Ham Radio/Ham Radio CD-ROM (Emerald Software) (1995).ISO/news/ih91230a/ih91233.txt

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Subject: Info-Hams Digest V91 #233
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Info-Hams Digest            Sat, 23 Mar 91       Volume 91 : Issue 233

Today's Topics:
                       * SpaceNews  25-Mar-91 *
            Anybody out there ever fixed a microwave oven
                  anybody out there ever fixed a tv
                        Cable TV Interference
                         First No-code Tech?
                       ICOM R1 May be Available
                            marvin update
                              morse keys
                        reading odd components
                        Solar Flares 21 March
                  what does COSMAC mean, as in 1802
      Whither J. Meshna? (Western MA surplus electronics dealer)

Send Replies or notes for publication to: <[e-mail]>
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Archives of past issues of the Info-Hams Digest are available
(by FTP only) from UCSD.Edu in directory "mailarchives/info-hams".

We trust that readers are intelligent enough to realize that all text
herein consists of personal comments and does not represent the official
policies or positions of any party.  Your mileage may vary.  So there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 23 Mar 91 02:03:31 GMT
From: ka2qhd![e-mail]
Subject: * SpaceNews  25-Mar-91 *
To: [e-mail]

SB SPACE @ AMSAT < KD2BD $SPC0325
* SpaceNews  25-Mar-91 *

Bulletin ID: $SPC0325


                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                         MONDAY MARCH 25, 1991

SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.  It
is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.


* U2MIR NEWS *
==============
U2MIR Activity Patterns   by John Shalamskas, KJ9U  3/17/91

Evidently, the best times to work the cosmonauts "live" are weekends UTC,
with some leeway for Fridays and Mondays.  Currently, their work schedule
of 08:00 to 23:00 Moscow time means that they are asleep from 23:00 to
08:00 Moscow time.  Watch for passes during their wakeful hours if you
wish to have a "live" conversation.  It's quite an experience!

UTC: "Prime Time" hours are from 05:00 to 20:00 Friday - Monday

For the record, his name is pronounced "Moo'sah", and he really does
have some trouble with the English language.


* STS-37 NEWS *
===============
A Flight Readiness Review for STS-37 is scheduled for March 26 and 27.
Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX) schedules have already been
made with various schools around the country.  On 05-Apr-91, several
"bridges" have been scheduled so astronauts can communicate directly
with school children using Amateur Radio.  Contacts will be made at
15:11, 18:29 and 20:20 UTC using both voice and slow-scan television
(SSTV) on this date.  Audio re-transmissions of these bridges should
be available on WA3NAN, the Amateur Radio club station at the Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

[Info via N9JEL]


* PACSAT NEWS *
===============
After spending two weeks studying memory dumps, NK6K and G0/K8KA have
determined the cause of the on-board computer crash which occurred on
AO-16 March 2.  NK6K traced the crash back to an inefficient way in
which a "homebrew" PACSAT user program requested information about new
files stored on the BBS.  Because of the slow way the search for new
files was being performed and the fact that at the time of the crash there
were over 560 files stored, the file server took a lot longer to search
than normal.  After sixty seconds, a critical software timer timed out,
and as NK6K put it, "the dominoes started falling."

Now that this problem has been identified, G0/K8KA has made a change in
the PACSAT file server software so that this problem won't re-occur.
Also, new implementation notes will be published so that all writers of
PACSAT ground station user software will be aware of the change in the
PACSAT Protocol.

As of 03:00 on March 15, 1991, the BBS on AO-16 was back in operation.
Likewise, the BBS on LUSAT-OSCAR-19 (LO-19) was on-line, according to
LU7XAC.  It is believed that the LO-19 on-board computer crash was due
to the same problem, manifest in a slightly different way.  NK6K points
out that PACSAT BBS software is much more robust with each new version,
and the time between crashes is increasing.

[Info via ANS]


* INTERSTELLAR QRM *
====================
145.825 MHz has become a popular frequency for VHF radio links with OSCAR
satellites.  At the present time, 145.825 MHz is used as a downlink for
both OSCAR-11 (UoSAT-2) and OSCAR-17 (DOVE-1).  RS-14/OSCAR-21 is a close
neighbor, using 145.822 MHz for a CW telemetry beacon.  At the same time,
RS10 and RS11 use this frequency (+/- 5 KHz) for uplinks to their auto-
transponders, or "robots".

The popularity of 145.825 MHz has created some real problems!  On frequent
occasions, OSCARs 11, 17 and 21 can all be heard at once, causing severe
interference between satellites and making it impossible to copy ANY
satellite when all three come into range at once.  There have also been
occasions when RS10 or RS11's "robot" uplinks have been interfered with by
constant carrier (FM) emissions from OSCAR 11 and/or 17.  Since many OSCAR
satellites are placed in sun-synchronous orbits, they often come into range
of a given satellite groundstation at about the same time every day, and if
they all use the same beacon frequency, the severe interference problem
results.

145.825 MHz is simply getting too crowded for practical use.  Even the
short-lived BADR-1 spacecraft used this frequency as an outlet for its
telemetry beacon.  Perhaps we should look toward using the 144.300 to
144.500 MHz OSCAR subband in future amateur spacecraft.

Something to think about.... de KD2BD


* TNX QSL! *
============
A special thanks to all those who sent QSLs to SpaceNews:

KB2HMK  : Michel Zadoroznyj, Garfield, New Jersey, USA
N3IKS   : John Ford Gibson III, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
N6YGD   : Donald Bowtell, Byron, California, USA
WB9OKM  : Leland Ronzheimer, Waukegan, Illinois, USA
WT0N    : B.J. Arts, Plymouth, Minnesota, USA

...and e-mail messages:

KB2FID, N2AAM, VK2BBD, WA2N, TI3DJT, KC4UZA, SM6JNS, N9JEL


* FEEDBACK WELCOMED *
=====================
Feedback regarding SpaceNews reports may be directed to the editor using
any one of the following paths:

INTERNET : [e-mail]
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
UUCP     : ...rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd

MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Electronics Technology Department
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           765 Newman Springs Road
           Lincroft, New Jersey  07738
           U.S.A.

/EX
--
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : [phone]
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: [phone] ext 607

------------------------------

Date: 22 Mar 91 12:38:06 GMT
From: hpfcso!hpfcdj![e-mail]
Subject: Anybody out there ever fixed a microwave oven
To: [e-mail]

Of all the potential failure modes for microwave ovens no one has mentioned
the solid state diode in the rectifier. I have replaced this part twice in one
oven. Unfortunately on the second time it was determined that the magnetron
was also bad. I choose to let the repair shop handle that job since the labor
charge was a very small percentage of the price of the new part and they would
also guarantee it for a year (not so if I installed it.)

BTW, if you ever have to replace the magnetron, make sure you keep the old
part. Destructive disassembly of this part will yield some wonderful magnets
to play with and amaze your friends!

John Keith

------------------------------

Date: 22 Mar 91 21:42:20 GMT
From: sbi!pivot-nj!canada![e-mail]
Subject: anybody out there ever fixed a tv
To: [e-mail]

Hi,
    I've got a relatively new b&w portable tv. For some reason, whenever
I turn the set on now, the sound comes on way up there in loudness. There
is probably some very simple componenet that is "sick" but I don't
know enough about what to look for.

Any suggestions ????

------------------------------

Date: 23 Mar 91 01:09:00 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Cable TV Interference
To: [e-mail]

If the interference is coming from a ham operating in the 2 meter or 220 Mhz
band and is operating legally, you don't have a leg to stand on. A few years
ago when the cable industry lobbied HARD for the FCC to open up new frequencies
for super band and above, they promised to ACCPET ANY INTERFERENCE, AND NOT TO
GIVE ANY INTERFERENCE. They agreed to it as a secondary service. But take a
scanner and enter 145.25 Mhz (the 2 meter frequency for cable channel 18) and
you will see just how good the interference gets into your scanner! There are a
lot of 2 meter repeaters output on 145.25 nationwide. (I know, I am part owner
of one) You just make a call to your local cable company about RECEIVING cable
interference on your 2 meter radio, and the cable company panics. The FCC just
cracked down on cable companies last year for excessive leakage. $10,000
dollars per leak per day is the max fine and some CATV systems got them too! So
if you are getting interference on your cable system, you have to complain to
your cable company and you have to put up with the interference.

