QRZ! Ham Radio 4/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 4.iso/digests/infoham/940326.txt

Internet Message Format | 1994-11-13 | 24KB

Date: Thu, 24 Mar 94 20:11:52 PST
From: Info-Hams Mailing List and Newsgroup <[e-mail]>
Errors-To: [e-mail]
Reply-To: [e-mail]
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Subject: Info-Hams Digest V94 #326
To: Info-Hams


Info-Hams Digest            Thu, 24 Mar 94       Volume 94 : Issue  326

Today's Topics:
                         10 GHz EME question
                   Anyone gotten Dayton spaces yet?
                      CD-ROM QRZ! vs Buckmaster
                   FT-530 Receive Problem Followup
                   Grid Squares & Lat/Long (2 msgs)
                           Hamfest Listing
                      Info-Hams Digest V94 #325
           Kenwood (TS-850) Computer Interface Info Wanted
                   Latest callsigns assigned list?
                            Regency Radio
                     Scanner Laws in Northern VA?
                        Software-general exam
                      Voice mail on a repeater?
                      want Propagation Algorithm

Send Replies or notes for publication to: <[e-mail]>
Send subscription requests to: <[e-mail]>
Problems you can't solve otherwise to [e-mail].

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: 24 Mar 1994 22:36:42 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!dog.ee.lbl.gov!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!uknet!EU.net!sunic!news.funet.fi!nntp.hut.fi!vipunen.hut.fi![e-mail]
Subject: 10 GHz EME question
To: [e-mail]

> Is 46m dish any better than a 4m dish on 10 GHz EME ?

10 GHz EME with a big dish has been tried before. In June 1987 OH2TI, RC of
Helsinki University of Technology, together with OH2AV, RC of Nokia
Corporation, put a serious effort to make the first ever 10 GHz
EME contact with Goliardo Tomasetti, I4BER. Antennas used were 14m and 32m
radiotelescopes in Helsinki and Bologna, respectively. At OH2TI, we had a
8W TWT while I4BER was running 1W. The result was a one-way QSO. I4BER heard
us with a good signal but we didn't copy him. We had started, due to some
delays in Bologna, well behind schedule and run soon out of time. At the same
time we figured out that we had been listening him on a wrong frequency,
Goliardo called us to tell that he had to go QRT. The radioastronomers wanted
to have their antenna back to real research. Well, I thought that's exactly
what we were doing ... ;-)

With some more time available it might has well been a two-way contact.
Unfortunately, we never got a second chance because it turned out to be
impossible to find a common time slot during the next months, both antennas
being in intensive research use. A few months after our experiment we lost the
10 GHz EME band in Finland to "paying customers". So, that was the end of it.
As everyone knows the W5s and W7s made the first ever 10 GHz EME QSO on
Aug 1988, about a year after our test. This year it looks like we will get
the band back (10.368 - 10.370 GHz), so who knows what will happen.

So, what kind of signals did we experience ? Well, our own echoes were strong
and solid. Every single dash and dot was returned unchanged off the moon (for
more than 30 mins ). The signal was clean, not distorted like some of the Ws
with smaller dishes have reported. Maybe this was due to the narrow beamwidth
(0.17 degrees). It is hard to estimate the S/N but I would say it was around
10 dB. Theoretically our echoes should have been (with the NF 4.2 dB Rx)
about 20 dB above noise. To refresh my memory I just listened the two
tapes again. The first one contains OH2TI's echoes recorded by myself. The
other one contains our echoes recorded by I4BER. On both tapes the signal is
clean and solid. The rapid libration fading is there but it's not bad. On
432 MHz I have got used to much worse (with OH2PO's 16m dish, 3 deg bw).

A quick calculation shows that with same power and same Rx but a 4m dish our
own echoes would have been 1 dB below the noise ! A 4m dish has a beamwidth
of about 0.5 degrees, so this clearly proves that it pays off to have bigger
antenna on transmit. In the case of VE3ONT things get trickier because
a 46m dish has a much smaller beamwidth (0.05 deg) than the apparent moon
diameter and a small dish has a beamwidth equal to or larger than 0.5 degrees.
This is why VE3ONT will suffer from over 200 K moon temperature while the
small station has cold sky behind the moon, and thus benefits on receive.
Does VE3ONT's big gain compensate the lost reflection area ? I don't have
the answer to this one. It seems to me that the optimum beamwidth is smaller
than 0.5 degrees. How much smaller, I don't know.

