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Topics - Telegrapher

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1
Equipment / Question about radiation.
« on: June 30, 2019, 2204 UTC »
Hi all, I have a Russian BC-348 J receiver laying around and I’ve noticed that it has a lot of radio luminous paint on almost any part for operation. The switches still glow slightly. All knobs are glowing and even the text on the front plate is all made up of radio active material to make it “glow in the dark”..

Now I’m wondering what I should do with it. As I simply don’t like the risk of being in front of a high level of radiation all the time.. I kinda want to get some helpful tips on what choice to make. I have a strong connection to the receiver as it was my first tube radio.. and it is kinda hard for me to get rid of it. But it’s bothering me since I know that it’s been radiating next to my bed all night long. And I am easily paranoid by the stuff I read regarding radioactivity and it’s nasty effects. I barely touched the radio after I discovered this. It’s doing nothing at all for now except sending a lot of radiation..

It’s a painful decision as I had a lot of pleasure in the first few years of every day operation. Before I knew I was contaminated with radiation every day... The radio luminous paint is also kinda fading off. Just like little tiny parts slowly fall off without noticing after operational use. I am worried that I accidentally ingested or inhaled some little parts of it. But I have no real proof of it that the material has entered into my internal body.. like usual I just operated the radio like a computer and did eat after without washing my hands. So I wonder what the risks are and so on.. This is my worst discovery so far in my SWL hobby..  :(

Link to the discovery:

https://youtu.be/bmwKEhpqZPw?list=PL8UE9zbbkEisBK9uhpfYsF5-JeAp-cacU

I will appreciate any help, comments, and tips regarding what choice is the best. It’s a nice radio and a piece of history. All still original and never modified by anyone who owned the radio before I did.

2
Equipment / New in my collection R210
« on: June 03, 2019, 1442 UTC »
Just arrived, a working R210 Reception Set. Looks nice all works fine. Only the outer cover is a little damaged but the inside is like new. No dust or other faulty parts. All tubes shiny and nice in order. I’m happy with it.

De only downside: The frequency scale isn’t accurate. When I tune to my usual station I listen to all day, which normally is on 4625 KHz, shows up on the 3rd band of the scale at 4.55 (4550 KHz). But the rest is all working nicely.

https://imgur.com/a/eEX8Nm4

3
Equipment / Identification needed
« on: June 03, 2019, 0846 UTC »
Hello, I got a radio yesterday from a local source. The owner didn’t know what to do with it so he gave it to me. I also can’t easy find he description on the web. So I made a link o Imgur with the pictures of the device with all details from the outside and the kind of batteries that came with it in the bag. I guess the yellow ones are the originals. As they don’t have a modern brand name and only a number painter on them. They also seem to have mah, which makes me think those were rechargeable. I appreciate the comments and I hope to find the right kind of manual to make this thing work instead of just messing it up while trying to get it working without knowledge. The link is below:

https://imgur.com/a/P4Fau5Q

Kind regards, Telegrapher

4
https://imgur.com/a/7dsw7D8

Part 2: https://imgur.com/a/ldwA0jG

Part 3 (the last part of the album):
https://imgur.com/a/c5XyJyr

First quick shot of an old album I got from someone second hand. Looks pretty. Lots from local old radio groups and alike. Enjoy.

5
SDR - Software Defined Radio / RTL-SDR maintenance help needed
« on: April 28, 2019, 0902 UTC »
Hey there, I have a RTL SDR dongle that needs some maintenance. I measured the two coaxial plugs on the dongle which both seem to have short circuit in them. I tried to disassemble the dongle but I can’t even slide the side panels off after removing the screws. So I’m wondering if it’s worth the time to try and get it disassembled and get new coaxial connectors. Or just buying a better one? It’s not a high end dongle so I just need some advice on what to do with it. I bought it for quite a bit (€58,-)

Any tips and info is appreciated.

Kind regards,
Telegrapher

6
Equipment / Need help with dynamotor
« on: April 05, 2019, 2104 UTC »
Hello, I have a dynamotor thats isn’t running smooth like it used to be. I don’t know how to remove it from the cabinet. I’ve tried every screw on the outside of the panel but something is keeping it unable to pull out of the radio. If someone knows how to remove it or tips for repairing it let me know.

Here’s an overview below:

https://imgur.com/gallery/HneuwdG

Kind regards, Telegrapher


7
Equipment / Questions CB and TX base station project
« on: March 20, 2019, 1847 UTC »
Hi,

I am planning on building a base station at home for basic TX experiments. Starting with CB.

I currently have a CB antenna hooked up to a magnet mount attached to a aluminum plate from a disassembled pc case. With an additional wire of copper going from the antenna to one of the water pipes that are used for the heating temperature in the room.

I need to build a tower still. Which I am planning to do when the weather gets more pleasant later this season.

I watched a lot on the web about things to look out for. Like using a SWR meter. And some other technical details.

It all sounds really complicated to me. RX doesn’t really have much technical details to work. But for TX I read several topics talking about risk of the radio burning from the inside when the SWR doesn’t match or something.

If anyone has a easy list of tips and/or suggestions I would love to hear them. After I heard about the things that could happen when the antenna isn’t attached the right way (the radio might blow up inside, etc) I just unplugged the whole rig and it’s sitting in the corner collecting dust.. I really want to be able to experience the real TX without worrying about my radio losing a capacitor or smelling smoke after pushing the TX for a while.

Anything is helpful and appreciated!

Kind regards,
Telegrapher.

