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 THETEAM
EI Supremo & Fo under
DECEMBER 1999
ISSUE 1470
Wayne Green W2NSDf1

Associlte Publisher
F. I. Manon

A m a te u r
Radio Today
Au oc ll te Techn ical Editor
Larry Antonuk WB9RRT

Nitty Gri tty Stuff

J. Clayton Burnett
Priscilla Gauvin
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Joyce Sawtelle

Contributing Culprits
Bill Brown WBSELK
FEATURES DEPARTMENTS
WB6IGP 43 Above & Beyond
Mike Bryce WBBVGE
Joseph E. CaIT K41PV
6 The X(Mas)-fl~ 4'
62
Ad Index
Barter 'n' Buy
MIChael Geier KBtUM 10 Big-Time Bench Supply- Senen Colenda,
53
Jim Gray W1XUf7 llis _,.,palEd SCR design mifd be overl<iI. but KB7NO 39 The Digital Port
Jack Heller KB 7NO it's shIIlLn to buId. W5ACM 45 Hamsats
ChOCk Houghtoo WB6IGP W2NSon 4 Never Say DIe
Dr. Marc Leavey WA3AJR 14 SeQ et Death Ray - WMGT 48 New Products
Andy MacAllisler W5ACM ()- is HAARP a useful science tool? KE8YNl4 42 On the Go
Dave Miller NZ9E W1Xun 60 Propagation
Joe Moell KOOV 22 TV Tutor -ZL1AA N 6 CRX
Steve Nowak KE8YN/5 How to ger started in $STY. 63 Radio BookshOp
Carole Perry WB2MGP 61 Updates
24 WhV Not Renew On-line? - AC3L
Adverti sing Sales Here's how to w rangle the FCC Web.
Frances Hyvarinen
Roger Smith 26 Read All About ttl - K8JWR
603-924.()(l58
Part f d tearo- Trivia !l'ooJ The Hertzian He rald.
BO()-274-7373 1999 Annuallndn.
30 A Cok:l Meal and a Hot Radio - A04EX
Fax: 603-924-86 13
Thar's what this XYL 's OM nowccmes rome to. page 5'"

Circulltion 31 5euels of Transmission Lines - KE20J

Unaa Coughlan Part 5: IITf)edance and reflectJons, including a 1dtchen table "
experiment. Web Page
Data Entry & Other Stuff
Christine Aubert w w w.waynegrccn.cnm
35 Need a UHF Dipper? - W6WTU
Norman Marion Part 3 : Mods for using the tuner as a dipper.

Busin ess Office

EDloriai - Advertising QlWlalion E-~1ail
Feedback - Product Reviews
design73@anl. l-'l.l1Tl
73 Amateur Radio Today Magazine
70 Hancock Rd.
Peterborough NH 03458 1107
603924.()(l58
FaJl: 603-924-86 13

Reprinl s: 53 per article On the cover: HAARP secrets revealed beginning on page 14 . We are always looking lor interest-
Back issues: $5 each
ing articles and cover photos - with or without each other. Your name could be in this space next
Printed In the USA
month, and our check could be on its way to you! Couldn't you use a little extra cash?

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possible publication are most how mu ch yo u like , hate , o r do n 't care one way or the othe r abo ut th e artic les and
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return anything you request. but we conti nu ed . En ough U's and it' s Silent Keysvill e. He y, this is your co mm unica tions
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Please Slbnl td1 a disk e-o a 73 Amllteur Rlidio Todlly (ISSN 1052 -2522) i s pUblished monlhly by 73 Magaz ine , 70 N202, Peterboroug h NH
03458- 1107. The entire co ntents 0 1999 by 73 Magazine , N o part 01 this publica tio n Marc hbe re produ ced
hal'd oopy cI )'OlI" article [IBM (ok)
without wrut en permiss io n 01 the publisher, which is nOI all tnet diHicult to get . The subscnpuon rate i s: one
or Mac: (pi eloiled) bmatsl carefuty year $24 .97, two years $44 97; Canada : one year $34 .21. Iwo yea rs $57.75, inc luding postage and 7% OS T.
<:hec:kect Qawi1gS cn:l schematicS. Foreign pos tage: $ 19 surface. $42 airma il addillona l per year. payable in US lunds on a US bank. Second
an:I the des est. best: 1eo 'S(l(! cn:l cla ss posta ge is pa id at Peterbo rough. NH. and at add,lional mailing ctnces. Ca nadian second class mait
~ I7lOlOS )OJ can manage. "How reg istra tion ' 178 101 . Can ad ian GS T reg istration '1 2539 33 14. Microf ilm ecmcn: University Microfilm, Ann
to v.Na b 73' QI MrWi !tlS are avaiable Arbo r MI 48106 . PO STMA STER: Send add re ss chan ges 10 73 Ama teur Radio Today. 70 H ancock Rd .,
on n:q.JeSt US eibZens. please Peterborou h NH 03458 -1 107. 73 Amateu r Radio Toda is owne d by Shabromat Wa lid . 01 Ha ncoc k NH
niJde )'OlI" socer 5eaJnty rumer Con t ract : By being so nosey as to read th is l ine pnnt. you have just ent ered into a binding ag reement wi th 73
wrttl sl.tlrnlted ma~ so we can Amateur Ra dio Today. Yo u a re hereby ob lig at ed to do something nice for a ham triend-bu y him a subsc np tton
suInil ~ to know wIl;). to 73. Whal? All of you r ham frien dS a re already subscr ibe rs? Donate a subscnoucn to your local SChOOl library!
 Nllmtwr , on your FfHIdbllclr "ard
start in business that gave
them all the edge,
The lesson to be learned
from this is that college is for
suckers, My own wasted four
years in the institution taught
NEUER SRY 0 I E me one thing: that almost
none of the courses I sweated
through have been of the
Wayne Green W2NSDIl slightest benefit to me in the
[email protected] many businesses I've been in
- radio, television, publish-
ing, manufacturing, and retail-
The Latin Exam more manufacturers. The at- With an estimated 80% of ing in the communications,
tcndance at Dayton was way licensees inactive, there's little electronics, computer, and
Well, by golly, amateur ra- down, with empty eXhi.bitor incentive to bother renewing music fields .
dio hit the front page of The booths everywhere. Ads In 73 their license when it comes
Wall Street Journal! That's Indeed, a college degree is
are way down, and they're also up for renewal in ten years, If almost invariably a guarantee
the good news, The bad news down in QST, all the industry we make it throug h Y2K and
is that the article made us slowly shrivels away. that a youngster is never go-
the other potential disasters ing to make a lot of money,
look like idiots and is un- The Journal reporter was
predicted for the next few Yet, despite all experiences to
likely to do anything but tum way otT base on one point. He
years, unless the ARRL di- the contrary, you'll be hard
away even more prospects. said that learning to copy 20
wpm can take years to learn. rectors wake up we could put to find anyone who hasn't
The article compared the value
of ou r code exam, for which Well , that's probably right if well be down to 250,000 lic- been convinced of the enor-
the League seems willing to you usc the ARRL system. If ensees within ten years. And mous value of a college de-
kill the hobby in order to pre- you use mine, which takes dropping fast. gree. An d I'll be surprised if
serve, to a Latin exam. It's sneaky advantage of how the Hello, Newington! You're anything I can write will
about as relevant. brain is wired, you can start up against the Internet now! change your deeply embed-
Sure, I agree, there are still from scratch and copy 20 wpm And, after many years of al- ded belief in college. "There
dozens of old-timers who en - in a few days. Some people do most total. obscurity and lack goes Wayne again."
joy the arcane art of CWoWe it in a weekend. of promotion, few kids today Education is important. but
have lots of antique car buffs, This is supposed to be a have even heard of amateur it's self-education that counts,
too, but that's no reason to technical hobby, not a skill radio, Is anybody awake there? not the number of exams
make the test for a driver's li- hobby, so let's kill the code test you've crammed for in order
cense include being able to requirement before it kills us, An Education to get a degree (and then for-
crank a car to start it. Progress gotten), When I final ly wised
When I first got on the air I see where Bill Gates is up and started my first busi-
now worth $ 100 billion . Not ness, one of the first things I
60 years ago, around 95% of I'll bet some readers are old bad for a kid who read my
all ham contacts were via enough to remember when the did was take a course in ad-
editorials in Byte and Micro- vertising put on by the Adver-
CWoToday it's more like 5%, US amateurs were the innova- compuring magazines and
and definitely time to get out tors, The UK, which used to be tising Club of New York, I'm
dropped out of college to start quite sure that no college
of the 19th century and rec- known as Great Britain, has
a little software entrepreneur- teaches the invaluable things
ognize that the calendar is announced that they're going
ial business back in 1976. I learned there. And that got
turning over to the 21st. to lower the code speed re-
We've been so thoroughly me to reading books on ad-
If your ARRL director dares quiremenr for operation on all
to show his face at a club the HF bands to 5 wpm. Fur- taught to equa te an "educa- vertising because I wanted to
meeting, please do your best ther, they say they expect the tion" with a college degree learn all I could,
to give him a brain enema next ITU meeting in 2002 or that almost everyone believes Our child labor and mini-
about this damned code crap 2003 to do away with the it. Well, it 's a crock. mum wage laws, which the
and stop the ARRL from Morse Code requirement en- Richard Sears didn't go to labor unions have bribed
making us all look like jerks, tirely, which they will then also college, and neither did Aaron Congress to pass to prevent
Again, I have nothing do. Montgomery Ward, Nor James competition from kids, have
against CW, which is just one Meanwhile the ARRL di- Cash Penney Jr., and their done incalculable harm to
of the many modes avai lable rectors you've elected, and stores have done fairly well. youngsters,
to us. I just don't like seeing then continued to re-elect, John Jacob Astor, who became Yes, of course colleges
amateur radio bei ng blown want to continue to maintain the richest man in America, left could be made relevant to the
away because the ARRL di- the Morse Code barrier for home and started working as a 2Ist century, but that's going
rectors want to force us to do HF operating _ thus keeping teenager, So did Wall Street to be over the dead bodies of
what they are convinced is over half of our licensees financier Jay Gould and steel the college faculties. In my
good for us. from being able to use the HF magnate Andrew Carnegie, oil editorials, which I reprinted
In case you haven't no- bands (and perhaps thus guar- tycoon John D, Rockefeller, in my Declare War book, and
ticed, our hobby is dying, and anteeing that they'll quickly Henry Ford, and David Sarn- cited again in my Improving
not slowly, either, The monthly lose interest in the hobby and off. A recent Inc, magazine State Government book ($5,
FCC figures on new licenses go away). Talki ng about very survey showed that virtually book #30), I explained a
and upgrades are dropping little or less over the local re- ev ery successful entrepreneur simple way college educa-
fast. peater doesn't hold much in- either skipped college or tions could be made relevant.
Ham dealers arc going out terest for any but those with dropped out.
o f business, as are more and low-double-digit IQs. I suspect it was their early Continued on page 18
4 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
 !~t~
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 hams a place to share ideas. This is accom-

QRH
plished on many levels, ranging from simple sales
ads to propagation and OX information to a chat
area where anything can be discussed .
Butthars not all. E ham dot net includes news
items from Newslineand other sources, a cal/sign
serv er, free ads 10 swap on-nne with listings au-
I know what I saw. And that night it read my tomatically exported and reposted to the rec dot
The Xlmaslc.. :.-F-=.:.i=s
1e '-----_ _ mind. It brought me a Mr. Potato Head, Scully. It radio dot swap newsgroup, and much, much
knew that I wanted a Mr. Potato Head' more. Access to e ham dol net is free. To take a
57 GREEN ST. look go to (www.eHAM.net].
BETHLEHEM PA I'm sorry, Mulder. but you're asking me rc oe-
regard the Jaws of physics. You want me to ce- Thanks to W4AN, viaNewsnne. Bill Pasternak
11 :51 PM DEC 24 WA 6ITF, editor.
lieve in some supernatural being whO soars
We 're too late! It's already been here, Mulder, across the skies and bn'ngs gifts to good little
I hope you know what you're doing. girls and boys. Listen to what you're saying. Do
look, Scully. just like the other homes: Dou- you understand the repercussions' If this gets The Shorter, the Better
glas fir, truncated. mounted, transformed into a
out, they'll close the X-Files .
If you are planning on putting on a hamfest or
shrine; halls decked with boughs 01holly; stock- Scully, listen to me: It knows when you're
convention, think small. At least if you live any-
ings hung by the chimney. with care. sleeping. It knows when you're awake.
where in the southeastern United States. that is.
You really think someone 's been here ? But we have no proof.
where smaller seems 10 equate with better.
Someone, or something. Last year, on this exact date, SETI radio tete-
The realization that small hamfests dedicated
Mulder, over here - it's a fruitcake. scopes detected bogeys in the airspace over 27
primarily to flea marketing and ham radio testing
Don't louch it! Those things can be lethal. states. The White House ordered a Condition
are the most popular comes as a result of a sur-
ffs OK. There 's a note attached: "Goona find Red. But that was a meteor shower. Officially. Two
vey conducted by the South Eastem Repeater
out who's naughty and nice. days ago. eighl prized Scandinavian reindeer
Association. The results. which are available in
Irs judging them, Scully. II's making a list. vanished from the Nalional Zoo in Washington
Ihe fall issue of its Repeater Journal, shows thai
Who ? What are you talking about? DC. Nobody - not even the zookeeper - was
60% of ltlose surveyed are more likely to attend
Ancient mythology tells 01 an obese human- toldabout it. Thegovemmenl cIoesn' wanl people a one-day hamfest than any other kind 01 show.
oid entity who could travel et great speed in a to know about Project Kringle. They lear that if 60% also said that all ooe-oay shows should be
cratt powered by antlered servants. Once each this thing is proved to exist, the public will stop held only on Saturday with 72% saying thai the
year, near thewinter solstice, this creature is said spending half its annual income in a Chrislmas starting lime should be an early 8 a.m. local time.
10 descend from the heavens to reward its fol- shopping frenzy. Relail markets Will collapse. Least popular are furl-fledged conventions with
lowers and punish disbelievers with jagged Scully. they cannot let the worid believe this crea- manufacturers' representatives and mega dis-
chunks of anthracite. ture lives. There's too much at stake . They'll do plays. Only 39% said that they cared for these
But thaI's legend, Mulder - a story told by whatever it takes to ensure another silent night types of shows. Also, an overwh elming 64% said
parents to fn'ghten children. Surely you don't Mulder, 1- that no mailer what kind 01show it is, they usu-
believe it? Shhh. Do you hear what I hear? ally head home between 1 and 2 p.m . in the
Something was here tonight. Scully. Check On the roof. It sounds like ... a clatter. afternoon .
out the bile marks on this gingerbread man . The Iruth is up there. Let's see what's the In Ihe area of forums, radio clinics, and other
Whatever tore through this plate of cookies was matter ... such activities, 54% of those responding said that
massive - and in a hurry. Found at The Laffatorium {www.laffnow.com] these are not important to them . Only 33% at-
It left crumbs everywhere. And look, Mulder. by the PlanoAmateuf Radio Klub, and published tend these activilies on a regular basis, with an-
this milk glass has been completely drained. in their December 1998 Parking TIcket. other 36% dropping by once in a while. On the
It gorged itself, Scully. It fed without remorse. other hand, 79% say that having ham radio ex-
But why would th ey leave it milk and cookies? aminations available at a hamfest or convention
Appeasement. Tonight is the Eve, and nothing Bonds is one of the most important services that a show
can stop its Wilding. can render. 62% say that exams should be held
The US Treasury has just announced that it in the morning.
But if this thing does exist, how did it get in?
will sell three new types of bonds: The SERA survey covers just about every as-
The doors and windows were locked. There's no
The AI Gore bond, which has no interest pect of namtest activity and contains many re v-
sign of forced entry.
The Monica Lewinsky bond, which has no elations that even industry leaders were probably
Unless I miss my guess, it came through the
maturity; and unaware of. Irs reasonable to assume that ham
fireplace.
The Bin Cfinton bond. which has no principal. radio manufacturers and publishers will be tak-
Wait a minute, Mulder. If you're saying some
It is not true that they will be issuing an ARRL ing a very close look at the facts that the SERA
huge creature landed on the roofand came down
bond, which has no recempto n dale. survey delivers as they begin planning their at-
this chimney, you're crazy. The flue is barely six
tendance at shows for the year2000 and bayonet
inches wide. Nothing could get down there.
Thanks to the Repeater Journal, as reported
But what if it could alter its shape, move in all
directions at once? eHAM.net is Here in Newsline, Bill Pasternak WA6ITF, editor.
You mean. like a bowl full of jelly? They call it e ham dol net. and it could be the
Exactly, Scully. I've never told anyone this, but beginning of a new way for hams to interact with
when I was a child my home was visited. I saw one anomer and the worid around them .
Changes at Day~to~n.!..-__
the creature. It had long white shanks of fur sur- E ham dot net made ils debut in cyberspace Some major changes are coming to the way
rounding its ruddy. misshapen head . Its bloated on September 2nd. Its creator, Bill Fisher W4AN. forum speakers are reimbursed at the Dayton
torso was red and Yotlrte. 11 never forget the horror. says that the site can best be described as a Hamvention. Until now, forum leaders and speak
I turned away. and when I looked back. it had s0me- communily of hams from around the wortd inter- ers were given sixty dollars a day for up to two
how taken on the facial features of my father. acting as a community.
Impossible. Fisher says that e ham dot net amed at giving Continued on page 38
6 73 Amateur Radio tcasv December 1999
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zooo
I .5: I

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'" ".
 Big-Time Bench Supply
This highly regulated SCR design might be overkill. but it's still fun to build.
Craig Kendri ck Sellen
Mallard Meadows RHC
476 Belmont s t. Room 405
Waymart PA 18472

nyo ne who works with the lat- The preregulated power supply de- Circuit description

A est electronic c ircuits. whe ther

he or she is a professional or
an amateur, wi ll even tually require a
scribed here can he built for j ust slightly
more than you would have to pay for a
conve ntionally regulated low-current
The prcrcgulated power supply 's c ir-
cuit schematic is ill ustrated in Fig. 1. It
closely regul ated variable voltage power power supply. It employs two inexpensive can be diagrammed as an AC source.
supply. While most po wer supplies are 723 power supply voltage regulator Ie di ode bridge rect ifi er. and two vo ltage
regu lated directly fro m the basic recti- chips in a circuit that can deliver from 3 regulators in series. The prcregulatcr,
fied and fi ltered DC input. tigh ter to over 35 volts DC at load currents up to by means of silico n-contro lled rectifi er
reg ulation can he obtained by using a 3 amperes. The design eliminates the need
prereg ulatcd approach in de sign. for massive heat sinks and cooling fans. Contin ued on page 12

~ m
~
;~. ,
~ '"
~..--: n A
'::,"j ..."'" ., ....,,
~I ~ ~l:+ ~
I.
I
l,!, j..o / DI2~
120 V/!oC

,,1 ~ C2~cr DIIB

0'
, '" "' "" .
ea
/
F2 ..... <.:... F3
,

J! ~
(. " i'J ." r-t i'J
i n rn, N

., c,V '" I-'

w

it "
'" R23 ~ r
,~
."

o~ 5CII7
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I
cs

t~
'" I - ...

en

.. -";'f --
a j
m
~
'- - . ...-
~
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,, ~

0111 :;
,j" . ~

Fig. I. Circuit schematic. Notes: J. Moun t SCRI and Q I on -t .r 2-1/2 .r l -inch heat sink. 2. R5 current limit: 3A -5\V/0. 2l1: 2A - 3 W/
O.3Q: 1.5A - 2W/oAl1: IA - I W/O.6l1: 0.75A - I \VAJ.8l1: 0.5A - 0.5WI J.2l1: 0.25A - 0.5 WI2. 2l1. 3. A 120 VA C neon panel lamp
with built-in resistor can be mounted across the 01"0 poles of51. such that it is on when the switch is thrown. 4 . Along the connection
between pill 12 of V I and pin 12 of U2, voltage must not exceed 39 V.
10 73 Amateur Radio tcaev December 1999
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I Dt_TRIBUToR'S C"t'P"~ I f ..........."/UH I 09911M7 I FNqwncy eov"lp': teOM PCA tOOO- 1 computer tornmUflica!ions scannel $399.95

'SAVE$30 ,"~Relm
29.000$4,000 ~z " 10817. MHz.. 406$12 IdHl . 806-<123,995 IdHl ., teOM A1ll-AI hanotlekl wideband cornmooicabons rec $339,95
MPV32' 84~~2~B:~~:t:l~T=~~5X LT AOR, AR8200B Radio Scanner
I I
save $30 wtwI you poo:hase)'Ol!l' REW '-IPVJ2 trlWlSCeive< cirfcI!y
lmm Cmm.nicalions Ele<:tron"", Inc. Forlastdel;"ery,enteryo....on:ier
is the world's
first scanner designe<lto track Motorola TyPe I Type II Mig. suggested ist price $799.95/Special $519.95
Hybrid SMARTNET PRIVACY PLUS arid EDACS@anal::1'I ,OOO Chan""IS-2(J banks.50SelectScanchannels
, 1IroIqI ourweb Soli hnpi/www.US!lSClItl.oornorcaIConm.o:licalions , _ _ L:.,' ' I PASSehan""ls; 50 per IIlIch bank . 50 lor VFO lIarch

----------" U \II "'" ,g systems on any band, ~ow, oIlow UHF Hgh Bard.
EIe<:tronics a11-800-USA-SCAN ,TERMS: Good ooIy " USA &CooacIal. Fltq utney sttP programmablein multiples of 50 Hz.
OnZ
. one CoupoIl is r&deemable par pll/d1aSe ';'oil _ , proIlblled

RELM~ MPV32-A Transceiver

Mfg , suggested list price $515.OOISpecial $299.95
UHF 8~ M~ trunked publiC salety and public5e':"'Ce
systems JUst as " ronventional two-way eommul'llCaftons
were, used. OJr scanner oilers many OOW benems such as
Size: 2-112 Widex 1318 Deep 16-118 High
Fmquency CO~:
50CI KH1. to 823.995 MHz. 84S0125-8&1l995 MHZ, 89-l01252.040,000
Multi-Track -Track more than ooe trunking system ata tme MHz (F"cove ra~ r&eeivefs ava iable lor'>q)O ~.nd FCCappn:l'>'1d uSIfSl
Looki'lg fof a grea1 hand-held two-way transce<ver1 AlTliIteo..-lilIdio andscanCOfWentional andtrunked systemsatthesamekne. ,The AOR ...R8200B isthe ileal hardJekl radio scar.ner IorCOlTlll1lll"Oc'
cpa1Ofs depeod on ltla RELMMPV3211i1l1S(;eiverfof dired IWO- 300 Channets _ Program one frequency into each chamel tlonsproresslonals. nfeatures almode rece~ e: WFM. NFM, SI'M (SI4'&'
way CQll'lfTIlXlIcations wilh 1M' ham radio repeater. fire, police
departmenl or civil defense agency. The MPV32 is our IIlOSl
12 Ban ds 10 BankS- Inck.xles 12 bands I'<iIIl Aircraft
" '
and
Narrow FM), WAM, AM, NA~ (wide, staodalll, nanow "'M), USB, LS8l
CW.~ n;lnowFM plusWileaMNarrowAM "',Dm:)nlO1hBstandard
popular prograllVTWlble IreQuero:y agile five waft, 32 ctIa 1ln6l 1lanci- 800 MHz. 10 banks I'<iIIl 30 channels each are uselul lor modes. The ...R82oo also Ms Henatl errlA-HoodOO band scope with
held Ilansceioter ll1a1 l1as blliI... CTeSS, This feature may be storing similarlrequencies to marntain taster scanning cycles save tra"" tacily, twin IrllQUellCY readoll: w.h bar signal meter, batlery
provanwned lor aoy 39 standald EIA lOOee. FreqJelq raoge or for storing all the frequencies of a tnJrked system. Smart sa"e leature wl.h ball"'Y I:)w lell""d. wparate controls lor YOlume aod
136,000 IJ 1ROOO MHz, The lUl lunc1ion. DTMF ~tlJle scanner _ Automatica~y program your BC245XLT with all squelch. arrow lour way side rocker with separate mall tUJWIg lbI,
kewad also alows tor 0 TMFEnco<.leIDecode and progi'iVlYMble thelrequencies and trunkingtalk groups tor"'" :rlocal area by oonl'IrJ arable keypad ~I.IIWIa \ion and LCD contrasl. wrte proIect
ANI, Weighng ooty 15,$ 0' , ~ leatures proglM'll'Mble synthe- . ... ' .. -- and keypad k>d<. programmable scan aod search Induding LIIlK, FRE'E,
accessing ure Bearcat national database with your PC. Wyou DfLAY,AUDIO,LEVEL,I.UlE, COfllMer socket filled to< ronIrol, c~
siZed trequeno;;es e~he r s~ex (J( hal ~x in 2,5 KHz, Iocre-
lTI8I1I$. Othef teatures neWe PC progfllOl1mlng and cloniog
do not have a PC simply use an external modem, Turbo and record, FJash-RQI,l no balIery reQ,ared 1TlOlITKllY. true callier re-
capabillli&s, scan list , priortyctlannal. selectable scand&lay, search _ Incmases !he search speed to 300 steps per ",sertion in SSB modes, RF preselection 01 mid VHFbands, Oelachable
sellldable 5 walll1 waft poweI" Ieveis, liquid trystal second when moni101ing lrequency bands wittl5 KHz. steps. MW bal aerial. Turaog s1epsare programmable in moJIiples 01 50 Hz tnal
di~y ,lime-oot time! aod ......00 more.WIlen youcoer 10 Pliority Channels _ You canassign OMpriori'" channel modes.833 KHzalrband s1epco"ectty~ed . SIep-ad;Jsl ,~
. . .. . 'I oIIse\, ...FC, Noise ImItd l allenuator, Wl:la and Narrow AM In llddItlOll
~ the MPV32 lrom CEI, you'll gel a cOfllllalepackage In each bark: AsSIgning a pnooty dlannel allows yo~ to keep Iothl! staodard modes, For ma.imOOl scaflfliog pleasure,youcanadd ooe
deal neWnganlenna,100 rna battery lad:l $20,00 10 track 01 activity on your mostlmpor1ant chamels while morv- oI thelDlowingoptionaislol cardslOlhIs scaMel':CT8200 CTCSS sqvelch
slbsUll.le alOOOrna battery), balIery ctlalgel, bel clip toring oitJer channels for ensmescrs. Pleprogrammed lsearchclecoder$8!l,95: EIoI82OOExlemaI4,OOOchamelbadu.l>memory,
and ~s eroperat iog insIruClons. OtIler uselLl eccesso- service (SVC) Search _ Allows you to toggle through .160 search banks. $6995; RUIl:200 abo\.( 2O secondsdl~ based record-
lies are available, A heavy duly leather carrying case
preprogrammed police,lire/emergency,railroad, aircraft,rna. I1g a.rd pla;tlack $6995; TEIl:200 256 ,slep tone ei,.... nator $59.95. In
with swivel bel loop par! RCMPis $49 95:lapid CMrge rine and weather frecuercies Unique Data Skip _ Allows ad<i\ion , I\\1:1 leads are availalJje tor l'Sl! with the ~ sock et CC8200 PC
bafteryctlargel. pan IBCMP is $69,9$ ; speakerlmicro- , : ~'l ' . , control lead ";1Il CD Rom prograrnmrng soltware $t 09,95: CR8200 tape
phone , panISMMPis$5-4 .9$; extra nigh eapll(:ity 1000 your scanner to skip unwanted dala irensmsscos and re- recording lead $59,9$ , The ... R82008 comes with 4 M ni--Clld batterieS,
maonk.ad balIfW'y pack, pan IBPMP1is $19,95: extra aces II1wanted birdies. Memory Backup - " !he battery charger. cil}arlead,whpaenal. MWbar antenna, bel hook,strap and one
100 ma, oi--cad ballery pack, pari , BPMP7 is $59,95:
cbnJIg eab ~ pan tCCMP Is $349S; PC programming
kI , pan IPCKtTOJO is $224 ,95, AIJ-lF vefSoo wilh a
frequency rar.ge 01 450--480 MHz. pan,MPU32 is on
completely discharges or if power ~ discomected, the Ire-
querces programmed in your scanner are relaine<! in
memory.ManuaIChanneI Acce$l -Godirectlytoany
channel. LCD Back Light -An LCD ~ght remains on
yearmledAOAW1lrrarry,Enter yourordernowal ttlp-Jlwwwusascalloom
[

Buy WI.th con fd
I ence I

special tor $299 ,95. Your RELM radio transceiver is
ldeallor maoy dtlerent applications ISinCe I can be progranwned withjusl
lor 15 seconds wen the bac\( light key is pressed, It'seasy-to oroerfrom us, Forfastest6eliVIfY, enter your order
a SC" l'wO Iver aod prograllVNng iostrudK>n& in Ies.s than 10 mi..... es. Autolight - Automatically turns the backli!,tlt on on the internet. Mail orders 10: Communicahons Elewonic$ Inc.,
Prog<alTVriog is even faslf!( with the ~bnal PC kiI The prog rammiog whel\ yourscannerslops on atransmlssion, Batt~ P,O, 601 1045, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 USA. Add$19.ooPllr
iostnldons par! , PIMPV is $19,00,Call HlOCl-USASCAN 10 order. save -In manual mode, the BC245XLT automati- weatherstationorradioprodudforUPSgroundshipping,handling
Bearcat895XLTA1 Radio Scanner cally reduces its power requirements to extend the and insurance tothe contine~ USA unless othelWisestaled. Add
battery's charge, Attenuator - Reduces the sig- 512.00 shipping lor all accessories and publications. Add $12.00
MIg. suggeste<!list price $729.95/Special $194,95 nal5trength to helpprevenl signal overload, The shippng per antenna. For Canada, PlJE!no RiC{), Kawai, Alaska.
300 Channels . 10 banks. Built-in CTCSS S Meter BC245Xl Talso works as a conventiooal scan- Guam, P.O. Bol Of APQtFPO cIelivery, shipping dlarges are IwO
Size: 10-112" Wide x7112 Deep x3-318" High
ner. Now rt'seasy tocontinuously monitor many limes continental USrales. Michigan resiOOnts add slate saleslal.
Frequency COYer.rg<l':29,(l()O.54.000 MHz., 108.QOO.I 74 MHz" radio conversations even lhoughthe message No COO's, Sahs!action gllBranteed or return rtem ., unused
216,CIOO-512.000MHz. rotl.lJOO-823.995MHz..849.0125-868.995
is swrtching frequencies. The BC245XLT condition in original packaging within 61 days for refund, less
MHz., 894.0125,956,000 MHz.
The Bearcel !l95XlT is supe rb for interceptirlQ trunkfrd COIlYOO- comes wrth AC adapter, or.e rechafgeable shipping charges. 10% surcharge for nel 10 bil ing 10 c,.Jailfied
nicatioos transmissions with features likeTurboScan'" to search Ioog Iile ni-Gid battery pack, belt cl ip, flexible accounts. Ali sales are subjec1 10 availability, acceptance and
VHF channels at 100 steps pef second. This base and mobile rubber anlema, earphone, RS232C cable, verification. Prices,terms and spec~icalions are subjecl to change
scanner is also iOeal for intelligence professionals because rt has Trunk Tracker lrequency glide, owners withoo1 notice. We welcome your o;scover, Visa , Ameriean Ex-
aSignal Slrength Meter, RS232C Poll to allowcompuler-eOl1trol 01 manual and one year limrted Uniden warranty, Not press. MasterCald,lMPAC or Eurocald. Call arrytime H IOD-USA-
your scanoer via oplional hardware and 30 trunl:ing channel compatible wilh AGE1S, ASTRO, ESAS or LTfl systems. SCANOrl -8OD-B72'7226 to Order IOI'lree.CalI734- ~
indicatorannunciators toshowyou rea ~~ melrunking activityl(lfan Hear more action on your radio SCarv1e1'today, Order on-line 996.aBBB ~ouIsideCanadaorthe USA. FAXarrytime,
enlire tJUnking SYSIem. Other leatures include Auto S/oIf! - at httpJlwww.usascan.comlorqJick delivery, dlaI734-663-8888. Dealer and Internallonallnqulr-
its invited. Order on~ine today or cali today.

(VHF/GMRS/CB RadiosI FOrCredircarcrorderscall

Aulomahcally stores all aclive Ireq.Jencies within the spedffed
bank(s). Auto ReeontifIg- Lets you record channej aclivity from
the SC8lY1(lr 0l11o a tape recorde r. crcss rCflll' 8<wlf(continu
ous Tone conlrol Sq~elch Syslem)allows lhe SQlIek:h to be broken
during scannirlQ only when acorrec1 CTCSS tone is receivfrd. For
maxirru:l1 scanning enjoymenl, orderthe 10Howing optklnal acces
sories: PSOOl Cigare"e lighterpow8l cold lor 10000000aryoperalion
fromYOUI vehicle's cigaretteIightel $14.95; PS0D2 DC powercord
Have tun and use our CB, GMRS, shortwave and cornmeroal
radios 10 keep in louct1 wilh the wand, lriends and lamly.
Cobra 148GTLA3 sse CBlSPEClAl ""."", " ,
Maxoo HCB40WXhandheld ca with 10weather eh,
$114.95
$69.95
1-8QO-USA-SCAN
Communications Electronics Inc.
enablespennaneIll opera ~on Irom your vehicle's fuse box $14.95; RELM RH256 NBA25 wa" VHF mol:iiIelransceivel $2B4.95 Emergency Operations Center
MBOOl Mobile mounting bracket $14.95: 0011 External speaker RELM SMV4099WA40 watl VHF mobile lransceiver .. $349.95 e~mall: [email protected]
with mountinqbrac\(et &10feet ofcable with pkJg attached $19.95. RELM RMV6OB-A60 watt VHF mobile trar1SC8ivel $699.95
The BC695XlT comes with AC adapler, telescopic antenna, LWden GRANTXLASS6 CB Mobile $124.95 www.usascan.com
owners manual and one jIl!ar limited UniOOn warranty. Not com- Sangean ATS909-A shortwave receiver.., $229.95 PO Box 1045, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106-1045 USA
patible with AGEIS, ASTRO, EDACS, ESAS or LTfI systems, Sangean ATS816CS-A shortwave receiver $199.95 For inform ation call 7349968888 or FAX 7346638888
Bi9-Time Bench Supply conducts. The resu lting square-wave wirewo und potentiom eter is used he-
continued/rom page 10 pu lse from pin 10 of the integrated cir- tween the tw o regulator sections. T his
SCR l, co ntinuo usly controls the vo lt- c uit is limited to 9 volts by curre nt- is don e so an identical vo ltage is al-
age at C 1. so that the volta ge across QI sensing resistors RI2 and R 13, and is ways pre sent across each section of the
remains at a constant level. The output sufficie nt to trigger the gate of SCR I pot. The wipe r vo ltages sho uld be very
regulator V 2 is a high-perfor mance into co nd uction. nearl y the same at an y se tting . The po-
circ uit that is capable o f supp lyi ng The RC lime cons tants in the ci rc uit tentiome ter R IOB section sam ples the
0.1 percent regulation . are co ntro lled by the amount of current o utp ut vo ltage and di rects U2 in the
Sy nchronized to the 120 H z, rectified flo wing through transi stor Q3, which proper direction to maintain 3 vo lts be-
AC input preregu lator U I is design ed in turn depends on the voltage erro r tween the wiper and ground. The R IOA
as a time-delayed pu lse generator that present at the R IOA wiper. Resistor sectio n samples the vo ltage across ca-
con trols the g ate of SCR I , w hich trig - R 16 and diodes D 7 through D 10 make pacitor C I , controls the triggering o f
gers conduction at the e xact po int in up a voltage di vider that applie s a con- SC R I , a nd a lso ma in tain s 3 volts be-
time req uired during each half cycl e . sta nt 2.4 vol ts to the emitte r of transis- tween the wipe r and ground.
The bias poten tial applied to the in- tor Q 3, so that when the base of Q3 Since the vol tage at the CCW ends
verting (pin 4) inp ut o f UI is contro l- goes ab ove 3 vol ts, that will present a of R lOA and RIGB have to be the
lable by trimpot R9. This potentiometer vo ltage drop across resistor R 14 and a same. the vo ltage across capacitor C I
determines the fixed refere nce level corresponding ch ange in the RC time will be 6 vo lts high er than the o utp ut
for the supply.
constant C5 and C6 provide stability because of the effec t o f D 12. Any
T he zener-reg ulated source at pin 6 for the proper operati on o f Q 3 to pre- change in the outp ut voltage a ndlor
of U I a lso supplies curren t through vent SC R I from triggering erratica lly. current will affect the triggering-pu lse
R 14. R1 5. R IS. and C4 at pin 5 o f U I When the wiper of R IO is rotated CCW, timi ng at the gate of SCR I , maintain -
(non-inverting input) . The current co n- R I7 and D I3 prevent damage to Q 3 ing a constant vo ltage across tran sistor
a nd D l2. QI.
tinues to llow until the reference po-
tential is exceede d. At this time . U I The method of sy nchronizing U I to
the rect ifi ed sup ply input is ill ustrated Testing and alignment
graphically in Fig, 2. Triggered int o
cond uct ion by the positive-going vo lt- To com pe nsate for compone nt to ler-
age waveform. SCR I cuts out whe n ances, V I ha s to he initially aligned.
the gate vo ltage stops and capac itor C4 To accomplish th is task , yo u will nced
di scharges sufficiently to reduce to a the use of an osc illoscope , high im ped-
60 - 131 minim um the holding c urre nt to the an ce D MM. and an im prov ised load on
45 - ., SC R . The diagram also re veal s why the output. Rotat e RIO CCW, and set
30 - the seco ndary vo ltage from T I mu st be trimpot R 18 to ma ximum res istance
15 - greate r than wo uld be normal in a con- and trim pot R9 for maximum voltage
01
ve ntionally regu lat ed po wer supply. gain at VI (pin 4 ) before turnin g the
"'
o -r.:==~i:=~
112 AC
WAVEFORM
The SCR canno t cond uct un til its an-
ode is more positive than its cathode .
power su pply on. Connect the osc illo-
scope between TP 1 and ground. A lso
S imu ltaneously. a m inimum latching co nnect a DMM betw een TP2 and
Fig, 2. Y-axis slum's SCR anode voltage, current m ust flo w as we ll. Also, SCR I g round. Then app ly power to the sup-
SCR ew lIt sequence: I . SCR 2 triggers as
must remain cond ucting until the en- pl y. NO\v a small vo ltage sho uld ap-
C7 charges: C4 then discharges and U I
CIlfS out. 2. D I 5 limits potential all C7; ergy drawn from capacitor CI by the pear at T P2. but the oscilloscope
the n SCR2 cuts aut and C4 begins to output load is replenished. sho uld show that SC R I is not conduct-
charge. 3. Capacitor C4 has charged Since the vo ltage across capacitor ing. Keepin g the voltage reference
abave ref erence level at pin 4 of U I. caus- Cl will he about 40 volts at maximum le vel as high as possible at pi n 4 of UI,
ing the IC to conduct: a trigger pulse at output load . the IS-volt difference a l- adjust RI8 and R9 until SC R I triggers
pill 10 films 011 SCR I through capacitor lo ws the time interval necessary for at a regular rate and the DMM shows 9
ClI. -I. SCR I currellt decreases as capaci- maximum curre nt. This also means that volts at TP2. When R IO is rotated
for CI potential increases; when the 1'0- SCRI triggers only near the peak of com plete ly clockwise, the DMM
tential across SCRJ is insufficient to main - the wave f orm or on the negati ve-going should show 40 vo lts at TP2. Place a
tain approximately JO mA, the current
side of the waveform. The minimum jumper w ire across R5. tem porari ly
through SCR I CIIlS out. Note: SCRI con-
ducts 011 ant! off at approximately #3 and holding current required by SCRI is shorting it out, and then momentarily
#4 on the curve when the output load is supplied by bleeder resistors RI and R2. place a 12 ohm 1SO walt po wer re sistor
drawing 3 amperes at 35 volts. With 110 ex - The du a l potentiometer R IOA and or some o the r paralle l combination
ternal load, ePent.f #3 and #4 occur near RIOB es tablishes feed back to both IC eq uivale nt across the supply output
the end of the waveform, as indicated by voltage reg ulators. R IOA and R IOB connected to BP I and BP2. If the TP2
the unmarked dots 011 the curve. sho uld be evenly matched, so a reading on the D MM decreases more
12 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
than 0.2 volt, or if SCR I triggers in- and voltage ranges. To achieve this,
termittently, then adjust R9 only transistor Q3 must always be forward
enough to correct it. Then, with the biased; if at any time Q3 does not draw ILL
load resistor (12 ohm) removed from
the output, rotate R I() CCW. The
the proper curre nt throu gh R14, it has
lost control.
ILl
e 0 R RAT o
s N
DMM reading at TP2 should slowly Correct alignme nt will be accom-
decrease to 9 volts. If it does not, ad-
j ust trimpot R9 for a higher voltage at
plished whe n the vo ltages at the wip-
ers o f R IOA and 8 are the same at
112 Vdc 1 Amp Power SUPPln
pin 4 of Uj until it does. New 12 vee. 1 A~ table-top
any output sett ing. To test thi s fur- power &wy, BIaciI plastic
Rotate R IO once again and apply uicr. connect the DMM across tran- case wrth nooer teet.
3.4' J( 2,8' J(
the load . compensati ng for the volt- sistor QI and note the voltage 2.3' high ..
age decrease by adj usting trimpot change when R IO is rotated c lock- 6' input power
R 18. There will be some combination cord. 6' 18/2 output
wise. Any difference should corrc- powe r co rd v.ith stripped and tinneo
of the two adj ustments that will al- spond with zcncr diode D l2's voltage ends Output is 16 voc v.ilh no load, 12 VOC
W11h 1 Amp load. Supplies are new but have
low transistor Q3 to hold control over
Ul throughout the spec ifi ed current
characteri stics at bias currents between
I and 7 rnA . fill no labels or ma rlungs.
CAT #I DCTX1213
s5 50 each
10 for 550.00 100 for $4.00 e ac h I
Parts List Motorized Potentiometer
Semiconductors Dual 10K Linear Ta er

