HAM Radio 3/hamradioversion3.0examsandprograms1992.iso/news/inham05/854.

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INFO-HAMS Digest            Wed,  8 Nov 89       Volume 89 : Issue 854

Today's Topics:
                      airport security (3 msgs)
                       ALUMINIUM TOWERS-CRACKS
                    Contest log program? (2 msgs)
                            Disk Drive Box
                 How to use the incoming QSL bureau?
                info on Crystal Radio kit or schematic
                 Kenwood TS-440s -> KAM Hookup (Help)
                  Kenwood TS520 - Is it a good deal?
             Letter from the FCC: 20M Maritime Mobile Net
                         Madison Electronics
                      SW frequencies list wanted
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 8 Nov 89 00:49:08 GMT
From: rochester!rit!cci632![e-mail]  (Just another hired gun (n2hkd))
Subject: airport security

IMHO: someone seems to be pulling my leg. According to the latest
newsletter from my frequent flyer, cellular telephone technology
has come to airplanes for a nominal fee :-). Maybe these particular
airplanes are equiped with baluns to make this work? They probably
use external antenna's? Funny how it's OK to use them all of a
sudden as long as they get part of the fee?
Is that what it all boils down to, money?
--
I volunteered for the rights in America, and now I'm losing them, AAARGHH
email:   cb@cci632  or !rochester!kodak!n2hkd!curtis   Fight for your RIGHTS!
Curtis Braun, N2HKD, Computronics, PO Box 1002 Fairport NY, 14450

------------------------------

Date: 7 Nov 89 19:08:44 GMT
From: rochester!kodak!swamps![e-mail]  (Val Christian)
Subject: airport security

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John Moore) writes:
>LaGuardia is the only airport in the US that has ever given me any
>hassle (other than maybe asking me to demonstrate that the radio
>works). They REFUSED to let me take it through security, and said
>I had to check it as baggage. Only the intervention of the ticket
>agent for my airline (he "vouched" for me even though he had never
>seen me before!) get it through. What a bunch of jerks!

For me, it was Newark.  The radio, my FCC Amateur License,
my FAA Pilot Certificate, my FAA First Class Medical and my
driver license were presented by the airline agent, at the insistance
of the security people, to the captain.  One quick look and
he handed everything to me and explained that the security people
were poorly trained and had high turnover.  We then sat in the
terminal building for five hours while he refused to fly 4 different
aircraft.

I did talk to someone at the Eastern Regional FAA office,
who could not exactly answer my questions, and was unable to
tell me where in the REGS it stated that radio equipment was
restricted from carry-on status.

I have a friend who regularily carries handhelds and other electronics
on both domestic and international flights.  He hasn't had any
problems...but he has described the radio as commercial equipment, and
presented his business card (radio salesman).

Val Christian  (n2epo)
...attctc!swamps!val

------------------------------

Date: 8 Nov 89 17:21:50 GMT
From: shlump.nac.dec.com!koning.dec.com![e-mail]  (Paul Koning)
Subject: airport security

Airplane phones are not cellular phones.  They couldn't use the
cell approach for the same reasons air-mobile hams have to watch
out when using repeaters.  More to the point of the interference
with avionics issue: as I understand it the rules allow for any
electronics that have been certified for the aircraft.  That
obviously applies to the airplane phones -- but not to cellular
phones.

    paul, ni1d

------------------------------

Date: 8 Nov 89 17:27:19 GMT
From: shlump.nac.dec.com!koning.dec.com![e-mail]  (Paul Koning)
Subject: ALUMINIUM TOWERS-CRACKS

Re aluminum suddenly "crystallizing" and turning brittle: as a
blanket statement that is obvious nonsense.  If it were true,
airplanes would not be made of aluminum!

It IS true that metals in general are subject to "fatigue"
failure.  As I've seen it explained, each metal has its own
characteristic relation between number of times it is flexed and
the permissible load.  Supposedly aluminum is more tricky than
steel in that respect: the permissible load for steel becomes
independent of number of flexures sooner than aluminum does,
so you need to de-rate the breaking strength of aluminum by
a bigger factor than steel.  But that's quite a different statement
than the bogus assertion that aluminum is by definition unsuitable
for structural applications.

Since I'm not a mechanical or structural engineer, I can't
give more precise comments.  You might want to read the
book "Structures -- or why things don't fall down" (don't remember
the author's name).

    paul, ni1d

------------------------------

Date: 7 Nov 89 23:23:47 GMT
From: rochester!rit!cci632![e-mail]  (Just another hired gun (n2hkd))
Subject: Contest log program?

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Trey Garlough, WN4KKN/5) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Ari Husa OH8NUP) writes:
>> I would like to know if there is a proper CONTEST LOG PROGRAM
>> available somewhere.
>
>
Try w2hpf's constest software. I've used it and it works like a
charm on the PC clones. He uses the cga 40 col mode and colors to make
it very readable. It does the dupes and prints out acceptabel copies
for the arrl. He's got the HF and VHF contest software.
I'll see if I can get him to post some info. You can email him: jeff@cci632.

