Bravo Chuck. Right on!

Harry C.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Bravo Chuck. Right on!

Harry C.


Oh...now *that* has my curiosity up...

Kim W5TIT

Chuck:

You ask me if I ever put ham gear together from old radios, tv's and army
surplus equip., Yes, gobs... my uncle had a chain of army surplus stores.
Most of that equip you just took to the air...

But, born right around 1950, I got in on the tail end of tubes. In the
late 60's we were already attempting to run transistors with
multi-parallel-push-pull circuits to get higher outputs on low HF. The
70's provided some decent high power transistors, in the 70's seen a
lot of hybrid equip (tube/transistor), in the 80's-90's mainly
transistors, even multi-KW linears designed around transistors.

Now I awaiting the next generation equip., you see it in commercial and
industrial use, but very rarely in amateur shacks.

Now I play with single chip wide band oscillators... buffers, amps and
finals in personal experiments, all transistor. The tube, except for
greater than 2KW linears/transmitters is pretty much dead... most new
homebrew amps I see are using the russian tubes, cheap if you get the
right source... but the filament draw on those big amps can heat a shack!

Just look at the number of hams still running the old tube equip. henry
2KW linears, drakes, heathkits, hallicrafters, gonset, johnson, etc....
although a lot of it is still in use, it isn't built anymore... some hams
just haven't adapted to building with transistors... don't ask me why...

What does spark-gap transmitters, crystal radios, regenerative, TRF, etc
have to do with today? Collectors items? Junk sold at hamfests?

Most high power stuff is custom made mosfet, or commercial adapted to
amateur use--if you are into homebrew...

John

On Fri, 12 Aug 2005 14:22:02 -0700, Chuck Olson wrote:


"John Smith" wrote in message
news
PM:

Most of that is fictional... lots of "could have", "should have", "would
have" which it suggests though...

Computer related hardware/software is where all of the engineers are
coming from today.

John

I guess you never put together a crystal set or a 1-tube radio, or designed
your own VFO-controlled transmitter. I did, and from those days in 7th
grade, I knew what I was going to do the rest of my life. By sophomore year
in high school I learned to send and receive Morse Code at 15 WPM so I could
be sure to meet the 13WPM requirement for my Ham license. At 21, my
Engineering education was interrupted by the draft, and I joined the Navy to
become an Electronics Technician and service radar and communications
equipment for 4 years. Resuming my education, I became an Electrical
Engineer and worked in industry for the next 38 years, continuously learning
new things as they became current technology. I was never laid off or a
victim of "reduction in force" through that entire career - - because I was
a "natural" and kept my skills up to meet the needs of my employer. Ham
radio is an excellent start for anyone who has a curiosity and fascination
about electronics, be it represented by radio communications or computers or
industrial control technology.

I was inspired by Polymath's description of the good effects of ham radio on
its devotees. He should be congratulated on his explanation - - a very
readable and true to life presentation.

73, Chuck W6PKP

some hams
just haven't adapted to building with transistors... don't ask me
why...

=============================

For one thing, with advancing years, eyesight deteriorates.
---
Reg.

Reg:

LOL!!!

Good to see you... well, that is how it looks from here... but, I imagine
it might differ even in other states...

You sure it isn't the same across the pond?

John

On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 20:16:22 +0000, Reg Edwards wrote:

some hams
just haven't adapted to building with transistors... don't ask me
why...

=============================

For one thing, with advancing years, eyesight deteriorates.
---
Reg.

"Polymath" wrote

What is Ham Radio?

This message is a VERY brief attempt to explain the hobby and give
some pointers on where to get more information. Almost certainly I won't
answer all your questions, so feel free to ask for help. Hams are famous
for their eagerness to help newcomers. I should also point out that
this explanation assumes you live in the USA. Almost every country
has hams (amateur radio operators), but each has their own name
for the various classes of license, and the test requirements vary from
country to country.

(First I have to explain something you might not have realized. In
doing so, I'm going to paraphrase something written by Steve Ford,
WB8IMY, in his introduction to a book entitled "The ARRL Operating
Manual".)

In case you didn't know, belief in magic is a necessary requirement
for all Amateur Radio operators. Of course, you won't see a question
concerning magic or metaphysics on the test you take to obtain your
license, but in your heart you will come to believe in that powerful,
intangible force.

All of us in the hobby have felt its influence at one time or
another. Some night when the band is dead as a doornail you'll be
tuning aimlessly, not expecting to hear a single signal because NOTHING
could be coming through at that hour. But then, rising out of the noise
like a ghost, there will be a faint call from another stalwart explorer
thousands of miles distant. You pounce, establish contact and both of
you marvel at the fact that the conversation is taking place at all. A
few minutes later, however, the signal vanishes as quickly as it came.
Your rational mind will shrug it off as a quirk of propagation, but
that little tingle in your gut will tell you otherwise.

