QRZ! Ham Radio 5/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 5.iso/digests/infoham/940361.txt

Internet Message Format | 1994-11-13 | 27.3 KB

Date: Fri,  1 Apr 94 13:29:04 PST
From: Info-Hams Mailing List and Newsgroup <[e-mail]>
Errors-To: [e-mail]
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Precedence: Bulk
Subject: Info-Hams Digest V94 #361
To: Info-Hams


Info-Hams Digest            Fri,  1 Apr 94       Volume 94 : Issue  361

Today's Topics:
                 [News] Electricity, Leukemia Studied
       Daily Summary of Solar Geophysical Activity for 30 March
                      HELP! The FCC will not is
How phasing SSB Exciters Work (Was:  RF and AF speech processors) (2 msgs)
                           Icom 375 Wanted
                         Kill that intermod!
          RF and AF speech processors. Was: FT-990 vs TS-850
                      Was obscenity on ham bands

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: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 20:00:05 GMT
From: news.Hawaii.Edu!uhunix3.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu![e-mail]
Subject: [News] Electricity, Leukemia Studied
To: [e-mail]

Thought this might be of interest to everyone. Note that the phrase
`statistically significant' was used also by the EPA and FCC in their
joint study concerning leukemia and high RF fields conducted here in
Honolulu in regard to three bcst xmtrs located in a residential
neighborhood.

Jeff NH6IL
*********************************************************************

USA TODAY Update
March 31, 1994


ELECTRICITY, LEUKEMIA STUDIED:
   A new report finds an "association" between exposure to
magnetic fields and leukemia. The study, in next month's American
Journal of Epidemiology, looked at records of more than 223,000
electric utility workers. It found a "statistically significant"
association, but no cause-and-effect relationship, between
exposure to magnetic fields and acute nonlymphocytic leukemia.



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

Date: Wed, 30 Mar 1994 22:00:28 MST
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!cyber2.cyberstore.ca!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!alberta!ve6mgs![e-mail]
Subject: Daily Summary of Solar Geophysical Activity for 30 March
To: [e-mail]

                /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

                 DAILY SUMMARY OF SOLAR GEOPHYSICAL ACTIVITY

                                 30 MARCH, 1994

                /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

                  (Based In-Part On SESC Observational Data)


SOLAR AND GEOPHYSICAL ACTIVITY INDICES FOR 30 MARCH, 1994
---------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: The very intense stratospheric warming covers the polar region at
       10 HPA and the mean zonal wind at 60N is weakening.  The temperature
       gradient is reversed between 60N and the pole in the middle and upper
       stratosphere from 30 HPA upwards.  Final warming is in progress.

!!BEGIN!! (1.0) S.T.D. Solar Geophysical Data Broadcast for DAY 089, 03/30/94
10.7 FLUX=086.3  90-AVG=102        SSN=048      BKI=1123 3333  BAI=011
BGND-XRAY=A5.5     FLU1=1.3E+06  FLU10=1.2E+04  PKI=1114 3333  PAI=012
  BOU-DEV=007,008,011,037,034,020,026,030   DEV-AVG=021 NT     SWF=00:000
 XRAY-MAX= C1.7   @ 0813UT    XRAY-MIN= A3.0   @ 0705UT   XRAY-AVG= A9.7
NEUTN-MAX= +001%  @ 2310UT   NEUTN-MIN= -003%  @ 1310UT  NEUTN-AVG= -0.3%
  PCA-MAX= +0.2DB @ 2215UT     PCA-MIN= -0.3DB @ 0605UT    PCA-AVG= +0.0DB
BOUTF-MAX=55341NT @ 0820UT   BOUTF-MIN=55305NT @ 1901UT  BOUTF-AVG=55330NT
GOES7-MAX=P:+000NT@ 0000UT   GOES7-MIN=N:+000NT@ 0000UT  G7-AVG=+073,+000,+000
GOES6-MAX=P:+120NT@ 1819UT   GOES6-MIN=N:-077NT@ 0658UT  G6-AVG=+091,+020,-036
 FLUXFCST=STD:085,085,085;SESC:085,085,085 BAI/PAI-FCST=010,010,010/010,010,010
    KFCST=2104 5011 2104 5011  27DAY-AP=027,004   27DAY-KP=3456 4122 1112 1111
 WARNINGS=
   ALERTS=
!!END-DATA!!

