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NeerWas fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Aug 9, 2023 |
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Jun 16, 2008 06:49
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nmfree posted:I think this is what you're looking for. That's it, thanks. Now for a trip to the electronics supply store around here to see if they stock 'em. Oh, did the EchoLink net ever get off the ground?
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Jun 16, 2008 18:03
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Dolemite posted:Google for "Amateur Television". Technically, you could get on a ATV repeater and transmit video that way. There's a repeater in central Florida that outputs on 427.25MHz but the input frequency is at 1280 MHz FM. So basically, you need a way to transmit on 1280 and receive on 427.25. I think transmitting could be a problem only because gigahertz transceivers can be pricey according to what I've heard. There's been a group of ATV guys on 14.230 the last week or two that I keep hearing... so there's aways HF for ATV too... now I just need to figure out how to receive/decode the secret signals! 
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Jun 16, 2008 19:27
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Dog Case posted:I'd love to hear if anybody else has goofy identification messages on your local repeaters. 147.27 in Auburn, NC (the Johnston Amateur Radio Society) has a local TV news anchor reading the ID that shows up periodically. He does IDs for the station and also announcements for the nightly net in that deep news anchor voice... I kinda like it actually... all the other ones use CW ID as far as I've ever heard...
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Jun 16, 2008 21:09
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Welp, I got my official "welcome to Ohio" in the mail today. Crap, that reminds me, that's one more place I need to update my address...
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Jun 16, 2008 21:25
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Jose Pointero posted:Nice radio! I didn't know those had dropped in price, they were like $350 I think last time I checked. Gonna upgrade it to D-Star? My club is going D-Star crazy at the moment and they've been trying to get me to buy one. I keep telling them that if they drop the price of the drat chip, I'll sell my IC-2100 and get the 2200H.
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Jun 16, 2008 23:09
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I don't know if it's appropriate to point it out in this thread or not, but I'm getting rid of an Alinco DJG1-T 2m handheld with a sick battery. Otherwise, it works quite well. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2877532
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Jun 16, 2008 23:52
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I didn't pickup too much stuff this year at hamcom. A new antenna for my HT (Comet BNC-24), an MFJ-550 Telegraph Key, and a 20m CW QRP transceiver kit from Vectronics. When I realized that I could have a QRP rig with a key for under $30, I had to jump on it. Fun fact about the QRP rig, it's crystal locked to 14.060  I'll be building it and learning morse code real soon now. Then I'll berate all of you hams about how only people who use CW are 'real hams'™.
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Jun 17, 2008 00:38
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elmwood posted:I don't know if it's appropriate to point it out in this thread or not, but I'm getting rid of an Alinco DJG1-T 2m handheld with a sick battery. Otherwise, it works quite well. Thanks for the heads up
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Jun 17, 2008 04:14
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bladernr posted:There's been a group of ATV guys on 14.230 the last week or two that I keep hearing... so there's aways HF for ATV too... now I just need to figure out how to receive/decode the secret signals! oooo. This sounds fun. Does anyone know what mode/protocol is used for ATV on HF? I imagine there is very little bandwidth available, but even SSTV quality or lower) at a respectable framerate would be awesome to play with.
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Jun 17, 2008 05:48
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Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 03:00 on Aug 28, 2019 |
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Jun 17, 2008 09:29
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Jose Pointero posted:Sooooo, I wanna learn code. Or at least start trying to. What's the easiest way to learn it? I recall someone talking about different methods a few pages back. Care to elaborate? Sure thing. There are a couple schools of thought for learning Morse. The first, and the one I recommend against (from personal experience) is the Farnsworth method. This method gives you the characters at the speed you want to learn, but the spaces between characters are very large at first, and get smaller as you progress. The problem with this method is that with the long interval between characters, you tend to think about the dots and dashes instead of learning the overall sound of the character. So when you move from 5 to 15wpm, you have no time to think about what you heard; at that speed, the response has to be instinctive. Enter the Koch method. Koch has you learn Morse at both full character speed AND full word speed, the catch being that you start with only two letters. So a program will put out "M" and "K" at 20wpm for a few minutes and you just keep copying between them until you have instinctively learned the sound of each character. Once your copy accuracy on two letters is 95% or so, you add a new character, and so on. The fact that you are forced to learn the character sound instead of the dot/dash content is why Koch works so well. Almost everyone agrees that Koch is the superior method to learn, but back in the pre-computer days, technical limitations made it very hard to practice that method (the Koch theory itself dates back to around WWII, I think). Whew, wall of text. edit: as for trainers, I recommend the free Koch trainer by G4FON, where I stole a lot of the info in the above paragraphs from.
