[GreenKeys] ST-8000A and ST-6000 (was "More where these camefrom")
Bill Henry
ghenry at halcomm.com
Fri Jun 5 10:20:38 EDT 2009
Now there's a question that has always bugged me - why did Irv (and
Keith) call the modems "Mainline"? I am a rail fan and that word
gives me images of the 4 track main line between D.C. and New York -
or Philadephia to Pittsburgh - or something like that.
Bill Henry
At 08:03 PM 6/4/2009 -0700, Richard Schumann wrote:
>Thanks Don!
>
>Richard kn7sfz
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Don Cunningham" <wb5hak at martineer.net>
>To: "Richard Schumann" <richardschumann at comcast.net>
>Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2009 7:59 PM
>Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] ST-8000A and ST-6000 (was "More where these
>camefrom")
>
>
> > The DT-600 was a Navy MARS project, by Garey Barrell, K4OAH and another
> > guy that I have forgotten, that put all the boards of the ST-6 on one,
> > double sided board. It was short lived, but was a VERY good TU if you can
> > find one. There were some other boards, designed to work with the DT-600
> > for answer back, etc., or at least planned, but I don't remember ever
> > seeing them. I do have a DT-600 that I bought a few years back, but
> > haven't tried it on the air. Not sure what happened to the original I
> > build years ago that also had a UT-4 regenerative receiver in the same
> > case, hi. Also, I don't remember what the ST stood for, unless it was
> > short for Solid State TU, but Bill Henry can likely remember. All of the
> > TU's that Irv Hoff designed had the designation "Mainline", as in Mainline
> > ST-5, etc.
> > 73,
> > Don, WB5HAK
> >
>
>
> > By the way, Richard, the DT in the DT-600 was "Data Terminal", from my
> > manual, hi.
> > 73,
> > Don, WB5HAK
>
>
>
>
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Richard Schumann" <richardschumann at comcast.net>
> > To: "Greenkeys" <greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
> > Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2009 9:42 PM
> > Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] ST-8000A and ST-6000 (was "More where these
> > camefrom")
> >
> >
> >> Coupla questions for anybody....
> >>
> >> For the ST-6, ST-6000, etc.,....what does the 'ST' stand for?
> >>
> >> And any ideas where the DT-600 fits in all of this....I suppose it had a
> >> short life as not much mention is made of it.
> >>
> >> Richard kn7sfz
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Bill Henry" <ghenry at halcomm.com>
> >> To: "Don Cunningham" <wb5hak at martineer.net>; "hsvham" <hsvham at yahoo.com>;
> >> "Jeffrey Angus" <jangus at socal.rr.com>; <larryradio at att.net>; "Greenkeys"
> >> <greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>; "Herb Graeber" <hhg at suddenlink.net>
> >> Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2009 10:20 AM
> >> Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] ST-8000A and ST-6000 (was "More where these came
> >> from")
> >>
> >>
> >>> Thanks for the kind words, guys.
> >>> Here's a short time-line of RTTY modems by Irv Hoff, HAL, and Dovetron.
> >>>
> >>> Nov, 1964 RTTY Journal, Irv Hoof, K8DKC and Keith Peterson W8SDZ -
> >>> "Mainline TT/L FSK Demodulator" (TT/L-1)
> >>>
> >>> Sept, 1967, HAL Devices RT-1 RTTY Demodulator.
> >>> I designed the RT-1 for USAF MARS duty and it worked - but
> >>> "I've had better ideas".
> >>>
> >>> Sept, 1967 RTTY Journal & May + June 1969 QST, Keith Peterson, W8SDZ,
> >>> and Irv Hoff, K8DKC - TT/L-2 FSK Demodulator.
> >>>
> >>> Sept, 1968 RTTY Journal & April, 1970 QST, Irv Hoff, W6FFC -
> >>> "Mainline ST-3 Solid State FSK Demodulator".
> >>> It was about this time that Irv and HAL started
> >>> communicating. We discussed offering the ST-3 but Irv wanted to wait
> >>> until he finished the ST-6.
