QRZ! Ham Radio 5/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 5.iso/digests/infoham/941158.txt

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Date: Wed, 26 Oct 94 00:41:16 PDT
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Subject: Info-Hams Digest V94 #1158
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Info-Hams Digest            Wed, 26 Oct 94       Volume 94 : Issue 1158

Today's Topics:
                 ##Help my HT set the car alarm off##
               anyone know anything about hallicrafters
                         CW Palindrome Game!
                      Guess What I did Saturday!
                          HOW TO LEARN CW???
                      Intl call sign servers/CDs
                      Motorola Amateur Group????
                 NoCal OO goes after Packet BULLetins
                           QSL route server
                 Questions on this and that (2 msgs)
                              Real Hams
                       Touch Tone Paging (DTSS)

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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: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 13:47:00 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Gary Coffman)
Subject: ##Help my HT set the car alarm off##

In article <38hlgk$[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Nat Sombat) writes:
>    I just put RF concepts 30 watts amp. in my car and every times I
>key on the air the car alarm go off.  It'll stop as soon as I let off the
>key.  When I turn the amp. off it's find.  I have call RF concepts and
>they told me to use aluminum foid to wrap around the brain unit and
>siren.  It's still go off everytimes.  I have 5/8 larsen mount on the
>roof.  The SWR read lower than 1.5:1.  Any idea, what I have to do to
>have 30 watts amp. and car alarm.

You haven't told us what make and model of car this is in. That can
help because there are known fixes, and known lost causes, with
different models. Also, is the Larsen thru-hole mounted, or a mag
mount? Is the amplifier firmly RF grounded to the vehicle chassis?
How are you feeding DC power to the amp? What kind of coax are you
using?

All of these questions need answers before we can help. I suspect
you're suffering from high levels of RF in the cabin due to improper
shielding or grounding of the installation, but it could be something
else. We need details (that's where the devil lives).

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

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

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 13:22:21 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Gary Coffman)
Subject: anyone know anything about hallicrafters

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>
>IL>   800-807-6146
>
>IL>Note:  You may have to be a ham to appreciate that phone number...
>
>I'm almost a ham, and I don't get it... Is it something with the letters
>that use 807 6146??
>-Evan Platt

Yep, they were very popular transmitting tubes. Pushed hard in amateur
service, they'd make almost 100 watts, a pair of either kind could do
it comfortably. Most of the rigs using 807s are gone now, but you'll
still find quite a few rigs with 6146s in the finals.

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

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

Date: 25 Oct 1994 08:43:11 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Arthur Chandler)
Subject: CW Palindrome Game!

  OK, remember what a palindrome is -- a word or a sentence spelled the
same way backwards or forwards:
    Dad
    Radar
    A Toyota
    A man, a plan, a canal -- Panama
    Able was I ere I saw Elba.

  The other night, while going nuts studying for the code exam, I began
to wonder about Morse code Palindromes -- words or sentences for which
the dots and dashes would be symmetrical around a center. Such as:
      wig     .--  ..  --.
  Easy one =   He is 5
  Who can come up with the longest single word or longest sentence that
would be a CW palindrome? Extra points if you include a punctuation mark.

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

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 13:09:26 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Gary Coffman)
Subject: Guess What I did Saturday!

In article <38gsj8$[e-mail]> [e-mail] (David Jenkins) writes:
>In <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Scott Darragh) writes:
>>    .... . -.--  ..  .--. .- ... ... . -.. -- -.--  -.-. --- -.. . - ....
>>... ...  .-- . . -.- . -. -.. .-.-.-  ..  . ...- . -.  .... .- -..  -- -.--
>>...-. .. .-. ... -  -.-. --- -. - .- -.-. - .-.-.-  -.-- --- ..-  - .... ---
>>...-
>>--. -  .. .-- .- -. - . -..  .-  .-. .- -.. .. ---  -... . ..-. --- .-. .
>
>
>[more coded stuff clipped]
>
>I think it's interesting that I can't read a word of this, even though I
>am actively using code (albeit slowly, to be truthful about it).  Oh, I
>guess I could read the above if I tediously deciphered each character,
>but what seeing this message has really brought home to me  is
>the extent to which I've come to depend on the *sound* to
>signify the meaning of the symbol--not the character's visual
>representation, even though I tend to think in terms of "dots" and
>"dashes".

