Messages

136

Part 15 AM and FM Station Operation / Tis the season for Part 15 'Light Display' stations?

« on: November 27, 2024, 1754 UTC »

Anyone seen these out yet? Signs that say, "TUNE IN TO ----" for music to various X-mas light displays. Most seem to be those FM ones, but someone might try AM as well. Usually, you will see them at an event like this,   https://salights.com/   However, folks that have their houses decked-out might display a sign for accompanying music.

137

Part 15 AM and FM Station Operation / Re: Sources for T.O.T.H. News Minutes and Special Reports for Part 15 and LPFM's?

« on: November 23, 2024, 1656 UTC »

Interesting... Seems pretty close to what the 5min, daily, Media Minutes, was about 15 years ago. Good, to know! THANKS!!!!!

138

Huh? / Bose Speakers buys out McIntosh Audio?

« on: November 20, 2024, 2116 UTC »

https://www.bose.com/pressroom/bose-acquires-mcintosh-group-announcement?srsltid=AfmBOooVHe196sDv1GzzGCBkZHtsCBTa-PJBeQMq69IeTwek4D4SyKPE     Well, that's different. I have audio from both. I was sad, when Clarion acquired McIntosh 20-some years ago. Hopefully, this is a good thing.

139

Part 15 AM and FM Station Operation / 35,000 Watts, the podcast, free to air for Part 15'ers!

« on: November 19, 2024, 1911 UTC »

Actually, I've known about Michael Millard's, 35,000 Watts, College Radio INFO Podcasts, for months now, but griped to him that I couldn't download it. https://www.35000watts.com/podcast/   The tricks, hit SHARE, then you'll see that download arrow / line icon, and it should take. Or, right-click on it, and hit 'SAVE LINK AS', and label and put the download where you want it. Worked, for me. COOL!!!!! (THANKS Michael!!!!)

140

General Radio Discussion / Re: The Incredible Story Behind the First Transistor Radio? Then, Sony ran with

« on: November 18, 2024, 1825 UTC »

I'll have to look for the article again, where Sony ran with the pocket radio, where it was more affordable for the masses.  TI certainly laid-out the ground work in pioneering that. I happened to see that when researching Sony Trinitron color TV history, since I worked in Toshiba's CRT manufacturing +30 years ago. Sadly, even Sony is now pretty much an empty husk of what it used to be.

141

Part 15 AM and FM Station Operation / Re: "New" Part 15 Station in Alameda, CA?

« on: November 13, 2024, 1848 UTC »

That is cool what Dave Richards has got going, and Boomer, of AM690, noticed that there's great soil conductivity there for Part 15 AM to reach-out. (Unlike where I am in WV, where soil conductivity is maybe one-step up from a desert.) As far as Tybee not having a crystal for 1630kHz? One option is a cheap DDS, (Direct Digital Synthesis. ), VFO, and feed that to the crystal socket.  Boomer, of AM690, uses that as his fall-back option, when a crystal OSC fails on him. Passing contemplation. Even, to hack a PLL, (Phase Locked Looped.), based tuner's Local Oscillator, and feed that to the crystal socket. There's a will, today, there's a way.

142

Huh? / SWL'ing hits-up Franken FM, 'ol CH6's.

« on: November 10, 2024, 1748 UTC »

https://swling.com/blog/2024/11/channel-6-fm-radio-stations/    Question is, how much longer can they exist?  They are certainly not bothering anyone where they are, at 87.750MHz. Well, with the exception of envy from some commercial broadcasters that want to see them squashed. Uh-huh.

143

Software / Re: Zara Radio into thetis. Ask MRAM1500.

« on: November 09, 2024, 1842 UTC »

You might want to pose this question to Bob, of MRAM1500,     http://mram.us/    He's the one whom has gotten me to try out Zara Radio back in 2012. Hope this helps.

144

General Radio Discussion / Are Internet Radios Still a Thing? RW rip...

« on: November 08, 2024, 1851 UTC »

https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/are-internet-radios-still-a-thing     I still use it, and use that Grace Digital Mondo Elite as a stream link for programs. BTW, it does seem to work well with Starlink Internet. (Thanks for referring this Boomer!)

145

Huh? / Re: 35000 Watts, Download Available Now? (Movie documentary.) COOL!!!!