> >>>
> >>> May, 1970 RTTY Journal & Sept, 1970 Ham Radio, Irv Hoff, W6FFC - ST-5
> >>> RTTY Demodulator
> >>>
> >>> Sept, Oct, Dec, 1970 RTTY Journal & Jan. 1971 Ham Radio, Irv Hoff,
> >>> W6FFC - ST-6 RTTY Demodulator.
> >>> HAL started supplying circuit boards for the ST-6 in
> >>> September, 1970 and complete wired units by April, 1971.
> >>>
> >>> Sept, 1972, HAL ST-6000 RTTY Demodulator.
> >>> The ST-6000 started out to be an ST-6 that didn't need
> >>> toroids but grew into something that was quite different.
> >>>
> >>> Sept, 1973 (?), Hank Scharfe, W6SKC - Dovetron MPC-1000. I believe
> >>> he first showed it at the 1974 Dayton Hamvention.
> >>>
> >>> April, 1977, HAL ST-5000, a lower-cost and reduced feature version of
> >>> the ST-6000.
> >>>
> >>> April, 1984, ST-8000 HF Modem.
> >>> This included all the bells and whistles I always wanted an
> >>> a modem - and used some 1500 components (aka "labor intensive").
> >>>
> >>> Sept, 1990, HAL bid the ST-8000A in response to a USAF supply
> >>> contract. The specifications were based on the Frederick 1280A/M
> >>> Militarized Modem.
> >>> In all, we shipped about 700 to the USAF by 1993. It now
> >>> appears that many remained in their depot packing at McClellan AFB
> >>> until it was closed. I've been told that some were then
> >>> warehoused at Tinker AFB.
> >>>
> >>> After that, HAL switched to DSP technology - PCI-4000, DSP-4100/2K,
> >>> P-38, DXP-38, etc. These modems use about 1/10 the parts of the ST
> >>> series but are very software intensive. We traded manufacturing
> >>> labor costs for software development costs - more expensive people
> >>> and - as we all know - "software is never done".
> >>>
> >>> It would be interesting if one of the contributors could add-in
> >>> models and dates for Frederick modems. Many predated HAL by quite a few
> >>> years.
> >>>
> >>> Bill Henry
> >>>
> >>> PS: The TT/L-2 was a great demodulator. Some of the parts were
> >>> very hard to find but once found and built, the demod had a VERY deep
> >>> dynamic range. The filters in the later ST-series were generally
> >>> better but we gained a lot of satisfaction seeing all those "valves"
> >>> light up (also heat for the shack).
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> At 06:46 PM 6/3/2009 -0500, Don Cunningham wrote:
> >>>>One word to the wise, replacing ST-6000's with the ST-8000A. Listen to
> >>>>what
> >>>>Bill Henry and others are saying. This TU was designed to fullfill a
> >>>>government contract, required to be "like" another brand of TU. The
> >>>>ST-6000A is a FINE RTTY TU, designed for 60 and 100 wpm RTTY, with built
> >>>>in
> >>>>loop supply and tuning scope. I have most of Hal's units by now, but
> >>>>consider the ST-6000 to be probably the "pinnacle" of their design for
> >>>>amateur RTTY (maybe if my ST-8000 (non A model) wasn't such a basket
> >>>>case,
> >>>>I
> >>>>would think it was better, hi)!! Just MHO, but I bought a new ST-6000
> >>>>for
> >>>>myself upon retirement, that was a special commercial low tone unit, and
> >>>>it
> >>>>far outdistances ANY other TU I own. I have the ST-8000, ST-8000A (NIB
> >>>>one,
> >>>>so I paid a LOT more for it, hi), several ST-6000's and ST-6's. All do
> >>>>what
> >>>>they were designed to do, just don't expect the last to be the best for
> >>>>amateur use. If I'm wrong, some of you straighten me out, but in my
> >>>>shack,
> >>>>I'll never get rid of my ST-6000. Off the soapbox, hi.
> >>>>73,
> >>>>Don, WB5HAK
> >>>>
> >>>>______________________________________________________________
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