I saw one that fall more than 30% from the base once! It was a commercial TV
tower (abt 1000 footer) in Wilmington NC, and it fell when low flying a
military jet clipped a guy wire. It clipped the wing tank off of the end of
the wing and the tower laid down like a big pine tree. That was in the late
1970's I think. The plane did not crash, but returned to MD where it was
based. But he was identified by the incriminating wing tank he left at the
scene! In another collapse in Raleigh NC due to ice in the late 1980's, the
2000 foot WRAL TV tower fell all within 200 feet of its base! Tower was
heavily iced, and when the sun hit one side of it, the ice melted on that
side but not on the other side. Uneven stress on tower and guys brought it
all down like spaghetti. Parts still lie there!
>From David & Barbara Leeson <0005543629@mcimail.com> Fri May 10 04:52:00 1996
From: David & Barbara Leeson <0005543629@mcimail.com> (David & Barbara Leeson)
Subject: WRTC Auction
Message-ID: <35960510035253/0005543629DC3EM@MCIMAIL.COM>
WRTC 96 is offering the following new manufacturer-donated equipment for
sale at wholesale prices:
Minimum bid
Icom IC706 ultra-compact HF/VHF all-mode transceiver (5) $1170
Yaesu FT1000MP xcvr, DSP, Collins filters, RS-232C, dual rx $2730
Yaesu FT900CAT compact xcvr, Collins filt, AT, detach panel (5) $1345
Hy-Gain DX 77 vertical, 40-10 incl. WARC, 29' $295
Hy-Gain TH3 Mk4 3-el tribander $288
US Tower MA550 crank-up 55' steel mast (gift cert) $879
We have (5) ea. of the IC706 and FT900CAT. All units are brand new in
the box, with manufacturer's guarantee, and are in our possession for
immediate delivery. Bids should be sent by email or DX Packet Cluster
on or before 0000z Friday, May 31, 1996. Units will be sold immediately
upon receipt of the first bid that is 10% above the minimum for the
item. We can deliver preemptive-bid items at Dayton.
Any amount paid over the minimum bid price is considered a donation to
WRTC and is tax-deductible if paid separately to the WRTC 06 Fund,
Northern California DX Foundation.
73 de Dave Leeson, W6QHS, Treasurer
WRTC 96, Inc., a California non-profit public benefit corporation
P. O. Box 1, Los Altos, CA 94023-0001
dbleeson@mcimail.com or leeson@nova.stanford.edu
Thanks for the bandwidth, folks!
>From neader@centuryinter.net (Scott Neader) Fri May 10 05:39:16 1996
From: neader@centuryinter.net (Scott Neader) (Scott Neader)
Subject: Dayton '95 Pictures / SHWINGFEST '96 !!
Message-ID: <v02140b07adb87678b15c@[206.65.185.60]>
The Sultans of Shwing (N0BSH, WE9V, KA9FOX and part-timer WX9E) invite you
to attend SHWINGFEST '96!!
WHERE: Crown Plaza (formerly Stouffer's), Dayton Ohio
We're usually on the 12th floor, but watch for the signs
WHEN: Thursday night before Dayton Hamvention, May 16th 8pm-??
WHAT: Gobs of ice cold beverages (by donation), loads of CONTESTers,
Beavis & Butthead reruns and other assorted videos, belching
CONTESTS, and we might even confirm French St. Martin and/or
Guatemala for you.
BTW, in the past, we have taken a good portion of the donations received
and purchased plaques for the NAQP contest.
To get you PSYCHED UP for SHWINGFEST '96, we invite you to check out some
PICTURES from Dayton '95 (no, none of the X-rated ones are here).
Check them out on the Sultans of Shwing web site: http://www.4w.com/ham/sos
73 - Scott KA9FOX
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNET SOLUTIONS - your source for low cost web page design and storage
Scott Neader - (608)788-1234 / FAX (608)787-0100 neader@centuryinter.net
Ham Radio web: http://4w.com/ham La Crosse web: http://coulee.com/
>From Mixalis Dimitrakakis <mdim@intranet.gr> Fri May 10 11:36:49 1996
From: Mixalis Dimitrakakis <mdim@intranet.gr> (Mixalis Dimitrakakis)
Subject: test..
