MT Express Sample Low Resolution Issue ... - Monitoring Times

oard and components for practice.
If you’re more experienced you might enjoy
building their QRP (low power) transceiver
kit for 80, 40, 30 or 20 meters. This one watt
rig includes an operating crystal for the band
of your choice. They’re $59.95 each.
4) Discover Something Out-of-this-
World
Satellites aren’t bothered by the solar
cycle. Operating in the VHF and UHF bands,
they’re strictly dependent on line-of-sight.
Equipment to actually work another station
through the satellites is fairly complicated, but
there’s no trick to simply monitoring them. All
you need is a radio which can tune the VHF and
UHF bands (see above) and a modest receiving
antenna.
Details are found at http://www.amsat.
org. Once there, click on the button about getting
started in satellites. There are a number of
well written articles for the AMSAT beginner
here. Print them out for future reading. For
a list of all satellites, operational or not, go
to http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/status.php.
One of the fun things to do is
monitor the International Space Station (ISS).
A list of ISS frequencies is found at the end of
this column.
Information on these satellites changes all
the time, so having the most current information
is crucial. You can subscribe to a number
of AMSAT e-mail newsletters which deliver
this information to you each week for free. The
latest updates on operational satellites and their
frequencies are found here. To sign up, go to
this web site:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/maillist.php#lists
5) Take the License
Challenge
It’s easier than ever
to get on the air and operate
your own amateur
radio station. With inexpensive,
used transceivers
on the market and the
slower speed Morse code
requirement, there’s no
reason you shouldn’t try
for your ham license. The
American Radio Relay
League (ARRL) has everything
you need: license
study manuals, Morse
code study cassettes and
CDs. The manuals are under
$20 and the code study
course is just $14.95. Call
them at 800-277-5289 or
order on-line at http://
www.arrl.org/catalog/
lm/. Exams are given year
round in every area of
Take advantage of
the bad band conditions:
get your
amateur radio license
and be ready
for the good times
ahead! Choose the
entry level no-code
Technician license
or get it all with
the General Class
license and code
study. (Courtesy
ARRL)
the country on a regular basis. If you’ve been
around the radio hobby any length of time, you
might actually already know enough to pass
the entry level exam for the Technician class
license. To check your own “radio IQ” go to
http://www.qrz.com/testing.html.
❖ MT Readers Write
A number of readers have written me
regarding other articles I have written for MT.
Since they are of interest to all, I’ll answer
them here.
Looking for Zenith
Steve Flynn read a review I did in the
March ‘99 MT comparing the Zenith Z213
table radio with the Bose Wave radio. He
asks, “Do you know if the Zenith radio is still
being produced and which major electronics
outlet may sell them?”
Steve, that model was replaced by the
Zenith Z2000 which included a built-in CD
player and has itself since been discontinued.
I have not seen it available anywhere for
several years. However, for the same price as
the Z2000, you can get a Cambridge Sound-
Works Model 88CD (see photo). It’s similar
to the Kloss Model 88 which I reviewed in
the July ‘99 MT though this model has a CD
player built-in. It’s a superior radio, totally
equal to the Bose Wave (I actually like it
better!). You can check it out at http://www.
jr.com in the category of “Cambridge Clock
Radios.”
Cambridge SoundWorks sells their
Model 730 on their web site http://www.hifi.
com or call them at 800-367-4434. Check
out the specials and the returns departments
where these radios are sometimes deeply
discounted. I’ve seen the Model 88CD reduced
to $180 and the 730 (no CD player)
for as little at $150. Both are terrific bargains
compared to the Bose
Wave radio. If you’re “just
looking,” call and ask for
a free catalog.
MHz Networks Independent
TV
Norm Hill from Arlington,
VA, read the piece
I did on digital TV last
year in MT. I had mentioned
MHz Networks
which is based in the
Washington, D.C. area and
is an independent public
TV station. He was one
of the original founders
of the channel and is now
retired. He notes that the
channel began in 1972
as an educational channel
and went through a
number of changes before
settling on its current international
programming
format. News broadcasts
from England, France,
and Germany are broadcast
everyday in English
and native languages. It
operates a second DTV
channel which retransmits
Russian TV programming
most of the day. Two other
DTV channels remain on
the air with only the MHz
ID card and may be used for future niche
international programming. Norm sent along
the photo of the MHz Network’s dish farm at
their studios.
Sloppy Engineering
Doug Griffiths, N2POW, from Schenectady,
NY, adds his comments on the CCRadio
Plus. He complains that when a long wire
antenna is hooked up to the radio it picks
up Radio Japan on the AM band. He also
believes that one of the problems on the AM
band today is that station engineers aren’t
properly observing their license requirements
such as reducing power at night or signing
off at all, having the FCC approved antenna
pattern and other poor operating procedures
such as over driving the audio.
And, finally, a correction. In the October
issue I inadvertently garbled Paul Marcum’s
call sign. It’s AC4ZQ. Sorry, Paul!
Monitor the International Space Station (ISS)
Voice and Packet Downlink: 145.80
(Worldwide)
Voice Uplink: 144.49 for Regions 2 and 3
(The Americas, and the Pacific)
Voice Uplink: 145.20 for Region 1 (Europe,
Central Asia and Africa)
Packet Uplink: 145.99 (Worldwide)
Crossband FM repeater downlink:
145.80 MHz (Worldwide)
Crossband FM repeater uplink: 437.80
MHz (Worldwide)
(Courtesy: AMSAT)
January 2005 MONITORING TIMES 21