At the launch site, that is.
I woke up this morning to the familiar "Vertical Rumble" of the ship being held in place with the Dynamic Positioning System. Our stern is into the wind and waves right now, which means every so often a big roller will come along, and pick up the stern, causing us to slap back down with a big WHAM! after it passes.
The two ships will be moving around for the next couple of days as we transfer people and gear back and forth using the link bridge and the helicopter, and then settle down into the final launch position about 24~36 hours prior to launch, depending on a lot of things I'm not privy to.
Hopefully we'll get this bird off the pad on time, and then head back home on December 4th.
So probably light posting until then.
Admiral Yamamoto infamously said "You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a man with a rifle behind every blade of grass."
And so it should be, a nation of riflemen....
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Peter Gabriel "In Your Eyes"
From the "Secret World Live" concert.
This concert always blows me away.....a masterpiece in staging, lighting, and performing.
love I get so lost, sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are
all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in your eyes
love, I don't like to see so much pain
so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive
and all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light,
the heat I see in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
This concert always blows me away.....a masterpiece in staging, lighting, and performing.
love I get so lost, sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are
all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in your eyes
love, I don't like to see so much pain
so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive
and all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light,
the heat I see in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
ARRRRGH!!!! NO MILK!!!!
They
had some kind of failure in one of the refrigerated conatiners that
they store some of the food in, and ALL the milk was determined to be
unfit for human consumption.
SO.....all we have are boxes of "Shelf Stable" milk, and ONLY for breakfast.
I think I'm gonna cry.......
SO.....all we have are boxes of "Shelf Stable" milk, and ONLY for breakfast.
I think I'm gonna cry.......
Monday, November 26, 2012
Here Be Dolphins
The photo guys were out zooming around today taking 'beauty shots' of the two ships in formation, and they noticed a group (pod?) of dolphins.
They were swimming between the two ships, and heading the same way we are.
They took dozens of pix, but I thought this one looked the most interesting.
Enjoy!
.
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They were swimming between the two ships, and heading the same way we are.
They took dozens of pix, but I thought this one looked the most interesting.
Enjoy!
.
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Saturday, November 24, 2012
Light Posting Due To Busyness
Well.....at least they served us a very nice Thanksgiving dinner.
The turkey was moist, the potatoes were smooth, the gravy was great, and the stuffing was excellent.
I'm told one of the Admin Assistants back in Home Port sent the Chief Catering Officer onboard several recipes, along with strict orders to NOT deviate from them!
While most of the time the food is pretty good here, there are times when the Norwegian cooking staff will make some "modifications" to standard American food with some pretty bizarre results.
A raw egg on a hamburger?
Pickles on Pizza???
Corn on Pizza????
WTF??
And our customer has been playing games with the scheduling of their test events that my group supports.
They won't begin their RF testing until MIDNIGHT the day before launch, finishing up at 0200!
And we have to be back on-console at 0600 to start the countdown for a launch at 1245.
They don't seem to realize or understand that if they slip even an hour, or God forbid TWO hours, we'll most likely have to scrub the launch for that day, as we have pretty strict requirements for crew rest.
Given their track record (the day we worked 18 hours), I'm not holding out much hope for this launch to go off on time.
Hope you're all having a great weekend. I had to work today, but Sunday will be a day of rest and contemplation.
The turkey was moist, the potatoes were smooth, the gravy was great, and the stuffing was excellent.
I'm told one of the Admin Assistants back in Home Port sent the Chief Catering Officer onboard several recipes, along with strict orders to NOT deviate from them!
While most of the time the food is pretty good here, there are times when the Norwegian cooking staff will make some "modifications" to standard American food with some pretty bizarre results.
A raw egg on a hamburger?
Pickles on Pizza???
Corn on Pizza????
WTF??
And our customer has been playing games with the scheduling of their test events that my group supports.
They won't begin their RF testing until MIDNIGHT the day before launch, finishing up at 0200!
And we have to be back on-console at 0600 to start the countdown for a launch at 1245.
They don't seem to realize or understand that if they slip even an hour, or God forbid TWO hours, we'll most likely have to scrub the launch for that day, as we have pretty strict requirements for crew rest.
Given their track record (the day we worked 18 hours), I'm not holding out much hope for this launch to go off on time.
Hope you're all having a great weekend. I had to work today, but Sunday will be a day of rest and contemplation.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Rockin' And Rollin' and Happy Thanksgiving!
We pushed right on time at 1000, and then sat outside the breakwater for about FOUR HOURS while they calibrated some of the nave gear to play nice with the Dynamic Positioning System.
They were having some "issues" (GAWD I hate that term!) with the system, but got everything figured out, and we're on our way.
We went past Catalina Island around 1800, and we're hitting the long duration swells from the storm system that hammer the North West a few days ago.
The weather guy says 4 meter seas will be coming our way tonight, so that means tie everything down before we hit the hay.
These are slow rollers, so it's not like we're getting slammed going through a big storm, but even on this ship (~660 feet long, 107 foot beam) we get bounced around quite a bit.
Time to watch a movie, and go to bed early.....things I always do the first day out, along with eating a LIGHT lunch, and a LIGHT dinner.
Hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
They were having some "issues" (GAWD I hate that term!) with the system, but got everything figured out, and we're on our way.
We went past Catalina Island around 1800, and we're hitting the long duration swells from the storm system that hammer the North West a few days ago.
The weather guy says 4 meter seas will be coming our way tonight, so that means tie everything down before we hit the hay.
These are slow rollers, so it's not like we're getting slammed going through a big storm, but even on this ship (~660 feet long, 107 foot beam) we get bounced around quite a bit.
Time to watch a movie, and go to bed early.....things I always do the first day out, along with eating a LIGHT lunch, and a LIGHT dinner.
Hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
All Packed And ready To Go
Spent last night packing up my stuff and loading the Jeep. I'll drop it off Wednesday morning, and they'll lift it on to the ship for me.
All our gear is stowed and ready for transit.
The helicopters arrived last night, and the pilots and mechanic are getting settled in after a few IT issues I helped them out with.
One of the pilots just returned from another tour as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan, and it sounds like he'll have some more good stories to tell.
And my dear wife has been baking up a storm since Sunday afternoon. I got home last night and was greeted by the lovely aroma of......CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!
Yep, she's making me up a care package to take with me, but I doubt it will survive more than a few days. Seems like anytime somebody opens up a package of home made stuff, people come out of the woodwork in the office, and it just evaporates.
Last launch one of the guys brought three pans of home made fudge his wife put togther for him to take.
I think it lasted 4 days!
Probably blow out of here early to get the last of my running around errands done.
We're scheduled to push from the pier about 0930, which means we'll clear Queen's Gate about 1015 or so.
