bot-
tom plate. and line up the scre w ho les
with the leg bracke ts . Mark the screw
-L'-.- '--,=,,"--(
--j 1
hole locations on the leg brackets and
~"" $~&<~'"
':c--:---:-~------:--~._-------_---..J
drill the 1 / 1 6~ i n ch scre w pilot ho les.
Fig. J. Tracking ante l/lla elevation bearing box parts. Use wood g lue and llathead wood
screws to fasten the bottom plate to the
tripod leg brackets. Set this asse mbly
tripod leg is made up o f two o f these easily worked. You can find this mate-
aside to dry.
fi ve-foo t mem bers. Usi ng the di mc n- rial at most home improvement ce n-
The e leva tion be aring bo x is the ne xt
sinned drawing as a g uide . mark the ters. O nce the top and bottom plates
compo nent of the antenna mou nt. Fig.
locations o f the 1I4· inch holes o n each are c ut to shape. usc the dimensioned
end of the legs. Drill 1I4~i nc h hol es at 3 is a dimensioned d rawi ng of the parts
draw ing to mark loc ations for the
fo r the e levation bearing box .
the top an d bottom ends of each tripod screw holes. Using a d rill and a 1 /8~
leg at the meas ured locati ons. Fasten Start by cutting all the pieces for the
inc h dri ll bit. dri ll the nine screw hol es
the bottom two members of each leg in the tripod top plate and the three beari ng box . Make sure to make two o f
together with a 1I4·inch x 3 ~ inch boll. scre w hol es in the tripod botto m plate . the side plates. I used 3/4~ inch poplar
Loosely fasten the nut o n eac h of the Usc a co untersink bit to s lightly for the hearin g box, although the type
three bolts. cou nter bo re the se screw hol es. This of materi al is not critic al. Mark and
I elected to use 1/8· inch-thi ck stan- will ensure that the flathead wood drill the holes in the side plates using
dard hardboard as the material for the sc rews to he used later wi ll re st nat information from the plans. Fasten the
top and bottom plates o n the tripod with the surface o f the top and bottom beari ng bo x side plates to the bottom
head. Th is materia l is inexpensive and plates. plate with wood screws and wood
g lue. S lide the e le vation bearing bo x
back su pport in place a nd sec ure with
wood g lue . Photo B shows the back-
sidc o f the elevation beari ng box , and
the re lation ship between all the parts .
The receiver she lf and shel f bracket
are fastened to the back of the e leva-
tion hearing bo x with epoxy. Cut a
le ngth of 1·1 /4· inch-d iamctcr hard-
wood dowe l to 28 inc hes. This will be-
come the ele vatio n a xle . T he azim uth
beari ng is a S hepherd Hardware Prod-
ucts Model 9548 ball be ari ng lazy S u-
san. Fasten the lazy S usa n to the
bottom of the elevatio n bearing box
wi th sma ll flathead wood scre ws. Posi-
tion the e levatio n bearing bo x in the
center of the tripod top plate . Rotate
the box so that the mo unting ho les for
the lazy Susan are visible. M ark posi-
Photo H. Elevation hearing !}()X, rear view. tion o f the lazy S usan mounting hol es
12 73 Ama teur Radio rodev » March 200 1
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• •
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hole s will use 6-32 x I-inch machine throu gh the PVC adapter and the axle.
scre ws and nuts. Slide a 5/32 x 2·1I2· inch cotter pin
Modified 1-l/4- x I-inch PVC re- into the hole to hold the bearing in
ducer adapters are used as bearing s for place. Repeat this procedure on the
the ele vation axle. Fig. 4 is a drawing oth er end of the ele vation axle. At this
showing the modifications of the PVC point, attach the leg assemblies to the
adapters. You will need to make four of leg brackets with a-inch x 1/4·inch
the modified adapters. carriage bolts and nuts. Spread the tri-
As shown in Fig. 4, the shank of pod legs out so that the elevation bear-
each PVC adapter is cut down to a ing box is at a comfo rtable working
length of II2-i nch. Make sure to re- height. The next step is to mount the The impressive IC·756 Pro covers HF plus 6
move any burrs with a small kn ife. The antennas to the elevation axle . mete rs. The high resolution 5 inch TFT color
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outside diameter of the PVC adaprcr is Mounting the antennas than ever, including a spectrum scope. The
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around the out side surface of the 112· the prepared antennas to the elevation
inch-long shank until it just fits into axle. Photo C shows how the antenna
the 1-3/4-inch·diameter hol e in the el- is mounted to the elevation axle.
evation bearing bo x side plate. Coat Make sure the driven element is di-
the inside surface of the 1·3/4·inch-di- rected outward (as shown in the ph oto-
ameter hole and the outside surface of graph) and that the element is aligned
the tape on the adapter with 5·minute with the end of the elevation axle. This The IC·746 covers 160· 10 meters plus 6
epoxy and fit in place. Use care to not will ensure proper spacing of the two and 2 meters with 100 watts on all bands.
get any of the epoxy on the inside sur- antennas. Next, move the antennas so Call or visit our website for further details
and pricing on this and other tCOM radio s.
face of the adapter. After the epoxy has the booms are horizontal and insert the
set, slide the elevation ax le into the previously prepared lengths of stee l Universal Radio
6830 Americana Pkwy.
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with respect to the elevation bearing Adju st position of the steel rods until +Orders: 800 431·3939
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pared PVC adapters over one end of tion axle. Mark this position on the
73 Amateur Radio Today • March 2001 13
 Integralion or the telemetry
transmitter into the rocket
payload section
, IMPORTANT NOTE: The rocket
kit de scribed in thi s project is NOT
d e signed for those who arc beg inners
to rocketry. If yo u are new to thi s
di scipline , I recommend that you
co ntac t the N ational A ssociation of
Rocketry or the Tripoli Ro cketry As-
soc iation (ad dresses at th e e nd o f
this article ) for the locat ion o f a
rocketry club close to your area.
M embers of these o rganizations are
eager to o ffe r help to those ne w to
roc ke try.
The rocket airframe used in this
project is the Vaughn Brothers Extreme
Photo C. Antenna mounted to elevation axle.
38 rocket k it. Construction of the
rocket airframe is outside o f the scope
stee l rod through the hole in th e end of nut. The remaining step in antenna con-
of thi s article. The kit sho uld be built
the antenna boom . Use a drill and 1/4- struction is fabric ation o f th e coaxial
according to the in struc tions supplied
inch drill bit to d rill a mounting hole cable phasing harness.
with the kit wi th the excep tions de-
through each of th e stee l rods at the
marked locat ions. Install the stee l rods Building the phasing harness tailed be low. Fig. 6 is a dimensio ned
into the rear e nd of the antenna booms drawing hi ghlighting the modifica-
with a 1/4-in ch x 2-inc h bolt and wing FIg. 5 is a dimensioned drawing of tions made to the paylo ad section of
th e coaxial phasing harness . the rocke t kit.
- -- - -- - - - -- - - ---j T he harne ss uses two sections of The first m odificat ion to be made is
RG -6 75-oh m coa x, eac h leg 37 to the nose cone. A s detailed in Fig. 6,
EVERY ISSUE OF
in ches in length . The fi rst step. how- the rear portion o f the nose co ne is re-
73Amateur e ver is to attac h a c onnector to the moved and discarded. With a 1/] 6-
Radio Today short length o f c o ax from the an- inch drill hit, drill two sma ll holes 11
on Mic rofi che ! tenna dri ven clement Cut thi s length 2·inch from the sho ulder o f the nose
The entire run of 73 from o f coax to 6 in che s and attach a male cone . This is the point at which the
October 1960 through last year is co axi a l connector. A coaxi a l barrel thermistor will be mounted. Insert the
now available. Over 800 fiche!
con nector is used to j o in th e p hasi ng the rmistor leads into the two small
You can have access to tne harness to each o f the d rivcn e lemen t holes in the nose cone . Ensure a 1/32-
treasures of 73 without several
connectors . inc h ai r gap betw ee n the bottom of the
hundred pounds of bulky back
issues. Our 24x fiche have 98 The p hoto g raphs in th is article th ermi stor a nd the no se cone surface .
pages each and will fit in a card file show the detail s of m o unting the Place a small dab of epoxy over the
on your desk. phasing harness . This completes thermist or leads on th e inside of the
We offer a batte ry operated hand co nstruc tion o f the telemetry re cei ve no se cone to fix th e thermistor in
held viewer for $150, and a desk a nten na array. place .
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The collection of microfiche, is
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5..l-U:!oi9..l-· 5777oXOO:2X2-562X
Fax 540:H9·,J.tJ l ..l- l
e- mail: infoe'buck.com Fig, 5. Phasing harness.
14 73 Amateur Radio Today ° March 2001
 Use the drawing in Fig. 6 as a guide,
and cut the thermistor shro ud from a
i!' ::FAuf /Jl4II<l's s,,~
small shee t of .OO5-inch brass. Prepare ""'T/f ~JJG'U ' ~ r
three one-inch lengths of tinned number
22 solid copper wire. Solder these three
wires to the brass shroud as shown in
Fig. 6. Temporarily bend these wires out
from the shroud and fo rm the shroud
over the thermi stor, Make sure that the
brass shroud will not touch the ther-
mistor. Mark the three locations where L.+f-.
the bent out wires touch the nose cone ~.ur-s,""" ", ""_
s ,"" r'cH J¥~ "
N" ",.,.,_A
surface. Use a 1/32-inch drill bit to r" T-.,bNs, ..
drill ho les at the marked locati ons on
the nose cone. Bend the shro ud wires
so they arc po inting down and away
from the shro ud. Insert the shroud
"'''''' 'FKA.''''''' nl "'"s6 0:-6
wires into the three holes. Bend the S~I'" ",."" ~Ir /'C I T

wires down from the inside of the nose

cone to hold the shroud in place . Fix
each shroud wire in place with a Fig. 6. Rocket assembly.
small dab of epoxy ove r each wire .
Lay in an e pox y fillet at the shroud Prepare two lengths of stranded end of the wires to the thermi stor leads
nose cone boundar y. The shroud is hookup wire. eac h 3 inches in length . inside the nose cone .
used both to shie ld th e thermistor Twist the two wires together. Solder a The Vaughn Brothers rocket kit is
from the sun and to protect it from 2-pin Dean 's connector to one e nd of supplied with a mounting bracket and
ni ght-generated aerodynamic forces. the prepared two wires. Solde r the free plate for an altimeter circ uit. You will

The World's Largest

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73 Amateur Radio Today . March 2001 15

1'11010 D, Payload section. with arming jad: inplace, 1'11010 E. Transmit alltelllla ins talled 011 tile pavluad section.

nor usc thc metal plate . Two circular de grees dni.-kwisc from the a rming eac h side of th e wire to hold it in p lace. ,
foam blocks arc supplied in the kit. Usc jack and m ar k for the a ntenna. Dri ll a You may lind it helpful to tack the an-
a razo r saw and cut one of the foam 1/32-inch ho le at th is point. Prepare a te nna to the pay load section with c y-
bloc ks in ha lf. M od ify th e remain ing two-i nch le ngth of stra nded hookup an oacrylate adhesi ve before us ing the
foam block as show n in Fig. 6 . wire by stripp ing 114-inch from each end e poxy. Photo E shows th e tra ns m it an-
Bu ild the payload sectio n as detai led and tinning the wire wi th solder. Next. tenna ins ta lled o n the payload sectio n .
in the rocket ki t instructions. W hen all cut a 6-3/4 -inch length of 1/ 16-inch Solder a 2- pi n Dean 's connector to
the epoxy adhe sive has full y set. push music wire. Usc fi ne sand paper a nd the free end of the 2-inc h ante nna wire.
the one-half foam block you cut earlier b urn ish 2 inches o f o ne end of the m u- The next step is to install the trunsmirtcr
to the hotto m o f the payl oad section. s ic wire . Measure 3/8-inch from the circuit hoard into the pay load section,
Meas ure 2- 114 inches fro m the front burni shed e nd of the wire. Usc pliers In sert the transmi tter circ uit hoard .
edge o f the payload sec tion and mar k to put a au-degree bend in the w ire at battery end fi rst. into the payload sec-
the pos ition o f the mou nti ng ho le for thi s point. Push the prepared music tion. Usc care to posit ion the circu it
the arming jack. Usc the sharp po int of wi re into the ante nna ho le in the pay- hoard to dear the arming jack as you
a modeling knife to cut a 3/ 16-i nc h-di- load section so that you have aCl·CSS to slide the circ uit hoard into po sit ion .
amctcr ho le at th e point marked for the the short bent section o f wire . Solder S lide the prepared forward foam bl ock
arming jack, To m ak e install atio n o f o ne e nd o f the two-inch wire yo u pre- into place. The Silo- inch slot in the
the tran sm itter eas ier. I p lacet! a two- pared ea rlier to the bent sec tio n of foam block shou ld j ust d ear the arm -
• •
co nduc tor con nec tor in se ries with the m usr c wi re . ing j ack . Dress the remai ning wires
wires from the arming j ack to the Pu sh the mu sic wire back through from the transmitter c ircu it hoard
transmi tter battery. Photo D show s the the anten na mounting hole so the 6-3/ thro ugh the liN-inch slot in the foa m
payload section with the armi ng jack 8-inc h length lies alongside the pay- block . J used an additional piece of
in place . load section. Use a shun le ngth of foam rubber as a forward block inside
Meas ure 1- 1/4 -inl..'h fro m the front masking tape to ho ld the antenna in the nose cone. Th is ensu res th at. once
o f the pay lo ad sec tio n at a po in t 20 0 p lac e w hile yo u lay in epoxy fille ts on the nose cone is fa sten ed in pl ace, the

Photo F. A ntell lla , thermistor: aJUJ arming jack connector.\'. 1'11010 G. Completed airframe ill primer coat white.
16 73 Amateur Radio Today · March 2001
 Qty. Part scre ws supplied in the rocket kit. Note: launch from a tower, so no launch lugs
You may find it necessary to notch the ha ve been installed. If yo u will be
Astron 400-4 or Ramsey Electronics 400-
2
4 yagi a ntenna kits bottom edge o f the nose cone to clear launching from a rod-type launcher,
the antenna wire on the inside of the launch lugs will need to be installed on
• 5 ft. Iengtt1s of 1-112 .. 314 inch clear pine
,,-, payload section. I recommend plac ing
an index mark on the j unction betwee n
the airframe.
3 ft. l( 3 fl . square piece of 1/8 inch
1
standard ha rdboard
nose cone and payload section so proper Addresses
alignment can be achieved later, Photo
1
4 ft. section 5· 11'2 x 314 inch poplar
F shows the antenna, thermistor, and Vaughn Brothers Rocketry, 4575
lumber
arm ing jac k connec tors. Ross Dri ve, Paso Robles CA 93446;
1 3 It. section 3 x 3/4 inch poplar lumber Test the transmitter installation by te l.: (805) 239-3 8 18: fax : (805) 239-
30 inch Ieogth 101 /4 inch d iam. hardwood turning on the rece iver and then pul l- 0292 .
1
dowel ing the arming plug fro m the jack. If Astro n Corporation, 22560 Glenn
3 3 inch II 1/4 inch carriage bolls wittl nuts eve rything is work ing OK, you should Dri ve, Suite 114, Sterling VA 20 164;
hear tone pulses from the rece iver. Re- tel.: (703) 45Cl-55 17; fax: (703) 45Cl-
3 .. inch Jl 1/4 inch carriage bolls with nuts
install the arming plug to tum off the 9753.
3 6-32 machine soe.s with outs tra nsmitte r, Photo G is a photograph National Association of Rocketry,
10 1-112 inch flathead wood screws of the completed airframe in prime r 13 11 Edge wood Dri ve. Altoona WI
coat white. The ne xt art icle in this se- 54720 ; [www.nar.org ].
2 Radio Shack "1 5-826 U-boll c1a1'fllS
ries will describe cal ibrat ion of the Tripoli Roc ketry Association. Inc.,
1
12 inch length 112 inch diam soft 81001 thermistor temperature se nsor, fini sh- P.O . Box 280, Bessemer AL 3502 1-
roc ing the sounding rocket airframe, fli ght 0280; tel.: (205) 424-8357. FlI
4 ' -1 /4 inch l( 1 inch PVC reduce r adapter
operations, data recovery, and implc- 1--------- -------
B ft. Ienglh Beldeo _92 48 RG -6 75 ohm mentation of the project with schools
1
coacsrcable and youth groups. ac k Issues
ROCKET CONSTRUCTION NOTE: or
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The roc ket airframe has bee n bui lt for 73 Maga:in ~
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o
Table 1. Tracking aI/tent/a parts list. c Am-Com, Inc. ClearSpeeclf'J Speaker i~
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• Improves clarrty & inlellQlbillly
Connec t the therm istor. antenna, and • Cootinuous. adaptive removal • Engineered br use WIth
arming jack co nnectors. and then fas- 01 badlground noise amaleur radlos
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1 Vaughn Brothers Extreme 38 rocke t kit

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Table 2. Airframe parts list.
73 Amateur Radio rcaev » March 200 1 17
John Grow VE2EQL
210 Vercheres
Greenfield Park, Quebec
Canada J4V 264
Ugrow @sympatico.ca]

Build Yourself an NVIS

If you want to talk to the guy in the next county on HF, of course.

We have all experimented with antennas. At one time or other we played with dipoles,
ver ticals, quads, yegis, and var i ations of wire antenn as. All for the desire of a l ow-angle
signal, wh ich wi ll h elp us snag DX sta tions. Th er e ha ve been numerous articles an d
books on an tennas, making us very familiar with the above antenna names. But have you
ever heard of the Australian" District Antenna, " or the Russian .. Zen i th Radiation, " or
wha t our military calls NVIS (Near Vertical In cidence Skywave)?

his antenna has bee n arou nd In those cases. the known popular an- Building a sim ple NVIS antenna

T since World War II. The reason

most hams ha ve not heard
about it is their desire to work fara way
tenna" might not provide a reliable link.
Our military had the same problem s. and
they found that produci ng a high angle
A very simple NVIS antenna can be
bu ill, for fixed or portable use. (Please
stations . Wh en it co mes to local co m- skywave provided a reliable link. less refer to Fig. 1.) The basic NVIS an-
municati ons. VHF/UH F is more co m- subj ect to fading. With a high angle. tenna is nothing more than two crossed
mon . But there are many cases where the surro unding terra in is not an issue. dipoles mounted anyw here from 10 to
the range of VHF is limited, ami rcli- 20 fe et high. The legs of the dipole are
able co mmunications are needed on How to experiment with NVIS sloped and secured to the ground. The
HE crossed dipoles arc fed with 50-ohm
There are ma ny ways an a ntenna can coax. A tuner, man ual o r automa tic, is
In many populatio n centers. there is
be made to work in an NV IS mode. required.
the desire of many hams to co mmuni-
cate within a 100- to 300·mi le radiu s. The easiest is to run a wire fed with a A Fi xed NVIS an tenna can be a
tuner a few feel fro m the ground . In woode n pole. PVC pipe. or metal
most cases. a high-an gle skywave will mast. The len gths of the wire cle ments

\ \ '.'00""
l be produced. Stations nearby will be
able to communicate.
Another approach is to take your HF
can be anywhe re from 20 to 40 feet.
For a portable NVIS ante nna, a mast
cou ld be made from 1.5"-diameter
4CHLEG mobile antenna and place it in a hori- PVC tubi ng mating with PVC co u-
/ 10 TO 20 F1 ttGH zo ntal position parallel to the ground. piers. A piece of coax fed thro ugh the
You could experiment with the dis-
'"
,""- ta nce be tween the ground and horizon-
mast then feeds the crossfed dipoles .
Please make sure th at safe ty co n-

V NE END Of THE CROSS

ta l antenna . A distance of 3 to 9 feet
will work.
ce rn s a re ta ken into co ns ide ratio n.
You do not want anyone to run into

~
IPOlE TO CE"o'TER CONDliCTOl< .
THE OTHEl< SET TO GRClVND When e xperimenting with NVIS, 80. the s loping wire s. whic h will be a
., 40, and 30 meters see m to work best. I fe w feet o ff the gro und . Thi s type of
tried frequenci es bet ween 3.5 and 30 an tenna has been made co mmer-
SECTIONS Of 1 S' DlA. PVC PIPE WITH MHz. The facto rs of working frequen- c ia lly hy Te le x. It is c a lled the NVIS
COiJF' LEllS TO MolkE PORTABLE MAST
MAST LENGTH 10TO le FT. MAST cies be low the M UF (Max imum Us- A ntenna , wi th a model number of
SHOWN IN A HQl<LZONTAL. POSffiON
ab le Freq ue nc y) play a very importa nt AS -2259/ 1990.
(0)
role. Power leve ls of QR P to 100 watts
Fig. I. NVIS antenna details. have been used. Continued on page 58
18 73 Amateur Radio TcxJay • March 2001
Hugh Wells W6WTU
1411 18th si,
Manhattan Beach CA 90266-402 5

Inside Digital TVNCR Tuners

Part 7: Conclusion.

The previous seer ion described h all' tltc primed circui! boards [or the dala lransmiller
and receiver are prepared [or processing. This section II'jIJ complete the process steps,
beginning Wilh m arking the board.

t is de sirable to have so me identifi - somewhat in the c tch ant. so that it must be taken to prevent spills and

I cation markings on the board indi-

eating voltage values. po lari ty. Ie
pin and tran sistor lead identifiers. etc.
isn't a lways satisfac tory for maki ng.
a reliable e tc h-resist for trace pat-
te rns . A fte r etch ing . the marking pen
splashes.
The board will be read y to etc h aft er
the nail po lish has d ried - usuall y 30
Prior to e tching. a sharp in strument is more suitable for markin g the com- min utes to an hour is a prope r waiting
li ke a sc ri m: may be used to scratc h po ne nt place ment. orie ntatio n. pola r- period. There are ma ny methods suit-
throu gh the fing ernail po lish, e xposing ity. etc., info rmatio n on the top side o f able for etching a ho ard. hut the one
the coppe r as sho wn in Photo A. T he most suitable to you r needs is the one
the board .
scratch marks in the fonn o f letters and that yo u should use . A simple and ea sy
sy m bols will he etched in to the copper Etching the board method is to pou r the ctchant to a
as Sh O ....'n in Photo B. depth o f 1/8- 1/4-inch into a nat g lass
Many o f the black ink e tch-resist Fe rric c hlo ride is the most common or pla stic di sh. Float the hoard cop per
marking pe ns contai n a water-repe llent c tchant available and perhaps the casi- side do wn o n the surface of the
ink that is so me times used for marking e st and sa fest to use . The maj or ca u- etcha nt. It will be ncces..ary to lift the
the hare coppe r p ri or to etching. Un - tion w ith it is that it is dark in color hoard pe riodically a fter ahout 30 mi n-
fortu natel y, the ink does break down and will seve rely stain cl oth, so care utes to asscss the progrcss o f etc hing

Pholo A. A scribe is being used to scratch throu gh the Iwi1lJOlish

fo r marking/identifying the board. Photo H. The board marking that remains after etching.
73 Amateur Radio Today • March 2001 19
J'lwtt1 C. The circuit boa rd floating 011 the etchont, A srick is used Photo D. A scribe is used to scratch unetched copper b ridges
to lift the board momentarily 10 purge bubbles. before returnin g the boa rd to the etch.

as shown in Photo C . A stick or tongue bulb cl ose to the e tc h un t w ill warm After etching
depressor works we ll fo r lifting the the surroundi ng a ir. A lso. placing a
ho ard. Also. lifti ng the hoard. then small cardboard box over the lamp Upon completio n. the hoard must he
lowering it slow ly. will allow the wa shed with tap water to re mov e the
a nd etc bant tray w ill rai se the tern-
trapped bubbles to be purged. etchant. If the board is to be a sing le-
perature suffic ien tly to speed the
Wh en the etching process ap pears to sided bo ard, then the nail polish can he
e tc hi ng proce ss .
he complete, remove the hoard, wa sh removed with lacquer thinn er or ac-
An alt ernate method for etchi ng
it with tap water. and dry it with a pa - etone . A small amount of so lvent on a
hoards is to usc a zipper-style plastic
per towe l. T he board can now be in- pa per tissue works well as a wiper. An
hag as an etch container. After the
spected for completion. Some areas . e tched bo ard with na il polish is shown
board is placed into the bag, about o ne
speci fically where bu bbles were in Photo E .
inch of ctcham is po ured into the hag.
trapped. wi ll not etch very fast. Scrap- Following an inspec tion of the trace
Becau se some bags have a te ndency to pattern fo r copper bridges and other
ing those areas with a kn ife blade or
leak. it's a good idea to slide the first possib le mi nor defects. the board is
scribe to scra tch the copper will allow
hag: co ntaining the board in to another ready for d rilling (Photo F ). Ho le
the coppe r to he e tched a little faster,
hag for drip protection. sizes arc a personal choice , but d rill
as shown in Photo D. Return the hoard
to the etch and a llow the etc hing pro- Afte r sealing the bag(s). the bo ard is sizes from #57 to #62 work well for
ce ss to continue. Wh en wide trace pa t- positioned fla t with the copper d own . most applications .
terns arc used. o vcrctching is usuall y Because the bag is transparent, the Solder-coati ng the copper is an c p-
not a problem. e tching process ca n be observed tio nal proce ss. but it does help red uce
During a co ld env ironme nt. the throug h the bag . Handling the board ox ide de ve lopment on the surface o f
etchant works very slowly. Addi ng a an d bag with care is OK. but excess the coppe r. The advantages of solder
little heat to the process will speed it handl ing should be avoided to prevent coating arc better part solderability
up considerably, Placing a small light accidental spills ca used by ha g tears. and uniform appearance. in addition to

Photo E. This is tile etched board after being washed; but before Photo F. D rill sizes from #57 to #62 work well f or drilling the
the nail polish has been removed. holes.
20 73 Amateur Radio Today · March 200 1
 Ir------------------------~
the reduct ion in copper oxide forma-
LED FLASHLIGHTS (and more!) • Lasts -l tim es longer than regu lar I
lion. The involved steps begin with
cl eaning the coppe r wi th fi ne steel I flashlig hts I
wool fo llowed wi th a sol vent rinse . I . Lifetime warranty including LED I
lig hts
The o bjecti ve is to remo ve all traces o f
nail pol ish. o xides, and oil.
I . Shoc kproof I
The procedure for solde r coating the
I . Features 4 high intensity LED I
hoard is as follows:
I lights I
I . Powered by 3 AA alkaline batteries I
I) Coat the surface of the copper I Colors: white. blue. red. and green I
with a very th in coat ing o f so lder flux. I D & L A n t en na S u p p ly Co. After continuously being turned o n for I
2) Place a small d rop o f solde r on I Sec ure Ordering On Line at 14 days (336 hours). it was possible to I
the tip of a 25- 30 watt solde ring iron. I www.wavehunter.com read a newspaper using only the output I
3) Touch the solder to the coppe r and 1-800-965-8880 from this amazing system. This item
draw the iron along the copper. A so l- I Price s from $4.95 to $59.95 sold out at Dayton! I
der trail will be le ft as the iron moves.
~------------------------~
Solder may be added as necessary to
contin ue the process. • DI P SWIlch programmablt
4 ) Co ntinue the solde r coating pro- ' M,nlature in sin • Fully enclostd CTCSS
• 37 EIA tones. 27 llOI1-stalldard ","""
cess until all of the coppe r is coate d. It tones from 330 to 254.1 Hz Included • All 32 EIA tones 1rom
• ReY8rw Burst bUin-in 670 to 2{)J ,$ HI included
will be necessary to mo ve the iron rea- • £3sy 3 ",rt hookup • Pertect lor mob"t ,
basea~
sonably fast across the copper to re- SS ~ CTCSS Encoder
66" KUI8" K2 1' TU 2
duce the possi bility of burning the 52S· K3;rK l .T
SS-64 DIP Swti PnI;lIl11l111b ll CTCSS EIcHer $21.95 TE-32 MI"i-TOM CTess Elltlder SAU ls
adhesive below the copper.
• 51 CTCSS Tones • EiQhl programmilllt.
5) C le a n the coate d board wi th a l- • 106 OCS Codes sa' lallie messages
• Supports 151 Repealtr Subscribtrs • filly held programmablt
cohol, lacq ue r thi nn er. o r acetone to
remove the flu x.
~
!::=:::::::.:, . ._.. . • On·linl Computer Help
Repealer ON 10
'Air T,me loa ding '" Anatysis Graphs
• Signalling FQfma1s: CTeSS
via included keypad
• Metts al FCC
identification reQuirements

Double-sided boards tp.J200 Shirred Repeater Tont P~ OCS '" DTMF

TP-3200DTIIIII TopYmiol $261.95 mil
Making double-sided boards is a TP-3200RM·A Sia; le Raell MHIIl vemol S271.95 nell
· TP-32OOfl M·I Triple Ri ckMOlIn! 'lmiu S211.95 m il ,..",., ID-3Automabl; WorlII CocIt kleo...r....
little more di fficult than the process ' HoIl15lp lo fQI TP-J200s ....... 1.85" K1.1 2' K35'
Call or write to receive our ID-I AIlomalic MOrll S1Iliolllllltifilf $IUs
outlined above . Ho we ver. the same
steps are repe ated except fo r drilling.
Drilling is d one from the bottom side
full Produc1 Catalog 0' visit
o ur Web lit e for co mpl ete
Info rmation at:
', . ..
= _ .QI;
.COMMUNICAnONS SPECIA1JSTS, INC,
WE's r rAFT Al/£MJE • OR.ANGE, CA ~
(7W 996·3021 • f AX (7141974-342fJ
_ Enure U.S. A. (800) 654-0547 • FAX (/tOO) ~7
http. , ..-ww,co m-spec.co m I>lIp:ll w.... , com.sp~,com
(most complex trace pattern side) of
the board.
• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
During the etc hing process. the side
opposite the patte rn being etched m ust
: HANG YOUR NEXT :
be protected from e tching. Coating the
•• WIRE ANTENNA ••
"protected" side with nai l polish or •• THE EZHANG WAY
••
with a couple of layers o f plastic sp ray •
· ......, . •
i~ ''''f;\. -..~
is suffic ient. After the first s ide is
et ched, it is sprayed wi th plastic or the : :
exposed areas of copper arc co ated
:
•
~
~
_;:1.. ~"
. : •
with nai l poli sh to prevent further
etching o f those areas. Care must be
taken so that the "p rotected" side is not
·•• /.. .••
scratched d uring ha ndl in g. Coating the • •
• •
"protected" side a few minutes be fo re •• Everyt hing you need; the original E Z Hang,
••
etching is best.
Preparing the second side of the
•• the EZ Winder intermediate line dispenser ••
board fo llows the same steps as the : and five ex tra weights: :
first. bUI orientation of the trace pat- : $62 .95 + $7 .95 (US) S&H :
tern is a little tricky. It is best to have
• •
the maj ority o f hol es dri lled before the • EZ Hang, Code 7, 8645 To wer Dr, Laurel, MD 20723 •
seco nd side is started. as the ho les are •• 540-286-0 176
••
•• www.ezhang.com ••
Conltnued on page 22 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
73 Amateur Radio Today • March 2001 21
/'Jwto (;. The second side /llI/,er /JII/,do: is positioned prior 10 being Ph oto H. Tile fi rst half of the pI/per mask lias been aligned and
cemented. cemented . while 'h e second IIalf is being cemented.