U1, U2
\.Urn voltage ~!C. RS n16- Dn Two 10 V I W 2811e1 diodes in ~
,7<" (1N474OA)

Q1 2N3055 NPN IflIII\SlISlor D12-014 6V1W_ <iode (l Nl 509) 01 (1NS2338)

Two :U I V 400 mW 2 _ diodes in series

'" 2N49l9 P NP tranaill1Ol' , 526-NTE 185 D" (1 N473OA)

rectil~
2N2222 NP N tran Sistor
'"' 100 P IV I) II Mdge
Q3

DO 100 PlV 1 "lliIicon rec:lttiel diode 1N4OO2 seA'

... ct-
D10. D11l .....
I N9 t 4 01 lN4l48 genelal purpose s6con
scsa

Resistors - All resistors are 1/2 W 5% unless otherwise noted I

Aero " 50944
Anti-Static Mat
A1 , R2 1000 0: 5 W 10% WIIeWOUOd AU " " 0 24' J( 28 ' static

.... A13 control mat. U se

R3,R21
""'''
Two 12 0: 1/2 W in Pl'rallel AU
"00 0

3300 0
with static se nsitive
computer equip-
ment 0 1 as a

..
A7, A16
02 0: 5 W wioewoInt

4700 111W
A"
An

A1I
Two 150 leU

rsoo 0
r8$l$lOl$

50 kO l OT minIllIure PC
in parallel

~
scrtace lor hancll,ng
sta bc sensitive
semieonduCtOl'$.
SlITlIty touch mat wrth any part of body to dis-
"""0 Sipa le state electrICity build-up. Can be
R8, AU

Ai
escc 0
5000 0 lOT miniature PC trtrrcot
A1 t , R20

A23
" "0

4300 fl l%
tnmmed with scissors to 'it WOO"k area.
Include s soap-on ground ing COrd ,
CAT # ASM50944
7
$ 00 each
AIO 5000 fl dual wirewound poIenliOmeter A23 aaoc ,%
Capacitors
C1A, C1B 0...1 sooo IIF 75 WVOC II I liulytic can "',01 0,001 jlF oeramic ltsc

C>. C1 100 IIF 15 WVOC el8c.t:u1y1iC 01 1000 jlF 50 WVIx; eleCllOlytic

TEI'WS ' I) IIINJ_ORCR ~""'1.-9"''''
48 COO .. ... '.... US A , ~,OO per """'". .... _5.-..:1Won11 .
CI 0.05 jlF ceramoc dose elO 1 jlF 50 WVOC tantalum electroIyli<: til, PA 01 CanaM m....lpoy It..- ohppng. AI OI~ _ ..
HI CALIFORNIA muol onckJ<1e I<JCaI sla la " ... la' , 0.-_
e. 100 IlF 16 WVDC ele(:jrolylic en 0.01 jlF ceramic disc
1l..;~;T";RjTe:l
CALL, WRITE
lim ilOO , NOCOO. Plice-s sutJt9CI
IOChar>jjoo ""lhOUl ""''''9
01 33 jlF 16 WVIx; elaC1iulytiC FAX or EMAIL MAil O RDERS TO:
for our FREE ALL ELECTRONICS
Other Components
96 Page CORPORATION
120 VN:; dual pftnaIy. 3ll-4O VN:. dulII
81 DPST....-.etl (poooe<) CATALOG P.O . Box 567

.F2,F3
_iCIiuy al 3" hnIIOImer

2 " slo-bIo fuse -..iIh parMll moun! holder

3 II slcJ..blo l uae wittl PCB dips

BP1 . BP2

TP1 , TP2
5-wsy billdi"g posts (1 red. 1 black)

Panel-mounltest points
0uts1ct.1tW U.S.A.
s end $3.00 poI""'II.

www.allelectronics.com
Van Nuys, CA 91408
FAX (818)781-2653

e-mail allcorp @allcorp.com

Table 1. Pam list.
73 Amateur Radio Today a December 1999 13
 Secret Death Ray
Or is HAARP a useful science tool?

Donald Koeh ler N7MGT

48 19 E. 6th Ave.
Anchorage AK 99508-2317

he title of thi s an-ide sounds seemed. well, j ust a bit se nsational. In so mething most wri ters about the

T scary. hut a quick search on the

Internet will reveal sites with
head lines about the High-frequency
the past. this and o ther magazines have
featured a rticles on the sys te m and
s ite th at a ll had a co m mon th read :
HAARP sys tem have failed to do -
we drove up to the site and look ed
thi ngs o ver.
Active Auroral Research Project - or The aut hor had never been to the site The gove rnme nt liai son to the site is
. .
HA ARP - that are almost as scary. To In q uesuon. a ham himself. and we set up a time
this long-time electronics technician Eve n the Alaskan author of the infa- when we would bo th he o pen to visit.
with extensive RF experience, so me of mous book Angels DOli " ... has ne ver He has hel ped to get several listening
the initial reporting abo ut the sys te m been to the site. So. my wife and I did tests produced - more o n this later.
The HA ARP site is located j ust o ver
150 miles north of Anchorag e . It was a
very pleasant three-hour dri ve on a
co ld. sunny day in the winter o f ' 98 to
get to the site for a vis it. We had ar-
ran ged to be on site j ust before the
start o f the fi rst listeni ng test.
The site was easy to find due to the
large - and em pty - generator build-
ing fo und o n site. T he location had
origi nally hosted a "Rc loc atable Over
the Hori zon" radar system for the US Air
Force. but now it is used by scientists to
study the upper atmosphere .
Given that the system has been
g ra nted almost cult status as. am on g
o ther things. an ultra-tap-secret CIA
operated mind contro l device . we we re
surprised to lind no discernible physi-
ca l security. For example , the gate to
Photo A. Classic \';e, of the HAARP antenna field. Transmitters are housed in the large the site was open and deeply buried in
" "hite vans. snow. so even to close it would have
14 73 Amateur Radio Today Decem ber 1999
 . '\-
-_.---

,

"'.

tr---
, . ~. -
J' , .'1,'
\
, ...'
~ ,
'

~(
T
'-i'

--

". \;
Photo B. Close-up view of the antenna field. Note the ground Photo C. Detail of the phas ing elements on the antenna towers;
.:
counterpoise f or the Qntennas to "steer against." the antennas and theirfeed are phased fo r directional control.

required a lot of digging . Little matter, HOLO -IT RADIO POUCHES

as the snow was over the top of the
fence and you could walk in anytime. Soft. glove quality
leather pouches in a
8 $19 9 5
anyway.
....ariety 01innovative
As we drove farther into the site. we WORLDPACK styles. keep your 18
found a couple of small buildings and PI N HMP micro-radio safe and
a cluster of older mobile homes. After $51.95 easily accessible.
a quick look arou nd. we found a small Oesil}1ed to
safely carry
"Entrance" sign by a door and made POWERSAFE
your ICOM706 or
our entrance. The door was unlocked. st a rti n g a t $ 65 . 95
other mobile radios into the
by the way. We wandered around for You add the automotive
field Of carry onto a plane,
or deep cycle battery
several minutes calling loudly - and Separate compartment for optional
and we supply every-
finally made contact with Ed. the ham power supply and antennae,
thing else you need
(and government agent) we had talked Complete. comfortable and compact .
lor extensive , Ioog
to in setting up the visit. lasling power
POWER PORT 259 backup. Foor DC
He gave us a complete tour of the PI N PP259 $1 84.9 5
site. opened every door we asked him outlets. plus voltage
Han<HXll'tabie AClDC indicator. AC models up
to, and allowed us to photograph any-
thing we desired. I worked in classi-
fied areas whi le in the mi litary. and I
power gives you 250W
constant AC power and
up to 15A of DC power.
to 600 wette. Automatic charger cal
recharge your battery through your
household wall socket, through


Rechargeable 9 AH
can tell you that thi s HAARP site had your auto cigarelle socket, or wilh
battery keeps your
nothing that cou ld even remotely be
conside red classified. So much for the
equipment operating
anywhere, any time.
Shown with optional
our WorldPack solar rechargers.
Four different models available. e
"mind control/doomsday box" myth. O RDE RS 800: 206-0115 @
What we did see was straightfor- padded bag C U T TI N G ED GE E N TE R P R I SE S
1803 MD:>N _ !>46 SANlA QUZ CA 9!8l
ward. high-power HF transmitters and . . ._ _" til; l l l n ... ....~ ... . " ........
Photo D. A control panel: this unit controls the phase of the f eed Ph oto E. Mary examines po....-er peruode andfinds no markings in
to the allten1la set. Klingon - jilSt ~'t1 rian.

the electronically stccrable antennas in electronics and a B. Sci . degree. and "waterfull't-ty pe spectrum anal yzer.
- the same view. bv the way,
th at vou have spent a lot of years workin g on both of which will allow you to keep
can find o n the HA ARP We b site . very high-end m ilitary electronics. track uf the ionosphere from the
My wife Mary has an abundance o f What I saw here was a site devoted to Internet. It al so has a running "snap-
commo n sense . While not technically science. fund ed in part by the Navy. shot" of the received sig na l levels for
orie nted. she can sme ll a rat a mi le The site d ocs contain severa l instru- WWV o n 15 MHz and 20 MHz, as
away. She gave these g uy s a cl ean bill me nts o f value to hams. These arc th e we ll as the 49 meter SW broadcast
of health. I have a 30-year background current record ing riomete r a nd a band. All very useful. Find these at
[ n rl. n a v y . m i I/pr o j e ct s / haa r p l
index .htmlhnp:/Iw3] and . spec ifi ca lly.
you can find more inform ation o n th e
iono sphere at [hnp:/Iw3.nrl.navy.mi U
projcctvhaarp/ionindcx .html]. For fun.
the y have a Webcam on site. You can
see th e cu rre nt dayti me weather in
interior Alaska.
The site ha s a variety of othe r so-
phisticated RF lest eq uipmen t - all of
wh ich c an be accessed via the World
Wide Web. The settings of the eq uip-
ment are co ntro lled via a com p uter
bus. but the readings are available for
your use . ln add ition to th e RF test
equipment . a recording magn etometer
is on-site to track geomagnetic di stur-
banc es that may impact the iono-
sphe re . wh ich has a d irect affect on
propagation . While not a complete to ol
PIWIo F; Off-the-shelf PC.f are used to cont rol the system and test equipmen t. for hams in the COr-:US , it is a solid
16 73 Amateur Radio Today . December 1999
 TH-D7A
FM Dual Bander APR5 an d
9600 Baud TNC Built-in

TSS70D(G)
Full Featured HF Base
(5) Model Inc ludes 6 meters

YAESU
Pnoto G. Some of the HP test equipment
FTl00
HFI6M12M1430MHz
used on site to monitor the signal p roduced Pholo 1. Another antenna used in the science
Super Compact
by HAARP. package fou nd on -site. Transceiver
VX-SR
place to gathe r data to compare to Once and if the site gets the fun ding 5011441430 MHz
Heavy Duty FM
other information so urces focused on to increase their power. I may have to Handheld
'he CONUS. revise this observation. The HAARP
What impact docs the site have on folks publish their transmission sched-
propagation? 1be site has sponsored ule in advance. so you can check with FT-847
All Mode HFISOII44/430 MHz
several listening tests for hams - with their Web page to discover their trans- Unequaled satellite Rig
spotty results. Hams in Alaska have been mit times and monitor on your own -
able to hear the site, and hams outside of
Alaska seem to have had limited luck in
before. during and after the test. An
HF beacon station or WWV wo uld be o
bagging it. Even when the site is in op-
eration - for a campaign - I have no-
best to listen to - I can' t tell any dif-
ference, but perhaps yo u can.
ICO
1e-706 MKJIG
ticed no effect to rece ived signa ls here The bottom line, after visiting the site. HF/5011441440 MHz
at my station. Th ere is a greater impact pcrfonning near- field RF level measure- Plus New Features
to my station operations from auro ral ments, and talking to the operators and & More Power
flutter than anything the HAARP site
has produced to dale. Continued on page 37 i::;~~'
'I
== 1e-748
100 Watt HFI6W2M
Tran sceiver

Ie-ZtJ(/()H
Dual band. SOw135w,
Large, Color
LCD Screen
A meritron A DJ Bencher Buttern ut MFJ
Cushcraft Diamond MAHA Astron
Kan tronics Larsen Mirage Lakeview

Route 272 , Wabash Cent er

-

~
1233 N. Reading Road
Stevens , PA 17578
-... .- .
. -
- - ......-:J.-- Z Lancaster County

-- ---
~- ~
located 2 miles south ettte PA TUlTlIlike em 21 on Rt 272
M. T,F 9-6 W; TH 9-8 sa, 9-3
Photo H . AnteTlrUl field used to support riometer: Th is instrument will give a very good
feel fo r the sta te ofthe ionosphe re.
73 Amateur Radio Today . December 1999 17
NEUER SRY DIE cancer, as well as testicular ca ncer. Lost & Fou nd
con rmuedjtom page 4 where officers rest the radar gun in their
lap. Yes, kids arc getting leuke mia from A tod dler who got lost in the wilds o f
The head of the Rensselaer School o f power lines and transforme rs. Kid s are nonhero New Ham pshire was found by
Management loved the idea and wanted particularly vulnerable because thei r cells a woman who dowsed a topographical
to implement it. The next thing I knew, arc replica ting faster than in adults, so map. He r help was ignored b)' the searc h
he ' d ine xplic ably Icft. the influence of magnetic fie lds on their official s, but the state Fish and Game of-
ficers were persuaded to take her scri -
cells is more evident.
Tumors Yes, microwave and U HF ene rgy will ously a nd the c hild was found within the
small circle she had drawn on the map.
No matter how m uch the mo bile affect your ce lls, and not for the good .
A ret ired j udge w ho has been dowsi ng
phone industr y hates it and is in public It' s nor so mu ch the mi crowave energy
for 35 years has found over 4 ,000 wells ,
de nial. two new studies have shown a itself that's doi ng the damage, but the
seven mi ssing pe rson s and 150 missing
clear connection be tween mobile phone modulat ion.
pe ts. A nother dowser has had 90% suc-
use and brain tumors . Dr. Ha rde ll, in Sure, your car will run fi ne if you
cess in fi nd ing long-forgo tte n grave
Sweden. has show n that there is a 250% o nly put a little sugar in the gas tank .
sites for desce ndants looki ng for their
inc reased risk o f a brain tumor for mo-- At least fo r a whi le. but if yo u keep
ancestors.
bil e phon e users. The situation is e ve n d oing it. eventually the engine is goi ng
But then. if you arc a skeptic, it' s be-
worse for c hildre n and young adults, to stop. II' S the same when we a re poi -
cause you haven 't read the books by
where their cells are growing faster than soning o ur bodies, whether it's with
Owen Lehto, Chri s Bird. and Be vy Jae-
in older people and arc thu s more suscep- s uga r or magneti c fields .
ge rs that I' ve reviewed in my Secret
tible to radio wave energy interferen ce Send me $3 for the reprint o f Ross'
Guide to Wisdom . A good dowser can
in their reproduction. Co ngressional testimo ny so yo u'll have
fin d any thi ng , whether you believe in it
Dr. Preece, of Bristol University. found the facts (see page 63, ite m #34). It's
or not. Furt her, this is a skill that j ust
that a 20-minute usc of a mobi le ph one powerfu l stuff, but it 's being lost in the
about a nyone can develop .
c hanged people 's a bility to make blizzard of power and cell phone industry
c hoices that involve the visual cortex , PR dollars. Frust ration
the part of the brain which processes
sight. Cap italism While it's fu n be ing a guest on the Art
Dr. George Carlo, w ho worked for six Bell (W60 BB) radio talk show, I feel
years on a $25 mill ion cell phone indus- T he capital ist system seems to work some thing like Ponce de Leon would
try study. we nt o n an ABC Xews report pretty well. Well. it does as lon g as there probably have felt if he 'd actually found
recently saying that there were two types is competition. But when some outfit the Fountain of Youth he was looking for
o f risk from using cell phones near the manages to put its competitors out of all over Florida. "Hey, I've found the
head . O ne is genetic cell damage and the business so it has a monopoly, the pres- Fountain of Youth !.. To which his audi -
other is tumor formation. To industry sure to keep prices low and service hig h ence would say, "Sure you have:' as the)"
cl aims that scienti sts have fou nd no di- tend to disappear. In egregious cases, the went back to w huppi ng slaw s and
rect e vide nce o f risk, Dr. C arlo said that government steps in and we have an picki n' cotton, or w hatever.
that was "actually quite shocking a nti-monopo ly court battle, such as we've Abo ut o ne out of every thousand Bell
knowing what has heen conveyed to seen ag ainst Microsoft , and we've see n liste ners gets in touch w ith me . Of those,
them ." with AT & T and IBM. abo ut one in te n actually se nds for m y
If you are still using a cell pho ne , keep If Congress ended the post offic e's Secret Guide to Health. Co nsidering that
it short. Better yet, use the bag type wit h monopoly the)' legislated o n ha nd ling most catalogs p ull about a I % response,
a n a nte nna o n top of the car. the mail, we' d see prices dropping and
If you ha ve been convinced that your w ith 2% bei ng considered outstanding, I
se rvice escalati ng. Look a t the computer should rejoice at 10% . But I' m greedy
HT or a cell phon e held up next to your fie ld, where prices have been steadi ly
head can't do a n)' harm. you're another - not for sales of my book, which, for
dropping, while the product has been 55, is pretty much an at-cost ite m, but
victim of a con job. Ditto if you believe improving by leaps and hounds.
thc powe r com pa ny propaganda that greedy in that I want to help more people
T he n there's the school mon opoly, to live longer. healthier happier lives .
magnet ic field s from their power lines where the teacher' s unions are fig hting
and distribution transformers are safe. Yes, l real ly have disco vered the Foun-
hard, spending millions on lobbyists and tain of Youth. It took several years of rc-
We arc fortunat e that the leadi ng re-
deceptive adverti sing to pre vent compe - sea rc h, mainly because our so-called
searc her in the world in this fie ld is W.
tition from charter schools or vouchers, health care industry has don e such a
Ross Adey K6UI. Ross has been fighting
the power and cell phone industries, try- and doing their be st to make home magnifice nt job o f hiding the brill iant
ing to let people know the facts . But the sc hooling as diffic ult as they can . work o f a few doctors. Plus, there's the
money. and therefore the media attcn- How about the medical monopol y, political might of rhc pharmaceutical in-
tion. lies with the affected industries . w ith the A MA and the pharmaceutical dustry, the insurance ind ustry, Big To-
There is no constituenc y for safety. So compa nies in bed with the insurance bacco, Big Food, B ig Suga r. Big C hemi-
money. as usual, rules, in the media and com pa nies a nd the FDA, providing us cal, and other Biggies to keep the truth
with governme nt agencies. with the most expensive medical care in from being known .
If you're inte rested in reading Ross' the world (by a wide margin). and one of The nice thing about reading books is
testimony be fore Congress on the sub- the least effective . And all of thi s is with that they make it po ssible to learn from
ject. I' ve reprinted it for you. His testi- the connivance of Congress. the world's top experts, instead o f from
mony is bac ked up by his yea rs of re- Our government is a typical example some pontificating pro fessor who is far
searc h, plus that of dozens of other almost of a monopoly. with the price of its ser- more interested in research grams than
unknown researchers. vices going ba llistic, a nd the quality of those blank faces in his lecture hall . O r
Yes. cell phone s arc causing brain can- service into the pits- with the IRS pit from so me grad student "teacher" who
cer. Yes, po lice radar is causing brain bulls . doesn ' t know squat. As I' ve mentioned,
18 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
 CONSTRUCT T HOSE
S IMPl.E AUO I O
in my four years o f college I had exactly responded with a large pulse. Feeling PROJECTS F ROM
one interesting teacher. The rest were -. SESC:OM S iPs
sorry for the fig, he put down the kni fe,
busy repeating what they'd been tau ght which resulted in a shorter galvanic pulse --~-
--~

- -
tC ,_ ....
_ _ _ TOGO-
a generation earlier. For instance, the sub. from the fig . _ . . . C* .... CBfIUIS
ject of quantum mechanics was never When the fig was asked if it could be
o nce even mentioned in any physics
class! And this was in the 1940s in an
eaten there was only a very tin y response . ""' EeIB
It didn 't seem to mind. GIn' YOlJR . ..... 1 .t.UOOO MODUI.e TOOAY
_TU_ _ S1 A ,a _ M ' _ _
engineering university ! Apparently distance doesn't make any ~ , "JIl va.otSRI' TO Sfl1l 1!I6ti<fS~ !>a ()(w::S
Tl6lE /lIlE III CIFffiENl CE.WB tllIIi . - . 0 lH.
Oh, I can unders tand why 99.99% o f difference, as re ported by Backster, This 0I'RJIl GOOO 0'I.... 1I<E S"Am; ~ BCIS~20. ' . .
lM'T Cf llfQSI OR QlS1lMR WSI!l! _ .... CIlm'I' CARll
the people hearing me would be skepti- was confirmed by Marcel Vogel , a senior OOlonx _ '$1~NJ.OW'-'~fOIl~

cal. What I've learned goes counter to research chemist for ffiM 's Advanced
what they' ve been taught to believe Systems Development Laboratories, who
from earliest childhood, We believe in sent strongly foc used thoughts to a plant
doctors. In hospitals. In chemotherapy in California from Czechoslovakia.
and radiation for cancer. We believe that Thi s would seem to be a won derful
the sta ndard medical approac h to deal- area for exploration by kids looking for
ing with arthriti s, diabetes, and so o n interesting science fair projects. LOW PROALE HF ANrENNAS
m UST be right. So who is this Wayne THAT REALI.)' WORK!
Work the Wood Witbout Worling Up the NrighborlJood"
Green guy who is trying to say that this Good News!
is all horse pucky? Who 's this guy who
tSOTRON
is trying to tell us that merely by chang- O ne of the more valuable books re-
viewed in my Secret Guide TO Wisdom is BI LAL COM PANY
ing our lifestyle we can get over virtu- Call for a FREE Catalog:
ally any illness and add 3G-60 years of
healthy living to our lives? What a crock!
I'm open to any ideas you may have as
C hris Bini's Secrets of the Soil, which is
a barn-burner, Un fortunately it 's been
out of pri nt, so when I got word fro m the

lml
719/6870650
137 Manchester Dr.
Florissant , CO 80816
@l
to how I can get the attention of the ASD Bookstore, 430 Railroad St it. St. l'I'ww. rm fi eld ./let/i ,wl r on
99 .99% of the people who need help, but Johnsbury VT 05819. (800) 711 -9497 Go to lG word Search & T e in: !sotron
(Wayne sent you ), that they have the hook CIRCLE 42 ON REAOER SERVICE CARO
are blind and deaf to my me ssage.
I fccl a terrible sadness when I sec in stock, that was great news! It's $20.
some bloated elephant of a woman head- The 442 pages are packed with fascinat-
ing for an all-yo u-can-cat buffet for her ing information. much of it stuff you won't
fifth plate. I feci it when I see hams at find anywhere el se. If you' re looking for
Dayton with grotesque bellies hanging interesting fields to experiment in or for a
o ver their be lts . Or people hobbling new product to sell, you'll fin d this a
treasure.
o
along with walkers. When I visit nursing
As a matter of probably no interest
ICOM
homes and see rows o f Alzheimer's 1l.....' II2Wol-lO
veggies. whatever, the old name for 51. Johnsbury c IC.706MKIIG
It wasn't un til I did the research that I was Sanger' s Mills. My middle name, ~ RI>C~
. l MdOu
.",._I OUrSprtiolkl \'l e'R
..... _ .. _ ., ... lJa..,._
_ c.. IH Web.

fo und out what 's gone wrong . Like ev- which my dad used, so I didn't, is Sanger. ROSS DlSTltIBlITJNG, Tn s.... SIfM. ~ ID SJ2liJ
4 _ T...];;.... ..., _ ' " - _ , _ .
eryone else I was busy poisoning my My great-great grandfather came over
CIRCLE 254 ON READE R SERVICE CARD
body with caffeine , mercury, root canals, from Vermont to New Hampshire around
NutraSweet, tons of s ugar, and so on, I 1820 and settled in Littleton. My great
had no way of knowing what a sucker I grandfather Sanger was a homeopathic
was. I ate coffee and doughnuts at ham physician - the town doctor.
club meetings. I loved the free dough- But don' t let that stop you from reading
nuts the Dayton HamVention provided this amazing book, okay?" The Pouch
in the exhibitors' lounge. Now I'm busy
doing everything I can to repair the 70.. More Bad News
Protective carrying case for your HT.
some years of damage I've unknowingly
A fa x from WA0KKC says that the lo- Tough, washable neoprene and nylon.
done to my body, It 's quite a reconstruc-
cal hamfest attendance as well as the ex- Neoprene is tough stuff that absorbs
tion project.
hibitors, both commercial and indi- shock like no leather case ever could !
Have you some s uggestions o n how I
vidual, were off at least 40% from last
might go about increasing the percent-
year and that 95 % of those attending Choose from neon red, lime, or royal.
age of people I'm reaching with my
were old men. It looked more like a So-
message from 0.01 % to maybe I %?
cial Security meeting than a hamfest. State make and model of your HT.
O h, Fig! And w ho was everyone blaming? The
ARRL! You can bet that many of the at- All pouches $ 18.50.
The Cleve Backster experiments with tendees and exhibitors won't be back if With sho ulder stra p add $5.00.
his philodendron that were reported in they try to run another hamfest ne xt Shipping & handling $3 .50.
The Secret life ofPlants al most 25 years year. Send check or m.o. to :
ago were recently replicated using a fig, Unless you arc able to get your direc-
as reported in the Spring issue of The tor to stop trying to discourage young- Omega Sales
American Dowser. A freshly picked fig sters from getting involved with the P.O. Box 376
was placed between two electrodes that hobby, we're goners. Demand that your
J affrey, NH 03452 ~
were connected to a galvanic response director come to a cl ub meeting and
80Q-467-7237 ~
recorder. When someone decided to cut
the fig, as he reached for a knife the fig Continued on page 20
73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999 19
 NEUER SHY 0 I E insects to leave their crops alonc j ust by
rontinuedfrom page 19 communicating with them.
I told yo u how I called Chris to fin d
SAY YOU SAW IT IN 73 / explain why he bas done nothing to get o ut what C leve had been doing since the
the ARRL to promote the hobby. 1976 plants book. Chris put me in touch
When 1 gal involved with amateur ra- with C leve, and he , in tum, steered me 10
dio the average harn age was 28 and Brian O 'Leary, who had been working
thousands of schools had radio clubs with him on human cells . Brian sent me
that were busy recruiting new blood and The Secret ilfe of Your Cells. Wow ! This
Wh.n you ordM. you will getti ng them licensed. The League, un- book confirms that every cell in o ur
~tItI CD-ROM th. t I. ~ der the secret leadershi p of Man Kahn body is in instant communication in some
than f week Did! Clearly, the W2KR, almost totally des troyed the way with every other cell. And that's
mo.t comprehens ive snd
c urren t CD-ROM 8 vs llsbfe. school club infrastructure in 1964. and even w hen they're se parated by thou-
Lates t features it's been downhill for us ever since. sands o f milcs! Well, this sure hel ps to
ChooM lent IIf'Id coklr oIliaUlllisplay. How bad is it? I gave a talk to a ham explain the many weird reports from
DispIII~ IIIog and map bNttl ~ .
Sholot; CO. I:ru zone. andeontinenl club near Boston, and I was the youngest people with organ transplants, and even
H'stOf)'1;11Ih_1 each ca llsigl'l &l'\Ie' 9<I. guy in the place. with blood transfusions and all those
View & lIla rl;h inla,aslS of 1 .000 ha ml . twins-reared-apart weird ness.
Seardl tordub. m~~ary. RAC ES. vanily. siltl'll ke~. Criminals I've reported j ust recently on Neil
........ addr-.andln(lf .
0..1 .533.000 U.S.1If'Id Inlema..... isls'9.88.800 S lade's book, M ental Ma gic , but I
e-maIJddoesSH. .000 photos IndOSLClrOa.26.ooo A recent Danish report (no, nOI the haven't yet incl uded it in my Secret
van~y calls and 9. 00 r&l&,ences lo QSL ma nall"'s.
pastry) of a survey of 4 ,169 34-year-old Guide to Wisdom. In it Neil exp lains
Shows sh<lr1 & long pa.lh dislance & bellfing. males fo und a close correlation between how you can get clouds to change their
Pnoei.. lalitoo.llongil"""IofOWlfllO%of addrflMeS.
HamCaMis $50.00. R;IudoId os 6 monIt\$ If. . aeeess to
lheir mother's smoking during preg- shape, just by willing it. No, it doesn't
our Inlff'f\Ell Seardl ~ . r~w'henon'&mg nancy and their later persistent criminal work every time, but it docs often
HamClJ' USA US lis1..-.gsonty. $2$.00 behavior. The more the mother smoked. enough to convince anyone who doesn' t
HamCa11Mou,~d,with morsEl code r<Jf,,,llI'\C8' $5.00 the more later criminal behavior. have a totall y closed mind. It's a piece of
the puzzle.
Using Your Hea d In Secrets of the Soil C hris discusses
the power of thought (prayer) to influ-
ence the growth of seeds as well . as
CIRCLE 50 ON REA DER SERVI CE CARD plants . Prayer also is well known to help
sick people to get better.
Then there's thc work of Coue (1857-
1926), who had m illions of people tell-
ing themselves that "every day in every
way I am ge tting better and better." The
troubl e with that was that it worked,
much to the consternation of scientists,
who in general don't want to have any-
thing to do with the po wer of thought.
Scientists in ge neral also don't want to
Complete Inventory for servtclng know about the wo rk of J.B . Rhine at
Amateur, Marine, and Commercial Duke University, where he proved that
Communications Equipment.
thought can infl uence matter. This was
, Transmitting Tubes & Sockets recently proven again by thc PEAR Lab
, RF Power Transistors
at Princeton, and further confirmed math-
, VHFIUHF RF Power Modules
l ow Noise RF FITs ematically beyond question by Dean
Bird Electronics Wattmeters Radin in his Th e Conscious Universe.
, Doorknob Capacitors After Art Bell had Ncil Slade on his
, Chokes ' Broadband Transformers show, A rt decided to test the power of
Se Habla Espa t\ol We Export
his a ud ie nce ' s tho ughts. At the time
Texas was dry as a bone, with wi ldfires
Visit our Web Site for latest raging . He asked his listeners to pray for
Catalog pricing and Specials: rain for Texas. Almost immediately
http ://www.rfparts.com Texas had a record downpour, which not
o nly put o ut the fires, bu t flooded wide
ORDERS ONLY areas.
1-800-RF-PARTS 1-800-737-2787
At1 tried the experiment agai n w hen
ORDERLINE. TECH HElP . DELIVERY INfO. Florida was sufferi ng from hundreds of
760-744-0700
fires. burn ing tens of thousands of acres.
fAX TOllFREEf AX The resulting rain damned near floated
760-744-1943 888-744-1943
Florida out into the Gulf. Art has wisely
E-MAIL: rfparts.com
stopped the e xperiments.
You see how the pieces of the puzzle
are starting to fit?
Next came a let ter with a tape from a
listener who enjoyed hearing me on
20 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
 Art 's show. The tape explained how you find it and dec ondition it, the illness
can make major changes in your body would go away. No pill s. No surgery. No Reprints
just by positively communicating with shots . No return office visits. No further of
it. You start o ut by standing naked in mcome . 73 Magazine articles
front of a full length mirror. The most When personal computers came along Only $3.00 Each !
difficult part is telling each part of your 25 years ago I explained in my computer Call 800-274-7373
body that you love it. Tell your arms that magazine editorials that doctors needed
you love them. Tell your tummy the a program which would help them iso-
same thing . Your head. Your feet, and so late the contributing mental component
on. Tell every part of your body that you of illnesses. Using a sensitive ohmmeter Repeaters
love it. Then, every day, devote about circuit, it would be simple for a com-
five minutes to gently massaging each of puter to isolate the triggering mental On your freq tuned, plug & play
your body parts, reaffirmin g your love. component so the doctor could decondi- 6m, 2m & 440 $399.95 & $499.95
Well, before you dismi ss the idea, tion it. As a mental repair technician 50
consider how cooperative someone you years ago I had no problem iso lating Rmeater Controllers
know would be if you let them know ev- these mental triggers and eliminating RC-IOOOV ......$259.95
ery day how much you hated them. You them, just by asking a few questions -
may hate having a big fat gut, but tell it an d people wou ld immediately get Micro Computer Concepts
you love it anyway. Tell it that every day. better!
8&49 Gum T ree Ave
Then you' ll see a miracle start to hap- Even Walt Disney has tried to get us to N..", Pert Rkh..y, 1'1 , J46SJ
pen. You'll start losing interest in eating understand the power of the mind to im-
that bowl of ice cream. Or that slice of prove our lives. One of my favo rite 727-376-6575 10 AM 10 PM
coconut custard pie. You' ll be looking songs is When You Wish Upon A Star, ..-mail: n9....@akos.. d
for a salad bar instead of the usual from Finocchio, "When you wish upon a bttp:/l1lom.. t.gtt.ntIlUlkfmtt
McDonald's trough. star, makes no d ifference who you are, CIRCLE 160 ON READER SERVCE CARD
After the trauma of my first di vorce I anything your heart desires will come to
started losing my hair. I've never really you." The song has a powerful mes sage
thought much about it. I haven ' t hated - if you take it serio usly. I did a short
how I look, but then I sure haven 't been segment on a recent [www.rainreport.
proud of it either. One part of my body com] where I sang the song. I'll bet that
affinnation will be my love for my head surprised the heck out of anyone who
of hair. Hey, and while you' re about it, listened to it.
head , how about dar kening some of that
NEW CATALOG
This also explains how and why pla- CALL TOLL FREE: UOOJAN-XTM
growing gray ? My father and o ne gra nd- cebos work so well. If we believe some-
father had plenty of hair at my age. Dark thing is going to work, our cells arc go- Quality Crystals
hair. My mother's father's hair turned ing to take care of things from there on. and Oscillators for:
white and thinned out when he was young, If you arc still in denial over yo ur abil-
so maybe I can trigger my father's genes? ity to communicate with plants, insects,
I've nothing to lose. animals, and your body, I hope I can
One thing I guarantee: If you follow convince you to go the $5 for my Secret
through every day (not three times a
week), you will see some amazing
Continued on page 48
chan ges. Make notes and let me know,
okay? -."jC~IRClE 24~ v III READ ER SERVICE CARD
One more piece in the puzzle dropped
into place when I heard the July 8th Art
Bell show. He was intervi ewing Dr. ' DIP swrtc h proqrammable
' Mlnlalure in see Fully enclosed Cl eSS
Laura, who looks less than half his age. ' 37 EIA 10n<:'5. 27 non s"mdard encoder
He just isn't aging. He explained that ev- teres from 33.0 10 2!;4 1 Hz included All 32 EIA tones from
R<lV,se BurSI buillin 67,0 10203 5 Hz inclulled
ery cell in your body is in constant com- Easy 3 wire hoo kup Perfect for mooile I
munication with your mind, so what you ease eppncanoes
5S&4 CleSS Encoder
,66' x 1,M" x .21' lE32
think of yourself comes across as orders 5,25' x 3,3' x 1.7
from the boss. So, if you think you are $$64 DIP $wilch Programmab le ClCSS Encoder $28.95 TE32 Mpl!lTone CTeSS Encoder $49,95
ugly, you are going to be ugly. If you 51 CTeSS Tones E;ghl programrnablB.
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to bein g mistaken for a Good year blimp. On-Line Computer Help via included keypad

~
e5=~!:~ ..r:....iii Repeater 'M eets all f-CC
If you have been co nvinced you are CW 10
Air TimeLoading &. Analys is Graphs idenl it i~l io n requirements
stupid, guess what? Signa lling ~rmats : CTess
Doctors and scientists like to think of Tp3200 Snared Repeater Tone Parlel DeS & DTMF
the mind and body as separate. T hey TP-32nDO Table TIp Version $269.95 each - . ---=:sJ
aren 't. Every cell in your body is part of TP3200RMA Singl! Ract Mount version $279.95 each ~
"Tp3200RMB Trip le Rack MDunt vers ion $279.95 each 1 - -9 10-8Automatic Morse code I de ~tlfief
your mind. Every cell is in communica- ' Holds up to mree TP3200s , VISA 1,85" x 1 12' x.3S' ,,
tion with every other cell . Backster and Call or write to receive our . 10-8 Automatic Morse Station Idenlll1el $SU S
O'Leary proved that.
Back when I first started writing edi-
torials, almost 50 years ago, I explained
full Product Catalog or visit
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intcrmeucn at :
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http://www.com-spec.com_ Mlp:lI......... CCm _sPec. com
that every physical illness had a mental
component, and that if doctors would CIRCLE 10 ON RE ADER SE RVIC E CARD

73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999 21

 Nu mber 22 0 " your Feedback Cl!lrd

TV Tutor
How to get started in SSTV.

