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 THETEAM SEPTEMBER 2003
ISSUE '514
EI Supremo & Founder
Wayne Green W2N SDI1

Assoc iale Pu bli sher

F. L Ma rion
Amateu r
Executive Ed Itor
Jack gumett Radio Today
Managing Editor
Joyce Sawte lle
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Technical Editor
Hugh Wells W6WTU
FEATURES DEPARTMENTS
Contl'ibut ing Cu lprit. 10 Just Hang 'er Up - W4DAN 49 Ad Index
64 Barter 'n ' Buy
Mike Bryce WB8VGE Clear oul your closets with this fun WARe fnband dipole.
Jim Gray II 42 Calendar events
Jack Heller KB7NO
48 Gear Up
13 Portable Pulse Generator - Sellen 51 Hamsats - WSACM
Chuck Houghtoo WB6IGP BUIld INs pocket-siz e fest ins /rumen/ thaI 's useful in a 44 Homing In - KOOV
Andy MacAllisler WSACM wide variety oflab and service tasks. 8 Letters
Joe Moell KOOV
4 Never Say Die - W2NSD/1
Steve Nowak KE8YN!7 18 Be a Caribbean HEARO - W9CGl 47 On the Go - KE8Y N!7
Dr. Rick Olsen N6NR How about a little mini-OX from the USVI ? 60 Propagation - Gray
1 QRX
Adverti sing Sales 22 73 Repaired My TV - W6MIK 63 Radio Bookshop
Doug Johnson Thanks, g uys!
600-677 -ll636
603-924-0058 26 The Ins and Outs of Parts Substitution - W6WTU
Fax: 603-924·8613 Part 2 ' Specific devices.
design13 0aol.com
31 Simple Test Ci rcuits - KI5AZ
Circulation Here are some fun little p roj ects from a veteran E-.\(ail
Frances HY"arinen Poptronics contrib utor. design73 @aoLcom
Data Enlry & Other Stuff 34 Test Time for t he SG-2020 Transceiver - W4PGI
Norman Marion ~/f operating were any more fun, d would be tllegatr

Business Office 39 Study Guides That Pass the Test - K5MLG \\'eb Page
Editorial - Advertising • Circulalioo Presenting a review of the best books on basic radio. www.waynegreen.com
Feedback - Product Reviews
73 Amateur Radio Today Magazine 56 Fruit Bits - W7RXV
70 Hancock Rd. Three morsels from W7RXVs extensive platter - or would
Peterborough NH 03458·1107 that be ''patter ''?
603-924·0058
F!lx: 603-924·861 3 57 Are Your Batteries Corroding? - W6APZ
Don 't let II eat away atyou.
Reprints: saper article
Back issues: $5 each

Printed in the USA QRH. • •

discard the junk mail. As I discard the junk mail, I see
AAADD thatlhe garbage can is full.
I lay the bills down on the desk and pick up the trash
Manuscripts: Conlributions lor That's Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder to
can. Then I figure that since 111 be going near the mail-
possible publication are most you, and here's how it goes ...
welcome. Wel do the best we CM '='
box while taking out the trash, I may as wen pay these
fI:!UTl ~ you I'8Ql asl blA we
I decide to wash the car and start toward the ga- few bills first. Now where did I put my dleckbook?
assune no lespcli rsttiily br loss rage, when I notice the mail on the table. I figure I Ah, here it is! Oops, there's only one check left. My
f7 cL:wnage. PaymenI br Slb'l1n8d might as well go through the mail before washing the extra checks are in the other room.
... kJes wi be made atIer p'ib'ca1iOn. car;
P se SlbniI both a cIsk !WId a
hard copy 01 you" aride IIBM ((li() Ilay my keys down on the desk, sort the mail and Continued on JXlge 6
or Mac (po olelled) tomlatS~ careUy
ct-:kod oaHi gs 8Ild schlmak:s. 73 Amll r~u, Radio Today ( ISSN 1052-2522) is published monlhly by 73 Magazine. 10 Hancoc k Rd .,
8Ild f1e dearest, best rn j and
Pelerboro ugh NH 03458 -1101 . The e ntire content s 02003 by 73 Magazine. No pari of this publicat io n may be
reproduced without writt en permission 01 the p ubli she r, whi ch is no t ail that difficult to get . The subscriptio n
~ ~ you can manage. 1-tow
rat e i s: o ne ye ar $24 .91, Iwo years $44 .9 7: Canada: one yea r $34 .2 1, two years $51 .1 5 . including postage and
10 write br 7.3 Ql jc It* 1l3S are avaiIaIJle 7% GST. Foreign postag e: $ 19 su rface , $42 airmail addilional per ye ar. pa ya bl e in US funds on a US bank .
on feQi es' US cilizEns. PeMe Second c lass postage is paid at Peterborou gh, NH . and al additiona l mailing oUices . Canadia n second class
ird.de you" Social Seclriy IUTber ma il regis tration '118 101. Cana dian GST registration ' 1253933 14 . Microtilm edition: University Microfilm, Ann
with Slbl1itled ~ so we can Arbor MI 481 06 . POSTMA STER : S end addre ss changes 10 73 A m a te u r RadiO Today . 1 0 Hancock Rd.,
pete rborcu h NH 034 58· 1107. 73 Am a te ur Radio Toda i s owned b Sh abromat Way Ltd. 01 Hancoc k N H.
SlbniI it '=' ", ••~"-'-~~_ _ -I!..J~~~~!.2.'2~".O~~:.!..!~'--"'-""";~"'-'~~.!!'.~~~~~~~~~~..!!:!L"''-'''-'''''''''''''-''''~--'
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EF JOHNSON AVENGER GX-M C41 SS-10GX, SS-12GX
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EF JOHNSON GT·ML8l SS·12EFJ
EF JOHNSON GT·ML83 SS-18EFJ
EF JOHNSON 9800 SERIES SS·10·EFJ·98, SS-12-EFJ-98, SS·18·EFJ·98
GE MARC SERIES SS·12MC
MODEL SS-12SM/GTX GE MONOGRAM SERIE5 & MAXON SM·4oo0 SERI ES SS·10MG, SS·12MG
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 NEllER SRY DIE
Wayne Green W2NSOIl
w2nsd@aol .com
www.waynegreen.com

Bc~gi ng Howl money? " Every thing pos- didn 't see this even hinted at By January 1960. when CQ
sib le." is the promise. Hey, I in th e League letter. They got to where I was owed a
About once a year I ge t a want something a little more just want th e mone y to year 's pay, l was ca nned ...
League letter as king me to tan gible in the way o f a plan. " fig ht" for us. I'd li ke to see with the publisher's promise
donate mo ney. W hat I It looks to me as if we 're talk- so me hint th at th ey have a that I'd ev entually get paid.
ha ven ' t seen in all these years ing abo ut fi ghting a tsunami c lue as to how to fi ght the Let 's sec, $ 15,000 at 10% per
of begging bowl ratt ling has wi th a teacu p. Internet expansion via power ye ar interest for 43 ye ars is
been any productive use of Despite my grrpmg, I lines. ... around ... $903,000. Hmm.
the do nated money. Now. is ha ven't seen the slightest sign Bei ng an old-timer, and my with that I could launch my
thi s j ust Wayne trashi ng the that the Leagu e has don e any- Al zheimer's not quite kicked magazine to revolutionize our
League again. or ha ve I a le- thing visib le about stopping in yet, don't I sort of recollect ed ucational syste m.
gitimate gripe that yo u ought our hobby ' s slow death . We an ado when it was discov- The folding of two more
to think about? need to ge t the wo rd o ut to ered that a League presiden t amateur radio publicati on s is
The red fl ag wa ving for teens about the fun they're had spent big gobs of the indicative of the steadily de-
your money this time is BPL. missing. Have you seen any League's funds designated for creasing intere st in the hobby.
No. not the Brass Pou nder 's orchestrated promotion efforts? protecti ng ou r bands on a Car- With o nly about 25% of the
League (R IP), it' s Broadband Any inc rease in newspaper ibbean vacation for him and his licen sed hams subscribing to
o v er Power Line. HOlm, coverage of our hobby? An y- wife. Refresh me on the de- any ham publi cation ... or
shouldn't that be BOPL? thing in any of the nati onal tails. Ob. there I go "trashing showing any signs of be ing
Thi s has to do with the pub- magazines? Any move to get the League again." Tsk, I j ust ac tive .. . these are not our
lie connecting to the Internet the Boy Scouts more in- can't seem to help myself greatest times.
v ia the power lines instead of volvcd? Anything o n tcle vi- when they 're so vulnerable. I'd love to help light a fire
the telephone. cab le or fi ber sion? If you ha v e. you sure So. KIZZ (zzz'!). what and ge t things growing again.
optics. The benefit is a wide ha....en' t been letting me know plans doc s the Le agu e have to but I ca n' t do it all alone. I've
ba ndwidth bei ng available. about it, despite my nagging . stop Internet progress? Come asked ma ny times for letters
making possible the download- What I' m heari ng when I o n. ' fess up. Convince me from you about any exciting
ing of video and higher speed tune the hands is the least that I' ll benefit by sending time s you've had in the
E-mai l. With power lines al- QRM I' ve ever heard. Wide money to Newi ngt on . hobby. I'm still waiting for
ready reaching every home open spaces on our bands . your lett er.
and business, this is goi ng to Yes, thirty years ago we Two Newsletters Fold I'd like to pu blish some
be a new technology that is gave the world cell phone such letters in 73 and then
going to be very difficult to technology ... now a huge in- The lV5YI Repo rt. which make them available in a
stop . It' ll have a lot of big dustry with over two billion has been around for over 30 booklet for clubs to use to
bucks pushing it. users. By the way. the League years , along with the Ne w reach out to youngsters and
The fear is that the wide- did virtually nothing to help RITY Journal. folded in July. get them interested in more
band RF on power lines will us develop our repeater tech- I' ve never seen a copy of the than ball games and the
interfere wi th we ak signal no logy. Most o f that promo- Journal. so I don't know any- Intern et. We ha ve a great
recept ion on our HF bands, tion was done in 73 and my thing abo ut it. The Report story to tell . .. bu t no o ne is
right o n up to six me ters. Repeater Journal. cove red amateur rad io. com- telling it.
That dues seem likely, though The time was when we puting , and ne w electronic
th e League begging letter amateurs deve lope d and gadgets. Lotta work doing the Ticket to Ride
ci ted no te st s g iving data o n pionee red most of the com- research for that wide a field .
the e xtent of the potential me rcia! communication tech- I started my publishing ca- One thing that's been con-
interferen ce. nol ogies. Like FM. NFM. reer w ith a monthly R17"Y cerning me is whe n the FCC
Okay. let's say that the let- SSTV. and so on. Jou rnal in 1951. It started off might wa ke up to the fact that
ter, which was sent to the en- We have o ne more chance mimeographed and gradu ated the amateur radi o " service" is
tire Callbook list. not just to make our hobby va luable to a 36-page photo offset jour- no longer satisfying most of
League membe rs. pulls in a to the country. an d that's by nal wi th over 2.000 paid sub- the reasons c ited in o ur regu-
few mi llion buck s in dona- getti ng into gear an d develop- scribe rs. I ended it when I lations for our being allocated
tion s. What dues the letter say ing QRP networks to hel p signed on as CQ!; editor in a few bi llion dollars worth of
they ' re going to do with the with Homeland Security. I Janua ry; 1955. frequencies. We're no longer
4 73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003
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pioneering new technologies. We' re going to need 500,(0) honest reporters have to write through five different pre-
We're no longer of the slight- Emergency Radio Amateur a book like Into The Buzzsaw scribed medi cations. Eac h
est interest to the military as Homeland Security rig s. Will in order to get the truth the gave him a rash and caused
operators in time of war. In- we make ' em here, or farm governme nt wants covered him to become confused .
tern atio nal friendships? Oh, the job out to China or up out in the open. The way I When he stopped the rashes
sure. Well, we 're still a Ban gladesh ? At $500 each, see it is that AB C, CBS, went away and he'd get his
handy source for emergency that comes to $25 million. A NB C, et al., are government mind bac k.
communications. pittance. and industry puppets. Ditto Th en his doctor prescribed
Hey, that's our ticket! It's brainstorming time, so the New York Times and other Toprol. Her dad took half a
No matter by whom the what do you think we 'll major new spapers. pill before going to bed . The
911 event was planned, the need? Maybe each club next morning the rash was
result has bee n an awakening should have an emergency Infamy back and he was so confused
of at least some of the public coord inating van to tie the he couldn' t even dial a phone .
to ho w wide open we are to club members together. Plus Being a very, very o ld pe r- This time the memory loss
terrorist attacks. It' s also it could coordinate as a hub so n, I wa s listening in 1941 was permanent.
provided the Bush Leag ue's with other com munication when Roosevelt made his A Time magazine article
excuse for invading Afghani- service s such as doc tors, po- "Day which will live in In- poi nted out that blood pres-
stan and Iraq (so far). But, lice, fire, sheriffs, FEMA, famy" speech. Of course there sure and anesthetic medi ca-
that' s an agenda I suspect Homeland Security, mi litary, were the us ual conspiracy tions are the worst on the
will read a lot d ifferentl y in etc. An indepen dently pow- theori sts who started ask ing brain . The article said the
the history books than we're ered repeater (solar?) will be questions about who knew memory might come back af-
getting from today's media. important. Wh at do you what whe n. But it wasn 't un- ter as long as fi ve years. No
The Homeland Security think? til recently, whe n Stinnet hit wonder we have so many
people are going to need some us with Day of Inf amy, that A lzhe imer ' s pa tie nts in
sort of dependable grass roots Iraq even the sports-page readers nursi ng homes.
communication system when became aware of the depth of
the power' s down and the With the evaporation of the secrecy and lying sur- Cancer C ure
cells go out. One that can be Iraq' s WMDs we're left with round ing the Japanese attack
called into action with no oil as the prime mover for o ur of Pearl Harbor. Acres USA had a most in-
notice and work flaw lessly invasion. But I wish the Bush So I was surprised when at teresting article about George
. .. anywhere in the country. League had done a little post- the Peterborough dump I Earl-Thomas. a chap who
Hey, that should be us! And war planning. Like maybe found a paperback copy of moved here from New Zealand
with a bunch of bazillions be- not throwing 400,000 lraqis Inf amy - Pearl Harbor and tts in the early 1900s. He was an
out of wo rk when we in one Aftermalh, by John Toland. early microbiologi st. In the
ing thrown at sec urity prob-
day closed down the armed dated 1982. Even twenty 1930s he began using his dis-
lems, maybe we should have
forces, several security groups, years ago he had the goods on coveries to treat cance r pa-
our nets out.
and the de fense and informa- Roosevelt. This 400-pagc tien ts with the trace minerals,
Okay, what kind of service
tion ministries. Out of work book is we ll documented. whi ch even then were long
can we provide? Our gear
with no jobs or unemploy- Yo u know the part that is gone out of our processed
will have to be emerge ncy-
ment payme nts available. So most di scouraging about food ... with a 60% success
powered, so we ' re talking much for winning the hearts
j ust a few watts. Our anten- find ing th is book ? T hat not rate! T he medical indu stry
and minds in Iraq . o ne of my 73 readers ever today only has a 7% sur-
nas will have to be simple . ..
maybe a long wire put up ment ioned it to me . vival rate for cancer. WWII
More 9/11 Questions
with a bow and arrow or a stopped his work. but he con-
College News tinued after the war... unti l
sling. We want to use fixed There' s that large flurry of
freque ncies so we don' t have short selling airline stoc ks the FDA took him to court in
Two items about my oid 1948 for providing " medical
to tune around . We'll eventu- j ust before 9/11 whi ch has alma Rensselaer Polytechnic
ally want to be able to zip quietly faded from visibility. adv ice" without a lice nse. He
Instit ute (RPI) made the
messages through at high There's no way the people fought back in court and
news. One had to do with the
speed, including pictures, so who did it could hide, so why wo n! But, as he was leaving
sudden closing do wn of their
we're not talking CW ... or the silence? the court the FDA Deputy Di-
School of Architecture , leav-
even voice for most through- And how did the Admini s- rector who had led the fi ght
ing 50 stude nts stranded. the
put. So we 're talking comput- tration manage to whip up as ked him if he intended to
only college to do so. The
ers and special software. that 360*page Patriot Bill in continue to send out his lit-
other was a $ 12,000 fine for
Well, that's next year .. . this so few days? They must have erature o n electrolytes and
students being caught ille-
year let's get started with had that ready to go and then cancer. He said, "Of course."
gaily downloading music. Not
voice. fast-track zipped it throu gh A few weeks later his lab was
exactly the kind of PR they
We have a few hundred ac- Congress. It cru shed a whole burned to the ground. along
wanted.
tive ham cl ubs, each with a bunch of our freedoms, ma k- with all of his data and notes.
few dozen members. We' re ing the conspiracy one-world Instant Alzheimer 's George gave up.
going to want to activate crowd more believable. Well, at least the FDA didn't
thousand s of clu bs, each with Pearl Harbor stank sixty Arc you still tak ing a med i- burn his books, trash his re-
a hundred or so me mbers, so years ago and 9/1l is already cation? A letter from Betty search lab, and put him in
that means either bringing the smelling bad. There are too Merritt might be almost prison, like they did Wilhel m
500,(XX) licensed, but inactive, many unanswered questions enough to get you th inking. Reich (whose orgonc therapy
hams back to life, or getting . .. and we know the medi a Well. maybe not. It had to do was working miracles). Reich
busy recru iting some new can' t be tru sted to tell us the with her father, who had had
(yoong) blood. Better yet. both. truth. It's a shame when high blood pressure. He we nt Continued on page 9
73Amaleur Radio Today . September 2003 5
 • •
con tinued from page I dosed downand a park was established. A large, 7) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
Oh! There's the soda I was drinking earlier! three-story building was built for parties, a fish- 8) After a number of injections my jaw got
Hmmm, I guess I'd better take it cot to the kitchen ing pier wenl out over the Bay, and a submarine number.
and discard it. was placed for visitors. We received permission 9) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed
On the way 10 the kitchen, my flower arrange- to use Ihe island. a tear.
ment catches my eye and I realize it needs more We called the FCC in Houston to ask permis- 10) I had to subject the subject 10 a series of
water. I pour the soda down the sink. sion to use the prefix/1P1 after our can. They said tests.
As I wipe a spot off the counter I see my no problem as long as it wasn't an existing prefix. 11) How can I intimate this to my most intimate
glasses on the windowsill. IrS about lime. I've We took my"Otd Man's"twcHellercal , WSRK, and friend?
been looking lor them all morning! W5RKl1P1 was born. Our IOTA was NA143. Thanks /o The Modulator, ApriI2003.
I guess I'd better go put them away so I can We were fortunate that two of our hams had
find them again later. But lirsll've gal10 add water RVs and were able to park them far enough apart
to the flower arrangement ... so they would cause a minimum amount of inter- New Company Rules
Hey! What's the TV remote doing in the ference between the various barmcnlc-related
kitchen? Aaaaaagh! I'd better lake it 10 the Jiving bands. We mounted a Moseley a-element beam For SICK DAYS: We will no longer accept a
room, because we'll never think to look tor it in on one RV and on the other a vertical. doctor statement as proof of sickness.; If you are
the kitchen tonight. On the bUilding which housed several operat- able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to
I take the remote outto the coffee table and ing positions, we had another a-element beam wo...
find that the living room is a bit untidy, so I go and a number of wire dipoles running down to- SURGERY: Operations are now banned. As
around arranging cushions and throw pillows. ward the water. These were 4(). and BO-meter long as you are an employee here, you need all
Then I'm off down the hall, 10..• 10... whallhe antennas. The transceivers consisted of two your organs. You should not consider removing
heck was I planning to do? Kenwood TS-9305, two TS·8305. and a TR-7. anything. We hired you intact. To have something
End of day: The car isn't washed, the bills are You can imagine the bedlam when we put out removed constitutes a breach of contract.
unpaid, the flowers aren't watered, the checklx>ok our first CO and signed de W5RKl1P1 . It was PERSONAL DAYS: Each employee will re-
still only has one check, and now I can't seem to almost impossible to piCk out one call from the ceive 104 personal days a year. They are called
lind my car keys! I don't seem to have gOllen other.All in all, between uswe made several thou- Saturday and Sunday.
anything done today, but I just can't figure out sand contacts (SSB and CW). II was an enjoy- VACATION DAYS: All employees will take their
wh y because I KNOW I WAS BUSY ALL DAY able weekend despite the fa ct Ihat we operated vacation at the same time every year. The vaca-
LONG!!! during the entire time, day and night. Sunday tion days are as follows: Jan. 1, July 4, Dec. 25.
I realize this is a serious condition and that evening we look everything down and headed BEREAVEMENT LEAVE : This is no excuse for
I'd better seek help. But first, I think I'll check home - feeling the joy and accomplishment, but missing work. There is nothing you can do for
my e-mail. dead tired. I designed a special a SL card. I only dead friends, relatives, or coworkers. Every effort
Tllanks /0 wlloever is tne sumor ot /Ilis article wish I had one lett to show here, but unfortunately should be made to have non-employees attend
on AAAOD and /0 tile tolks wllo sen/ 11/0 us they were all gobbled up, right to the last card. to the arrangements. In rare cases where em-
tllrougll/lle In/eme!. It was a big success, with everyone calling us ployee involvement is necessary, the funeral
and asking, "Where is Pelican Island?" Hams should be scheduled in the late allernoon. We
from all over figured some new mysterious is- will be glad to allow you to work through your
land had suddenly sprung up. When we identi- lunch hour and SUbsequently leave one hour
~edit i on! Texas-Sty"le, - fied it as off the Texas coast we all got a big laugh, early, provided your share 01the work is done.
When we moved to Friendswood, TX, in 1980, but everyone was tickled with our DXpeditiOn . OUT FROM YOUR OWN DEATH: This will be
we looked lor a home. II had to be a spectanoca- Even at future conventions we had hams contact accepted as an excuse. However, we require at
non. big yard, not too close to the neighbors, and us and ask about our mlnl-Dxpeomon. least two weeks' notice, as it is your duty to train
in a subdivision where the deed restrictions had Tllanks /0 Renel! Levin W85V8P, 100 your own replacement.
already been broken for ham antennas. Luckily Texas A ve. W #1016, Webster TX 77598: RESTROOM USE: Entirely too much lime is
we found such a home. and to our joy a bunch j olevin @w!. nelj. being spent in the re stroom. In the lulure, we will
of hams already lived in the area. We formed a follow the practice of going in alphabetical order.
For instance, all employees whose names begin
club, The Forest BendAmateur Radio Club. We
with Awill go from 8:00 to 8:20, employees whOse
were a bunch of husbancVwives, all hams. We The English Language- names begin with B will go from 8:20 to 8:40,
went on picnics, to conventions, and for Saturday
breakfast together. Easy or Hard? and so on. It you're unable to go at your allotted
time, it will be necessary to wait until the next
At one breakfast we got to talking aboul Eleven more reasons why the English language day when your tum comes again. In extreme
DXpeditions and how we would love to go on roe. is so hard to learn: emergencies employees may swap their time with
None of us had the time or money for a real one
a coworker. Both employees' sucervtsors must
but the more we talked, the more we got 10 plan- 1) The insurance was invalid lor the invalid. approve this excnanqe in wri ting. In addition,
ning a mini one. Where to go? Galveston Island, 2) There was a row among the oarsmen about there is now a strict 3-minute time limit in the
on the Texas Coast was only 40 miles away how to row. stalls. At the end of 3 minutes. an alarm will
but 100 populated. Then someone suggested 3) They were 100 close 10 the door to close it. sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall
Pelican Island. 4) The buck does funny things when the does door will open, and the seat will eject you.
Pelican Island is a small island between are present. DRESS CODE: It is advised that you come to
Galveston and the mainland. Many years ago it 5) A seamstress and a sewer fell dOwn into a work dressed according to your salary. If we see
was an immigration station where new arrivals sewer line. you wearing $350 Prada sneakers and carrying
were brought off ships sort of like Ellis Island in 6) To help with planting, the farmer taught his a $600 Gucci bag, we assume you are doing well
New York. Later the immigration station was sow to sow. financially and therefore you do not need a raise.
6 73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003
 LUNCH BREAK: Skinny people get an hour
for lunch, as they need to eat more so that they
can look healthy; normal-size people get 30 min-
utes for lunch, 10 gel a balanced meal to main-
tain the average figure; fat people get 5 minutes
for lunch because that's an the time needed to
drink a $lim Fast arc take a diet pill.
Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We
are here to provide a positive employment expe-
rience. Therefore, all questions, comments, con-
cerns, complaints, frus trations , irritations,
aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusa-
tions, contemplations, consternations, or other
input should be directed elsewhere - in triple
quadruplicate.
Have a nice week.
- The Management
Thanks to tile L:4nse Crouse Amateur Radio
Club'sTuned Circuit, Apnl2003.

Where Record Speeds

Came From
Ever wonder why the first successful disk ph0-
nograph records ran al 78 revolubons per minule?
Wett, a posting 10 one of the audiophile remailers
eJq)lains it this way.
Up until the 19205, recordings were made at
a variety of speeds from 75 rpm to 84 rpm, and
sometimes outside this range. The minimum ac-
ceptable speed was governed by the quality of
the sound from the innermost grooves 01 the
record. By trial and error this speed was lound to
be around 78 to 80 rpm.
The speed of records is based on the Ameri-
can electricity AC standard of 60 hertz. When
engineers wanted to standardize the speed of
recording equipment in the studios they started
using synchronous electric motors. These are
motors that are locked on to the 60 hertz power
and run at precisely 3600 rpm.
If you use simple gear ratios, then 3600 di-
vided by 46 is 78.26 rpm. And all other phono-
graph record speeds came from the same source
as well. 3600 divided by 80 gave us the popular
45 rpm record that helped to make the rock 'n'
roll revolution. 3600 divided by 108 is respon-
sible lor the LP J3.113 rpm record; dividing by
216 made the somewhat rare 16-213 rpm disks.
Of course, most vinyl albums have been re-
placed by digital compact disks, but the hiStory
01grooved disks is an interesting one, and now
you know how it all came about.
Thanks to The Hi-Fi Remailer. VJ8 Newsnne.
BiUPaslemak WA61TF, editor.

Do You Remember ... ?

lillie glass Coke-shaped bottles with colored
sugar water?
Television broadcasting that stopped at
midnight?
Soda pop machines that dispensed bottles?
Hamburger joints with lableside jukeboxes?

Continued on page 58
73 Amsteor Radio Today · September 2003 7
LETTERS
From the Ham Shack

O rlo Hudson W5LVA, I am a lifetime in charge o f " l unar Surface and Subsurface The " h a m o f the year" wasn ' t e ve n in
subscribe r since the ' 60s - the be st 73 I Probe s: " Essentiall y my job was 10 go out NYC, he was at home in Baby lon . What a
ever spen t. I have been licensed since I 9~ I, for bids 10 aerospace companies and 10 farce ! When confro nted by me , the guy
but they had Pearl Harbor and I cou ld not evaluate the results. who spe nt the first 3 days at G ro und Zero,
get a station license , After the shooting was I did not care for th e suggestio ns made th ey "negl ec ted" to say anything about
over, I as ked for a licen se and the Army is- by th e co ntrac to rs for measu ring lu nar what nonme mbers d id . T he Hud so n Di -
sued my German ca ll letters, I corrected this grav ity, so I invented the Las er Absolute re c tor p ut a sm all piece in h is {w ww.
as soo n us I ge t home. By then I had had Grav imeter. The pate nt application sat on hudson.arrl.orglheaconlnovembcr2(0 1).1
the Operator 's Licen se for o ver a year and my boss' s de sk for 18 mo nt hs wlo action. have never met suc h a pac k o f self-serv-
was e ligible for a C lass A lice nse in my so I wrote a memo ask ing that if NASA ing pe ople in my li fe . Makes me glad to
home town of San Antonio - hence the W5 were not interested, wou ld they g ive the no w be in Texas.
ca ll. wh ich I still ha ve , I gOI the be st they " rig hts" to me . In s ix mo nth s , I h ad a It 's not nice fa speak ill of the dyinM. -
had 10 offer at that time, and as a matter of NAS A pate nt in ha nd a nd funds 10 b uild Hh Y/lf'·
principle - I wi ll never "upgrade ," a mode l. T he Paten t Number is 3.500.688.
I got in the Army as a I 7- II2-year-o ld vel- I a m the sa le in vento r and NAS A is the St ua r t Morrison K4BO V. Fo u nd so me
unteer. but if I had known what I kno w now, ow ner. Q SL ca rd s I thoug ht were lo st mo re than
they would never get me except by d raft - I was a t the Cape to see the eq uip me nt 20 years ago. A gaggle of me morie s for
and I would likely move to Canad a in that la unched. and then lold that I had done su re. I had a co u ple o f QSOs with )'ou
ca se ! my job and I was rea ssigned to so me th ing duri ng my Navy d ays - did 20 years in
The reason that I am writing is that you else . After about a ye ar I was fired for "in- the Nav a l Security Group, Your QSL c ard
have been supporting the idea that " :"l A SA efficiency." popped o ut while looking thru approxi-
mooned us" for some time. It sudde nly It is clear to me now that they did nol want mat el y 1200 cards I received whi le serv ing
occurred 10 me thai y o u are absol ute ly me asking questions like , " Where is my on Midway Island in the ' 60s. You are
correct , and I c an probably p rovide j us t data T ho lding a pair o f your fav orite K·9 's in
the evide nce needed to pro\'e the case ! At the time I tho ught I was fired becau se th e p hoto on the c a rd. At th at time, Mid-
I wou ld ha ve to lo o k a t my re s u me to the paper clip bunch did not like me: I rea d, way was a sepa rate cou ntry for the man y
provide e xac t dates , and in m y m a ny wri te , and speak German. and they knew a ward s offe red to DXe rs. During the first
boxes of record s to provide nu meric a l that I re garded the m as traitors to the ir year o n Mid way. I was the o nly ham and
detail s, b ut if an yone want s to pursu e it, country of German y, in re a l d em and . 110 1 o n ly by those want-
we will be hap p y to d o it ! A su mmary Now I thin k it was simply part of the ing Q SL cards, but also by the people on
fo ll o ws : "cover-up," the islan d itself who we re in co nstant need
In the early ' 60 s, I was hired from North Anyone who wants to loo k into this will o f p hone pa tc hes. T he re wa s 1\0 ot he r
American Aviation by NASA in Hu ntsville, get my fullest coope ratio n, and they are means o f com mu n ica tion off the is land
AL , and von Braun ' s " Paper Clip IIXI" as a welco me to view my " 20 1 File" un der the u nles s there was a rea l e me rge ncy . T hen.
Senior Staff Scientist fo r the Apollo Pro- Free dom of l nfc rmarion Act , Of course. yo u migh t be e ligible for a Navy E me s-
gram. (I ha....e a Ph.D. in physics.) I was pu t sa ge - son of li ke a teleg ram. Time
that doesn ' t me an you will get any th ing
catches us all. In the past Icw hou rs , I' ve
they don' t want yo u to have!
-----------------~ If any o f th is is of inte rest to any nongo v- a lready fo und that doze ns of tho se QS L
·, ., ,
•
. , ., , ., ., , - , .., ., , ., ., , , , ernment investigators. then I w ould give
card owners have been lost to the ages.
Some. I kn ew o f their passin g be fore fi nd -
Watch for these articles in future : them my fulle st cooperation.
• ing the cards . as they were celebrated and
•
iss ues of 73 Magazi ne! At lhe time , I thought NASA was the big-
• • world-renowned fi gures who h ave since
• gest bunch of crooks that I e ver encountered.
• passed thru the gales. Since many o f us
• N8TD - Vibroplex Meets in Naval Communication s were hams. it
•
• eBay • Bah W21 K, I thought you might like is understa ndable th at we e njoyed and
•
• N1FN - Review of SCAF-1 • to look at my two ha m We b pages .. . real fo u nd interest in the various a mateu r ra -
• •
• ham rad io and rea l h am rad io pg2. I have d io publi cation s o f the pe riod , Your 73
• AA2JZ - Surviving the •
• rece ntly mo ved to Tex as , fro m Long Is· became the o nly per iod ical I loo ked for-
• "Dry Spell" •
lan d. M y pa ge s will change every six ward to receiv ing. T h is wa s main ly d ue
•
•
•
WA20KZ - Using th e weeks or so , and my WTC 9/ 1I series will to the nonstuffed-shirt pratt le you gave us
•
• Palm PDA e mbarrass the Le a g ue , wh o po rt ra ye d in yo u r ed itoria ls. Yo ur month ly observe -
• the msel ve s as sav iors when they we re n' t ticns ke pt us in tunc wit h what was go ing
•
WA20KZ - Setting Up
• ne ar a ny act ion and the ir loca l o fficia ls a nd w hat shou ld be guing on . I' ve got a ll
Your Shack sc ra mbled to get into Brook lyn whe n it the issue s fro m th e 1960 o pe n ing sho w.
•
• WB9YBM - To Catch A •
• was pictu re-tak ing tim e. T hey physica lly Reminds me of .....hen l visited VK6RU in
• •
• Thief • pu shed the real ops out o f the way so they Pen h in 1966 and he pulled a 1946 card of
, , , ., ., , , . . , ., , ., .., ., , ., ., , , , •
could get the ir p ix. wi th the Leag ue pre z ! mine o ul to sho w me. - U'cn'lle,
8 73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003
NEllER SRV DI E When you or your child uses fluori - C utting Edge
conlinuedjrom page 5 dated toothpaste 80% of the fluoride is
absorbed sub- lingually within a minute One of my readers says he '!'. making
soon mysterio usly d ied in prison . unless it is spit out. No child should be $ 15 to $20 an hour sharpening knives.
Messing with the med ical-pharmaceutical allowed to use fl uorida ted toothpaste or He' s a meat curter in a super market, :<.o
complex can be dangerous. to drin k fluoridated water. he knows how important a really sharp
Classic Coke was tested and found to kn ife can be for that work. SeL he knows
:\Iorc Fluoride Info have 2.56 ppm of sodium flu oride. Diet a lady in a city who' s making $ 100,000 a
Coke had 2.96 pp m. In fact it's fo und in year sharpe ning kn ives. I thoug ht you
Fluoride toothpaste and sodium fl uo-
most bott led drink s and drinks fro m might like to know.
ride in our wa ter ( 0 he lp prevent cavi-
concentrate bec ause the country's bot- Wh en I was a youngs ter in Brooklyn
lies is just one more lie we 've been
fed. Well. it's resu lt ing in less th an tling plants use fl uoridated city water. (NY) a man came around every few
100.000 ca ncer deaths a year. so it's no Federal law docs not req uire this to be weeks with a horse-d rawn cart sharpen-
big deal. How's it caus ing cance r disclosed on the label. ing knives. lie eventually graduated to a
deaths? Sodi um fluoride inhibits the truck. Every household has kniv es that
C ra m ps need sharpe ning.
body's enzyme function s, knocking
the immu ne sy stem down . In heavi er If you' re interested look into Ben
My thanks to Harry Greulich Dale' s EdgePro sharpe ners ... 54 1·387-
concentrations it' s used as rat poison. WA6IWZ for a clippi ng on cu ring
where it causes the rats to starve to 2222. It might be good for some :<.parc-
cramps. Take potassium. time cash. Ben's got a $130 model and a
death. no matt er how much they eat. I occasio nally j ump out of bed at night
Rut. what about the cavities'! When $340 pro fessional model.
to stop a leg cramp. I' ve had foot cramps,
you start di gging into the data yo u find even fi nger cramps. Which puzzled me,
that there has never been an y researc h An t h ra x Co ve r-Up
beca use I' m pretty healthy. Apparently
wh ich has show n th at sod iu m fl uoride eating one banana a day isn' t giving me Less t ha n a month after the 9/1 1 at -
helps preven t cav ities . Indeed , Toronto enough potassium, so I'll in vest in a tac k o ur med ia flood ed us with the an-
has had Fl uoridated watcr for over 36
bottle o f 550 rug potassium gluconate thrax scare. Considering that both of
years a nd they have far more cavities pills and see if they help (t hree a d ay, it
per person than Vancouver. which has Continued on page 58
says). And eat another banana.
no fluoride . The fact is th at fl uoridated
wa te r helps cause tooth decay. It also
increase s th e ag ing process and causes
birth defects in pregnant women.
Deaths in fluo ridated areas are 5%
h igher than in non-fluoridated ones.
Fluoride eat s away the bones. causing
the m to become brittle and break more
easily.

lf a sta tue in the park o f a perso n

o n a horse has both fro mlegs in the
ai r, the person died in baule . If the
horse has o ne fron t leg in the air the
person died as a resu lt of wounds
received in battle. If the ho rse has all
fo ur legs on the ground, the person
died of natural causes.