Inside Digital TYNeR Tuners a lig nme nt guides w h ile dropping the o nly to t he bo ttom side of the bo ard .
COllffll uedJrorn pa ge 2 1 p aper o nto the co ppe r as show n in a s t h e " Z't - w irc w i ll tra n sfer th e
P hoto H. con nect io n bet we e n hoa rd s ide s.
used as a guide for plac ing the paper
6 ) Rem o ve the p ins and ruh out the Some bypass capaci tors a nd the fil -
mask .
bubbles and ex cess ce ment. tcr capacitors will req uire soldering
In preparation for placing the paper
With the mas k in place . the trace onto the upper surface traces. because
mask onto the seco nd s ide . the follow-
pattern may he c ut and re mo ved. as ho les have not bee n provided. P lace-
ing s teps arc recommended:
was d one for the fi rs t side . During the me nt o f the capacitors is at the user 's
I ) Place the mask on the board with-
mask rem o va l process, any m isalig n- optio n. As an e xa mple , the 100-500 IlF
out ce me nt and orient the pattern to ment of the trace pattern may be cor- filter capacitorts) may be placed any-
match the d ri lle d holes. rected as the process is performed. where o n the board wh ere th e +5 volt
2) For an uli gnmcr u check. hold the while using the mask lines as a c utt ing trace runs close by the gro und trace .
hoard up to a lig ht and observe the guide . Deviating from the d raw n pat- Photo I sho ws the comp leted proto-
light passing through {he holes. View tern may be necessary to co rrectly p ick type hoards for the data tra ns mitter
the board from the topside pattern . up the d rilled holes.
and recei ver. Trace pattern errors
3) Push two or more straight pins Double-sided hoards made commer-
fou nd in the proto types have been cor-
thro ugh the corresponding mask "holes" c ia lly usually ha ve plated-t hrou gh
rected for the pattern s p ro vided he rein .
into the hoard holes and note the propcr holes. Unfortunately. the p la ting pro -
I' ve bee n using the fi nge rnail po lish
truce orientation as shown in Photo G . cess req uired for mak ing thc p lated
resi st me thod for making printed ci r-
4.) W he n satisfi ed tha t the o rienta- ho les may be outsi d e of the reach of
cuit boards for a great many years. and
tio n is correc t. coat the copper and the the avera ge ham. so th e data trans m it-
can attest to the reliability of the pro-
paper mask with rubbe r cement. ter and receive r hoards have bee n laid
ce ss. I hope that you wi ll see the merit
5) Wit h the straight pins p ushed o ut for "Zr-wircs as was shown in part
in the simple process s teps involved
through the paper m ask, use the pins as 6. Fig . 5. The objective o f the "Zt-wire
and will grvc it a try.
is to connect the
c ircuit truce on Alternate boardmaking techniques
one side o f the
board to the trace Because o f the wide variety o f
on the othe r side. printed ci rcu it board processing tec h-
On the project niques avai lab le, so me a ltern ate meth-
boards. the so lder ods can be fo und o n the Internet. The
pads have been ex- techniques ind icated be low ut ilize the
tended away Irom p lastic toner used in copy machines
the Ie pin o r and laser pri nte rs as an etch-re sist.
transistor lead far Here arc fo ur good UR Ls:
enough for a wire to • [http://geociti es.comlpdmtr]
be passed through • lhup:/Iw ww.techniks.com/press-n-
the board. Wh ere pccl.htm l]
"Z't-wircs are used. • [hup:/Iwww.qsl.nctlci9gqlpcb.html]
Photo I. This ph oto shows ' he opera tional prototypes of the data component leads • (hltp :/l w w w.n ord icd x.c om/d xlahl
receiver t rigiu] an d the data transmitter (Ie} t ). need to he solde red makcpcbz .html ]. fa
22 73 Amateur Radio Today . March 2001
CM Markle KBI HQ
11570 Taylor Wells Rd.
Olairdon OH 44 024-891 0

Build This Variable

AC Bench Supply
If you can find a Variac transformer, that is.

How m any times have y ou home-brew folks h ad the need for a variable 120 VAC power
sup ply? Well, at least several. We know that working with 12 volt DC on the ben ch is
certainly no problem. If a mistake is made, you might lose an u; or two, but n o fires
erupt. With A C - well, things can get lethal before the fuse blows, and this is especially
true wh en using 120 VAG. We have all done those dumb things that have jump-started
o ur h eart from time 10 time. Th is "Variac" variable supply will p rove safe on those
start-ups of those questionable home-brew circuits that require AC supp lies.

et's look at the central compo- new, and are usually in the $ 130 range groups. Anyway. look for a Variac un-

L nent. which is called a Variac

transformer. Th is is also known
as an autotransformer in some circles.
for the 3 A models. I do not recom-
mend the purchase of a new Variac
transformer.
der the vendors' tables since they do
not seem to have a high dollar value e r
a large demand these days. I fou nd
A ce rtai n ham who has tried 10 declare Now, lock at the list of local hamfest mine for a price of fifteen do llars. I did
himself to be the authority in this fi eld flea market supply gct-togethers. Usu- not even try to bargain or dicker. since
has also called the "autotransformer" a ally a five dollar entry fee will ge l you the conditio n was very good. Try to
current transformer when it is used in into one o f these events. T he y take ens ure that the knob is with it, since
RF impedance matching devices place usuall y on Sunday mornings the completed unit with knob will look
calle d baJuns. fro m 9 a.m. to I p.m. You can look into more professional. Finding a replace-
Well. it is particularly a variable sec- QST. CQ, or 73 magazines under the ment knob can become a rea l problem.
ondary winding transformer that al- "coming ham fcsts" sec tion to deter- so do your best.
lows a continuously variable primary- mine the location and date of each The next item is some type of volt-
to-secondary ratio, thus provid ing a e ve nt. You can also c heck into yo ur age indicator. It is possible to use a
co ntinuously variable AC voltage fro m local two meter repeate rs and someo ne digital vol tmeter and do calibration on
ze ro to 130 VAC. These devices have can help you. since nearl y all of the the fro nt panel. but a nice analog AC
become very expensive whcn purchased e vents are spo nsored by repeater voltmeter is best since the AC line

SB·3A o.i or O.l uF

H I
:
-~
G N
~ I
?;-i: 'VARIAC· AUTO
TRANSFORMER
0· 13OVAC
3A MAX
1 20 VAC
! ! 400W MAX
130V
~ FILTE R CHOKE , , 1>-- 3A 0-130 V
rtr , 0.1uF ~
n
MOV r
8 2mH. SA
•
-- ~ I >--
.~ .1

1(- ~ ~ r (;p-~rtr
0.1 uF 0 .1uF

T 1
Fig. I. Supply schematic.
73 Amateur Radio Today • March 2001 23
 Somethi ng like an e lec tric motor ap-
EMVRFI CHOKE FILTER ASSEMBLY pliance puui ng com mon-mode no ise
LINE I COMMON MODE o n the line wi ll give yo u nightmares.
I I '"" An inexpensi ve common m od e filter is
e
"
, .OM OJ /82 m~ ~ ' "F insta lled. which a ll but eli minates
"Hor '
/,

I T T·
I " "HOT" noises from appearing o n the primary

~),MOV ( f'~1 )
(IN)
or secondary o f the Variac transformer.
(OUT)
Worki ng with digi ta l circuits using a
"NE UT" "NEUT" D C wa ll tran sform er for po wer can
~IT~ I ~ I
mo ve tre me ndou s hash and noi se to
o 1uF o luF
e the 120 VAC line and ge t unbel ievab le
/,

LOW-PAS S 400kHZ AND BELOW

" no ise from the fo lks yo u li vc ...vi th. The
8.2 mil filter is rated at 5 AC amps
(RMS) so the 3 A req uire ment is we ll
Fig. 2. EMI/RFI cho!e filter assembly. Mown using 0.25-illcll all/milium standoffs .
covered. The 0. 1 ~F capacitors and
130 VAC ~tOV take care o f any large
voltage may vary at you r location. I o ne buck. and ha ve some fun . If yo u peak voltage spikes ve ry we ll. This is
found an old Lafuycuc model #99· feel you j ust have to p urchase a new. nice insura nce in case a tra nsient tries
5 116 1 0-250YAC type. The ve ndor good-look ing meter. yo u can go to to get 10 th e fi lter c irc uit. The MO V or
wanted one doll ar. so I smiled and paid yo ur local Radio Shack and order one metal o xide varistor de vice is for those
the man and thanked him . It' s that old (RS # 22-4 12) at abou t thi rteen d ollars une xpected curre nt slugs that the elcc-
story of one man 's j u nk is another a po p! tric ut ilit y ig nores . It w ill cl am p off at
man's go ld. He also had several ne w, Fo r safety's sake . we want 10 d ouble th e 150 V leve l, fi gu ri ng in the vari-
boxed Heathkit 100 ~ A meters for one fuse the little bo x. Usc' a 3 A slo-hlo able vo ltage to variable time factors.
dollar each. No. you do not have to ask 3AG fuse on the primary side and a 3 Th is device is rated at 130 VAC bu t is
me ! The plastic covers snap off and A fast blow 3AG on the seco ndary just not very fast.
two screws hold the metal sca le plate side. This is all the protection that is The line cord must he a three con-
in place. so reversing the plate and needed. That expe nsive Variac needs d uctor (NEM AL) type preferably in
d rawi ng a new scale: is not a p roble m pri mary and secondary protectio n for the AWG #1 -1- wire size . The green
on these meters. With a shunt resistor. sure ! ground wire. whe n a ttached to the alu-
the meters can he used for nearly any When working on electronic projec ts. minu m e nclosure, will ensure safe op-
DC application. A trimpot in series it is always nice 10 filter the 120 VAC erat ion no ma iler the situation. It is
will adj ust the sc ulc in the vo ltage line to keep garbage no ise out of th e req uired th ese days by N EC (cod e), so
mode . For AC. you can usc a bridge ci rcuits being tested or de ve loped. An it is a good idea to usc it. Another no te
rectifier and adj ust. A ll this "s tuff' is inexpe nsive 10\.... pass (com mo n-mod e) on the source o f AC po we r wh ich
in yo ur ARRL Handbook and many filter is employed on this project. and sho uld he covered is the pro blem o f
other good hooks . Be creat ive. spend can be seen in Fig. 1. GFI (g ro und fault) de vices. If you use
one o f these safety devices to supply
your po\\ier to the workbench be a ware
o f all the Tri ac/SCR no ise th at they
produce . The common-mode filter wi ll
take care of that nasty little item. I
ha ve co nsidered using this fi lter as a
filt er on the d evice s wh ich NEe re-
qui res in th e bathroom areas and when
within six fe et of water. That is another
weekend project for the future!
Now. le t's look a t the e nclosure situ-
ation. A ny type tha i is a lumi n um
would be O K . Again. we are lookin g
for some degree of sa fety since we arc
foo ling around wi th 120 VAC. I found
a Ten-Tee Model :\1\V-R encl osure at a
fl ea ma rke t a nd purchased it for five
d o llars. T he new price is abo ut se ven-
teen do llars plus sh ipping the se days.
Photo A. In case. ready /0 go. Just he creative !
24 73 Amateur Radio Today . March 200 1
 Well. the MW-8 I found had holes in suppliers ' info is listed be low in the Pa) TV a nd Satellite Descramblmg
the bottom, back, and also the front tex t. The use of clear 100% silico ne \ e" ..... Vol ume 12 ..... " e"
panel. The hole in the fro nt got bigger caulk to mo unt the components o nto a .Fa)· TV a nd Sat~tIit~ Descramhhng VOL-
to accommodate the AC voltmeter. pe rforated board works we ll. Or, you UME 12 ha s latest cable and satelli te fixe s
including new EK- I, 0011('1 blockers, etc.
The o the r fro nt holes got covered by a can use the PCB available from FAR St 8.95. Complete Pa)' TV And Satellite
piece of contact paper purchased at a Circuits . (I originally used pertboard, Desc ramhli nR Series C D-RO M, Vol. 1-12
$59.95. ScramhlinR News Online includes pi-
local office supply house. Use a black but now there is a PCB ava ilabl e.) racy $59.95/yr. Hlicking Digillll Slltt'llite S)'S"
felt marker to put the markings and Now that you ha ve all the compo- teres Vid~o IV $29.95. EverythinR ltsted here
only $9'J.95. Free catalog.
scales on. The holes in the rear of the nents and assem blies, you can w ire the
enclosure were enlarged to handle the co mpo nents together using the sc he-
two fuses. and one new o ne was made mat ic. Follow the schematic in Fig. 2,
for the O.5-inch stra in relief for the line and as each wire is installed usc a ye l-
cord . Again, use the felt marker to low hi-lighter (Broad Point) to mark
ide ntify the fuse sizes, etc. T he marke r each wire o n the sche matic. I find that
can be had at your local post office for nearly no mista ke s will happe n when
one dollar! It has bo th a broad and this procedure is used.
very fine point. What a deal for one When everything is wired and
buck! checked. you can plug it in and ni p the
O nce the com pone nts are mounted, sw itch with the Variac at zero volts . RF PARTS HAS tTl
you w ill be ready for the wiring of No smoke generally indicates you
Com plete inventory for servicing
the unit. Use insulated AW G #18 o r have done a good j ob. A blown fuse in- Amateur, Marine, and Commercial
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e verything is O K, the n plug a lamp , Transmilling Tubes & Sockets
into the uti lity plug and tum the Variac • RF Power Transistors
QIy. Part Source Cost • VHF/U HF RF Power Modules
slo wly to 120 VAC . watc hing th e
I , MW-8 enclosure Ten-Tee S11.00 bulb's inten sity increase as voltage in-
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, 30'58"-'31-155
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creases. Ensure the AC voltmeter is ,
•
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Chokes , Broadband Transformers
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, 30' tuse U1 -359 HE 06
Now you have a soldering iron heat Se Habla Espano. ' We Ellport

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73 Amateur RadiO Today • March 200 1 25

Jim Kocsis WA9PYH
5380 Flicker Lane
South Bend IN 46637

$5 Infrared Remote Tester

Build this and look like a hero.

This article describes a simple device to test all kinds of infrared tra nsmitting devices.
All p arts are available a t Radio Shack at a total cost of around $5. It has n o adjustments
an d the physical lay out is no t critical.

kay, you' re a ham. By default, make sure they're good . You point it at those universal remotes. But what if

O you're also the electronics ex-

pen of the family. On call "24/
T' (hours a day/days a week) for all
the TV, CD pla yer, DVD pla yer, etc..
and hopefully it works. If it does,
yo u're a hero for discovering that the
you' re checking an IR key board or
mo use or other de vice with an IR
transmitter that doesn't have a generic
kinds of questions. For example, so me batteries were put in backward after replaceme nt available at the corner
family member tells you: "My TV re- the old dead one s were replaced. store?
motc doesn' t work." What do you do'! But what do you do if it still doesn't This article describes an IR receiver
First, you check that the batteries are work? How can you tell if the pro blem that tells if the lR is transmitting by
installed properly, then you check the is in the remote or the TV ? I suppose blinking an LED at the same rate as
batteries with your DMMNOM to you could go to a store and buy one of the transmitted signal. You can build
this very si mple project for about $5
and have a portable checker that you
can loan to frie nds, relatives, and
neighbors. All parts are available at
Radio Shack ; if you have the prover-
bial "well stocked junk box," you may
already have most parts on hand.

Circuit operation

The schematic with typical wave-

forms is shown in Fig. I. The incom-
ing IR signal shines on the domed top
1 I.

~ ~;K U1~ < R'

> e2K
of transistor QI , causing it to conduct
current, resulting in a voltage drop

j ~R7!
..L C2
::r>14
rv / . '"/
55% OF
' 9VD C
Q1 RAD IO SHACK 276-145 NPN
across RI. Op amp Ul a is wired as a
buffer to isolate the detector from the
T~~F ~ 121< 4 SVOC
R>O
>OK
INFRAR ED PH OTO TRAN SISTOR
02 2Nnn NPN TRANSISTOR rest of the circuit. Cl couples the sig-

~ 1"
CI NOI+PQl.ARlZEO O.lI,1F , 1':N
01 LE D
UI L.N 32 4 OUAD OP AMP
nal from this buffer to amplifier U Ib.
U ld with R6 and R7 provide a "stiff"
virtual ground halfway between ground
Fig. I, Schematic with typical waveforms . and the supply voltage . This virtual
26 73 Amateur Radio Today. March 200 1
 Construction

I construc ted my unit using perf- •

• - .-
.~
board and push-in clips. I didn't choose •
to lay out or fubricute a PC board since I
• r
•
• J
t::' .. ,,---"_.
•
.- -- - -,, I • •
!II~
built only onc unit. Be fore mounting the
board in a small bo x the project looked
like P holo A. The completed unit can be
,
~

.- "
•• •
• • •,
I•-
~ .
f
•
"l
'"
"'
•

put in a small bo x (P hoto R>. I suggest .~

•

.. ~ , - "~-~_._.
--
loc ating the input tran sistor at the end of
Photo /I. The completed unit,
the box and the LED on top o f the bo x.
You will ha ve to perform testing in a
dimly lit room (not total darkness) or people will lik el y ask how you knew
Photo A. Here s the board, right Ollt in the shield the IR detector with a n opaque to bu ild a teste r like th is. Use tha t op-
open so )"0 /1 can get a good look. tube to let light in o nly from "bead- port un ity to talk up elec tronics and
on." lf su nlig ht o r bright li ghts arc ham radio as a hobby.
shining o n the detector. the LED wi ll There are probably some changes you
ground is used to make the po wer sup-
be on full -t ime and pre vent yo u from can make to produce a wave form at
pl y ac t like it is a ± -t.S vo lt po wer sup-
testing a remote unit. You cou ld al so IC I b pin 7 that is a little more squared
ply. The bo ttom of R8 is tied to virtual
reduce the ga in o f V I b so the tester is off (it is quite rounded o il) and more ac-
ground to keep the input to V Ib fro m
no t as se nsitive, but I d id not try this. curately rep rese nts what is ac tually be-
flouting to V+ or V- . If the input did
An inte resting poin t is that you can ing sent from the IR transmitter. I didn't
11 0at e ither high or low. operatio n of
sec the 60 HI. si ne wave from an incan- bother \0 research this any further since
the circu it would cease.
d escent light bulb by m onitoring p in I I j ust wanted 10 know if the IR remote
Ut b w ith R2 & R3 ampli fy the sig-
of V I wi th a n osc illoscope. You wi ll was actually transmi tting . If you have
nal by a facto r of 390 (R3/ R2). The
h ave to adjust the se nsitivi ty of the
voltage at U'lb pin 7 is halfway hc- an osci llo scope. monitor pin I 10 see
o scilloscope to accommoda te th e the di fferences be twee n code s se nt
tween V supp ly and grou nd. \\/ith the
s ig n a l le vel since it wi ll vary w ith the
IR signal superim posed on top of it. w he n p ushi ng differen t button s.
di stance 10 the light bulb.
By amplifyi ng the signal by a fac tor o f I had fun bui lding and deb ugging
390. it saturates the o utpu t o f V Ib. The Su mmarv th is project. If you bu ild it. please let
sq uare wa ve o utpu t of V Ib goes from ' me know how yo u like it and if you
1.5 volts less than the supply m ilage You ca n b uild thi s proj ect in j ust a made a ny changes. I would like to hear
to tru e g ro und. U Id is used as a com- fe w hours. With it yo u ca n help neigh- fro m you. Do n't he surp rised if yo u get
parator. Pi n 9 is hel d at 5 % abo ve vir- bors. relati ves. and fellow worke rs that "G ee . what an electronics geni us
tual g ro und by resistors R9 and RIO. troubleshoo t their IR transmitter ...11:- yo u are!" look from so meo ne you
Pin 8 goes to +7 .5 vol ts whe n pin 10 is vices. If you m ake it loo k homemade. help. Happy so ldering ! fa
more positive than pin 9 . Q2 is turned
o n through R-t on ly o n the positive
part of the sq uarewavc s ignal fro m
Vld. Q2 lights the LED .
I used an LM324 since it is capable Ham Mall
of accepti ng and outpull ing a lo w vol t- Th e world's largest internet store dedicated 10 Ham Radio'
age right down to 5 millivolts above - www.HamMall.com
V supply ( pi n II ). This is needed si nce This is th e internet store that has it all ! Open 7 days per week - 2-l- hours per
Q2 's base m ust be less tha n 0.65 vo lts d ay. Browse through our catal og viewing pictu re s.descriptions. accesso ries.
above true gro und to sh ut off with no and our low prices. If you arc looking for a hard to fin d item. Emai l us at
incoming signa l. Bi ll@HamMal l.com . and we will try tu locate it for you .
The waveforms sho wn on the sc he-
matic repre sent just part of a com plex C heck oUI all we offer !
waveform. Vary the timebase of an o s-
Call Wall QSI. Manager Listi ng News. A nnouncements and Specia ls
cilloscope from 0.5 milli seconds to 20
Hum-to- Ham Discussion Groups Ham Shad Ph oto s
microseconds to see all paris of the ac-
tual waveform. The amp litude at U Ia
Visaf\.fasl e r('anl accepted on line . Free shipping in coruin cmal US o n all orders ove r $ [ (X).
pin I w ill vary wi th d istance . I o b-
tained 3 volts peak-to-peak at 3 inc hes. When in Seattle visi t us at :
The ma ximum working range was 23 Radi o Depot. Suite 176. 5963 Corson Ave .. So. Seatt le. \VA 98108
feet. The signal at the IR se nsor at thi s Phone (206) 763-2936 Fax. (206) 763-H72
distance is of co urse ve ry low.
73 Amateur Radio Today · March 2001 27
Erik Westgard NY9D
3990 Virginia Avenue
S ho review MN 55 126
[ewestgard@ worldnet.att.ne t]

QRP Drives Ham Nuts

Buys "critical mass " of parts and then goes 0 11 bizarre building spree.

As \Vith m ost of my h obbies, my rnrcres r in amateur radi o has waxed and \Va ned over
the y ears. Un til about a y ear ago, I was in an amateur radio do\Vn turn . I h ad even sold
my HF rig, and was in p ossession of only my trusty collection of ancient l com u2AT
an d u4A T handhelds, an d a Sony shortwave ra dio.

or so me reason. I decided that books and my article file. making lists 4 T37-2 iron powder toroi d