Henry Falkner ZL1AAN

8 Kapal Rd.
Devonport, Auckland 1309
New Zealan d

t's the u ~ u.al story. You I ~)o k ~t copies of EZ SSTV, which is a good Most of these are shareware. They will

I some acn vu y, and you thin k, . I

would like to get into that, but
where do these guys hang out?"
start. If you are on the Web, try entering
thi s for a site (called URL):
[http.z/www.ul tranet.com/c sstv I]
work, but your transm ission will show
"UNREGISTERED," or something sim-
ilar, in the header. Registering is not
The first thing is to gel hold of a pro- One of the clickable buttons gives you expensive, and you may get worthwhile
gram. Your ATV gro up ma y han d out a list of programs for downloading. sup port and updates.
T he programs need decompressin g
after downloading, for wh ich yo u need
PKUnzip . T here are different versions
of PKZip (containing PKUnzip) for
DOS, Windows 3. 11, and Windows 951
98. D own load also the instructi on s for
your choice, and read them . Each ver-
sion in stalls and works differently. If
yo u canno t de lete all the components
of a PK Zip installation that you
stuffe d, yo u may have to re-instal l
Windows. Been there, done that. On
the Web, try:
lhttp: //pkware .com/share ware/]
You may need an interface . A s a rule
of thumb, for a 4 86 com pu ter or hetter,
hut without sound card, choose one of
the DOS programs. Some prog rams
need a Hamcomm interface .
For reception. thi s uses an op amp to
boost the receiver audio to RS232
com patible le ve ls, which are typ ically
12 vo lts. For transmission, there is a
low-pass filter. The serial port must use a
"Universal Adapter for Reception and
Photo A. Author 's home-made UA RT Transmission" (U ART), hccau se it is
22 73 Amateur Radio Today. December 1999
 An increasing use the computer clock instead. Wi th
number o f pro- co mpute rs now in use, their clock
grams, both for speeds vary between 66 MHz and 400
weather satellites MHz, so your program needs to find
and slow-scan tele- that clock speed in the first place.
vision, now usc the Without " synchronizing the pro-
computer so und gram," you may be able to receive pic-
card , p referably tures with some programs, but not with
Sou ndblaster- others . When transm itting , however.
compatible, for your picture may be so badly slanted
conversion be- that your recipients may not even be
tween analog and able to tell you what is wrong. The
digital signals. At mouo then is, "If nothing else works,
a recent talk, Ian read the manual."
Ashley ZLIAOX I d on't use Windows programs my-
said that mo st of self, but I am told that all o f them need
Photo B. A very simple control screen, with one of my pictures these work. but synchronizing manually, by adjusting
after it was.retransmuted back to me. some don't. He the slant o f pictures received. I under-
says that the main stand you need to press an OK b utton
problems occur when you are satisfied, so you don't
used as an analog-to-digital converter with lap tops. If you are buying a new have to do the job each time after
for recep tio n, and as a digital-to-ana- computer, try before you buy.
s witching on the computer.
log converter for transmission. Most SSTV programs contain the infonna-
Another problem area appears to be
IBM clones have a sta ndard DART tion necessary to get going, in the fonn
the sound levels going to and coming
chip, but a friend found that hi s com- o f at least one manual You can get
p uter di d not, The programs I have something on the screen after just load-
Continued on page 37
seen contained two circuit diagrams ing the program. but you do need to
for thi s interface. I built mine on Vern- know how to connect the computer to f-- - - - -- - - - - - --
board in a box (P h oto A), the radio. and how to get the pictures in
Since with the Hamcomm interface step with your particular computer.
the computer does a ll the work of There is o ne series of p rograms with
moving pictures between the radio and automatic synchronization that use
the screen , some programmers, like DOS and the Hamcomm interface.
o New
3n1 Ed.
the author of JV Fax, gave the job of These are EZ SSTV and Pasokon. EZ
.108 Chapters
converting between analog and d igital SSTV is a free, stripped down vers ion 0472 Pages
signals to an external interface, such as of Pasokon. which has additional fea- 0840 Photos
the NF2. This interface also allows re- tures worth getting . A ll you have to do o Printed 03198
Co vers 1942
ception of weather satelli te pictures di - is to receive a s uccessio n of p ictures
to1997.
rect. But it is getting hard to obtain, until the program tells you, it has o no
Receivers
and there is a reason. sorted itself o ut. 0 660 Variants
The pictures are o Includes 98

received and trans-

mitted line by line,
~ .....
h" , . ... ..
,~:
U.S. and Int!.
man ufacturers
l!:!~~=:"":~_:-l 0 '24.95 (+'2 strip)
and each line has
This huge 472 page Third Edition includes
to start on the left ove r 770 short wa ve and a mat eu r
1 8T\I Int .rl.". ' , , o f your screen . communications receivers made from 1942
E , . o ~ o ~ XMl t Au~ID
I ~hr ,
.. u pt (I R Q)
The program might
to 1997. Here is everything you need to
'I'ht... , r know as a radio collecto r or informed
Ln 'Ol't . .. L look for the trans- receiver buyer. Entry information includes:
~_o .. . Q
1,0... , , 110 , mined "sync pulse" receiver typ e, dale sold, photograph, size &
, , I .. 7 ,,01 01' .. 11>1>0.. I weight, features. reviews, specifications,
1 ...... Z4 '1. Z
Z4 , I .. 7 .,.,101' 1'11101>0. 1
at !he beginning of new & used values. variants, value rating
I . . .. l t v I IN
1'0 l t v I " 0101'
4
, each line, Unfortu- and availability. Ninety eight worldwide
II' ....... J.t ,
nately, many noises manufacturers are represented. 840 Photos.
II' ho...,.t 7
N' hokJ.t cnY , Become an instant receiver expert!
N' h.""ot cnYl
c._.... 1> 1. J . t
,
II
and clicks o n the
. .1>1>1 . J.t C<th,1' 't HF bands sound Universal Radio
' .otlkl' l,t l!: 6830AmeriClna Pkwy.
just like synchro-

Reynoldsburg, OH 43068

p~ . . . . . .
I 00 I . 1"" nization pulses. To Orc\efs: 800 431-3939
l d'Z d' :J get around this, Info: 614866-4267
SSTV programs
+ FAX: 614866-2339
Photo C. The EZ SS1V screen with a simple video card.
73 Amateur Radio Today 0 December 1999 23
 Numtr 24 on your F~k Cllrd

Why Not Renew On-line?

Here 's how to untangle the FCC Web.
Edward Oros AC3L
2629 Sapling Drive
All ison Park PA 15101
(AC3 L@Home .Com]
[http://www.qth.comlantenna]

f it's getting dose to the time for it. the whole idea behind the Internet is Internet. Print th is out fi rs t and have a

I you to reneev yo ur ham license ,

you ' ll li nd that you have more
cho ices available to yo u now than the
fast commu nic ations . So instead o f
downloading a form and fil ing it by
mail. w hy not j ust do the whole pro-
copy in fro nt of you w hen you are
ready to file on-line . A lso, as you visit
so me of the FCC pages you mi ght
last time you fil ed . Thi s time you can cess a ll on-line. You should note that want to d ownlo ad some of their other
renew on- line. And yo u ca n do this o nce your license has e xpi red . you documents. Since the FCC has added
within 120 days prior to th e e xpiration couldn ' t use the Form 900, e ve n if pdf as one of the formats it suppo rts
of your license. As you may know, the your grace period has not yet expired . for some documents posted at thei r
FCC has heen do ing some consolidat- Curre ntly. o ur grace time is a very Web site . you should read abou t the
ing o f its many form s. a nd the old fa- libe ra l two-year fi ling period. Portable Docume nt Format Lpdf til es)
mi liar 6 10 is going away. Even though If you're good at fo llowing links and at (http://www.fcc.gov/ pdCreLhtm IJ .
amateur radio is not currently part of have some time to k ill. you mi ght j ust Thi s page also has a link for you to
the new Universal Li censing System download a reader in case you don 't
(ULS), the FCC doe s pl an to imple- a lready have one installed.
ment the A mateur Radio Serv ice as Afew mill utes on-line, and As for the ac tua l fi li ng. the FCC has
pan o f the ULS . You can read more you're eovered for another 10 provided links to th ei r Form FCC 900
about th is at: years of excitillg hammillg. fo r electronic ti ling . To ti le on-line
[htl P://w ww.fcc. g o v/Bu rea us/Wire - with form FCC 900, j ust connect to
less/ Ncw s_ Re leasc s/ 19 98/ nrw 18040 . [hup://v,,ww.fcc .gov/c-filel] . From here
html] and (http://www.fcc.gov/wtblulsf). want to start at [http://www.fec.gOY!] , you can choo se from two modes.
Meanwhile. the FCC doc s have a the FC C home p age. From there you There is both a normal mode and a se-
new for m . the Form FCC 605. It rc- can follow the various links to the help c ure m ode in which to file . Just fo llow
places several existing form s, incl uding form s. download pages, and on-line the links Lice nse Rene wal (F orm 900)1
the 61 0. 6 10R,and6 10V.Asofthis writ- fi ling. But to save a little time. you Normal Mode or /Sccure Mode .
ing though. the old fam iliar 610 was still might want to follow this article to C hoosing the normal mode link wi ll
available o n-line. You can download s peed the process up a bit. take yo u to [hup://svartifoss.fcc .gov:
the Fonn FCC 610 at [hup:!1 One o f the first pages you'l l want to 80 80Icg i-bi nlws.e xe/p rodle fpalfo nnsl
www.fcc.govlFonnsIFonn61 0161O.pdf]. sto p at is : [hrtps.r/svartifoss.fcc.gow 9UO/900_Fonn .hls1.
If you usc this form . you should re - p ro dJefpa/form s/90 0/9 00_H e lp .htm]. The Secure Mode links to lhttps://
nev.... no soo ner than 90 days before ex- Here you ' ll find the instructi ons for s v arti fo s s. fcc .g o v Ie g i bi n/w s .ex e/
piratio n o f your license . But let's face filli ng out the Form FCC 900 over the prodJefpa/ forms/900/900_ Fonn. lus 1.
24 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
 Should you find these links to be your license. The various fee req uire- Amateur Radio Services (except vanity
bogged down by the millions of people ments can be reviewed at lhttp:// callsigns) .:" I've reported the problem,
following this article, you ca n also get ww w.fcc.gov/fees/98wtbguide.txt]. As and hopefully these messages will only
to the FCC 900 form via this FCC link : stated on this FCC page, ''The reg ula-
[http://www.fcc _gov/wtb/electcom. tory fees do not currently apply to Continued on page 38
html].
Here, under the heading of Elec- 1-- - - - - - - - - - - - - -------- - - - - - - - -
tronic Forms, the following two sites
(Site #1 and Site #2) also point to the
form. The first is actually a repeat of
the path I j ust mentioned above, and
both seem to be secure connections to
?COM
the form: IC -746 HF/6M/2M FT-847
ICT8A HF+50/144/430MHz All Mode
[https:/Isvartifoss .fc c.gov/c gi -bi nl 6M/2M/440MHz
w s. e x el p rod l c f pal fa rm s/ 9 0 0 1
900_Fonn.hts] and
YAESU VX-5R
[http s :/!gullfos s .fc c .go v/c gi-bin/ 50/144/430 MHz
Heavy Duty HT
w s. e x e l p rod Ie fp al for m 5/9 001 =_. 4
900_Fonn,hts] ' ;:Ht;;. ;~

If you 're not sure when your license FT8100R

expires, you can still us e thi s site to Compact Dual Band
receive that informati on , too . Simply :3:300 82nd St. #E, l ubbock. TX 7942:3 ~
enter your callsign and click the "Con-
tinue" hutton. You'll recei ve a message
1-800-588-2426 illrlI .....
806-792-:3669 FAX 8 06-785-:3699 .[VISA ' :
similar to this one if it is too early: www.rad-comm.co m Overeeae Order6 Welcome
Callsign AC3L expires on Jun 8
2009 II :59:00:000PM, it is too early
to renew.
If you are within the renewal period,
you 'll be shown the Fonn FCC 900 on
the screen. You sho uld follow the in-
structions you've printed out and an-
swer the appropriate questions . With
the instructions in hand, you should
have no prohlem filling out the fonn . THE POWER ST ION
The only area I had a problem with The POWER STATION is a 12v 7AmplHr gel-cell
was block # 14. It ask s for a signature, battery, It comes complete with a built in voltmeter,
a wall charger and a cord for charging via
but all you need to do there is type in automobiles. It powers most hand held radios at 5
your namc. It's really a very easy pro- watts for 2-4 weeks (depending upon how long
cess to renew. You should also note winded one is). It will also run a VHF, UHF. QRP or L,;::c:::-:=-=;:::;:;:-::-::::::;::::;c;-;;::;-1
HF mobile radio, such as the Icom 706 at 100 walts. There are no hidden costs. All that
that you're allowed to use thi s form for is required is a mobile power cord or a HT cigarette lighter adapter.
changing your mailing address at the The POWER STATION provides 12V from a cigarette lighter outlet and has two recessed
same time. Just enter your new address terminals for hardwiring. A mini-phone jack with 3V, 6V, or 9V output can be used
in item #4 and check the radio button separately for CD player. Walkman, etc. The POWER STATION can be charged in an
automobile in only 3 hours, or in the home in 8 hours. The charger will automatically
in the Purpose of Filing box. (The in- shut off when the battery is completely charged. Therefore, The POWER STATION may
structions said Box 11 hut my fonn be charged even when it has only been sligh tly discharged (unli ke Nl-Cads that have
memory). The charging circuit uses voltage sensing circuitry, Other brands are timed
had it listed as 12.) chargers, which always charge a battery a full cycle . If all that is needed is a partial
After submi tting your form, you charge, this damages a battery and shortens the life. The POWER STATION has a
may recei ve messages such as "can' t voltmeter that ind icates the state of charge of the battery, not worthless idiot lights that
decl are YOUR BATTERY IS NOW DEAD". The voltme ter can even be used to
find remittance ID .:" or "A notice that measure voltages of other sources.
a fcc is required for each submission Dealer Inquiries Invited
.;" or even a message stating "A fcc Send Check or M/O for Model 752 for $49.95 " $10.50 s/h. Include UPS-ab le address and tel. no. to:

may be required .." and that you THE HAM CONTACT, P.O. BOX 4025, DEPT. 73 15
should "... please co ntinue to the fee Westminster, CA 92684 ~1

Fonn 159.:" I rece ived all of these WWW.HAMCONTACT.COM -:

CA residents Add 7 314 % Sales Tax. Canad ian Residents Please Send U.S. Money Order & $26.00 Shipping, If you
when I recently filed. These notices wish 10.- mo.-e information please send a SASE with 3 stamps to the above address , E-mail: 73@hamcontactcom

can be ignored if you 're j ust renewing INFO LIN E: (714) 901-0573 FAX: (714) 901-0583, ORDERS ONLY (800) 933-HAM4.

73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999 25

 Num~r 26 on your Ff fi1bllCk CilrO

Read All About It!

Part I of Techno-Trivia from The Hertzian Herald.

Dan Metzger K8JWR

6960 Steamview
Lambertville MI 48 144

nyonc who has ever QSO'd G The Aussies ha ve a few tech terms of than 0.3 J.1H . Still, you sho uld ne ver

A land knows that our British

cousins call a vac uum tube a
valve, but did you know that they call a
their own. My favorite is "Jack and
Ji ll" for our "J ack and Plug:' O thers,
which you should be able to recogni ze
usc a wire wound resistor as a dummy
load. Even 0.3 J.1H has over 50 ohms at
28 ~lH z .
filter capacitor a reservoir capacitor? from the above discussion, are: bucket, Ha ve yo u noti ced that 1/2 Wand
And they don't put up an antenna, they spo ut, hill hoist. dec k, and fencing 1/4 W resistors ha ve c hanged shape in
put up an aeri al - the masts for which wire. the last decade or so? They used to be
are held in place not by guy wires, hut perfect cylinders, but now they're dog-
by stays. Also, they don' t grou nd the The lowly resistor bone- shaped. with little bulges at (he
antenna: They "earth" it. ends. The cy linders are carbon compo-
We all know how to read the resistor
A Brit doesn ' t plug in his rig to the sition types . Th ey have a central core
color code - but do you know what it
AC line with a line cord. He connec ts of carbon mixed with clay, Best toler-
means when the first color band is
it to the mai ns with a mai ns flex. If he ance with these rascals was about 51it.
needs lots of o utlets, he doesn' t use a Th e dog bones are carbon-fi lm types.
cube tap or an outlet strip - he uses a Whell is a resistor not a Th ey have a thin film of carbon depos-
trailing soc ket. And, of course, the ited on the surface of a ceramic cy lin-
mains are 50 Hz, 220 V. Th e standard resistor? Wllell it 's a capacitor. der, and easily hold a tolerance of 2%.
011 position for a switch in England is You may sec some of the m with a red
down. not up as in the USA. fourth hand, indicating a 2% tolerance.
double width ? That indicates that the
On thc bench. Tommy (the equ iva- Getting hack to co lor codes, the
resistor is not carbon, it' s wircwound.
lent of our "Joe" ) uses not a proto- Sometime s wire winding s ca n pro- co mpan ies had a fit ab out 15 years
hoa rd. but a mat rix hoard. And our duce enough inductance to cause rea l ago, putting out res istors with a fifth
"j umper wires" are his " wander plugs" trouble at high frequencies. I recently color ha nd, a lmost a lways ye llow. Thi s
or "flying leads: ' He spells "solder" measured a 5 ohm, 37 W wirewound that was just hype, crowing that the resis-
the same, but pronounces it SOUL-der, had 141lH of inductance. At frequencies tors pass a mi litary-speci fi ed test with
not SAH-de r, above 57 kHz, that "resistor" has more fewe r than 0.00 1% failures per HXlO
inducti ve reactance than resistan ce. hours . And speaking of mili tary, you
Reprinted with permiss ion from Th e Some manufacturers reverse the may see resistors with values stamped
Hen d on Herold, newsletter of the winding direction halfway thro ugh to on them - for ex ample, 24R9. The R
Monroe County (MI) Radio Communi- cancel the ind uctance, A 10 ohm , 20 W is the uni versal decima l point in resis-
cations Association (MCRCA). sq uare wircwound I check ed had less tance, so it's a 24.9 ohm resistor.
26 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
 When is a resistor not a re sistor? C didit-d it
When it's a capacitor. Half-watt car. F didahdit
bon-fi lm resistors have typically 0.3 L daahhh
pF o f stray capacitance between their o dit-dit
leads. Half-watt carbon comps may ]) elieli<li<lielit
have 1 pF. and 2 W comps may ha ve 3 Ydidit-didit
pF. Try to use a 9 1k-ohm and a IOk- 3 (n umeral) didididahdit
o hm carbon comp to make a IO-to -I que stion dahdididahdit
voltage d ivider at 14 M Hz, and you' ll Note that d idit (short space) is I ; dit-
get a division closer to 2-to-I, fro m the clil (long sp ace) is 0 ; and dit di t
Ilk-ohm stray capacitance across each (longer space) is two letters (EE) in
resistor. Try to make a 20 W, 75 o hm successio n. The rh ythm of the O ld
dummy load from ten 750 oh m , 2 W Morse C is familiar to us in the last
carbon comps in p arallel, and yo u' ll three dots we send fo r DE, meaning
get a 30 pF of capacitance sh unting the FROM. A very long dash is letter L.
resistance. That's 37 ohms of reac- which is also used for numeral O. (If
tance at 2 meters, and a 3-to- l SWR! you thought it was a clever timesaver
to se nd a si ngle long dash fo r a zero,
Dit dit dah dah d it dit Vail th ought o f it a century and a half
ago.)
Forgive me if I indulge in two o f my ONV Safety Belt w ith Seat Harness
American Morse was the standard in
favorite topics: CW and the histo ry of
radio. Did you know th at Sam uel
"P.R." Morse did not invent the M orse
the days of spark. and wasn't effectively
replaced by International Morse until <[99"V
$7.00 UPS
tubes took over about 1920 . The sur-
code? He came up with the idea for a ONV Tool
viving wireless operator o f the Titanic Pouch $15.95
magnetic telegra ph in 1832, and had a
OSHA
working version by 1837 . For a code, We ~ WOl;';_
~","
.
he envisioned send ing only nu m bers .
The first five digits would be repre-
If we could go faster than
light, would time run back-
VISA we CHE O<
WITHOUT SEAT HARNESS
-"""'-
7DaV'W......

sented by one to five brief ON - Adju stable to 42" waist

switchings of the current He called the wards? - Special Safety Lock
- 5.000 LB. TEST
ON signa ls d ots . For the digits 6 - OSHA Large ID S2' ..xl S10.00
ONV Tool F'oud'l S15.95
through 0, he proposed to use again a $7.00 UPS YISA MCI CHECK
series of up to five dots, only these (1912) complained b itterly about res-
TOWER CLIMBING LANYARDS
would have a much wider spacing be- cue operators who kn ew only Ameri -
can Morse . 3 leet with large gorilla hook to ~3 9 ~
tween them, since operators mi ght lose clip on ONY safety Betts. For '
co unt if ten dots were required. Our SK, meaning End of Work. use on towers, ladders, etc. $1.00 UPS
Every word in the language was then comes from American Morse. The nu- NOW FEEL SAFE CLIMBING TOWERS
to be as signed a num ber, which would mera ls 30, long used by newspaper
be sent to re present the word . Morse copy editors to m ark the e nd o f an ar-
was nearing co mp letion o f hi s word- ticle, come out didid idahdit daahhh in
We pay SC ASHS
to-number and number-to-word dictio- O ld Morse. We simply closed it up to
(well. check)
naries in 1844 when his assistant, d idididahclidah. Our ES for AND is not
for art icles!
A lfred Vail. came up with a new idea borrowed fro m another lang uage , as SEND FOR " HOW m WRITE FOR 73"
for a code using d ots and d ashes to many assume. O ld Morse has a sepa-
represent letters . In fact, it used three rate symbol for the ampersand (&) ,
ON leng ths (dots, dashes, and long which is di t-diclidit. (By the way, the
dashes) and four spacings (short or name ampersand comes from a slur- Subscri ptions
lo ng spacing between clements of a ring of British schoolchi ldren reciting to
letter, a longer space between letters, the alphabet a nd tacking o n at the end , 73 Magazine
and a still longer space between words). "and per sc, and." Per se is Latin for
This became the American Morse code. "by itself:") O n ly $24.97 - I year
You can still hear some o ld-timers us- Frustrated telegraph ops often se nt $44.97 - 2 years
ing it on 80 and 40 meters. DAMN, which the y shorte ned to ON . $65.00 - 3 years"
Most O ld A merican Morse letters To avoid troub le in a Victorian e ra,
are the same as the new International this was copied o n the message pad as "best buy (54% off cover price!)
Morse letters we arc fami liar with. a q uestion mark or a slash. In Ameri- Call 800-274-7373
Here are some that are different: can Morse, dahd ididahdit is no w the
73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999 21
 official question mark, while for us it negative particles. and that (in a copper
is the slash. wire , at least) they flowed the opposite
Your Ad Could Be Here! Like the word HAM itself, the word way from Franklin 's convention. Be-
For information and rates call LID. meaning a poor operator, has sev- fore 1920, it was clear to everyone that
Norman at eral contending e xplanations. One is e xplanations of the vacuum tube made
that new Morse ops would attach a to- no sense at a ll using conventional flow,
800-677-8838
bacco can lid to their sounder to get a and many hooks began teaching that
ring that could be distinguished from current consisted of electrons going
the clacking of other sounders in a from negative to positive.

~
crowded telegraph office. Another is Still, the e lectrical engineering com-
that it is simply a co ntraction of m unity stuck with the conventional
'F Express LifteD, a slang term applied to an op-
erator who had been taken out of a
(positive-to- negative) flow that had
served them so well in the past. Pa-
A DMI;o.r. orMiledoll.1 T"",haolo,_ In~.
main office and sen t to a backwater tience paid off. because when the tran-
Keys, Bugs and Paddles from station where he could cause less sistor appeared on the scene it had to
a round the worldl trouble. be exp lained partly in tenus of " hole"
USIC Nye Speed-X For a closer, how about so me CW flow from positive to negative .. . j ust
Japan, HIMound, GHD information you can use? If you' ve like conventional cu rrent. (fa visualize
"=la, Key8 wondered how fast you 're sending and hole flow, think of a bubble floating up
"""'" lJ<M>s 7}\
want a quic k way to check it out, send in a glass of beer. Gravity pulls the
'''<lad' G4ZPf THE QUICK BROWN FO X JUMPS beer down, which makes the bubble go
Cern 0 "': scnst OVER THE LAZY DOG <no peri od). up.)

..
M_ Exp~
.
Also KIts, BooI<s. Tools CTJd Sottwae!
FAX: (303) 745-6792
... There are 35 letters, equivalent to 7
five-letter words. If you send it in 60
Today, we have such powerful
groups as the US Navy teaching elec-
31 40 S. PeoriI Sl K-156 Orders: (800) 752-3382 seconds , that's 7 wpm - good enough tron flow, a nd the lEe (I nternational
Aurora, CO 80014 E-mail: hq@Morse:X.com to pass the Novice test with room to Electrotechnical Commission) teach-
(303) 7523382 Web:_ _ .MoneX.co.
spare. If yo u send it (and receive it) in ing conventional flow. Some of the
CIACLE 13111 ON READER SEftVlCECARIl
30 seconds, that's 14 wpm, and you're most popular Community College
ready for the General. Do it in 20 sec- electronics books are actually avail-
EV ERY ISSUE OF onds, and you 're at 2 1 wpm - time to able in two versions, so they can scll to
upgrade to Extra! instructors with ei ther prejudice. So,
73Amateur
Radio Today whic h way do I teach? I always answer
on Microfiche ! Which way did it go?
that question with a little story:
The entire run of 73 from The surest way to start a fight among Three applicants were waiting or a
October 1960 through last year is electronics types is to ask which way job interview. O ne was a business
now available. Over 800 fiche!
current flows. It all started when Ben graduate, and when he went in. the
You can have access to rne Franklin was corresponding with ex- boss asked, " How much is 2 + 2?" 1be
treasures of 73 without several
perimenters in Europe about electric business grad said, "You ha ve to con-
hundred pounds of bulky back
issues. Our 24x fiche have 98 phenomena. Everyone realized that side r the increased marginal tax rate
pages each and will fit in a card file there were positive and negative "elec- when co mbining assets, so it is likely
on your desk. tric fluids." whi ch they called vitreous that . . ." Th e boss interrupted and said.
We offer a battery operated hand and resin ous. Th ey knew that these 'That's very astute. We'll call you."
held viewe r for $150, and a desk "fluids" flowed from one to the other The second applicant was a math
model for $260. Libraries have - although no one co uld say which major, and on being as ked the same
these readers. way. Franklin proposed the "conven- question, he reli ed, "If you mean 2.000
The collection of microfiche, is tion" that they would speak of the fluids plus 2.000. then the true sum lies be-
available as an entire set, (no partial as flowing from positive to negative, and tween 1.999 and 2.00) , but if you
sets ) for $325, plus $ 10 shipping everyone agreed. mean . . ;" But the boss cut him off and
(USA). Annual updates available The telegraph was invented; Maxwell said, " Very intelligent. We'll caU you."
for $10, plus $3 shipping/handling.
developed the electromagnetic theory: The third applicant was a technician.
Satisfaction gua ranteed or money
back! telephones, light bulbs, and electric rail- and when he went in the boss asked.
ways came into use - all explained by " How much is 2 + 21" The technician
" I3UCKMASTER=
I 61lJ6 Jcttcrson Il ighway ' -' the ideas of electric fluid and Franklin's replied. " How much do YO U want il to
Mineral. Virginia 23 117 US A convention. Then, in 1898, Thompson be, Boss?" Of course, he got the job.
54{ I:KlJ4-5777KOO: 2K2-562loi (not Lord Kelvin ; another Thompson) Now, which way does current flow ?
Fax 5-l-0:KY-l--t) 1-l- 1
e-mail: infu(n 1hIK\.... n I1ll discovered the electron, and it soon be- Better learn both ways. and then be
, -, , . came clear that the "fluid" consisted of ready to do it the boss's way!
28 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
"That's unreal! " infinity and acceleration unde r any
WANTED!
force goes to zero. They come back
In the last section, I noted that the Cover Photos
with, "But if you could go faster than
world of electronics is divided into two For information
light . . ... Whereupon I am forced to
armed camps - electron fl ow adhcr- call Joyce at
answer, "Well, you can't, so let's stop
ents versus conventio nal flow (posi- talking nonsense." 1-800-274-7373
tive-to-ncgative) partisans - and I Additional absurdities crop up in
attempted to steer a neutral course be- discussing what an atom "looks" like
tween the two. Such fence-sitting - the color, shape, and surface texture
seems to anger some folks, who feel of an electron, for example. To look at
l'lIy TV and SateUile Descrambling 2000 has lalcst
that electron flow is "the truth" and a single electron, you have to throw a cable and satellite fixes, schematics, bullet blocke~,
that common sense should move all photon of light at it, which will knock cubes, etc. Pay TV Series VoL 1-10 (300 pages)
$59.95. Hacking Satellite TV Video $29.95.
but the perversely stubborn to discard it silly. A single electron doesn't Montbly Newsletter Subscription with web access,
conventional flow as a manifest error. "look" like anything, nor doe s it have a $34.95. Everytblng listed a bove $99.95 (choose hard
copy or CD-ROM). Find Anyone Anywhen: Using
Ah, if only subatomic phenomena surface texture or a color, both of the I nternet, Search public and private databases to
were simple ma tters of black and which imply an arrangement of many get information on anyo ne. $59 .95 . Calaio $ 1.00.
white. As a common-sense example, atoms together. Sl'ra m hli ng \"l'\\ "
-1798 S. Horhta Au'. j'.\1B # IHS
do you see the letters on the page in We usc mathematical models to La"dand. FL -,-'SU US )
front of you? It is conventional and describe how electrons behave in re- 9-11 -6-16-256-1. l:(W '., a n ' 01': . ,\ d d S6.
convenien t to say that we see them but, sponse to various forces, but human CIRCLE 36 ON READER SERV ICE CARD

of course, the letters are black and re- experiences of time, size, and weight
flect no light. We see the white paper, have nothing in common with an
and don't sec the black areas that com- electron. When we attempt to apply
prise the letters. Shall we condemn all "common se nse" to phenomena that
AB 12441G RC
those who refuse to ackn owledge their are completel y outside the rea,lm of MAST KIT.
error and continue to spe ak of seeing the common expe riences of our five Iwelve al u
minu m allo y
the letters "black on white"? se nses, the result is likely to be non- on s leel~
lions fo,m
Another example of mistakenly ap- sense. mi s lu'dy. yelllghl_ig hl 30 fool 1.1" dia mast.
Kil in-clud. . five e ac h lowe , end upp'" sec
plying common sense to subatomic tio ns. 0"" ea lower a nd u pper ada pier sse-
lions, gin pole swivel ban . fo ur ea 36 end 42
phenomena is the assertion that AC f1 guy ropes , f<H.I r guy slak. .. Iwo guy r ings
pl us 2.5 pound s ledge hammer, Pa rt or QE.
doesn 't "really" flow through a capaci- 254/ GRC a ntenna sel; 30 Ib sh. NEW. $139 ,50
tor, because the insulating dielectric Electron Tubes, JAN BOXED unused ;
prevents the electrons on one plate
WANTED 4CX300A Eima c. $4 5 811 A Cs lr<Hl. $25.00
4CXSOOOJ Eimac. $650 1625 Nat. Uniorl. $4.50
from passing throu gh to the other Fun , easy to build projects 4D32 Raytheon, $28 5998A S ylva nia. 59.95
684GA S ylvania. $17 63368 Celmn. 530
plate. A zillion electrons may flow into for publication in 73. 83 Sylva nia, $9.00 7360 ECG. $15.00
Allow money for st>ippin9 on merct>andiu.
the negative plate, but it is different For more info, write to:
zillion electrons that flow out of the
Joyce Sawtelle,
positive plate. If we could paint the
73 Amateur Radio Today,
electrons on one side blue, we would
70 Hancock Road
see no blue electrons coming out the Peterborough NH 03458.
other side.
The error in this argument is that
you can 't paint an electron blue, or
carve your initials on it , or di stinguish
it in any way. Every electron is exactly
identical with every other electron, so LINEAR AMPLIFIERS,_ _"'fh"'iii'-;;;;-;;;;;"""";;;;~
Hf AmpUll. ... 2 Mete' Ampllll.... S
arguments based on suppose distinc- f'C boaod ar<! rompl"'" parto 1101101
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(144 ,148 MHz) RF ""'*e, T' anolalo",
O'''''dband HF T,anllorm.,.
Hf ampl~''''
01 A 00W""'" '" ,,0
Ueat10n Nole nd (Kilor Wifed an" f ",swI . Chip COl'S - K""'.~'/lTC "tY DoWn Convertt
tions are nonsense - and AC "really" MolOl pp .
EnglMM,lng Oull (l1,nl' 35W " Moae
i 335A MotaIOI.., M"", Capo Unelc""'--
- . ARCO 'SPRAGU E T - -~''''' (K J! Of Wi,ed . <I<l Te SI<KI)

does now through a capacitor. AN779H (2111'1) AN 758 (3OO\~) $79 95/$109 95 Wecon~, you.irt""~:~~~~, ~ ATV_3 (420-450)
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I often hear a similar argument from AN 76Z (H OW) HZ7A (30011 $119_951$159,95 DIGITAL fREQUE~Y READOltT Model ATV 4 190 2-926)
EII63 (1401'1) EB104 (6001'1) F", OlOar analog Ira nsoei.... (GoA>; Fer) 559 951$79 95
beginning physics students when they AIl.l'i (>.IIOW) AR34? (l I)(iOW ) TK_l iW"oo a"" Testedi $T49 95
learn that time slows down at relative
velocities approaching the speed of
light. They ask, "If we could go fas ter
Phone
~ r.:'P:!'IIBommunication
~ oncepts Inc.
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lor ~ a, mon "," $12,115

than light, would time run back- (937) 426-8600 S06 M ill stone n , ive' Buve,cc""I<,Ohin 4543f-5MO Sooc<Jy TOM, 15M 20M ~ 130M Or 160M
FAX e-mail: [email protected] !iF Spl'".... .".,Co...blno,.'up ro 2KW
wards?" I reply that you can't go faster (937) 429-3811 www.communication-concepts.com
than light, because mass approaches
73 Amateur Radio Today. December 1999 29
 A Cold Meal and a Hot Radio
That's what this XYL 's OM flOW comes home to.