Turn your products into

CAS H!

Place your all in 731

For details call Doug today StepplR Antennas

at 14135 233rd Place SE
800-677-8838 Issaquah WA 98027
Tel: 425.456.0200 Fax: 425.391.6031

7JAmatsur Radio Today · September 2003 9

Danny Centers W4DAN
27 12 Bryant Dr.
Cleveland TN 373 11
IDanny @W4DAN .us]

Just Hang 'er Up

Clear out your closets with thisfun WARC triband dipole.

Many ofus have a jairlyjunctional antenna farm. In my case, it is more like an amentia garden in relation to the size.
Well, not really a garden. My XYL would surely take exception to that description! She thinks that gardens should have
some sort of eye appeal. Why. sure there is eye appeal. Just looking out across the back yard beyond the tower
with tribander and dipoles, you can see trees, clouds and sky. There is something for the eye ofeach beholder.

egardless of the number of ra- yagi for 10. 15, and 20 meters and di- During a lull in the sunspot activity

R diators on your "Farm," there is

almost always a nother band or
two that could be added . Thi s article
poles for 40, 80, and 160 meters. I didn't
want three more coax cables but I did
want to operate on the three WARC
and on a weekend w hen there were no
contests a ndlor local hamfests. J we nt
sho pping with the XYL. We we nt to a
may help in adding more ba nds - bands. local discount department store. While
with fewer antennas and feedli nes - to A triband dipole fed with a sing le she looked for some necessary
your aerial maze and do it simply and feedline is not a new co ncept. I have hou sehold item s. I looked for ite ms
inexpensively. bui lt multiband antennas in the past. to e nha nce the back yard and "gar-
One object stretched across the scenic They all worked ve ry we ll, but with a de n." J found something that I believed
view of my "garden" is a three-band couple of disad vantages. Drawback could be used to bu ild a bett er WARe
sloping dipole. It is basically three dipole number one for this type of antenna is ante nna. This " fa bulous find" was a
antennas fed with one common coax that they have several leg ends to anchor. doze n black plasti c tubular clothes
cable and designed to operate o n 12. 17. Drawback number two is the possibil- han ge rs for ninety-nine cents. I bought
and 30 meters. These three bands are ity of the wires becoming entangled. two dozen. I couldn't wait to get them
sometimes referred to as the WA RC For some time I pondered the idea of ho me and start on my new project for
band s. I picked these three bands for a building a better WARC triband dipole the " garden." See Fig. I.
design because I already had a triband that did not have these two drawbacks. I wanted to use the hangers as spacers

/ -- - - -- --I/f !f- f ;. - - -- - - --
( 3# .w)

I DfW /loa ' Q!f

J , #ITR 4 lflJ J,.e

·1
••
[
" "ire 'Ir ¥
I., ",,,..,..
·1 ---'
1-- - - -- .Jf1t 11:" - - --'-- - - - • 1 17 J1rft
~our£ ,'. li T/, DlfOl E- 7//!ClUIH-
(/1 IfTAJ) DItOL€, TJlI' 1J6/1
1~1J fl'M5
IHJ$ $ f" C$
Fig. J. This is the configuration fo r the tubular clothes hangers
that I used as spacers. Fig. 2. Prepa ration details for cloth es hangers.
10 73 Amaleur Radio Today . September 2003
 ILL
ELE
i'! •
COR RATION

Thous ands of electron ic

p arts availab l e online
www.aJleJectronics.com
••
Fig. 3. Wiring detail for clothes hangers.
I AA Cell/BOO mAh SPECIAL I
High-eapac ity, 1.2 Volt
1800 mAh recha rgeable
W §I t@l
NiMh AA cell. New cells. Our regular price
to separate the legs of the three-band with the reinforce ment rods that run on a similar 1650 mAh cell is $3.50.
dipole (0 be fed with a single coax. See between the top and bottom at bot h Umitedquantlty. CAT' NMH·180
Fig. 2 for details . I drilled holes in the ends. Try to find hangers of a dark 50 for $2.25 each
thin plastic tab at the apex of the color because they arc not nearly as 100 for $2.00 each
hanger triangle using a drill bit that
was only slightly larger than the wire
conspicuous as the white ones.
If a com mercially made insu lator is
15"X 7" Elec7rOluminescent Strip I
to be used for the d ipole legs. Next. not available. yo u may want to con- Ivory in =II
heavy wire cutters were used [Q snip sider making your own. A ce nter insu-
off-slate .
Glows green ~~========'='"
II
off the hanger hooks. They could have lator can be fabricated using a scrap of when energized by 120 Vac or inverter. For
backlighting con trol panels, special-effects
been left intact and possibly used in PVC pipe. Any diameter in the range lighting, models etc. Solderable pins extend
the construction. I decided to cut them of one to thre e inches, and cut 10 any 0.2" beyond end of panel. CAT' EL-S
off to help disguise the real identity of length between four and seven inches,
.5.0. 20 for $3.25 each
the hangers. So far. all observers have
iden tified them for what they really
will work. Drill ho les to accommodate
the attachment of wires and you are in
$3 each 1DO for $2.50 each

are. Oh. well. no big deal! You may business. See Fig. 4 . Class 2 Wall Transformer
wish to leave them intact if you decide Th e next task is to cut the jn-merer 6 VdcBOO Ma
to construct this antenna. The beauty legs of the dipole to size. Being the White transformer and cord. 2.5mm
coax plug. Center positive.
of a simple project like this is that it longest. they wi ll be used as the sus- Individually boxed. UL, CSA.
can be modified to suit your o wn needs.
You may want to add more bands or
pending elements. Almost a ny type of
wire that is large e nough to hold the
CAT • DCTX-681
60 pcs (1 ceeej
$35.Q e a ch
build it for different freq uencies. weight of the completed antenna will $2.25 each
480 for $1 .75 each
Twen ty-two of the hangers were pre- do. Use your imagination and anything 960 for $1.25 each
pared as shown in Fig. 2. Eleven we re yo u have lying around the shop or ga-
used on each side of the ce nter insula- rage. I used zip cord - the kind made The Brightest!!!
tor. Be sure to purchase the hangers to replace lamp and sma ll appliance Su er·Ultrabri ht Red LED
6000 mcd. Brighter than our uttrabright
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/fOLE . r olf
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CAT ' LED-94 10 for 65e each
tF USEtJ /}5 IIIVF/.7EP vfE oj( ¢
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Fig. 4. Center insulator The larger ce nter hole is for rope, if used as an inverted ~'ee send 13.00 POI l89"-
or a horizontal dipole. The three smaller holes all each side of the cellter 1I0le are f or FAX (8 18 )78 1-2 6 5 3
the dipo le legs. e-mail allcorp @allcorp.com
73 Amaleur Radio Today · September 2003 11
 space rs . Fo r starte rs, yo u ca n space
approximately seven inches between
them. You should have a few feet of
wire extending beyond the last spacer
after you have finished threading the
30- meter wire . Spacers are not re-
quired for the full length because the
17- and 12-meter dipoles will be
shorter. Follow the same method to
construct the opposite leg.
Afte r completion of the 30-meter
di pole. tie each end of the dipole to
trees or structures to suspend it ap-
proxi mately three to five feet above the
ground. Th is is a good working height.
At this point the spacers may be un-
even along the wire and a little
tangled. Straighten them as much as
Photo A. WARC dipole under construction. suspended three f eet above ground. possible at this time. Th e addition of
subsequent legs will help to align them
better.
cords. I separated it into single con- You should probably round thi s length Th e next step is to cut the halfwave
ductors. It is economical and durable. up to at least 47 feet. This will make dipole sections for 17 and 12 meters.
I e mployed the fonnula for cutting a up for tying off a nd trimming for The calculation for 17 meters equals
halfwave 30-meter dipole and calcu- resonance later on. 25.9 feet, with 18.48 feet for 12 meters.
lated that 468 di vided by 10.1 MHz Now. cut the 47-fo()( length into two Cut them a little longer for trimming
equals 46.33 or 46 and one-third feet. pieces to make two 23- 1/2 foot legs . and tuning later. Cut these half wave-
Tie the end of one lengths into two pieces each to create
of the pieces to the quarterwave legs. Tie the 17-meter
the center insula- pieces to the center insulator in prepa-
tor. Leave enough ration for feeding through the hangerl
loose on this end spaces. Feed the wire between the re-
to trim and solder. inforcement rods and ends through all
Push the other II spacers as show n in Fig. 3 . After
end of the same feed ing the wire fro m the center insu-
piece through the lator a nd through the hangers. the end
hole you earlier of the wire shou ld be close to the elev-
dri lled in the tab enth hanger from the center insulator.
of one of the plas- Adjust the spacing on all the hangers
tic hangers. To do eq ually and space the eleventh to ac-
this, tum the hanger commodate tying the l7-meter leg to
down horizontally. it. Repeat thi s action on the opposite
Place the apex leg.
(wbere the loop The 12-meter legs should be added
was. and the tab usin g the same method by running the
with the drilled wires between the reinforceme nt rods
hole is) to your and ends at the opposite comer of the
left. From left to hangers. They should terminate at the
right, push the ninth spac ers from th e center. After
wire down through attaching the end, cut a piece of wire,
the hole, then pull twine, or rope to fit between hangers
it up and over the nine, ten, and eleven to stabilize them
bottom of the as shown in Fig. I . Check the SWR on
hanger. See Fig. 3. eac h band and tri m as needed to obtai n
Conti nue th is resonance and lowest SWR . Tuning is
Photo 8. Upper half of WARC dipole with lower half blending procedure through
into the landscape. ten more hangerl Continued on page 53
12 73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003
Craig Kendrick Sellen
Birch Hills Residence
25 Reservoir St.
Simpson PA 18407·1300

Portable Pulse Generator

Build this pocket-size test instrument that's useful in a wide variety oflab and service tasks.

As new laboratory techniques are worked out and new circuits develop ed, the need for specialized test equipment
rapidly changes. "Sp ecial " equipment often becomes "standard." For example, pulse generators, once f ound
only in the larger laboratories, are gradually coming to be considered as "standard " pieces oftest equipment for
all labs. In some cases, pulse generators are used as much as oscilloscopes and VTVMs - "standard" equipment
items oflong standing.

ost pulse generators are All these features have been made of transfo rmer T L, and the grad ual

M characterized by their large

physical size and their vora-
cious appetite for electrical po wer. Not
pos sible by design ing the unit around
the highly efficient 2N2222A. Standard.
conunerciaJly available components are
discharge of th is capacitor through
resistors R I and R2. The blocking rate
is determined essentially by the RC
so. the instrument shown here. Al- used through out. and the ci rc uit is time constan t of the circuit made up of
though it delivers either positive- or suffici ently si mple so that th e aver- components C I. RI, and R2.
negat ive-going pulses over a wide fre- age technician sho uld have litt le or By makin g RI adjustable. the circuit
quency range ( 100 to 6000 pulses per no d ifficu lty in building a sim ilar or time constant and hence the blocking
second), other ranges are easily ob - du plicate uni t in on e or two da ys. rate can be changed. Resistor R I thus
tained. With good out put amplitude serves as the "pulse rate" control.
Circuit description
( 12- 18 volts peak across a 10,000 ohm Resistor R2 is provided to limit the
load ), the overall case size is only 3 x 4 Basically. this pocket-size pulse maximum blocking frequency and to
x 5 inches and the power req uirements generator consists of one transistor con- protect the transistor from overload .
are so small that it is practical to power neeted as a blocking oscillator. followed A signal is obtained from the block-
it with two self-contained 9 V batteries. by a second transistor serving both as a ing oscillator stage by means of a tap
In addition to its small size and low clipper and as a buffer-amplifie r. on T l and is applied. through coupling
power requirem ents, the instrumen t Referrin g to the schematic diagram capacitor C2. to the base of the second
show n has man y other adva ntages. of Fig. 1, the fi rst 2N2222A transistor transistor, which serves to shape and
Highly efficient, it doesn 't generate is connected in a grounded emitter ampli fy it.
large quantities of surplus heat to in- blocking oscillator circuit, with trans- An SPDT toggle switch, S I, is pro-
crease the discomfort in a crowded lab former Tl providing the necessary en- vided to change the bias current of the
or workshop. Light in weight and quite ergy feedback to start and sustain second 2N2222A stage, and thus its
rugged. the instrume nt is ideally suited oscillation. mod e of operation. When this switch is
for portable and field work . It may. lit- A step-down turn s ratio is provided ope n. the stage operates with zero bias.
erally. be "slipped in an overcoat to match the high collector circuit im- since the ba se res istor R4 is returned
pocket." pc:dance to the low input impedance of directly to the emitter of the transistor.
The instrument shown also has the the base-emitt er circuit. Under these conditions the stage acts
advantage of req uiring neither "warm- In operation, the " blocking" actio n to limit or clip the positive-going tran-
up" time nor stand-by power. It is occurs through the rapid charge of ca- sition and to amplify and shape the
ready to use as soon as the power pacitor C I through the base em itter cir- negative-going port ions of the applied
switch is thrown "on." cuit of the transistor and the secondary signal. The amplifi ed signal appears
73 Amateur Radio toosy » September 2003 13
 thrown so that negative-going output
kill. TI ,
pulses are obtained. the shaping action
'lN11.1~t..... e
••• " ." .>• r of the o utput 2N2222A stage is not
quite as good. so that the neg ative-go-
ing pulses are not quite as sharp as the
• "' • " r-JII"I£.....
positive-going pub es. Nonetheless.
~I'tlT they are quite satisfactory for most
H.C,
.•
~ "fI1T'r
practical work .
Typical high-frequency negative-going
pulses (about 6000 pps) are illustrated in

~ co: Fig.2e .
The maximum amplitude of the out-
put pulse is approximately equal to the
voltage of the power supply battery B 1
and B2. because the output 2N2222A
stage is driven over such extremely
Fig. I. Schematic. wide limits. On one peak the collector
current is reduced to virt ually zero.
while on the orher peak the collector
across load resistor R5. but with posi- tran sistor-type batteries. B l and 82
IS con tro lled by an SPST toggle
current reaches the maxim um possible
tive polarity. d ue to the phase reversal
switch. S2 serving as the power with the supply voltage and the load
of the stage.
switch. Capaci tor C4 is provided to res istor (R5) used.
By using a potentiometer for resistor
R5, this resistor serves not on ly as the e nsure a low impedan ce across the
Construction hints
load resistor for the o utput clipper-am- power source.
plifier but also as the output leve l con- The exterior and interior of this
Output signal waveforms
tro l. The output signal is obtained mode l are suffici ent to indicate the
through blocking capacitor C3. with The waveform of the o utput pulses general layout and parts placement.
its amplitude dependent on the setting obtai ned from my model are give n in This layout need not be followed ex-
of R5 . Fig. 2. Th e signals obtained from an- actly. altho ugh standard good wiring
Whe n switch S I is thrown to its other unit shou ld appear similar to practice sho uld be used.
closed pos ition. resistor R3 is con- these. but may not be exact duplicates. Although the model was assembled
nec ted bet ween the base of the transis- A low-frequency (approximately in a standard 3 x 4 x 5 inch metal box.
tor and the negative side of the power 200 pps, pul ses-per-second) positive- ei ther a larger or sma ller case may be
source , thu s permi tting a heavy base going pulse is shown in Fig. 2A and a used. If a smalle r case is e mployed. the
bias current to flow. T his radical shift high freq uen cy (about 6000 PPS) posi - wiri ng wi ll require somewhat greater
in bias. in turn, modifies the operating tive-going pulse in Fig. 2B . As can be care. Even a plast ic case ca n be used.
characteristics of the stage so that the readily observed by compari ng these All controls and switches in the
negative-going portions of the applied two illustrations. the pulsewidth re- model were labeled using commer-
signal are clipped and the positive-go- mains relatively constant. It appears ciall y available black decals protected
ing portions are shaped and amplified. narrower in Fig. 2A because of the after applica tion by three coats of clear
This results in pul ses of negative po. lower repetition rate. The pul sewidth plastic. The plastic coating is ea sily
larity appearing across load resi stor depends pri mari ly on the characteris- applied with a standard spray can.
R5; S 1 thus serves as the pulse polarity tics of transformer Tt in the blocking The battery is held in place by a
switch. oscillator stage. small "Z" bracket, with its co nnections
Powe r is supplied by two 9 V W hen the polarity switch S I IS made simply by soldering leads to its

Fig, 2. Waveform ofoutput pulses obtained f rom the author's model. (A) tow-frequency (200 pp s) positive -going pulse. (H) Jligh-
f requency (6000 pp.s) positive-going pulse, and (C) high -frequency, negative-going pulse (6000 pp .\ ).
14 73 Amateur Radio rooev » September 2003
 Yo u just got yo ur ham ticket. the club has The RCI-5054DX covers the fu lL 6 mete r
been looking at increasing 6 Meter ba nd with an outp ut power of lOW RMS or
acti vity or it's just time to get away fro m 25W PEP. Li ke t he popular RCI-2950DX10
2 meters. You look at t he ads, check t he & 12 Meter rig, the RCI-5054DX aLso has
bank acco unt and figure, maybe next programmable repeater split (up to ±2 MHz
year. ..Not anymore ! in t his modeL), optional ncss tone, 10
frequency mem ory and two progra mmabLe
Need a reliable rig for 6-meter ba nd scanni ng modes. Add a large easy to read
openings or public service and emergency display and you have the perfect rig for
operations? Wonde ri ng why you have to pay home, mobile or fieLd day. At a suggested
for bands yo u do n't plan to or can't use with retail price of only S3 19.00, t he RCI·5054DX
your present license? is an excellent buy fo r new or old hams aLike.
We have the answer. Now Availa ble: Ranger has just introduced a
Ranger Communications again sets new 100 watt version - The RCI-5054DX-100.
Same great features. but higher output power.
the standard for vaLue with a mu lti -mode.
and a suggested retaiL price of onLy S449.00
6 Meter transceiver that is lo ng on perfor-
mance and short on price. The RCI-5054DX Call us Toll Free to find the dealer nearest you.
is perfect for the newly licensed ham who
wants to try his hand at locaLFM operation RANGER
Communications, Inc.
as welt as the experienced OXenthusiast who
wants an economical SSB or CW 6 meter rig Toll-free: (800) 446- 5778
featuri ng a quiet receiver, aU-mode squelch. Fax: (619) 426-3788
extensive shielding and the performa nce and Email: [email protected]
reliability that up to now you cou ld on ly get website: www.rangerusa.comj PC
with t he muLti band "high dollar" rigs. 401 West 35th Street National City, CA 91950
 pert Description to avoid overheating and sho rtening co n nectors were e mployed. tip j acks.
the life of the battery. banana jacks. or even a coaxial or a
p,
Scotch electrical tape was used to RNC connector may be used instead.
21k 112 w insulate the exposed battery terminals A n Everready type 411 battery may
after the connecting leads were soldered be used in place of the battery spec i-
R3 6.81< 112 W, see lexl
in place . fied in the parts list. This unit is about
18k 112 w Another builder might prefer to de - the same size physicall y and supplies
vise and construct a small clip or the sa me voltage a s the batte ry I used.
c, socket for the battery. so that it would Capacito r C4 is not critical. si nce it
not be necessary to use a soldering is used on ly for bypass pu rposes. and a
co
iron to remo ve or re place the unit. smaller or larger unit may be substituted
C3
I installed the transistors in the model he re witho ut difficulty.
by simply soldering them in place. The size of the ou tp ut blocki ng ca-
st SPOT togg le sw itch r polarrty cootrol") Should the prospective bu ilder decide paci tor C3 is no ncri tical , and either a
to follow a simi la r co urse. exercise larger or sma ller capaci ty may be used
SPST toggle switch (' power con trol ')
special ca re to a vo id accidenta lly here if desired. The larger capacities are
61 . B2 Two 9 V batteries In ser~s
o ve rhe ating a nd d amagi ng these suggested to pre vent possible d istortion
Univefsal audio oo\pU1 1rans/orme. (Stancor co mpone nts. of the outp ut signal wa veform.
_A_3856 0( equiv., see lexl)
Transistors are especially sensit ive
,-=- to heat dam age . W here they are to be C ircuit modifications
Table I. Paris list. soldered in place. the leads sho uld not
T he basic pu lse gene rator may be
be cut too sho rt and the actual solder-
easily modified to suit the specialized
ing should be done as q uickly as pos-
tin end te rminals ; or you may want to needs or requirements o f the ind i-
sible using a well-tinned and quite hot
use battery clips. A certa in amou nt o f vidual builder. Let us discu ss the more
iron. An alternative is to provide sockets
care must be exercised when doing thi s important modifications in o rder:
for the transistors.
Changing pulsewidtb. As mentioned
The primary co nnections of trans-
earlier. the pulsewidth depends prima-
forrner T I are identified by color-
rily on the characteristics of the trans-
cod ed leads when the secondary
for mer used in the blocki ng osci llator
connections arc identified by numbered
ci rcu it. I used a standard "universal"
terminals. The proper connections for
au dio output transformer. W here the
the STAN COR tra nsfo rmer tha t I used
prospect ive builder has access 10 spe-
are ind icated in Fig, 1.
ci al transfo rme rs. it sho uld be pract ical
ZERO TO SWl'M IN Z WKS to substitute another unit to obtai n
'00-711-4169 WWW.CQZK.CDM Parts s u bstitutions
e ithe r a narro wer or a w ide r pu lse .
A number of parts substitutions are Changing the p ulse rate range. My
permissible in order to c hange the op- model covers a range from approxi-
KJI Electronics e rating charac teri stics of the pulse mately 100 to 6OCX} pps. Where a d iffer-
394 Bloomfield Ave .Caldwell, NJ 07006
ge nerator. However. in addition to these ent range is desired. it is necessary
1-973-364 -1930 component changes. a number of other o nly to change the value ofC l.
Fax : 973-239-4389
www.kjielectronlcs.com parts may be changed without modifying Using a larger capacity here will re-
"' COM specialists s ince 1978 " the basic circuit. duce the o perating frequency. while a
NOW FEATURING KENWOOD
As mentioned earlier, either a larger smaller capacity will increase the fre-
or a slightly smaller case may be used quency. If desired. se veral ran ge s
wi thout d ifficulty. In some instances. a migh t easily be prov ided by usi ng a
Dual Band 2MI70cm
\ \ Log Periodic Antenna
builder may wish to wire the pu lse
generator into an existing piece of
se lec to r switch to cho ose d ifferen t
va lues of Cl.

\ Great for Ill: SAYS! equipment. The pulse rate range co vered by the
Slide or rotary switche s may be sub- pulse rate control may be extended to
www.elkantenna.com
I LK A NnN NA S
stituted for the toggle switche s used as provide wide r coverage or red uced to
2680 o-,y
lo"" the pol arity and power switches in my pro vide more accurate adj ustme nt. To
Wain'" CrMlr., CA
94597-2.16 1 mod el. If preferred. a vo lume control- extend the ra nge covered by the con-
type sw itch could be used for the trol . use a potentiom eter having a
"power" sw itc h, permitting this unit to larger maxi m um resistance - a 5 me-
SAVE 47%! be combined with e ither the pu lse rate goh m or to megohm pot. fo r e xample.
on 12 months of 73 or outp ut controls. To red uce the range co vered by the
Only $24.97 Although bindi ng po st out put co ntrol. usc a pot o f lower max imum
16 73 Amaleur Radio toasy » September 2003
resistance (I megohm. 500.000. or simple RC series network. The capacitor
even a 100,000 oh m uni t) . Where is charged slowly through the resistor Webster
pu lse s at on ly a few fixed repe tition from a DC source. and then discharged
rates are de sired. a selec tor switc h rapidly by the transistor when a positive Since 1974 Yo ur Factory
may be substituted for the " pulse rate" pulse is applied to its base. AUTIJORIZEDBiIVlDISTRIBlTTOR
pote ntiometer. and fixed resi stance Pulse generators arc widely used for
values chosen as the sw itch is rotated . 11 5 BELLAR~11NE,
checking an d testing delay lines. for
ROCHESTER. M148309
Changing the output impedance. chec king the transient respon se o f am- Toll Free: 800-521 -2333 Fax: 24H-375-01 2 1
Where a lower or slig htly high er out- plifiers. for testing counter circuits. and
put impedance is de sired. it is only for c alibrating and te sti ng radi ation
necessary to substitute a potentiometer instruments . Doug Hall Electronics
of the desired impedance (resistance) The pu lse sig na ls obtained from a
for R5. When this is done. care should pu lse ge nerator arc also useful fo r os- REC EIVER VOTI NG SYST El\lS
be taken that the o utput transistor can- c illoscope retrace blanking a nd for www.d heco.com
not be accidentally overloaded . Do not use a s a marker to divide a scope
8 15 E. Hudson SI. • Columbus OH ·02 11 -1199
usc a pot of less than 3000 ohms with trace into se g me n ts of known dura- (614 ) 261-8871 • FAX: (614) 261 ·11805
an 18 volt supply. ti on . In both o f the se ap plic atio ns the
Obtaining pulse of fixed amplitude. p ul se sig na l is applied to the "Zcaxis"
Where the user will not need an adjust- or intensity modulation terminal of the
able output amplitude. a fixed resistor HOUSTON AMATEUR
scope. RADIO SUPPLY
may well be substituted fo r R5. The Considering the sma ll am ount of 26 7 Cy presswood Dnve » Spring, TX 77388
output pu lse a mplitude should ap- time and money required to bu ild this 8IHl-47 1-7373
proximate the battery supply voltage compac t unit, it makes a wo rthwhile Lo cal: 281 -355-7373
and should re main fa irly constant. ema il: houstonama teu rrad io @ prod igy.net
project. fa
even at different re petition rate s. A COI\IP I.E U : S ALES & SE RVICE
fixed amplitude signal with a lo wer 1--- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Yaesu, "om, Alino;o. AD! . Hustler, Cushcraft

val ue may be o btained by using two

fixed resistors in series in place of R5
to fo rm a sim ple voltage d ivider. The
o ut put sig nal is o btained at the j unc -
tion of the two resistors.
Obtaining pulses of fixed polarity.
Sho uld the user not req uire both posi-
tive- and ne gative-go ing pu lses. the
pulse polarity switch may well be
omitted and the circuit permanently
wired to deliver whicheve r type of
sig na l the use r requires.
• :E
' ..' . '... . '1- '::~NAL

~
un leatlon
Co nclusion
Ph one
(937) 426-8600
B3l
I~;;::;=~~::::==~::::~f,i=
neepts In c.
lor~
"SOlI Mill5l".... Dri... • k~v~tUff ... Oh io 454:U-~ ~
""""99_s...16S· , IT . 1.6"),$;1.
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Low Pu . FIItwa ' lIP ID300Wj .

1(11,I I W ' 2Olol4Otol.lIOloIOII!IOlll

12.i5
FA X e-mail: cci.d ayto n @pobox.com "$;PII""._cw_•• ",, 'D2OfW'
The possible applicatio ns of a pu lse (937) 429-3811 www.communication-eoncepts.com
generator are too numerous to more
than briefly ind icate . Ne w applications
are constantly be ing wo rked o ut. and
the individual worker ofte n finds that
the only limitation o n hi s use of the
instrument is his o r he r ingenu ity and
skill in applying it.
The pul se genera to r is particularly
valuab le for o perating man y types o f
" slave" sweep circuits or for synching
recurrent sweeps and multi vibrators. A
simple linear sweep (sawtooth signal) Universal Radio
generator may be form ed by using the 6830 AmetIc8n. Pkwy.
Reynoldsburg.OH 43068
positive-going pu lse from a pulse gen - +Otders: 800431 -3939
erator to operate a d ischarge transistor universal + Info: 614866-4267
connected across the capacitor in a radio inc. +Fax: 61 4 866-2339
73 Amateur Radio toaer September 2003 17
»
Da ve Brown W9CGI
23187 Springmill Rd.
Sheridan IN 46069·9310

Be a Caribbean HEARD
How about a little mini-DX f rom the USVI?

Tired ofgetting your winter Vitamin C from some little pill? J have found my trips th rough the Caribbean to be a
m uch more FUN way to do it. allowing for a bit of common sense like wearing the proper clothing and - of
cOllrse - sunscreen.

or the fall trip. since I mow The latest trip was 11/21 to 12/3 of T he questions then lead to things

P about 4 acres all summer. that is

as simple as a hat to cove r the
thinning fur on top. and about 5 PF 15
2002 • so I am not long back. and mi-
nus 7 1 degrees of heat from there to
here. The "there" thi s time refers to 51.
like. " Who owns it?" (We. the USA.
"own" it - so rt of - it is a U.S. terri -
tory j ust like Guam - which is in the
or so sunscree n. For the usual trip Thomas. USVI. Pacific.) Or. "What language do they
around Apri l. so I ca n incl ude the fun Forgive me if I bore some of yo u speak?" (English. just like us - if you
with basic details. but I am always ca n call our Amcricanese Eng lish. I
of Carnival. I have actually conside red
amazed at how many people here on know several Brits who would dis-
something on the order of SAE90
the mainland USA ha ve either never agree - hi !) And of co urse there is
Val vol ine for sunscreen. If this article heard of it, or worse. place it so me- always the thing a ll travel boils down
warns of nothing else - the sun it where in the sunny Pacific. It gets only to : " What is the ir currency'!" (Good or
HOT down there - so don' t even slightly better when I tell them it is Yankee dollar - I for I.)
compare it to trips made to Flo rida or about 70 miles east. airport to a irport. And that holds true for all three of
Texas! from San Juan, Puerto Rico. the major USV I:

Ph oto A . Northeast d f' ll' from 'he hunt shack. SI. 101m, USVl, to
the right, about 6 miles away: Tartola, BVl, st raight ahead. about Photo B. Charlotte Amalie harbor in 51. Thomas, with cruise
13 miles out. ships at the Havensighr Mall docks.
18 73Amateur Radio Today · $eptember2003
Photo C. Sunset f rom a nice dinner p lace right below where the Ph uto D. The super-p ortable hum "shad" used on the No vemb er
usual ham shack in the past has been high on the ea{trnost mountain. 2002 trip.