« on: November 06, 2024, 1800 UTC »

I haven't been to Lubbock, TX, but been to Amarillo, and remember just how flat the terrain was there. +30 miles of coverage? It wouldn't surprise me if KTXT was easily heard out to AR, OK, and even NM, borders. Even a few hundred watts on FM would reach a great distance there. But yeah, commercial stations would certainly envy that kind of coverage. As far as more material, that didn't get-in the 35,000 Watts movie, I hope that Michael Mallard can indeed do a follow-up to 35,000 Watts. Heck... Just the INFO that Jennifer Waits has, from her +100 college stations' visits, could easily fill a movie. Let's hope so...   Oh BTW... That 100kW college station mentioned in the movie is this one,  https://www.wheatstone.com/joomlatools-files/docman-files/downloadables//9_29_2022_WREK_Student_Radio_Gets_a_Much_Needed_Studio_Upgrade.pdf    and    https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=Wrek&nav=home   Gees... How much is their power bill?

146

Part 15 AM and FM Station Operation / Re: Is a TH essentially also CC? To a degree, yes...

« on: November 04, 2024, 1628 UTC »

Pretty much any Medium Wave transmitter, that uses power from the commercial power lines, will have some bit of coupling to the power lines, even the commercial sites. That said, the way to reduce that is to use actually isolation transformers in the power supplies. The Talking House, and even the Radio Systems version, I Am Radio, does come with a transformered wall wart, and not a switching supply. That helps. If you wanted to be 'Off-Grid', going solar and battery would isolate even more so, and I've heard of some stations doing so. Very long lines and low FREQ interacting with each other certainly isn't new, and will continue for as long as we have a MW Band. Steps can be done to reduce that coupling, but not totally eliminate it, unless you transmit out in the middle of nowhere, with no power lines around. BTW, not just power lines, but coupling has a tendency to occur with other utility lines as well, land-line phone, CATV, etc. That's, where fibre optics is good. Hopefully, I was able to answer that. BTW, using audio isolation transformers is good to do as well. I've had to do that here.

147

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Radio 48 via Mix Radio Int'l 6850 USB 2 NOV 2024, VSB?

« on: November 03, 2024, 1812 UTC »

Heard Radio 48 well, as well, but has anyone else noticed that it was like VSB, Vestigial Side Band? Why do I say that? On LSB, I heard clear, but very bassy audio, and full audio in USB. Huh... Wonder what transmitter they were using?

148

Huh? / Re: So, what's up with Archive .ORG? Seems back up now, 10/21/2024.

« on: October 21, 2024, 1809 UTC »

Good... Able to get back to   https://archive.org/details/@thadood     again, as well as other archives, like   https://archive.org/details/@splatterbox3200       YEA!!!!

149

Equipment / Re: I bought a shortwave and can't hear sh*t? Ya want good sh*t!

« on: October 21, 2024, 1802 UTC »

Near Pensacola, huh? Almost nightly, I can hear their 1620AM up here in SW West Virginia, usually battling with 1620kHz out of Cuba, and my own Part 15 AM1620 station. Anyway... Couple of things that you can try. Got any unused speaker wire, trashed telephone, or CAT 5, cables, or even an extra power extension cord?  Ideas, for longer Shortwave antennas to clip to that portable's telescopic whip. Are you close to a beach that you can take that portable to? Just be sure that you have some good distance away from the local AM stations, like that 1620AM. Looking at that portable's range, 4.5MHz - 22MHz, from 4.5MHz to like 10MHz, good for most nighttime listening, while 10MHz to 22MHz, mainly daytime. Albeit, about 10AM to mid-afternoon, EST, you could usually hear 40M AM HAM's from 7285kHz - 7295kHz. (That includes me on some Saturdays and Sundays, when I hear a friend calling CQ-CQ there.) After that time, 40M shortwave broadcasters dominate that portion of the HAM Band, like in the evening. Oh.. Got a close-by tree to string a wire up into for an antenna? Oh... In a pinch, even the Dollar Tree should have cheap runs of speaker wire, and a small-gauge spool of what they call 'hook-up' wire. That would work. Hey, I know what it's like to be super cheap. I still dumpster dive. 

150

SDR - Software Defined Radio / The Ultra-Portable ATS25 max-Decoder Receiver? Updated?

« on: October 19, 2024, 1720 UTC »

https://www.elektormagazine.com/review/ats25-max-decoder-receiver-review   Sound intriguing, but I understand that you'd have to pay for the software upgrades.  Anyone tried this SDR yet?