I4BER was hearing his echoes clearly with 1W (68 dB, 0.07 deg). Assuming
that the NF of his Rx was about the same than ours (I recall it was better),
I4BER should have heard us 7 dB better than we heard our own echoes,
providing the under illumination effect was neglible. The tapes are hard to
compare because mine was recorded with audiofilter on and the other tape was
recorded without one. I would say however that the signal is stronger on my
tape. Also, providing the under illumination didn't exist, I4BER should have
heard his own echoes about 25 dB above noise with his 1W ! I don't think that
was the case.

Jukka OH6DD    Internet: [e-mail]

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

Date: 24 Mar 1994 22:36:27 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!galaxy.ucr.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!nic-nac.CSU.net!charnel.net.csuchico.edu!charnel!olivea!news.bu.edu!att-in!fnnews.fnal.gov![e-mail]
Subject: Anyone gotten Dayton spaces yet?
To: [e-mail]

In article <2msbrn$[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Bill Turini) writes:
>I've been patiently waiting, but have not heard from the Dayton folks
>about sale spaces.  Nor have I heard on the local repeaters about anyone
>getting a reply.  Has anyone out there gotten a space or any comments
>from the Dayton folks?
>
>
>Thanks
>
>Bill
>

I received my tickets and parking permit on 18 Mar. The cancelled check came
in my bank statement on 20 Mar.

Regards,

Paul Kasley wa9vyb

Fermi National Accelerator Lab, Batavia, Illinois
[e-mail]

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

Date: 24 Mar 1994 19:43:36 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!sunic!psinntp!psinntp!news.boxhill.com!ariel![e-mail]
Subject: CD-ROM QRZ! vs Buckmaster
To: [e-mail]

>> For the CD-ROM users out there, I was wondering if someone could give me
>> the pro and/or cons of these two CDs.  I'm trying to find the best one
>> (obviously).  I've seen QRZ! cd for $29.95 and the HamCall for $50.
>> Anyplaces I might be able to get them cheaper?
>> John W. Herndon - [e-mail]
>
>I have QRZ? and HAMCALL. If it is amateur radio QTHs you need, then
>my HAMCALL is more comprehensive than my QRZ?. My QRZ only has US and
>Canadian QTHs but HAMCALL has many other countries. I keep saying *my*
>version as there may be updated versions by now.
>Russell Lee    G6GL         [e-mail]

I have the QRZ! CDROM, and bought it specifically because the callsign
databases inside were not encrypted in any way.
The callsign databases are simply comma-separated one-line-per-call
text records.

I liked this because I'm using the call database on a UNIX (Sun)
system, and can easily write database massaging code in Perl.

Oh, and yes, QRZ! was significantly cheaper.  I got mine mailorder
for $15 + shipping.
$50? I guess the Buck$master name is appropriate.

Can anyone comment regarding pros/cons of the HamCall product?

73 de Ken N2TIA


Perhaps this may sway your decision one way or another.

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

Date: 24 Mar 1994 19:08:07 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!news.intercon.com!psinntp!psinntp!psinntp!news.boxhill.com!ariel![e-mail]
Subject: FT-530 Receive Problem Followup
To: [e-mail]

[e-mail] (Thomas Leber) wrote:

>Last night, I started playing with the VHF and UHF VFOs simultaneously,
>and suddenly heard the same type of interference, but this time it
>was full scale, and it was coming in on the UHF side. A little experimentation
>indicated that for a given 2 meter frequency, the unit generated a spur at
>3.172845 times that frequency. Example: 145.13 generates 460.475. The noise is
>exactly like the weaker noise I hear in 2 meter, but it pegs the S meter.

For what it's worth, I can reproduce this symptom on my FT-530
exactly.  A bit annoying, but I also like the HT a lot.

