Re-Connecting
It has been an interesting week. Our long run of beautiful, sunny weather is over. Yesterday a winter snowstorm hit Minnesota. They are welcome to it! Not much chances of us seeing anything like that anytime soon, but the clouds moved in today and there was some rain this morning.
I have been listening to my radios a lot. The bands, especially 40 metres, have been very good. I have pulled in European stations transmitting from Spain, the Canary Islands, Italy and Great Britain with “S9” clarity. I am particularly excited about hearing this DX since it indicates that the sunspot cycle is finally turning around and we should be hearing more and more long distance radio communications on a regular basis.
My “new” National NC-270 is doing a very good job of pulling in these stations. I am frankly quite surprised at how well it performs. It is interesting to compare it to the Yaesu FT-301D and to my Transoceanics! They all do well. The 301D pulls SSB in the best, of course. I am disappointed at how it performs on AM. The signals are there, good and strong, but the filtering is such that it sounds terrible! I am better off tuning in on sideband than trying to make out what is being said on AM.
But most interesting of all is how well the Transoceanics (my tube models, in particular the H500 and my B600L) pull in the amateur AM signals! The audio quality of an AM ham transmission sounds so much better on a Transoceanic than is does even on the NC-270, that if I find a nice QSO going on, I tune it in on the H500 and listen there. Invariably, the signal strength is the same or better and the audio quality is always much better. Here is an example of some AMers on 3885 kHz discussing -what else? - farting!
I have been doing a lot of searching on the Internet, looking up information about old equipment, nets, hamfests, etc. Man! I wish we had had access to all this information when I was active on the air! Rather than being in conflict with each other, they seem to really complement each other. There are even modes of communication that are a hybrid of radio and Internet. On the other hand, from what I have heard on the bands so far, the old “digital” modes seem to have declined or disappeared from the airwaves. I hear very little RTTY (a mode I particularly enjoyed!) and I understand that Packet Radio - which was the up and coming technology in the 90’s - seems to have practically disappeared in lieu of more efficient modes of communication. I still hear Slow Scan Television once in a while. I used to enjoy playing with that stuff as well - as primitive as it was!
I stopped at the library yesterday to see what they had in the way of radio books. I was surprised at the selection. There are even two ARRL Handbooks, a 2007 and a 2008. The 2008 version was already checked out, so I got the 2007 and also one called Antique Radio Restoration Guide, which has lots of practical information about restoring the kinds of radios I have been buying.
Anyway, to get to the topic implied by the title of this entry, I have re-connected to my good friends in Wisconsin, Marlin & Kay. Marlin is a ham radio operator and we became buds through our common interest in the hobby. Like most of my ham friends back in the day, I kind of left them behind as I embraced my new life as a gay man and my interests turned to other matters. The Internet became my new home because it was much more supportive and helpful in my adjustment to my new life. I met tons of new friends there, much like what happened when I became a ham. Before I knew it, my license had elapsed and I was persuaded by new friends to get rid of the tons of boat anchors and related gear that I had accumulated since the late 70’s.
I have tried to remember all of the major pieces of gear I used to own at one time or the other. Marlin reminded me of one more piece that I forgotten about. I do regret having given up all this stuff - or at least most of it. I especially regret giving up some hard to find accessories that were particularly helpful in setting up a vintage AM/CW station. Things like TR switches (I had both electro-mechanical Dow-Keys and electronic switches), station monitors - to make sure I always had a clean signal on the air - high power antenna tuners, etc. are all things I once had and may have trouble finding again! And I certainly won’t find this stuff as cheaply as I did originally. Nor as cheaply as I sold it off!
So here is the list I have come up with so far. I don't know about you, but it boggles my mind!
0) Realistic DX-160 Receiver
1 Heathkit HW-16 & Heathkit HG-10 VFO
2 Swan 100 MX
3 Heathkit HW-8
4 Yaesu FT-107M
5) 2m FM Heathkit HW-2036A
6) 2m all-mode Yaesu FT-221R
7) Yaesu FT-757 GX
8) Hammarlund HQ-110 Amateur Recevier
9) Hammarlund HQ-170 Amateur Receiver
10) National NC-300 Amateur Receiver
11) National NC-303 Amateur Receiver
12) Hallicrafters SX-71 Receiver
13) Johnson Ranger AM/CW Transmitter
14) Johnson 6N2 AM/CW Transmitter
15) Johnson Valiant AM/CW Transmitter
16) Central Electronics 200V All-mode Transmitter
17) Swan 350 Transciever
18) Swan 500 Transciever
19) Heathkit "Twoer" AM transceiver
20) Drake 2C Amateur Receiver
21) Amerco TX-62/VFO-621 & 6 & 2 Meter converters
22) Assorted 2m & 440cm transceivers (handheld)
23) Hallicrafters HT-32 Transmitter
24) Gonset G-50 6-Meter AM Transceiver
25) Kenwood R-599A receiver
One great disadvantage to the Internet is that it has contributed to the increased value of a lot of things that used to be considered junk. EBay in particular has driven up the cost of getting hold of the sort of thing I would be interested in re-acquiring. Ah well! I will just have to be patient and see what kinds of things I can find at hamfests. The NC-270 was a pretty good deal at $65, and I am certainly getting my money’s worth out of it!
