McRib Sandwich posted:I love my VX-7R, dual receive is a godsend for casual band scanning (not to mention receiving duplex communications).  And yeah I'm planning on upgrading the antenna as soon as I have the extra cash to do it. I don't care about size much so I'm gonna get that Diamond you mentioned and something else to work 6 meter with. I still haven't been able to make a contact on 6 meter or 220. But 220 is almost useless anyway with only 300 mA output.
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Apr 9, 2008 14:56
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Jose Pointero posted:Thanks for the tips. I'm not in a rush to get a programming setup for it, but it's nice to know what I need to do it with. So far programming it manually hasn't bothered me much. It's not too difficult once you get used to the weird button schemes. Really, who the hell decided it was a good idea to use "Main" and "Sub" as the up/down buttons sometimes...and "Band" or "V/M" could be the Enter button depending on what screen you're on aaarrrggghhhh. If the radio didn't redeem itself in every other way I'd take issue with that, but overall it's awesome and works great and I love it Band or V/M is easily one of the most obnoxious ambiguities about the 7R... I gently caress this up every single time I try to reprogram the clock from memory, without fail  Anyway, if you do end up using it as a scanner too, that hardware/software is the way to go. I take full advantage of the memory groups feature to scan the local buses and public safety frequencies. Also programmed in CB for when I have it hooked up to my mag-mount on the road.quote:And yeah I'm planning on upgrading the antenna as soon as I have the extra cash to do it. I don't care about size much so I'm gonna get that Diamond you mentioned and something else to work 6 meter with. I still haven't been able to make a contact on 6 meter or 220. But 220 is almost useless anyway with only 300 mA output. For the most part, 220 is dead in most areas because there is so little gear available for that band; I think the 6/7R and the Kenwood TH-F6 are the only HTs that have 220, even most of the $1000 HF/VHF/UHF mobiles don't have it. 6 meter I've never worked just because I've never bothered to get an antenna for it, but it can be fairly active depending on where you are. drat I really need to get off my rear end and write a decent first post for a new ham radio thread. 
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Apr 9, 2008 18:34
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Well, I attempted to take my radio apart to see what was going on inside, but it didn't feel like it wanted to come apart and I didn't want to completely destroy it. I also tried to get a station again last night and it was actually getting good reception reception for a minute, but then I pressed the VOL button to turn up the volume and it went back to quiet static. What sorcery is this?
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Apr 10, 2008 00:06
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O.G. posted:I also tried to get a station again last night and it was actually getting good reception reception for a minute, but then I pressed the VOL button to turn up the volume and it went back to quiet static. What sorcery is this?
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Apr 10, 2008 04:34
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Is there anything listed in the Passport book for ~8418 or so? I was listening around 11:20PM EST, and got what sounded like morse code on SSB, but I don't have a copy to see if it's a legit broadcast, or if it was something a little less mundane.
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Apr 12, 2008 04:21
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First off, please don't use your local timezone next time. Not all of us are American, and it's a poo poo trying to figure out when you're talking about. Use UTC. Next, neither WRTH nor Passport have anything for that frequency or anything near it. But they tend not to have any morse code transmissions or any other things that aren't normal radio broadcasts. Maybe someone else here might have some idea though.
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Apr 12, 2008 07:24
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Accursed posted:Is there anything listed in the Passport book for ~8418 or so? I was listening around 11:20PM EST, and got what sounded like morse code on SSB, but I don't have a copy to see if it's a legit broadcast, or if it was something a little less mundane. According to the FCC spectrum allocation table (take a look at it, its was the OP and it's really helpful to figure out what you're hearing), it looks to be right in the middle of a Maritime Mobile allocation. So best guess, you were hearing a boat.
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Apr 12, 2008 08:51
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Tetsuo: Thanks, I forget that I should be putting things in UTC. I'll try to keep that in mind next time. Blugu:  I checked all the text file frequency things that had been posted, and never thought to look at the full-on spectrum guide. Thanks! I'll download that one now, so I can save myself future embarassment.