NOTE: The Effective Sunspot Number for 29 MAR 94 was  47.5.
      The Full Kp Indices for 29 MAR 94 are: 2+ 1o 2- 2-   2- 1+ 2- 2o
      The 3-Hr Ap Indices for 29 MAR 94 are:  10   4   7   7   7   5   7   8
      Greater than 2 MeV Electron Fluence for 30 MAR is: 3.0E+07


SYNOPSIS OF ACTIVITY
--------------------

             Solar activity was low due to an optically uncorrelated
       C1.7 flare at 30/0813Z. Region 7695 (S15W23) is decaying slowly.
       New Region 7698 (S16E02) emerged on the disk.

            Solar activity forecast:  solar activity is expected to be
       very low, but there is an outside chance of an isolated C flare.

            The geomagnetic field was quiet until 30/0900Z and mostly
       unsettled afterwards.

            Geophysical activity forecast:  the geomagnetic field is
       expected to be quiet to unsettled.

            Event probabilities 31 mar-02 apr

                             Class M    01/01/01
                             Class X    01/01/01
                             Proton     01/01/01
                             PCAF       Green

            Geomagnetic activity probabilities 31 mar-02 apr

                        A.  Middle Latitudes
                        Active                15/15/15
                        Minor Storm           10/10/10
                        Major-Severe Storm    05/05/05

                        B.  High Latitudes
                        Active                15/15/15
                        Minor Storm           10/10/10
                        Major-Severe Storm    05/05/05

            HF propagation conditions were normal over all regions.
       Normal conditions will persist over at least the next 3 days.
       Fair propagation will exist for the high and polar latitudes,
       good propagation over the middle latitudes, and good to very
       good propagation for the low and equatorial latitudes.
       Occasional night-sector minor signal degradation may affect
       some transauroral paths.


COPIES OF JOINT USAF/NOAA SESC SOLAR GEOPHYSICAL REPORTS
========================================================

REGIONS WITH SUNSPOTS. LOCATIONS VALID AT 30/2400Z MARCH
--------------------------------------------------------
NMBR LOCATION  LO  AREA  Z   LL   NN MAG TYPE
7695  S15W23  057  0010 BXO  07  009 BETA
7696  S16W62  096  0010 BXO  02  003 BETA
7698  S16E02  032  0020 CRO  03  006 BETA
7694  N11W37  071                    PLAGE
7697  N12W08  042                    PLAGE
REGIONS DUE TO RETURN 31 MARCH TO 02 APRIL
NMBR LAT    LO
NONE


LISTING OF SOLAR ENERGETIC EVENTS FOR 30 MARCH, 1994
----------------------------------------------------
BEGIN  MAX  END  RGN   LOC   XRAY  OP 245MHZ 10CM   SWEEP
NONE


POSSIBLE CORONAL MASS EJECTION EVENTS FOR 30 MARCH, 1994
--------------------------------------------------------
 BEGIN        MAX      END     LOCATION   TYPE   SIZE  DUR  II IV
30/B1104             B1255       S21W53   DSF


INFERRED CORONAL HOLES. LOCATIONS VALID AT 30/2400Z
---------------------------------------------------
               ISOLATED HOLES AND POLAR EXTENSIONS
      EAST   SOUTH  WEST   NORTH  CAR  TYPE  POL  AREA   OBSN
72   N25W42 N12W59 N15W62 N28W48  082  ISO   POS   003 10830A
73   S50E86 S52E36 S31W09 S21E01  352  EXT   NEG   044 10830A


SUMMARY OF FLARE EVENTS FOR THE PREVIOUS UTC DAY
------------------------------------------------

 Date   Begin  Max   End  Xray  Op Region  Locn    2695 MHz  8800 MHz  15.4 GHz
------  ----  ----  ----  ----  -- ------ ------  --------- --------- ---------
29 Mar: 0612  0623  0630  B3.1  SF  7697  N10E19
        0905  0910  0915  B2.8  SF  7696  S18W40
        1539  1550  1612  B6.1  SF  7697  N10E13


REGION FLARE STATISTICS FOR THE PREVIOUS UTC DAY
------------------------------------------------

                C   M   X     S   1   2   3   4   Total   (%)
               --  --  --    --  --  --  --  --    ---  ------
  Region 7696:  0   0   0     1   0   0   0   0    001  (33.3)
  Region 7697:  0   0   0     2   0   0   0   0    002  (66.7)
Uncorrellated: 0   0   0     0   0   0   0   0    000  ( 0.0)

 Total Events: 003 optical and x-ray.