Then a life boat drill, lunch, and a quick nap in my cabin. I don't get seasick like some people do, but I've found if I have a light lunch, and take a nap, I'm good to go at 100% the next day. I didn't do that last time, and it took me a day or two to get my sea legs!
All our gear is stowed and ready for transit.
The helicopters arrived last night, and the pilots and mechanic are getting settled in after a few IT issues I helped them out with.
One of the pilots just returned from another tour as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan, and it sounds like he'll have some more good stories to tell.
And my dear wife has been baking up a storm since Sunday afternoon. I got home last night and was greeted by the lovely aroma of......CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!
Yep, she's making me up a care package to take with me, but I doubt it will survive more than a few days. Seems like anytime somebody opens up a package of home made stuff, people come out of the woodwork in the office, and it just evaporates.
Last launch one of the guys brought three pans of home made fudge his wife put togther for him to take.
I think it lasted 4 days!
Probably blow out of here early to get the last of my running around errands done.
We're scheduled to push from the pier about 0930, which means we'll clear Queen's Gate about 1015 or so.
Then a life boat drill, lunch, and a quick nap in my cabin. I don't get seasick like some people do, but I've found if I have a light lunch, and take a nap, I'm good to go at 100% the next day. I didn't do that last time, and it took me a day or two to get my sea legs!
Saturday, November 17, 2012
$60 Meade Spotting Scope At Costco
DO NOT BUY ONE!
I went to Costco today to stock up on some stuff for my upcoming trip, and as I wandered the aisles, I saw these on the shelf.
Hmm....20~60x 60MM, angled eyepiece, in a "Pelican" type case WITH a collapsible 15" to 44" tripod.
I figured the tripod would be junk (it is), but I was unprepared for just how BAD this little scope is.
To begin with, it has such short eye relief that I can NOT use it, at all, even on the 20 power setting, with my glasses on.
At the 60 power setting, even with my glasses off, I had to have my eye completely buried in the eye cup to use it.
The image isn't very bright considering the 60mm objective lens size, so I don't know what they "Fully Coated" the optics with....maybe water?
Yes, I should have known better, considering my $400+ Vortex didn't meet my particular needs, but I thought I give one a try considering Costco's no-nonsense return policy.
My rating?
ZERO out of five possible stars.
Looks like I'll just have to bite the bullet, and get that $600 Nikon I've had my eye on.....pun intended!
.
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I went to Costco today to stock up on some stuff for my upcoming trip, and as I wandered the aisles, I saw these on the shelf.
Hmm....20~60x 60MM, angled eyepiece, in a "Pelican" type case WITH a collapsible 15" to 44" tripod.
I figured the tripod would be junk (it is), but I was unprepared for just how BAD this little scope is.
To begin with, it has such short eye relief that I can NOT use it, at all, even on the 20 power setting, with my glasses on.
At the 60 power setting, even with my glasses off, I had to have my eye completely buried in the eye cup to use it.
The image isn't very bright considering the 60mm objective lens size, so I don't know what they "Fully Coated" the optics with....maybe water?
Yes, I should have known better, considering my $400+ Vortex didn't meet my particular needs, but I thought I give one a try considering Costco's no-nonsense return policy.
My rating?
ZERO out of five possible stars.
Looks like I'll just have to bite the bullet, and get that $600 Nikon I've had my eye on.....pun intended!
.
.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Ready To Go Again
Just finished up stowing and securing our equipment on the launch platform for transit.
They're leaving Saturday morning, and we'll be leaving on Wednesday morning.
Saturday I'll go to Costco and stock up on my personal goodies, and Monday I'll start dragging my laptop, camera, and DVD collection in and stow them in my work space.
Really sucks to be away from home on Thanksgiving, but then I keep reminding myself I'm lucky to have a relatively high paying job AT ALL, and I only have this launch, and one more, before I can retire.
If they'd like me to come back *as a contractor* to support future launches, I'll consider it, but it would take $750 per day to get me to go to sea again.
I use that dollar amount because I know that's what they're already paying some of the other contractors, and they're aren't too many people around who can do this type of work. Plus, since I live locally, they won't have to pay air fair to get me here, or provide hotel accommodations and a per diem for me while waiting to leave.
They're leaving Saturday morning, and we'll be leaving on Wednesday morning.
Saturday I'll go to Costco and stock up on my personal goodies, and Monday I'll start dragging my laptop, camera, and DVD collection in and stow them in my work space.
Really sucks to be away from home on Thanksgiving, but then I keep reminding myself I'm lucky to have a relatively high paying job AT ALL, and I only have this launch, and one more, before I can retire.
If they'd like me to come back *as a contractor* to support future launches, I'll consider it, but it would take $750 per day to get me to go to sea again.
I use that dollar amount because I know that's what they're already paying some of the other contractors, and they're aren't too many people around who can do this type of work. Plus, since I live locally, they won't have to pay air fair to get me here, or provide hotel accommodations and a per diem for me while waiting to leave.
OUCH!.......EIGHTEEN Hours Today
Went in at 0600......got off at 2400.
Pardon me while I go collapse..............
.
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Pardon me while I go collapse..............
.
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Seatrain - "Song of Job"
For some reason, I think all Patriots these days might relate to this.
Or maybe not.......
[spoken]
Hear now the tale of Job, a righteous man, who had a loving wife,
And ten sons and seven daughters. His fields were always ripe
With wheat and corn. He had ten thousand camels and five thousand sheep
And three thousand head of oxen. At sunrise
You would find him on his knees singing, "Yahweh Yehoa".
Well, one day in the court of heaven,
All the heavenly host were gathered there in the presence of the Lord,
And Satan was there among them.
[sung]
Satan went to God, and God said, "Satan, Where you been?"
Satan said, "I been on Earth, among men."
God said, "You must have seen my faithful servant, Job.
You must have seen his worth and how he's evil's foe."
Job is evil's foe. Yes, he is.
Satan said, "Well, yes, God, Job is your man.
But if you struck him, God, well, what would he do then?
He'd turn his back on you and curse your name right to your face."
God said, "Allright, Bub, go and test his faith --
Go and try Job's faith."
"O my God, O my God," cried poor Job.
"I have lost everything I owned.
I lost my cattle, I lost my land.
You took my children, too.
I'm losin' my mind and the love of my wife,
But I keep my faith in You.
I still have faith in You.
"O my God, O my God," can't you hear Job?
He's singin', "This world can no more be my home.
My so-called friends speak biting words,
Telling me what to do.
My health is gone, I cannot rest,
But I keep my faith in You.
I still have faith in You."
[spoken]
And Job's friends, they called to one another,
"Brothers! Righteous Job has fallen.
Come, let us go and give him what we can."
Long, long they journeyed until they found Job
In the ashes of his burned-out farm.
And they sat down with him for seven days and nights in silence,
For they saw that he had suffered greatly.