Message-ID: <199605100744.KAA10026@helios.intranet.GR>
Only a test
>From Mixalis Dimitrakakis <mdim@intranet.gr> Fri May 10 12:50:36 1996
From: Mixalis Dimitrakakis <mdim@intranet.gr> (Mixalis Dimitrakakis)
Subject: JST-245 NOISE BLANKER HELP!!!
Message-ID: <199605100858.LAA12211@helios.intranet.GR>
Dear Amateurs
I own the JST-245 for a 1 1/2 year now and I am very happy with it.
I have a question to other JST-245 owners concerning the Noise Blanker.
In my JST-245 looks like it does not work, except a few times on the 10
meter band it gets a little bit noticeable.
Other than this I am wondering the one who wrote the JST manual
(most probably a Japanese) had any idea about Amateur Radio since
he mentions that the noise blanker eliminates the engine-ignition type
noise.
Does any of you have 110/220v in your car????
May be in Japan they do!! ( since the JST-245 comes only for 110/220v
and there is not a 13.8v option in the back of it).
Is there any modification that I can do so the noise blanker works properly?
I will post the summary of the feedback I will hopefully get to help me
solve my problem.
=======================================================================
Please email direct to save some bw to mdim@intranet.gr
=======================================================================
PS I have nothing against the Japanese only with JRC.
Thank you in advance
Michael SV1CVY
Electrical Engineer
Intracom SA
R&D Dept.
Athens Greece
e-mail mdim@intranet.gr
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From steve.hajducek@bytewise.org (Steve Hajducek) Fri May 10 13:57:00 1996
From: steve.hajducek@bytewise.org (Steve Hajducek) (Steve Hajducek)
Subject: RAC 'n Rollup Update
Message-ID: <127.3645.17@bytewise.org>
THIS WILL BE FLAMED. OR SO I AM TOLD. I DON'T LIKE STARTING FIRES, BUT...
THE USERS OF THE REPLECTOR THAT HAVE SEND E-MAIL AND ORDERS AND ASKED
THAT I POST UPDATES HERE SAID THAT IN ADDITION TO A DESIRE TO BE KEEP
CURRENT ON CONTEST RELATED MATTERS HERE, THAT THEY ALSO WANT MY UPDATES
POSTED HERE. MOST SAID THAT THEIR MAIN INTEREST IS CONTESTING AND ONLY
SUBSCRIBE TO THIS REFLECTOR AND CAN NOT SEE ANY PROBLEM WITH THIS
SUBJECT HERE AND THE MANAGEMENT. ALSO THAT THE CALLBOOK WAS A BIG SUBJECT
HERE WHEN THE CD-ROM FIRST APPEARED AND THAT FIX SHOULD BE ALSO, JUST
QUOTING.
SO IF THE MANAGEMENT OF THE REFLECTOR CONTINUES TO PERMIT MY UPDATES, I
WILL CONTINUE TO POST THEM HERE, IF NOT, THIS WILL BE THE LAST ONE HERE.
Thank you.
/s/ Steve, N2CKH
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUBJECT: RAC 'n Rollup features v1.0.0 vs. v1.0.1 update.
The following message is in response to the overwhelming amount of
questions received on RAC 'n Rollup. The software (v1.0.0) has been
shipping now for three weeks and the e-mail and snail mail is ever
increasing. I am very pleased about this obviously and want to thank
everyone for all the very nice compliments and your orders. I am
replying to every question directly and happy to do so.
First off, for those that are asking, what is RAC 'n Rollup ?
RAC 'n Rollup is an MS-Windows program that provides a front end to the
wonderful Radio Amateur Callbook, Inc. (RAC) November 1995 release of
the RAC 1996 Callbook CD-ROM. The current version is v1.0.0 which sells
for $ 9.95 US and $ 1.50 US Shipping and Handling in the U.S. ( and in
New Jersey, please add 6% NJ Sales Tax ) or $ 5.00 US shipping and
handling overseas. The v1.0.1 release will be priced the same.
