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February 2019


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The Development of the Directional AM Broadcast Antenna

By John Schneider W9FGH

In the early years of AM radio broadcasting, all stations utilized non-directional antennas made of wire and suspended between towers or buildings. Interference, especially at night was severe—enough to disrupt reception of the desired station—and if the frequencies of the two stations were slightly separated, there would be a heterodyne beat note. As a result, only a few widely spaced stations could operate on each of the AM broadcast channels in the entire country at night—many of which shared time on a single frequency. As antenna technologies were developed and improved in the early 1930s, a few progressive stations began experimenting with multi-element directional arrays. John gets into the details of those early experiments that led the way to today’s AM antenna arrays.

 

TSM Reviews: Jumbo MMDVM Hotspot

By Mark Haverstock W8MSH

Over the last few years, several hotspot interfaces have appeared on the market such as DV Mega with Raspberry Pi, DVMega with Bluestack, Shark RF OpenSpot, and DV4Mini—all hovering around the $200+ range, making them a bit pricey for all but the most dedicated digital radio users. However, a new wave of digital hot spot, manufactured in China, are finding their way onto eBay, Amazon, and other online sites. These Multi Mode Digital Voice Modem (MMDVM) boards are not developed to replace repeaters, but rather to supplement them. In areas where there is no repeater, a hotspot lets a user connect directly to a digital network via the Internet. In areas of heavy repeater use, a hotspot allows the user to access the digital network without competing for an available time slot. Mark tells us how all of this works in actuality.

 

Piggy Bank Ham Radio: Part 3

By Cory GB Sickles 

In the third installment of his Piggy Bank Ham Radio series, Cory explains the concept of literally saving pennies for cheap adventures on the ham bands that can have much bigger payoffs. His advice includes how to assemble the most useful tools at the best possible price; how to improve your soldering skills to repair older equipment that may need only a small amount of work to be useful again; making use of off-the-shelf technology you may already have to further your amateur radio activities. Cory provides good advice for new hams and veterans of the bands alike who want to spend more time on the air and less time looking through online catalogs and wishing they were.

 

The Discoveries of Hans Christian Ørsted

By Georg Wiessala

The Great Danish scientist, Hans Christian Ørsted, was a pioneer of electromagnetism who paved the way for Michael Faraday (1791-1867), Bohr and others. With his brother, Anders Sandøe Ørsted (1778-1860, who became a jurist and the third Prime Minister of Denmark), Hans Christian epitomized what has been termed the “Danish Golden Age,” from the turn of the 18th Century to the mid-19th Century. It was he who was said to have coined the word “electromagnetic.” The theoretical world in which Ørsted worked was packed with adherents of opposing philosophies but it was a chance observation that allowed Ørsted to claim an important contribution to the science of electricity.

 

Scanning America

By Dan Veeneman

First Look: Uniden Bearcat SDS200

 

Federal Wavelengths

By Chris Parris

Tucson Federal Update and DoE

 

Milcom

By Larry Van Horn N5FPW

Aircraft Spotting in the Digital Age

 

Utility Planet

By Hugh Stegman

It’s Time to Expand Aero Band SELCAL

 

Shortwave Utility Logs

By Mike Chace-Ortiz and Hugh Stegman

 

Digitally Speaking

By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV

DV Miscellany

 

Amateur Radio Insights

By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z

Audio Equalizers—Awesome, Overlooked and Gobbledegooked!

 

Radio 101

By Ken Reitz KS4ZR

Shortwave Listening in Your Car

 

Radio Propagation

By Tomas Hood NW7US

Lousy Propagation on 40, 80 and 160 Meters

 

The World of Shortwave Listening

By Andrew Yoder

Government Shutdown Spurs Pirate Shortwave Activity

 

The Shortwave Listener

By Fred Waterer

Shortwave Radio Yesterday and Today

 

Amateur Radio Astronomy

By Stan Nelson KB5VL

Tracking Meteor Activity

 

Adventures in Radio Restoration

By Rich Post KB8TAD

EICO HF-35: A Williamson-Mullard 520 Audio Amplifier

 

Antenna Connections

By Dan Farber AC0LW

Stealth: An Ongoing Philosophy 

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