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Jun 17, 2008 11:39
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Hu Fa Ted posted:Your shack is far too neat for my tastes. The 817 is such an awesome radio... it's just perfect for any sort of portable excursion. Practically the closest you can ever come to having an all-mode HT. quote:Mobile I run a Icom 706MKIIG into a High Sierra Sidekick. I definitely need to pick your brain on this one. I bought a Sidekick some time ago as it was the best compromise for operating a single continuous-tuning HF antenna in my apartment... but I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to properly connect (read: minimally gently caress up) the antenna motor leads to the radio. In my case I bought the RF Control external auto tuning package so that I could use the 7000's tune button to automatically tune the Sidekick to the right place without manual adjustment. I thought the Sidekick manual would come with installation tips, but sadly the documentation was only basic stuff about the antenna, even though I bought the install package from them. Anyway, I would love to see more pics of your mobile setup, specifically how you rigged the motor leads to your control box / radio. In other news, OP updated with (I think) all the new hams that have posted in here from page 8 onward. Added Dolemite's freshly-minted callsign to the list, too!
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Jun 17, 2008 12:13
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blugu64 posted:I didn't pickup too much stuff this year at hamcom. A new antenna for my HT (Comet BNC-24), an MFJ-550 Telegraph Key, and a 20m CW QRP transceiver kit from Vectronics. When I realized that I could have a QRP rig with a key for under $30, I had to jump on it. Fun fact about the QRP rig, it's crystal locked to 14.060 Good luck with that during the bottom of the solar cycle...  Seriously though... enjoy that. My CW skills have become almost non-existant. I can still usually decipher local repeater IDs, but no way I could do a QSO at this point. I'm going to have to find time and just relearn it from scratch, I think. I have a Pixie II crystalled for 75m that pumps out the awe inspiring sum of 250mW. I have some friends who design and build stuff like this and use them to work Europe and other DX on Field days... There's just something funny about a tiny QRP CW rig in an Altoids tin plugged into a 20 monoband yagi that's pearched atop a 100 foot tower... heh... If you are really into the QRP and especially the QRPp stuff, check out the The Knightlites. It's a qrp club here in NC that I am loosely affiliated with (though I haven't been to a meeting in ages) and the members are from all over the world. There's also NJQRP as well that is pretty well known too. Now that we're on the upward side of the next cycle (or at least finally rock bottom between the two) I'll probably have to start pulling down my QRP stuff and dusting it off and relearning CW.
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Jun 17, 2008 12:49
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McRib Sandwich posted:edit: as for trainers, I recommend the free Koch trainer by G4FON, where I stole a lot of the info in the above paragraphs from. Thanks for the link! I've been telling myself that I can't get a HF rig until I upgrade my license, but I think I'm going to add "Learn CW" to my checklist. This seems to work in Wine for any Linux geeks in here. Only problems I've come across is that the QRM function doesn't work, and sometimes when you hit start you get blasted at a million WPM for about 10 characters before it drops back to normal speed. Also what the hell is this "Hihi" thing. I understand it's the radio equivalent of "J/K", but where did it come from/what does it mean?