Accursed fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Apr 12, 2008 |
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Apr 12, 2008 15:29
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Accursed posted:Tetsuo: Thanks, I forget that I should be putting things in UTC. I'll try to keep that in mind next time. It's all good. It's a pretty neat diagram, and I'd love to get a postersize one. Oh also, for those keeping score, As of today I'm an Extra Class 
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Apr 12, 2008 21:25
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Accursed posted:Is there anything listed in the Passport book for ~8418 or so? I was listening around 11:20PM EST, and got what sounded like morse code on SSB, but I don't have a copy to see if it's a legit broadcast, or if it was something a little less mundane. edit: blugu64 posted:It's all good. It's a pretty neat diagram, and I'd love to get a postersize one. blugu64 posted:Oh also, for those keeping score, As of today I'm an Extra Class  If I could have found my drat books I would probably have gone to take the General Exam today. Our local library doesn't have them, either 
nmfree fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Apr 12, 2008 |
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Apr 12, 2008 21:47
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Accursed posted:Is there anything listed in the Passport book for ~8418 or so? I was listening around 11:20PM EST, and got what sounded like morse code on SSB, but I don't have a copy to see if it's a legit broadcast, or if it was something a little less mundane. I'm hearing that right now. It's some sort of repeating signal that reminds me of modem noise. Maybe it's some sort of beacon, I don't know. I ran it through that translation program and it's just gibberish.
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Apr 13, 2008 03:14
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Illegal Clown posted:I'm hearing that right now. It's some sort of repeating signal that reminds me of modem noise. Maybe it's some sort of beacon, I don't know. I ran it through that translation program and it's just gibberish. If it sounds like a modem, it might be a weather fax or RTTY transmission. Check some of these and see if anything sounds similar.
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Apr 13, 2008 06:37
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blugu64 posted:Oh also, for those keeping score, As of today I'm an Extra Class I should have studied for the General, as Tech was easy. Oh well.
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Apr 13, 2008 14:11
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sklnd posted:I passed the Tech exam yesterday. 2 meter is great to get started with because it's popular and the antennas are simple and pretty small. You can talk to all the hams local and in nearby cities/counties, and it's great for keeping up with current local stuff like highway/road closings, severe weather, concerts, speed traps, etc. You'll learn a lot about radio as well, and the local ham clubs would be more than happy to help you study for license upgrades. And congrats to you on your Extra upgrade, blugu64. I'm gonna be going for mine here in a month or so...I'm just beginning to study for it now. I'll probably be sending you some PM's if I get stuck on anything
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Apr 13, 2008 18:09
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sklnd posted:I passed the Tech exam yesterday. Might need to find out how to get started though. Edit: congrats on making Extra too Island Nation fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Apr 13, 2008 |
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Apr 13, 2008 18:26
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Jose Pointero posted:And congrats to you on your Extra upgrade, blugu64. I'm gonna be going for mine here in a month or so...I'm just beginning to study for it now. I'll probably be sending you some PM's if I get stuck on anything No plat here, but feel free to email my username @gmail.com. Also you might want to wait a few months on the upgrade, as a new question pool starts june 1. If you study for it and don't pass it, you might end up having to take the new question pool, instead of the old one. From what I've heard the new pool has a greater emphasis on Digital Logic, where as the old one had more math (which sucked). Might want to take a peak at both the new and old pool to see which one looks better for you. Also good luck! Congrats sklnd and NYIslander on getting your tickets!
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Apr 14, 2008 01:23
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Well, because of this thread, I decided to pre-order one of the new Grundig Satellit 750s from Amazon. I hope it lives up to the hype I've been reading online. I've listened to short wave in the past, but it was when I was deployed on my first Iraq tour in '03. We couldn't get any news where we were besides 3 week old Stars and Stripes, so I would set up my little Grundig eTraveller VII while on nightshift guard duty and tune in VOA and the BBC, then dial around for some of the European broadcasts. I was especially popular with the sports nuts in my unit, as I'd write down all the scores I could and share them. After reading through this megathread, I was reminded of what a good time I had cruising through the bands looking for interesting broadcasts, so I decided it's time to get a nice shortwave radio. I need to get off my rear end and take the General exam too. I've got the book, but I haven't cracked it yet. One of these days...
