Date: Thu, 26 May 94 09:09:33 PDT From: Info-Hams Mailing List and Newsgroup Errors-To: Info-Hams-Errors@UCSD.Edu Reply-To: Info-Hams@UCSD.Edu Precedence: Bulk Subject: Info-Hams Digest V94 #578 To: Info-Hams Info-Hams Digest Thu, 26 May 94 Volume 94 : Issue 578 Today's Topics: 6146A vs 6146 (2 msgs) Bizarre QST Statement (6 msgs) Converting an old HT-220 to 2M DX, dx and calculus Field Day! Help: FT-5200 LED Replacement Looking for questions of FCC exam PRB-1: How Strong? RFI Tracked Down!! Site to look up frequiencies SSB Filters TenTec Omni VI anyone? Send Replies or notes for publication to: Send subscription requests to: Problems you can't solve otherwise to brian@ucsd.edu. Archives of past issues of the Info-Hams Digest are available (by FTP only) from UCSD.Edu in directory "mailarchives/info-hams". We trust that readers are intelligent enough to realize that all text herein consists of personal comments and does not represent the official policies or positions of any party. Your mileage may vary. So there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 26 May 1994 13:00:16 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!news.umbc.edu!haven.umd.edu!cville-srv.wam.umd.edu!ham@network.ucsd.edu Subject: 6146A vs 6146 To: info-hams@ucsd.edu In article <2s130r$vb@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu>, william r finch wrote: > > >Hi, Dave, I looked this up in the handbook, the 6146A is shown with plate >voltage of 750V, power out of 70W. The 6146 is shown as 500V, power out >of 48W. The 6146B is shown as plate 750V, power out of 85W. This is due >to the higher plate current, 160mA instead of 120-135 for the other two. >I have an "old" HW101, with 6146's in it, and wads thinking of putting >A's in it, and playing with the plate voltage, but, who's got time! >Anyway, I think that's the significant differences, if there are any 6146 >experts out there, we will be sure to hear from them!. > For all interested, there's also something called the 6146W, which I was led to believe was a ruggedized, mil-spec version of the 6146B. VERY expensive if you can find them. And I have also heard some stuff about HOW to buy tubes. Apparently 6146's are still being made by Penta, a Chinese brand that I've been warned to stay away from. So I have my spare pair of RCA's, still new in the boxes, manufactured in September, 1960, and hoping they're still good for whenever I may need them... -- 73, _________ _________ The \ / Long Original Scott Rosenfeld Amateur Radio NF3I Burtonsville, MD | Live $5.00 WAC-CW/SSB WAS DXCC - 125 QSLed on dipoles __________| Dipoles! Antenna! ------------------------------ Date: 26 May 1994 08:53:05 -0500 From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!not-for-mail@network.ucsd.edu Subject: 6146A vs 6146 To: info-hams@ucsd.edu Hi, If I may add my two cents worth, I have seen a copy of the internal tech notes for the HW-101. It stated that in the 1978 - 1979 time period, some tubes (6146A) were not manufactured to Heath's quality specifications. Therefore the sticker was added to the radio kits to warn the users. A couple of years later the sticker was removed after quality picked up. I am sorry I don't remember the manufacturer's name of the 6146A. At that time quality assurance determined that the 6146A could be used and removed the sticker from the bill of materials for the HW-101. BTW, I have also heard about the 6146W tubes. My understanding is that you can get approx. 140 watts out of them, while the 6146, 6146A is about 100 watts. All this paragraph is hearsay though. And oh, to paraphrase one fellow on a local repeater, 'Here's my good advice, and it didn't cost anything, so it must be good for nothing.'. Jeff Johnson, KF8UW ------------------------------ Date: 26 May 94 12:02:23 GMT From: news-mail-gateway@ucsd.edu Subject: Bizarre QST Statement To: info-hams@ucsd.edu WRT my earlier post, my rig is an FT-101ZD with two 6146's though I forget if they're A's B's etc. I beleive there's an FT-102 and FT-901 that have 6146 finals, though I was surprised to learn the 101E and other earlier ones didn't. My first rig was a homebrew one tube "full gallon" 75 watt novice cw rig built from a schematic in the handbook in 1960, the final was, you guessed it, a 6146. -- Stephen P. Baker phone: (508) 856-2625 Lecturer in Biostatistics (508) 856-3131 fax Department of Academic Computing (413) 253-3923 home University of Massachusetts Medical School e-mail: sbaker@umassmed.ummed.edu 55 Lake Avenue North -.