Would it be fun to include morse code I.Ds. along with our voice identifications?
It would not be carrier on/off, only tones, but it would be something.
PART 2 of COOL IDEA:
WHAT IF 55Hz morse code tone were sent at 100% modulation. Would that simulate carrier on/off?
I have to think about that. By the way, my vintage
Radio Shack 1968 TRC-1B walkie talkie has
been operating through the afternoon.
Channel 11 has been full of voices that
sound like barking dogs. All kinds of
noise, interference, hetrodynes, and
skip garbage. So the maximum usable
frequency (MUF) has been up to
at least 27 MHz.
I don't need CB (27 MHz) to tell me if that
part of the spectrum is open for
communication today! The 10 meter ham
radio band is making a lot of noise - by noise
I mean there are a lot of ham stations on
from all over the world today. For instance -
9A7A from Croatia (if I'm correct) was slamming
in here about 15 minutes ago. Now he's taking a
deep fade. He is still there, though. 28.401 MHz
(approximate) is the frequency. There are tons
of ham operators on the 10 meter band today.
They have a scheduled time this part of the year -
the 10 meter Contest, I think - to contact as
many other slations as possible. 10 meters runs
from 28.000 ti 29.700 MHz. Most of the operation
seems to be in the 28 MHz range, though. This is
USB (upper sideband) by the way.
Great stuff!
Bruce, DOGRADIO
I don't know about the possibility with a legal Part 15 AM station (100mw loading a three-meter antenna), but it is certainly shouldn't take 20 watts.
I'm a ham, and I've operated QRP (5 watts) on 160 meters (just above the AM broadcast band) and made contacts a couple-three hundred miles away via NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) propogation. Granted, I was using 5 watts into a 120-foot long wire antenna, and the modulation was SSB (not AM) but it demonstrates that a little power can go a long way, even at relatively low frequencies (below 2MHz). Of course at higher frequencies (6-20 meters) a few wats will take you across the country or around the world when propogation is favorable.
Yes, my MFJ Cub, a 20 meter (14 MHz) QRP CW transceiver, has made contacts over 300 miles using an end fed dipole.
The Cub is only about 1.5 watts.
It sure works great! My 300 mW
Tuna Tin 2 (Morse Code - carrier on and
off - received with a BFO) puts an S4 (around there
anyway) signal into Massachusetts, in a
town about 75 miles away. The signal goes
up, hits the ionosphere, and comes
back down 75 miles away. If the freq. is clear -
the person at the other end will have no
problem talking to you. In ham
radio terms, this is close. I think NVIS
can only work during daylight hours.
I can say this: My Tuna Tin 2 transmitter
with it's 300 mW into a good high outside
dipole (7.030 MHz) is a TON of energy going out - compared
to the radiation from a Part 15.219 AM trnamitter.
That's at most a 10th of a mW going into a
teeny antenna. it's even less than that, am
I correct? Is it 1/100 of a mw? I can't
remember. I know a lot of it depends on the
ground system.
Oh well, it's a lot of fun anyway.
Bruce, DOGRADIO
Yes, my MFJ Cub, a 20 meter (14 MHz) QRP CW transceiver, has made contacts over 300 miles using an end fed dipole.
How can an antenna be end fed and be a dipole? 🙂
You'd just have to read the article.