Halvy101
2007-05-17, 05:03
My Recent Radio Equipment Purchases:
* VHF 2 meter (tx 144-148mhz) but the reception may be from around 130 to + 148 from what I read somewhere. This is a Kenwood TM-241A (usa) model which I picked up at HamFest that was nearbye recently. It is something that I will be able to use in an emergancy or for local transmissions (i.e within aprox. 50 miles max), including possibly some free long distance fon calls.
* Small am/fm weather band radio for $9.99 (at Fred Myers). You should be able to find this in similar type large discount stores. It is called: Innovage Outdoor. It has 4 ways to power it including hand crank! It uses alkalines OR you can charge its NiMH battery pack. Also runs on power supply (seperately purchased). Of course I bought several to give as gifts because of price, extremely great features and.. its weather band actually covers part of the Public/Air waves.. sooo you can pickup local Police, Ems etc.
Current Special Projects
Live Cd with Radio & Electronics Themes
Well the Live Cd project was put on hold while I traveled.. however I made great progress just before moving when I FINALLY was able to actually create a generic Live Cd which both worked and allowed for installation. I know it may SEEM that with something so common place these days that it should not be so dificult to do, but it was because the documentation to create one yourself is pretty crummy.
I wanted to basically take MY personal desktop (ie. programs and computer settings that I use).. along with the miriads of documents, links and other data that I have collected over the years.. and put it on this Live Cd. However alot of the How To's on creating a Live Cd were based on Knoppix and a process called 'ReMastering'.
But there were software issues with this process of 'remastering', like repositorys that did not have certain programs that I have tested thoroughly for this project.
So the program I used finally to create the live cd is called Bootcd, which is not to be confused with a Windows/Mac version of a completely different product with the same name. I used Debian Linux as my main OS. If you have problems installing Bootcd try a previous version.
Anyway since I completed the most important part of this project I decided to take a break from it (I worked on it on and off for over 1 year). What needs to be done now is to incorporate some special new things I have been working on in my laboratory..
But I may release it before it is totaly complete to get some feed back.
Amateur Licenses
I am probably going to take my first (General Class) test very soon in order to help participate when there is an emergancy. In preparing for the test I'v learned alot more than I *thought* I knew previously. Plus there are benefits (as I'v always said) in being both a pirate and a licensed operator-- depending on the situation.
A GREAT site to test (and more importantly.. LEARN) for the tests is: qrz.com
Take each test (ie. 1-11) NOT the random one.. this way you cover all the material.
And don't get upset with missing any of the questions, because the goal is to LEARN. The testing format tells you what the correct answer is-- should you miss it.
My Current Readings
I believe I mentioned in the past that I came accross an old U.S. Army manual for Radio Operators put out by the Armed Forces Institute, written by Herbert M. Watson, Herbert E. Welch and George S. Eby. The book is VERY old (written originally in 1940 with a 2nd addition in 1951)!!
It is called Understanding Radio.. now this is not to be confused with a book that I regulary have pushed here written by a Brit (Peter Bubb) called: Understanding Radio Waves (written in the 1980's I believe).
Well the Army book is basically crappy however-- with much spelling and grammer flaws.. but more annoying is the fact they speak over your head. The book was meant for someone with no background in electronics or heavy math.. and yet it injects both at the most in-opportune times, which makes for much harder understanding.
However not all is lost because my philosophy with reading is.. even if you find only one golden nugget in a book.. then it was well worth it.. and even if you did not find one nugget, it was good for your patience :]
Sooo here are the nuggets so far (I don't think there will be any more in this book since I'm almost finished with it).
-- Reason we can't hear sounds when we hook up a head set (earpiece) to an antenna.. and nothing else. It is because the radio waves (all trillions of them) are above the threshold of the human ear.
This is why AT LEAST one little diode must be installed in the circuit. This diode filters out the higher frequencies which we can't hear anyway and allows the lower (around 500hz-20k hz) through, which we can.