Order addressing is:
RAC 'n Rollup
C/O Stephen B. Hajducek
U.S. Post Office Box 8
Morganville, New Jersey 07751
I am creating a LISTSERV for RAC 'n Rollup at my Internet domain for
a dedicated mailing list to SUBSCRIBE to, this is a new area for me
and I will advise everyone when it is working. The new WEB site is
up and running at http://www.4w.com/ham/n2ckh.bytewise.org and does
have the v1.0.0 demo program on it for download.
SIDEBAR: Subject - the WEB site and the CATCC demo. Just today it was
brought to my attention that there is a problem with the CATCCjr demo
install, when downloaded from the WEB site, the problem has been
identified and will be updated ASAP. The fix is a small 3,072 byte
file called _OSETUP.IN_ that is on the telephone BBS for download.
I apologize to anyone that has downloaded the CATCCjr demo program
for this error. For everyone's information, CATCCjr, the CATCC demo
is a complete radio station control, logging and award tracking
package that is UNDER DEVELOPMENT, but an early (and feature
limited) beta was released as CATCCjr last September '95 as a world
wide beta version to solicit comment from the Amateur community.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Status on v1.0.1 -
Currently pending is support for the advertised "REVISED" edition of the
RAC 1996 CD-ROM, which is scheduled for release by the end of May 1996. This
version is advertised as being updated to included Country names for all non
U.S. database entries and the addition of direct label printing. Support for
this "REVISED" version may become available in v1.0.1, depending on when we
received our copies.
The current schedule for RAC 'n Rollup v1.0.1 calls for a May '96 release,
details of the currently shipping version and v1.0.1 follow. We are looking
so good for v1.0.1 being on schedule that v1.0.0 may stop shipping any day
now. All v1.0.0 users receive a FREE upgrade to v1.0.1 as soon as it is
completed. For anyone reading this that is planning to or has sent in an
order already, please advise if you desire v1.0.0 or v1.0.1 shipped from
now on, do so at ordering time or use e-mail (n2ckh@bytewise.org) or you
may leave voice message or send fax to 1-908-364-3517 if you have already
placed an order and want v1.0.1, again, very soon v1.0.0 will stop shipping
anyway, I'd say within 1-2 weeks.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Features of RAC 'n Rollup v1.0.0 -
The program is a subclassing rollup application, which loads and positions
itself at the top/center of the screen, out of the way. When the user
wishes to access the database, one simply clicks on the down arrow, to
retract the program, one simply clicks on the up arrow. The menu system
for the program is a modified System (Control Box) Menu. This provides the
smallest front print of a utility program that is possible on the desk top,
yet is still large enough to easily access. (In other words, I can make it
smaller)
U.S. or Foreign callsign look ups without switching between the two.
For Foreign (Non-U.S.) look ups a supplemental database provides Country
name, and Continent and CQ Zone. [This is the main thrust of v1.0.0, since
the first release of the RAC CD-ROM did not provide this data, or printing.]
A Prefix Search engine, which utilizes the supplemental databases, is
separately accessible for Callsign or prefix search to return Country,
Continent and CQ Zone.
All pertinent data is displayed to screen.
Mailing data can be copied to the Windows (ready for printing) clipboard.
All data looked up can be queued for printing directly to mailing labels.
The v1.0.1 software is primarily designed for use with Dot Matrix printers
and Avery 4013 mailing labels. All printing is to the LPT1 parallel port
only.
User can optionally select that callsigns be printed to mailing labels.
User can optionally select that U.S.A. be added to US station labels for
printing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Features of RAC 'n Rollup v1.0.1 -
All the best features of v1.0.0 are retained.
New and or improved are:
Specific printer support for Laser, Ink Jet and Costar (Seiko and Avery
also) Label printers and just about and printer properly configured to
use and port (parallel or serial) with a windows printer driver has
been added. Print to Printer, Screen or File is in place. The Print to
Screen preview allows for size to fit display of labels prior to printing.
Support for export for importation to popular word processors, databases,
spread sheets and the like is also in place.
The user now decides when to dump the label queue or add more after each
printing.
Selection by Avery part number of label types for printing to all types
of printers (also specialty printer maker numbers when needed).
Single label and mutli label printing is supported for Dot Matrix and
Costar (dedicated label printers) printers.
