On Dec 15, 2006, at 8:02 PM, Don Kupferschmidt wrote: > Hey Nate: > > "Most outstanding was Nate Duehr's (WY0X) successful extraction of > "Packet" data from deep in the modulation. He, using computer > filtration and blanking techniques, removed the DTMF zeros and > brought the packet data up by what must have been at least 30 db.. > He then put this on his server for any and all to try to decode." > > Nice work here. Many thanks to you. If I ever have a problem with > my system, I'm come running to you. > > Don, KD9PT
Just waaaaay too many hours of listening to packet direct from the speaker of a radio back in the "fun" days of Packet, Don... while trying to get my horribly-built and soldered baycom style modem (baycom didn't exist yet at that point, just a schematic and a dream was all any of us had for a cheap way on to packet radio... and a pile of parts, a bad soldering iron, and a really dumb guy running it... me). I think I'd recognize a packet burst from Amateur packet in my sleep -- after a year or more of having the monitor speaker on, on that original packet station. That was one of my first projects home-brewing anything. I learned a LOT about humility when I had to take it to another ham's house and he tore apart my rat's nest, laughed at all my cold solder joints, put the thing under a real light on a real workbench (it was assembled on a TV tray in a dark room -- who here remembers TV trays?! heh...) and a magnifier, and proceeded to re-solder every joint that had taken me an hour or two in about 10 minutes. Learned what good solder joints look like that night too! And how important it is to block out at least three hours for visiting ANY other person's shack... because we weren't there just to fix the modem. We were there to get the Grand Tour, and have some coffee... and talk... and, holy cow... what time is it again?! Man... I gotta get up in the morning! THANKS for the help!!! Everyone has to start somewhere... I let a lot of the magic smoke out of things in that first ham shack. Also learned how to neutralize the tubes of an old HW-101 OVER THE AIR from two different hams one night... another lesson learned... telephones sometimes really ARE better than radios! Heh... but the magic smoke stayed in everything that night, and the little old HW-101 once again put out power and was much happier with its brand new 6146B's! Other lessons learned from that packet station... even transistor switches fail sometimes... and yes, if you live on a high hill, a 1W packet station with a Icom 2AT HT as the transmitter WILL tick off everyone for 25 or more miles if your silly little modem you built locks up in TX and you're out to dinner and working overnights... on a Saturday... and they WILL DF your house... and they'll find the neighbor with the tower first, and freak him out at 10:30 PM at night... and then they'll find your phone number and talk to your family members who will gladly walk into the shack and unplug *everything* at their urgent request since they know you're at work and can't be reached! (HUGE GRIN...) But thanks for the kind words. MANY people here on RB have helped me understand and/or learn new things I needed to know about the RF side of the systems I [try to] maintain. We all help where we can. -- Nate Duehr - WY0X [EMAIL PROTECTED]