More specifically without at least something to keep the current (of electrons) from overwelming (by by-passing) the speaker (earpiece), no sound even reaches the earpiece, because it is not designed for such frequencies.
Some Electronics Basics:
VOLTS- are ONLY the potential of power that can be used (seen) in action.
CURRENT- is the actual electrons in motion based on the power supply hooked up and the transportation method used, which is usually wires, which runs the equipment connected to the circuit.
Coils (the little bear wire spools found inside much electronics) are used to *INDUCE* the desired band (of frequences). So theoretically you could change the band of frequencies you can listen to in your everyday radios should you change the lengh of the coils and/or AM antenna (spool) inside your set.
*(again, and as always, please anyone step in here to clarify or correct anything).*
Anode- USUALLY, and NORMALLY the input (regardless of - + )
Cathode- Normally the output..think de-cathador :(
Positive/Negative: These terms are as confussing to me as was my early college accounting classes, where *sometimes* the debit was a credit, and sometimes the credit was a debit!!
But NORMALLY, the Positive (+) refers to the side of the power supply (or battery) where the electrons (charged) have gathered. And the Negative is where there is room (space) for electrons to flow to (ie. in order to make a complete circuit) and make current.. to make whatever you have connected to the circuit, work (ie. a light bulb, etc.).
A common exception to this procedure are rechargable batteries (except ions).
Sooo this just reinforces my idea that unless you are TOTALLY sure that you know your circuit.. you NEED to check and verify EVERY facit concerning what is *hot* (regardles of positive or negative).. AND how they may even change directions in the circuit!!
And this leads to my final topic for this thread:
A Study (retention) Philosophy
I have been testing a theory (which I assume has been written about previously, but I have not really seen it anywhere in one piece). It is where the less you TRY to retain things, the more you actually do retain information in your brain.
In other words, when it comes to studying and comprehention, instead of trying to memorize, theorize, concepualize, etc.. just let the eyes and ears do what they do best.. which is:BE ON AUTO PILOT.
Think about how much we do during the day... without *thinking*...
I'd take a rough guess of say.. 90%??
And I don't know about you folks, but that other 10%.. I usually am less than totally satisfied with my decisions :(
If everything we ever experienced.. since conception, is recorded dutyfully, in all the glamour and wonder of 3D video and stereo (at a minimum).. in that Mother of all Hard Drives.. our brains.. then why do we *think* we can out smart it?
WHY!!??.. do we try to use our brain as a muscle.. when it is NOT one?
Start testing this now.. everytime you forget something.. someones name or whatever.. does it ever come to mind.. when you *try* to remember it?
Sure.. sometimes.. but more times than not, it *comes to you* AFTER you have stopped thinking about it, and stopped *trying*. :)
Well.. I have been trying (to not try recalling things).. with this little experiment.. and lemme tell you folks.. it scares me how much it is proving to be a quantum leap in my *learning* experiences.
I have tried little *tricks* like only studying tests (and the answers) in liew of the extranious data that fills many tech books.
I'v also in the past: stopped arguing and stoppped trying to *figure* out things.. and just tried to *ACCEPT* whatever I was reading (or being told) about a subject.
These things.. for me, have proven to be very profitable in my studies both personally and in school.
And now.. I have begun *experimenting* with something new.. and it is more scary and apparently possibly more important than the simple ideas I just listed above.
I'v taken my *laid back* approach to reading (ie. studying) to encompass injecting the data that I am reading (or listening to).. with an eye towards: NOT COMPREHENDING IT..lol..
Yes I am simply trying to quickly read all pertinant data.. by glancing over it... whether it be formulas.. explainations (ie. theories or descriptions).
I am going to start playing background music or just noise (like static or white noise) when reading, so the noise 'distracts' me on purpose from *trying* to concentrate on what I am reading.