But at last they could hold back no longer,
And with accusing fingers pointed at him they said,
"Oh, Job, what evil have you done to bring God's wrath upon you?"
And at this time, down the road comes Elihu,
What took one look and thought he had the whole scene covered!
Waaaaow!
[sung]
That young man lectured Job until Job's poor heart near broke,
And from the whirlin' wind, God Himself spoke,
Sayin', "Who're these who claim to know my workings and all my ways?
Job has proved his faith and shall live joyous days."
Yes, Job lived joyful days. Oh, yes, he did
Or maybe not.......
[spoken]
Hear now the tale of Job, a righteous man, who had a loving wife,
And ten sons and seven daughters. His fields were always ripe
With wheat and corn. He had ten thousand camels and five thousand sheep
And three thousand head of oxen. At sunrise
You would find him on his knees singing, "Yahweh Yehoa".
Well, one day in the court of heaven,
All the heavenly host were gathered there in the presence of the Lord,
And Satan was there among them.
[sung]
Satan went to God, and God said, "Satan, Where you been?"
Satan said, "I been on Earth, among men."
God said, "You must have seen my faithful servant, Job.
You must have seen his worth and how he's evil's foe."
Job is evil's foe. Yes, he is.
Satan said, "Well, yes, God, Job is your man.
But if you struck him, God, well, what would he do then?
He'd turn his back on you and curse your name right to your face."
God said, "Allright, Bub, go and test his faith --
Go and try Job's faith."
"O my God, O my God," cried poor Job.
"I have lost everything I owned.
I lost my cattle, I lost my land.
You took my children, too.
I'm losin' my mind and the love of my wife,
But I keep my faith in You.
I still have faith in You.
"O my God, O my God," can't you hear Job?
He's singin', "This world can no more be my home.
My so-called friends speak biting words,
Telling me what to do.
My health is gone, I cannot rest,
But I keep my faith in You.
I still have faith in You."
[spoken]
And Job's friends, they called to one another,
"Brothers! Righteous Job has fallen.
Come, let us go and give him what we can."
Long, long they journeyed until they found Job
In the ashes of his burned-out farm.
And they sat down with him for seven days and nights in silence,
For they saw that he had suffered greatly.
But at last they could hold back no longer,
And with accusing fingers pointed at him they said,
"Oh, Job, what evil have you done to bring God's wrath upon you?"
And at this time, down the road comes Elihu,
What took one look and thought he had the whole scene covered!
Waaaaow!
[sung]
That young man lectured Job until Job's poor heart near broke,
And from the whirlin' wind, God Himself spoke,
Sayin', "Who're these who claim to know my workings and all my ways?
Job has proved his faith and shall live joyous days."
Yes, Job lived joyful days. Oh, yes, he did
Sorry, Been Busy
We're in the final testing, pre-departure mode for another launch.
Spent all day verifying telemetry and command (or as our current French customer likes to say..."Le Telecommand...") links between the ships and making final level settings so the signal doesn't get lost in the noise, so to speak.
The launch vehicle gets transferred tomorrow, and then a full day of testing, and then the platform leaves on Saturday.
We leave next Wednesday, just in time to miss Thanksgiving.
Hopefully we'll be home on December 11th or 12th, if all goes on-schedule, we don't have any weather delays, or, God forbid, and abort.
Depending on where in the count an abort occurs, it can be reset and recycled in as little as 24 hours, or it can take FOUR DAYS just to drain, purge, and reset everything.
My first mission was made real 'exciting' by a ten day weather delay, followed by an abort at T- 7minutes, 45seconds.
Took us six days to get that one ready to light again, but it went off just fine.
ANYWAY....guess I'm tired tonight (12 hour days do that to you) and rambling a bit.
We have one more in February, and then.....nothing.
Nada....
Zip.....
Zilch....
I think next August might be a good time to retire a couple of years "early", if I'm still employed at that time!
Take care!
.
.
Spent all day verifying telemetry and command (or as our current French customer likes to say..."Le Telecommand...") links between the ships and making final level settings so the signal doesn't get lost in the noise, so to speak.
The launch vehicle gets transferred tomorrow, and then a full day of testing, and then the platform leaves on Saturday.
We leave next Wednesday, just in time to miss Thanksgiving.
Hopefully we'll be home on December 11th or 12th, if all goes on-schedule, we don't have any weather delays, or, God forbid, and abort.
Depending on where in the count an abort occurs, it can be reset and recycled in as little as 24 hours, or it can take FOUR DAYS just to drain, purge, and reset everything.
My first mission was made real 'exciting' by a ten day weather delay, followed by an abort at T- 7minutes, 45seconds.
Took us six days to get that one ready to light again, but it went off just fine.
ANYWAY....guess I'm tired tonight (12 hour days do that to you) and rambling a bit.
We have one more in February, and then.....nothing.
Nada....
Zip.....
Zilch....
I think next August might be a good time to retire a couple of years "early", if I'm still employed at that time!
Take care!
.
.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Expedient Antennas For SHTF Radio
The article I've been writing for, oh 18 months now, is just about finished.
I decided to rewrite it after comparing it to the more generalized "SHTF Radio Basics" post I did last week.
I'll try and get it posted here this week, if all goes smoothly at work.
We finished testing the latest satellite, it's now in the fairing ("Nose Cone"), and going to be rolled over to the ship on Sunday. Some more testing follows, then a transfer to the launch platform, then even more testing, and finally departure.
As of today, we're scheduled to leave on the 21st of November.
That's right.....the day BEFORE Thanksgiving.
And no, we won't be getting anything 'extra' for being gone over the holiday. Our new masters are "generous" enough to graciously allow us to take two days off with pay after we get back.
Hopefully we won't be required to work during the Christmas break, with the promise of more "deferred" holidays.
We have one more launch on the books for late February, and then..........nothing.
Nothing at all, and as far as they tell us, nothing on the horizon for 2013, or 2014.
Rumors are flying about the fate of the company, including a couple of verrrry interesting ones regarding relocation to SEA.
I hear Cam Rahn Bay is lovely this time of year.......
.
.
I decided to rewrite it after comparing it to the more generalized "SHTF Radio Basics" post I did last week.
I'll try and get it posted here this week, if all goes smoothly at work.
We finished testing the latest satellite, it's now in the fairing ("Nose Cone"), and going to be rolled over to the ship on Sunday. Some more testing follows, then a transfer to the launch platform, then even more testing, and finally departure.
As of today, we're scheduled to leave on the 21st of November.
That's right.....the day BEFORE Thanksgiving.
And no, we won't be getting anything 'extra' for being gone over the holiday. Our new masters are "generous" enough to graciously allow us to take two days off with pay after we get back.
Hopefully we won't be required to work during the Christmas break, with the promise of more "deferred" holidays.
We have one more launch on the books for late February, and then..........nothing.
