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#511
February 10th 04, 05:29 AM
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#512
February 10th 04, 06:14 PM
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Leo wrote in message . ..
On 9 Feb 2004 15:25:04 -0800, (N2EY) wrote: Leo wrote in message . .. I understand that Morse is good for getting through poor conditions better than voice. Much better than any form of analog voice. Makes sense, it is narrowband and binary (well, tri-state if you count the spaces...) encoded. Exactly. From the experimenting (read: fooling around) that I have been doing over the past couple of months, I have been repeatedly amazed with the ability of BPSK-31 to get clean copy through pretty bad conditions. Even DX signals that appear as weak vestiges on the waterfall display can be easily decoded with near 100% accuracy, using just a PC sound card as an interface. The soundcard is only part of the system. The decoder is quite smart, in that it stores and examines the received data and does a "best fit" decoder. You can read all about it at several websites. Good point - I've compared it to RTTY from the decoding standpoint - RTTY seems to be much more prone to losing characters or dropping out entirely when the signal is weak or noise is high. Part of that is the modulation method used and part is the encoding. There's a good explanation of the varicode philosophy and the PSK31 modulation method on a number of websites. btw, PSK31 in BPSK mode works at around 45-50 wpm. The speed depends on the exact text sent because the length of each character varies, but the average character is 6 to 7 bits long. But it's important to realize what constitutes "poor conditions". Against purely amplitude noise it's quite robust. But against phase noise of various types it is not robust at all. All depends on the situation. Frequency stability of my old Heath TX is a problem, but I'm working on it..... What rig is it? Heath SB-400. The Pride of 1964  Amazing how well a 40 year old box full of glowbottles is still useful, huh? 15 Hz stability from a one-tube Hartley is pretty decent. With a narrowband signal like this, it doesn't take much drift! I'm seeing a frequency decrease of up to 15 Hz, beginning a few seconds after keying. B+ to the VFO appears to be well regulated - maybe not tight enough though. Might have to replace the 0A2 with a few zeners - haven't tried that yet.... First try replacing the 0A2 regulator and 6AU6A oscillator tubes - different ones may have slightly different characteristics. But the real problem may be that the heater voltage is changing when transmitting, rather than the B+. Another possibility is that heat from the 6146s and power supply may be causing a bit of drift, because PSK31 is a very high duty cycle mode and a lot of heat gets dissipated on transmit. One cure to consider is to build an external VFO, either LC or synthetic, to do the job. The SB-400 LMO tunes 5.0 to 5.5 MHz, and it tunes "backwards" (5.5 MHz on the VFO is the low end of the band selected). Such a VFO could be mounted externally to eliminate any changes to the rig itself. I copied the heterodyne scheme of the Heath SB-series for the Southgate Type 6 transceivers, btw. Found some Heath filters at the 1978 Rochester hamfest and built a rig around them. Now it's on "standby" duty since the Type 7 entered service about 10 years ago. Now there's something that will get through when nothing else will. Not really. You will find times when the PSK-31 signal is clearly audible in the speaker, well above the background amplitude noise, but the decoder cannot make sense of it because the phase distortion is too bad. Haven't experienced that yet - at least when I see that, I'll know what is causing it! Exactly. And, it types itself out, too. (that's a real boon for the perennially lazy - like me) It was meant as a replacement for conventional RTTY - as a "keyboard to keyboard" mode. For example, the speed was chosen to be about what *average* conversational keyboarding hams use. btw, the code used in PSK-31 uses shorter symbols for the most common characters and longer ones for the least common. Just like Morse code, which is where the designers got the idea. Didn't know that - great idea, though! Yup. Even the use of 00 for a character space was derived from Morse. I believe that BPSK-31 was created within the amateur community - Yup - G3PLX, and a number of folks who helped him by testing it out on the air and others who have developed software packages. A local ham of my acquaintance (one of those longtime 20 wpm 1x2 Extras with multiple EE degrees - we share two alma maters, btw) was one of the team who helped test it out. PSK-31 is another great tool in the toolbox, but not a replacement for good old Morse Code. Haven't formulated an opinion on that one yet - stay tuned! Consider that it takes a lot more hardware to implement PSK31, and that the requirements of that hardware are much more stringent than what is required to implement Morse code. Consider also that Morse code, as used by hams, is an aural mode, but doesn't require talking. Thus it can be used in a number of situations where other modes can't. For example, it's not safe to drive and work PSK-31, but mobile Morse operation is safely enjoyed by many hams. Using voice is often out of the question when it is of prime importance not to disturb other family members. And when cost, size, weight and battery power considerations are paramount, Morse code equipment is the natural choice. Check out the new KX1 at http://www.elecraft.com for an example of what can be done with modern Morse code radio equipment. 73 de Jim, N2EY |
