[HCARC] Antennas, Radios and Elmering
Bob Richie
bob.k5yb at yahoo.com
Sun Aug 5 13:37:50 EDT 2012
I was kind of being a smart ass about the mutation question but it kind of makes my point and that is "well, it depends." It's kind of like radioactive decay - it's pretty easy to measure rates over time with great precision. We have no way to predict when a certain atom will decay. If you ask 6 hams for an opinion you will get at least thirteen definite answers and another nine qualified answers. You've gotten several suggestions for a rig and if you are looking for operating experience the rig does not matter.
Here are some hints for looking at reviews on e-Ham. Forget the 5s. They are either from folks who are reporting the radio is performing as advertised or are brand devotees. Some guys wont drive anything but Fords. If the reviewer has operated the rig for less than about 90 days discount the review. If the guy just looked at it and didn't like the paint color, forget it. If a reviewer complains about a problem no one else reports, be careful. If a reviewer tries to compare the rig to another, forget it.
Bob
K5YB
Kerrville, TX 78028
________________________________
From: Gary and Arlene Johnson <qltfnish at omniglobal.net>
To: Bob Richie <bob.k5yb at yahoo.com>
Cc: HCARC at mailman.qth.net
Sent: Sunday, August 5, 2012 11:22 AM
Subject: Re: [HCARC] Antennas, Radios and Elmering
In laymans terms you can't predict purely random
mutations. That's why they are RANDOM. In layman's terms you can
effect mutations and expect mutations by bombarding DNA and RNA with
radiation. You cannot predict a perfectly random distribution of ionizing
radiation as to which cell it might affect. Since it is purely a random
distribution over the direction the beam of radiation is applied you would
expect a random number of cells to be affected. We are dealing with a
purely random event, although if I were to bombard the cells for a long enough
time all would have mutations, but the cells would be dead first.
My problem with Ohms law is I assume it is NOT
RANDOM and that resistance in a copper wire of 14 guage should be within limits
pretty much the same dependent upon the diameter (gauge of the wire). This
shouldn't be random - more a function of the ability of a wire to be drawn to a
nominal thickness. I am told that the resistance of wire increases as
distance increases in a copper wire, hence to run a certain amount of a/c
electricity from my shop to one of my barns (450 feet away) requires larger and
larger wire to reduce the resistance or I guess, to spread the resistance out
over a longer wire diameter. Said another way, the longer the distance
run, the larger the wire required. In the instance of the antenna
Coax we were talking about previously, normal RG58 coax has a copper conductor
that is probably somewhere around 20 gauge and it has a 50 ohm resistance.
The hard line mast for the AS-2259 which I am told is COAX has a conductor
inside (copper as far as I can tell) that is approx 1/4 inch in diameter inside
of a hard casing with dielectric that is 1 1/2 inches in diameter - why
supposedly does it have an enormous resistance??? One would guess that the
1/4 inch copper conductor would have much less reisitance than the much smaller
RG58 conductor. OR somehow the resistance is being affected by other
factors that I am unaware of. Please explain.
As for a 2 element answer to the radio - yes
an Icom 746 might work, so would Icom 756 and the 756 Pro series of which the
7410 has largely replaced. Really the Icom 7600 replaced the the 756's and
the 7410 replaced the 746. Having had a permanent search on Ebay that
sends me an email every time Icom 746 and 756 (and many others too) appears in
any auction I can tell you that the cost for a used one of either is almost as
much as a new 7410. And BTW, if you ask Dale, the first radios I talked to
him about when I took his course were 746's and 756's. I have been
compiling some information about radios for other Newbies that I come across who
are looking for radios. What I cannot ever gain is the perspective that
people have who have operated these radios over a period of years. Eham
tries to do some of that, but the reviews are as random as the person operating
the radio and that person is unknown. Who knows if that person had the
smarts to get the SWR low enough that he didn't fry the transmitter and aren't
ALL PROBLEMS THE MANUFACTURERS PROBLEMS, NEVER THE OPERATOR. I am
smart enough to know that just like airplane crashes and car accidents - the
majority of the time problems are caused by operator error.
OK, rather than a list of radios that are
recommended for Newbies, then how about in the club roster, each person list the
radios they commonly operate with, so if a newbie or an oldie wanted to know
about a certain radio they would know which members to go and ask. It
doesn't have to be hard. As for me, I probably will wait and get either
the 7410 or 7600 finances permitting. I have been saving since I began
Dale's Course back in Feb or March. However, I was under the impression
that this site (Reflector) was for the benefit of all the members, not just
me. Hence, when talking about radios, I talk about radios available to
more than just me. Chuck Hopkins is using my General CLass Exam Book to
get his upgrade. I can guarantee he will be going through the same
decisions that I am when he decides to get his HF radio. Wouldn't it be
nice for him to have some kind of database of some sort to go through to make an
easier intelligent decision on what to buy or as important - what to stay away
from.