F Q RP was going to be the spark

this timc arou nd. and deter-
mined that whe n I got hack on HF. it
of parts I was like ly to need. I ordered
a handful of ev ery type of toroid men-
tioned . and rolls of magnet wire. The
8 T50-2 iro n powder to roid
6 T68-6 iron po wder toroid
1 pk DFB43-10 1 ferrite beads
would be with a rig I bu ilt myself. I Radio Shack magnet wire assortment I pk DFB43-301 ferrite beads
had an old copy of the 1986 edition of covers only half of the common sizes. I spool eac h #20. #24, #26 magnet
the QR P Notebook by W I FB. and re- an d they don't stock toroids . (The y do wire
read it cover to cov er four or five have an assortment of large ly un-
times. My files bulged with QR P ar- marked TV-type Rf coi ls and chokes. This whole list wa s around $95 .
ticles tom out of magazines. and I but these are most ly no t useful for From Dan's. f ordered some 2N3866s.
tho ught I had accumulated a good QRP work. You wonder why they CA30l6s, NE602s. and some MC 1496s.
supply of parts over the years . don ' t hav e a toroid assortment . . .) He also has RCA 40673 parts. and
Full of anti c ipation. I pulled out Below is my A midon shopping list, 10.7 ~I H z IF cans, which appear in
W BONQM 's 111199073 Amateur Ra- which has enab led me to tackle most many proj ects. I also go t a number of
dio Today article, "TIL Transcei ver of the proj ects I ha ve found. Dan 's and air va riable capac itors a nd mica ca-
for 40 Meters," and headed for the o ther o utlets se ll most of these items. pacitors from him. From Mo user. I got
workshop. A quick review of the parts Fry's Electronics stores even stoc k more IF transformers, 4k1600 ohm
list revealed a big sho rtfa ll. Ou r local T50-2 and FT37-4 3 tcrcids, and some transformers. some tuning caps. and
e lectronics store and three nea rby elec- sizes of magnet wi re. The list: R F chokes.
troni cs surp lus stores were almost no After literally ten orders from vari-
help. You could li nd 2N2222s. the oc - 1 BN43-33 12 bal un o us wcb si tes. I thought I had a cri tical
casiona l MFPI02. and assorted resis- 1 BN43-202 balun mass of parts. Here are rigs I built. and
tors and capacitors. but for toroids, I B~43 -7051 balun the results I had:
magnet wire , imerstagc transformers, 8 T37-6 iron powder toroid TTL Transceiver- for 40 Meters
or variable caps. it was goi ng to re- 4 FT30-43 ferri te toroid (Rick Lucas, WB O NQM . 73. 11 /90,
quire extensive plan ning ahead. No 8 FT37-43 ferri te toroid pp. 30-32). This one appealed to me
amo unt of searching revealed a single R T50-6 iron po wder toroid - it looked simple, and I was sure I
recei ver or transmitter that cou ld be 61-150-6 1 ferri te toroid had most of the parts. I ended up hav-
built with in-ho use stock. o r parts 6 FT50-43 ferrite toroid ing to place several orders to ge t the
available locally. 6 F1"37-61 ferrite toroid chokes and 1.0 ~ H variable. The local
I ended up having to rummage 2 FT37-63 ferrite toroid surp lus store had the TTL heat sinks,
through all the avai lable ARRUW I FB 6 T68·2 iron po wder toroid but that was it. T he receiver ne ver
28 73 Amateur Radio Today · March 2001
worked properly due to local A ~t over- o ne went o n the shelf, until a M ichael re membered one th ing - I hate C Wo
load . I th ink the old M ylar variabl e cap Jay Ge ier KB IUM article "Casse tte Th is kit was co mp lex. but well with in
I had in my parts b in was sus pec t. Note Box Special"(73, 4/90, pp, 46-50), my comfort leve l. It wo rked the firs t
that FAR, who supplies circu it board s suggested that che ap color hurst crystals time , which was a p lus. It rec eives re-
for many projects. will also pro vide re- wcre not a good idea for transmitters. I ally, really we ll, but attemp ts to reach
prints o f the original magazine article s c hanged crys tals - no ch irp. my loca l SS B section ne t ( with most
for a sm all charge . Two-Stage Regenerative Receiver- statio ns runni ng kilowatts) were futile .
Poor Ham 's QRP Rig (\I'IFB QRP (W I FB Design No tebook. p. 109 ). De- I bought a ne w HF rig about this time
Notebook; 1986. pp. 30-31). A fte r spite adm oni tio ns that minimum-co m- - "to tu nc the antenna." I said . [
stem admon itions fro m W IFB on the ponent rece ive rs were fru strati ng. I broke d own a nd got the matching cab i-
necessi ty o f having a good enough rig bui lt thi s one. a nd spe nt hou rs put ting ne t a nd frequency counter package -
fo r a proper signa l. th is o ne had sev- it in a m eta l box. It had weak o utput. it looks nice. and it's fun to know
eral stages and looked so lid enough . I ne ver worked properly. I a lso learn ed I where yo u arc on the band .
had trouble here in the outp ut stage - am a fe w miles from a po werful AM Ramsey Q80 15\V A m p lifi er Kit.
and le arned th at an 820 pF cera mi c cap station that gets into everythi ng. Adapt- Determined to reach the M innesota
that says 820 o n it m ight be a n 820. o r ing kno bs to those large screwdriver- Traffic Net. [ bought th is kit. I put it
it mi ght he an 82. An 821 is a better type trimmer caps is no t fun . together in several rushed hours count-
bet. This o ne is reliah le , and w ith all Sm a ll Wonder Labs! S W+ (NNI G) ing down to the tra ffic net The fi rst
the s tages has made a good (e st source. Kit. Having learned a thi ng or two try, it behaved ju st like the " BOOlS"
as it is not a ll that se ns itive to changes about toroid s, I tried th is kit. The crys - am p above - one transistor (actually
in loads. A nd this o ne need s #24 mag- ta l fi lle r. "grounded to reduce b low- .MO S FET) got reall y ho t. the other was
ne t wire - not in the Radio S hack as- by" was j us t the tic ket for eliminati ng cool. O ne o f the output fille r toroids
sortment Using the Sony short wave in interfere nce from my local AM s ta- required doubling up o n the windings.
SSB mode. I spent hours trying for a fi rst tion . The sig na ls were nice and clear wh ich see med s uspect. so I called Tech
contac t with the transmitter connected to - and heari ng statio ns o n a rig you S upport at Ramsey. He said to c hec k
a d ummy load . I s we ar I a lmost got bui lt yoursel f is every hi t as good a the transformer wiri ng , making sure
someo ne to res po nd . feel ing as ad verti sed . I le arned I make the insu lation was not scraped in the
Boot", for the t-wener (W I FB QRP onc wiri ng m istake for every ten con- core , causing a short. He said the li lter
Notebook, 1986. pp. 32-33). Learning nectio ns wired or compo ne nts in- to ro id was OK wi th two layers. I fou nd
the futil ity o f calling CQ QRP. I tri ed s ta lled . There is nothing wrong w ith J had not scraped e nough coati ng off
th is amp. The first effort. w ith j unk the d irections here . M o ving to a tra ns- o ne of the transformer windi ngs enter-
box tran sistors. d id not work. I learned ceiver and having freque ncy agil ity is ing th e board prior to so lderi ng. O n
about the need to have fT severa l times lux urious. T he price for th is o ne as a power up I was ge tt ing 100 watts o ut,
higher tha n the target frequency. It was hoard-only kit is very attractive . and a poor tOIlC, wh ich (he book said
nice to not need a special Rl- trans- Small \Vonder La bs! While was d ue to a bad match . I was ru nning
fo rmer - hut if you are ordering tor- M ountain 80m ssn Kit , A fte r so me to t he dumm y lo ad via the tu ne r a t
oids from Am idon. what's another tim e play ing with the SW+ above. I so me ra ndom setting. O h . we ll . The
item o n the list? T hi s one fi nally
worked fo r a mi nute. and then s topped . ,
I think I ha ve excessive wire lengths
someplace .
, -
C ubic Incher (80m ) (1986 ARRL • ••
Hand book ). T ry findi ng a 1000 pF
trimmer cap anywhere . O ur local an-
tique radio store (there is not o ne in
every city. a las) had so me mi xed larger
sq uare trimmers in a bin. A $ 14.95 ca-
pacitance meter add-on (u sed in so lv-
ing the " is 820 really 820" issue
above) re vealed a J(X)O pF model. T his
worked well with a spare TV
colorb urst crystal. and an !\1"'fE transis-
tor fro m our local electronics store. I
mis wired the power jus t once (learning
about protecti on diodes) and had to get
a new transistor, thi s ti me an ECG .
Now the transmiu er was chi rpy. T h is Photo A. Some of the rigs built by N Y9D.
73 Amateur Radio Today · March 200 1 29
d irections for th is o ne are really good transformers for this o ne were back- A m idon, 240 Bri ggs Avenu e. Costa
- they te ll yo u the fu nctions o f marry ordered for a while. One big q uestion Mesa CA 92626, (71 -1) X50--l660,
of the parts as you insta ll them . I d id - a va lue for C 3 is not speci fied. I http ://ww w.h y te mark .com/ amido n/
finally reach my net with the White Ra msey 80m Rece iver, While e n i ndex.t urn].
Mountai n rig plus the amp. the subject o f thing s not a vailable. l or- A RRI. Handbook and QST Maga-
WI FB FiH!' Watt C la ss C 5'" Amp d ered a Ramsey RO receiver from their zine. [www.arr l.org ].
Web site . I got a nice call the next day ARR/. QRP Notebook, Doug Delvlaw,
(WI FH QRI' Notebook, 199 1, p. 129 ).
Wh ile waiting 10 ca ll Ram sey, I took a saying these were out of stock. I re - A RRL, First Editio n. 19R6 (out of
day o ff from work, th is time for a non- membered that AES stoc ked them . and print) .
pu sh-pull am p. which I was deter- get one in a few days. This one we nt Dan 's Sm all Parts and Kit s. Bo x
mined to get working . This one called together in a flash. and worked the first 3634 , Missoula MT 59806-3634.
for 560 pF mica caps . Rather than time. The tuning is a bit touchy. so I (-106) 25 8-27X2, [hllp:i/www.ti x.ne U
guess if so me nice mi cas ma rked 560 am going to substitute a mu ltitum pot dans.html#dan's03 j.
were rea lly 560s, I had so me gia nt. like the Small Wonder uni ts have. Digi -Kcy, 70 1 Brooks Avenue . Thief
wa xy color-coded jobs fro m a grail bag Some loca l A M tended to get into th is River Fall s M N 56701 ·0677, 1-800·
at Dan's. These had 560 written in rig. which was greatly reduced with 344·4539. [htt p://www.digikey.com] .
marker. I d rilled o ut the ho les in the m y antenna tun er front-e nd ing it. 1 was ECG Sem icond uct ors, t OOl Snap ps
~AR C ircuits PC hoard for th e th ick pleased to see the usc of pots and Ferry Road. Gree neville TN 37745
leads. (This is not good if yo ur hoards varac tor diode- type tuning. I am learn- (prod ucts so ld through di stribut ors),
have plated holcs. j In a surprise mo ve . ing to hate variable capacito rs. due {ht tp : / /w w w . e e g pr od u ct s . c o m /
thi s amp worked the first time. Wow. I mostly to obsolescence and short sup- Ee GCrossRefere ncelindex .htm I].
also fo und n ut that my Poo r Ham 's ply issues. I d id order a 30 m versio n of FAR Circuits , 1 8 ~ MO Field Court.
40m tra nsmitter had a grung y-sound- thi s rece iver from Ramsey. and a Du ndee , IL 6011X, (X47j X.16-9 1-1 R
ing signal when amplifi ed. so I tun ed it ma tchi ng cabinet. I found a 10. 140 MH7 voice/fax (boards and matchi ng article
up . With the hel p o f my handy tra nsis- crystal in an o ld C B. and want to get repri nts ). (h Ltp:// 169 .20 7.3.68/-farci r/
tor substitutio n hook . th is amp was o n this band . inde x.hun].
powered by the output tra nsistor from LOOk ing ahe ad. the Norcal QRP site Fry 's Electronic s - sto res located
one of six bro ken C Bs I got for a dollar has a new 10 m surface mount kit. mostly in the weste rn US .
eac h. O ne rule I ha ve learned: If you They ha ve a warning as we ll that we Minnesota Q RP Club. [h ttp ://
want radio parts in yo ur j unk box . you need to get to know abo ut surface www.qsl.ne t/mnqrp/] .
pretty m uch have to start by taking mou nt tech no logy, as the thro ugh-ho le Mo user Electronics, 95R N orth
apart radios. device s arc going away. I only have Main . Mansfield T X 76063·4 827. 1-
WI FR Universal DC Receiver o ne co ncern here - I lind I can in sta ll ROO· 346-68 7 3, [h tt p ://www.m ouse r.
( WI FlJ QRP Notebook . 1991. pp. 77- surface mount de vices. bu t do have co m] .
82. Fig. 3- 27 ). Finally be lieving trouble re mo ving them witho ut ruini ng Norca l QRP Club. (http://www.
W IFB on the "too-simple" recei ver is- them. Iix. ncu- j parker/norc al.htm I] .
sue. 1 ordere d up the hoard for the Uni- 1 thi nk that o nce you b uild a few NTE Sem ico nd uctors , 44 Farrand
versal DC receiver from FAR. Thi s proj ec ts. and get them worki ng , you Stree t. Bloomfield NJ 0 7003-25 97. 1-
wou ld al so he the ultimate te st of my c an tackle almost anything . T he local XOO-63 1- 1250 (prod ucts so ld through
new junk bo x. whic h was mostly tilled Mi nneso ta QRP C lub had a co ntest for distributors), (www. ntei nc .com].
with stuff I had ordered. I al so ha...'c an XOm transcei ver design . I was inter- QRP Power. Joel Kleinm an and
been busily accum ulating more c lcc- ested a few m onths ago , b ut not in a Zack La u, A RRL. First Edition, 1996 ,
tronic sn a p. Atte mp ts to pull the o ld positio n to compete . After a few more ISBN 08725·956 17.
Ham Rad io trick of beggin g brok en months, and few more p roj ects. who Ramsey Elec tronic s. 793 Canning
T Vs from repair shops fail ed (so me- knows '? Park way. Victor NY 1.t564. (7 16) 924-
body was huyi ng these ) h ut I was ahl e [P.S. We tha nk quite-sane (w e hope )
4560. rhttp://www.ramse yelectronic s.
:,\Y9 D for putt in g up with thi s arti cl e
to get six used VG A m onito rs from a c o m / c g i-b i n/ S o ftC art .e xct sceuwel
title in the sp iri t in w hic h it w a s in-
loca l seco ndhand PC sho p. The se arc a H f ra mesct.htm?Es-sestore J.
ri ch source of sma ll sig na l tra nsistors, tended . fu n. - ed .]
RF Parts, 435 South Pacific Street.
trirn pots. electro lyt ic c aps. a nd ce- SourcesfRefe~ nces
San Marcus CA 92069 . 1-800-737-
rami e caps . WIFB speci fics :,\PO 2787. (http ://www.rfparts.com/) .
caps. which I was ig norant o f before . Amateur Electronic Supply. 57 10 W. 73 Amatellr Radio TOLIn )' Magazine,
The VGA m onitors arc a decent so urce Good Hope Road. Mi lwaukee WI 70 Hancock Ro ad. Peterborough . NH
of these, easi ly spotted (once you 5.1223, I·XOO·55 R·O-l I I, [hllp://www. 0 .1-15R · I I07, (60.1) 924·005X.
know what to look for) by their black acsham.cnm/i nde x Iu.h tml] . S ma ll Wonder Labs. Dave Be nson
stripes . I ha ve no t been able to get this Amateur Radio Consignment Center.
recei ver to work . The 4 k16<X> oh m 51. Paul ~I N , (6 5 1) 6-1-1· .1102. Conunucd on page 58
30 73 Amateur Radio Today · March 2001
Hugh Wells W6WTU
14111 Bth St.
Manhattan Beach CA 90266·4025

Bookbind THIS! Part 1

Get organized. and sa ve //lon ey. too.

Wha t do you do with all of your tech nical publications such as 73 Amateur Radio
Today? Do you stack the p ublications on a shelf, stuff them into a box. or throw them
away? Are you aware of the valuable information that h as been imparted on the pages
of each issue placed into y our h ands?

ams. above most others. corn- implement a ll of the steps . As a resu lt, Materia l a nd tools

H mun icate tech nical informa-

tion via schematic diagrams.
Schematic diagrams carry the concept
the boo kbindi ng proce ss has bee n
broke n up into three parts . I' ve in -
eluded a number of pictures a nd d ia-
Materi als used in the bookbinding
process are basica lly three items: kite
grams in an attempt to mak e the string. padding compound (pad ce-
of a project design and techniques for
technique s clear withou t a nyone me nt), and manila folders. Except for
achi eving a useful piece of eq uipment.
ha ving to g uess. In add itio n, a listing the padding compound, the o the r two
Unless the various issue s arc cataloged
of the proce ss steps is pro vided in the are ve ry co mmo n. P ho to A shows the
and stored where they can he fou nd.
sidebar. Although this procedure works tools and padding co mpound used in
the valuable information is essentially
well, please understand that the ap- my proc ess .
lost forever.
proach I' ve outlined here is o nly one A nonwaxed kite string is used to
Not everyone can afford to have a
o f many ways to accomp lish the task,
huge li brary room available 10 them. I
so you arc encouraged to experi me nt
suffered fro m atte mpti ng to store the
to find a technique that works for
various publications o n a shel f. and
yo u. The important thing to remember
soon ran into a dilemma of di sappear-
is that valua ble informatio n must be
ing storage space. To solve lite prob-
saved.
lem at my ho use, I started binding the
Pe rhaps the biggest inhibitor in an y
publications into annual volumes and
" ne w" process is the too l inventory re-
then placi ng them in an orga nized q uired to ma ke the process work
fashion o nto the same she lves. To sa ve smoothly. The tools that I selected for
space with each annual volume, it was my use were dra wn from what I had on
necessary to remove and sa ve selected han d for doing wood working projects.
parts out of eac h issue befo re reb ind- Perhaps the only two " critical" items
ing it into a volume. Each volume is are the wood rasp for trimm ing the
marked with the magazine title and the stem and the padding compound used
publication year so that it will be easily for gluing the pag es of the ne w vol-
identified. ume. The wood rasps that I usc ha ve
Although the proc ess ste ps for hind- very sharp teeth that c ut hound paper
ing publications is simple and without easil y without tearing. I've used o ther
surprises, it takes longer to describe types of wood sha per tools with some
the process than it actually takes to success, hut really prefer the rasp. Photo ,\ . Needed tools and pad cement,
73 Amateur Radio Today· March 200 1 31
 the drawback showed up a few years Bristol in various sizes can be obtained
later when the white glue became ha rd through most statio nery stores that pro-
and wou ld crack when the honk was vide customized ordering. The typical
opened up fully. Otherwise . it certainly size shee t mat I've found usefu l is ap-
did the job. Padd ing compou nd/ce- proximate ly 26 x 32 inches. Each sheet
ment is avai lab le at most bookbindi ng can be cut down to cover three large!
operations and at suppl iers o f book- thick vo lumes .
b inding m aterials. I' ve fo und that one Too ls used in th is suggested book-
q uart o f com po und will last me se vera l bi ndi ng process arc assembled from
ye ars . "what's availab le" in the woodshop.
A fter the " new" volum e has hee n The wood ra sp is perha ps the most
gl ued. a ne w co ver is p laced around it. c ritica l tool o f a ll beca use it is " key"
T he materi al that I've been usi ng suc- fur trimmi ng the bindi ng stern o f the
cess fu lly for co ver materi al is ca lled vol ume . Wood rasps arc avai lable in
Index Bristol. Most people recognize most hardware sto res.
the materia l as a "manila file fo lder." Here is a listing o f the tools and aids
T he typica l and preferred size is 8-1/2 that I' ve fo und usefu l:
x I I inc hes with a "straight c ui" (no • Wood rasp
1'110/0 IJ. Clompiflg [ixture. clamps. and notches or tabs) . The ad vantage o f the • Large "C" - or wood clamps
weiglns. new cover is that it adds very little to • Hacksa w, metal c utti ng blade
the tota l vo lume. hu t dresses up the • 3!8"-wide acid b rush. or eq uiva lent
new volume and provides additional • Scissors
pro vide mec ha nica l stre ngth to sup po rt
strength to the g lued ste m. St raight-cut • Vacuum clea ner with hose and nar-
the g lued stem. To "test" the Siring for
file folders work well for the maj ority ro w p ickup nozzl e
suitability.Jay a sho rt piece in water. If
o f volumes that do no t exceed about • Shurpie'O' black marking pen. fin e
water is absorbed in to the string . then
one inch in thickness. If the new vol- tip
it is suitable for thi s process.
ume exceeds one inch. then a shee t of • Wooden penc il. #'2.
I've tried several types o f g lue to
materia l larger than a file fo lder may • Misc . weights
hold the " new" volume together, but
pre fer the usc of padding compound. he required. Large shee ts o f Inde x • Flat bar. \\:001.1 or metal
also known as pad cement. The corn-
po und drie s as a clear. fl e xible. and
to ugh h inder that adheres to the paper Bookbinding Steps
pages. I' ve used "wh ite g lue" for g lu- 1. Co llect and sort magazines into slacks o f annual issues.
ing the hook ste m with success. BU I 2. Stack issues fro m Dece mber (bottom) to January (top) .
3. Tie stac ks with string until ready 10 tear them apa rt.
4. Tear each issue down into individual pages.
5 . Thin each issue for parts to save and those 10 d iscard.
6. Tic co mpleted stack with Siring until ready to bind .
7. Adjust binding fixture for narrowest page.
8. Place one page at a time into the binding fixture .
9. Clamp the volume.
10 . Rasp the stem to make all pages eq ual width.
II . Saw slots into the stem for string.
12. Cut notches into the ste m to ensure capturing all pages with glue.
13. Vacuu m to remove paper dust.
14. Tic string into the sawed slots.
15. Scrub glue into the string and paper.
16. Remove the volume from the clamps.
17. Select a cover for the volume.
18. Crease and fold the cover 10 fit the volume.
19. Apply glue to the vclumc stem.
20. Insert the volume into the cover.
2 1. Drop-impact the volume to scat the volume into the cover.
- _. i. , 22. Place the volume in clamps while g lue is dry ing.
23. Using sci ssors. trim the cover 10 fi t the volume.
/''' 0/0 C. TlI'e /l'e issues stacked ill month 24. Mark the cover. '
order - Jannarv 0/1 TOp and December 011 25. Crease and open the new cover.
III(' bo/(olll.
32 73 Amateur Radio toaev » March 200 1
 • Wood for making clamping blocks! and with January on the top. A length space and sa ving valuable knowledge
fix ture of kite string is loose ly lied a ro und in an orga nized manner.
A word about the flat bar is in order. the stac k to keep it organized in I Here 's a simple book shelving
The bar that I' ve been usin g is a large, preparati on for the tear-down step. riddle fo r a likely harmonic or maybe
flat mill file that I happened to find at a Step tw o involves separa ting the is- el'en your next club meeting. If you
swap mee t. Because of the length and sue page by page until th e annual rake a year ofTs ( / 2 issuesof 64 pages
stiffness , it has been an ideal bar for volume has been completed . Agai n. a each) and put the issues on a shelf in
holding the top side o f the volume dur- length of kite string is placed around normal left-to -right monthly order.
ing clamping. Photo B sho ws the the loose vo lume pages to keep them how many pages will there be (exclud-
clamping bar. clamping block . clamps. organized until the binding process ing em't'rs) between the first page of
and misce llaneous weights. Alternate January (don 't count that) and the last
has begun .
"bar" materials wi ll also work. Wond. page of December (don 't COllnt that,
Part 2 of Bookbind THIS! will dis-
and alum inum or stee l angle stock are either) ? - J.B./
c uss the type s of bindings that a ham is
suitable materials for a bar. If wood is most like ly to encounter with various
selected, Douglas fi r. oak, ash. walnut. Answer to Bookbind T his! r idd le:
pu blications. the steps involved with Easy. huh '! 12 x 64 = 768, less 2 (Ja n.
etc., are the better choices and will separating the page s. a nd " thinning"
work well if the thick ness is greater first page. Dec. last page) = 766.
out the vo lume for saving shelf space. WRONG - Guess again!
than 1/2 inc h. Stiffness is the key, to Part 3 of the series will discuss the T he correct answer is 640. Remem-
red uce the tendency of bowing while process for binding and gluing the vo l- ber. the first page of the January issue
under clampi ng pressure . ume. followed by the ma rking of the sits to the right of all other January
Beginn ing steps new cover for the new volume. pages o n the shelf, j ust as the last page
Take advantage of the opportunity to o f December sits to the left of all other
The fi rst step in the process is to col- save all of the valuable electronic infor- December pages on the shelf. So the
lect all of the annual issues of a giv en mation that has been placed into your January and December issue s arc ef-
pub lication and stack them face up. hands. Utilize the bookbinding process fectively excluded from the count.
with the December issue on the bottom as a stepping-stone for recovering shelf Thus, 10 x 64 = 640. fa

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73 Amateur Radio Today · March 2001 33

Paul Swearingen W9PJF
704 East Webster St.
Benton IL 62812

Guessless Beam Pointing

Th is has been around for years. but fo r you newcomers ...

It would be hard not to notice the improving condilions on our HF bands. During the
next few y ears. contacts around the world will be easy to make and signal strengths
will be very high . Working DX will be possible with "barefoot" rigs and simple antennas
such as dipoles and verticals.

beam anten na can do a much improvement in receiving. All gain an- you desire - just point it toward the

A better joh however. For ex-

a mple. a three element yagi
heam can show about an 8 dB gai n
tennas suc h as yagis, q uads, and
phased arrays pro vide significant im-
prove ments to both your transmitted
station of your choice,
When you arc out hunting. you aim
your gun at the sq uirre l. rabbit. bird. or
over a 1/2 wave dipole mounted at the signal and to yo ur receiving capabil ity. wha te ve r. How can you acc urately
same he ight or a power ratio of about Most dipoles arc in a fixed position, point your bea m at a OX station you
6 to I . In other words . a 100 W station and their directi ons of maximum ra- ca n' t sec'? Th ere are computer pro-
with a 3 c leme nt beam will sound like diation arc not ea sily cha nged . A rotat- grams available whi ch ca n te ll you the
a 600 W station using a dipole, an d ahle beam, tho ugh , can conce ntrate true hearing or direction from yo ur
the heam will make j ust as great a n yo ur radiated power in the d irection QTH to major world loca tions - re f-
erence d to true north. Since about
1960. l have been using modified
desk-size globes o f the world to show
me where to point my beams both
quick ly and c heaply. See Photo A.
This particular globe is one I modi fied
for my dad hack in the mid-fifties.
while I was home on lea ve from the
Air Force. It' s not very fancy looking,
as I had no "press-on' lettering a vail-
able then to give it a more professional
look. It does give accu rate bearing in-
formation to any place in the world
from my prese nt QTH in so uthe rn Illi-
nois. The following instructions are
valid for locations in the northern hemi-
sphere. If your QTH is south of the eq ua-
tor. you must modify the procedures
acc ordingly.
Photo A . This globe gi ves accuraTe bearing information to any place ill tire world from While a standard globe can usually
Illy present QTII ill southern Illinois. be rotated around its North Pole/South
34 73 Amateur Radio Today· March 2001
 Pole ax is, the modified g lobe has a
new ax is of rotation and is not usable 92E 90E
at other QTHs more than a few m iles E LONGITUDE
away. The modificati on requires the
axis of rotatio n to be changed to one
that passes through the location of
NP GREENWICH OR
your QTH and through a point on the 180 W.
"'E+-- - - + .::.-- + +
opposite side o f the g lobe. Most of the PRIME MERIDIAN
cheaper desk-size globes have m o unt-
ing systems that are nexiblc enough to
allow the supporting pivots to be re -
moved from th eir North Pole and
QTH 38N 88W '::=k~'-e-/,w LONGITUDE
South Pole bearings. Then, a pi vot 90W fNII
hole, the same size as the o rigina l Fig. 1. This represents the Earth as viewed from an imaginary' point directly above the
North/South pivot holes, must be North Pole.
drilled at the location o f your QTH and
another o ne o n the opposite side of the 38 degrees South latitude . I marked
globe. The exact location of thi s se c- thi s point and drilled the second pivot
ond hole sho uld be determined accu- hole at that spot. Your new pi vot hole
rately to ensure smooth g lobe rotation positions should be c a lculated using We make. new HamC1J1l every
as well as directional accuracy. The m onth! Clearly, the most
the latitude a nd lo ng itude o f your comprehens ive and cu,,.,,t
easiest way is to take ad vanta ge of the QTH. CD-ROM availa ble.
latitude and lo ng itude markings o n the N ow reassemble the globe to the l atest Features
Choose torlI aod color 01 data dtSplay
g lobe. Latitude is simply measured mount using the new pivot points . Displays fl ag and map toreach country.
Shows ca. ITU zone . and continenl
fro m the Equator (la titude zero de- Looks strange, doesn 't it! The upper HISlOty bSl s.hows each cansign enl,,' ed
grees) to the North Pole (latitude 90 pivot point no w is at your QTH ra ther View & search inl.. ",sts ol 26.OClO h.ilm s.
degrees north) and, sim ilarly, fro m the Search tor club. m ~nary. RAC ES. vanity, silent kays.
than the North Pole . Most g lobes ha ve na me. addre ss, a f10d mof8.
Equator to the South Po le (latitude 90 Ove< 1,500 ,000 U.S . and l nl ernatioo al list ing s, 11)4.000
a pivot SUp p OTt system in the form of a .... mail addresses. 4,000 pholos andOSl cards, 30,000
degrees so uth). sem icircle . This se m ic ircle is usually vanlly ca ns, and 12,000 reterences toQS L managers.
My QTH is loc ated at about 38 de- Showsshort & long palh dislance& baamg
calibrated in degrees of latitude north Prec ise latitudel\oflg~udetor OWl' 90"4 0 1add. asses.
grees north latitude/88 degrees west
and south of the Equator (which is Harnea ll is $50.00 , included i s 6mont hs lree acCtlss to
long itude . T he latitude of the o pposite ou r Internet Sea'ch Service · rll<lue stwhen orda rin Q.
marke d with a zero); the North Pole is
hole will be 38 degrees south latitude . Hame.11 Mousep ad,with mOf$6code refllf&f\C\l,
at 90 degrees, as is th e South Po le. 7.5' x 6' , blue w ith yellow lelle rs. $5.00+ $3 sh ip~nQ.
The desired lo ng itude o f th e opposite
Hold a pencil or Magic Marker $5.00 shipping pe. Ofoe r. You r salistadion Quarant,sed'
hole is not so readily apparent. Fig. 1 Free BOO technical support - we won~ let you fall.
against th is sem icircular support at the
re pre sents the Earth as viewed fro m an
zero (0) position, or m idpoint, in such ~ '3UCKMASTER ~
&1&6Jeff",son H' gh w. y ' Ioh.-.I, VA 231nU SA
imaginary point di rectly above the .......'I·;nlo@buckcom wwwbuck.com
a way that the tip !i4O 894-57n ' 800.282-5$28' 540 BM-914 1 (In)
North Pole . Longitude is measured of the pen/marker 1-- -- ----'
fro m the Greenwich, or Prime merid-
j ust touches the
ian, eastward a nd westward to a line o f globe proper. Now, Beautifully hand-polished.
long itud e exactly o ppos ite the Prime rotate the globe Stamped brass c ase and
me ridian. East lo ng itude th en is mea- through 3ffi de- beze l.
sured from zero to 180 E and West lon- grees, leaving a Curved glass crysta l.
gitude sim ilarly measured fro m zero to trace completely
180W. (The 180W and 180 E lines o f Wall or bulkhead mounting .
around the globe .
lo ngi tude coinc ide and represent the This is your ne w Made so we ll they last f rom
Internati onal Date Line , although ad- artificial equator. generation to generation!
j ustments have been made locally to For a more pro- Order this month and save
satisfy political desires.) fessionallook, use a $201
As shown, the 88 degree west line o f pcrcil to make this Your price $75
Chelsea Clock
longitude , from my QTH through the line and rbcn usc
North Pole, turns into th e 92 degree PC artwork as an Cl ockmakers since 1897 Omega Sales
east line of lo ng itude o n the other side overlay 10 produce The choice o f The Coast
Guard Foundation. P.O, Box 376
of the pole. Note that the se lines arc a smooth lire. Next,
180 degrees apart. So, for my QTH, the rotate the globe Quartz Clock Jaffrey NH 03452
desired location of me opposite pivot until the empty
1-80Q..467-7237
hol e will be 92 degrees east lo ngitude! pivot hol e that
73 Amateur Radio toaev » March 2001 3S
 similar fashion, mark the segme nts be- be adj usti ng your beam . Adjust your
POLARIS
(NORTH STAR) • , tween 90 and 180 degrees, 180 and beam mounting arrangement ~o that
270 degrees and 270 and 360 degrees. the beam points toward this landmark
Use rub-on lettering or Magic Markers when the rot or co ntro l meter reads
to highlight these bearings. "Zero," "North ," or "360:' Your rotor
Rotate the globe until Central Eu- control system will no w be about as

AlIOTH
.'....~ EO R EZ
•• - . - . ,
DUSHE
•
rope is under the support ann and then
read the number on the artific ial eq ua-
accurate as possible.
If yo u find it impossible to see Po-
1I41ZA.R

, "
....
PHECDA
.--- .•
,
' :
'
-_
MAREK
tor behind the arm. From my QTH,
this bearing reads 45 degree s and is the
laris from your QTH , a couple of alte r-
nati ve way s to determine true no rth arc
•• URSA MAJO R direction I point my beam for most Eu- avai lable. For on e, man y towns and
ALKAI D .. - SII) DIPPEf< ropean OX. When I first used this cities ha ve their streets laid out in a
globe system. I was surprised to fi nd that north-south and east-we st pattern . If
Fig. 1. The Big Dipper ami its relationship
South America wa s not to my south applicable. usc a N-S street as a
to Polaris.
but more to the Southeast. Thi s is an pointer to find true nort h. Your city
easy-to-u se system to determine me e ngine er should ha ve reli ahlc infor-
had represented the North Pole just lies tru e bearing to any place in the world . mation on the street layout in your
under the semicircular support arm. Ju st rotate the globe until the country town .
Mark this point on the artificial equator of choice lies under the support arm Also. a good magnetic compass can
- this now represents the directio n of (now the cursor), and read the bearing be used to fi nd true north. Unfortu-
north, zero degrees or 360 de grees. from the artificial equator line. The na tely, the north magnetic pole to
Repeat this wi th the pivot hole that main prob lem rema ining is to ensure which a co mpass needle points is not
represented the South Po le. This mark that your hcam a nd rotator can accu- located at the north geographic pole.
will represent the direction of south. or rately posi tion your antenna to the Loca l mag neti c anomalies a lso effect
180 degrees. Now rotate the globe un- correct direct ion/beari ng. mag netic co mpasses. The difference
til the new artifi cial equator intersects Once you know where the beam is to be tween true north and the direction to
the rea l Equator so me where to the be pointed. yo u should make sure that which a magneti c compass need le is
west of Africa. A mark here will indio your beam is mounted properly so that pointing is called "magnetic variati on"
cate the tru e direction of90 degrees, or the rotor co ntrol me ter displays me and this varies from locatio n to loca-
east. Repeat for the intersection of the beam heading accurately. At zero. tion. Magnetic variation is shown on
artificial equator and the real Equator north or 360 on the mete r, the beam man y maps as dashed lines, each
somewhere west of Hawaii. This point sho uld be pointing di rectly toward the marked in degrees and ide ntified as
will mark the direction of 270 degrees, north geographic pole. A n easy way to cast or west variation . These lines arc
or wcst. locate true north is to use the star " Po- known as isogonic line s or lines o f
Thc locati on of markings for the laris," ofte n called the North S tar. Po- equa l magnet ic variation. Interpolation
hearings between 0 and 90 degrees laris is within one (I) degree of true must be used to find the variatio n al lo-
will ha ve to be determi ned by measur- no rth and is quite visible in the No rth- cations between adjacent lines. When
ing the distance between 0 and 90 de - ern Hemi sphere. It ca n be located by variation is " cast:' ma gneti c north is
grees along the artifici al equator and using the stars in the Big Dipper (Ursa east of true north. when variatio n is
dividing it into 6 eq ual segme nts Major) as g uide s. The Big Dipper and " west." magnetic north is west of true
which can be used to mark the 15, 30. its relationship to Polaris are shown in north . At my QTH. the vari ation is 4
45. 60 and 75 degree positions. In a
Fig. 2. (The Big Dipper will change p0- degrees east. which means that a mag-
sitions during the year. but the pointer net ic compass here wi ll poi nt 4 de-
stars will always point to Polaris.) grees to the cast of true north. 50 I
Imagine a straight line from Mare k would have had to ma ke a 4 degree ad-
Subscriptions through Dubhe a nd beyond. T he fi rst justment to use a magnet ic compass.
bright star that this imaginary line in- Man y sport a nd military compasse s
to
tercepts will be Polaris, the No rth S tar. arc a vailable that have an adj ustable
731Wagazille City lights may make Polaris hard to bezel or sig ht assembly that permit
find. If so. a late night or early morn- offsetting the compass read ing by the
Only $24.97 - I year ing observatio n might be necessary. amount of loc al variatio n (±).
$44.97 - 2 years
When you loc ate Polaris. stand at the Accuratel y determining the direc-
S65.00 - 3 years'" base of your tower and find a suita ble tion to the stations of your choice and
" best buy (54% off cov er price!) landmark di rectly between you and then pointing your beam in that direc-
Polaris. This gives you a permane nt tion will maximize yo ur chances for
Call 800-274-7373 reference to ward true north , usable in DX co ntac ts. as we ll as permit more
the daylight when you will probabl y solid stateside Q50s . fa
36 73 Amateur Radio tcaev » March 2001
CRLENDRR EUENTS

Listings are free of charge as space permits. Please send us your Calendar Event two months in
advance of the iss ue you want it to appear in. For example, jf you want it to appear in the May
iss ue, we should receive it by March 3 1. Provide a clear, concise summary of the essential
details abo ut your Calen dar Event.