Scott said, "HEYIPASSEDMYCODETHISWEEKEND.IEVENHADMYFIRSTCONTACT.YOU
THOUGHTIWANTEDARADIOBEFOREHOWYOUTHINKIFEELNOW.IGOTMYFIRSTCONTACTFROM
CALLINGCQ.IGUESSIWASNTBASHFUL.IAMTOTALLYLOOKINGFORWARDTOGETTINGACWR
ADIO.<ditdit>SCOTT

I'd add that Scott should work on his word spacing. :-)

>Scott:  did you learn code by seeing it in the dot-dash form?  The
>resources I've used to learn code have all steered clear of *any* visual
>presentation of the characters.

Some of us can read it better than we can hear it. That's what old
Sammy Morse had in mind when he built his telegraph. I would get out
a port rule and rip off a reply, but ASCII is so much nicer, so...

Congratulations, Scott!

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

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

Date: 25 Oct 1994 14:42:39 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Val Breault)
Subject: HOW TO LEARN CW???

   In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Bob Stanton) writes...
   >        I give up!   I have been trying to learn the code since before
   >I was licensed with no luck. I have tried tapes... all I do is memorize
   >the tape... not the code.  I sit in front on my computer pounding my
   >head on the keyboard (figuratively).  I HATE CW!!!
   >Bob KD4ARD

I used a technique similar to the one Tom N1OOQ mentioned.  I set up my
keyer to generate random letters/digits/prosigns in five character groups.
I'd listen to the keyer or to a tape made from the keyer at a rate where
I could get 4 out of 5 characters (80% copy).  Four out of five seems to
be a good challenge point for me.  I don't get discouraged at that point
because I can achieve well over half of it and 100% isn't very far off.

Day by day I'd adjust the speed to maintain a constant 80% challenge.
Some days that would be faster than the day before, some days it would
be slower, but the challenge point was always 4 out of 5.  I didn't keep
detailed records of my progress but on a month by month basis there was
a very definite and pronounced positive trend.

In spite of having some very serious family problems at that time I
managed to go from nothing to Extra in about a year and a quarter using
this technique.

I listened to the practice tape whenever I was in my car.  In fact, I
went a whole year without turning on the car radio.  When I finally did
turn it on, I discovered two things:  (1) The FM section would no longer
work, and (2) I didn't care.  I'd listen to code in the background when I
was doing other things around the house.  I'd pause a moment here and
there to grab a few groups and then carry on.  I'd tap out street signs
on my thigh while driving.  I'd whistle license plates.  (I'd *REALLY*
get excited whistling out amateur radio callsign license plates.)  I'd
listen for morse code in the normal computer room background noise.

The most important thing is to never NEVER get discouraged.  Discouragement
will kill enthusiasm every time and enthusiasm is your best friend.

We haven't heard much from Joe Mastroianni AA6YD lately but I owe a
lot of my enthusiasm to his writing.  One of his posts answered your
query quite well.  A tidbit from something he wrote back in 1992 went
something like:

  "Rip your HF rig microphone forcably from it's socket.  Place
   it squarely on a firm concrete surface.   Apply a 7lb sledge
   hammer.  Scream 'God is on MY side'.  Repeat until well done.
   Do the same to the microphone on your 2M mobile rig if there
   is any possibility  it is compatible  with your  HF rig.
   Motivation bordering on  religious fanaticism  will help you
   learn CW VERY QUICKLY." ... "Connect your HF rig to your home
   stereo and play the W1AW practice at 108dB above ambient.  This
   is a sound you can internalize.  FEEL the letters and numbers.
   Write them on a large blank wall.  Get the kids to help.  They
   LOVE this kind of thing."

Remember if you can do 2 words per minute you can still do more than 99%
of the people you graduated with.

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

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 14:54:13 GMT
From: [e-mail] (-Broughton,J.L.)
Subject: Intl call sign servers/CDs

> I have a list of callsign servers and an Amsoft CDROM but they only
> have FCC/American calls. Does anyone know of a server or CD CD that has
> international calls as well?