• St. Thomas - where I generally go prompted me to ask Wayne about writ- year-or-more opinions on what works
because of busi ness and the many ing up an article about the "mini-DX" best for us under those cond itions,
friends made there since the first 1984 trips he often has been on and related right along with apologies to those pa-
visit. himself. There were some things that tient souls who hold back and TRY to
• St. Croix - larger in size, but the ARRL site were just not keeping remain sane while working us. As the
much more the industri al base versus up on. That is not their fault entirely, as saying goes, "When the going gets
SI. Thomas 's tourism. it would certainly take a full-ti me em- tough And we TELL everyone
• And last, the much smaller, quieter, ployee polling just the Caribbean is· right on the air.
S1. John - where over half of the is- lands once a week to be always When it becomes less than gentle-
land is National Park, offering excel- "current," and that is just not practical. ma nly, less tha n fun (a HOB BY), and
lent camping options. I know there is I offer that information more so that people (fortunately few ) get snotty,
no electric (or "gennys" allowed - you will not be shy about using things there is the beach - the loca l rum -
noise!) on the " bare" sites whe re you like the Internet. or consulates here in the local food - the not-so- local "eye
bring your own "everything." I would the USA of "foreign" places you think candy" from the cruise ships mostly
thi nk that you could operate (qu ietly would be fun to visit, and even marc (and if Wayne follows what that is,
- think of your neighbors and why fun to operate from . I can tell you for a then so will most ham s. as we ALL are
THEY are there) from any of the other fact that since the fi rst ham operations not getting any younger - hi). So we
sites that do have electric. Best you were done by us there in St. Thomas. simply pull the plug ! Sometimes it is
check first, same as anywhere. but it is abo ut 1994, it has been so much fun to just for an hour. and we go for a qu ick
the same National Park Service as up be at the BOnOM , and the source or swim nearby (the whole island is only
here, so it should be quite easy to find reason for a lOO-kHz-wide (and more) 13 by 4 miles). and we are on a
on the Internet. pileup - instead of sitting frustrated mountaintop right at the east end and
Before moving on. there are also on the other end trying to work the less than a mile to FIVE of the prettiest
three beautiful island s right to the east OX. beaches - duh. Other times, it be-
of St. John that are the British Vi rgin Th is will also qu ickly teach yo u how comes. "Let's go shop, or scuba. or
Islands (or, as more commonly called. ridiculous and inconsiderate stations snor kel, or . ..... You get the idea.
"the BVI"), which ALSO take US dol- trying to work the OX can be. Sadly. it I considered. if only briefly, giving
lars. And they don't just accept them is stateside stations with ?kW who are you a chapter and verse on all the ins,
- the dollar IS their currency. And the worst offenders. I mean really. outs. and equipment that I/we carry,
they're not hard at all to visit - all you guys. SI. Thomas is fun, and mini -OX but it can actually be fun PLANNING
need is simply a valid 10 like dri ver 's to be sure. but it is NOT some ROCK and getti ng ready for the trip on your
license with picture, notarized/certi- in the Sou th China Sea with about a own. For that reason, I would highly
fi ed copy of birth certificate, or - get onc-in-a- J,000 chan ce of becoming recommend that your fi rst visit to the
this - even a voter registration card ! the latest DX CC country number. Cari bbean be to St. Tho mas. The obv i-
It was the plan ning of th is fall trip to (Have they fudged enough places as ou s no-brai ners like citizenship, cur-
include for the first time, the BVI. and "countries" to reach 400 yet? And rency, langu age. and such definitely
a previous two-week visit earlier this more so - who cares?) apply. Also, because you are not aware
year in Apri l to Trinid ad, that I would otTer my limited twice-a- of it. I will tell you that they have at
rs Amsteor Radio Today · September 2003 19
 end - but NO elevatio n!). It was nice

WP2AIJ and close 10 the beach, however (see

handling pileups - above), and the
beach/trees/salt water made fo r good
support for the wire coax ial dipole s we
carried that trip.
A lo t o f ta lki ng and plan ning after
the ret urn from that first adventure led
•
to us forming a club fo r down there.
0
• with the expre ssed reasoning of emer-
•• ge ncy com munications location - bu t
•
z
• supported by year-round use by ama-
tcu rs like us. T hus, the HEARO club
Photo E. IlEARO/WP2AIJ QSt with detachable business curd. was born (Hc-urricane E>me rge ncy
A>mateur Rc-ad io O>pcration) and
least two Radio Shack stores (you are volcano. There is still a rather he fty WP2AIJ (Whi skey Papa 2 America's
not out camping in the bush !), and gro- (35A. I think) boat anchor ASTRON Island Jewel) took to the amateur air-
cery stores where yo u will recognize at supply there in the ham shack (yep, waves. It has been a FUN rime by all
least 70% of the foods offered (and I they built us a room no less), but I ever SInce.
recom mend that you TRY the rest). I firml y bel ie ve in yo u taking yo ur own My trip this time was so lo - I no
ca n guaran tee that you will be well rad io and po wer supply, and that the lo nger "work-fo' -dc-man" and set my
taken care of if you book through us power supply be a line-protected o wn hours (and days - hi). and I was
(for a place to stay - for travel you switcher. try ing o ut yet another site only a bit
are on your own, except that we would To give you a starting point, I have down the mountai n on the northeast
offer suggestions of whateve r we know run a DX70T Alinco and the AST RON side. The HEARO ops down there arc
on that ). SS·20 and covered many a mile o f the ALWAYS done QRP - 10 watts or
On the ham radio part: One of the Caribbean island-to-island in a con- less any mode - but not becau se we
places we Slay at and is rented to other vert ed and fo am -lined camco rde r case are all. or e ven any of us. di ehard into
hams year-round has a permanent an- (w hic h DO ES meet all carry-on re- QRP.
tenna setup - 3D-ft. pole wi th quirements regard ing we ight and size). Think about emergencies for a
Cushcraft R5 atop - that has a FULL I still have room in there for the actual minute, like hurricane s. Add to that the
360-degree view out over salt water. P1T mic (not often used, but nice isolation o f a n island. O ne GOOD
You have not operated unt il you sec backup), logbooks, ctc., and even a thing about that is the large numbe r o f
what salt water ground anywhere near small di gital recorder to save my vo ice easy-to-obtain deep-cycle mari ne bat -
you can do for you. on solo trips. teries ! Run nin g lOW, we figu re we are
On the o ther hand. actual statio n The ham shack room came about good for DAYS on j ust one batte ry c-.

groundi ng was no t simple as you are when friends from the Thomson A ma- maybe weeks. wi th a bit of caution and
on a volcanic rock. St. Thomas harbor teur Rad io Club went down with me in time watching. So our fun is also the
at do wn to w n Charl o tte Amalie (larg- 1994 and we operated from a terrific pop (proof of performance ) to ha nd to
est to w n) IS the crater of a dormant beach house on Cabrita Point (far east FEMA, Red Cross, CD, or anyone
wh o wants our hel p or loc ation.
To pu t the naysayers to rest - we
The Voice ofREAR-O. """""".e Emagatey Amaku" Radio OJ:u8tMU have QSL CONFIRMAT IONS from
ALL the " real" countries! We are net
CGngratubdions - )'00 have Sf. Thoma!., U.S, Vrp lsIInds
now wcrlcd 1beC.'bbmn ........ The down there to just OX - or contest
isbndhoppii" - often QRP .-ioo - . : Alinc:o DX70T @ 10 WIltS (thoug h that is allowed. of course) -
Loti.... • South by iw<""""" (18 d<g) QuKkSil'o'U' MM20 llltenna
LongNk - Wesa (lndicsofooune)(6Sdeg) o r lO talk to so me rock passing for
Imports .. TOlriIU IOTA "'WN A I06 #400. The greatest fu n so far has bee n
Exports ... . RUM • ( IN tourists) Grid - FK7B n h
500 ft I _ kvel to populate the 12m and 17m WARe
Special tMnb Cwison and Gail - my hoses - ba nds fro m do wn there at least twice a
Soon to be )'Oln we hope. PLE ASE year.
Fwtbcr info 011 villa n:maI 00''' W1 QSL There was a time when two things
- !o'QO;"urfuture rom ke pt KP2 land from bei ng heard on
or ~ 10 W9CGI'iTprl.net llWIJ<S WARC : A lot of hams (like the rest of
Please no ham llIdio cr telephone b rartals 73 FROM us up here lately) were older. re tired,
moved busi ness there for warmth just
Photo F. Back; of JlEAfW QSI_ like FL and so on. and ma ny had rigs
20 73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003
that j ust plain d id no t ha ve the WARe them. By bu rea u is fine - we c an usu-
bands. The few that did got buried ev- ally have all those done and bundled PADDLETTETlII CO. announces several im-
prove ments to their PKI miniature paddle key.
ery timc they came on the WARC a nd se nt inside 30 d ays (so you may
The add ition of a stiffener to a portion o f each
bands, with all clamoring for QSLs - only wait a year to get it). O R, you can contact ann reduces paddle ove rtra ve l by 90%
and that can be costly these days. We Q SL direct like stateside, with yo ur (see website). Also, new, 50% larger " red racer"
paddles and a 1000ger key line (4 ' ) complete the
simply fill ed that void and had a ball card and " postage ."
re-do. Operating force rema ins j ust 1/2 ou nce.
doing it. As that was 34 ce nts that last round
On the subj ect of QSL cards - and and now 37 cents a nd cl im bing, - we
the few loyal so uls wh o still really fin ally gave in to T HEIR request to
DO it and not just pas s o ut the hot air just send one even green stam p US,
o f, " Ye p, QSL 100%" - may I offer and apply an y differe nce to our
o ur observation s there as we ll ? Let HEARO ops - VERY nice of them! I
your conscie nc e be your g uide . We think you will find that group the easi-
(HEA ROIWP2 A IJIthe club) DO Q SL e st to deal with on ALL subj ects while Send check. or M.O. to: PADOLETTE' " CO.
100%, and sad ly. wi th postage going d own-island ing. Hi hi. P,O , 8 0J( 6036 Edmo nds, WA 98026
(425) 743· 1429 Roh, KI7VY
up and up, this has become q uite a re- I want to keep this effort ra ther Ecmall: bham379627 @aol.com
alistic burden . We kept cutting costs short, to the point, and yet general in we» www.padd lelte.com
o ver the years by go ing to lase r-printed nature, so if you are even thinking of a
cards done from one " master" file, b ut down-island battery recharge time fo r
your body and soul - feel free to con-
r- - -- - - - - - - - j
in many cl ub members ' homes. We
tact me through the Web site (sorry -
I Electronic Battery Booster I
took the postage burden o n ourse lves IConverts 12Volt battery to a Regulated, n.sveu I
- which is NO fun when you pass the I' ll start giving out my " real" E-mail I Power supply at I I Vo lts inpu t! I
1,000 mark and fi gu re you j ust paid for address when all the SPAM is back in
I For Field Day, Sailboats, Solar! I
someone's airfare ! Our answer to this the can - WITH the spa mmers) I Two model s. 2JA or 30A I
so far has been that we w ill NOT ask [http://w ww.work4 urfuture.biz].
I e-ma il: w4rry @cox.net I
for " green stamps." I have learned a lot about mo vi ng up I hup:!lmembers.eOlt .netlw4 rrylindeJ(.html I
Somehow, that g rate s o n a ll of us a notch and visiting othe r islands
I Send chec k for $94, 2JA or S124, JOA unit to I
where you can NOT j ust use your li-
the w rong way and leads to PAID LLeu Lehner, 5811 E. Crocus Dr., Scottsdale, AZ 8.5254
.J
exped itions whose receivers o nly cense as on the US VI. One is the
seem to " hear" the col or green. If the Trinidad trip I just fini shed in the
A RR L ever ge ts their electronic eQS L spring, and the rea lities o f how to
Get your product an no unce ments in
program actually goi ng instead of ta lk- make that a real ham radio adventure
o ur "Gear Up" sec tio n.
ing abo ut it (bureaucracy move s (ve rsus wh at I gleaned from the ARRL se nd to :
slowly), or would just sim ply " adopt" tra vel site and those listing informa- New Products Ed itor
the whole perfectly-worklng-and-se- tion o n it, which were two totally dif- 73 Magazine
fere nt things). It is j ust too easy, with 70 Hancock Rd.
cure-that-Lean-see [www.eqsl.net] op-
my help I gue ss, to get direct answers Peterborough NH 03458
eratio ns, then the who le proble m
fro m all the right people right ON the
would be so lved.
island you intend ( 0 visit - it is called
As it is, I am trustee fo r the station
the Internet! 73 a nd happy mi ni-
and also offic ial QSL manager (w ith
DXing - it is a BALL. fa RodioWanet I1rNeI case
... _-- .... .,....
lots of help from the guys), and so I set
_ _ _ M'lafld"

"'--
.~

the d igital recorder program half that f-- - - -- - - - - - - - - - -I

gi ves QS L info to read "as follows" - _
-'fOI
......
...,_-,oro..,.......
~
and it works. Come into this century ~ ,..

_ .. r.o _ ... ...,Kt

with us and quit worrying abour bu- Say You Saw It in 73!
800 20... 0 I '5 _ .powerport.to.....
reaucrats at ARRL accepting eQS L -
a nd you get a n IMM ED IAT E eQSL
· Spec ialist In RF Connectors and Coax·
o n my return (I w as back 1213, a nd ..... _ D ... ' _
PI.~ ~ __ • USA_ SIDO
o n 1214 they ALL went om). Pl~N)T UHF , - . . Gold",", 1.00 10'$9 00
Subscriptions UG-21DU ... _AtHo.211 214 1.25
Next, for all stateside statio ns that to !JG.216\J N_ AG-lI . 2 13, 21. 5.00
991 )'PIH N " " Pinlof F·1. 9OIl6.1121 H MA...4OD
"should" understand the cost problem 73 Magazine 00-2100'99 13
"*- 00-21 DIU & va.2. 8oU«
N_ lor AG-fI...m 9913 Pin
of postage , we merely ask that you Only $24 .97 - 1 year
UG..2 1B111913
UG-l ol6AN
N '""'Ie lor AG -8 ,,",h 99 13 Pin
N ...... 10 80-2311. T,"""" us.o.
send YOUR real QSL and preferably a $44.97 - 2 years
00- N F_ 1o Pl.25IJ . , - . USA

business-size SASE, because we do a The R.F. Connection

standard-size QS L with a " tail" that is
565 .00 - 3 years"
«best buy (54% off cover price t) c.·_
21J _ F, ' I<* " ... _IIWO
.,, _XlUr ° PII1IMO-Mtt
8QO.783-2666 FAX 301-869-3680
also a business card you can slice o ff. Call 800-274-7 3 73 www.therk:.eom
~ s,' • • OI ....-SP£C C<>P; RI' ea. • Nod-,.
For the foreign sta tions, we leave it to
73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003 21
David Shalita W6MIK
7833 Cantaloupe Ave.
Van Nuys CA 9 1402-6244

73Repaired My TV
Thanks, guys!

Being a ham, J read 73 Magazin e and was \'e')' interested in the articles on digital1VIVCR tuners written by
Hugh Wells J in the issues f rom September 2000 through Ma rch 2001 . From those articles. J learned enough about
digital tuners to give me the confidence to work with them.

hese TV tuners looked useful gai n experience with digital tuners and Chann els 2, 4. 5. 9. and 11 always

T for ham test gear. including

monitoring local ham repeaters.
and were sell ing for $5 to $ 10 at local
furthe r prepared me to work on my
ham test generator project. Here is my
story . ..
fai led after running for 5 to 10 min-
utes. After they failed , I observed no
picture - only snow with no sound.
swapmcets. The hardware to exercise Like an y ham troubleshoot ing a
the tuners. described in 73 art icles. TV failure - Troubleshooti ng ham receiver go ne bad. I studied my
looked easy to con struct. Before start- symptoms TV 's failu re sy mptoms. which were
ing my project of building a ham test as follows:
generator. there arose an emerge ncy My own I5 -inch Sharp color TV
I. Color. sound, and sync were perfect
need to repair my T V set. which ap- suddenly developed problems. Sec
on some VHF and all UHF channel s.
peared to have a bad digital tuner. Thi s Photo A. All UHF channels and only
2. At the same time. while some
offered me an opportunity to work and VHF channels 7 and 13 loo ked OK .
VHF channels were OK, other VHF
channels were pure snow without
so und,
Displaying a good sync 'd picture
and sound could only happen because
video/sound IF, HV. sync/separator,
yoke. and flyback circuits were working
OK. Since the tuner obeyed the T V's
remo te control by actually displaying
the correct channel. I concluded that
the tuner's digital chips were obeying
digital commands from the TV micro-
processor. Failures in those TV and
tuner circuits were ruled out. Snow
instead of picture with no sound on ly
on some channels suggested that on
faili ng channels, the tuner was off fre-
quency or lost all received signal. I
suspected failure of the tuner's RF/
Photo A. My failing Sharp IT mixer/oscillator circuits.
22 73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003
 needed. Only digital tuners using the by CAREFULLY resoldering. But,
sa me digital chip set were required for resoldering tuners with SU RFACE
Tell our advertisers that you compatibility. The digital chip in the MOUNT DEVICES ISMDj is delicate
saw it in 731 tuner that must understand comma nds work and carries risk of creating dam-
fro m the TV microprocessor was the age rather than repairing faults. A high
phase locked loop (PLL I and synthe- skill level and some special equipment
sizer [SYN J chip. not the mixer/osc or is required to ensure a repair without
- - - - - -- - - - -- - - -/ channel 3 and 4 modu lator chips. damage.
Actually repairing the TV Opening tuner
I removed the rear cover to locate To remove both metal covers. it was
the digital tuner. and found that the necessary to unsolder the tuner from
tuner was mounted on the mother- the MB pads and dismount the tuner
board [MB] . See Photo R. I found that from the MB . which I did . Sec Photo
parts on the MB adjacent to the tuner C. I removed all metal covers so that I
were almost touching the tuner's metal could see both sides of the printed cir-
sides. Fining the replacement tuner cuit hoards with chips and compo-
onto the MB would be a tight fit. nents. All K s. diodes, Rs, and Cs were
Since troubleshooting convinced me in SM D package s.
that the tuner was really bad. I ques- It became apparent that rcsoldering
tioned how to approach this repair. A by me was too risky and beyond my
Photo R. Tht! bad tun er on the 11' local tuner rebuilder quoted $65 for an
motherboard.
skills. A far less risky approach was to
exactly rebuilt replacement. For my replace the tuner, which I decided to
budget, $65 was too much money, es- do. In my failing tuner. I found two
After studying the digi tal tuner ar- pecially since there was a remote SMD chips: MC448 17D was the PLU
ticles in 73. and the TV symptoms. I chance that the tuner was not really SYN chip. and Sharp XTM8N was
believed I could purchase suitable causing the failures. I assumed that the mixer/OSC.
digital tuners at a swapmeet. Part of any swapmeet tuner, if not usable in
the adventure of this repair was to re- my TV, was still usable fur my ham Replacin g the tuner
place my bad tuner with a tuner that projects.
was not an exact replacement tuner. In- If I removed the tuner. could I actu- Now that resoldering to repai r was
stead. the goal was to use whatever ally repair it myself? Without tuner not advisable. and a rebuilt tuner was
similar tuner I could fi nd at the documentation. the only repair pos- too costly, it was time for me to find
swapmcct but not necessarily one that sible by me was to resoldcr pan s in- another compatible replacement tuner.
was meant for this specific model side the tuner. An Internet newsgroup- From Mr. We lls' 73 art ic les, I
Sharp TV. Information from the 73 indicated that some varactor digital TV had a good idea of the signal and
digital tuner articles sugge sted that tuners did actually have troubles trace-
exa ct replacement tuners were not able to poor solde r and were repai rable Continued on page 24

" HIP
--.> .
,p . • .'. ... .

Photo C. All parts in the had tuner art! surface mount devices
(SMD). tve marked this photo to show signals/voltages on three
large pins and 5-pin heade r. Ph oto D. A f ew shapes and sius ofs·...ap mel'! digital tuners.
73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003 23
73 Repaired My TV voltages when the TV was operating, but otherwise looked like they would
continued from page 2 3 which I did measure. I found that BP = mount in the ~1 B .
5.2 volts, BM = 8.8 volts , and BT = I bou ght three tuners at $5 each for
power requirements for A NY digital
32.5 volts. my TV repa ir and some for the upcom -
tuner that woul d be co mpatible with
I now had a good ide a of what sig- ing ham proj ects. All tuners I bought
my ex isting tuner.
nals and power supply voltages would used proper PLL. en suring that they
A compatible tuner be needed by a replacement tuner. could be used in my TV. Having no
experience with swapmeet tuners. I
What are the requirements for a Finding a replacement bought three to be sure I would get one
compatible tuner? First. the replace- good o ne.
men t tuner must use the same SYNI I went to the local ham swap meet,
PLL Ie as my presen t bad tuner, M y bringing my failing tuner to help A preliminary tuner test
bad tuner used a MC44 8 17D . Next, match it to another o ne. At the
swapmeet. I found that digital tuners Usi ng one of my swapmeet tune rs. I
the replacemen t runer must use the
were be ing sold. Sec Photo D. Some did a prel iminary test. I wired one
same analog and digital sig nals and
tuners were attached to the ir MB and tuner into the !\1B with a o-lnch-long
voltages as my tuner.
ot her tuners were disconnected and in cable. Thi s cable length created a
I look ed at the co mpo nent and sig na l
bags. Some tuners in bags had sig nal much lo nger path fo r digital signals
names marked on the bottom of the
and power supply info. so me had no than when the tuner is soldered di-
MB. at the tuner location. and found
info. Had to look through piles of M Bs rectly into the MH. For this test. I did
my tuner had 10 pins carrying sig nals.
and bagged tuners, and I had to re- create a low induct ance ground con-
power, and ground which connected to
move met al co vers to de termine if an necti on from tuner to MB consisting of
pads on the MB. A replacement tuner,
MC77814D IC was used. a n-inch-long 3/8-inch- wide tinned
if it must drop into the existing MB
As I looked through many sw apmeet copper braid . See Photo E.
tuner area and pads. wou ld need to
have four mo unting feet. three large tuners on MB s. I found several tuners
First power test
diameter pins. and five signal pins on a that were very cl ose to the RE-
sma ll header, Photo C. QUI RED size. sig nals. and voltages. After applying power to the T V and
On Photo C, see: Thi s was ve ry encouraging. because I new swapmeet tuner, a good picture
1. AGC, RF input (RCA) and IF out- co uld see that their ground. AGe, IF. and clear so und resulted. As a test, I
put sig nals. and BM pins could mount in my MB selec ted VH F channel 2, a channe l that
2. 8M, BP. and varactor BT volt- pad pattern . Looki ng mo re carefu lly had previously failed. and then tuned
ages. sho wed that while pac kage sizes were to UHF channel 28 . Selected ch annel s
3. Fo ur low inductan ce ground pins. very close. the 5-pin header pattern were perfect. The replacement tuner
4. Digital sig nals: Clock Enab le and was diffe rent from tuner to tuner, and responded correctly to the remote con-
Data. none were found that fit my MB pad tro l co mmands , and the TV was work-
Howe ver, I still needed to know ex- pattern. The header co ntained three ing co rrectly. All c hannels that had
act BM, BP, BT voltages for my M BI digital signals and two voltages. pre viously failed in 10 minutes stayed
tuner. I did not find any tuner that exactly run ning for hours with no sign of old
The casiest way to settle power supply matched all the body pins and header. fa ults. I concl uded that the original
voltage questions was to measure those Tuners I bought had offset header pins tuner \-1.··aJ really had.

