Wednesday, July 31, 2019

2001-TO-2009-TO-













 A.K.A - I CAN BE LIKE A DOG WITH A BONE
[I DON'T FORGET]







Here we are in 2019. But first, let's look at what I wrote 10 years ago -




WAS IT OR WASN'T IT DEPT.

In 2001, I wrote about this unique T.I. CB, and wondered if anyone had ever seen or owned one. I never got a reply from someone who did. But the saga continues:


TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, the Calculator/IC manufacturer was supposed to introduce a new CB in the late 70's (1977/78), model number SM-172/mobile SM-173/Base. This was a unique radio: Remote mount with all the controls in the mike-head. 

"Hey" you exclaim, "There's nothing unique about that". This is true my friends, but this is the only one I know of that was AM AND SSB! The other interesting feature was the "Auto-Tune" clarifier. 

TI said that it would auto tune your SSB signals for you and maybe that's why I don't recall seeing more than just a picture of one (How in the world would is determine which SSB signal you wanted clarified?). 

If you remember those first handheld TI calculators with the little red LED display then you recognise the "look" of this am-ssb-in-the-mike rig. If anyone actually OWNS one, send me an e-mail with some photo's and your comments!

UPDATE:

Every day, information is easier than ever to find on the Internet, and especially so in GOOGLE Books. I was doing a search (unrelated to TI) on Citizens Band Radio when I happened across a treasure trove of Popular Mechanics magazines, on GOOGLE BOOKS, that went back beyond the birth of CB.

So now I was curious to see if their coverage of the "new" 40 channel radios had any further mention of the TI CB and hit pay dirt! While this was not an in-depth article on the TI radio, it did offer further details:

First of all - does anyone else think this guy looks like a young Donald Trump? No? Okay. Moving on...


After the 23 channel radio blood bath (which forbid selling non-40 channel radios after January 1977), "review" articles appeared in many CB magazines extolling the virtues of the new rigs.

In November 1977, Popular Mechanics had a several page article detailing the new SSB sets on the market, as well as transceivers that would soon come out.

One such rig was the Texas Instrument SM-172/173 series of computer aided transceivers.

The mobile unit was to sell for around $300, with the base station only $100 more. For either rig, the handheld microphone was the heart of operations. Featuring a LED channel display you could change channels easily as well as select your mode of operation (AM-LSB-USB). The complete features on the microphone were:
  • Channel selector
  • Mode selector
  • Volume up/down
  • Clarifier
  • Keypad with direct channel input
  • Clear channel scan
  • SWR Check
  • Selective call

The selective call idea was nothing new to CB radio however TI's approach was. It would only work between two different TI transceivers with each radio having its own unique digital identifier so only another identifier loaded in memory could break squelch

The SM series also offered automatic frequency clarification. When the microphone was keyed it would send out a very brief two-tone signal which would be used by another SM series radio to get exactly on frequency - negating the use of a clarifier when two of these transceivers communicated.




While innovative to the max, it's easy to see how this CB would have failed. Their closed system architecture, while futuristic, was predicated with the knowledge that it could only work between one TI CB and another.

Could this be why the TI system never saw the light of day, and was quickly killed off by Texas Instruments itself? 

Unless any new info comes my way we will have to assume the answer is "YES", or, another update in 2029?



73

WOODY









Friday, July 19, 2019

CHAMELEON ANTENNA FACTORY TOUR




DAVID CASLER, KE0OG, IS IN NEVADA FOR A HAMFEST AND GETS A CHAMELEON ANTENNA FACTORY TOUR
















Thursday, July 18, 2019

THIS WEEK IN YOUTUBE




JULY 14-18











I have a good variety of  YouTube subjects for your edification. While some weeks go by without much of anything to view, others (like this one) have TMI. Let's begin...


VIDEO NO. 1 is a very good, and very technical lesson on "How Antennas Work"








IN VIDEO NO.2 W6LG talks about how best to set your microphone gain.