If you could travel back in time to, say, 1305 AD, you'd probably
be burned at the nearest stake for even suggesting that two human
beings could communicate with each other over great distances without a
physical connection. No doubt they would accuse you of dabbling in
magic -- and they'd be right!

As Amateur Radio operators, we work feats of magic every day. Many
of us have become jaded about our powers and we tend to dismiss them as
commonplace. We hardly think twice when we use our equipment to sommon
the elemental forces of the universe. But every so often we need to
pause and remind ourselves of what we are really doing. We need to
remember the essence of what drew us to our unusual avocation in the
first place: the wonderful magic of wireless communications.

So how can YOU become a magician?

First, you need to prepare to obtain a Magicians License. The Federal
Communications Commission calls them Amateur Radio Operator Licenses,
and they come in 3 "classes".

The Technician class license, is currently the most popular class,
providing the "first taste of magic" to most new licensees. There
is no Morse code examination for this license, and the written
examination is not considered difficult by most applicants. The
frequency bands for this license are largely "local" in nature. (You
can gain access to some "long distance" bands if you pass a slow
(5 words per minute) Morse examination, but this option may soon
be history if a recent FCC is adopted.)

The other two classes of license are General and Extra.
These two classes have access to portions of all amateur bands, with
progressively more difficult exams, and a requirement requirement
to pass a 5 word per minute Morse code exam.

To prepare for the exams you will need some study material and more
information about classes, examination points (the exams are given by
volunteer Hams in your community), and clubs in your area. A number of
organizations will be more than willing to help. One such organization
is the American Radio Relay League. They are on the Web at
http://www.arrl.org.

Or you can write them at:

ARRL 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111

or call them at 1-800-32NEWHAM

Ask for their "Prospective Ham Package". It will include more
detailed information, a list of classes and clubs in your area, and a
list of scheduled examinations in your area. Include your ZIP
code in your query so they can send you info tailored for your
location.

If you are near a Radio Shack store, go there and ask for a book
entitled "Now You're Talking". This book is also available from the
ARRL. It contains all the information you need, including study
material and sample questions for the examination for the Technician
license.

Good luck, and welcome to the "magical" hobby.

Regards,

Hans, K0HB

a much better peice of writing

K=D8HB wrote:
"Polymath" wrote

What is Ham Radio?

This message is a VERY brief attempt to explain the hobby and give
some pointers on where to get more information. Almost certainly I won't
answer all your questions, so feel free to ask for help. Hams are famous
for their eagerness to help newcomers. I should also point out that
this explanation assumes you live in the USA. Almost every country
has hams (amateur radio operators), but each has their own name
for the various classes of license, and the test requirements vary from
country to country.

(First I have to explain something you might not have realized. In
doing so, I'm going to paraphrase something written by Steve Ford,
WB8IMY, in his introduction to a book entitled "The ARRL Operating
Manual".)

In case you didn't know, belief in magic is a necessary requirement
for all Amateur Radio operators. Of course, you won't see a question
concerning magic or metaphysics on the test you take to obtain your
license, but in your heart you will come to believe in that powerful,
intangible force.

All of us in the hobby have felt its influence at one time or
another. Some night when the band is dead as a doornail you'll be
tuning aimlessly, not expecting to hear a single signal because NOTHING
could be coming through at that hour. But then, rising out of the noise
like a ghost, there will be a faint call from another stalwart explorer
thousands of miles distant. You pounce, establish contact and both of
you marvel at the fact that the conversation is taking place at all. A
few minutes later, however, the signal vanishes as quickly as it came.
Your rational mind will shrug it off as a quirk of propagation, but
that little tingle in your gut will tell you otherwise.

If you could travel back in time to, say, 1305 AD, you'd probably
be burned at the nearest stake for even suggesting that two human
beings could communicate with each other over great distances without a
physical connection. No doubt they would accuse you of dabbling in
magic -- and they'd be right!

As Amateur Radio operators, we work feats of magic every day. Many
of us have become jaded about our powers and we tend to dismiss them as
commonplace. We hardly think twice when we use our equipment to sommon
the elemental forces of the universe. But every so often we need to
pause and remind ourselves of what we are really doing. We need to
remember the essence of what drew us to our unusual avocation in the
first place: the wonderful magic of wireless communications.

So how can YOU become a magician?