Photo E. First power-oil tUller test with test cable attached. Photo F. Filial rihban cable routing a/onK bottom of motherboard.
24 73 Amateur Radio roasr » September 2003
 ~~~ ~
This prove s the concept that a d igi- the tu ner was not designed to have a
tal tuner nOI intended for a Sharp TV 6-inch cable between digi tal signal
could be a usable repl acement. per- sources and the tuner signal inputs.
for ming all orig ina l fu ncti on s. IF Would the tuner operate with a 6-inch H ORSE Express
A D IVIs ion of Milestone Technologres. Inc .
THE CORRECT PLLlSYN CHIP cable to the MB?
SET WAS MATCH ED and other sig- When power was ap plied again, Everytiling for tile
na l/power supply need s were met. the TV funct ioned correctly. All
This lest result was very encouraging, functions commande d by remote
Morse Enthusiast!
and now it was time 10 permanently control unit worked as expected . The Keys. Bugs. Paddles. Keyers,
install the swapmeet tuner. tuner swap was a success. the TV Books, Kits, Tools, Software....
see med to operate OK . and se ns itiv- Free Catalog!
Mounting th e tuner in the ity was identical to that of the pre vi-
motherboard ous tuner. I have no idea what brand www.MorseX.com
I now attempted to mount the re-
TV thi s tu ner was de s ig ne d fo r, but (303) 752 -3382
placement tuner (same size as fa ulty it is operating j ust fi ne in my Sharp
tuner), onto the MB . The metal TV.
ground tab s we re too wide and re- What did I learn Irom th is proj ect?
THE BIG OK·OX
quired fi ling to narrow. N arro wed Don Johnson. W6AAQ ·s
3.5 - 30 MH z mobile antenna,
tabs did allow the tuner to be inserted I learned the follow ing: manufactured by:
into the MB pad s. I. In a TV that has a faulty digital 1-1 . Stewart Designs
Tuner ground pins in the MB pads tuner. it IS possible to use a low-cost P,O. 8 0x 643· Oregon C i l ~'. O R 971"'5
created an excellent low inductance (50 3) 65-S·33511
replacement digital tuner that is NOT
See Uorfdradio, Oct. 1994 issue.
ground. After fili ng tabs. the three an exact replacement. if the replace-
large pi ns carrying AGC. BM, and IF ment uses the same signals, voltages.
signals also inse rted into the MB and chip set. Rxceptlunal Repair St>n 'ice at St'nsihle l"ri(T!\
Non-warranty servi"" on any brand OJ
pads. However. the fi ve signals on 2. Finding an exac t size match and modd of (he r"lIow;n Iy ,of radio equi ment
the small header would not insert pad pattern is unlikely. but not a show • M1ATEUR • SHORTWAVE • LO RA N
• CO M MERCIAL • GMRS/fR S • CB
into the MB pads du e to different pad stopper. • NlARINE V H F . NN ER
1'..... e'Iti """""- t.- "'in"....'" charJes. FaoI n-n.........J
layout. 3. If the tuner must be placed at a on rqoain. .lOeb)' . - y. JO)af1' e..... i<*".
Fint-:u La kes Rtpair Stnicr
I soldered a 2-inch-Iong 5·wire location ot he r than the origina l loca-
800-173-19-1-1
ribbon cable directly to the tuner' s tion on the ~I B. then a cable wi ll he WWW.FINGERLAKESREPAIR.COM
2 VlCk.• Place U"""",y<:. NY 1447 1
small header pins and inse rted wires needed for bringing an alog, voltage .
Bli t-KC2N Ci
into the top side MB pads. The tuner and digital signals hack to the MH . A
sat on top of the folded ribbon cable good 1 0w ~ Z ground is needed be-
on top of the MB. Th is cable, when tween tuner and motherboard . Keep
folded over, raised the tuner so high
off the MB that the AGC, B ~1. and IF
these cables short .
4. Choosing the location for a re-
HONDA
tu ner pins would insert into the MB placement tuner inside a crowded TV GENERATORS
but no t pas s through the bottom may not be easy. Choose a location to What are you plugging Int.?
pad s, mak ing it imposs ible to solder avoid bringing cable ncar strong • Super quiet running - 53 • 59d BI
the tun er pins. Th is was not a work-
able arra ngeme nt. A new cable
field s. I would avoid mounting the
tuner near the flyback or deflection
(Quieter than normal speechl) (;

• Ext ra long run t ime.

(Runs up to 8 hour'ii
£".
;;. . -
__

scheme was needed . yoke part s. on .6 gallons!)

With the successful tuner replace-
New cable scheme - see Phot o F • lightweight &
ment, I am very much ready to use a portab le .
swapmeet tuner in my ham signal (Easy to carry - weighs
I create d a 6-inch ribbon cable at- less than 30 Ibs!)
generator project. I hope you are just
tache d 10 the tuner 's 5-pin head er, • Honda invertor technology.
as successful working with digital TV
routing this longer cable fro m tuner (Run sensitive electronics worry free !)
tuners as I was.
hea der along top side of the MB to • Eco-throlile BEST PRICE!
(Varies engine speed to
the rear edge 3 inches away. Then I References increase fuel effioency FR.EE
routed remai ning cable back anothe r while reducing
sound level! )
SHIPPINC
" n i l ! i ill i1'' ' W' i lllU
3 inches on the MB bonom side back I. 73 Magazine articles. Sept. 2000- CAll FOR SAU PRICES
to the tu ner's header pads, Since two March 200 1, "Digital TV Tuners," by www. Navberrvs.com/qenerators
grounds and three large pins mounted Hugh Wells. M AUlbonud Oe.1er
(i lv e usa ca ll ro llfrc e
800-696-1745 .....~'.:.!'.!:<~.~r.
directly into the motherboard. the
grou nd system was ideal. Ho wever,
2. Internel newsgro up: [science .
el ectron ics. repair]. fa - .
---_._-------
1 .11 M . ' n S ' Uor. ~ P ( 1 _ . I 1). 1''' ''' 1\l .. ~ u y .NJ

73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003 25

'" _ .~
o ,...-.~
Hugh Wells W6WTU
141118thSt.
Manhattan Beach CA 90266

The Ins and Outs

of Parts Substitution
Part 2: Specific devices.

With the diminishing availability of common semiconductors, hams are faced with substituting parts in order to
implement circuits f rom the past. Many ofthe olde r circuit designs were excellent and provided a strong technical
base f or use in ham projects of today.

o implement older circuits, we work cut out for us, FETs arc designed Some FETs are designed to function

T as hams must be ingenious in

our ability to locate and install
available replace ment semiconductors .
in six different configurations, with
most operating in a depletion mode
and with so me operating in the en-
as a switch. Wh en "turned on," the re-
sistance betwe en source and drain is
very low, or high when "off." As a re-
Part 1 of this series discu ssed the steps hancem ent mode - making up a total sult the switch device is a very poor
involved in the substitution process; of ten FET device configurations. A candidate for use in an amplifier cir-
from searching for the "specifi c" part basic FET device confi guration can he cuit. Likewise, an amplifier-type FET
to examining the circuit parameters to one of the following: J FET, single-gate would make a poor substitute for an
ena ble the selection of a suitable re- MOSFET, or a dual-gate MOS FET. FET switch. NTE docs provide a series
placement part. Specific transistor char- J FETs are depletion devices and func- of suitable replacement devices for
acteristics were obtained from available tio n in a manner similar to a vacuum FEr switches. Some enhancement FEfs
sources to create a table of device in- tube. except that the gate impedance are used in a switch function when the
forma tion in order to demonstrate how isn't quite as high as the grid of a tube. Rdo (resistance. drain-to-source) value is
dev ice parameters arc compared for Device current conduction increases low eno ugh during a hard turn-on
similarity. Knowing and matching the when the gate swings toward the drain co ndition. Another parameter of an
characteristics of both the old and new and decreases when the gate swings enhancement device to be considered
device greatly improves the likelihood toward the source . Because of the re- duri ng the selection of a replacement
of a successful device substitutio n. verse-biased gate of an Fbi. the input is the biased gate tum-on voltage.
Pan 2 continues with those tools in impedance is very high. In general, the When used in an analogllincar func-
mind and applies the process for sub- output or drain impedance is similar to tion, the bias voltage is set to place the
stituting or repl acing an FET. Because that of a j unction transistor. qu iescent drain -to-source voltage at
FETs are used in RF circuits as well as Many o lder ci rcuit designs ca lled approximately the center of the operat-
at low frequencies, the selection pro- for the use of a 2N381 9. 2N441 6, ing swing between cutoff and saturation.
cess involves a few more steps than 2N5245. etc.• junction FET. These can Shifting the bias point to accommodate
be replaced with an NTE 452 because the application may be req uired if a
those required for a junctio n transistor.
the electrical parameters closely over- direct replacement part is not available.
In addition, ICs, op amps, and special
lay. The replacement device supports Perhaps the most common appli ca-
devices will be discu ssed.
both DC and RF functions closely tion for an enhancement FET is for use
FETs matching the performance characteris- in audio. and coupled with a low R<h
tics of the replaced device. Keep in mind parameter it is capable of controlli ng
When it comes to substituting one that these FETs are interchangeable high-power circuits . The internal chip
FET for another, we really have our and will substitute for each other. structure is made very large, allowing
26 73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003
the FET to hand le a very large c urrent. by the impedan ce matching ne two rks
With a resulting large internal ga te (lumped or stripline) con nected to the Kanga US - QRI' Prod ucts
structure to support the FET control transistor. The objec tive is to create a DK9SQ Masts
feature, the gate exhibits a high capac i- desired signal current drive level into and
tan ce be tween the gate and so urce ter- the tran sistor's base circuit. As a Antennas
minal s. The capacitance value ca n be simple example . if a replacement tran-
in the 1,000 pF range. creating a reac - sistor is mounted into the cireuit loca-
KK7B - R2Pro. MiniR2. rz, UVFO
tance value that effectively e liminates tion design ed fo r a d ifferent d evice,
W7ZQI - Spect rum Analyzer & more
the power enhancement FlIT from being then the input and output impedance s
used in an RF envi ronment. may be suffici ently different. prevent-
Fig. ] show s a j unctio n FET used ing the stage to fun ct ion as de signed. kan a
in a bas ic linear a mp lifier ci rc uit. 3521 Spring Lake Dr. Findlay. OH
As anothe r e xam ple, should the substi-
Kno wing that an FET is used. the gate 45840
tute transi stor ex hibit a hig he r base
impedance can be surmised by exam-
877-767-0675 4 194423-1604
in duc tance (L). a co rrec tio n wi ll be
in ing the val ue o f the R I resistor. R I requ ired to shift the reacta nce toward
effectively establ ishes the c irc uit's in- a resistive (R) co nd itio n. The shift can
put impedance as lo ng a s the g ate j unc- be acco mplished by add ing more ca - Ad Sales
tion is reverse-biased. The circuit's paci ta nce d irectly at the tran sistor base call DODI:
o utp ut impedance will be approxi- re sulting in a reactive shift from L to- 800-677-8838
mately ha lf the va lue of R2 . The value ward R. Wh en a matc h is achiev ed. the
of R3 is selected to adj ust the gate bias ba se dri ve curre nt will be the highe st at
value fo r linear operation. Substituting the o pe rating frequ ency. Of co urse, the
one FET for another in the c ircuit collector impedance va lue w ill have to
shown req uires only the adjustment of
R2 to achieve the de sired gain and to
be "correc ted" in a similar manner to •OJ.
create an output match for max imum •
adj ust the value o f R3 to set the bias power transfer into the next c ircuit. Tn ._ • ..I
BAS-04X3 ~-
fo r the desired linear operat ing point. Recei ver front -end circuits are a $59.00--;'
Substituting a MOSFET for another in litt le more fo rg ivi ng for part substitu- DEALERS WANTlD'

an audiolli near-typc c ircuit follo ws the tion than are tran sm itter c irc uits. O ne Grea t
same logic and can be re placed using o f the very early RF FET choi ces was ' 0'
HF Whips!
the NTE guide. the MPF 102 JFhl . Being a V HF device .
it o pe ned the door for deve lopment o f THE BEST YOU CAN BUYI
RF devices You ASklld , We Responded, 5" Plastic Encased
sensi tive converter and rece ive r front Magnets. 12- Powder Coaled 3116' Alum. Plate.
ends. So me MPF 102 devices are still Deta ch able Cable . See More De tails on we b page.
Both RF transistors and RF FET s 3:b471-4fiJ7 _ 2B I-kn Sf'h>
become the most difficult to substitute ava ilable from surplus so urces. If de-
because of the numerous circuit pa - sired. an M PF 102 may be replaced
ra mete rs that are d irec tly dependent wi th an NTE 451 device.
upo n a specific de vice wh en used in an To d emon strate the su bstitutio n
RF env ironmen t. T he most difficult process for a MOSFET, let' s use the
de vices to substit ute are RF power c irc uit sho wn in '<ig. 23 as an ex-
transisto rs used in transmitter circuits. a mple . Take note that the si ngle-gate v ..
+
As a result. to conside r substituting depletion MO SFET (may also be a
o ne device for anot he r in an RF power GaAsFET) is used in a receiver's RF
circuit, o ne must be prepared to stag e . After doing o ur extensive search "
change the circuit design parameters to for a re placement. we 've determined
ouT~uT'
accommodate the "new" device. In that o nly a dual-gate G aAsFET is
general. the RF active board ci rcuit available. The spec paramet ers of the ..t 'U T ---r--'~::' ,
0

traces. called striplines, arc adjusted in dua l-gate GaAsFET may surpass those
length to be resonant at a g iven fre-
quency and become the " impedance
of the older si ngle-gate PET, so that
the substitutio n CQuid be for the be tte r, "
transfo rmer" for a specified transistor. So o ur only recourse to "sa ve" the re-
Below 50 MHz, lumped induct ors ceiver is to re place the single-gate FET
Fig. J. A simple depletion lFET as used in
and capac itors are used in hath the in- wi th the d ual -gate GaAsFET, and that a low f requency amplifier circuit, The in-
put and output ma tching networks. The mean s some mechanical and electrical put impedance is approximately equal to
input and output impedances of the tran- desig n c ha nges would be req ui red in the value ofresistor RI. The output imped-
sistor are kno wn during the board's ance is approximately equal to one-halfof
de sig n phase and are acco mmodated Con tinued 011 page 28 the R2 value.
T3 Amateur Radio Today · Septembe r 2003 27
 (7) Plan where the additional bias
resistors will be placed whe n the
GaAsFET is installed.
.. ·, .. In step 5, the major difference s to be
accommodated are the source pins of
•
,- the flat-pack single-gate device. Both
A B
source pins are internally connected in
OriJinal singlc-pte (itA, FET RF amplifier cireuil Rf amplifiel" cimIit IDOdified to aocepc • dual-pte para llel to balance the I/O reactances.
au..rsr, and are connected extern ally to
•• " gro und, " or thro ugh a bias network to
.,.-a.....
y-- ground. The footprint of the dual-gate
FET e xhib its only one so urce lead
connected to "ground:' The opposite
lead from the source is the second gate
(G2). To accommodate the device sub -
stitution proce ss, one "ground" pad for
..._-==--_....J ..._=---' the single-gate de vice must be isolated
fro m ground. or the bias network, to
accommodate the G2 gate of the dual-
C o gate FET. With the pad isolated, the
Typieal PC board trice pattenl (or the singJc.pte PC board pattern modified 10 accept tbe duIl-pte
FEr Jhown in "B". If the board is double sided. nece ssary resistor(s) and ca paci tor
cireui.t shown in "A",
the trIce area aroWJd the 02 terminal must be relieved, may be attached to the pad to support
if neceswy, to prevent the 02 pin &om shorting 10 ground
the second gate.
Fig. Z. Steps involved in co nverting an RF amplifier circuit and PC boardfrom a single- le s
gate GaA sFET to accommoda te dual-gate GaAsFET: (a ' Original single -galt' GaA sFET
RF amplifier circuit. (b) RF amplifier circuit modified to accept a dual-gate GaA sFET. Substituting lC"s is anothe r story.
(c ) Typical PC board trace pauem for the single-gate circuit shown in (a) . (d) PC hoard IC 's, better known as "integrated cir-
pa uern modified to accept the dua l-gate FET sho wn in (b). If the board is doub le-sided, CUilS," are complex ci rcuits made up of
the trace area around the G2 terminal mllst he relieved, if necessa ry, to prevent the G2 a great num ber of semicond uctors in-
pin fmm shorting to ground.
tegrated onto a silicon c hip with the
whole to perform a designated func-
The Ins and Outs When it becomes necessary to tion. Because of the unique function of
of Parts Substitution modify the original ci rcu it to replace a each spec ific circuit, the opportunity
con tinued from page 2 7 single-ga te FET with a d ual-gate FET, of find ing " another" Ie that will func-
as shown in Fig. 2. the fo llowing ste ps tio n in a like manne r is unl ikel y.
the receiver for it to accept the are suggested: Howe ve r. the possibil ities that exist
GaAsFET installation. ( I) Draw out a near to-scale picture are some basic functio nal para llels be-
Available GaAsFETs that will per- of the curre nt FET installation and the tween the early RTL, OTL. and select
form well in a receiver fro nt end are a surrounding resistors, capacitors. and few of the later TIL and CMOS IC"s.
3SK l 2 1 and a 3SK 174. Both are dual- inductors (F ig. 2c ). With the tec hnologica l differences be-
gate devices with an upper frequency (2) Draw o ut the electrical sche matic twee n the m. some supporting externa l
cu toff of 2,000 MHz. Some caution for the ex isting FET ci rcuit (Fig" 2a ). circ uit design considerations must be
must be taken when using a GaAsFET (3) Draw out the schematic for the made for an application to function.
ca pable of 2.000 MHz in a low fre- GaAsFET circuit so as to "fit" or over- When one considers the advancement
quency circuit. Because of the wide lay the single-gate circuit with the in the TIL and CMOS serie s of IC's,
bandwidth capability, long leads within dual-gate circuit (Fig. 2b). there seems to be little need to imple-
a low frequency circuit could easily (4) Lay the GaAsFETonto the draw- meru an old RTL o r DTL circ uit ut i-
support sufficient feed back for the ing (# 1 above ) so that it overlays the lizing the later technology since the later
GaAsFET to oscillate. W he n the single-gate FET foot print. Kee p track technology has so much more func-
choice is available. it is better to more of the to p and bottom side of both the tional capability - including reliability.
closely match the frequency response FET and the circuit board. There are some possible substitutes
of the substitute device with that of the (5) Make note of the mech anica l between the 74XX and 4XXX series
application. NTE provides two d ual- mounting differences between the two of logic ICs should the " need" arise. If
gate MOSFETs suitable for most ge n- FETs. implementin g a logic ci rcuit from
eral circuit applications - they are an (6) Plan the circuit board mechan ica l scra tch, it is perhaps a better choice to
NTE 454 (200 MHz), and an NTE 455 c hanges req uired to accommodate the choose one single family of ICs rather
(900 MHz). GaAsFET (Fig. 2d). than to mix fam ilies, even though both
28 73 Amateur Radio Today · Septembe r 2003
may fu nctio n well with a supp ly volt- The transistor, being more of a unive r-
age of 5 Vnc. Because o f the lo gic sa l dev ice , h ad a w ider appl icatio n
th resh old voltage d ifference s between ca pab ility, and as a result, the tunnel Ws maks a nsw HamCa/i eVflry
month! Clearly, the most
TIL and CMOS, tho ug h slight, the d iode fell by the wayside. Ho we ver. current and complete
overall log ic function mi ght occasion- many older circuits still exist th at call CD-ROM ava /lable.
ally glitch when o perati ng at clock for a tunnel diode. The Heathkit Tunnel Latest Features
CIlOO$e tont and <»10<' 01 clala ~y
speed. Howe ver, lo w s peed and step Dip per comes to mind , and because D1sp/ays IIa g and"", p!of each CO""lry.
Shows CO. ITU lone. and continent
fun ctions are genera lly ac co mmodated th e tunnel d iode is a tw o-lead de vice , H,story list shows each eallsign enl ered.
Pr." labels;" a v. nely of Iofmats,
pro perly eve n though the fa milies are there is no d irect substitute for it. V_" SIIa<ch ;nleroslS o!39,000 hams ,
$url;h lor club. militlry, vanity. denl ~")'S.
mixed. Should it be necessary to repair the name. addr&q. andmore.
dipper' s function. it's possible that the 0 - 1.631.OOO U.5.and Inlfo<n;lbOnal llSf~ 128.000
Operational amplifiers
circuit can be co nverted to acco mmodate e-m. lltdc*"eSSEls• • •OOO photos andQSL cards. 31.000
vanrtyca lls , an d 20.000 references to 0 5L manll~ efl .
Op amps. unlike dig ital ICs, are a a transistor.
Shows path d.stanut" bearing.
liule easier to substitute. Op amps differ Another device that is no w consid- P'ec,se lIItitLJ<l&'lon9'lude lOf OVIIr 9O"llo 01 addfesses.
H amC• • is $50 00 . incl uded is 6 monlhs hee access 10
in their performance characteristics, e red as obsolete is the un ij unction ou r H ....Ca mlnlernel SMvQl · ' eq uest ""'-n ordllrir19

b ut the basic analog ampl ifier function transistor. The uni was a very popular
of each will adap t to a grea t many ap- dev ice used in o sc illato rs and timing
pli cati ons. An obso lete or hard -to-fi nd circuits , and for the making o f
op amp ind icated in a sc hematic can sa wtooth generators. E ven though the
usu ally be re placed by a later part. The fa m iliar un ij un ctio n de vice is scarce
external b iasi ng and feedback net- these days, many of the c irc uits calling
works are fa irly consta nt for mo st o p for the device can be modified slig htl y
a nd made fu nctional using a PUT. A K-Y Filler Co.
amp ci rcuits. provi d ing for a routin e
PUT is a program mable unij unction 3010 Grinner PI.
substi tu tio n p rocess a s lo ng a s th e
transistor that w ill perform a ll o f the Davis, CA 95616
mech anica l footpri nt d iffere nces are Telephone (530) 757-6873 ..._ _
accommodated. sa me functions as the o rig ina l uni. but Modem/ T ~ RA Flners

O ne of the early op amps is the with the addition of a bias voltage K-Y Filters are truly superiorl
Plea. . viait ua al:
LM74 1. Though old in design , it is ne twork that' s used to es tabli sh the http://www.ky-filters.com/am.htm
still a suita ble bu ild ing block for a lot " fi ring" point.
o f usa ble circuits . A dual vers io n o f the Beca use o f th e wide varie ty of spe-
LM74 1 is the LMl458 with all of the cia lty semiconductor dev ices, it' s llam·M or-Tail Twister
variants that followed . including the d iffi cult to prov ide a general "fix." for Own one of these great rotors?
Bring tt up to date \oVlth
4558 t hat was c alled a p reci sion op the subs tit ution process. At best, I'd
amp. The early versions of o p amps suggest that the ci rcu it/applic atio n he lJotor- ~
suffered greatly fro m "noise" that could examined to determine the requirements Add CPU ....... ' ..n ent to ~
_'bOll bolf
be heard as a hiss w hen the d evice was bei ng imposed o n th e device. Once wltft tNa _,-41 In '1al kit

used in aud io syste ms. Later versions tho se req uire me nts are understood, . · ,.... t _ ~ It'" _

.«0 ; , ti _ _ . _. _
. _r.. _
. _ ..
_ .....
_

incorpo rated JFET inp ut ci rcuits both perhaps a replacement de vice can be .v_ _ ...... otop~ ' IIS-tn _ ...-.
~ 15232 SeMI Int erface ceos for Y"IISU rotor> SOX
to reduce the inte rnally genera ted ide ntified along with any circui t (m.qs) <Yld DXA ($149.95). FUIy assemb\e<j; fits inside
noi se and to ra ise the input impedance . cha nges th at mi g h t be req ui red to Yaesu contrd 00x

Because of the large man ufacturi ng support the re pl acement device . Idiom Press
P.O. Box 1025, Geyserville , CA 95'f1l1
volume o f the more common op amps, <www.id io mp res5.co m >
Concl usion
parts co nti nue to remain availabl e for
ham applications. Sho uld the need Over the years. many circu it designs
arise, NTE p rovides a variety o f op
amps that will replace many of the
have been developed ( 0 support radio HYBRID·QUAD ANTENNA
~ ------
and electronic circu its, with a great
o lder part numbers . many being applicable to ham radio .
MINI "'t-_
Special purpose devices A s the years h ave passed , the active HFBEAM
cl eme nt s (tub es and se m iconducto rs) MQ·24SR Four·Band Antenna•• $309.95 us
O ver the years, a great number of used in ra d io and el ectron ic c ircuits 6.10.1 5,20 Matas .oceoseo 8adwIdth
MQ.26SR Slx· Ban d Antenna••.$399.95 US
specialty parts h ave been developed have evo lved . yet very li ttle in the 6. 10. 12 . 15. 1 7.20 MetEll$
and then abandoned . One that comes basic c ircuit design has changed. StiI:Jpi Q et....""'" exlI'O ~

to mind is the tu nne l d iode . W hen it Howe ve r, the active element (sem ico n-
was fi rst developed, applications fl our- ductor) has been im proved, allowing 1 21 Devon St. S t ra tfo rd ,
ished because it was so re volutionary, the older circ uit designs to perform O N C a na d o N5A 2 Z 8
Tel . & F ax (519) 271 , 5 9 2 6
but being a two-lead de vice, the total with re newed vigor. '........N3.sympatCo.CQItgnC
number of applicat ions was limited. As we review many of the old circuits,
73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003 29
we occasionally find o ne of interest From my o bservation. the person Science Electronics. [www.repairfaq.
and desire to implement it into a who gai ns the most from the substitu- orgIR EPAIRIF_ObsoUC. htm l].
project. But to implement the c ircui t tion process is the person who learns Transistors. [http://members.tripod.
we ha ve to upgrade the ac tive element how to work th eir way thro ugh the comIMalzevIco mpltransist.htm].
to o ne that 's available. and that's process maze. 73!
wh ere we typically run in to a problem. Manufacturer data
How do we identify a modem device Reference and search information
Fairchild. [http://e-w ww.mo torola.
to replace the o ld device shown in the
(note : This is only a rep rese ntative/ com] .
schematic of our desired project -
sa mple listing.) Mitsubishi, [www.rnitsubishi-chip s.
particularl y when our parts supply is
co In I da t al d a t as h e e t s l h f - 0 P ti cI
shrin king. The " fun" begins w ith a
Books vhfdi screte .htm].
j ourney through a search process lead -
Mot orol a, [http://e-ww w.mo torola.
ing us through cata logs, reading speci - Cordura Co.
com].
fication sheets. doing Internet D .A.T.A. Refere nce Standards National Semiconductor, [w ww.
searches. and doing design o verlays to 9889 Willow C reek Rd .
nationa1.comldesignli ndex.html}.
identify parallels betwee n o ld and new PO Box 26875 Texas Instruments. [www.tLcomlsc/
parts. In some cases. it becomes neces- San Diego. CA 92 126 docsleedesign .htm].
sary to make minor circuit and circui t 6 19-578-7600
board design changes to accommodate Obsolete parts
the new ly selected replacement part. C a talogs
- [http .z/www.aeri.com ]
Allied Electronics, 1-800.433-5700. Circuit So lutio ns. [http://ww w.
Di gi -Key, 1-800-344-4539. [www. cirsol utio ns.com/head.hr m]
digikey.com] .
LOWPROALEHFANTENNAS Excess Electronics. (http://www.

,.
ctSOTRON ~
..
NORac1als' NOIdotors · MORE ANTENNA tllanjust aCoi &Wh- Hosfelt Electronics. 1-800-524-6464.
Jameco. )-800-83 1-4242. [www.
excesstrade.corn/]
lhl Electronics, [http://v.ww.ihielec-
aim BILAL COMPANY
Cal fef I Free Catalog
~
jameco.co m}.
Mouser Electronics. [www.m ouser.
troni cs .com]
Obso lete Semiconductors. [http://
Trill 719-68700650 llil.ll com] . www.adsemi .com/]
" ,rnu 137 Manchester Dr. "t~ Zl, lUll Newark Electronics. [www.ne wark. Rocheste r Electronics, [http://www.
Slm Florissant, CO 51 !1C_es IJnI com]. rocelec.corn/]
mO l 00816 3211t_eS IcrDlS
www.isolronanlennas.com Radio Shack. [www.radioshack.com] Star Electronics, [h up:/lww w.4star-
electronic s.coml]
Internet forums
Parts suppliers
ELECTRIC rhttp :/ /1 i s t se rv.1 eh ig h .e d ull is t sl
_.- RADIO
MAGAZINE
Tho _ _ -.hi' ""lII"Zint lIlII tw<;JI "",. .
qrp-II], group information .
[[email protected] ]. post messages
l-Source Electronics. [www. 1source-
components .com].
tJ.-
rN"" ....-. Rallo. rwio~""
to QRP-L. All Electronics Corp.• PO Box 567.
Nt
fit PO eo. z.u,
BaiIty CO 1M21-G42
72G-ll:24-0111 or ......;.:
ER@OfficeOnW. b .net
1r
s..lSl-«1tr ..... . 1O:
,
[g q r p - s u b sc ri be @ y ah oo group s .
co m]. GQRP me ssage group.
Van Nuys CA 91408; 1-800-826-5432;
[allcorp @al lcorp.com ],
WWW.ERMAG.COM [www.gqrp.com], GQRP Inte rnet B&D Enterprises. [www.bdent.com].
conference. Circuit Solutions. [www.cirsolutions.
[ h tl p:llg rou ps .ya hoo. c o m/g ro u pI com].
Budd ipol e/]. Dan's S mall Parts, [www.danss m all-
How much energy does if use?
[http ://www.hfpack .com]. gro up/in- partsandkits.net].
Kill A Watt formati on . Electronix On-line, [www.electronix.
Electricity Usage Meter com/catalog].
[hfp ack @yaho og ro ups.co m ]. post
Large lCO displays: kWh Mitsubishi. [www.mitsubishi-ch ips.
mes sage s .
(cumutauve oyer t ime).
com /da I aI d a t a s he e t sl h f - o p t i cl
Watts, VA, Volts, current.
Frequency, Power Factor, Internet parts searches vhCdi screte .htm l.
TIme' NTE, [w ww.nteinc.com] .
$35.00 Appleton Electronics. [wwwappleroneg . Radio Shack. [www.radioshack.com].
• $5JlO b" S&H
com] . RF Parts, San Marcus CA , [www,
~L06ICS OUp documents, [www.chipdocs.com]. rfparts.com] .
Call Toll Free: 1.866.S0LAR EV (765-2738) NTE. [www.meinc.com ]. Sanyo Semiconductors. [www.semic.

•
e-mail: Info Onoemlsslons.com
E~.
30 73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003
PartMiner, [www.frcetradezo ne.com].
Q uestlink, [www.q uestlink.com].
sanyo.co.j p/index_e .htm].
Westgate. 1-800-21 3-4563. Fa
Charles D. Rakes KI5AZ
P.O. Box 445
Bentonville AR 72712

Simple Test Circuits

Here are some fun lillie projects from a veteran Poptronics contributor.

Ham radio is one of the most versatile hobbies we could ha ve. ba r none. Think of it. what other hobby offers so
many avenues to f ollow? There are so many ways to transmit and receive information. with numerous modes and
modulation types including voice, video, and digital.

owever, one very important Us ually the power supplies outl ast voltage most ofte n will measure

H fact stands o ut: From the very

beginning. the fi rst experi-
menter built his own rransminer; receiver.
thei r appliances and e nd up in closets.
drawers, and our treasured j unk box .
Two of the most useful types of wall-
higher than the labeled voltage, The la-
beled voltage usually refers to the o ut-
put under load or after being regulated
antenna, and anything else needed to wart s are the ones with built-i n fu ll- by the appliance.
complete a worki ng radio station. Today. wave rectifiers. Fig. I A shows a J have yet to fi nd a wa ll-wan with an
wi th the comp lex ities involved in al- full -wave bridge rectifi e r c ircuit. and onhoard reg ulator. Fi~. l C shows a
most e ve ry rig manufactured . what Fig. I B shows a ce ntertapped tra ns- simple Ie regu lator that ca n be con-
can a ham do? former fu ll -wave rectifier c ircui t. nected to the output of most wall sup-
Building can still be one of the most Generally. the DC o utput voltage and plies. The wall-wart's actual supply
enjoyable ac tivities of being a ham ra- current ratin gs are listed on the trans-
dio operato r. Of course, most of us are former; however, the actual o utp ut Continued on page 32
not capable of designing and building
a complex transcei ver, but most o f us
can build very use ful accessories that .J:VRfe r- •A .,
Pl.()6 ·,"-'
can add to the e njoyment of our hobby 7"R.A ...s ~ & ~
T'
and save som e bucks at the same tim e.
No matter what we end up building. Iwa ~ D'
•
"' .-
r- ,. .,
it usually requires some type of elcctri- C
cal power, The two co mmon c hoices + D~ r ",z
C, o urpv r
are batteries and AC-operatcd supplies. + ,~ M
7 r XX ~

If operated in the fie ld , away from - I ~~6.o ..r-

AC powe r. the choice is batteries ;
AC is the practical choice for in .... .
_ h r - P.. .. fl ~
..-
.,
~B "
.- -t
0<
c, .~ . Tel. .1 "l
~ -

-
shac k ope ration.
Direct plug- in power supplies are
found in great num bers powering ev-
'"
VA C O ~T
l ,; +
'"
erything from shavers. wireless phones. n '" c, ~-
Dc
ovrvc-r:
radios. and many other devices. which
may have a useful after life in powering -
our ha m projects. Fig. I. Bas ic wall-wart circuits mid add-on lC regulator.
73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003 31
 Beautifull y hand-polished.
Stamped brass c ase a nd
bezel.
Curved glass crystal.
Wall or bulkhead mounting. ,

Made so well th ey last from 1J7

generation to generation! """ ..., ~

Order this month and save r-r.... ~

$20!
Chelsea Clock Your price 575
Clockmakers since 1897
Omega Sales
The ch oice of The Coast Fig. 2. AC'powered diode tester.
Guard Foundation. P.O. Box 376
Quartz Clock Jaffrey NH 03452
Simple Test Circuits
4-Dial 1·800-467·7237 contlnuedJrom page 3 1
voltage must be several volts higher than the regulator's
output (minimum of 3 volts differential).
If you're a No-Code Tech, and yo u're having fun Most wall-warts output a caw DC voltage, relying on the
operating, tell us about it! Other No-Code Teehs will appl iance to supply the filte r/storage capacitor. A majority
enjoy reading about your adventures in ham radio- of the wall-wart supplies that I' ve fou nd are rated below
and we'll pay you for you r articles. Yes, lots of nice I amp in output. with most in the 100 to 500 milliamp
clear photos, please. Call Joyce Sawtelle at 800-274- ra nge . Adding at least 1000 IJF to the raw DC output before
7373 to get a copy of "How to Write for 73 Magazine." connecting to the reg ulator Ie is a good starting place. As
the ou tput current demand goes up. so does the need for
add itional capaci tance .
Diode s. diode s. and more diodes fill my junk box - and
so ma ny without credentials. Since we use so many diodes
in our circ uits. it's always a problem to sort the good from
the bad ones; however. that no longer needs to be the case.
Our next three diode testing circui ts will do that job just
fine.

••

.,1

. >'

e:
~ ;. ),

K '. ):

H ;," 7
p

Fig. J. Battery-powered diode lester.

32 T3 Amateur Radio Today . September 2003
 S' termi nal "A", and emitter-follower circuit supplying a re-
f ,+ q the cathode to sistance bridge circ uit w ith a variable
•
te rmin al " B". If voltage source. Two matched 1/4 watt,
LED-2 lights, the 5% 1k resistors make up one-half of a
Q'
2N '!o'l04- diode's cathode is basic resistor bridge circuit, and the d i-
'3 connected to test odes under test make up the other half.
-, 25~
termi nal " A" and When R l = R2 and Dl = D2, the
its anode to ter- vo ltage at the DVM will be zero, indi-
, i,- eat ing a perfect balance , or match. Any
- minal " 8 ". If both
voltage reading indicates a mismatch
LEOs light, the
diode IS shorted,
Con tinued o n p age 53
and if neither
uc R< « ", lights. the diode
IS open. Parts l ist for Fig. 1
I I
.j.. D VM - A battery-oper- Direct plug·in power supplies

- - - ated version of
,, •- A' c' •
• the diode tester is
76XX·type vo~ge regulator suitable for
wall-wart used
D" D2
¥-
'B l
t', . . -,
f- " shown in Fig. 3 .
The AC supply is
Parts list for Fig. 2

-- - replaced by a rr 12 VAC wall-wart fransformer w ilh

outp ut of at least 50 rnA
single gate astable LED- 1. LED-2 LED, any color
Fig. 4. Matching diode test ci rcuit.
osci llator c irc uit,
Test terminals
which supplies a
The first diode testing circ uit - see sq uare wave A C vo ltage for the test Parts list for FIg. 3

Fig. 2 - will help to determine the circuit. c, 0.1 \.IF disc ceramic

di ode 's anode and cathode leads and A good diode with its anod e co n- c, 0.22 \.IF disc ceramic
whether the d iod e is open or shorted. A ne cted to te st terminal " A" a nd its
to 4093 Quad 2-input NAN D SChmill lrigger
low-current 6 to 12 vo lt transformer, a ca thod e to te rminal " 8 " will light
resisto r, and two LEOs are all that are L ED -I . LED -2 lig hts w he n the c ath- 220k 1/4 W 5%

neede d for this simple d iode te sting ode of the d iode under test is con-
"'
R.2 . R3 lk 1/4 W 5%
circuit. Here 's a good place to use that nectcd to the "A" terminal and the sr SPST power switch
wa ll-wart that does not have built-in anode to the "8" termi nal. This tester
at 9 V lransiSlor batte ry or power supply
diode s and is an AC-only o utput de- w ill also light both LEOs wh en a
vice. The tw o LEOs are connected in shorted di od e is tested. Parts li st for FIg. 4
parallel in opposing polarity and are in Often a circ uit w ill require a pai r of 2N3904 NPN Iransistor, or similar
D'
series with the diode test terminals. matched diodes with the same forward
R 1. R2 Malched 1k 1/4 W 5%
Co nnecting an unmarked d iode to resi stance and voltage drop. The cir-
the test terminals will produce one of cuit in Fig. 4, along with a d igital vo lt- aa 25 k pot

the followi ng re sults. If LED- l lights, me ter, will do the trick. Q l , a 2N3904 st SPST power swi1Ch

the diode 's an ode is connected to test NPN transisto r, IS co nnected In an

0' " Digital voitme1er

TeS1 fixture

r •
S"
>-t-,\ V
Parts li st for Fig. 5

C, 0.22 ~ disc ceramic

"lcZ-
- -
1-(: 0-
~
z,
R E:O
ca
LED-1
0 .1 \.IF d isc ceramic

LED, red

, "I-
k " (~ LED·2 LED. gree n
I
• 'y/~A'
'D" <: I- <2 ,e 4093 Quad z-mput NAN D Schmitt frigger