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Apr 14, 2008 02:17
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Just to throw out a radio purchase update, this thread is part of the reason I decided to get off my rear end and get my Extra class ticket a few weeks ago, and I decided to make the reward for Extra my first HF rig!  I don't have everything just yet, but I'll post a grand total when everything has been figured out and hooked up. Either way that should boost the money-spent total pretty good, since this is already starting to cost about 2x what I thought it would  PROTIP: don't buy the expensive radio if you don't already have an antenna, power supply, and all the other poo poo...
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Apr 15, 2008 18:03
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McRib Sandwich posted:Just to throw out a radio purchase update, this thread is part of the reason I decided to get off my rear end and get my Extra class ticket a few weeks ago, and I decided to make the reward for Extra my first HF rig! There's always used
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Apr 15, 2008 18:59
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I'm about to go to bed right now so it's a bit late; but do any of y'all want to help me test my PSK setup on 20 meter? I just now made my audio connections and I'm not sure if it's working properly or not. I've been CQ'ing and attempting to answer calls for an hour or so with no luck. It would be awesome if someone could give me a report and let me know if I need to tweak anything. This 20 meter antenna I'm using was just put up a few days ago and I'm not quite sure of how well it's working. My first couple of tries I made a couple of contacts in California, so if you live there I'm pretty certain you can hear me. I work nights, so I'm gonna hit the sack in about 30 mins. I will be back in action tomorrow morning around 8AM CST (I apologize in advance for being too tired to covert that to UTC). PM me or hit me up at jose.pointero (at) gmail.com if you wanna schedule a meet-up on the airwaves. McRib Sandwich posted:PROTIP: don't buy the expensive radio if you don't already have an antenna, power supply, and all the other poo poo...
Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 20:07 on Apr 15, 2008 |
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Apr 15, 2008 19:52
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Minor OP update to add financial drain. Just FYI. Edditud too korrekt baad speling. AstroZamboni fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Apr 15, 2008 |
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Apr 15, 2008 20:20
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Jose Pointero posted:Kickass. So what are your plans? VHF/UHF, 6 and 10 meter are now your potential playgrounds. A good 2-meter rig can be found relatively cheap; I got my IC-2100 for $100. From there you just need an antenna and a power supply unless you wanna put it in your car. Hopefuly I hear from the FCC before I go camping in a couple of weeks, because two other hams (one an extra!) will be camping with me and we could really ham it up! I am pretty serious about going for the general soon, though. Once I get passed camping and then vacation the next week I should have some free time to study for it before taking another exam.
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Apr 15, 2008 23:35
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sklnd posted:I don't have huge plans beyond getting a lovingly used dual band HT for not that many dollars if I'm lucky sklnd posted:Hopefuly I hear from the FCC before I go camping in a couple of weeks, because two other hams (one an extra!) will be camping with me and we could really ham it up! QRZ to the rescue! As soon as your name is posted on there, you can get on the air, IIRC. Even if you can't, Uncle Charlie usually only takes ~two weeks to turn around an application. Also, if the extra is there with you, you can use his privileges (IIRC again, too lazy to look it up). Jose Pointero posted:I'm about to go to bed right now so it's a bit late; but do any of y'all want to help me test my PSK setup on 20 meter? What kind of antenna do you have? If it loads up decently on 20M, it will probably tune up reasonably well on 30M or 17M (or both!). If you can get on 30M, you should think about running PropNet Jose Pointero posted:8AM CST (I apologize in advance for being too tired to covert that to UTC).  Jose Pointero posted:Oh gently caress that. I say get the expensive radio...blow your budget on that and then save up again for the other stuff if you have to. At least then you know you have a rig you will be satisfied with. Jose Pointero posted:Now I couldn't be happier because I know it will be a long time, if ever, that I want to replace my radio...  Jose Pointero posted:and it can only get better as time goes by and I upgrade antennas and whatnot. The radio is the star of the show, so you might as well go for broke on that even if it takes a while to get the other stuff to connect to it
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Apr 16, 2008 01:40
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Since this seems to have turned into the SWL/HAM thread...anybody else in the Kansas City area going to the Hambash this saturday? I need to pick up some odds and ends to finish my 10m antenna for my HF rig at home. I'll hopefully also be taking/passing the General upgrade exam the same day as well. Speaking of, back to studying!