Joyce Ann Seay AD4EX

1105 Ridgecrest Drive
Dickson TN 37055

veryone becomes involved in Novice . I had no ambition to ever up- Abo ut tha t time, o ur are a got a two

E am ate ur rad io for her ow n rea-

sons. Whe n I f est got involved.
it was because my husband. C har les
grade beyo nd that.
My license had bee n fram ed and
ha nging o n the wa ll of the shack,
meter repeale r. No w all the ha ms were
hanging o ut on two meters, so I got my
Technician Class lice nse. No code to
alongside my husband's, for about a pass on that o ne, so I was happy. After
Seay KN4HL. was involved. and I
month. a nd I still hadn't made a con- I upgraded to Tech, I started thinking
wanted to see what it was a ll about. He
tact. He was on 10 me ters o ne night about General. I had passed the 5
had been a ham as a youngs ter and had
a nd called me into the shack . He said wpm, so ho w hard co uld 13 be? Right!
not been active for a long time. After someone wanted to talk to me. I reluc- But as they say, "fools rush in," so I
we marri ed. both for the seco nd lime. I tantly took the mike and had a brief did.
encouraged him to get back into ama- QSO with a ham in M innesota. To my O nce agai n, I was spending lots of
teur radio. I never drea med at the time amazeme nt, people from all over the time with Gordon West. Now my hus-
that I was setting in motion something country started calling me. I spent the ban d came home to a kitchen table lit-
that would have a profound impact on
tered with code practice sheets and no
my life. dinner at all. I literally had code o n the
Not long aft er my husband got back I SOOIl had taken over the brain. Everything I saw I wo uld trans-
into the hobby. he and so me other shack, and Illy husband had late into code. I e ve n started d rea ming
hams in our area started a club. I was
lost his radio. about it. O n my seco nd try, I passed
surprised that there were some women the 13 and got my Ge ne ral. I was one
involved. and decided to go to a me et- happy camper!
ing to see what was going on. I met rest of the evening on the radi o. That Now, of course, I had to get the Ad-
some of the nicest people I had ever nigh t I fell in love with 10 meters. I vanced . Ju st theory. We ll, the theo ry
met. About that tim e, my husband first soon had taken o ver the shac k, and my was getti ng pretty deep, but I hung in
suggested that I might want to get my husband had lost his radio. I was per- there with the though t-at least the re
license. I wonder if he reali zed that he fectly co ntent with my No vice license. wasn' t any code- and I soon got my
had opened Pandora 's Box. At that time, 10 meters was o pe n Advanced C lass license. I had gone
Back in those days, the o nly e ntry li- around the world, and I soon had QSL fro m KC4RNX to KQ4FI. I wasn' t re-
cense was the Novice C lass . The cards coming in from the four comers. ally happy with my call. and my hus-
theory wasn' t bad , hut I soon formed a As the say ing goe s, "My husband used band, always one to be he lpful ,
distinct dislike for Morse code. Thanks to co me home to a hot meal and a co ld suggested that if I got my Extra I could
to the Gordon West's tapes, I finally was radi o, now he comes home to a cold
able to pass my 5 wpm and become a meal and a hot radio." Continued on page 38
30 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
 Secrets of Transmission Lines
Part 5: Impedance and reflections, including a "kitchen table " experiment.

John A. Kue c ke n KE2QJ

2 Ro und Trail Drive
P ittsfo rd NY 14 534

n the last part, we dealt w ith tran- will be at th at po int. Resta ting in an- Reflections on the line

I sient" fl ying up and down the

transm ission line and saw the fact
o ther fa sh ion , A f tra vels le ft to rig ht
and A, travel s right to le ft. II see m s fair at thi s poin t to ask
w here the re verse wave comes from .
-
that a solid termination (bei ng tied
firmly 10 a tree) wou ld cause a re-
Now. harkin g back to part 2 and
Eu ler ' s eq uation. we recall th at we
The answer is most gene ra lly fro m re-
flected wave to appear. In this chapter. flections. It is possible to excite a line
can de scribe a sin e wave with t he
at bo th ends : howeve r, it is se ldom ad-
we will be examining the effects of the te rm
vantageous to d o so. O n the other
line with a stead y-state AC excita tion.
hand , any de parture from the u niform
Go ing hack to the tele grapher's eq ua- exp(j *w* t) = sin(w*t) + [j *cos(w *t))
characte ristics of the trans m issio n line
tion. let us make a substitution to sim- (5- 3)
will generate a re flection or a bac k-
plify writing some o f the re lationsh ips.
ward wave o f som e amplitude and
To begin with. let: where :
phase.
cxp f ) is the log base epsilon
To begin with . let us consider the ex-
A, = It - (xlv
tre me case in which the far end o f the
cqn (5 -1) We had no ted e arlier that E, and E,
li ne is sho rt c ircuited and the rc sis-
c ould be func tions o f Lime . If we
tance o f the short is ze ro. It shou ld he
and c hoose to make them sinc wave s. we obvio us th at no amo unt of c urrent
ca n wri te eq uations (4 -3) and (4 -4 ) as: flo wing in the sho rt wi II genera te a
A , = It + (xlv) voltage at th e short. There fore. the re -
(5-2) E = Ef *cxpij'* w* A f ) + Er *expij*w*A , ) flee ted voltage m ust comp lete ly cance l
(5-4) the fo rward vo ltage a nd must be 180
T his is simp ly a shorthand to sim- degrees o ut of phase with it. or E, = -E r
plify the printing of the equations. Note and The current in the short will be twice
that we will change Ab (backward ) to the forward current.
A, (reverse). As noted pre vio usly, i = (E/Z,)*cxPO *w*A,) - (E,IZ,) For th e converse case in wh ich the
equation (5- 1) implies that the farther *cxp (j* w*A r) line is ope n circuited . the current must
10 the right we choose x, the younger (5 -5) be zero. since no am ount of voltage
or earlier wi ll be the forward wa ve at can m ake a current flow in the open
that poi nt. C onverse ly. eq uation (5- 2) This describes th e forward and back- c ircu it. To dri ve the current to ze ro at
te lls us that thc farth er to the right we ward waves at any in stant in time and th is po int, we mu st have the forward
choose x , the o lder the refle cted wave at any locatio n o n the line . and reverse c urrent wa ves eq ua l and in
73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999 31
phase ; therefore. E, = El . The vo ltage re v olution and will oppose o ne a nothe r coverage (a ny freque ncy w ithin th e
at thi s point wi ll he twice the fo rward twice per re volut ion. In other words. range ). th e mi litary equ ipment simp ly
vol tage. twice per wavele ngth o n the line you put s up wi th the VSWR.
In the third case. where the term ina- will fi nd a voltage peak where Ef and
Line impedance
tion is a resistor equal to the character- E, add. and twice per wa velength you
isti c impedance of the line. there is no will find a p lace where th ey cancel and Im pedance is defined as the ratio of
reflected wave and E,= O. A s noted there is a voltage minimum on the line . voltage to c urrent. and we saw with
previously. no electrical measureme nt T he ratio betvveen these amplitudes is our short circuit exa mple that at th e
on the line itsel f from the send ing e nd com monly referred 10 as the V SW R or short circ uit and every half wave d own
can di stingui sh a perfectl y m atched Volt ag e Sta nding Wave Ratio : the line toward the so urce, o r se ndi ng .
line fro m an infinitely long line , r s up- end. the vo ltage is ze ro and the curre nt
pose tha t so meone ,....ill point o ut that if VS W R = ( E, + E,)/(E, - E,J is ma xim um . T his corresponds to an
the perfect termination o n the far end (5-6) impedance o f ze ro.
o f the line was an ante nna. the n we Converse ly, at the open c ircuit the
could rece ive th e sig nal and. usi ng VSWR = ( I + gamm a)/( I gamma) voltage is maxi mu m and the c urrent is
so me m odu lation sche me. determine (5-7) zero. and this repeats itse lf every half
th e to tal time of fl ight. Picky ! Picky ! wave to ward the source. The current
T he quantity E/E f is term ed the voh- Note that with a little algebraic ma- zero and voltage maximu m correspond
age reflection coe fficient. As we hav e nipulation wc can re-arrange equation to an infi nite imped ance .
see n. it can vary between a - 1 and a + 1 (5-6) to : In this case. \ v-ith an infi nite VSW R.
and can also he ze ro . The voltage re- the impedance o f the line is cy cling
fl ection coefli cient is usu a lly re pre- E/E, = (VS W R - l )/(VSWR + I ) belween zero and infi ni te impedance
sented by th e G ree k letter Gumma (5-8) along its le ngth e very qu arter wa ve.
M aj or. Consi der the illus tratio n in Fig. Measuring with only a sing le freq uency,
I. II shows two vectors representing E, S ince bo th E, a nd Ef are acros s the it is not possib le to te ll the d iffere nce
and E, rotating in opposite directions characteristic impedance o f the line. be tween a s hort c ircuit an even number
as a function o f A( and A.. Since we are the power in the forward and re flec ted of q uarter wavelengths down the line
intere sted in the steady-state co nd i- waves is proportional to the square of or an open circuit an odd number o f
tion. we may drop the U*w) term and the voltages. There fore : quarter wavelengths down.
conce rn ourselves with the long-term Wh en the VSWR is more reason-
ave rage. ~T/I,"T,= (VSWR-I )'/(VSWR + I)' able. it is perhaps not q uite so obv ious.
Wi th a little th o ught about it. we (5 -9 ) but at every voltage maximum the cur-
c an sec that these vecto rs rotating in rent will he m in im um . and the imped -
opposite di rectio ns at the same speed M ost so lid state h am tra nsmitters ance will he maximum and furtherm ore
w ill fall atop one a nother twice pe r wi ll start shutting down po wer at a wi ll he a p ure resistance equal to
VS W R o f t w o or so. This corresponds VS WR *ZO' A t every vo ltage min i-
to: mum . the curre nt will be max imum
and the impedance wi ll he m inimum
E,IE, =(2 -1)/(2 + 1) = 1/3 and a pure resistance equal to ZJ
\
VSWR. At all other points on a mis-
Thus the power in the reflected and matched line (meaning VSWR > I). the
imped ance will have a reactive compo-
Et At forward waves is:
nent as well as a resistive component.
Pwr,lPwrf = (1/3 )*(1/3) = 1/9 A s an examp le o f this. on a 50 ohm
line (Zo = 50 ohms) , if we meas ure the
T he backward wave has a third o f forward power as being nine times as
the vo ltage and a ni nth o f the power, It great as th e reflected power we kno w
is notewort hy t ha t m any o f the ve ry th at the V SWR is 2:1 fro m equatio n

Er broadband mili tary and commerc ia l

antennas - coveri ng perhaps 2 to 30
(5 -8) , This wou ld tell us th at at the
voltage peaks the imped ance is 2*50 =
~ Ar MHz o r 225-400 MHz - have 100 o hms. and at the voltage mi nima
the impedance is 5012 = 25 o hms.
VSW Rs th at seldom get any bette r
th an 2:1 or 2.5:1 T he c ha racte ristic s Fun with standing waves
of log periodics and d iscones and trav-
e ling wave hclicals include a VS W R Ha ving: been through th is di sc us-
that simply docs not get belo w these sion. le t' s ha ve so me fun with stand -
Fig. 1. Rotation of Ef + E, with Af + A,. leve ls. In order to obtain the co ntinuous ing wa ve s . To do thi s. you wi ll nee d
32 73 AmBteur Radio toasv December 1999
a 2 meter transmitter of some sort, you have a p lank that length, you T he detector c ircuit shown in F ig. 4
some length s of RG-58 cable or co uld tape the twinlead down every six is intended to suppress com mon mode
equivalent, a length o f TV tw in lead inches or so. If you don't have a plank, voltages and to re spond to line-to-line
cable, and a d iode voltmeter. We will you can stre tc h it out o n a tab le . voltages. The square o bject represents
be measuring the standing waves on the Don 't let the twin lead lay on or cross a piece of printed circuit board about
1V twinlead because it is easy to see a conducting surface .
them there. On coax, the standing waves The resistive net is intended to pre-
are o n the inside and not accessible
vent your transmitter from looking WANT TO LEARN CODE?
except with a slotted line .
into impedances that might damage it. MOIse Tutor Gold from G.G.T.F_ is the
The first thing to do is to bui ld a answer fOl beginners and experts alike.
For m ost handhelds on lo w power, a
balun to transform the unbalanced -{'Jet tbe software I~ ARRL sells and 115<:510 create
one walt sire will su ffice for the 200 practice and testt apes; and .\lol'SC' "r u l or C;...l d is
coax into a balanced structure for the
ohm resistor, and balf watt sizes will approved for VE exams at all le vels.
TV twinlead . Do not neglect thi s step.
do for the 51 oh ms. S1nce 19l17. OGTE lIa.1IUded nearly 20.000 h>m. and I"""ptI....
because if you directly connect the Iwtu .,.ound t!H: ..odd through ~ <lrucI\"ed Ieuon. ond
The final item is the detector. We .w ry of ,,,",0<1........ d and oom..,....bon <lritI. SUlIllhr !<><word
coax to the tw inlead yo u will have RF m<n ~ mal:. r1>< pfO<'" .impl" .nd fi on

all over everything and will measure would like to have a detector that will .. .
"l1\i, prOf(fom f,.~" a.y ond , pe"dy ..If i", roll.hon. rondom
be sensitive to the voltage d ifference , h",ool..- dJill. with U,. <1",.or... yOIl ","",I: .nd yu" ""',or".,,,
nothing . yow 0"''' dnll. Of imporl l<l<I !il,,-,. You ron rype """"1yUll he", 0.-
between th e cond uctors, and inse nsi - copy by hand and ICC ,h. , ult> on. hr" 0' lim, PJ,;~ U'"
The balun shown in Fig. 2 consists F.m.worth '" th1<lIl<LIId morbod, ide<:! U..101'" freqo""" y .......1
of a half wavelength of coax bent into ti ve to the voltage to ground that the rom(oe1.bIt f.. yOll '" ide<:! yOUf<ode'~m1<f'U" o( , wordper
minut" fOl 011 OOS rompul"" You "'. oIw'~'1fl lmnl>nd
conductors have in common . The com-
a " U" and attached to a coax line o f es-
sentially any length with a fitting to mon mode voltage o r common voltage
('("11 lflt"d
b,'
.
' I...... Tu'....G.. ~ IIO<S )'0IIr ""emal opeoL:o-
-.nd boanl .Af ld,lfYOU_'~ bowd
connect to the transmitter. At 146 M HT.
with RG-5 8 cable having polyethylene
to ground wi ll arise o nly because of an
imperfect action of the balun . It docs 00
~( '
'S . .." ",,
i $' I I
n
M_ T...... GeI~ SlfJ'P'J'lo ....."" """".,.
Solfnd 1lWI.. anclth< Sound 8bU<r C<JmpobbWry
1.DKo ~ uade",.rL. ore,,,,,,,,,, T lid
-
insulation, a ha lf wave is approxi- not participate in the transmission li ne \ ,i;lhIf Ih", dnIe.... lbr -UtR I~ Dr .....1 '2'I'1~
'4 ,& H ,C\~,;>dd ~l~ h'l t o:
mately 26 inches. If you have Teflon- action and serves on ly 10 confuse the (,(;YL 1'.0 . 80" .4ll5. o.pI. \ '-.;" , port lit. .,
insulated cable, the length is approx- measurement. l \ .~. Spt<if~ 5 ./..... J /: i ~ d...~.

imately 28 inches . Add about an inch " " "

for co nnectio ns. You wiU find thi s job
easier to d o if you have cable with
r-;::==:::::;:::;;::::;:;:::;:::;:::;:::::===--=""::-: ==--====::-- - - - - - ---,
THE POCKET GENERATOR POWER STATION
honest braid and no t aluminum foil. 5 Amp--Hr, Portable Ge l-Cell and 110 VAC 12 VoII. 7 AmpIHr Gel Cell
Ballery
Stri p the jacket back a ha lf inch on Inverter 559.95 + $10.5Gs&h 12 VoII. Cigarette Lighter Outlet
ONLY 3" x 3.5" x 4" & Very L.i{t11 WfiJlgI'JI (3.S lb.l Perfect 3, 6. & 9 Volt Ou\pu( Jack
both ends of the " U" and the end o f the tor Laptops, Chargers. Boom "Boxes. Cameras. etc. Cal & Wall Charger wfAlIIo
$hUlolI , BU1 11'ln Voltmeter
feed cable. AC Wall Charger 2 H,ddell Torminals For
SO Wall Co!11inuous/80 Wall Peak DC 10 AC Inverter Hard'winng Provide Up To 90
Connect the outer conductor o f o ne Measures Only 1.25' x 2,5" x 3.25" Amps (Short CircUit)
110 VAC Oul lel Modilled S,ne Wave
end of the "U" and th e outer conductor Shoulder svec
and Soft Carrylng Case
MEGA STATION
12 VDC Cigarette Lightef Oul lel
of the feed cable together with a wire DC Charging Cord 17 AmplHr Get Cell wlHeal')' Duly
Jumper Ca~es Provide up to 300
bindi ng as shown in the figure . At the
same po int, connect the inner cond uc-
THE POCKET STATION
Same as THE
POCKET
_.- ... -'"
--,
.-----_

Amps Short C,!'CUrt
C9aretle Lighter Output
Charge IndiCalOl MeIer
tors togethe r, being careful to avoid
shorting them to the o uter conductor.
GENERATOR. BlII
a smauer. lighter 3
-- ----- SOLAR CELLS
~_.~ -
Car & Wan Cllarger

The TV twinlead will attach with o ne

OR 1 Amp-J-lr Gel- All Wattage's & Sizes
Cell . Wrltloullhe RlgId. S. 11 .22.32.42. And 64 Wall
conductor attaching to " A" and the Inverter 5.4.9$
p",""
.... S4-1 .'J~
other attaching to "B" .
If you happen to have a UH F direc-
+'_<.10.&11-
._
---

S Watt $1 05' 11 Watt, $179"
22 Watl: $219"
32 Walt $269' " 42 Wall: $329. -
"""Wall: 9
tional co up ler, the assembly should 12 vee to 110VAC Fledlle 5. 11 & 32 Wall Panels
S Watt Flex: SI1S' 11 Wall Flex:
show a low VSWR measuring on the INVERTERS $189'" 32 Wall Flex: $399- '
feed cable with a 200 ohm carbon re- R~ Ellocmg & ByPass Diodes
Mocified Sine w_ SoIioon Alloy 0ep0sIt8d on Stainless Steal. No Glass
G;ealw /ThePOWfR
sistor between points "A" and " B". STATION Of MEGA STATlON
to Break
T~ ple JunctlOll Silicon Cells
O.-el'load. The rmal. & UndervO/lage
The resistor must be carbon or film PrOlBdlon
S10.5OI&n ' S1 2.5Os&h " SI 6.5Os&h ..S18,OO5&n
Model Con t. Pwr Peak Pwr Price
and definitely not wirewound. If your
transmitter power is more than a watt
PC140
PC300
140 Watts
300 Watts
250 Watts
500 Watts
$3495'
$49,95' WWWHAMCONTACT.COM
".
PP600 600 w at ts 800 Watts $99.95' 50nIing
P.O. Box 4025
or so , it may be necessary to parallel PP1000 1000 Watts 2000 Wans $219.9S"
Westminster, CA 92684, Dept. 73
PP1500 1500 Watts 3000 WM s $324,95' LORD
several resistors as described in part I to PP2500 2500 watts 4000 Wall s $549,95'" INFO 714901.()S73
-sro.soesn " $12,50s&h ' 'S1 4.5Os& h si nce
FAX 714-901 0583
obtain the 200 ohms with an appropriate
CHARGE CONTROLLERS
ORDERS 800"933-4264 l, j981

power rating .
Flexcharge 12V x 7 Amp COnlroller, S!'V.V5. $8 5Os& ~
EMAIL.: 73 0HAMCONTACT.CO _
'f;1f;""
E
Next, cut a length o f TV twin lead
FleltCharge 12V x 25 Amp Cl'Iarge S Il 9.9~46.5Oa&~ H u'''d f
about 10 fee t long and strip about a Charge Controllers for MU~1p1e Battary Banks Also! appy ~ ays rom THE HAM CONTACT
quarter inch of wire o n both ends. If For Literature on Antennas. HT & Gel BaNeries. Inverters Power Supplies, Etc. Send a large SASE w/3 stamps
73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999 33
 Now the
FEED ex periments
CABLE \{N HALF-WAVE V T V twi nlead is

-: no m ina lly
ohms in ~; there-
300

fo re . let us s tart
by terminating the
B far end (away
JOIN CENTER from the balun ) "
~ with a 300 ohm
-
BIND AND SOLDER
CONDUCTORS carbon or film re-
sistor. Keep the
leads as short as
Fig. 1. Half-wo ve balun.
possib le. Wi th the
t ran sm itter ru n-
1/2 b y one inch . W ith a sha rp knife, ning so me w here around 146 MHl . fOAM
you shou ld ha ve a re aso nab ly n at re- / GU'DE
c ut a s lit down the center and c heck
wit h an ohmmeter to mak e sure tha t spo nse fro m th e detector. The meter
the two ha lves arc elec trica ll y iso- read ing s hou ld he more or less con-
lated. T he four diodes re presen t a s ta nt no matter w here on the line you TVNJlNlAD
bridge rectifier. s lide the detector. Bec au se of th e rela-
You can not use a made up po we r tive cru de ness of the construc tion . do Fig. 4. The detector.
bridge or power rectifi ers like not be too s u rprised if you find a
1N400x at two meter frequencies. T he vari ation of 4% or 5% in the reading s.
dose" as oppo sed to "exactly ' shortly.
bridge works best with UH F ge rma - Remo ve the resistor and leave the
nium diodes; howe ver. it will function li ne open-circuit ed . Thi s time you
Next, let us replace the short with a
with high speed switching diodes like sho uld find a very pro nou nced stand- 100 ohm carbon or film resistor. In this
11"'9 14 or I N4 J46. A zcro- to- l-ma ing wave on the line. The voltage will case, the VSWR will not be nearly so
meier movement will function satis- be hi gh at the open e nd a nd will fall high and. a" a matter of fact. should mea-
factori ly for the detector. and the re- s harply to near zero a q uarter wave to- sure 3:I; that is, the peak voltage should
sisto rs should be se lec ted to give ward the se nd ing end and a half wave be th ree times as great as the minimum
ab o ut a half sca le readin g on a beyond that. Take some masking tape an d the m inima should lie a lmost exactly
ma tc hed li ne . and mark the p laces where the voltage on the marks for the short c irc ui t
The foa m gu ide on the prone is in- minima were , and identify that th ese Finall y, rep lace the resist or wi th a
te nded to hold the pro be in a constant are for the open c irc uit. 600 oh m re si s tor. I n thi s case , the
relationship to the line as we slide the Next. so lder a s hort circu it across VSW R s ho u ld m ea su re 2: I and the
probe along th e line . Yo u probab ly the end of the line. Don 't j ust tw ist the min ima s ho u ld lie cl o se to th o se fo r
wi ll ha ve bette r res u lts if yo u fi rml y wires - so lde r a j umper in p lace. This th e ope n c irc u it casc o
m o unt t he comp o ne nts on a c irc uit time the vo ltage a t the s hort wi ll be
bo ard and p ro vide a wooden handl e Co nclusio n s
near zero and the next mi nimum will
to keep your ha nd six o r m ore inches be a half wave to ward the send ing end . These experi ments were intended to
aw ay fr om th e line as you slide t he M ark and identi fy these as before. The prove that:
de tector a long. distance between minima shou ld be
( I) The point of minimum voltage
the same for the on th e line is a lways resis tive.
s hort c irc uit case (2 ) The impedance on the line at the
as it was for the voltage mi nim um is ~fVS W R .
o pe n c irc uit case . (3 ) A line terminated in its ~ has no
B a nd the mi nim um stand ing waves.
for th e shorted Ifinstead of measuring vo ltage we had
200 case sho uld lie measured curre nt. we could also have
ve ry d ose to he- shown that the points o f mi nimum cur-
TV
A ing ce ntere d he- rent arc resistive and equal to Zo
TWINlEAD
tween the minima *VS W R. O ur mea surements paid little
for the ope n c ir- atte ntio n to fi ndi ng the vo ltage peaks
TOTX
c uit casc oWe wi ll
Fig. J . TIl e circuit. ex plain the " very Continued on page 38
34 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
 Number 35 on your FfHldtnclr c.ra

Need a UHF Dipper?

Part 3: Mods/or using the tuner as a dipper.

Hugh Wells W6WTU

1411 18th S treet
Manhattan Beach CA 90266-4025

arts I and 2 o f thi s series pro- that controlled by the top lo ad ing. I I (2) Increasi ng the top loadi ng o n the

P vided di scussions reg arding the

theory o f a T V tuner's resonato r,
frequ ency meas urement techniques, and
might be necessary, as a last re sort, 10
re mo ve cap ac itor p lates in o rder to re-
duce the top load ing sufficiently t()
re sonator can be accomp lished hy
tacking a padding capac itor be tween
the variable tun ing capacitor and the
how to co up le the osci llato r to an out- gain th e de sired upper freque ncy. The to p of the osci llato r wall as sho wn in
side enviro nm e nt. This is th e final part capaci tor p late remova l m ust be do ne Fig. 1. A suitab le capac itor, as shown
in the se ries , wh ich will discu ss th e g ingerly, to protect the ce ram ic insula- in Fig. 2, has a va lue ra nge from a bout
modifications that may he used to utilize tors. In add ition, app lying the oscil- 0.5- 15 pF. P iston and sm all adjustable
the tuner as a dipper, and to shift the op- lator 's supp ly voltage d irectly to the ceram ic c apaci tors are best suited for
erati ng freq uency into an adjacent ham varactor's control termi nal may decrease this app licatio n, b ut di sc ceramic and
band . some bottom lo ading . tubular ceram ic fi xed value capacito rs
Each m odi fication to he d iscussed may also be used .
Modifications With th e capac ito r adju sted for m in i-
will be progre ssive, starting with the
As poi nted out earlier, mod ifi cation s simp lest and progre ssing to the one re - mum capacitance and tacked into
to the osc illator c irc uit shou ld be per- qu iring surgery. Again , surge ry sho uld pl ace, app ly supply vo ltage to the os-
formed on ly as requ ired for getting th e be avoided if at a ll possib le in order to ci llato r and mo nitor th e activity as o b-
oscillator to operate within a desired pre serve the dipper 's integrity and o p- served on th e meter. Adj ust the tuning
freq uency band . I've assumed th at e ration, even if the di pper remain s a capacitor to the lowest frequency, then
most applications in vo lving the d ipper little high in freq uency.
are for the 450 MH z band. so the em- ( I) The first m odificat ion is to solder
phasis has been placed on attempti ng a phono connector to the o scillator
to lo wer the opera ting hand. wall (re fer to Part 2, Fig. 2). The sense
But for tho se who are int erested in loop connection sche me wi ll have to
mo ving the dipper up into the 902 be worked out at this step. Ho we ver,
M Hz regi on, the m odificat ion prima- o ne of the schemes may be used tem-
ril y req uires red uc ing the capacitive porarily while lowering th e osc illator ' s , ,
top loading marked as " padd ing" as
sho wn in Part I, Fig . 2. Reducing the
frequency, as indicated in the step be-
low. Once th e operating freque ncy has
I I MIXER
f
esc
capaciti ve botto m load ing will also as-
sist in rai sing the operating frequ ency,
been established, then the experimen-
tation must begi n to find th e best se nse Fig. J.
"
Increase in top loading usmg a
but at a lo wer percentage o f e ffec t than loop schem e. small variable capacito r:
73 Amateur Radio Today . December 1999 35
 val ue capaci tor o r the same value in others , the ampli tude variatio n swing
works very we ll. Typica lly, the capaci- will he greater. Choose the best co m-
tance va lue will fall withi n the range promise for the desired band seg me nt.
of 1- 5 pF. Disk ceramic and tubular Sho uld the re he no additiona l reac-
ceramic capac ito rs are a good choice. tio n o r no reactio n at all. o r an ad verse
(3) Some tuners have a loop of wire react io n occurs, then cease working
(or stamped metal ) mounted near the with the feedback . Remo ve the wi re
Fig, 2. Typica l trimmer ca pacitor used f o r oscillator 's resonator. The loo p is lead if necessary to restore the " stock"
top loading. A suitable capacitance m ille g rounde d o n both ends, and as such feedback .
is about 0.5- /5 pF. becomes an ind uc tor that is placed in (5) The fifth le vel of modification is
the I fie ld of the resonator for indue- to work with the capaci tive bottom
raise the freq uency while observi ng tivc load ing contro l. Mov ing the loop loadi ng. Some tuners ha ve buil t-in pis-
the meter. If the meter indicat ion is closer to the resonator will raise the ton tri mme r capacitors so that bottom
lo w or zero at the lowest freque ncy, operating freq uency, and moving it loading can be used to " trim" or posi-
and then suddenly pops upward as the away will lower the frequen cy. W hen tion the freq ue ncy hand . Increasing the
frequency is increased , then it's pos- modifying the tuner-dipper for the 450 capacitance value of the trimmer capaci-
sible tha t there is insuffi c ien t osc illator M Hz ba nd, the loop should be pushed tor resu lts in lowering the oscillator 's
fe edback. fl at ag ain st the meta l wa ll. If the modi- frequen cy. Because the osc illator tran-
Nut all tune rs fail w he n the capac i- f ication is being cons idered for the 902 sistor and the tr imme r are esse ntially
tive top loading is increased and the MHz band , the n the loo p may be made in parallel , increasing the capac itance
lowest operating freq ue ncy attained cl oser, if necessary, to the resonator to va lue too much will "ki ll" the oscil-
could easily he in the 43Q..-WO l\.IH /. increase the operating frequency band. lato r 's feed bac k. It may he des irable
region. Assuming this to be the case, (4) The fourth leve l of modification to attempt increasing the feed back as
then measure the uppe r frequency to in vol ves increasing the oscillator 's indicated in step 4 above.
see that it is above 450 :o.t Hz. By add- fee dback. A co mmon-base Colpitts os- when a trimmer capaci tor is not pro--
ing top loading capac itance , the total c illator. as used in a L: HF TV tuner. is vided o n the tuner, one may he added,
tuning range of the osci llator will be dependent upon the capacitive cou- if desired. by tack ing a trimmer be-
narrowed because the pe rce ntage of pling be tween emi tter and collector twee n the tran sisto r e nd of the resona -
tota l capacitance that re mai ns variable te rmina ls. I' ve bee n successful in in- tor and the edge at the nearest wa ll. A
is reduced. As an e xample of what creasing the feedback with some tuners. suitable trim mer capaci tance valu e is
happens, the origi na l tuning range was whi le others appear to have sufficient in the range of 0.5- 5 pF, which is suf-
perhaps 47D-9<X) MHz. Lowering the feedback already and there is no addi- fi cient to e valuate the effecti veness of
bottom to, say, 440 MHz, the upper fre- tional reaction to the increased feedback bottom loading. Care must be taken
quency may have dropped to pe rhaps atte mpt whe n wo rking o n the tran sistor end of
400 MHz. If the resulting tuning range is If it's necessary to increase the feed- the resonator because of the vel)' limited
acceptable. then adjust the padd ing back. locate the tran sistor 's emitte r space that is ava ilable.
capacitor slightly to center the tuning lead that has a resi stor connected be - As an example, whe n mo ving the
range within the desired operating hand. tween the e mitter lead a nd ground. osc illator up into the 902 MHI. hand,
I' ve fou nd that once the fi nal pad- Solder a piece of sma ll wire (bare o r sho uld it be desired, a sma ll measure
di ng capac ita nce has been det erm ined. insu lated) onto the emitter lead a nd a l- of reduction in bottom loading capaci-
replacin g the variable with a fi xed low it to e xte nd upward. The le ngth of tance may be accomplished by ap ply-
the added wire should be be tween 1/4 ing a voltage to the vaructor control
and 1/2 inch . Wit h power applied. usc termi nal . Jumpering the co ntro l termi -
I
I
\ /
/
/ ,
-,
,
, I a thin woode n stick or plastic rod to
I E move the tip of the wire to ward the
nal direc tly to the + VC C lead will
accomplish the task.
\ / \
, I
I collector term inal witho ut ac tually (6) T he last modificati o n, one re-
\ I touching the collector. Observe the qu iring surge ry, should be avoided
\ I , I
\I \I meter and the indicated osci llator level unle ss it is the last resort.
1\ 1\ as the wire is mo ved. If the le ve l in- BEWARE! Performing surge ry on
I
I \
\
I
I \
\ creases, then proceed some more. the tuner ma y render it use less.
I '
L I \ Moving the wire from side to side To gain a perspective or what's re -
, I ," / \ while adv an cing tnward the collect or q uired, let's return for a moment to the
/ \
/ I he lps locate the point of greatest feed- theory of the reson at or. We atte mpted
I '
back. Rotate the tuning capacitor a nd to lower the frequ enc y of the resonat or
Fig. 3. Adding ind uctance ( L) Il f'ar the observe the amplitude reacti on . In by adding capac itive top loading , and
bottom of the resonator effectively lowers some cases there will be an amplitude that fai lure required a mo re ex te nsive
the resonant frequency. increase across the tuning ran ge , while modificati on. The next attempt lies
36 73 Amateur Radio Today . December 1999
 with increasing the ind uctance value Too much added lumped ind uctance More informat ion can be found at
of the antenna c lement. F ig. 3 depict" ca n also "ki ll" the oscillator, as d id [http ://home.naviso ft.com/ we s/ali ens/
the desire d E and I fie lds that wi ll excessi ve c a pac itive top loadin g . haarp .htm] on the patent that caused
support the obj ective. Increasing the oscillator's feedback may the fuss. At [hnpv/www.sig htings.
Ag ain, in look ing at the resonator as be helpful. co m/po litica llwe apo ns/h aarp .h I m J,
a quarter-wa ve antenna. the e lectrica l there 's a fringe article o n the system as
length can be increased (lo werin g of Final comments a doomsday box. [http://ww w.haarp .
the reson ant freq uen cy) by inductively alaska.cdu/haarp/rindex.html l has Uni-
The o ld mech an ical variahle UHF
loading the e leme nt. Inductan ce has versity of A laska informatio n on the
TV tuners can be used as UHF di ppers.
the greate st effect on the antenna ele- science performed at the site.
Perhap s two or more modified tuners
ment wh en it is ope rating in the I field . The Anchorage Daily News (a local
wo uld be required to provide coverage
The magnitude of the I field is the newspaper) has published a large num-
for the potential frequency range of
greatest at the grou nd end of the reso- ber of articl es abou t HA ARP, Use
440-9 10+ MHz.
nator, indicating that the added L [h ttp:// w w w. a d nse a rc h.co m/ inde x .
With minor modi ficat io ns, "stock"
should be placed as low as possible on cfm] to searc h their database for infor-
mechanical tuners can he used as a
the cleme nt. By adding a lum ped in- mation on HAARP, books about the sys-
d ipper in the freq uenc y band co vering
ductor into a normally distributed Land approximately 470---900 MHz. The n,
tem , and local letters to the ed itor. FA!
C e nv ironment. the desi red resu lts with specific modifi catio ns. some tun-
will be obtai ned eve n thou g h a ste p ers may be moved ei ther lower or
or discontinuity appears in the fi eld higher in frequency than that available TV Tutor
pattern . fro m the "stock" tuner. continuedJrom page 23
How can the indu ct ance he in- A ltho ugh packaging had not been
creased in the tuner' s osc illator wh en d iscussed regarding the tuner-dipper, from the transce ive r. Seria l port inter-
the resonator is a wire or strip of sheet the user ha s co mplete freedom in com- faci ng appears to he q uite forgivi ng,
metal? The on ly way is to cut the reso- p le ting tha t aspect of the proj ect. To parti cul arly wi th ne w transceivers that
nator at a point cl osest to the RF faci litate the usc of the device as a dip- ha ve suitable sound le ve ls on their da ta
ground end. If that can't he done near per and for convenie nce , the se nse sockets on the back . But I he ar regu-
the ground e nd, the n mo ving to a loca- loop may be loc ated ove r the oscillator larl y ta les of woe hy so und c ard users.
tion be low the midpo int of the resona- wa ll o n the tuner 's end opposite the There arc complaints o f "No picture ,"
tor will have to do. The result of add ing tun ing shaft. wh ich mean s, the sound level going
lumped inductance becomes less cffcc- Bec ause tuners from different manu- into the card is way too low, or " noisy
tive as the L is moved up from the facturers vary in de sign. be ready to pict ure with excellent signals," which
ground end. ex perime nt and have fun wi th the mean s the le vel is so high your sound
To perform the cutting operation, tuner-dipper proj ect. The re sults of the card de code s the noise o nly. Stro ng
I' ve used a hobbyist's tool spinning a project offer the ham e xperi me nte r a patterning may mean that the transmit-
dental burr, A narrow cut was made in very useful too l, and a world of new ter was overdrive n with a high level of
the resonat or using the burr, and then a experiences . fa audio .
lum ped induc tor was solde red between There is a lso the problem of the
the se vered e nds of the resonator. As a co mputer getting into the transceiver
caution, diagonal cutte rs should be an d vice versa. I understand that the
avoided as they can cause severe Secret Death Ray FCC no lo nger effectiv ely enfo rces its
trau ma to the ceramic insulators. ccmunuea froni page 17 regulation s regardi ng co mputer inter-
The amount of indu ctan ce to add can scientist". is that I fo und nothing sinister. ference. The most strictly enforced
only be determined ex pe rientia lly. M y or even out of the o rdinary for that reg ulation s arc fo und in Europe , where
suggestion is to usc a piece of #22- 26 matter. In the end, the site may be not on ly the o utput of ha sh is re-
buss wire (or a resistor 's wire lead ) more about governme nt re sea rch than stricted. but also the susceptibility to it.
and form a 118-inc h w ide "V ." an d abo ut some kind of mind co ntrol device Computers sold here in New Zealand
then solde r the ends of the " U" across or apocalyptic doomsda y machine. The are be tter tha n the y were , and laptops
the re son ator 's gap. The len gth of the Web site sponsored by the Navy has may be c lean, in fact. But altho ugh the
" U" might he 114 of an inch for start- good solid information on ionosphere European regu latio ns were adopted
ers. Measurement of the lo we st fre- physics, real-time data valuable to hams, here , they arc no t enforce d. My ow n
quency will be required for each and a chance to see how good the current compu ters and monitors are not com-
change in the L value, If more ind uc- weather is in the interior of Alaska. plet ely clean, but I can receive DX
tance is requi red , then e ithe r increase You may contact me at [AFDEKI @ SSTV.
the length of the "U" or try two turns uaa.alaska.ed u] if you ha ve qu esti on s Ol der DOS-based prog rams (and my
of buss wire fanned by winding the wire or comments. Please be aw are that I do RISCOS-hased o ne ) may need to re-
around an 1I8-inch-diameter mandrel. not own a tin foil hal. ceive a complete picture be fore you
73 Amateur Radio Today. December 1999 37
can start preparing a picture to be later, or in case yo u nee d to contact the As I said at the beginning, I had no
transmitted. The newer Windows-based FCC about the filin g. idea how amateur radi o would change
programs do allow multi -tasking. You That's a ll there is to it: A few min- my life. Not on ly have I had the oppor-
see wh o a picture is from as you re- utes on-line, and yo u' re co vered for tunity to meet people all around the
ceive , and yo u put a repl y text on a ano ther 10 ye ars of exci ting hamming. world. but the rcal ble ssing has been
picture you choose for your transmis- So what kind of turnaround can you the friends I have made here in my
sion. I am regul arly frus trating Ita lian expect? We ll, after I had fi led o n-line home town . I have met some of the
and Spanish DXers when I choose to o n J une 4th, the effec tive da te o n my most wo nderful peopl e- whom I
wait for the com plet ion of a received lice nse came back as June 8th . It was wo uld not ha ve met if we had not both
picture before composing my reply. just a short time later (less than 2 weeks) had an interest in am ateur radio . I
SSTV contests are just about impossible that I received my license in the ma il. cou nt them as my be st friends and I
without multitask ing . T he licen se contained a wallet-s ize can't imagin e life wit hout them. lowe
There arc severa l SSTV sta ndards in copy and a full -size version. Both we re that to am ateur rad io. fa
use, but the on es commonly see n are printed on on e 8 112" x II " sheet ready f-- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
just two, Scottie and Martin. Their for cutting and mounting.
res olutio n is 320 x 256 pictu re c le- I hop e this articl e helps to make an
ments ("pi xels"). Both tak e o ne or two already easy proce ss even easier for
Secrets of Transmission Lines
conilnuedJrom page 34
min utes to tran smit. There arc mode s you. If you' d like to read more about
offe ring higher resolutions, but their the ne w form s av ailable, I thi nk yo u' ll because this is hanJcr to do, especially
lon g transmi ssion speeds are only tol- find all these sites helpful : with horne-brew measurement scrups .
era ble when yo u need to get publish- [http://www.fcc. go v/ wt b/amate ur/ In the ne xt sectio n, we will e xplore
able photos from one end of the town to amrenw.html] what happen s bet ween the vo ltage
another, on VHF, and on Su nday night [ht tp://www.fc c.go v/formpage .html l maxima and minima, and take a look
A ll SSTV programs have built-in Ihttp ://www.arrl.org/fcclforms.htmI J at the origi n of and use of the Smith
graphic sup port. for inserting text and [ http : / / w w w . f c c . g o v I F or m sl chart. fa
pictures and specia l e ffec ts . So me index.html]
SSTV control screens look like the I h ttp ://ww w . fc c . gov/se a r c hI
cockpit on a 747. while others need few wordsearch. html]. fa
controls. There are now so many SSTV QR H
conUnuedjrom puge 6
programs that I cannot detail them all. f-- - - - - - - - - - - -- - --
days to cover part of their lodging . They were
Even those that you pay for arc so cheap
also given a Hamvenlion entry ticket making them
that you can afford to try several. A Cold Meal and a Hot Radio eligible for all prize drawings as well as a ticket
Please do not c irc ulate pai d fo r pro- con tinued j rom page 30 to the grand awards banquet. But in 2000. that
grams for free. A popular SSTV pro- will not be the case.
gram is no longer eas ily av ailable cha nge my cal l. That was before the According to information supplied by Forums
vanity calls were availab le. Chairman Jim EbnerN&JE , the Hamvention 2000
through ordinary channe ls, because its planners have announced that the cash reim-
full vers io n wus put on the Net. Well , again I was han ging o ut with
bursement will now be made at a rate of one
I hope I ha ve not turned you off with Gordon. I was spending more time hundred dollars an hour for each hour that a fo-
all this detai l. I suggest you get yo ur- with him than w ith my husband. I had rum runs. But there is a kind of Catch 22. The
just th o ught I had a di slike for code. payment will go only to the forum moderator. No
self set up by utili zing the fi rst fe w
In the ne xt few mo nths I for mc d a payment will be made to the other participants.
paragraphs of this article , and then use In other words, if there is a session with a
the rest as reference on ce you ha ve an distinc t hatred for it, but was too stub-
dozen speakers that runs two hours, the person
SSTV program on the scree n be fore born to give up. On my second try, I listed as moderator or forum leader gets a two
passed the 20 wpm code test. I don't hundred dollar payment . He or she then has the
yo u. Fa kno w w ho was more surprised, me o r option to keep it all or share it with the other par-
my husband. ticipants. DARA says that it will not get involved.
Also gone is the free Hamvention entry ticket
From the start, one o r two of the lo- and free banquet ticket. Session moderators and
Why Not Renew On-line? cal hams always wanted to know wh en their speakers will get badges that will give them
conreuzedjf-cm pa g e 25 I was go ing to upgrade. Well. they entry to the entire Hamvention . If they want to
don' t as k an ymore. I' ve been tempted be eligibte for the prize drawings. they will have
be displayed where actually required in to ask the same questio n, but so far to buy a ticket on their own. Also, if they want to
attend the banquet, DARA will sell them a ticket
the future. have re frained.
at fifty percent off face value, but the days of free
You'll receive a summa ry submis- As yo u can tell , I'm no big fan of the banquet tickets are also now gone.
sion page after filin g. This will ha ve a code , but I' m reall y glad I ha d to ge t No reason was given for these changes, but
Submission Identificat io n Number, my licen ses the way I did . I had to it's believed that the ri sing cost of putting on a
ham radio convention the size of the Hamvention
date of subm ission, and yo ur callsign work really hard, and I think we al-
make cutbacks like this inevitable.
on it. Print thi s out or write down the ways va lue more those things for Thanks to NBJE and DARA, through N ewsl i~
ID number in case of any problems whi ch we ha ve worked hardest. Bill Pasternak WA6ITF, editor. rAIl
38 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
 Number 39 o n your F96dbaclc card
m ail prog ram a ll ru nning to - visitor, I can say it is a pleasant
THE OUilTAL PORT ge the r.
It is nice to have the desk top
surprise. He claims 4,000 links
to ham-re lated topic s a nd has
back running and sav ing muc h some very interesting ham links
Jack Heller KB7NO time . Also, there is a new graph- o n the home page in addition to
P.O. Box 1792 ics program that will allo w bet- PS K31 stuff. If you are like me,
Carson City NV 897021792
rer qua lity fo r acco mpanying you will find it irresistible to
[jheller @sierra.net]
pictures. What I am saying is fo llo w some of them .
possible encouragement to those The site is [www.mysite.com/
who wo uld like to use a laptop k5fq/]. I ma de a co mmo n error
You rea ders plus hams on the less RA M in the laptop. This led thai seems a little wimpy. The whe n I entered the address the
air contribute q uite a lo t to th is me to be lie ve they were fairly wimpy laptop at this house has fir st time. I found by capitaliz-
column. You would think that a equal. run almost all the ham co mmu - ing the ca ll le tte rs , it d idn ' t
ham who does a ll this e xperi- T he n the de sk to p fin a ll y nicati on so ftware successfully. work. It went somewhere unre-
mcnting with the various soft- balked, a nd it was time for up- You rs may do the same. la ted and I was a bit d isma yed
ware and hard ware co mb ina- grades that amounted to a big- abo ut ho w to rec tify the prob-
tion s would get more air time ger hard d rive and more RA l\t. Back to the Logger
download lem until I tried the lo we r case
than anyone el se . Not ncccssar- Also, there was a virus loose in k5fq . Just wanted you to know.
ily so . I feel fortunate to get a the system . W hile the des kto p Logger is freeware. Most of There is a link to a screenshot
little q ua lity com m unication was do wn su ffe ring del ay s. I us appreci ate freebie s. It is writ- of Logger on the Web site . You
with some of you . attem pted to cause the lapto p to tCII by Bob Purzer K4CY and is sho uld take a look at that as well
The othe r day, I was working pe rform the same as the de sk- a mo re co mplete package tha n I as the o ne here in the article .
so m e PSK 3 l an d happe ned top and it wo uld slow to a crawl was aw are of. Bob ha s dra wn They are di fferent because Log-
upon Gene K5FQ . I had listened
for lack of RAM . These were many favorable comments from ger is, as it implie s, a logging
to a previo us QSO in which he
"normal" applications suc h as a users. I went to Gene 's Web site pro gra m. We a ll need o ne of
was offering a report on the
word processo r, bro wser, and and, spe aking as a fir st-tim e those. My pape r logboo ks are in
other station's signal, and I had
no way of comprehendin g how
he could do th is . He nce , the
over-the-air call and the ensuing
ed ucation.
I was te lling him the latest
software config uration I was 'N~m_:;1I<t tiL li' Lo P.: CcriIo- P,", 1..91 0' a-
,
Ol'l l Up
.
UlilJties