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Jun 17, 2008 23:57
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McRib Sandwich posted:I definitely need to pick your brain on this one. I bought a Sidekick some time ago as it was the best compromise for operating a single continuous-tuning HF antenna in my apartment... but I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to properly connect (read: minimally gently caress up) the antenna motor leads to the radio. In my case I bought the RF Control external auto tuning package so that I could use the 7000's tune button to automatically tune the Sidekick to the right place without manual adjustment. I didn't go for the "auto tune" box. Mostly because it doesn't auto tune poo poo! All it does is automatically put a low power carrier out. You still have to stare at the drat SWR meter and rock the buttons. I am going to throw together something with my Arduino to do automatic tuning. It's too dark out to take pics of the mount, but it's a standard trunk lid lip mount. Not terribly stable either. For a semi permanent / non-mobile installation realize you're going to need a set of ground radials for it. It's not a terribly efficient antenna *with* ground radials / good ground plane but it does work. I wasn't terribly interested in a 15' whip on a tuner that seems to be the alternative for mobile HF. If you still want pics, I can post 'em or have any specific questions I can try and answer them. Also, the guys at High Sierra are pretty helpful. (They better be for a $600 antenna.)
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Jun 18, 2008 02:28
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McRib Sandwich posted:stuff about the Koch method Excellent info, but just be warned the Koch method isn't for everybody. For some reason or another I just could not get into it. It really frustrated the crap out of me. I can copy about 18WPM so long as you don't send prosigns, numbers or punctuation. Seriously though, I am boning back up on CW so I can get the dust out of this Bencher.I'll throw another shout for NuMorse Pro. I spent forever looking at all the free stuff and I hated it, basically I wanted Mavis Beacon Teaches Morse Code and I think it compares favorably. I really like it and the guy that wrote it is super nice, he's sent me replacement keys like 3 times over the course of 4 years. Dog Case posted:Also what the hell is this "Hihi" thing. I understand it's the radio equivalent of "J/K", but where did it come from/what does it mean? HIHI sort'a kind'a sounds like laughing when sent as CW. Another fun word is Tennessee.
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Jun 18, 2008 02:38
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So, my Slinky-Dipole antenna arrived, but I am still waiting on the ICOM IC-701, IC-RM2 and the desk mic. In the meantime I hung it in the best place I really have, suspended at the top-center of a big window with some nylon cord, and stretched out the 2 slinky ends in Inverted-V configuration to the corners of the window and secured them there. I wonder how well this will work? I've heard good reports using slinky-antennas with SWL, so I think this should do OK? The rest of the building is cement or cinderblock which IIRC is very bad for radio signals to pass through, so the window is probably my best bet. For transmission I've been told an antenna tuner is crucial-- is that so? It seems I can adjust the antenna 'length' by changing how far I stretch the slinkys. I could run them horizontally and attach them to the hooks my curtains use so I could easily slide them in small increments. Or is that still not enough and I need a real tuner? In that case what sort should I get? I've seen them go for $140 and that's almost what my radio/control unit/mike cost. I'd prefer something cheap, really. I think I've heard of people tuning with just an adjustable capacitor. Workable? Thanks 
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Jun 18, 2008 04:01
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Hu Fa Ted posted:I didn't go for the "auto tune" box. Mostly because it doesn't auto tune poo poo! All it does is automatically put a low power carrier out. You still have to stare at the drat SWR meter and rock the buttons. I am going to throw together something with my Arduino to do automatic tuning. It's too dark out to take pics of the mount, but it's a standard trunk lid lip mount. Not terribly stable either. I should clarify my last statement a bit. I bought the sidekick, plus the 7000 Tune Control and the 7000 Screwdriver Control from the Better RF company. That combination of devices actually *does* allow you to tune screwdrivers just by pushing the tune button. You're 100% right that High Sierra's box actually doesn't do poo poo, though. quote:For a semi permanent / non-mobile installation realize you're going to need a set of ground radials for it. It's not a terribly efficient antenna *with* ground radials / good ground plane but it does work. I wasn't terribly interested in a 15' whip on a tuner that seems to be the alternative for mobile HF.  I was hoping I could get away without the radials, since this antenna is inside my apartment. The idea was that when I get a car (more like if, given gas prices), I could convert to mobile with the same antenna.Anyway, I bought this package, but the problem I'm having is that I can't figure how to best connect the bare wires in the "high sierra special coax" to the plug style that is installed on the antenna. As you can see from the pictures of the package, it did come with a pigtail with a ferrite bead that ends in bare wire, but just soldering bare wires together on a high-strain line like that integrated coax sounds like a horrible idea. It also came with a four small red tubes, about the size of the wires themselves, and I'm wondering if that has something to do with hooking them up. If I can snap a picture of one, I'll throw it up here. Did you end up buying the same package for mobile installation? Mostly what I could use is advice on how to not craptastically connect the motor leads to the other end, so pictures of that part of your setup would be great. I googled around for pictures of other Sidekick setups, but no one shows how they ran the wires to the antenna motor. Hell, I have half a mind to throw some powerpoles on that bitch and call it a day, but I think the wires are too small to crimp.