- -.. .---- .--. ..-. Worcester, MA 01655 ------------------------------ Date: 26 May 94 11:39:39 GMT From: news-mail-gateway@ucsd.edu Subject: Bizarre QST Statement To: info-hams@ucsd.edu Greg said: edu : Subject: Bizarre QST statement : To: info-hams@ucsd.edu : : In June QST, there is an article on buying your first HF rig. : : Hooray! : : However, the author makes a really bizarre statement: : : In talking about hybrid rigs, he instructs the neophyte to stay : away from those which have sweep tubes in the final, and go only : for those with 'real' transmitting tubes (6146, presumably). : : Pretty much narrows it down to 'Kenwood.' : : It lets out Drake 4-line, which he mentioned as an example, FT-101s, : etc. ?????????? MY ft-101 has 6146's. Doesn't yours? -- Stephen P. Baker phone: (508) 856-2625 Lecturer in Biostatistics (508) 856-3131 fax Department of Academic Computing (413) 253-3923 home University of Massachusetts Medical School e-mail: sbaker@umassmed.ummed.edu 55 Lake Avenue North -.- -.. .---- .--. ..-. Worcester, MA 01655 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 13:13:46 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!greg@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Bizarre QST statement To: info-hams@ucsd.edu In article <2s0pqo$dc2$1@rosebud.ncd.com> stevew@sheridan.ncd.com (Steve Wilson) writes: > >Just for the record, I'm pretty sure that the FT101 uses 6146s. Just for the record, there are as many 6146s in FT101s as there are in RCA televisions. Greg ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 12:48:17 From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!EU.net!sunic!ugle.unit.no!pcg21.kjemi.unit.no!espen@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Bizarre QST Statement To: info-hams@ucsd.edu In article <9405261139.AA19763@umassmed.UMMED.EDU> sbaker@umassmed.UMMED.EDU (Stephen Baker) writes: [snip,snip... 6146 is the only real X-mit tubes not used in Drake, FT-101... >?????????? >MY ft-101 has 6146's. Doesn't yours? Nope! *My* FT101E has two 6JS6C's......(expensive). I like that old rig! Not too sensitive (read: deaf) on 10m, but otherwise OK. Could have used a notch filter and WARC-bands though. The reciever is really sensitive with a nice, narrow preselect filter. Espen LA6MGA/LA1K, DoD# 7962 Disclaimer???? What disclaimer? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 11:54:32 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!darwin.sura.net!gatekeeper.es.dupont.com!esds01.es.dupont.com!GRIB%esvx17.es.dupont.com@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Bizarre QST statement To: info-hams@ucsd.edu In article , greg@netcom.com (Greg Bullough) writes: >In June QST, there is an article on buying your first HF rig. > >Hooray! > >However, the author makes a really bizarre statement: > >In talking about hybrid rigs, he instructs the neophyte to stay >away from those which have sweep tubes in the final, and go only >for those with 'real' transmitting tubes (6146, presumably). > >Pretty much narrows it down to 'Kenwood.' > etc. >Greg Greg, I think the reasoning behind steering a "novice away from sweep tubes" isn't due to their availability, but the "forgiveness" of the 6146. I agree that a lot of good gear is available with sweep tubes (I'm still using my TR-4C and C-line), and they work well. I think though, that for the beginner especially who may be tuning the rig up for the first few times by him/her self, the 6146 is a bit more forgiving of errors and a "too long key down time". You have to really try and kill a '6146' whereas some sweep tubes especially when they're older and weaker, don't take much to push them over the edge. I also feel that this type of advice is due to the rising price of ham gear (both new and used), since beginners won't be looking towards new gear as much as older, more affordable gear (like the TS-520S, FT-101E, and TR-4C class of rigs), very usable even today, but still either hybrid or all tube designs. 