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| Any Shortwave Radio Tips for a Noob Considering the Hobby? |
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| james_s:
--- Quote from: Bud on December 12, 2019, 10:21:40 pm --- --- Quote from: fourfathom on December 12, 2019, 07:02:12 pm --- --- Quote from: edy on December 09, 2019, 05:47:59 pm ---You are correct, I do not believe there is a BFO in the Tecsun. --- End quote --- Back to that Tecsun, the marketing blurb says: "Special design of SSB demodulation functions, can receive amateur maritime communications and personal radio". So I think we should expect that you will be able to receive SSB. Please let us know how this works for you! We can give you some pointers to help you find SSB signals to monitor. --- End quote --- What is "amateur maritime communication" ? --- End quote --- It's used for communicating between private ocean going boats mostly. My dad's sailboat came with a SSB transceiver and an old packet modem installed. Previously it was owned by a couple who sailed it all over the world. They used the SSB radio to communicate longer distances than the marine VHF. |
| fourfathom:
--- Quote from: james_s on December 12, 2019, 10:58:57 pm --- --- Quote from: Bud on December 12, 2019, 10:21:40 pm ---What is "amateur maritime communication" ? --- End quote --- It's used for communicating between private ocean going boats mostly. My dad's sailboat came with a SSB transceiver and an old packet modem installed. Previously it was owned by a couple who sailed it all over the world. They used the SSB radio to communicate longer distances than the marine VHF. --- End quote --- Yes, but I wouldn't call it "amateur". On my sailboat I have an Icom SSB rig, which is designed to operate on the channelized maritime frequencies roughly between 1 and 30 MHz. The mode is upper sideband (but I think the radio can be switched to lower as well -- not sure though). I use a PACTOR modem with it to send and receive email using the private "Sailmail" service. I also use the good old microphone to communicate with other similarly-equipped boats, and occasionally the Coast Guard. You need two licenses to operate the radio, one for the boat, and one for yourself. In the USA there is no test required, just some paperwork and filing fees. I can also legally use this marine radio on the ham bands. Ham radios are not type-approved for use on the marine bands, although many people do so. The technical requirements for stability and signal purity are slightly tougher for marine service radios than for ham, although most modern ham rigs can meet these specs. |
| james_s:
It fits the definition of amateur radio that I'm familiar with, ie it's not a commercial broadcast station or government entity. It's not a topic I'm all that familiar with though, and my dad is not a ham so I helped him remove the transceiver to sell it as he had other uses in mind for the space it occupied. |
| fourfathom:
--- Quote from: james_s on December 13, 2019, 01:22:08 am ---It fits the definition of amateur radio that I'm familiar with, ie it's not a commercial broadcast station or government entity. It's not a topic I'm all that familiar with though, and my dad is not a ham so I helped him remove the transceiver to sell it as he had other uses in mine for the space it occupied. --- End quote --- No big deal, but the FCC classifies this a different thing than the amateur radio service. For example, with marine radio it is perfectly legal to carry out business and other activities that carry a "pecuniary interest". Not so on the ham bands. In fact, this is probably the most common use of the marine service, where it is used by commercial shipping. At least it was common until satellite comms became so easy. |
| edy:
I received my Tecsun and have just played around a little bit with it. Of course the AM/FM reception is phenomenal, but I am trying to now improve my LW/SW reception. I've extended the built-in "whip" antenna and pressed ETM (automatic searching throughout entire range) and it found a few stations but not much. I want to make a simple antenna for it and wondering about the construction, if anyone has some ideas that would be great. First, there is a port that says FM & SW antenna on the outside of the unit, next to headphone jack. It is a 1/8" jack, similar to the headphone. I assume it is a MONO-type connection. I can find a 1/8" jack in my parts bin and connect a wire to it. I have lots of long thin wires. But I am not sure what goes to the 2 (or 3 if I use a stereo jack) terminals. I found this diagram: According to that picture, if I have a 2-contact plug, the tip goes to the long length of wire that I am going to extend along the ceiling of my room or hang out of my window? And the second contact (along the side of the jack) goes where? For example, a jack like this: And then I've seen stuff like this, which seems to suggest a 3-contact connection for the antenna jack? And this one clearly shows on a 2-contact 3.5mm jack: Then there are loop antennas that look like this: ... and this ... :scared: :-// Any suggestions what I should be doing? Experiment and see what happens? |
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