Re: Topband: Reminiscence of Stew Perry

[Augie "Gus" Hansen]

On 4/3/2021 11:33 AM, jcr...@mun.ca wrote:



On Sat, 3 Apr 2021, Eric NO3M wrote:

Photo 100_0974.jpg in your dropbox is that a younger W1BB sitting 
in front of a RME-69 receiver with mic in hand?


And just below to the left, E. Armstrong?


Bob Merriam told me that the two pictures on the left side of the middle 
row are of Stew taken at different times. There are two pictures of 
Armstrong, one in the upper left corner and the other below , between 
the photos of equipment and tubes.


Also notice the distinguished gentleman second from the left, top row: 
Thomas Alva Edison. And the bearded fellow in the upper-right corner is 
Alexander Graham Bell, important to me for many reasons, not the least 
of which is the seven years I was employed by Bell Laboratories. Best 
job I ever had working for someone else.


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Re: Topband: Reminiscence of Stew Perry

[Augie "Gus" Hansen]

David J Ring Jr of the Radio-Officers Facebook page shares some stories of Stew 
Perry who was also a Radio officer as well as a friend.





About a decade ago I was visiting my home state of Rhode Island and 
found out about the New England Wireless and Steam Museum in East 
Greenwich. I visited there on the clean-up day after their "Yankee Steam 
Up" event and helped with that task. I was reward with a personal tour 
of the Wireless Museum and the PJ Station facility by Bob Merriam (then 
in his 80s, now SK).


The NEWSM campus is now a protected national treasure. Group tours can 
be scheduled. But you can take a virtual tour on their web site:


    Main page: https://newsm.org/
    Wireless: https://newsm.org/tag/wireless-tour/

During my tour I took many pictures. A few show views of the W1BB 
portion of the exhibit. They are here in my dropbox:


https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mqnd6djzkxjhmsa/AAAgRc1cerZ7WY_zGvk0PvEra?dl=0

73,
Gus Hansen
KB0YH

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Re: Topband: Ground Conductivity

[Augie "Gus" Hansen]

On 3/25/2020 11:57 AM, Jim Brown wrote:

...
I don't know if it's still required today, but when I worked in 
broadcasting, each station using a directional antenna was required to 
make periodic field strength measurements in their nulls to proof 
their pattern.


Back in the 1960s when I was chief engineer at an AM station along the 
Rhode Island coast (Westerly) we had to pass periodic checks, not for 
nulls - it was a single stick - but for verifying the required signal 
strength over the licensed coverage area. The issue was the radial 
system that was in swampy land on the bank of a river where it dumped 
into the Atlantic Ocean. The salinity varied widely with river flow, 
tides, and seasons.


Gus Hansen
KB0YH

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Re: Topband: Ground Conductivity

[Augie "Gus" Hansen]

On 3/24/2020 9:42 AM, Roy Morgan wrote:

... Your comment about over simplifying reminds me of a very early explanation 
of radio communication - or was it telegraph?  I can remember only a little:

"It's like wiggling the tail of a cat. It makes a sound at the other end. Only 
there's no cat."

Does anyone have that quote?


“The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The ordinary 
telegraph is like a very long cat. You pull the tail in New York, and it 
meows in Los Angeles. The wireless is exactly the same, only without the 
cat.”


Albert Einstein

73,
Gus Hansen
KB0YH

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Re: Topband: T Top Verticals and yagis

[Augie "Gus" Hansen]

On 3/1/2020 7:47 PM, Don Kirk wrote:

Hi Rick,

One more comment.  I believe AM broadcast stations try to avoid phase
cancellation between skywave and ground wave, and therefore they try and
avoid antennas that have a high angle lobe.  I'm pretty sure that's why the
AM broadcast stations that tried such things as a 5/8 wave length radiator
determined that this caused phase cancellation problems between ground wave
and skywave and abandoned radiators that were this tall.  (I might have
some of the exact details incorrect, but believe I have listed the general
problem they ran into which caused them to rethink ground wave versus
skywave and their antenna designs).


Correct. The 5/8-wave radiator (225 electrical degrees) suffers the 
destructive fringe mixing you described. By backing off to a 190 degree 
radiator, problem solved. Such antennas have the benefit of strong low 
angle radiation with no higher angle lobe, and are easier to match at 
the feed point than a half-wave vertical.


Gus Hansen
KB0YH

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Re: Topband: OT - US Hams, WWV closure

[Augie "Gus" Hansen]

No need for it to be a mystery. The NISTweb site has the WWV, WWVB, and 
WWVH info is accessible from here:


https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/radio-stations

Specific info on WWVB is here:

https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/radio-stations/wwvb

Gus Hansen
KB0YH


On 8/25/2018 8:56 PM, Wes Attaway (N5WA) wrote:

Whatever it is, my clocks check it.  I know it is not WWL.  Maybe it is
WWV(B)(xyz)


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Re: Topband: Relay switching at the base on antenna

[Augie "Gus" Hansen]

On 9/23/2017 6:39 AM, MR TREVOR DUNNE wrote:

Can Anyone tell me a simple way to switch a 12v relay at the base of an antenna 
using the rigs ptt as the trigger??


If you're using a coaxial feed line, you could use a pair of "bias tee" 
devices, one on each end of the coax, to put 12 VDC on the line during 
transmit and 0 VDC during receive. Here is some info on bias tees. They 
are available commercially and can be home-brewed using readily 
available components.


    https://www.everythingrf.com/community/what-is-a-bias-tee

If your rig has a key out connector it is likely providing a contact 
closure to ground during TX and open circuit during RX. Use that to 
switch 12 volts from the rig or a separate supply on during TX using an 
auxiliary relay or solid state switch, and feed that to the bias tee. 
Pick off that DC control voltage to activate the relay at the antenna end.