8
Equipment / Whats wrong with my antenna?
« on: March 14, 2019, 1912 UTC »
Hi fellow SWL and alike!

I have a quick question about a problem with connecting (any) kind of antenna to my radio. I used an RTL-SDR to give some technical view as images are the easiest way for me to show what I am struggling with at the moment.

It’s about the coaxial feed line plugs.

When I turn on my radio without antenna shows the first picture. Then the details of the cable and device. And the results of plugging the coax only into the antenna plug with its main center line (the core) and what happens when I attach the coax the way it must be. Results is no signal. Tested with several brand new cables without any results. So I am stuck at the moment and the only way to listen to shortwave is by only attaching the core of the coax cable without the screwing mechanism to hold the cable strong in its place. Resulting the cable to fall out of my radios antenna input every now and then. I need a fix for this. It’s strange. Please help me out. I would really appreciate it!

9
Equipment / Antenna Identification needed
« on: February 15, 2019, 1755 UTC »
Hi all,

I have a portable antenna (from military source) and I wonder what kind of antenna it is, and if possible some instructions as to how to mount / use it for SWL purposes.
See pictures for info.

https://imgur.com/a/LR3dK37

Kind regards,
Telegrapher.

10
General Radio Discussion / New to CB radio, Need help.
« on: January 23, 2019, 1726 UTC »
Hello all,

I just got my hands on a new CB radio from a local store. I never had a CB radio in my life so I have a few questions in my mind.

1) I use a PSU from a PC for the 12V to power it on. Is this a safe solution?

2) I have no antenna that I can screw up on the back of the transceiver, Currently I have a long wire in the middle of the coaxial plug. It works, but again is it safe? (I heard stories about antenna's and when not using the right antenna it can blow up the radio's back end.)

3) Since there are no grounding screws on it, Does a grounded wall socket do the job for the radio?

I hope I can get it going without worrying each time I push the PTT button. It's a Midland ALAN 121.

Thanks for any response.

Kind regards,
Telegrapher.

11
Hello all, I just came across a Telegraph Message Coder. As I collect vintage stuff as a hobby, I would love to find more about this device and how to give it a new life.. I was looking this evening on the web but couldn't find anything clear about it. No images of it on the web. No manual regarding it's unique kind.

Maybe someone here is able to help me out? I'll post some pictures of it below.

https://imgur.com/a/JnIe6ld

Kind regards,
Telegrapher.

12
SDR - Software Defined Radio / What to stick to? SDR or analog radio?
« on: January 15, 2019, 1007 UTC »
Hello all,

I currently have an old RTL-SDR device and some analog tube radio's as well. My question is what should be the best choice for lifetime SWL'ing?
I know that my SDR has a lot of noise interference because it needs a PC to run. I have spend like 4 months to try using my Raspberry PI 3 for operating it but it leaves me without success (Lack of Linux knowledge). The old radio's have absolutely sero noise interference even on the lower bands (200KHz - 500KHz). I was thinking about this for a while, shall I buy a better SDR device like Hackrf or Kiwi-SDR? Or shall I keep using the old militairy tube radio's? The best things about my experience with SDR is the waterfall, the frequency digits. and the easy filters all in one little device I can carry in my pocket for easy outdoor DX'ing in places like forests, mountain tops, etc.

The analog radio's don't have a exact correct tuning scale, which the SDR does have. And all is done by carefully listening instead of monitoring the waterfall spectrum. Also they are bulky, heavy, and usually stored in museums (that's the place where I bought some for SWL'ing at my home shack).

The only good part about my experience with analog radio's from the early days is that they are easy to repair. The radio's nowadays are hard to repair, parts are getting smaller in size etc. While a tube is easy to replace.

About the tube radio's, There will be one day that there are no more parts available for replacement as most isn't produced anymore. These days I can only buy transistors in the local electronic shops around me. So that also leaves me thinking about their historical value and whether or not I should use them till they become even more damaged and eventually break and die..

I know that the older radio's last much longer than the new stuff nowadays. The oldest one is about 73 years old and it's still alive and works like new.. Even after it's journey inside a bomber plane from the USSR and been recovered after WWII from the disassembling process of the airplane's wreck.

If anyone has experience in both kind of radio's, I would love to hear more about it. Things like how to take care of the older devices especially.

Kind regards,
Telegrapher.

13
FM Free Radio / FM Pirates in the Netherlands.
« on: January 14, 2019, 1916 UTC »
Hello,

I found 2 pirates on the FM band last saturday. I wonder if they make it kinda legal here as one of them is broadcasting for 4 years straight. I would dream about making my own little radio station too, but I am newb into broadcasting and I don't know if my current transmitter (made from a Raspberry and an outdoor antenna) is useful for broadcasting music.. I would love to build a transmitter myself but I need help with it from someone who has experience in this kind of stuff. Bad part about the Raspberry is that it is low voltage and gets hot very quickly. Signal is unstable (I can even receive it on the shortwave bands!)

Any ideas for improving the setup? I would love to know more about broadcasting and building a nice transmitter myself.

Kind regards,
Telegrapher.

14
Equipment / Identifying Vintage Radio
« on: January 14, 2019, 1852 UTC »
Hello all,

I recently came across an old AM radio on a dumb store for $4. I wonder if it's a rare piece. I can't really find anything about it on the web. And I need a manual for correcting the frequencies as I was testing the PCB and turned some coils to make sure all was still connected.. And it was.

The parts I have questions about are:
Is it a rare piece?
Is there a source where I can find the manual for it?
Misc info regarding everything I need to know about it. How to correct the tuning screws etc..

I hope someone here can help me out.

Just registered as a new member. So I like to say hello to all!

https://imgur.com/a/MIsP5RH


Kind regards,
Telegrapher.

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