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Apr 16, 2008 01:54
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nmfree posted:Also, if the extra is there with you, you can use his privileges (IIRC again, too lazy to look it up).
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Apr 16, 2008 01:58
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A little update on my radio, it's working! I talked to the ebay seller, who was really cool. Apparently taking the batteries out and unplugging it for 24 hours does the trick if the Reset button doesn't, who knew? 
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Apr 16, 2008 02:53
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For those interested, Circuit City has the Eton 350 (the one that drifts alot) for...$12 and the Eton E1 for $224.96 The 350 might not be the greatest radio in the world as it's missing SSB and drifts like a 18 year old in his parents Civic, for $12 I don't see how you could go wrong. blugu64 fucked around with this message at 04:35 on Apr 16, 2008 |
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Apr 16, 2008 04:28
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Congratulations to those who just passed their tests! And another question - do any of you know a good online source for learning how to understand propagation forecasts? I keep seeing all these words about solar activity and proton events and so on and so forth, but I have no idea what any of it means and want to learn.
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Apr 16, 2008 07:04
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Eh, 20 meter is even crappier today than it was yesterday. I can hear the usual suspects chatting it up on 14.295 but I don't wanna try calling since I can barely copy them. No luck on PSK either. I have a feeling my audio may be a little screwed up. I can monitor my transmissions at low power with my AR 8000 receiver and they sound OK to the ear, but once I crank it up to 20 watts or so the 8000 gets overloaded and distorted. I need to get on 2 meter and find a local ham to give me a report, but nmfree posted:words You have some points about beginner radio selection, but I still think getting a mega-rig is the way to go. Even if you have a crappy antenna or whatever to start with, you can keep tweaking and upgrading and it will just get better and better. I really doubt I'll get tired of my FT-1000D anytime soon. Like I said a few pages back, I'm a sucker for awesome 80's tech and this thing is a primo example. The only upgrade from it I would consider would be a 756 Pro III, and I would have to get a hell of a deal on it...and even then I would still keep my 1000D around sklnd posted:I don't have huge plans beyond getting a lovingly used dual band HT for not that many dollars if I'm lucky, and getting a mobile rig set up at some point this summer once I ditch my current truck for a cheaper one that's more mobile radio friendly. I'm in an apartment so I can't (or really just don't want to) set up a huge rig at home. :\ Then when I got my license and got on 2 meter, I strung some coax out my window and up the gutter a little bit where it then jumps over to a nearby tree. My 2 meter discone is zip-tied to the tree. Works drat well also and I can get out pretty far with my IC-2100. And just recently I decided to get on HF and ran my 20 meter out the window and alongside my SWL antenna in the same inverted L. Seems pretty good so far but I'm still testing it. Operating from an apartment is definitely a challenge, but it's a fun one sometimes. I feel like a ninja-ham  There are a few visible wires coming out of my apartment but no-one has said anything and I'm hoping it stays that way. I'll post a picture of my antenna setup sometime so you can get a better idea of what I'm talking about.
Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Apr 16, 2008 |
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Apr 16, 2008 18:54
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Jose Pointero posted:Operating from an apartment is definitely a challenge, but it's a fun one sometimes. I feel like a ninja-ham I'd love to see pics; as I'm in a similar position; I've got a FT-840 and most of the accessories I need. I just need to find a good non-obtrusive antenna, and tuner. Also my newused 2meter mobile should arrive any day now
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Apr 16, 2008 19:40
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For those interested, I ended up going with a Icom IC-T7H from ye olde ebay. I probably spent a bit too much on it (and more than I intended, $162 shipped), but it seems (from specs) to be a good first radio and I'm paying a bit for lack of time to bargain hunt. Also I need to string up a random wire for sw in this apartment. I miss having my 73' random speaker wire of awesomeness running around my room. Maybe I'll get that done this weekend once I get some boxes out of my office (I moved a couple weeks ago).