NOTES: 1) The series capacitors go toward the transceiver and antenna 
respectively to pass RF while blocking the DC. The RFCs block RF but 
pass the DC control signal. 2) If you are going to use both positive and 
negative voltages as control signals for more complex switching over the 
coax be sure to use an isolated, separate power supply.


Gus Hansen
KB0YH

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Re: Topband: transformers, teflon tubing

[Augie "Gus" Hansen]

Minimize inter-winding capacitance.

73,
Gus Hansen
KB0YH


On 4/28/2017 7:14 AM, P H via Topband wrote:

I've noticed use of teflon tubing in a Flag family transformers.
Apart from low losses: is there another reason to use teflon coated wires?
Regards
Piotr, SP2BPD
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Re: Topband: 160 Test Aurora

[Augie Gus Hansen]

On 12/9/2013 10:23 AM, Gary Smith wrote:

I did fairly well all considering I had set the alarm for 5AM EST
Saturday to get any gray line contacts and vaguely remember hitting
unsuccessfully the the snooze button  instead turned off the alarm.
As a result I didn't work any AK, BC, MB or NT sections. Those missed
four early morning hours gave me a hit against my game plan. ...


Although I had a hard time forcing myself out of bed at 5 in the morning 
on Saturday, it was good that I did. Tuning to the DX window, the first 
station I heard was KL7RA CQing loud and clear and getting no replies. 
Got AK in the log. Then later that evening I heard you and got CT 
logged. Thanks to both of you for new ones confirmed via LoTW. Only four 
left (RI, ME, WV, and MS) to complete my quest for CW WAS via LoTW. 
(I've actually worked WV and MS, but no LoTW confirmations.)


Cheers,
Gus Hansen, KB0YH
Denver, CO

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Re: Topband: Patience in ARRL 160 Contest

[Augie Gus Hansen]

Hi Jim,


as in CQ TEST KB0YH, with about a 1-2 second loop delay.

I have NEVER found a CQ repeat interfal less than 2.5 seconds to be
adequate to actually LISTEN for callers, and I often use 3 seconds.


You're right. I wasn't near the radio last night so I guessed at my 
delay setting. I just checked my K3 MSG RPT setting and was surprised to 
see 3 seconds. I have used 2 seconds at times, but did find it to be a 
bit too short.



I strongly agree with the need to keep CQs short.  I always have three
CQs programmed. The shortest, automatic on F1, is TEST K9YC The next
is CQ TEST K9YC,   and the longest is CQ TEST K9YC K9YC.   I start
with the shortest, then the middle one, then the longer one when things
are slow and I need to beat the bushes.


Good idea. I'll try that next time.

73, Gus KB0YH
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Re: Topband: Patience in ARRL 160 Contest

[Augie Gus Hansen]

On 12/3/2012 4:58 PM, James Rodenkirch wrote:

...
Signing after the last sent call with a test removes all
ambiguity.


Hi Jim,

Thanks for the contact in the 160m contest. (I could have used a call 
from you in the SSB sweepstakes in which I missed a sweep by only UT.)


I offer an observation based on this most recent contest. When I came 
across your run frequency there were several stations calling you, so I 
waited for a clear shot. The first two callers immediately dropped in 
their calls while you were sending your callsign a second time plus 
TEST. I'm guessing you were not using QSK because you didn't stop 
sending. After a few attempts one of the callers finally got your 
attention.


There were just a few other stations holding run frequencies that gave 
their calls more than once in the CQ, and they had similar results. Most 
run stations used the same technique that I do, as in CQ TEST KB0YH, 
with about a 1-2 second loop delay. And I always use QSK so that a 
caller can jump in at any time. This technique can increase your run 
rate significantly by reducing doubling and repeat requests.


Looking forward to the next test,
Gus Hansen
KB0YH
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Re: Topband: HK0NA Logs

[Augie Gus Hansen]

On 1/13/2012 1:51 PM, Eddy Swynar wrote:
 Hi Guys,

 Is it just me here, or is there some sort of a glitch with the HK0NA on-line 
 logs...?

 From the HK0NA Latest News entry for 12 Jan 2012,

We intend to upload the HK0NA logs to ClubLog soon after the 
arrival of the main operating team.  Don't bother checking the Log 
Online until then.

Gus Hansen
KB0YH

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Topband: W1BB equipment photos

[Augie Gus Hansen]

Fellow Topbanders,

This past summer I was in Rhode Island for my son's wedding and had 
time for a visit to the New England Museum of Wireless and Steam in 
East Greenwich. What a treat that was. Bob, W1NTE, gave me a great 
guided tour of the marvelous collection of radio history, including 
the Massie PJ station, which was moved from the original Point 
Judith, RI location to the museum site.

One of the displays in the PJ station building has some of the 
original W1BB equipment and related memorabilia. Here are two sites 
you might appreciate, especially if you will be participating in the 
16th Stew Perry Topband Distance Challenge this coming weekend.

The museum web site:
 http://newsm.org/

A pair of photos I took in the W1BB corner of the PJ station:
 
https://picasaweb.google.com/115693317429195427637/WirelessMuseumPJStation

Hope to work you in the Stew.

Gus Hansen
KB0YH

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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK