[CQ] CQ Digest, Vol 20, Issue 4

Thu Jun 16 19:09:55 UTC 2011

Congrats!

On 06/16/2011 12:08 PM, Elise Scher wrote:
> Nice post to the list.
> My General ticket arrived today.
>
> Elise L. Scher
> KI6PUO
>
> On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 12:00 PM, <cq-request at lists.noisebridge.net
> <mailto:cq-request at lists.noisebridge.net>> wrote:
>
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>     Today's Topics:
>
>        1. " Marconi spins in his grave everytime a ham buys an aerial
>           instead of building it. " (Michael Shiloh)
>
>
>     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>     Message: 1
>     Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:57:20 -0700
>     From: Michael Shiloh <michaelshiloh1010 at gmail.com
>     <mailto:michaelshiloh1010 at gmail.com>>
>     Subject: [CQ] " Marconi spins in his grave everytime a ham buys an
>             aerial instead of building it. "
>     To: cq <cq at lists.noisebridge.net <mailto:cq at lists.noisebridge.net>>
>     Message-ID: <4DFA4400.4030208 at gmail.com
>     <mailto:4DFA4400.4030208 at gmail.com>>
>     Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
>
>
>     Gotta love this guy:
>
>     http://www.qsl.net/wb1gfh/antenna.html
>
>     I recommend you read the whole article
>
>     Such gems as:
>
>     "Back during the disco era when I first got on the air, I
>     got a pair of really cool antique pyrex antenna
>     insulators from a flea market table in Derry, NH
>     for 25 cents each. They looked like the kind Hiram
>     Percy Maxim used in 1910, and seemed able to pull in
>     exotic DX all by themselves. The other day I found out
>     that Radio Shack wants $5 apiece for insulators made
>     from some kind of white plastic crap. So I improvised
>     my own by sawing up pieces of an acrylic adjusting rod
>     from a discarded miniblind. I think Hiram would've
>     been proud of me.
>
>     and
>
>     "Ham Tradition
>
>     Today's new hams have been cheated out of the constructive experience of
>     being harangued and berated by crabby old "Elmers" preaching about how
>     they did things in the "good old days", so I am taking it upon myself to
>     provide you with a taste of it here.
>
>     There is very little experimentation among hams these days, and most
>     stations are cookie-cutter duplicates of one another: same antenna, same
>     Japanese transceiver, same 599 QSO. This is not the ham radio tradition
>     of old. In the 1930's and 40's you might find one ham using twisted bell
>     wire as a feedline. Another might be using bare electric fence wire on
>     ceramic standoffs nailed to wooden planks. Another might be using copper
>     tubing. Or pieces of metal roofing. Or auto ignition cable. Or tin cans
>     soldered together. If you looked at their stations you'd discover a
>     wealth of marvelous invention, idosyncratic design, and an incredible
>     ability to press available objects and materials into service. During
>     the 1960's, groups of hams would get together to swill cases of beer and
>     then make antennas out of the discarded cans by soldering them together,
>     end-to-end. Improvise. Experiment. Take notes of what works and what
>     doesn't. This is what ham radio is all about.
>
>
>
>
>
>     When you put up your antenna is also crucial. I must mention here the
>     importance of what many early hams called "antenna weather". That is,
>     snow, sleet, freezing rain, or combination of all the above. It has been
>     proven time and time again that any antenna installed in conditions
>     better than abysmal will not function worth a damn. Or, put another way,
>     it takes bad weather to put up a decent antenna. Dark and cold New
>     England winter days are ideal for this activity. Any antenna erected on
>     such a day will inevitably produce miracles.
>
>
>
>
>     Many of you will recognize THE $4 SPECIAL's design as the venerable
>     "double zepp" aerial, a variation of the "end-fed Zepp" -- the skyhook
>     responsible for the dramatic Hindenberg tragedy in Lakehurst, NJ. It
>     seems the blimp's radio op decided to work a little DX while waiting for
>     landing clearance. He sent out a few CQ's. Unknown to him, the ladder
>     line had twisted in the breeze, shorting the bare conductors. A
>     brilliant spark flared up, and....well, that's another story altogether.
>
>     To see an "end-fed Zepp" version of the $4 Special, click here.
>
>     Alas, I never had a 100 foot tower to hang this antenna from. The one in
>     Mass. was up 50 ft. and worked what I considered terrific DX. The one I
>     have now is only up 30 ft. and gets good to average results. It won't
>     outdo a yagi at 100 feet. Very few things will.
>
>     But for $4....who can complain?!
>
>
>     ------------------------------
>
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>
>     End of CQ Digest, Vol 20, Issue 4
>     *********************************
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Michael Shiloh
KA6RCQ
www.teachmetomake.com
teachmetomake.wordpress.com
Interested in classes? Join http://groups.google.com/group/teach-me-to-make