+0'1'38
., 1'4 P J-t
t.EO-~
Z ,""C .
7 R' 220k 1/4 W 5%

R' 1kl/4W 5%
GnEi6 N R~
:..'0
e/
-
22 0 1'<;
e
, 0<><
'3 R3 l OOk 1/4 W 5%

5
• ,0 sr SPST powe r swi1ch

'·'1- RI
'-

•
•
k " ..
•• 'c '
•
a
rs sr:
TE.<.1Yl1 0,1 A t.. 5
sa Normally closed push-button swifch

-
Fig. 5. NPNIPNP transistor checker.
" TeSI terminals

Table 1. Parts lists for the various fig ures.

73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003 33
 Elliott S. Kanter W4PGI

73 Review 1213 Pinehurst Circle SE

Smyrna GA 30080-4320
[[email protected]

Test Time for the 8G-2020

Transceiver
"lf operating were any more fun . it would be illegal! "

III many Asian cultures, turning 60 is cause for celebration. Not so at ou r home in Smyrna, Georgia. My 60th
birthday (August 2002) j.1/{lS met with cries of "You're older than dirt, " but on the other hand, it was accompanied
by the sort a/birthday gift only a ham could enjoy - my very own SG-2020 transceiver.

hile there is no shortage of (audio dig ital signal processing op- for reception of signals in the 400 to
small to tiny tra nsce ivers tion), and the balance of this review 1600 kHz bands, assuming that you
available to the ham mar- wi ll explore the transceiver and its would ever wan t to dedicate a tran s-
keto the SG-2020 is described by the o peratio n, with the latest (April 2(03) ceiver to a fu nction more ap tly served
man ufacturer. SGC Inc., as a "tactical enhancement of an updated ADSP by a less-than-Stu radio. For those in-
transceiver," and a quick glance at the option that was retro fitt ed to my te rested in and lice nsed to operate as
unit makes you wonder if it would be transcei ve r. I'll also he sharing my a MARS statio n, "unlocking" the
as at home in a Bradley Fighting Ve- experiences (sec side bar) with the transce iver to permit operation at other
hicle or Mai n Battle Tank as it would original ADSP-equipped transceiver. than those frequencies assigned to the
be on the ham shack desk. Briefly, the SG-2020 is a 20 watt Amateur Radio Se rvice req uires only
Scarcely more than a handful, the (adj ustable) SSB/CW tra nsceiver ca- the re moval of three screws and the
2020 packs a large numher of features pable of operati ng on the ham bands usc of the thumb and forefinger to re-
into a very small package (2.75" H x from 160 to 10 meters . While you can move a Berg jumper from the circuit
6" W x 7" L) we ighi ng in at approxi- receive AM broadcasts by using either board - a pleasant surprise when
mately 4.4 pounds. The specific varia- the upper or lower sidebands, you compared to the multistep techniques
tion I recei ved incl uded the ADS P have to bypass the broadcast filter req uired by most of today's amateur
transceivers. In fact, the modification
nearly takes longer to read than it docs
to pe rform.

W ha t your ha m dollar gets you

For less than $800, you get a low-

power, fully fu nctional transceiver
capable of operating on the ham bands
in CW/SSB modes an d fully capable
of operation in the digital modes. It's
not strictly a QR P transceiver, but
rathe r, I would charac terize it (based
on my experiences) as a low-power,
full-fea tured transceiver tha t can be
Photo A. SG-2020 transceiver. used as a QRP rig, or for that matter a
34 73 Amateur RadIo toasy » September 2003
 Pin Function • PAD (Paddle). a 3.5 mm ste reo The front panel controls and
, Mic 8udlO
jack to permi t co nnectio n of a user- indica to rs
supplied key er pa dd le to the internal
a PTT
I iambic mode B electronic keyer vari- For the most part. the fro nt pa nel
3 OPTl (not lISOd) able in l -word-per-mi nute increments co ntrols are intuitive. The prerequisite
from 5 WPM to 45 W PM and 5-word AF and RF G ain controls are prese nt.
• 0PT2 (not used)
the Po wer on/off and a large easy-to-
inc reme nt s from 45 WP~1 through
5 we use tuning knob are j ust about where
I , Phone (Rx audoo)
60 WPM . Pre ssing and holding the
SPEED button o n the front panel and you' d ex pect them to be in a we ll-de-
i r "" ...... turn ing the main tuni ng kno b adjusts signed transceiver; Push-button switches
are used fo r functions such as Po wer•
the speed and display s the speed on the
• G<oooO
LCD meter. The wiri ng configuration Light (internal backlight on/off),
Table 1. Microphone pinou ts (viewed from Speed (for CW keyer). XVCE. RIT.
is shown in Table 2.
front of radio ).
• KEY (Key). a 3.5 mm mo no pho ne NB. and SPLIT. all the same types of
j ack pro vided to interface with a C W controls we arc used to on any trans-
low-power. high-performance trans- hand key. The key will see +5 volts at ceiver. Ho we ver. there are a few
ceiver as at home in the shack as it is a• few mi llia mpere s. The SG-2020 is unique push-button switc hes that per-
mobile in the car. In fact . its small size set up for full break-in operation and fonn special ized Functions either alo ne
and reasonable power requirements transmits when the key is closed. o r or in conjunction with other controls.
( 12- 18 VDC at 5Amax imum) make it when in the CW mode and the mic ro- Let's ex plore their function and use:
ideal for portable o pe ratio n as well as phone P1T is depressed. A side ronc of • PBT (passband Tuning). Pressing
fixed station/mobile usc. We made up 650 Hz is present. this button activates the passband tun-
a fused cigarette lighte r ada pter a nd • A ntenna (rear pa ne l). Altho ug h ing. and using the ma in tun ing knob
have made man y QSOs from nur I de ntified in the manual as a n SO-239 while pressi ng the PBT will c hange
car(s) using anywhere from 5 watts to connector. the antenna connecto r is the passband offset a s de sired. The
full power and have yet to run the bat- made up o f a coaxial "doggle" pro vid- adj us tme nt rate is fro m - 1000 Hz to
tery down to the poi nt (a nd we ha ve I ng an in-l ine SO-2 39 whose o the r +300 liz in loo-Hz ste ps and will he
been known to be lo ng-winded) where e nd is connected intern ally to the displayed on the LCD. No te: Accurate
the car would no t sta rt. t ran sce iver through an appropriate calibration is not supported in passband
By co mparison 10 most of the ama- S train re lief de vice. Th e tr ans mi tter tuning.
e x pects a 50 o hm mat ched load at the • FAST (Fast). Pre ssing the FAST
te ur transce iverso the front panel I S
o perating freque ncy. hutt on while using the main tuning
Spartan . The co ntro ls are easy to reach
• DC Power (rear panel) . Agai n in- knob will set the tuning rate to o ne of
and intu itive in ope ration and the large
e o rrectly identified in the manual as a four different values: 0,1 kHz; 0,5 kl lz;
tuning knob makes frequency chang-
3 -pin in-line screw termi nal. the DC I kHz, or 10 kHz. The normal tuning
ing rel ati ve ly easy. On power-up. the
powe r co nnector consists of a le ngth rate is 0. 1 kH z. This feature will en -
easy-to-read di splay informs you of
0 f 2-conducto r (redlblack) stranded able yo u to QSY rap idly (more abo ut
the input voltage and the revr sto n
wire, ov erco vered in hea vy insulat ion th is later).
number of the transcei ver. and the n
a nd te rminated in two (polarized ) • MEM (Memory). In place of the
shifts to display ing the c urre nt or last-
q uick connect (S ta-con) terminals. The usual bandswitching arrange ment. the
used freq uency. The S-pin microphone
0 ther end of the power cable is co n- SG -2020 has 20 user-accessible memo-
co nnecto r on the fro nt panel can be
nected internally to the transce iver ries. From the fac tory. the SG-2020
used for direct digital interface
t hrough a n appropriate strain re lief co mes with the memories preset to a
(PSK3 1. RTTY. etc.) and is compa tible
d ev ice . Mating connectors (o ne mal e. few frequen cies in eac h amateu r band
with the pinouts fo r Ken wood . The
0 ne female ) are supplied with the for user convenience. However. these
pino ut de signations a rc sho w n here preset memories can be changed by
transceiver for interface 10 the user-
in Ta ble I to facilita te fabricating a (he user at any time. While not num-
supplied power source. Su ggested
suitable soundcard interface. bered (as such). these memori es can
wi re gauge for power co nnectio ns
The arc five o ther user-accessible penni. you to store freq uently used
( mobile install atio ns) is AWG #1 2
connectors. Two are on the front panel, frequencie s for nels. special applica-
stranded .
the remaining three are on the rear tio ns. etc. Table 3 sho ws the factory
• External Speaker (rear pane l). The
panel. The se include: presets as shipped:
e xternal spea ker/ea rp ho ne connec tor
I S a 3.5 mm ste reo j ack. An e xternal Each memory retains the follow ing
..... G....... S peaker o r Walkman-typc stereo head-
p hone s ma y be connec ted via this
parameters: Receive frequency. Trans-
mit freq uency, Mode. XC VFJR IT/
I '''' """ J ack. W he n this connecti o n is used . SPLIT. Band width setti ng. and Trans-
I r. o« the internal speaker is a utomat ically mit o utput. Memories can be returned
Table 2. Stereo jack pinouts. d isco nnected . to the factory de faults by pressing the
73 Amateur Radio Today . september 2003 35
 Memory Frequenc y (kHz) MEM button whi le turning the power FAST+MEM . To return to the fre-
, ON. New memories are stored by first quency display, press MEM. Acc urate
"'" tuning the frequency, setting the mode calibration is NOT supported.
a
a
"'" and other parameters, and then press- • MEM SCA N (CMD+PBT).
'700 ing and holding the FAST button and Pre ssing and holding C MD and PBT
, asoo pressing the MEM button. T his will simultaneous ly but momentarily will
s overwrite whatever information is initiate a scan of the 20 memories. To
e
"""
7140
stored in that particular memory loca- stop the scan, press any button or
tion with the new information. You go transmit. The scan variables (Dwell,
7 7239
from memory location to memory l o ~ Pause, Detection Th reshold, Audio
e 10 105 cation by pressing the MEM button Blanking Time and Frequency Steps)
9 10 125 and turning the main tuning knob to are adjustable via C MD+ REY.
the desired frequency. A simple chart • ADSP2 NOISE CANC ELLATIO N
ro 14050
showing tho se frequencie s you have (CMD+SPLIT): The latest variation of
"ta 14 150

uaoo
set up will be helpful - remember, the ADSP is activated by a combination of
channel numbers are not assigned , and the CMD and SPLIT keys. Hold do wn
ra 18100 therefore not displayed . There are the CMD key, then press the SPLIT
merely 20 user-accessible location s. key and release both . The degree of
"ts 18 150

2 1050
• BW (Bandwidth). Pressing the BW noise ca ncellation is determined by the
button will display the recei ver band- commands issued as show n in Table 4.
width on the LCD. Turning the main
"
H
2 1350

tuning control whi le holding the BW

• ADS P NOI SE CANCELLATION
"900 (ORIGINAL), CMD+B W. The origi -
button will change the bandwidth in nal ADSP was initiated in either an On
"rs 24 950

28200
100-Hz steps from 100 Hz to 2.7 kHz. or Off mode (1 3 dB reduction) by
• Mode Selection (BW+REV). To pressing the CMD+BW keys.
20 28450 display the current operating mode
Table 3. Factory def ault memory p resets (CW/USB/LSB) press BW. To select Transceiver in general
(note: Chann el numbers a re not assigned another mode, hold BW and momen-
or displa yed ). tarily press REV until desired mode All in all. you get a great deal of ra-
appears on the LC D. Release BW to dio in a small package for a reasonable
return to the frequency display. price. But, now that we've explored
some of the highlights you do get, let's
LCD
CMD+Split Function
Display
Secondary switch functions take a look, warts and all, at some of
the things you don't get. And if they
Not activated No noise reduction No colons • Bar Graph Mode (CMD+LIGHf). aren't there, do you really need them?
Press once O riginal ADS? (13 d B) One colon Pressing the CMD and LIGHT simul-
Press twice AOSP2 (26 dB) Two colons
taneou sly changes the bar gr aph di s- What you don't get with the SG·
play from "full" bar to " peak" bar 2020 (or, Do you really need t hem?)
Table 4. Initiating ADSP2 noise cancetliuion.
•
display.
• DC Input Voltmeter (CMD+Speed). • FM Operation : The SO· 2020 does
Pressing and holding CMD and SPEED not permit FM operat ion, but is it re-
CMD+BMW Functi on
LED Bar simultaneously but momen tarily will ally a must-hav e on a sma ll tra nsceiver
Grap h
cause the LCD to display DC input that covers 160 through 10 meters? I
Not aC1ivated No l ilters No LEDs voltage. Th is will be displayed until didn 't think so; all that would be lost is
Press once
1800 Hz
Three red LEOs
you : (a) move the tuning knob; (b) some activity on lO-meter FM, which
bandwidth
ini tiate transmit in CW mode; or (c) frankly I have yet to hear, or for that
Press twice
soc Hz
TWQ red LEOs depress any of the following keys - matter get too terribly excited about
bandwidth
CMD + any other key, SPEED , PST, doing. The same argument, with a bit
Press three 100 Hz
times bandwidth
One red LED MEM,or BW. of qualification, could be made about
• TX Output PowerAdjust (CMD+NB). VHF/UHF capabiliti es. There's just so
Table 5. The initia ting p rocess and en-
Pre ssing and holding CMD and NB much technology you can cram into a
han ced band width filters activated by a
simulta neously but momentari ly, the small box and have it work well, and
combination of the CM D+BW keys. Note:
Each activation steps to the next filter o r TX power le vel is adjustable by tu rn- most important, dependably. I prefer to
DSP level in a loop. For exa mp le, the ing the main tuning knob . Adj ust- reserve VHF/U HF communications
AlJSP2 will step through 13 dB reduction, ments can be made in increments of for the main station rig (ICOM 746
then 26 dB noise reduction. and then back appro ximately I watt from 0 to 20 PRO or the van's ICOM 706 MKIIG).
to no noise reduction. The ADSP and filters watts. To enter this setting in the last What I wanted, and the SGC·2020 pro-
can be used in any combination. recall cd memory, you would press vided was a portable rig I could take
36 73Amalevr Radio Today · September 2003
 But Does It Work ?
Reviews are usually crammed full of specifications,
tables, theories of operation, and the like, hut no matter
what the text says or the meter reads , the proof of the
"pudding" is in how well the item works, or how badly it
worked in actual use.
My experiences with the SO-2020 have been exce l-
len t to say the least. The review ar ticle mentioned a
contac t on 160 meters, which gives yo u an idea of na te U TC MH z 2x RST
how well it wo rks in a wor st -case scenario, but let ' s 73! 23 Se p 0 2 0 2 43 14 9SB 54
look at , fo r lack of a better term, a "be st-c ase sce- T n .. QSL -
Joe
L-=-_ ._ _ _ --:J
nario ." Specifically, the diary of a QRP contact with QSLMGA PSE QSL TNX via bu reau or direct;
W3HNK P. Box 22, 624330, Krasnouralsk, Russia
Asiatic Russia.
On the date in question, 23 September 2002, 0230 UTC,
Photo SA. QSL card f rom Russia.
I was seated in my shack and had j ust connected my SG-
2020 to the best antenna in my antenna "patch," a B&W
widcband (I 6Q-. 10m) dipole at some 30 feet pointed even th ough the awa rd is fram ed and prominently
north/south. I allowed a few minutes warm-up time on 20 displayed on the shack wall, I tried my hand at PSK3l
meters while I found a pencil, some paper, and a cup of usin g a suitable interface and my lap top comp uter. SG C
hot coffee, and began to tune around the band listeni ng for recommend s not operati ng in the PSK 3l mode above
DX stations. approxim ately 10 watts.
I'd previou sly se t the power ou t on the SGC-202 0 to I p layed it safe , and on my first contact worked into
an indi cated 5 watts so tha t any con tact I made would Can ada us ing an ind icated (ag ain ) 5 watts . I receive d
indeed qu alify as a QRP SS B contact. I ve rified the
a 5/9 signal report on my fi rst QSO, and similar reports
power ou t se tting one more time and heard a strong sig-
later that day from stations in Pennsylvania and Nevada
nal - UA9CUA calling QRZ - and the usual collec tion
on 20 meters.
of rascals form ing a pileup .
So if operation is the key to how well a rig works,
I reached for the microphone and gave my call
then take it from me and my certificates, the SG-2020
"Whiskey Four Pol and German y Italy QRP" twice. To
works extre me ly well and ha s conti nued to do so at a
my amazeme nt, Fred UA9CUA in Krasnoural sk, Ru s-
variety of power level s, on differe nt frequenc ies, and
sia, returned wi th "Only the QR P station, please. " To
without resortin g to high-gain directi on al beam anten na
my furt her amazement, the other hams relented and I
farms - just my lowl y di pol e and once or twice a
es tablished contact with Fred, and excha nged pleasan t-
ries and signal reports. Hamstick in the car.
He was a so lid 5/8-9 in to Smyrna, Georgi a, and he Naturally, your results may vary, but defi nitely get your
repo rted my signal as 5/4 and very easy to copy in hands on the SO-2020 and try this at home. You'll be glad
Ru ssia . I dashe d off a QSL to his US Q S L manager you did.
and di dn ' t thi nk a lo t about it unti l I checked the
map and real ize d j ust how far I' d reached out with an
indicated 5 watts SS B.
So me time later, I received his QSL card. At that
po int it reall y sunk in, and I tried to determine j ust ho w
far in miles he actually was from my QTH, which was
no easy matter. Once I'd arrived at a figure , I de ter-
mined that I'd probably quali fied for the 1,000 Mile per
Watt Ac hieve ment Award. I se nt off a copy of my QSL
together with the necessary paperwork, and received
the certificate.
Accordin g to the Awards Manager, my QSO
amounted to 1,468 miles per watt, the distance from the
home QTH at 33.52N, 84.40W, and Fred ' s location at
31.6N,60.04E.
Well, it appeared that the S O ~2 020 not only could
hear sig nals from afar but could at relativel y low powe r
transmit as well. Not wish ing to rest on my lau rel s, Photo S n. This certificate represents a 1,468 miles-per-watt QSO.

73 Amateur Radio Today· September 2003 37

 nearly anywhere, operate off a gel-cell
General battery, and ha ve fun wi th, not to
I O perat ing modes U SB, LSB, CW mention use fixed as a QRP rig.
400 kHl to 29.7 MHl : how eve r, receiver display will be slightly uncalibrated
• Bandswitchi ng - or at least a
Receiver trequency range
below 1 6 kHl more conventional method of going
Transmit freq uency range 1.8 to 29.7 MHl (U.S. ham bands only) fro m one band to another. It would be
nice, but in reality, how many differe nt
Export version capable of general
1.8 to 30MHl
coverage transmit frequencies do you operate on in each
band? If you look back at Table 3, you
Operational temperature range ~Oto +70C
I can get a lot of mileage out of the fuc-
Microproces sor MC68H C711E9
tory-default memory settings. If not,
3 ppm per 10 C: el(ilmple - at 14.2 MHz, equal to 14.2 x3 .. 42 .6 Hz, a total you have a total of 20 memory posi-
Frequency stab< lity frequency drift of 42.8 Hz tor a temperature change of 10 C: te., ~ the
temperature changes fro m 20 to 30 C, there could be freq uency dnft of 42 .6 H tio ns for programming you r fav orite
Freq uency resolution 10 Hz steps " watering sites," and the ability to tune
between them. For me, I have consid-
Frequency di splay resolution 100 Hz steps
ered loading the QRP and Pedestrian
I aeceve transmit changeover Less than 10 milliseconds
Mobile frequencies into memory and
I User-frie<ldly fu nctions SPLIT, A IT, XIT going from there, T he lack of a qu ic k
bandswitching scheme is hardly a de-
I Memories 20 simplex or sem iduplex
fect. If yo u are spoiled by one-button
I SWA metering Bu i~· in
access, then you actuall y have a
I LCD display Backlit pseudo-one-button access by pressing
Keyer
Fully adju stable iambic B mode keyer ope rating under microprocessor control the MEM button and turning the main
l rom 5 to 60 wpm
tunin g knob to go from one memory
I Dimensions 2.75H x 5.9W x 7L inches chan nel to another - no big deal.
Approx. wt. 4,4 100. • VOX; A voice-operated relay
Microphone
wou ld be nice, but having that feature
Fist , dynamic, inciuded {com parable to Kenwood MC43 or simi lar}
on both my main and mobil e rigs, I've
Battery voltmeter Dig~al, front-panel-controlled
discovered that at times it's not all that
Receiver helpful, especially wit h hig h back-
Sen s ~ivity Beller /han 0 .3 Vtor 6 ee SIN
gro und noise and false activations or
dropouts. Again, it would be nice, but
Intermod ulation + 18 dBm 3rd ord er intercept
for years hams used push-to-talk, and
Tunable AF bandpass 100 Hz to 2700 Hz
with a rig this feature-laden , I would
I AUdio output 1 wall AMS be loath to give up a mu st feature for
AF disto rtion at nominal output one that is merely a convenie nce -
Less than 3%
power sometimes.
I No ise blanker Front·panel control • Speech Compressor: Most rigs
have the m, many hams mis use or
RF g ain control Front-panel control
misadj ust them, and the VOG AD
BFO Microprocessor-COOlrolled
speech compression present in the
Typical con sum ption in receive
mode
Less than 500 mA' SG·2020 has proven to me that it' s not
a carved-in-stone necessity. In fact, about
Transceiver two months ago in the early evening, I
fired up the 2020 on 160 meters, full
I Transmitter power Adi u sta~e from 0 to 20 watts PEP output, with efficien t ccerauco at 5 W
QRO (all 20 watts give or take a mi -
RF speech processor VOGAD baseband processing and RF clipping
crowat t), and tried a CQ, Now, later I
Transmit correot SW C W: less /han 2.5 A' ; 20 W CWo le ss than 4 A' found out that what I did took guts.
Transm it Intermod s for 20 W PEP - 28 d B or better Most people on 160 are run nin g a
Transmit spurious and harmonics 50 dB (from PEP power) ham bands
good deal of power, and very few of
them run what could best be described,
"Note: Current measu rements were made with a DC supply of 13 .7 V usin g a 3· 112-digit DVM and take into acc ount all
available options (e.g., panel lamp and ADSP2 active. volum ne at comtorta bre room listening leve l). Your actual at least on 160, as QRP. To make a
measureme nts may vary.
short story a bit longer, I had a station
Table 6. Specifications. *Note: Current measurements were made with a DC .mpply of in southern Illinois come back to me
13.7 volts using a 3-digit DVM and take into account all available opt ions (e.g., panel with this comment: "I had to come
lamp and ADSP2 active, volume at comfortahle room listening le vel). Your actual
measurements may WIf)'. Continued on p age 54
38 73 Amateur Radio Today · Septembe r 2003
Michael Grimes K5MLG
3805 Appo mattox Cir.
Plano TX 75023
[grimesm @flash .net]

Study Guides That Pass the Test

Presenting a review of the best books on basic radio.

Being interested in radio. we should be well acquainted with the basic principles and have a broad understanding
of radio circuits. Wh ether a hobbyist, experienced engineer, or technician, we can always increase ou r knowledge
through understanding.

njoyment of radio can be im- the most recommended textbooks for worked. Thus, my study necessarily in-

E proved when we fe ci comfo rt-

able with "how" and "w hy"
radio works. Whether yo u have had a
our hobby, both current and otherwise,
shou ld be of interest.
A major commitment to reading and
c1uded tube-type classical theory, which
transferred to modem solid-state theory
as well.
lifetime of experience or are just start- understan di ng is time . One ha s to Some may view a study of classical
ing out, sometime facts or theory or ponder theory and concepts before un- textbooks as a waste of time, but I
fundamentals are just a little fuzzy and de rstanding emerges. In our busy lives, assure you it will only improve your
in need of review. Perhaps you have some discipline is required to allocate understanding and enjoyment of radio.
just forgotten some details. blocks of time to study. It is my hope One can visualize the evo lution of ra-
Of course, our favorite hob by maga- that this discussion will shortcut the dio by studying the classics. Our roots
zine, our friends with similar interests process by helping select textbooks are grounded in the classical technol-
and "Eimers" are invaluable resources. worthy of your valuable time. ogy. To be a well-rou nded amateur, we
But no matter what resou rces we use, Many textbooks on the basic prin- should kno w vacuum- tube basics as
most often we turn to a good textbook ciples and theory of radio have been well as modern solid-s tate technology.
for help and in-depth study. Have you studied and reviewed. The intent was After all, the basics of radio hold up
ever wonde red abo ut the best basic to fi nd textbooks that are standouts. whether you are discussing classical or
radio textbooks available for study and Analysis included the autho r's ap- contemporary. Good classical text-
reference'! pro ach that must ass ume one was ac- books were not excluded from this
Radio expanded at a phenomenal qu ainted with intermedi ate electrical study just because their discussion
rate once it took hold. By the late principles but struck a balance be- centered on vacuum-tube technology.
1930s authors were writing volumes tween introductory material and more During my study of the current and
with an improvi ng knowledge of basic complex subjects. To be recommended, classical textbooks, some seemed to he
radio. Today, radio is well understood, the textbook must hold yo ur atten tion much better than others in explanation
and many textbooks have been written and be interesting. and clari ty. A large cross-section of
since that early beginn ing. In fact, so In addition, having been associated tex ts was selected for study. Trying to
many books have been written that with mod ern electronics and education cover the most popular contemporary,
fi nding just the right one for study can for many years, a need was es tablished and classical radio textbooks is a diffi-
be an arduo us task. Most of us have to improve my own understanding as cult task. Since radio came on the
reli ed heavily on textbooks for study a collector and restorer of vintage ra- scene, many textbooks have been writ-
and learning radio technology. But not dies. This study helped not only to ten. My selected list is certainly not
all textbooks, or authors, are created electronically restore them, hut to im- exhaustive, but included those most
equal. Therefore, a review of some of prove my understanding of how they popular and available today. Each will
73 Amateur Radio toaey » September 2003 39
not be crit iqued here, bu t only the top judgment. Many have daunt ing math, was fo u nd in this bo ok . Figure s and
group recommended by my colleagues which was obviously written for engi - ill ustratio ns were al most alw ays o n the
and me . ne ers, but I ha ve ass umed a less vig- sa me page as the discussion. This may
In addition to textbooks, numerous orous approac h is de sired. O f course, sound triv ial, but trying to foll ow
home radio course-books or manuals some math is req ui red as it q uantifie s theory and discuss ion from figures on
are still available and can be studied . the d iscussion. However, takin g mo re a differen t page can be frustrating. I
After WWll , many sc hools offered of a subjective approach made some keep this impo rtant book ne arby as a
mai l correspondence courses aimed at tex tbooks more favorable . Also, text reference . If yo u read and study no
veterans . Bei ng offered within corre- readability is important. other text, read this one.
spondence courses , many people , hop- Be low, the textbooks considered are T he second recommend at ion is the
ing to enter radio and TV repair, got listed in order of recommended prefer- Learn Electronics Through Trouble-
their introduction to radio . These are ence. After the top ten, the order has shooting 2 by Lemons. Using theory and
worthy of yo ur consideration as well, little meani ng, as they beco me abo ut basic principles from the point of view
but will not be reviewed or considered equal in quality. A critique and comments of tro ubleshooting makes good sense .
here. Some of the more popular were about the top candidates foll ow s: I fo und this an excellent tie to the
Natio nal Rad io Institute , Cleveland In- Starting wi th the best, Elements of p rinc iples and certainty an excellent
stitute of Electronics, DeVry Institute, Radio ! by Marcus and Horto n is highly supplement 10 Elements. Using two-color
Christ y Trades School, and Coyne recommended. This tex t had by far the graphics, fig ures, and illustrations make
Electrical School. best clarity of discussion and was de- the points clear and un derstandable.
While some of the textbooks listed tai led enough to expla in w ithout be ing By the use of c ause and e ffect , the
here were not wri tten strictly for the too ele me ntary. The pace is right and discu ssion leads yo u to the basic
purpose of an in-depth study, they will keep your interest. Althou gh the p rincipl es . This text also includes an
were writte n as a q uick introd ucti on tex t is da ted , it compared well wit h introductory chapter on solid-state radio.
review for radio repair and resto rat io n. contemporary publ icatio ns. Of course, Essentials of Radio) has so me of the
They were included in the list as they it does not cover solid-state subjects, be st analyses, especially of series and
have merit as wel l. Perhaps it is a bit but this is not a d isadvantage as the parallel resonance circuits. It is a com-
unfair to include them in the broad basic theo ry tra nslate s well. One can prehensive, detailed tex tbook covering
range of textbooks, but again, the pur- bridge to solid state with some supple- the critical topics, bu t requ ires pa-
pose here w as ( 0 review those curre ntly mental reading. The figures, illustrations, tience to get throug h it. Having o ver
availa ble to the hobby ist. and examp les exactly illu strate the dis- 800 pages o f small print will take more
One of the main characteristics of a cussion. The topic organization lend s than an aftern oon of readi ng. It also
good "radio ba sic princi ples" textboo k itself to logi cal progressio n, making
has somewhat of an engineering slant,
is its ability to explain tuned circui ts, theory discussion easy to fo llow. The
and require s careful study . Even so,
resonance, detection, and amplification. math is minimal, used on ly where nec-
the boo k is useful even to the casua l
A good ex planation of basic circu its is essary to q uantify a point or expla in.
reader as it is not all that diffic ult to
also desired. Since this is at the heart The best discu ssion of resonance, tuned
understand.
of rad io, it was the main criterion for circuits, and antenna theory (radiation)
One of my favor ites is Basic Radio
Course' by Frye . It is a fu n read. The
basic s are covered using an unusual
colloqu ial and hu morous style. This is
a very readable text using good analo-
gies to explai n the co ncepts . If you are
new to radio, perhaps this wo uld be a
place to start. Frye makes study fun as
well as gives outstanding illustrations
to his explanati o ns . Only minor refer-
ence to math is used. However, lacking
some detail, it left me wanting more
a nd a littl e unsatisfied . You may re-
member John Frye, as he au thored the
series "Carl and Jerry" for the early is-
sues of Popular Electronics magazine.
Electrical Essentials of Radio" is
less comprehensive than the other
Slurzberg books. Written for the
Photo A . For you r education in the basics of amateur radio, these books are the best of reader with li mi ted math background
the best, according to K5MLG. who is interested in the introductory
40 73 Amafeur Radio Today · September 2003
 pri nciples. thi s would be a good radio circuit design is you rs. Perhaps would like to hear from you. My hope
begi nne r's book. Written prior to Es- more for the engineer, the handbook is is that you will deri ve some pleasure
sentials of Rad io . whic h made exten- comprehensive and covers mo re than from reading and stud ying a good
sive use of circ uits and circuit design, basic rad io. After all , its purpose is to textbook a nd get excited about this
it provides a foundat ion background to be a d esig n refere nce . This book seems wonderfu l p henomenon known as
further study. to be in great demand as it com ma nd s RAD IO!
Ba sic Radio, Princip les & Techno!- a high price , used.
ogy6 by Poo le is o nc of the mo re con- Anoth er set o f text books worthy of Refe r ences
te mpo rary offerings. It could be used yo ur study and supple menta l read ing
1. Elements of Radio (seco nd edition)
as a supplement to bring modern cir- come from th e U.S. Departmen t o f the
by Marcu s and Horton ; Prent ice-H all ,
cuits in alignment w ith the classics. I Na vy." Several reprints and editions
1950.
found it too brief with its d iscussion o f have been m ade available over the 2. Learn Electronics Thn mgh Trouble -
resonance and tuned circuits . "Why" a years. The most recent re print was shooting by Le mons ; Howard S ams,
c irc uit worked wa s not addressed we ll. pu blished by Dover" in 19 78 and con- 1971 ; ISB N 0-672-2065 I-X .
A strong di scussion of modem circuits tinues in print. The US DPN revised 3. Essentials of Radio by S lurzberg
and com ponents m akes it usefu l in the text in 1972 making it one o f the and O stcrhc ld: Mcr.iraw-Hill, 1948 .
un derstanding today's technol ogy. more conte mporary textbooks cover- 4 . Basic Radio Course by John T.
Understanding Radio 57approach may ing nearly everything from DC to light. Frye ; Tab Books. 196 1; ISBN 0-8306-
be too eleme ntary for some. It uses a Well-wri tten fo r a beginni ng study. 1 10-1-5.
simplistic explanat ion o f circ uit anal y- My intent here is not to d isparage 5 . Electrical Essentials of Radio by
sis bUI good visualization. If you need any of the te xtb ooks listed as a ll have Slurzberg and Ostcrbeld ; Mcfhaw-
to start with a rudimentary text, perhaps mu ch to offer and would be well worth Hill. 1944 .
this o ne cou ld be your introduction . your time to e xplore . Simply so me 6. Basic Radio. Principles & Tech-
Do nor se ll th is book short; altho ugh wo uld not be offered , as a " first re ad- nology by Poole ; Newncs. 1999: ISB N
dated, it has much to o ffer. In de tai led ing" because they tended to e ither be 0 -7506-2632- 1.
simplistic terms the book explains how tedious and unclear o n points or they 7. Unders tanding Radio By Watson,
a circuit functions and why it works. lost my attent ion in d iscussion . Cer- et al.: Mcfhaw-Hil l. 19-W.
The authors present so me of the better ta inly. I would encourage reading any 8. Radio Hand book (twenty-second
explanatio ns of reson ance , crystal - and all te xts avai lab le to you, as it edition) by William O rr; Howard W.
controlled oscillato rs and mi cro- wi ll only enhance a n understanding Sams & Co.• Inc .: 1981 ; ISBN 0-672-
pho nes. Detail o n " how to b uild a a nd enj oyme nt of radio. Whether you 2 1874-7.
circuit" see me d to ge t in the way of are a beginner, an o ld -timer, or an en- 9. The Radio Amateur :\. Handbook
th e d iscu ssion, however. g ineer and want 10 max imize your radio (annual edit ions. 1940s to date), ARRL.
Do not o verlook th e handbooks. e xperience. I reco mmend starting with 10 . Radiotron Designer 's Handbook
ARRL's The Radio Amateur 's Hand · these top tex tboo ks. ed ited by S m ith; th ird and fourth edi-
bool..~ and Bill Orr's A mateu r 's Hand- Try to acq uire the top re viewed tion s (black a nd red editio ns), Wire less
book9 have excellent d iscussions relating books. Your radio library sho uld not be Press. RCA. 19-15. 195 3.
to how to use the basics in circ uits . I without them . Mo st all those in th is II . Elem ents of Electricity and Ra -
found them short on "why and how" a article were acqui red in the past five dio. U.S. Navy course, 1944: reprint
circuit works. Again , these are good years and my personal survey indicates by Ant ique Electron ic Supply, 1999.
references and probably would no t mo st are still available. Your local ra- 12. Basic Electronics (Vol. l) by Bu-
make an e vening 's reading. But glean d io organizations. auctions. the Internet. re au of Naval Personne l; U.S. Govern-
the basic topics for review and keep the library, o r your loca l swap meet ment Print ing Office : Cat. # [) 208. 11:
them handy fo r re ference. would be good sources to explore. Try EL2/1O/97 IN . I; revised 19 72 . Also
Radlotron Designer :\. Hundbook '" is [http://www.hookfi ndcrs.com] or [http:// publi shed as reprint by Dover P ublica-
the bible for many tube-type aficiona- www.eBay.com j. Keep o n th e lookout tions. NY; 1977 ; ISB N 0-4 R6-21076-6.
dos. It has excelle nt design fe atures for a basic ra di o textbook w hen yo u 13. Grob Basic Electronics (seventh
and explains wel l. It was printed in visit a ha mfest o r radi o trade day. If an edition ) by Bernard G rob : Macmillan!
several edi tio ns and two di ffe rent ve r- opportunity occurs to pick up any in - McGraw-llill. 1992; ISBN 0-02-
sions: the black volume with 352 pages teresting radi o textbook. I would en- 800762-X
and the volum inous red volu me with courage you to take advantage and add 14 . Radio Physics Course by A. A.
1498 pages. The " ha nd book" m ay be it to your library. Many tum up at bar- Ghirurdi; Murray Hill Books, Inc ., 1942.
a little intim idating for some by its gain prices. Read and learn from the 15 . Basic Radio by Hoag; D. Van-
