Al Klase - N3FRQ of Northern New Jersey was nice enough to give a talk at HoSARC on clandestine military radios 11/13/07. Here is a clip of the spy radio portion. The five minute talk covers RCA Miniature tubes and radio model numbers SSTR-1, AN/PRC-1, and CMS.
He brought a truck load of equipment to show us and explained how each item was designed for military service. I thoroughly enjoyed his very informative talk. No glitzy HollyWood James Bond stuff here, just the real deal spy stuff from yesteryear. For more information of HoSARC please visit http://www.hosarc.org. For more information on Al Klase and his collection of military radios, please visit http://www.skywaves.ar88.net/

27 Mhz kids toy

27 Mhz kids toy, originally uploaded by kc2rbe.

While at a friends house I noticed this childrens toy walkie talkie working on 27Mhz where you could clearly hear CB'ers chatting away. It seemed to be tuned between channels as I could hear 2 different conversations at one time. Some of the conversations had squelch tone some did not. Here is a link to a similar story except with an example of much saltier CB conversations being heard. The toy in the picture I have uploaded here is clearly marked 27mhz on the back. I am not sure if such frequency overlap is the best idea.

Ttl2usb adapter

Ttl2usb adapter, originally uploaded by kc2rbe.

Here is the adapter I have been using with my Yaesu VX7. It works very well with Jim Mitchell - KC8UNJ's famous Commander series of software. Just install the driver for the adapter, check what port your windows machine has assigned it under device manager, point the commander software to said port, and you are ready to read and write memory settings. You will find the driver available at the website along with a very informative "Quick Start Guide".

The commander software makes repeater setting entries a breeze. It also makes for a very handy backup of your current memory settings that can be exported as a cvs for use in other programs. The icon editor in vx7 commander will allow you to even add your own custom icons. the price for the software is free and the adapter and cables are reasonable at $49 . It is a hight quality unit and is made right here in the USA. Lastly, you will need to get the additional CT91 Yaesu adapter to connect Yaesu's threaded four-conductor miniture jack at the top of the HT. You can find those on Ebay for just under $20 with postage.

Just ordered a Warbler

I just ordered a Warbler from Small Wonders Labs. I am very excited about getting into PSK31, and this unit looks like an easy way to enter the digital radio domain. As a computer consultant, it is pretty easy to find an old dead laptop to refurbish into a portable digital station. My only big concern is the surface mount soldering in this kit. I will be sure to review the Amateur Logic TV episodes on surface mounting before I do anything. It will be my first time working with surface mount components and I am hoping I won't end up with a $55 doorstop on my hands. I plan to bring this unit to Field Day 2009 to get a few QSOs. If all goes well, it may even be a USB Warbler conversion. Thankfully there is plenty of documentation out there to help me get this project off the ground. Wish me luck.

HoSARC Changes

With all the changes this downturn in the economy has wrought, the one affecting my Amateur radio world the most has been the loss of our Hall of Science amateur Radio Club space in the Queens Hall of Science. The club has been at the Hall for 35 years and has helped numerous HAMs get their tickets; myself among them. I for one will be very sad to see such a great resource be forced out into an unsecured future.

We have a few possibilities for future homes, and I look forward to getting started on them. I still am sorry to see the old station go. It was a good setup and I wonder how long it will be until we are back on the air at the same strength as we once were.

Spy radios of WWII

Just posted a video we shot of a talk given by Al Klase - N3FRQ at the Hall of Science Amateur Radio Club in Queens New York. The subject was military, and Spy radios through history. He had many examples of WWII hardware and how they evolved throughout the conflict. In a little while I will also post another video I made of all the equipment he brought. The table was laden with an amazing collection of equipment. Starting with some large early military sets and quickly getting very portable as the technology evolved. To the right you will see a picture of one of Mr. Klases own radios. A CMS , "painter's case" unit made for the US Navy around 1940, Mr. Klase in the video explains the circuit design and use. He also has some great shot of the famous suitcase-radio popular in so many of those WWII spy movies.

73s.org,..facebook for HAMs

Just joined a new website named 73s.org. It looks like a great way to share the Amateur radio experience. The website has been covered in 2 of the amateur radio podcasts I listen to, Practical Amateur Radio Podcast of Texas and ICQ Podcast of the UK have each done segments on this new site. Chris Matthieu N7ICE the owner of the site was looking for a good amateur radio idea and struck upon a social networking "facebook for HAMs" site. While looking for domain names only the "73s" domain was available, so slightly incorrect naming it was. The site boasts many interesting bits of coding, including a callsign lookup by typing in www.73.org/-nameofcallsign-, you will get information from a few different websites at once. QRZ.rg included.