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O N THE BENCH PROJECTS, REVIEWS, TIPS & TECHNIQUES This is your equipment page. Monitoring Times pays for projects, reviews, radio theory and hardware topics. Contact Rachel Baughn, 7540 Hwy 64 West, Brasstown, NC 28902; email editor@monitoringtimes.com. Build These Timely Additions to Your Listening Post By Ken Reitz Anyone who becomes involved with the radio hobby eventually becomes obsessed with three things: radios, antennas, and time. Radios are bought according to budget, antennas are put up according to space, but a clock is often an afterthought. ❖ Obsessive Clock Watchers International shortwave broadcasters and amateur radio nets are all concerned with time. With two dozen time zones around the world to take into consideration, it’s important that everyone’s reading from the same clock. That’s why hams and international broadcasters use one global time standard. Global time was originally known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) because Greenwich, England, is situated on 0° longitude, site of the Greenwich observatory where the concept of global time gained prominence in the world of the British Empire. Eventually GMT became Coordinated Universal Time which is often abbreviated as UTC or UT. However, to save time and space it’s often written as the letter Z and, when announced, is said as the word “Zulu.” To beginners it may seem confusing, but if you stay with it long enough it eventually seems natural. The need for a single universal time is obvious when applied to radio. For logging shortwave radio reception and amateur radio contacts it’s essential to have the time correct. Whatever clocks hams and SWLers use, they’re set to any of the world’s time signal stations such as those of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), formerly known as the National Bureau of Standards, which transmit on specified frequencies throughout the radio spectrum (see chart). The frequencies themselves are also a standard and can be used to align receivers. Even the tones transmitted are official tone standards. The time signal clocks used by the Bureau are sophisticated clocks with atomic based accuracy. ❖ Clock Options An assortment of radio related clocks are available through many mail order radio catalogs (see list) and prices range from just a few dollars to several thousand dollars. Thanks to the proliferation of quartz controlled movements and liquid crystal display (LCD) technology, an inexpensive clock can come with all manner of extras: date and time, 12 or 24 hour display, hour, minute and second display, even dial lights are common. All this can be crammed into a tiny, inexpensive, lightweight case which can be stuck onto virtually anything with a piece of double sided tape and 66 MONITORING TIMES January 2005 which may run for years on a watch battery. Some radio hobbyists prefer analog clocks which show the traditional clock face with hour, minute and second hands. These clocks are typically driven by a very small and very accurate quartz movement which is usually powered by a single AAA or AA battery. The advantage of the analog clock is that it’s easier to read from across the room and adds an aesthetic appeal to the radio room. The current rage in radio room clocks is the so-called atomic clock which is a quartz movement governed by an impossibly small radio receiver Radio controlled “atomic” quartz movement gives you unbeatable accuracy. Buy the movement for just under $15. Build a fancy case clock or a use a single piece of wood. (Courtesy Klockit) tuned to the aforementioned NIST time signal station WWVB transmitting at 60 kHz. These clocks are battery operated and self-adjusting. Once set, they will continue to adjust themselves according to changes made at the Master Clock at NIST. These clocks also change time automatically when the switch is made between Daylight Savings and Standard time. Originally expensive, these clocks are now among the cheapest available. The technology for these clocks has evolved to such an extent that radio controlled wristwatches are now available at reasonable prices. The biggest drawback to these clocks is that they must be able to receive the time signal and may not work well in RF unfriendly environments such as mobile homes or large office buildings with an abundance of steel and concrete. ❖ Do-it-yourself Timepieces Radio enthusiasts who enjoy home brewing their radio gear might enjoy building their own clocks. It’s an opportunity to be creative or customize a time piece tailored to their own needs. There are two sources for the would-be clock builder (see below) who, with a few tools, a little time, and not much money, can build his or her own radio shack clock. In this article I’ll show you how to build three clocks, each requiring a different order of skill and type of movement. I would encourage you to take the basics of these ideas and use whatever is available to make your own clocks. When you begin, make a sketch with the general dimensions of the finished clock on a piece of paper and refer to this when planning to cut the pieces. If you don’t feel particularly creative or lack any of the basic tools, you might enjoy putting together any of the clock kits which are also on the market. You can substitute different clock works in many of the kits. And, finally, you can customize your clock with special brass plaques etched (available through Klockit) with your call sign or other call sign if you use the clock as a presentation piece with your local radio club. ❖ The Three Piece World Time Clock Here’s a little desk clock which is made of three pieces of wood. The clockworks, a Klockit World Time insert (stock #15046), simply fits through a hole in a piece of wood in a friction fit. A simple top and bottom piece are glued on for a decorative look. You can use any wood for this project. I used some walnut scraps I had in the wood shop, routing the edges of the top and bottom for a more formal touch. This project works well with wood from Lowe’s or other home building supply house. Look in their “wood shelving” section for finished oak, pine and poplar in a variety of dimensions. Using a table saw or simple hand saw, cut the three pieces to the dimensions in your sketch. Using a hole saw or circular cutter in a drill, cut the hole in the upright piece of wood. If you don’t have a drill, you can use an inexpensive coping saw and do it by hand. Drill a small starter hole tangential to the inside of the insert circle. If you have a router, you can rout the three facing edges of the top and bottom pieces for a finished look. If you don’t have a router just skip to the next step. Apply glue to the top and bottom edge of the upright piece and hold them together with two furniture clamps. Small, cheap clamps can be purchased at your local hardware store. Be sparing with the glue, as dripping glue will be hard to clean up and does not allow stain or varnish to penetrate the wood, making an uneven appearance in the finish. Leave the wood in the clamps overnight to let the glue cure. If you use a particularly nice wood such as walnut, cherry, oak or maple, you may want