EVENTS WITH SWEEPS AND/OR OPTICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE LAST UTC DAY
----------------------------------------------------------------

 Date   Begin  Max   End  Xray  Op Region  Locn    Sweeps/Optical Observations
------  ----  ----  ----  ----  -- ------ ------   ---------------------------
                            NO EVENTS OBSERVED.

NOTES:
     All times are in Universal Time (UT).  Characters preceding begin, max,
     and end times are defined as:  B = Before,  U = Uncertain,  A = After.
     All times associated with x-ray flares (ex. flares which produce
     associated x-ray bursts) refer to the begin, max, and end times of the
     x-rays.  Flares which are not associated with x-ray signatures use the
     optical observations to determine the begin, max, and end times.

     Acronyms used to identify sweeps and optical phenomena include:

          II        = Type II Sweep Frequency Event
          III       = Type III Sweep
          IV        = Type IV Sweep
          V         = Type V Sweep
          Continuum = Continuum Radio Event
          Loop      = Loop Prominence System,
          Spray     = Limb Spray,
          Surge     = Bright Limb Surge,
          EPL       = Eruptive Prominence on the Limb.


**  End of Daily Report  **

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

Date: Thu, 31 Mar 94 09:15:00 -0800
From: netcomsv!netcomsv!nitelog![e-mail]
Subject: HELP! The FCC will not is
To: [e-mail]

JWH>It will be 90 days on April 6th since the FCC has had my application.  This
JWH>my first ham license, I have _not_ had a ham license canceled by the FCC.

 Call your US Congressman's office - relate your saga to the "gopher" in
 his/her office. You should be able to get an answer within a short time!

Message written at 9:03am, on Thursday, March 31, 1994.

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

Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 20:20:58 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!csn!col.hp.com!srgenprp![e-mail]
Subject: How phasing SSB Exciters Work (Was:  RF and AF speech processors)
To: [e-mail]

John Welch ([e-mail]) wrote:

:     So, the audio phase shift is the only 'interesting' part...
: How, pray tell, can one having only the usual ham test gear (scope,
: probably, dmm, maybe power supply) make the RF phase shift be 90
: degrees and the same amplitude at, say 12MHz?

Easy:  Just feed in an audio tone to the mic input and adjust the
RF amplitude and phase until the unwanted sideband disappears.

:     One other interesting thing re: phasing vs filtering:  you'll
: need *some* additional filtering to do a transmitter anyway (for SSB
: at least).

Not really, unless you want to do RF clipping.  And in that case, you
still have saved one of the two required crystal filters.

: This filter will cost you $$, and if you already have to
: spend the $$ why not use it for the receiver too?  That rather neatly
: explains why darned few commercial ham rigs use phasing any more.

Or turn it the other way around:  Since the receiver portion of a
transceiver already has a crystal filter, why not use it for the
transmitter as well?  I think that's the reason you don't find
phasing-type SSB generators in commercial transceivers.

AL N1AL

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

Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 20:51:38 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!dog.ee.lbl.gov!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!csn!col.hp.com!srgenprp![e-mail]
Subject: How phasing SSB Exciters Work (Was:  RF and AF speech processors)
To: [e-mail]

Gary Coffman ([e-mail]) wrote:

: In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Alan Bloom) writes:

: >The audio phase shift network is the interesting (read difficult) part
: >of the system.  It must maintain a 90 degree phase difference and
: >excellent amplitude matching between the two outputs over something like
: >a 10:1 frequency range (300 Hz - 3000 Hz).  It generally does that by
: >causing each of the two outputs to have a constantly-rising phase shift
: >versus frequency characteristic, like thus:
: >                             / /
: >Phase Shift                 / /
: >                           / /
: >   720 deg                / /
: >                         / /
: >                        / /
: >   540 deg             / /
: >                      / /
: >                     / /
: >   360 deg          / /
: >                 I / /
: >                  / / Q
: >   180 deg       / /
: >                / /
: >               / /
: >     0 deg ___/_/
: >                |   |   |   |   |
: >              300 600 1200 2400 4800 Hz
: >                     Frequency