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#513
February 11th 04, 02:04 AM
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#514
February 12th 04, 03:34 AM
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#516
February 22nd 04, 03:14 AM
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In article , Leo
writes: On 17 Jan 2004 00:57:34 GMT, (N2EY) wrote: In article , Leo writes: For some reason, this discussion keeps going off on a tangent from the core "issue" that began our discourse. There are several issues, not just one. OK - I'm listening. Perhaps I haven't stated it clearly enough, or during the discussion the original issue has become clouded. Let's see what you've got, then. Let's go. I have responded to your comments below, but I fear that we will continue forever if we are not discussing exactly the same issue. I understand that, due to your standards, you find Kim's callsign inappropriate. That's correct. It's also an issue to some people. OK - fair enough. And it shouldn't be. But it is! And that's one of my points. Your personal standards are your own - no one else's. They are shared in this case by some other people, so your statement of "no one else's" isn't true. Let's clear that one off - agreed? Once you agree that they are shared by some but not all others, yes. No issue there - that is entirely your right. Some people say it isn't. Not you, but some others. Others may, but who cares - it's none of their business. Whether or not it's someone's business is an issue, too. I also understand that you do not wish to use it in any of your posts. Also correct. And also an issue to some people, who say that my deletion of Kim's call is "wrong". Let's focus on that one, and agree that deleting her call from your post is necessary for you to due to your standards. I have no issue there at all. If you don't want to use it, OK. Let's clear this one off too - agreed? OK, fine. You have no problem with my not using her callsign. Again, no issue there - I respect that. For clarity, I'll restate it in clear and concise wording: Kim feels that eliminating just her callsign from your post was unfair, as it singled her out. I agree. And I disagree. Kim singled herself out by choosing that callsign. As you are aware. Yes she did - and quite intentionally, too, as she has stated. BINGO! That wasn't, however, what I was saying in my statement above. Simply that Kim feels that you singled her out too, by omitting just her call from the list. Understood. Forget the inappropriatenesss of the call for a moment Why? It is that inappropriateness which was the cause of the whole thing. ....do you see where she might get that feeling? Sure. Do you see where others might get the same or similar feelings? Would finding a compromise whereby neither your standards nor Kim's feelings - such as removing all of the callsigns and listing only names for all participants - have not been a fairer way to handle this situation for all concerned? No, it wouldn't. Honestly, I dont agree with you on this point. That's OK. You can post her callsign, my callsign, or nobody's callsign in *your* posts. Just don't try to get me to post them or not post them in *my* posts.... It would have been an easy compromise to make, Easy - and not in acordance with my standards. and woulld potentially have offended no one. Incorrect. It would have offended me. More on this further down in the post! That's the only issue that I am discussing, Jim. No, it isn't, but we'll get to that later. Right now, let's discuss that issue. It seems to me that what you're saying is that I should either include everyone's callsign, or no one's. Now since I don't wish to include Kim's callsign, that leaves only the option of including no one's callsign, in order to accomodate Kim's feelings. Agreed - in order to treat everyone equally, that would be the only other option available given the situation. But it would *not* treat everyone equally. Those with appropriate callsigns would not get to see them posted. Everyone would suffer for one person's choice. But what about everyone else's feelings, including mine? I want my call listed. I would feel disrespected to be listed by name rather than callsign or name and callsign on an amateur radio newsgroup. Yes, and I believe that Kim feels exactly the same way, Jim. For the same reason as you, I suppose - she is also a ham. (She does not feel that her call is in any way wrong, remember.) I use the word "inappropriate". "Wrong" implies a moral judgement. Maybe Dee, Dave, Carl, Dwight, Jim, Jim, Steve, et. al also want *their* callsigns