QRZ! Ham Radio 5/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 5.iso/digests/infoham/940790.txt

Internet Message Format | 1994-11-13 | 21.1 KB

Date: Thu, 14 Jul 94 04:30:14 PDT
From: Info-Hams Mailing List and Newsgroup <[e-mail]>
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Subject: Info-Hams Digest V94 #790
To: Info-Hams


Info-Hams Digest            Thu, 14 Jul 94       Volume 94 : Issue  790

Today's Topics:
                     2M opening to Hawaii de CA.
                      ARLB059 Emergency declared
                          Beginner Questions
                              Drake Net
             Federal Communications Law Journal ON-LINE!
                    Icom 737 Fan..can you hear it?
                      Kenwood TM742 and birdies
                 Learning the dreaded CODE! (3 msgs)
                Letter to Washington about FCC delays

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: Wed, 13 Jul 1994 18:23:59 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!sdd.hp.com!col.hp.com!srgenprp![e-mail]
Subject: 2M opening to Hawaii de CA.
To: [e-mail]

Bob Wilkins  n6fri ([e-mail]) wrote:

: The real dx record was set by Chip Angle N6CA and KH6HME on 2304 MHz !
: Palos Verdes in southern California to Moana Loa in Hawaii.


 I don't know that this is a new record.  I think this has already been
on ham bands done through 5.7 GHz.  As I understand it, the struggle at
the moment is to get 10,368 MHz signals through and make a 1st QSO
there.  Evidently the southern California guys, I'm sure n6ca included,
have not yet been able to hear kh6hme thus far on 10 GHz in spite of
concerted efforts.

  I just talked with kk6tg who is going to try from Northern CA this
afternoon if he can get it coordinated.  He worked kh6hme yesterday from
the coast on both 2M and 432 MHz.  KH6HME said he was S9+40.  KK6TG
indicated that it was the strongest signal he had ever heard including
locals.  In spite of this it took considerable time to make the QSO.
The QRM on the Hawaiian end must be horrendous.   Bruce (KK6TG) indicated
that he couldn't hear him with the antenna disconnected entirely but
signals were strong enough that he tried. Bruce was running 10 watts
and a 6' yagi on 2M SSB.
  His 10 GHz station is several watts and a 2' dish, last I checked.

  Inland stations on the east side of California's central valley are
hearing and I believe working Hawaiian stations on 2M.  It is reportedly
providing the strongest signals ever heard from California in Hawaii and
stations from at least Washington state to Tijuana Mexico have been
worked.

  There is evidently a weather system/storm to the west of Hawaii which
could threaten the duct but it was reported to be moving *west* at about
12 knots so should become less of a threat.  CA weather is fairly stable
so this thing may continue for some time yet.


Glenn Elmore n6gn

amateur IP:    [e-mail]
Internet:    [e-mail]

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

Date: 13 Jul 1994 17:39:23 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!agate!spool.mu.edu!sgiblab!wrdis02.robins.af.mil![e-mail]
Subject: ARLB059 Emergency declared
To: [e-mail]

Jeffrey Herman ([e-mail]) wrote:

: What was this all about? Was it an exercise?


Well, we were having a little flood here in Georgia and the folks on
3975 were trying to pass a little traffic associated with that
emergency.  We wish it had been an exercise.. But, Alberto was not in
the mood..  So, we had the real thing..

73,

Larry, KQ4BY

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

Date: Wed, 13 Jul 1994 18:35:47 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!news.csuohio.edu!vmcms.csuohio.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Beginner Questions
To: [e-mail]

In article <2vvblj$[e-mail]>
[e-mail] (Dan Brown) writes:

>
>    First, I'd like to mention that I have read the FAQ.  If I missed
>something in there re: these questions, pointers are appreciated.
>
   << questions that I don't want to try to answer deleted >>
>
>    I would really like a book that covers the stuff for the licences,
>but in a different format--something like an actual book on the subject,
>rather than "these are the answers to the questions they'll ask, and the
>reasons why they're right."  I'd really like something I'd have a chance
>at finding in a rather well-stocked general bookstore, but any
>recommendations for such a book would be appreciated.
>
I wanted the same thing when I was studying.  The best I could find was
the ARRL Handbook.  You don't just sit down and read it from beginning to
end, of course.  You look up the sections that address the stuff that the
exam questions are about.
>
>    In the FAQ, it says that the CW test is administered by playing a
>QSO and then giving a 10-question multiple choice test on its contents.
>If the applicant fails to answer at least 7 questions correctly, the
>examiner looks for at least one minute of solid copy, no errors.  In the
>book, however, it says that the examiner will first look for one minute of
>solid copy; if it's not there, s/he will administer a 10-question test of
>either the multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank variety.  Which of these
>descriptions is more accurate?  The former sounds a bit easier.
>
The last time I took a code test, about 3 years ago, it was fill-in-the-
blank.  You can anticipate the questions, as they will almost surely
be about the two operators callsigns, QTHs, RSTs, and first
names -- and maybe WX reports.


