CW TOUCH KEYER

A few of us were rag chewing about Keyers over the weekend and one of my friends suggested I look at these keys.CW TOUCH KEYER. He owns 2 and loves them.
I do not know if I will purchase one of these, the price seems to be consumer friendly with the economy like it is.
Here is a video of one of there products.

The Alinco DR-235 TMK III

I’m hoping to purchase an Alinco DR-235 TMK III in 2011. Why you may ask? Just because it is the only mobile rig that dose the 1.25 meter band (220 MHz). The 220 MHz is a portion of the VHF radio spectrum allocated for amateur radio use in ITU Region 2, comprising frequencies from 222 MHz to 225 MHz in the United States (with the addition of 219–220 MHz on a limited, secondary basis) I’m still needing to research the meaning of that.
It just seems to me that 2 meters is very crowded and 440 gives me heartburn, so I am gonna try 220MHz.

The Alinco DR-235 TMK III features;

Frequency range RX; 216-278 MHz (after modification: RX/TX 200-299.995 MHz depending on VCO alignment)

TX; 222-225 MHz

Modulations;
RX FM / N-FM
TX FM / N-FM

Sensitivity;0.25 µV (12 dB SINAD)

Selectivity;
FM: 12 kHz (-6 dB), 28 kHz (-60 dB)
N-FM: 6 kHz (-6 dB), 14 kHz (-60 dB)

Aerial; 50 Ω, SO-239

RF-Output; High: 25 W, Medium: 10 W, Low: 5 W

Memories;101 channels in 1 banks

Power requirements;13.8V DC

Current drain RX; Max 600 mA

TX; Max 8 A

Dimensions (w×h×d); 142 × 40 × 174 mm (5.59 × 1.57 × 6.85 in)

Weight; 1000 gr (2.2 lbs)

Features;
CTCSS, DCS and DTMF. 1K2/9K6 TNC option. Theft alarm Digital voice board option (requires at least two similarly equipped radios)

Amateur Radio Antennas and Radiation

My neighbors’ family members asked me about my antennas. After I explained that they are Amateur Radio Antennas I could see the fear in their eyes.
The very first question I was asked about was, “Will the antennas cause cancer and our hair to fall out?”

If there is a word guaranteed to cause apprehension, it is “radiation”. Amateur Radio uses the word in a much broader sense--radiation pattern, feed line radiation, antennas radiate--and that can be confusing to the layman. It is true that radio frequency energy is a form of radiation, but it is far different from the radiation used for cancer treatment or emitted by radio active materials.
Radiation from antennas is not the same as ionizing radiation from radioactivity. Radio frequencies are not nearly high enough for a photon of radio energy to cause an electron to leave the atom (ionize) as discussed when talking about ionospheric propagation. That is the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation of which radios waves are the latter type.
Before radio ways can be considered ionizing, their frequency would have to be increased far beyond microwaves, through visible light and on the upper reaches of the ultraviolet and x-ray spectrum. The radiation from radioactivity is carried by atomic particles such as the nucleus of a helium atom (alpha radiation), an electron (beta radiation), neutrons, or gamma-ray photons with frequencies even higher than ex-rays. These are billions of time more energetic than the radio waves cause by Amateur Radio Operators.
Biologic (athermal) effects such as genetic damage have never been observed at amateur frequencies and power levels. That requires the energy of ionizing radiation. The only demonstrating hazard from exposure to RF energy is heating (thermal effects) and that occurs only in very strong fields. RF “burns” are caused by touching conducting surfaces that have a high RF voltage present and are a very localized instance of heating that carries no more risk than thermal burns from hot objects.

So, if you are ever approached by a neighbor or some local authority this would be your best explanation to give.
Not only is it true but they will walk away scratching their heads.

Busy Time of Year

Busy day for me today and yesterday.
Yesterday I was hoping to work some DX and spend to time doing everything Ham Related.
Well, that did not happen.
Today was spent Christmas shopping. Got it all done, except for me.
I just wrote a short review on the FT-897-D this afternoon on the Radio Reference web.site.
I also joined the North American QRP CW Club last week, I'm NAQCC # 5102.

I'm hoping to get some radio time this weekend. Hope to hear you on the bands.
Remember, you can follow me on twitter.

My Week So Far

Wow, the week is flying by. We got about 4 inches of snow today. I was hoping to spend time working DX and time on the computer. Neither has happen. I got my Vibroplex Iambic Deluxe today. I have not done anything with it other than look at it and show the wife and kids.
I imagine that I will make the adjustments and get it on the air tomorrow.

Stay tuned for updates and photos.

Sunday Football

A guy took his blond girlfriend to her first football game. They had great seats right behind their team's bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked the experience.

'Oh, I really liked it,' she replied, 'especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just couldn't understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents.'

Dumbfounded, her date asked, 'What do you mean?'