MARCH 10 St. at third traffic light. High St. on left. Talk-in MARCH 24
on 146.94(-) Mt. Tom rptr. Doors open at 7 a.m.
KNOXVILLE , TN On Saturday, March 10th, for ve ndors , 9 a .m . fo r bargain hunters . ST. PAU L, MN The Robinsdale ARC, Inc . will
the Shrine r/Hams of Kerbela Amateur Rad io A mate ur a nd commercial license exam host its 20th annual Midwinter Madness Hobby
Service will sponsor their annual Hamfest at session at 10 a.m. Refreshments, 120 VAC , Electronics Show at the Gangelhoff Center
Kerbela Temple, 315 Mimosa Ave" Knoxville which is located on the Concordia University
plenty of parking, help loading and unloading,
TN, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is $5. Indoor campus in SI. Paul. VE exams 8:30 a.m.-3
handicapped accessible . Tables $15 each.
vendor tables are $8 each plus admission of p.m . Super buys on computers, ha rdware,
Tailgating $5. General admission $ 5 pe r
$5. Setup Friday from 4 p.m.- 8 p.m., and components, peripherals, and amateur radio
person, under age 12 free. See the Web site
Saturday 5 a.m.-8 a.m. Overnigh t security equipment. Admission is $7 at the door.
at [www.m tara.org}. Contact Cindy Loiero Contact RARC, P.O. Box 22613, Robbinsdale
will be provided . Talk-i n on 144 .83 (T)/ KlISS at [n1fi@arrl.net,or(413)56B-1175for
145.43(R ); or 146. 52 simp lex . Smoking MN 55422; orcafl (763) 537-1722. Check the
table or exam reservations and additional info . Web site at [http://www.visi.coml-kO/tc]. Send
indoors is permitted in designated area only.
E-ma il to{k0ltc@visi.com].
Co ntac t Pa ul Baird K3PB, 1500 Coulter
MARCH 18
Shoals Circle, Lenoir City TN 37772. Tel.
MARCH 25
(865) 986-9562.
JEFFERSON, WI The Tri-County ARC will
present "Harntest 2001 " Sunday, March 18th, MA DISON, OH The Lake County ARA will hold
SCOTTSDA LE, AZ T he Scottsdale A RC
at the Jefferson County Fai rgrounds Act ivity
ha mfest will be held starting at 6 a .m . at
Center, Hwy. 18 West, Jefferson WI, 8 a.m .-2 Continued on page 58
Scottsdale Community College , 101 North-
Ex it Chaparral Rd., 9000 E. Chaparral Rd, p.m. Vendors will be
Scottsdale AZ . Parking $2. Tables $10. AV admitted at 7 a .m.;
parking . VE exams. Fo r more info , contact others at 8 a.m. only.
Roger Cahoon KB7Z WI, 8501 E. Edward, Vendors only parking
Scottsdale AZ 85250. Tel. (480) 948-1824. will be provided for
Mobile (602) 725-7256; Fax (602) 943·7651 . unloading. Talk-in on
Send E-mail to {rgcahoon @msn.com). th e 14 5.4 9 rptr.
Admission $4. Table
MARCH 10, 17, 21, 29, APRll1? space, 8 ft ., $6 each.
Reserve your space
ST lOUIS, MQ Three FREE all-day Severe early. Contact TeARC,
Weather Observation training seminars are 213 Fred- erick ei,
planned at various locations around St. Louis Fort Atk i ns on WI
County. All are welcome, including those from 53538. Te l. (920)
outside the area. Free parking. Ce rti fication 563-6381 eves.; FAX
provided for RA C E S. and SKYWAAN, all at (920) 5 63-9551 . E·
no cost. At most locations , SKYWARN Level mail [tricounryarc@
1 Training is presented in the morning, and globa/dialog.com}.
classes res um e in the afternoon with the
SKYWAAN Level 2 Pro gram. Trainin g will be MAUMEE, OH The
held as follows: Sa turday all-day classes on
46t h A n nua l H a m -
Ma rch 10th , 17th and A pril 7th . Ev ening
fest/Computer Fair of
classes (Level 1 on ly), on March 21st and 29th .
the Toledo Mobile
Fo r locations call the Severe Wea ther Info
Radio Assn. wi ll be
Line, (314) 615-7857, for a taped message and
held 8 a .m.-2 p.m . at
addition al info rmation.
the Lucas County
MARCH 11 Rec. Cen ter, 290 1
Key St., in Maumee.
AMHERST, MA The Mount Tom Ama teur For de tails, sen d an
R ep eat er Assn . wi ll hold its 16t h Annual SASE to Paul Hanslik
Amateur Radio & Electronics Flea Market on N8XD B , P.O. Box
Sunday, March 11 th , at the Amherst Regional 2 73, Toledo OH
Middle School, 170 Chestnut St. , Amherst 436 97-02 73 . Tel .
MA. From Exit 4 on Mass Pike , take 91 N to (419) 385-5056; Web
Exit 18, Rte. 9, ta ke At e. 9 North to Amherst page [www. tmraham
Center. Left onto Plea sant St., right on Ma in radio.org].
73 Amateur Radio Today· March 2001 37
ON THE 60
Steve Nowak KE8YN/4
Mobile , Portable and Emergency Operation 101 1 Peacock Ave. NE
Palm Bay FL 32907-137 1

Lessons From a Long Drive

We are in deed a mobile society, as I experienced recently with a move from th e southeast to the
midwest to start m y new career with the Nebraska Health System. Amid U1C preparations to
p r ep are o ur house [or sal e and p ack those th i ngs I would n eed lO take witt: me in advance of
th e movers, I tried to look at the bright side. At least the drive [rom Florida to Omaha would
give m e some radio tim e.

T he three-day. 1.500-milc drive wou ld

give me amp le opportuni ty 10 ge l in
some opcuuing time on both the HF hands
the brouhaha th at surro unded the elim ina-
tio n o f the code requirement for the Tec h-
nici an cl ass license and last year' s license
o f the language I heard o n 20 met ers, while
certainly legal. te nded to refl ect poorly on
th ose involved in th e d iscussio n. There 's a
and more than a few repealers along the way. re stru cturin g. As yo u may recall. m any tim e and place fo r every thi ng, b ut I'm not
W hile I di d get in some time. freezing rain worried that these ne wcomers might ru in the sure 20 m eters and a kilowatt meets these
an d heavy snowstorms dictated that a sig- hobby if we no longer had code as an ent ry c riteria . Ma ybe th e re ason we weren ' t ge t-
nificaut amou nt 01" my tim e an d attention requireme nt. W hile these fe ars proved ground- ting as m any new hams into the field is tha t
he given to Illy driv ing ra ther than to the less, I wonderif perhaps the opposite is true. th ey listened in o n th e hands and dec ided
radio. As I mentioned, hoth the co urtesy and the against it. T here arc plenty o f interesting
Nevertheless. I was able to make some q uality of the subject mailer we re signifi - to pic s to add ress in a hohhy tha t is g lobal
con tacts a long the way and make a few ob- cantly hi gher 0 11 two m ete rs than on HE in it s nature . I fin d it hard to bel ieve that
servations . APRS was active. and I had pro- M an y o f these contact s m enti oned th at they cons ta nt co m p la ining abo ut ev e ry th ing
grammed a series of repeater freq uencies were Techn icians an d we d iscussed a wide th at' s w rong with th e wo rld is nece ssary,
in to the Kenwoo d TMD -700A . I inte nded variety o f topics and interests. In cidentally,
and I'm sure such d iatribes convi nce some
10 operate some H F during some of the some of th e most in telli gent co nve rsations
po te ntia l ham s to look elsew here fo r a
longer stretches 01" the dri ve . especiall y I had were w ith ne w ham s who we re tee n-
hobby.
where I did no t cxpcctmuch z-mcrcr act ivity. age rs . T hese conversat io ns certai n ly m ad e
I se em to recal l read ing w hen I first was
Mobile HF opera lions arc a bit different m y trip far m ore enjoyable . We ' ve all rea d
studying to get my lice nse that no one can
for a variety 01" reaso ns . We operate with articles stressi ng ho w impo rta nt it is for the
cl aim o wne rship o f a g iven frequency. Nev-
lim ited po wer. a modest an tenna. and li m - survival o f th e hobby to ge t you nger hams
erthe less, there appears to be a misunder-
ited hand options. I have always been mo re invo lved . Getting younge r people interes ted
standi ng ab out this concept where! n ce rta in
successful at answering someone e lsc's call in the hobb y may not only benefit the hobby
than calling C Q myself. This means tha t I o pe rator s fee l (no tice I don 't claim that they
and promote its growth, but may also lead to
tune the band and listen in o n w hat's hap- " think" ) thut ce rta in fr equencie s arc th ei r
more interesti ng QSOs, It seems as though
pe ning . I had Illy resonato rs for I () meters the you nger folks are more ope n-mi nded. with private domain . I've ne ver seen the app ro -
and 20 m eters o n the Comer CA-H V an- a wid er range of interests. priate reg u latio n tha t gi ve s certain opera-
ten na and bounced between the two ha nd s On th e o ther hand, so me of the HF op- tors special enforcement a utho rity 10 ens ure
as time pen n ined. I was traveli ng during the erators I heard (w ho sounded o ld eno ug h to tha t anyone invading " their" frequ ency is
week , so the stat io ns J heard on the HF know bcucr) el icited no desire for me to pic k dealt with sw ift ly and harshly.
hands arc prohah ly qu ite a hi t d ifferent tha n up the micro phone . In fact, it has fo rce d me Simi larly, the re are operat ors w ho might
those I normally hear on e ve nings and week- to o ffe r the fo llowing unso lic ited ad vice . I be we ll adv ised to go hack to their study
ends. I don ' t kno w if it was a had day, th e unde rs tand that those who re ad it serio us ly gu ide and hone up on propagatio n th eory.
phase of the moon, or w hat . hut I do have to are probably good operators a lready and Remember the ionosphere and its 0, E, FI,
adm it tha t I was ac tuall y em barrassed by do n' t need it. Li ke wise , those at wh om it is and F2 laye rs ? As J reca ll, it is qui te com -
whut I heard. In fact. I turn ed the rig off o n ai med will ass ume it is meant fo r someone mon fo r propagaucn to he di ffe rent between
se veral occasions because I had no de sire else and either ignore it or get surly. stations . In o the r wo rd s, yo ur low po wer
to liste n to what was going on . When I was muc h yo unger I was ta ught signal may he reaching me quite strong ly
On the other hand, I had deli g htful chats th at in polite conversation one should a void while m y high power signal is reflecting in
with several people on two -me ter simplex. se x, po litic s, and rel ig io n. I te nd to belie ve such a manner as to mi ss yo u comple tely.
The people were polite. interesting and en- that thi s still holds true o n the radio, Let's
gaging. I couldn ' t help hut th ink about all just say that m an y o f the topics and mu ch Continue d on p ag e .'59
38 73 Amateur Radio Today. March 2001
HOMING IN
Radio Direction Finding Joe Moell P.E . K00 V
P. O. Box 2508
Fulle rton CA 92837
[Homingin@aol.com]
[www.homingin.com]

Your RDF Questions Answered

The sn ow will soon be gone across most of North America, and hams in every sta te an d
province will be emerging from th eir shacks La go on hidden transmitter hunts, both on foot
and in vehicles. Will you be among them?

RRL's Web site recently surv eyed visi- wit h yo ur cl ub w he the r yo u w ant to do Montreal Fox Contro lle r (M FC) by Francois
A tors about thei r participatio n in trans-
mitter huntin g, whi c h is a lso c a lle d
sho rt-ra nge o n-foot hunting , longer-range
hu nt ing o n bic ycl es, or still-lo nger-range
T remb lay VE2J X a nd J ac q ue s B rode ur
VE2EM M . See " Re sources" for more in-
foxhunting and T-hunting . O ver 2,400 Web- m obil e hu nts. Inq uirers seldom tell me this forma tion. A dva nce d hunts with unattended
savvy hams replied, a respectable sample. in the first E- mail. trans mitters are best o n simplex freq uenci es,
About a q uarter of them said that they did it Fo r your cl ub 's fir st mob ile hunts, keep where they can ' t accidentally QR M re peater
occasionally or ofte n. Is that true of the it sim ple. Have the hider stay with the trans- Q SO s.
mitter and key it up at appropriate intervals. Miniature transmi tters bring a lm ost end-
members o f your loca l radio club?
He or sh e can read into the m ike from a hook le s s fu n to a d va n ced m o b ile hu n ts . In
On the other hand, 60 percent of survey
December's " Ho m ing In," I to ld yo u about
respo nders had ne ver tried Rad io D irectio n or from the club ne wslette r, or j ust make
an inform al contest in the San Fra ncisco Bay
Fi ndi ng (RD F) contests of any ki nd . I won- comments and urge the hunters on (P hoto A) .
area to see who could make the sma lles t fox
der ho w that compares to other ham rad io A starter hunt like this is a great way to end
transm itters. At that ti me , o ne ham had a
activitie s. T he on ly cl ue at the A RR L' s site the weekly cl ub or A R ES net on your loc al
was a survey of image modes, such as slo w- repe ater. With lots of fo lks listenin g then ,
scan and fast-scan ham TV. A lmost 80 per- y ou 're ma rc likel y to get some o f them to
cent o f responders said they had neve r tried come o ut to find the T. Make sure to re mind
them. everyone to do their RDF a ll the repeater
I have urged yo u to enjoy this exci ti ng in pu t freque ncy, not the outp ut !
part of ham rad io in the page s of this maga- A fter a few hu nts, you may want an UIl -
zine for over 12 years. M y Web si te has pro- attended tran sm itti ng setup so tha t the hider
mo ted it for almost fi ve years. T he re spo nse doesn ' t ha ve to stay w ith the rig . Yo u could
has been g ra ti fy ing. L oi s o f ham s and connect your two -meter hand-he ld or mo-
nonhams want to kn ow more . Not surpri s- bile transceiver to a tape recorder, playing
ingly, many of the inqui ries are the same . an endless loop answeri ng machinc cassette
with an app rop riate message or so und e f-
This m onth, I'Il let you in on the most fre-
fects, pl us statio n IO. Some prefer to hid e a
quently asked q uestions abo ut ROF, and the
du al-band hand-held and activate it on the
answers.
subband from anothe r transm itter.
Getting Started Is Easy Later on, afte r yo u gain some experie nce
and have a better idea o f yo ur particula r
Many ne wcomers overestimate the d iffi - needs, consider a dedicated fax box with tones
culty o f p utting on their first event. They as k: and a cycling timer for hid ing (Photo B ).
"My cl ub wants to start transmitter hunting, You'H need fi ve units like th is for o n-foot
but first we need a hidden transmi tter. What hunts un der international rule s. r covered
is available?" fa xboxes in detai l in "Ho ming In" for March
Before yo u can pick the proper tools for 1998 and in m y book on RD F. (Transmitter
any j ob, you ha ve to evaluate the job. J ust Hu nting - Radio D irection Finding Sim - Ph oto A . A hidden transmitter setup
as no sc rewdriver is perfect for every size plified by MoeH and C urlee is pu blished by doesn 't have to be f ancy. Da vid Bunger
screw, no hidden trans mitter se tu p b ideal TAB/ Mc G ra w -Hill, I S BN num be r 007· N CJQEC and Daniel Cowell KBOIEK of
for all situations. Hiders use a wide variety 1560068 .) the Lincoln (Nebraska) Amateur Radio
of eq uipment. Power o utput and ante nna Popu lar transm itter controllers for hath Club awa it the hunters us they read f rom
type depend o n the di stance to the stan poin t m obile and on-foot foxhunts incl ude P icC on my book into the mike. Note the transmit-
and the leve l of intended d iffi c ulty. D iscuss b y B y o n G arra b ra nt N6BG a n d the ting beam antenna affixed to the sawhorse.
73 Amateur Radio Today. March 200 1 39
 sq uare mile s. There are some tiny transmit-
ters being marketed to Tvh umers that ha ve
not been rev iewed by " Homing In" beca use
my tests have sho wn them to be spectrally
"d irty." J ust as ou tput filters are standard
eq uipment in base and mo bile ham trans -
ce ivers. they sho uld als o be incl uded in rni-
c ro-T's. even if it means makin g them a bit
larger.
T here are several commercial sup pliers
of tiny tran smi tters and tracki ng receivers
fo r the wild life managemen t market. T hey
arc a lso popular with owners of pri zed
ho und s, Mag nu m Telemetry. fea tured in
"Hom ing In" for August 200 0. is an ex -
am ple . Unde r FCC Par t 15. these transmi t-
ters typica lly o perate just below TV channel
7 or just abo ve T V channe l 13.
To save battery Hfc. tracking tran sm itters
Photo R. VHF transmitter boa rds like this f\\'(HI'o11 svnthesited mode! ( T30 1) from are usua lly p ulsed for a few mi lliseconds,
Hanuronics arc ideal for medium-power faxboxes in surplus ammunition cam. They abo ut once a second. For RDF, most wild-
produce clean output when driving tugh.power amplifiers. if needed. life trackers usc very sensitive receivers and
beam or phased -array an tennas . Spe ci a l
trac king recei vers arc e xpensive , but many
tra nsm itte r. battery, and controller that fi t Do-It-Yourself 007 Tric ks users ha ve had good res ults with ord inary
into a 35 111m film ca nister. In a recent E- ha nd-held scan ning recei vers, T hey sho uld
mail. Pa ul Shinn wrote. " T ha t is no w con- Q uestion 2 is by far the most freq uent ly he m uni modc (i ncl ud ing CW and S SB )
sidered to be big. T he lat est c reation is asked. bec ause it comes from bo th hams and mod els s uch as the Ico m R· JO. T rident
d ub bed the Micro Montreal Fo x (1 1M F). nonhams: "1 need a miniature transmitter TR2400 , o r Son y IC F·PR080 ,
It is a lmost ha lf the size and pu ts o u t 60 to put on my pri zed possession to find it Mo st o f the miniature "bugv rransmin ers
milliwaus !" whe n it wande rs away. or is sto len o r ab- tha t arc advertised in e xperimente r maga-
Paul co ntinues: "The MMF is b uilt into a d uc ted . Wh at is av ailab le?" T he " p rized zincs suc h as Papular Electronics and Nuts
wa terproo f metal en clos ure and is o nly po sse ssions" in these inq uiries have in - and Volts usc the 88to 108 MHz PM broad -
slightly larger than a 9-volt ba ttery alon e. cl uded sports cars. T V sets. mo torcycles. cast band , At fi rst thou g ht. it appears to be
we also have a o ne-w att ve rs ion in the cats, coonhounds , and many other th ings,
an ad vantage that they ca n he rece ived o n
works that will be abou t the size of four 9- living or inert.
ordinary home and car radio s. However, this
volt batteries put together. T he size is mostly A stam p-s ize microtran smitter project
me ans that effective range is limited by in-
for the lithium ion battery pack. The guys was featured in " Horning In" for Ma y and
terference from powerful broadca st stations.
here like transmitters that stay on continu- Se ptember 1993 (P hoto C ). Th is 25 milli-
Fu rthermore. modu lation de viation in the
o usly and the hun ts run for 4 hou rs. so that watt crystal-controlled rig was design ed by
FM broadca st band is 15 time s greater than
limits our miniaturization. Now, if we cou ld Ken Bauer KB6TTS and can be tuned for
on two meters. and receiver hand widt h is
j ust bui ld a nuclear reactor that' s the sile o f eit her the 2-rneter or l 25-cent imeter ham
correspond ingly larger. This mean s that sig-
a pea !" bands. S urface-moun t co ns truc tion isn' t for nal-to-noi se ratio is degraded and (hat Fl\1
everyo ne, so Ken' s company. Airtek Engi-
broadca st recei vers are inco mpatib le with
neering. also makes wired/tes ted tra nsmit-
narrowband Do ppler RD F sets.
ters . His prima ry market is ha ms who fl y
Anae hing yo ur own tiny transmitte r and
model gliders, to aid in the ir reco very,
antenna means that the thief who lakes yo ur
I a lways remind inqui rers that tran smit-
prize-winning feline can ge t it o ut of your
ters on ham frequ enc ies may o nly he used
de tectio n range very qu ick ly, or simply p ut
by lice nsed ama te ur rad io o perators. and
your tabby ill a car trun k to shield the sig-
that plenty ofT-hunting hams are read y a nd
nal. By co ntrast. com mercia l stole n vehicle
eag er to trac k do wn nc nham intruders o n
recovery syste ms such as Lorack are cffcc-
these freq uenc ies. Station ID and co ntrol
tivc because (he re are so many receivers in
operator requireme nts o f FCC Part 9 7 must
the service area tbut there is a good chance
a lso be followed (P hot o D).

\ /
Photo C. Whether fo r sport or for covert
Eve n a QR P transmitter has to he spec -
trally pure , because it may e nd up ncar an
airport or other sensitive locatio n. T he sec-
one will always he close by, In Los Ange-
le s, o ver 400 sq uad cars are eq uipped, plus
law enfo rcement helicopters and some fixed
statio ns.
tracking, the higgest part of a tilly hidden ond harmonics of a two meter signal are o n
transmitter is sometimes the batterv. These frequ e nc ie s used by a irc raft! Hid e rs in Kid Trackers, Too?
transmitters. designed by Ken Bauer of so uthern Cali fornia like to put their T 's on
Airtek. .....erefeatured in previous "Homing top of m ile-high mountain peak s. whe re a Some inq ui rers carry th is concept a step
In " columns. fe w milliwa n s ca n cove r t ho usa nds o f fu rt her, as kin g : " I want a pager-size d
40 73 Amateur Radio Today . March 2001
 tracki ng device to put on my toddler. This either by accident (such as falling into ho le s)
would work with a pocket-sized receiver and or the ft. Can a transmi tter be inserted into The Gordon West
RDF set so I could locate the child in case items like wre nches. dri lls, or grinders, with
he or she becomes lo st or abd ucted." a RDF unit capable o f detecting the m from
Study Guides
I often suspect th at the se wri te rs a re o utside a vehicle ?" Examination Te st
thinkin g no t o n ly of the ir own kids, but RDF is typically do ne at considerable Questions & A nswers
of the mo n ey- m ak in g potential o f this distance , from ya rds to mi les an d beyond.
fo r Genera l C lass and Ex tra C lass
technique . In either c ase, the tra cking of For that, transm itters req uire lo ng -te rm
w ith exp lanations of th e a nswers
children is a m uch more se rio us and d if- po we r source s (such as batteri es) and effi-
fi cult matter than the tracking o f sports cars. cient antenna s. Such an installation fits in a
Ge neral Class
Here are just some of the many factors that sports car or animal coll ar, b ut is too large
$ 12.95
must be considered: to go into small ite ms such as hand tools. In
Plus $3.50 S&H
• Size - For su fficie nt transminerpower addition . the transmitted signal c an be de-
and antenna size to permi t tracking over a tected by an yone wi th a rece iver tuned to
wide area, the child' s transmitting device the pro per frequency. or e ven a frequ ency Extra C lass
must be bigger and heavier than most people counter, so the se system s are no t covert. $14.95
wo uld de sire. RHO technology at the job site ex it is Plus $3.50 5&11
• RDF - An e ffec tive tracker needs a probably more appropria te for this tool-de-
tectio n application. RFID systems precisely
O mega Sales
"wide aperture" antenna for sens itivity and
accuracy, so it cannot be pocket-sized . How- track property and objects at relativel y close P.a. Box 376
Jaffrey, Nil 03452 ~!VlSA J
ever, pa rents won 't want to hau l aro und a
big tracker.
• Battery Life - The longer the battery
range . For instance, chips (also called tran -
sponders) ca n be im planted in pe ts to pro-
vide positive proof o f ownership if the pet
• 800-467-7237

mustlast. the bigger and heavier the transmit- strays into the po und or is stolen. A read er
ter on the c hil d mu st be . devi ce. passed over the ch ip. detects it and
• Antenna - How do you put an e ffec- reads o ut the chip's uniq ue ID code . Simi- AD SALES
ti ve antenna nex t to a child' s bo dy withou t lar RHO systems sound an alarm when non- call
detuning the antenna? paid-for merchandise passes thro ugh the Evelyn Ga r r ison
• RFRadiation - Is it safe to have a tran s- doo rs o f a sto re . RFID is done at greate r
1-425-557-9611
mitt ing antenna next to a child 's body ? distan ce in au tomatic toll collectio n sys-
• Liability - Will the maker be sued if tems. T he Pas'Irack" transponde rs fo r new
parents do not quickl y find thei r child with sout hern Ca lifo rn ia toll freeways can e ven
the device? be used to quickly pay for a McDonald ' s
• Security - How do you keep cri mi nals burger at the o ff ramp !
from tracking other people' s lost children ? T he c hips (also called tag s or transpon-
What happens if a pote n tial kid nap pe r ders) are usua lly passive , meaning that they
use s R DF to loc ate the lo st child before don't req uire battery power. T hey cannot be
the parent s do? detected with co n ventiona l recei vers, bu t R F and A u(fi() Equipm ent
My advice is to leave kid-trac king to the only by a reade r o r polling de vic e designed
to be used wi th them . For a quick introduc-
professionals, and don' t try it at home. If it
tion to transponder technology with some
CableMate®
were straig htforward a nd e asy. lots of
Time Domain Hetlect ornete r {TOR)
companies would be doing it . T he tracking Jinks, see the Radio Frequ ency Identifi ca-
devices would be as popula r as Razo r scoot- tion (RHD) Systems page at the Virginia
Specifically
ers . Bu t as of thi s writing, I don't know o f Po lytechnic C en ter for Wi rele ss Communi- Designed
any. Sure , there arc occasional ne ws stories catio ns Web site , listed in " Reso urces ." f or the RF
abo ut such systems that will be a vai lable Service Technici a n.
Wrong-Wa y Beams
"real soon now." But somehow they never
gain wide spread ac ceptance. Reduced Price!
The las t question for this month hasn 't
Most proposed and publicized co mmer- n"w ,,"ly 5399. 95
ac tually be en asked many tim es, b ut il
cial child-tracking system s don 't u se true should: " C an I use my two -meter yagi or
RDE In stead, they op t for G PS or other quad for RDF on other fre quencies, such as Detect and Locate Faults (HealTime}
time-of-arrival (mu ltil ateration) so lutio ns. in cables ranging f rom 16 to 2,000 feet.
the airc raft band fo r Emerge ncy Locator
The mention of GPS makes hams think o f Transmitters (ELTs) . or the VHF marine Come take a look
usi ng APRS for this application. The pros band'?" at our updated website
and cons of that approach are beyond the No! T he d irec tional characteristics o f 1 www.aea-wireless.com
scope of thi s article, b ut keep in mind that a parasitic antennas suc h as ya gis or quads
GPS recei ver doesn 't wo rk well inside a car change signific antly when frequency is var- ~ RF and A udio Equipment
trunk, ei ther. ied by only a sm all am ount. I thought e very
A similar but eq ually often-asked ques- ham knew this until I pu t on one of the first 1487 Poinsettia P: (!'l00) 25!'l-780 5
Suite # 127 P : (7 fiO) 79 8-9687
tion calls for a different approach. There are 223 MHz hunt s in sout hern California a
Vista. OJ 92083 F: (760 ) 798-9 689
many variations, hut this is ty pica l: " O ur decade ago. It wasn ' t in a truly difficu lt-to- e-mail: aea@aea-wireless.COlll
construction company is losing smaJl tools, find place , bu t one hunter co uld n' t seem to
73 Amateur Radio Today. March 200 1 41
 to f re quenc y, with a usable bandwidth of
one-qua rte r percen t or less.
An Internet foxhunting mailing list rece ntly
had a message about hams in the state of Wash-
ington who discovered that their two-meter
beams wo rked backwards w hen tracking
121 .5 MHz ELTs.That' s no surprise when you
consider that the reflectorof'a 146 MH z beam
is about the same size as the director of a 121.5
M Hz beam. Similarly, an illustration at the
" Hom ing In" Web site shows how a two
meter beam " points rearward" when track -
ing 172 M H z wildlife transmitters, an d has
a lm ost S dB less gai n, too .
Incorrect feed poi nt matching is anot her
problem of off-frequency beams that usually
does n't appea r in antenna desig n software
plots. It results in additiona l unwanted pattern
lobes and n ulls, caused by interaction of the
feedline pickup and beam response. Since it's
Photo D. YrJII don' t have to lise surface-mount techniques to build a small two- meter easy and inexpensi ve to make yagis and quads
trunsminer: This cigarette-pack -si:e rig by Don Lewis KF6GQ was built around the with optimum di mensions and matching for
Motorola MC2833 transmitter and 555 time r l Cs. both ill DIP packa ges. /t puts out any VHFIUHF frequency, take the time to do
five milliwarts. The 1(1) hoard carne from a voice-message greeting card, 1I0W used 10 the job right (Photo E) .
generate audio modulation and station ID .
What's Your Question?

close in . Every ttmc I ta lked to him. he was Space for thi s month is a lmost gone , so I enjoy c orrespon din g w it h hams and
in a di fferent s pot tha t was equally fa r from I wo n' t go in to all the theo ry, b ut s uffice clubs tha t are getti ng started in hidden trans-
my location . it to say tha t a fu ll-size VHF o r U H F quad mitter hunting . But befo re you pre ss the E-
Finally, I asked what equipment he was or yagi wo n' t ha ve f u ll gain or directi vity mail SEND button, check the " Ho ming In"
using for RDF. He rep lied. " My two-meter whe n u sed at more than p lus or minus 3% Web site. The answer to yo ur question might
quad. of course!" I as ked him to take a he ar- of it s d esign f requenc y. A s ho rte ne d or already be o n the Freq uently Asked Q ues-
ing on my sig na l and tell me whatit was. Sure tions page, or somewhere e lse in the 30
loaded ga in antenna (such as the Shrunken
enough, it was off by almost 120 degrees!
subpages there.
Q uad in m y book) is e ven more sensitive
Ple ase don 't get anxio us if you don 't get
an immediate answer. If I can repl y com-
ple tely from information in my head or if I
need mure de ta ils from yo u, you' ll prob-
ably hear back rig ht away. But if I have to
do any researc h at all , such as look up a Web
site or magazine article refe re nce to reco m -
mend 10 you, then yo ur mai l goes into the
" to do" fil e and m ig ht take a w hile to
emerge, especially if a busi ness trip intervenes.
Don 't give up unless it's been at least a couple
of weeks, then send me a reminder in case I
lost yo ur mail or it didn' t get to me.
One of m y gre ate st frustrations is to do
the research to answer a specifi c question,
then have the reply bounce back to me be-
cause the se nder changed E-mail addresses
or canceled his E- m ail accou nt. If you're
not going to be at your return E-mail address
for at least three weeks, kindly wait until you
have a "permanent" address before se nding
your inquiry.