73
Ken Stamm  N2TIA             BBBB          H  H  i  ll  ll
([e-mail])            B   B         H  H      l   l
BoxHill Systems Corporation  BBBB  ooo x x HHHH ii   l   l
161 Avenue of the Americas   B   B o o  x  H  H  i   l   l
New York, NY 10013           BBBB  ooo x x H  H iii lll lll
Tel: (212)989-HILL (4455)
Fax: [phone]        S y s t e m s C o r p o r a t i o n

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

Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 20:48:19 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!galaxy.ucr.edu!library.ucla.edu!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!usenet.ucs.indiana.edu!indyvax.iupui.edu!medicine.dmed.iupui.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Grid Squares & Lat/Long
To: [e-mail]

Thank you for all the help.  I must have written down the wrong figure because
I am actually at 86' not 89' longatude.

Thanks to everyone for their help!  I'll try to be more careful next time.

Jay


>: Jay Sissom wrote:
>: >: Hello!
>: >
>: >: Lattitude:    39' 39.303 N
>: >: Longatude: 89' 10.550 W

>: >: When I feed these numbers into the programs, I get EM59JP.  When I
>: >: look on  the map, EM59 is in Illinois and I live in Indianapolis, IN.
>: >: Is the map wrong, or is the basic program wrong?
>[other responses deleted . . .]

>april's qst has an article describing how to generate grid squares. take a
>look.

>regards, richard kd6lwd

>[e-mail]
>all disclaimers apply

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

Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 22:20:42 GMT
From: telesoft![e-mail]
Subject: Grid Squares & Lat/Long
To: [e-mail]

In <2msdd6$[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Paul Wade) writes:
>-I recently borrowed a GPS device to calculate my Latitude & Longitude.
>-Lattitude:    39' 39.303 N
>-Longatude: 89' 10.550 W

This is 3 degrees West of Indianapolis, about 180 nm.  If you're in
Indianapolis (39.77N 86.16W) then the GPS device gave you the wrong numbers
or you wrote them down wrong.
--GaryM

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

Date: 24 Mar 1994 20:35:26 -0500
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!news.intercon.com!news1.digex.net!access.digex.net![e-mail]
Subject: Hamfest Listing
To: [e-mail]

I've been searching around for a listing of upcoming hamfests, and have
been unable to find one. So, I've decided to do the next best thing -
create my own.

My goal is to periodically post a comprehensive listing of upcoming
hamfests, for the entire US (if the list gets too large, it could be
broken up into regions).

This is where you all come in - I need for people to email me with
details of upcoming hamfests that they are aware of. The information I
need is:

The name of the hamfest, the location, the date/times, And anything else
pertinent (cost, name of contact, etc).

Please send the information to me at: [e-mail]

Thanks,

Chris


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

Date: 25 Mar 94 00:07:19 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Info-Hams Digest V94 #325
To: [e-mail]

From:    POSTMSTR @SSW
To:    HCHOAGLAND @MRGATE
    IN%"Info-Hams @UCSD.EDU" @MRGATE @BV8500


     Author:  IN%"[e-mail]"
     Sender:  IN%"INFO-HAMS @UCSD.EDU"@MRGATE@BV8500
     Subject: Info-Hams Digest V94 #325
     Message Class:

     Recipients:



     Profile Recipient(s):

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from Sender IN%"[e-mail]"@MRGATE@BV8500.
Please contact your Soft-Switch E-Mail Administrator to register this user
in the Name Translate Directory.

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

Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 15:59:47 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!pacbell.com!att-out!nntpa![e-mail]
Subject: Kenwood (TS-850) Computer Interface Info Wanted
To: [e-mail]

In article <hawley.764522745@aries>,
Chuck Hawley <[e-mail]> wrote:
>[e-mail] (Adam Epstein) writes:
>
>
>>  A friend is interested in getting details about the computer
>>interface "box" used with the Kenwood TS-850.  Has anybody built one
>>for themselves (rather than buying Kenwood's)?  Does anybody have
>>schematics?  I'm sure that recommendations of commercially available
>>software and other hints and kinks would be appreciated as well.
>>Email to me ([e-mail]) and I'll forward your replies.
>
>> -Thanx
>>  -Adam (N2DHH)
>The box is just opto isolators on the signal lines driven by and driving
>ttl to line driver level converters (5v to +/-10v). Look thru QST for an
>article.....it'll probably cost about the same if you do it right.
>Chuck Hawley KE9UW.
>

Check out my article in Feb. 93 QST "Everything You Always Wanted To Know
About Computer-Controlling Modern Radios" (I didn't pick the title :).  It
has plans for a Kenwood interface that is opto-isolated and implements the
handshaking lines as well as the data for complete compatibility.