Sorry! (GREED LOSES AGAIN!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charles Layno             BITnet: [e-mail]
P.O. Box 8252             Internet: [e-mail]
Greensboro, NC            CompuServe: 71441,1562
27419-0252                Packet Radio Mail: WB4WOR @ WB4WOR.#GSO.NC.USA.NA
                 "REALITY..................WHAT A CONCEPT!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

------------------------------

Date: 23 Mar 91 01:58:48 GMT
From: epic![e-mail]
Subject: First No-code Tech?
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Peach) writes:
|> This lady, and I fear, many others entering our number do not share
|> this feeling.  She was getting licensed so that she could talk
|> to her husband -- not because she loves radio.

I think it is probably safe to say that even before no-code, many (if
not most) women entered amateur radio for the same reason. It just
reflects the differing attitudes that men and women have been
conditioned to have towards having an interest in technology. This is
not to say that women who initially enter amateur radio just to talk
to their husbands can't discover an interest in another facet of the
service.  Of course, if you ostracize them then you'll fufill your own
prophecy - they probably WON'T progress past simply talking to their
husbands.

Can you say that you still are interested in those things (and ONLY
those things) that initially attracted you to ham radio? (This assumes
you've been around for a while, of course. I've been a ham for almost
20 years. Packet radio didn't exist in 1971, of course, though I did
have a fascination for a local friend's RTTY machine. But mostly I had
a passion for 40m CW - believe it or not.)

Every day on my way to and from work I monitor one local repeater on
which the same two or three jaded (male) hams are having the same old
tired, content-free QSO over and over again. Very little of what they
say expresses a "love of radio" - in fact, the sarcasm and cynicism is
so strong that it's downright depressing to listen to.  I wouldn't
mind an interruption in this routine, even if it's a wife talking to
her husband.

Phil

------------------------------

Date: 22 Mar 91 21:15:58 GMT
From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!raybed2![e-mail]
Subject: ICOM R1 May be Available
To: [e-mail]

Information received here indicates that ICOM has settled with AOR
(not Uniden) and the ICOM R1 pocket rocket receiver will be available
this summer in the US. Price has yet to be announced...........
You heard it here first ??

------------------------------

Date: 23 Mar 91 05:08:06 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ub![e-mail]
Subject: marvin update
To: [e-mail]

I've just updated marvin with the newest data from Rusty (which isn't
so new due to my laziness). Sincere apologies for not getting it updated
sooner. Especially to those of you that donated money to Rusty's fund
in marvins name. I didn't realize there were that many people that did
that. I will make sure updates are more prompt in the future.

This update does not fix the bugs or add the new features that I've been
talking about doing. I hope to find time for that stuff over Easter
weekend.

Devon

------------------------------

Date: 23 Mar 91 05:11:36 GMT
From: swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx![e-mail]
Subject: morse keys
To: [e-mail]

[e-mail] (Rich Van Gaasbeck) enquires:

>Does anyone have a feel for the percentage of hams sending manually
>vs. using some kind of electronic assistance?  Do people still use
>straight keys or are "morse machines" and built-in keyers the way to
>go?

Depends on their age, the band, the time of day.  Some of us use both
at least some of the time.  If the sending is at 30+ wpm it's probably
not manually sent (at least, not by me...).

For anyone interested in straight keys, Kent Engineers in England sell
kits for a real beauty.   Lovely action, good solid brass stuff, all
very Marconi.  They advertise in the RSGB bulletin, or I'll send the
address if anyone's interested.  The kit goes together in a few minutes,
and I get a kick out of using the thing.  But when the rare DX comes
on, or it's contest time, out comes the electronic keyer.

------------------------------

Date: 22 Mar 91 17:30:18 GMT
From: hpfcso!hpfcdc![e-mail]
Subject: reading odd components
To: [e-mail]

The ARRL Handbook contains a table of copper wire values, which hint at
such methods as:

Turns per inch
Resistance per 100'
Feet per pound
if you don't mind smoke, amps at 100 degrees C  :-)

Look up "wire" in the index.