There are some international calls on my Buckmaster CD.  However, there is
also a notice that some countries do not allow this information to be
distributed electronically -- it may be in the printed CallBook, but not on
a CD.  Gee, not a bad idea: protecting electronic dissemination of personal
info.  Too bad Uncle Sam didn't think of it.

73,

John, WB9VGJ

=========================================================
John L. Broughton |
AT&T              | snail mail: Room 1K-322
      ==----      |             1200 E. Warrenville, Rd.
    =====-----    |             P. O. Box 3045
   =======-----   |             Naperville, IL, 60566-7045
  =========-----  |             [phone]
  ========------  |     e-mail: [e-mail]
   ======------   |             att!john.l.broughton
    ====------    |   air mail: WB9VGJ
      ------      |
=========================================================

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

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 13:27:50 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Gary Coffman)
Subject: Motorola Amateur Group????

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>
>IJ>I am trying to find out if there is such a thing as a Motorola User Group
>IJ>-- you know, hams who use Motorola gear, etc...
>
>IJ>If you can shed light on this for me, I would very much apprecitate it.
>IJ>Thanks.
>
>I didn't think Motorola made HAM gear??? (So I heard..)
>
>-Evan Platt

They just don't realize they're making ham gear. Once Motracs, Micors,
Mitreks, etc got into the surplus market, a lot of them wound up as
ham repeaters. And before the Japanese HT craze, the HT220 ruled!
Some people think it still does.

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

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

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 14:16:42 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Steve Wolf)
Subject: NoCal OO goes after Packet BULLetins

[e-mail] wrote:
:
: Extending this line of thought, and twisting it ever so slightly:
: If a packet bulletin addressed to CHESS is not amateur related since it gives me
: (an amateur radio operator) information from the author (another amateur - his
: call is in the header info) about a mutual interest is considered a bulletin
: since it is effectively addressed to all amateurs interested in CHESS and hence
: a one way communication, all that has to happen if for the originating station
: to receive one reply to the message to make it a two way (read non-broadcast)
: exchange!  If this is not correct, the next thing to be "attacked" in this
: manner will be the net control operators starting the net.  I have addressed
: messages to groups like HARDWARE and received a number of replies - as far as
: I'm concerned this is just another way to initiate the exchange  of
: information between two (or more) stations and therefore allowed under Part 97.
:

A "CQ" is indeed defined as a one-way transmission in 97.111.  It is allowed.
Appending a "CQ" to a signature file would be an obvious attempt to get
around the content being a bulletin.

73,
Steve
     Internet:  [e-mail]
     Packet  :  no8m@no8m.#neoh.oh.usa.na

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

Date: 25 Oct 1994 15:56:19 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Stephen Hawkins)
Subject: QSL route server

A while back there used to be a qsl database at
[e-mail].
I tried it this morning and my mail bounced.  Does this
no longer exist or has it changed addresses?
Thanks Steve WV6U 73 49 0100 1001

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

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 16:21:54 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Paul H. Bock)
Subject: Questions on this and that

[e-mail] (David Jenkins) writes:

>Still getting my newbie feet wet in HF CW.  Here are a few questions that
>have arisen over the last few weeks:

>1)  I've seen a description of an RF ground feed that consists of a length
>of RG-8, with ceramic capacitors between the shield and center leads at
>each end. Since one end will be outside, what is the best method for
>weatherproofing?  Silicone caulking?  Something else made expressly for
>this application?

     The only problem I have with silicon caulking is that acetic acid
is an active ingredient (or used to be, anyway) and in the past I have
encountered corrosion of the connection from the acid.  Perhaps someone
else has more up-to-date info.

>2)  I heard WB9RUM talking to a CBAGV (I'm pretty sure) on CW last night.
>Where would CBAGV be?  Is that Chile?  Is it the norm around the world for
>the second or third character of the callsign to be numeric?  If so, would
>CBAGV then be some sort of special sign or did I probably just mess up
>copying the callsign?

     Probably C6AGV and he either sent it wrong or you mis-copied.  I'm
pretty sure Chile is CE, and I believe C6 is the Bahamas.

>3)  I live in the far northwest area of grid EL29.  In fact I may be in
>another grid square altogether.  Where can I find the latitude/longitude
>definitions for the various grid elements?