I cut the four trim pieces with a cheap ($10) hand miter saw from Sears to form neat mitered corners (a miter joint is where two ends cut at 45° angles are glued together to make a 90° joint). I glued and clamped the four trim pieces to the square dial board and let them cure. Because the wood I used for the dial board was so thick, I had to rout out a hole to insert the movement. However, if you use a half inch piece of plywood with an oak face, you can skip that part by simply making the trim pieces hang over the back of the dial board to allow the movement to be covered. Once the pieces were set, I spray painted the surface with a black lacquer finish. After inserting the movement and attaching the dial to the dial board, I marked the three holes to be drilled to set the glass and bezel. With the holes drilled I attached the hands and then set the bezel in place. All done! The three piece desk clock in furniture clamps. These clamps are overkill, you can use much smaller (and cheaper) clamps for a project this small. Rout a space on the back of the dial board on the 24 hour clock to insert the special quartz 24 hour movement. (Courtesy Author) to apply only a clear varnish finish. Apply three coats of a satin varnish sanding lightly between coats with 220 or higher grit wood sanding paper. If you want a bolder look, use a spray paint of any color. Apply as directed on the can. Three coats are usually sufficient to cover the grain of the wood. Hint: Poplar doesn’t stain as well as oak or maple but it takes paint very nicely. Once the wood is finished, simply insert the movement, add the appropriate battery and set it according to the time signal from WWV. Because this clock is completely finished, you can even make this a one piece wood clock by simply taking one thick piece of decorative wood – driftwood for example – and simply drill the correct size hole and insert the works. It’s the ten minute clock project! ❖ The Analog 24 Hour Radio Clock This is a clock with a real “retro” look. It harks back to a time of Hammerlund, Hallicrafters, and Collins radio gear with their analog dials and glowing tubes. I made this clock out of leftover oak scraps from another clock project. It’s made of only five pieces of wood, all glued and clamped together. A space on the back is routed out for the clockworks, the dial is glued to the wood and the glass bezel is simply a pressure fit into three small guide holes in the clock dial board. Here’s how it’s done: For this clock I used the Klockit 24 hour quartz movement (stock #34089 comes with 6-1/2” dial and hands) I also ordered the #27032 7-1/16” friction fit glass & bezel. For the dial board I cut a piece of oak 7-3/4” square. I made the trim pieces by routing a design along the edge of a piece of scrap oak. Again, this is just to add a finished look. You can buy this trim in six foot lengths with a variety of decorative designs already formed into the wood. Special 24 hour quartz movement from Klockit. Order the 6-1/2” version with dial and hands for just under $10. (Courtsey Klockit) ❖ The Atomic Clock in Traditional Wood Case This last clock requires only a table saw and a router to build. Made of only 12 pieces of wood, I designed this clock based on a traditional Shaker style. The basic case of the clock is only five pieces: a top, a bottom, two side pieces, and the back. The front is simply a four-piece wooden frame around a piece of glass. The remaining pieces are just trim pieces to finish the look. I made this clock out of native cherry, but you can buy the 1/2” finished oak pieces at Lowe’s or other home builder supply. The last piece is the dial board, to which the decorative dial is affixed. Try to avoid using a metal dial when outfitting your clock with an atomic clockworks as it will act as a shield and inhibit reception. The dial I used is aluminum and I found that it was difficult to find a place in the house where the clock had good reception. A styrene or paper stock dial eliminates that problem. Increased power at the WWVB 60 Hz transmitter has also greatly improved reception in these clocks. Order different models according to the thickness of the dial board you are using. For example, I used the atomic clock movement from Klockit model #10143 which is for 1/4” dial boards. The size of this clock is determined by the Case for the Shaker style atomic clock is just 5 pieces glued together. Facing edges of the top and bottom are routed for a traditional look. (Courtesy Author) face you choose to use. I chose the decorative floral face from Clockparts.com as a change of pace from the traditional Shaker face with Roman numerals which I usually use with this design. That made this clock considerably smaller than similar ones with larger faces. Again, following the sketch I had made regarding overall dimensions, I first made the case and attached the dial board (made from 1/4” plywood as is the back). Since the wood is cherry, I had only to apply several coats of clear satin varnish to bring out the great cherry color and grain. When I made the door, I painted Video Piracy by David Lawson This volume contains information about current security technology used by cable and satellite providers. This information is not available elsewhere. Video Piracy has everything you need to know about video piracy. Satellite, Cable, Videotape, DVD, etc. ISBN 0-9703092-4-4 Only $18.95. Free info 954-610-2546 ScramblingNews.com January 2005 MONITORING TIMES 67
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C O N T E N T S Vol. 24, No. 1 Janu
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LETTERS to the Editor Change and Gr
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C O M M U N I C A T I O N S BROADCA
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MFJ’S 784B Programmable Digital S
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Page 32 and 33: Utility Logs Continued 3-shift Cyri
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Page 36 and 37: (Brian Alexander, PA, DXLD) QSLing
Page 38 and 39: Programming Spotlight John Figliozz
Page 40 and 41: Because photo scanners are an exten
Page 42 and 43: Frequencies Frequencies 0000 UTC -
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Page 54 and 55: M ILCOM MONITORING MILITARY COMMUNI
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Page 62 and 63: ON THE HAM BANDS THE FUNDAMENTALS O
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