Messages

106

General Radio Discussion / Re: X-FM Halloween 2018 Gear

« on: August 09, 2019, 2317 UTC »

Great video on the AudioArts restoration. Thrown in the trash! Incredible! People are idiots these days. I find it very hard to mix without faders. Of course I've done it, but the hand/ear synergy is totally different with a mouse or keyboard, you make mucho mistakes.

Looking forward to hearing XFM again, rocking and rolling.

107

North American Shortwave Pirate / YHWH 7470 AM 0328 UTC 9 AUG 2019

« on: August 09, 2019, 0329 UTC »

I think I hear him in his usual "prose style" (?), creeping in under the noise tonight (0328 UTC)...

108

Shortwave Broadcast / Re: Helliniki Radiophonia

« on: July 21, 2019, 0151 UTC »

I heard them last night on 9420 kHz, out in the glorious RF-pollution-free boonies, and enjoyed some of the most fantastically beautiful music I've ever heard. Signal was incredible, 555, I thought it must be a relay from the usual US suspects... Anyhow the music was varied, from haunting vocals to hammer dulcimer to strange stringed instruments. I couldn't place it, I kept thinking "Balkans"... which it is, sort of. 

Introductions via shortwave to music you never imagined possible is an underrated joy of the hobby.

109

General Radio Discussion / Re: BBC Annual Mid-Winter Broadcast to Antartica 2130 utc 21 Jun 2019

« on: June 19, 2019, 1906 UTC »

Keeping with the BBC theme, one really needs to read "The Worst Journey in the World", about the guys who "man-sledded" across Antarctica in the middle of winter, eating blubber and popping coke pills, falling into crevices, and bottomless pits, guided by nothing but the moon (no radios), all for the glory of presenting the Royal Whatever Society with the greatest scientific prize of mankind, an Emperor Penguin egg.

110

10/11 meters / Re: 11 meters is active 1445 UTC 12 June 2019

« on: June 19, 2019, 1858 UTC »

27.025 a madhouse here today. Louisiana, Los Angeles, some local guys too.

111

Equipment / Re: Gear prices

« on: June 15, 2019, 0036 UTC »

I think "audiophiles" and "stereophiles" take the cake on gear stupidity (and ignorance in electronics). They  don't blink or cry over  $20,000 for a turntable, but even worse, they actually think a $100 gold-plated USB cable will "sound better" than one for $0.50.

[It's great to argue with these guys. I've done it. There are numerous approaches and jokes. The stereophile guys are a religion though.]

Still, $2-300 for a '2010 in _any_ condition is totally ludicrous.  I liked mine, before it started having those issues that any portable that old will have, it would make a nice $10 thrift store score now.

Josh, did you ever try that chinese radio that looked like an imitation Elecraft? I can't remember the name of it now, it was many moons/threads ago you mentioned it.

112

Other / Re: Jamming and QRM Hams Behaving Badly 7200 kHz LSB 8 Nov 2017

« on: June 09, 2019, 0738 UTC »

Josh is IMO 100% correct. The issue of drunken hams misbehaving has been around a long time. A recent ARRL thing quoted an article from the 50's about the matter of "language"; also, CB has always been much the same, according to some of my sources it was worse.

A lot of the drunk guys on 80m today can code in morse, I believe some of them are Advanced or Extras. They sample and insult each other par excellence, and this is what we normally hear. Late at night, I've heard some very interesting tech discussions, including what to do with lasers taken out of old DVD players. I personally can feel a moment's contempt for some of the perpetrators, especially those who are only jamming. But perhaps a minute of old school Christian charity would serve me better than the contempt.

Honestly speaking, a lot of these guys IMO suffer from nothing more than alcoholism, of which there is a lot going around lately. They don't know what to do and are crying out for God knows what. I'm not at all PC in this or any other matter. I'm not making excuses for their abuse of the ham bands, pathetic as the abuse usually is. It's just as my Mom used to say, "there but for the grace of God go I", etc., etc.

113

Amateur Radio / Re: 20m open late today

« on: June 07, 2019, 0523 UTC »

20 meters wide open last night and tonight (local) for a few hours. Heard a guy in Hawaii talking to Europe, Russia, etc. for over an hour. Haven't heard conditions like this for several months.

114

Amateur Radio / Re: HAM Radio FUNgus

« on: June 03, 2019, 0112 UTC »

You hear the coolest things on HF, on repeaters too. Signal/noise ratio not great, but gold is struck in eureka moments.

I once heard a pilot from Alaska talking to a 90 year old guy about the time he landed his plane in the middle of nowhere in Denali park, going to do a little hunting, natch... He was seperated from his party. A grizzly bear was down by the plane, started running towards him, and as he said, "I aimed my gun, and realized that if I miss this shot, my daughters would never see me again." The old guy said something like, "it seems you've had an interesting life."

Then there are the guys and gals on the local repeater (interestingly, a lot of women have tech licenses these days) who I don't know from Adam, and when they're in the hospital or whatever, I worry about them.

I suppose there might be better ways to waste my time. Or, as Bon Scott would say, maybe "doin' nothin' means a lot to me."

115

Equipment / Re: More Wire, Higher Wire, Longer Wire

« on: June 02, 2019, 2133 UTC »

I also totally hear you on the magic of portable radios. There's something insane about picking up stations from Asia on a little hand-held unit, plus as you said: the aesthetics. things like the ICF-2010 are in the "they ain't never make this again" category, some of them are, historically,  a peak of Japanese tech of the 1980's, rather like the Toyota 4Runners of the time. I mean, dozens of buttons for presets. Who on earth will understand that these days? I'm sad to say my '2010 needs repair which I would gladly do if I had the time, OTOH I can donate it to a thrift store and someone might get the bug themselves. The Tecsun stuff these days are very good too.

I would say that if you really want to get into antennas, which are another bug in themselves and a topic which will never grow old, there are some "entry level" Yaesus like the 891 which are reasonably priced and quite useable as SWL rigs. But of course, you need a power supply. Which brings up other interesting topics like battery packs and solar panels and so on. There are so many "bugs" in this hobby -- look at the Boat Anchors forum on eHam.

Having portable radios as a hobby is cheap, as you said you can hand them down too. Radio per se goes so deep into physics and human history, it's just fun and gets you off the damned social media/internet, and I wonder why more people don't get it. Their loss. I suppose for the Angry Birds era it's all too much work.  I appreciated your post, thank you!

116

Other / Re: 6990 LSB chanting, Febrarury 14, 2019 - 2300UTC

« on: March 28, 2019, 2242 UTC »

I finally heard this superb "station" (or stations, or this station's friends) yesterday morning, out in an obscure valley far away from RF-noisy civilization. Thanks to Strange Beacons for the fine recordings, which inspired me to try again after failed attempts. Someone really needs to QSO w/ the chanters, not forgetting tape Echoplex, which would be right up their Strasse of the Ether, so to speak.

(No cell coverage where I was, either, and I didn't take notes, kind of an old-school spontaneous thrill.)

117

Amateur Radio / Re: Anyone still into rockin' it in AM mode? Would this be a great topic?

« on: March 28, 2019, 2153 UTC »

3870 is indeed pretty active out here most weekends, there is at least one net (California based I think).

118

Amateur Radio / Re: Amateur radio

« on: March 23, 2019, 1756 UTC »

Great pdf link on the CW, I'm finding it very helpful, thanks.

119

Amateur Radio / Re: Recent on air contacts

« on: March 22, 2019, 2300 UTC »

Nice CW contacts, Matt. It seems that CW is the way to go these days (still learning the "language", just got my license last year) if you're not wsjt-x-ing.

C02FC, 98 years old and still doing CW, what a killer catch, kudos. I wonder who the oldest CW operator in the northern hemisphere is?

[edit -- I've heard at least one 90 year old guy last year on 20m SSB, sharp as a tack, discussing hunting in Alaska, so there may be more competition than I thought]

120

Huh? / Re: Dick Dale, King of the Surf Guitar, Is Dead at 81

« on: March 20, 2019, 1909 UTC »

Pigmeat: I really appreciate your memories. The gig was in AZ,  probably 2006-8, somewhere in there. I really regret not having made the effort to meet the man. (always a grave mistake to assume that larger than life folks will return or be around forever)