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Messages - ThaDood

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2
When, I woke-up for a bathroom break at 3AM, I checked the WX FREQ's on the indoor scanner's antennas. And, the Ashland, KY station marched in at full quieting, 162.550MHz. Normally, I can't even pick that up indoors, and it's very weak on the outside Discone. So a good opening to the West.

3
https://ka7oei.blogspot.com/search/label/helium%20neon     I've contemplated upon using narrow light beams, even modulated lasers, as an STL. However, you'd still have to deal with rain, fog, snow, falling debris, dust clouds, etc. Lines-of-sight is just that. So, a really neat experiment, but not practical for 24/7 data and COMM's delivery, except through Fibre Optic Cables. 

4
With this fist day of summer heatwave, starting in WV, Friday 6/20/2025, we may go to around 100 degrees this weekend and into next week. So, could that mean some nice VHF / UHF Tropo Propagation? Hope so... https://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html   Especially, late night and very early morning. Our 162MHz Weather Stations make for some nice tax $$$$ bought VHF beacons. Oh yeah... Need an OTA Antenna for UHF HDTV DX reception? Build one.   https://archive.org/details/pren2mdvuhfindoortvantennaandtestpdf/6342862%2C%20Pamphlet%2011-2014%2C%20hi%20res/

5
The RF Workbench / Home-Brew, 20W, 5-Band HF Amp. Nice!!!!
« on: June 16, 2025, 1629 UTC »
https://www.qsl.net/on6mu/schemas/hf_5-band_mosfet_amplifier.htm     Hey, 20W on 20M and 15M can get you there, when the bands are wide-open. 40M, in the daytime isn't out of the question either. COOL!!!!

6
https://www.edn.com/teardown-inside-a-dsl-gateway/  Ya know, ya look for tear-downs of DSL MODEM's, and everyone that has done so, and taken PIC's & VID's, are more interested in the IC's. However, what we are interested in, for our Carrier-Current purposes, is the built-in coupling unit. That link is more promising. From the green RJ-11 connector, follow that to the square block marked MOC. That, appears to be the coupler. Now, if we can get the pin-out INFO on that, this maybe our freebie coupler, as well as those coupling mylar CAP's that I see in there. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm... Me thinks me getting warmer?

7
Equipment / Re: Ideal thickness of wire for longwire antenna?
« on: June 14, 2025, 1648 UTC »
Hmmmmmmmm... For receiving only, yeah, thickness doesn't seem to matter, as much. However, I've even transmitted with #26 AWG TV Deguasser wire with success. However, in theory, the thickness of a conductor helps to better broadband an antenna for use on TX'ing. My Windom is old, insulated, solid #10AWG copper wires, and, with the help of a tuner, I can transmit from 1800kHz to 54MHz.  Only thing about a bigger gauge, like #10AWG, is indeed strength, (Like Stretchyman says.). Thus far, it's held-up to many storms, high winds, falling branches, large hail stones, etc. So, it is nice to have. BTW, I used the #26AWG wire, to better hide the antenna from neighbors and the Landlord, at the time. So, ya got it, use it.

8
Coming back from work after 02:00UTC, (10PM EST), heard "E" skip pound in on several CB channels in the truck, all the LSB's CH's 34 - 40, and several AM CH's, 21, 23, 6, 18, and 31. No locals, since the local T-storm was still going, but centered maybe 10 miles away from me. After midnight, around 04:15 UTC, I was testing a 4-pin, newer, Cobra 25LTD Classic CB, that I actually found in the trash. The problem??? No power cord, from what I've found. (I've earlier ADJ AMC, SQ, RF OUT, etc.) Still on stock mic, and dated March 2021. (Why trashed??? Who knows...) Anyway, before bed, the T-storm was better than +50 miles away. So, safe to put that rig on the Starduster 1/4-Wave GND-Plane. Only activity heard was 27.275 MHz AM, (CB CH27.), with two dudes QSO'ing, and deep fades, from 1lbs to over 9lbs. (CB terms for S-Units here.) I heard a local WV station try to work them, but to no avail. By 12:30AM, they were coming in stronger. They skip-numbered ID'ed as 442 and 508 from SE MA, Boston Suburbs. I heard them picking stations from KY, TN, and VA. So, I tried working them on barefoot stock power, stock mic, and got them. Good, to only exchange skip #'s and state, since they were getting pile-ups. I didn't loose them by 1AM, they both called it a night. Neat, to hear a single "E" path stay open that late. 

9
Amateur Radio / ARRL VHF / UHF Contest 6/14-15/2025.
« on: June 11, 2025, 1847 UTC »
https://www.arrl.org/june-vhf    Despite all the craziness in the news, got this contest to try out. Huh... Now you can accept FM 1.2GHz and 902MHz contacts as a point? Really, you couldn't before? So, those of you with multi-band HT's, that include 902MHz and 1294.500MHz FM simplex, could now work and give points out to contestants. BTW, good practice warm-up for the ARRL Field Day,  https://www.arrl.org/field-day   

10
https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/double-hop-dreams-and-the-mystery-of-long-distance-fm  I still remember, a story from a dude, that invested into the then testing on a construction permit of Wellsville, NY's, WJQZ 93.5FM in Summer 1985, that they've received a QSL request from Egypt. And, not Egypt, NY. It was always neat to drive around, in what was usually a mundane FM reception area, and then hear like a Z-Rock affiliate out of Houston, TX into Western New York. I'll have to look to see how many FM stations I've heard via "E" skip over the years from USA, Canada, and even Mexico. I believe that Mr. FM, Bruce Elving, wrote a lot about this as well. Tis the season...   

11
https://rabbitears.info/tvdx/fm_all_tuners     Rabbit Ears is know for its Television OTA INFO, but here's FM DX INFO. Neat to have, with Sporadic E and Tropo Propagation ramping up for the Summer 2025 season.

12
Boomer thought I'd get a kick out of what this dude writes about.  https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/workbench/when-a-standard-isnt    That really wide-banded DSP portable? (Past the non-standard 3.5mm plugs.)    https://www.aliexpress.us/w/wholesale-HanRongDa-HRD%2525252d757-Multiband-Radio.html?spm=a2g0o.home.search.0  Now, what he's talking about is the 900MHz point-to-point STL links that many radio stations still use. As long as it's still analog FM, yeah, that could work in a pinch. BTW, my Kenwood TH-F6A Handy Talkie could do this as well, albeit, not broadcast quality audio, but just voice COMM quality. OH... About the covering of 3.5mm multi-conductor plugs? Many portable analog video units, like DVD players, camcorders, DV decks, 8mm decks, etc.,  used these for L/R stereo audio and video out. Different subject, from that DSP wide-band portable. However, looking at that portable, it's just AM / FM, and no SSB that I could see. Still, might be neat to have.

13
If I remember right, 1700kHz was police dispatch in the 1940's. This 'lil OCS, one-tube-circuit, looks very simplistic. I'll bet that hum, drift, and electrical shocks, all came from this. However, still neat to check out. 

14
General Radio Discussion / Re: FCC down to two commissioners?
« on: June 07, 2025, 1638 UTC »
Either way, two FCC Commissioners is still two too many.

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