listed, and would feel disrespected if I listed by name only. Don't the feelings of everyone else count? Of course they do - but are you sure that these people world be that upset by this? I know I would be - that's one. (except Dave, of course - he appears, from his recent correspondence, to be annoyed that Kim is still breathing... )I don't see any indication that Dave, K8MN wants Kim to die. I do see an indication that Dave would like Kim to choose a more appropriate callsign. So if we assume K8MN agrees with me, that's two. Perhaps others would feel disrespected too. So you're saying that Kim's feelings are more important than Jim's (N2EY) and Dave's (K8MN) feelings. And maybe more. In fact, if it had been my post, I would have revised it to names only immediately after Kim's original complaint. But it wasn't your post. It was my post. By your logic, I should change my screen name and email address and how I sign posts, because they are derived from my callsign, too. And seen what comments came back next. If I had several legitimate complaints (without the agendas that we have seen in several recent posts {not yours, Jim!) which obviously relate to Kim personally rather than just her call...), then yes there would be no other alternative than to put the calls back - but I would have written and offered Kim the option of going by name only or dropping out before I went ahead. So I should potentially disrespect a bunch of other hams with appropriate callsigns to please Kim? And if some of them complain, I get to put their callsigns back but not Kim's? Why not just do what I did and avoid the potential of disrespecting hams with appropriate callsigns? At least I'd be able to tell Kim that I tried to fix it for her, but it didn't work out with the rest of the group. That would be passing the buck. Maybe it's just me, but I would try first to resolve her complaint if possible, out of respect for her as a fellow amateur. I respect her as a fellow amateur. But I also respect other amateurs with appropriate callsigns. I prefer compromise whenever possible - not compromising my standards, but finding a way to achieve a balance. What about when your standards cannot be compromised? Note also, Kim said that if I wouldn't use her callsign, she didn't want to be on the list.. True, but that was after the had become frustrated with trying to solve this issue. She was not willing to do anything to solve the issue other than complain and protest. Your rights and standards are not at question here. Yes, they are. I've been told that "it's not my place" to determine whether a callsign is appropriate or not. I've been told that my actions are "wrong". Also, the word "prejudice" has been used... As you are aware. I did state that it is in fact no one individual's place to determine what is or is not appropriate for the ARS - that role belongs to the regulators, and to the will of the majority of us, I suppose. It was that it was not *my* (N2EY's) place to decide. Each of us is however completely in charge of determining what is appropriate for us as an individual, however. No question there. And I say it's appropriate for me to post the calls and words of hams with appropriate callsigns and to edit out the calls and words of those who use inappropriate ones. Jim, my intent was not to criticize your standards Well, you did. I could even say you disrespected me in the way you did it. - simply to point out that perhaps a more amicable solution to this issue was possible without compromising anyone's standards - finding a common ground for all. I do not agree that your proposed solution wasn't a compromise to my standards. That's it - that's my point. And here's one more issue to think about: Every community, including the ARS, has its standards. Consider residential neighborhoods as an analogy. Some community standards are concretely and legally stated, like zoning ordinances and building codes. Others are part of the general community culture, such as keeping one's property in reasonable repair and not mowing your lawn at 3 AM. A lot of the latter come under the heading of "being a good neighbor". If someone wants to be accepted and respected in a community, it is necessary to act (more or less) in accordance with reasonable community standards. That doesn't mean everyone must be exactly alike and never do anything different than the neighbors, but it *does* mean that community standards need to be considered. The fact that not all community standards are codified into law doesn't mean they aren't important. For example, painting one's house in odd colors and patterns may be legal in some communities, but it's not the mark of being a "good neighbor". What Kim wants to do is to reject the ARS' "community standards" in her choice of callsign, yet still receive the same respect and acceptance from other hams as those who choose appropriate callsigns. Just like the person who paints their house purple and orange in a dazzle pattern, then wonders why the neighbors put up fences and shrubs to conceal the view. 73 de Jim, N2EY 73 de Jim, N2EY |
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