From: military-radio-guy Full-Name: Dennis R Starks To: military radio collectors#4 Fcc: Sent Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 03:46:03 Subject: MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, July 21/99 Message-ID: <19990721.034459.3031.1.military-radio-guy@juno.com> X-Status: Sent X-Mailer: Juno 1.49 MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, July 21/99 Index: GRC-106 ON LSB; By Jim Karlow LAST MARITIME MORSE CODE SIGNAL; MEMBERS WRITE; NVIS Help Needed, ON THE COMMERCIAL FRONT; URC-101's HUMOR; *********************************************** GRC-106 ON LSB; By Jim Karlow After alot of work trying to develop a simple conversion to make the GRC-106 (either RT-662 or RT843) work on LSB, I finally found a conversion that really works well and is simple to implement. The big problem in converting the GRC-106 to LSB is that it uses a non standard IF at 1750 KHz. Filters are not commonly available for that center frequency. In the past, I have tried to offset the frequency synthesizer, but every way I tried, the conversion was both complicated and did not yield good performance. I finally discovered that you can take the crystal filter out of the PRC-74 IF/audio module and use this filter to make the conversion to the GRC-106. The PRC-74 filter plus a SPDT toggle switch and some mini coax cable make it work. I open up the IF module on the GRC-106 and drill two holes in the top of the cover and the caste bracket. One hole allows a coax cable to pass to the output side of the existing crystal filter. I connect one end of the coax in parallel with the output of the existing filter and the other end to the output of the old PRC-74 crystal filter. Through the other hole, I run 2 coax cables. I disconnect the input to the existing filter and connect one end of a coax to the input signal from the circuit board. the center conductor from that coax is then connected to the center post of the SPDT switch. The center conductor of the other coax cable is connected to one side of the switch and is run to the input of the existing filter. an additional coax is run from the other side of the switch with the center conductor connected to the input side of the old PRC-74 crystal filter. A hole is drilled next to the meter on the GRC-106 R/T for the switch, ground braids of the coax cables are tied together at the switch with a ground lug. the grounds at the the other ends of the coax cables are tied to ground at their destinations ( one at the PRC-74 filter input ground, one at the crystal filter signal input ground on the circuit board, and one at the existing filter input ground. The coax tied to the output side of the existing filter is also tied to ground at the new filter from the PRC-74. The toggle switch will now switch the input side of the filters. The new filter (taken from the PRC-74) is then mounted to the side of the turret housing immediately behind the front panel. I first insulate the new filter with electrical tape and then use double sided tape on the back of it to stick it to the forward wall of the turret cover immediately behind the front panel. So far, in my initial tests, this modification seems to work well. It is also easy to perform. Hopefully this will be useful to others who would like to use the GRC-106 on LSB for 80 and 40 meter ham use. All the best, Jim Karlow KA8TUR *********************************************** LAST MARITIME MORSE CODE SIGNAL; Tuesday July 13 6:56 PM ET It's Taps For U.S. Telegraph - Last Dots Dashed Out By Andrew Quinn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - It's finally taps for U.S. ship-to-shore telegraph, drowned out by the high-speed chattering of satellite communications, high frequency radios and e-mail. Globe Wireless, an 89-year-old California communications company, Monday sent out what it billed as the last commercial maritime Morse Code message from North America, a terse sign-off that repeated the first words transmitted by the telegraph's inventor, Samuel F.B. Morse, 155 years ago: ``What hath God wrought?'' The message, sent from Globe Wireless' KFS Marine station at Half Moon Bay south of San Francisco, marked a muffled end to the U.S. tradition of commercial radio telegraphy, famous for the dots and dashes of Morse Code, company official Tim Gorman said Tuesday. ``The satellite started coming in in the early 1980s, and there were great advances in voice radio and radio telex,'' Gorman told Reuters. ``But there was nothing over all those years that could replace Morse Code for its simplicity and reliability.'' Globe Wireless gathered several old-time telegraph operators for a small ceremony marking the event, the gleaming telegraph key now surrounded by banks of computers and video screens used for more modern forms of communications. ``It's a sad event for me, but I know it's for the best,'' said Dalton Bergstedt, 92, a one-time manager of the Half Moon Bay facility. ``It will improve maritime communications (to be) much better than they ever were.'' After Morse invented the telegraph, he devised Morse code for use with his new invention. In 1844, testing the new system, he telegraphed the words ``What hath God wrought?'' from Washington D.C. to an assistant in Baltimore. The telegraph and Morse Code quickly became the backbone of long-distance communications around the globe. Perhaps the most famous single Morse Code message was the distress call sent by the foundering Titanic in 1912 -- ``Come at once. We have struck an iceberg''. As maritime traffic rose and through two World Wars, the simple telegraph, known as ``continuous wave'' or ``CW'' transmission to the experts, remained a spare, cheap and effective means of communicating across vast distances. ``If there's static and you get only half the letters in a Morse Code message you can still make it out, but if you only