sheer size and its extensive usc o f masters. No strand. 1943.
mat h. But if yo u can stay w ith it and If there ha ve been so me o bvious 16. Modem Radio Essentials by
glean from spec ific to pics, an o ut- cand idates excluded or your favo rite is
sta nd ing reference for all expec ts of not on the list. please let me know. I Continued Oil page 5 4
73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003 41
CRLENORR EUENTS

Listings are f ree of charge as space perm its. Please send U!,' your Calendar Event two months in advance of the
issue you n,un{ it to appear in. For example, if you want it to appear in the November issue, we should receive it by
A ugust 31. Provide a clear, concise summary of the esse ntial de tai ls about you r Calendar Event.

SEP6 and work some DX. Talk-in on 147.90/.30 MHz. organizers and the Pacific Northwest VHF
Telephone 3 15-698-4558, or write to RA GS Society are joining forces to host a joint
SPENCER, IN The Owen County Amateur Hamlest, Box 88, LiverpoolNY 13088. E-mail confere nce in the Seattle W A area o n
RadioAssn . and the Bloomington ARC will co- through (ragsinrevlewcomJ September 25- 28, 2003. Registrations for the
sponsor the Owen County Amateur Radio joint conference will be accepted begin ning
Hamfest on September 6th , 2003. For more SEP 14 April 1st. Cost of the registration will be $40
info contact Katie Smith K91NU at 812-829- prior to Septe mber tzth, and covers all three
2f40;or Cad2agerat 812-339·4437. NEWTOWN, CT The Candlewood ARA of days. Single day or single event registrations
Da nb ury CT w ill ho ld thei r W estern CT are not available. Late registrations, including
SEP12,13 Hamfest on Sunday, September 14th , at at the door, will be $50. Registration forms can
Edmond Town Hall. Directions: Rte. 6. Exit 10 be downloaded at jwwwmicrowaveupdate.
BENTONVILLE, AR The B.C.A.O. Hamfest off 1-B4. Follow the signs . Talk-in on 147.300(+) orgjor send an SAS E to John Price N7MWV,
will be held at Thomas Jefferson School , 810 PL 100. New equipment dealers, flea market, 1202 6 81st Ave. NE, Kirkland WA 98034, and
Bell a Vista Rd ., Bentonvi ll e AR , Saturday tailgating, electronics, computers, refreshments.
a form wi ll be mai led to you . Completed
8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Setup is Friday night at 6 p.m. Tables $ 12 .50 each (inc ludes 1 adm ission).
registra tion forms and payment should be sent
VE exams at 10 a.m. Satu rday. Talk-in on Ta ilg at i ng $ 8 (i ncludes 1 admission ) .
to the same address . Make checks payable to
145.290 down 600. Admission $3 . Tables $5. Admission $5 , ch ildren under t z -vears-oto
Microwave Update 2003. Joint conference
Tickets are two for $5 . Food and drinks admitted f ree. Fo r reservations and info,
sessions and the Saturday even ing banquet
available. Contact Betty We/berg at 417-435- contact John M Ah!e W1JMA, 120 Fire HIli
will be held at the Eve rett Holiday Inn and
23320r by E-mail at [jweiberg@!eru.netj;call Rd., RIdgefieldCT06877. Call 203-438-6182;
Conference Center, a short drive north of
Shirley Harris at 4 19 -45 1-8 62 6; E-mail or E-mail to j W IJMA @arrl. netj.
downtown Seattle . Special rates have been
[email protected];orBusterMorrowat arrange d w ith t he hotel for con feren c e
419-631-9231. E-mail jad5am@mc2k. comj SOUTH DA RTMOUTH, MA The Southeastern
participants. Rooms are $69 per night plus tax ,
Massachusetts ARA, Inc. will hold its annual
flea market on the club' s grounds at 54 Donald a real ba rga in for the Seattle area! It is
SEP13 suggested that early reservations be made
Street in South Dartmouth. The event will run
from 7 a.m . to 12 noon , rain or shine. Talk-in directly with the hotel at 425 -337-2900. Be sure
GRAND RAPI DS, MI The Grand Rapids ARA
on 147.001.60. Ad mission $2 (spouse and to mention "Microwave Update" to get this rate.
will present "GRA Hamfest 2003" at the Forest
children free). Walk-in VE exams at 10 a.m. Reservations must be made by August 21st
Hills Northern High School, 3801 Leonard SI.
Free space and adm ission for vendors. For for this rate.
NE in Grand Rapids, 8 a.m. until it' s over.
more info go 10 jwwwsemara.orgj, or contact
Directions: Hwy. 1-96 exit #38 1 Hwy. M-44, "White papers" are currently being solicited
Tim Smith N IT! at 508-758-3680. E-mail to
north 1 mile to Leon ard St., turn right (east). fro m potential authors an d speakers fo r
[email protected]
This is a f leamarkel/ swap meet fea turing pu blication i n the 2003 conference
el ectronics, ham ra d io , ca, s ho rt wa ve proceedings. Topics specifically of inte rest to
SEP2Q
equipment and computer equip ment. VE Microwave Update attendees, as well as those
exams at 10 a.m. Contact Ed Novakowski on VHF and UHF subjects usually associated
ROLLING MEADOWS, IL The 5 1st Annual
N8UXNby E-mail at [email protected], or with the annual Pacific No rt hw est VHF
W9DXCC Conve ntion and Banquet will be held
evenings call 616-458-9029. Chec k the Web Satu rday, September 20th at the Holi day Inn Conference are being solicited. Papers will be
page at jhttp://www.w8dc.orglswap.htmj Tal k- (near O'Hare Airport) in ROiling Meadows lt.. accepted until July 1st, 2003, to allow enough
in on 147.26(+) 94.8 Hz and 146.52 simplex. Come early. There will be a Friday We lcome time for printing. White papers should be sent
ARRL·sanctioned. Reception hosted by Cart Smith N4AA and OX directly to Jim Christiansen K7NO, via E-mail
Publications, follo wed by a Hospitality Suite at [email protected] M S Word for mat is
SYRAC USE , NY The Radio Amateurs of late Friday. This will be hosted by the Northern preferred . Microwave Update 2003 and the
Greater Syracuse (RAGS ) presents its 48th Illinois DX Assn . Stay late on Saturd ay night Pacif ic Northwest VHF Society respectively,
annual Ham fest from 8 a.m . to 2 p.m. at the and enjoy the Saturday Night Hospitality Suite will be the sole jUdges of whether presentation
Pompey Hills Fire Department, Saturday, hosted by the Greater Milwaukee OX Assn. requests and white papers are accepted.
September 13th , rain or shine. Take 1-81 exit Other featu res will include presentations by
# 15 on to Rou te 20 Ea st. Go 6 miles to major Dx peortlons, an ARRL fo rum , Grand If you are interested in making a session
Henneberry Rd. on the left. Forums, prizes, Banquet and prizes, and DXCC aSL ca rd presentation at one of the Microwave Update
ARRlo VE walk-in exams at noon. Admission checking . The Master of Ceremonies will be 2003 sessions, pl ease respond to NU7Z
$5 or 16 years and under free. Buy and sell Jim O'Connell W9WU. For more info contact [email protected]. For presentations at the
ham radio, computer equipment, and more. Bill Smith W9VA by calling 847-945- 1564; or Pacific Northwest VHF Conference sessions,
Rent an indoor flea market space with an 8 E-mail to j [email protected] contact N7CFO at jn7cfo @/x.netcom.comj
foot table for $ 12, or bring your own table for LCD projection equipment will be available
only $5. Brea kfast starts at 7 a.rn . l unch will SEP 25- 28 for those using Power Point presentations .
be served later. This locati on is 1400 feet Slid es and v ideo pre se nt ati o ns can be
above average terrain so bring your mobile rig SEATT LE WA Mic rowave Upd ate 2003 accommodated with advance notice.
42 13 Amateur Radio Today· September 2003
 OCT 5 in on 147.36. Major vendors will be present, OCT 26
includ ing KJI Elect ronics , Lentini
MEDINA,OH Join the M2M Medina Amateur Communications and Battery Tech. For VE CANTON, OH The Massillon ARC will hold
Radio group at th e Medina County Career exam info call Joel Comeal NtJEO, 203-235- their Hamtest Sunday, October 26th , 8 a.m. to
Center, 1101 W. liberty St. (State Route 18) 6932. 3 p .m. at Stark County Fai r Grounds, 305
from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to have fun at the Medina Wertz Ave. NW. From 1-77 take downtown exit,
Hamfest. The Grand Prize being offered is a OCT 25 turn left (west) on W Tusc. Turn right on Wertz
mobile rig and antenna setup. Also featured to fairgrounds . From 1·77 S, take the 4th St.
will be a 50/50 raffle, VE exams, ladies' door RICK REAL L, OR The Mid-Valley AR ES is NW exit, turn right (west) into grounds. Setup
prizes, computer equipment and new and used proud to present its 9th Ann ual "SWAP - is at6 a.m. Admission is $5.8 foot tables with
ham gear. All indoor tables and spaces. For TOBERFEST" Amateur Rad io Emergency electric , $ 12 . Handicap accessible. Free
general questions about the hamfest, call Mike Services Convention . The convention will be parking . Ta lk-in on 247. 18(+). Fo r tables,
N8TZYat3.J0-273·1519after7 p.m ., or E-mai l held on Saturday, October 25th at the Polk contact Terry Russ N8ATZ, 3420 Briardale Cr.
/n8tzy@m3nel netj. For VE exam info call Fred County Fairgrounds in Rickreall OR, west of NW. Massillon OH 44646. Visit / WWw.
K8FHat 440-236-3477. Walk-ins are always Salem where Highway 22 meets 9W. Doors marcrado.orgJ
welcome. Testing starts at 9 a .m. Hurry in and will be open for the convention from 9 a.m .
don't be late. Inside vendors tables are $9 eac h to 3 p.m . the day of the event. Swap table SPE CIAL EVENTS, ETC.
in advance or $1 1 each after Sept. 29th . Inside setup will be from 6 to 8 p.m . Friday night ,
flea market spaces are $7 each in advance or October 24th , and on Saturday morning , SEP 27
October 25th , at 7 a.m. Self contained RV
$9 each after Sept. 29th . Send your remittance
spaces are available for camping at $12 per RAYMOND, ME The U.S . Coast Guard Aux-
to the Medina Hamfest Committee, P.o. Box
night. Talk-in on the 146.86 rptr. (186 .2 PL). iliary D1NR Radio Raymond , K1G . 1300Z-
452, Medina OH 44258. Remember to enclose
Features include swap tables , commercial 2100Z Sep. 27th. 64th USCG Auxiliary, 25th
an SASE for ret u rn of tickets. Advance
dealers. meetings and seminars. Additionally, Canadian CG A uxilia ry anniversaries and
reservations must be received by 09/29/03. All
emergency communications vehicles will be ISA R Special Event Radio Day (V01 RAG).
tables will be held unti l 9 a.m. on the day of
on display from Marion and Po lk County 28.320,21.310, 14.260,7.260. CGA Certificate.
the show. JI you have any special requests ,
Emergency Management , Civil Air Patrol, Contact Keith C. Morton WtNDH, Po. Box B~
please let us know and we will try our best to
American Red Cross, and others as available. Raymond ME 04071-0809. !iii
help .
For more info co ntact Shane Kuehl W{}SPK,

QU EENS, NY The Hall of Science ARC

503-589-0496, or E-mail to /[email protected]. f-- - - -- - - - - - - - - -
To print a c o py of the flyer and pre-
Hamfest will be held at the New York Hall of
registration form, the URL is /http./lhome.
Science parking lot, Flushing Meadow Corona CD Loop Antenna
earthlink.netl- kd7bcv/Swaploberfest20031
Park,47-01 111th St., Queens NY. Doors open • Ideal for Fixed, Mobile, or Beacon use
SwaploberfesL2003.htmlj. Tic kets are $5
for vendors to set up at 7 :30 a.m. Buyers • Vertical or Horizon tal Mou nting
eac h in advance or $7 at the door. No-power • Wide Bandwidth
admitted at 9 a.m . Free parking , door prizes,
swap tab les are $18 (includes one • Very Rugged
food and refreshments. VE exams at10 a.m.
registration) . Additional no -power swap
Admission by donation, buyers $5, sellers $10 tables are $13 each . Tables w ith power are 144 MHZ - $42.00
per space. Talk-in on 444.200 rptr, PL t36.5; $20 each ( i ncludes one reg istration ) , plus Priority Shipp ing
14 6 .52 simplex. Web site [ www. qsl. n etl Also Avaltable
additional power swap tables are $15 each. 222 MHZ ' 440 I\IHZ
nosercl: For further info, call at night only, Pre-registration tickets can be picked up at
Stephen Greenbaum WB2KDG 7IB-B98- the front door at 7 a.m. Saturday morning . If SR Avion ics
5599, E-mail /WB2KDG @arrl.netj; or for VE you require written confirmation of your pre- P.O. Box 73, Liberty Center, IN 46766
exam info, call LennyMenna W2LJMat 718- registration, or your tickets by return mail, 260-694-6660 ' dikw9sr @citznet.com
323-3464, E-mail /[email protected] please include a self-addressed stamped
envelope and ma il to: Mid-ValleyARES, Po.
OCT 12 Box 1384B, Salem OR 97309. Make checks
or money orders payable to Mtd- ValleyARE$.
RADIO
WALLINGFORD, CT The Meriden ARC, Inc.
will hold the 11th Annual Nutmeg Hemtest and
Only 2 pre-registered participants will be GEARHARNESS
allowed per table d u ring setup . A ll B _ .·................. h.. l poc.....
Computer Show, featuring the 2003 American participants must register (unless 12 or under I O<' O""'Y po<k' " "'" " , ~....,. , <i1"S•
..' .. ..d _o~ " ""
Radio Relay League State Convention, on in age). Disabled hams who have pre- ............ . tu<h.....,'
po............-
Sunday, October 12th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. , rain _ t r.. _ ........
registered may enter SwapToberfest at 8:30
$36.9 .5
or shine , at Mountainside Special Event a.m . through the East door. One pre - www.powe rpor .. to~.c o m
Facility, High Hill Rd., Wallingford CT. Exit 15 registered assistant, to offer a helping hand,
Rte . 91 (North or South). Follow sig ns. Info is is allowed per disabled ham. Drawing rules:
available on the Web site at /wwwqsl.netl You need not be present to win the Early Bird
nutmeghamfestj; or we can be contacted by (I CO M IC-Q7A Dua l-band Hand held ; or Say You Saw It in 731
E-mail at /[email protected]. General Grand Prize ( ICOM lC -T90A D ua l- ba nd
admission is $7. Child ren under 12 are handheld); you MUST be present to win the
aornrtteo free and must be accompanied by hourly drawings; no purchase necessary; limit S ea '. Repa i r , W at e rproof A n v t h ln g l
an adult at all times. Proceeds from the event one entry per person. T he Amateur Radio PLASTI-DIP
will help support public service, scholarship Emergency Services Convention is being A e rosol Spr.. V o r P a in t
and civic activities . Indoor booth space with sponsored by members of the Polk County Save 10%
8 ft. table and chair is $30. Outside space $20. ARES (W7PLK) - Emergency Coordinator, Use Code ' ~73803~

If you pay in full before Sept. 12th, deduct $5 . Bud Sm ith N7BUD ; and the O regon Quality ptQducts at Amateur Prices!

Make payments to Nutmeg Hamfesl and mail Emergency Management ARESIRACES Unit The K1CRA Rad ioWebStore
to Anl:(vPurehia NtXXV, 116Kensington Ave., (W70EM) - Emergency Coordinator, Shane www.krcre.ccm
1·888-248-3484
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73 Amateur Radio Today. September 2003 43
HOMING IN
Radio Direction Finding Joe Moell P.E. K0 0 V
PO Box 2508
Fullerton CA 92837
[Homingin@ao!.com)
[http://www.homingin.com]

Hide a Transmitter, Pay a Fine?

"Let's have a picnic.' We 'll Ernail all our fa mily members and some ofourfriends to meet us at Podunk Park next Saturday. Bring
your softb all ba t and glove, we'll have a 3-legged race, and I'll have some direction finding gear to demonstrate foshunting. "

T hat sou nds like fun, does n' t it? But in

Orange County, CA, this might be the
start of an illegal act. Some officials appar-
e nco uraged reade rs to get their clubs
into on-foot transmitter hunting (also called
foxhu nting, fox-tailing, radio-orienteering
Unlucky 13th

As in many other places around the coun-

en tly thin k so , w it h o r wit hout the and ARDF). Practice sessions in local try, local fox-tailors are in train ing for the
foxhunting demo. t discovered this the hard parks are an ideal way to start. I have been Third USA A RDF Cha mpionships ' as I
way a few days ago, and right now I'm putt ing on such sessions informall y sev- write. Last wee k, I scouted out an Orange
worried that it may be true in many other eral tim es a year here in southern Cali- County park that we ' ve neve r used for ra-
places. You' ll want 10 know why, and I'll forni a, in additio n to more formal events dio-orienteering before. It seemed ideal for
tell yo u shortly, but first a bit of back ground. at hamfesrs and conventions. We've been a championshi p training session because
For se vera l years, "Ho ming In" has in 12 diffe re nt parks so far. there are about six miles of trails around a

Photo A . Tim Van Nes N9EL won the first Daytona AR DF event Photo R. It looks like John Greiff N4UJU used a shortened ver-
using a steel-tape yagi for two-meter foxh unting. Plans for this sion of his mobile two-meter quad fo r this on-fooL[oxh unt. He
antenna are on the Web. (All photos by John Munsey KB3G K) found all the foxes an d took second place.
44 73 Amateur Radio Today . September 2003
reservoir and canyon. Ho we ver, much of the bu siness hours, pay the $56 filing fee , and race in a park requi res a permit , period: '
off-trai l area is off-l imits because it's a wild- sho w e vidence of insurance indemnifying I hadn't seen a ny s uc h m anda te o n the
life refuge. I knew that the ranger might be the county." He made it clear that he was application form. On the other hand, this
concerned about potential damage to this withdrawing his approva l o f o ur session form gave the staff lots o f lat itude . It stated
enviro nment. so I soug ht hi m out. until I got cleara nce from that o ffic e . that "County Property Permits will coordi-
A t first. the ranger was cool to the idea Con fide nt that I cou ld conv ince the nate review of your application package and
of a dozen hams running the trails and look- perm it purveyo rs that an informal A RDF advise you o f add itiona l fees, sure ty deposit,
ing fo r green ammunition boxes with trans- practi ce sessio n wou ld be " unde r thei r ra - and other items required fo r permit issu-
mitters in them. But after a whi le, we came dar" just a s a 3- legged race at a fam il y ance ." Good grie f. there might eve n be more
10 an agreement. I promised to instruct the picnic would be, I called the pe rmit clerk surprises lurking !
hunters to stay on the trail s and not look for supe rvisor per the ranger's d irec tions. No
foxes be yo nd a few feet away. He agreed such luck. In her eyes, this was a "co mpe ti- Taking on the bureaucracy
tha t we cou ld do the eve nt and we e x- tive" event, th us requi ring a permit. S he
changed contact informa tion. I went ho me ag reed that rangers don't usually boot fami- I dec ided to press the issue and asked to
to put out an E-mailing and to promo te the lies o ut of parks for having 3-legged race s see the relevant wriuen regu lations for per-
event on local repeaters. and softba ll games, b ut she wouldn't budge mits and fees. The parks manager agreed to
Two days later, I got E-mail from the o n the need for a pe rmit for ARDE After send them to me, and within an hour, my
ranger. "1called the county permi t o ffic e to se ve ral minute s of b ac k- a nd -fo rth , she fax mach ine gro und out four pages of fine
clarify the regulations co ncern ing permits," kicked the mailer up 10the county's manager print and tables, obviously part of a much
he wrote. " My contact said that since you o f harbors, beaches, and parks. larger document. Yes. there was a fee sc hed-
are doing an activity and not merely sitt ing " How do yo u win at rad io-orie nteering ?" ule that included "5k and 10k ru ns," along
under a tree tal king , a permit is needed to the manager asked after I gave him a brief w ith o ver two doze n other activities suc h
protect the county' s liability interests." explanation of what we'd be doing . I replied as we ddi ngs, dog shows, du n k ta nks, and
"It' s not hard ," he told me w hen I im me- that the winner find s the most transmi tte rs pony ride s. But there was no definition of
diately phoned him in disbelief. " You should in the least time. " So they ru n?" he asked, what constitutes a ru n. and no mention that
ha ve app lied 20 bu siness days before the and I replied, "A bout a third will be running any competi tion req uires a perm it. If a
event, but now you can fill out the form I and the rest will be walking or trott ing ."
attac hed, take it to the county seat d uring " The n it's a race," he declared, "and a ny Continued on page 46

Photo C. Art Byrnes KA-IWDK and his son A.i. found two foxes ill Photo D. Fred Villers K8 FV and Steve ll)'art K0 4 YX teamed up
about all hour and / 5 minutes. to bag a couple of radio fo xes.
73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003 45
 HO,."NG IN my be lief that I would not be violating any training for the USA Championships and
continuedJrorn page 45 county rul es/regulation s by ho lding this p ro motin g radlosports as I write. John
couple of joggers decide to see who is fastest, practice sessio n withou t a permit. I declared Mu nsey KB 3GK , a freq ue nt contributor
do they need to fi le an ap plication first? my intent to proceed unless I received a let- to " Ho ming In ," sent a C D of photos from
The only paragraphs in the rules that in- ter of prohibition ex plaining clearly why it th e fir s t i n terna tiona l-rule s on -foot
dicated a threshold for req uiring a permit wo uld he unlawfu l for me to do so . foxhunt in D ayto na Beach, FL, held on
were in the fee sc hed ule, where (he category D id it work? Ac tually, 1 don 't know ye t. Ju ne 2 1, 2003.
of permit he circled as being applicable to Th e event is still a few days away and I "T he park is 20 0 acres o f woodland, wa-
me wo uld be " usi ng pro perty for exclusive, ha ven't recei ved a definitive ruling. I' m ter, swamp and scru b grow th," he wrote.
personal. nonco mmercial li se," The other hoping that I' ll get an OK and the sessio n "Muc h of it can no t be pe netrated b y hu -
two categories we re for exclusive commer- will go on as planned. be cause ci vil d isobe- mans, not e ven tran sm itt er hunters. There
cia l or nonprofi t lISC, w ith and witho ut ad- di ence is out of the question . If the ranger are various trail s thro ug ho ut the area, b ut
mission charge. In all three categ or ies, the te lls me in advance that he ' ll enforce a none of the fax es were on or very near a
word "exclusive" was incl uded. bureaucrat's prohibition, I'll cancel. Then my trail. Thi s area is popu lated b y F lori da
Aha. that 's it ! The next day, I E-mailed nex t ca ll will be to m y elected c o unty wil dlife, incl uding alli gators, snakes, liz-
the parks manager, the perm it clerk super- supervisor's offi ce. I want him to tell me if a rd s, an d tic k s, with s wam p and open
visor, an d the ra nge r. I po inted out th at the permit office exceeded its authority by its water. Every h unter was offered bug spray
county reg ulations d early state that permits broad interpretation of the meaning of "ex- and bottled water b efore the hunt."
are requ ired only whe n a citize n or gro up clu sive," or if that interpretation ac tually rep- KB 3GK put on the h unt, along with Bill
wa nts excl usive use o f a park or an are a of resents the wishes of the Board of Supervisors Thomas KE4 HIX, " Five transmitters were
a park, meaning to the excl us io n of others . You may be wondering, "W hy not j ust planned , but #2 arrived with a d ead bat-
Certainly a pe rmit wo uld be nece ssary if an get the permit'!" Indeed there have been tery," he reported. "T he n #4 fa ile d to tu m
area of the park we re to be cordoned off, or occasio ns wh ere I have done so, such as on re motely. Wh en B ill went out to tum
if streets or trails we re TO be blocked for foxbunttng events at ARRL conventions and it o n manually, he was spotted by one of
exclu sive use of the pa rtici pants in a race. the West Coast VHFIUHF Conference when the hunter s.
But for our radio-orie nteering . there will be we needed to reserve a section o f a park for To be fa ir, th at fo x was pulled o ut also.
no excl usive use of the trai ls. We will no t a big gro up and the sponsor had insuran ce. The loss of two d id no t pro ve to be a prob-
be blocking o ff anything. In other words, Bu t if the law doesn 't require it, there is no lem, as the remaining three provided plenty
we will be mi xing in and not ta king over. good reason to pay a fee and take out insur- of c halleng e.
With that as evidence, my E-mail restated ance every month or two so a do zen hams " Ev eryone agreed it was a really toug h
can info rmally run la nd sc ape to co v er," Jo h n continue d .
the trails in a park , "Dayto na hun ters are among the be st at
m ixing in w ith lo ts mob ile hunting, but long- distance on-foot
of joggers w ho are hunti ng is new and the learning curve was
runn ing the sa me stee pe r than some expected . Several had
trails at no charge. recently built the ir eq uipment and as ex-
If I were to find a pected, there were small bug s to be worked
way to demo nstrate out.
insurance and take "One hu nter discovered that his handie-
out the pe rmit now, talkie had a bad BNC connector so he de -
I would be setting a
ci de d to u se a scan ne r with an act ive
p recedent fo r a n y
attenuator for hun ti ng . Bu t the scanner d id
t ime that som eone
not pe rform well and co uld not hear most
wants to d o so me
of the transmi tters. Others had minor prob-
ARDF in an Orange
Count y pa rk , no lems such as needi ng a short length o f coax,
matter h ow infe r- an adapter, o r attenuator to com p lete the
mally. I 'll te ll you setup.
the outcome of this " For the pa st two weeks there had been
tussle in a fut ure col - rain every day, sometimes up to an inch. The
umn . If you want to predicted odds of rain for the hunt date were
know sooner, check 70% , bu t dry weather held until j ust after
the "H o mi ng In" the cookout th at fo llowed the hunt. Then
Web site to see if about three-fourths of an inch fe ll in the next
there are result s of hour as hu nters drove home.
radio-orienteering at "T here wa s only o ne cl ose call with wil d-
Peters Canyon Park life . Pat Ec kenrode AC4QM re ported that
on July 19,2003 . he almost stepped on a snake of abo ut fo ur
inches diameter. Pat reported that he did not
Watch for the
snakes! stay lo ng enough to detenninc other details.
Photo E. Pat Eckenrode A C4QM had a had day with equipment Other h un te rs who sa w Pat le aving that
failure plus all encounter with a m ake. DOIl 't worry, it will be Lots of other ind i-
better next lime! vid uals and clu bs are Conttnued on page 54
46 73 Amateur Radio Today . Septem ber 2003
ON THE Go
Mobile, Portable and Emergency Operation .SIeve Nowak KE8VN/7
804 Bonanza Trail
Cheyenne WY 82009
[keByn Oattbi ,comJ

Why Operate Portable?

ln today 's world everyth ing is getting more portable. Tile room-size computer has given way to the desktop, to the lap top. 10
the PDA. As a mobile society we want to take everything with us. and radios are no excep tion.

N OI on ly docs it seem like ev eryone has

a cell phon e, but it also see ms like
everyone is constantly usi ng theirs. In so me
statio n . The law required that the operator
ma in tain a log of all operations. H ams were
required to sign the ir call letters fo llowed
the reg ulatio ns g ove rn ing our o pe ra ting
prac tice s have been loo se ned . Like th e
chicken and the egg , it's nOI important as to
ways it could be arg ued that amateu r radio by " mobile" or "portable" to de signate when which one ca me fi rst. A lthoug h I tend to
operators have gone from the forefront of operating away fro m their home loc atio n. co ncentrate o n ho w mob ile or portable op-
the world of elec tronics 10 some w he re Callsigns reflected the regi on in w hich you r eration s ca n contri b ute to s up po rt for
behind the leaders. Whil e this might hun stat io n existed and if yo u moved you r emerge ncies or disaster situatio ns, let ' s take
our collective pride. it is not tota lly unex- callsign was changed to reflect your new a look at some of the ways that no nfi xcd
pected . Any group tends to make progress, region. when operating portable o r mob ile ope rations can j ust be fun.
hit a platea u. and the n sta rt to progress you were req uired to in dicat e the reg ion Sometimes we thin k in Icons of a fa irly
again. fro m which you were opera ting, such as exotic se tup fo r mo bile or portable opera-
I think one of the reasons that we haven't " KE8YN Mobile 7," tio ns. but it is not necessary to cash in your
seen a 101 of g row th in the field o f portable A lot has c hanged ove r the past 20 to 401(k ) to em bark upon a nonflxed opera-
and mobi le com m un icatio ns is because 30 years as h am radio ha s gone from a tio n. O ver the past few co lumns I' ve writ-
we've been focusin g on the d igi tal com m u- primari ly fi xed service to a more mobile te n about sell ing up a mo bile statio n, using
nicatio ns wo rld. After learning to crawl w ith o ne . I suspec t that if you counted up all the an Al inco DX-70T and ATOC Iro n Horse
RTTY. we be gan to walk with packet radio , radio s in use today. hand he ld and mobile antennas. Fo r the next few mo nths I'm go-
which ga ve way toAPRS, PSK 3 1, and most radio s would far ou tnumber the traditional ing to look at po rtab le o perat ion s w ith an
re ce ntl y the marriage of ra d io an d the fixed stations, I usc 8 rad ios on a reg ular eye to the business traveler or vucatloncr.
Internet with IRLP. Developing these modes ba sis. At the house I have an HF ri g, a dual- In an ideal wo rl d, a po rt able rig wo uld
requ ired a lot of time in the shac k hunched band 2-meter 440 Mil l rig. and another be sma ll eno ug h to fit in a c o rne r of you r
over the keybo ard . Although I like di gita l Z· meter ru nning A PRS . In the car I ha ve su itc ase . incl ud ing po wer supply and an-
modes, J do like to see continued growth in HF and a dual-band Z· mClcr/440 MHz. and tenna, It wo uld be powerful enough fo r
mobile and portable communicatio ns, e spe- J have three hand ie-ralkies that get u sed O X o pe ra tion s but won 't interfere with a
cially with regard to how they could be useful regularly. I, like everyone else, tend to gravi- te levis io n hooked to a poor cable connec-
in an e merge ncy. Let's take a look at some tate to ward the no nfixed eq ui pment fo r tion - so it would be use fu l in a hotel room.
of the changes that have impacted nonfi xed m uch of my operati ng opportunit ies. II wo u ld run yo ur favo ri te mode on your
com municatio ns in the past. The phenomenon has several key piece s. favorite band a nd the antenna wou ld be
O nly a few years ago a ham had 10 po st a Today people are far more mob ile than the y minuscule. This is exactly why VH F and
copy of his license in a cl early visible loca- were 30 years ago . whethe r they want to be UH F arc so po pu lar, A ha nd ie-ta lkie fi ts.
tion at the station. The statio n license w ith o r not. We lend 10 move from place to place voice is a mode almost a ll hams like 10 use,
its ca ll lette rs was assigned to the statio n fo r career o r family reaso ns on a regular power requirements are lo w, and the antenna
and the o pe rator lice nse was assig ned 10 basis. Whereas o nce people went to work is short. Like wi se. with most of the country
the a mate u r rad io operator. T hi s wa s for a company a nd continued with that e m- enjoying good repeater coverage, band con-
ba sed o n the fact that when ham radio ployer for their entire caree r. today pe ople d itions are not an issue und a trav e ling ham
sta rted , a statio n was a fix ed e ntity , no r- change employers 6 to 10 times du rin g a can expect to be ab le to hit a repeater from
mally large and bul ky. T here we re cxcep- career and may even change career fiel ds al most an yw here .
no ns, o f cou rse, such as stat ion s o n ships. se veral time s. Commutes arc longer. so we Un fo rtunatel y, 2 meters and above have
The stations were equally large but the y spe nd more time in ou r cars, and air travel become so com mo np lace tha i a lot of the
were mobile even if they d id req uire that a is a regu lar part o f many career fields . Natu- e xcite ment and e njoyment has dropped our.
struc tu re be built o n the deck of the sh ip to rally there are more opportun ities to enj oy Local hams don 't mo nito r the repeater as
house the radio station. our hobby on the road or o ut o f the ham ofte n a nd tra vel ers may leave the HT in the
For many years the requirements of a ham shack than ever be fo re.
radio operator co ntinued to reflect the fixed In any case , as we 've got ten more mobile. Contmued on page 50
73 Amateur Radio Today . September 2003 47
GEAn Up
on freq uency." The ARD9800 will tolerate plus o r minus 125 Hz
AQR Introduces Digital HF Format in Digita l/SSB communication s mode .
AOR USA has introduced the ARD9800. a digital modem The ARD9800 c an a lso be u sed in other mode s . suc h as A M
un it that could bring a " unive rsal" dig ita l voice form at to the o r FM . Users of tho se formats will also notice improved audio
HF ba nds . AOR devel oped the product and fo rm at over the quality; however. AOR caution!'. against using the d ig ita l fer-
past few years , in an effort to bring the ad vantages of di gital mat in mobile FM operations. as the vehicle 's mot ion cou ld
voice and communications to the HF bands. ca use " p icke t fe nc ing" th at may result in the loss o f data and a
"The ARD9800 represents both a great adva nce in communi- dropou t of the d igital signa l. Al so. so me repeaters may not
catio ns and an opportu nity for Amateu r Radio operators to enjoy ke y up quickly e no ug h to all o w the pa ss ing of the digit al
the adva ntages of digi tal co mmunicatio ns no matter what brand " he ader" needed to e stablish the decodi ng of the d igital sig-
o f radio they may own: ' said Takashi "Taka" Nakayama KW61, nal. Mr. Nakayama point s out that the best advantages of the
Executive Vice President o f AOR USA. "The advantages offered AR D9800 beco me apparent on HF in the SS B mode : "The audio
by the ARD9800 are ma ny. including ' near FM '--quality audio is am azing ly dear."
and the like lihood that the d ig ital formal can operate at lo wer In ad di tio n to vo ice com m un icatio ns, w ith a n optional
sig nal leve ls than tho se of analog SSB , which is im portant as we me mory b oard , the ARD9800 ca n also be used to tran sfer still
approach the so lar m inimum ." image s a nd even comp ut er file s . T he A RD9800 has co mposite
The ARD9800 is a small, modem-s ize unit that req uires only v ideo input and outpu t ports; it se nd s an im age sim ilar in speed
two connectio ns to an existing transceive r. o ne through the rad io 's to SS TV, bu t many be lie ve the image is of a h ig her q ua lity
microphone input port , the other from the rig's " speaker out" jack th an conventional SSTV. T he composite video ports a llow the
to the ARD9800's audio input port . No modification s to the radio use of man y co m mon devices such as video and digita l c a m-
are necessary and the full analog capabilitie s o f the transceive r eras along with conventional NTSC monitors and storage devices .
are maintained. The o wner may use the microphone provided with suc h as VCRs o r D VD recorders .
the ARD9800 or wire his mic to work through the ARD9800. The unit also has a computer co nnection port. a lo ng with a
" T he AR D9800 was demonstrated at the re cent Dayt on provided serial connection cable, to allow controlling parameters
Hamvemion and again at the large Amateur Radio convention in o f the ARD9800 and to fac ilitate the transfer of files over the air,
Friedrichshafen. Germany. and enthusiasm for the product was if desired.
very strong ," said Mr. Nakayama . 'The most asked question was. Incl uded with the ARD9800 is the modem unit, a mic rophone,
' Whe n will it be available'l' " II a ms at both gatherings were power cable for connection to 12 VDC. computer connection
amazed at the audio quality. often saying they had no idea such cab le. and a conventio na l 8-pin round m ic inp ut connector. (Note
audio quality was possible using SSB on the HF band s. that the ARD9800 doe s NOT need to be connected to a co mp uter
The ARD9800 uses the open G4GUO digital protocol, a co m- in order to operare.)
p lex di gi tal fo rmat th at incorporate s element s of phase sh ift - Options incl ude a power cube , the memory e xpansion board,
ing to tran smi t the d igital sig nal. T he d ig it al to ne s h ave bee n and custom-made cable s thai fit the microph one input ports of a
e ng inee red to fi t with in the no rmal vo ice au d io passb a nd . variety of popular tra nsceivers.
maki ng it po ssible to use unmodified , existing rad ios fo r the " We are often asked if dig ital Hf commun ications are legal ,'
d ig ital format. T he format use s forward error correctio n (FEC) , sa id Mr. Nakayama . "The ARD9800 uses an open , publi shed pro -
making un linked co mmu nication s poss ible wi th two o r more tocol (G4G UO ). in co nfo rmi ty with FCC ru les . In that way. it is
participants . "A brief head er is se nt at the beginni ng o f each no different from several other digi ta l modes already in use , such
tran smission , followed by the d igital data ," explai ned Mr. as RlTY, AMTOR . etc ."
Nakayama . Along those same line s. the ARD9800 has no provision fo r
Operators with ARD9800 un its will not have to place their un its e ncryption o f its data . (In the near future . AOR wi ll introd uce a
in the d igital mode to receive digital signa ls. The unit will auto- co mmercial version of the un it fo r u se by autho rized commerc ial
matically detect the digital format. decode it. and pass it to the entities on their respective bands. that may su pport encryption.)