Nothing at all, and as far as they tell us, nothing on the horizon for 2013, or 2014.
Rumors are flying about the fate of the company, including a couple of verrrry interesting ones regarding relocation to SEA.
I hear Cam Rahn Bay is lovely this time of year.......
.
.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Louisiana Residents Petition To Secede
This came across the email transom a little while ago.
Sign of things to come?
On Nov. 6, Americans voted to return Barack Obama to the White House; then on Nov. 7, some folks in Louisiana petitioned the White House to peaceably withdraw their state from the Union.
Coincidence?
According to the White House website, the petition was created by Michael E. (full last name not provided) of Slidell, La., the day after the election and has since been electronically signed by a few hundred people, most – but not all – of whom hail from the Pelican State.
“We petition the Obama administration to: Peacefully grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government,” the petition reads.
It continues, “As the Founding Fathers of the United States of America made clear in the Declaration of Independence in 1776: ‘When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.’”
The petition concludes with a further quote from the Declaration of Independence: “‘Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government.’”
The petition has until Dec. 7 of this year to gather 25,000 signatures, at which time, the White House pledges, it will be placed on a queue for response from the administration.
Read the rest here.
.
.
Sign of things to come?
On Nov. 6, Americans voted to return Barack Obama to the White House; then on Nov. 7, some folks in Louisiana petitioned the White House to peaceably withdraw their state from the Union.
Coincidence?
According to the White House website, the petition was created by Michael E. (full last name not provided) of Slidell, La., the day after the election and has since been electronically signed by a few hundred people, most – but not all – of whom hail from the Pelican State.
“We petition the Obama administration to: Peacefully grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government,” the petition reads.
It continues, “As the Founding Fathers of the United States of America made clear in the Declaration of Independence in 1776: ‘When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.’”
The petition concludes with a further quote from the Declaration of Independence: “‘Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government.’”
The petition has until Dec. 7 of this year to gather 25,000 signatures, at which time, the White House pledges, it will be placed on a queue for response from the administration.
Read the rest here.
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Thursday, November 8, 2012
Can Storage Space Saver
BonnieGadsden had this posted, and I thought it was so clever that I should share it.
I'm going to build a few of these on the vacant walls in the garage. It will make good use of the space, and keep our stored cans off the floor, where they could get wet.
I also read another good tip about storing your stuff "Hidden In Plain Sight".
Get an old chest-type freezer that doesn't work, put a hasp and lock on it, and keep your vittles and other items in it. You can even use the top for a work surface, which goes along with the 'hidden' function of it, and if people want to know why it's unplugged, tell them it's broke, and you just haven't gotten around to junking it.
If they ask why it's locked, say it to keep any children from possible getting trapped in it.
Sounds pretty nifty to me!
.
.
I'm going to build a few of these on the vacant walls in the garage. It will make good use of the space, and keep our stored cans off the floor, where they could get wet.
I also read another good tip about storing your stuff "Hidden In Plain Sight".
Get an old chest-type freezer that doesn't work, put a hasp and lock on it, and keep your vittles and other items in it. You can even use the top for a work surface, which goes along with the 'hidden' function of it, and if people want to know why it's unplugged, tell them it's broke, and you just haven't gotten around to junking it.
If they ask why it's locked, say it to keep any children from possible getting trapped in it.
Sounds pretty nifty to me!
.
.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
OK, OK, OK....I VOTED
Actually I did it about two weeks ago by mail.
Never knowing if I'll be in town or not, I signed up to vote-by-mail. We'd already received the sample ballots from the good State of Kaliforniastan, and I knew who/what I'd vote for/against.
My predictions?
0bama will start with an early lead, and then the rest of us will get off work and go vote.......
.
.
Never knowing if I'll be in town or not, I signed up to vote-by-mail. We'd already received the sample ballots from the good State of Kaliforniastan, and I knew who/what I'd vote for/against.
My predictions?
0bama will start with an early lead, and then the rest of us will get off work and go vote.......
.
.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
SHTF Radio Basics
I wrote this up for wirecutter, and he'll be posting it over at his place, but I wanted to see if I could post it in the "odt" formaI. I converted it to a "word doc" for him, as he was having trouble doing a copy-and-paste into his blog window.
Since I run Linux 99.9% of the time (OpenSUSE, to be specific), I use LibreOffice for all my office type documents, and this was a copy-and-paste of the odt file directly into the Blogger window.
For those that don't know, LibreOffice is a "fork" of the OpenOffice project, which itself came from the StarOffice project way back in the early days of Linux.
While there are many excellent word processing and office-suite type programs available for Linux, LibreOffice/OpenOffice tend to be the "900 pound gorilla" since they're included in most Linux distributions.
Anyway.......
Kenny wanted something that covered the basics of why you might want to have a little radio in your "Git Kit", specifically something that covered more than just AM and FM, so I put this together over the course of a few weeks so he could post it. Seeing as he gets about a bazillion times the hits that I do, I agreed that it would be a good idea for him to post it so that more people could read it.
It's by no means the definitive word on "Emergency Radio" or "Survival Radio", and only covers receiving. One of these days I'll scribble something down about transmitting, as while it's nice to be able to listen, transmitting can be extremely important at times, too.
SHTF
Radio Basics
If/when TSHTF, we're
all going to want to keep in touch with what's going on around us.
This little article is about the first step in communicating by
radio, and that's learning how to listen. Radio communication can run
from communicating just within your local area, to covering all of
North America, to covering the entire world. It all depends on what
you need, which determines what gear you need, and how you do it.
There's no “magic” to it (well....maybe a little!), and
most anybody can learn how to use radio communications effectively.
I'm not going to teach
you how to design a radio or to repair one; this is just an intro to
using one. If you get really interested, the links provided at the
end of this article will allow you to study and learn as much as you
want.
Don't get scared off
when you see new, unfamiliar words and terms. I put a glossary at the
end so you can look up most of the new words and terms you'll be
learning.
Keep in mind that I've
tried to write this in simple language, for beginners.
Yes, I've taken some
liberties with some of the technical terms and descriptions, but
they're basically correct, so I don't want to hear “How wrong I am”
from anybody with a lot of experience with radio. If you have
constructive criticism, or find a glaring error or omission, I'll
gladly welcome the feedback, but this 'aint a forum on eHam, so back
off a bit!
And if you have some
suggestions, by all means submit them. If I think they fit in with
this article, I'll include them.
I've been a licensed
Amateur Radio Operator since I was 12 years old, almost 50 years now.
I didn't always have a transmitter with me in my travels, but I
always had a General Coverage receiver with me, so
that's where we'll start, with General Coverage receivers.