Getting back to Marlin & Kay, it has been great catching up them, and I am looking forward to seeing them again face-to-face on my next trip back to Minnesota. And wouldn’t it be fun to chat with Marlin on 40 metre AM someday!
I have been listening to my radios a lot. The bands, especially 40 metres, have been very good. I have pulled in European stations transmitting from Spain, the Canary Islands, Italy and Great Britain with “S9” clarity. I am particularly excited about hearing this DX since it indicates that the sunspot cycle is finally turning around and we should be hearing more and more long distance radio communications on a regular basis.
My “new” National NC-270 is doing a very good job of pulling in these stations. I am frankly quite surprised at how well it performs. It is interesting to compare it to the Yaesu FT-301D and to my Transoceanics! They all do well. The 301D pulls SSB in the best, of course. I am disappointed at how it performs on AM. The signals are there, good and strong, but the filtering is such that it sounds terrible! I am better off tuning in on sideband than trying to make out what is being said on AM.
But most interesting of all is how well the Transoceanics (my tube models, in particular the H500 and my B600L) pull in the amateur AM signals! The audio quality of an AM ham transmission sounds so much better on a Transoceanic than is does even on the NC-270, that if I find a nice QSO going on, I tune it in on the H500 and listen there. Invariably, the signal strength is the same or better and the audio quality is always much better. Here is an example of some AMers on 3885 kHz discussing -what else? - farting!
I have been doing a lot of searching on the Internet, looking up information about old equipment, nets, hamfests, etc. Man! I wish we had had access to all this information when I was active on the air! Rather than being in conflict with each other, they seem to really complement each other. There are even modes of communication that are a hybrid of radio and Internet. On the other hand, from what I have heard on the bands so far, the old “digital” modes seem to have declined or disappeared from the airwaves. I hear very little RTTY (a mode I particularly enjoyed!) and I understand that Packet Radio - which was the up and coming technology in the 90’s - seems to have practically disappeared in lieu of more efficient modes of communication. I still hear Slow Scan Television once in a while. I used to enjoy playing with that stuff as well - as primitive as it was!
I stopped at the library yesterday to see what they had in the way of radio books. I was surprised at the selection. There are even two ARRL Handbooks, a 2007 and a 2008. The 2008 version was already checked out, so I got the 2007 and also one called Antique Radio Restoration Guide, which has lots of practical information about restoring the kinds of radios I have been buying.
Anyway, to get to the topic implied by the title of this entry, I have re-connected to my good friends in Wisconsin, Marlin & Kay. Marlin is a ham radio operator and we became buds through our common interest in the hobby. Like most of my ham friends back in the day, I kind of left them behind as I embraced my new life as a gay man and my interests turned to other matters. The Internet became my new home because it was much more supportive and helpful in my adjustment to my new life. I met tons of new friends there, much like what happened when I became a ham. Before I knew it, my license had elapsed and I was persuaded by new friends to get rid of the tons of boat anchors and related gear that I had accumulated since the late 70’s.
I have tried to remember all of the major pieces of gear I used to own at one time or the other. Marlin reminded me of one more piece that I forgotten about. I do regret having given up all this stuff - or at least most of it. I especially regret giving up some hard to find accessories that were particularly helpful in setting up a vintage AM/CW station. Things like TR switches (I had both electro-mechanical Dow-Keys and electronic switches), station monitors - to make sure I always had a clean signal on the air - high power antenna tuners, etc. are all things I once had and may have trouble finding again! And I certainly won’t find this stuff as cheaply as I did originally. Nor as cheaply as I sold it off!
So here is the list I have come up with so far. I don't know about you, but it boggles my mind!
0) Realistic DX-160 Receiver
1 Heathkit HW-16 & Heathkit HG-10 VFO
2 Swan 100 MX
3 Heathkit HW-8
4 Yaesu FT-107M
5) 2m FM Heathkit HW-2036A
6) 2m all-mode Yaesu FT-221R
7) Yaesu FT-757 GX
8) Hammarlund HQ-110 Amateur Recevier
9) Hammarlund HQ-170 Amateur Receiver
10) National NC-300 Amateur Receiver
11) National NC-303 Amateur Receiver
12) Hallicrafters SX-71 Receiver
13) Johnson Ranger AM/CW Transmitter
14) Johnson 6N2 AM/CW Transmitter
15) Johnson Valiant AM/CW Transmitter
16) Central Electronics 200V All-mode Transmitter
17) Swan 350 Transciever
18) Swan 500 Transciever
19) Heathkit "Twoer" AM transceiver
20) Drake 2C Amateur Receiver
21) Amerco TX-62/VFO-621 & 6 & 2 Meter converters
22) Assorted 2m & 440cm transceivers (handheld)
23) Hallicrafters HT-32 Transmitter
24) Gonset G-50 6-Meter AM Transceiver
25) Kenwood R-599A receiver
One great disadvantage to the Internet is that it has contributed to the increased value of a lot of things that used to be considered junk. EBay in particular has driven up the cost of getting hold of the sort of thing I would be interested in re-acquiring. Ah well! I will just have to be patient and see what kinds of things I can find at hamfests. The NC-270 was a pretty good deal at $65, and I am certainly getting my money’s worth out of it!
Getting back to Marlin & Kay, it has been great catching up them, and I am looking forward to seeing them again face-to-face on my next trip back to Minnesota. And wouldn’t it be fun to chat with Marlin on 40 metre AM someday!