Messages

211

General Radio Discussion / Re: Any new shortwave stations?

« on: June 14, 2014, 0011 UTC »

WWCR used to run bookoo spots in the 90s.  Tom Valentine's Radio Free America would run numerous ads for The Spotlight newspaper and for his own Carotec supplements company.  Numerous agency spots used to run on WRNO back in the 90s for Purex, Fruit & Fiber cereal, et al.  If there is a prohibition on SW advertising it has only recently come about.  I haven't heard of one.

212

The RF Workbench / Re: which type of crystal

« on: June 13, 2014, 1548 UTC »

Yes, I'd say the PLL is a good way to go for anyone who wants to invest the effort.  Its funny you mention the 4046 Redhat.  I'm toying with one right now, along with a 74hc74 flipflop to use as an xtal doubler.  Have you ever played with one?  I'd appreciate your thoughts... 

213

The RF Workbench / Re: which type of crystal

« on: June 12, 2014, 1924 UTC »

Last I checked, ICM only wants about $25 shipped for a standard HC-6 crystal.  Doesn't sound that out of reach to me.

+-RH

Nor to me either.  Admittedly Redhat I haven't actually purchased a custom-cut rock since the 90s.  A few years back one of my buds had a quote from Jan for an HC-6U of about $40 shipped with a lower per rock price for multiple xtals of the same freq and specs.  Buying one wouldn't hurt too much but ordering for several freqs might smart a bit, especially for some of the newbs...

214

The RF Workbench / Re: which type of crystal

« on: June 12, 2014, 1413 UTC »

These guys have been around for years.
http://jancrystals.com/

Yes, along with International Crystal and a few others who are still chugging along.  Unfortunately, nowadays the cost for a custom-cut crystal is quite out of reach for many.  Also, the manufacturers stopped producing FT243 size rocks over 20 years ago.  Many no longer mess with HC6s.  HC18s and similar are generally the largest physical rocks one can custom order nowadays.  Hamfests, Ebay sellers, and online vendors selling used rocks are the only places one can find the big fellas now.  Small rocks are fine for low power oscillators but for MOPA-type transmitters (which are usually beginner-type projects), the little chunks will overheat and fail.  I still jump on FT243s in my frequency ballpark when I occasionally come across them.  There's always some like-minded folks in need... 

215

General Radio Discussion / Re: A dream I had last night.... hmmmmm...

« on: June 04, 2014, 2020 UTC »

Great idea Vince!  Most of the chip-based FMers and MP3 players run on zippo voltage, so a heavy battery pack is not needed.  And since on FM antenna height means more than watts you would also have a good coverage area with low power.  Of course, your radio station might get shot down by a government drone...

216

Equipment / Re: After the transmitter what's next?

« on: May 27, 2014, 2152 UTC »

From my perspective what crab said about hardware/software is essentially true.  I have spent big $$$ over the years buying a lot of application-dedicated hardware only to see most of it rendered valueless by a bit of cheap (or free) software.  I would however agree with Redhat - invest in a hardwired compressor/limiter and read the instruction manual a couple of times.  Eradicating RFI from your chain will be your biggest headache.  Stock up on clamshell ferrites and bypass caps.  All Electronics has them reasonably-priced with a flat $7 shipping fee and no minimum.  As to software, there's plenty of it out there.  I wouldn't pay money for a bunch of functionality though.  I doubt you'll ever use it.  I pound out all my stuff with Audacity.  It works well, is open-sourced so improvements are available often, and has a very short learning curve.  And its free!

http://www.sonicdownloads.net/download/Audio/Audacity/

Years ago I pirated with a Valiant.  I recall originally bypassing the 2nd audio preamp completely because most of the bandwidth filtering was there.  Later on I had a more knowledgeable friend do the conversion work properly, but there was really very little difference in doing it the right way.  It was a great rig, built like a tank, and blew out a very potent signal.  I never needed a monitor to know where in the program I was at - you could easily hear the audio vibrating those 6146Ws.  I also miss the WHOOOOMPH! it made when the carrier was switched on.  These silly little MOSFETs I now use lack the romance, and the hardiness of that old tuber - have fun with it Longwire!

217

General Radio Discussion / Re: FCC news via Free Radio Weakly, Pirate Menace in NYC

« on: May 21, 2014, 0035 UTC »

And I quote: " So go back to making commercial radio shittier and shittier, and ruining the use of FM and MW radio, and let the pirates be!!"

Good point but I feel a little let down when Pirates play the same old commercial.... errr scat.  There is a ton of good music out there so there is no excuse for playing 'oldies' (aka 60's -80's bs)  let's be a little original and play some indy stuff...  you know, the stuff that doesn't get played on commercial 'oldies' stations or current top 20 stations...

Hey I'm a burned out old hippie and I know all the oldies by heart... let's hear something that has never been heard before... or is the music business totally as dead as it seems...

I don't want to offend anyone but...  let's get real, pirate means to play something that no one else is playing right???  Seems the current crop of pirates play the same old same old...(AKA SOS)  IMHO

sorry if I have offended anyone...