Perry Scott
KF0CA

------------------------------

Date: 22 Mar 91 04:23:22 GMT
From: hpfcso!hplvec![e-mail]
Subject: Solar Flares 21 March
To: [e-mail]

You may have noticed 40 meters, at least, quite disturbed this
evening. Upon calling the Boulder solar info number, I found
that our A index is 18 (!) and K index 3, with major flares
at 2026 and 2344 UTC on 21 March. 6 Meters should be interesting.
de WD5IBS

------------------------------

Date: 23 Mar 91 02:10:43 GMT
From: epic![e-mail]
Subject: what does COSMAC mean, as in 1802
To: [e-mail]

|> >Hi.  I'm playing with a COSMAC 1802 chip and wondered why they are called
|> >COSMAC.  Are all 1802s rad-hard, and does this have anything to do with it?

I don't know about ALL 1802s, but the ones flying in Oscar 10 and 13
are special versions from Sandia that are hard to a megarad. Rumor has
it that they are used in nuclear weapon triggering mechanisms.

|> *Are* they rad-hard?  I know that when I bought mine back in '77, it came
|> in a MIL-SPEC package, but my memory tells us that the first couple of
|> OSCAR satellites that went up with an 1802 on board failed due to cosmic
|> rays frying the processor.

No, as far as we know the 1802s have never failed - the RAM has. Oscar
10 has (had) 16Kbytes of dynamic RAM (Mostek 4116), as did Phase III-A
(the one that went into the drink in May 1980). Dynamic RAM is about
the worst stuff to fly in space, but at the time AMSAT had little
alternative. Even though we surrounded it by a block of brass, it
failed after about three years due to the accumulated radiation dose.
Oscar 13 carries 32Kbytes of static ram (Harris 6564) which *is*
radiation hardened (to 100 kilorads). So far it is working fine.  Note
that the Phase III orbit is considerably more hostile radiation-wise
than the low circular orbits used for the Microsats (which use
conventional microprocessors and RAM).

|> What in the world is anyone doing playing with an 1802 these days?

As with the space shuttle, the qualification process to certify a
computer as spaceworthy guarantees that it will be obsolete by the
time it reaches the launch pad. Also consider that a considerable
amount of custom software may have been developed that might be
difficult to port to another CPU. In the case of Phase III, the
software is written in IPS, which is essentially FORTH with German
mnemonics. Although IPS can and has been implemented on other CPUs, it
and the operational software was designed with the 1802 in mind and it
would still take work.

The number of people who are experienced in writing in IPS can
probably be counted on the fingers of one hand. They are busy enough
doing other things that porting the code to another machine doesn't
interest them as long as the existing system is enough to do the job
(which it is, for the Phase III satellite).

Phil

------------------------------

Date: 22 Mar 91 15:14:03 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!helps!bongo![e-mail]
Subject: Whither J. Meshna? (Western MA surplus electronics dealer)
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>>   /Alan "once lived just a block from C&H in Pasadena, why did I leave?" Paeth
>>   VE3AWP
>
>Ah, C&H Sales!!!  Second only to Bernie's Surplus in the SoCalArea.
>
>They have, or had, a resident cat, too -- definitely a good sign.
>
    I also used  to live just a block from C&H. I lived at 125 South
Sierra Madre Boulevard. Shortly after I moved in, My wife and I took a
stroll down Colorado Boulevard. We passed C&H and I stopped to gaze
through the window. She squeezed my hand and said: "One day, Julian,
all this will be yours." I am still working on it.

    But one nice thing about Pasadena is C&H for RF connectors and such
stuff and Dow Radio half a mile away for new stuff. I would rate
Pasadena way up there as nurd heaven.

    I will always regret not buying A Rohde & Schwartz Polyskop for
$25 at C&H. I had the money, but not the room.

--
Julian Macassey, n6are  [e-mail]  ucla-an!denwa!bongo!julian
742 1/2 North Hayworth Avenue Hollywood CA 90046-7142 voice [phone]

------------------------------

Date: (null)
From: (null)
Derek Wills (AA5BT, G3NMX)
Department of Astronomy, University of Texas,
Austin TX 78712.  (512-471-1392)
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

------------------------------

End of Info-Hams Digest
******************************