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Jun 18, 2008 04:52
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McRib Sandwich posted:I should clarify my last statement a bit. I bought the sidekick, plus the 7000 Tune Control and the 7000 Screwdriver Control from the Better RF company. That combination of devices actually *does* allow you to tune screwdrivers just by pushing the tune button. You're 100% right that High Sierra's box actually doesn't do poo poo, though. drat. You found the gizmo I was looking for and of course it doesn't look like it works with a 706. Do you know how hard it is to tune that antenna at 60mph?!  You can run it without radials. It will present a good SWR to your rig. However, you will get gently caress all out. The problem here is that these screwdriver antennas are basically vertical whips acting like a dipole. Without the ground image, you are literally going to get less than half efficiency. In the apt though, in lovely band conditions every contact will be a savory victory. Ok, well this is interesting. See the kit I got, didn't come with bare pigtails. It came with the plug on the Side Kick to drive the motor. The plug on the Side Kick is actually sort of standard. I would recommend against powerpoles only because they suck at weather resistance. My recommendation would be to seriously go to your local Autozone or Pepboys or whatever and find that plug. They use them on those little solar panels to trickle charge batteries. Those red tubes may be heat shrink tubing. Use a Western Union splice and a hot iron and solder that bitch up. If you want, send me an email at tinnitusrigormortis@gmail.com or send me a PM and we can get together.
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Jun 18, 2008 05:25
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Epicenter posted:So, my Slinky-Dipole antenna arrived, but I am still waiting on the ICOM IC-701, IC-RM2 and the desk mic. In the meantime I hung it in the best place I really have, suspended at the top-center of a big window with some nylon cord, and stretched out the 2 slinky ends in Inverted-V configuration to the corners of the window and secured them there. I wonder how well this will work? That being said. If your rig is happy with its load a tuner doesn't do poo poo. IF and only if, your fancy schmancy solid state rig won't put out max power on your cheeseball bedframe you hooked it up to, a tuner is where it's at. However, not all tuners are created equal. Some tuners especially the MFJ variety tend to release magic smoke when tuning your bedframe. Some, like an old Johnson Matchbox that are copies of better tuners, will hum along with a solid key down at 1500W. If you can change the resonance of the slinky by altering its length and you are happy with that arrangement, by all means, stop there. However, if this gets to quickly be a pain in the rear end (and it will) get a tuner. All of this though is irrelevant if your antenna isn't efficient. An antenna can be efficient with a high VSWR, cf. rhombics. A rhombic is one of the most desirable (next to a beam or log periodic at 1/4 wave length high or better) and is most efficient when it is non-resonant i.e. terminated requiring the use of a tuner.