73 Vince KA1IIC

I know what you're saying Vince, I guess I've felt that way sometimes myself.  Personally, I don't care so much about the music selection, but moreso about the lack of creativity lately.  Back in the 80s and early 90s when Harry P. Ness and I were producing Radio Garbanzo we were both completely committed to the project and would invest a minimum of 50 hours in the writing and production of each show.  Life has gotten too busy for me to do that now.  I rely much more on music for WAZU programming than I once did in the RG days.   And I can certainly understand that same motivation with others.  That's why I get such a woodie when hearing a truly creative pirate such as Undercover Radio or Radio Free Euphoria. If you ask ten pirates why they do it you will probably get at least five different answers.  And I think those answers tend to change with changing circumstances... at least mine has.  Everything runs in cycles and I would imagine that pirate radio will "get good" again eventually, as motivations change.  And Mr. Fansome is correct, as usual.  We ARE a rather scruffy bunch - with GREAT music collections!

218

The RF Workbench / Re: Where to start.

« on: May 10, 2014, 0209 UTC »

Hi there and welcome Iraqvet.  I don't know what your knowledge/experience level is so I'm not sure where to point you.  The best site I know of for newbie transmitter builders is Make RF's site:

http://makerf.com/

If you have some building experience then Radio Anarchy has developed a really nice easy to build minimalist design called the Guerilla:

http://www.angelfire.com/de/RadioAnarchy/

If you're an old pro at building RF projects then Dave Martin's website will keep you busy:
http://freeradiotx.blogspot.com/

There are several other good sites (especially some Dutch and German ones) that you can google and connect to.

And if you want to interact with other pirate builders you can join the homebrewpirateradio Yahoo group.  Good luck with your endeavors...

219

Huh? / Re: Penguins aren't the only starfish in the sea

« on: May 08, 2014, 2006 UTC »

The song was written by Paul Simon,  of Simon and Garfunkel, and given by him to the group

And immortalized by He-Man Radio...

220

The RF Workbench / Re: High Powered Pirates

« on: May 08, 2014, 1520 UTC »

I know this is an old topic...but....

On Radio Metallica Worldwide, I heard that he got busted. Said his callsign on the air, and they nailed him. Was a big time Amateur Radio operator. I don't know if they took his license, but, he did get a big fine, I heard.

He was good at what he did, I also heard he worked in the radio station business.

anyone else heard this? 

What I've heard is far, far... FAR different than that.  But since what I heard is to a large extent undocumented, I won't elaborate...

221

The RF Workbench / Re: ..helpfull site for making RF

« on: May 07, 2014, 2329 UTC »

Nice site bumbelstock!  I think I'll be giving Google translate a workout over the next few days!  One site that I use a lot is calculator edge.  This one has a bazillion calculator programs on it - all indexed and E-Z-2-use.

http://www.calculatoredge.com/index.htm

Please note there are TWO sections very useful for making RF - Electrical AND Electronics.  And if you are an overachiever Physics and Metallurgy would come in handy too...

222

General Radio Discussion / Re: Earliest DX Memories?

« on: May 06, 2014, 1606 UTC »

I started as a little nipper DXing the strange nighttime AM band stations.  So much DX there that I can't remember any particular "firsts".  However when I was 9 or 10 I remember  having a June sleepover at my house with some buds.  Shortly after sunrise we snuck into the house to see some Saturday morning cartoons.  This was before our house was "cabled".  One of the buds was channel surfing the white noise around the dial and came upon a crystal clear test pattern on Channel 9 that was being transmitted by WTOP (now WUSA) in Washington D.C.  Since we kids were sitting in upstate NY beholding this spectacle, it was quite memorable and I was ultimately bitten by the TV DX bug.

223

General Radio Discussion / Re: FCC & US Marshals Raid Another Pirate, Looks Like a Coordinated Campaign

« on: April 24, 2014, 1643 UTC »

I noticed that there is transcription of a phone call from someone who finked on the station. The transcript ends with "they have threatened me with death if I say something. please do not mention my name anywhere".  The transcript does have the guys name, however. Oops.

Yeah, more than once - LOL!  It shows how much respect they have for their informants.  I thought it odd that they sat in their car over a mile away and took the measurements used in their affidavits, specifying that the actual figures were "extrapolated".  That's not how it was done in the old days.  It makes me wonder what a good lawyer could do with that.

224

Huh? / Re: Sunglasses

« on: April 18, 2014, 0104 UTC »

So the next time you see in your neighborhood a unfamiliar sketchy person with  ... .

Well Nella, my neighborhood, if you can call it that, is mostly peopled by farmers, weekend warriors, and militia types itching for something to shoot at.  I don't see many of those "sketchy" types here.  On one hand the article is very disturbing.  But on the other hand, I've watched an accelerating slide toward totalitarianism since the Senior Bushie announced there was a New World Order brewing back in the late 80s.  Increasingly more and more citizen actions are becoming illegal while at the same time less and less actions are being punished - UNLESS you've pissed off the wrong people.  This rot started with the Feds but its now trickling down into the States and municipalities.  Depressingly, I see no way this trend is going to change direction...   

225

Shortwave Broadcast / Re: Radio Magic Eye 25900 AM 1304 UTC 11 Apr 2014

« on: April 11, 2014, 1736 UTC »

Not much signal here last week or today.  I monitored today from about 1400-1600.  Signal was mostly inaudible here with an occasional fade up and small amounts of copy.  I miss those weeks with almost local reception!  11M truly is a funny band... full of surprises.