73, Joe KI3B ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 14:52:33 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!scubed!nuntius@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Bizarre QST statement To: info-hams@ucsd.edu Subject: Bizarre QST statement From: Greg Bullough, greg@netcom.com In article Greg Bullough, greg@netcom.com writes: >In June QST, there is an article on buying your first HF rig. > >Hooray! > >However, the author makes a really bizarre statement: > >In talking about hybrid rigs, he instructs the neophyte to stay >away from those which have sweep tubes in the final, and go only >for those with 'real' transmitting tubes (6146, presumably). > >Pretty much narrows it down to 'Kenwood.' > >It lets out Drake 4-line, which he mentioned as an example, FT-101s, >etc. > >One wonders how such a bizarre and subjective criteria got by the >editorial staff. Would we really tell a Novice not to buy a good >used TR4C or FT-101!?! > >Yeah, I like 6146s better, but sweep tubes are both effective and >available. > >Greg As the owner of an FT-101E I would recommend that novices get a Kenwood TS 520 or 820 or 830 instead. The 6JS6c sweep tubes used for finals in the 101E are difficult to neutralize. The rig was designed for the NEC 6JS6c, which went out of production circa 1980. Other 6JS6Cs do not have as large a plate structure. This causes two problems, plate dissipation is less and the neutralization capacitor is too small. Nothing can be done about the first, other than replacing finals every year instead of every 3 to 4 years, but one can add a mica capacitor across the neutralization variable to fix the second. I found out this after I burned out a choke in the driver stage due to parasitic oscillations from my attempts to neutralize the last set of tubes I installed. This prompted my purchase of a new rig! (long overdue) There appears to be no "standard" for the 6JS6C as the ones I have purchased over the years have quite different internal construction. (yes I saved the old tubes-a fact I can't explain to my wife or to myself. The newer ones I have purchased have plates about half the size of the NECs that came with the rig. I have two GE tubes (purchased at different times) that have very different sized plates! I believe that the 6146 does not have this variation from tube to tube. I think that the TR-4 and TR-3 use different sweep tubes than the 6JS6C, so I don't know if they have this quality control problem. As an unrelated issue, the receiver in the FT 101E is more prone to intermod than the Kenwoods as well, and in my opinion the receiver is the most important part of a rig, and should receive more consideration than the types of tubes in the finals. This alone should drive one to the Drake or Kenwood. James R. Duffey KK6MC/5 S-Cubed Division of Maxwell Laboratories 2501 Yale Street SE Suite 300 Albuquerque, NM 87106 ------------------------------ Date: 26 May 1994 13:21:04 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!space.mit.edu!crispy@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Converting an old HT-220 to 2M To: info-hams@ucsd.edu By the way, I have 5 Motolora HT-220 for sale. I would like $35/ea or 150/all. For more info, e-mail to crispy@space.mit.edu. thanks, ------------------------------------- Christopher S. Pak Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Space Research 37-487 77 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA 02139 Phone: (617)253-9342 Fax: (617) 253-0861 E-mail: crispy@space.mit.edu ------------------------------ Date: 26 May 94 14:43:38 GMT From: news-mail-gateway@ucsd.edu Subject: DX, dx and calculus To: info-hams@ucsd.edu > "a quantum leap in technology", which to me means the smallest > possible change, but which has somehow come to mean "an enormous > change" to some people. >Derek Wills (AA5BT, G3NMX) however, a quantum leap is where a particle changes energy states without any interveneing states..an electron at E0 goes to E1 w/o gradually going throught E0.1, E0.2 etc. Usually used in advertising to suggest that the new thing isn't an incremental improvement over the old thing but a Brand New Device (but made with 100% recycled atomic subparticles..) And there's that TV show of the same name where a quantum leap had something to do with time travel or getting drunk in a bar near a coal mine - i don't know which. bill wb9ivr rockwell avionics/collins ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 08:02:21 -0400 