Continued on page 59

Photo E, VHF/ UHF yagi and quad antenn as mu st be ope rated within a few percent of
their design freq uency for hext RDF perform ance. Boh Miller N6ZHZ of the Civil Air
Patrol builr this special cut-so-frequency dual-ba nd quad for trackin g weak aircraft Say you saw it in 731
Eme rgency Locutor Transmitter signals 011 121.5 and 243.0 MHz.
42 73 Amateur Radio Today. Ma rch 2001
 QRP
Low Power Operation Michael Bryce WB8VGE
Sunlight Energy Systems
955 Manchester Ave. SW
North Lawrence OH 44666
[pro solar @sssnet.com]

More HW-9

Last time. we calked about the slipping VFO in the 111\'-9. I've received many letters and E-mail.')
from readers telling me thar those hints put several IIl V-9s beck on the air. Let's hope this
month we can gel some more H IV-9 QRP rigs operating.

he HW· 9 b. a "cry good QRP trans-

T ceiver. However, it suffers from several
problems. This month I"II take a loo k at
people talking ahout gelling upward o f nine
watts o ut o n 80 meters. Remember, th e idea
here is cl ean powe r. not j ust power.
fin ge rti p and ga uge the tem peratu re 0 11 the
fina l transistor 's heat sink. They hoth should
be q uill," warm to the to uch after a fe w min-
someot ihcsc aliments and how to overcome That amo unt o f power i.. q uite hig h fo r a urcs o f key-do w n. If o ne takes the skin fm m
them. QRP radio. If you' re tong-winded. bette r yo ur fi nger and the other o ne is stone cold,
check the tem peratu re of the heat sinks 0 11 you had better order a replacement. The fina l
Low RF output the H W-9 's fi na ls. Also, it's not a had idea transistors used in the HW-9 arc MRI-'237s.
to insta ll a hea t sink o n th e 2N3866 a s wel l. You can get these from RF Parts. 435 South
Besides the s lippi ng VFO. the second
I've tal ked to quite a fe w Q RI~ or s . and Pacific St.. San Man:'Os C A 92069, 1·8{X}-737·
most common problem with the HW-9 is
o ne of the questions they have about th e 2787. Ecmail: [rfp@ rfparts.com] .
lo w RF o utpu t on the higher frequenci es .
H W-9 is la ck o f po we r o n the higher fre-
This problem is most notable on 10 me ters
q uenc ie s. The dropo tf in power is espc- Better voltage regulation
and 12 me ters. Some times. the l S-mete r d a lly noticeable o n I() m et ers. If yo u have
band become s unstable. hUI has more than do ne th e fixes a bo ve and stil l ca n' , see m I did not sit in the design meetings when
enough RF o utp ut. to get 3-5 watts o ut on 10 me ters. use yo ur the H W-9 w as be ing hom. 50, 1don ' t know
To fi x th e in stab ilit y problem . we need to
look all th e way back 10 the prcdri vcr. " From
the factory," Heathkit used M PS6521 tran-
sistors (Heath pIn 41 7- 172 ) for 0 401 and
0402 . T hese arc the pre-drivers that d rive
transis tor 0404 . 0404 is a 2N3866 (Heath
pIn 417 .2(5) that is more tha n adequate in
po wer gain and freque ncy. Now, if yo u have
e ver b uilt a OR P tran sm it te r utiliz ing a
2N3866. yo u can re late to thi s. That tran-
sisto r has a wild s ide III it. If the ci rcui t is
not designed correct ly, a 21':3866 w ill he -
come all am plifie r and an o sc illator at the
sa me time . Loo king into th e rad io , yo u' ll
see there are ferrite beads on the base leads
of Q40l and Q-102. Th is indicates there are
some instability pro blems.
The stab ili ty problem is not with the
2:-13866 but rather the two pred rivers. 0401
and 040 2 . In a nutshe ll: too much gain. The
fix is 10 install somethi ng a b it tamer. For
040 1, try a metal-c ased 2N 2122. Yup ! And
for 0402. a 2N3904 works. I' ve tried some
2~+Wl s. but was not impressed. I al so tried
~ t SPA2 0s and so me 2SC 1711 s fo r 040 I . Ph oto A, The bottom PC board f OT the IIW·9. III the bottom center you 'll see the two
With 13.8 m ils, my II W-9 produce s about black heat sinks fOT tile final transistors. 0" tile left of the fin als you 'll see the h , 'O empty
se ve n watts o n 80 met ers and about three slots for the filters. These open locutions would be filled with the correct inductors
and a ha lf on 10 mete rs. I' ve heard some needed.
73 Amateur Radio Today • March 200 1 43
 removing a capaci tor and turning it around. be celebrati ng the 50th event. And again, this
You ca n d o the same wi th the HW-9 . year the QRP ARCl witl be holding their "five
Unsolder capacitor C33 6 , a 2.2 IlF el ec- Day s in May" QRP bash. The last several
tro lytic, an d install it bac kwards fo r po- years , it's been a sold-out affair. So, here is
larity. It sho u ld be reve rsed fro m what is the info you need to reserve your seat.
shown in the manual , sche matic, and PCB "The QRP Amateur Radio Club Interna-
si lk -screening . tional (Q RP-ARCI) pro udly anno unces the
Some operators have had impro ved au- sixth annual ' Fo ur Days In May ' Q RP Con-
dio by subbing a TL084C quad FET op amp fere nce co mmenci ng T hursday, May 17,
for the LM 324 used at U304, Since this op 200 1- the fi rst o f fo ur festive days of 200 1
amp is in a socket, it only takes a few sec- Dayton Hamvention activities. Mark yo ur
o nds to swap o ut. I can't tell any difference calendar for these four days, and register early
in my HW-9 . Bu t others say the change was for this not-to-be-missed QRP event of the
well wo rth the effort. new century. Amateur radio QRP presenta-
Whi le yo u're messi ng wi th the ac tive tions, workshops, and demonstrations will be
fi lter, you mi g ht want to check the v alues the focus of the fun -day Th ursday QRP Sym-
of these parts: re sistors R354 and R359
posium to be held at QRP ARC! headquarters
a nd capac itors C339, C34 1, C344, an d
- the Ramada Inn Dayton South.
C345 . They shou ld a ll be a s close to value
" Here is a brief overview of the four day s:
Photo B. The top PC board f or ttie HW· 9. a s po ssib le . And as in any a ud io fil ter,
"Thursday : QRP Sy mposium: 8:00 a .m .-
Most of the mixer circuits are here. Also, o nly th e best-quality parts should be used .
4:30 p.m . Contribution: $ 15 .00. Topics in-
note the large ammmt of unstuffed parts. Leave the cheap stuff in the j unk b ox . The
cl ude: SMT Construction - George Dobbs
Again. these were fo r the "band kit " giving bette r th e q uali ty, e specially the capaci -
G3RJV, and Interference to Ama teur Radio
the user the WARe bands. tors, the be tter the filter will perform .
- Ed Hare WIRFI. And more - mon itor
Modifying the AGe loop the QRP-F, QRP-I, and QRPARCI Web site
why the enginee rs did no t have the BFO and [h lt p://www.qrparci .org/ ] for de ta ils o n
Some find the AGC a bit too fast for them. other pre sen tatio ns.
HFO osci llators run from the internal +9
You can alte r this AGC loo p by changing "T hursday Evening: Author Social, 7:00
reg ulated supply. Instead, the VFO and HFO
the va lue of either C3 17, a 3 .3 IlF e lectro- p.m.- II :OO p.m. No charge , A chance to meet
oscillators are supplied by the unregulated
lytic. or increasing the value of R3 I 2. You and talk with the Q RP Symposium speakers.
voltage co ming in frum the outside wo rld .
To improve the stability of the circuits m ight wa nt to play with the va lues o f these " Friday Even ing: Vendor Social - start-
that operate fro m the +9 volts, change U402 two components. Yo u can alter the AGC by ing at 8:30 p.m. No cha rge . Friday evening
from a 78L0 8 to a 78 L09 regulator, and re- lo weri ng the value of C317 o r increasing has been set asi de for QRP vendors. Here is
place 0409 with a j urnpe r wire. You'll see the va lue of R312. a chance to eyeball the latest eq uipment and
an overall improvement in ope ratio n. But The HW-9 is a great rad io. It's easy to talk wi th the vendors,
the BFO and HFO arc sti ll running fro m an work on, and has plenty of featu res . Aside " Saturd ay Evening: QRP ARCI Awards
unregu lated source. So , other than ripping from th e problems (and what rad io d oes Banq uet - 7:{X) p.m. to 9:00 p. m. $25 .00
up PC boa rd trac es, make sure yo u operate no t have a bug o r lWO) listed abo ve , the
per ticket. Advance tickets o nly, see Web
your HW-9 from a rather " stiff ' pow er H W-9 would be at home in a ny QRP
site for details. Saturd ay e vening starts with
sou rce. operator's shac k . the ann ual QRPARClAwards Banquet hon-
Finding an HW~9 ori ng QRPers who have made major con-
Fixing the keying problem s
trib ution to QRP and amateur radio . We wi ll
Th e HW~9 keys way too soft. In fact . Although they were sold right up to the a lso announce the winne rs of the vario us
speeds over 25 wpm arc hard co py. Most e nd, the Heathkit HW-9 still brings in lo ts 'b uild-if contests . Fantastic door prizes,
QRP ops usc a keyer wi th a wei ght co ntro l of money on the used market. I don't kno w great speaker, tons of fun - be there ,
to help stiffen up the keying on the HW-9 . why, eit her. Depe nd ing on the options, such " Later on Saturday E vening: Display of
A better way is to change out some parts . as power supply and WARe band kit, plan the bu ilding and design contest en tries and
T he firs t place to start is by removing to pay fro m $200 up to $450 fo r one . An winners, PLUS the Radio Show - FREE !
C578, a 471lF electrolyti c, and rep laci ng it UNBUI LT HW-9 o n eBay we nt for al most Sat urday evening pro vides time for Q RPers
with a 10 e lectro lytic capaci tor. This sho rt- $2000! to socialize with th e QR Pers fro m aro un d
ens the trailing edge but affects the mute E very now and then, I' ve seen the op- the world . S ho w off your projects/co llec -
delay lin e. To fix thi s. change the value of tional b and kit listed on e Bay, These seem tions at the Rad io S how! All entries for
resistor R444 from I SOohms to 1500 ohms . to ho ver at abo ut $50 each. If yo u're handy the bui lding and desig n conte sts will be
Try the HW-9 OUl again. If you fin d the with wi ndi ng coils, you could hand-make o n displ ay. This year we have two gene ral
LEAD ING edge of the CW waveform is too the needed parts . You 'll need to order the categories :
hard . change capacitor C435 from 2.2 IlF necessary crystals fo r the HFO oscillators
"l . Wide open category - bri ng your
to 4.7 1lF. for each han d you want.
late st homeb rcw or kit project.
Some audio im pr ov ements QRP ARCI FDIM: " 2 , T he second contest is ' in the works.'
Don 't miss th is on el Monitor the QRP-F, QRP-l, and QRP ARCI
In my HW·8 Handbook, o ne modifica- Web site [http://www.qrparci.orgl] fur details.''
tio n to im prove audio was as simp le as This year, the Dayton Ham vcr uion will Fo r more information, c heckout Ute Wcb
44 73 Amateur Radio Today. March 200 1
site. It will be updated as more info rma tio n is tied down. Hope 10
see you there.

April QRP Contest TV IF

MODULE
Here are the rules for the Apri l QRP Contest. NEW CATALOG! Zenith part 9-1320 has
108 pages of barga ins AG C and video pol s
I. When: April 14 1200Z through April 15 2400Z. 200 1. Work that you can download and audio. AFC eoc csc
from our web site. or coi ls.
a max imum of 24 hours o f th e 36-hour period . C W only. Wo rk send US$3.00 ($4. 50 99V012 $6.95
station o nce per band. foreig n) for a printed
2 . Categories: All-band, Si ngle band. High bands. Low bands.
Muhi-Op. DX . """
TVRO
PARTS
3. Exchange : RST; Stal e, Pro vince . o r Country (SlPIC); ARCI BOARD HELPING
T hese ar e mother - HANDS
number (nonmembers. se nd power ). boa rds fro m bl oc k-
co n v e r sio n - t y p e MAGNIFIER
4. QSO Points: Me m ber = 5 pts. No nmember. differe nt con tinent satelli te TV receivers . Heavy cast iron base.
= 4 pts. Nonmem ber. same continent = 2 pts. The tuners and PROMs 2X 2.2" magni fyi ng
have been removed, but glass . Loc ks at any
5. M ultipliers: SIPIC to tal for all band s. S/P/C's count o nce per there are hund reds of angle.
band . useful RF and dig ital 93U002 $5.95
parts left. including the
6. Power: >5W = xl . 1- 5W = x7 . 250mW- l W = xlO. < 25OmW = 70MHz IF strip.
xrs. 94V005 $7.95
ChllCk the list of
7 . Final sco re = QSO po ints x Total SPes x Power multi. vacuum lubes on our
8. Suggested Freque nci es (kH z): G cneral - 1810 , 3560, 7040. website!
NEC PASSrvE
14060. 2 1060. 28060. Novice - 37 10. 7 110, 2 11 10, 28 110. SPEAKERS
9. Team compe tition: 2 to 5 mem be rs per team. o r un lim ited fERRITE ROD Excellent sound quality.
1KHz·1 MHz frequency W ill handle up to 30
number of operators as long as a maximum of 5 tran smitters on the air ra nge . Materi al 33 . Wa lts . W oofer.
S.87S"l x 0.5"0 . Docs midrange and tweeter
at a time. Compete individually as well as on the team . Team captain included . in case.
mu st send list of members to Comes r Manager before contest. 98POO5 $4.95 20VOO4 S8.9S/pair
10. Send QRP A RCI contest entries within 30 days o f con test
date to : Randy Fol tz K7TQ. ATIN : Spring QSO Party. 809 Le ith
C -.una.-
\t ,. _ _ s-.
"S.CIO

".
-IJIXXI till ~ ..,.." __ ALLTRONICS Dow nload Our Catalog:

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St.. Mo sc o w ID 8 3 8 4 3 . o r E-m a il ASC II -te x i e n t ri es to IUtJtect to <tliOtIgiO _ h ttp :/ t - . alftronics.com

.... ,:=:
Open 9-6 M-F and 10-3 Sat.
Irfoltz@lurbonet.com] . fa
• VIsa. MIC and AmEx accepted.
ZlOl)..I) lanker Road - San Jese, CA t 5131·1114
Voi c e 1408·94 3-9773 • Fax (408) 94 3-9776

ELMERS • VE's • INSTR UCTORS· CLUB GREETERS

Become A

HAM AMBASSADOR
The ham industry wants to support yo ur efforts for ham radio growth wi th free instructor materi als.

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_RA" • Frequency Charts >Grid Square Guides

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T o reque st a detailed H a m Ambassador Introductory
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73 Ama teur Radio toaey » March 2001 45

HAMSATS
Andy MacAllister W5ACM
Amateur Radio Via Satellites 14714 Knigh ts Way Drive
Houston TX 77083-5640

AO-40 Update

Following the successf ui l aunch of Phase 3D, now AMSAT-OSCAR-40, on Novem ber 16, 2000,
most of us listened for telemetry or just settled back to wait for transponder experimen ts. No
one kne w that a wild ride was j ust ahead!

E arly o n Wednesday, December 13th, te-

leme try transmi ssi on s from A O -40
stop ped wh ile work on the m ain eng ine sys-
For both long-time and new satelli te e n-
thusias ts , it was a frightenin g and nervous
momenLAO -40 is the largest and most valu-
U ntil all of the telemetry fro m before an d
afte r the 12-day sile nt period has been stud-
ied, only conjecture can ex p lain "t he event: '
tem wa s in progress. Wi thin ho urs. E-mail able amateur rad io satellite. It is not j ust a It is known that the re was a problem d uring
ac tivity o n " A f\I S AT- bb" (go to (h ttp :// good thing and new toy for ham sat chasers ; the firs t atte mpted orbital -correction motor
www.amsat.orgJ to subscribe) was inc re d- its long- term success or failure will have firin g. w hen the burn occurred . it lasted a
ible. W hat used to be a fe w hund red E-mails impact on amateur rad io fo r years. few m inutes too lo ng . A sti cki ng he liu m
per week had no w escalated to o ve r 100 per False report s about weak sig na ls coming tank valve wa s being cycled by ground co n-
day. If th e telemetry had stopped at almost t hro ug h o n two m eters o r 70 c m w ere trollers after th e longer-than-expected first
any other time , the event would probably common . T here was e ven an in stance o f burn wa s comp leted, D id the cycl ing of the
have been given a nod. a simple reset co m- so meo ne se ndin g signa ls thro u g h the va lv e cause som ethtngto fai l onboard?
mand would have been se nt to the satellite's AMSAT-O SC AR - IO trans ponder in an at- Hopefully, th e answer will be avail ab le by
IH U (Integrated Housekeeping U nit) co m- tempt to imitate AO-40 telemetry. A mazing. the time you read this . Check out ne ws up-
puter, an d syste m checko ut. and other te sts In the m eantime, the AO -40 grou nd con- dates from A M.SAT [hu p:llww w.a msal.org ]
would have co ntinued . trol stations were carefully attempti ng to and AMSAT-DL [http.z/ ww w.a m sat-dl.n rg]
T his wa s not the case. The loss of sig nal regain co ntrol. Karl M einze r DJ4ZC coor- for possible updates .
had occurred while va lves in th e propulsion d inated these e ffo rts, a s the Pha se 3D
system were being c ycl ed . Due to the ex- Proj ec t Manager Peter Guelzow DB20 S What's next?
plosive nat ure of rocke t fuel. and th e pres- provided updates toAMSAT groups aro und
W hen signal s were o nce again strea ming
sures invol ved . this wa s not a good time 10 the world as the y becam e available .
earthward from AO-40, and so ft wa re up-
lose commu nications. Speculation, wit hout Fin a lly. on December 2 6th, Pete r sent
load s were worki ng. it was time for a co l-
sufficient data , swe pt through the AMSAT word th at Ia n A sh le y ZLiAOX in New
le ct ive sig h o f re li e f. b ut fro m a use r
E-mail system. Zealand had successfu lly se nt a rese t com-
standpoint several questions were evident.
mand on the 1.2 GHz contro l frequen cy to
It is appare nt th at the sate llite's Lband
enable th e beacon transm itter on 2401 .305
(23 cm) recei ver is working and that an S-
MHz. It worked. A0-40 was back on the
ba nd (13 em) tra nsmitter is o pe ra tio nal.
air, bUI the big questio ns rem ained . W hat
W hat if the VH F and U H F transm itte rs are
had happened. and how wou ld it affect the
out of commi ssion?
m ission?
T he ground controllers will co ntinue to
The event anal yze telemetry 111ld test systems to find
define a ny li m itatio n s c ause d by " the
During the 12 days of silence in late De- event." Early indi cations we re that some
cember. many theories were voiced, pub- tem perature senso rs were no longer work-
licly and privatel y, about wh at had happened ing, and some current sensors were provid-
and why. Li ke news comme nta tors with ing incorrect values. T his wo uld indi cate
little o r no information about a calamitous someth ing more than just a simp le software
event, many words were posted with little glitch. If there are problem s w ith som e of
validity. Ideas ranged from an on board ex- the transmitters an d rec eivers, we know that
plosion, a se rio us com p uter reset, or even a the 23 em up li nk and the 13 cm downlink
colli sion with a mic ro meteorite. The only work . It's a start.
Photo A. The Drake 2880 commercial mi- theory not prese nted was an attack from a O rbital correc tion s were not com ple te at
crowave downconverter: Martian warshi p. the time of " the eve nt." The c urre nt orbit is
46 73 Amateur Radio Today. March 2001
 standard since the inception o f the Phase 3
prog ram over two decades ago . Hard ware
demodulators for this format are typic ally
based o n de sig ns by Jame s Miller G3RUH .
Ho we ve r. with the proli fe ration o f fa st
Pes, softwa re alt ernative s ha ve become
co mmo n.
Using the line in p ut on a typical PC
sound ca rd and approp ri ate software. the
telemetry stre am from AO-40 can be de -
tec ted , d emod ulated. a nd d isp layed on a
Photo /I. All alternative downconvener by Gardiner. Pc. Wi th the ad d it ion of so ft ware fo r te-
lem e try d e cod ing . in form at ion o n th e
sate llite' s sta tus can he decoded an d ob-
not the de sired high-orbit e lliptical one that Multipoint Distribution Service TV ). and served in real time . Go 10 the AMSAT Web
the desi gners want. Instead it ha s an ex- su bseq uen t conversion 10 low o r high VHF site (h np://www. amsa t.org]. find the link
tre mely tall apogee, or high point of ne arly TV chan ne ls. to "telemetry" o n the ope ning page , and
64,000 km, and a low perigee. or closest T he most common do wncon vertcr in use look for the P 3T software from Stacey
point to the earth, o f about 3 70 km. What if for S-band ham sat reception has been the W4Sf\.f. You will a lso find links to sues
it is 100 da ngerous to II)' 10 fi re the mai n Drake 2880. II was designed fo r an input th at o ffe r the sound-card d emod u lator and
motor again? range of 2.5 to 2.6 88 G H I., with output from so urces fo r code th at work on no n-PC
Orbital studie s ha ve sho w n that the cur- 222 to 408 M H z. II is d e s igned 10 be syste ms. You 'll e nj oy the p ursuit a nd the
rent orbi t, a lthoug h not o ptimum. is stable . mo unted at the ante nna , operate from 13 .7 insi ght into AD-40's operation s. EI
Even with the frigh ten ing ly low perigee, to 24 VDC sent up the 75-ohm coax feed .
prediction s show that the orbit wi ll o utlive and pro vide a noise factor of three d B. When
the satellite's batteries and electro nics by it is used at nearly HXl MH z below its de -
dec ades . If no further main motor firing s sig ned range , the internal gain and noise
are aucmpted. some adjustme nts may be facto r suffe r. The o utput is also not within a
Su bscr iptions
possible with the ammonia arc-jet motor. if ham band (t wo met ers o r 70 em) w hen re - to
it is still o perationa l. cciving 2·1-01 MHI.. Numerous exper iments 7J Maga zine
haw been tested o n the Drake to make it
5-band reception
work better and provide more convenient Only $24.97 - I y ea r
Until o ther o nboard transmitters can be operation fo r A0-40 rece ption. A good place
$44.97 - 2 y e a rs
tested and brought o n-li ne, it is nece ssary to start if you arc fo rtunate enough to have
565.00 - 3 y ears *
to listen for AO-40 o n 2401 .305 MH 1. SSB. o ne of these un its is on the Internet. C heck
T he easiest way 10 do this is with a modi - out information from Jerry K50 E at [hu p:1 " best b uy (54 % off c over p rice !)
fied commerci al T V do wncon verter origi- /members.aol.com/k.Soc/drake.hunl. Jerry
nally designe d fo r reception o f AM TV pro vides first -ha nd e xperiences and a num- Call 800 -274-7373
bet ween 2 . 1 a nd 2 .5 G Hz (M DS TV. ber o f pertinent links to sites in England an d
Japan that provide everything nece ssary to
get the Drake re ady for use.
The Drake 2880 is not the o nly unit that
can be used for AO-40 13 e m reception.
The New Pools!
r ., O ther successfully modified conveners in- Exa minatio n Te st
clude Gardiner. Pacific Monolithi cs, Coni- Que stions & Answe rs
fer, and others . Some good Internet sites to
check for surp lus converte rs and an tennas The exact questions. multiple choices
inc lude (hu p:l!w w w.an lennasystems .!.;oml
and an swers fo r the Te c hnician Class,
hroad ba nd. hlml#an!,;hor932487] and [http:/
Gene ra l C lass, and E xtra C lass
Iwww.phi llips -tec h.corn/mat n .a sp '?page=
operator's license.
page4.asp] . If all else fails, there are quality
un its b uilt speci fically for ham operation
from SSB Electronics and Down East Mi-
crowave, to name two of the more com m on
Only
sources. S9.95
Plus $3.50 S&H
Telemetry

Until the satellite is o pe ned fo r analog o r

Omega Sales
d igi tal ham-to -ham contacts. teleme try is P.O. Box 376
the o nly thing heard from A0-40. T he typi- Jaffrey, NH 034 52 ~
Pnoto C. Another aitemative downcon- c al fo rmat is at 400 bau d PSK (phase shift 800-467-7237 ~
vener fro m Pacific Monoluhics. keyi ng ). T his ty pe of te lemetry has been
73 Amateur Radio Today . March 200 1 47
NEW PRDDUl:TS
Drake was kin g of amateur local re peate r syste m," com-
radio. Every ham an d short- m e n t s We s t . we lt - k now n
A Family Affair wa ve li ste ner knew R.L. for h is in no v a tive amate u r
Drake from the o utside, but r ad i o teac hi ng met hods and
now the inside story of this ma teria ls .
in cred ibl y inte re sti n g co m- " Instructors may also use
pany is to ld . This book also the se cassettes in the class-
include s a huge section o r use- ro om, too , wo rki ng in li vc
fu l c irc uits and mod ification s code o ff the a ir as we ll as for
for many Drake radios. At 300 add it ional code practice usi ng
pages, it's an interesting read co m pute r progra ms or a se t of
and a gre at tech nic a l refe r- paddl es," adds west.
ence . # 148 7. 8-1/2 x 11 inches,
C W instructors may rece ive
$29 .95 . FREE ON·AIR
A FAMILY AFFAIR- these cusscues at no charge by
Fo r further informa tion or to CODE LEARNING
THE R.L. DRAKE STORY including a brief letter describ-
order, contac t Universa l Ra- INSTRUCTOR CASSETTES
Here i s the beh ind - the - ing the ir upcoming on-air or in-
dio , Inc.. 6830 Americana
Morse Code instructors may class sc hed uled code co urse.
scenes sto ry o f the famo u s P k w y.. R e y no ld sbu rg OH
R.L. Drak e Com pa ny. fo cus - h ol d their code - learni ng as well as 10 first-class stamps
43 068; tel . (HOO)-43 1-3 939:
c lasses over their lo cal re - for Priority M ail delivery.
ing o n the glory days w hen I www.u niversal-radlo .co ml .
peat er or si mplex freque ncie s "These free training cassettes
with fr ee code - learn ing cas- arc pall of the Ham Ambassa-
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ICOM 'S IC-910H SATELLITE RADIO WB6NOA. Each cassette is 90 all in structo rs and repeater
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100 W on VH F. e liminating the need for an ex ternal high po wer mic ropho ne pickup. opport unity:' concluded West.
amplifier fo r satel lite uplin ks. For modc-J satellites, the re 's 75 " All o f the code -learni ng Send yo ur request and class
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With dual high se nsiti vity DSP-com pat ible receivers. weak aud io cassettes are ideal for Sc hoo l, 24 14 Co llege D ri ve,
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requiring add itional recei ve gain.
For further informatio n. contac t Icom America. Inc .. 2380
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GRUNDIG SATELLlT -
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W 4RNL is a pract ic al-level an tenna hook for technici ans, arna-
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show interiors. accessories. manu-
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als. and even boxes. #2416. 126
The re ade r gets a se t o f rati o na l ex pectations ba sed o n a s
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The boo k is based upo n the k inds of questions the author 6R30 Ameri cana Pkwy.• Rey-
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48 73 Amateur Radio Today· Ma rch 200 1
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73 Amate ur Radio Today· March 200 1 49
THE DIGITR L PORT
Jack Heller KB7NO
P.O . Box 1792
Ca rson City NV 89702-1792
ijheller@sierra.nel]

DigiPanning
Lots of updates are here for the taking. These computer-crafted radio modes seem to sprout
new modes and updates for earlier programs like weeds in the spring lawn. 1 was going LO say
older programs instead of earlier. And that could have been politically correct in com p uter
terms. but. most of the soundcard softwa re has been around less than two y ears.