--
I volunteered for the rights in America, and now I'm losing them, AAARGHH
email:   cb@cci632  or !rochester!kodak!n2hkd!curtis   Fight for your RIGHTS!
Curtis Braun, N2HKD, Computronics, PO Box 1002 Fairport NY, 14450

------------------------------

Date: 8 Nov 89 17:41:37 GMT
From: gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Contest log program?

Suppose you had used "some" logging program you really liked, but forgot
where you had actually used it and had no link back to find it.  Can you
describe HOW that program actually works, as opposed to just naming who
wrote it.  I'm interested in things like:

    1.  Can I enter things in any order I want, even switching from entry
        to entry while each is partially done, or am I forced to enter
        data only in a predetermined invariable order?

    2.  How easy is it to configure it for a contest that the author did
        not plan for?  Can it be configured to validate a wide variety of
        different exchanges?

    3.  Will it look up a call sign in an online database?  What format must
        database be in?  How slow is the lookup?  Can I enter another QSO
        WHILE the previous one is concurrently being searched in the database?
        Do I have to buy a database package to do this?

    4.  What statistics/needs does the program display?  Do I have to ask for
        them each time, or can they be displayed continuously while entering
        new QSO data?

    5.  Does it support larger screen data sizes of EGA and VGA displays,
        e.g. 43, 50, or 60 rows?

    6.  Can it continuously write a backup stream over a port to another
        machine?  Would it use TCP/IP if the package was resident?

I personally will not buy a logging program when I an perfectly capable of
writing my own.  The disadvantage is that I won't get to see what others
consider to be useful user interfaces.  I have seen some before, but they
are all different and I am not convinced there is any standard yet; I have
not seen one anyway.

--Phil Howard, KA9WGN--
<[e-mail]>

------------------------------

Date: 7 Nov 89 21:00:13 GMT
From: usc!hacgate!gryphon!pnet02![e-mail]  (Michael Lampi)
Subject: Disk Drive Box

A pretty good distributor of 5-1/4" boxes is WETEX, 1122 W. Washington Blvd.,
#D, Montebello, CA 90640, 1-800-798-7041, fax [phone]. You can also try
IB Computers, [phone], 9244 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy., Beaverton, OR
97005. There are lots of dealers out there--just check your Computer Shopper!

Michael Lampi
MDL Corporation

UUCP: {ames!elroy, <routing site>}!gryphon!pnet02!lampi
INET: [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 8 Nov 89 02:02:28 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Patty Winter)
Subject: How to use the incoming QSL bureau?

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John Moore) writes:
>In fact, why doesn't a knowledgable DX'er post a nice tutorial on
>how to QSL, how to get QSL's from DX, etc. For example, I worked
>MIR last spring. How do I get a QSL? How do I use a bureau. If
>I send a SASE, can I use US stamps, or is there something international
>to put on the return envelope?

John et al,

_CQ_ Magazine published a very nice guide to QSLing in their
September, 1988 issue. It covers how to receive incoming cards,
the various options for sending outgoing cards, the options for
return postage, etc.


Patty

--
*****************************************************************************
Patty Winter N6BIS                        INTERNET: [e-mail]
AMPR.ORG: [44.4.0.44]                     UUCP: {decwrl,nsc,sun}!apple!winter
*****************************************************************************

------------------------------

Date: 7 Nov 89 23:43:43 GMT
From: ogccse!littlei!foobar![e-mail]  (Jim Garver)
Subject: info on Crystal Radio kit or schematic

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Kenneth J. Hendrickson) writes:
>
>>(I wonder if anyone has built one of these to successfully detect
>>shortwave broadcast stations?)
>
>Only if you live very close to the shortwave broadcast station.  These
>radios are simple detectors with a one pole filter on the front end, and
>no amplifier stages.  Thus, a strong local station is all that can be
>received.
>
Not true.  I built several SW crystal sets back in the 60's.  The first
one was by accident.  Later I found a book at the library that detailed
a couple of dozen different crystal set designs, some rather complex.
I built a few of these.  They used combinations of parallel and series
tuned networks to enhance selectivity as well as raise the signal by
increasing the Q of the circuit.  Another trick used was the voltage
doubler detector.  I met my first crystal set at an early age when my
dad brought one home from the second hand store.  It was the classic
black bakelite front panel with exposed inductor tap switch and of
course a cat whisker detector with oxidized galena crystal.  The rock
never worked good and I had better success with the rusty razor blade
and saftey pin trick used by GIs in WWII.  The 1N34 diode was the
winner hands down, but seemed like cheating.

--
Jim Garver     Intel Corp.   <tektronix!psueea | uunet!littlei>!foobar!jim
 WA7LDV     Hillsboro, Oregon              jim@foobar<.hf.intel.com|.uucp>

------------------------------

Date: 7 Nov 89 17:56:15 GMT
From: shlump.nac.dec.com!ryn.esg.dec.com!pstjtt.enet.dec.com![e-mail]
Subject: Kenwood TS-440s -> KAM Hookup (Help)

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (N. Del More) writes...