The Laser and Ink Jet printers require reuse of a partially piece of
label stock and the entering of information on used vs. unused labels
on the stock when doing single label or less than sheet count printing.
This feature is still under development and may NOT be in the v1.0.1
release.
Bearing and Distance calculations, user selectable for display of either
or both long path or short path displayed from calculations performed
with coordinates form the U.S. database (postal zone coordinates) and
user entered station coordinates. For the foreign stations, supplemental
database coordinates which track to the center of a country, reef or
island (sometimes the capital city) will be used to perform said
calculations.
Additional supplemental databases for both U.S. and Foreign callsign look
up usage have been developed.
Suite of Tools to provide various information and perform various amateur
related calculations, such as Maiden Head Grid Square to Lat./Lon. and the
opposite. Also under consideration is addition of UTM and MGRS coordinates.
Support for automatic antenna rotor control using either Hy-Gain DCU-1 or
SARtek-1 interfaces on COM1 through COM8. The SARtek-1 interface is
available from PDA at $ 179.00 and supports Hy-Gain, Yaesu and others,
information is available at the PDA WEB site at: www.hosenose.com/~pda
The optional display of the flag for a given Country (if one exists)
may be in v1.0.1 release, I have yet to complete the graphics.
Provision of RAC640.EXE (for 640 x 480 displays) and RAC800.EXE (for
800 x 600 displays) in addition to RACNRU.EXE (for 1024 x 768 and larger
displays) is now being provided.
A separate Setup program as well as an integral setup program is in
place. There was NO setup in v1.0.0, but v1.0.0 does not come close to
the features in v1.0.1 !
A separate tool for DXCC database maintenance. [May not be in the v1.0.1
release.]
Support for the importation of data into the Rand McNally 1996 StreetFinder
CD-ROM product. This will (for the U.S. and Hawaii, no Alaska) provide a map
centered on the calling stations street addressing. It WORKS! the current
interface requires exporting data from RAC 'n Rollup (click U.S. Map Icon)
and performing soon manual mouse clicks (about a half dozen) in the Map
program. I have contacted Rand McNally about a direct DDE interface, to
automate the process. I purchased my copy at Egghead for $ 39.00 US, again
this is only for U.S. mapping.
There are (if you can believe it) other features that have been included as
well as many more that are under consideration, that at the moment we will
NOT mention. We have to keep something for the next upgrade.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions and Answers (Q&A)
Is RAC 'n Rollup needed, now that RAC is advertising a revised version ?
It is my intentions, that RAC 'n Rollup, which is an absolute necessity to
owners of the first version of the RAC CD-ROM (November '95 release) in my
opinion, also be the desired front end to all future releases of the product
as well. The RAC CD-ROM is the most complete Callbook CD-ROM to date, and
may very well remain so. I think that it deserves the most complete utility
to make full use of its potential to the Radio Amateur. So to directly
answer the questions, Yes it is needed, or at most wanted!
When will other than callsign searching be provided ?
As for additional means of searching the RAC CD-ROM is concerned, the
supplied .DLL interface from the publisher currently only allows Callsign
lookup. I have and will continue to request additional support and when
available I will integrate the capabilities into RAC 'n Rollup.
Does your software provide support for partial printing and reuse of
laser labels ?
This is under development at present, and may be in the v1.0.1 release.
I read in the North Jersey DX Newsletter that you software is what I
need for my CD-ROM database, but it suffers from poor laser printer
support, when will this be fixed ?
The recent NJDXA News Letter review was very well written and almost
totally accurate, the printer support has been rewritten to support
any printer on any port that has a Windows driver, and select label
stock by Avery part number.
I read e-mail from an N4? station on the contest reflector that makes
your program sound like the ultimate fix for the Flying Horse callbook,
my question is do you have a demo that I can try out ?
Yes. The demo for v1.0.0 is available from my support BBS at 1-908-363-270
and the ARRL BBS and who knows where else now as file RAC_DEMO.ZIP, it also
available from my new WEB site at http://www.4w.com/ham/n2ckh.bytewise.org
and will be updated to a demo of the v1.0.1 release when released. The
current demo does not provide any printing, the v1.0.1 demo will
demonstrate printing.