: Now this chart illustrates the problem I've been talking about. As
: we can see, the difference in delay with frequency is quite marked.
: Sure the phase delay increases *smoothly* with frequency delta, but
: the magnitude of the error rapidly climbs with increasing frequency
: delta. This is our old friend click-boom.   ...

Other people besided Gary may be confused by this, so I'll post an
explanation.

The graph above plots phase, not delay.  A constant delay results in
a constantly-rising phase plot.  For example, a 1 millisecond delay
is 36 degrees at 100 Hz, 360 degrees at 1000 Hz, 3600 degrees at
10,000 Hz, etc.

Constant delay does not cause the "click-boom" that Gary mentioned.
Think about it:  You could record a voice on a tape recorder and play
it back DAYS later without any "click boom."  It's only when the
delay is different at different frequencies (that is, the phase versus
frequency plot is not a straight line) that there is a potential problem.

While the plot above looks like a straight line, it really isn't because
of the logarithmic x-axis.  However, as the chart that Tom Bruhns posted of
a typical phase-shift network shows, it really isn't too bad.  His chart
shows that between 400 and 2786 Hz, the maximum phase error from a straight
line varies smoothly between +17.2 to -20.9 degrees, which is far better
than you would get with a typical transceiver-type crystal filter.

I expect most of the delay variation would come from the audio filter
(that comes before the phase-shift network).  Such a filter can be
much flatter than a typical crystal filter for the three reasons I
mentioned in a previous posting:  (1) Doesn't need as sharp a cutoff
as a receiver-type filter, (2) Can use a filter type with inherently
flatter delay (non-Chebyshev), and (3) Pole Q and placement are much
easier to control at audio frequencies than at RF.

AL N1AL

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

Date: 31 Mar 1994 17:02:06 -0500
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!galaxy.ucr.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!nic-nac.CSU.net!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!news.ans.net!hp81.prod.aol.net!search01.news.aol.com!@network
Subject: Icom 375 Wanted
To: [e-mail]

I am interested in acquiring an Icom 375, 222 MHz all-mode rig.

If anyone is interested in selling one, please E-Mail me at
PerryB1237@AOL..COM.

Thanks,

Perry

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

Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 20:08:29 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!csn!col.hp.com!srgenprp![e-mail]
Subject: Kill that intermod!
To: [e-mail]

Ken A. Nishimura ([e-mail]) wrote:
: In article <[e-mail]>,
: Ed Hare (KA1CV) <[e-mail]> wrote:
: >The ARRL Laboratory wants to start testing the out-of-band intermod
: >performance of VHF FM rigs and publishing the results in our
: >QST Product Reviews. We are already measuring in-band third-order
: >IMD, so the test methods are established. What I would like is
: >some reports on specific out-of-band IMD problems that are being
: >experienced in metro areas, frequencies, locations, etc. Please send
: >the reports to [e-mail].

:   Find the 3rd order and 5th order (if you wish) intercept
: point, and then publish the frequency response of the front
: end RF filter, and you're done.  Given those two pieces of
: information, you will have a very good idea of what kind of
: intermod problem you get in that receiver.

I agree.

The only problem is that it might be hard to get at the output of the
radio's front-end filter for testing.  Another method to obtain the
same information would be to plot the 3rd-order intercept point as a
function of tone spacing.  Plot it with tone spacing (frequency)
on a logarithmic axis so you can get in-band and out-of-band info
on the same chart.  That would actually be more useful information
than Ken's method.

: >Some of the "IMD" problems being reported are probably receiver
: >image problems, so we are also going to measure and report the
: >image rejection. If anyone has reports of image-response interference,
: >I would like to know about that, too.

: Barring the use of image supression mixers (which I haven't
: seen yet on VHF+ ham rigs), the front end response
: is all you need, plus the tuning function, if any.

