Jem
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Post by Jem on Apr 29, 2020 12:55:16 GMT
Passed my foundation licence exam the other day here in UK. My son took the exam 3 days later and scored higher than me.
Not got my call sign yet but will be building my antenna later this week or early next.
Anyone else here on radio?
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ks1u
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Post by ks1u on Oct 6, 2020 1:43:04 GMT
I'm a Ham Radio operator in CT USA. KS1U, licensed since 1966.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Oct 8, 2020 20:26:07 GMT
I'm a Ham Radio operator in CT USA. KS1U, licensed since 1966. Well, you must have seen so much change in radios over all those years? I used to do the illegal CB back in late 70's early 80's and drifted away from it. My son got me back into it and we got a big old valve hybrid Kenwood , and a couple of handheld 2m/70cm radios when we got our licence. Had great fun the last few days getting the SSTV transmitions from the international space station . I'm just exploring these digital modes and something called Echolink that uses internet to find repeaters all over the world. Not sure you'd call it real radio , but it opens up huge possibilities to get round the globe. 73 to you
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ks1u
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Post by ks1u on Oct 9, 2020 2:33:28 GMT
It's mind-boggling how much things have changed, but my favorite mode is still CW. Most of my HF equipment is stuff I designed and built, with the exception of a few kits. I just bought a GHD handkey, something I had been thinking about for a few years. It really is a ton of fun and in the event of lights out and no cell service, our radios still work. Congratulations on the license, you'll feel like a kid playing with that stuff. If you ever get on 30 meter cw, I listen between 10.110 and 10.125 a few days a week.
73 KS1U
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Oct 9, 2020 5:04:35 GMT
I am not a Ham, but my grandfather was (W6TUX). I have very fond childhood memories of his Halicrafter Sky Champion.
In my youth, my family had a fairly large property. We had three houses, one owned by my parents, another by my grandparents and yet another by my great grandparents. My father was an aerospace engineer, my great grandparents were retired and my grandparents had an egg ranch (with 5,000 chickens). In the evenings I would help my grandparents grade eggs. Egg grading was much like this. They had to be inspected, weighed and sorted. The days were long but we always had the old Halicrafter going. Of course we listened to conversations by hams. We also listened to baseball games, news broadcasts, and late into the night during elections. My grandparents listened to the war news during World War II, they also somehow monitored radio communications that might concern my father, who was serving in the South Pacific. I recall listening when President Kennedy was shot. We sold the place in 1964 and the fate of the old receiver is unknown.
Just Being Nostalgic Jim
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ks1u
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Post by ks1u on Oct 10, 2020 2:42:49 GMT
To this day, I still spend more time on the radio than the tv. That's a great looking Sky Champion.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Oct 10, 2020 11:09:59 GMT
I love that radio Jim...you cannot beat analogue and switches. Fixable too. Most electronics manufactories dont want to let you inside the 'box' nowadays , they want you to throw it and buy another new one at twice the price with half the quality. There are exceptions of course and I generalise. I really do think they should teach soldering and basic electronics from way down in the school system. It could still happen I guess.
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Post by franco on Apr 8, 2021 20:24:09 GMT
A question for you experienced radio guys, is there a reasonable indoor antenna system for beginners Shortwave use?
I’ve looked at diy methods building a wire loop around things like pvc pipe and using a capacitor from an old radio but it looks a bit unsightly.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Apr 8, 2021 20:55:43 GMT
Franco, sounds like you are having fun there?! You could probably pass that Foundation exam on-line with what you have learned just from that experimenting...then you could legally transmit up to 10w too. So many avenues to go down these days with digital modes etc. I'm no expert and KS1U and others will know far more than me. So with that said , here's my thoughts...for what they are worth. The indoor option will always be a bit of a compromise due to the interference from your house electrics and devices (wi-fi, cooker, boiler, tv etc.) There are small form ones that you can just dangle out of a window and then pull them in again when done. You can go into your loft if you have a reasonable route back to the radio, but still not ideal. There are active or passive types (ie battery powered) but I suspect you are not wanting to go too complex or expensive? Here's a couple of decent on-line seller. I think they both sell kits to build your own, and they sell all of the connectors and coax to do it from scratch www.nevadaradio.co.ukmoonrakeronline.comI'll mail you a few pics of our solution here. I must say, the biggest improvement in listening is just getting a coax out down the garden as high as you can, it brings the whole world to your radio. This site below will be really helpful for you to work out what signals you are getting , and from where. It tells you what power they are transmitting at and the times etc. If you can pick up some of these and then start to work out what is coming through and what the signal is like. (that way, you have a baseline to work out if your aerial has improved ) short-wave.info
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Apr 8, 2021 21:06:59 GMT
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Post by franco on Apr 8, 2021 21:36:19 GMT
Thanks Jem, that’s some great info and I’ll have a look through the links. Always found this stuff interesting and radio has been my main source of news, information and entertainment for years (can’t remember the last time I watched tv). I want to expand on what is readily available in terms of channel options and do maybe more.