using and he suggested I sho uld O R,II . b . Pu NlIlfow li SCl~ (i' g;SQ9A@ = t,i~.~.{1 044, O I
AFC ~..l l GU O:=J
visit his Web site and dow nload :MI<9O ~ ~ Fe OlHIII N., l heod III DX-.o M$O, HIM 0 lecelVer Th& eee r!'Iaf\el lS reefy huge , II you corne upd e I'I$ind :;]
the version 10 of Logger. Gene ), you ..... Med 1Mm, I lkI'! U\& OSP /Irl trQ I(~, auT, wah use S'e1ed1'!d t C8tl nd' SI!Ilr8d Ihol ON (I M , 01 -.y "'I~
ner DSP Mel. I Wbh tn. ~' ~ give SOIhll fteod*1 , ~ be relll 10 let me ~k!ct rrilf own fller , n stol -.:l 01
explained, with no bas hfulnes s, 11g!he .~ piclr tle Ih L Theflll " IIl lechAq;.oe CIt ~ON 101 t ec>elYe ,.lll tid use for tr~ , boA '- ,"tilt II hIIltd 10 vt
that the latest versio n of Logger , end diffiCUI to ct'1Mge fre~ iC;~s sn:e yw ne-ed 10 me bottI VFOs
was absolute ly the cal's meow , Ihe ~ Force has be~ pretlv rsee to !n(l" , n 2lS '(elliS I howe tvoo n 13 pbs. ~ 10 fly III lot 01 oo-o"an (I am III Test ~),
901 to ee ae III lot 01 ee wor1d.1ved n fo.,ope IlIld A :l*ll (KQlea) lor III fe w y ears DIllylon is rICe, my we!InCI l rlI:1W hlll'l'e
and I think he im plied I wou ld son,a ocI lllI'lCCtJet on tte WIllY n f'ebNarY, 0."'00 1:$ ll lJre p1d1C11l lo hove kr.ts \10W' l.4l , 1Ii-,.ed n Montgorrrery lor III
he sorry if I d idn 't get a copy. year' ( went to Mexwel AtB lor eeee

Experience: Laptop
- - -- - - - - -- - - - -
useful , but ...

I had used Logger prev iously

Ol
OlD:<
PSK31 DVTirne C4~ ,
.......
AA"iWii.ii SI:eDOn H ~Oll'
!l
R....
and wro te about it in the Octo-
HIS RS;~::[g
ber column. It seemed to wo rk
quite well in the laptop, which MV RS:*
seems to surprise the program- = "MENT
ming community, but, if you are .Ii!!
as lucky as I am , you too may
come upon a combination with
your laptop tha t a llo ws you to
work some of these mode s por-
tab le.
The horsepower isn' t there
when compared with the desk-
top, but I can usually run one
prog ram at a time wit h a fair
amoun t of succ es s. Until re -
cen tly, the two machines shared
simi lar specs except for a little
disarray an d this part o f the pro- can spot subjects you are search- yo u will experience du ring the In the case of h aving used the
gram is a welcome addition to ing for. And ... as I thought about install, alo ng with the reasons Iocal rad io and com puter fo r this
the shack. it, if this were wri tten by a ma- for those hiccu ps. Keeps you mode , it was sim p le to ge t the
0 11 the Logger site. there are jor software tech writer, it would from panicking . so und le vels adj uste d . With the
options fo r first-time users and he ex pa nded to over 500 page s The first thi ng I wanted to see IC-7 35, I have cables running
upgrades . Plus, there arc some easily. What is writte n is con- was the PSK3 1 mode wi th its t'rom the accessory port on the
other hel p fu l files you ma y cise . I did a little ex tra ste p be - associated windows. The PSK 3 I rear o f the radio to the line-in
is sim ple enoug h. You will de fi- and line-out on the sound c ard,
need. Ple nty o f info rm atio n to fore pri nting. M y w py has page
nitely wa nt to configure the sys- ,
and that is all the hook up I usc .
get you goi ng . n u mbe rs now. Hate to d ro p
tcm before you go thi s far, but T he n I adj ust the sound le vel s
If you li ke doc umen tatio n, those b undles of pap er w hen
that is si m p le e no ug h. It is with th e audi o so und p a nel in
you c an get a ll yo u want. I they aren't n um bered .
slightly more complicated than Wi ndows95 to the le vels sug-
printed the manual, w hic h turn s T here are inst ructions o n the
enteri ng your callsig n. If you are gested in the documentation .
out 10 he the hclp ti le as well. It Web site for insta llation , j ust to
new to PSK 3 1, G e ne ' s Web I have not yet b uilt the neces-
comes up in RT F format. I think keep us out of trou ble. W hcn I
page has link s to all the infer- sary interfa ce for PIT. With a
that imports into most word pro- wen t to do the installatio n, I re- rnatio n for radio-to -com pute r li tt le co nce ntruuo n, I t urn
ccssors . It d isp layed 184 pages, alizcd I had never run the o ld interface. arou nd qu ickly enoug h to sat-
and j ust about all of them are full copy on this com puter. I had Afterconfig uration, the PSK3l isfy most situa tions. I may j ust
of information. A few arc merely o nly don e the complete instal- scree n will. afte r cl ic king the do that as a next proj ec t. Some-
tit le pages where so mething wi ll lation on the laptop. I must need b utt o n, display, a nd yo u will
times my co ncentration ehbs.
likely he added . b ut if I had cd- more R AM somewhe re in this then need 10 arrange the win-
Th c doc um entation leads you
itcd those do w n to size, there craniu m. So ... sim ple enough ... de ws o n the scree n for b e st
to building an inte rface to use
would sti ll be a good 160 pagcs . I had to do that inst allation first, viewi ng a nd accessib ility to thc
the m ike connector on the rad io.
The o nly thing lac ki ng is an th e n begin the p ro c ed ur e o f va rio us bu ttons disp layed . Th e
T hat evidently works for every-
index. and if you use the hel p installi ng the upgrade . sc ree nshot is on ly one con flg u-
body, and they don ' t confuse the
fi le in the program, you will T hese installations went flaw - ration. You will move these win-
iss ue by te lling yo u that so me
have an au tomatic inde x with lc ssl y. T here are some note s dows aro u nd seve ra l ti mes
radios don ' t need this interface .
hyperl inks. T here arc e nough with the software to let you before you ha ve the " id e al"
Pe r haps there is in fo o n m y
ho ld titles. ho we ver, so that yo u know of the minor abnormalities p lacem e nt.
hookup somew here within the
hundred or so pages I have n' t
committed to memory as yet. In
C urrent Web Addresses any case, sound leve l is critical,
both on transm it and receive .
Source for : We b address (URL)
Yo u will ge t the most com-
HF serial modem plans + software hnp:/lwww.accessone .com/- tmayh anl ments if yo u are overdri ving the
sound card. T he litt le horizo n-
SV2AGW free Win95 programs http://www.fo rthnet.grlsv2agw/
ta l fi el d j ust below the rou nd
BayCom - German s ite http://www.baycom.de/ tuning indicator in the scrccnshot
is called the "waterfall ." When
Pasokon SSTV programs & hardware http://www.ultranet.com/- sslvllite.htm l
the inco m ing signa l is tuned
PS K3 1 - Free - orig. PSK31 - also Logger hnp:/la intel.bi.ehu.es/psk31.htm1 pro pe rly, it sho u ld d isp lay a
fai rl y n arro w whi te wate rfall
Site with links 10 PSK31 and Logger i 0 www.mysite.com/k5fq
(for want of a b ette r d escrip-
PSKGN R - New - Front end for PSK31 www.a!-will ia ms.com/wd5gnr/ps kgnr.htm tion). Ifi t is wide r than wh at yo u
will soon recogn ize as normal,
http://www.cs .wvu.e du/- acm/gopher/Sofu'la re
Baycorn 1.5 and Manual.zip in English the tran smitted sig na l from the
/baycom/
ot he r statio n is not adj usted
Source for BayPac BP-2M http://www.tige rtronics.com/ properly. This leads to inte rfer-
TNC to radio wiring help http://free web.pdq .neUmedcalf/ztx/ ence with othe r sig na ls.
Just today, I was o bse rving
Chroma P1X & ChromaSound DSP software http://www.siliconpixels .com/ sig na ls on the air and noticed
Tlmewave DS P & AEA products http://www.time wave.com two cl ean signals with appro xi-
m ate ly the same am p li tud e
Internationa l Visual Communication Association - within 40 Hz o f each o ther, and
http: //www.mindspring.com/-s stv/
a non-profit organization dedicated to SSTV
they could each be tun ed in and
XPWare - TNC sottware with sample download http://www.goodnet.com/- gjohnson/ cop ied very well. Try that in
o ther mod es . C W is the only
Auto tune r an d other ki ts http://www.ldge lectronics, com
ot he r m od e I have seen that
TAPR - lots of info www.tapr.org would com pare.
Now, here is the trick part o f
Creative Services Software www.ceemcorp.com
the program I wa nted to see . I
Table 1. The inif.amons chart. "Almost ever) -thin g ," " mentio ned I had liste n ed to
40 73 Amateur Radio Today Decembe r 1999
 Gene g rv mg the se u n usu al enables simple. q uick, and ac - o ld steam engine. Ano ther sig- give you an idea of what is there,
sound ing reports on inte rmodu- curate tuning of rhe incoming nal might look different. bu t th is r will j us t te ll you of an enthusi-
lation and supplying numbers as sig na l. After some practice. you o ne pattern was unique . astic reader's co mme nts.
well. You too can experience will find you could tune with- I received an E-mail fro m
indicators. If you look in the o ut the spectrum analyzer, but Accessing the log file Joey N9LQ the other day. He is
screcnshot at the rectangle 10 the as lo ng as it is available, you using the PTe -II TNC and is an
right of the rou nd tuning indi- There is more to Ihe program.
will always use it. Yo u will get a vid digital operator. He told me
calor and waterfall. you will see used to where the signal is an d I have only touched on a little
how he downloaded th e free
a spectrum ana lyzer. bit. An important part o f the log-
how much to tum your luning Logger program and started us-
This lillie screen is mar ked g ing program may fly right by
knob ( s low ly) to get the re . ing it on a ll modes - and liked
horizontally wi th 50 Hz incre- d uring the initial setup. That is
These are narrow signals at 3 1 it so well thai he ha.s now de-
ments. so it is 250 Hz wi de . that the program creates a log leted the co mmercial all-mode
Hz, and you can go by the m be-
When you tunc a sig nal 10 the file for you the first time you ru n soft ware he was using and j ust
fore you know they are there .
middle of thi s rectangle, there it. That log file is titled with yo ur uses Logger.
arc two red ve rtical lines that One other thing I learned callsign. On the opening scree n, I have another pending project,
tum yellow. When ye llow. the if you want the log available to r looked thro ugh the program 10
signal can be decoded and re- I wa s w at ching a Q S O in make entrie s. yo u must click on fi nd a config uration to address
ce ive d te xt di splays on the wh ich o ne of the signals was yo ur ca llsign in the little wi n- my oid PK -232 MB X.1t is o ften
screen. If the transmitting sta- de fi nite ly overdriven. The op- dow tha t presents itself. You will a strange r to ne w prog rams. I
tion is not sending text (and only erator was attempting the usual fi nd in the configuration process will ha ve to find the co mbina-
then - m uc h like a RTTY audio adj ustments with no suc- that the re is a way to cause this tion that wo rks. O nce I do , it
diddle ), th ere is a d isplay o f cess. Then came the revelation to hap pe n a u tomati cally o n looks like the program should be
numbers ind icating intermodu- that his compre ssor was o n. boot-up. as e ffec tive as any o the r for all
lation. There is an e xplanation There are warnings not to have Now, I must confess, I am the modes supported by the 23 2.
of what this indi ca te s in the the compressor on, but that was overwhelmed with the m any Joey went on to tell of build-
manual. It is e nlightening. a good example o f the reason features o f logger. I have o nly ing the Lectrokit PSKI interface
The most useful part of the why, and now, to me, it is rec - touched o n the surface and re- and how we ll it made hi s se t-
tuni ng indicator; at least at first. ognizable.1be waterfall seemed a lize that th e hundred o r so up work . Th en he told of a n
is wi thin this rec tangl e , as it 10 resemble a cowcatcher o n an pages hold many surprises. To " E n ha nce d Mix er" he d own

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73 Amateur Radio Today . December 1999 41

 Numbf!Jr 42 on your Ffl9<1bllCl< car d were willing, but the flesh k ind that in an emergency are pressed

ON THE Go of wore o ut after a while.

Much of the heavie st weather
into heavy-duty service, and it
take s even a skilled opera tor
hit during the early mo rn in g some time to get into the
Mobile, Portable and Emergency Operation
hours, with high winds and tor- rhyth m .
Steve Nowak KE8YN/4 rential rains. T he next morning, Second, if this is a real emer-
1011 Peacock Ave . NE the ne t came back up bri ght and gency, the adre naline is goi ng to
Palm Bay FL 329071371 ha m per everyone's abili ty to
early, and I rejoined it aro und
[keSyn@netzero,netj
9: 00 a.m . We were operat ing stay cool. U nfo rt unately, ill a
both SkyWarn and the emer- real emerge ncy people can get
gency services nets concurrently injured or killed , and even the
Hurricane encore those for storms in the G ulf or o n the same frequency. T here pros pect o f such an event can
the Caribbean are le ss accura te. was n ot a lot of traffic , h ut cause people to stam mer or fal -
With this being the Decem ber I guess with all the is lands it is ter j ust a little. It 's easy to chat
enough to keep me busy as ne t
issue, I had originally planned like projecting the path of a pin- control. Altho ugh I have ofte n on the way to work or rag-c hew
on writing my C hristmas wish ball . In any case, the lack o f ac ted as net control, I had a on the low bands. Handling traf-
list and telling m y YF that since solid projections reminded me fic thai may affect peop le' s lives
coup le of surprises which I wish
it was pub lished, she would of SkyWam du ri ng tornado sea- to share. As most j okes go, I'll or home s takes a lillie more o ut
need 10 make sure that all the son u p in the M idwes t: J us t of all o f us.
give you the bad news fi rst.
items were given serious consid- when you think somethi ng is The night be fore the storm, Third , net control is often try-
eration. Unfortunately (or fortu - goi ng to happen soon. but there when the weekly emergency net ing to handle multiple tas ks at
nately?).this plan was overcome is no idea as to exactly where o r any given moment. It is com-
was sc heduled, net control d id
by events. when . not come up on the frequency mo n to be monitoring m ulti ple
I' m writing this in mid-Octo- T he National Weather Service frequencies - the frequency on
at the appointed time. Since we
ber, and althoug h hurricane sea- asked us to bri ng up th e wh ich this pa rtic ular ne t is op-
rotate the net control duty, this
son doesn' t officially e nd for SkyWam net about 10:00 p. m . h a p pe n s occasiona lly, si nce erating , pe rhaps a freq ue ncy
another six weeks. most of us on Friday. Naturally, it is d iffi - used for county w ide command
even h am s h a ve une xpected
are more focused on fall activi- cult (if no t impossible) to do commitme nts d ue to work, fam - and control, a link to othcr coun-
ties such as shifting from "Back much storm spotting in the dark, ily, etc. Several stations called ties or agencies, etc. If located
to School" to Halloween. Tropi- but si nce floodi ng was the main to as k if the net was goi ng to be at a government agency, there
cal stor ms are not in the fo re- concern. there was some good he ld but no o ne actually started will be at le ast one public ser-
front. Hurricane Irene was one the ha m community could do. it. I established the net and won- vice freque ncy be ing monitored.
of those storms that developed The ne t was on the a ir u ntil dered w hy there we re so few Add to this the need to pass traf-
in the Caribbean Sea and moved abo ut 2:00 a.m., w he n every- ha ms who were interested in fic received by telephone to the
toward the west coast of Flo rida. body pretty m uch folded up - ta ki ng net control du ty. appropriate se rved agencies or
While the computer models for o ne of the hazards of having a The fo llowi ng few days du r- hand le face -to-face discussions
hu rricanes that develop in the disaster on a Friday night after ing the H urric ane, I notic ed a wi th p ub lic serv ice or emer-
At lantic are ve ry impressive, a full week of work . T he spirits few examples o f poor opera tio n gency agency peo ple, and things
that did not seem to be in the can get hectic.
true spirit o f amateur radio. A t Also, when a ham picks up
that point, several impressions the mike to hand le a net, he or
"Enh anced M ixer" he loaded Another rece nt add itio n is a
struc k me . Fi r st , I k no w of she does not fo rget about the
from [ www.modemss.brisnet.org. CD-ROM dis k from Q RZ . T his
people who ha ve been excellent he alth and safely of his or her
aw-mlevol] . I haven't do ne thi s arri ved when only the laptop
ne t control operators who no own family. W ha t you he ar on
as ye t, bu t he claims he can was available. On install ation in
make custom audio level set- the laptop , access to the d isk longer part icipate in that capac- a give n freque ncy is only a
tings for each band and call them through the Wi nd o ws overlay ity. I suspect that some of them small part of the acn vity that is
up when he changes bands. got tired of so me of the hass les occ urring, so if net control oc-
was agonizingly slow. Then I that can go with net contro l duty.
I will have to investigate this found the DOS interface and the casionally seems distrac ted. he
and let you know. I do notice a Others who mig ht be in terested probably is .
speed was reasonable. When in- may be a little intim idated by the Fo urth , an emerge ncy you re-
difference in audio settings be-
stalled in th e d e skto p , it is thought of trying to be net con- port to the network may not be
tween the voltage availab le whe n
bli ndi ngty fast. Sometimes it trol; when they hear some o f the pe rceived as critically as you
operating from battery po wer as
seems instantaneous when being inappropriat e comments made think it should be . During H ur-
opposed to the shack power sup-
accessed through a communica- on a net, this in terest may be ricane Irene , a number of good-
ply. This requires audio le vel
compensation. I fin d that the tions prog ram such as Logger. I lessened . H ere are some things sized p leasure craft broke loose
quickes t way to the control panel tried it wi th several programs. to re member when part of a net- and were adrift and headed to -
in \Vindows95 is with a right click (Why did I not have one of these work in any capaci ty. ward a bridge . The se were du ly
on the sound level icon at the bot- before?) First, few if any of the partic i- re ported thro ugh the net to the
tom of the screen. However, there If yo u ha ve q uest ions or com- pa nts o n the net do thi s fu 11- appropri ate authorities. Because
seem to he different versio ns of ments abo ut this colum n, E-mail ti me . Everyo ne is a volunteer o f far m o re p ressi ng iss ues,
Windows and that may not work me at [j hcllcrts'sierra.net] . Fo r using skills normally associ ated these were summarily placed well
for all. now. 73, Jack KB 7NO . fa with a ho bb y. T hese are sk ills do wn the list by the responsible
42 73 Amateur Radio Today Decem ber 1999
 Hum_'" 1lIl'I)'IlU' F 'Clt c.rI
book: of the entire proceedings be fore via E-mail or other meth-
RBOUE I:' BEYOND was published by theARRLlhat
covers all the papers presented
ods before this great eyeball
QSO. Senling in and a great
VHF and Above Operation at the Microwave Update 1999 supper got us ready for the con-
Conference. It 's available from ference proper and the opening
c. L Houghton WB6 1GP the ARRLas lheir#7725 (ISBN: session Friday morning. con-
San Diego Microwave Group
6345 Badger Lake Ave.
0 -87259-772-5). I understand d ucted by A I Ward W5LUA.
San Diego CA 92 119 the cost is about $ 15. This book Speakers were presenting topics
(dhougtl 0 pacbell.netJ covers quite a bit o f information all day long on a very large va-
and is about the size of anARRL riety o f topics. Additionally. in
Handbook. with 620 pages o f the afternoon. after the noon
Microwave Update 1999 designs, systems fo r t 20 and papers submitted by microwave lunch break. a secondary event
14 5 GHz, synth esizers, rain amateurs covering a wide range was held in the hall outside the
l ust came back to San Diego scatter. EME, new transceivers, of interests. meeting room . A ll amateurs
from one of the best Microwave loop yagis, TWTs. and AMSAT Let me take you on a short were invited to dro p off RF
Update 1999 conferences that updates. And that only describes to ur. We arrived at the Harvey preamps. synlhcsizers, and other
has ever covered amateur opera- a portion of all the events that Hotel o n Thursday. the 2 t SI, at microwave networks for evalu-
tions from 1 GHz to o ve r 47 were c ra m -packed into four about 4 p.m. in the afternoon. ati on in the Noise Figure/Spec-
GHz and into light frequencies. days of talks. swap meets. great Due to our travel arrangements trum Analyzer/Network Analy-
'The conference was held at the Texas BBQs. technical noi se and time co nstraints, we had to zer/Phase Noise Test Equipment
Harvey Hotel in Plano , Texas. figure and spectrum analyzer miss the early program, which workshop.
on October 21 st through Octo- workshops, and an antenna was a tour of the surplus deal- I dropped off three items fo r
ber 24th. This fine con ference workshop for feedhom mea- ers in the Dallas. Texas. general evaluation, as did many others.
was hosted by the North Texas surements and antenna g ain area that was conducted with the The items I submitted fo revalu-
Microwave Society and their measurements. ab le help of Kent Britain ation were a 10GHz bandsawcd
members who. with the ARRL, T here were amateurs th ere WA5VIB . Qualcomm 3-stage RF preamp,
were able to bring together ama- from all parts o f the globe, in- We took a short tour of the and 2 synthesizers, one for 2592
teurs from all over the world with cludi ng Japan, New Zealan d. hotel and met several old frie nds MHz, and one for 1152 MH;t.
one common interest, microwave Germany, E ng land . and many we had only communicated with The sy n thesizer s were to be
communications . more. All in all, it was a very ' _
The entire co nfe re nce was successfu l confe rence. and the r
directed to the premise of shar- free forum a nd exc hange of
ing technical knowledge and ideas and applications helped to
current developments through bolster o ur continuing support 2C39
the microwave spectrum o f o ur of microwave interest to help VACUUM
W//NOISE
amateur frequency bands. For promote usage o f these ve ry in- INSTRUMENTATION TUBE 92A078 $49 .00
those that have never been to a teresting fronti ers. AMP
Vcc=15VDC. Push -pull We ha ve over 55,000
microwave update conference, it While there were many very OP27G, Low noi se op tubes in stock, See the
is a semi-informal event spon- high e nd m icrowave systems am p. Ga i n A ppr ox co m p le t e li s t in o u r
5 000 . Sche m atic in - cata log .
sored and dedicated to amateur o pera ting into new frontiers cluded. MSPIKEM
endeavors. E ve nts sched uled above 24 G Hz, there were also 97A003 $9.95 ANTENNA 1
include many speakers present- TV AUDIO Standard Ihru-
systems that were quite simp le pa nel t ype
DEMODULATOR
ing papers and talks covering in opera tion. making a g re at OrigioaUy used in calia M o l o r o la

phase noise, microwave rover blend of systems for everyone TV a p p li cation , tms ........ m o u nt. Ha s
sold er l ug l or
sub a s sombly ta kes
operations, 1296 VLNA com- from the beginner to the experi- Cha nn el 3 , 4 or 5 sig - co a x ca b le . R o d is
ap p ro x. 8cm lon g , A
nal an d d em odul ates
puter design, laser communica- e nced microwave amateur. For n ew r od o f d ifterent
the audio. Comes with
those that cou ld not be there . a d o cume n tati o n and le ng th may ea si ly be
tions, amplifi ers , feedh orn schematics, plus a dd i- fa sh i o n ed fo r fre -
q ue ncy of choice
bo nal sche ma tic s to
build add -on video de- 97AOO5 $5.95
modulator board. HAM HAN DY
92A028 $9.95 TALKIE KIT
Connect Bo om M ike
public service agency. This is their quest a check-in. TIle first time I (92A 00 1) t o you r
job - they do it every day -and did, I was shocked to find over 50 IC O M , Ke n woo d , or
ACDC METER Similar handy talkie In-
such decisions definitely be long sta tions available and on fre - Scale calibrate d 101 2/ clude s diag rams, ear-
to them. quency. There was very little un- MIKE HANGER 18/ 24 VDC and 1201 ph one, pu sh- to -ta u
S t u rd y m etal wit h 240 VAC . 0 to 10 mA sw itch , belt clip and
Okay, those are the suggestions necessary comm unication; these mcuntlnq hardw are . movem ent. A p prOK i c onne cto rs . (Boom
M ade by Shure Pack - ma t e ly 1 ,5 inch e s M ike , 92AOO1, not in-
to improve our operating habits. folks j ust stood by until needed age of three, square cl uded .)
1be good news? At least 99% of and then helped where lhcy cook1 97A015 9ge/Pack 98AOO2 $2.95 92A005 $7.95
the practices I encountered dur-
ing the hwricane were outstand-
I' ve always been just a little
biased, and fe lt hams were spe-
~

_
_Oolot
__
d",,
........ Xl
llSeo
_goodlO..,. _s..T..,

c!IIIo"O" _
_
....
ALLTRONICS Open 9-6 M-f and 1()'3 Sal
ing. Many hams monitored and cial people with special skills. MSaiioo r... V,U, we and Amb ao;epled.
stood by ready to assist or pass After last weekend. I' m sure Dcwnload Our Catalog: hIlp:11www alltfOfli!;s,com
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had quieted down, we would re- Thanks to one and all. fa
73 Amateur Radio Today. December 1999 43
eval uat ed for phase no ise an d measured at 10368 ~fHz 26 .4 After this great sc he d ule o f antenna measure ment and dis h
the preamp for gain and noise dB gain. and a noise figure of eve nts, an after-s upper Ilea mar- fe ed test range . Need less to say.
Figure. I kne w ahead o f time that 2. 13 dB . Not bad for an untested ket and ge ne ral bu ll session this req ui red a large area in
the synthes izers were reaso n- commercial 12 G H z Q ualcomm were conducted in the main con- which to co nd uct ante nna mea-
ably go od. betng some 50 dB preamp obtained in surplus and ference room. I have to ad m it I sure ments te sts. It was held in a
down in phase noise products. operated on an amateur fre - have never seen so much micro- back parking lot o f the Harvey
hut the preamp was a lark. quency. T he phase noise of the wa ve material assem bled in an y Hotel. Systems tested covered all
T he preamp submincd was a synthes izers measured to j us t o ne place at any one time . The a...pects o f o peration. from I G Hz
su r p l us Qua!c omm 3-s ta ge over 70 d B down. some 20 dB m aterial offered for sale was so to a syste m that funct ioned at
com me rci al uni t normally se t to better than my simple test equip- varied and covered man)' ama- 47 G Hz .
operate at 12 GHz. I bandsawed ment could determine. teur bands up to about 40 (0 50 Our San Diego Microwave
t he me ta l housi ng w it h th e I don 't have th e figu res o n G Hz . Someth ing for e veryone. Group te sted a sim p le system
pream p attached and had to con- other devices subm itted at this I have asse mbled material over ca lled the "Synplcxer;'' a play on
vert it wi th two S ~A counce- lime . b ut there were 30 to 40 many years of scrounging. hut words o f Polaplex cr and G unn-
ton, and two I p F c h ip ca ps device s subm itted for e valu a- what I observed in this one mom pl excr combined w ith a Synthe -
be tween the c ircuit board traces tio n. maki ng this event and ser- made my stutflook pale in com- sizer fo r local osci llato r injec-
and the coax connec tors. DC vice graciously cond ucted by pari son to the materia l o ffe red ti on . In its sim plest fo rm . it
power and -5 volt bias testtends the North Texas Mi crowave So- for sa le. requ ire s a co ffe e call ante nna
were attached. an d th e unit was clcty quite pop ular, Not only di d Saturd ay was a sim ilar day with 1/4 wave receive and trans -
sc a le d in al um in um ta pe for they put on a great day of speak- that started off with the San Di- m it pro bes offset by 90 degrees,
shie ld ing ; this was all that was e rs on microw ave. but they also ego Microwave G roup 's presen- Coupled 10 this system was a
done , NO TEST O F O PERA - conducted a very helpfu l wo rk- ta tions on synthesize rs. a simp le modi fied synthesizer o peration
TION WAS P ERFO R ~f ED - sho p using some of the most 2 G Hz "Synplexcr" presented at 2302 MHz and rccci vin g at a
I wanted an e va luatio n of the pre so p h is tica ted te st e va lua tio n by Ed St urm W60 YJ , and a 10 146 MH z IF frequ ency. That
amp " O UT OF T HE C HUTE: ' equipment fo r microwave ever G Hz transverter presented by means that the o the r system in
Somewhat dangerous should the assembled at any o ne point fo r Kerry Banke N6IZW. Later. th e use had to o perate at 2448 MHz
amp not fun ction : however. it amateur use. same workshop forum was held tra ns m it and receive at its IF
again for amplifiers. preamps. "146 MHz"" for 23 03 MH z. The
and such as was held on Friday. 10 M Hz osc ill ato r providing
The e ve n ing program wa s a clock to the synthesizer was
BBQ banquet for all. The m ain modified to accept a small a u-
A perfect travelling companion. The Mapbook
s pe a ke r w a s Jo el H arr iso n d io am p driving a varactor in-
contains locations o f hu ndreds upon hu ndreds of
W5ZN . Vice Pre sident of the side the 10 M H z tcxo osci llato r
open repeaters throughout the U.S .. Canada and
AR RL. who put on a very hu- for ~ modulation o n eac h e nd.

