[ARC5] Field Day musings...

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Geoff" <geoffrey at jeremy.mv.com>
To: "Richard Knoppow" <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>
Cc: <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 8:33 AM
Subject: Re: [ARC5] Field Day musings...


>
>>
>>> My most memorable FD was back in the early 60s up in 
>>> Humboldt Co.  Had a converted Command Set transmitter on 
>>> the bottom of 80 meters and a  DAQ navy receiver (nearly 
>>> a cubic yard of aluminum) and with a dipole hanging from 
>>> a couple of redwood trees on Kneeland Mountain I worked 
>>> all states and all of Canada with that set up.  The 
>>> Command set had been reduced to one 1625 in the PA and 
>>> ran full Break In with a decoupled VFO cathode and ran 
>>> the final with a 200 Ohm resistor in the cathode for a 
>>> kinda pseudo AB1 scheme.  Got about 10 watts or so out, 
>>> but with a great antenna I could work anything that I 
>>> could hear on the band.  Ah those were the days indeed.
>>>
>>>
>>> Bob. KE6F
>>>
>>    I love hearing these stories.  I never got to a field 
>> day until was an adult. I heard plenty of signals on 
>> Saturday and none at all on Sunday.
>>    I suppose the kids now find things to be fascinated 
>> with but I wonder if its anything like radio was for us. 
>> people don't seem to understand that ham radio works all 
>> on its own, while cell phones and computers need a vast 
>> system of equipment and networks to connect. We don't 
>> even need the power company and field day is one of the 
>> demonstrations of that. My antediluvian RCA receiver on 
>> 25 feet of wire hung over the rafters in the garage will 
>> hear Spain, Germany, England, Italy, Australia, New 
>> Zealand, all over South and Central America, not to 
>> mention all those non-DX stations (and I mean hams, not 
>> broadcast). I wonder what it would do with a decent 
>> antenna.  To me this is still absolute magic.
>> --
>> Richard Knoppow
>> Los Angeles
>> WB6KBL
>> dickburk at ix.netcom.com
>
>
> Most of those old consumer grade radios, as well as many 
> military, will fold up from overload on a big antenna. 
> They were designed for a 20-40' wire from a house to tree, 
> military whip, etc.
>
> My various consoles such as a RCA 811K, Zenith 12S265, 
> 15U271 and  12S471, Scott 800B, Philco 38-690, and others 
> do just fine with various 30-40' wires, including in the 
> attic and under 3rd story eaves. That was after spending 
> considerable time eliminating offensive home electronics 
> noises.
>
> The R-388, 51J4,  for instance fold up on a real antenna 
> and I havent bothered modifying the antenna coils and RF 
> amp
>
> I got my first taste of SWL and ham AM at my maternal 
> grandmothers around 1952-3 listening to a black dial 30's 
> Zenith table model (might have been a 6S229 going by 
> photos). My parents had no interest in SW and only had a 
> AM/FM RCA table model.
>
> Carl


     I'm not sure what you mean by fold up, overload badly? 
Anyway, the AR-88 is not a consumer grade radio, it was 
built as a commercial receiver and has a transformer input 
on all bands.  There is a great deal of information on the 
AR-88 and its relatives on the web.  See 
http://www.radioblvd.com/index.html   for lots of it.


--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
dickburk at ix.netcom.com