Sorry, I misunderstood, thinking you hadn't found the AMSAT archive.

I haven't loaded software from a cassette in 30 years and don't recall the format.   Is there a utility that would take the Basic file and play it out thru your sound card and let you record it onto a cassette?

Bill

p.s.  A double tall latte' if anyone can turn up the program on paper tape!!!!   LOL.

Its in the AMSAT software archive:

http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/softwareArchive.php#m100

good luck!  bill

This is the third time in the last month this question has come up.

Yes, you may get about 1 -2 dB gain, probably for distances within NVIS range of a few hundred miles.  Probably won't make any difference for low angle dx.

Just cut it slightly longer than than your antenna.  Nobody has provided any specific lengths.  You are welcome to model this in NEC and let us know what you find.  Like any counterpoise/radial, you can pin it down or bury it, but don't put it more than an inch or two down.

Let us know how it works.

73, Bill

Congratulations on the upgrade to General!

That opens up all the modes and nearly all the bandwidth to you.  

Take things one day at time.  One hour at a time if necessary.  

Best regards,  Bill

Alan,

A single wire, slightly longer than the radiator above, will be sufficient.  No need to knock yourself out covering the lawn with wire mesh, unless you are just keen to get the maximum possible effect.  If so, don't forget you need to solder or electrically bond any patched together sections.

We had a thread on this same question in August but I can't find it readily.   One of the replies indicated that based on modeling, one can expect 1 or 2dB of gain, as I recall.   Worth doing in my book.

good luck,  bill.

A little extra filtering never hurts....

However, I worked for several years as a contractor supporting military mobile communications systems that had as many as five HF radio transmitting at 1500watts, and eleven VHF/UHF radios trasnmitting at up to 200 watts with gain antennaas, all with antennas located within a couple hundred feet.  We had dozens of systems deployed and had no reports of problems with RF damaging computers or interfering with LAN operations.

Good hamming, Bill

Well gee, I learn something every day.

Here is a vendor showing Q-Dope is available in small quantities and reasonable prices (bottom of page):
http://www.oselectronics.com/ose_p89.htm

Here is a snippet discussing how to easily make your own version:

<<<<
Q-dope is still sold, but you can easily make your own. Get a pint glass bottle and fill it about 3/4 full of toluene (which can still be bought at Home Depot around here). Add polystyrene peanuts. You would be amazed at how many will go in the bottle. Soon you will have a rather sticky mess that looks much like a liquid with fur-balls in it. Cap the bottle tightly and let it sit for a few weeks. Think of the polymer chains as blobs of tangled spaghetti. In the solvent, they will eventually untangle and uncoil. This takes a while so don't think they did not dissolve if the solution looks cloudy the next day. Eventually almost all of the polystyrene peanuts will dissolve. You may have some sediment (often pigments and contaminants) at the bottom of the bottle. Add some additional toluene if the solution is too viscous (thick to non-chemists). When using toluene or any other flammable solvent, stay well away from flames or sparks. Avoid breathing the fumes and work in a well ventilated area. Acetone is usually an acceptable substitute for the toluene and it is far less toxic. I have made quite acceptable coil dope either way. [Some trivia... Originally coil dope took its name from solutions of cellulose esters, which the original coil dopes were made from. In the early days, these were cellulose nitrate and later came cellulose acetate, propionate, or butyrate. In manufacturing these esters, the solutions are still known as dopes. Likewise in cloth wing aricraft, the fabric coatings are called dopes. I have no idea of the origin of the term, however. Of course, sniffing too much of the solvents will turn you into one! (And destroy your liver too!)] 73, Barry WA4VZQ ornitz@usa.net
<<<<

Billy,

Construction articles regularly warn against putting any material over coils, including epoxy and hot glue intended to hold the form in place.   Occasionally I have seen a sealant mentioned that is specifically for use on coils which has minimal detuning effect, but I imagine most hams don't have access to it.

I'm still not clear, but if you coated the wires and coax with anything, then that is very likely the cause of your problems.  

I think that you would be better off to accept the minimal amount of corrosion/verdigris that results on the coil wires.  Once it forms it is generally stable and no further corrosion results.  (think of the thousands of dipoles that work fine with no protection).

Cheers,  Bill

I use a Ringo antenna in the corner of my bedroom on the top floor of my townhouse/apartment.  It fits nicely onto a section of round closet pole.

Right next to it I have a homebrew 1/4 wave ground plane for 440 made from an SO239 and some lengths of 1/4inch copper tubing.

Works good, lasts a long time.  I have good reception and get good reports.  And the neighbors don't see the antennas.

73, Bill

All the analog over-the-air channels are going away  as the stations switch to digital transmission in 2009.  You will need to purchase a digital to analog converter box in order to continue using your old analog TV's.   The FCC website says that a UHF TV antenna may still provide useable reception.

All TV's sold for the last couple years have been required to be digital capable.   If you have one of these TV's you will only have to change a control setting and no converter box is required.  Users on Cable and Satellite systems should not need to make any equipment changes since these systems operate on different frequencies.

One point of clarification:  Digital TV is not the same as HDTV (High Definition TV).  HDTV is an optional upgrade to digital TV.   All HDTV's are digitial but not all Digital TV's are HDTV.  

FCC DTV consumer website:  http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html

FCC DTV FAQ & RF Guide:
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/policy/dtv/

73, Bill

K7CTR, Tim:

Please don't feel that you are the butt of the jokes.  It's just that the audio/hifi industry has been the source of such incredible hype and outright fraud that it is hard to keep a straight face at times.

Keep asking the technical questions.  They are refreshers for the old timers and learning opportunities for the new guys.

73,  Bill

Don't forget that for best efficiency your wiring must have 24 hours of 'voltage conditioning' and 48 hours of 'current conditioning'.   Of course if you relocate, or significantly bend the wire you need to recondition it.

Fry Baby Wire & Cable Conditioner:
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=FRYBABY

;-)   bill

I've got an Azden 7000 on which the PL function has stopped working a couple years ago as well.  If I find the schematic for the 6000, I'll let you know.  Seems like this might be a common problem.  After much hard use my 6000 had drifted too far off frequency and become unrealiable 8 or 9 years ago.

These radios are getting long in the tooth, and Azden pulled out of the USA a number of years ago so parts may be a problem.   There used to be a couple repair shops that specialized in Azdens advertising in QST in the past.

good luck.  Bill.

<<Fratra said:  I liked the idea of only using a small amout of space.>>

I may be repeating what someone else has already said in greater detail, but all those coils will NOT let you use a shorter than normal antenna length.  

You will need to stretch the coils out the normal length for a half wave dipole to make a resonant antenna which will perform best and load up easily.   The formula is 468/freq in Mhz = length in feet.

I'm not sure why you can't at least hear well. Most likely a connection problem.

Good luck.  Bill.

The aluminum will act as a Faraday shield, and should help with RFI from your antennas or nearby transmitters.  As long as you don't need to use an HT or scanner from inside the shack you should have no problem.

73, Bill