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Apr 16, 2008 23:01
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Whew! I finally did it. Presenting The Amateur Radio Thread! OP, a link in the first post would be awesome. Pretty please?
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Apr 17, 2008 00:32
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Jose Pointero posted:Oh gently caress that. I say get the expensive radio...blow your budget on that and then save up again for the other stuff if you have to. At least then you know you have a rig you will be satisfied with. I spent a loving lot on my rig, much more than I was planning. It sat here for a while before I got it operational and using it for SWL. Then I got the TX antenna and a DSP unit. Now I couldn't be happier because I know it will be a long time, if ever, that I want to replace my radio...and it can only get better as time goes by and I upgrade antennas and whatnot. The radio is the star of the show, so you might as well go for broke on that even if it takes a while to get the other stuff to connect to it This was actually my philosophy going into it; get versatile future-proofed stuff now, spend less later. I'll be living in an apartment for the foreseeable future, so that places real restrictions on what kind of antennas I can throw up. I also wanted to be able to tune all of HF, and to operate the radio mobile down the line. That said I went with a low-profile screwdriver-style antenna + HF mobile rig, I'm just hoping that it all works out when everything is set up. I don't have many tools on hand so it will be a bit of work getting all the connections together. Oh, and on that note, you mentioned you were in an apartment too, right? What on Earth are you using for HF antenna counterpoise and for your grounding system? I have no space for either, and the screwdriver is really supposed to have an image plane available since it's a quarter-wave electrically. Apartments suck for ham radio.
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Apr 17, 2008 00:44
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blugu64 posted:For those interested, Circuit City has the Eton 350 (the one that drifts alot) for...$12 Son of a bitch, that's under half price on the E1, but it's not available for shipping and no store in my area has it available 
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Apr 17, 2008 00:55
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OP: Put another $12 into the financial drain. I couldn't resist picking up that 350, since the local Circuit City has them for in-store pickup. Now I have a radio to keep in my truck at all times, hooray! Edit: FYI this looks to be an online deal only (or more likely a pretty decent price fuckup). In-store price for this radio was $90. Also, I love the knobs on this radio, even if it doesn't compete with my e5. sklnd fucked around with this message at 01:57 on Apr 17, 2008 |
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Apr 17, 2008 01:01
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Financial drain updated, assbutts.
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Apr 17, 2008 16:17
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More general OP update, adding link to the new Ham thread and revising information of old ham thread, and also added a brief section on the relationship between amateur radio and SW.
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Apr 17, 2008 22:10
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Well, since they built a building in the empty lot next door, my reception has gone to nil. All I seem to be able to pull in from my apartment anymore are Alex Jones and the occasional crazy preacher. I want to get some recordings of propaganda stations from Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Caucuses in their native languages for some projects that I'm working on, do we have any euro or pacific goons who could record a few of their shortwave sessions for me?
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Apr 17, 2008 23:23
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Well, it took me about a month, but I finally broke down and bought a G5 tonight. You can add another $150 to the financial drain. Edit: Whenever I try to tune past 10000KHz using the up/down buttons on the front, it jumps back down to 9200KHz automatically and when it's auto searching, it jumps up to about 11400KHz and keeps on going. I can tune above it using the knob on the side without any problems, is there something wrong with my radio, or did I miss something? Severian fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Apr 18, 2008 |
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Apr 18, 2008 02:05
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pilate glass posted:I want to get some recordings of propaganda stations from Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Caucuses in their native languages for some projects that I'm working on, do we have any euro or pacific goons who could record a few of their shortwave sessions for me? When do you need the recordings, do you have any particular preferences, and how propagandistic do you mean? I know I can get the Central People's Broadcasting Service/System/whatever in Mandarin aimed at Taiwan, and I could try and see if Voice of Korea's Korean broadcast (assuming they have one) comes in OK over here. Aside from those two I haven't really heard any blatant propaganda on the airwaves in East Asia.
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Apr 18, 2008 03:52
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