B y the time I ge l this olT 10 the maga -

l ine and you ha ve it in yo ur shac k, even
all Tte ll yo u about the new stuff will often
wa s installed . No fan cy footwo rk o r fi les to
create by hand, just simply insta ll it. I fou nd
the macro .. we re in place fro m the prior
The second que stion I had wa s o ne I had
learned abo ut in a pre viou s vers io n a nd
prompt ly forgot, and th at wa s how to cali -
have been re placed. It is fascinating how this ins tallation . so there. ag ain. wa s no e xtra brate the spectrum line above the waterfall.
is worki ng . T here is a virtual explo sion of e ffo rt needed . I believe a searc h fo r "ca librate" turned up
techno logy and we in the ham community The next ste p, afte r no sing around to sec the a nswer to thai o ne immediately, and a
are reaping the benefi ts. what was new, was to po we r up rhc rig and few more clicks a nd the line was readi ng as
Th is month's colum n will feature the lut- see what was go ing o n. A few mouse clicks if it were meant fo r this place .
est. at this writing . of Digil 'an. version 1.5 . later and readab le print was traveli ng across The progra m is j ust sim ply easy to use. I
I had almost forgotten abo ut what a great the monitor. think that is why the re are so many users.
program thi s is. I had u sed It and dow n- T he fourth step in this success story was Th ere is a minilog yo u can usc and then
loaded a fe w of the updates. through version to an swer a C Q from a UAO j ust north of export for your reg ular lo ggi ng program. As
1.2 and was impressed with the intuitive- Japan . T he pat h wasn' t too great. bu t we a matter of fact, if yo u do no t ha ve a se pa-
ness of the program . It is sti II j ust as easy to copied each other well enoug h to call it a rate logg ing program and wish to do so, the
install , set up and use as the earlier version s. QSO. Ju st that c as)' - 1, 2, 3, 4, and we mi nilog may answer all yo ur need s, at least
What happened to the two " missing" ver- work a little DX on PSK31! as fa r as working this mode goe s.
..io ns seemed to ha ve been a programm ing It was no w time to go back and fi gure o ut One o f the important features of using
mi sfi re, but the 1.5 really works. a fe w things that d idn't seem qutre so o bvio us ha m- gen erated so ft wa re fo r th is k ind o f
It has IW O receive panes and they arc large (unintuitive?). I still didn't have the foggiest mode is to ha ve macros ready to do the typ-
enough to hold 8 or 9 lines o f text each, thus idea how to actuate the second recei ve panel. ing (a nd save the thinking) for yo u. DigiPan
giving yo u time to read wha t is going o n I was only using half the avai lable listening has the capability o f defining 2.t macro bu t-
and see who is talking without fi dd ling with
capabilities. Well. tha i was simp le also. tons to do whate ver ),ou wish . Some are al-
the scrol l bars. Some o f the programs with
When it is nece ssary to as k for he lp, ready deli ned for )'ou. some are not defined.
more than o ne rece ive pa ne get very Iim-
DigiPan gives it big -time. It looks as though Yo u will fi nd the)' are easy to edit in the
ired in the amount o f text they can hold . I
the help fi le spe lls o ut every thing ynu will pop-u p wi ndow when you right-ctic k o n any
should n' t complain, thoug h. because you
ever need 10 kno w about ho w to run the soft- of the bunons. Instruct ions arc contai ned
can drag the d ivide r be tween panes. e ven in
ware . T he fil e is e xtre me ly well written within the wi ndo w.
DigiPan, and make one large receive pane
a nd I found severa l an s wers ab out as A fe w of the imponant m acros arc ready
if you wish.
quic kly as if the autho r were standing o ve r to use right-out-of-the-box. CQ is there,
My definitions of easy my sho u lde r. alon g with a huna n to answer a C Q, as we ll
T here is a pull-do wn menu tha t a llows as buttons for turnovers. a nd e nd ing a QSO.
After 1 reca lled it was lime to c hec k on you to choose the two-channel ca pability, I will ed it these 10 suit. and , as I said, the
the new versio n. I we nt to The Chart. cop- and I had found that bUI I needed a litt le ed iting is a ci nc h wit h the examples and
ied and pasted the URL 10 my browser, and more . The expla nation was sim p le. You needed reminders at hand as soon as yo u
let the system pu t the fil e where I could find c hange the f irst or up per recei ve pane fre- right-click o n the b utton. T we lve m acro
it. Then 1 recalled that the last version J had quen cy by clicking the left mo use key in buttons are sho wn ac ross the top of the
downloaded was a mi sfire, so I brough t up the waterfall o n the de sired sig nal. T he scree n; then they are red efi ned as a second
the "Instal l/remo ve program" option in Wi n- lo we r p an e is coniro ll ed with th e right se t of twe lve when using the Contro l key.
do ws95™ and remo ved the e xisting co py. mou se key in the same manner. I pro bably If yo o ha ven "t a s ye t gotte n into
The second step wa s 10 dou ble-click o n wo uld not have stumbled on thai by m yself, soundcard modes.the DigiPan Help File has
the recently down loaded fi tc, fo llow the few b UI it certainly was simple to find in the hel p a section on that under " Eq uipment Setup."
instructions ne cessary, and the new soft ware fi le . (Sec Fi ~, I .) You can find how to ro ute cables or make
50 73 Amateur Radio Today · March 2001
r=•.
t.. c<>Oj
(¢
•• r-----------.,
1 •• II 1
c... ~ r,a
1 1
1 I 1
"" I ,I ,, ~ • • ' '' ' ' ' • .Prepare for your ham test with "Gordo".
.,,~ . I , . .. no"'" i".. r~ .. d I NO " Il l 1.;0 I H . ,U ~ ''''Y J4d ;' til 1M 0 11 I ,.. " ,." " ~ H ' ,-",'y U l I Y ~ .. , ,, ~ II )I"" ",Iy • WB6NOA as your personal instructor. •
I J 1) l. 1.. " h"l,J 4)1 "" ~.~ t," p. to ,,, " ' I" Q " l OS ,; I J H K N 0 ole '" YO :';1( ~: r_ I",.. .1

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EXIra Class (4 + C ode, wlndcws).. $34.95
• Hall! Ope rator (Tech.-Extr a + Cod e) $59.95 •
Fig 1. Sc reenshot :-: DigiPan 1.5. This is new-and-improved software that so many hams • Morse Software O nly $t2.95 •
have so willingly taken into their lives. This wasn't the best demo, but I wanted to show r: VID EO VHS Wi.lh study man ual
No-Code Tech Video Course $3 1.95 .
that a QRP station (at the other end) was making it. In the end. he wa s doing better than
I with my big -gun 50 watts. His 4 watts started 0111 real well. So I was concentrating so • Add $5_00 , hi pplllg 1, ( item• .so each additio nal •
closely on this that the copy on the second pllne which had been from the 14.07 1 marker
• Priorily Mail 2-3 day service available 1
VISA, Ma' lercard. Discover. & AMEX Accepled
got away. The little triangle at tha t f requency indicates where the lower (2nd) pane 1 WSYI Group 1
would be printing copy f rom. The upper pane frequency indicator has a little flag at- • P.O. Box 565 101 · Dallas TX 75356 •
tached and is j ust to the right of 14.070. Left button snaps the pointer with the fla g to the 1-800-669-9594 1
point in the waterfall where you spot a signal. Right mouse button does the same f or the
1L www.weyt.org ..
triangle indicator: The Help file is a wonder for clarity and information. Just about any
reasonable question is answered so you can understand what you need to do. The mac-
ros. 24 of them , are easily edited and this is explained well. There is also sufficient infor-
mationfor transferring your mini-log inf o 10 your regular logging program if you desire.
You will find j ust about everything you need short ofa transceiver and an alllenna to gel
YO/I going in PSK31. Go fo r it!

~, R~)C ~
Check Out Our Sp..<-lals <HI .... r Web Page.
up a PIT circ uit (j ust like the one I use ). It Dave is still tweaking that program . I re- ROSS DlSTIlJBtmNG COMPA~Y """""c'"
7tI S. Still< SIre<!. Pre~"". ID 1l.1l-6J FOIl ......
is thorough b ut not ove rkill. T here is every- ceived an E-m ail notice the other day that Ilo."" TiIe.-fI' 9-'11.. . 9-1 "".... ~ ';oW"" ! "'..tn

thing you need to ge t you go ing in PS K3 1. he had added a bit of clarity to the water-
Plus. if you don't wish to he bothered with fa ll. I had heard a few com plaints on the
the home -bre w me thod o f c a b li n g an d subject, so I dow nloaded the late st upd ate ,
tweaking, the DigiPan Web si te shows a rea- and it looks very good . The latest update me from ge lling a complete dow n load of
sonably priced interface tha t could save you w hen I started this paragra ph was version the file .
a lot o f steps . I haven' t spoke n with anyone 1.89 . I just c hecked again and it is version "Sc.v rhougfu I, '·1 wi ll fi x this." A frie nd
using thi s setup as of this writi ng, b ut it is a 1.90 . W here the techno logy goes by the time had in fo rmed me he had overcome some
good premise, an easy way to ski p some you read this, I cannot predict. It all mo ves download problems by replacing his copy
tedium. very fas t. of Netscape 4 .7, the o ne I am using, with
As many of you know, the autho r o f thi s Better news ye t, the Web site wh ere you the new ve rsion 6. Then. for some reason
program , Nick, also writes MixW, a mu ch would normall y dow nload the WinWarbler on tha t d ay, 1 even had a problem down-
more intense effort. M ixW, ill add ition to software along wi th other of Dave 's man y loading from Ne tscape .
doing a good job o n PSK3 1, gets yo u into creations contains instructions about getting T he n e x t da y , th e d o wnl o a d fro m
Rrry, p acket, C W, and a few e xperi me nta l and installi ng the up da tes. I did no t realize Netscepe came o ff like a cha mp. The " path"
modes, pl us you c a n copy Pactor a nd thi s and was severa l updates be hind . O f must h ave improved, things are bo und to
Hellschreiber. There is a version 2 0 fM ixW c ou rse , not kno win g an y better, it was look up. It was e ntertaining, to say tho least ,
being aw aited by those of us who see the working j ust fine . (Ignoranc e is bliss.) watching the ne w version o f Ne tsca pe in-
fru its of Nick' s e fforts. I ho pe it works as I also recei ved a m e s s a g e th a t t h e stall itself as it was dow nloadi ng . Qui te a
well as this latest DigiPan. You can get a Zakanaka firs t version was ready for down- marvel in programming, I was thinking .
free demo of MixW by following the UR L load. That is a fasci na ting project, but I ran T hen began the ago ny of watching this
listed in Table 1. into co m plicatio ns that thwarted the actual old 120 MHz computer crawl through the
WinWarbler fans will he pleased to know viewing. Some strange little g litc h prevented paces try ing to sort ou t all the baggage in
73 Amateur Radio Today · March 200 1 51
the new Nctsc apc package . That is the nic- not in the business o f marketing (he Internet, ,t too, would be a good program for the new-
est way to relate my thoughts. But I per- any o f the browsers o r the latest computers, est fastest processor. Ano ther uninstatt.
s is te d and a ttempted th e Zak a naka I merely try to fi nd ways for you to have What I am saying is there is still a lot o f
download with the new "hot set up." Worked fun with your computers which . in some I ife left in these machines that are a few
bcucr. but not good en ou gh . Nev er made it. c ases. are not as speedy as the o ne I am slt- years into obsolescence . You do ha ve to use
A litt le window came up and said the do wn- ting in fro nt of at th is momen t. I figure if the correct software. You can ha ve a ball
lo ad was complete when I knew it was about the lash-ups I fin d will run on this, they will with PSK 3 1. RITY. MFSKI 6. SSTV, a nd
25% short. probably perform well o n your computers most an y ne w mode that is go ing to pop up
Oh we ll, what is le n is to uninsta ll thi s in yo ur shacks, with ou t shell ing o ut fo r a new co mpute r or
fat ne w Netscapc and watch for new oppor- Just as a litt le aside, but o n the same sub- other expe nsive hardware.
tunnies to see the fab led Zakanaka in ac- ject, a while back someo ne suggested one Thai is on e of the factors that ha s always
tion. The lesson in all this is that there are o f the freebie virus scan prog rams. I do wn- broug ht people to thi s hobby. I hea r o f loud-
many programs being written tha t will o nly loaded it. insta lled it and that one apparently signa l SSB and C W conte st stations cost-
run o n very high e nd , o ne gigahertz rna - checked the syste m co ntin uous ly. The rea- t ng as much as a fancy hou se . And that is
chines. I am getting a little dismayed. I don't son I drew that co ncl usion was the computer o kay by m e. e ve ryone s hould ha ve the
see any reasoning for this trend. But I am was in a perpetual state of slowness. 1g uess choice to exe rcise that o ption. We can all
coexist at whatever leve l we prefer.

I' • Lately, I have worked several stations who

i
::0'
Source for: Web address tURLt:
were usi ng 2 to 5 watts o utput on PSK31.
Iolil< W SounOOil rd PfOIl<8.m lor PSl<31, RnY, http ://tav.kieV.uaI-nicklmy_ham_ sdt.htm One of them . I understood. was using o ne
I new mode$. IolTTY. FSK31 , mole hllp:/lIJsers.nail.oomI·iI"e~mlmixwpa ge.htm
of the litt le QRP transceivers tha t cos ts less
MMTTY New RTTY soundcard ' reeware plu s than $200, Co up le th at wi th a lo w-b uck
I links to ctre r software
http://Www.QeOCities.oomImmtrY-'t ty/
I aptop an d, if the lapt op is a bit ancient, use
I TrueTTY - Sound card RTTY wi PSK3 1 WWN.dxsott.comImilrtty .htm thc G3PLX softw are for PSK 31. You can
get versions to run in DOS or Windows 3 .1 .
I Pas.okon SSTV prog rams & hardware WWN.ullranel .eomt·SSIv~ile. html
t
Talk about using o ld tech .
I PSK3 1 - Free - and mud'! PSK in/() http ://ainlel. bi,ehu,e&'p!lk31.hjml
I A little power fro m a cigarette ligh te r
I lnWIace lor cIg;tIl . IIgs 10 compule<ll www.llfeSIrnOuntainraclo.comJRlGblasIer.lI1m
I socke t alongside the road and you can have
a small and very portable d ig ital statio n that
I 1n18l1ace inlo !of DIY cf9t8I hams www.QSl.llfIt/Wr'ft2u.<~l1ace, html
I will wo rk the same size world as the big-
I WinWarble< n o and free lbwnIoad www.qsl,~rtJIerl
I gun DX statio ns 1 was j ust mentio ning . You
may j ust not do it q uite as quickly. It is a
I IolFSK _ related ledl inlo - how it WOt\<s www.qslnel/zl lbplV
I litt le like lic king the ice cream cone rather
www,lsealfre&5elVe.co.ukI than wolfi ng it do wn . The p leasure lasts
Throb - New - loti 04 info www.bbnlemeleomt~g3vfpI
I I?nger and sometimes the taste is sweeter.
Site with links 10 PSK3 1 and Logge r 7, also Another program I ha ve let slip through
www, geQl;iliea.comlkc4elol
Zakanaka
the cracks is Throb. T his is a creatio n o f
PSKGNR - Front end 'or PSK3 1 www,al-williams,comrwd 5gnr/pskgnr,htm Lionel Sear G3PPT an d is showing a lot of
Digipan - PSK31 - easy 10 use - new version promise. It is re ported. as was intended, to
http://members,home ,c:oITlh>lelier/ag,panl
t.s ha ve supe rior thro ughput when the going
TAPR - lots 01 inlo WWWtapl .OI\l I gets roug h.
I had d o wn load ed an ea rlie r versio n a
me 10 radio wiling help hnp:l/tfeeweb pdQ,nel'medcafimJ
I few months ago and did not have much luck
ChromaPlX and QuomaSound DSP soItware www.liIconpixels.Q)IIl
I gett ing it com fortable in this system. At the
ti me, th ere we re 100 many unanswered
TmewiMI OSP & AEA (pnI'I·1 prockIc:ts www1imeWIYe.Q)IIl
I qu e stion s.
AulO fune, and OfMr kiI$ www.ldgelectronics.c:orn
Due to a h it of prodding, I down loaded
XPWare - TNC soItware with sample Dl WWW ,!iIOOdl1Ell,comI·gjohnsool the version 2.5. installed it , and carefully
read the instructions. I wanted a success
RCKRtty Windows progrom w,tn free OL hUp://Www ,rck l1ty,(la/
story to repo rt. It worked , The o nly thing
HF senal modem plans & Rny & Pactcr hnp://home. an , net'~k 7 sz V
that did no t coo pe rate was the PIT. And
that. I am sure, can be easily e xplained . That
SV2AGW free WinllQ plogroms WWN.raag,oro'i"de.lh\m
I can work around.
Source lor BayPac BP-21ol & APflS www.1igertronicscoml
I I was fina lly able to hear the transm itted
signal and ev en sent a series of CQs the
BayCom - QeIman .u www.Nycom,de/
I other even ing . I didn ' t really expect a re -
a.yCom 1.5 and 1.IanuIl~ in EngIsh www.cs.wwedu!-ae:trWlI'JPhellSoitware.bayoorlv"
I ply. but it was fun to j ust see that here was
Int1 VlSUiII Commlnk:alion~
0I\l- de<lceled 10 SSTV
. ........ www .lTIindspOOg .comI ~sstvi
this ne w mode working as e xpected. I had
hams telling me for about a month that their
c reawe Se<Yloes SOItware www ,C5SoIIlIXll'P,oom copy worked . I am glad I went hack and
gave it ano ther try.
Hellsch reiber & MT63 & SttNm & $COpe www, lrooweb, ~a nelninopo/lz Bblyrlnde., htm

Table 1, The Infalllou.1 Chart -A/111m! eve rything .. . updatedmonthly: Con tinued on pa g e 59
52 73 Amateur Radio tcaev » March 2001
By Eric Shalkhausser W9CI, SK

The History of Ham Radio

Part 4: Th e early 1920s.

Th e ear ly days of radio embraced an era filled with gusto ventures and exciting stor ies.
tru e t ales f rom yes teryea r we proudly r elate to y o u through this "His tory of Ham
Radio " ser i es. It is our sincere lVish that you r em ember th ese stor ies an d pass tii em on
10 future genera tions later in time - lVith a simila r "p ass it o n dOlVn " stip ula tion.
Through o ur joint efforts. amateur r adio 's l egacy wi ll llve forever. Th is m onth. i n Part
I V. lVe go back to the days of sp ar k gap s and ozone in the shack.

uring 1921 , for se nding the ir Construction articles appeared monthly o f impro ving the receptio n and trans-

D sig nals, amateu rs were still

thinking in term s of spark
tran smitters. The vac uum tube , as a
in the 1920 and 192 1 magazines. These
were simple circuit diagrams showi ng
applications. The Fessende n, the Mar-
mi ssion of signals.
A mateurs a nd comme rcial interests
de vised a ll sorts of recei ving circuit
simple three-clement detect or, was be· coni, the Telefunke n, the Colpitts an d co mbinations unde r such nam es as the
ing ad verti sed promine ntly and ill us- many others were di splayed . The radio neutrodyne, the amplidyne, the Rob-
trated profu sel y in all the wi re less amate ur wa s doing a lot of experiment- er ts, the Cockaday, etc. On e must rc-
literature. Not until the VT· I, 20 I, ing in adapting thi s new dev ice to all member that radio broadcasting had its
202, and ot her tubes came a lo ng co uld sorts of ci rcui t la you ts with the goa l real beginning in earnest righ t after
much co nversion from spark tran smit-
ters take place. It wa s we ll into the
1921 -1 9 22 period tha t this hap pen ed.
with the realization that wavel engths
below 200 meters were of consider-
ably more advantage for DX and better
tuning characteri stics than those at 200
meters and above .
Wh ile in the Signal Corps O fficers '
Training Camp in College Park MD in
1918, I sa w and operated the fi rst
three-tube transmitter. It was similar in
appearance to the first three-tube
Deforest set that was ex ten sive ly ad -
vertised in radio periodicals in 1921 . It
came eq uipped with Western Electric
VT- I tubes.

Reprinted from 73 Amateur Radio. July

1977. where this was origina lly re-
printed from QCC News. a publication
of the Chicago Area Chapter of the
QC WA . Photo A . Peoria Radio Sales Co.. / 923-/ 924.
73 Amateur Radio Today · March 2001 53
World War I , and the esencral public could now be permanentl y rep laced amateurs who had served Uncle Sam
became all agog over this new mysteri- and abandoned. Those weak and o ften were still operating their spark tran s-
ous phenomenon entering their homes. inaudible signals co uld now be picked miners .
Hearing strange voices and music out o ut with ease and at a greater di stance . Many o f us were famili ar with either
of nowhere through earphones ... And so, with the di sco very of the re- the Army Signal Corps or the Navy
without wires It was unbelie vable ! generative circuit by M ajor Armstrong, gear. T hey all looked and operated
From now on. the ham was no longer the vacuum tube started to oscillate alike . In the begi nning o f wireless ad -
alone with his dots and dashes in his and gave signals a thousan d-fo ld boo st apt ation to the armed services, very
little cubicle, carryi ng on his own brund in strength. litt le inn ovation cou ld be ex pec ted for
of mysterious pri vate conversation. T he vacuum tubes were not q uite fi eld com ba t purp oses. The que nched
Serious consideration was being given read y for transmi ssion pu rposes . T hei r g ap transm itter stood out as a m ost re-
by the amateurs 10 the po ssibility of lac k o f ruggedness, their size . their liable unit. To the ham th is was proven
making impro vemen ts in sig nal recep - cost, and the ir scarc ity held b ack adap- equ ipment. Tru e, it opera ted in many
tion by addinue seve ral staeese of lube tati on by the am ateur fraternit y of instances fro m a 500 cycle source o f
am plificat ion to the detector. The sing le tubes for strong CW sig nal gene rators . power, h ut it was regarded as a de-
crystal detector and the old cohcrcr After the war, and eve n into 1922, pendable unit to cove r fairl y long di s-
tances and was used by commerc ial
com panies in the fi eld . It was
lctorlal sem iportable when loaded Oil a horse .
a m ule , or a two-wheeled cart.
The returni ng amateu r was trained in
the use o f s uch tra nsm itting eq uip ment
and took a fancy to the unit. He was
very fam iliar w ith its perfo rm ance .
knew how to operate it. and had practi-
cal know ledge o f its cap abi lities and
app lication. During his period o f ser-
vice he was alway s thi nking in terms
of adapting it to his own use if and
whe n he got back home . T he one and
o nly dra wback was the 500 cyc le
power input. Replacing the quenched
gap in the c irc uit pro ved a m inor d raw-
back .
W hen we ex am ine the s park gap cir-
cuit used in all stations as illu strated
and d escribed in the literature o f the
earl y 1920s, it can be said that it was
really quite simp le an d direct, and not
di ffi cult to understand in operation and
perfo rmance .
The "spark-gap ham " preferred to
bu ild hi s own conde nser. He would use
g lass pl ates. mo stly 8" x 10" in size ,
ob tai ned from a photographer who
was re ady to d iscard the m . (E xposures
we re m ade on gl ass p lates "in them
olden day s." ) T he se were co vered.
both sides, with tin or a lum inum foil or
.........
__
,~,"-
.
_._
j
. .........
a
__.-
__. " eo.. __
M.~'-_

4-. • ..-..
_ <:-.
other thin metal sheets. Tobacco
pouche s were ofte n sources o f foil.
<0, ...... K _
Enough plates were coated so that the
assembled condenser gave a value o f
.0 1- .0 12 j..l F. To make s ure that the u nit
co uld withstand potential surges as
high as 25.000 volts, fo ur of these sec-
Photo R. Radio pictorial. tions were connected in series-parallel.
54 73 Amateur Radio Today. March 2001
 to contend with in meeting the 200
meter (or less) wave le ngth require-

I. ID[[ ments. The condenser design value

had to stay within the above stated ~ F
limits. I will not attempt to del ve into
=-"
the mathematical equations to pro ve
• "
the point. Remember that we had a
'-- -.t.~.~.'.. f.~.,••;::::;::;::;':::::::::;=- J
-. "' .... ".,,_ ,
I«t,""~' " R..., ~ ,_~ .• l>, .'""; ~ .... ~ , _ ,
wrong concept of wavelength versus
distance in those days.
Some amateu rs were in a position to
ROBERTS SETS obtain 500 cycle power ge nerators.
Many signals co uld be heard on the air
using such units. The sig nal coming
from a 500 cycle source had a distinct
tone quality. It was music to many an
ear.
By way of interest, here is a statement
which appeared in Radio Amateur News
in 1920 :
"Surely the US government is not
imposi ng upon the Americ an amateur
when he limits the operating wave-
length of your transmitter to 2m meters.
Contras t th is law to that of Canada,
where the limi t is placed at 50 meters.
As a Ca nadian amateur rece ntly re-
~. , • WEll- WORT" H A vINe marked, with this short wave we may
"R"d;" BroMlc..l' . " booklet deacribinE th@ f.,
m"'" R"bem Knockout Ser'.', of Recei..."... co nside r ourselves fortunate indeed to
T~U. th.....hol~ oIory of thue wonderfully ~lli..
c,~nl , eb o Send' for TOUt" ~"py now. Prj"", 50<:. • cover the ex traordinary di stan ce of one
mil e. As for democratic England, the
",' .
would- be amateur is simply out of
•••
luck, for no license or perm ission is at
present e ven obtainable under an y con-
diti on. From the fore going, we may
therefore deduce the timely moral: Keep
your transmitter on the lawful side of
200 meters. "
Photo C. Roberts sets. Th e amateu rs up to now had really
not discovered the potentially great
maki ng the capac itance still the co rrect Eve ry time the key in the low voltage advantage of the shorter wave lengths.
value, approx imately 0.01 ~ F. The primary circuit was closed. the The ro tary gap ca use d havoc on
whole thing was immersed in oil. Not c harge d conde nser let loose for the many occ as ions, since the studs had a
to do so ca used corona discharges shortest fraction of a second, in rapid tendency to become pitted after a short
around the edges. Being well-soaked fi re, and discharged across the spark tim e of operat ion unless co nstructed of
made them stand up much better under gap. On discharge. the energy surged stuff that withstood the constant arci ng
the high potentials. Even then, they around the helical coil, and, in turn , the in an open oxygen atmos phere. Of
puncture d unexpectedly ! secondary coi l induc tivel y coupled to considerab le help was an enclosed
The high potential was quite danger- the primary received a burst of elec tro- gap, suffic iently airtight to exclude
ous aro und the place. It was imp ortant magnetic energy. This in turn se nt a oxyge n to the ex tent possible.
that the condenser box be surrounded damped wave signal out into the ether Much ex perimenting with the num -
by a protective wall and openly by way of the antenna config uration. A ber of studs on the rotor and the speed
marked : DANGER - HIGH VOLT- hot wire ammete r in series with the an- of the motor improved the effi ciency
AGE - KEEPYOUR DISTANC E! tcnna to ground connection indicated of the system. An 1800 rpm synchro-
The discharge gap in the circ uit is in the amo unt of current being emitted. A nous motor and a wheel with twelve
series with the primary spiral indu c- fuse block in the main power line pro- well-des igned studs , made of material
tance, usually made of flat -wound vided protec tion agains t overloads. that co uld withs tand pitting, us ually
brass or copper ribbon. Th is was Although the circuit looked quite
know n as the oscillatio n transformer. simple, we amateurs had other problems Continued on p ag e 6 1
73 Amateur Radio Today · March 2001 55
Dan Metzger K8JWR
6960 Streamview Dr,
Lambertville MI 48144-9758
[dmetzger@monroe,lib,mi.u sj

Read All About It!

ParI 5 ofgood stuff from The Hertzian Herald.