General
Coverage Receivers
Broadly speaking, a
General Coverage receiver will pick up radio signals between 3MHz and
30MHz. With today's modern radios, this also includes the AM
broadcast band, which covers 540kHz, to 1610kHz, and the FM broadcast
band, 88MHz to 108MHz. Some radios will also include “Air Band”,
108MHz to 136MHz which is what commercial and private aviation uses,
and possibly the “Long Wave” band, which covers roughly 150kHz to
500kHz. Commercial aviation frequencies are fun to listen to, but not
all that important in a SHTF radio. Same with the “Long Wave”
band which is mostly used for Non-Directional Beacons (“NDB”),
and some types of weather broadcasting. Other, older radios may offer
“TV Channel Audio”, but with the television stations going
digital, this is pretty much useless these days. Same with radios
offering a “Public Service” band or two. Very few Police
or Fire departments, especially in large metro areas, have simple
VHF/UHF radio systems these days. Almost all of them are on “Trunked”
radio systems, and many are using digital audio (“APCO P25”)
instead of analog audio. I'll cover other types of receivers, like
scanners, in a separate article.
Since we all pretty
much know about “AM and “FM”, I'll just briefly cover those,
and then get to the frequency coverage (“Bands” or “Wavelengths”)
that makes these little radios much more useful than just a typical
AM-FM portable radio.
AM
Radio
Good Old AM (Amplitude
Modulation) radio has been with us since the 1920's, over 90 years
now. It might be said (tongue firmly in cheek!) of radio that “In
The Beginning, There Was AM, And It Was Good”. These days, AM has
radically changed from the “Top 40” format I grew up with, to
being mostly talk-radio, all-news, religious, and foreign language.
And that's its strength. If you want local news, you get it during
the day, out to several hundred miles depending on the power of the
station. If you want news from more distant areas, then listen at
night. There are “Clear Channel” AM stations in all the major
cities, and you can usually receive them coast-to-coast at night.
Clear Channel
stations, are by U.S. and International regulation, the only station
on that frequency 24 hours a day. There may be other low-powered
local stations, but when the sun goes down, the locals shut down.
Clear Channel stations generally run 50,000 Watts of transmitter
power, although some of the Mexican stations run 150,000 Watts. Since
they're the only station on that frequency, they'll be listenable all
over North America at night. This allows them to be useful for
gathering information from well outside your local area.
The current list of
Clear Channel stations is below:
540
CBK Watrous, Saskatchewan
540
CBT Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador
540
XEWA San Luis PotosÃ, San Luis PotosÃ
640
CBN St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
640
KFI Los Angeles, California
650
WSM Nashville, Tennessee
660
WFAN New York, New York
670
WSCR Chicago, Illinois
680
KNBR San Francisco, California
690
CKGM[7] Montreal, Quebec
690
XEWW Tijuana, Baja California
700
WLW Cincinnati, Ohio
710
KIRO Seattle, Washington
710
WOR New York, New York
720
WGN Chicago, Illinois
730
CKAC Montreal, Quebec
730
XEX Mexico City, D.F.
740
CFZM[8] Toronto, Ontario
750
WSB Atlanta, Georgia
760
WJR Detroit, Michigan
770
WABC New York, New York
780
WBBM Chicago, Illinois
800
XEROK Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
810
KGO San Francisco, California
810
WGY Schenectady, New York
820
WBAP Fort Worth, Texas
830
WCCO Minneapolis, Minnesota
840
WHAS Louisville, Kentucky
850
KOA Denver, Colorado
850
XETQ Ixhuatlancillo, Veracruz
860
CJBC Toronto, Ontario
870
WWL New Orleans, Louisiana
880
WCBS New York, New York
890
WLS Chicago, Illinois
900
XEW Mexico City, D.F.
940
silent[9] Montreal, Quebec
940
XEQ Mexico City, D.F.
990
CBW Winnipeg, Manitoba
990
CBY Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador
1000
KOMO Seattle, Washington
1000
WMVP Chicago, Illinois
1000
XEOY Mexico City, D.F.
1010
CBR Calgary, Alberta
1010
CFRB Toronto, Ontario
1020
KDKA Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1030
WBZ Boston, Massachusetts
1040
WHO Des Moines, Iowa
1050
XEG Monterrey, Nuevo León
1060
KYW Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1060
XEEP Mexico City, D.F.
1070
silent[10] Moncton, New Brunswick
1070
KNX Los Angeles, California
1080
WTIC Hartford, Connecticut
1080
KRLD Dallas, Texas
1090
KAAY Little Rock, Arkansas
1090
WBAL Baltimore, Maryland
1090
XEPRS Rancho del Mar, Rosarito, Baja California
1100
WTAM Cleveland, Ohio
1110
KFAB Omaha, Nebraska
1110
WBT Charlotte, North Carolina
1120
KMOX St. Louis, Missouri
1130
CKWX Vancouver, British Columbia
1130
KWKH Shreveport, Louisiana
1130
WBBR New York, New York
1140
WRVA Richmond, Virginia
1140
XEMR Monterrey, Nuevo León
1160
KSL Salt Lake City, Utah
1170
KFAQ Tulsa, Oklahoma
1170
WWVA Wheeling, West Virginia
1180
WHAM Rochester, New York
1190
KEX Portland, Oregon
1190
XEWK Guadalajara, Jalisco
1200
WOAI San Antonio, Texas
1210
WPHT Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1220
XEB Mexico City, D.F.
1500
KSTP Saint Paul, Minnesota
1500
WFED Washington, D.C.
1510
WLAC Nashville, Tennessee
1520
KOKC Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1520
WWKB Buffalo, New York
1530
KFBK Sacramento, California
1530
WCKY Cincinnati, Ohio
1540
KXEL Waterloo, Iowa
1540
ZNS-1 Nassau, Bahamas
1550
silent[11] Windsor, Ontario
1550
XERUV Xalapa, Veracruz
1560
KNZR[12] Bakersfield, California
1560
WQEW New York, New York
1570
XERF Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila
1580
CKDO[13] Oshawa, Ontario
Alaskan
class A (former class I-N) stations Freq.
(kHz)
Callsign City of license
640
KYUK Bethel
650
KENI Anchorage
660
KFAR Fairbanks
670
KDLG Dillingham
680
KBRW Barrow
700
KBYR Anchorage
720
KOTZ Kotzebue
750
KFQD Anchorage
770
KCHU Valdez
780
KNOM Nome
820
KCBF Fairbanks
850
KICY Nome
890
KBBI Homer
1020
KOAN Eagle River
1080
KUDO Anchorage
1170
KJNP North Pole
FM
Radio
FM (Frequency
Modulation) radio was invented my Major Edwin H. Armstrong, one of
radio's true pioneers and visionaries. He received the patent for
Wide-Band FM on 26 December 1933, although widespread use of FM
didn't really catch on until the early 1950's. FM radio is virtually
immune to static and noise from natural sources, and most man-made
interference. As a result, it's well suited to broadcasting High
Fidelity music. It's also capable of excellent voice reproduction
with a smaller bandwidth than an AM signal, making it the choice for
Public Service agencies, like Police and Fire Departments, who NEED
clear, easy to understand voice on their radios.