First, you need to prepare to obtain a Magicians License. The Federal
Communications Commission calls them Amateur Radio Operator Licenses,
and they come in 3 "classes".

The Technician class license, is currently the most popular class,
providing the "first taste of magic" to most new licensees. There
is no Morse code examination for this license, and the written
examination is not considered difficult by most applicants. The
frequency bands for this license are largely "local" in nature. (You
can gain access to some "long distance" bands if you pass a slow
(5 words per minute) Morse examination, but this option may soon
be history if a recent FCC is adopted.)

The other two classes of license are General and Extra.
These two classes have access to portions of all amateur bands, with
progressively more difficult exams, and a requirement requirement
to pass a 5 word per minute Morse code exam.

To prepare for the exams you will need some study material and more
information about classes, examination points (the exams are given by
volunteer Hams in your community), and clubs in your area. A number of
organizations will be more than willing to help. One such organization
is the American Radio Relay League. They are on the Web at
http://www.arrl.org.

Or you can write them at:

ARRL 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111

or call them at 1-800-32NEWHAM

Ask for their "Prospective Ham Package". It will include more
detailed information, a list of classes and clubs in your area, and a
list of scheduled examinations in your area. Include your ZIP
code in your query so they can send you info tailored for your
location.

If you are near a Radio Shack store, go there and ask for a book
entitled "Now You're Talking". This book is also available from the
ARRL. It contains all the information you need, including study
material and sample questions for the examination for the Technician
license.

Good luck, and welcome to the "magical" hobby.
=20
Regards,
=20
Hans, K0HB

On 12 Aug 2005 12:34:33 -0700, "Polymath"
wrote:

they are nothing
of the kind! Usually such people are a
variation of the CB Radio hobbyist...

Actually it was CB band competition between a friend and I combined
with my desire to understand radio that turned me in to a ham. When I
was back in school my friend and I started trying to see who could put
out the strongest signal. His father bought him an amplifier to get
over me. I was not going to ask my parents for an amplifier, and I
did not have any money to buy one since I was a full time student. I
had heard the phrase "Knowledge is power", so I decided if I could not
buy a bigger amp to get over my friend I would have to out smart him
with brain power.
I went to the school library and started reading radio handbooks
like Bill Orr's handbook. When a radio repair tech at the local ham
store realized I truly wanted to learn the science of radio he gave me
a copy of the 1983 ARRL handbook for free (it was 1984 at the time).
I read that book until it fell apart. Then I bought another ARRL
radio book, and then another radio book, and then another radio book.
I'm still doing that all these years later. The radios I talk on (a
Tempo 2020, Drake 4 B line twins, Yaesu FT-101ee, and a Midland 79-892
40 channel sideband CB) were all someone else's broken door stop. None
of them worked when I bought them. I repaired them all, and I made
most of my antennas. When I talk on those old radios part of me
smiles, because I know the only reason those radios are still working
is because I put them back on the air.
Anyway after deciding to ignore all the CB radio folklore I had
heard on the CB back in the 1970s and early 1980s, I learned the truth
about radio from reading the ARRL handbooks. I quickly became the
strongest CB station on the airways, and much of that was with self
taught radio know how.
A local ham noticed I was emerging from the CB pack as a potential
ham, and he started talking to me about ham radio. I aced the 5 wpm
Morse code test three weeks after listening to my first ARRL code
tape, and I don't even like Morse code. I aced all my exams, my 13
WPM code test, and now I am an Advanced class ham. When I passed my
Advanced written test a bunch old timers circled around the VE
examiners desk looking for a mistake on my test, but there was none to
be found. I made a perfect score, and out of all my test I only missed
one question.
One of the reasons I have not taken the Extra test is because the
old timers spit on the new no code Extra. I'm proud of my Advanced
class license, and I would not take kindly to an old timer spitting on
me if I had the new no code Extra.
In the past I used older equipment because I could not afford
anything else. Now I can afford the best, but I find myself poking
around in the old tube types and tube hybrids, because I don't know if
I can service the new surface mount technology stuff. If all I could
do was talk on the radio that would take all the fun out of it for me.
I think the best compliment I ever received on the ham bands was
when an old timer listened to all the things I was building and doing
and he said; "You are a true ham". That phrase from an old timer
meant more to me than any signal report or any DX contact. I am a
true ham, and I started on the CB band back in the 1970s just like
most other hams my age. I am not ashamed of my CB heritage. The
truth is I had a blast on the CB band back then.

Michael Rawls
KS4HY

Michael:

Thanks for your post. (A real "BLAST-FROM-THE-PAST!")