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ks1u
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Post by ks1u on Apr 9, 2021 4:39:06 GMT
You've received some good advice, but even a single strand of #24 wire wrapped around a room or in your attic will help. There's nothing better than an outdoor antenna, but whatever you can string up will help over a telescopic, short whip, that usually comes with shortwave receivers today. You can also get an amplified preselector placed between the antenna and radio which can help in some situations. As an alternative, an antenna tuner will help match the antenna to the radio's frequency, allowing you to peak the signal. I'm still amazed at how many interesting signals are on shortwave. As Sooper8 said, you can get some interference from WiFi and Bluetooth as well as other electronic devices, so placement of the antenna indoors may require some experimentation.
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Post by franco on Apr 10, 2021 17:19:04 GMT
This looks quite interesting, neat enough to have in your home and not expensive
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Apr 10, 2021 18:48:18 GMT
Looks interesting Franco. Had to Google that second radio to see what it was. Lucky day...big discount on it! Haha www.nevadaradio.co.uk/product/icom-ic-705/ps it's only doing medium wave as far as I can see...you might want some SW if you're radio can do it?
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Post by franco on Apr 10, 2021 19:27:02 GMT
Haha, I might buy one for each room in the house According to some other YouTube videos the loop antenna works with SW. I’ll double check if I go for it.
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ks1u
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Post by ks1u on Apr 11, 2021 2:26:48 GMT
I have one of those loops that I use for AM Broadcast radio in the bedroom and it works decently. I enclosed the bedroom in a Faraday cage when I rebuilt it and it's tough to get signals in there on any portable radio.
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Post by brianbutler on Apr 11, 2021 11:40:30 GMT
... I enclosed the bedroom in a Faraday cage when I rebuilt it... OK, I'll bite. Why?
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Post by franco on Apr 11, 2021 11:57:27 GMT
I have one of those loops that I use for AM Broadcast radio in the bedroom and it works decently. I enclosed the bedroom in a Faraday cage when I rebuilt it and it's tough to get signals in there on any portable radio. Have you tried it with SW, ks1u? I strung some basic wire from the aerial last night and it didn’t improve much, got a good reception of Radio China International though.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Apr 11, 2021 21:42:55 GMT
I have one of those loops that I use for AM Broadcast radio in the bedroom and it works decently. I enclosed the bedroom in a Faraday cage when I rebuilt it and it's tough to get signals in there on any portable radio. got a good reception of Radio China International though. Radio China transmit on so many watts, I can hear them directly in my skull when I clinch my jaw together and the tin cavity fillings in my back teeth touch together.