From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!newsserver.jvnc.net!rohvm1!rohvm1.mah48d@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Field Day! To: info-hams@ucsd.edu In article <1994May24.142838.28167@cobra.uni.edu>, parickj4560@cobra.uni.edu wrote: > I have a Yaesu FT301AD and I was thinking about running my own FD site. > I have thought of running my rig with the car bateries, just plop the > radio in the right seat. (But remaining in the same spot at all times). > > Would the car approach work or would the 15 amp radio suck my battery > dry in no time? Even if you only run a 5-watt rig from your car battery, make sure you've got somebody around with another car and a set of jumpers if you plan to work all 24 hours of field day! Cheaper than a generator, and lots safer than using the car battery is to get a marine deep-discharge battery just for portable operation. You can figure, based on the current drain of your rig on transmit and receive, how much power you'll need for the contest--I use a 25% key-down time estimate for the calculation: (time * receive current * 0.75) + (time * transmit current * 0.25). -- John Taylor (W3ZID) | "The opinions expressed are those of the rohvm1.mah48d@rohmhaas.com | writer and not of Rohm and Haas Company." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 May 94 09:09:19 CDT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!newsrelay.iastate.edu!news.iastate.edu!usenet@network.ucsd.edu Subject: Help: FT-5200 LED Replacement To: info-hams@ucsd.edu Hi, I have a YAESU FT-5200 that has one of the LED's used for back- lighting burned out. I don't want to send it in to have a simple LED replaced, has anyone opened up the face plate of a FT-5200? Any suggestions or comments? Thanks -- ________________________________________________________ Glenn Pearston (515) 294-0032 v 24 Horticulture Hall (515) 294-0730 f Ames, IA 50011 pearston@iastate.edu -- ________________________________________________________ Glenn Pearston (515) 294-0032 v 24 Horticulture Hall (515) 294-0730 f Ames, IA 50011 pearston@iastate.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 11:30:33 GMT From: agate!howland.reston.ans.net!EU.net!Germany.EU.net!netmbx.de!zrz.TU-Berlin.DE!zib-berlin.de!uni-paderborn.de!urmel.informatik.rwth-aachen.de!tornado.oche.de!rnihd.rni.sub.org@ihnp4.ucsd.edu Subject: Looking for questions of FCC exam To: info-hams@ucsd.edu Some of my fellow members in our local HAM club want to get an American HAM license. Now, we have no database with the FCC questions - only a big pack of paper. And that's quite difficult to learn from. If you know a ftp server or could help me in any other way, please drop me a mail ! mni tks in advance ! -- O / ____ _ Torsten Leibold (DH5FBT) -+-= | __\_\_o____/_| Konrad-Adenauer-Allee 105 / \ <[___\_\_-----< 68519 Viernheim, Germany | o' ...!subnet.sub.net!rnihd!rnivh!torsten ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 12:54:12 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!rogjd@network.ucsd.edu Subject: PRB-1: How Strong? To: info-hams@ucsd.edu I read the article regarding PRB-1, which was featured in this month's CQ magazine, in a state of deep shock. The essential theme of the article clearly seemed to be that PRB-1 has been mangled by the courts such that cities/municipalities can reasonably expect to prevail against amateurs most of the time. This is extremely different than the message which was contained in a QST article on the same subject which was published (I believe) within the past 18 months. Any knowledgeable lawyers out there (or concerned hams, or both?) care to comment? My city of Glendale, CA has extremely restrictive antenna regulations: no antenna can be visible, can't be over 25 feet tall, etc. I have always assumed that if they wanted to get it on in the courts that I could defend my right to have my R-5 vertical chimney mounted. (After all, the r-5 is almost 20 feet tall itself; how am I going to keep it from being higher than 25 feet? :-) Reading the CQ article would cause most readers, I think, to conclude that one's liklihood of prevailing in court is poor. -- rogjd@netcom.com Glendale, CA AB6WR ------------------------------ Date: 26 May 1994 11:05:21 GMT From: news2.