>I am running the cable from the HF port of the KAM to ACC2 (13 pin DIN)
>of the Kenwood.  So far I have it working with the exception that when
>the KAM toggles the PTT it does not mute the microphone.
>[...]
>According to the TS-440S manual, pin 9 of ACC 2 mutes the microphone if
>grounded, but how to do it alluding me at the moment.

Generally, you hook the MUTE and the TS440 PTT line to the TNC's PTT
line.  Then when the TNC pulls down PTT it pulls MUTE too.  If you want
to leave the TNC hooked up all the time, you need to put a couple of
small signal diodes in the MUTE and PTT lines so when you key the mike
from the front of the set (for normal SSB operation, say) the PTT signal
which gets propagated out the ACC jack doesn't pull the MUTE low.  It
HAS happened....

                >>>==>PStJTT
            Patrick St. Joseph Teahan Taber

Mail address:  ahhhhh, you don't want to send me mail....

------------------------------

Date: 7 Nov 89 00:27:40 GMT
From: hpfcso!hpfcdc![e-mail]  (Perry Scott)
Subject: Kenwood TS520 - Is it a good deal?

>I am about to purchase a Kenwood TS520 HF Xcvr for $375.  It is in good shape
>and comes with a mic and all the other necessities.  Is it a good deal?  Will
>it do AMTOR ARQ?

You might want to check some recent QSTs.  The 520 is enough of a commodity
that it appears fairly often.  I put an Astatic D104 crystal mike on mine,
and get nothing but excellent audio reports.  The compressor works really
nicely, and seems to penetrate far better than one would expect.

I think $375 for 520 and mike is probably not a bad deal.

Perry Scott
KF0CA

------------------------------

Date: 6 Nov 89 22:19:09 GMT
From: cica!ctrsol!emory!stiatl!rsiatl![e-mail]  (John G. De Armond)
Subject: Letter from the FCC: 20M Maritime Mobile Net

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Myron A. Calhoun) writes:

>Looks to me as if ham radio is fast changing (has already changed?)
>from a hobby plus real reasons for being (service to charitable
>organizations, forefront of technology, relaying across the USA,
>etc.) to JUST a hobby.
>

I'd say that the primary thing going on here is that when a segment of
the hobby behaves enough like children to need FCC intervention, the
comission will slap the whole group hard enough to get everybody's
attention and to make it VERY unattractive to cause their intervention
in the future.

The FCC seems to have done this in the past and appears to be doing it
again here.  Ham radio axiom #1 - The more invisible we are to the
Comission the better off we are.

>I'm assuming no one thinks we should wish for more emergencies, but
>how long, now, before someone concludes that the relaxation of normal
>rules during emergency operation is no longer justified because all
>organizations normally served during disasters, etc., should have
>planned better for their own exigencies?

I suspect that the obvious is being acknowledged.  That the technology
now exists for most organizations to handle their own emergency
communications.  Consider portable earth stations, for example.  And
that in the big picture, the ham contribution is pretty small and
getting smaller as alternative communications resources become
available.

In other words, we'd better clean up our act, cooperate with the
Comission whenever possible, and take a good hard look at our
real contributions in time of emergencies.

John


--
John De Armond, WD4OQC                     | Manual? ... What manual ?!?
Radiation Systems, Inc.     Atlanta, GA    | This is Unix, My son, You
emory!stiatl!rsiatl!jgd   **I am the NRA** | just GOTTA Know!!!

------------------------------

Date: 8 Nov 89 17:41:30 GMT
From: gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Madison Electronics

This is a test.  I've found the local notes program is misthreading articles
and am wondering which thread this is falling on.  This article is just to
see where it shows up in the news system.  Notes does not support distribution
values so I can't control this darned thing.

--Phil Howard, KA9WGN--
<[e-mail]>

------------------------------

Date: 7 Nov 89 14:28:00 GMT
From: inmet![e-mail]
Subject: SW frequencies list wanted

    You want to get hold of a copy of the World Radio-TV Handbook.
It has been published every year for nearly (more than?) 40 years, and
is regarded as THE shortwave listener's Bible.

    You can order copies of the WRTH from many Radio supply houses.
Two that I can recommend are:

    Universal Shortwave Radio, Inc.
    1280 Aida Drive
    Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068
    U.S.A.
    (phone: [phone] and 614-866-4267)

    Gilfer Shortwave
    52 Park Avenue
    Park Ridge, New Jersey 07656
    U.S.A.
    (phone 1-800-GILFER-1 and 201-391-7887)

The WRTH retails for $19.95, which any serious SWL will regard as a bargain.

    Another source of information is "Passport to World Band Radio", which is
also available from Universal, Gilfer, and other radio supply houses. If you
ask my opinion, the WRTH is *MUCH* more useful and valuable than "PWBR", but
some would disagree.  It reails for about $14.95.


    -- Ben Krepp

    From uunet: uunet!inmet!benk
    From DDN:   [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of INFO-HAMS Digest V89 Issue #854
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