If there's a “problem”
with FM radio stations, it's that their range isn't as great as AM
stations.
This has nothing to do
with the type of modulation (Amplitude vs Frequency), but rather the
frequency that the station broadcasts at. The 88-108MHz frequency
range is pretty much limited to what's called “Line-of-Sight”,
meaning that if you don't have a fairly clear path to the station, or
it's over the horizon, you can't receive it.
This means FM stations
are local in nature, and another good place to listen for local
information.
In between the AM
radio band that “hugs the ground” during daylight hours, called
“Ground Wave”, and the FM/VHF/UHF bands that are limited to
“Line-of-Sight” propagation, are the shortwave bands, and that's
where we'll go next.
Short
Wave Radio
Short Wave radio, also
called “HF” for High Frequency, covers the frequencies from 3MHz
to 30MHz. Frequencies below 3MHz, along with the AM broadcast band,
are called “Medium Wave”, or “Medium Frequency”. Many old
tube type radios had the bands labeled as such, calling them “LW”
for Long Wave, “MW” for Medium Wave. And “SW” for Short Wave.
Many of the better receivers had more than one Short Wave band, and
they'd label them “SW1”, “SW2”, and so forth.
Besides being labeled
with frequencies, short wave bands are also referred to by their
wavelength, measured in meters. Thus, the 7MHz band is also called
the “41 Meter” band, 11MHz to 12MHz is called the “25 Meter”
band, and so on. The higher the frequency, the shorter the
wavelength.
The types of
modulation you'll find on HF radio are pretty much limited (for our
discussion) to AM, and SSB. There are various digital modes used, but
that's beyond this article.
Why bother with Short
Wave, and have to learn a bunch of “new” stuff? Well, when the
SHTF, local news may very well be heavily controlled (i.e. censored),
or even “blacked out”. Having an alternative source, from many
miles away, might actually be more useful. The BBC (British
Broadcasting Corporation) was always good at providing unbiased news
from around the world, along with CBC/Radio-Canada, and so was the
VOA (Voice of America), who specialized in beaming Pro-American
programming to other parts of the world.
Unfortunately, many of
these radio services have been severely cut back in recent years,
replaced by lower-cost streaming Internet “radio” services.
While a “Short Wave”
radio can receive many different frequencies, broadcasters use
specific frequencies agreed upon by international treaties, commonly
called “Bands”.
The most commonly used
shortwave bands are below.
120
m2300–2495 kHz tropic band
90
m 3200 – 3400 kHz tropic band
75
m 3900 – 4000 kHz shared with the North American Amateur Radio
“80 meter” band
60
m 4750 – 5060 kHz tropic band
49
m 5900 – 6200 kHz
41
m 7200 – 7600 kHz shared with the Amateur Radio “40 meter”
band
31
m 9400 – 9900 kHz currently the most heavily-used band
25
m 11,600 - 12,200 kHz
22
m 13,570 - 13,870 kHz substantially used only in Eurasia
19
m 15,100 - 15,800 kHz
16
m 17,480 - 17,900 kHz
15
m 18,900 - 19,020 kHz almost unused, could become a DRM band
13
m 21,450 - 21,850 kHz
11
m 25,600 - 26,100 kHz may be used for local DRM broadcasting
Many, if not most,
older radios that included shortwave coverage would add labels to the
bands like “Mexico”, “London”, “Berlin”, indicating the
approximate place on the dial where broadcasts from those locations
could be found. They'd also label the bands “Evening”,
“Afternoon”, “Morning”, or “All Day” to indicate what
time of day these stations could be heard.
Why did they have the
time of day listed? Well, it has to do with what's called Radio
Propagation. Propagation is the term used to describe how radio
waves travel through space. Propagation is a highly variable thing.
How far shortwave signals will travel depends on what frequency they
are, the time of day, what season it is, and where we are in the
current sunspot cycle.
I'll cover Radio
Propagation in another article.
Buying
A SHTF/Emergency Radio
I could probably write
an entire article on just this subject!
I suppose the first
thing to ask yourself is “How much to I want to spend?”, and the
second would be “How much radio do I need?”, along with “What
do I want to listen to?”. A decent, reliable, easy to use radio
will cost about $100, maybe less if you do your shopping carefully.
Some of the more expensive radios are actually poorer performers than
some of the less expensive ones. Do you want to be able to listen to
Hams, or just International Broadcasters? Once you've decided on how
much you want to pay, start looking at the reviews on eHam.net, under
“Reviews/Categories/Receivers/General Coverage”. Keep in mind
that 99% of these reviews are written by Hams, and what they decide
makes a “Good” receiver is probably quite different than what
you'll need. When reading reviews, I always like to look at the most
negative reviews first. Some of them are hilarious, as in people who
gripe about what color the radio is I also tend to steer away
from a review that only has a few entries, compared to a review that
has 20, 30, or more entries. Anybody can get a “dog” radio, just
like any other product, and a glowing review score of “5” from
one reviewer could also be a fluke.
As a general rule, I
don't care for those hand-crank/solar-cell “Emergency”
flashlight/strobe/cellphone charger/radios you see advertised
everywhere. If it's all you can afford, by all means get one, but
most of them are very limited in what they'll receive, and their
pretty marginal in their sensitivity. They're OK in metro areas where
there's lots of stations, but they're pretty weak out in the boonies.
I've had several of
them, and was really disappointed in their performance, but then I
guess I'm a little jaded about what a radio should be capable of
doing.
I currently own a
Grundig G3 “Globe Traveler”, and a TechSun PL-660, along with
some other, older radios. Both of these little guys are available for
under $100, fit in your coat pocket, and besides covering AM and FM,
they also have “Air Band” coverage, and continuous tuning from
150 kHz to 30 MHz. They also both have a TON of memories to store
favorite frequencies in, a Synchronous Detector for helping to
eliminate what's called “Selective Fading”, and a BFO (“Beat
Frequency Oscillator”) which allows them to receive Single Sideband
(“SSB”) signals from Amateur Radio operators, and various utility
stations in the MW and SW bands.
They both run on 4
“AA” batteries, and will charge NiMh batteries with their
included AC adapter/charger, or run just fine on alkaline or Lithium
batteries.
These things are
absolute marvels of Engineering. They receive more things, and do
them better, than my first Amateur Radio receiver.
For larger, “base”
or “table top” type receivers your options for buying new are
quite a bit more limited, simply because most manufacturers stopped
making medium range receivers. Currently, Icom sells the IC-R75, a
very good little radio, and Alinco sells the DX-R8T, another decent
radio. Most of the other radios available are either
computer-controlled, or very high-end models that start at $800, and
go up from there.