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!news.clark.net!andy@uunet.uu.net Subject: RFI Tracked Down!! To: info-hams@ucsd.edu I am passing this info along just in case you may be suffering from a similar problem... Yesterday I uncovered a major source of RFI in my house. This RFI affected reception of both the 2-meter and 220 MHz bands. It drove my scanner crazy. It created minor diagonal lines on channels 4 and 5 of our television sets, both through the cable system and through rabbit-ear antennas. And, I believe it affected the operation of my Boca high speed modem which is especially susceptible to RF, and located one story directly above the source. I suspect it also affected my Mr. Coffee machine, but I can't prove it. ;-) Last evening I got pretty much fed up with the RFI and made a concerted effort to track it down. The source turned out to be a most unlikely device...our electric hot water heater. Not actually the heater itself, but an energy saving device installed by our local electric utility company (RF, Incorporated) about a year ago. It's a lunchbox-size grey box in series with the ac wire going to the heater. It has several colorful LEDs on the front panel, happily blinking to the tune of "HA-HA-I'M-REALLY-SCREWING-UP-THIS-GUY'S-HAM-RADIO-HOBBY." The device apparently is *supposed to* emit RF, as it communicates via the electrical wires to the utility's local office, giving the utility company the ability to remotely regulate the AC power going into the hot water heater. With it, our bill is reduced by approximately $100 a year. While the utility company acknowledged the energy-saver emits RF, they did not know on what frequency. I told them it radiates on just about all the frequencies in the spectrum, and that they should stop by today and get the *&^$#% thing out of the house! It's worth giving up a $100/year electric bill reduction to not be bombarded by so much RF. 73... andy_k4adl@rf.free.by.the.time.i.get.home.from.work.tonight ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 15:03:14 GMT From: wang!dbushong@uunet.uu.net Subject: Site to look up frequiencies To: info-hams@ucsd.edu bruceg7809@aol.com (BruceG7809) writes: >In article <1994May20.053507.12168@ccc.amdahl.com>, >dws30@p1dbg02.amdahl.com (David Sharpe) writes: >I am also interested in the ftp or site to look up frequencies for >scanners >Please inform me of newgroup or ftp... >Thanks Try rec.radio.scanner which is quite active. Also, I'll send you a pretty good list via email. Dave, KZ1O -- Dave Bushong, Wang Laboratories, Inc. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 12:06:13 GMT From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ncar!csn!col.hp.com!news.dtc.hp.com!hplextra!hplb!hpwin055.uksr!hpqmoea!dstock@network.ucsd.edu Subject: SSB Filters To: info-hams@ucsd.edu I know of one world-class crystal filter manufacturer based in France, C.E.P.E. part of Thomson-CSF. I've got one in front of me now, but no address. The highest reptation filters in amateur circles are German KVG Kristall Verarbeitung Neckarbischofsheim GMBH Postfach 61 D-6924 Neckarbischofsheim Telefon 07263/648-0 John Birkett 25 The Strait Lincoln LN2 1 JF England Tel +44 522 520767 Often has surplus crystal filters in stock. I've bought a number of marine quality 1.4 MHz IF usb, lsb, cw filters from him The best advice is to first find your filters, then use IF to suit. Recently a lot of 1.4 MHz IF filters of superb performance have flooded onto the British market at very low surplus prices (I paid the equivalent of 40 francs each, although the prices fluctuate) Filters for AM RTTY and various CW bandwidths are also to be found as well as proper separate USB and LSB ones. I think of good government surplus components as a sort of tax refund! Bon Chance! David ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 12:54:59 From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!pipex!uknet!EU.net!sunic!ugle.unit.no!pcg21.kjemi.unit.no!espen@network.ucsd.edu Subject: TenTec Omni VI anyone? To: info-hams@ucsd.edu How is the Omni VI really? In some time we'll have to buy a new rig at LA1K to replace the old IC751A. The Omni VI looks like a good rig out from the ads/specs/etc.. Does anybody here actually operate one of these? How is it like? Espen LA6MGA/LA1K, DoD# 7962 Disclaimer???? What disclaimer? ------------------------------ End of Info-Hams Digest V94 #578 ******************************