I also still offer the parts kits listed at the end of the article.  Prices
are the same, ($47 for Kenwood kit, $44 for Icom/Yaesu/Ten-Tec) but the
address is now:

    CW Technology
    7328 Timbercreek Court
    Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-1181

    COD Orders Only (add $5) at 800-547-7479

The kits include PCB and all board mounted parts.  You provide case and
8-15V supply.

NOTE:  ARRL has the PCB layouts and the parts are readily available - you
       do not have to buy anything from me.

E-mail if you need more info

--
   Wally Blackburn           Clinton-Gore - Socialist Leadership
   [e-mail]                  for the 90s!
   Amateur Radio Station AA8DX       I'm the NRA.
      *More people have died in Ted Kennedy's car than from my gun!*

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

Date: 25 Mar 1994 03:24:29 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!wupost!bigfoot.wustl.edu!cec3![e-mail]
Subject: Latest callsigns assigned list?
To: [e-mail]

Bill Northup ([e-mail]) wrote:
: : I have not seen any postings recently on turnaround actual time.
: : A few months ago, there were many notes on here giving actual times.
: : Some were much sooner than reported by the FCC.  I guess they were being
: : conservative in the recorded message.
: :
: : Milt, K9QZI
: :

: The last upgrade that I received (march 12) was 10 weeks.

OK, guys, I've now waited 91 ways--13 weeks, and have heard nothing.  Should
I 1) keep waiting, 2) call W5YI (I took it with them in dallas, and over
spring break I called--before I could even say my name, they said to keep
waiting; it was at 12 weeks then) again, or 3) call the FCC?  Help me out;
I'm getting impatient.

--jesse (call goes here)

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

Date: 24 Mar 1994 17:37:24 -0800
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!sgiblab!barrnet.net!nntp.crl.com!crl2.crl.com![e-mail]
Subject: Regency Radio
To: [e-mail]

I couldn't find a netnews group for commercial radio questions so... I'm
looking for someone with a schematic on a Regency(Realm) H256B 16 Channel
Scan VHF Transvr.  I have a transistor Q105 in the control panel bad, it
is marked Motorola but the number must be for Realm only...

Thanx for the help ....reach me e-mail

Mike Davis
Atlanta, Ga.

[e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 14:06:25 -0500
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!news.intercon.com!psinntp!psinntp!psinntp!pbs.org!jernandez.pbs.org![e-mail]
Subject: Scanner Laws in Northern VA?
To: [e-mail]

    Excuse the interruption. There is a law against carring scanners in
Northern VA ( and I am sure other states like NJ) unless you have a permit.
These permits are issued to volunteer rescue workers primarily. My question
is, "Are licensed Amateur radio operators excused from getting the permit?"
Thank you in advance.

John J. Ernandez

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

Date: 24 Mar 1994 18:25:07 -0600
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Software-general exam
To: [e-mail]

: IF anyone knows of the existance of a shareware/freeware program that
: presents random questions from the current General exam (a practive exam
: program), please let me know where I might download a copy.
: Thanks,
: Joe Coles
: [e-mail]
: KC5BSK

The following two anonymous ftp sites have question pools for ham radio question
pools for all classes.

1). ftp.cs.buffalo.edu:

 "/pub/ham-radio/"
quest-pool-advance, quest-pool-general...etc. in TEXT format.

2). wuarchive.wustl.edu
  "/systems/ibmpc/msdos/hamradio"
 ext21.zip, adv21.zip, .... nov22.zip which run on IBM PC.

73

D.J. Wang  E-mail: [e-mail]
MMRRCC, Radiology Department, Univ. of Pennsylvania
418 Service Dr. Basement, Blockley Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104
( >> Seven weeks and counting.........................)
ive.wustl.edu
  "/systems/ibmpc/msdos/hamradio"
 ext21.zip, adv21.zip, .... nov22.zip which run on IBM PC.

73

D.J. Wang  E-mail: [e-mail]
MMRRCC, Radiology Department, Univ. of Pennsylvania
418 Service Dr. Basement, Blockley Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104
( >> Seven weeks and counting.........................)

