In my TV Predictions email newsletters I get from Philip Swann,my
newsletter I received yesterday has an article about Congress is working
on making all U.S.A.tv stations transmit only HDTV signals by the end of
next year or soon after the end of next year.Read about it at,
www.tvpredictions.com
cuhulin

running dogg wrote in :

I couldn't agree with you more.

The HAM rigs are also available used at HAM fests, just be one of the
first ones there. It's incredible the amount of items that are sold
before the HAM fest opens. Buy a table, as if you are going to sell, then
you get the early admission (setup time for the sellers, way before the
buyers are admitted). Usually it's only a couple of dollars more to sell
than to buy.

The Yaesu VR-5000 is a wideband receiver. Without trying to insult those
in the group that have them, with wideband performance comes wideband
woes. I have 2 wideband transceivers, the intermod interference is
horrific. The VX-2R is great when attenuated, the VX-5R has no
attenuator, beeper sounds galore.

My Picks, either through recommendation or just wishful thinking:

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/3689.html Recommended. $740
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/2319.html A-One Radio $575
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/1897.html HF Through UHF
$900 (I'd like to own one)

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0703.html Looks Nice $570
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0718.html (You R-75 Owners,
take a look, $595).

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0868.html Looks nice $700
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0868.html Looks nice $915

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/3595.html I'd buy one in a
heart beat, I have lusted for one of these for some time, and the odd
thing is that I don't know if it is any good, I need to look for reviews
first. $660.
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/4319.html $780

Lastly, I have the Samlex Power Supply, model 1223 13.8 Volt 20 Amps
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamps/3747.html $90, you will need
something like this for the above radios. Though if you don't intend to
transmit, the 10 AMP supply would do (it's only $10 cheaper).

P.S. I usually buy from AES in Cleveland, http://www.aesham.com/ though
there seems to be quite an assortment of retailers (such as Universal).

Dr. Artaud

I believe that in the US only licensed hams can own transceivers. The
ham community is pretty tight fisted with their existing rigs, many
making you show them your license before they let you buy their rig.
This is apparently done to combat pirates, which the hams view as
threatening their spectrum (although since hobby broadcasting is
illegal, it's hard to see how).

It also follows that those people can't afford a $1500 radio, but CAN
afford a $50 Degen or Tecsun. Gee, I wonder why tabletops are being
pulled from the market while cheap China made portables are showing
strong sales? I DO wonder what the most common SW radio is in the
third world. I've seen footage of Iraqis listening to old European
tube SW radios. The movie The Killing Fields showed the camp escapees
listening to such a radio. I would figure that probably old Grundigs,
Telefunkens and Phillips's are the most common SW radios, except in
the old Soviet Bloc where the state made radios would be the most
common.

YOU try explaining this to our resident XM Satellite Radio owning
"leftist". I've tried, but I'd rather beat my head against a brick
wall. He doesn't seem to get that if the BBC ****ed off George W. Bush
that it would disappear from satellite radio.

And then the government will force through BPL not to give people
better internet connectivity (it doesn't) but to use as a blanket
shortwave jammer. And also to force the public to buy expen$ive
digital TVs and expen$ive satellite TV subscriptions to go with them.
Of course, the government will get its kickbacks from all this forced
purchasing of $3000 TVs and $600/yr satellite subscriptions. I don't
think it's an accident that the BBC canceled its NAm service around
the time that W cozied up to Tony Blair.

Well, the small European stations are going away, but the big ones
(BBC, RN) mostly aren't. The BBC still broadcasts to Mexico in
English, probably their way of getting around the UK Govt order that
they stop beaming to the US. Only DW has totally canceled all
broadcasts to the Americas.

wrote in
:

Actually, I had been eyeballing those tiny TVs that Radio Shack sells,
the handheld type. The prices seemed reasonable. Problem is, as you
state, the transmission mode will soon be HD, and these TVs will become
technological paperweights, therefore I did not purchase. I can't
imagine carrying a cable TV converter size box to receive HD signals on
my handheld TV.

Of the handheld TVs, as far as I know, the principle of angular diameter
applies. Consider the moon and the sun. Concerning angular diameter,
they (from earth), appear the same size (plus or minus a very small
amount). Because of this, the moon is often able to fully eclipse the
sun. Quite a nice match up, size wise.

http://www.rc-astro.com/composite/sun_moon.htm

http://www.photoastronomique.net/pho...20003-16_16-25


Look here, the third photo set down, a comparison of the Sun, Jupiter,
and the Earth, with the Earth as just a speck.

http://www.hartrao.ac.za/other/howfar/howfar.html

Obviously the Sun is massive, yet it appears to us to be the same size
as the moon. Same with the Handheld TVs (no, they don't appear the same
size as the moon ;-), you can have your own personal Big Screen TV for
under $200. (actually the little TV, held close, giving the same angular
diameter as a considerably larger TV across the room).

