I used to work on the old Collins R390A and Collins actually still supports their stuff but some of the unique tubes are long gone, except what you can find at garage sales.
Posted on 07/06/2008 9:19:40 AM PDT by mylife
Posted on Sun, Jun. 01, 2008 A boy's passport to the world
Six-year-old Cameron Hasson's world just got a little larger.
The amateur radio license he recently earned puts him in touch with folks from all over.
He's a bona fide “ham” – probably the youngest in North Carolina and maybe the U.S., according to his instructor, Joe Hullender with the Gastonia Area Amateur Radio Club.
All that talk going on out in radio land – endless conversations about the weather and gas prices and whatever – Cameron takes it all in.
The world has opened up. He feels more connected. And he also feels closer to his parents: Eric, a computer consultant, and Beverly, a physical therapist at Gaston Memorial Hospital. Studying in the same class, they all earned their amateur radio licenses together.
Ham radio, like fishing, is something I've always admired, but never had much luck with.
Eric Hasson, 46, got the radio bug as a kid in St. Louis. It came from his dad, Jack, who was into citizens band radio during the CB craze of the 1970s – the “Smokey and the Bandit” days.
Eric decided to study for his ham license, but the FCC's requirement of testing for proficiency in Morse code was a brick wall for him.
His interest in electronics and computers grew as visions of being an amateur radio operator faded.
Until the brick wall collapsed. In late 2006, the FCC did away with the Morse code requirement and Hasson started thinking about ham radio again.
The idea kicked around in his mind for a while. Then, in March, he enrolled in a six-week class sponsored by the Gastonia Area Amateur Radio Club. On the first day, Hasson asked Hullender if a 6-year-old could learn the material. The answer was yes. Hasson asked Cameron if he'd like to try for a license. Cameron was game.
Two-way radio had already captured his imagination. He had a CB, a General Mobile Service and Dick Tracy-style Family Radio Service, complete with a Tracy wrist radio.
These radio services, which didn't require a license, gave his son a little more freedom, Eric Hasson said. His parents could check on him when he was out of sight and feel a greater sense of security.
When her husband and son signed up for the class, Beverly Hasson decided she'd join them.
The radio class was held at the Gaston County Police Community Room. Ages ranged from 6 to 76.
The final exam had 35 multiple choice questions; to pass, you had to get 26 right.
Cameron wanted a technician class license – the beginner's level. Hullender remembers his youngest student as “kind of quiet and serious.”
A kid, maybe, but one who was really into the subject.
Every night at home, Cameron was tutored by his dad. They did research together on the computer. They waded through technical material.
“It was hard,” Cameron recalled.
Test day rolled around. Eric Hasson wasn't sure his son would pass.
But he did.
Cameron wants to go up another notch and get a general radio license. He's a smart kid and will probably make it. But even if he doesn't, he's learned about focus and hard work and family togetherness. At 6, he's way ahead of the game.
I am so not letting my grandbabies in this house, ever again....
/johnny
Well. it sounds like the problem is with grounding or old deteriorated insulation.
Hopefully all the damage is in the first stage of the power conversion.
I attempted to fix an old 1920’s tube tester and it was all deteriorated. It was just a pile of work.
Check WWW.eham.com for parts or to sell parts
It's all doable... heck, someone did it first, a long time ago. You just need time, patience, and a severe lack of personal life.
/johnny
If I was rich.
/johnny
Impressive! ;)
Seriously, I, sorry to hear that
L0L!! L0L!!
Drake isnt outrageous. I almost bought the R8? got a ten tec rx320 instead of course when you get to broadcasting it gets expensive.
I just listen and make contacts on internet. Thats pretty cheap
I used to work on the old Collins R390A and Collins actually still supports their stuff but some of the unique tubes are long gone, except what you can find at garage sales.
Yes, it’s fun to play with microwave signals.
If I get good results from my surplus PrimeStar dish I may pick up a castoff 12’ TVRO dish and see what I can do with that.
An amazing system is that WildBlue 2-way satellite internet system.
A tiny dish pretty much like a DirecTV dish in size with a 1 watt 29.5Ghz transmitter on it.
That 1 watt uplinks your data 23,000 miles to the satellite in geosynchronous orbit and a 90 watt transmitter on the satellite sends data back to you using a spot-beam.
One watt with a small dish actually puts a pretty good signal at 23,000 miles..... with microwaves line-of-sight is everything. That single watt would be readable on the surface of the moon without too much trouble.
Ahh ha! it was Steveo had the ping list!
Check out the field day story from Iraq
Sweet sound and good control with the Drake transmitter and receiver.
It is a little tougher to set up.
/johnny
Baulin ? Is that the right name ???
Audio can be a prob as we get older
headphones sure help
I'll never see 40WPM, but I do miss it, and can play with the novices down on 40.
/johnny
I’m a novice but I like this DSP filtering thats out now and the noise reduction
/johnny
Where did the pcbs emit from ?!?!?
Not sure if that is the word for what I am thinking ......sort of a sink for the radio ?
It's all ok.... I filtered it through a cigarette that was burning at the time.
/johnny
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