>    Other than these tapes, what else might I want to try for learning
>code?  Listening to actual radio stuff is out right now, as I don't have a
>radio.  I'm doing pretty well at 5 wpm so far (about 1/2-way through the
>course, and still copying 95-100%).
>
I think you are ready now, except that it could sure help a lot to copy
some on-the-air QSOs just to see that a lot of them follow a fairly
rigid pattern, and you learn what to expect.
   ---- Phil Emerson, AA8JO

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

Date: 13 Jul 1994 18:28:17 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!sdd.hp.com!col.hp.com!fc.hp.com!news.lvld.hp.com![e-mail]
Subject: Drake Net
To: [e-mail]

Greg Bullough ([e-mail]) wrote:
: I recall recent mention of an East Coast Drake user group which meets
: on 75m on Saturday. Unfortunately, the time and frequency slipped
: off the spool before I grabbed it.

: Can whoever knows post or email when it is?

Posting, since others may be interested.

According to information someone sent some time ago it is:

    3.865 Saturday @ 8:00PM Eastern

Note that I've not been able to verify this from Colorado this summer.
Hopefully I'll be able to participate this fall when the QRN settles
down a bit.

BTW, anybody interested in setting up a similar net in this part of the
world?  Surely there are other plains/inter-mountain Drake enthusiasts
out there!

: Thanks

Welcome.  Always happy to hear from other Drake users.


Scott Turner  KG0MR  [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 13 Jul 1994 19:12:45 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!news.ucdavis.edu!modem54.ucdavis.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Federal Communications Law Journal ON-LINE!
To: [e-mail]

The law school at Indiana University is now making the Federal Communications
Law Journal available via the WWW at
URL=http://www.law.indiana.edu/fclj/fclj.html
This month's issue includes an article about federal preemption of local
antenna ordinances.  It is based on a Sat. dish case but may be of interest to
the ham radio population too.

cheers,
Dan KC6UUD

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

Date: 14 Jul 94 01:46:28 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Icom 737 Fan..can you hear it?
To: [e-mail]

I have had an Icom 737 HF transceiver for several months and am very
satisfied (except for the strange layout of the numerical keypad). I do have
one question.  Does the fan ever go on?  I have never heard it. I usually
transmit no more than 1 minute at a time (although I have gone as long as
two minutes). The unit is supposed to have a 100% duty cycle. I have never
heard it during phone or  CW modes.  I'd appreciate any comments from Icom
owners...is this normal operation for this unit? Thanks...
KB1AWV................ Internet: [e-mail]

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

Date: 12 Jul 1994 19:09:02 -0400
From: newstf01.cr1.aol.com!search01.news.aol.com![e-mail]
Subject: Kenwood TM742 and birdies
To: [e-mail]

A friend of mine recently acquired from HRO a Kenwood TM742 radio. It
comes standard with 2 meters and the 440 MHz band modules. He also added
the 220 MHz band module as the third band.

When he took the radio home, he hooked it up to an outside antenna and
tried scanning some of the bands thru the VFO. One of the first things he
noticed is how many birdies he was hearing on the 2 meter module... inside
as well as outside the ham bands.

Thinking he had a defective unit... he returned it to HRO and picked up
another one and this time asked if he could have it tested there at the
store. Not a problem... they put it on the bench... hooked it up to an
antenna and the birdies are there on that one too. I think he has said
they are every 100 KHz or so. So they stick it on a dummy load and they
reduce in strength significantly. On the external antenna they show up at
about a S3 to an S5.... but on the dummy load they are about an S1....
they CAN be heard!

He still has the radio... supposedly Kenwood says that when they are
hooked up to a perfect 50 ohm load, the birdies are within spec!

Has anyone else experinced this problem with this radio? It has been
around for awhile but being as I didn't have one... I did not pay any real
attention to any messages about the problem on the net. I have a 741 and I
certainly do not have that kind of problem... mine has 6 and 2 meter and
the 400 MHz band modules... could that be the problem?

Anyone have any thoughts about this situation??? Are there any mods for
the radio that fixed it? Is there a 742a model that I am not aware of?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts, suggestions and recomendations!