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Jun 18, 2008 05:44
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If not a slinky antenna what is the best choice for indoor use on a small budget? The windows are all I have to work with and I cannot mount anything outside in any way. In the future perhaps (at my next residence) but not here. Also, any recommendations for a cheap-ish tuner doing 100W or lower? This is sort of an entry level setup so I am not expecting wonders. Not doing 1.5kW either Thanks! Epicenter fucked around with this message at 05:57 on Jun 18, 2008 |
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Jun 18, 2008 05:52
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Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Aug 28, 2019 |
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Jun 18, 2008 05:56
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Epicenter posted:If not a slinky antenna what is the best choice for indoor use on a small budget? The windows are all I have to work with and I cannot mount anything outside in any way. In the future perhaps (at my next residence) but not here. Wait I'm confused, are you just going to receive or are going to get a license to transmit. If you're just receiving then an antenna tuner won't do jack for you. If you're going to be transmitting then get a tuner and a license, or just jump on CB. As for cheapish tuners I've been oogling the LDG Z-100. Though I'd like some opinions on it too
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Jun 18, 2008 06:36
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I don't have a license yet but I intend to get one when I return to the US-- since it seems I can't get one here in Japan  So when I do I'll need a tuner, I figure.As for CB-- I know I can use it unlicensed, within certain power constraints, but I don't think I can modify my IC-701 to do CB It's made for HF. You can expand the bands a little, but not too much. A doc I found said this:quote:Grounding pin 14 on the rear panel accessory connector will extend the frequency ranges to: Just barely won't cover 27 MHz The IC-RM2 allows direct frequency entry, but I don't think I can program settings outside the defined ranges. Without some hacking anyway.
Epicenter fucked around with this message at 07:40 on Jun 18, 2008 |
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Jun 18, 2008 07:27
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Jose Pointero posted:Damnit, I need to do the application for my plate...y'all are making me jealous. I'm kinda afraid too though, because isn't having a radio operator plate the equivalent of having a sign that says "HEY THIEVES CHECK DIS CAR FOR LOTS OF EXPENSIVE RADIO poo poo"? I should just go ahead and get a drat alarm installed.
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Jun 18, 2008 09:55
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My IC-701 arrived!  I'm picking up lots of static, some garbled voices and faint RTTY/CW. I'll need to play with my antenna placement (a lot) I think. But at least everything works; even the IC-RM2.EDIT: I hear lots of conversations in Japanese. But there's this loud horrible squeal covering almost every one of them that is strong enough to make out-- and it sounds like the same loud squeal on each one. Some kind of jamming? EDIT 2: I also just heard a burst of distorted, traditional chinese-sounding music over the Japanese voices. I've heard of that jamming signal, actually. Epicenter fucked around with this message at 12:19 on Jun 18, 2008 |
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Jun 18, 2008 10:59
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Epicenter posted:My IC-701 arrived! You have RFI somewhere in or near your shack. I can't think off the top of my head what it is, start turning stuff off and see if it goes away. Watch the MUF graphs to cross Japan and the West Coast of CONUS and choose a band below it. http://www.spacew.com/www/realtime.php Don't use your ham radio for CB, especially in Japan. They have different CB allocations and I have no idea if Uncle Charlie over there is more or less stringent than the FCC here. If you're on base see if there are any VE's over there. Watch for old Radioman Chiefs (I guess they're IT's now) or your nearest service equivalent and ask them if they know any hams. (Or go to the MARS station.) You should be able to get tested and get your license with an FPO/APO and then you can go to Japan's Ministry of Telecom (or whatever the hell it is) and apply for a foreign license with your newly granted General.
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Jun 18, 2008 12:36
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Epicenter posted:EDIT 2: I also just heard a burst of distorted, traditional chinese-sounding music over the Japanese voices. I've heard of that jamming signal, actually.
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Jun 18, 2008 12:59
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The mess of Japanese voices, dual, loud regularly-distant squealing tones (like RTTY but no recognizable pattern and closer together frequency-wise) and japanese/chinese music is around 7,189,900 hz. Here's some recordings. Maybe someone can tell me what the crazy loud data mode I'm hearing is? It sounds like data, anyway. I would agree it's RF but it's such a regular tone. And I swear that is an OPERA SINGER in there covering up whatever should be audible.. along with the horrible screeching tone. http://www.epicgaming.us/forumjunk/radio/
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Jun 18, 2008 13:08
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ick pik fucked around with this message at 15:55 on Feb 6, 2014 |
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Jun 18, 2008 13:35
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ick pik posted:KC9FBI checking in here. Is that a vanity callsign or luck of the draw?