This time: Lessons [rom industry; Yours truly, R/IlS: and lVho said ttiat?

hen I was a very yo ung en- months to desi gn - Gary could do veri fy by ca lcu latio n th at the value ac-
ginccr I took a jon with a n that in two weeks: ' tually requ ired in our syste m was. say.
ele vator compa ny and was Do n smiled and said. " I know th at 50 or abo ve, Joe could have the rejects
assigned to design severa l p ieces of - but Gary is m y system designer and retested and pick out th ose that were
test equipment for an e lec tro nic ele va- he 's working o n our next nov..· product. 60 or above an d keep the producti on
tor controller, I was given a fo ur- I can' t spare him for two weeks. If I line going .
month timetable . The senior e ngineer c ould find another genius like Gary. Next morni ng, w hile try ing to wake
to whom I reported. Gary. was t he g uy I'd hire him - but I can' t, so I ha ve to up wit h m y first cup of co ffee . I started
who had desi g ned the co ntro lle r, and hire guys like yo u. Gary can 't do it all sc ribb ling the ca lculatio ns on a ye llow
he was a whiz. It soo n became appar- alone." pad. It came qu ite eas ily. and I had j ust
ent that he kne w way more than I did Since then. I ' ve met so me very im- gotten the number (46 ) when I heard
about electron ic sys te ms - so much pressi ve engineers who have worked Joe come up beh ind me . " Got tha t beta
so that I be gan to feel a litt le inferior. I on the space shots. the ste a lth bombe r. minimum'?" he asked .
wo uld spend ha lf an hour every morn- and the latest mi crochi ps. r d envy "Jus t got it: ' I said . " Let me recopy
ing picking Gary's brain abo ut ho w his them for a while . hut the n I'd rcmcm- th is in good form and we can ha ve it
system ....-o rked, and then work the rest bel': " Gary can 't do it all alone - the y o ut on an ECO (Engineeri ng C ha nge
of the day trying to devise circuits to run need me. too." O rder) in half an hour: '
his system through its paces to verify " No time for that," he said. 'T II just
Once . at another company. my bo ss.
th at it was doing wha t h e d esigned it photoc opy th is and attac h it to the
Joe. c ame up just before q uitti ng time
to do . ECO form ," And with that he grabbed
and asked me to work up a calcu lation
About mi dway through the project.
fo r the minimum be ta required for the
Don. the vice president o f e ngineeri ng.
transistor in the " keyer" circui t o f a
invited me to have lunch wi th him . I
d isplay pan el we were building. It
was young . as I said. and foolish. and I
seems that our shipment o f transi stors
brashl y asked. "Do n. why d id you hi re
h ad gotten lost. and we would have to
me ? This test gear that I' m taking fo ur
sh ut down produ ction th e next day
1 m:s or .. . . 9 tlIli (II"
un le ss some more co uld be fo und.
Repri nted with permissio n from The We ll. the transistors had a g ua ran-
Hertzlan He rald. new sletter of the teed beta o f 80. and we had been test- Fig. I An example using a 10 V DC pulse
Monroe County (M I) Radio Communi- ing them all. so we had a b in fu ll of with a 10% duty cycle. applied 10 a I -ohm
catio ns Assoc iation (MC RCA). rejects that fell below 80. If I could resistor.
56 73 Amateur Radio Today · March 200 1
 my coffee -stained scribb le sheet and RMS is the standard way o f measur- calcu late in stantaneous peak power, if
had it se nt all over th e plant with my ing AC , so the " 120 V AC line" actu- that's really what you want - but this
name on it. ally has a peak voltage of 1.414 x 120 is not stand ard, and not "eq uivalent to
S ince then, I d on't make so much as = 170 V. DC." Unscrupulous stereo-amp manu-
a grocery list unl ess I do it neatly and The average value of a sine wave is, facturers used to advertise "peak
in enginee ring form. And neither do I let of co urse, zero; th e negative half power" until the FTC shut them down.
my students get by with saying, "This is cycles cancel the positi ves. But the ab- A few e ven calculated something they
j ust my sc ribble sheet; I' ll recopy it so lute average value (witho ut regard to called "peak-to-peak power" - a total
neatly later." sign) of a 1.00 V RMS sine wave is fraud - and advertised that to haples s
0.90 V. Ordinary AC meters (VOM s customers.
Yours truly, RMS
and ine xpensive DVMs) re spond to the
Who said that? (Answers at end)
This time , let's di scuss the m ysteri - absolute average value o f the AC
o us letters " RMS." RMS is a way of wave, and indicate 1.00/0.90 or 1.11 I . "O ur inventions are but improved
measu rin g AC vo ltages and currents so times that value. For a sine wave, thi s means to an unimproved end. We are
that when yo u do O hm 's Law ( P = V2/ turns out to be th e RMS value . For AC
R or P = FR) on a resisti ve c irc uit, you waves that are not sine-shaped, th e
get the same re sults as with DC. reading is quite m eaningl ess . For our
Brie fly, RMS means "equiv alent to 10 V, 10% pulse wave, the RMS value is WANT TO LEARN CODE?
DC." T he letters R-M-S stand for a 3. 16 V and th e average value is 1.00 V, Morse Tutor Gold from G.G.T.I';" is the
answer for beginners and experts alike.
mathematical technique in which yo u but the reading would be 1. 11 V. "Getthe software the AR RL sells and USI.'S to create
take th e Root of the Mean of the TRMS meters are availab le (fo r a practice and test tapes; and Morse Tutor Gold is
Square . Fig. 1 shows an exam ple using price) th at will g ive the T rue RMS approved for VE exams at all levels.
' s~ 19lI7.GGTE h.. guidedneilily 10,000 ham, and pr<»peetive
a 10 V DC pulse with a 10% duty value o f a non-sine wave, but read the ham. lIIound d.. world through proven ,tructu,ed Ies,on. and •
cycle, app lied to a I-ohm re sisto r. specs close ly. If the TRMS m eter has a voriely " f charnet.,. word IIIld c",wenati"" drills. Straighl r"rword
menu. make 111e pr<>C¢$< simple .nd fun
Square: During the 1 m s o n lime , low-freque ncy cutoff, it will sc reen off ' This progr.m features easy IIIld .»/"OJy self installation; random
clIMaC1tr drills wilh dl< cha,ac1= you .dec!; and yOll Oilil creat.
power is V 2/R = IO ~/l = 100 W. During any DC befo re taking the measu re - yQ\lf own drill, or import lext fil... You c.n type whot you hell! or
copy by hand and see d,. ,..,dis one line 01 • lime. PICk Ihe
the off time, power is ze ro . ment. On such a meter, o ur pulse wave FanlSwor1ho, Ihe ,wulard ",. !hod; <dcc1lhe tone frequency """ t
Mean: Average (mean) power is on- would read 3.00 V. no t the correct comfortll ble foryou 0' oelccl your rode'»/"OJ ~\ tenth, of a word per
m", ul'. For aU OOS rompu''''' Y<>U are oIwoy, "' command
time power times th e duty cycle: P = value of 3 . 16 V.
." ('('rii!ied
bv Mor• • lu!<'f Gold me. yOU! inlernal spe;lker
IOOWx 10% = lO W. Somc fin al notes: (I) W he n yo u use
(4
~
• or 'OI,nd loo",d. And. ,f Y<>U \t<e . , ound bo.;,d
Root: T he DC vo ltage that prod uces RMS voltage or current to calcul ate ~l or ... Tutor Gold ,ul'por1S v,"um. oonlroJ

l OW in a I ohm resistor is SGund Sound m aster and tho Solllld Bla" .. COlllp.ltibility
the power in a resistor, yo u get average f-'""",,-~1.olto or. b~d"" ,a, h ofCr""tiv< T""lllIol"llY Ltd
V = ) PR = ) lO x 1 = 3. 16 V. The pulse power. There is no such thing as RMS ,h ail. hi, lhru d• • Ie" . lh• .\ RRL. nr ...nd 529.95
wave has an RMS va lue o f 3. 16 V. ~ '>t S&H (C\ "" idenl; add S232Ia,) 1<>:
po we r. (2 ) Yo u can use peak voltage to
Note that RMS is not th e same as a ver-
age . Th e average vo ltage o f th e pulse
t cc rt; r.o. R", 3~d5 .lItpl. ~IS. \ . " p"t1 Roach.
e ,\ 9265~ Sl*f ir~ 5 'I, nr 3 '/, in, h di, l .

wave, abo ve , is 10 V x 10 % , or 1.0 V;

To do thc RMS techn ique on a sine
wave, you ha ve to slice the wave up >CJn.3c'Z~.J0 D,:rJ(~}~!]) ~[j)~8:rJlJ
1j'J
into hundreds o f time slots, square the
vo ltage during each time slot to get
AUNCO [!)~GD8:tJ
hundreds of instantaneous powers, a v- d)
OJ·196T
erage all the powers over a full cycle, 2 Meter Handheld
CTCSS e n/decode
and take the sq uare root to find the DC and DCS
OR-135TP
equiv alent voltage . A computer can -
~c-.N\'1_
2 Meter MObile
perform the hundreds o f ca lculations Internal TNC tor Packet & APRS @ DR·605T
2M/440 MHz MObilelBase . Call F A I L o,.
necessary eas ily. The mathematics of SpeCials
lilJcoz.....
:::::-
calculus can actuall y slice the wave IV"" h \' <,
into an infinite number o f time slots,
OJ-V5TH
sq uare them all , average them , a nd ge t V/UHF. FM
OX-70TH Co mpact, OR-610T
Ha ndheld
the sq uare root - all in one operat ion . 100W . HF 2MI440MHz Mobile/Base
The result, for a sine wave, is that a
1.414 V peak sine wave has an RM S 3 300 82nd St . #E, l ubbock, TX 79423
value o f 1.000 V. (Interesting ly, 1.414 1-800-588-2426 il:1iiiI
is the sq uare root o f2 .) Thus, for a sine 8 06-792-3669 FAX 806-785-3699 . :Z
wave, Vr ms = V,I p.
1.4 11 4 and V c =
p~
www.rad-comm.com
1.414 V n " , .
73 Amateur Radio Today. March 2001 57
in gre at haste to cons truct a magnetic had come to G reat Britain to attempt US Field Ma nua l 24 -18 , " Single
telegraph from Maine to Texas; b ut the first reception o f amateur signals C hannel Commu nications Techniques."
Maine and Texas, it may be , have noth - across th e A tlantic. (He w as success- Has a sectio n on NVIS antennas.
ing important to comm unicate . We are ful.) I take nothing away from the real
eager to tunnel under th e Atlantic and ac hieveme nts of Marconi - they were Net sources
hring the old world some weeks closer many and impressive. But the public ac-
N VIS Antenna Informati on (excel-
to the new ; but perchance the fi rst news claim that was lavished on him was not
lent Web site for NV IS sy stem s):
that will leak through to .. . America will accorded to others of equal accomplish-
[w ww.tactica l-link.co m ].
be that the Prince ss Adelaide has the ment, because they were not "smooth
Construction of an NV IS Antenna,
whooping cough." operators." For example, Marconi's claim
by Dr. C arl O. Jelinek : [www.qsl.netJ
2. "My dear, yo u fail to re ad the to have achieved trans-Atlantic co mmu-
vcars/carllnv is .htm] .
scale/ Correct to tenths of a di vision.! nication in 1901 was uni versally ac-
NVIS community at onclist.com: [ W \\'\\I.
For gentler trade, those eyes were made! cepted, even though he and his assistant
And not for methods of precision."
onclist.com/cornmunity/nvi s]. fa
were the only ones to hear the signals.
3. "I, too, am an amateur." And in 1912, he personally b locked
4. " It ain 't the things you don 't know new s from the Titanic's rescue ship be-
that get you into trouble . It's the things cause he had made a lucrati ve deal with QRP Drives Ham Nuts
you know for sure - th at ain 't so ." the Nev.' York Times for an exclusive continued f rom page 30
Answers: story. But the public stilllionized him .
1. Henry David Tho reau wrote th at NN IG. 80 East Robbins Avenue ,
4 . While not original with him, thi s
in his essa y " Walde n" in ahout 1850 . Newington CT 061 11, [http:// ww w.
was the fa vorite quote of Major Edwin
The first intercity te legrap h line, fro m small wonderla bs.com/] .
Howard Armstrong , in ventor of regen-
Washington DC to Baltimore, had been Solid State Design fo r the Radio
eration (1 9 12), the su perheterodyne
comp lete d in 1844. The first success- A mateur, Wes Hay ward and Doug
( 19 18), and FM rad io (about 19 35) .
ful "tunnel under th e Atlantic" beg an DeMaw, ARRL, 3rd printing , 1995 ;
T he triode vacuu m tube ( 1906) was
operation in 1866. I ofte n sig h and ISBN 08725-90402.
"k nown" to be a little less se nsi tive
think of Thoreau ' s remark when a W /FB 's Design Notebook, ARRL,
a nd a lot m ore troublesome than the
ham se nds QR U T NX ES 73 on the l st Ed., 2nd printing , 1994 . ISBN:
crystal detector until A rmstrong
second transmi ssion. Nothing important 08725 -93207 .
showed what it cou ld do in a fe edback
to comm unicate. W /FR 's QRP Notebook, Doug
circ uit. Heterodyning was known as a
2 . James Clerk Max well , in En - DeMaw, ARRL, 2 nd Edi tio n, 1991,
curiosity ; " The Major" gave us the
gland, penned th ose whims ical lines standard ra di o recei ver circuit by het-
ISBN: 08725-9034g. ill
about fema le students in his physics erodyning to a super-aud ible fre -
classes - then called natural phil oso- quency. FM had been "proven" by
phy el asses. By abou t 1864, Maxwell math emati cs to have "no advantages CALENDAA EUENTS
had devolved a set of 20 equ ations whatever," but Armstrong refused to corumuectjrom page 37
(later co mpacted to four ) fro m which belie ve it until he had tried it fo r him-
all of electrical and radio science can be its 23rd annua l HamfestiC ompute rfest on
sel f. Com menting on his inventive March 25th, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., al Madison High
derived. Yes, Ohm' s Law, the capaci tive- st yle , Armstrong sa id , "Inventio ns are School on North Ridge Rd. New and used
reactance fonnula , all the transmission- not made by theoretical musings, but amat eur radio , computer, and other types 01
line and antenna formulas - all of them elect ronic equipment will be feat ured . V E
by jackassing storage batteries around
are implicit in the four equations of exams will be held fo r those interested in
the laboratory." Perhaps th e day for
Maxwell. Among o the r th ings, Max - earning an amateur radio license. Admission
that kind of stubborn ness is o ver, but a $5 . 6 It. tables $8 each, 8 f1 table s $ 10 each.
well' s equatio ns predicted the exist-
part of me hopes that it is not. fa Call Roxanne at (440) 257-0024 10 make table
ence of radio waves. Heinrich Hertz, in
reservations.
Germany, managed to generate these
waves (waveleng th about 6 meters) MONROEVILLE, PA The Two Rivers ARC, Inc.
and se nd them acro ss a room in 188 8. Build Yourself an NVIS of Greenock PA will hold their 29th annual
Marconi , in Ital y, read of Hertz ' s work , continued f rom page 18 Hamfest Com pu ter Fair 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at
the Palace Inn in Monroeviile PA, (intersection
and th e rest is we ll known to hi story.
References of Routes 22 and 48. at turnpike). Vendor setup
Aside from a stereotypically Victorian 6 a.m.--8:30 a.m . The registration deadline is
att itude on the "place" of wome n, Max- N VIS Communication s, by David March 9th. A confirmation will be sen t upon
well 's lines show that a towering math - Firdler and Ed ward Farmer. Availab le receipt of paym ent. 6 It tables including 1 chair,
ematical genius can have a touchingly for $ 14.00 from World Radio Books, $20 each, includes one vendor admi ssion per
human side . table . 115/60 outlets are $1 0 each . Additional
P.O. Bo x 189490, Sacramento C A
vendor passes are $5 each. Vendors using
3. Guglielmo Marconi said those dis- 9581 8. Excellent. electrical outlets are responsible for providing
arming word s to A RR L representative "NVIS Antennas," by Edward Farmer multiple breakout strips or extension cords if
Paul Godley in 1921 , when the latter AA6ZM , QST Ma gazine, January 1995. needed. Food may NOT be sold by vendors.
58 73 Amateur Radio Today . March 2001
Make checks payable to Two Rivers Amateur o ffe nded the stateside operators and the y Magnu m Telemetry
Radio Club, Inc. a nd mail to Two Rivers e xp re ssed thei r o p in io ns qu i te free ly. I 3 12 W. Q uee n S1.
A ma te ur Radio Club, Inc ., Roxane Gaa l, d eci d ed to swi tch the rig off. P.O. Box 1060
Hamfest Coordinator, 312 Lawrence Ave., N.
Notice that I ha ve re ferred 10 these ind i- G rifton NC 28530
Versailles PA 15137. Tel. (4 12) 823-6613; or
vidua ls as "ope rators" rather than hams . I (252) 524 -539 1
E-mail [gaal@pgh.net}.
feel that a ham se ts and maintai ns certai n [hup:llwww.magnum te lemet ry.corn J
MARCH 31 stand ards and tak es pride in his operating
ability, his eq uipment, and himself. We used RFID Systems Pa ge
WAT ERFO RD , CT T he Radio A m at eur to have a name for these o ther o perators . [http:// www.c W1. vt.ed u/ faq/rfid .htm ] fa
Society of Norwich CT will hold thei r 3 1st Ham We used to ca ll them lid s. By whate ve r
Aadio Auction at the Waterford Senio r Center name , there seem to be a number o f them f----------------
on AI. 85, starting at 10 a.m. Setup at 9 a.m. o ut the re.
From Hartford , take At. 2 South to AI. 11 to At But most hams arc tru ly c ut from a spe - THE DIGITAL POAT
85 South . From the Shoreline, take At. 95 to conlinued j rom page 52
ci al bolt of cloth. I arrived in Omaha and
AI. 85 North. Talk-in on 146.730(-). Bring your
set about concentrating all my ne w job, m y I fo und several sites with the 2.5 down-
gear to sell (10% commission to RASON). Free
tem po rary li ving arrangemen ts and such, load av ailable. I have placed two o f them in
admission , l ree parking. Contact Mark KE 11U
at (860) 536-9633; or see the RASON Web and haven ' t had m uch time to operate. W hen The Chart, and yo u will find the re is a
page at [ www.rason.org}. I have, though. I' ve had some great chats wealth of information and o the r software
with the folks o n the local repeaters who availab le at these UR Ls . A lmost forgot to
APRIL 8 welcomed me, fill ed me in on the vario us include o ne o f the most im portant bits o f
repeaters, where they were, ho w they were info . One of the ha ngout fre q uenc ies fo r
STOUGHTON , WI T he M ad is on A rea lin ked a nd whic h o nes wou ld be best fo r Throb is 28. 080. A fte r I learned that, I we nt
Rep eate r As sn . wi ll host t he "Ma d is o n u se with an HT from my temp o rary Q T H .
Swapfest" on April 8th at Mandt Com munity
there to mo nitor and fo und some MFSK I6
I wa s in vited to the ir we ek ly info rm a l activity. No T hro b but that is pro mising .
Center, Stoughton Junior Fair Gro unds , Sou th
get- toget her. Most like ly a digital wateri ng hole worth
Fourth SI., Stoughton WI. Free parki ng. Doors
open at 8 a.m. Talk-in on 147.15. Tickets $4 in
What a di fference ! W hile I have focused c hecking into freq uently.
advance or $5 at the door. Tables $ 12-$15 on those wh ose operating practices were We reported on the Stream software pack-
each. Contact Madison Area Repeater Assn., m arginal. there are a lo t of great folks o n age in January an d I j ust noticed that ver-
P. D. Box 8890, Madison WI 53708-8890. Tel. the hand . To those, I sa y " thank yo u" for sion 0 .86 is ava ilab le al ready. I checked the
(608) 245-8890. Web site [h ttp://www. qsl.netl making a long trip mo re p leasant! fa one in the computer, wo rking very we ll in-
mara/]. deed , and it is a lowly 0 .83 . I g uess I j ust
don't know ho w to keep up.
SPECIAL EVENTS, ETC.
T hat's abo ut it for this time arou nd . Have
HOMING IN fun. If yo u have q uestio ns or co mme nts
MARCH 17
continuedjrom page 42 abou t th is col umn. E -m a il me Uhe ller@
MACON, GA The Macon ARC will operate sierra.net]. I wi ll g lad ly share what I know
Resources
W4BKM 1500- 2200 UTC on Saturday , March or find a resource fo r yo u. Fo r now, 73 , Jack
17th, at the 19th ann ual Cherr y Blossom
Hamtronics . Inc . KB 7NO. Fa
Festival in Macon. Phone 14.240, 2 1.335 , and
65-D Mo ul Road .
28.390 . For a ce rtificate, send OSL and a 9 x
12 SASE to Ma con ARC, P.O. Box 4 8~ Hi lton N Y 14468-9 535
Macon GA 3 1208 USA. ~ (7 16) 392-9430
[http://www.hamtronics.com ]
WANTED
PicC on Transmitter Control ler Fun, easy to build projects
ON THE Go Byon Garrabra nt N6BG fo r publication in 73.
con rtnuedjrcm page 38 8128 Kokoma Dr. For m o re info, write to :
When sig nals bo unce, there are many fac - Las VegasNV 89 128
Joyce Sawte lle ,
tors that determine where they can he re- [ h tt p :/ / w ww .b y o n i c s .co m / pi c c o n /
73 Amateur Radio To day,
ceive d and no guarantees that both signals index.ht ml]
70 Hancock Road
will tra vel the same path. Peterborough NH 03458 .
I heard a Canadian sta tion c heck if the Mon treal Fox C ontroll er
freque ncy was in use. I heard no other sta- P lan s in " Homi ng In" for A pril 199 8
tion on the freq uency and apparently nei- [ h tt p ://m cm h er s. a a I.com ljoe k 0 0 v I
ther did he . He then beg an to call C Q and mfcupdate.html]
the re sponse was immediate an d bru ta l. As SAVE 47%!
soon as he unkcycd the microphone he re- Airtek Engineering
ceived a broadside from a n um be r of state- Ken Baue r KB 6'lTS on 12 months of 73
side stations informing him that he was too 2306 Tu rquoise Circle
near an ongoing QSO. The Canadian ham Ch ino Hills CA 9 1709
Only $24.97
replied stating that he could hear a station but (909) 393-9889 Call 800-274-7373
that it was too weak 10 copy. T hat evidently [KenF I Aee wo rldnet.art.n et]
73 Amateur Radio Today. March 200 1 59
PROPRGRTION
Jim Gray II
P.O. Box 22799
Juneau AK 99802

In Like a Lion

~Vjth Sunspot Cycle 23 peaking, it is vel}' difficult to make accurate long-range solar predictions
(this is being written at Christmastime), but I'm expectin g intense activity [or early Merch. DX
conditions will probably not improve until the weekend of the 11th, so the first 10 days might
be a good opportunity to finish those lingering winter projects, do the spring cleaning, and
(gasp!) tile the tax returns.

S olar ac tiv ity sho ul d su bside from the 11t h LO the 14 th

EASTERN UNITED STATES TO :
and provide the first good DXing in quite awhile. The 15th through
the 25th look to be rather poor, and so may provide another c hance to I ,
get away from the ham shack. A few quiet days should occur around ,A "", "",
(17) 20 2Q 1.00) 20 140) 120 -10)

,-,
,
,
,
,
, ,'. ( I O) (10·'5) 10·15 '0 12<])

I 1~"
the equinox, and a few more good days ncar the end of the month may Co , (3O-IO) (30-101 (~ I I '~ - ;!OI (. O..cl) n OI" ,, ~ (' 5) ZO (201

provide the best DXing since the year began. (11) 20 (ro-40)
'00' , ~, , , , , (1O) '01'5) '. 117, ( 15-2Q)
ill"". '"
, ,., , , ,.,
I~
(3(40) (20-401 117-20) (1O-15)
On an optimistic note, springtime is historically good fo r 15 and ( I 51 (l7-2O) 120)

I~'
o ,
, ,., so (2O--40) • • , ( 1 0- 1 ~) -s ,.,
20 meters and sho uld y ield some rare contacts, especially in Asia
I ;~k"" " (17'20) , , , ''''', , • (15" 1) , ,
(17-2O)

• ,
and the Indian Ocean . Al so, be read y for those elusive Arctic and
i ·' , ,m, , • , , , , , , ,
Antarctic contacts since the gray-line will extend over the po les I i~..' .... (17·20)
, , , , , , ,
(1 5)
,
•
".
(17·20) 117-20 ) (' 0 -' 5)
~.
this mon th. Long paths work be st at sunset and short path s work , , , , ,
be st at sun rise . Good luck!
A",""lia
~,.

,fIa"..
(1 5)
(151 20
(15)20
(17·2O)

zo
•
,m, (2O.Jo) {3O-401
(2O" 0) (2Q"0)
,,..,, ,
,
120-40)
,
,
,
,
(101
(15·2O) (1CJ.20) (10117
(15·20) ( , 0 ·20) (,0-20)
•
1" 20
15_20
. ,~
,
OM
15_20
ro''''' 20 140) 120) 40 ,. ~
• (10-20) '° 120) 10 (20) 10 120) (",20

Band by Band Summary

I~
, , ('5·20) 20{4O)

(15120 ,,~
ro ~ ,
CENTRAL UNITED STATES TO:
eo-eo
20 14O) 20140)
,-
,
,
,
1'0>.20)

•
10· 20 10·20 '0 120) fa (2O)

(' 0-20) '01201 ' 011 5) (10-2O) 12 120)

.,.
10 and 12 meters IA""' r'ocO
,ro, ,., ''''' , , , , ,ro,
Usc these as dayt ime-only bands. Mo st openings will he to the
east in the morning and 10 the so uth or west fro m noo n o nward.
I I~"'"
'Eu

o~
.."
' lo R) •
•
eo
,ro, ,~
.
" ,ro, ,.,,
•
,
,
,
, ,
,
('5)
,
1' 5)
115"1) (1' _2O) (17-20)

1' ° )
I·~· tl)
(10- '5) (10-'7) (15-2Q)

(17-20) (201 120)

iE"" • • • , , , , • 1' 5) 1'5) ,ro, ,ro,

The st rongest signals will typically co me fro m stations located in , , , ,
Western Eu rope or Japan. Expect less utility fro m 10 and 12 meters
as wanner weathe r arri ves and the maxi mum usable frequ encies
I

.
I~ stan
I ""
I~ .." ....
(17· 20) (1 5· 20)

11 7 -ZO)

('5-20)
,~

,
,ro,
•
,
,
,
,
,
,
•
,
, ,
, ,
,
,
115·201
,
,.,
,
1'(). 2O)
•
,
,
•
,
,
•
1'5)
,
1

(MUFs) decrease . Short-skip distances will be be tween 1,(lOO and

2,500 mil es .
A".' ....
0.'
1'5'20)
'5-20 (1 5) 20 ac 2O{3O)
,-,
,..,
•
,.,•
, ,•
1'5-20) 1. 5· 201
,
,
, "
(10).20) "
ooro
15 (201
10 (2O)
Ho w&i' .5-20 (' 5) 20 2O{401
• z
'''' (10) 1 ' 0-15 (101 17

15 and 17 meters ..
,"., . OW •5_20
" . WESTERN UNITED STATES TO:
(141 40 ~~ (30 _40) , (15-20) 10 (201 10 (201 10 (2O) 10{201
, ,
These are expected to be very good duri ng the day and shou ld .
Am erica
1' 0) 20 (1 5) 20 20 (40 1
,
2O{~ ) •
, ,
(10-20) 10 (201 1' 0>. 15) 10 (' 5) 10 (201
,
even remain open into the e vening at lower latitudes . Signals will
peak toward the cast in the morning, to the south around m idday,
c.
.
.'ri<. '" 'w,,
•
,., ,., ''" • •
'"'
,
,
•
,
,
,
115-17) ('5· 17) (.7·201 117·20)
, (. 0-1. ) 11:1) 17 (15·201

I~~ •
,., ,., ,
117 -20) (17-20) (1 5 1 II , ) (,,-17 ) (17-20) ,~,

Eu "
F..I "
, "
, , , , ,.,
' ,'"
115·1 1) I ~O )

" , •
111-20) • , , • • , ,
,., , ,
P. k,.,ao 1' 5-111
March 2001 , ,
I! •t• • •
10_20
'''''• ,~ ,
• • (10·20)

SUN MON 11~· ' 5 1 ('()'151 , , • , , , " ,·20) (15-20) {l Q-151

TUE W ED THU FRI SAT , , , , ,
Au"..I;"
o~.

