New Directions Radio
(Page 5 of 6)
May/June 1974
By Copthorne Macdonald
On the basis of his own experience, George advocates CW (code) operation for stations using low power. While the rate of information transfer is slower than that for voice, CW sending can be copied at much weaker levels and is more easily separated from interfering signals. In addition, CW-only equipment is less complex and therefore less expensive to buy or build.
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My stay with the Cummingses also made me more fully aware of the possibilities of citizens' band radio. CB is a real mess in metropolitan—areas because there are way too many stations for the number of channels. In rural districts, however—because of CB's limited range—this is not the case. Up where George and Betty live, CB, is used like the old-fashioned party line telephone. The school bus drivers have units in their vehicles and report to parents when their children are picked up. Neighbors are able to talk with neighbors, and there's a fast communication link to others in time of emergency.
The kids can even take walkie-talkies with them while walking to the bus, or adventuring in the nearby hills and valleys. (CB is a whole story in itself, and the details will have to wait until another time.)
George's plans include putting up some long-wire ham antennas made from 18-gauge copperweld electric fence wire. These devices will boost his signal "for free" in certain directions, while reducing the interference coming in from other quarters. He's also planning to put together some wind generator models, since he's eager to come up with a battery-charging scheme that doesn't need gasoline. In the meantime it's going to be a busy spring and summer, getting the first crop out of that virgin soil.
A SLOW-SPEED CW NET
A number of people with Novice licenses have written suggesting a New Directions CW net. George Conley (WNØKYC), 518 West Third Street, Hastings, Nebraska 68901, proposed—among other points—that we pick a specific early morning time, and a specific 40-meter frequency as a meeting place, with no real structure for the net activity itself. As he put it, "the idea will be to call 'CQ NEWS' and see if there's any reply, or break into someone else's contact in progress . . . sort of a street corner on 40 meters!"
I suggest that the CW net use 7133 kHz, which was publicized as an NDR calling frequency in MOTHER NO. 24. This avoids the foreign broadcasts which can be troublesome early in the morning in some parts of the country. Since coverage will tend to be regional, how about starting at 6:30 a.m. Daylight time in each time zone? (Obviously, 6:30 a.m. EDT is also 5:30 a.m. CDT . . . so that stations in the Midwest could listen for East Coast stations an hour ahead of their local session. Similarly, East Coast late risers who don't need to head off for the 8-to-5 could listen for Midwest stations at 7:30 a.m. EDT.) When, the days get shorter in the fall, and the skip on 40 meters gets too long, the activity could move to 3733 in the 80-meter Novice band.
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