VIDEO NO.3 is a documentary on the making of "Diamonds Are Forever"








VIDEO NO.4 takes you on a tour of KB3RHR's vintage AM shack







IN VIDEO NO. 5 W6LG is back again, this time comparing antennas for your Baofeng HT







AND LASTLY, JUMP BACK TO THE PAST! CHILL OUT WITH "THUNDERBIRDS" IN:
"TRAPPED IN THE SKY"







PINTEREST UPDATE:

OVER 60 IMAGES UPLOADED THIS WEEK! (LINK UPPER RIGHT, or, HERE)


One image from that update includes this rig - Midland 76-900 UK FM Version.

MIDLAND 76-900 FM BASE




73
WOODY












Tuesday, July 16, 2019

LIGHTNING TRACKER







HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHERE ALL THE LIGHTNING IS?


IF you have, then click on this LINK.













73,
WOODY








Monday, July 15, 2019

CHANNEL SURFING IN THE






UK












11m is alive and well in the US and Canada but what about England? Well, as previously reported, "Fred-In-The-Shed" and the group he talks with on 27.305 USB is fairly active in the South Eastern part of the UK.

But there's more...

While checking out several of my bookmarked UK SDR sites yesterday I happened to notice some waterfall activity just below the Triple Nickel. It was Sunday morning around 9:30 a.m. (CST) and a local UK group was in the middle of their afternoon Net near Derby (because I was listening to an SDR site based in Derby and their signals were fairly strong I figured they were close by).

So where was I?  On 27.515 USB

I was listening to the East Midlands SSB DX Group which was running their usual Sunday afternoon Net (UK Time). At least a half dozen operators were in attendance, as well as a "guest" check-in from a YL named Emma

She was using her boyfriends setup but seemed pretty well acquainted with the lingo, and after the Net ended she QSY'd a few kc's "UP" to initiate a QSO with another station. Shortly after that, the SDR waterfall lit up with activity from France, and then much later - Italy.

While this isn't an exact recording of the Italian traffic I heard, this YouTube post is pretty darn close!





It's good to know that many frequencies aren't as empty as they seem- you just have to listen for awhile...

73,
Woody








Sunday, July 14, 2019

MOON LANDING SPECIAL EVENT STATION








N1A











Get your "ears" on! 

The Milford Amateur Radio Club will operate N1A (Neil #1 Armstrong) in celebration of the First Man on the Moon



Club members will operate between July 14th through July 28th as availability permits on various bands and modes. 

There will also be a local field operation from East Fork State Park at the Indian Mound Shelter on the July 20th anniversary.

Operating on the following SSB frequencies:


  • 28.350
  • 14.260
  • 7.240
  • 3.840

QSL INFO HERE











73


Woody




 

Thursday, July 11, 2019

THE WEEK IN YOUTUBE







Stateside you may or may not have heard of ML&S (Martin Lynch and Sons), however in the UK it's a different story. Recently, Martin did a quick review of RM Italy's BLA-600 solid-state amplifier. Very cool, but expensive.







If you're dying for some 11m DX and have about 5 hours to kill, take a listen to Skipgates post from 6/19/2019.






Jim, W6LG, talks about using Ferrite beads, common mode chokes, and correcting RFI in the shack.





If you're old enough to remember the TV show "Space 1999"  content publisher Shout Factory is releasing the entire series on Blu-Ray July 16th. But, why wait? They have episode 1 online now.





Amateurlogic.tv (which I've followed since they began) has a new episode (54) of their Ham College series.




Finally, the latest episode from the No Net Net folks, where they talk to
KB3WUM, who has a shack. At work. 200' in the air.






73,
Woody










- - . . . / . . . - -








 
 
 
 



 

 








Monday, July 08, 2019




MONDAY NEWS

07-08-19











While 11m is dead in SE Texas, the Atlantic coastal states up thru Canada continue to have decent activity thanks to weather systems that continue to move West-to-East across the Nation. This is the biggest downside on having a QTH so far South in Texas because it's rare to get a frontal system that will pass thru after the end of May. Until the Sun starts spitting out Sunspots, both 10 & 11 meters will be in the doldrums. 

In listening to one of my favorite SDR websites I found lots of activity from 26.5 - 29Mhz. Previously I've mentioned the "Super Bowl" channel (ch.7 AM) and the enormous watts scattered into the ether by those "big" stations, but moving up the dial I found ch.28 to be just as annoying.