~
ei~ M exico , These derailed m aps show all highways m oro us presen ta tio n spoofing T he receive system at eac h end
and m aj or cities in each stale. If you trave l
protection and saving of a pro - was a modifie d TVRO LNA fo r
anywhere in the U nited Stales. this M apbook tected species. the " A R M A - RF pream p usc d riving a si ng le
w ill he the be st inve stm ent yo u e ver m ade ! D I LLO , " w h ich s u ffe red a diode detector and connec tion at
$9 .95 s udden ro ad -re la ted tragedy. each end to a 2 mete r HT for
Joe l broug ht the hou se 10 it s recei ve at 146 M Hl. the IF fre-
New in th is thi rd edit ion hook are world fre - knees. q uency fo r fu ll d up lex vo ice
quency m aps to help you tu nc in to a s peci fic A fter supper. a Texas two- comrnunicanons.
country. anywhere in the world . The new quick meat BBQ of beef and chicken. T his syste m wa s put together
co untry guide w ill hel p you tune in almost any there w as an auctio n followed fro m flea market LNA s and
time of the day or night. $19.95 by a prize drawing for those in o ther surplus materi als to sho w
attendance at the banquet. This th at a sim p le sys te m that has
A true co rn ucop ia o f technical information was a mo st unusu al afte r-ban- good com m unications range can
for ham radio , N ot o nly will you find th e quet drawing in th at th ere were be con structed for very little
theoretical aspects. yo u will find real practical it ems fo r all. Not o nly were co st. In tests. the coffee c an an-
information presented in a no non sen se fonn . th ere prizes drawn at rando m ten nas co u ld feed di she s but
Equi p ment & Log Shee ts . Charts. Tables pulled from a hal. there were were used as the main antenna
showi ng: wo rldwide callslgns. world time s. enoug h prizes to offer a chance by t hem s elve s a nd s ho wed
shortwave listening fr eque ncie s. co ax lo sse s. fo r e very o ne in the banq uet about 6 dB gain. For co m m uni-
C TCS S details. co nve rs ions . cons truc tion roo m to rece iv e h is cho ice of catio ns in the 1/2 mile range, the
pl a ns. e merge ncy in format io n. etc. items on a table of pr izes. A great an ten nas di d no t nee d to be
133 pages . $ 14 .95 idea. somethi ng for everyone. Not poi nt ed at anything in pa rtic u-
Send check or money orde r plus $3,50 shipping & handling to; one person we nt away e m pty- lar for good comm unications.
handed - what a conference ! Ed Mun n W 60YJ and Kerry
Omega Sa les
As t he co nfe re nce wo und N 61ZW demonsIra ted the sys-
P.O. Box 376 down. the re were still eve nts tern d uring th e parkin g lot an-
J affrey, :SH 03452 sc heduled fo r those that could te nna m easurem ents worksho p.
1-8llO-167-7237
stay for the Su nd ay mo rni ng Thai's where Ed was ahle to ma ke
44 73 Amateur Radio Today . Decembe r 1999
 HHMSHTS
Amateur Radio Via Satellites
Andy MacAllister W5ACM
14714 Knights Way Drive
Houston TX 770835640

Keeping up with changes in the long-awaited announcement

the world of amateur-radio sat- that Dr. Karl Meinzer has signed
ellites is a cha llenge. Long gone a contrac t with Arianespacc
arc the days of only one func- (Tues day, Oc tober 5. 1999).
tional hamsat in the sky. Today P3D will be on the first suitable
Photo A. The AMSAT J7th Annual Meeting and Space Symposium
there arc over a dozen, and they Ariane 5 launch as a secondary
was held in early Octobe r at the Hanalei 1I0Ie! in Sa n Diego.
vary dramatically in their opera- payl oad . Specific details were
Californ ia.
tion, freq uency usage, and o rbit. not made available in the press
The AMSAT General Meeting release of October 7th, but this
and Space Symposium ha.s been is the major milestone that sat- Kerry Banke N6IZW gave microwave equipment provides
a great source of information elli te en thusiasts have been details o n methods for modify - highly cost-e ffec tive units for
about what's happening now, waiti ng for. While it is possi ble ing Qualcomm OmniTRACS possible hamsat work.
and pl anned for the future. lhat PJD may go to orbit as early surplus microwave equipment Kerry' s talk was a good mix
as April . 2000, the wait for a ride for use with amateur satellites. o f u nderstandable h ard w are
The AMSAT Symposium co uld be longer. In the mean- Kerry bas been working with the modifications using some very
time. P3D wi ll be shipped to gear mostly for terre stri al usc, advanced electronic microwave
Duane Nagle K06BT and his Kourou. French G uyana, by the but the advantage o f inexpensive building blocks lik.e synthesizers,
cre w in S an Diego h o sted end of October. The satellite wi ll high-quality surplus modifiable reference oscill ator module s,
AMSAY s 17th Annual Meeting then be checked o ut and stored
and Space Symposium. II was as a " stand by" assen er, read
mixers. and o ther items . T he free ware via th e Inte rnet has
symposium proceedings give ac tually h e lped A ~1 SAT get
complete proced ures fo r using mo re enth usiasts into the hobby.
the Qualc o mm units o n ham Bdale has been involved with
bands from 1.2 G Hz up throug h many AMSAT proj ects and ac-
24 G Hz. T hese are nor good kn owledges the fa ct that m uch
projects for no vice-l e ve l ki t of A ~1S AT's income has been
builders. but it's getting cheaper derived from satelli te tracking
and easier to get on the more software sales . Bdale pointed
esoteric microwave ham ba nds. out that " o pen source" (al most
D r. Bob Twiggs KE6Q MD of free) software provides a me ans
Stan fo rd came to tell us abo ut fo r the so ftware to e vo lve by
OPA L. the Orbiting Ptcosat Au - inviting users to become panici-
tonomo us L au ncher. T he pro- pants in the soft ware develop-
gram began in 1995 to build and rncnt processs and con version for
launch a satellite that wou ld act use in other operat ing systems.
as the "mother ship" fo r a group Bdale also pointed o ut that soft-
of very small sa te llites calle d ware that can freel y evo lve to
piccsats (1 to 2 kg weight) to be provide feat ures that have no t
eject ed from "launcher tube s" yet been ide ntified is software
after O PAL i... in o rb it. The that will endure.
rocket is a modified Minuteman Assi Friedman K K7KX pre-
missile. se nted upd ates on the statu .. o f
A rtemis is a group o f fe male ASUSa t l a nd t he u pco mi ng
engi neering stude nts a t Santa launch wi th JAWS at, O PA L ,
Clara U nive rsity. T h ey ha ve and FalconSal. In addition to us
built two plcosars that arc u sed digital communications sy ste m,
to study VLF signa l character- AS USatl has a si ngle-channel
istics from orbit. T hey ho pe to FM voice transponder. The Ari-
differentiate be tween hori zontal zona Sta te Universi ty efforts go
and ve rtical VLF sig na ls gcner- beyond thi s, their fi rst amateur
ated by lightning storms from satelli te. More satelli tes are o n
orbit. A thi rd picosat was also the way fo r la unch in 200 1 and
built hy the group. 2002, and testing e fforts con-
Ph oto C. Kenwood had two representatives and a nice display of
STENSat was a res ult o f Bob tinue with small "CA N Sa ls"
lIew radios at the Space Symposium.
Twigg s' cha llenge 10 the a t- that are sent up on non -orbiting
tc nd ee s a t the 1998 AMSAT ama te ur rocke ts to test ne w sys-
rad io. th e PPP protocol use s and ultravio let rad iation for a
Symposium in Vick sb urg, Mis- tern s design ed and built by st u-
fewer packets and few er o ver- worldwide student aud ience.
sissippi, to propose and build a dents. Assi was j oi ned by B rian
head hits to get the data through. C liff Buuscha rdt K7R R pre-
picosat. Bob sho wed the syrn- U nderhi ll and o thers 10 provide
The sate llite is an educational senrcd some simp le yet effective
po sium attendee s a com plete details about the multitude o f
project designed 10 provide satel- m ethod s (If b uildi ng 70 -em
eng ineering model buill by the projects c urre ntl y in production
lite measurements. of local OLOfIe patch antenna s. o n a b udge t.
STENSat c rew. This Mode "J" o r design. Conference attendees
( two m e te rs up a nd 7 0 Clll were del ig hted wi tha video cli p
down) FM transponder-in-the- ofa recent C ANSat launch from
sky is small e nough to fi t in your Blackrock. Nevada.
back pocket. Bob-demonstrated Andrew Taylor KC OBPD is
the antenna deployment sys tem a senior at Colorado State Uni-
that unfu rls the dipoles for the versity working o n an electrical
VHF rece ive r and th e UH F engineeri ng degree . Hts presen-
tran smitter. union focused on the use of dlgl-
A third group of picosat build- tal poin t-to-point protocol (PPP)
ers from the Aerospace Corp. communic atio ns fo r the C it izen
have built two tethered satel lites Explorer Satellite proj ect. An-
as a wire less radio co mmuntca- d rew poi nted o ut tfuu P PP is
nons dcmonstrauon. simple and inexpcn..ive to imple-
Bdalc Garbce N3EUA made me n I. T h c C itize n E xp lo re r
a p r e se n ta t io n a b o u t w hy satellite will be acce ssed via a
A MSAT so ftwa re should be ground stauon sin Colorado.Ncw
freeware. This is a con tro versial Mexico. and Alaska. Compared Ph oto D. Bruce Paige KK5DO set lip ill the symposium meeting
issue. but Bd ale used some his- 10 the AX.25 data format com- room to fee d live audio ria grosat and record the talks for
torica l background about how monly used by hams for packet Internet dist ribution from {Ilttp:/II.. "h"W. all/satllet.cmn J.
46 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
 Randy Kohlwey N7SFI pro- wi th In st a n t T rac k sate llite
vided an update on the status of tracking software . Instant Tune
JAWSat, which at the time uf the will calculate the necessary cor-
co nference was at Vandenberg rections to bo th the transmit and
wait ing for launc h. Randy 's talk receive frequencies d uri ng a sat-
began with a brief history of the e llite pa ss . T he software will
C ente r fo r AeroSpace Technol- then apply these corrections d i-
o gy (C A ST) and it s mi ssi o n. rectly to the radio throug h its
JAW Sat's goals include prov id - computer connectio n po rt.
ing a phy sical platform for other O riginall y the software wa s
satellites. e.g . OPAL, FalconSat develo ped for th e Ke nwood
and ASUSat. and to carry six CAT sy stem. From there it was
video carneras with transmitter modifi ed to suppo rt a multitude
sys tem. some scientifi c experi- of radios and the vario us hard-
ments . and an ama te u r-ra d io ware interface restri ctions. With
store -and-forward commu nica- the introduc tion of the Ff-847
Photo E. Frank Bauer KA3HDO and Will Ma rchant KC6ROL tions pay load. The cameras are from Yaesu. Anthony targeted
provided update s 011 amateur radio systems designed for the set to monitor the separation of thi s new radio with h is recent
International Spa ce Station (ISS ). the sub-satellites after o rb ita l efforts. With Instant Tune run -
injectio n. ning . the user simply se ts his
C liff bega n with bac kg ro un d tcnnas work and how to m ake Antho ny M onteiro AA2T X radio for the appropria te rccei ve
information on how patch an- them with circular polari zation. has de ve loped a ne w software frequen cy and operates . Dop-
o fferi ng called Instant Tune for pler shift is automatically ad-
The materials C liff used were
thc Yae su Ff-8-l-7. Tony recog- dressed a nd sa tellite conve r-
surp lus road sig ns that are typi-
nized an opportunity to create an sations become as easy as HF
cally made fro m .060" alurni-
automatic tuni ng system that (shortwave) operation . Anthony
num-a lloy sheets. Circular polar.
would take care of Doppler ad- did a live d em onstration o f his
ization is achie ved by orienting
justmcnts duri ng a satellite pass.
the feed point at a specific spot
Instant Tune works in conjunction Continued on paye 50
o n the patch, While one spot cre-
ate s right-hand circular po lar-
izatio n (R HC P ). a point on the
opposite side of the patch wi ll
create a left-hand circular polar- E Z HRN G
ization (L HC P) o rientation, To Hang your next wire antenna the EZ way,
ha ve a swircbnble-rnode a n-
tenna, the two po ints fo r RH CP
and LHCP are fed by coax to a
Photo F: Matja; vidmar S53MV simple R F relay. Ch tf"s paper in
came from Slovenia to present the sy m p osi u m proce eding s
his interesting findings 0 1/ "No- gives comp lete details on the
Time Transceivers for the Micro- method... and materials to use to
In lle Bands. " make successful patch antennas.

No cl imbing trees or ladders - No tangled string - No

dangerous bow-a nd-arrow. Thi s is the perfect tool if you
want to put up a wire antenna easily and quickly,
EZ Hang will clear a 100 ft . tree.
O nly $49.95 plus $5.95 ship ping & handling
Send check or money orde r to:
EZ Hang. Inc.
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"
Photo G. Rob Bnminga WB4APR (A PRS inventor) demonstrated
portable 9600-balld digisat reception in the parking lot outside
Laurel MD 20723
Phone: 540-286-0176
Web: http://www.ezhang.coOl
the symposium meeting room.
73 Amateur Radio tcaev December 1999 47
 Numb 411 on your FHd"'f;. Qlrd
produ c tion ve r sio n o f t he
NEW PRODUCTS No rcal KSFF key, As they say,
for the "fi st" ti me in the ir his-
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ICOM's IC-T8IA to become a co llectib le.
Handheld Each Junior is uniquely sc-
ria l numbered and dated, with
I c o~r s newest handhe ld , black po wd er-c oa ted ba se s,
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Vibroplex
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resistant construction . At 2.3W Vih roplex Co .. Inc.: II Mid-
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a nd covers 6m, 2m . and 440 O UI the Code Warrior Jr.. the 8873 o r fax (334) 4 76-~65 ,
MH L a t 5 W. along with 1.1
GHI at I W.
Sun Visor Mike
T he IC T 8I A use s a fi ve-
These day s ha m rad io is a hobby on the go . The advent of
position joystick-type control for
sma ll, affordable mobilc radios has a llowed e ve ry amateur rad io
mo de, to ne , duplex. vo lume.
operator to take his hobby " o n the road" with him . S till. o ne
band, scanning, and more.There
th ing a lways gets in the way: the microphone.
arc no func tion key s. so you
It seems like the micropho ne is always e ither in the wa y or
can forget about memori zin g
ju st o ut of reach. When yo u arc dri ving dow n the road, it' s no t
those .
o nly annoying to have to dig around o n the floor, mid-QSO, fo r
Fo r furt he r info , conta c t
the mike yo u just dropped , but it's also d angerous.
ICOM A me rica . Inc . 2380
T he PRY ~I E MMC- IOO 'Sun Viso r" microphone brings an
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end to all that. The ~t),t C-1 00 is a unid irectional clear-sound ing
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e lec tret microphone mo unted on a flexible gooseneck . It sec ures
fwww.icomamerica. com].
to the sun visor of yo ur car, so it's always in place for a ll your
ham radio mobiling. T he Push-To -Talk sw itch for the micro-
phone is loc ated on an in-line box tha t can he mounted to the
gear shift or arm rest, making mobi le operation more co nvenie nt
a nd safe than ever,
NEUER SRY DIE people th in k. I' ll tell you
ccm muedjrcm page 2 1 wha t - ma ybe yo u ' ll take a T he )'[\IC- IOO is sol d wi thout a microphone cable. Ho we ver,
half minute o ut o f y o u r d a y six d ifferent o ptional m icroph on e cables arc avail able to sup-
Guide to Wisdom, which re - to he lp m e '? I would appreci- po rt a ll of roday's popu lar HF and VHFIU HF base station a nd
v iews most of the above ale your prayer for me to help mobile rad io s. Just purc hase whichever cable you need for your
books.
Until you honestly try the
make my body healthier a nd radio or radios. The cables are strictly plug and play: no soldering is I
younge r. so I' ll h a ve more req uired.
procedure I' ve o ut lined, yo u ti m e to get the word to an y- For more informa tio n ahout the PRYME M\1C IOO, contact
wo n't know if or how much it one w h o wi ll li ste n , If co f- Premier Communications Corp., 4XO Apo llo St.. # E. Area CA
could c ha ng e your li fe . T he fcc ice crea m starts looking 9 28 2 1: te l. (7 1-l) 257 -0300; Fax (714 ) 257-0 60 0; Em ail
body. give n the rig ht n utri- less auractivc to me I' ll know
en ts, an d a positive atti tude . (premier@adi-rad io.com]; site [w ww.adi-radic.com ].
your prayers have helped.
is capable of incred ible heal- Every thi ng fi ts to gether so
ing powe rs. Or would you neatly that I' m very excited Free Software
rather kee p sufferi ng w ith a a bout th is - h ut I' m de pe nd -
bac kac he , arthr itis, or what- ing o n you to p ro ve I'm rig ht. HAMC ALC ve rsion 4() has no w been released by Geo rge
ever'! M y Secret Guide 10 M urphy VE3ERP, With many new upgrad es. it includes o ver
Health explai ns ho w y o u can Bio p rog res s 200 painless math and desi gn programs for radio amateurs and
best care for your body. thus professionals alike, HAMC ALC has be en used worldwide as a
givi ng it a n o pport u nity to re- I re ally ap p reciated get- reference a nd learning (001 since its int roductio n in 199 3. All
pair itself. Now all you need ting a lc ucr th e o th e r d ay
programs ha ve the o ption of working in eithe r metric o r impe -
to add is a po sitive attit ude fro m a 75-ye a r-old re a de r
rial units o f me asure , and you' ll fi nd much informatio n no t
(known a lso as praye r) . who credited the bioelectri tlcr
P lease try th is simple expcri- with co mplete ly curing he r readily a vailable in c urrent handbooks and literature .
rne nt for 60 days and let me cancer. Her d octo r cou ldn't HA M C A LC i s w ritten in GWBAS IC a nd re q uire s a
knew what happens . If the re- believe the x-rays! But this G' '''BASIC.EXE me in you r root directory. For a free HAM CALC
sulrs are as spectac ular as I was fo llowed up by a call 40 3-1/2" MSDOSl\vi ndows diskette, send USS5.00 for airrnail
expe ct. I' ll ne ed y our hel p to front anothe r reader who o wns shippinglhand ling anywhere in the world (US$6.00 for GWBASIC
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Pra yer rea lly d ocs work L3V 6A6, Canada . E-mail Gcorge ar Ive.Ierpeecncodc.cc ml.
- J USl not the way most Conll'nued on page 5 9
48 73 Amateur Radio Today . December 1999
 HOUERTISERS' INOEH
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73 Amafeur Radio Today December 1999 49

 (and source code) are free and Station) progres s rega rd ing
a vail a b le fro m th e AM SAT callsigns for ARISS o pe ration
Internet site [http ://www.amsat. and othe r inte rna tional con-
e rg]. ce rns. Since the Inte rnational
Dr. Paul Shuch N6TX ended Space Statio n (ISS) is indeed
the official day' s talks with his "inte rnational:' it has been pm-
" Ana tomy of a SETI Hoax ." posed that ham callsigns on ISS
Pa ul de scribed so me o f the be licensed via the International
ma ny inconsistencies that sur- Te leco mmuni ca ti on s Un io n
faced after various detail s sur- (lT U), rathe r than ind ivid ual
rou nd in g a purpo rt ed SET I co untries.
(Search for Extraterrestrial Life)
The symposium
sig nal reception in late 1998.
continues
While Paul's talk covered a se-
rious topic. his capability as a T he Saturday presentations
popular speaker brought some began in earnest promptly at 8
Photo H. Delllny VA3JlJ H used a hand-held Arro"" antenna 10 fun and humor to the presenta- a.m. Duane Nagle K06BT and
make m ice comans tllTOlIgh SUNSA T-OSCA R-35 during a break tio n . Ma ny individual s a nd his cre w had everything ready
ill the talks. groups around the world gave to go. Bruce KK5DO .....as con-
credence to the hoax until the nec ted to the WOKt E net w ork
HRMSRTS system. It worked. even in front details became public know l- for the audio feed uplin k to the
connnuedjtom page 47 of a large audience. The software edge . Paul finished with a new Wisdom c ha nne l on C-ba nd
folk so ng he w ro te fo r the commercial satellite. Bruce had
AMSAT gathering: " A Memorial "Real Aud io" recordings on his
to MfR:' PC, but the Internet connection
Fri da )' ac ti vities continued from the hotel was rather slow,
into the evening with two par- so they were uploaded late r to
allel sessio ns. One wa s a be- [h tt p ://www.am satneL co mJ .
ginner's forum hosted by Go uld You can check o ut most of the
Smith WA4SXM , wi th c xplana- sym posium talks at this URL
nons of issues that confront new (Universal Reso urce Locator)
ham sat opera tors. Gould, with on the Inte rnet.
help from ot her long-time sat- Jerry Smyth K8SAT made the
ellite enthusiasts. discussed omit fi rst Saturda y m ornin g ta lk.
tracking software, ground-station Jerry described a satellite gate-
eq uipme nt ne ed s, an d o ther way station that he and other
ba sic topics. satellite enthusiasts have put on
In the room next door, Ray line in De troit. Michigan. The
Soife r W2RS , Ar-.1SAT vice system inco rporates a computer-
Photo f . AA1SAT President Kehli Baker KBI SF makes a f ree presi dent for International A f- controlled IC-820 for the satel -
phone call using one of the Qualconun satellite ph on es us ing the fairs. acted as mas ter of ce remo- lit e si de a nd an o ld c r ys-
Glabalstar satellite constettation. nies for an IARU (International tal-controll ed 220 ?\tH7 mobile
Amateur Rad io Union) satellite rig to provide a link to a local
forum . Hans van de Groe ne n- two-meter repeater. His paper in
daal ZS5 AKV, the IAR U Am a- th e sym posi um proceedi ngs
teur Satellite Advisor, ga ve an give s basic information on the
update o n IAR U activities over how and why of the project.
the past year. with emphasis on Dr. Bob Twiggs KE6QMD
their impact on the intern ational was on the schedule for a sec-
sa te lli te a lloca tions. G ra ha m ond tal k on small satellites from
Ralliff V K5 AG R , the IAR U the Department of Aeronautics
A~ fSAT Frequency Coordina- and Astronautics at Sta nford
tor, discussed frequency coordi- Uni ve rs ity and other ed uca-
nation issues fo r c urre nt and tional institutio ns. Bob's Satur-
future bamsats. The group unan- day presentation focused on the
imo usly reelec ted Graham to EMERALD Nancsatellite pro-
continue in his current pos ition. gram with some histori cal per-
Frank Ba ue r KA 3HDO . spectives. EMERALD consists
AMS AT vice president for Hu- of two separate satellites that arc
Photo J. TIle Gtobatstar control/communications dishes at man Space nigh t Operat ions, to fly in formation. Since these
Qua lconun ill Sail Diego. California, a re housed in inflata ble discussed ARISS (Ama teur Ra- hamsavedusats are sc heduled
domes like 'his one. dio on the International Space for a space shuttle launch under
50 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
 crs for the Mi crowa ve Bands." Mode " B" (70-crn up and two
His tremendous technical cxper- meters down) o r Mode " ]" (two
rise and excellent com mand of meters u p and 70-cm d o wn).
Engli sh. co up led with a ke en H an s al so a nn ounc ed a ne w
sense o f humor, de lighted the award from A MS AT South Af-
aud ience. Matj az and his gro up rica ca lled the S unsat Award.
in Slo ve nia have produced hun- Frank Ba u e r K A 3H D O,
d rcds of no-tu ne kits fo r hams A!\1SAT vice president o f Hu-
in Europe covering the micro- rn a... S pacefl ig ht O p era ti o ns .
wave ba nds from 1.2 to lD GH I.. and Wil l Ma rchant KC6ROL,
Hi s tal k focused o n the sim p le STS -9 3 S A REX O p erat ions
consuucuon methods. incxpen- Manager. teamed up to d iscuss
sive compone nts, and innova- amateur radio on the lnterna-
live designs for his S5 and data tional Space St ation with re fer-
transceivers. enccs to the SA R EX (S hutt le
Boh Brun in ga WB4APR. no t A m ateur Radi o EX peri men t)
1'11010 K. Jim Benson, founder of Spacetsev. explained the design on ly pro vided sate llite demon- program and its historica l pre -
andfunctions of a scientific interplanetary probe designed by his srratio ns in the parki ng lot o ut- cede nts. There are man y ham
San Diego-based company. side the Hanale i Hotel , b ut also activities slated for ISS, includ-
g a ve a vcr y informat ive talk ing HF, VH F, a nd U H F f re-
the SH ELS (S huttle Hi tchh iker co mmunications. While the ham about " A MSAT Builders' Chan- quency cove rage . Mode s wi ll
Experi me ntal Launch Sy stem ) connection is lim ited. it o ffe rs ne ls fo r HT and Mobile Satel- includ e vo ice. pack et. SS TV
program. the EMERALD sa tel - amate ur radio opera tors an op - lite Com munications." Bob has (S lo w Sc a n Tele vi sion ) a nd
lites will be in a re lati ve ly lo w pon unity to monitor the links. proposed fo r some time that the FS TV (Fast Scan Television).
o rbit T he d isadvantage is lim- download the data. and participate rather under-utilized 1200 baud W h il e F ra nk co v cred t he
ited ac c e s s tim e from t he in the program . Pacsats like A MSAT-OSCAR- o ve ra ll p rogram , Wi ll men-
gro und. but the advantag e is that Bi ll B urden WB I B RE gave a 16 , L US AT-O S C A R - 19 a nd tto ned some spccific opcrarions,
remote-controlled drag panels shan desc ription o f the po ten- ITAM SAT-OSC AR-26 allow VI especia lly the Ex press Palle t
can be incorporated to adj ust the tial uses of amateur satelli tes in (unconnected . p acke t d igipeat program . This is a unit tha t re-
ballistic charac te ristics of the eme rge ncy comm u nicat ions. ac tivity fo r A P RS (Automatic semblcs a satellite, except that
sa te llite to achieve the de sired Unlike H E satelli te commu ni-
Position Re po n ing Syste m ) op- it is att ac hed to the side of the
fo r mation flying . The re is sig- cation is m uch more predictable
crarion. In add it ion to sim ply statio n and conta ins a number of
ni fi cant air at a fe w h undred for long d istance work. The dis-
se nding position information for experime nts and co m m un i ca-
miles up . That's wh y lo w-orbit ad vantage is tha t an amate ur
ground sta tions that have done tions syste ms that can he con-
satellites eventually ree nter the sate llite is not always available,
veT)' si mple modifications to trolled frum the sta tion or from
atmosphe re. but can at lea st be used for com-
the ir pac ket T='iC s (Termin a l Ea rth .
The ham-radio com m unic a- m unica tio ns at spec ific times
No d e C o ntro lle r) for Pac sat On $TS- IOI. the space sta-
tions expe riments o n the EM- d uri ng allY given da y.
uplln ktng, sho rt me ssage s o f lion 2A 2 mission scheduled for
ERALD satelli tes include the Matiaz Vidmar S53MV joined
any nature are suppo rted by the J an u ar y o r Fe br ua r y. :W OO.
use o f 70-cm freque nc ies for the group in San Diego to present
A I}RS protoco l. Bob de mon- some VH F and UH F ha m gear
digital inter-satellite and grou nd his paper on "No-Tunc Transcci v-
strared the inno vati ve A P RS will be taken to orb it for voice
functions in the Kenwood T H and packet. T he e xte rnal an tcn-
0 7 HT and also sho wed the new lias will he a ttached to the ser-
dual-b and m oh il e rad io with vice modu le o f the statio n on a
A P RS that Kenwood will have subseq uent fl ight, later in 2000.
ava ila ble by the end o f the year. Until then. there are two other
Alth ou gh not o n the p ub - ante nnas that ca n be u sed fo r
Ii shed sched ule , Hans va n de ham operatio ns.
Grocnenda al provided all excel- L ou McFadin W5 DI D joined
lent syno psis o f the capabili ties Frank and Will at the podium to
ofSUNSAT-OSCAR- 35 and its show and d e scribe the dual-
early days in orbit. S-0 -35 has band {two meters and 70 cm)
been a grea t ne w h arn sat re- ante nna to be used o n the sta -
source since launch earlie r this tio n . It is ba sically a qu arter-
year. T he un i v c rslty ex pe rt- wave flexible steel Whip c ut fo r
menrs are typically run d uri ng two meters. It was then co vered
the week. and ham tra nsponder with Kapton tape and some tun-
1'11010 L: Taking a break during the A,\JSAT board of directors acti vity is becoming a com mon ing stubs mo unted on the bot-
meeting,Jrom L to R: Chairman of the Board Bill Tynan W3XO, weeke nd ac ti.... ity. The m o st tom to provide a good match on
First Alternate Mik e Gilcrest KF4FD}. A MSAT President Keith popular ham use has bee n the 70 em. The material used for this
Baker KBJSF, and AMSAT Treasurer Art Feller W4A RT. Why is FM single-channel transpo nder, ante nna was from a surp lus steel
that sign m'er Keith 's head ? It can he programmed fo r either mea suring tape left o ver from
73 Ama teur Radio Today . December 1999 51
the AMSAT Mic rosat program than those that d irectly invol ve world 's firs t pri vate space pro- tio ns syste m {wideband DSP-
to years ago. The Microsat an - go vernment ag enci es. gram . T hey ha ve been in the based ) co up led to a widehand
tennas, and even the l p-me ter After d inner, there were two business for a little over three re mote-controlled receive r for
d ipole on AMSAT-O SCAR-6 mo re fun event". The A ~lS AT years and ha ve recently mo ved propagation stud ies. T he ham
(ne arly 30 years ago). a ll in- award s pre se nt at ion s are a into a renovated in doo r g u n hardw are is to we igh a bo ut
co rpo rated stee l tape measure mean s of recog niz ing the many range with plenty of space for four pounds. ge ts fi ve watts of
elements . volu n tee r s who have distin - office s, meeting room s, a clean DC power, and fits into all 8.5-
Lou Mc Fadin W5DlD k icked guished themselve s d uring the room. and labs . The tour visited by II - by l -inch a rea o f the
o ff the d isc ussion about Phase previous year with their efforts all o f the ir fac ilitie s a nd in - sate lli te . The ha m p ackag e has
3D. The spacecraft is com plete on beha lf of AMSAT. Fo llow- el uded a pre sentation by Jim b e e n d u b b ed " L E A ST" for
and ready for shipment to Sou th ing the p laque presen ta tions , Benson, thei r fo under, chair man Lots o f Extra Amateur Stuff on
America to await lau nch o n an pri ze draw ings take o ver. Last and CEO. with supportive info r- th e Tel e scope . W h ile MOST
Aria1le 5. Lou pointed o ut tha t year. there we re so many pri ze s mation from Rex Ridcnoure. the doe s no t ye t ha ve a rid e to
the satell ite h as com po ne nts that al most everyone won some- chief mi ssi on arch itect. As a space. launc h is hoped for in
built by hams all over the world . thing, w he the r it was a rig or co m pany they have no t yet bu ilt 2(){) 1.
Chu ck G reen N0ADl sho wed coffee mug . This year. the San allY hardware that is in space. The flurry of ne w sma ll sa t-
slides take n before. d uri ng , and Diego gro up gave o ut dozens o f b ut man y of the ind ivid ua ls in e lli tes. h uilt by un iversities and
after the thermal/vac uum and daily prize s throughout the day Space De v h a ve . T h e ir v ice o perating in the ham bands. has
vibration tests in Maryland. on Friday and Saturday. Th e two preside nt o f Space En gineeri ng generated some concern in the
dozen prizes th at were left for is Jan King W 3G EY. Jan has amateur-radi o communi ty. The
The annual meeting and the banquet were spectac ular. been the key deve loper o f many A MSAT board of d irectors has
more New radio s from Kenwood and amateu r-radio satellites, and in been monitoring these proj ec ts
Alinco to pped the list of grand- recent years, several commer- for yea rs and has pub li sh ed
E very year at th e A MS AT
pri ze offe ring s. Kenwood was cial proj ects . C heck out [hu p:!! guideline s on what is, and what
Space Sym posi um. the fi na l 01'-
also re sponsible for hats and ww w.spacedcv.com]. is not, a "hamsut.' With the re-
ficial activity is the annual meet-
speci a l cloth bag/portfo lio s for cent debacle o f SwatchSatlBeat-
ing . With a la unc h contract in More meetings
all co nfe rence attendees. nik, the small sputniklikc satellite
hand. the focus o f the organiza-
tio n has changed ge ars . AM- S unday aft ernoon marked the wi th co mme rc ia lly- o rie n ted
Travel and tours
SAT's focus is to get the satel- beginning o f thc A~S Al' bo ard voice me ssag es, AM SAT and
lite shipped out and successfully Three ti me -staggered tour o f directo rs meeting The re were uni versities wi th sma ll sa tellite
into o rb it. AM SAT ha s do ne groups took off for Q ualcomm many topics for d isc ussion. A programs have been careful to
we ll financially. but th ere arc and Spaccpev o n Sunday mom- com plete tran scription of the is - stay within reasonable and legal
still many unforeseen ex penses ing . Sym posium atte ndees were s ues and resol ution s will be hound s. Th e hamsat g uide lines
that will face the o rganization in already intimately familiar with avai lable in the AMSAT Journal. c a n he found at the A tl.1SAT
the ye ar 2(K)(}. AM SAT presi- some o f Qu atcomm's most re- A few of the majo r items in- h om e pag e o n t he Interne t :
de nt Keith Bak er KBIS F and ce n t products , portable and cluded Pha se 3D activities, the I http:// ww w.amsal.org].
board c h airman B i ll T y n a n hand -held phone s tha t wo rked MOST project, ham radio on the T he hoard o f direct ors meet -
W3XO provided some insight with the Qualcomm GlobalStar Internatio na l Space Station, and ing le ft a ll participants with an
o n wha t the upcoming year will satellite network. Qu alco mm se t upc o min g hams ats b u i lt b y up be at . e nth us ias tic fe e lin g
m e an to A MSAT. Re s erv e up three Gloha lS tar p ho nes educatio na l institutions. about A MSATs projects for the
fund s will be tapped, hut with o u tside th e sym posium meet- W ith a lau n c h co nt rac t in upcoming year. Phase 3D has a
a d efin ite go a l ill sig h t, th e ing roo m fo r fr ee usc, lnctud- hand, AMSAT is now focused future . New amateur-rad io sat-
lau nch o f Phase 3D , additiona l ing long -d ista nce ca ll. Bo xes o n the final preparation effo rts e lli tes from man y sources have
suppo rt from the amate u r-ra - of hand-held sa tell ite pho ne s to shi p the satellite to Kourou. been la unched in 1999. are be-
dio comm unity may be fo rt h - we re a lso avail able fo r u se The O rlando lah perso nnel will ing built. o r arc in design. Ne xt
coming . T he meeting ended 0 11 out side . It was g rea t fu n, and comple te final sp in ba lanci ng year 's meeting will be held in
an u pbeat note and the evening the phon e s a nd connec tio ns and checko ut with P3D projec t Po rtland. Maine . Plan to attend
co nti nued. we re e xce ll e nt. At the Q u al- manager Karl Mein zer DJ-tZC no w.
Jim Benson. the chairman o f comm faci lities, we go t to see and his group. A vast array of hamsats is
Spacepev o f San Diego , was the the labs whe re the phones were A~1 SAT-NA vo lun teers are no w in orbit. The best way to
keynote speaker at the AMSAT built. repaired, and tested. A tour currentl y working with Ro bert prepare fo r Ph ase 3D is to oper-
banq uet. Mr. Benson pro vided o f o ne o f th e radome s for a Zee VE3REZ. the Space Fli ght ate via the curre nt hamsat Fleet.
some thought-provo king ideas GlobalStar communications dish Labora tory Man ager at the Uni- The " Proceed ings o f the AM-
about the comme rci alizatio n of was a unique experience . More versi ty o f Toronto Institute for SAT-NA 17th S pa ce Sympo -
space. information about Qualcom m Aerospace Studi es, as mentors sium" is availab le fm m AM SAT
His company is wo rk ing to and the GlohalStar systemcan be for the M OST (Mic ro Oscilla- [(301) 589-6062J 10< $ 15.00.
provide transportation for scien- found on the Internet at [hn p:1I ti ons of STars) sa tellite. T he M any o f the talks can be heard
tiflc instrumentation to Earth wwwqualcomm.coml. m ain paylo ad is a small. fully via the Internet at {http://w w w.
Orbit, the moo n. Mars, and e ven After a short d rive , the to ur stccrablc tel escope system . The a m sa tne r.c o m ]. Info rm at io n
nearby as teroids . His premise is co ntinued on to the Spacelrev amateur-radio pa yload will in- abo ut c urrent satelli tes can be
that the cost o f sma ll missions faci lities . Spacepev ha s been clude an L-band ( 1.2 GHz) and fo u nd a t [hllp :/Iw ww.a msat.
can be held to levels much lo wer de sc ribed in the media as the S-hand (2. ~ GHz) communica- o rg]. C heck it o ut! fa
52 73 Amafeur Radio roasv December 1999
 and child re n under 12 will b e Web site fo r up-to-dat e inlo at
admitted free. Ample free parking. [w w w .o a rc. o r g/ h a mca t .h tm l].

CALENDAR For more info contact Phi/ Lewis

N2MUN at ('e wisp@ haz eltine.
Contact Ken Chrislenson, 5548 C
Cinder/ane Pky ., Orlando FL
com] or call (5 16) 226-0698. The 32808; lei. (407) 291 -2465; or E-
Listings are free of charge as space permits. Please send us talk-in will be on the Great South mail [KD4JQR @arrl.net].
your Calendar item two months in advance of the issue you Bay A RC repeater on 146.685.
want it to appear in. For example. if you want it to appear in 136.5 Pl. FEB 13
the March issue, we should receive it by December 3 1. Pro-
vide a clear, concise summary of the essential details about J A N 30 MA NSFIELD, OH The Mansfield
your Calendar item . Mi d "W inter Hamfest and Com-
DOVER , OH Th e Tusco ARC puter show will be held Sun ., Feb .
Ha mfest will be held at the Ohi o 13th at t he Ri chlan d Co unt y
JAN 8 vatrons by p hone . Ta lk- in on Na tio nal G ua rd Armory, 2800 Fairground s in Mansfield . Doors
146 .64(-) the DART reotr. Fo r North Wooster Ave. , Dove r OH . open 10 the public at7 a .m. TIckets
LOVELAND, CO The Northern more info about the swap, tickets Ex it Inte rsta te 77 at E xit #87 are $4 in advance, $5 at the door.
Colorad o ARC will host their o r table reservations mail with an (Strasburg ). Turn right at the exit Tables are $10 in advance. $ 12
Superlest from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at SASE to HPARC, PO. Box 368, st o p s ign , heading south o n at the door, if available. Advance
the larimer County Fairgrounds. Hazel Pari( MI 48030. County Road 74 to the first traffic ticket/table orde rs must be re o
700 Railroad Ave. VE exams. light. Continue th rough the traffic ceveo and paid by Feb. 1st. For
commercial exhibits. compu ters. YONKERS. NY The Metro 70 cm light intersection. The armory is on additio nal info o n advanced
radios and more. Reserve tables Network (WR2MSN) will present the ri ght . ratk -In/check-In on tickets or tables, send SASE to
from Michael Robinson N7MR, the ir Computer and Elect ronic 146.730(-) . Ad missi on is a $3 Pat A k erma n N8YOB . 63 N.
(970) 225-7501 ; or (michae/@ Fle a Marke t at Lincol n H igh donation at the doo r. Dea ler s Illinois A ve., Mansfield OH 44905;
frii.com). Talk -in on 145. 115 (- 100 SChool. Kneeland Ave ., Yonk ers admitted at no charge. Tables are ortel. (419) 589-7133. For talk-in
Hz ) or 146.52. For detailed infor- NY. st a rting at 9 a. m. Vendor $ 10 each. The buildi ng opens at call W8W E on 146.34/.94 .
mation, see the Web page at setu p at 7 a. m . Free parkin g . 6 a .m. for setup and wi ll be open
{www. info2000.netJ- ncarc}. Admillance is $6; under 12 years 8 a.m.-1 p.m. for the public. Food SPECIAL EVENTS, ETC.
free. Talk-in on 440.425 PL 156.7; will be available on site , and alter
JA N 15 o r 146 .910 Pl 11 4 . Vend o r s 7 a.m. at the restauran t next door. DE C 10-1 1
shou ld call WB2SL Q after 7 p.m. An A RE S for um wil l a lso b e
ST. J OSEP H, MO The 10th a t (9 14) 969-1053; or E-ma il fea tured. For more info and to BETHLE HE M, I N Th e Clark
annual Northwest Missouri Winter {Wb2slq @j uno.com] to register. reserve tables. contact Billy L. County ARC will operate W9WWI.
Hamfest will be held on Jan. 15th. This show will be held all-indoors. HarperKBBCOG, PO. Box 80407, 1500Z Dec. 10lh--2200Z Dec. 11 th
8 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Ramada Inn in celebration of the Christmas
Canton OH 44708. Tel. (330) 484-
in 51. Joseph. There will be special J AN 23 season. Opera t ion w ill be on
4634: Fax: (330) 484-4683: E-mail
room ra tes for namtest part ic - General 75, 40 , and 20 meters.
(bha [email protected]].
ipants. The motel is located at 1- BABYlON, NY A special day of QSL with an SASE for a certifica te
29 and Frederick Ave. (exit 47 on education for amateur radio will be to CCARC , 180 5 E . 8 th St.
FEB 11-13
1-2 9) . Ta lk- in on 14 6 .85 and held on Long Island on Sun day, Je ffersonville IN 4 71 30 USA.
444 .925 . VE exams, majo r ex- Jan. zaro. 2000 . This even t will ORLANDO, FL The Orlando ARC
hibito rs . a nd f l ea mark et all inclu de technica l for um s on all w ill sponsor th e 53 rd Orla ndo
DEC 31-JAN 2
indoors. Free parking . Admission aspects of amateur radio. It is not Hamca tio n Show and the ARR L
$2 each or 3 for $5 in advance; at
a flea market or hamtest. There State Convention, at the Cen tral
AUSTlN,TX The 3MARC(WOMAC)
the door 53 earn or 2 for $5. Swap of Austin TX will operate using the
will be no items lor sale. Some of Florida Fa irgrounds , located on
tables 6 ft. by 2.5 ft. are $ 10 each special caJlsign W2T. 1100 UTC
the fo rums will be on li cen se RI. 50 Colonial Dr.. 3 miles west
for the first two tables. 3 or more Dec. 31st-2400 UTC Jan. 2nd.
restructu ring . antennas , DXing . of H . Open Fri ., Feb . 11th, 5
for 520 each . This includes two SSB operation will be on 7.230.
contesting , purchasing amateur p.m.-9 p.m.; Sat ., Feb. 12th. 9
chairs and a ticket. Commercial 14 .340 , 21.4 10 and 28.350 MHz.
rad io equipment, packet. FLEX- a.m.-S p.m.; and Sun., Feb. 13th.
exhibitors wel com e , write l o r For a certificate , send a large
NET, ARES, APRS, satellite com- 9 a.m .-3 p .m. Ove r 150 com-
details: Northwest Missouri Winter SAS E with 2 stamps (see Web
m unic a ti ons . and Q R P (lo w mercial booths, over 400 swap
Hamfe sr. clo Dick Merrill site for details). Send OSL to 3M
power). Th ere will also be a YL tables. RV camping with elect. and
KCOAMY. P O. Box 1533, Sr. ARC - W3MRC , A 14 7- 5S -0 3.
forum on issues concern ing women water, $1 6 per nigh t in advance
Joseph MO 64502; or call (816) 6801 Riverplace Blvd., Austin TX
amateur radio operators , and even or $20 at the gate. Admission $7
2 79-2304. 787269000 USA. See {www.
mo re forum s fo r everyo ne . In in adva nce o r $9 at th e gate .
addition. there will be info rmation Commercial booths $225, swap
qsl.neI/W3mrc] for more info. fa
JAN 16
boot hs for all the partici patin g tables $35 in advance or $45 at
HAZEL PAR K , MI The Hazel amateur radio clubs in the New the gate . Tailgate $25 in advance f-- - - - - - - - - --
Park AR C will ho ld th eir 34th York Cityllong Island area, as well o r $35 at th e gate . Price is for
Annual Swap & Shop at the Hazel as booths lo r the ARRL. QCWA. three days. Setup Fri. Feb. 11th 9
Park High School. 23400 Hughes a tune-up clinic and DXCCN/AS a.m.-4 p.m. Talk-in on 146.760(-). SAVE 47%!
St., Hazel Park MI. Open to the ca rd checking. The even t is "Ham V E exams . must reg iste r in
public 8 a .m.-2 p .m . General Radio University 2000' and will be advance. Call Gil Lineberry at on 12 months of 73
admission is $5 in advance or at held Sunday, Jan . 23rd at the (407) 843-4112. You can join the
the door. Plenty of Iree parking . Ba by lo n Town Hal l Annex o n foxhunt by registering by 4 p.m. Only $24.97
Tables are $1 4 each and reser- Phelps lane in Babylon NY. It will a t t h e info boo th . Sem ina rs .
va tions for table s must be re- be open t o th e public 9 a. m .-3 lectures . d emonstrations . and Ca ll 800-274-7373
ceived wit h a check. No reser- p.m. Do natio n $2.00. Spouses , special guest speakers. Check the
73 Amateur Radio Today Decemb er 1999 53
 1999 ANNUAL INDEX

SubjecVArticle Description Author IssuelPg.

Antennas
3 Ls42m Three-element stub fed coaxia l vert. WD4KMP JAN 18
long Beach l ongwire Beach kite antenna WB6M EU JUl39
Easy Antenna Reference Quick ba sics for a quick decision VK2AT FEB 52
Easy Ant enna Reference Part 2: More options VK2AT JUN 26
EZ-BZ Deck Antenna zo-rneter dipole with linear loading AB2BZ MAY 16
FYI : FQ V Another look at the Fractal Quad Vagi KF7BS OCT 18
How to Tum a Deaf Ear ... witll your an tenna . VK2AT AUG 13
rsotron Notes Simp le tips AD 1B NOV 24
My Old Kentucky (Satellite) Home Satellite ant ennas KA9S0F JUN 33
No Bum Steer Maximize your loop's pe rforman ce W6US NOV 34
Screwy Mobil e Antenna Mods Fine-tune that screwdri ver-type " . WB4 RNO JUN 28
Secrets of Tra nsmission Lines Part 1: tntro and dummy load project KE20J AUG 16
Telescoping PVC Ma st Getting it up in awkward place s KB7WOS JUN 35
The Ultra-Simple 20 2O-meter band transm ilting antenna G2BZQ FEB 2 1
The VK Winged Flapper Mobile antenna design VK2AT JUl 20
Three-El ement Circular Quad For 10m K81 HQ JUN 17
Transmittin g Ferrite Loop For 80/160 G2 BZQ MAR 14
Triband Vertical Array... for Big 120 G Bandwidth Signal WZ8A MAV 33
V2K Portable .f-Pole FUll-size roll -Up antenna WA8TXT SEP 16

ATV, FSTV, SSTV, Video

Kiwi SSTV How tIley do it in ZL -land ZL1 AAN AUG 20
TV Tutor How to gel started in SSTV Zl 1AAN DEC 22

Circuits
All Abo ut Op Amps And then some. W2G OMf7 AUG 24
Big-Time Bench Supply Highly regul ated SC R design Sellen DEC 10
Euthanasia Keyer Project Qu ick and painless Iambic KC3 ZQ JUN 37
Everyman's Guide to Active Filter De sign Now you know KC3 ZQ MAR 26
FMCWl Repeater cod e-practice sessions WB9YBM OCT 16
Here Comes tile Sun Part 2; Geomagnetic monitoring WA8VKN FEB 34
Mods for the OHR 100A Make a popular QR P rig even better W4LJD FE8 30
Operating Crystals on the Fifth Overtone Feedback type oscillat or circuit N2DCH JUNJO
PIC-based DTMF Proj ect Build thi s decoder and learn. KC3XM AUG 10
The Franklin VFO A project lor the serious home -brewer W4LJC FEB 24

Construction
Building a Better Collins Add this $1 solid slate reotacement.. W2C QM NOV 19
Card-File 40 A direct conversion QRP transceiver KC3ZQ MAV 10
Ham Slation Control and Monitor Can you do without this? W4LJD AUG 39
Home-Brew a Customized HF Amplifier Boost your outpu t WISW JAN 10
Home-Brewing a 3 kW.. Dummy Load Check out your big gun amplifier W2CQM MAY 22
It's Senior Spider vs . Y2K ! Build this QRP rig now-just in ca se, WABTXT J UL 34
PIC Key. PIC Key A simple CW keyer UYSDJ SEP 10
Regens for the Millennium Part 2 : Winding Co ils KA9GDL JUL 22
Radio Fun in the Sun Complete solar-powered QRP station. W7DE AUG 30
The Amazing wrebeuerner CW filt er KaMKB JUL 31
We Must Be Dreaming Home-brew receiver project Duncan FEB 10

C W - Code
Enjoy CW Rag-Chewing Pointers for fun communicating W6BN B MAR SS
Euthanasia Keyer PrOject Quick and painless Iambic KC3ZQ JUN 37
Keys 10 Good Code Secrets of sending precise Morse code W6 BNB MAR 3 1
PIC Key, PIC Key A sim ple CW keyer UVSDJ SE P 10
Why Not b-Morse? Preserve your Morse cod e VE2MHZ NOV 18

Digital Modes
Ham to Ham Microprocessor Chips NZ9E JAN 43
The Digilal Port SSTV, APRS, and packet K8 7NO JAN 54
The Digital Port Budget portable/mobile digital K87NO FEB 47
The Digital Port SSTV KB7NO MAR 46
Th e Digital Port RIITV (a program by K6S T I) KB7ND MAY 50
Th e Digital Port PSK3 1 KB7NO JUN 52
The Digital Port PSK3 1 KB7NO JUL 52
54 73 Amateur Radio Today . Decem ber 1999
 The Digital Port Software KBmO AUG 46
The Digital Port ChromaSound program KBmo SEP45
The Digital Port PSK31 gets even better KB7NO OCT 43
The Digital Port PSKGNR software KB7NO NOV 52
The Digital Port l ogger KB7NO DEC 39
The Missing Link: A PSK Interface Put this new mode into action! WA8TXT AUG 27

DX
73's OX Dynasty Awa rd Awards l ist Staff JAN 34
Planning a DXpedition Here' s what 10 do W4DC NOV 14

Editoria ls
Never Say Die Peonat , license Drop , Bad News W2 NSD/1 JAN 4
Never Say Die Cancer!, The Odds, Karlson W2NSD/1 FEB 4
Never Say Die Med . research, Advertising basics W2NSD /1 MAR 4
Never Say Die May Fool Issue, Trust Your Doctor W2NSD /1 MAY 4
Never Say Die Kids Killing Kids , Suga r, Schools Suck W2NSDf1 JUN 4
Never Say Die Why You Get Sick ; More Mooning W2NSDf1 JUl 4
Never Say Die Y2K , etc . W2NSD/l AUG4
Never Say Die Art Bell W60BB, licenses plummeting W2NSD /1 SEP4
Never Say Die Writing for 73, Dayton 1999 W2NSD /1 OCT 4
Never Say Die 6O-year AARl membership W2NSD/ 1 NOV4
Never Say Die The latin Exam; Progress W2NS D/1 DEC 4

Educat io n
Hams With Class Famo us folks WB2MG P FEB 51

Emergency Preparations
On the Go Y2K thoughts KE8YN/4 JU N 47
On Ihe Go More on Y2K KE8YN/4 J Ul5 1
On the Go What should we be doing to prepare? KE8YN/4 AUG 44
On the Go Y2K continued KE8YN/4 SEP52
On the Go Even more Y2K KE8YN/4 OCT 53
On ltle Go Floyd interrupts the routine KE8YN/4 NOV SO
On me Go Hurricane encore KE8YN/4 DEC 42

Equ ip ment
lM- and BC-221 Frequency Multiplier Generate signals up to 1000 MHz W6WTU FEB 17

General Int erest

1998 Annual Index Six-page guide to 73 Staff JAN 36
Anti-Metric? You already use it... WD0 GCK MAR 23
From the Ukraine: A Radio Amateur's Story Behind the Iron Curtain UY5DJ JAN 24
From the Ukraine: A Radio Amateur's Story Part 2: w a te r-cooled amp? UY5DJ JUN 21
Gelling Your Foot in the Public Service Door How to get your club involved .. , KN4HKl SEP 30
Here Comes the Sun Part 1: Cycle 23 and you WA8YKN JAN 28
Here Comes the Sun Part 2: GeomagnetiC monitoring WA8YKN FEB 34
Secret Death Ray Or is HAARP a useful science tool ? N7MGT DEC 14
Signals From the Ice Alaska's Matanuska Glacier Kl7J R MAR 20
The Pluck of the Irish Was Wee Mac a leprechaun.__ ? K9AZG MAR 10
Why Not Renew On-line? Here's how to untangle the FCC Web AC3l DEC 24

High Frequenc y
Home-Brew a Customized HF Amplifier Boost your outp ut WI5W JAN 10

MobUe
On the Go A value statement KE8YN/4 FE B 46

Mod ificatio ns
Mods for the OHR l (H)A Make a popular QRP rig even better W4LJD FEB 30
Regens for the Millennium Part 1: A new look at an old friend . KA9GDl JUN 10
Screwy Mobile Antenna Mods Fine-Iune that screwdriver-type... WB4RNO JUN 28

New Produc ts (by ma nufa cture r)

Adonis USA AM7500E amplified desktop mike Staff FEB 48
Alinco Alinco DJ-XlOT Wide Range Rcv r. Staff JUl48
Ameritron ATR-30 True l egal limit" ol ant. tuner Staff MAR 48
Antell: Soldering Catalog Staff AUG 48
CAIG laboratories New catalog Staff MAR 48
Coleman Company ULTIMITE Generalor Slaff MAY 48
Consumer Information Center No Smoking Slickers Staff SEP 48
73 Amateur Radio Today . December 1999 55
Cuning Edge Enterprises PowerPort PocketPRO TIol Staff JUL48
Cuning Edge Enterp rises PowerSate aooo Statl OCT 48
Cuning Edge Ente rprise s Quick Draw Holster Sta ff OCT 48
Cuning Edge Enterprises Th e Radio Badge Staff SE P 48
Cuning Edge Enterp rise s Worl d Pack TIol backpack Staff JUN 48
Dynamic Electron ics LP- , lightning Surge Protect or Staff MAR 48
George M urphy HAMCAlC v.38 diskett e Staff JU L48
Glen Martin Engineering Roller bearing se t Staff JAN 48
HAL DXP38 Staff FEB48
Hamtronics low-Noise Aeceiver Preamps Staff NOV 48
Hamt ronics LPN series preeerectors Staff AUG 48
Hamtronics UHF Exciters and Recvrs. T304. R304 Staff JUN48
tCOM IC-T81 A Handheld Staff DEC 48
ICOM IC706MKIIG All mode rig Staff JUN 48
ICOM IC-2800H du al-b and FM Xce iver. Staff NOV 48
Jensen Tools latest catalog Staff JAN 48
MCM Electroni cs Free Catalogs Staff MAY 48
MFJ Dual -band VHFIU HF SWRIpwr m eter Staff SEP 48
MFJ HamGear Tactical Chest Harness Staff MAY 48
MFJ Helping Hands bench ass istant Staff OCT 48
MFJ Helping Hands tool kit Staff OCT 48
MFJ MFJ 125 DXer's Dream za-hr clock Staff JU L 48
MFJ MFJ 126 quartz wall clock Staff OCT 48
MFJ MFJ73 1 RF measureme nt !ilter Staff JUN48
MFJ MFJ801 Field Strength Meter Staff AUG 48
MFJ MFJ-922 VH F/U HF antenna tuner Siaff MAR 48
MFJ Model 1817 HT antenna Staff MAY 48
MFJ MFJ2911 and K HandyPal lM Earoud Staff JAN 48
MFJ MFJ-4125 MightUte lM SPS Staff SEP48
MFJ MFJ-8121 World Band Receiver Staff JU N 48
MFJ Super NiMH AA batteries Staff SE P48
MFJ PubliShing ladder Crystal Fitters Staff $EP 48
MFJ Publishing RadiO Components Handbook Silva FEB 48
Mirage B 320-G BruteF ORCElM amplifier Staff MAR 48
Morse Expre ss Chinese Army (PLA) Keys Staff JUl48
Morse Express Quadriom TA 1 dual paddle Staff OCT 48
Murphy HAM CA LC version 40 Staff DEC 48
NCG Compan y Comet CAHV & CA-U HV mobile ants. Sta ff SEP 48
NCG Company Natcomm MH -510 HT Tribander AnI. Staff AUG 48
Orion Microsystems NEG4WIN95 ante nna simulat ions sftw. Staff JAN 48
Peet Bros . Weath er stations Sta ff FEB 48
Premier Comm unications Corp . PRYM E MMC 100 Sun Viso r Mike Sta ff DEC48
RF Nulink 9600B Wireless Networking Base Sta. Sta ff FEB48
Sescom LAB BoxIT enclosures Sta ff SEP48
Silver lake Tech. Print Scree n Wo rks software Staff AUG 48
svenane Electron Devices 3C X800A7. 887413CX400A7 triodes Staff MAR 48
Timestep PROsat for Windows or Staff MAY 48
Tippecanoe Model ZK- 1 Key Staff NOV 48
Tippecanoe Radio Co. Navy Modal ZR -1 Crystal Radio Set Staff SEP 48
The Radio Woos T-4G Une lsotatorw Statl JAN 48
Vibroplex Code Warrior Jr. Staff DEC 48
Wahl Electronics EZ-Torch Staff JAN 48
Wavesure. l lC Nighthawk Microlight II Staff NOV 48

Power Supplies
Emergency Powe r lor Hams Gas. Wind, Solar WA8Y KN JU l 10
HT Porta-Power Project Portable extended power pkg . for HTs WB3CEH OCT 15
The Evolution of Power Supplies Part 2 : Switching techniques W6WTU JAN 21
Tracking DualVoltage Power Supply Build something ha ndy W6WTU FEB 55
Your Balleries Ready for Y2 K? Electrifying tidbits ... N7MGT NOV 28

aRP
It's Senior Spi der vs. Y2Kl Build this ORP rig now-j ust in case . WA 8TXT JUl 34
Mods for the OHR 100A Make a popular QR P rig even better W4LJD FEB 30
aRP Hybrid ICs WB8VGE FEB 45
aRP Design your ow n PC board WB8VGE MAR 44
aRP Dem ise of the packet modem kit WB8VGE MAY 52
aRP PC boa rd using photo resi st method WB8VG E JUN 50
a RP SST CW transceivers WB8VGE SEP 53
a RP Heathkit HW8 WB8VGE OCT 41
56 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
MFJ Switching Power Supplies
Power your HE transceiver, 2 meter/440 MHz mobile/base and accessories
with these new 25 or 45 Amp MEJ Mightyl.ite' Switching Power Supplies!
No RF hash . . . Super lightweight . . . Super small . . . Volt/Amp Meters . . .
J\.WJ 's new adjustable voltage switch- N(1 RF Ha.~ h! ~ MFJ-4225MV iV O RF lIa.\1I1
ing power supplies do it atl! Power your
IIF or 2M!440 MHz radio and accessories.
i\IF J 's Mightyl.ites'" are so light and
$14995 25 Amp

small you can carry them in the palm of plus s&h

your hand! Take them w ith you anywhere. MFJ-4245MV
]\"0 more picking up and hauling around 45 Amp
heavy, bulky supplies that em] give you a
painful backache. pulled muscle or hernia. $19995
M F.J 's 25 Amp Migiuylite' weighs plus s&h
just 3.71bs. -- that's 5 limes lighter than an They are fully protected with Over Voltage cools your power supply for long life.
equivalent conventional power supply. and Over Current protection circuits.
MFJ's 45 Amp is even more dramatic -- 8
Two models to choose fro m . . .
Worldwide Versatility MFJ42251\1V, $149,95, 25 Amps
limes lighter and weighs just 5.5 pounds! ;\IFJ Mightyl .ues' can be used any- maximum or 22 Amps continuous. Weighs
No RF hu.}h!
where in the world! They have switchablc 3.7 pounds . Measures 5'/.Wx4 I hllx6D in.
These babies are clean . . . Your bud-
AC input voltage and work from 85 to 135 :\-IFJ-.U451\-IV, $199.95. 45 Amps
dies won', hear any RF hash on your sig-
VAe or 170 to 260 VAC. Replaceable fuse. maximum or 40 Amps continuous. Weighs
nal! None in your rece iver either! JIIKIltJ'L ite~' f" ... M iX!l(I' Features 5.5 pounds. Measures 7I hWx4-' /.1lx9D in.
Some competing swi tching power sup-
Front-panel control lets you vary out-
plies generate objectionable RF hash in
put from 9 to 15 Volts DC. NEW! 25Amp Miglr(rLite ''l
your transmitted and received signal. Front- pa nel has easy access five-way Sup er- light, super MFJAI25
T hese super clean M FJ Mightyl.iles' M binding posts for heavy duty usc and ciga- compact switching "'''l'
meet all FCC Class B regulations. rette lighter socket for mobile accessories.
~owe r supply delivers S I 09
95
LoU' Ril'ple . . Ilig" (I' Reg l/lated _5 Amps nmximum122 r'''' '''''
MFJ-4245MV has two sets of quick-con- Amps co ntinuous at
Less than 35 mv peak-to-peak ripple 13.8 Volts DC. Low ripple, highly regulated. 1V/,
nects on the rear for accessories.
under 25 or 45 amp full load. Load regula- NF /Ill" ' ! Five-way binding posts for high current.
Brightly illuminated 3 inch me ters let
tion is better than 1.5% under full load. you monitor load voltage and current. Q uick connects for accessories. O ver voltage/cur-
FII /(r Protected rent protection. 110 or 220 VAC operation. Meets
A whisper quiet internal fan efficien tly f CC Class B regs_3.5 Ibs, 5'/,Wx2'/,HxlO'/.D in,
You won't burn up our power supplies !

$1499 5 conventional
MFJ-4035MV
J IFJ's heavy duty
power sup -
plus s&h ply is exce llent for pow-

MFJ High Current Multiple DC Power Outlets

Power two IlFIVHF transceivers and six or more accessories from your 12 VDC power supply
MFJ-l 118 and six or more accessories l\IFJ- 1116. $49.95. Similar to M FJ-
$7495 fro m your transceiver's ma in 12
VDe supply.
1118. No 30 amp posts. Has "ON" LED
and 0-25 VDe voltmeter. 15 amps total.
plus s&h Two pairs of super heavy :\I FJ- 1112, $34.95. Similar to MFJ-
MFJ-II 16 duty 30 amp 5-way binding 1116. No on/off switch, LED, meter, fuse.
54995 posts connect your transceivers. NE W! M.'J-11 17, $54.95. For power-
Ius s&h Each pair is fuse d and RF ing four I1F !VHF radios (two at 35 Amps
p bypassed. Handles 35 Amps each and two at 35 Amps combined) simul-
MFJ-1112 total.Six pairs of heavy duty, RF taneously, Tiny 8x2x3 inches.
$34
I ' &h
9 5
bypassed Scway bi nding pO' ." r
let you powe r your accessones.
~ree M~'
rl r .. "'1
"'ata'og
p us s They handle 15 Amps tota l, are and I\'earest Dealer . . . 800-647-1800
Newl ON/OFF protected by a master fuse and have an
switch with "ON" LED indicator.
I .n -
tttpr/rwww.mfjenterprises..com
.
MFJ- 1I 17
$44 95 Built-in 0-2 5 v ue voltmeter. Six feet I Year No Matter What'" warranty - .30 day mone

:\-tFJ -1118, $74.95. This is plus s&h

~ FJ' s most versatile and highest current
super heavy du ty eight gauge color-
coded cable with ring tongue terminals.
Binding posts arc spaced for standard
dual banana plugs. Heavy duty alu-
ME:J
back guarantee (lc~s sib) on orders dl ree~ from MFJ
;\11'.1 ENT~RPRISES. INC.
Box 494, M ISS. .State, ~ S 39762
(662) 323-5869, 8430 CST. Mon,- fn.
Deluxe Multiple DC Power Outlet. Lets
you power two HF and/or VHF transce ivers . . 12 '/ 2'/ 2'/ ' FAX: \662) 323 -655 1; Add sIh
mmu m construcuon. lX , X 1 m. . . .Tech I clp : (662) 323-0549
Pm.,., and "f"!C'~W''''"S wb~,;' '" chung<'_( 0) ) ()/)() MFJ "'.rp" ",, . [""

All are p rotected by MFJ 'sfamous N o Maller What'" one year limited warranty;
ORP More HW-8 WB8VGE NOV 51
Rad io Fun in the Sun Co mpl ete solar-power ed QRP station. W7DE AUG 30
Simple Direct-Conversion Rece iver For QRPars and receiver afic ionados Sellen SEP 38

Radio Direction Finding, Fox Hunts

Homing In A banner year K0 0 V JAN 52
Homing In Mobile T-hunt ing , internati onal-styl e K00 V FEB 42
Hom ing In A rechargeable alternativ e K00V MAR 42
Hom ing In Dayton, Portland , and South Texas K00 V MAY 45
Homing In Grungebusters: RACES to the rescue K00V JUN 45
Homing In Four centuries of fo xtum tinq K0 0V JUL 47
Homing In Dayton do es OF K00 V SEP 54
Hom ing In AADF Championships K00V OCT 54

Receivers
We Must Be Dreaming Home-brew rece iver proj ect Duncan FEB 10

Reprints
Instruction Instructions Discover hidden savings ... N6HYK AUG 35
Read All Abo ut It! Part 1 of Techno -Trivia K8JWR D EC 26
The His tory of Ham Radio Parts 1 and 2: 10 1920 Shalkhausser OCT 3 1
The History of Ham Radio Part 3: 1920-21 Shalkhausser NOV 41
You, Too, Can Be an SOB Hams should be h ea rd but not see n K9AZG JU L 27

Rev ie ws (by manufacturer)

C entral Machinery 12-inch Shea r, Press Brake , Slip Roll W7DE AUG 34
Elec raft K2 radio receive r kit W3DX MAR 37
Hamtroni cs T301 - Our Exciting New Fox W89R RT MAY 20
ICOM IC-706MKI I Shack-in-a-box W2BLC FE B 28
Idiom Press Logikeyer III Memory Keyer W3DX MAR 39
Oak Hills Research OHR 100A single band transceiver kits W3DX MAR 39
Oak Hills Research OHR 500 5-band CW transceive r kit W3DX MAR 38
Oak Hills Res ea rch WM-2 QRP Wattmeter kit W3 DX MAR 38
Sma!! Wonders Labs Small Wonders WM-20 sse Xcvr. kit AC4HF NOV32
Small Wonders Labs SW+ transceive r kit W3DX MAR 38
Ten-Tee 1254 Microproces sor-con trolled Rcvr. WB8VGE JUL28
Wilderness Radio KC2 multifunction accessory kit W3 DX MAR 39
Wilderness Radi o NorCa i 40 A kit W3 DX MAR 39
Wilderness Radio Sierra mu ltiband superh et tran scv. W3DX MAR 39

Reviews (by product)

tz-incn Shear, Press Brake and Slip Roll Central Machinery W7DE AUG 34
K2 radio receiver kit Elecrafl W3 DX MAR 37
IC-706MKII Shack-in-a-box ICOM W2 BLC FE B 28
KC2 multif unction accessory kit Wilderness Radio W3DX MAR 39
Log ikeye r III Memory Keyer Idiom P ress W3DX MAR39
NorCal 40A kit Wilderness Rad io W3DX MAR 39
OHR 100A single band transceive r kits Oa k Hills Research W3DX MAR 39
OHR 500 5-band CW transcei ver kit Oak Hills Research W3 DX MA R 38
Sierra multiband superhet transceiver Wilderness Radio W3DX MAR 39
SW+ transceive r kit Small Wonders Labs W3DX MAR 38
T30 1 Our Exciting New Fox Hamtronics WB9 RRT MAY 20
Ten-Tee 1254 TenTec WB8VGE JUL 28
WM 20 SSB transceiver kit Small Wonders La bs AC4HF NOV 32
WM -2 Watt mete r Oak H ills Research W3D X MAR 38

Sat ellite Operat io n, EME , Space

Hamsats 16th Annual Space Symposium W5ACM JAN 46
Hamsats Spu tnik 41 ; RS18; SAT EDU W5ACM MAR 53
Hamsats MIR , MIR SSTV, SA REX , SAFEX WSACM MAY 43
Hamsats Delta II launcher, ARGOS, ORST ED W5A CM JUN 42
Hamsats UoSAT 12, RS1 9 W5AC M J UL45
Hamsats SU NSATOSCAR 35 W5ACM AUG 50
Hamsats Fie ld Day 1999 ; Portable toys WSACM SE P 50
Hamsats JAWS AT, ASU Sat-1 , OPAL, FalconSat W5 ACM OCT 51
Hamsats Keeping up wi th the chan ges. W5ACM DEC45
My Old Ken tuc ky (Satellite) Home Satellite antennas KA9S0F JUN 33

Test Equipment
Basic Transceiver Tesler A good beginner's project WB9Y BM NOV 26
Home-Brewing a 3 kW+ Dummy Load Check out your big gun am plifier W2CQM MAY 22
58 73 Amateur Radio toasv December 1999
Need a UHF Dipper? Pa n 1: Old TV tuners to the rescu e! W6WTU OCT 10
Need a UHF Dipper? Part 2 : External coupling W6WTU NOV 10
Need a UHF Dipper? Part 3: Mods for uSing the tuner W6 WTU DEC 35
Simple AF Signal Generator Add this test gear to your benc h W4LJD SEP32

Tutorials
Defogging Microstrips An intro to microstripline filters WA9PYH SEP19
Easy Antenna Reference Quick basics for a quick decision VK2AT FEB 52
Easy Antenna Reference Part 2: Mo re options VK2AT JUN 26
The Evolution of Power Supplies Part 2: Swi tching techniq ues W6WTU JAN 21
Networking with Thevenin and Klrchhoft Network analysis W2GOM17 MAY 30
Regens for me Millennium Part 2 Winding Coil s KA9GDL JUL22
Secrets of Transmission Lines Part 1; Intrc and dummy load protect KE20J AUG 16
Secrets of Transmission Lines Part 2: Review of AC fundamentals KE20J SEP 26
Secrets of Transmission Lines Part 3: More AC review KE2QJ OCT 22
Secrets of Transmission Lines Part 4: Traveling waves KE2QJ NOV 37
Secrets of Transmission Lines Part 5: Impedance and reflections KE1QJ DEC 31
The Long-Lost Art of Conversational CW Know what to say WF6P DEC 18
TV Tutor How to get started in SSTV ZL1AAN DEC 22

Updates
All About Op Amps AUG 1999 issue , page 24 W2GOMn NOV6
Moos for me OHR 100 FEB 1999 issue , page 32 W4WD MAR 54
Never Say Die JAN 1999 issue (VERV E = FF RF) W2N SD/1 MAR 54
Regens for the Millen nium , Part 1 JUN 1999 issue, page 10 KA9GDL JUl 56

VHFA.JHF
Above & Be yond Ramsey FR -10 FM receiver WB6rG P FEB 39
Above & Beyond Part 2; The Gunn diode modulator PS WB61GP MAR SO
Above & Beyond Extend test equip. to 24 GHz WB61G P MAY 40
Above & Beyond Microwa ve power meters WB61GP JUN 40
Above & Beyond l ooking for Project Gigantic WB61GP JU l 43
Above & Beyond Restoring older multimode radios WB61GP AUG 42
Above & Beyond The IC-202 SSB transceiver WB6IGP SEP43
Above & Beyond The Internet, a new fron tier WB61GP OCT 45
Above & Beyon d Consi derations lor portable operation WB6 1GP NOV46
Above & Beyond Microwave update 1999 WB 61GP DEC43

NEUER SAY DIE HT-220 from the New Hamp- tri fler ye t? Wha t' s sto pping cl inic in Costa R ica and sa ve
centlnuedfram pag e 48 shire ski slopes via my rc- you '? The parts cost under $20, yo urself the tro uble of building
pca rcr. Then I was abl e to do Maybe you' re waiting until a bioclectrifier.
been mercilessly harassed by the sa me when skiing in A s- your lifestyle knocks you on A better a pproach. I reel. is
FDA teams a nd the A MAjus t pen . I was so e xci ted that I your ass before I' m able to get to change your lifestyle so you
for e xperi me nting with the published hun dreds o f ar- your attention. I' ve published won 't need emergency repairs.
bioclcct rifl e r. H is results, ticles a nd hook after hook on two articles o n how to buil d Why wait until ca ncer, a heart
with ca ncer, HI V, a nd so on, re pea ters. The result or the the de vice, but they' re all so ld attack. stro ke, diabetes. ar-
have been so spectac ular tha t ha m development o r re pea ter OUI. The Mille r circuit plus a thritis, m ulliple scl erosis, and
he 's opening a cl inic in Costa technol ogy wax the world- sim pler one by Bo b Bec k, arc so on have hit?
Rica to get a way from the wide cell phone syste m of to- in the Bioetectrifier Hand- A nd one o r ' e m surely will
FDA threats a nd to make this day. Crazy Wayne. book, w hic h is $ 10, See my unless yo u make some big
marvelous wa y of sav ing Then the fir st m ic rocom - ad on page 63 . T his book in- c hang es .
lives a vailable In more puter came al ong a fe w years cludes in structions o n how 10
people. late r. The computer industry use it. In All Fai rness
Yes. I kno w, when I started bigwigs said the y were toys The electronically chal-
wr iting about the bioelec- a nd that I was crazy whe n I lenged ca n buy a Pla nt G rowth A n Irish tele visio n pro-
trifl e r (blood purifie r) bac k in said they'd e ve ntually be in Sti mulator unit fo r $ 155 ppd. duce r called. He was doing a
1994. you thought Wayne was m ill io ns or homes and he o n from Butter fl y Products. Box program com mem oratin g the
nuts agai n. I'm used to that. j ust about e very desk in busi- 1729. Hill sborough NH 03244. Moon la nd ings o r thirty years
We ll. it saves m any readers nesses , Those bigwigs are all It has essentially the same cir- ago, and one of his crew was
from bothe ring 10 th ink or do o ut of bus iness now, cuit a nd will, if yo u use it as a ham who had a co py or my
any homework. I was crazy The music a nd hi- fi maga- inte nded , stim ulate the hell Moondoggle hoolr . Wo uld I
whe n I pre dic ted that the zines a ll sneered at CDs , o ut o f yo ur plants. Th is unit he available for an intervie w
whole world would want to Crazy Wayne sta rted CD Re- also includes pure silve r wire 10 prese nt the contraria n side?
share o ur repeater technol- I'i elt', which soon became the and will ma ke s ilve r colloid The progra m would run Iro m
ogy. Bac k in 1969 I was ma k- biggest m usic magazine in fo r yo u . about II p.m. my time to 5
ing phone calls anyw here I the world . O r you ca n gel in touch
wa nled w ith my Motorola Have you hu ilt a bioelec - with me for the address or the Cont inued on page 6 2
73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999 59
 Numb 60 on your F_ bKIt r:llrrJ
December 1999
PROPRGRTION SUN MaN TUE WED THU FRI SAT

J im Gray W1 XUfl
21 0 E Chatea u Circle
I 1 GF 2 F-P 3 pvp 4 VP
I
Payson AZ. 85541 5 VPP P 7 P-F 8 F-G 9 G l OG ll G
I
12 G 13 G 14 G 15 G is G 17 G 18 G-F

19 F 20 F 21 F-G 22 GF 23 F 24F 25 F-G

December Some predict it will occur some-
time in the year 2000. while oth- 29 F-P 31 PF
Season' s Greetings! ' " - incl ud ing th is writer -
26 G 27 GF 28 F 30 P
I
DXcrs can look fo rward to te nd 10 e xpect it so me time in
rea sonabl y G ood (0) rad io 200 I. Contrary (0 earlier ex pec- o ther geophysica l e ffec ts. suc h US . Canada. and South/Central
propagation between the 9 th and ratio ns (and hopes) among radio as severe winter weather in the Ameri ca. hut DX will de pend on
17th; Fair (F) DX o n the 19th. amate urs. Cy cle 23 is likely to northern hemisphere. during (p) a relatively quiet magnetic fi eld.
20th. 23n t. 2-tth . and 2Sth : and rank as less than average. or p oor, and (V P) periods. On the poor days. however. don' t
Poo r (P : or Very P oo r (V Pl compare d to p revio us rece nt T he best ad vice is 10 be pre- despair. since transeq uatorial
propagation, wi th an up set to cycles. pared with emerge nc y pow er, skip and o ver-the -poles sig na ls
acti ve geomagnetic fie ld and a Ne verthele ss. the g rad ual de- food. wate r. and warm clothing . will be present. The pol ar paths
di sturbed iono sphe re o n th e cline o f a cycle take s place o ver and co ntin ue to monitor \\'Vtr' V will be we ak and full o f echoes,
3rd thro ug h the cth. and agai n a pe riod of fi ve or six years un- at ei ghtee n minu te s a fter any w hereas the trunscquatoriul path
O il the 29th. The remaining days til its sunspot minimum. so we ho ur fo r the la test reports of wi ll provide stro nge r signa ls.
show trending cond itions (sec still have a lot of good OX 10 So lar F lux. BA . and BK indices. sometimes even on pour da ys.
calendar). look forward to in Cycle 23. The So.75 and 4().30 mete r The IbO meter band o ught to
Although winter DX propa- b and s sho u ld provide some be good for m uc h o f the mo nth.
gution o n the HF hands above January 2000 good. low-no ise acti vity in the so watch the calendar for the
20 meters is genera lly poorer
Ha ppy New Year !
than in the Spring o r Fall. be -
cause excitation o f the E and F
As you can see from the cal-
endar. January will provide cv- ~
""'. ee
'"
~ . .
EASTERN UNITED STATES TO:

" "
ec
. " re
'" ~
,
I
., ., ., '"" " "
layers in the iono sphere is less. erything from Good (0) 10 Very ''''RG ~'''TIN'''
"
ec ~ ~ ~ so to
the solar fl ux inde x is expected so eo eo " ""
so
.,"
...USTR..... '"
Poor (V Pl radio pro paga tio n CENTRA, AM. eo au zo so eo zo rc rc ts
to he up a ro und the 200 leve l co nd itions on the HF bands. 'E'lGLUm ~
.,- '"eo "-o ao ec "
at this part o ft he suns po t cyc le eo " eo "
eo to to is
and DX propagation o ug h t to
Briefl y. yo u may e xpect sea-
sonalty good (G) propag ati on
HAW"'"
"""-' " eo
'" '" ,
be much bette r than it wa s last
"",PAl;
" '"'" '"
eo ec sc ec '"ec '"" " to ., "
December,
from January 1-10, hu t condi-
tions are expec ted 10 deteriorate
IMEJ(oCO
,PKlu p p,t< e s so zc "
PUERTO RCO eo so eo eo eo ec so rs rc tu rs rs
Plea se pay particular attention fo r the nex t thre e weeks. rang- R..JSS'''' (C-, S)
eo .,. "tc so eo eo
to ec
to wea ther condi tions Dec ember
3rd through the 6th. and ag ai n
ing from o nly Fair (F) to Very
'SOUl... Al'PIC'"
W E STCOAS~

"" - , '" ,"

'''' '''' " " tc "" "
Poor (VP) .
on or about the 30 th. "hen sc- The worst day s are amic i- I CENTRAL UNITED STATES TO:
I
vcrc winter storms could occur pared Janua ry 14-16, 23-25.
~~
...RGelllT,NA
-s
ec zc ec ., ., eo
au eo
., to rs
rs
rs
"
in parts of the United State s.
Other geophysical d isturbances
a nd 2S-30. when a di sturbed ...USTR..... I...
CENT,",- AM "rs .,'"ao .,'" .,. '" "
tc rc "ro to
rs
magne tic field and iono spheric E'G./oNO
,'"""w.....
~

sc '" ., .,. -o- ec

eo
'"" " " "" ~

are also possible here and else-

where in the world during these
storms arc lik el y. Severe sig nal
fad in g a nd even s ho rt- lived
.~

J ... P......
"ts ~

"eo "
.,
three or four days. so be prepared. c o mm unica tio ns "bl ackou ts" MEXICO
" " ., .,-
J>H ILIPp' lIIes
so eo- ' 0'
" " " '" " ""
Fore ca st e rs a rc un d ec ide d o ve r polar p ropagation palh s ,PUERTO RICO "
" .," w '"
'" " " " " ""
about the anticipated ol'currcnce may be expected on H F bands ~ss.A CCJ -S.l
SOUTKAI'~
'" WESTERN UNITED STA TES TO: '" " '"
ofCyde 23's sunspot maximum. above 40 meters . Prepare for " " " " ""
ALASK....
AAGE'lTINA "" "" '" ., " "
'"
.0
"
'" ""
'"
"
w w
"'USTRALI'"
" " '" '" "., '" "
"'" .,'" '"'" ., ., .,
CENTRAL. AM.