I'm not sure what the block diagrams of these radios look like, but if
they are using a low-frequency first IF (10.7 or 21.4 MHz) without
image-reject mixers, then the image rejection will be 0 dB.  How do
they get around the problem?  Up-convert to a high first IF?

: There are WAY TOO MANY possible combinations of frequencies
: that will cause intermod under the right conditions.  I think
: what people want is a figure of merit that makes comparison
: easy.  3rd order intercept point is about the best FOM
: there is.

Agreed.

AL N1AL

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

Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 19:57:50 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!csn!col.hp.com!srgenprp![e-mail]
Subject: RF and AF speech processors. Was: FT-990 vs TS-850
To: [e-mail]

Kok Chen ([e-mail]) wrote:
: [e-mail] (Zack Lau (KH6CP)) writes:

: >If you clip an ideal DSB waveform (1 kHz modulation), aren't there
: >two tones spaced 1 kHz apart that could generate IMD products at
: >1.5 kHz and 1.5 kHz (receiver output)?  What if you had a significant
: >amount of carrier leakthrough that was cleaned up by the crystal
: >filter?  Couldn't this give you extra tones at 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5
: >kHz (at the receiver)?

: Wait... I am completely confused by Zack's arguments.

: A DSB signal that has a 1 kc modulation consists of two "carriers"
: spaced 2 kc apart, not 1 kc, no?  (Imagine AM with 1 kc modulation.
: Now take away the carrier.)

Right.  If you assume Zack meant .5 kHz modulation, then it makes sense:
The two sidebands are carrier + and - .5 kHz and the third-order
IMD products are carrier + and - 1.5 kHz.  So the recovered audio has
a third harmonic, but no second harmonic.  So symmetrical clipping of
a DSB waveform is the same as symmetrical clipping of the baseband
audio in that it generates odd-order products, but not even-order.

AL N1AL

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

Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 19:28:05 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!emory!news-feed-2.peachnet.edu!concert!unccsun.uncc.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Was obscenity on ham bands
To: [e-mail]

In article [e-mail], [e-mail] (Sandy Lynch) writes:

> PS: There are plenty of Extra Class licensees who are guilty of the
> transgressions you mention.  You should NOT infer that I am saying
> anything about "no coders".  I've lived in Japan for many, many
> years where  92% of all licensed amateur stations belong to "no coders".
> They are pretty good - but, there are the bad apples in every barrel.
>

The 92% figure made me curious.  Does anyone know the percentage
breakdown for the various classes world wide and in the US?

Jerre

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

Date: 31 Mar 1994 20:25:32 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!csn!col.hp.com!news.dtc.hp.com!hpscit.sc.hp.com![e-mail]
To: [e-mail]

References <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>
Subject : Re: How phasing SSB Exciters Work (Was:  RF and AF speech processors)

In article <[e-mail]>, John Welch <[e-mail]> wrote:

>    My dual-trace scope is not perfectly calibrated, so that's
>out.  Generating 48MHz and using flip-flops to get 12MHz in quadrature
>doesn't work well in reality (theory is great, but unless your 48MHz
>signal is *exactly* 50% duty cycle it has a *strong*component at just
>under half of 48MHz, usually near 22MHz.  Flip-flops, like all

No, you get a spur at exactly 24 MHz, the second harmonic.  If you
drive the mixer differentially from Q and Qbar, I believe this
second harmonic will cancel out for all practical purposes.
Many popular mixers (SBL-1 etc) have floating LO windings that make
this easy to do.

Also, the propagation delay doesn't have to be zero, it only has to
be identical between the I and Q outputs, which if they are flip
flops on the same chip will be very close (easily under a nanosecond
for FACT logic, 100 psec. for ECLIPSE logic.)

The tough part isn't the audio 90 degree shift or the RF 90 degree shift,
it's getting amplitude and phase matched mixers.

Rick Karlquist N6RK
[e-mail]

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

Date: 31 Mar 1994 21:55:54 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!newsrelay.iastate.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!ncar!csn!col.hp.com!fc.hp.com!news.lvld.hp.com![e-mail]
To: [e-mail]

References <2n73kp$[e-mail]>, <2nadnh$[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>at
Subject : Re: Obscenity on ham bands

Jeffrey Herman ([e-mail]) wrote:
I wrote:
: >(PS - Does anybody in Hawaii ever work 75 phone?  I'd love to get my
: >last state on the band, but I've never even heard a Hawaiin station, let
: >alone been able to contact one!)

