QRZ! Ham Radio 5/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 5.iso/digests/infoham/940578.txt

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Date: Thu, 26 May 94 09:09:33 PDT
From: Info-Hams Mailing List and Newsgroup <[e-mail]>
Errors-To: [e-mail]
Reply-To: [e-mail]
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: <[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: 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![e-mail]
Subject: 6146A vs 6146
To: [e-mail]

In article <2s130r$[e-mail]>,
william r finch <[e-mail]> 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![e-mail]
Subject: 6146A vs 6146
To: [e-mail]

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: [e-mail]
Subject: Bizarre QST Statement
To: [e-mail]

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:  [phone]
Lecturer in Biostatistics                               [phone] fax
Department of Academic Computing                        [phone] home
University of Massachusetts Medical School    e-mail: [e-mail]
55 Lake Avenue North                                  -.- -.. .---- .--. ..-.
Worcester, MA 01655

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

Date: 26 May 94 11:39:39 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Bizarre QST Statement
To: [e-mail]

Greg said:                                                                      edu
: Subject: Bizarre QST statement
: To: [e-mail]
:
: 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:  [phone]
Lecturer in Biostatistics                               [phone] fax
Department of Academic Computing                        [phone] home
University of Massachusetts Medical School    e-mail: [e-mail]
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![e-mail]
Subject: Bizarre QST statement
To: [e-mail]

In article <2s0pqo$dc2$[e-mail]> [e-mail] (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![e-mail]
Subject: Bizarre QST Statement
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (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![e-mail]
Subject: Bizarre QST statement
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (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![e-mail]
Subject: Bizarre QST statement
To: [e-mail]

Subject: Bizarre QST statement
From: Greg Bullough, [e-mail]
In article <[e-mail]> Greg Bullough, [e-mail] 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![e-mail]
Subject: Converting an old HT-220 to 2M
To: [e-mail]

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 [e-mail].


thanks,

-------------------------------------
Christopher S. Pak
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Center for Space Research
37-487
77 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

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

Date: 26 May 94 14:43:38 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: DX, dx and calculus
To: [e-mail]

>    "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![e-mail]
Subject: Field Day!
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]>,
[e-mail] 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
[e-mail] |   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![e-mail]
Subject: Help: FT-5200 LED Replacement
To: [e-mail]

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                      [phone] v
24 Horticulture Hall                [phone] f
Ames, IA 50011
[e-mail]
--

________________________________________________________
Glenn Pearston                      [phone] v
24 Horticulture Hall                [phone] f
Ames, IA 50011
[e-mail]

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

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![e-mail]
Subject: Looking for questions of FCC exam
To: [e-mail]

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![e-mail]
Subject: PRB-1:  How Strong?
To: [e-mail]

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.


--
                                             [e-mail]
                                             Glendale, CA
                                             AB6WR

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

Date: 26 May 1994 11:05:21 GMT
From: news2.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!news.clark.net![e-mail]
Subject: RFI Tracked Down!!
To: [e-mail]

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...   [e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 15:03:14 GMT
From: wang![e-mail]
Subject: Site to look up frequiencies
To: [e-mail]

[e-mail] (BruceG7809) writes:

>In article <[e-mail]>,
>[e-mail] (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![e-mail]
Subject: SSB Filters
To: [e-mail]

   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 [phone]



  John Birkett
     25 The Strait
       Lincoln
         LN2 1 JF
            England

       Tel  [phone]

   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![e-mail]
Subject: TenTec Omni VI anyone?
To: [e-mail]

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
******************************