[South Florida DX Association] GAZETTE NL#163

[Bill Marx]

> Jim's GAZETTE
> Newsletter #163
> 5 March 2004
> 
> Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any and all interested parties, or to reproduce it in 
> any other publication. All we ask is that you give credit where credit is due.
 

> >>>>>>>
> 
> Life gets more complicated every day! The OPEN UKRAINE RTTY CHAMPIONSHIP 2004 test comes
> your way on March 6-7. Let us  see, there is LowBand (160/80) and a HiBand (40/20/15/10) test. 
> Low has two chapters: 2200-2359Z on 6 March and 0000-0159Z 7 March. High runs 0800-1159Z on 7
> March. Details in English at http://sk3bg.se/contest/ukrtty.htm.
> 
> >>>>>>>
> 
> Really serious low-band devotees claim RTTY exists on 160M. Always a less-than-convinced reporter, 
> I was quite surprised when Mike W0YR reported calling CQ at 0115Z, on said band and got, not one, but four 
> responses. And, that soon he had a five-way QSO going on 160M with stations in Maine, Ohio and
> Pennsylvania. All were amazed. Good sweet grief, you can't even get that kind of participation on
> 20 meters!
> 
> So, I asked Bill NA2M, famous 160M expert, to comment. He was a bit surprised, too. Bill did say
> that last year there was quite a bit of activity below 1810. The seasonal increase in static shut that 
> down but he is happy to hear life is returning to our lowest of low bands. Maybe that is where the
> good old fashion RTTY round-robin QSO has gone. I am happy to hear that it still lives.
> 
> >>>>>>
> 
> Then there was the day that the new KF6VSG HamPost arrived in the Email stack. I opened it up, 
> printed all 20 pages of the new quarterly publication, then read it all. George has created a genuine 
> contribution to the amateur world, written by an expert who, in words and pictures most of us can follow
> without a dictionary and technical manual at hand, lead us to a better understanding of our technology.
> The same stuff we learned too little about in our early days as an amateur, and too often fail to 
> understand now. 
> 
> The current issue, (which is Volume 1, Issue 1) sets a very high standard for all future issues. Look at
> the index of numero uno: SETTING UP A PSK STATION, OPTIMIZING YOUR PSK31 SIGNAL, RADIO 
> BASICS--RESONANCE, UNDERSTANDING PATH LOSS AND SNR. And each article will be followed up in
> Issue 2. It is a true treasure-trove of information and knowledge. HamPost is published as a PDF file,
> making it easy to download, read and print.
> 
> The first article is a perfect how-to article complete with reference material, screen shots and intelligent 
> prose. Yes, any ham should be able to read this and, if they have a computer with sound card and an 
> interface, be on the air within a few hours of reading the first paragraph. It is an excellent tutorial. And,
> of equal importance, there are links to many additional informed sources that provide serious additions
> to your knowledge base.
> 
> Then, once on the air, read on and understand a lot more about your signal quality and what there is
> to do about bringing it into the sweet spot. Once there you obtain the maximum mileage per watt, and
> read far fewer complaints about your poor signal quality.  He goes on to a kit anybody can build and add 
> to the system, a kit that will give you a visual image of your ouput. I have seen a good many signals
> that might benefit from such a product. I just hope that mine looks good.
> 
> There are two other technical articles, one dealing with resonance, the other path loss and SNR. Each 
> is a basic, understandable introduction to essential theories. Next quarter, you can enjoy part two of the
> resonance lesson. Likewise, the last article presents a complex subject in a workable format. It is 
> easy to learn with teachers like this!
> 
> Do subscribe. Go to http://www.softsci.com/hamradio/opt_page.asp. Then, if hungry for more, go to the
> download site and look at the free software on www.softsci.com/hampost/download. This is a major 
> addition to our resource bank. Get it! It is free, contains no advertising and allows reuse in any form
> as long as the material is not modified in any way.  No fee may be collected for its subsequent use.
> 
> Thanks, George, you have helped us all.

> 73 de Jim N2HOS
> jem@n2hos.com
> GAZETTE at www.n2hos.com/digital 
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