I won't go into buying
older radios, or tube-type radios as that's beyond the scope of this
introduction. If you're really into vacuum tube gear, you probably
already have some, and are already ahead of the curve on this.
For good reviews on
the currently available, small, SHTF radios, check out the reviews
pages on eHam.net under “Reviews Categories>Receivers:General
Coverage”.
Some
Basic Tips Not Otherwise Covered.......
If you're not
going to be using the radio for a while, like when you store it,
====>
TAKE THE DAMN BATTERIES OUT! <====
One
of the most depressing things
is to get your SHTF or “emergency” radio out, and not only
finding dead batteries
in it, but seeing all the glop those dead batteries have leaked all
over the battery compartment, corroding everything metal within
sight. Yes, you can clean them up if they're not too badly corroded,
but why take the chance in the first place?
Your radio will thank
you. I just checked the batteries in all of our remote controls, and
was ready to kick myself in the rear end.....ALL of them had gone
dead and leaked!
Looks like I'll be
spending some time cleaning up a whole lot of little battery contacts
in the near future.
BTW...”TARN-X”
silver cleaner works wonders at getting minor battery
corrosion off the contacts. Brush the contacts with a small brush to
get the big chunks off, and then apply the TARN-X sparingly
with a cotton swab. You'll see any residue foam up, and the green
corrosion will disappear. Flush any remaining residue away with a
swab and some clean water. I've done this several times on equipment
that had dead batteries left in it, and it really cleans up the
contacts. If the contacts are really bad and have to be replaced, you
might be able to find replacement contacts at Mouser, DigiKey
or Keystone Electronics.
Batteries- Try
and buy a radio that uses a “common” battery size as the rest of
your SHTF gear. If your radio is the only piece of gear you have
that uses “C” or “D” batteries, that's one extra battery size
you'll have to stockpile. Think of it like you do ammunition
calibers, and try to 'standardize' one more thing.
NiCad and NiMH
batteries are good in that they can be recharged, BUT they only put
out 1.2 Volts per cell, while alkaline and lithium batteries put out
1.5 Volts per cell. If your radio takes four batteries, the NiCad and
NiMH cells will only have 4.8 Volts instead of 6 Volts.
Will this “hurt”
the radio? No, but you'll probably see the “Low Battery” display
all the time, and if the device has a low battery shutoff, the
batteries might not power the device very long before it shuts off
even though the batteries have plenty of juice left in them!
Lithium batteries have
very long shelf life, and are capable of putting out a burst of high
current, which is nice for things like flash units, or
walkie-talkies, but cost considerably more than alkalines.
And BE AWARE
that Nicad and NiMh batteries require different charging methods!
Most of the inexpensive chargers for sale will either have a switch
to select which type of battery is being charged, or will auto-detect
the battery type. Mixing battery types in any device is a BIG no-no,
and can result in damage to the device, or in extreme cases, a fire.
If your SHTF radio has
a connector for “External Power”, see if you can get a cable or
“Cigar Plug/Cigarette Lighter Adapter” that will let you power it
from 12 Volts DC.
Some people will ask
about how to protect a solid-state (Transistorized) radio from an EMP
event. I keep both my little Grundig G3 radio, and my Elecraft K2 HF
transceiver in metal ammo cans. The Grundig fits into a small 30 cal
can, along with some extra AA batteries, and the AC power supply. The
K2 is a bigger radio, so I store that one in a larger 20mm can. If
you're really paranoid about EMP, then seal the edges of the cans
with some aluminum tape (NOT duct tape), making sure that all the
seams are covered. I also keep a power supply for the K2 in a
separate can, although if we ever have an EMP event, the power grid
will most likely go down, so the power supply might very well be
useless.
And I always toss a
couple of desiccant bags in the cans before I close them.
If you're really that
concerned about having some radio gear survive and EMP, then look in
to getting some older gear that uses vacuum tubes. There are some
vacuum tube General Coverage receivers that run on batteries, but the
replacement battery packs haven't been available for DECADES.
The Zenith Trans-Oceanic is one, Hallicrafters made a few different
models, and I'm sure there are others. You'll have to cobble together
your own battery packs, and that's WAY beyond this article,
and you'll have to pay “Collector” prices for these sets.
Antennas- Most
of the newer radios have acceptable sensitivity with the built-in
whip antenna. If you think you need more, you can string some
insulated wire up, and either wrap a few turns around the whip (AFTER
you stripped the insulation off!), or use a clip-lead to attach it to
the whip. A lot of the new little radios have a jack to connect an
external antenna to, but be careful! Some radios will overload with
an external antenna, especially if you live near a high-power radio
station. My little Grundig G3 has a “Local/DX” switch that adds
some attenuation to the antenna circuit, making it less sensitive,
and cutting down on overloading when used with an external antenna.
The rule-of-thumb for
short wave antennas is get it as high as you can, and make it about
50' long. Going much over 50' will pick up more noise than signal, at
least in an urban area. Just be careful that the antenna is well
clear of any power lines, and that if it breaks, the pieces of it
won't fall on any power lines.
Don't worry about
getting the antenna length matched to the wavelength you want to
receive. This is more important for transmitting than receiving, and
since most of the portable radios we're concerned with are made to
use the somewhat less than optimum whip antenna that's built in to
them, adding some extra wire that's up and in the clear is the
important thing.
Headphones- Ah
yes, a good set of 'cans' for those times when you don't want to
disturb others, or don't want anybody else to hear what you're
listening to, or that you're listening at all. I prefer the
'over-the-ear' type that cover the entire ear, and seal out
background noise. There might be times when 'ear buds' are
appropriate, but for digging out really weak signals (I'm talking
“ESP weak”!), NOTHING beats a good set of headphones. Watch out
for the “open back” type that seal to your head, but allow sound
to radiate out the back of the earpieces. And you don't need
$600 “audophile” quality 'phones. Human speech covers roughly
20Hz to 20kHz, and unless you're young, or have exceptionally good
hearing, you probably can't hear 20kHz anyway. Radio Shack has some
decent ones for under $50, as does Best Buy.
We're looking for
“Communications Quality” audio here, NOT something to listen to a
$3000 stereo system with!
Other
Resources
Monitoring Times
Magazine- One of the best out there. Covers everything in this
article, along with beginner to expert articles and columns. HIGHLY
recommended.
Nuts & Volts-
A very interesting magazine. Covers a wide range of topics, and has
absolutely KILLER ads for the hobbyist/experimenter.
Popular
Communications Magazine- I haven't read this in years, so I can't
vouch for it. Some people love it, some hate it.
Dxing.com- Home
of the “Modern Shortwave Receiver Survey”. Also has ratings for
older radios.