My theory is, that our brains ONLY simply need to see the data once (or hear it).. and the better we become at stuffing pertinant data into our magical, God given minds..the better, quicker and more acurate will we be able to RECALL this data.. when necessary :)
** Finally, you know you are on the right track when you look at EVERYTHING.. as to whether it would make a good capacitor, or a good resistor =:]
* VHF 2 meter (tx 144-148mhz) but the reception may be from around 130 to + 148 from what I read somewhere. This is a Kenwood TM-241A (usa) model which I picked up at HamFest that was nearbye recently. It is something that I will be able to use in an emergancy or for local transmissions (i.e within aprox. 50 miles max), including possibly some free long distance fon calls.
* Small am/fm weather band radio for $9.99 (at Fred Myers). You should be able to find this in similar type large discount stores. It is called: Innovage Outdoor. It has 4 ways to power it including hand crank! It uses alkalines OR you can charge its NiMH battery pack. Also runs on power supply (seperately purchased). Of course I bought several to give as gifts because of price, extremely great features and.. its weather band actually covers part of the Public/Air waves.. sooo you can pickup local Police, Ems etc.
Current Special Projects
Live Cd with Radio & Electronics Themes
Well the Live Cd project was put on hold while I traveled.. however I made great progress just before moving when I FINALLY was able to actually create a generic Live Cd which both worked and allowed for installation. I know it may SEEM that with something so common place these days that it should not be so dificult to do, but it was because the documentation to create one yourself is pretty crummy.
I wanted to basically take MY personal desktop (ie. programs and computer settings that I use).. along with the miriads of documents, links and other data that I have collected over the years.. and put it on this Live Cd. However alot of the How To's on creating a Live Cd were based on Knoppix and a process called 'ReMastering'.
But there were software issues with this process of 'remastering', like repositorys that did not have certain programs that I have tested thoroughly for this project.
So the program I used finally to create the live cd is called Bootcd, which is not to be confused with a Windows/Mac version of a completely different product with the same name. I used Debian Linux as my main OS. If you have problems installing Bootcd try a previous version.
Anyway since I completed the most important part of this project I decided to take a break from it (I worked on it on and off for over 1 year). What needs to be done now is to incorporate some special new things I have been working on in my laboratory..
But I may release it before it is totaly complete to get some feed back.
Amateur Licenses
I am probably going to take my first (General Class) test very soon in order to help participate when there is an emergancy. In preparing for the test I'v learned alot more than I *thought* I knew previously. Plus there are benefits (as I'v always said) in being both a pirate and a licensed operator-- depending on the situation.
A GREAT site to test (and more importantly.. LEARN) for the tests is: qrz.com
Take each test (ie. 1-11) NOT the random one.. this way you cover all the material.
And don't get upset with missing any of the questions, because the goal is to LEARN. The testing format tells you what the correct answer is-- should you miss it.
My Current Readings
I believe I mentioned in the past that I came accross an old U.S. Army manual for Radio Operators put out by the Armed Forces Institute, written by Herbert M. Watson, Herbert E. Welch and George S. Eby. The book is VERY old (written originally in 1940 with a 2nd addition in 1951)!!
It is called Understanding Radio.. now this is not to be confused with a book that I regulary have pushed here written by a Brit (Peter Bubb) called: Understanding Radio Waves (written in the 1980's I believe).
Well the Army book is basically crappy however-- with much spelling and grammer flaws.. but more annoying is the fact they speak over your head. The book was meant for someone with no background in electronics or heavy math.. and yet it injects both at the most in-opportune times, which makes for much harder understanding.
However not all is lost because my philosophy with reading is.. even if you find only one golden nugget in a book.. then it was well worth it.. and even if you did not find one nugget, it was good for your patience :]
Sooo here are the nuggets so far (I don't think there will be any more in this book since I'm almost finished with it).
-- Reason we can't hear sounds when we hook up a head set (earpiece) to an antenna.. and nothing else. It is because the radio waves (all trillions of them) are above the threshold of the human ear.
This is why AT LEAST one little diode must be installed in the circuit. This diode filters out the higher frequencies which we can't hear anyway and allows the lower (around 500hz-20k hz) through, which we can.
More specifically without at least something to keep the current (of electrons) from overwelming (by by-passing) the speaker (earpiece), no sound even reaches the earpiece, because it is not designed for such frequencies.