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Post by wheelson on Apr 12, 2021 0:57:16 GMT
got a good reception of Radio China International though. Radio China transmit on so many watts, I can hear them directly in my skull when I clinch my jaw together and the tin cavity fillings in my back teeth touch together. Good one! I remember that we used to crank up the monster military am radio on our remote missile site in southwest Korea back in the mid-‘70s and listen to the English language broadcasts from China. Easy enough since we were only a bit over 200 miles away. Best, John “wheelson”
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Post by franco on Apr 12, 2021 6:40:31 GMT
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Apr 12, 2021 16:17:59 GMT
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Post by franco on Apr 12, 2021 20:26:28 GMT
Ive heard some codes, not sure if they are the same thing, I’m new to it so learning as I go. Tried a 3m wire outside at dusk and it tripled the amount of reception I got. Picked up some stuff on 60m band for the first time. Going to upgrade the radio to one with a digital display at some point.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Apr 12, 2021 21:10:21 GMT
Ive heard some codes, not sure if they are the same thing, I’m new to it so learning as I go. Tried a 3m wire outside at dusk and it tripled the amount of reception I got. Picked up some stuff on 60m band for the first time. Going to upgrade the radio to one with a digital display at some point. Sounds like you're on to something there Franco. It might be that different orientations of the wire give you different stations, and that height and length could bring in even more. That is where that web site link for SW radio stations comes in. If you know the frequency and can work out what station you are hearing, then you can look at their wattage output and location and start to make up a kind of map of your reception hot and cold spots. But even that is a bit erratic as the time of day, the sun spots, the weather and the atmosphere effect signals. So you might in theory not get a station down the road, then a station from Brazil might boom on through to you with a few bounces , then disappear never to be heard again. It's all science , but not always as predictable as you'd want. I know some people say 'it's not real radio' , but some of these SDR dongles that go into your laptop are really coming down in price and giving great bang for buck.Then you can have the waterfall display on your screen too. It's all good fun and makes you feel like a kid again discovering new things.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Apr 12, 2021 21:21:15 GMT
Here's my old Kenwood. Early 80's I think, and then below that a more up to date one that someone gave to me- it's a pleasure to use but not as much fun as the Kenwood and the sound quality isn't quite as nice either. My son keeps showing me these radios with the 'waterfall' display on them. They look great but are way way out of my price range. For everyday/night time listening I often just use my little Grundig Yachtboy that I have had for 35 years or so. IMG_2481 by
IMG_4238 by
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Post by franco on Apr 13, 2021 7:17:34 GMT
Some cool stuff there Jem. I’ve seen the waterfall displays on some of the YouTube video demos, amongst other gadgets, you could go over the top with this stuff couldn’t you!? Having said that a lot of the users say a similar thing to you that they usually use their trusty portable that they’ve had for years.
I’m having fun with it at the moment, it’s good to get away from going online as well.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Apr 13, 2021 8:22:26 GMT
The Tecsun PL range and Sangean are highly regarded little radios. Cheap enough second hand too.
I used to have fun sending in signal reports to 'far off' stations and they would send QSL cards or other little goodies.
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Post by franco on Apr 15, 2021 17:07:39 GMT
Making some progress with the wire antenna. It dawned on me that instead of having wires across the garden the core of our washing line is metal so I connected into the end of that and now have around 10m of antenna Besides that, the old chap that lives across road from me has been doing radio since the 1960’s and he schooled me a bit the other day. Told me to ground/counterpoise the device to improve the signal even further, on a portable radio you can usually do this on the earphone Jack. He has offered to borrow me a “proper radio” but I’m going to make do for now.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Apr 15, 2021 19:31:16 GMT
Making some progress with the wire antenna. It dawned on me that instead of having wires across the garden the core of our washing line is metal so I connected into the end of that and now have around 10m of antenna Besides that, the old chap that lives across road from me has been doing radio since the 1960’s and he schooled me a bit the other day. Told me to ground/counterpoise the device to improve the signal even further, on a portable radio you can usually do this on the earphone Jack. He has offered to borrow me a “proper radio” but I’m going to make do for now. Genius idea Fran! Your neighbour sounds like a an interesting chap. What 'proper radio' was he willing to loan to you?
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Post by franco on Apr 15, 2021 20:35:31 GMT
Making some progress with the wire antenna. It dawned on me that instead of having wires across the garden the core of our washing line is metal so I connected into the end of that and now have around 10m of antenna Besides that, the old chap that lives across road from me has been doing radio since the 1960’s and he schooled me a bit the other day. Told me to ground/counterpoise the device to improve the signal even further, on a portable radio you can usually do this on the earphone Jack. He has offered to borrow me a “proper radio” but I’m going to make do for now. Genius idea Fran! Your neighbour sounds like a an interesting chap. What 'proper radio' was he willing to loan to you? Not sure Jem but I’ll bet it will be some desktop valve job or something, he’s got some large antennas on his garden, knows his stuff. He’s really old though and I didn’t feel comfortable going over with the current situation. I got a great reception today on AM whilst working on the bike, a bit bleak on SW this evening though, I suppose the weather/living in a town centre amongst other things all contribute to an inconsistent signal?
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