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

Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 14:50:27 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!emory!wa4mei!ke4zv![e-mail]
Subject: Voice mail on a repeater?
To: [e-mail]

In article <bote.764487800@access3> [e-mail] (John Boteler) writes:
>
>Is voice mail something that many hams want on their
>favorite repeater?

I don't. I don't even want a phonepatch on the repeater. Make that I
*especially* don't want a phonepatch on a repeater. I want a repeater
to be as unobtrusive as possible, simply a bent pipe to extend my
radio range. It's a gathering spot for conversation, not a paging
service, an answering machine, or a substitute for a cellular phone.

Gary

--
Gary Coffman KE4ZV          |    You make it,     | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
Destructive Testing Systems |    we break it.     | uunet!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary
534 Shannon Way             |    Guaranteed!      | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary
Lawrenceville, GA 30244     |                     |

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

Date: Fri, 25 Mar 1994 00:29:49 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!galaxy.ucr.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com![e-mail]
Subject: want Propagation Algorithm
To: [e-mail]

I am trying to obtain material originally written by the BBC
external services:  Propagation algorithms for HF, and a
model of the Ionosphere, done by Fricker.  I have some listings
but need the original "science documents" that explain
(otherwise, one has no hope of eliminating errata) them.

Any help appreciated.
Ron
WA6MQC

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

Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 20:08:11 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!news.intercon.com!psinntp!psinntp!psinntp!arrl.org![e-mail]
To: [e-mail]

References <2mn2rd$[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>
Subject : Re: RF and AF speech processors. Was: FT-990 vs TS-850

Gary Coffman ([e-mail]) wrote:
: In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Zack Lau (KH6CP)) writes:

: >could prevent this effect?  Even before DSP, didn't people use split
: >band audio processing to reduce the content of harmonics?

: Sure, and still do in broadcasting, but it isn't either easy or cheap,
: and the results still aren't that great. You have to process in 1/3
: octave bands, and there are a lot of them at the lower end of the
: voice spectrum. You also have to adopt a control strategy that doesn't
: alter the amplitude relationships between octaves too much, or the
: time relationships *at all*, otherwise you screw up the frequency
: and phase response on a dynamic basis. That sounds *really* bad,
: worse than just harmonic distortion.  Broadcast engineers seem to
: spend half their lives tinkering with the audio processing equipment.
: It's really easier to modulate, limit at RF, filter, and demodulate
: again rather than process properly at AF.

So why don't these broadcast engineers just use RF
modulator/clipper/demodulators? :-).  There were probably
others, but even QST published "Audio Processor Using
RF Clipping" back in February, 1981.  The author generated
a SSB signal using the phasing method and demodulated it
after clipping.



--
Zack Lau  KH6CP/1           2 way QRP WAS
                           8 States on 10 GHz
Internet: [e-mail]   10 grids on 2304 MHz

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

Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 23:26:58 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!yeshua.marcam.com!news.kei.com!world![e-mail]
To: [e-mail]

References <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>ⁿ
Subject : Re: Grid Squares & Lat/Long

Scott Statton ([e-mail]) wrote:
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]

: Jay Sissom wrote:
: >: Hello!
: >
: >: Lattitude:    39' 39.303 N
: >: Longatude: 89' 10.550 W

: >: When I feed these numbers into the programs, I get EM59JP.  When I
: >: look on  the map, EM59 is in Illinois and I live in Indianapolis, IN.
: >: Is the map wrong, or is the basic program wrong?

: And Dave Tucker Replies:
: >
: >Well, the World Almanac says the coordinates for Indianapolis are
: >
: >39.7678 N
: >86.1628 W
: >
: >So I'd say that, gadget or no gadget, your Lat/Long figures are wrong.

: Well -- seeing as 39.65505N x 86.1758 is just a few miles from the
: figure in the World Almanac, I'd guess that the original article has a
: typo.

Right, it sure could be a flipped "6".  More likely than a typo is a
transcription error from the GPS device, since the coordinates given in
the original article really are in Illinois.

-drt

------------------------------------------------------------------------
|David R. Tucker        KG2S              [e-mail]|
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

End of Info-Hams Digest V94 #326
******************************