I have followed the many things being said about your software on the
Internet, but what I want to know is if the program is for DOS or Windows
and if Windows is it for Windows95 ?
RAC 'n Rollup is a Windows program, that will run under Windows 3.x and
Windows95. A DOS program is possible, but unlikely from this author in 1996.
I have found DX station addresses in the US and US station addresses in the
DX databases of the RAC callbook, does you program handle this ?
Yes. Just think of it as one big database with foreign and U.S. addresses
when it comes to using RAC 'n Rollup, the program makes it almost seamless,
including calls that are advertised as changed and Silent Keys etc.
How long has your RAC 'n Rollup program been available and where can it be
bought ?
The first release, v1.0.0 was made in April '96, and v1.0.1 will be by the
end of May or early June '96. The software is available direct from the
above mentioned address.
What is the update story on RAC 'n Rollup v1.0.0 to v1.0.1 ?
Free update. All registered users will receive v1.0.1 free, since it is
basically more of the program that was intended to be released originally,
but was not done on schedule. All updates that effect the last digit of my
software version numbering are to be free updates and will be posted to all
my electronic support sites for downloading as well. So from v1.0.0 to
v1.0.1 is free, from v1.0.0 to v1.1.0 would required shipping and handling
costs. From v1.0.0 to v2.0.0 would require an upgrade fee, probably $ 5.00
for RAC 'n Rollup, but we are getting way ahead of ourselves here.]
It seems you have launched a full fledged software company from your
advertised support BBS and WEB site and all these software projects for
Amateur Radio, is this true and why do the prices that you are advertising
seem so low ?
This is a different type of question, I'm sure if it biased or not, but the
simple truth is that I can develop very good software, and I believe that
the hobby needs more very good software in certain areas and at reasonable
prices. That may sound kind of noble, but let's face it, I am also doing
it to make some pocket spending money as well.
I tried your demo and I like it very much, but why does my own grid square
display the last two digits incorrectly ?
The coordinates in the RAC CD-ROM are from the FCC and they track to the
Postal Zone that you live in, not your actual street address coordinates.
For most people in normal postal zone areas they should be correct to the
6-place maiden head grid square. For more accuracy however, v1.0.1 offers
direct entry of coordinates to grid square as an extra tool. In v1.0.1,
after you enter you actual coordinates, or accept the callbook coordinates
for your station and you hear a VHF or UHF station give out there grid
square, you can enter that grid square and get the bearing between the
two points and if you have a computer interfaced rotor that we support,
you can even rotate your antennas. By the way, you should enter your
actual coordinates, no those given by the callbook for you station, else
everyone else every ham in your town (or postal area) when queried, will
come up at 0ø and 0 mi from your location, as both sets of coordinates
will be the same, when you lookup up yourself (we are vain!) using exact
coordinates you will get a bearing and distance between you and your
post office.
Will you be selling RAC 'n Rollup at Dayton next week ?
No. Not this year.
Your Icom radio test program (Sampler) on your WEB site supports 9600
baud, but Icom radios only work at 1200 ? Also, why doesn't your programs
save the port and radio setup info ?
Actually, most Icom radios can be set up to 9600 baud, either from
and internal jumper/switch or from the from panel programming setup. I
purchased an IC-737 for my development, and it works much better over
the computer bus for continuous frequency tuning set at 9600 baud. Also
if you want to use multiple Icom radios of the same model, you can
change the radios bus address in the setup menus too, that way with
a CT-17 interface and CATCC (or some other software that supports it ?)
you can have let's say two IC-737's, one on H.F. and the other on VHF/UHF
using transverters and have the same front panel iterfacing/bus capabil-
ities. For 50mhz plus operations this can be real bonus during contesting
or band openings, because we all use our H.F. rigs more than our multimode
VHF rigs ! The Icom (Ten-Tec), Kenwood, Yaesu and rotor control demos are
demos, and thus not full featured, they are fun to play with though.
end of file.