hear half a conversation, that's no good,'' said Gorman, who began working at KFS Marine in the late 1970s. Nevertheless, the last three decades have seen a major shift in maritime communication, and the radio telegraph's fate was sealed when the International Marine Organization, a U.N. agency, ordered commercial ships to replace the telegraph with new technology dubbed the Global Marine Distress and Safety System by February 1, 2000. Instead of typing out the dots and dashes of the famous ''SOS'' signal, communications officers on modern ships can simply push a button indicating a specific problem: sinking, capsizing, dead in the water. Morse Code and the radio telegraph are currently used only by smaller ships from developing countries, as well as certain Russian and Chinese vessels, Gorman said. The Globe Wireless station at Half Moon Bay, as well as other former commercial radio telegraph facilities already taken off line, will now be used for the company's new communications product -- GlobeEmail, company officials said. Gorman said that before the final sign-off, KFS Marine did relay one last telegram from the National Liberty Ship Memorial, the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, in San Francisco Bay to President Clinton in the White House. ``The message was 95 words, and it took me six or eight minutes to copy it,'' said Gorman, who took down the Morse Code message from the ship. ``Then I just transmitted it to the White House via e-mail.'' Mike Crane KC5GJN System Administrator Ham's Net Internet Services kc5gjn@hamsnet.net *********************************************** MEMBERS WRITE; Dennis, I recently returned from a trip to Florida. I was fortunate to be able to arrange a visit to the William Howard Museum in Largo, Florida! The tour was a little over 2 hours long and was absolutely fascinating!!!!! I hope other club members will contact Bill and go through his museum. It is a chance of a lifetime to see equipment and displays that span the globe and are historically flawless. THANKS BILL!!!!! jERRY DEHONEY ----------------------------------------------------------------- NVIS Help Needed, Dennis, Could you post this in the next group posting: I am looking for anyone with any experience using the AS-2259 NVIS antenna. I have the tuner which was designed for use with the KWM-2A. Anyone other there ever use it: with the KWM-2; with the GRC-193; in any configuration? I have moved to East Tennessee - beautiful mountains, but they make propagation difficult for MARS work (4038.5 Kc primarily). Am looking for good antenna for this use. 73 Joseph W Pinner + Harriman, TN KC5IJD / NNN0PHR EMail: kc5ijd@sprintmail.com *********************************************** ON THE COMMERCIAL FRONT; URC-101's URC-101 backpack transceivers, clean, untested, $750 MURPHY'S SURPLUS Mention our group when contacting him. Mike has offered free shipping to all group members in conus. Foreign orders may be subject to federal restrictions. *********************************************** HUMOR; Once on a very windy day a rabbi was on his way to the temple. Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew away his fur hat off his head. The rabbi ran after his hat but the wind was so strong it kept blowing his hat farther and farther away to the point where he could not catch up with it. A young man, not jewish, witnessing this event and being more fit than the rabbi, ran after the hat caught it and handed it over to the rabbi. The rabbi was so happy and extremely grateful that he gave the man five dollars and put his hand on the man's head and blessed him. The young man was very excited from the tip and from the blessing and decided to go to the race track and spend his 5 unexpected dollars. After the races the young man returned home and recounted his very exciting day at the races to his father. "I arrived at the fifth race said the young man, looked at the racing program and saw a horse by the name of " Top Hat " running. The odds on the horse were 100 to 1 the longest shot in the field. Having received the rabbi's blessing and the 5 dollars and thinking of the rabbi's hat and the horse's name being Top Hat I thought this was a message from God, so I bet the entire 5 dollars on this horse. An amazing thing happened, the horse that was the longest shot in the field and who did not have the slightest chance to even show came in 1st by 25 lengths". "You must have made a fortune," said the father. "I sure did. But wait. It gets better," replied the son. In the following race, I looked at the program and a horse by the name of Stetson was running, The odds on the horse were 30 to 1. Stetson being some kind of hat and again thinking of the rabbi's blessing and his hat I decided to bet all my winnings on this horse. "What happened?" asked the excited father. "The horse Stetson won and I collected big money." "You mean you brought home all this money?" asked the excited father. "No," said the son, "I lost it all on the following race. There was a horse in this race named "Chateau" so I bet all the money on it because the horse was the heavy favorite and that name also means hat in French and it all started with the rabbi's hat. The horse broke down and came in last." "You are really stupid and ignorant," said the father. "Hat in French is "Chapeau" not " Chateau". You lost all this money because of your ignorance. Tell me who won the race any way?" "A long shot Japanese horse named 'Yamaka.'" ------------------------------------------------------------------ The man approached the very beautiful woman in the large supermarket and asked, "You know, I've lost my wife here in the supermarket. Can you talk to me for a couple of minutes?" "Why?" she asks. "Because every time I talk to a a beautiful woman my wife appears out of nowhere." ------------------------------------------------------------------ A rather attractive woman goes up to the bar in a quiet rural pub. She gestures alluringly to the barman who comes over immediately. When he arrives, she seductively signals that he should bring his face close to hers. When he does so, she begins to gently caress his beard which is full and bushy. "Are you the landlord?" she asks, softly stroking his face with both hands. "Actually, no" he replies. "Can you get him for me - I need to speak to him?" she asks, running her hands up beyond his beard and into his hair. "I'm afraid I can't" breathes the barman - clearly aroused. "Is there anything I can do?" "Yes there is. I need you to give him a message" she continues huskily, popping a couple of fingers into his mouth and allowing him to suck them gently. "Tell him that there is no loo paper in the ladies." ------------------------------------------------------------------ One Sunday morning, Chelsea burst into the living quarters at the White House and said, "Dad! Mom! I have some great news for you! I am getting married to the greatest hunk in Washington. He lives in Georgetown and his name is Matt." After dinner, the President took Chelsea aside. "Honey, I have to talk with you. Your Mother and I have been married a long time. She's a wonderful wife but she's never offered much excitement in the bedroom, so I have fooled around with other women a lot. Matt is actually your half-brother, and I'm afraid you can't marry him." Chelsea was heartbroken, but after eight months she eventually started dating again. A year later she came home and very proudly announced, "Robert asked me to marry him! We're getting married in June." Again her father insisted on another private conversation and broke the sad news. "Robert is your half-brother too, Honey. I'm awfully sorry about this." Chelsea was furious! She finally decided to go to her Mother and tell her. "Dad has done so much harm. I guess I'm never going to get married," she complained. "Every time I fall in love, Dad tells me the guy is my half-brother." Hillary just shook her head. Don't pay any attention to what he says dear. He's not really your father." ------------------------------------------------------------------ On the differences between men and women . . . Let's say a guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Elaine. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else. And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Elaine, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: "Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months?" And then there is silence in the car. To Elaine, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: Geez, I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of. And Roger is thinking: Gosh. Six months. And Elaine is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward . . . I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person? And Roger is thinking: . . . so that means it was . . . let's see . . . February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means . . . lemme check the odometer . . . . Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here. And Elaine is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed even before I sensed it--that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected. And Roger is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a darn garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600. And Elaine is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure. And Roger is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90-day warranty. That's exactly what they're gonna say, the scumballs. And Elaine is thinking: Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy. And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a darn warranty. I'll take their warranty and . . . . "Roger," Elaine says aloud. "What?" says Roger, startled. "Please don't torture yourself like this," she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Maybe I should never have . . . Oh my, I feel so . . . ." (She breaks down, sobbing.) "What?" says Roger. "I'm such a fool," Elaine sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse." "There's no horse?" says Roger. "You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Elaine says. "No!" says Roger, glad to finally know the correct answer. "It's just that . . . it's that I . . . I need some time," Elaine says. (There is a 15-second pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.) "Yes," he says. (Elaine, deeply moved, touches his hand.) "Oh, Roger, do you really feel that way?" she says. "What way?" says Roger. "That way about time," says Elaine. "Oh," says Roger. "Yes." (Elaine turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.) "Thank you, Roger," she says. "Thank you," says Roger. Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Roger gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it. (This is also Roger's policy regarding world hunger.) The next day Elaine will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either. Meanwhile, Roger, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Elaine's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say, "Norm, did Elaine ever own a horse?" *********************************************** The preceding was a product of the"Military Collector Group Post", an international email magazine dedicated to the preservation of history and the equipment that made it. Unlimited circulation of this material is authorized so long as the proper credits to the original authors, and publisher or this group are included. For more information concerning this group or membership contact Dennis Starks at, . A list of selected articles of interest to members can be seen at: http://www.softcom.net/users/buzz/backmail.html ***********************************************