Look at your TV across the room, hold a ruler at arms length, place one
side of the ruler on the left of the TV screen, place your thumb at the
point on the ruler where the right side of the screen is. A TV the size
that your ruler is indicating, held at arms length, is the same size
image in your mind as the TV across the room. I'm sure that some of you
have those gigantic TVs, this may be a little harder to visualize, but
the principle is valid.


http://www.celestron.com/education/binbasic.htm

From what I know of optics, a 10 power (10X) binocular increases the
angular diameter of the object viewed by 10 times, it does not make it
appear 10 times closer (it makes it appear even closer than 10 times).
The example that I read was to stand 2 feet from the wall, look at the
wall, now step forward one foot. You are now at half the distance, does
the wall appear twice as big? No.

But supposedly, to view the wall through a 2X binocular would make it
appear closer than 2 times, as the angular diameter has been doubled. A
cursory experiment with a ruler held at arms length, and the angular
diameter of the laptop screen confirms this. Half the distance does not
yield twice the size.

Anyway, don't trust searches on the internet, as they have simplified
the concept, using the 10 times the size and 10 times closer analogy.

I digress, but it was fun.

Regards

Dr. Artaud


In my TV Predictions email newsletters I get from Philip Swann,my
newsletter I received yesterday has an article about Congress is
working on making all U.S.A.tv stations transmit only HDTV signals by
the end of next year or soon after the end of next year.Read about it
at, www.tvpredictions.com
cuhulin

wrote:

I sent it to one of my other webtv addresses.



Will you be able to read it better from there? Normal people would have read it
right here. Oh..yes..hmmpphh..sorry about that. I forgot...





mike

Fortunately, HAM transceivers allow the same reception capabilities
and
offers transmission for those properly licensed. I don't believe that
HAM
transceivers are going anywhere soon, so there will be an abundance
of
superlative tabletop models for SWLing for years to come at the same
price of Shortwave only tabletops.

For sure...Quite a selection to choose from also...

For example, the Yaesu FT-840 transceiver. This is a fine (ahem,
according to Yaesu, entry level or good as a "second" transceiver. I
find
it perfect in itself, no need for all the bells and whistles) radio,
though I had to buy the AM filter separately, without it AM reception

filtering was far too narrow.

According to all the people I've known that owned the 840, it is
pretty good...It always sort of reminded me of a yaesu version of
the old IC-730...Same basic look, layout...



Oh, and by the by, some of the HAM transceivers are portable, not
quite
tabletop, definitely not handheld.
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/1857.html
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/1897.html
and others, these are just the ones that came to mine.

Yep, and even those make pretty decent "tabletop radios".
I use my IC-706mk2g as a tabletop 90% of the time,
http://www.icomamerica.com/products/...6mk2gphoto.asp

even though I bought it as a mobile rig...I use it everywhere..
Mobile, portable, and at home...I don't leave it in the car,
cuz I'm afraid someone will steal it...I just put it in,
if I plan on using it, or going out of town, etc..

In the house, it seems about like a tabletop, cuz it's got a
folding stand in front to raise and tilt the radio. It's not
shown in the pix, but it's a chrome metal folding stand
that is under the main portion of the radio...Makes all
the difference..."I happen to like all my radios tilting
up a bit in the front..." I keep my faceplate on the radio,
so it seems like a tabletop, just pretty small.

But get a load of this new version that is "supposed" to be
coming out.
http://www.qsl.net/ab4oj/icom/ic7000.html
It's the replacement for the 706mk2g...Looks pretty
killer, and I think will definitely give the yaesu's a run
for their money in the "mini-mobile" market.
It's the mk2g rebuilt with a dose of "pro" steroids....
I've had great luck with the 706mk2g, and hadn't planned on
getting rid of it anytime soon...But dunno...That IC-7000
has me drooling at the mouth...Being thats a CAD drawing,
I would expect the real thing to look even better than
that pix...500+ mem channels, Dual PBT, hi-stab xtal included,
no extra filters required due to the IF-DSP, etc, ad nausium...
Pretty slick for the small 706 package...It is obviously still
a 706 in basic design...Just pumped to the gills compared to
the original model...This would be the 4th "706" model so far
if it comes out...
I guess they consider it a totally new model, calling it the
IC-7000, but it's still basically a 706 on steroids...
As far as receivers only...It's a tuff call really...I'm sure
new models will come out, but I don't really know what to
expect, except that I expect hi-tech...Small little jobs that
go DC to light in a small package, and actually do it fairly
well. Colorful "pro type" displays, DSP of course, etc...
But overall, doesn't really matter to me, as I'll always be
buying the ham transceivers...That way, I get my moneys worth..
Do it all in one box...The 706 has been great in that regard..
MK