73 for now.... c u on the shortwaves
Terry Stader - KA8SCP
America Online Ham Radio Club Host
Macintosh Ham Radio Software List Maintainer
Internet: [e-mail] (files <28K)  or
          [e-mail] ( files >28K)
KA8SCP@WA1PHY.#EMA.MA.USA.NOAM
[e-mail] [44.56.4.82] Mac
[e-mail] [44.56.4.120] DOS Clone

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

Date: 13 Jul 1994 10:23:14 -0700
From: nntp.crl.com!crl5.crl.com![e-mail]
Subject: Learning the dreaded CODE!
To: [e-mail]

Erich Franz Stocker ([e-mail]) wrote:

: All these responses to YOU TOO CAN LEARN THE CODE, tend to paint
: simplistic pictures of ease that have at their heart that people
: who can't seem to learn the code are just lazy.  Like any thing that
: one learns (or in this case memorizes), things come easy for some and
: not for others.
: For the past year I have been trying to get up to 13wpm.  I practice
: every day for at least 30min and many days twice for 30min.  I can,
: with 90% accuracy, take 5, 6 or 7 character random code groups (on
: my computer not with pencil) at 18wpm.  However, when I shift to
: random length code groups, I have trouble even getting 10 wpm at a
: less than 90% accuracy rate.
: I dare defy any one to tell me that I have been lazy in learning the
: code. I also defy anyone to tell me that it is easy for me regardless
: of how easy it was for them.
: After a close to a year of being able to take fixed length random
: code groups at 18wpm and still not being able to complete 13 wpm
: transmission rate, I'm fairly bored with the entire process. Beeping
: away is not my idea of fun or challenge.  Quite honestly, its just a
: big bore.
: Erich

I can see that you are somewhat frustrated to say the least and not
the least bit lazy. I do not see any where that you got on the air
and had some CW QSO's. I flunked my 13wpm code test the first time
I took it after doing about what you are doing, all practice and no
air time. I took my key after that and plugged it in and had my first
CW QSO. It was really shaky! I then did 2 or 3 CW QSO's a day and also
practiced using SuperMorse for about 20 minutes a day. In no time at all
I was up to 17wpm and able to have some nice contacts on CW! I found this
worked much better then just doing practice as it seemed to burn it into
my brain. I hope you try this method as it a lot of fun besides!

Jeff (used to be CW frustrated too) Jones

--
[e-mail] |  Be an idiot, work for a living and vote Republican.
AB6MB         |  Republican: A party devoted to destroying the middle class.
              |    Democrat: A party devoted to protecting the middle class.

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

Date: 13 Jul 94 13:35:36 -0500
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!noc.near.net!news.tufts.edu!news.hnrc.tufts.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Learning the dreaded CODE!
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Sandy Lynch) writes:
> John Derry ([e-mail]) wrote:
>
> : When I hear a ham friend say,  "I just can't learn Morse code.", I ask
> : him,  "What's this:   dah di da dit  dah dah di dah?"
>
> : They (almost) always say,  "That's easy. It's CQ."
>
> : To which I replay, "See you CAN learn MC, now all you nead to do is learn
> : the other 24 letters."
>
> An even easier one that virtually EVERYBODY knows is:
>
>       ooo --- ooo    dididit dahdahdah dididit     S O S
>

Just one more letter:  K.  Then you can send  ...  ---  -.-.  -.-  ...
Bet you didn't realize you knew how to transmit in Spanish!

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

Date: 13 Jul 94 13:32:07 -0500
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!noc.near.net!news.tufts.edu!news.hnrc.tufts.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Learning the dreaded CODE!
To: [e-mail]

In article <300hvs$[e-mail]>, Erich Franz Stocker <[e-mail]> writes:

> For the past year I have been trying to get up to 13wpm.  I practice
> every day for at least 30min and many days twice for 30min.  I can,
> with 90% accuracy, take 5, 6 or 7 character random code groups (on
> my computer not with pencil) at 18wpm.  However, when I shift to
> random length code groups, I have trouble even getting 10 wpm at a
> less than 90% accuracy rate.

But most transmissions aren't random (although I expect an argument from those
who send/recieve WX HR etc.).
Has your skill at transcribing code increased over the last year?  I'll bet
the answer is yes.  I'm also willing to bet that you could pass the 13 wpm test
with little trouble.

> After a close to a year of being able to take fixed length random
> code groups at 18wpm and still not being able to complete 13 wpm
> transmission rate, I'm fairly bored with the entire process. Beeping
> away is not my idea of fun or challenge.  Quite honestly, its just a
> big bore.

If I were transcribing as much random code as you, I'd have given up ages ago.
Why not try working with real transmissions and let your speed develop while
doing something pleasurable?