-,
110>.. 5 1 (" ) {17-201

,- , ,., (15) 20
, 1'5-201 (15) (101
.0"
1' 01 20 1·5) 20
''''
120) 40 130-40) ,~,
1'(). 15 1 . 0-15
1 P 2 P 3 F·P 1'5) 20
• eo ''''' 120) 40 (30-40 ) , ~, , , , 11000ZO) (' 0) 20 ' 5-20
_., m
~,
15-20 20 (40)
eo '''''
12Q) 40 130- 401 • , ( H>-2O) 1~ 1201 10 {201 10 (.01 1' 0) 20
4 F· P 5 P 6 VP 7 P 8 P 9 F· P 10 F
Table J. Plain numerals indicate bands which should he workable
11 F·G 12 F-G 13 G 14 G 15 F 16P 17 P on Fair to Good (F-G) and Good (G ) days. Numb ers in pareruhe-
scs indicate bands usually workable on Good (G) days only. Dual
18 P 19 F· P 20 F 21 F-G 22 F-G 23 P 24 P·F numbers indicate that the intervening bands should also be us-
25 F-P 25 F 27 F-G 28 G 29 G 30 F-P 31 F-P able. When one number appears in pa retuheses. that end of the
range will p robably be open on Good (G) days only.
60 73 Amateur Radio Today. Ma rch 2001
and to the west in the late afternoon. Try Decrement, logarithmic de crement: qRH
the polar paths at local noon for brief open- Nobody knew very m uch a bo ut the continued from page 6
ings into central and southern Asia. Short- subject, even though the Department
as possible. The original "old-timers" and Eimers
skip can be expec ted to be about 1,000 o f Com merce issued their we ll- known are gone. and consequently a part of ham radio
miles. Bureau of Sta ndards book entitle d Ra- slowly continues to fade.
dio Instruments and Measurements To help stop this attrition of information, all
20 meters radio communications enthusiasts are invited to
#74, on March 23, 191 8. Thi s gave
technici an s and eng ineers a n in -depth join and contribute whatever information they
The best overall hand, this will provide
have to this unique Internet refl ector.
the most hours of HF operation . Expect d ocumentati on on the subject. Mr. B.
To subscribe to the Ham Radio History reflec-
openings to begin after sunrise and last well West ex-8K EZ di scu ssed spark di s- tor, simply send a blank E-mail to [ham-radio-
into the evening. Look for some exotic con- chargers at the S1. Louis conve ntion in subscrlbeeseqroups.com].
tacts between sunset and midnight as day 1920. In the course o f his p resentation, Thanks to HRHR, via Newsline, Bill Pasternak
breaks over Central Asia and the Indian he w as interrupted repeatedly by well- WA6ITF, editor.
Ocean. Short skip will average between 500 meaning listeners in the audience , as
and 2,500 miles. they confu sed the issue by in troduc ing
the "damping factor" and the n wonde r- Cell Phones a Headache?
30 and 40 meters
ing what was meant by napierian. The Children who use mobile phones ri sk suffer-
Best from late evening to sunrise. Activ- confusio n usually brought down the in g memory loss, sleeping disorders. and head-
ity on these bands is certain to decline as aches. So says British ph ysicist Dr. Gerard
house, and the heated discussion ended
Hyland in research published in the medical
warm weather arri vcs and atmospheric noise in a draw. Not eve n well-meaning in -
journal The Lancet.
increases. Africa, the Middle East, and Asia tellectual co whands from the western In his article, Dr. Hyland raises new fears over
should provide some opportunities for those ranches kn ew wh at to mak e of these radiation caused by mobile phones. He says that
hunting exotic contacts. Short skip will be arguments and decided to leave we ll those under 18 years old, who represent a quar-
less than 1,000 miles during the day and e no ug h alone whe n they got ba ck to ter of Britain's 25 million mobile users, are also
greater than 750 miles at night. fa their radio shacks. more vulnerable because thei r immu ne systems
are less robust.
So decrement, damp ing fac tor, im- According to Dr. Hyland, radiation is known 10
pulse excita tio n, and in crement - all affect brain rhythms and children are particularly
these factors - were eventually solved vulnerable. Hyland says that if mobile phones
The History of Ham Radio
by the usual "ovcr-the-ethe r-waves-re- were a type of food, they simply would not be
continued from page 55
porting" way - experime ntally, wi th licensed. because there is so much uncertainty
provided the righ t kind of pitch an d trial and error methods pre vai ling . It surrounding Iheir safety.
wh ine to satisfy the cri tical ham in his Thanks to RF Safety News, via Newsline, Bill
was understood that a lo w resistance
Pasterna k WA6ITF, editor.
quest to exce l on the air. (the lower the better) in the secondary
By the characteristic freque ncy o ver di scharge circui t gave a low decrement
the air, most ham statio ns were recog -
nized without the usual QTH re po rt. "I
and allowed the energy to osc illate freely Death On-line
with consequent low heat loss. We se l-
know the so und of his spark" was a According to a spokesperson in the FCC li-
dom worried ab out impu lse exc itatio n
cens ing and Techn ical Analys is Bran ch in
common remark among hams. anymore. Gettysburg. the FCC now can accept a printed
Afte r a statio n had its mechanical O ur prob lems were p ut away for a copy of information appearing on the Internet as
pro blems fairly well unde r control, the while un til the next conventio n c ame adequate proof of death "provided the printout
pro blem of decrement o f the signal along. This was to be the Firs t Na - contains certain, veri fi able. information ." The li-
emitte d received considerable atten- tion a l Ameri can Radio Re lay League censing Bureau also will accept a list - with
supporting documentation - of multiple requests
tion . Speci fications from the bureau in su per meet ing at the Edge water Beach
for cancellation of amateur licenses.
Washington decreed that the de cre- Ho tel in Chicago, to be re viewed in the According to information on the FCC's vanity
ment could not . or should not. he next chapter. Web site. [www.fcc.govwtb/amateur/vnityfaq .
high er than 0.2 when the energy was We go back to our midnight ope rat- html]. individuals can report the death of a lic-
trans ferred to the an tenna. Otherwi se , ing hou rs whe n all is quiet and se rene ensee by submitting a signed request for license
the sig na l emitted would be und uly about the house. The ham does not want grant cancellation accompanied by a copy of an
obituary or death certificate to the Licensing
broad, with accompanying in creased disturbances to interfere with his con-
Branch.
in terference due to high damping. centration on distant code from some The FCC says it's been able to match up the
What was this decrement a ll about? far-off place . Besides, when the key is name. address, and birth date of the deceased
The su bject was di scu ssed at great closed, the spark noi se could d isturb included on some submittals it's received via the
lengths. It too k front and cente r atten- the neighbors, and any intrud ers into Ancestry.com site [hllp:www.ancestry.com] on
tion and was good for an argument the p rivacy o f the shack wo uld be o ver- the lntemet. "The validity of these prin touts as
proof of death is equal to the same level of suffi -
anywhere, anytime. Decrement and how come by the ozone that often perme-
ciency as an obituary, in terms of reducing the
to meet its req uire me nts waxed hot and ated the atmosphere. QRX ' til we meet risk of the inadvertent cancellation of a valid
furiou s from many podiums at conven- later on, when fully reco vered, in a fresh amateur causqn.' the FCC spokesperson said.
tions. Today yo u never hear the subject air env ironment. Thanks to Jennifer Hagy N1TDY, via N ewsli~
mentioned anymore. To be continued. Fa Bill Pasternak WA 6ITF, editor. !iii
73 Amateur Radio Today · March 2001 61
N EUER SR Y DIE eve n a n " bloody eejit" ( like guy is'! Well . mathematically. arc rig ht: When you outlaw
me) cou ld use ( and eve n by definition, half of them are guns, a ni)' the outlaws have
ccnun ued j rom paqe 8
e nj o y" ). Etc. even du mber than that." guns. In every case w here a
:'\'0. this isn't ham rad io We all need co nstant rei t- "Bob" may have the aver- community has confisc ated
stuff. .. hut then. l' ve been eration of these truisms be- age confused with the me- the public' s gun s. there has
asking you to gel bu s)' and cause we live in a world where dian, but otherwise he hit a bee n a sub.. . tantial result ing
write about any adve ntures a multitude of very powerful bull's-eye. Half of the people increase in crime.
the hobby has given you so forces have worked upon us, you meet do indeed seem If vou were mak ing yo ur
I' d be a ble to usc them in the from birth through school to dumber than a box o f rocks: livin g as a burglar. would yo u
magaz ine. and then publish work . att empting ( 0 suppress but they did not start out that rob houses in towns where
them in a book to help cl ubs our indi viduality. our creativ- way. Paren ts, peers, school s. you mi ght be faced with an
get youngs te rs in terested in ity, and. a bove all, our cur ios- churches, ad vertisers. and jobs angry ho me owner with a
the hobby, ity - in short, to de stroy ev- made them that way. Every s hotgun, or would you head
We need kids. We need ' em erything that encourages us to baby at birt h has a relen t- for a town where all of the
despe rately. And what' s hap- think for ourselves. lessly curious and experimen - guns had been confiscated?
pe ned to our sc hoo l sys tem is Our parents wanted us to tal temperament. It takes the Last year, at a cost o f ov er
a big pan of our problem in aCI like the other children in first third o f our lives to de- 5500 million. Australia confis-
attracting kids. our ne ighborhood: they em- stroy that c uriosity and ex- cated over 6OOJXX} fi rearms
phatically did not want a boy perime ntalism: but in most and crushed them. And that in-
Becoming Wllat UeAre or g irl who see med "wei rd " cases. we become placid part..
cludc'd some beautiful collec-
b)"Robert A nton Wilson or "d iffere nt" o r (Heaven tor's items. In the 12 months
of a doc ile herd .
forfen d'] "too da mned clever since then. homicides are up
If yo u stroll through a large This hu man herd all started
ou t as pote ntial geniuses, be-
3.29£-. muggings up 8,.1.%. and
art museum. you will notice by fur." armed robberies up 44%. In the
tha t Van Gogh docs not pa int Then we enter grade sc hool. fore the taci t conspirac y of
state of Victoria alone , homi-
the sa me world as Rem- a fate WONe than Death and soc ia l con formity bli ghted
cides using guns are up 300%.
brandt. Picasso docs not see Hell combined . Whether we their brains. All of them can
Until the govern ment con-
things the way Goya did. land in a puh lic school or a redeem that lost freedom . if
fiscat ion of firearms, there
Georgia O'Keeffe doesn't much pri vate religious school. we they work at it hard eno ug h.
had been a steady 25·year
resemble Rivera. Salvador Dali learn two basic lesso ns: ( I) I' ve wo rked at it for 50+ drop in homicides using guns.
looks like nobody hUI him- there exists one correct answer years now. and still find parts
sel f, a nd. in ge neral. no for every question: and ( 2 ) o f me acting like a robot or a O ur Unlversft les
wo rld -cl ass art ist became a education consists of IllCIIlOriZ- zombie on occasio n. Learn-
"classic" by doing what some- ing the one correct answer ing "how to become what you De fenders o f the American
body else had already done or and regurgitating it on an are" (in Nietzsche's phrase) school sys te m clai m thai our
even what everybody else in "exami nat ion." lakes a lifetime . but it stil l universities are amo ng the
his/her own era did. The same tacti cs continue seems the be st ga me in to wn . highcst-nncd in the world. and
And in sci ence. the names through high school and. e x- Wil son will be speaking at that A mericans regularl y wi n
o f Einstein. Dira c, the C uries. ce pt in a few sciences. ev en The Proph ets Conference in a high pe rcentage of Nobel
Bohr, Heisenberg. Schroedinger. to the university. New York Ci ty on May 18- Prizes. Yes. A meri cans did
John Bell . ctc., live on he- All through this "cduca- 20, 20()J . Fo r information win the most Nobel Prizes last
cuu sc none o f them took tion" we find ourse lves bom- check : [hltp:ll www.greatmys year, but flOIl e o f the winners
Newton as Holy Gospel: They ba rdcd by organized rel igion . tery. e rg]. Or ca ll toll-free 1- were born here . They were all
all made un ique and unprc- Most reli gion s in this part of 888 ·777· 598 1. naturalized citi ze ns.
d icta hie innovati on s in bas ic the world also teach us "one The Secret Guide to \Vi.~ · Hmm. ho w come not one
theory. co rrect answer:' which we dom is my effort to help native A merican won a prize ?
And . in case you think this should accept with blind faith: people regain the freedom For that matter. did )'ou know
app lies only to "arts and sc i- worse. they attempt to terror- our schools have taken away that less than ha lf of the
cnccs." co nsider the most izc us with threats of po st- fro m them. Ph.Des in en gin eering and
successful people in industry. mortem roe..ung. toa.. .ring. and math are received by Ameri-
Hen ry Ford did nor get rich charbroiling if we ever dare Gun Co ntrol cans? T he fact is that young-
co pying Fulton' s steamboat: to think at all . at all . sters ed ucated in American
he made a car so cheap that Aft er 18 to 30+ ye ars of all Yes. kids shooting kids is schools and co lleg es j ust
anybody could afford one. this. we en ter the j ob market. terri ble . An yone shootin g can' t co mpete with the for-
Howard Hugh es produced and learn to become. or try to anyone sucks . In the case of cign-cd ucated students. As
movies that nobody else would become, almost deaf, dumb, kids, ju st as our doctors do Americ an publ ic sc hool test
have dared to atte mp t. and and blind. We mu st always their best to tackle the symp- scores have plumme ted. more
then went on 10 revolutio nize te ll our "s uperiors" what they toms caused hy poisons and and more foreign students
the airl ine indu stry. Buck - want to hear. what sui ts their had nutrition with pills, shots. have been d isplacing Ameri-
minster Fuller did nOI copy prej udi ces and/or their wi sh- surgery. radiation, and so on. cans in our top universities,
the cubical form of pre vio us ful fa ntas ies. If we not ice the med ia (and the unthink ing and the worst decli nes have
architects, but inve nted the somethi ng they don ' t want to public, unfortunately) want to been in the mo st demand ing
geodesic dome : at last count. know abo ut. we learn to keep try to keep guns out of the subj ects. such as science.
ove r 300.(X)(} of his bui ldings our mo uths shut. If we don ' t hands of people instead of We 're training sociologists,
existed, making him Ihe most - "One more word . Bum- eliminate what's been causing when the wo rld is demand ing
visibl y successful architect in stead. and I' ll fire you!" the problem. engineers. programmers. and
history. Steve Wozn iak did As my mah atmaguru J .R. T here have been any num- scientists.
not copy the co mputers o f his "Bob' Dobbs says, " You ber o f attemp ts to co ntro l
day, hut inve nted one that kn ow how dumb the average guns, but sadly, the gun nuts Co ntinued on page 64
62 73 Amateur Radio Today · March 200 1
 visil tbe hams and scuba di ve mO~1 of w hat you need to help )'OU reduce Rt'p rin ts of ~ I )' E d illlrillh frum 7J.
the islands of the Caribbean. You 'll stress. Clasvical mu sic al so rai se s \by fe..n hings in litis .... uidare as ....e·ve
jove Ihe speciatLiat fare which leI me youngster's I~ , he lps plants g row been taught. aM as !hey :JAleM. I blow
\·isil 11 cou ntries in 21 days. di\ing faster. and will ma ke yoe healthier. JUSI the whistle on the s.:arns around us, such
all but one of the islands. G uadeloupe. waif U)OU hea- S(JIIC ofGotsdnlk's fuho- a.~ the health care. Otr sc:to:Jl syslem .. our
wbere lhe ham s kep t me 100bu sy with Ious musk! S5 (#33) lI1l"JI1(') .• the drug war, a oollcge edllouion.
parties. SS (1t1 21 The Rada r Ceveru p: Is police radar sugar, the food giants. our unhealthy food.
He..... a re som e of my book ~ w hich
Cold . ·u, ino (h enie~ : This is hOlh dangerous? Ross Arley K6t:1, a wo rld 11llllJilb. D IFs.. I'Ulra."iWect. etc.
ta n ( h u n~t' ) o ur life (if )"o u ' )I le i
a brief history o f co ld fusion, which I authority, conrtnns Ihe dangers of 1'.1' 1996 FAlilnriul, : 120 pages, 100 ctoice
' e m ). If Ihe idea of hei nll: heah hy,
predict w ill he one of the largest in- dio and magncnc fields. $3 (#34) l'ditorials. $ 10 t #72 J
wealthy und wise intere 'I~ you, star t
du stn es in the world in the 21st ce n- Three GUllo Tulk-<!: A prize-winning 1997 F:ditorial~: 148 fun-packed pages.
rt'ud ioll:, Yes, you (an be allt hat, h ut
tury, plus a simplc explanation of ho w teac her exp lains w hat's wrong wit h 2 I0 editorials. $10 (#74 )
on ly whe n J Ou kn o w t he secrets
a nd why it works. T his ne w field is American scho ols and why our kids are 11)<)8 Ed Itorlals: 10Kpages that 'll gi ve
whith I've 'pent a Iifel im t' unenver-
going to generate a w hole new hunch nOI being educated. Why are Swedish yo u lOISof co ntroversial things to ta lk
1Oli: ,
of billionaires, j us t as the pe rsonal youngsters, who start school at 7 yea rs abo ut on the air. .$ 10 (ft75 )
computer ind ustry did. $5 (1t20, of age. Ica\'ing ou r kids in the dU'I? 1999 F...rl ilorials: 132 pages of ideas,
Cnld fu sion J o urn al: They laughed Our kid s a re intenuona ll y being book reviews, health, education. and
The RiO('k'c:trin er Ha nd book : This when I predic ted the PC industry an)'lh in g else I think yo u oug ht 10
d umbed down by our sc hool system
el plain., I'Iow 10 build or buy ($ ISS)a grow th in 1975, Pes are 00.... tbe Ihird know about . $ 10 (11 76 )
- the least effective and mOSI e xpen-
bule electrica l gadgel thai can help largesl industry in lite wodd The cold 2000 rAlitnriul,: In the wons.
sive in the world. $5 ("35)
clea n lhe: blood of any virus. microbe , fusion grou nd floor is still wide open. Sih 'er W ire: wnh two 3-in. pieces of
As parta mt' : 01." ..1. :"<ulra Sw~l . lhe
parasite. fungu s 01" yeast. The process bUI then thai mig ht mean gi\'ing up hen y pure vilver ....ire + three 9V bat-
stuff in diet drin ks, erc., can ca u-se all
w as discovered by scie nticts at the ....alChing ball games. Sample: $10(1r221. teries you ca n make a lho usand dol-
kmds of serious heal th problems. Mul-
A I~r1 Eins tein College of Medidne:, Ju lia n Sc: hwi n..rer : A Nobel laurene's lars ' .....·OI1 h of silve r co lloid. Whal do
tiple scleros is, for one. Read all about
quick ly patented. and hushed up . It's talk abo ut cold Iusion-c-ccnfimung us it two pamphlet' fur a buck. (#38) you do with it? It does what the antibi -
curing A IDS , hepatitis C , a nd a bunch validity, $2 (#24 1 cries do, but gen us ca n't adapt 10 it
O ne H nu r C W : Us ing this snea ky
of uthcr serious illnesses. The circuit Imprcvmg Stute Gnvern ment: Here Use it to get rid of gen us on food , for
booklet eve n you ca n learn the Morse
can he built fur unde r $20 from the in, arc 24 ways that state govcrmuents ca n skin fu ng us, warts. and eve n to drink,
Code in o ne hou r ami pass tha t d umb
structicns in the book . $1 0 (#0 I) cut expenses e normously, wh ile pro- Read some books on the uses of silver
Swpm HF e ntry lest. $5 (#40)
Th e Sffnt Gu ide III W isdo m: This vid ing far bcucr service. I ex plain how colloid. it's like magic. $ 15 ( #llO )
C ode Ta pe (TSI: This ta pe will teach
is a revie w of aro und a hurnlred boo ks any governme nt bureau or departm e nt w a yne' s Bell Sawr Kit. T he ca ble
you the leners, mUllhro; aOO JIUIX--ruatictJ
lha t .....ill help you change your life.l\'o, ca n be: gOllen to CUI it's e~ pc:nscs b)· a t and i n slruCli on~ e nah ling you 10 in-
you ncod to m lw if you are going on 10
I don ' l ~ ll ihese bools. Thc:)"re o n a leasl 50% in Ihree )'ears and do il CO- e xpens ively lape Art Be ll W60BB' s
Icam the code al 13 or 20 wpm . S5 (It.n)
.....ide range of s ubj CC1s a nd \l..ill help operali\'ely a nd enth usiastically. I ex - nigh lly 5 -hr radio 1lllk show. S5 (1t8 3)
C ode Tape O·Ul. Once )·ou kllO.... lhe
10 lOa ke )'ou a very int ~ling pers.on. plain I'Iow, b)' a ppl)·ing a 00: ..... Il'C'hnol- :\"H Reform Part,.- Ke)'notl' Spt'ft"h.
code for lhe Iellers (#-U) ) '0Il can go
Wait'll yo u see so me o f Ihe ge ms ogy, the: sUle ca n make il pos~ihle 10 II wow 'd ' e m ","'hen J laid OUI plans
immediatel)' 10 rop)'ing 13 wpm l us-
yoo ' \'e missed reading. S5 (jj()2) pro\'ide all needed sc:o ,ices wil houl for:\' t1 in 2020, with lIluch beUer, )'el
ing Ill) ' sysle m l. This shou ld only lake
Tht' SK.....1 Guidt' lu Wt'u11h: Just as ha\'ing 10 levy WI)" taxes a t all! Read Iovoer-eost schools. UfO state u~es. far
a couple of da)·s. $5 (142) ....· l1er heallh care, a more m;ponsive
.....·ilh heallh. you ' lI find that)OU have the book. ru n for you r legislalUre, and
Code Ta lX' (T2 0): Or, )·o u can sia n slate gO\"Cl'lIIIIC'nt el":. $ I (1185)
been ht'ain washed hy "Ihes)'stem" into let's gO:I btlsy making this coolllry work
righl o ut at 20 wpm and masler il in a 'M Il d id n 'l " ri l~. b ut l UU nffll:
a pallem of life lhat ..... ill k"""p yo u from like its founders wallled il to. Don'l
weekend. $S (#4 31 :\' ASA ~ I ooned A mer icu : R e ne
ever mak ing lIluch mo ne y and ha ving leave lh i ~ for "<;QlIteone else"lo lkl. $5
(#30) \-'t'a)"nt' Vn-llll)'lo n Tal k: This is a 9().. make s a n ai r-light case thai NASA
the freedom to travel and du what you
want, I e~p la i n how anyone can gel a M a nkind's I<:xli llclio n Predicliuns: If minult: lape of the ta lk I'd ha ve give n faked the Moon 1;U1din g~, T his IxMlk
at the Dayto n, if in\'i ted. $5 (#50) will conv ince even you. $2S (#90)
drcal n job with no college, no resume, anyone uf the c XllC rts who have w rit-
Wa)'n" Tllmpll Tulk: Th is is the ta lk I 1. 1l ~1 S ke p t ic uf Sci ence : T his is
a nd eHn wit hout all)' e ~ pe ri e nc e. I ten hoo ks predi cting a soon-to -(olt1e
ga ve at the Ta mpa Global Sc iences Ren~'s iMxlk where he <kbtlnks a bunch
explain how you can gel ~onlL'{lllC to catas trophe wh ic h will virtuall y wipe
co n fCl'C'nce ~ where I co \'Cr amateu r of accepted scientific Ix:liefs - soch as
happi ly pay you 10 learn what you TIt.-ed mos t of us o ut a re righ i, we ' re in
10 know lo start )'ourown btlsines.s. $5 lTOUhle. In th is bool I explain ahoul radio, cold fu sion, health, books you the ice age<., the Eanh toeing a magnet.
(1/03) Ihe \ a riou\ di sasler sce nario\ , lik e sl'lould read. and ....) o n. S5 ( #S I ) the Moon causing the: tides. and etc. $2S
Tht' Sft;..... t Gu idt' 10 H t'ull h ' Yes. l'oslradam u~, .... bo sa)"s Ihe poles iIl S I Million Saln \ 'idl'(l: 1be secrel o f (11'9 1)

thm: reall)' is a secrc:lloregaining l our soon oJtift (as they haw se'o'lT.t1 tin 'S in ho w )'o u ca n gc:nera te an e u ra mil - n·..rk Moon: S68 pages of card ully rc:-
li on~in~juslby u<oing PR . Th is searched proof that the Apollo Moon
btallh and adding 30 10 60 ) eaf'S of the pa'>ll. ....iping out W '1c of mankind
healthy h ing to your Iife.l~ ;m,wcr is Okay, so he's made a long string of JU<ot will be one: of Ihe hcsl invcslJJJCnb you landings wen: a ho;u-a capping blow
simple, hUI il means miling some dif- 1uLi;y goes,'O. The wors t par1 of these oryourMIlL'SS.... ineo.u makc. $.1O(1t521 for Rene's skeptic!>. $35 ( 1i92 )
ficu lt lifesly le c ha nges. Will you be prediclions is Ihe acc uracy record uf r ------- - -- - -- - - - --,
skiing the ~ I opes of A spen wilh me some of Ihe e~ P'L'Tls . \\'ill it he a pil le
shi ft. a ne w icc age, a ma~~i v e so lar
I ~aa'i6?1~
when yuu' re 90 or dollderi ng around
a nursing home ? Or pus hing up dai- flare, a comcl or asteroid, a biote m,ri ~1 li-- ~"~"~'~·~1~6~.~"~.~"~'m
:::.k~'~H
::..:'~,.\4.I::..:9 _
sies '! No, r m oo t se lling a ny heallh attack ? I' m gelling ready, how a bllul
produ ct ~ . S5 (#04 ) you'!$S (# 3 1) l ~u m t' Call _
:\ly WWII Submarint' Ad\'entu rl"s:
Yes. I spenl from 1 94 3 , 1 ~ :'i 00 a suh-
lII.lIine, ri ghl in the middle of lhe .......11'
l\Io()n d o~~I t> : Afle r readin g Ren e's
IIIMIIL, NASA MaO/red AIIJi'rica, J read
e WI')'lhing I cou ld find on our :\100n
iAdd~' _
....i llt Japan. We almos1 got sunk SC\'c:raI landings. I walo;hed the \'idc:os, looled
limes., a nd 1'"ice I WOl-~ in lite righl place o;a rtfully .11 lhe p hOIOS, re ad Ihe ICil,.--Slate-Zip
u se tbe ............. .
C;::::=.::c;;::::=::;=;:;:;::::;;:;:::;;;~"';:;:::;;;;;;;--
~ bncUls orcopy ~ &Dod mart lbe 1oooIL. )'OIl"''''.Add ' 1 ..... porkJUl
.11 the ri gh l lime to ~a \e lhe boal. astronau t' s bi ographies, and tail ed I
Whal ' s il reall y li ke to he de plh with some of my readers wbo ..... orked ordo:o- UI J:S IU prionI, DWlI. kiCa, " 0 fomp. --;~;;;;;;;-==========
IOrdc:r tOlal: US$ ~ llorlXonJonl
charged? And what' s Ihe dail y life for SASA . This book ciles 25 good
aboard a submarine like? How ahout reOl-'iOOS J belie ve the Wl'loleAJMlllo po- l\-fC/\-c... forordon o.-er, tO. • f~ _ _
the Amel ia Earhan inside slo ry?l f gram had to ha,'e heen faked $S (10 2) I.......·..
~·(:O<I> • plIone orden: 603 Sll ...U7 ' lou; (,OJ-Ssg. 3M • '" :'nod. IOl.(:O<I>

you' re near Mo bile, please \' i~ i l Ihe C la.., icaI M u,jc: G uide: A Iisl of 100 D Ves' P\I( for a )'<'aror 7J lOr... I, S2j la ""all Canada Di$J 2. "'-JI' CSW by l<'t-

Drum, $S (# 10) CDs which will provide you with an I0 I'd like: to """" """"""" inro my
dreary lIf. ,,,,,,end your 11ow-To-l>ana: VIIh>s calalog.
Waynt" .~ Cari hbeu.n Adn~n tu rl"'i: My outslan di ng co llectIO n of Ihe finc sl I0 1"""<1 """'-' lndu>(n&1llrength -",~ .. n:dU<, it", 00 ...1Id yOUf Advent,,",s In Mu. ", CD cal<llog
super 11lIdgel lra ve1 slories - ...... here I d assical mu sic ever w rillen. Thi ~ is ~ I~4~k~ '1d!:0.o:.s'UI!!. !orel~n tho!!&!!. "I' lry~eL!!l2'\.2!W~ll!C!:l! \!!.!.d.y or ~ ..J

73 Ama teur Radio Today • March 2001 63

•

Barter 'n' Buy:....- _

Turn your old ham and computer gea r into cash now. Sure , you ca n wait for a hamtest to try and dum p it, bu t yo u know you' ll get a far more
realis tic price if you have it out where 10 0,00 0 active ham po te ntial buyers can se e it, rather than the few hundred local hams who come by
a flea market tabl e. Check your att ic, garage, cellar an d closet sh elves and g et cash fo r you r ham and compu ter gear before it's 100 old to
sell. You know you're not going to use il ag ain, so w hy leave it for your w idow to throw o ut? That stuff isn't getting an y you ng er!
The 73 Flea Market, Barter 'n' Buy, costs you pe an uts (alrnost)- co mes to 35 cents a word for individual (noncommercia l!) ads and $1.00
a wo rd for commercia l a ds D o n't plan on te lling a long story. Use abbrev iatio ns, c ram it in. But be honest. There are pl enty of hams wh o love
to fi x thi ngs , so jf it doesn't work, say so.
Make your fist, count the words, incl uding yo ur c all, ad dress and phon e nu m ber. Incl ud e a che ck o r yo ur credi t c ard n umber and e xpi ration.
If you' re plac ing a com me rcial ad , inclu de an additiona l phone number, sepa rate from your ad.
Th is is a monthly magazine, not a daily ne wspap er, so fig ure a cou ple months before the action starts; th en b e prepared. If you get too many
calls, you p riced it lo w. If yo u d on 't get many cal ls, too hi gh.
So get b usy. Blo w the d ust off, ch eck everything o ut, m a ke s ure it still works right and m aybe you can hel p make a ha m newcomer or re tired
o ld ti mer ha ppy with that rig yo u're not usin g now. O r you m ight ge t b us y o n you r c o mpute r an d put togethe r a list of small gearl pa rts to send
to those in terested?

Send your ads and payment to: 73 Magazine, Ba rter ' n' Buy, 70 Hancock Rd. , Pet erborough NH 0345 8 a nd get set for t he
phone calls. The deadline for the May 200 1 classifi ed ad section is March 10. 200 1.

Pre side nt Clinton probably doesn't have a copy METHOD TO LE ARN MORSE CODE FAST AND Box 1306, East Northport , NY 11731 .
of termers Electronics Bench Reference but you WITHO UT HANG UPS Johan N3RF. Send $1 .00 BNB426
should. Check it out at [www.ohio.netl -rtorm etl & SASE. SVANHOLM RESEA RCH LABOR ATO-
index.htm]-over 100 pages of circuits, tab les, RIES, P.O. Box 81 , Wash ingto n DC 20044 U SA. ROHN TOWER S HUGE DiSCOU NTS CHEC K
RF design information, sou rces, etc. BNB530 BNB42 1 PR ICES AT HILLRADIO.NE T BNB600

TELEGRA PH COL LEC TO R'S PR ICE GU lDE: AS TRON power supp ly. brand-new w/w arranty, K8C X HAM GA LL ERY http://hamgallerycom
250 p icfu res/p ric es . $12 pos tpaid . A RTI FAX RS20M $99, RS35M $145, RS50M $209, RS70M BNB620
BOOKS, Box 88, Maynard MA 01754, Telegraph $249. We b: [www.aventrade.com]. Call for othe r
models. (626) 266 -0116 . BNB411 TOWER tor Sa le. 100-ft. MILI TA RY A B-l 0 5c .
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Heavy-duty galvanizing. Dismantled, includes guy
HE ATH KIT COM PAN Y is seiling photocopies 01 wire . screw anchors, new bolts, exce llent condi-
Great New Reference Manual with over 100 pgs
most Hea thkit manuals. Only authorized source tion. Jim W9GLR: 5165 Island View Circ le So ut h,
of PIS, trans istor, radio, o p-amp, antenna des igns,
fo r copyrig ht manuals. Ph one : (616) 925- 5899, Polk City, FI. 33868-890 1. jimw9glr@juno,com
coil winding tables, etc. See details at (www.ohio. neV
8-4 ET. BNB964 (863)-984 -13 17. BNB630
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$19 ,95 + $2.00 P&H to AMT Engineering, 6863 " MO RSE CO DE DECIPHERED" Simple, el- Wanted: Manual or copy for 14AVQiWBS Hy-qain
Buffham Rd., Seville OH 44273. BNB202 egant, inexpensive. comprehensive, logical, easy! antenna. Bob, 35 Cla rence St., Belleville, MI
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RF TRANSISTORS TUBE S 2SC2879, 2SC1971 ,
2SC1972, MRF247, MRF455, MB8719, 2SCl307, Electri ci ty, Magnetism, Gravity, The Bi g Bang. New min iature oscillator modules are now ava il-
2SC2029, M RF454, 2SC3133, 4CX250B, 12DQ6, New explanation of basic forces of nature in this 91- able ... all under $20 ... plus our g reat reference
6KG6 A, etc. WESTGAT E, 1·800- 213·4563. page book covering early scientific theories and ex- book is still for sale. Write to RMT Engineerin g .
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lations hip to a unified field theory, To order, send our Web site at www.ohio.netl- rto r metl
aSL CARDS. Basic Styles; Black and Whi te and check or money o rder for $16.95 to: American SCi- index.htm.
Color Picture Cards; Cust om Printed. Se nd 2 ence Innovations, PO Box 155, Clari ngton OH
stam ps for samples and literature. RAUM 'S, 8617 4391 5. Web site for other products [http://www.
Orchard Rd , Coopersburg PA 18036. Phone or asi_2000. com]. BNB100
FAX (215) 679-7238. BNB519
COLLOIDAL SILVER GEN ERATO R! Why buy a NE UER SRY DIE
Cash fo r Collins: Buy any Collins Equ ipm ent. "box of batte ries " for hundreds 01 dolla rs? Current
Leo KJ6HI. Tel.lFAX (31 0) 670-6969. [radioleo @ continued from page 62
regul ated. AC powered , fully assembl ed with #1 2
eartnllnk.net]. BNB425 AWG silver electrodes. $74.50. Same, but DC pow- Today's leaders in scie nce and tech -
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zi anet.com/tdl. BNB500 schools and colleges.
COLO FUSION ! - FUEL CELLI· ELECTRIC BI· Whe n Ne w Hamps hire was awash in
MAHLON LOOMIS, IN VENTOR OF RA DIO, by
CYCLEr Each educational klt (Basic· $99.95, De- pres ide ntial hopefuls, all claiming they're
Thomas Appleby (copyright 1967). Second print -
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N 3RF , SVAN HOLM RESEA RCH LABORATO- interes ting that nOI one of them offered any
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64 73 Amateur Radio Today· Ma rch 200 1
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