ALMOST 200 kHz OF TOXICITY

While listening on 27.385 LSB I heard one of the operators talking about getting splatter from ch.28 (27.285) AM, which was 100 kHz below 38. A quick look at the waterfall was all it took to see why - whoever this guy was he was spreading toxic rf as low as ch.20 and as high as ch.38 - not one of 11m better moments.


PRESIDENT MCKINLEY AM/SSB MOBILE

PICTURE COURTESY SIMONTHEWIZARD.COM
While the McKinley has been around for over a 2 1/2 years, and has received generally favorable reviews, it was surprising to find that New Zealand's "Yeticom" was just now getting a hold of it. Apparently they received it last month (June) and are just now in the review stage. Quite possibly the auto-SWR meter function is the "most liked" feature of the radio. It takes all of the guess work out of the equation.

MikesRadioRepair does a complete review on his YouTube channel (SEE BELOW).





Also - CB Magazine has a written review as well as the YouTube video below.


 


MEANWHILE...



As I just mentioned SSB and AM in a previous paragraph, here is a 2017 Podcast by the ARRL "The Doctor Is In" discussing both modes courtesy QRZnow.

Also, looking into my archives I found my Oreo cookie diagram (right) which shows the Oreo being one CB channel (lower, middle, upper) AND, if used on AM your 5 watt RF output would more-or-less be spread across the entire cookie 😢. 

On the other hand, by choosing either LSB or USB you can concentrate your 5 watt output on just one wafer of the Oreo.😁


While on the subject of "The Doctor Is In", if you are trying to figure out what type of coaxial cable is best for you, check out the July 4th episode available through APPLE, GOOGLE, or follow this link to QRZnow.



  'Nuff For Monday,


Woody


Sunday, July 07, 2019





COOL STUFF FOR
 
PORTABLE
 
OPS






Whether you run QRP in the field, or 100 watts, radio operators around the world have come up with their own homebrew "Field" paks. Fortunately, the sharing nature of Ham radio allows the less inventive of us to copy their plans and even make modest modifications. That's what Hams do.

But what if you're not the hands on type of person and still want to go off grid? There are several companies that will help you out (for a price).

First, if you are trying to assemble your own pak you may have already picked up a rig that runs portable like the Yaesu Ft-818, or it's older brother the 817. If you have tried using this it's internal battery pack I guess you've found out that it doesn't take much time to run the battery down. An external battery certainly helps, and there are so many different types available it's sometimes difficult to figure out what you should get.

You can start with Facebook and join the FT-817 / 818 group and begin asking questions from other members of the group. I asked about decent batteries to buy and had several members recommend the TalentCell Rechargeable 12V 6000mAh/5V 12000mAh DC Output Lithium Ion Battery, available from Amazon.

In the field, your radio equipment should be well protected and several companies are here to do just that. Possibly the best / least expensive protection comes from Portable Zero.

FT-817 / 818
The rails protect all sides of your radio and looks cool too! It's just not for the FT-817 though. They offer rails for the 857-897-891 and even the FT-991.

FT-991 RAILS

Portable Zero offers setups for ICOM too(Check out their website for the models they cover). Once the money fairy visits me, I'll try these out myself but I've heard good things about them. Chameleon antenna, makers of quality EMCOMM antennas has a set of rails for the FT-817. They are heavy duty, and cost almost twice that of what you can buy from Portable Zero.

The biggest downside I have with these are that they don't widen out at the front of the rig. Personally, I need a little extra room to use the front panel controls and tuning knob on my 817. Secondly, while the openings on the rails allow access to your speaker and microphone jacks, I think I would prefer a wider gap, like the ones from Portable Zero. I will compare the two one day (once I pony up for the P.Zero rails). The Chameleon rails are available thru DX Engineering. Once again, let me point you to the EXCELLENT YouTube channel run by Julian - OH8STN to get a good idea on what to buy for the field.

What if you have money to burn and want and turnkey solution? Try looking into Hardened Power Systems. If you want something that will fit into an ammo can you will be happy.


HPS COMMANDER SERIES

 
This setup allows you to fit your FT-857 or 891 into a ready-to-go field kit. Just add the radio and ammo can and your set to go! Don't look for a review from me on this one - my wallet doesn't hold that much ($695 w/Free shipping in US). They offer Commander kits for the ICOM 7100 and 7200 as well.

73

Woody