On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 16:42:06 UTC, "Shiva" wrote:

Hi,
I was sent here by some folks from RAT (rec.audio.tubes), and was attracted
by the "boatanchor" part of this NG's name - descriptive of, pretty much,
everything I'm into. From old RCA racks filled with ancient test gear &
power supplies to restoring vintage recording gear etc., etc. Restoring
vintage cameras got me interested in photography, and now...
My Mr. Know-It-All bliss came to an end when a friend gave me a (Henry?)
Tempo One transceiver & an ECI (no model name) Linear Amp (both flea finds).
I *Had* to bring them up - downloaded the operating manual & schematics for
Tempo One, cleaned the rotary switches etc, brought up the power, and
managed to align the receiver the best I could (all my test gear is mainly
audio, funct. generators only going up to 1 & 2 KHz, so had to rely on
harmonics to get the RF outs' them (triangle)... Got the transmitter
section putting out *some sort* of rf into a dummy load (once again,
followed the manual's step-by step idiot guide). The dummy load was a
*wirewound* 50Ohm resistor in a can of motor oil (i know it must be an
absurd load for RF, but i had nothing non-inductive - any hints?)
Anyhow, here are my problems & questions:
I'm pretty much RF illiterate, and don't have an operator's license. I
remember thinking of getting one as a kid, but code didn't come too easy.
Some HAM at a swap meet told me that code is no longer required - is there a
site where I could download a sample exam / list of requirements? An appy
which I could download so I could hook up to a soundcard of my computer to
encode /decode Morse code (I could build any required peripherals)? A FAQ
for this NG? Any info on NYC swaps (I just moved from Boston a while ago,
the MIT swap was amazing...) Any hints /tricks? Any info (schematics
/manual?) on the ECI linear amp (no model on the case (chrome with 2 meters
& machined aluminum knobs wgich look just like the early AKAI knobs), a
bunch of gas voltage regulators, and a single octal / top plate output toob,
can't remember the name, looks like an oversized 2e26.
Any info / feedback would be nice,
Thanks in advance,
-dim

Don't know what the ECI is.

The 50 Ohm resistor is fine. I used to use a lightbulb on my DX-60.
Now I just load up a wire. If you got the Tempo working and
were able to load up the transmitter, you'll have no problem with
the theory part of the exams.

The exams cover 3 broad areas,

theory -which you have knocked except maybe you need to pick up some
HF, power, and mode jargon, SSB, XTAL filter, passband tuning,
PSK-3, envelope, key click, 2,000 VDC, oil capacitor, director
element, balun, SWR, if this makes sense, no sweat.

practice - If the net control asks for xxxx, what do you do....,

and

regulations - on 14,065 kHz can you call CQ on LSB?

www.qrz.com has practice exams and you can download the entire pool
from www.arrl.com.

I've been hoping that the FCC changes the regs to give more
privileges to techs (including HF SSB) and makes the General and
Extra exams more difficult.

de ah6gi/4 check out my boatanchor page at
www.kiyoinc.com/heathstuff.html

and flame away on codenocode at
groups.yahoo.com/group/codenocode


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