Gary J
N5"BAA"
----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Richie
>To: Gary and Arlene Johnson
>Cc: HCARC Reflector
>Sent: Sunday, August 05, 2012 7:59 AM
>Subject: Re: [HCARC] Antennas, Radios and Elmering
>
>
>OK, you want a simple two element answer. here it is.
>Get yourself a good used Icom 746 and a Hustler 4 BTV vertical. You can easily modify the antenna to add 12 meter and 17 meter capability and you can screw an 80 meter ham stick into the top to add 80 meters. When your operating abilities exceed the capability of that system, ask your questions again.
>
>
>Don't like that answer? Then try this one. Wait until you can get the Icom 7410 since that seems to be the rig you want. If you can't get it right away that's ok. It is a fairly new rig and there may be some new rig issues to work out.
>
>
>As for the microbiology, please explain in layman's terms how you predict mutations.
>
>Bob
>K5YB
>Kerrville, TX 78028
>
>
>________________________________
> From: Gary and Arlene Johnson <qltfnish at omniglobal.net>
>To: HCARC at mailman.qth.net
>Sent: Saturday, August 4, 2012 11:45 PM
>Subject: [HCARC] Antennas, Radios and Elmering
>
>First to Bill Tynan - IT ALL HELPS -
thank you very much for the response, and you answered my question in terms I
could understand. I asked what time it was and you told me.
Congratulations, you are one of the first!! Barb S. will understand the
last comment.
>
>Second to Bob R. - IT ALL HELPS TOO - However, If I
were to have anywhere close to that many radios I would be divorced - no
kidding!!! My wife is not that supportive of this "Extra Hobby".
It's the single most important reason why I am trying to find the best fit for
being able to comfortably and reliably communicate with the least amount of
gear trouble possible. At least at first, I would really like to be able
to eliminate (if at all possible) the radio from being a source of
problems. It's hard enough to learn all (some) that one needs to know
without having to fight a radio too. Trust me, I have been looking for
the right radio. The Icom 7410 which I have pretty well settled on
(unless I can afford by some miracle an ICOM 7600 - not likely) as the radio I
want to get pretty well makes it easy for me to get in and get my feet wet -
reliably. I cringe at the thought of trying to tell my wife I need/want
4-6 different radios for different things. As for a niche -
>I am a
retired Naval Officer who was fortunate enough in his 24 1/2 year career to
have traveled almost completely around the world. The only part I
haven't been through (and really never wanted to go there) is from the Indian
Ocean side of the Suez Canal to the area around Thailand. Other than
that I have been the rest of the way around this big blue orb including
Antarctica (3 summer seasons) and South Pole. In fact I was lucky enough
to have been able to make a MARS phone patch from Amundson/Scott South Pole
Station back to California. Bill Tynan told me the other night it was
too bad I wasn't a HAM at that time so I could have taken a couple of handy
talky's and communicated from each of the worlds time zones simply by having
walked around the South Pole. I desire to be able to talk as far around the
world as possible, to as many people as possible, as often as possible.
At this point in my Radio experience I find PSK31 and RTTY somewhat BORING,
however I recognize
>both as being ways to "talk" when propagation on the
different bands is not conducive to SSB. Yes, I know that CW is even
better, and trust me I will get there, but I am not close to "there"
yet. There are many things that pull on my time, some of which are
raising sheep and goats and Stock Guard Dogs, being married, and radio has to
fit in with those for time. Thankfully, radio works in the dark of
night, and thankfully I have a good retirement - otherwise there would have
been no time to even start. If I had to try to juggle full time
employment with all the other things going on I would not have even gotten
started in Dale's class either. Oh, did I mention I like to fish
too??
>
>I do not think I am that much different than most of the new Hams
I have met. As a group, we seem somewhat frustrated with one thing or
another. Some of us are trying to find the right radio, others are
struggling with antennas, some are struggling with finances in this poor
economy. The simple statement of "just get a radio and try it out" seems
the easy way out when someone asking for information. It might be the
proper response, but I don't think so - yet. Of the group of Newbies, I
am (probably) the most vocal. I don't mind trying to move people out of
their comfort zones. I probably ruin more relationships than I
help. Tilting with windmills is a past time of mine. And if you
haven't realized it yet I am not afraid to toss in my 2 cents worth -
frequently too my detriment. The only bad question truely is the one not
asked - I live by that motto. At least I try though - shy, I am
not.
>
>Last to Kerry - IT ALL HELPS TOO!! However, some things
don't seem to follow as to why some things have high ohms resistance and
others - not so much. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason to
so much of it. My Masters is in Microbiology. In the sciences we
were taught that things should follow in an orderly manner, obeying the
rules. Yeah, sure they do!!!
>
>I look forward to getting a few
antennas and a radio together and trying them out. Say when and I will
buy the donuts. Coffee and tea is BYOB as I am LDS (Mormon - we don't do
coffee). And yes we should do it when Jeff is available for the
donuts.
>
>Gary
J
>N5"BAA"
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