On 12/02/2014 09:58, Brian Reay wrote:
Kafkaësque wrote:
On 12/02/2014 00:32, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

With the onset of automatic ATUs, is the the final technical
skill that disambiguates the radio amateur from the CBer
being lost?

However, you are correct that the ATU is a dying art. I've been
zapped by the high voltages produced by antenna tuners often enough to
suspect that dying might be involved in the tuning process. If it's
not science, it must be art.

Art - most definitely. But where's the "technical skill" in adjusting a
pi network of two capacitors and one inductor?

CBers may not need to worry about ATUs, but many are quite capable of
using the pi networks on the PAs of their valved rigs which have been
re-crystalled for 6.5 and/or 27 MHz.

If memory serves, the legendary FT101 even included 27MHz coverage. It was
certainly reported to be used by more CBers than licensed amateurs.

Just to add, I wasn't condoning the use of such radios on 6.5 or 27MHz.
However, there's no point in denying that it happened.

On 12/02/14 11:36, Kafkaësque wrote:
On 12/02/2014 09:58, Brian Reay wrote:
Kafkaësque wrote:
On 12/02/2014 00:32, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

With the onset of automatic ATUs, is the the final technical
skill that disambiguates the radio amateur from the CBer
being lost?

However, you are correct that the ATU is a dying art. I've been
zapped by the high voltages produced by antenna tuners often enough to
suspect that dying might be involved in the tuning process. If it's
not science, it must be art.

Art - most definitely. But where's the "technical skill" in adjusting a
pi network of two capacitors and one inductor?

CBers may not need to worry about ATUs, but many are quite capable of
using the pi networks on the PAs of their valved rigs which have been
re-crystalled for 6.5 and/or 27 MHz.

If memory serves, the legendary FT101 even included 27MHz coverage. It
was
certainly reported to be used by more CBers than licensed amateurs.

Just to add, I wasn't condoning the use of such radios on 6.5 or 27MHz.
However, there's no point in denying that it happened.


Indeed. I'm not sure why Yaesu included 27MHz, perhaps it is legal
somewhere for such kit to be used on 27MHz.

As for 6.5MHz, I thought that was, originally at least, mainly ex
military kit.

I see the usual suspects have started to ruin the thread, as they always do.

"Brian Reay" wrote in message
...

I see the usual suspects have started to ruin the thread, as they always
do.


Another venomous sneer, for was it not me to whom you disparagingly refer
as one
of "The Usual Suspects" who initiated the thread?

For myself, I see that the KkGk trio have started to ruin the thread, as
they always do.

On 12/02/14 13:01, Fred Roberts wrote:
On Wed, 12 Feb 2014 12:18:41 +0000, Brian Reay wrote:


Indeed. I'm not sure why Yaesu included 27MHz, perhaps it is legal
somewhere for such kit to be used on 27MHz.

Did they not have an "aux" position on the bandswitch allowing 27Mhz
to be selected when the appropriate crystals were installed?

Looking at a manual, readily available, there is a position marked 11 on
the band switch at approx 11 o'clock. The other positions I can read are
15 for 15m etc.

So. 11 would be 11m or 27MHz,

There are special positions for WWV reference etc.

It is a while since I used a FT101 so I needed refer to a manual to
check but I was sure of the 27MHz position as it seemed "odd" and stuck
in my mind.

"Brian Reay" wrote in message
...
Looking at a manual, readily available

Another venomous sneer, OM.

In 1997, in the days of trunk call dial-up, I did not spend any time on the
Internet other than to quickly dial in to Demon, download the latest
Usenet postings (KA9Q?) and read off-line.

FTP searching was right out on cost grounds.

On Wed, 12 Feb 2014 11:36:21 +0000, Kafkaësque
wrote:

Just to add, I wasn't condoning the use of such radios on 6.5 or 27MHz.
However, there's no point in denying that it happened.

I should probably mot mention this, but since the company has been
defunct for about 20 years, I think it's safe to leak a few stories.

I used to work for a US marine radio manufacturer. We have various
marine operator licenses and ham radio operator licenses. We had STA
(special temporary authority) licenses and an FCC first class
radiotelephone license (now known as a GROL). The problem was that
few of the licenses were issued to the company. Most were all held by
individuals. As employees came and went, so did the licence. The
final inspection and compliance certificate included my FCC first
class license number, which was used for many years after I had left
the company, because nobody found it necessary to order a new rubber
stamp.

One of the radios I worked on was a 2-30 Mhz marine SSB transceiver.
While the output lopass filter limited the operating frequency range
to the normal marine bands, it was easy enough to build a filter that
would work on CB frequencies. This was used for occasional air checks
as the commercial HF radiotelephone operators did not appreciate our
interruptions asking for air checks. So, we got our signal and
modulation reports from a variety of local CB'ers. CB was also useful
for testing how our receiver responded to off frequency, over
modulated, and problematic transmitters.

Some of our dealers were also buying replacement 150w PEP power
amplifiers and repackaging them as CB linears. All I knew was that my
power amp had an apparently high failure rate and that dealers claimed
that they fixed the blown amps themselves (to avoid returning the
original amp). Eventually, someone returned one of these linears to
the factory for repair and the secret was out. We put an end to that
nonsense rather quickly.

Later, I worked for a company making radios for the electric utility
industry. I soon discovered that I was the only engineer with an FCC
license. When we submitted paperwork for type certification, all that
was necessary was for one responsible and licensed individual to sign
on the dotted line. That was me. I also worked for other companies
with similar licensing arrangements.



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558