Some Electronics Basics:
VOLTS- are ONLY the potential of power that can be used (seen) in action.
CURRENT- is the actual electrons in motion based on the power supply hooked up and the transportation method used, which is usually wires, which runs the equipment connected to the circuit.
Coils (the little bear wire spools found inside much electronics) are used to *INDUCE* the desired band (of frequences). So theoretically you could change the band of frequencies you can listen to in your everyday radios should you change the lengh of the coils and/or AM antenna (spool) inside your set.
*(again, and as always, please anyone step in here to clarify or correct anything).*
Anode- USUALLY, and NORMALLY the input (regardless of - + )
Cathode- Normally the output..think de-cathador :(
Positive/Negative: These terms are as confussing to me as was my early college accounting classes, where *sometimes* the debit was a credit, and sometimes the credit was a debit!!
But NORMALLY, the Positive (+) refers to the side of the power supply (or battery) where the electrons (charged) have gathered. And the Negative is where there is room (space) for electrons to flow to (ie. in order to make a complete circuit) and make current.. to make whatever you have connected to the circuit, work (ie. a light bulb, etc.).
A common exception to this procedure are rechargable batteries (except ions).
Sooo this just reinforces my idea that unless you are TOTALLY sure that you know your circuit.. you NEED to check and verify EVERY facit concerning what is *hot* (regardles of positive or negative).. AND how they may even change directions in the circuit!!
And this leads to my final topic for this thread:
A Study (retention) Philosophy
I have been testing a theory (which I assume has been written about previously, but I have not really seen it anywhere in one piece). It is where the less you TRY to retain things, the more you actually do retain information in your brain.
In other words, when it comes to studying and comprehention, instead of trying to memorize, theorize, concepualize, etc.. just let the eyes and ears do what they do best.. which is:BE ON AUTO PILOT.
Think about how much we do during the day... without *thinking*...
I'd take a rough guess of say.. 90%??
And I don't know about you folks, but that other 10%.. I usually am less than totally satisfied with my decisions :(
If everything we ever experienced.. since conception, is recorded dutyfully, in all the glamour and wonder of 3D video and stereo (at a minimum).. in that Mother of all Hard Drives.. our brains.. then why do we *think* we can out smart it?
WHY!!??.. do we try to use our brain as a muscle.. when it is NOT one?
Start testing this now.. everytime you forget something.. someones name or whatever.. does it ever come to mind.. when you *try* to remember it?
Sure.. sometimes.. but more times than not, it *comes to you* AFTER you have stopped thinking about it, and stopped *trying*. :)
Well.. I have been trying (to not try recalling things).. with this little experiment.. and lemme tell you folks.. it scares me how much it is proving to be a quantum leap in my *learning* experiences.
I have tried little *tricks* like only studying tests (and the answers) in liew of the extranious data that fills many tech books.
I'v also in the past: stopped arguing and stoppped trying to *figure* out things.. and just tried to *ACCEPT* whatever I was reading (or being told) about a subject.
These things.. for me, have proven to be very profitable in my studies both personally and in school.
And now.. I have begun *experimenting* with something new.. and it is more scary and apparently possibly more important than the simple ideas I just listed above.
I'v taken my *laid back* approach to reading (ie. studying) to encompass injecting the data that I am reading (or listening to).. with an eye towards: NOT COMPREHENDING IT..lol..
Yes I am simply trying to quickly read all pertinant data.. by glancing over it... whether it be formulas.. explainations (ie. theories or descriptions).
I am going to start playing background music or just noise (like static or white noise) when reading, so the noise 'distracts' me on purpose from *trying* to concentrate on what I am reading.
My theory is, that our brains ONLY simply need to see the data once (or hear it).. and the better we become at stuffing pertinant data into our magical, God given minds..the better, quicker and more acurate will we be able to RECALL this data.. when necessary :)
** Finally, you know you are on the right track when you look at EVERYTHING.. as to whether it would make a good capacitor, or a good resistor =:]