Carl Blare

So far the ideal newscast for streaming & low power radio is an unrealized dream.

So far the ideal newscast for streaming & low power radio is an unrealized dream.

Two sources, I.N.N. and F.R.N., are very reasonably priced, but hobby broadcasters who generate no income from their radio activity have no fund to tap. Although I.N.N. has offered their casts to us at no charge, I decline because it is unfair to use their good work without paying.

Other news sources are available by affiliate agreement, but require frequently filing reports, creating an administrative task the hobbyist has no time to fulfill.

Another peeve is that most available sources have no weekend or holiday service which leaves us in the dark at those times.

A pundit recently speaking about internet media called small operators “digital peasants,” and this certainly describes our position.

An ideal news source would be free for use, 7-days a week, and require only one “sign in” as an affiliate with no reporting requirement. The service would be self-supporting at no cost to its outlets.

Twas the day after the night before Christmas, and it was being wondered,
“Where is my Christmas Bonus?”
When all through the house the keyboard did clatter

Twas the day after the night before Christmas, and it was being wondered,
“Where is my Christmas Bonus?”
When all through the house the keyboard did clatter
And Demand Radio was updated from Missouri
So that KDX9 put an end to the worry.

It was the 3rd Low Power Hour

http://kdxradio.com/demand.html

This 3-element cage monopole is 3-wire antennas in parallel, spaced 1.5″ apart in a triangular vertical pattern, lifted toward the ceiling by a 3-leg bamboo tower rising from a triangular particle board base. At the top a triangular support for the wires is built from 3-corks stuck together with round tooth-picks and lightly glued to the top of the bamboo struts. The wires hang and at the bottom are held in place by a second triangular arrangement of corks & tooth-picks, below which the 3-wires flow together at a solder junction and are attached to a Wholehouse 2.0 with a clip-lead from the short antenna lead. The transmitter hangs below the antenna wire assembly by means of a plastic sock-hanging hook, large paper clip formed into a triangle keyed into the Wholehouse belt clip.

Operating frequency is 107.1mHz half-wave 55.14055″ antenna length.

On the open carrier I distinctly hear the 100kW station at 107.9mHz, whose transmitter is about 2-miles away. Perhaps my wires are cut a little short, and maybe if lengthened the unwanted signal might de-tune.

Of course putting 3-verticals in parallel lowers the impedance of the antenna, and the actual impedance of the Wholehouse Output is unknown.

Of course the advantage of a cage monopole is to provide a wider bandwidth antenna, but I’m not sure that it improves the outreach.

The reception meter on the Techniques Tuner, some 75 away, is 3.25 on a scale of 5.

C.Crane Plus located 12-feet away full meter reading.

Grundig portable FR-200 with antenna folded, good signal to 30-feet.

I would like also to have horizontal polarization, but how can this be done?

The Low Power Hour No. 2 welcomes the inventor of “Car Tunes,” a low power application from the 1960s that got “caught.”
To listen:
http://kdxradio.com/demand.html
To download:

The Low Power Hour No. 2 welcomes the inventor of “Car Tunes,” a low power application from the 1960s that got “caught.”
To listen:
http://kdxradio.com/demand.html
To download:
http://kdxradio.com/archive.html

We should have spent the 5-cents for the Part 15 Rules back then.

A few weeks ago MRAM introduced us to Hamsphere, where it is possible to be a simulated ham operator talking to the world, or a simulated shortwave radio station with variable power level. My 3-day trial is expired, but Hamsphere sent a Christmas message by e-mail, and invited suggestions for future changes. I replied and share my message here and now:

Dear Hamsphere:

My three-day trial was very interesting and I will send a separate e-mail to request additional time to evaluate Hamsphere. But I do have an idea to put forward since you have asked for suggestions for new features in the future.

My interest, and that of several others I know, is to operate a simulated shortwave radio station. Therefore we would like to see your broadcast band feature to be tailored more in the style of a true shortwave station, with higher power levels and a method of changing antennas to aim in choice directions. Perhaps also the broadcast band might be expanded to cover various bands much like actual reality.

Even as it is now, Hamsphere is amazing and very clever.

Thank you.
Carl Blare
kdxradio.com

My title may not be exactly true, but I’ve found a radio program that’s new to me, anyway, all about radio! It’s wonderful. Professional radio engineers talking about their towers, transmitters and everything.

http://www.thisweekinradiotech.com/

If you haven’t already found this program, you will probably want to air it on your schedule.