     Piece of cake.  Grid squares are divided by degrees of latitude
vertically (36,37,38,39,40, etc.) and every *two* degrees of longitude
horizontally (76, 78, 80, 82, etc.).  You can get a U.S. Grid Square map from
ARRL for a buck.

>4)  Did I read somehwere, or did I just make it up because it sounds
>reasonable, that one signs (or may sign) #####/QRP when running low
>power?

     Yes, you may do that and many QRPers do.  I used to when I ran QRP,
because I liked getting QSL cards addressed to "K4MSG/QRP" as "proof"
that I was actually running QRP (it wasn't really "proof") but it made
my QSL cards for QRP WAS seem more credible somehow).

>I know these questions are all over the place--thanks for your help.

     If I was helpful, you're more than welcome.


(|_|)  Paul H. Bock, Jr. K4MSG     Internet: [e-mail]
 | |)  Principal Systems Engineer  Telephone: [phone] x2062

   "You can have my bug when you can pry my cold, dead fingers from
    around it....." - anonymous radiotelegraph operator

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

Date: 25 Oct 1994 15:55:56 GMT
From: [e-mail] (David Jenkins)
Subject: Questions on this and that

Still getting my newbie feet wet in HF CW.  Here are a few questions that
have arisen over the last few weeks:

1)  I've seen a description of an RF ground feed that consists of a length
of RG-8, with ceramic capacitors between the shield and center leads at
each end. Since one end will be outside, what is the best method for
weatherproofing?  Silicone caulking?  Something else made expressly for
this application?

2)  I heard WB9RUM talking to a CBAGV (I'm pretty sure) on CW last night.
Where would CBAGV be?  Is that Chile?  Is it the norm around the world for
the second or third character of the callsign to be numeric?  If so, would
CBAGV then be some sort of special sign or did I probably just mess up
copying the callsign?

3)  I live in the far northwest area of grid EL29.  In fact I may be in
another grid square altogether.  Where can I find the latitude/longitude
definitions for the various grid elements?

4)  Did I read somehwere, or did I just make it up because it sounds
reasonable, that one signs (or may sign) #####/QRP when running low
power?

I know these questions are all over the place--thanks for your help.


David F. Jenkins
Decision and Information Sciences
University of Houston
KC5JRR

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

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 12:15:06 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Gary Coffman)
Subject: Real Hams

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>[e-mail] (Dale Piedfort) writes:
>>THREE:
>>
>>THE AMATEUR IS PROGRESSIVE....He keeps his station abreast of science.
                                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>It is well-built and efficient.  His operating practice is above re-
>       ^^^^^^^^^^
>>proach.
>>                                        PAUL M. SEGAL 1929
>>
>>I guess all you real Hams who are condemming the No-Code Techincians
>>reevalute your own lifestyle as a Amateur Radio Operator.  From what I
>....
>>have read in this conference you have managed to violate every one of
>>the prescribed standards of being a REAL HAM.
>
>If the above code is a mark of a REAL HAM then you have eliminated
>not only all the no-codes but many of the know-codes, too - maybe
>maybe even yourself!

Not *all* of the code test free by any means, though certainly a
majority of today's amateurs sadly lag the state of the art whether
they've passed a code test or not.

>Notice that the `progressive' amateur above (in 1929) built *everything*
>in his station.

Yep, that's because *state of the art* equipment wasn't practically
available commercially in 1929. The ham wanting modern equipment
on the leading edge of radio science had to build his own. That's
when voice modes became popular, especially that cutting edge mode,
FM, though even AM was fairly cutting edge back then. The primary
advances were occuring in receivers, and hams pioneered double and
triple conversion superhets, crystal filtering, etc.

>How many new hams today will take the time to learn *any* theory,
>and apply that theory along with a soldering iron to make anything
>at all (antennas surely don't count, nor does soldering a PL-259
>on the end of some coax). Even new hams into the 60's and 70's were
>building their station from scratch while waiting for their
>license to arrive, and actively spent weeks if not months *listening*
>to gain the proper operating skills rather than repeadedly saying to
>the world ``Where's my license? It's been xx weeks...''  When these
>hams of yesteryear finally received their license they had a home-
>built station ready to go in which they knew every component.

