-=> On 10-05-97  17:56, Jeff Edmonson said to Ivy Iverson,<=-
-=>"About Small AF Amps...,"<=-
 
Hi, Jeff;
 
 II> Sorry if I'm a little sour on RatShack tonight, I bought
 II> something today, (a HTX-404, Cat. No. 10-1140, on close-out
 II> that I COULD NOT afford), that has more damn functions in those
 JE> I've got one of those - it's not -that- bad 
 
(It just SEEMED that way.)   :-}
 
Actually, after getting some help from the only Ham at the local RatShack,
(who has the 2M version), I finally got it pretty well figured out.
Unfortunately, the way the durn book is written, you have to go to page
21, then 14, the 23 then 17 to get instructions on how to program all
those memories...  (Ok, not quite, but they COULD have put it in some
kind of logical order!)  So I am in the process of re-writing the manual
so things that are connected are described in the sequence that they are
done, instead of having to skip around.  Also, every time one of the
secondary functions, like CA, PR, M-SET, etc are referenced, I indicate
the primary label, (0-9, A-D) so I don't have to sit there and search the
keypad for 10 minutes every time I want to change something.  I think that
manual was written by a genius for geniuses... nobody else can understand
it.  
 
PLease don't think I'm some dummy that crawled out of the woods... I
was a Ham for about 15 years, on HF, 2M and 440.  I made the mistake of
letting my license, (Tech) expire about 10 years ago, (before there
was a codeless Tech).  I earned a Radiotelephone 1st class in 1964, and
have been on the technical staffs of several broadcast stations, including
as the Chief Engineer of an FM station - I also pulled a board shift on
weekends.  My last job in broadcasting was the overnight Master Control
operator of an NPR station.  So I SHOULD have been able to figure it out
at least as well as the average newcomer to Hamdom.  Sorry, I don't mean
to rag on you, but sure I don't hold whoever wrote that manual in real
high esteem.
 
Ask an Engineer to write in English and you'll find that Engineers CAN'T
write in English!   :-/
 
When I got the 2M HT, there were no docs of any kind, just the radio.
(There wasn't even a charger!).  I figured that one out in about 10 hours
and had it on the air 24 hours later when I got my call letters.  (Talk
about PERFECT timing!!!)  In that time I also added a charging jack and
had the battery charged and it was ready to go.
 
...
 
 JE> The output is set to high, the antenna near a window, perhaps?  The
 JE> Tone set to the right pl, but is PL -activated-?  Press the Function
 JE> button (that little  bitty bast..ah - key just above the ptt switch)
 JE> and press #1 on the keypad  (T-SQL) and there'll be an indicator that
 JE> shows up on the screen to show that it's on.
 
Yep, yep and yep... finally fingered it out, (after 2 days of RTFM!), what
I was doing wrong, and now I can hit all 3 of the rptrs sittin' here in
my chair, and using the rubber dummy...er duck.  I still gotta LEARN all
9,274 functions so I don't have to keep referring to the docs when I want
to change something.   :-}
 
 JE> How far away are the repeaters from your apartment?
 
The nearest one is a couple of miles, the farthest one about 18-20 miles,
and the most important one, (ARES), is about 10 miles.  The farthest one
is the backup ARES machine.  Actually, I'm a little surprised that it gets
out as well as it does, especially considering that the 2M HT has some
difficulty with it's duck hitting the 2M machine that's located with the
farthest 440 machine.  (That's close to 20 miles with lots of trees in the
way!)
 
 II> PS: I just had a contact on 446.000 simplex, so something
 II> works.  :-}
 
(Arranged on 146.52)
 
 JE> Ah!  (grin)  Time for a 440 J-pole, I see  };->
 
Tayn Fawr, gaud buddy, yau gawt THAYT raht!  
 
 JE> Actually, the 2m j-pole -should- work alright (better than the dummy
 JE> load...  er, Rubber duck that came with the radio...)
 
Heh heh... I know what you mean... I tried plugging it into the 2M J-pole
and it DID help!  Didn't bother to take an SWR reading though.   :-}
That little 440, (fed 12V from the shack 112 VDC supply), and without it's
battery pack, hangs very nicely, at just the right angle, from the RG-8
2M J-pole coax that sticks out from the front of my desk.
 
I am currently collecting information to build a 440 MHz coaxial,
probably about 10-12 sections, using either RG-8 or RG-58.  Putting it up
about 10 Ft and feeding it with about 20-25 Ft of RG-8 should give me good
coverage... Mebbe even a little QSO with MIR???  'Cept that a ground plane
or Discone would have a higher angle lobe.  Maybe I'll just build a
discone and mount it on the roof so I can use it for either 2M or 440 as
a backup to the J-pole.
 
Speaking of Mir, does anyone have a sat tracker pgm that will run under
DOS that I could get a copy of?  (I do NOT do Windoze!)  I get the
Keplarian data via FidoNet but no way to interpret it into human-useful
form so I can know when Mir or another sat is within potential QSO range.
 
MNY TNX
 
73 DE KB9QPM
   Ivy
 
 
 
... Enjoy life to the fullest: Get a Ham license and get on the air!
 
      --
 
          ,-----> Ivy's WALL BBS Ä Home of Lakeshore Net <-----,
          |---------------> Ivy Iverson, KB9QPM <--------------|
          `-> Netmail me a request for info on Lakeshore Net <-'
 
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 [NR]
--- TriToss (tm) 1.03 - (Unregistered)
---------------