Messages

316

The RF Workbench / Re: Solar SLA charging and maintenance for unattended transmitters

« on: January 22, 2020, 1541 UTC »

This has stirred an interesting idea.  Use a prepaid lte modem to get an internet connection to the transmitter.  Have a raspberry pi or similar to poke an internet stream, and if available start up the transmitter and process the audio.  Should the battery get too low, throw noises in the audio and shut down.  A max time limit could also be placed on any day based on weather conditions.

+-RH

317

Equipment / Re: The SW200 LPAM, Part #15, Amateur Radio AM, Audio Processor.

« on: January 19, 2020, 2100 UTC »

The blue box on top of the orban is a symetrix 528e mic processor...I've rebuild a good number of them. The previous generation 528's were gray and all through hole.  They also had weird terminal strips on the back for i/o.  People used them for everything, including cleaning up rpu feeds, but were mono.   My first phone hybrid was a ti-101 by symetrix from about the same era.

+-RH

318

General Radio Discussion / Re: Huge military exercise could jam GPS for small planes flying in the Southeast

« on: January 19, 2020, 1633 UTC »

For the record I did not...don't really care.  What does any of this have to with the original post about gps outages.

I come here to get away from all the crap on other sites and the media.  Please keep your doom and gloom, and your politics to yourself please.

+-RH

319

General Radio Discussion / Re: Huge military exercise could jam GPS for small planes flying in the Southeast

« on: January 19, 2020, 0955 UTC »

Don't do a search for pence pompeo end times...   

~

Its awfully dark and gloomy in that cave of yours, isn't it?

+-RH

320

General Radio Discussion / Re: Reports: iHeartMedia undergoing layoffs, including at Syracuse, Rochester radio

« on: January 19, 2020, 0950 UTC »

As long as money is coming in the door from advertisers, nothing will change.

+-RH

321

General Radio Discussion / Re: Reports: iHeartMedia undergoing layoffs, including at Syracuse, Rochester radio

« on: January 19, 2020, 0052 UTC »

Technically, since radio stations are no longer required to have a a physical studio at the location of broadcasting, they can consolidate to a single national location and have everything programmed and linked out to the cities of broadcast and make all of these high powered stations kind of like translators. Actually, NPR has done that for years in various states, (Like here in WV.), and nationally K-Love is doing that now,   http://www.klove.com/    Take this to a commercial level and there you go. The idea of just a handful of people doing programming and sales to a few hundred stations nation-wide is a golden goose that would be just too hard to pass up. As it is, most of those people left can do their tasks from home. I can see commercial and non-profit conglomerates going to that model exclusively this decade.

This isn't too far from the rumors I'm hearing.  Why else did most of the layoffs happen in programming and on-air...

Plus, remote voice-tracking of air shifts has been going on for well over 20 years.  Some jock working from home can be on 6 stations coast to coast, and do it all before lunch.

+-RH

322

General Radio Discussion / Re: Reports: iHeartMedia undergoing layoffs, including at Syracuse, Rochester radio

« on: January 17, 2020, 2213 UTC »

Iheart goes through a restructuring about every decade.  I have a feeling larger changes are on the horizon,  all heresay at this point however.

+-RH

323

General Radio Discussion / Re: Reports: iHeartMedia undergoing layoffs, including at Syracuse, Rochester radio

« on: January 17, 2020, 1521 UTC »

Rumor on the street is about 1200 people are getting axed.

+-RH

324

General Radio Discussion / Re: Reception based on East coast/West coast

« on: January 17, 2020, 1520 UTC »

FWIW, wwv is using 5 slanted radials in their systems.

+-RH

325

General Radio Discussion / Re: Hinsdale Neighbors Fight Plans To Install 5G Cell Service, Citing Health Worries

« on: January 16, 2020, 2311 UTC »

In my line of work, I'll worry more about the joint aches I get after spending 30 minutes at a high power am site..or the end fire off a full c fm...or that leaky switch at a tv site thank you.  I've heard of a lot of am broadcast engineers developing brain cancer in their later years.   Cellular is the least of my worries.

+-RH

326

General Radio Discussion / Re: Reception based on East coast/West coast

« on: January 16, 2020, 2258 UTC »

I use 8 on my portable antennas as anything more in the field does little to improve performance, only adds setup time and p.i.a. factor.  On a permanent setup, 16 is about the point of diminishing returns.  At 8 radials, shifts in ground conductivity due to seasonal and weather shifts will be much more noticeable.  On some models I've seen, the difference between 120 and 16 radials is a few db... not worth the trouble imho.

+-RH

327

General Radio Discussion / Re: Hinsdale Neighbors Fight Plans To Install 5G Cell Service, Citing Health Worries

« on: January 15, 2020, 0436 UTC »

Tell them to hand in their iPhones and see what they say....

+-RH

328

General Radio Discussion / Re: Reception based on East coast/West coast

« on: January 15, 2020, 0322 UTC »

Interesting point about using a vertical. I tend to stray away from them as a lot of people say 'They radiate poorly in all directions' I have used verticals for QRP portable ops with a bit of success. I have thought about adding one for various operation anyway. Im always welcome to another antenna in yard! Yes. I need to utilize Grey line better in general. It's a simple method, that just involves being in the shack at the right time. Any favorite sites for Greyline mapping? Yes I have used some, just curious if there are opinions on this. Thank as always!

The folks claiming verticals suck are the same folks that use two radials on said antenna in a suburban lot with no view of the horizon, just the neighbors plasma tv, then wonder why the match sucks and is noisy as hell.  I've had quite my fill of ham 'experts'.

The right tool for the right job...verticals really shine in a low noise environment with a clear shot to the horizon.  They do not do well in a crowded suberbopolis.   In such situations a mini whip or a loop is a much better choice.

+-RH

329

The RF Workbench / Re: Transmitter set up

« on: January 14, 2020, 0119 UTC »

There are many variables..

What mode?  AM or SSB?  AM requires more power for good reception but generally better audio quality.
What distance is your audience from you?  The farther away your audience, generally the higher the power.
What frequency?  Lower frequencies generally require more power to overcome higher local noise levels at low frequency.

This time of year NVIS can be had during the day on 4-6 MHz.  Assuming a location on the east coast and also targeting said such, 50-100W (200-400W PEP) AM should be sufficient.  SSB will require about 1/4 to 1/2 above values.

Everyone's definition of bare minimum is different.  I would recommend some sort of audio processor before the transmitter to both protect it, and prepare the audio for transmission.  If everything you will do is canned, this can be done in the computer after a final mix is made.

It is important also that the transmitter is well matched to the antenna.

No real 'trade secrets' in any of this stuff.  I have worked on and off in commercial radio engineering for almost two decades, and most of my airchain is modeled after what the commercial guys do.  This is after all a hobby.

+-RH

330

General Radio Discussion / Re: TDoA Questions & maybe an article?

« on: January 04, 2020, 2348 UTC »

All the more reason to approach this hobby with some level of professionalism.  If you don't give people a reason to complain or hold a grudge, all the better.

+-RH