'Well, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game, all they kept screaming was: 'Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!' I'm like...Helloooooo? It's only 25 cents!!!!

New Toy ordered

I ordered a Vibroplex Iambic Deluxe today.
I am hoping to see it before December third.
Here are some of the e-Ham reviews I read. click here
I also talked to several hams before my purchase. What do I have to loose? I am new to CW.

Thanksgiving 2010

As we sit down with family and friends this Thanksgiving, I pray that we all remember those less fortunate and include them in our prayers and well wishes.

BETA ANGLE

I was on a net and we were talking about Satellites, ISS and the Space Shuttle. The topic came up about the Beta Angle Cutout. Here is some info.
The beta angle is a value that is used most notably in spaceflight. The beta angle determines the percentage of time an object such as a spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO) spends in direct sunlight, absorbing solar energy. Beta angle is defined as the angle between the orbit plane and the vector from the sun (which direction the sun is shining from).The beta angle is the smaller angle (there are two angles) between the sun vector (where the sun is shining from in the sky) and the plane of the object's orbit. Note that the beta angle does not define a unique orbit plane; all satellites in orbit with a given beta angle at a given altitude have the same exposure to the sun, even though they may be orbiting in completely different planes around the Earth.The beta angle varies between +90° and -90°, and the direction the satellite revolves around the body it orbits determines whether the beta angle sign is positive or negative. An imaginary observer standing on the sun defines a beta angle as positive if the satellite in question orbits in a counter clockwise direction and negative if it revolves clockwise. The maximum amount of time that a satellite in a normal low Earth orbit mission can spend in the Earth's shadow occurs at a beta angle of zero. In such an orbit, the satellite is in sunlight no less than 59% of the time.

Launch window is a term used in spaceflight to describe a time period in which a particular launch vehicle (rocket, Space Shuttle, etc.) must be launched. If the rocket does not launch within the "window", it has to wait for the next window.^[1]

For trips into largely arbitrary Earth orbits, almost any time will do. But if the spacecraft intends to rendezvous with a space station (such as the International Space Station) or another vehicle already in an orbit, the launch must be carefully timed to occur around the times that the target vehicle's orbital plane intersects the launch site.

For launches above low Earth orbit (LEO), the actual launch time can be somewhat flexible if a parking orbit is used, because the inclination and time the spacecraft initially spends in the parking orbit can be varied. See the launch window used by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft to the planet Mars at [1].

To go to another planet using the simple low-energy Hohmann transfer orbit, if eccentricity of orbits is not a factor, launch windows are periodic according to the synodic period; for example, in the case of Mars the period is 2.135 years, i.e. 780 days. In more complex cases, including the use of gravitational slingshots, launch windows are irregular. Sometimes rare opportunities arise such as when Voyager 2 took advantage of 175 year planetary alignment (launch window) to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. When such an opportunity is missed, another target may be selected. For example, the Rosetta mission of ESA was originally intended for comet 46P/Wirtanen, but a launcher problem delayed it and a new target had to be selected (comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko).

Launch windows are often calculated from porkchop plots that show the delta-v needed to achieve the mission, plotted against the launch time.

NASA's Humanoid Robot Gets Ready for Launch

NASA: ISS Beta Angle

International Space Station

Low Earth Orbit

Collision avoidance

Delta-v budget

Interplanetary travel

Oberth effect

Monday, Nov. 22

I went to a survivalist seminar this last weekend. Wow, did I learn a bunch, everything from food storage, food preparation, clothing, hunting, how to survive in hot and cold climates, how to do and survive just about everything.
Out of the 75 of those in attendance I was the only armature radio operator.
Other than that I am studying for my Extra Class License and also teaching myself Morse code.
I knew it once and due to the lack of using it I lost it.
I am using the G4FON Morse Code Trainer.
Doing pretty good so far, my goal is to get my upgrade before spring 2011 and make some quality CW contacts by the same date.

National Bible Week

This week is National Bible Week, National Bible Week has been celebrated the week of Thanksgiving every year since 1941.

http://www.nationalbible.org/

Week Ahead

Look at all the contest this week. I might try the Worldwide DX. Then again I rather just log contacts in the book.

ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB	Nov 20-22
NA Collegiate ARC Championship, SSB	Nov 20-22
Run for the Bacon QRP Contest	Nov 22
SKCC Sprint	Nov 24
QRP Fox Hunt	Nov 24
RSGB 80m Club Sprint, CW	Nov 24
QRP Fox Hunt	Nov 26
NCCC Sprint	Nov 26
CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW	Nov 27-28

Morse Code Music.

This is pretty cool.I'm sure many of you have seen this already. I did a few years ago.
Enjoy; Beethoven Morse Code

Water Antenna

Looks like another weekend project to play with.

KD8BIG

Wow, what a fast 2 weeks since my last post. I have been gone due to illness. I hope to be back into the swing of things very soon. Thanks for stopping by.