If you're a No-Code Tech, and you're having fun op-

,~ o '" " "" "'" " "
,H...W....'

'"00'' " " '"'" '"

., '" " " "
erating , tell us about it! Other No-Code Techs will " '" '""
enjoy reading about your adventures in ham radio-
.lAP"N
Me XICO "" "" '" '"
~

" " '"

" "
and we'll pay you for your articles. Yes , lots 01 ni ce
PIil UPP'NES
f>\JERTO RICO
..
"" '" '" '" ,~

" ., ., ~ ~

~ '" '"
clear photos, please _Call Joyce Sawtelle at 800-274- IJlUSSlA lC',S) '"
5OJn'I "'F~ '" '"
7373 to get a copy of "How to Write for 73 Magazine _"
'-'" ""'"
'" """
'" ,~

'''' .~ ,~ " " " "

'"
Table J. Dealllber Balld-Time-CollflTry dulrt.
" " "
60 73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999
 Numb 6' on )'OUI" FNdbKIr c.rd
January 2000

SUN MON TUE WED THU FAI SAT

UPDRTES
I G
P rofessor Lynden ~ lcInIJrt" - see " U p d a te s. " O c tobe r
1
2 G 3 G 4 G 5 G
G 7 G F
F
I l'8RXL. Sincla ir C o m m u n h y
Colle ge . Dayton OH -4S-402
1999, p. 64 J a nd d o wo rk as
o rig ina lly printed. O ne addi -
9 FG l OG 11 G-F 12 F 13 FP 14 PYP 15 ve-e
1-460; E-mail Ilmcin tyre @ tional fix is a RETURN at the
15 P 17 P-F ra F 19 F-P 20 P-F 21 F 22 f -P slnclalr.edu]. I'm sending yo u end of the D OLsubroutine at line
a tested listing of PICK EY.ASM 4 7. Without th is fix , every dot
23P 24 P-VP 2S VP-P 26 P-F 27 F-P 28 P-YP 29 YP-P (" PIC Ke y. PIC Key." Sept. beco me s an "A" d it dah . With
19<J9, pp. IOff.). Lines 19 and the previous fixe s and this. the
JO P 31 P-F
I 20 still give a warn ing. and an y PIC keycr no w will work O K.
changes I tried to make 10 the se Our thanks and those ofother
good and fai r days. T he 20/1 8 o nes for possible DX surprises . lines stil l gave me a warn ing o r PICKeyers go to N8RXLforJot-
meter and 15/12 me ter b ands It's oncn a good idea 10 park message. T hese two lines are nOI lowing through on this article. c-:
will suffer the most along with yo ur rece iver on a seeming ly an error [as I origina lly suspected ed
10 meters thi s month. so don't unused frequen cy and j ust wai t.
Ul: aLlC'! "'" ~-~
expect mi racles. Perhaps in Feb- A DX station is very like ly 10 ~.

0:1031 ; ~_ , .~
ruary we ' ll see some improve- pop up he fore any o ne else hears ' It>:.l'

--,,
~l ,/<MOl ' '/IAlINll SI<J.!l'III( ImDJ
:<lOll' ,Qol.Tt : SE'1 ~l
I! . 1991
menr. and March ou ght to ge l us him. and yo u can snag a good _ , ~ I "' IlII' "I~'WU ::lIll'" U l "" Af ""
10 ~ -.rr J'l C'> . n str. 'M 1'5.11
hack on the road 10 good world -

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catch. u n ..._

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w id e DX conditio ns on , II Plea se note that on the Band- _' -If .,..,' I ( a.oJl l'lO\1A"'tJII
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bands. Let's wait and see. Time -Country c harts. ( *) indi- 0IlI1' : ow IO.AIU
00011 l':II:"A ~
Remembe r 10 check the hands cates a po ssible SO meter openil ~" ~
iIOIl1l;ourrl Ell!
~- 00010 o;oJf"2 too
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73 Amateur Radio Today December 1999 61
 Numo.r 64 on your F.-d~clt. card ASTRON power supply, brandnew wI ClanngtOfl OH 43915. Web site tor

Barter 'n' Buy warranty. AS20M 599, RS35M $145.

AS50M $209 . RS70M $249. Web:
[www.aventrade.comj. Call lor other
other prodocts [http://www. asC 2000.
coml. BNB100

modets. (626) 286-0 118. BNB411 COLD FUSIO N! - FUEL CELLI -

Tu m your old ham and compute r gear into cash now. Sure , you can ELECTRIC BICYCLEI Each eou-
wait for a hamtest to try and dump it. but you know you'll get a tar H EATH KIT COM PANY is selling calimal kit: (Basic - $99.95, Deluxe -
more realistic price if you have it out where 100,000 acti ve ham po- photocopies of most Heathkit manu- $199.95, InfOlTT'l8.lion - 59.95.) CATA-
te ntial buyers ca n see it, ra ther than the fe w hundred local ham s who als. Only authorized source for copy- LOG - $5.00. ELECmlC AUTOf\r1O-
com e by a flea market table. Check your attic. gara ge , cellar and right manuals. Phone: (6 16) 925 BILE BOOK $19.95. KAYLOR-KIT,
clos et shelve s and get ca sh for you r ham and co mputer g ear b efore 5899, 8-4 ET. BNB964 POB 1550ST, Boulder Creek CA
it's too old to sell. You know you 're not going to us e it a gain , so why 95006-1550. (83 t) 336-2300.
leave it for you r widow to throw out? That stuff isn 't getting any you nger! " MORSE CODE DECIPHER ED" BNB128
The 73 Flea Mark et. Ba rter 'n' Buy, costs you peanuts (alrnostj-c- Simple, elegant. inexpensive, con-
comes to 35 c ents a word for individual (noncommercia l1) ads and prehensive, logical. easy' E-ma~ T E L EG RA PH COLLECTO R 'S
$ 1.00 a word for commercial a ds. Don 't p lan on te lling a long story. ~odhnd ea rthl ink. netJ. BNB428 PRICE GUIDE: 250 pctureszpoces.
Use abbreviations, cram it in . But b e hone st. There are plenty of hams $12 postpaid. ARTl FAX BOOKS. Box
Electrk ity, Magnetism, Gravity, The
wnc jove to fix things , so il it doesn't work , say so. 88, Maynard MA 01754. Telegraph
Make your list, count the words , including your call, address and phone Big Bang. New explanation ol basic
Museum: (hllp:/lwllp.com). BNB113
number. Includ e a check or your credit ca rd number and e xpiration. If lorces ol nature in this 91 -paqe book
you' re p lacing a c omm ercial ad, incl ude an additional p hon e n umber, covering early sceontc theories and
Ham Rad io Rep air, Quality worx-
sep arate fr om you r ad . exploring latest controversial condu- ma nstn p. All Brand s, Fast Serv ice.
This is a monthly magazine, not a daily newspaper, so figure a cou ple stone on their relationship to a unified Aff ord able Electronics. 7110 E.
mon ths before the action starts ; then be p repared . II you get too many field theory. To order, send check or Thoma s Rd., SCottsdale, AZ 85251.
call s, you priced it low. II you don 't get many calls, too h igh. money order for $1 6.95 to: American Call 480-970-0963, or E-mail HAM
So get b usy. Blow th e dust oft, check e verything out, make sure it still SCience innovations. PO Bo ~ 155 , SERVICEO AOL COM. BNB 427
works right and maybe you can help make a ham newcomer or re -
tired old timer happy wi th that rig you're not using now. Or you might
get busy on your computer and put together a list of small gear/parts
to send to those interested ?
NEUERSRYDIE elected to be the world's po-
contin ued fro m page 59 liceman , and by whom'! I
Send lour ads and payment to: 73 Magazine, Barter ' n ' don't recall being co nsulted.
Buy, 70 Hancock Rd., Peter borough NH 03458 a nd get set a. lll . Sure, no problem . When We sat by during the Eho
for the phone calls, The deadline for the April 2m Oclassified ad I do the Art Bell show, I' m on
genocide in Nigeria, and
section is February 10, 2{KK1. from I to 6 u.m. again in Laox and Cambodia,
So I boned up on the most and again in Rwanda. and
Presid ent Cl inton probably doesn't METHOD TO LEARN MO RS E glaring reasons thai convi nced Buru ndi. We didn' t e ven say
have a copy of Iormet's Electronics CODE FAST A ND WIT HO UT me that the Apollo trips had to boo when Mao wiped out
BenCh Reference but you shou ld. H AN G UPS Johu N3 RF . Send have been faked. The station
Check it out at [ w w w.o h io .n etl $1.00 3. SASE. SVANHOLM RE- about 80 million C hi nese
called at 11 p.m.. as promised. teachers and land owners. Nor
r torm etii nd ex .h t mJ-over 10 0 SEARCH LABORATORIES. P.O. Box
pages of circuits, tables, RF design
Around 11:15, they gave me w hen Stalin did the same
61, WaShington DC 20044 USA.
information , sources, etc. BNB42 1
my fi rst opportunity to talk. [ with his teachers and military
BNB530 started out by citing the officers.
Great New Referen ce Manual with deadly radiation in the Van
So when arc we going to
Caple s ' 73 Magazine Nov. '63 thru over 100 pgs of PIS, transistor, radio, Allen Belt and that dust with-
Dec. '78. OST Magazine Nov. '63 op-amp. antenna deeiqns. COil wind- invade Sri Lanka, Miramar,
out any atmosphere is like
thru Dec. '78. Ham Radio Magazine ilg tables, etc, see details at [www.otio. concrete. yet the photo:'> sup- Timor and other genocidal ar-
Mar. '68 thru JUy '79. CO Magazine net'-rtormetlindex.html or send check posedly taken on the Moen
eas and put a stop to the
Dec . '64 thru Mar. '79. $2.00 Each or M.D. lor $19.95 + $2.00 P3.H to cleansing that is going on all
Copy plus Shipping. W.l. Brown , showed dust kicking up and
AMT Engineering. 6863 Buftham Ad.. around the world'! The)' need
Box 541 , SUIIivan's Island SC 29482. 5e vijle OH 44273. BNB202 lots of footprints.
us in Guatemala, Peru, and
Tel. (843) 88303574. BNB73 Instead of having me on for
at least 50 other co untries,
a SL CA RDS. Basic Styles; Black the planned six hours of peri-
R F TRA NSI ST OR S TU B E S and While and Color Picture Cards; "0 le t' s first get our TV re-
2SC 2879 . 2SC 19 71, 2SC1972 , odic rebuttal they thanked me
Custom Printed. Send 2 stamps for and quickly hung up . In retro- porters out there, then let's
MRF24 7, MAF4 5 5, M B87 19, samples and literatu re. RA UM'S , follow them up with American
2SC 1307 , 2 S C2029, M RF4 5 4, spect, what they expected was
8617 Orchard Rd., Coopersburg PA
an amusi ng ranting by a crazy. soldi ers.
2SC 3 13 3 , 4CX25 0B , 12 0 06 , 18036, Phone or FAX (2 15) 679-
6KG6A, etc. WESTGATE , 1-800 - Our refusal to invade Tibet
7238 . BNB5 t9 and show those damned Chi-
213-4563. BNB6000 If It Bleeds
WANTED: High capacity 12 volt so-
nese what's what is an abso-
Cash tor Collins: Buy any Col lins If it bleeds, it Icads - that's lute disgrace, and at least half
lar pane ls for repeater. [k k4ww @
EQuipment. Leo KJ6HI. Tel.fFAX the coun tries of Africa are
(310) 67D-6969. [radioleo @earthlink.
fa irs.orgl or (540) 7632321. the TV nows motto. Well. the
netl- BNB425
BNB2630 news shows have been trying ripe for an invasion.
to outdo each othcr, so the re- What we need to do is to
MAHLON LOOMIS,INVENTOR OF CO L L OIDAL SILVER GEN ERA- cent "ethnic cleansing" in Yu- get busy and invade these
RADIO, by Thomas Appleby (copy- TORI Why buy a "box of batteries' small coun tries and set them
right 1967). Second printing available for hulldreds of dollars? Current regu-
goslavia has been great for
tro m JOHAN K .V. SVANHOL M fated, AC powered, fully assembled
ratings. Lots of blood. I' m old up with proven civilized sys-
N3RF, SVANH O LM RESE ARCH wit h #12 AWG silver electrodes. enough so I remember when tems such as we have for edu-
LA BOR ATOR IES , P.O . Box 8 1, $74.50 . Same, but DC powered, we used to call it genocide, but cating our children, providing
Washington DC 20044. Please send $54.50. Add $2.50 shipping. Thomas then "cleansing" is a lot cleaner ou r healt h care, keeping
$25.00 donation with $5.00 lor S&H. Miller, 31 4 South 9th Street. Rich- than anything ending in cidc. drugs from our children. and
BNB420 mend IN 47374. BNB342 But when did the US get eliminati ng poverty. fa
62 73 Amateur Radio Today . December 1999
 TTT, the I1lpCS.F..lIjoy Sherry and my budget :'oloondo2t::le: After reading Rene' s Wayn e Talk.s ~ot at Dal ton : This is
visits 10 Europe, Russia, and a bunch

l~~
book, NASA ," oo/led America, I read a 9O-minule tape of [he tall I'd have
of other interesting places. How about everything I cuuld find on our .\loon given at the Dayton, if invjted . 55 ISO)

, a fi rst class flig ht to Munic h. a rented

A udi. driving to visit Vienna, Krakow
landings, I watc hed the videos.Jooked
care fully at the photo" rea d th e
\-\-'a)'ne Talks at Tam pa : This is the
talk I gave at the Tampa Globa l Sci-
in Poland (and the: famous sail mines ), astron aut's biogra phies, and talked ences con ference. I cover cold fusion.
He", are MIme of my bool.L~ wh ich Prague, back 10 Munich. and lhe first with some of my reade rs who ....orked ama teur ra dio, hea lth. boo ks you
can cha nge your lire (if )00'1I1t'1 class flighl home for IWO, all for under for "'ASA. This book cites 15 good should read. and so on. $5 (5 11
'em). If th e idea of beinj!: health,-. SI.OOO. Yes, wbe n you know how you reasons I believe lhe wbole Apollo pro- SI ~I illion Salt'S Video: How 10 gen-
wt'lIl1h) and WN:- inten'"'>l" )OU, start can trave l inexpensively, and sull slay gam had to have been faked $5 (301 erate extra million in sales using PRo
rea dinR. 'res, you can be a ll that, b ut in first class bore js. S5 ( II) Cla...~ic al M usic Guide: A list of 100 This will he one of the best investments
nnly when you kn ow t he secr ets wa yn e's Caribbean Advent ures : CD, whic h will provide you with an your business ever made. $43 (52)
w hich I' ve spe nt 1I lifelhlll.' uncover- More budget travel stories - where I outs tanding collection of the finest Repruus ofMy Edlturtals fnll11 73,
inR visitthe hams and scuba dive 1I10S1of classical music ever ..... rittcn This is Gri-.t l : 50 of my 0<.."'" non-ham oriented
......~ the ivlands of the Caribbean. Like the wha l yo u need 10 he lp ) OU reduce editorials from before 1997, S5 (11)
specialLiat fare \\ hich allowed us to stress . C lassica l mu cic al so raises Gri\t II : SO more choice noo-hamedi-
The Biot'll"Ctrifier Handhook: This visit 11 coe nrries in 21 days, with me youngster's IQs, hc l p~ plant s gro w torials from before 1997.S5 (72 )
explains how [0 build or huy ,SI55) a diving all but o ne of the is lan ds , faster, and .... i11 make you healthier. Ju,1 1997 fA:liloriab: 148 pages . 216 edito-
little electrical gadget that can help Guadeloupe, where the hams kepi me waif Uynu bear some ofGutll:halk 's fahl rials discussing health. ideas for new
clean the blood of any virus. microbe, too busy with parties, $5 (12) k,u~ music! S5 (33) businesses. exciting lICWbooks I' ve dis-
parasite, fungus or yeast. The process Cold Fusiun Overview: This is both The Radar C overup: Is police radar cove red, ways to cure our country's
was discovered by scientists at the a brief history of cold fusion, which I da nge rous? Ross Adey K6UI. a ..... orld more serious problems, flight lXl, the
Albert Einstein College of \ 1edicine. predict \\ ill be one of the Iargesl in- authority, conli nns the dangers of ra- Oklahoma City bombing, more M oon
quickly patented, a nd hushed up . II' s dustries in the world in the 21s1 cee- dio and magnenc fields. S3 (341 madness, and so 00. $10(14 )
curing AIDS. hepatitis C. and a bunch tury, plus a simple: explanation of how Th ree Gallo Ta lks: A prize-winning 1m fA:l ilorial.s: 168 pages that'll give
of o ther seriou s Illnesses. The , ircuil and why il works . This new field is reac her explains what's wrong with )'00 tors of contro vers ialmings 10 lalk
can be buill for under S20 from (he in- going 10 generate a w hole new hunch Ame rican schools and why our kids are about on the: air. $ 10 175)
structions in The book. $10 (0 1) of billionaires, j ust as the personal uot being educated, wh y arc Swedi.. h Silver Wire: With two 3" pieces of
The Secrer G uide to \\-'isdum. This computer industry did , $5 (20) youngsters. who start school at 7 years heav y pure silv er wire --I- thre e ':I V hat-
is a review of around a hundred books Cold f usion J ou rnal: They laughed of age, leaving our kids in the d ust? teries you can make a thousand dol-
thai will help you change ,'OOr life. "0, when I predicted the PC industry Our kids are imennonally bei ng lars worth of silver colloid. What do
f don 't sell these books. They're 00 a growth in 1975. Pes are 00\\' lhe third dumbed dow n b)' our schoo l system you do with it? It does whatthe antibi-
wide r.mge of subj ects and will help largest induslI)' in the world. The cold - the least effective and mosr expen- ones do, om germs can't adapt to it.
10 make you a \'ery in t~resting person. fusion ground floor is still wide open, stve in lhe world. 55135, esc ilto gel rid of genns o n food, for
Wail'll you see some o f Ihe ge ms but lhen thaI mighl mean giving up Aspartllme: a.k.a, NutraSwect, the skin fungus, warts, and es'~n to drink.
you've missed reading, $5 (02 ) watl:hing ball game; , Samplc: $ 10 (22). stuff in dict drinks, etc" can cause all Rt':ad sornc hooks on the uses of silver
The Secrel Gu idt' to Wt'lilth: Just as J ulia n Sf h\\'in~t'r : A No\lel lauriatc' s kinds of serious health prohlems. Mul, coll\)jll it's like magic. $15 (llO )
wilh health. you' n find thai you have lalk ahoul cold fusion- confinn ing its liple sclerosis, for onc. J(e:ad all about Wa)'nc's Bell Sa\'er Kil. The caole and
been brainw a~hed by "the s)'stem" inlo salidity. S2 (241 it.lhree parnphlets for a buck. (38) instruclions enahling )'ou to ine: xpen-
a panem of life fhat willleep )'00 from Impm,'ing Stall;' CJ(I"ernmt'nt: Here O ne Hour C \\': Using this sne:aly sh 'el)' lape Att Bell W60BB' s nightl}'
en~r making mUl:h money and having are 24 wa)'s fhal SlatCgoserntnenls l:an melhod e s'~n you can learn the Mon.e 5-hr radio lalk show. 55 (83)
the freedom to lra\ el and do .... hal you CUI e:xpenses enomlOus ly, while pro- Code in o n~ hour and pa" thai dumh ~u.lI.1 didn't writes.lwtJ]W.D wJ;
wanl. I explai n how anyone can g~1 a viding far betterscnice. I explain how 5wpm Tech Plus ham [esl, S5 (401 ;'II A SA Moo ned America : Rene
dreamjob with no college, no resume, any government bureau or dcpartmcnt Cnde Tape (TS): This tape Will teach make:~ an air-tight case that NASA
and even without any experience. I can be gollen to l:Utlt's cxpen.~, by at you !he lenl.'I'i, numbers and punctuatioll faked lhe Moon landings. This hook
explain how you can gel someone 10 lea~1 5W in three ye:ars and do il co- you need to kno\\' if ) '00 are FOing on to will con\'inl:e e,"cn you. 525 ( 90 )
happi Iy pay )'00 10 karn whal } 'oo need operali"e1y and ~nl husiast ically. I ex- Ic.am the roJc at 13 or 2Owp11- S5141 1 Llhl Skep l ie of Scien ce : T his is
10 lnow 10 Sla!1 youro.... n busilWSs. S5 plain how, h)' appl)'ing a new lechnol Code Ta pe (TIJ ): Once you know the Rene ' s book whe:re he de:bunks a
(03) ogy, the sla[e can make: il possible: to code for lhe Ie:llen (41) you , an go bun,h of al:l:cpl~d scienlifil: hcliefs-
T he Secrel G uide 10 Helilth : Yes, pro\'ide: all n~ edet1 service s wilhoul imme:diatcly 10 copying 13 wpm code ;,uch a.s the ice ages.. the Earth Mrtg a mag-
Ihere really is a secret 10 regaining your haYing 10 lev}' (111)' laxes at all! Read (u~ i n g my system). Thi.. ~ hould only net, the ~Ioon causing the tidt':s, and etc.
health and adding 30 to 60 years of tht': book, run for your legislat ure, and take t","o or three days. S5 (4 2) $25(91)
ht:althy Ih ing 10 your life. 1be answer is let' s get busy making lhis oounlry work Code Tape (1"20)' Starl right out at 20 Dark :'oloon: 5611 pages of carefully
simple, but il means making some dif- like its founders ....'anled il 10, Don' l wpm and master it in a weekend for researched proof lhat lhe A~ 1I0 Moon
fi,ull Iifeslyle changes. Will you be leave this for "someone eh;e" to do. S5 your Extra Class Iil:ense. S5 (431 landings were a hoax. $35 (9 2)
skiing lhe slopes of Aspen with me (3("
\\ hen you're 90 or dt:ldlkring arou nd :'o lankind's Extinction Predktions : IT Way ne Green
a nursing home? Or pushing up dai any one of the expert s who have wril-
nox 416, lh ncock ~1I11.'\.U9
sics? ~o , I'm not s~ lIi ng any health ten hooks predicting a soon-Io-,ome
produ't. $5 (04) catastrophe which will virtually wipe I
;'\IlIme Call _ I
:'01)' WW II Submarine Adnnlun-s: us all O UI are righl. .....e' re in lrouhle , In I
Yes, ) spem from 1943-1945 on a suh, Ihis book I cxplain abom the vario us I "dd~s _
marine, righl in the middle of the \\ar disa.tc r s<:enarios. from :\'ostradamus, I I
\\ith Japan. We aJmo.<,z got qmk se\mt1 whosa~thc~~Will~~fi, .... ' i ~ 1 I
timn, and 1\\1I..-C I was in lhe right pla.;e ing 001 91~ of mankind. 10 Sai Baba, 1'1C
tho numben Ullhe bt1ldN
Cil)'-Slale-l iP :c::::= = = = = = = ====::c::::--::::;-;;::;::::::::;:::;:
Add S3
or (:QJllI P-'I" """ mort tho t:.Jolr.. you .. .... iii> l'(I l(JUJ (lfIkr
at Ihe righi lime to S3\"e the boa!. who Ita.. receml)' wamed his followers I I
What's it r~ a l1y li ke to be depth 10 ge:l out of Japan and Australia before In l"S, S6Can.
I
Order total:SLOfom":
USS_~~.===~;;;;;;:;:;:;;;;;;~=======:._
I'holl( Ifor CC onkn ) I
charged? And whal's lhe dai ly life Deccmber 6th this year. Thc worst pan
aboard a s u bmarin~ like ? 1I0w ahout of Ihe:se pred iction~ is the accuracy I
MClVu,. for or<liefllw er $10 E'pire _ _
I
Ihe Amelia Earhatt inside Slo!)' ?)f record of some of the experts. \-Vill il be I
". """. "'Ylll'gfe( n-com phon<' 0l\Itn: 603-32~ -4747 t.., : 6O l~ 88 3203 ' ,,2<J.,n~ "Loom
7) S2!i I.....all Canidl by"'4 II
)'ou ' re near Mobile, plea<;e ,isil lhe a ~Ie shift, a new ice age, a massive I
y~. ' PuI. ..... do'*II lor . ye4l'of ror.,.ry I:SS 3 2. ~,.. t;Sl4-l

I' d Ii:": 10 sec- ~ """ my dreory life .. """" ..... )'OIlf Ho1Ii.To-o.n.:e ,r. .. ~
Drum. $5 (10) solar flare , a comet or aSleroid , a
n-a'el Diaries: You l:all lravel amaz - bi.olenurisl atlal:k, or es'en Y2K? I'm I
I lleed oome lllduolri.at ~lIJl h 11=. rNucwo .. "',., . . yow Adm:Ilutn tft Masic CD ewlof: I
ingl}' inexpomsh'cly - once )'ou know geoing ready, how aboul you? 55 (31 ) L A~ ~"".:!:::o!or~lveJY (~ ~i~lbou ~ ~~~~_ o.lIIpJ!N ~<Lo~~ .J
73 Amateur Radio Today De ce mbe r 199 9 63
 MFJ-989C Legal Limit Antenna Tuner
.l fFJ uses super heavy dill)' components to make th e world's finest legal limit tuner
.H FJ uses super hea)')' dUly
compom'nt." - roller inductor,
variable capacitors; antenna
switch and balun - to fmild th e
world 's most popular high ,U FJ A irCtlre '" R oller Inductor
power antenna Illn er. gives high -Q , low loss, high effi-
T he rugged world famous ciency and high power handling .
~1fJ -989C handles 3 KW PEP .\ . ,,J 's cxclusive Self
SSB amplifier input power (1500 Resonance KilIer l " keeps dam-
warts PEP SSR output power).
Covers 1.8 to 30 MHz, including I .:~':::::=~ aging self-resonances away from
! . iI'" your operating frequency,
MARS and WA RC bands.
l\I FJ's AirCorel'lot roller induct-
or, new gear-driven turns count-
shortwave -- nearly
any ant enna. Use
$359
MFJ-989C
9 5
massive transnaumg
Large, self-cleaning wiping
NeeJ~e S\\'Rf\V~ltl,neter, con tact gives good low-resistance
connection. Solid 1/4 inch brass
er and weighted spinne r knob coax , random wire or variable capacitors, shafi. se If- 3 I'19t1 '-..
oean' ngs gt..-e
.
gives you exa ct inductance con- ba lanced lines. ceramic antenna switch. built-in smooth non-bi nding rotation.
trol for absolute minimum SWR. You get everything you'vc dummy load, TrueCurrenl'" .\ IFJ ,\ tl.Haner Hhul~ Warrant)
You can match dipoles. verti- ever wanted in a high power. full Balun, scraTch-proof Lexan fro nt .\I FJ will repair or replace
cals, inverted vecs. random featured antenna tuner -- widest panel .- all in a sleek compact your MFJ -9W.JC (at our option)
wires. beams, mobile whips , matching range, lighted Cross- cabinet (I OJ/.Wx4 ' /,lIx 150 in). 110 marter what for one year.

More hams use MFJ tuners than all other tuners in the world!
MFJ-986lwo knob Differerrfial-T"" MfJ-949E delu1Ce 300 Watt tuner MF....I6010 random wire Tuner
.\fort' hams O perate all band... anywhere ~
use .\fFJ -949s with \IFrs reversible Lnctwork. ~
than any other Turn s random wire into powerful \f FJ-I60 1O
antenna runer in transmitting antenna. I.X-30 MH/. '4995
The world! Handles MI'J-949E 200 Watts PEP. Tiny 2x 3x4 in.
300 Watts. Full .I: X to 30 .~ Ib: $14995 MFJ-906/903 6 Meier Tunen
~I FJ-986 coverage, 48 posruon PreClJUJl/48''' ~I FJ-906 has light- [ '~e.
Two knob tuni ng (d iffe rential '32 i ~ductor, 1000 Vol~ tuning capacitors. full, cd Cross-Needl e S\\:RI 0 0
capacitor and AirCore'" roller 9 ' see peak/average lighted Cross-Needle S\\ R! Wattmeter. b\-TUSS SW Itch. _ - -
inductor) makes tuning foolproof and easier wattmeter, 8 position ant enna switch. dum my Handles 100 W F\L 2UO\\ ' SSB. '7
\l FJ9
9(9~
than ever. Gives minimum SWR at on ly one load. QR.\f-Free p,.e Tune'~. scratch proof ~""J.903 . S-I9.95. Like MFJ-906.
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input power ( 1.5 KW output). Gear-driven ~lfJ-94H, SI29.95. Economy version ofMFJ- MFJ-921 /924 VHF/UHF Tuners
turn s counter, lighted peak/average Cross- 949[ , less dummy load. Lexa n front pa nel. t\IFJ-921 covers 2
Needle S\VR/Wallmcter, antenn a sw itch, MFJ-9411 .uper value Tuner ~1ctersl220 Mllz.
balun. 1.8 to 30 MHz. IO'I. Wx4 ' I:Hx I5 in. The most for M "J 924 cov ers 440
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Handles 300 wens inches. Simple 2-kn ob tunmg '6995
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t
MHz, lighted Cross-Needle S WR/ " 1"9419Es
Wattmete r. &po sition antenna
switch, 4: I balun. 1000 volt capacitors.
l
MFJ-922 144/440 MHz Tuner
Ult ra tiny 4x2'I,x I '1. inch
tuner covers VHF 136-1 75 r-.11Iz
'ii.'
Lexan front panel. Slee k lO'hWx2'/Jlx7D in. and UHF 4 20-46 0 ,'..1 117.. SW RI
MFJ 9620 MF....9451 HF+6Meter mobile Tuner Wattmeter read~ 60: '1 50 Watts. ~7IFJ9 - 9ii
A few more dollars steps you '269+. E xtends your mobile MFJ-931 a~IGI~ Ground
up to a KW tuner for an amp later. antenna bandwidth so C reates artifi cial Rf ground.
Handles 1.5 KW PEP SSB amplifier input you don't have to stop. c Also elCClri.cally plac,cs a ; : ; ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '
power (gOOW output). TW
Ideal for Arncritron's go ou~side and adjust your amen- .'1 "0
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driven, tu~s cO:'lllter, p~av~ ligh.l e,~ ~r~s- Needle SWR/Waltmeler. Lamp and bypass ~)ut rc?ctanc.c ~f connect-
Needle S\\ Rl\\ attmeter. anrcnna switch, balun, -i tchc _ C I 0.3 0 Mil- /6 \ 1 tcrs mg wrrc. Eliminates RF hot spots MFJ-93I
6 10
I.cxan rent. . 0 - 30MI' - 10'/ 4'/ 10'/ ' sv. .. cs. uvcrs te 7. am . e crs. . ' 95
I.
MF....969 300W aoller IndvctorTuner-x i x s m. 3'XI " ' . PI'P 'IFI-lO
ans rr. . . . $49- obi!
j

, . :", m I e mown. Rl- fecdback ' Tvl.Rj- Lwcak sig- '79

MF....971 poeta",./ORPTuner nels ca used by ro'!r RF.gr,;,unding. I
Tunes coax. ba lanced '~FJ -93", SI69.9.:", A rllficl al. gro~lllJ 3 00
lines, random wire 1.8-30 \\ all Tuner:Cross \Jcedlc S\\ Ri"'aUmcter.
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sw itch, dummy load. 4:1 balun. Lcxan front 30 \1 Hz . Great for matching '79+
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~RC

160-10 Meters PLUS 6 Meter Transceiver

Fifteen reasons why your next HF

transceiver should be a JST-245. . .
1 All-Mode Operation (SSB,CW,AM,AFSK,FM) on all H F am ateur 8 NOTCH TRAC KING ' Once tuned, the IF notch filter willtrack the
bands and 6 meters. JST- 145, sam e as JST-245 but wit hout 6 offending heterodyne (.1: 10Khz) if the VFO frequency is changed ,
meters and built-in antenna tuner.
* JST-145 COM ING SOON * 9 DDS PHASE LOCK LOOP SYSTEM ' A sing le-crystal Direct
Digital Synthesis system is utilized for very low phase noise.
2 MOSFET POWER AMPLIFIER Final PA util izes RF MOSFETs
10 CW FEATURES' Full break-in operation, variable CW pitch. built
10 achieve low distortion and high durability. Rated output is 10
10 150 watts on all bands including 6 meters. in el ectronic keyer up to 60 wpm,

3 AUTOMATIC AN TE NNA TUNER Auto tuner included as 11 DUAL VFOs' Two separate VFOs for split-frequency operation .
standard equipment. Tun er settings a re automatically stored Memory registers store most recent VFO freque ncy, mode, band
in memory for fast QSY. wid th and other important para meters for each band .
4 MULTIPLE ANTENNA SELECTION Three antenna connec- 12 200 MEMORIES ' Memory capaci ty of 200 channels, each of
tions are user selectable from front panel. Antenna selection ca n wh ich store frequency , mode, AGC and bandwidth .
be ste reo in memory,
5 GENERAL COVERAGE RECEIVER 100 kHz-3D MHz , plus 48- 13 COMPU TER INT ERFACE Built-in RS-232C interface for
54 M Hz receiver. Electronically tuned front-end fitterinq, quad- advanced computer applications.
FET mixer and quadruple convers ion system (Iriple conversion
for FM) results in excellent dynamic range (> 1OOdB) and aro order 14 ERGONOMIC LAYOUT Front panel features easy to read color
LCD display and thoughtful placement of controls for ease of oper-
lep of +20dBm .
ation .
6 IF BANDWIDTH FLEXIBILITY ' Standard 2.4 kHz filte r can be
narrowed continuousl y to 800 Hz with variable Bandwidth Control 15 HEAVYDUTY POWER SUPPLY Built-in switching po wer
(BWC). Narrow SSB and CW fillers for 2nd and aro IF optional. supply with "suent" cooling system designed for continuous
7 QRM SUPPRESSION ' Other interference rejection featu res transmission at maximim output
include Passband Shift (PBS), dual noise blanker, a-step RF atten -
uation, IF notch filter, selectable AGC and all-mode squelch .

!.J RC I aapan Radio Co., .lid.

430 Park Ave., 2nd Floor New York, NY 10022 Phone: (212) 355-1180 Fax: (212) 3195227
CIRC LE 159 ON REAOER SERVICE CA RD