: Scott: We don't have phones out here - the sharks kept eating the phone
: lines between here and you folks. We only have CW.

Good grief.  Thanks for your help.

: You'll get the natives angry if you misspell `Hawaiian' - when they get
: mad they start eating white people...     ;)

Sigh.  As soon as I posted this one and reread it, I just knew someone
would be compelled to correct the spelling.  Thanks Jeff.  I'm very
sorry that my fingers were lagging somewhat behind my brain.  I'll try
not to let that happen again.

BTW, I seriously doubt that the "natives" much care about the anglicized
spelling of one of their words.

BTW^2, I'm sure the original poster is reading Jeff's remarks with much
amusement.


Scott Turner  N0VRF  [e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 16:04:21 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!emory!rsiatl!ke4zv![e-mail]
To: [e-mail]

References <2n7e2a$[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>
Reply-To : [e-mail] (Gary Coffman)
Subject : Re: But Seriously

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Greg Bullough) writes:
>The subject is 'what kind of award makes sense for no-code techs?'
>At risk of sounding a bit patronizing, I'd look really hard at the
>Boy Scout merit-badge and ranking model.

It *is* a bit patronizing to think that adults require merit badges,
but such is life. Any voluntary concept that encourages people to
experiment and try new things can't be all bad.

>So, we can start by listing some things that are worth-while for the
>new ham to try, by which s/he'll learn. And some categories to put
>those things in (e.g. Technical, Operational, Experimental, Organizational).
>
>And yes, I think a couple of repeater contacts ought to be worth something,
>but not in and of itself. Here's a partial list of things that might
>score points toward the, Personal Frontiers award:
>
>    1. Technical
>       a. Complete a home-brew antenna project
>       b. Install a mobile rig in your car
>       c. Find a cable-TV leak

Good, good, good.

>       d. Build a code-practice oscillator

Not relevant to the code test free licensee. Better would be some
station accessory that's really useful to the code test free licensee
such as a Baycom kit.

>       e. Build an HF receiver kit

Not really relevant to the code test free licensee. Better would be a UHF
transmitter or receiver project.

>    2. Operational
>       a. Complete a VHF or UHF simplex QSO of more than
>          <pick a figure> miles

Smacks of Dxing, but Ok.

>       b. Complete a VHF or UHF QSO on SSB or CW

Or ATV, packet, satellite, etc.

>       c. Participate in a fox-hunt
>       d. Check into a VHF or UHF traffic net
>       e. Handle a piece of traffic from a PBBS

Good, good, good.

>       f. Sign up for an upgrade class
>       g. Get up to 5 words per minute.

Neither relevant to the code test free licensee.

>    3. Organizational
>       a. Attend a meeting of a local ham club
>       b. Provide amateur radio communications at a public event,
>          under sponsorship of a local amateur radio group
>       c. Participate in RACES or ARES activities during
>          an emergency
>       d. Attend a ham-fest...

All good.

>I'm sure there are more that can be added. The idea is to figure out the things
>that new hams can be doing to grow and develop in the hobby/service and
>both suggest them and recognize an effort towards giving them a try. The list
>of items has to be big enough so that the issue of 'but we haven't had a
>natural disaster this year' doesn't really hamper getting a certificate.
>
>I'd limit the award to the first couple of years after licensing, and
>also to Novice and Technician classes.  The idea is to get NEW hams expanding
>their horizons, trying new things, and into the various organizations.

Wouldn't hurt to get some of the old duffers to try a few new things too.
Many have fallen into a rut. I wouldn't limit this to just new hams. Make
it something *all* hams can do together. But lay off the Morse and "upgrade"
stuff. The Tech license isn't a way station, it's an end to itself intended
to fill the VHF/UHF bands with activity. Let's concentrate on that and let
those who want HF follow the Novice track to General. There are already
plenty of HF awards.

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     |                     |

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End of Info-Hams Digest V94 #361
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