QST- The
official magazine of the American Radio Relay League (AARL). This is
geared towards Amateur Radio (“HAM” Radio), but has wide variety
of articles. Considered one of the premiere radio magazines in the
world.
eHam.net
website- Has product reviews and forums geared mostly towards Ham
Radio, but has forums for Shortwave listeners.
Radio Reference
website- For scanner users, this is a MUST website! They have
current, ACCURATE databases of all non-military radio frequency
assignments in the U.S., and excellent forums. Several of the
applications used to program modern “Do Everything” scanners are
capable of extracting the data from the Radio Reference website, and
will send it directly to your scanner, saving HOURS of time entering
frequencies by hand.
If you have a question
about scanners, you'll probably find the answer here.
Phil's Old Radios-
A marvelous site to learn about restoring old radios, and admire his
patience and craftsmanship.
RadioIntel
website- A nice site with tons of info and links to other websites.
Ham Radio Outlet-
Sells new and some used radios. Also sells antennas and other neat
stuff.
Amateur Electronic
Supply- One of the oldest places around for buying new and used
gear.
Universal Radio-
Another seller of new and good quality used radio equipment, books,
and accessories,
Glossary
AC: Alternating
Current. A current which changes polarity (or direction if that makes
it easier for you to understand) with respect to time. The voltage
out of your wall socket is A.C.
AM: Amplitude
Modulation. A form of modulation in which the information applied to
the carrier wave causes it to change in amplitude. An AM radio signal
consists of a Carrier Wave, and two Sidebands, one above, and one
below the carrier wave.
Amateur Radio:
A NON commercial radio service used by licensed individuals for
message exchange, experimentation, self-training, and emergency
communications.
Antenna: A
device for capturing radio signals from the air. Can be a length of
wire, a “whip”, a “discone”, or a directional antenna, like
the old TV antennas we all used to have. Generally speaking, antennas
are most efficient when their physical length corresponds to the
electrical wavelength of the signal being received.
BFO, or Beat
Frequency Oscillator: A circuit in a radio receiver that allows
it to receive Single Side Band radio signals, and properly demodulate
them.
Carrier Wave: A
radio signal without any information applied to it. Sometimes just
called a “carrier”, or “dead carrier”.
Current: The
“flow” of electricity through a circuit, measured in Amperes.
Think of it just like the flow of water in a hose.
DC: Direct
Current. A current which does not change polarity, or direction. Your
car battery (really, ANY battery) is a source of Direct Current.
Demodulation:
The process of recovering the information that was put on to a radio
wave.
DRM: Digital
Radio Mondiale. A digital audio broadcasting format used in certain
shortwave bands. It requires special equipment to receive, but has
excellent (“FM Quality”) audio quality. Most receivers can be
easily modified to allow a PC sound card to decode the audio.
FM: Frequency
Modulation. A form of modulation in which the information applied to
the carrier wave causes its frequency to change.
Frequency: The
number of times per second an electromagnetic wave changes polarity,
expressed in “Hertz”, abbreviated “Hz”. One thousand Hertz is
one kiloHertz, kHz, and one million Hertz is one MegaHertz, MHz.
Frequency and wavelength are inversely related. The lower the
frequency, the longer the wavelength, and the higher the frequency,
the shorter the wavelength. The AC power out of your wall socket
changes polarity 60 times per second, so it's called “60 Hz A.C.”
Ground Wave:
Radio waves that primarily travel along the surface of the Earth.
Ionosphere: A
region of the upper atmosphere, consisting of charged (“ionized”)
particles starting at approximately 50 miles above the surface of the
Earth, and extending out to approximately 375 miles. The particles
are ionized by energy from the Sun. The ionosphere is divided into
layers, with the “D” layer being the lowest, and the “F”
layer being the highest. The heights of the layers, their thickness,
and their density, determine which radio frequencies are reflected
back to Earth, and which are absorbed. The layers all change with the
time of day, the seasons, and the sunspot cycle.
Line-of-Sight:
A term used to describe the “path” that a radio signal follows.
This is determined mostly by the frequency used. Lower frequencies,
like those used for AM radio, tend follow the nap of the Earth better
than the higher frequency signals like those used for FM and
Television. An AM radio station can be heard well past the
“Line-of-Sight” to it, where you need a “clear shot” to a TV
or FM station to hear it well.
Modulation: The
process of putting information (voice, music, pictures, data) on to a
radio wave. The two most common forms are AM, where the amplitude is
varied, and FM, where the frequency is varied.
NiCad: Short
for “Nickel Cadmium”, and early type of rechargeable battery.
Still pretty good for uses that require a burst of high current, like
for transmitting. They suffer from the “Memory Effect” which
means if you don't FULLY run them down before you recharge them,
they'll 'remember' they still have a little charge in them, and won't
charge back to to a usable 100%. Most modern NiCads, and modern
chargers, can overcome this, but be aware of it.
NiMH: Short for
“Nickel Metal Hydride”, and improved type of rechargeable
battery, similar to a NiCad, but using a different metallic compound
in place of Cadmium. Much more forgiving then NiCads on
charging/discharging, and pack more useable power in the same size
than NiCads.
Radio: The art
and science of using electromagnetic radiation to communicate or exchange information over long distances.
Receiver: A
device that converts radio signals into a usable form. The output
can be video, as in a TV set, audio, as in a radio, or data, as in a
radio modem.
Selective Fading:
Also called Frequency Selective Fading. A type of signal distortion
where one of the sidebands of an AM radio transmission becomes
attenuated more than the other sideband.
Single Side Band,
Single Sideband, or SSB: A special type of AM radio signal that
eliminates one of the sidebands, and the carrier wave. This allows
approximately four times the transmitter output power for a given
size of amplifier in the radio.
Sky Wave: Radio
waves that do not primarily travel along the surface of the Earth,
but go into space, to be reflected back by the ionosphere. Depending
on the frequency, the signal may be reflected back to Earth a few
hundred miles away, or many thousands.
Synchronous
Detector: A special type of
demodulation circuit used to minimize the effects of selective
fading.
Trunked Radio
System: A type of radio “Party Line” where all radios receive
a “Control Channel” along with the regular channels programmed in
to them. When one radio calls another radio, the Control Channel
tells both radios what frequency is clear to use, and they both tune
to it automatically. This allows multiple groups, like Police, Fire,
and Civilian users to share the same radio system. It can allow the
Police and Fire to inter-communicate, while keeping the Civilians
“locked out” of those channels. If you hear about big cities
having major problems with their radio systems, it's a Trunked
System!
Voltage: The
“pressure” that drives the electricity through a circuit,
measured in Volts. Think of it as the pressure of the water in a
hose.
Wavelength, or
Wave Length: The length, generally stated in Meters, of a
radio wave. A “40 Meter” (7 MHz) radio wave is about 134 feet
long, and a “10 Meter” (30 MHz) radio wave is about 31 feet long.
.
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