self-contained speake r o r 10 an ex ternal speaker. "This allows Mr. Nakayama added , "The big adva ntages we see in th e
operators to listen for both conventional analog signals. as well ARD9800 are th at it can be used right awa y, pro vides superb
as for d igital ." explained Mr. Nakayama . " It lets operato rs take audio , wo rk s with every tra nsce iver, is not a format that users
advantage ofthe be st of both wo rlds ." To transmit in digital mode , of only one brand o frad io ca n use , and ad ds grea t ca pa b ilit ies
the operator si mply move s a switch on the ARD9800 front panel. to operators . wh ile it takes nothing away from wha t the y a l-
Selling the switch back in the a nalog mode allows "normal" use ready ha ve . We th ink we 've ac hieved a wi n- wi n product that
of the transceiver. co uld be as exciti ng a deve lopment tod ay as SSB was nearly
The ARD9800 is easy to inst all and operate . No complex 50 ye ars ag o . AOR is ve ry proud to pre sent this product to
connect ions o r adjustments arc requ ired . T he owner simply A mate u r Rad io o pe rato rs aro und the world ."
solders a connecto r to a mic input cab le that matche s the m ic AOR is a manufacturer o f high-qua lity recei vers , receptio n an-
inpu ts for his p articul ar brand of rad io . T he A RD9 800 is th en tcnn as, lab equi pment and statio n accessories , headqu artered in
connected to the m ic input, the speaker o utput and to a 12 VDC Tokyo , Japan. wi th North America n d istribution headquarters in
po we r so urce. Torrance, Califo rnia . The M SRP for the AR D9800 is $549 US D.
AO R engineers design ed so me allo wance for freq uency error De alers are free to set thei r o wn prices and often d iscount fro m
o n the HF bands so that the operato r does no t have to be "exactly the MSR P.

48 73 Amateur Radio Today , September 2003

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16 Aslroo Corpora tion 2 • Electric Radio 30 • M' 58 .. Ranger Ccmm uocancns .. 15

• Al OC Amateur • Mayberry sales & Service 2S • RLS 50

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• ATOe Amateur • Elk Antennas 16 • Omega Sales 32 • SGC 7

Distributing Corp •••. •.• CV3 • Finger Lakes • Omega Sales 49 • SR Avionics 43

42 Bllal Company 30 Repair Service 25 • Omega Sales •••••••••.•••....••• 59 • T.G.M. Communieations ... 29

168 Buckmaster Publishing •.... 29 • AuidmotiOn Antenna • Paddlette Co 21 • The K 1CRA

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Products 56 • H. Stew art Designs 25 • Radio Boo k Shop •....•.•........ 6 • The A.F. Connection 21

• Code Quick •••...•.•••••••.••••••. 16 • Houston A mateur • Radio Book Shop 21 • T he Wireman Inc sa

• Communication Concepts 17 Radio Supply 57 • Radio Book Shop 32 • Universal Radio 17

• Communications • Idiom Press ...........•••......... 29 • Radio Book Shop ••.••••. •. •.•• 49 • Webster 17

Electronics, Inc. ..•....•.•..... 3 • IIX Equipm enl.. 59 • Radio Boo k Sh op .•............ 50 • West Mountain Radio 50

• Cutting Edge Ent 21 42 tsotron 30 • Radio Boo!< Shop 55 • vaesu CV4

When you buy products from these advertisers , please tell them that you saw thei r ads In 73.
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contin ued from page 4 7
briefcase . If the re are stormy conditions and
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warning. most of us quickly grab the HT

runner a nd the re peat er di rectory 10 see what

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Intelligent DC power panel less general c hatting than there once was.
Ten meters ca n be worked with a sma ll
• Conveniently power your station with Anderson PowerPoJefl connectors. rig and a rela tivel y short a nte nna. T he re is
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3 Models from $49.95! muted after sunset. Twent y meters offe rs
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The only no compromise earliest day s :IS a hobby. Long ago , w he n
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The easiest to set up, high afforda ble a nd practical. The average ham
quality, complete solution.
could construct a worki ng transceiver within
The best support tool hi s or her budget and get on the air. He o r
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linking with EchoLinkl o f ou r ham radio adve ntures. CW sti ll pre-
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18 She e han Ave n ue, N or w al k, C T 0685 4 (20 3 ) 85 3 80 80
Conlln ued on page 5 8
50 73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003
HRMSRTS
And rew C. MacAllister W5ACM
14714 Knights Way Dr.
Houston TX 77083-5640

Field Day 2003

Field Day is one of the mos t popular on-she-air contests/activities in amareur radio. It is held each year on the fourth
weekend in Jun e. The e W! fI1 ;S sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL ) as an emergency preparedness
exercise. During the 24-hour period, U.S. and Canadian participant!', strive to make as many contacts as possible operating
in remote locations from tents. campers, vehicles. or just (l simple setup in the middle ofa field.

T he ARRL Field Day rules consider the

a mateur satelli tes as a separate band
and provide a lOO-point bonus for the first
to w- voltage controller d uring nighttime
passes, and UO-22 to an unkno wn age-re-
lated degradation. left so me large ho le s in
wistfully to UoS at-OS CAR- 14 o n my HT,
I could hear co ntacts. but five watts to a whip
antenna wasn' t enough for QSOs during this
satel lite contact. The Radio Amateur Satel- the normal around-the-clock coverage of hectic wee kend.
lite Corpo ration (AMSAT) vers ion o f the amateur sate llites. The o nly a mateur satel- The AO-40 ant enna at K50E was a co m-
event conside rs each sate llite as a separate lite usable in the middle of the night in North mc rcial-surplus. five-foo t dish with a d ual-
band , encourages international participa- America was FO -29 . Station s aro und the ba nd, circu larly-polarized home-brew feed,
tio n. an d has add itio nal rules for di gital world (AMSAT Field Day Rules - [http:// Power output fro m the Kenwood TS-2000
communicatio ns. Many Field Day groups www.amsat.orgf) vied for vo ice. CW, and and borrowed amplifier on Lband was 28
have made efforts to pOI more emphasis o n d igita l contacts using the c urre nt amateur- walls. For the lo w-Earth-orbit ha msats Jerry
their sate llite stations. both for ARRL points radio satellites. a nd Ron used a small d ual -ba nd yagi de-
Jerry K50 E and Ron AG5 RS went for a signed for 70 cm and two meters. A fiber-
and to simultaneously make contacts in the
modest operat ion on the far-west side of glass. air-conditioned "Scamp" trailer was
AMSAT competition.
Houston. focusing on AMSAT·OSCAR-40 e mployed for the operating position. It was
Field Day 2003 via satellite ope ration using the Lband (23 c m) uplink much bette r than the steamy tent of 2002.
and S-band (13 cm) downlink. The American but the re was no room for observers. The
Field Day via sa tel lite in 20 03 wa s ex- Radio Relay League CARRL) cl assi ficatio n Scamp is really small. but it's also easy to
celle nt , and mo re "civilized" than so me for the ir act ivity was I B. fo r a single trans- air cond ition , It ge ts really hot in south
previ ous years. The recent loss of several miller and no more than two ope rators. They Texas o ver the Field Day weekend.
satellites. including RS·I 2J13 to a solar flare used Jerry's call. K50E. I was in West Po int
last summer. Fuji·OSCAR-20 (FO-20) to a N Y. attendi ng a weddi ng, a nd liste ning Continued on page 52

Photo A. A five-foot dish, dual-band yagi, t ts-meter vertical, and Photo B, An elegant dual-band, circular-patch feed system pro·
a Scamp do it all f or K50 E and AG5RS during Field Day 2003, vides L· band uplink and S-band downlink for ,10 -10 operation
(K50 E photo) during Field Day 2003 at K50 E. (K50 E photo)
73 Amateur Radio toaer » Seplember 2003 51
 the early ho urs of Sunday with a five- to
six-hour wi ndow of pri me operating param-
cters for North America . Europe was in the
wi ndow for muc h of Sunday morn ing, in-
clud ing statio ns in France, German y, Ital y,
Spain. and the UK giving out OX co ntacts.
By 1700 UTC, though, me squint situatio n
was bad enough that only a few CW signals
were heard, mostly on the west co ast of the
U.S.
FO-29 provided some excellent contacts
for JeO)' and Ro n o n several passes. Many
stations fo und this sate llite as a good source
of points in the contest. AMRAD-OSCAR-
27 (AO-27) and Saud i·OSCAR-50 (SO-50)
were good for relatively easy FM contacts.
UoSAT-OSCAR-1 4 (U O-14) was another
story. Using 100 watts to the 7 -e l~ ment
beam. just one contact was made via UO-
14. Only the extremely luc ky. high -po wer
statio ns had success. Bruce KK5DO showed
up on a deep-south orbit and gave Jerry and
Ron a co ntact be fore the rest of the U.S.
Photo C. Jerry K50E checks the computer f or the next satellite pass while " QOZMO"
looks on. (AG5RS photo) was in the satellite 's footprint. AMSAT ru les
specify that only one contact is cou nted for
each FM-voice hamsat.
H Rfof SRTS a stro naut Ed Lu on his first call. This was The biggest disappointment fo r 2003 was
contin uedJrom page 5 1 Ron's first-ever ISS QSO. Ed as ked about (he lack o f easy digital sat ellites. U0-22 and
It 's a g iven that there will always he a Houston we ather and wa s having a great the Korea n KitSat" were missed. 1\'av-OS-
se rious g litch at the beginning of Field Day. conversation with Ron. Jerry had to bring CAR-44 (I"O-44 or PeSat) was not in range
A last-minute connector problem a lmo st Ron back to Earth with a nudge or two si nce fo r Saturday ac tivity, and was al most o ut
created a pan ic, but was quickly c u red there were likely dozens. if not hundreds, of range o f Sout h Te xa s when it was fi -
shortly after the beginn ing o f the event. of sta tions hoping for an ISS QSO. nally activated o n Sund ay morn ing . Whi le
O n the fir st Inte rn ationa l Space S tation Wit h th is early success out o f the way, Jerry a nd Ron were ready fo r so me d ig i-
(ISS ) pass, Ron AG5 RS got a contact with Jerry took over the station and move d on to tal o perations , they were out of luc k this
AO-4 0 . Co n tacts year.
were bri sk. AO-40 Wh at ' s in sto re fo r 20047 We 'll j u st
w as "v isi b le" t o have to wait a nd see. Echo from AMS AT
h am s i n No r t h may be in orbit in time for Fie ld Day next
America right at the year, a nd the re are o ther sa te ll ite s wai t-
start of the contest ing fo r la unch to kee p th ing s inte resting .
a n d ha d crowded
AO-40 birthday bash
co nd iti o ns fo r the
firs t seve ral ho urs . Beginning September 16, 2003, ‫סס‬oo
A s the afternoon UTC and ending November 17, 2003, ‫סס‬oo
wore on and the UT e, AMSAT is spons o ring a bash to cel-
"squint" (the angle ebrate AO- 40's 3rd birthday. SSB, CW,
o f the satellite's an- and dig ital modes are acceptable for this
te nnas point ing to event. The AO-40 C ommand Team re o
Ea rth) degraded, quests tha t C W and Dig ital operations be
sig n a ls b e c ame performed with mini mal power (QRP sug -
scarcer, a n d fou r gested) to keep tra nsponder loading to a
hours into the con - mini mum.
test all but the har- All h am s worldwide a re welcome to
diest CW operators participate . Award s will be give n ou t for
ha d mo ve d on to to p scores worl dw id e , state s ide , no n -
other satellites. Many stateside, and AMSAT-NA member (wi th
contacts with Asia. paid up du e s). R unners up in eac h of the
mostly l As (Japan). above categor ies w ill a lso rec ei ve a n
Photo D. Ron AG5RS demonstrates the high-tech rotator system we re made on Sat- a ward. It is po ssible fo r one person to get
on the dual-band yagi (2 meters and 70 em ) during Field Day u rd ay a fternoo n . o ne o r more o f th e a ward s d ue to location
2003. (K50 E photo) AO -40 returned in and score.
52 73 Amateur Radio Today . September 2003
 The exchange for the bash is callsign. grid tri mm ing o r lengthening may be pair, vary the applied bridge voltage
square, and AMSAT-NA membership num- needed. After you h a ve it wor ki ng by rotating R3 about 25% of rotation
ber. or year and month of birth (YYMM) c o rrec tl y. you m ight co n side r u sing in both d irections. A good matched
for non·AMS AT-NA members. epoxy g lue o r e lectrical tape to secu re pair o f diodes will usua lly track with in
Everyone is encouraged to participate and
the wire s to the hangers. Solde r all a fe w m illivo lts over this range.
submit a score. E-mail logs will be accepted.
connectio ns at the center in sulator and T he next mo st ofte n used com ponent
All logs must be received by Bruce Paige
KK5DO on or before November 3D, 2003. use silico ne sealer o r e lectrical tape to we use in project circ u itry is the tran-
If you are nOI participating in the ba sh, protect them from m oi sture. sisto r. O ver the years, my j unk box has
please send your log as a check log. You can s uspend this ante nna hori- become the home of dozens and doz-
Log s fro m logging program s should be zontally, vertically, or s lop ing. I found ens of orphaned three-lead sem icon-
in Cabrillo form at or exported in ASCII it very ea sy to s upport by slopi ng it ducto rs. The maj ority are either NPN
with the same field s as the paper logs, but between my tower and a small tree. I o r PNP transistors and the o thers could
may be in the order that the logging pro- have worked seve ral DX s tations w ith be j ust about a nything that comes with
gram exports them (e.g., SS B might be good reports on all three bands usi ng three lead s. Sort ing o ut a good tran sis-
logged as USBILS B by the logging program thi s antenna . IL is a very good D X a n- tor for a project can be a real hassle
or Grid might be exported before AMSAT ten na when used in a vert ica l confi gu- so metimes , and our next project eases
#fbirthday).
ration . B y us ing it as a sloping d ipo le. that chore .
Those partici pating in the ba sh are en-
it seem s to be much less s usce ptib le to A single 4093 q uad 2· input NAND
couraged to submi t a weekly total by cat-
egory so that we can have a running history noise than whe n mounted vertically. Schmitt trigger performs the active
of activity. These scores will be posted with- Slopi ng it is the easiest way to suspend duty in the NPNIPNP transistor tester/
out callsigns so as not to give away who and provides best a ll-around perfor- sorter circuit. Gate " A" is connected in
has what score. Please submit the weekly mance. If you are more interes ted in an astable lo w- freq ue ncy oscillator
score to [[email protected]]. local and s tateside com m unication. circ uit producing a square- wave o ut-
Exchange example: horizontal mounting co uld possibly put. This o utp ut is inverted wi th gale
K50E de KK5DO wor k better for you. " D" to s upply power to th e collecto r
KK5DO de K50 E EL29 12345 Th is method can be incorporated in and base inputs of the test fix ture. The
K50 Ede KK5DO EL29 L3456 (L is used the construction of antennas for three o scillator's output is twice in verted
to indicate Life Member) or four bands of any desired freq uency. with gates " B" and "C" to s upply
Or if K50 E were not a member. K50E
It doesn 't necessari ly ha ve to be m ade power to the emitter input test fixture .
EL29551 1
for the WARC bands. It is fun and This arrang emen t p ro vid es a n oppo-
Scoring:
AMSAT-NA Life Member QSO · SSB = econom ical to build and makes a great si te polarity vo ltage betwee n th e
3 points, CW!Digital = 6 points conve rsation piece for you r antenna base/emitter and emitter/co llector test
AMSAT-NA Member QSO - SS B = 2 farm or garden. terminal s d uring te st.
points, CWlDigilal = 4 points C onnect a good known NPN transis-
non AMSAT· NA ham QSO - SS B = 1 tor to th e test fi xture and see how the
point. CWIDigital = 2 po ints circ uit de termines whi ch LED will
Paper log format: Simple Test Circuits
rontinuedJrom page 33 light. During the time gate "A" 's o ut-
Date (Y Y Y Y/M MIDD), Tim e ( UTe),
put is "low," the output at gate " D" is
Callsign, Gri d Square, AMSAT # in the forward voltage d rop and resls- "hi gh" and gate ··C ' is "low." This
or birthday (YYMM). SSB/CW, Point
tance of the d iodes. The bridge vo ltage places a positive voltage at the collec-
Value can be varied w ith R3, to check the
2003110116. 1400 . KK5 DO . EL 29 . tor and base test terminals, and a nega-
d iode ' s linearity. Thi s feature will al-
L34567. SSB. 3 tive voltage at th e e mitter terminal. A
Iowa dynamic m atching of the d iodes
2003/10117.0 100. K50E. EL29. 12345. good N PN transi stor w ill be forward-
over a vary ing current ran ge .
CW. 4 biased and w ill conduct, lighting the
Resistors R 1 and R2 may be matched
2003/ 10117.0105. XXI XX. ELO I. 5509. red LE D- I. Base curre nt is supplied
by sim ply using a d igital o hmmeter
USB. I and selecting two re sistors o f the same th rough S2 and R3 to the test fixture .
Postal submissions address:
value . The exact resistance value Openi ng S2 will remo ve th e base cur-
Broce Paige KK5DO
doesn't really matter as lo ng as they re nt. which will cause the LED to go
PO Box 310
are th e same. dark. A leaking o r sho rted transistor
AliefTX 774 11 fa
Using the d iode matcher is easy. Se- can cause the LED to s tay on or possi -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - l lect a diode and connect it to either set bly only d im so me w hen S2 is opened .
of test terminals. Set R3 to about During the time th at gate "A'''s out -
Just Hang 'er Up m idpositi on and then connect a diode put is " high," the voltages at th e
continuedfrom page 12 to the other terminals and check the transistor 's text fixture are o f the op -
a little tricky. Adjust one band at a d ifference voltage o n the DVM. Keep posite polarity for an N PN transi stor to
time, and then go back and check the trying diodes until th e best match is conduct and neither L ED will light.
SWR on the earlier tuned bands. M ore fo und. To check tracking of the d iode The ti me th at gate "A"'s output is
73 Amalevr Radio Today · September 2003 53
"high" sets the test circuit vo ltages up I do have some pet gripes about the Study Guides
to check PNP transistors . A good P~P rig having used it for nearly a year. That Pass the Test
transistor will light th e green LED-2. The first is the antenna "dcggte" - continuedJrom page 4 I
The output te st results may be some- anything that hangs free can and at
what confusing if the transistor is con- so me time will fai l. The manual, Hathaway; American Tech nical Society,
nected to the test fix ture incorrectly. wh ich is sorely in need o f an update, 1940.
However, for most devices no harm describes the antenna connector as a 17. P rinciples of Radio (fifth edi-
will come du ring testing. (NOTE: The rear-p anel-moun ted 5 0-239 connec- lion) b y Henney; John Wiley, 1945 .
maximum c urrent will be about 5-7 tor. which I wish it still had. My sec- 18. Fundamentals of Radio by Jor-
rnA through the device.) I' ve found the ond - actually. if you cou nt the dan. et al.: Everitt. ed.; Prentice- Hall.
circuit also handy in determining the manual . my third - gripe has to do 1955 .
emitter, base, and collector leads o n with the Stu-cons o r quick-disconnect 19. Modern Practical Radio and
orphan transistors. Just remember that power connecto rs. I' d ra ther have ac- Television (in three volumes) by
there are other three-legged semi co n- cepted (with reluctance ) a dogg ie w ith Quarrington : Caxton Pu bl icat ion Co ,
d uctors that are no t transistors and a Mole x or, better ye t, the new "stan- Ltd.; 1950.
ca nnot be te sted with th is circuit. dard" PowerPole connectors , but th is 20, Fundamentals of Radio by EE.
Hopefull y o ne of the se simple is a m ailer of pre feren ce . And fa r be it Terman; McG raw-Hill, 1938,
projects w ill get you digging into your from me to question those fo lk s at 21. Basic Rad io (se cond ed ition. in
j unk box and bu ilding something fun SGC for maki ng these decisions. six volumes) by Marvin Tepper;
and useful for the shac k. fa The ADSP (original) was good. but Hayden Book Co.. 19 73; ISBN 0-
the new updated ADSP2 is great! I' ve 8104-5921-3.
found that with a bi t of fiddling I can 22. Practical Radio Communication
get a 20-meter signal so quiet that (second edi tio n) by Nilson and
Test Time for the SG-2020 you ' d th ink the rig had FM capabili- Hornung ; McGraw-H ill, 194 3.
Transceiver ties. It's an option; the SG-20 20 is 23, Practical Radio Servicing by
con tinuedJrom page 38 available withou t ADS P, but for around Marcus and Levy; McGraw-H ill,
a hundred doll ars, why skimp? The rig 1955 .
back to your CQ. you had great aud io ,
wi th ADSP2 is less than $800, and ac- 24. Old-TIme Radios! Restoration
a really clean sig nal, but my S-meter
cording to their Web site will be and Repair By Carr: McGraw-Hill,
didn 't move ! I had to fin d out what
shipped free in the US. I did order two 1991 ; ISBN 0-8306-3342 -1.
you were using and what kind of an-
tenna you had ." Our exchanges in- options. the underpriced mobile mount 25 . Antique Radio Restoration
and the three-year ex tended warranty, Guide (second ed ition) by Johnso n;
cluded my QRO level and the fact that
which I fee l is well worth the approxi- Krause. 199 2; ISB N 0 -87069-638-6.
the 2020 was feeding my antenna
mately total $ 150 it adds to the pri ce . 26. Resonance ami Alignment by
"patch" a B&W wide band d ipole at
The 2020 is bui lt like a tank , and obvi- Rider; John F. Rider Publ isher, Inc.,
30 fee t facing N/S . So maybe I didn ' t
o usly w ill he around fo r many years at 19 36.
need the com pressor afte r all. Simi lar
our shac k and o n vacations. 27. The How and Why of Radio Ap-
reports of strong , clear, and clean au-
dio are the nann no matter what power In my infrequent contacts with the paratus by Secore; 19 22; Reprint
level or frequency r o pera te on, and facto ry, I have found the m helpful and Lindsay Publicatio n from J 993; ISBN
kn owledgeable about my equipment. 1-55918-11 3-3. fll
eve n with a marginal vertical antenna,
as well as being ready to answer those
I get out. and re ports are that my signal
has "punch," For more information dumb q uestions we all have but arc f--- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
about "p unch," re fer to the sidebar that usually afraid to ask. Even if a SG-2020
accompanies this review.
isn' t in the works for you now, I'd sug- HOMIHS 11'1
gest that you visit their Web site, [www. continuedJ rom page 46
• Electronic Keyer: I' m no t the big-
sgcworld.corn], and check out the rich patch of wood ... reported thai he was on a
gest CW buff. and I was put off wi th
lihrary o f information avail able for dead run ."
only Mode B iambic being a vailable.
download. Th ese are the same folks who
Which lea ves me with two choices: ( I)
make those antenna couplers. one of 'which Family help
use a straight key. or (2) learn to live
resides in my van. Another came as a
with iambic Mode B. Not too tough a 1 hope your club has tried international-
special when my SG-2020 was ordered
cho ice. rules fox hunt ing at least once and is plan-
and is in the house waiting for use.
ning to do it again, But even if there is no
Summary: lf yo u want a quality, rugged por- club nearby, yOll can get training with just
table HF rig, the SG-2020 is a gas to a little assistance. Larry Benko W0QE docs
The SG-2020 may no t be everyone 's use, and delivers what they promise. If it by playing radio hide-and-seek with his
idea of a perfect rig, but for dependabil- it were any more fun to use, someo ne young daughter at a local park.
ity, portability, and a miserly approach to somewhe re would find a way to make
battery consumption. it fits my bill 100%. it illegal! !lJ Continued on page 58
54 73 Amateur Radio toasv » Sepl ember 2003
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73 Amalour Radio Today
70 Hancock Rd., Peterborough, NH 03458 Or, call us at: 800·274·7373
Evert Fruitman W7RXV
2808 West Rancho Dr.
Phoenix AZ 85017-2646

Fruit Bits
Three morsels from W7RXVs extensive platter- or would that be "patter" ?

ho rtly a fter we g raduated from "Fine business." the annou ncer to inform the listeners

S high sc hool. o ur parents we re

off on another trip courtesy of
Uncle Sam. So we. my older brother
" W7 SC R mobile. W 7R XV mobile .
he re Corporal. here boy. come on. let's
go for a ride . Over."
that we wo uld be back o n the air as
soon as we fixed the transmitter. In-
stinctivel y. he reached for his mic
Hal W7SCR and I. go t to wa tch the " W7RX V mobile. W 7SCR mobile," sw itch and just started to say so me-
hou se and the dog. Now. the dog had Hal was laughing. and I co uld hear the thing when he got a funn y look o n his
grown up aroun d rad io. e lectronics. dog barking since he wa s just up the face as it cl icked w ith him .
and ham rad io. You cou ld hide a road a coupl e of car len gt hs in front o f
speaker in one room and call him on it. me. I could see him running frantically Remotely control led
He always went to you. not the speaker. back and forth from the front to the
back of the station wagon. sniffing. My wife o nce called me at work to
You couldn' t fool him. However, one
looking, and barking. Corporal never tell me that she had gotten a real buy
time I think we got to him. on a new fa n and ligh t with remote
Corporal - he wa s an Air Force dog d id fig ure o ut how we d id that one.
control for the livin g room. She would
- LOVED to ride in the car - anv
Due to technical difficulties beyond lei me install it when I got home . Oh.
car ! Rattle your keys. and he was at the our immediate control ... boy, which wall do we want the
doo r before you were . One day. Hal switches on? How do yo u mount that
and I went for a drive . T he dog headed More often than we liked . the tran s- wire mold o n the wall? I found it a
for Hal' s sta tion wagon . We turne d on mitter wou ld drop out at the lo w bud- pleasant surprise to discover that the
the 75m mobi les and the conversion get radio statio n where I was chief remote control was a wireless sys tem.
went so mething like this: e ng ineer. One afternoon while I was in Ju st do a bal ancin g act on a ladder to
"W7S CR mobile. W 7RX V mobi le, the control room. the transmitter install the fan. the light kit. and the re-
how copy Hal?" dumped . With rapid-fire words. I to ld mote control receive r. then enjoy it.
A few da ys later wh en I got home
from work. two of our grade-schoo l-
age grandchild ren were there for a
Back Issues Reprint, short visit. I started to tell them that
of of the y could set the fan and the light as
73 Magazine 73 Magazine Articles they wished and that it would work
from any room in the house . whe n they
On ly $5.00 Each ! Only 53 .00 Each!
in terru pted w ith. "Oh. it works just
Call 8QO.274·7373 Call 8QO.274-73 73
fine from across the street. G randpa.'
56 73 Amateur Radio Today . September 2003
RiCh Stiebel W6APZ
840 Talisman Drive
Palo Alto CA 94303-44 35

Are Your Batteries Corroding?

DOll 't let it eat away at you.

With homeland security ill the forefront of ollr consciou sness today. we haw been urged 10 be prepared wittcflastuig hts. por-
table radios, etc. Most of us lise batteries ir our hal/die-talkies and pretty milch know I/Oh' 10 keep them cha rged. We are
generally aware ...-hen those batteries uBI no Iongr r hold a charge and at ttun time we replace them. But what about those
other batteries in ou r flashligh ts. tape recorders. smote detectors, portable radios. test equipment. and alkaline battery
packs as backup to HT nicads or nickel-metat-hydride batteries?

any of us have heeded the W hen the bubbles stopped. I not iced lo ud vo lume w he n I pushed the test

M recomme ndatio ns and ha ve

obtained the abo ve eme r-
ge ncy items and put ba tteries in them.
that there was still some corrosio n left,
I again applied more vinegar and the
bubbling started again. After repeat ing
butto n. In spite of that good perfor-
mance. I replaced those baucries. as
older ba tteries tend to be the o nes that
There used to be a battery company the process a number of times, no corrode fir st.
that advertised that their batteries bubbles were seen when applying Many older hams will still have a
wo uld no t leak, but if they di d, the fresh vineg ar, so I d ried the contacts VTVM (vacuum tube volt meter) sit-
battery co mpany wo uld replace your with paper to wel and to e nsure I had ring o n the shelf. Eve n though those
Fl ashlight at no charge ; I have not seen removed all the moi sture. I used a hai r we re designed to o pe rate off 120 VAC
o r heard th is ad in years. In my expe- dryer on low setti ng to blo w-dry any (ho use power), the Ohms circu it uses a
rience, over time, batteries lea k and remaini ng moisture. Lfi-volt battery. I ha ve seen VTVM
corrode, whether used or not. The ba ttery co ntacts we re no w co r- ba tterie s corrode if no t c ha nged on a
I recently wanted to usc a tape re- rosion free, but the plating of so me of regu lar basis.
corder to tape a ta lk, but when I pressed the co ntac ts was uneven d ue to the ef- M any of the new anten na a nalyzers
the play button on the recorder, nothing fects of the corrosion. I then used a are designed to operate from e ithe r a
happe ned. Upon opening the battery fine file to clean up the contacts, in- wall-wart (AC transformer) or from
case, I found that the batteries had cor- serted ne w a lka line cells, and the ta pe internal batte ries. If you have an l\.l FJ-
rode d. Since alkali ne ba tteries me recorde r played as good as new. 259 or similar anal yzer that you usc
c hemica lly a base, using a mild aeid W hen I fin ished taping the ta lk, I o nly occasionally, remove the batteries
can neutralize the corrosio n. Most of removed the batteries because I did & place them in a zip-loc k type bag so
us ha ve clear vinegar in the kitchen. no t know when I' d need to use the re- tha t if they do corrode, your equipme nt
Vi negar ch emically is aci dic acid, corder agai n. I then started thinking will not be damaged .
which is an ideal mild acid. It is ve ry about where else I was using ba tteries. If you are a holiday/birthday party
safe to use. I reali zed that I use batteri es in many shutterbug, your camera probably sits
I first removed the battery cells fro m places; smoke de tect ors, cameras. for mo nths without bei ng used in be-
the holde r, and then, di pping a Q-tip therm ostats (for the time clock), n ash- tween occasions. It's best to remo ve
into a small bowl of vinegar, I ligh ts, portable radios, and some test the batte ry fro m the ca mera while
swabbed the contacts with the vinegar. equ ipme nt. When I chec ked the c- volr sto ring the ca mera.
Immediately. when the vinegar touched batteri es in the smo ke de tec tors, Batteries with some serv ice life re-
the co rro sion, bubbles sta rted to form: most of them read abo ve 8.8 volt s maining in them can be: used in devices
the acid was ne utralizing the base. a nd still powered the sounder with a that you use on a daily basis. Depending
73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003 57
 on your lifestyle, that may incl ude a certainly give yo u something to do w hile
bedside flashlight or a Walkman-type the XYL visits with her family. It can be a
ANTENNA CO MPARISON CDIM.P3 player that you listen to just-for-fun aspect of ou r wonderfu l hobby.
REPORTS while exercising several times per Ate you a tra veler who operates portable
HF Tribanders and Vert icals tested w hile on the road? Le t's hear fro m the road
week. The point is that when you are
on-the-ai r! warriors, RV owners. an d others w ho take a
using a battery in active serv ice, you
Read the rea l story on antenna rig alo ng e ither on a reg ular basis. or on
will know when one or more cells go
performance. spec ial occas ions. What are your experi-
Each report $17 + S4 s/h bad by decreased performance of the ences? W hat has prove n to be fun for you?
96-FOOT SELF SUPPORTING
device. Th e light in the flashlight will Drop me a line and let me kno w. II
TOWER ONLY S2 190! not be as bright ; the vol ume of the
$398 delivers an ywhere in the US! CD player will not be as loud . etc.
11 Toll Free (888) H33-3 1().4 E III This will give you the cl ue to c heck
nler online www.champtcnradto.com and re place the batteries. which ge ner- QRH
ally will be before corrosion damage Conlinued..from page 7
occurs. fa S&H green stamps or Texas Gold Stamps?
rALL XUU) 727-wmE (9473) Mimeograph paper or mimeograph machines?
Telephone numbers that began with a word
Tha t's All You Need to Know About
Wi re. Ca ble and Acces.o;;ori es! (e.g., Oxford)?
20 Years of Quality & Service! HOMINIi IN Metal ice trays with levers?
Web Site: hnp:Jlwww.thewireman.com rontinued.Jrom page 54
Email: n8ug @thewireman.com Did You Know That ." ?
TECHNICA L HELP: (8M) 895-4 195 " S he hides my low-power lightweight
transmi tter," he wrote. " Then sbe c all s me The plastic things on shoelaces are aglets?
TH E \\"IR E\L\,\, I\l I:\'C
on my cell phone so I kno w whe n to start. The first owner of the MarlbOro company died
Each hunt is usually less than a quarter mile 01 lung cancer?
in distance, but I never see her while I' m AI! U.S. presidents wore glasses?
SAVE 47%1 hu nting. When I find the tran smitter, she
Debra Winger was the voice of E.T.?
on 12 months of 19 Pearls will melt in vinegar?
appears OUI o f the bushes, take s the trans-
The three most valuable brand names are:
On ly $24.97 mitter. hides it again. and ca lls me three or MarlbOro, Coca Cola, and Budweiser, in that
fo ur mi nu tes later. We repeal th is a doze n order?
time s or so and then I buy her a treat on the Thanks 10 The Modulator, April 2fXJ3. fa
way home."
Larry 's practice system is particularly 1-- --- - - - - - - - - - - -
useful if you 're testing o ut a new piece of
RDF gear and need some short hunts. For a NEUER SRV DIE
m ult ip le-tran smitter e xperie nc e, get to - continuedJrom JX1.9C 9
gether with a few fe llow hams. pa ss out the
transmiuers. and have each one head in a t h ose eve n ts t o o k a good deal of
d ifferent direction. When each partic ipant p lanni n g , the coi nc ide nce o f o ne Fol-
lo w ing the o the r b y j u st a fe w weeks
has placed a fox . the hun t is o n.
The tried and true KT34 series antennas have is almos t enough to ge t a fe w people
been made bene r using the latest computer How is transmitter h unting developi ng in
thi nking .
modeling and mechanical ~i lJn techniques to your home tow n? Your photo s and sto ries Worse. the growing number of u nex-
provide you with the best uibander performer are welcome. Send them by E-mail or postal p lained (a.k.a. covered -up) anomalies
available today. Ju sr rake a look.! mail to the addresses at the beginning of thi s arou nd the WI I attack ha ve triggered a
INCREASED FRONT TO BA CK article. gro wing n umber of consp iracy sites,
INCREASED GAIN
MECHAN ICALLY SUPERIOR many raising leg itim ate que sti o ns. Li ke ?
ELECTRICALLY SUPERIOR
Notes Try [qucstionsq uestions.net]: [91 l -strikc.
LOWER WIND LOAD THAN COMPETITORS com]; (unansweredque stions.o rg); [what
LESS WEIGKT THAN COM PETITOR S I. T he champio nships will be over by realIyhappenedrom]; [copvciacom]; [truth-
RATED AT 100 MPH WIN D SURVIVAL the ti me you re ad this. " Ho ming In" will
AND OF COUR SE. NO PO P RIVET S
r
--=_ _ ~eature a complete report in a n upco mi!!.S.
now. com] ;[ra tical .org/rat v ilIe/ C A H );
lcooperativeresearch.org] : [americanfree
Issue. ~ press. net]; [oornmunitycurrency.<xgfi-Il.
Cont«:t us for our new catalog of
ALL the good;'." html]; 1thewaronfreedom.romI; 19 11pi.comI;
c.n 't Wllit? Vi.lt our I---------------~ [tenc .net] ; [onli nejoum a l.com}.
O m2lnc. com T he New Yorker re a d ers had th e be n -
ON THE 60 efit of a we ll-researched article by Peter
conrtnued Jrom page 50 Boye r pinnin g d o wn the a n th ra x u se d
in the O ctobe r 2001 atta ck a s being
more tool to use and for portable operations
Ame r ican-deve loped . A nd the n s ile nce
it just mig ht work OUI well.
d e sc ended .
W hy operate portable? It can add enjoy- If you've re ad Into The Buzzsaw you
~ [00 )I me nt to a vacatio n. It can take the edge ofT are a w are of the s uper cover-up of the
'"""""'-__-"
i llIII!!J
... being out of town for business. and it can Flig h t 800 crash. pl us a bunch of other
58 73Amaleur Radio Today · september 2003
cover-ups which reporters have been second from 4 :00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Scra m bling :"ews
prevented from airing or publishing. Last month I made $708, but of this half 91.~ -';w F" , I .. wc . SUlle ~tX)~. " hUTli FL " I ,{,
Then came You Are Being Lied To, a is taken au tomatically for payment of \( I~ _-'7~ - 'J~ ~ 7
www , u umtJ lingncw ' .c,,,,,
big, fat book packed with exposes of resti tution and fine s. My position would
cover-u ps. The ir latest, Everything Yo u be one of at least $ 100.000 per year. and 1'8); TV and Salrllile Prst.'[Umbling 2002 -
Know Is Wrong has even more exposes I assure you that I could justify that :-.l EW! - sate lli te and cable. Include s late st
of cover-ups .. . like Libya being in- amount simply with the improvements info rma tion . $19.95 plus SI.75 S h~ ~\Mfi
Iluckinl: Di~tal Satellite ~ems 'ld
volved with the Flight 103 crash. It was made. Well, many people do not under- - New ! - S29.95 plus $3.5 shipping.