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Jun 18, 2008 13:37
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I replaced the Slinky Antenna with a (Shielded!) coax TV cable and the reception is ten times better. If I spoke Japanese I could make out over a dozen different signals I'm receiving which all sound like broadcasts. But.. I don't know why it sounds so much better. Especially since this is a shielded loving cable and no signal should be getting into the core of it. The horrible squealing is still on most stations, even with everything nearby I could turn off, off. I hear LOTS of signals like this all over the bands that sound like a data mode, but I don't recognize it and none of the modes in MixW seem to match it either. Could someone be so kind as to give it a listen and point me in the right direction? http://www.epicgaming.us/forumjunk/radio/signal.ogg Epicenter fucked around with this message at 14:10 on Jun 18, 2008 |
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Jun 18, 2008 13:49
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Epicenter posted:My IC-701 arrived! The 701 is a nice rig for it's age, just be very, very careful with the rotary VFO on that radio. It likes to break if you so much as look at it the wrong way. I almost bought one but a Ham friend talked me out of it because of this problem. Wouldn't hurt to keep a spare one around Of course, if it's already been replaced (which is very likely) then you're golden I'd guess that the coax jack in the wall is providing a better RF ground and is allowing you to pick up signals better than the slinky antenna that you're using.
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Jun 18, 2008 14:10
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Epicenter posted:oooo. On a hunch, I hooked up the antenna jack to the TV-style coax jack on the wall. I wasn't sure if it went to a cable box or the huge TV antenna. Turns out it's the antenna-- and probably an amplifier boosting the signal. I'm hearing LOTS of stuff in Japanese now. A few pictures of your setup, if possible, would probably help us give you some pointers on setting up your rig / antennas. Also, NEVER, EVER transmit without being hooked up to an antenna that you're sure is appropriate for the band you're tuned to (or worse, transmitting without any antenna at all). Doing this will reflect power from your finals right back into them. If they're tubes, your tubes will get fried and need to be replaced. If they're transistors, well, just hope that they still make new ones of the type, or consider your radio TX bricked. Newer radios will try to dial back the power before you blow up your rig, but older radios have no such safeguard.
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Jun 18, 2008 14:12
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I've read the IC-701's band switch is what goes bad most often. It's in EXT all the time right now, since I have the external controller setting the frequency. I figure this will help keep it alive and ticking, and if it dies I can just hardwire it to EXT. That's the plan anyway. The coax line isn't hooked up to the wall anymore but I am getting better reception, still. (WTF) I wonder what these strange (data?) modes I hear are though, I can't make any sense of them.
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Jun 18, 2008 14:14
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This is the area I have to work with. Limiting, I know. I added some info to try and explain how things are set up. Forgive the MSpaint-ery. EDIT: 
Epicenter fucked around with this message at 01:23 on Jun 19, 2008 |
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Jun 18, 2008 14:27
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ick pik fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Feb 6, 2014 |
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Jun 18, 2008 14:40
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ick pik posted:Luck of the draw. Everyone in my class had similar callsigns and I just turned my test in at the right time I guess. True story, the guy in line next to me got the suffix OMG by luck of the draw.
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Jun 18, 2008 16:06
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Well, all I can seem to pick up is Japanese radio broadcasts (when I'm lucky), a lot of noise, horrible squealing all over the bands, and a data mode I can't identify. I think I need a better antenna if I'm going to be able to use this thing indoors. Does anyone have recommendations? The slinky works like absolute poo poo. I wish I hadn't spent $40 on it. A piece of wire works BETTER but even that gets me jack for signal. Thanks.
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Jun 18, 2008 16:39
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