On Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:17:01 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Gunner Asch wrote:

On Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:27:27 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Gunner Asch wrote:

On Sun, 24 Mar 2013 02:51:54 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2013-03-20, Lloyd E. Sponenburgh lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:
Gunner fired this volley in
:

Anyone got a 50 ohm, 100 watt dummy load collecting dust I can
swap/trade for?

An incandescent lamp isn't perfect, but works.

Even better -- mount it in a gallon paint can, with a good RF
connector in the lid -- and oil inside to carry the heat from the lamp
to the walls of the can for cooling.

The higher the frequency, the more that lamp will differ from
the proper impedance -- with all those little curly Tungsten wires as
the filament. But the can will at least keep the RF from radiating.
The main risk with a poor impedance match would be damage to the final
of the transmitter.

Anyone ever have a Heathkit "Cantenna"? Was it an array of
carbon resistors in oil, or an incandescent lamp? The former would be
more constant impedance, at least.


Don, they used a 200 watt 50 ohm carborundum non-inductive oil
treated resistor immersed in transformer oil.
http://www.orcadxcc.org/content/cantenna_va7jw.pdf

Can anyone suggest an inexpensive radio for Technician class?

Ive been told that the Icom 706, the Yaesu 817 and 857s would fit my
needs..but they are more ..in some cases...far far more expensive than
I can afford this year.

The TS-520SE that I have has some "issues" that Im going to need to
resolve over time, as Im not a board level radio tech and its going to
be a learning experience...shrug


What kinds of issues?

It turns on, the controls work, I have a hissing sound from the
speaker and it receives a signal from my signal generator. But even on
a long wire antenna..no outside signals make it in. Ive got to pump up
the output of the old signal generator to hear it or have it show on
the meter.


Do you have a manual with the schematic?

No. Im searching for one now. There are a number of TS-520
manuals..but the SE version..the last version before they phased out
that model is no where to be found. I did download an operators manual
for the TS-520...but I need to sit down with the radio and learn
everything and then ask what differences there are between it and the
SE version.

Id love to put a freq counter on it..but one just went on Ebay for
$150. There is a 2 pin female on the backside for a display..but I
dont know what it requires to run/operate. Im sure something could be
bread boarded up quite simply, but..Im not an electronics tech. I just
kinda swerve into that area now and then fixing CNC machines etc.
Mostly though..simply a board changer. Its been a lot of years since
I chased electrons around..and then it was usually in and out of tubes






Tube radio would be fine, but something a bit more easy to operate
would be far better for me. IE..digital freq display etc etc or the
ability to add one...

Thanks for pondering on it.



What bands are you interested in? 160/80/40/20/15/10/6/2 Meters
432/1296 MHz 10.5 GHz? Modes? CW/AM/SSB/FM/ATV? Power level?


There are a bunch of news:rec.radio.amateur newsgroups that would
have a lot more help for you. Just be ready to kill file a couple dozen
ass hats.

Technican class stuff for a year, then general class. I might..might
be able to pass the code test in a year if I work on it..so I might
shoot for that. But...PSK is interesting to me as is rtty


I am interested in higher frequency gear. I had my fill of HF when I
was a broadcast engineer. I was working with FQPSK at up to 11 GHz when
I was laid off at Microdyne and ended up being declared disabled.


Then you wont have ANY issues other than knowing rules and regs if you
take theTechnicians exam. Thats a given for your knowledge base. I
passed the techy exam the 5 out of 6 example exams..the first time I
took em and only choked up on the rules parts. And Im not an
electronics tech..though I have a tiny bit of experience with letting
the smoke out..and figuring out why it happened.

http://www.eham.net/exams/

is just one such source. There are many out there.


Gunner