Iran . stand that this is a business that the gov- Smlmbliol: Nc!!s Onlint - Online service for
$0. is the silence about the anthrax ernment is runni ng. The 125,000 federal those interested in satellite lele~' ision news.
S59.95fyear. S59 .951~T.
scare bener than the usual lies? prisoners are backed by a 30 billion PH)" U ' and SateUite Iltxrumb~ Se rks
Hey, they 're still lying about the dollar budget, plus the revenue from !.JJ::Bmn. - all 13 volumes over pages,
Moon landings. the Roswell cras h, the UNICO R of approxi mate ly $600 million $59.95 plus $3.50 shippinl .
~t Veal • Everythm~ ised above for only
O klahoma City bomb. UFOs, an d o n last year. We supply all of the government $99.95 plus S3.50 shipping.
down the list. agenc .ies."
In check ing UNICOR on the Wcb I
QRP? found that in addition to supplying fed-
eral agencie s, they ' re als o assi sting The BEST in
A lerter from Randy Jackson WB6ZFG "pri vate finns to compete for govern- ~I obile mounts
suggests that (tum 73 into a QRP maga- ment contracts by purchasing manufac - } 'F H nUllog a. aUah "
zine. Well. I' m not ready for anything turi ng time and to subco ntract parts and IInp:..........')lb .cum
.J.l21 .... 87th .t
quite that radical, but I sure would like services throu gh UNIC OR. Our high- Ilomet" w n.l 1 60"~6
to see more Q RP articles being submit- 'lIM-4B-060S,1 6\1 1 ru
qu ali ty. competitively priced labor can
ted . Choke me on them. fDlllPMOO LTD.
translate into more competitive bids and
How about reviews of Q R P equip- higher profits for your business."
ment? Reports on QRP symposiums? Well , no wonder. with their paying
News of any upcoming QRP events? "My Chinese labor prices, thus helping Ameri-
most exciting QRP adventure" articles? can companies to compete with foreign
Q RP DXpcditions? labor costs on government contracts.
Randy, being Randy. suggests I pub- Say You Saw It in 731
lish pictures of attracti ve fema les using Zoloft
QR P. Sex sells almost anything. so I'm
game to he lp promote Q RP with it. Let's T his is the stuff, like Ritalin. Prone,
get those hormones flowing . etc .• that school authorities arc forci ng
This fits right in with our need to get parent s to give their chil dren. So. I en-
every licensed ham ac tive with QRP as joyed reading an ad where the si de ef- EXPO-Series of MON()'Saocl, DUAL Baocl
part of ou r Homeland Securi ty coopera- fe cts are in about two-poi nt type. The ;! and TR...Baocl Quad Anleonas. ~~
tive plan . Get ' e m o n the ai r. Get ' e m 6 Meier to 17 Meier Model. avajla~ .;:.
common ones are diarrhea. fee ling tired. MARK Series PRE· TUNEO HF OOADS OX·KlNG
o rganized. A yearly Field Day? How sleepy, having trouble sleeping , tremor, SKYMASTER H.F. KITS FROM $2&5 j l D-15-2Om)
about a QRP Field Day every month? upset stomach, increased sweating. indi- 'lISILOUR..WE6.sJIE'-.WYIYl&1W.8lloCom
How ' s the last Saturday of every ge stion. and fee ling ag itated . For men 228 Hlblacu a $ 1. g . Jup!le r. FL 33458
(561) 748-2830 FAll (518) 74 2831
month hit you? Is there a Q R P club and women there arc se xual problems. Write' Or Cal Far FIN catalog
that might be interested in hand ling Hey. that's a lot better than cutting the
th e contest details? kid s' sugar intake any day.
UNICOR Sllver
The New Pools!
A letter from a federa l prison inmate Reader A lle n Wiegand say s that
ex plained that he works two shifts a day wh en he had a sinus attack wit h sneez- Exam inatio n Test
for a co mpa ny called UN ICO R. He ex - ing and conge sti on he put a dropper Question s & A nswers
plains. "This is a totally federally owned full of silver colloid in each nostril. It
private corporation (sounds illegal. st ung a litt le and then the sym pto ms The ewer questions. multiple choices
doesn't it?). At every federal prison be it cleared up and were gone permanently. and answers f or the Technician Class,
high. medi um. low. or camp, there is a And when hi s dog was scratch ing his
factory that produces everyth ing from General Class. and Extra Class
cars and shaki ng his head Allen put a
furn iture 10 the electrica l harnesses for operators license.
d ro pper full of silver colloid in each
F- 16 fighter aircraft. My j ob is Hcad car o nce a day fo r a couple days. It ~
Quality Ass urance Inmate and Produc- cleared up th e problem .
tion Coordinator. It sounds ve ry presti- At around a penny a gallo n to make Only
gious. bu t the truth of the matte r is that th is stuff it's well worth having around. 59.95
whenever there is any problem it always Check out my $37 AC-powered kit, Plus S3.50 S&H
fall s o n my lap. I hav e always worked
all my life and th is f actory has made Beggaring Our Neigh bors
me deve lop consi derable people ski lls. Omega Sales
Not everyone is an interested worker. Oh. we talk a great line about free P.O. Box 376
My salary is the highest, plus I have markets, bUI we ' re lyi ng . Take the $200
billion farm bill , supported by both the Jaffrey. NH 03452
longevities and the advantage of work-
ing overtime . I work two shifts, the fir st
from 7:30 a.m. to 3:-15 p.m . and the Conlinued o n page 6 1 • 800-467-7237

73AmatellrRadio Today . September 2003 59

PROPR6Rr/ON
Jim Gray II
210 E. Chateau Cir.
Payson AZ 85541
[akdhc2pilo! @yahoo.comj

Propagation Expected to Improve

During the last quarter there has been a modera te surge in the solar indices. but we are well past the peak ofSotar Cycle 23.
so the upward trend is only temporary.

T he rise in sunspot numbers means tha i the average 10.7 em

flux is li kely to stay above 120 for the nex t month or two;
therefo re , the Time-Band -Country c hart remain s unchange d from EASTERN UNITED STATES TO:
last autum n. T he 10.7 e m flu x leve ls should drop to around 100 by
I~~
the new year, however.
Solar behavior is expected 10 range from qu iet to active this I ';"'"
--
, ~ ,

- , ~ ,
~

,,~
»~

,,~
' 0'12
,~ , ,~, ,~ .
, ~ .

,~
, ~ .

,,~

month , bUI propagation cond itions should be in the Fair (F) range
I~
---
~ ~ ~ ~ ,~, ,~, ,~. ,~.

most of the lime. Coronal holes and occasional M-class n ares will "m »~ .~ , ,~, , ~ , , ~ , ,,~

I~
tend to keep the geomagnetic field in n ux, but you should be able ~ ~ ~ ,~,
'~' 7 , !W' 7 ,~

to find wo rkable DX paths at least two-thirds of the time. The worst "m "m , ~ ,

periods are forecast to be the 1st-3rd, 13lh- 16th, a nd 28th- 30th, 'M2 "m ,,~
"m W I? ,~ ,

"m "m
-
,~ , ,,~ ,~, , ~ ,
l S1l7
with Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and/or geomagnetic storms
'~12 "m ~ ~ » »~ ,,~
' ~' 2
likely. ,~,
~ ,,~ ~
'iW" ,g,'2

- -- "m
,~, , ~ .
' 7121) ~ ~ ,,~ ,,~ , ~ ,
Geomagnetic storms ha ve long been associated with the autumn
~ ~ ,~, ,~, ,~, , ~ , ,,~

and spring eq uinoxes . While the e xact reason is unknown, a study

of data collected o ver the last fifty years suggests th at geomag- II CENTRAL UNITED ST It. TES TO;

netic activity is indeed greater ncar these dates. Between 1940 and ~ ' 5/' 7 , ~ ,
"m ,,~ ~ ,~,
,!W'T ,ll/'2 '~' 2
, ~ ,

1990, the re were forty-two major ma gnetic storms close to th e , , ~ ,

lIlI17 ~ ~ ,,~ ,~,
'~'2 , ~.

, • •m
12I1 S 12115 ,,~
"m

- ---
' a/'!
equinoxes (40% were in March or Se ptembe r), yet none occurred
" m "m ' 2/ ' 5 '2115 '5/' 7 "m
in the so lstice months of June and Dece mber. Anecdota l evide nce , . 2/.s ' 21'5 "m ,,~

of auroral activity, reco rded since ancie nt limes, a lso supports the ,- ~ ~ .~, ,~ , , ~ ,

supposition that geomag netic storms are more frequent around the
first days of spring and fall. -
I~
, ~,

,~,
,,~

,~.
"m ,,~ ,,~ ,,~
,~.

,,~
,~.

,~,

-- -
,g,,2 ,~ ,,~
To counterbalance this, the HF ba nds typically "peak" in the ' l)" 2 ,~ ,

,~,
' !WI 7 , ~ , ,,~ ~ Hm '21'5 1ll/12
weeks surrounding the equ inox, so ex ce llent worldwide commu- ,~ , , 21'5 "m ,,~ ~ ,,~
"m 1ll/12
, ro17
nicatio ns are possible as long as the sun isn' t too turbulent . AI- ~- '2/'5 .ro' 7 ,,~ ,,~ ~ »~ ,,~ W 12 121' S 12/15

WESTERN UNITED STATES TO:

-
though local ion ization level s a re greatest d uring summertime in

Ie:
,~ . ,,~
the Northern Hemisphere, research bas shown that the worldwi de 1ll/'2 ' 5117 ,~,
'll/'2 lW'2 ,~ .

,~, ,~. ,~, ,,~ ,~ ,~, ,~,

level of F2 ionizatio n is actually up to 50% highe r in the fall and

I~
,,~ ,,~ H~ ,,~ ~ ~ ~

»
'"
,,~ ,~, ,~. ,~.

,, ~
"m , ~ , , ~ , ,,~ H~

~ ,~,
,ro'7 ~

'w ,,~ ,~ .
'w
September 2003 101" 2 ' (lI ' 2 ' 21' 5 ,,~ ,,~ ,,~ ,,~
' 51'7
' ll/12 ,,~ ,,~
1ll/ ' 2 ' 5/, 1
SUN MON TUE WED THU FAr SAT

I~
1ll/12 ,~. ' 5/17 '51' 7 ,,~ ,,~ ,,~ ,,~

7 F-P
1 F-P

• F
2 P

• F
3 F·P

10 F-G
4 F

ll F
5 F-G

12 F
6 G

13 F-P
, ~,

. 0" 2
~
,~,

' 0" 2
~
,~,

- - -
':It'5
,,~

,~,

»~
l1!21)
~
,,~

~
"m
,~,
,,~

,~.

,~.
'0"2
,~.
'!W'7
'5111

,,~

Table J, Band, time, country chan . Plain numerals indicate bands

14 F 15 F-P 16 F· P 17 F-G 18 F-G 19 F-G 20 F which should be worknhle on Fair 10 Good (F-G) and Good (G) days.
Nwnbers in pareruheses indicate bands usually worlwble on Good (G)
21 F 22 F-P 23 F-G 24 0 25 F-P 26 G 27 F-G days only. Dual numbers indicate that the intervening bands should
28 F-P 29 F-P 30 P also be usable. When one number appears in parentheses. that end of
the range will probably be open on Good (G) days onl)'.
60 73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003
spring. There is also less of a potential for thu nderstorms will no longer be as muc h of thirsty. If you get tired during the day,
o ver-ionization, so the overa ll effect is a a problem as they we re during the summer you're thirsty. Wate r can c ase back and
global impro vement in propagat ion condi- months. Look fo r peaks just after mid night j oint pain. Eve n a s ma ll drop in body
tio ns . Th is seaso nal boo st is ge nera lly and aga injust before sunrise, a situation that wa ter hurts sho rt-te rm me m o ry a nd
li mite d to the lower band s, however, be- plea ses both nig ht o wls and early risers. ab ility to do m ath.
cause September is statistically the peak Even five glasse s of wate r a day can
Short-skip will normally vary betwee n 900
c ut your c hances of getting co lon cancer
hurricane month and tropical storms often and 2.000 mile s. Ea by 45%. bre a st cancer by 80%, a nd
sat urate the upper bands with noise . Fif- bladder cancer by 50%.
teen and 20 meters typically bene fit most Plea se don 't d rink that stuff from your
from the "equino x effect," but I0 meters can tap. You do n't want a ny chlorine, n UD-
also provide some strong DX opportunities, NEUCR SRV DIC ride s, or a ny of the o ther crapola in it.
es pec iall y o n north-so uth paths. continued fro m toee 59 C hec k [w ww.steamd isriller.com ] fo r an
73 and good hunting! inexpensive still.
Dems and Re ps , and q uickly signed into
Band-by-Band Forecast la w by Bu sh . T his raised the le vel of Lighl
agricult ural subsidies by over 80%, th us
10-12 meters. Conditions will improve e ncouraging farmers to grow more, in- It ' s bee n a wh ile since I've nagged
throughout the mon th, and by Octo ber most creasi ng o ur exports and depressing you about gett ing o ut in the s un every
world food price s. This red uce s the farm day. I was rem inded by a cli pping from
parts ofthc worl d sho uld be workable. Look
incomes in the de vel oping countries. Ken G lanze r a bo ut Dr. Ott de velopi ng
for co ntacts to the east in the morni ng hours
Three -quarte rs of th e bo nanza go to the art hritis . He went to Fl o rida a nd soaked
and to the west in the afte rnoon. Southeast- up th e sun fo r a m onth, w ith no im-
bigge st and richest 10% of the farmers .
er ly throu gh so uthwes terly paths will be prove me nt. T hen s ud denly it was
T he rich get richer again, a nd a t the ex-
better than those nea r the auroral zo ne. but pense of poo r fanners he re and aro und gone . He ' d sa t o n his d ar k glasses a nd
be sure to check the morning and evening the world. broken them. Read his book Health
gray-l ine path s over the poles. Dayt ime And never mind the growing federal and Lig ht which is re vie we d in my Se-
sho rt -skip wi ll normal ly be somewhere de ficit which is d riving do wn th e cret Guide 10 Wisdom .
be tween 1,000 and 2,000 miles. do llar 's value. We need those UVs in o ur eyes if
15-1 7 m eters, S ignal stre ngths will co n- Oh. did yo u hear about the imposition we're going to be hea lthy. We sho uld be
of stee l tari ffs'? So mu c h fo r trade liber- us ing full-spectr um lighti ng at home a nd
tinue to improve as the month pa sse s and
alization a nd promo ting developm ent in ou r offic es. It ma ke s a world of di ffer-
lo ng-path propagation should be pa rticu-
the world 's poorest countries . ence in schools. No, UVs do n' t ge t
larly good. Thc be st o penings will sti ll be throug h o ur windows o r g lasses.
to Central and South A me rica , especially Wo rried S ick
from e arly a ft e rnoo n t hro u gh m i d- T he E n ron Pikers
e vening, but a lso look for o pportunities Ye s, the things you worry a bout can
in Asia and the Fa r Eas t. Expect skip di s- make you sick. O kay, so you ha ve n' t American Ind ustry has a lo t to learn
tan ce s u p to 2,300 m ile s o n Good (G ) read Barbara Levine' s )(JUr Body Be- from o ur government. The mere fiddli ng
lieves Every ~tfJ rd rOil Say. She prove s it of a few billi o n dollars by account ant s is
days, but the average will usually he fro m
... o ve r a nd over. c hicken fe ed c o mpare d to the ma ssive
1,000 to 2,000 mile s. a mo unts our beloved C o ngress has been
If yo u keep saying that you ha ve a
20 meters, "Twenty" will be yo ur main - keeping "off the books."
poor memory, g uess what? If you say
sta y as usual and can be worked around Like ? Well the re's about $50 bi llio n
you' re "sick to de ath" of something. you
th e clock, but ni ghttime will be best. Try just may fin d you are. Yo ur body doe sn't fo r the International Monetary Fund that
lo ng-path propagation across the A ntarc- understand it 's just a figu re of speech. so you won't find mentio ned in the fede ral
tic into Asia a nd the Far Eas t a nd short- it tries to fo llow instructions. budget. The n the re 's a lmost $4 trilli on
path propagation to Australia, Indone sia , Te n years ago a study sho wed th a t (w ith a T ) for go vern ment-s ponsored
and th e So uth Pacifi c. Short- ski p could women who be lieved the y were prone to e nte rpr ises (GSEs) th at are kept off the
heart di sease we re fo ur times as likel y tobalance shee t. Oh , the re 's Social Secu-
be a s limited a s 500 mile s during the day,
die a s women who didn't. r it y, where the rev enues go int o th e
bu t w ill normally be from 1,000 up to
J ust as if you w ish for something the Tre a su ry a nd the liab il ity fo r payments
2,200 miles a t night . is off the book.s , replaced by unreported
universe will often fo llow through for
30--40 m e ters. Hurric an e season will 10 Us .
you, what you say o r think about your-
make life di fficult here , but during the qui- The rea l biggee is the numbers you' ll
se lf will often become fac t. Watch your
e te r period s there should be so me sol id lang uage. o nly fi nd if you a re abl e to get your
DXi ng opport unitie s. Central a nd So uth You c an bring abo ut maj or cha nges in hands on the Comprehensive Annual
America w i ll be yo ur mai n st a ys , o f yo ur body j ust by being positive. Read Fund Reports (CAFRs) for our cities,
course, but Eastern Euro pe , A frica. and th e magic fo rm ula o n pa ge 42 o f m y counties, states, and the feds . The se
the M iddle Eas t co uld provide some in- Secret Guide to Health fo r th e deta ils . show that th ere' s ove r $60 tri llion off the
books, which is mostly in ve sted in the
teresting variety, e speciall y for th ose east
Water ! stock marke t.
of the Rocky Mountai ns. Ski p wi ll vary
The pre-ta x personal income of every-
be twee n 800 and 2,000 mil e s at night, but A re yo u drinki ng 8- 10 g la s se s o f o ne in the US ru ns aro und $6.5 trillion.
expect o nly 600 to 800 mile s d uri ng the di stille d water e very day? Probably not, so o ur go vernment has been stealing from
day. since 75% of A mericans a re dehyd ra ted. us and cookin g the boo ks way beyo nd
80-160 meters, Check these bands when To ge l [he full sto ry read the Batma n' s big time.
40 meters is active . Tropical activity will boo k, You r Body 's Many Cries for Wa ter. S o, what can we do about a ll th is ly ing
severely curtai l activity he re , but noc turnal When you feel like a snack, you're and stealing? Is it hopele ss? Dammi t,
73Amal eur Radio Today · September 2003 61
no! Join the Green Team and swear to foot ball field, where the food was grown 600,000 workers in rural communities
ne ver again vote for any incumbent. for Kushi' s Eas t-West Institute in Los losing thei r jobs, most in the last two
NRA = Never Re -elect Anyone ! Get An geles. T his was a huge garden to years .
the politi cians our of your state leg is- water, fertilize, and weed . American manufacturing j obs have
latures and Congress. Never elect a Wh en he complained about the enor- fallen from 35% of the workforce in the
lawyer ei ther. Look for b us iness mity of the task Mi chie explained. "You 1950s to about 10% now.
people who have been successful and know, you don't really have to weed the With the inc rea sing loss of blue collar
would like to step in for one term and fields. You can talk to the spirit of the jobs there 's more and mo re need for bet-
hel p get our co untry away from t he weeds and ask them to grow in balan ce ter educated workers ... and our schools
corporations and banks that own it and and harmony with the vegetables." are not providing them. We are living in
make th is a republic aga in, j ust as the That's crazy, he thou gh t . .. but since a hig h-tech world. We 're in a wo rld
founding fa thers planned. e·...erything else Michie he'd tried had where technologies are radically chang-
worked. what the heck . So he beg an ing every few years and our educational
Breast Feeding talking aloud to the weeds, asking the m sys tem, geared to the needs of 1850, has
to grow in harmony with the vegetables. left us woefully unprepared to cope with
Still more proof of the importance of Then he also talked to the vegetabl es, roday's business dem and s.
breast fee din g children fo r you to pass Our educational system, and our people,
urging them to grow tall and in harmony
along to yo ur granddaug hters or great with their weed neigh bors. have to come 10 terms with the wo rld of
granddaughters if they ' re with child. A 2003. The old paradig m of go ing to
After a few weeks he began to see a
large Danish st udy repo rted in the school, graduating. fi nding a job, wo rk-
change . The weeds grew, but not enough
JAMA showe d that the longer a child is ing for 40 or so years and retiring with a
to harm the vegetables. Then he started
exclusive ly breast fed, up to at least gold watch and a pen sion are a rapidly
hearing voices in his head. It took him a
nine month s, the higher the child ' s IQ . fading memory.
while to get used to this. They kept tell-
It has to do the special nutrients in the When Wal-M art moves in dozens of
ing him that they didn' t need fertili zer or
mi lk on the baby 's developing brain. local mom and pop stores disappear . ..
water, just his love and company.
Back when I had a bunch o f employ- unab le to co mpete on either price or
So he tried it, eve n though it hadn't
ees I encouraged mothers with babies merchandi se variety.
rain ed for months and the soil was sandy
to keep th em with them at work and Our kids need an educa tional system
ex clus ive ly breast fee d them . and devoid of nutri tion al mine rals. They
explained that he 'd have to keep the lack that is geared to the realities of the 21st
of water a secret from the Institute resi- century, not the 19th. We need to get the
Ozone G (H)d
dents because their belief in the need for fed s out of the school busines s. Good
In a study conducted over a I5-year water wo uld kill them. So he went to the grief, didn' t we learn anyth ing about the
period. wome n who worked at home had fi elds, lay in a hammock and talked to socialist central planning sys tem bei ng a
a 54 % higher death rat e fro m cancer the plants, keepi ng the illusion alive that total failure in every country it' s been
than women who wo rked away from he was out there wateri ng and ferti lizing tried? It takes business competition to
home . Ho w come ? It' s th e daily expo- the plant s. keep up with the world's changing needs,
sure to household prod ucts. Li ke ? O ut- T he pl ants s uggested that he hide the not well insulated from reality bureaucrats
gassing fro m carpets, upho lstery, drapes, monthly wa ter bill so they wouldn't in Washington.
plywood , particleboard, wallpaper, and notice the sharp drop in co nsumption . So what ' s a worker to do? Wake the
cleaning supplies. Plus radon gas. Then they suggested that he plant a hell up to rea lity circa 2003 , tum off the
Exposure to these ch emicals, most of separate small garden j ust for the pests TV and ma ke an effort to educate your-
wh ich were unk nown in the home a hun- such as snails, bugs, aphids, rabbits, self so you ' ll have so me altern atives
dred years ago, has been causing head- mold. fungi, and deer. When he did thi s wh en the ax fall s o n your neck . The
aches , memory loss, fatigue, drowsiness, the big garden was no longe r bothered concept of life long learning is begin-
dizziness, eye and skin irritation. depres- and the small special garden was rav- ning to gradually seep in. As technology
sion. cancer, shortness of breath, and so aged by every pest there was. The big advance s, we either keep up with it or
on. And yes, of course we 're bringing garden produced record crops. become superfl uous (out of work). Sup-
our children up in this poisonous atmo- Michio so mehow kne w what was plying tech nology updating courses
sphere. going on and smiled . (programs) is going 10 be a fast-growing
The solution? Simple, get a small Our ability to comm unicate with industry.
ozone generator. That'll get rid of the plants is backed up with Chris Bird's Knowledge is portabl e. Going to
bad stuff in no time. The Secret Lif e of Plants and his Secrets classes? That's 19th -century teaching.
of the Soil. both reviewed in my Secret Listening to lectures? Har-de-har, Not
Oops! .,. T he Return of Talking Guide to \Vi.'idom. All life is connected, if when information can be delivered via
Plants only we' d take off our mental blinders. DVD or video tape anywhere in the
world from anywhere in the world . A
Here, in its entirety, is the " Talking Job Losses professor at a blackboard ? Hey, we
Plants " item that last month we ne- have th e wo rld of computer graphics
glected to continue from J uly. Sorry During the 1990s fact ories were being and interactive programs now.
about thatt moved from the cities to small towns, Ignorance doesn't cut it. So, how many
The American Society of Dow sers where land and labor was cheaper, put- of the books I've reviewed in my Secret
quarterly digest had a fascinating reprint ling over 300,000 urban wo rkers on Guide to Wisdom have you read so far ?
of a chapter from a book by Keith unemployment. T he n, as the value of the My own shtick is to get people to
Varnum. I' ll have to get it and read the dollar rose, making imports less expe n- think in terms of starting their own busi-
whole book. si ve, companies started mo ving thei r nesses. Maybe start something with the
This had to do with him going to work factories from the small tow ns to lower time that is normal ly wasted watching
for Mic hie Kushi. where he was respon- land and wage countries s uc h as
sible for a garden about half the size of a Me xico and China ... wi th almo st Continued on page 64
62 73 Amateur Radio Today · September 2003
 in Poland (and the famou s salt m ines). CIas...kw l ~ I llsic Gu id~ : A li..t of 100 S iht'r Wi ~:Wilh 1"'0 5-in. pieces of
Prag ue. bac k 10 ~Iun ich . and the first C Ds .... hich w ill prov ide you ....ilh an beavy pure siIv't."l' wire + three 9V rnner-
class ll ight home fo r two, all fo r un - outstanding collection of the fin e st irs you ca n make a thousand dollars
der $1,(XXl'! Yes, when you know how classical music e ver written. Th is is worth of silver colloid. What do you do
yo u can travel ine \ pensi\'ely. a nd still what yo u need to help yo u reduce with in It does whal the antibiotics oo .
stay in fiN class hntd s. 55 (' 11) "tress. Classical m usic also raises but germs can't edepe to il. Use itto get
lIefl' a resom eol' m) blloks " hidJ am Wri tt'r's G uKlt': Ir's easy, fun. can pad youngsters" IQ s. helps plan ts grow rid of germs OIl food, for skin fungus.
lila n,,- ) ou r life !if ) 00'11 wI ·em). If yoor r6uml!, a nd impress. the hell ou t faster, and will make )'ou healthier. Jlbt warts. and even to dri nk. Read some
the ide'" ol beinJthealth)-, '" ea lthy a nd of your friends. SO (#78) wait' II you hear some of Gotschalk's bonks on the uses of silver colloid, it's
wise inll'rests you. sta rt rt'adill~. Yes, w eyn e·s C a rihhi.'Hn Ad venm rec My fabulous music! $5 (#33) like magic. $15 (' 80)
yoo can he all th a t, hut only ",he n yuu
super budget travel stories - where I T he R ad a r Cover up : Is police radar CoUnM:! ReprinL Apri l 97 article Oil a
kno" the s«re l.. ", hich I' ve spent a visitthe hams a nd scuba dive most of dan gerous? Ros s Adey K6 UI. a .....orld silver colloid maker. hi"'lIry. and IxlW
lifetime unonerin~ lhe isl ands of lhe Caribbean. You 'lI authority, confirms the da nge rs of 10 use the <;lUff. 55 (1198)
. . . . . . ~Y· ~ love lho:: special Liat fare .... hich let me rad io and magnetic fields. including CoIk>id '--lips. Three 9 V battery clips,
visit I I coumrics in 2 1 days. diving (KJr i-IT" and ce ll phones. $3 (#34) 2 all igalor clips & instruelinns. $5 (#99)
T h e Secret G u id ... to " ealth: Yes, all but nne of the isla nds, Guade loupe, Three G aUo Tal k...: A prize-winning AC -pll",...red Culluid Kil:12V power
there really is a sec retto rega ining your where the hams kept me ton busy with teache r e xplains what 's wrong with supply, silver wires. reprint, including
health and adding 30 to 60 ye ars of parties, S5 (#12) American schools and why o ur l ids priorit y mail shipment. SJ7 (#82)
healthy Ii vin~ 10 yut6 1ife. lbe art'<wa is Cold Fusio n (h e rview: Thiv is both are Il()( being edecated. Wh y are S..... ed- Four SmaJI Boukk-ls Com bu: Super
simple. but il means making some se· a brief h i ~tory of cold fusion, which I im young-aers, w ho "tart school at 7 Orpnic Food: atrillion1hILt- new indu s-
rious Iif~I)'1e change'S. Will you be ski- predic t .... ill be one of th e large-st in - years of age, k av ing oor kids in the try; Schools in 2020: anot her S tri l-
ing the slupes of Aspe n with me when d ustries in the wo rld in lhe 2 1"t ce n- d ust? Our kids arc intentio nally be ing lio n industry. Anthrax, a simple cure.
yo u' re l)() or doddering around a nurs- tury, plus a simple expla nation of how dumbed down by our school sys tem- Dowsing: why mll! bow it works.$3 (#AA)
ing tunc'! Or plNJing up daisies? No. I' m and why it wo rks. This ne w field is the leasl effective a nd mU~1 expensive My 11) 92 We The I·eo ple Declare
nol selling any health products, bul I going 10 generate a whole new bu nch in the wor ld. $5 (',l5) Wa r! On O ur LOllS)' Oove m ment
can help you cure yoerself of cancer, of billio naire s, j ust as the personal Aspa rtHme: a.k.a. :'<OutraS"' eel. the OOok-360 pages and packed wit h
heart troeble. or any other illness. Gel computer indasU) did. S5 (#20) ..tu ff in diet drinks, etc., can cause all soeas that' ll ~ you all excited.Was S13.
th js ne w, 2002 ex pa nded ed it ion Imp n n -ln RS ta te ( ;ou'rn mt'nt: Here kinds of serious health problems. Mul - Wh ile they las t 5 10. Jusl a few left.
(l 6(}p). Sl5 (#04) are 24 wa ys tfuu stale governme nts tiple sc lero"is. fur o ne. Read all about found in the warehouse. La..1chance for
T he S...rITt Gu ide 111 W...a lt h : Just as can c ut e"pe nses e no rmo us ly. whi le it, lwo P;Ullphlel!; Ii lr a bock. (#3H) thi~ d as..ic.(#()6)
with health. you'll find that yuu ha ve providi ng far bene r ..er\'ice. l e \ plain $ 1 ~ I i mon Sall'!i Video: lbe secret of S lulI I did n't write. but )00 need:
been s uckered by "'the s)'slem" into a how any gm'emmenl bureau or de- how yoo ca n gene ra te an eu ra m il· 1"AS A ~ Io u n t'd A m t'r lca : R e nt
pattem of life thai will keep y{KJ from pa rtme nt ca n cui its expenses by al liono.!n1Lfiin <;,aJesju-a: by lNng PRoTh is make~ an air-t igh l case that NASA
ever mak ing muc h mo ney and ha \'ing leasl 50% in th ree }'ears and do il will be nne of the best in\'l'-.tmerllS you faked the Moon landings. Thi s book
lhe freeo.! om 10 tra vel a nd o.!o what coope ralively a nd e nt husi as lically. oc)"lfOOsi ncs... will e\'er make. S40(#52) will co nvince eve n yo u. S30 (#90)
yO ll wan t. I ex plai n how an yo ne ca n I n plain ho w, by app lying a ne w Re p r in ts ol ~fy J<:di lor ia l... from 73. Last Skt'pli c of Sd ence: T hi" is
get a dream j o b w ilh no college, no technology, the ~ tale ca n mak e it pos· Very few things in this world arc a... we' ve Re nt ·s book where he debun ks a
resu me , and eve n wilhout a ny eJO- sible 10 prov ide all needed serv ices been taught. and a." they appear. As an hUIN:h of accepled scic nlific beliefs -
perience, I CJO pla in how you can get ..ilhout ha\ ing to le vy all)' laxe" at icono.lClasl l bIo'oI' the whiSllc lJI\ the scarTI!> such as Ihe ice ages. the F..anh bo:ing
<;omeone 10 ha ppily pa y you to lea rn all! Read lhe book. ron for your leg- around us. soch as the Ir.ilth care. OOT a mag nel. the ~ttlon causing the tKln,
wha t you need to know to slart your islature, and leI' s get busy making Ihis <,("hcu! system. our mooey, the drug war, etc. $.30 lIN!)
o",'n busi ne,s.s. S5 (#03 ) co untry work like ils fou nde rs wan ted a colk~e education. sugar, tl~ food gi:un". It.l rk !\-loo n : 56!! pages uf carefully
T he St·... n 't G ui de to \-\'isd mn: This it to. Do n' t lea ve thi s for "soffieo nl' our unhealthy fuoo.! . fluorides. Ef\l f s, researched pflll,f Ihal the Apullo M' 1I1O
is a rev ie w of arou nd a hundred books e b e"to du . S5 (100) NutraSwC'Cl etc. lan dill g~ "'ere a hoax-a capping blow
lIlal will ~Ie y{KJr mind and he lp ~Iankind 's E~~i nedon Predictio n...: If 1996 100 F..diioriai F..WiI'S: 55 ('72) for Re~'s skeptics. $25 (1192 )
y(lll change your life. "';0. 1 dOfl't sell anyone of the eJOperIS .... ho ha \e .... rit· 1m IS7 Editurial F__ , s: 58 (#7"') 1982 (;~ nt'r.l l C Ia." Ue~nse Slud,-
these buob. They'~ on a wile range of len lx.xlls prediCling a suon·to-come 199K 192 Edito rial Essa)s: 5 10(#75) G uidt'S. Teaches the fondamental>. of
subjeds and will help to ma ke you a ca tast rophe whic h will vin ually willt' 1999 IllS Editurial Es.says: 58 (#76) r.tdio & e1cctrici ty. Was S7. I found a
very int.:re sling pt"rson. Wait'll you most of us out are rig ht, we 're ill 2000 101 Edit ur iH I I<:s.~HYs: $5 (#77) few in lhe warehouse. S3, while they
see some of the ge ms you've mi ssed trouble . In thi" ouuk I explain about 20lH W'" FAlitoria l F..s.s ays : $5 (#78) la,1. Great Ixllll ! (#83 )
readi ng , You ' ll ha ve ple nty of fa"cj · the \'arious disaster scenarios, like thai
natin g stu ff to tal l about on lhe air. of !'Oostradamlls, ....'ho says the poles
55 (#02) .....iII soon shift (as they ha\'e 'iC'\-eraJ limes •
My WWII S ubmari ne Ad H 'ntul'e'i : in the Jns( J. wiping ouI 97% of rnanl.:ind.
Yes, I sprlll from 194 ) · 194 5 nn a sub- Okay, su he'" lnade a loog wi ng of past
marine, right in Ihe middle of the war locky gu.:s.>;L"'. The WOl>t pan of th.:se Jlo x 416. "ancuek Nil 03449
with Japan. We almost ~ sunk ~ver.tl predicliolls is lhe acc urdCY record of
~ am e Call _
li ~ and twice I was in the right place some of the ex pen s. Will il be a pole
al the right time 10 save the boat. s hift, a new ice age, a ma..sive solar
Wh at' s il rea lly like 10 he depth nare, a COrnel or a.steroid. a biulerronSl Add ...........
cha rgeo.!? And what' s Ihe dai ly life attack? I'm gelling ready, how a bou t
aboard a suhmarine like? Ho w about you'! $5 ('3 1) C lty-State- Zip -,--,--,-----,--""""- ="77-,---,--::-:-cc;;c-;:-:::c:=-
1>0...,0;< yo.. w."'.Add SJ "'" pcI' IOial
u "" II>< numbers in lilt l>rack~" "I' <npy pill;".oo marl; lilt
Ihe Ame lia Ea rh a rt inside ~ t ory? Jf
you're nea r ~ohi le . plea..e vis il lhe
Drum. 55 ('10)
l\-Ioo ndoRgl...: After readi ng Ren t 's
book. NASA Mooned America, I read
e\'l'l)thing I cooId rmdon OIJ ~1(Jon land-
ordef In US (S7l'rionly mail •• \6(".... SIO
O nJcrlOtaI: lJSS
r"I",~n
~ lrnrCC_ 1
-;;;:;;;;:;;:==========
Tra",~II)iark-s: Y{KJ can Ifa\'el amaz- ings. 1......!l'hOO tre :'IIASA \'ideo;. Iooled MCN_ f<ll' _ "'''' SIO. • ExpU-.- _ _ I
ingly inupensively - once yoo know careful ly at tre phok.... read the asumaut's ....... _'*.~ ...-p-een.<em • F'h<- <lOden: 6OJ- ~811 '{)1 07 • fa.<; 6O}-~811-3M . .. 2Jl>drj..,j""""

the ropes, Enjoy ShcrT)' and my budge! biogmphit.-s. and talked with sume rea<.j. 10 V.. ! Pu, me dow" y~"'- l J r.. <lilly l l i (I "ooJ). C,1UIb t:SSJ2 . FurrigB l 'SSU by __ 1
(Of • of

visits 10 E urope . Ru~~ia , a nd a bunl'h .:rs who worked fur NASA. lllis ixx..k 10 I """d ,,,me 100,,<1....1" ....,glh "re". reJ''''I''''' "" SCOOI'" y"..rAd.~"'..re' In M.. CD <at·1ntl I
,je

cites 45 good fCa'ollilS I believe lhe whole

Alio", ~ ......,L. fnr &1I.·ory ~""'pl fnrelgn. Ilulgh ....0 Iry 'to gCltl'lO>l ""k"., ,hll'"od ,n • tL>y or lwo,
of other inleresling places. How aboul
1 Ynure-lRIi1lddrns: 1
a finJ class flight III ~tllnich. a rented
Audi, driving 10 visit Vienna. KraJ.:o..
ApnIIo program had 10 have been faked.
S5 (#32)
L ~

73 Amateur RadiO TlXfay • September 2003 63

Barter 'n' Bug
Turn your old ham and computer gear into cash now. Sure , you can wai l lor a hamtest to try and dump it. but you know you 'll get a lar more
realistic price it you have it oul where 100,000 active ham potential buyers can see it. rath er than the few hundred local hams who come by
a flea marke t tebre . Check you r attic, garage, cellar and closet shelves and gel cash lor you r ham and computer gear before it's too old to
sell. You know you're not going to use it again , so why leave it for your widow to throw out? Thai sluff isn't gelling any younger!
The 73 Flea Markel , Barter 'n' Buy. costs you peanu ts (almost) - co mes 10 35 cents a word for individual (noncommercial!) ad s and $ 1.00
a word lor commerc ial ad s. Don', plan on telling a long story. Use abbreviat ions, cram it in . But be honest. T here are pl enty of ham s wh o love
to fix things, so jf it doesn 't work, say so.
Make your list. count the words, including your call , address and phone number. Include a check or you r credit card nu mber and e xpiration.
If you're placing a commercial ad , include an additional phone nu mber, separat e from you r ad.
Th is is a monthly magazine, not a daily newspaper, so figure a couple months before the action starts; then be prepared. If you get too many
calls, you priced it low. If you don't get many cans.
too high.
So get bu sy. BlOw the dust off, check everything out , make sure it still works right and maybe you can help m ake a ham newcomer or relired
old timer happy with that rig you're not using now. O r you m ight get busy on you r computer and pu t together a list of small gear/ parts to send
to those interes ted?
Send your ads and payment to: 73 Magazine, Harter ' n' Buy, 70 Hancock Rd., Peterborough l"H 03458 and get se t fur the
phone ca lls. The deadline for the November 2{X}3 classified ad section is September 10, 2003.

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Jud ge Judy. Texas J ustice, sitco ms. quiz,
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asi_2000. com). BNB100
BNB6000
COLLOIDAL SILVER GENERATOR! Why buy C ri me Deterrent
METHOD TO LEARN MORSE CODE FAST AND
a "box 01 bat te ries" l or hundreds of dollars?
WITHOUT HANGUPS Johan N3RF. Send $1.00 The Brito; tested a bunch of their juvenile
Current regulated , AC powered, fUlly assembled
& SASE. SVANHOlM RESEARCH LABORATO-
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but DC powered, $54 .50. Add $2.50 shipping. tional supplements and the other getting pla-
Thomas Miller, 216 East 10th St., Ashland OH cebos. TIle improvement in behavior was
Cash lor Co llin s: Buy any Collins Equipment. 44805. Web address (www.bioe lecl rlfier.comJ- huge. with the violent offenses committed
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Leo KJ6HI. TelJFAX (310) 670-6969. (tadioleo O later dropping by 4O'k with the supplemented
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REPEATERS - VHF & UHF ~H i Pro" , Two Year
Browse our Web site and check out the Warranty. Free Catalog. Maggiore Electronic T hat 's sure an in e xpensive wa y 10 CUt
~ Monthl y Special." TDL Technology. Inc. [www. Lab" 600 Westtown Rd., W. Chester, PA, 19382 down on crime.
zlanet.comltdll. BNBSOO _ .hiprorepeaters.com. BNB681 Do yo u think there' s any way we
GET MORE OUT OF HAM RADIO! Books on all
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64 73 Amateur Radio Today· September 2003
 For Demanding Amateurs
Like You!
DX·70TH
HF + 6M Mobile/Base Transceiver
Put a pro~en performer to wort for you! 100 watts output and a ~ no nonsense' design that's easy to use at homeor on the
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