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

Date: 13 Jul 1994 18:33:17 GMT
From: pa.dec.com!src.dec.com!src.dec.com![e-mail]
Subject: Letter to Washington about FCC delays
To: [e-mail]

Anytime the government requires a license they can't issue in a timely fashion,
that's bearocratic mismanegement, "bungling" in the colloquial. What's a
"timely fashion"? Whatever satisfies the people on whom the license requirement
is imposed. In this case, I don't think any new Hams are happy about the 17
week delay, as witnessed by the postings here and the many phone calls the
FCC seems to be receiving about delayed licenses.

Would I pay a fee for a license? Gladly. I pay or all other licensing, so why
not this, too? It's not like this is a cheap hobby. I'm going to go out and
spend 100s, probably 1000s of dollars, on this hobby in a lifetime, so what
does a small 1 time fee matter to me? And why do you say $105? It seems to me
a $10 fee would raise $150K for just part of this year (15,000 license backlog
currently). This is a nominal amount that would pay for a bunch of data
entry people to reduce the license time.

If our congressional representatives cut the budget without forseeing this
difficulty, then they bungled, not the FCC. If the ARRL opposed license fees
(which I understand they did), then they bungled. No one is doing me a service
by saving me 10 bucks and making me wait 17 weeks.

Regards,
Ira

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

Date: 13 Jul 1994 18:07:44 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!sdd.hp.com!col.hp.com!fc.hp.com![e-mail]
To: [e-mail]

References <[e-mail]>, <geist.773932560@ukelele>, <2vuvnq$[e-mail]>
Subject : Re: Kenwood TH-79A info wanted

Overheard two hams talking about the TH-79 -- one was pretty amazed and
disappointed that there is apparently no way to mark a memory channel to
be skipped during scanning.  The only apparent way to fake this is to
set a PL squelch up in the memory channel.

Bully for Kenwood for including an on-line user manual, although
I would prefer they just made the radio less confusing to operate.

Also, I can't resist a comment:

Fred Lloyd [Phoenix SE] ([e-mail]) wrote:

: Other comments:  No backlit keypad.  Yes, it's a bummer but then I
: tried to use the famous FT-530 and found it to be the most confusing
: piece of techno-babble-function-key-musical-note-junk that I ever tried
: (unsuccessfully) to operate...

You obviously never tried the TH78 :-)


-Paul C.   KG0CZ

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

Date: 13 Jul 1994 10:23:13 -0700
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!news.cerf.net!ccnet.com!ccnet.com![e-mail]
To: [e-mail]

References <[e-mail]>, <2vv4io$[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>
Subject : Re: 2M opening to Hawaii de CA.

[e-mail] wrote:

: Bob--  Did you jump in and make a contact?  I don't remember hearing your call.
: I also heard that the next morning a ham worked AH6GG simplex with 5 watts
: while crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.

I was able to hear you and Eric kd6yno having a blast! I usually like to
talk dx direct so just listened in to the fun. The Honolulu 147.06
repeater was audible here from time to time last night.

The real dx record was set by Chip Angle N6CA and KH6HME on 2304 MHz !
Palos Verdes in southern California to Moana Loa in Hawaii.

Just think... if you upgrade to Extra we will all be able to work Japan
on 2meters :)

Bob








--
     Bob Wilkins                     work    [e-mail]
 Berkeley, California                home    [e-mail]
     94701-0710                      play    n6fri@n6eeg.#nocal.ca.usa.noam

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

Date: 13 Jul 1994 17:58:29 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!netline-fddi.jpl.nasa.gov!sookit![e-mail]
To: [e-mail]

References <[e-mail]>, <300hvs$[e-mail]>, <3017u2$[e-mail]>r
Reply-To : [e-mail]
Subject : Re: Learning the dreaded CODE!

Jeff Jones ([e-mail]) wrote:

: I can see that you are somewhat frustrated to say the least and not
: the least bit lazy. I do not see any where that you got on the air
: and had some CW QSO's. I flunked my 13wpm code test the first time
: I took it after doing about what you are doing, all practice and no
: air time. I took my key after that and plugged it in and had my first
: CW QSO. It was really shaky! I then did 2 or 3 CW QSO's a day and also
: practiced using SuperMorse for about 20 minutes a day. In no time at all
: I was up to 17wpm and able to have some nice contacts on CW! I found this
: worked much better then just doing practice as it seemed to burn it into
: my brain. I hope you try this method as it a lot of fun besides!
[.sig deleted]

while i'm only a tech+, another advantage of using qso's to learn the code
is that the test will be a typical qso ... the pattern and content should
be easier to recognize if you've been qsoing to learn.

regards, richard kd6lwd

[e-mail]
all disclaimers apply

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

End of Info-Hams Digest V94 #790
******************************