Well a *few* of the neophyte hams of the 60s and 70s did this, most
didn't. The term "appliance operator" first came to the fore just
after WWII when all those nice appliances developed during the war
came on the market. Systems engineering was the SOTA approach in
the 60s and 70s as more complex, robust, and high performance
communications systems were being assembled by progressive amateurs.

>>If I were you I would hang my head in shame, and apologize to all the
>>Real Hams out there who suscribe to the Amateur's Code, with your
>
>You're right. Anyone who has not built a good portion of their
>station from scratch should be ashamed of himself.
>
>I guess I am a REAL HAM since *all* my transmitters are built from
>scratch (they're all CW, of course).

You should hang your head in shame. That wasn't even SOTA in 1929.
You should try assembling a station that could have been considered
modern in at least the 1930s, if not the 1990s. You could start with
something like a selective superhet receiver, or even something as
advanced as Major Armstrong's FM rigs. That only takes a single chip
today.

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

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

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 13:24:52 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Gary Coffman)
Subject: Touch Tone Paging (DTSS)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>
>IG>Most repeater controllers mask inputed Touchtones (tm). This is to
>IG>provide a bit of security for control functions of the repeater that
>IG>may be entered on the input frequency. That makes TT signaling schemes
>IG>via repeater fail.
>
>But if one were to listen on the input, he would hear the Touchtone,
>right?
>-Evan Platt

Perhaps. Consider the grossly different coverage footprints of a HT
and a repeater.

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

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

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 15:29:53 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Bushong)

References<[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>,<[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: NoCal OO goes after Packet BULLetins

[e-mail] writes:

>So you wouldn't be upset if I were to dedicate a packet BBS just to
>posting cookie recipes?  How about developing packet news groups?
>Then the only poeple who would see the latest and by far tastiest
>cookie recipe would be amateurs who wanted it.  Oh, I forgot - you
>can do that now, just ignore the posts to cookie, recipe, ect.  Maybe
>we should get the ARRL to propose to the FCC what topics are to be
>talked about on each frequency for each band.

I don't think that would be a good idea.  I think you should be able
to talk about whatever you feel like talking about.  The same is true
for packet, or any other mode.  It's just that indiscriminately
posting bulletins to every PBBS in the country about things that are
not of interest to the general ham population is a waste of resources
and annoying.  Depending on the interpretation of 97.113(b), it might
also be illegal.

Dave, KZ1O

--
Dave Bushong
OPEN/image Recognition Products

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

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 13:54:48 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Gary Coffman)

References<phb.782747783@melpar> <[e-mail]>, <38i2lo$[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Gary Coffman)
Subject: Re: CW Learning: Going slow. : (

In article <38i2lo$[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry B. Smith) writes:
>Gary,
>
>You are absolutely correct.
>
>But then on the other hand, I can tell a lot by a person's "fist".
>For example: I can tell if he is new at this or an old timer; if he is
>using a straight key or a bug; if he is nervous or at ease.
>
>Could we say that CW can have a certain "inflection" in the "fist"
>that can tell us somthing about the individual?

No more so than if he were mailing you manually typewritten notes and
you noticed that certain letters were struck harder than others. All
that would indicate would be an uneven typing style. Sherlock Holmes
could then probably go into elaborate detail about that person's life
history, but the rest of us mundanes would just pass it off as an
unimportant quirk.

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

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

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 15:26:16 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Paul H. Bock)

References<[e-mail]> <38i2lo$[e-mail]>, <38j30g$[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: CW Learning: Going slow. : (

     One story I heard some years ago from the late W4QE was about
the ham who wired an extra resistor into the "dot" side of his bug
(this was back in the days of cathode keying) and the change in
resistance (and resultant slight shift in bias level on the
oscillator) "pulled" the oscillator in frequency so that dots
were on a slightly different frequency than dashes.  Talk about
a distinctive fist.....I'm sure this would have been in the early
'30s, before crystal control had caught on and when LC oscillators
were commonplace.  Of course, the "purity and stability of emissions"
rules which were instituted in the '30s changed all that.

     Paul, K4MSG

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

End of Info-Hams Digest V94 #1158
******************************