/s/ Steve, N2CKH
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ByteWise(tm) BBS - On-line! since 1988 - SYSOP: Steve Hajducek N2CKH |
| Public access via Node 1 at 1-908-363-2760, 2400-28.8KB 24hrs/day |
| Support BBS for CATCC, RAC 'n Rollup and b_CRYPT, PC-Sig disk #1382 |
| http://www.4w.com/ham/n2ckh.bytewise.org e-mail n2ckh@bytewise.org |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
>From Robert Penneys <radio@UDel.Edu> Fri May 10 11:07:49 1996
From: Robert Penneys <radio@UDel.Edu> (Robert Penneys)
Subject: No subject
Message-ID: <199605101007.GAA20878@copland.udel.edu>
Plane ticket for Dayton?
Please excuse this type of message, but since I am going to see you
CONTESTERS...............
I was planning to drive but am having back trouble. Any possession of or
knowledge of reasonably priced air ticket from Phila/BWI/maybe Newark
to Dayton, out Thurs, back Sun, please let me know. GO FRC!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tnx, Bob
>From Pete Raymond <n4kw@citrus.infi.net> Fri May 10 13:36:14 1996
From: Pete Raymond <n4kw@citrus.infi.net> (Pete Raymond)
Subject: 40M Yagi Freq Response
Message-ID: <199605101236.IAA07704@mh004.infi.net>
I am wondering how much the resonant frequency will increase on a 3el 40m
yagi when it is raised up in the air. I've seen 20m yagis shift up as much
as 150khz. This is my first 40m yagi and I want it to resonate at 7.030 or
there abouts. Any way it now sits about four feet off the ground and
resonates at 6.720. Have checked all the antenna publications that I have
and they do not seem to address the issue. Is there a rough rule of thumb?
The driven element is split and insulated and fed with a balun. Only
adjustment is with the element tips. Will the amount of frequency shift of
a yagi vary with size and frequency. That is, will a 40m Yagi see more of a
frequency shift than a 20m or 10m yagi would. This subject has captured my
interest and wonder what others might have found. 73 Pete N4KW
n4kw@citrus.infi.net
>From Trey Garlough <TREY@tgv.com> Fri May 10 15:19:17 1996
From: Trey Garlough <TREY@tgv.com> (Trey Garlough)
Subject: RAC 'n Rollup Update
Message-ID: <831737957.991280.TREY@tgv.com>
> SO IF THE MANAGEMENT OF THE REFLECTOR CONTINUES TO PERMIT MY UPDATES, I
> WILL CONTINUE TO POST THEM HERE, IF NOT, THIS WILL BE THE LAST ONE HERE.
The management of this mailing list is me (trey@cisco.com). If
you think there may be an issue with a message you want to post,
you should contact me *before* posting your questionable traffic.
Please refrain from posting to this mailing list in the furure.
--Trey, WN4KKN/6
>From Skelton, Tom" <skeltt@mmsmtp2.ColumbiaSC.ATTGIS.COM Fri May 10 18:53:00
>1996
From: Skelton, Tom" <skeltt@mmsmtp2.ColumbiaSC.ATTGIS.COM (Skelton, Tom)
Subject: FW: Re[2]: Little lots 'n' tall towers
Message-ID: <31938280@mmsmtp.columbiasc.attgis.com>
<del>
3. While your on a two week vacation irate neighbor unscrews turnbuckles
from west (windward) guywires on 117' of Rohn 55. Tower breaks where the
first and second section join and falls between the two remaining guy
points. Misses barn by three feet.
Really happened at a station where I used to do contests. Not enough
evidence to file charges. (Guess this also applies to the Horror
Story thread)
<del>
Or a maniac from work doesn't believe you have the right to such a
wonderful wife and family, and takes apart one set of guy wires.
Fortunately, I DID find a wrench with his name engraved on it in the back
yard on his return trip and put him on notice by the local gendarmes.
End of problem.
And the beat goes on....
73,tom WB4iUX
>From force12e@lightlink.com (Natan) Fri May 10 15:54:53 1996
From: force12e@lightlink.com (Natan) (Natan)
Subject: Dayton Room
Message-ID: <199605101457.KAA09015@light.lightlink.com>
Still looking for a room in Dayton. If you have....please
let me know.
CONTEST>>>>>>CONTEST>>>>>>
there!
73s,
Natan
W6XR/2
|