[GreenKeys] rtty 101

[gil smith]

Hi Jack:

Thanks for the info.   

The antenna is my immediate concern, as I am now in a position to provide
for it on an old house we are remodeling for our business.  So this brings
up a few questions:

What frequencies are of interest? 

I can't do a 132-foot wire, since the lot is only 100x100 -- what
alternatives are there for shorter horizontal wires?  I could possibly put
one atop a block wall, or a shorter one on the roof.

What size vertical would be needed, and what kind of groundplane to go with
it?
A vertical is feasible, since there are no community regs in this area.  I
could do some sort of ground radials in the attic.  The roof is near-flat
(small slope), with 3-foot parapet walls that hide most of the stuff up
there (except a vertical antenna, of course).

thanks,

gil


At 05:56 PM 2/13/03 +0000, you wrote:
>Gil,
>
>My two cents...
>
>You need a good, selective and stable receiver to copy RTTY off
>the air. The older treasures, like the Collins R-390 (OK) and the
>military R-1051 (better), fit the bill, but they are old and very
>complex if they need work. I'd recommend you look for a used
>ham transceiver like a Yaesu, Kenwood or ICOM. It will give you all the
>needed bells and whistles, great selectivity, and fabulous stability. Check 
>Ebay for these things...they're all over the place at hamfests, too.
>I use a Kenwood TS-870S as my main receiver. Ancient as it sounds, a long
wire 
>antenna works fine. I have a 132 foot wire outside the house, no higher than 
>about 15 feet off the ground, and I can hear (and talk to) anywhere on
earth, 
>if conditions are good. A vertical antenna also works fine. 
> (snip)
>Finally, there's very little to copy on RTTY these days. I listen to the 
>Canadian weather station "CFH" in Nova Scotia (heard it fine when I lived in 
>Seattle) and sometimes copy the ARRL RTTY Bulletins (for hams). Otherwise, I 
>haven't found much of interest. (Thank goodness for Heavymetal!!)
>
>Jack WA2HWJ
>
>> Hi folks:
>> 
>> You may recall that I know diddly about the radio side of things here, not
>> being in amateur radio.  Well, on a technical level I know radio to a
>> certain degree, but certainly not at a practical level for rtty work.
>> 
>> I find myself more interested these days in joining in to receive rtty
>> broadcasts, and am curious about what might be needed in terms of
>> equipment.  If I should acquire an rtty demodulator of, say, xyz brand,
>> what else is required to use it?
>> 
>> First off would be the question of what frequencies might have traffic here
>> in Arizona.  This leads to the next question of a practical antenna for
>> reception of said signals.  And then to the receiver needed to tune in said
>> signals, for driving the demod unit.
>> 
>> The antenna question is of current concern, since I am finishing up a
>> buiding's roof and want to know if I can mount an antenna up there next to
>> the dss dish, tv, and aircraft antennas already going up.  I have no
>
>> current plans for transmitting, though I would be curious how the antenna
>> might differ to handle both rx and tx.
>> 
>> thanks,
>> 
>> gil
>> 


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