Back in the 70's, on CB, some of the best radio years of my whole life
where there... I miss them... (there was a "rubber duck" under every
rock--we still got "mud ducks" though

Amateur radio has changed too, the bands are not as interesting... the
personalities stagnant and without humor, without fun, without excitement,
without youngsters, without harmless pranks, without mystery. Bunch of
old guys attempting to play "James Bond", "secret agent" and attempting
more structure to communication than the NSA uses!

I hope-against-hope the good old days of radio will return, but, I would
like it to do so on new technology... some of us which remember the old
CB days (days when even, good, hams had cb rigs!--or, we made do with 10
meter equip. grin) are on ch. 38-39 LSB (27.385, 27.395) in the central
valley of calif, we are a stagnant number, be nice to have the company.
Lot of mobiles so they escape the harassment of hams still waging the
"old war." If you mention your call, be prepared to take some kidding...

If you ever get an opportunity--come join us! Real CB still lives in
isolated pockets!

John

On Fri, 12 Aug 2005 22:18:30 +0000, Trying to be a real ham! wrote:

On 12 Aug 2005 12:34:33 -0700, "Polymath"
wrote:

they are nothing
of the kind! Usually such people are a
variation of the CB Radio hobbyist...

Actually it was CB band competition between a friend and I combined
with my desire to understand radio that turned me in to a ham. When I
was back in school my friend and I started trying to see who could put
out the strongest signal. His father bought him an amplifier to get
over me. I was not going to ask my parents for an amplifier, and I
did not have any money to buy one since I was a full time student. I
had heard the phrase "Knowledge is power", so I decided if I could not
buy a bigger amp to get over my friend I would have to out smart him
with brain power.
I went to the school library and started reading radio handbooks
like Bill Orr's handbook. When a radio repair tech at the local ham
store realized I truly wanted to learn the science of radio he gave me
a copy of the 1983 ARRL handbook for free (it was 1984 at the time).
I read that book until it fell apart. Then I bought another ARRL
radio book, and then another radio book, and then another radio book.
I'm still doing that all these years later. The radios I talk on (a
Tempo 2020, Drake 4 B line twins, Yaesu FT-101ee, and a Midland 79-892
40 channel sideband CB) were all someone else's broken door stop. None
of them worked when I bought them. I repaired them all, and I made
most of my antennas. When I talk on those old radios part of me
smiles, because I know the only reason those radios are still working
is because I put them back on the air.
Anyway after deciding to ignore all the CB radio folklore I had
heard on the CB back in the 1970s and early 1980s, I learned the truth
about radio from reading the ARRL handbooks. I quickly became the
strongest CB station on the airways, and much of that was with self
taught radio know how.
A local ham noticed I was emerging from the CB pack as a potential
ham, and he started talking to me about ham radio. I aced the 5 wpm
Morse code test three weeks after listening to my first ARRL code
tape, and I don't even like Morse code. I aced all my exams, my 13
WPM code test, and now I am an Advanced class ham. When I passed my
Advanced written test a bunch old timers circled around the VE
examiners desk looking for a mistake on my test, but there was none to
be found. I made a perfect score, and out of all my test I only missed
one question.
One of the reasons I have not taken the Extra test is because the
old timers spit on the new no code Extra. I'm proud of my Advanced
class license, and I would not take kindly to an old timer spitting on
me if I had the new no code Extra.
In the past I used older equipment because I could not afford
anything else. Now I can afford the best, but I find myself poking
around in the old tube types and tube hybrids, because I don't know if
I can service the new surface mount technology stuff. If all I could
do was talk on the radio that would take all the fun out of it for me.
I think the best compliment I ever received on the ham bands was
when an old timer listened to all the things I was building and doing
and he said; "You are a true ham". That phrase from an old timer
meant more to me than any signal report or any DX contact. I am a
true ham, and I started on the CB band back in the 1970s just like
most other hams my age. I am not ashamed of my CB heritage. The
truth is I had a blast on the CB band back then.

Michael Rawls
KS4HY

I hope-against-hope the good old days of radio will return, but, I would
like it to do so on new technology... some of us which remember the old
CB days (days when even, good, hams had cb rigs!--or, we made do with 10
meter equip. grin) are on ch. 38-39 LSB (27.385, 27.395) in the central
valley of calif, we are a stagnant number, be nice to have the company.
Lot of mobiles so they escape the harassment of hams still waging the
"old war." If you mention your call, be prepared to take some kidding...

If you ever get an opportunity--come join us! Real CB still lives in
isolated pockets!

John

You ever get on 40 m John? Often on Sunday evenings around 7168 +/-.

73,

Frank

PS I thought this was a Brit N.G.