AmateurRadio.com

Stories you’ll find in our December, 2019 issue:

Before Radio’s First Century: “Pre-Broadcasting” Activity in North America
By John Schneider W9FGH

For many decades, the prevailing myth has been that broadcasting in the United States first occurred on the night of November 2, 1920. According to this general conviction, no broadcasting took place anywhere before that date, but then, in a brilliant stroke of genius, it was suddenly invented that night by the Westinghouse Corporation when its new station, KDKA, broadcast the Harding-Cox election returns. Nothing could be farther from the truth! By 1920, experimental broadcasting had already been happening around the US for many years. John takes a look at the country’s transition from that early experimentation to formal broadcasting.

Radio’s Role During Pearl Harbor’s ‘Day of Infamy’
By Scott A. Caldwell

Diplomatic relations between the United States and the Japanese Empire had steadily deteriorated in the years that followed the First World War. On May 7, 1940 the US Navy Fleet reluctantly relocated its operating headquarters from San Pedro, California to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. President Franklin D. Roosevelt considered the redeployment as vital because it represented a significant military deterrent to the growing Japanese bellicosity. However, there was great concern and opposition to this action that was headed by Admiral James O. Richardson, Commander-in-Chief US Fleet, who believed that they would be unnecessarily exposed to attack from the Japanese Navy. Seven months later a price would be paid.

Those Regulated Power Supplies from Heathkit and Others
By Rich Post KB8TAD

In recent columns on testing and restoring the National SW-3, FB-7 and the HRO Senior, Rich initially used metered regulated power supplies in place of the matching “doghouse” power supplies to keep those vintage National supplies from possible overloads and damage before full restoration of the receivers. In his previous column on the HRO, he mentioned replacing the entire HRO power pack with a totally voltage-regulated supply since varying the RF gain control changed the set’s current draw somewhat and thus the B+ on both the oscillator and the mixer. As promised, he takes a second look at that supply.

Novice-era Hamming Today: Still a Thrill
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV

Cory’s first amateur radio station consisted of a solid-state Realistic (Radio Shack) DX-150A general coverage receiver and a gently used Heathkit DX-20 transmitter, that incorporated three tubes to produce 20 Watts out. He used a set of house switches in a metal box to swap the antenna between the receiver and transmitter, plus mute the receiver when transmitting. It was not the best solution, but it was cheap, and it worked. If you, like Cory, have a hankering to revisit your old Novice operator days, it can still be done—with vintage gear or even their modern equivalent. Cory explains how you can start your own Novice-era memories.

Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
Tillamook County, Oregon; Vintage Scanner Crystals

Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Scanning Projects

Milcom
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Monitoring the DoD High Frequency Global Communications System

Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman
HF Utility in Troubled Ukraine

Shortwave Utility Logs
By Mike Chace-Ortiz and Hugh Stegman

VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
Planet Alignment and Sunspot Cycles Linked?

Digital Voice
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
Three Short Subjects for New Hams

Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
A Log-Periodic Tragedy

Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Free-to-Air Satellite TV Update

Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
Largest Sunspot in Solar Sunspot Cycle 24

The World of Shortwave Listening
By Rob Wagner VK3BVW
Online SDRs: Impacting the Way We Listen to Shortwave

The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Shortwave Listening Past and Present

Amateur Radio Satellites
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
Amateur Radio Satellite Primer (Part VI)

The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey N2AFX
LF Info: 101

Adventures in Radio Restorations
By Rich Post KB8TAD
Helping Dan: A Silvertone 6230A Farm Set

Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber
Feedlines: Getting There from Here

The Spectrum Monitor is available in PDF format which can be read on any desktop, laptop, iPad®, Kindle® Fire, or other device capable of opening a PDF file. Annual subscription is $24. Individual monthly issues are available for $3 each.

One Response to “Regulated power supplies, sunspot cycles, ham radio satellites and more”