A place for general discussion about radio, media, and related topics. http://www.frn.net/vines/list.php?3 Sun, 12 Jul 2026 22:55:01 -0400 Phorum 5.2.19 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11463,11463#msg-11463 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11463,11463#msg-11463 archive.org] For years, I've been grabbing the Archived shows from WBCQ 'The Planet' for re-broadcasts on Part 15 stations. For a while Allan & Angela Weiner World-Wide were not being updated to the Archive site, but are now. That, and other shows, like Radio Timtron World-Wide, Lumpy Gravy Show, and many other, are a great FREE programming resources for Part 15 ops. You are pretty much guaranteed that no other stations around you will be broadcasting these. That said, remember that most of these are not censored and may contain F & S bombs. So, your option there.]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Sun, 05 Jul 2026 15:18:33 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11459,11459#msg-11459 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11459,11459#msg-11459 [www.dxmaps.com] Then, this site could be useful. [www.dxinfocentre.com] Of course, this all may happen after the ARRL June Contests, (VHF & Field Day.). but that's what usually happens. So, happy VHF / UHF DX'ing? Might as well look at one bright-side of this heatwave. Might as well include the rest of DX Infocenter.
[www.dxinfocentre.com]
BTW, nice tutorial on Tropo Propagation Modes. [www.dxinfocentre.com] That one on -TR, TROPOSPHERIC SUB-REFRACTION , I didn't really know that as a happening, but I have experienced it on distant FM / TV stations, and 6GHz point to point Microwave links. The links would be affected, I'd get called-out, but would find nothing wrong with the equipment. Then, like magic, signal is back to normal. Good INFO!!!!]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:56:37 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11437,11455#msg-11455 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11437,11455#msg-11455 Early June Features Several Strong North American E-skip Openings
Randy Zerr in Nevada heard FM signals from coastal Georgia

[www.radioworld.com]


Letter: Sometimes an Antenna That Hears All Directions Is Best
Karl Zuk reflects on using omnidirectional models

[www.radioworld.com]


Early Adopters: When Computers First Met Radio
In 1970s Boston, WROR and WRKO bridged the broadcast engineering gap

[www.radioworld.com]


Letter: Unhappy Computer Memories
“Never trust a box that counts to F”

[www.radioworld.com]

Let’s Discuss the Power of Capacitors
Tips to keep in mind when restoring vintage equipment

[www.radioworld.com]

Yep, from Sporadic "E" to Capacitors, to the perks, and more jerks, of early automation. When they mentioned, "Never trust a box that counts to 'F'. " I was thinking HEX. Yeah... Guess I over contemplated that one. (THANKS again Boomer!!!!)]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:16:11 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11454,11454#msg-11454 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11454,11454#msg-11454 www.radiosurvivor.com] An interesting read from Jennifer Waits, of Radio Survivor. Especially, from those of us that had to live through Reagan & Bush Economics. (OK... I'll refrain my opinions here.)]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Sat, 06 Jun 2026 14:25:38 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11448,11451#msg-11451 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11448,11451#msg-11451
June first I saw a whole bunch of CW on 40 meters in the evening, I mean it was full, I was thinking it had to be a contest.

Boomer]]> Radio Animal General radio discussion Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:37:06 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11448,11448#msg-11448 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11448,11448#msg-11448 www.arrl.org] Ooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! You can now count FM contacts on 902MHz and 1.2GHz. Huh.. Really?!?!? I never knew that you couldn't before. [www.arrl.org] Don't forget to include VHF / UHF Band on that day. 6M can really rake-in those points. Hear y'all on the bands? Eh... Maybe... Anyone planning on doing Rover, Maritime Mobile, or even Aeronautical Mobile Operations? Those, are neat ones to work.]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:08:17 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11437,11443#msg-11443 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11437,11443#msg-11443
Boomer]]> Radio Animal General radio discussion Fri, 29 May 2026 22:03:04 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11433,11442#msg-11442 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11433,11442#msg-11442
Have you heard about the ham and experimenter high altitude balloons that run on micro solar power and send telemetry as they float around the world?

Atomic power source, that would be what the Voyager is using, I've heard that called an atomic battery. I wonder how it converts the heat to power, and how much current and voltage it puts out?

Boomer]]> Radio Animal General radio discussion Fri, 29 May 2026 21:59:19 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11434,11441#msg-11441 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11434,11441#msg-11441
Does it really cost that much money to keep a standard time signal running, all things considered? The frequency standard tech has to be improved a lot since decades ago, smaller, easier to keep in line, and how much power do the transmitters use?]]> Radio Animal General radio discussion Fri, 29 May 2026 21:52:33 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11438,11438#msg-11438 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11438,11438#msg-11438 fmmap.recnet.com] Zoom-in to each state, and the little Red & Green dots come up on station transmitter locations.]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Wed, 27 May 2026 14:26:57 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11437,11437#msg-11437 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11437,11437#msg-11437
What to Do to Improve Indoor Radio Reception
> In today's RF environment, it is harder than ever to overcome the noise
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> [www.radioworld.com]
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> The 10 Ways to Maximize Your FM DX in 2026
> You too can feel like Shaq
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> [www.radioworld.com]
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> Christian News Radio Network Provides Free Alternative
> Three 3-minute daily newscasts are noncom compliant
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> [www.radioworld.com]
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> New Data Project Looks to Tackle the Mystery of E-Skip
> Loyd Van Horn unveiled a comprehensive North American FM log analysis
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> [www.radioworld.com]
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> 1965 Zenith N514G: Banged Up, but Still Appealing
> How I restored this 60-year-old radio to like-new condition
>
> [www.radioworld.com]
>]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Sat, 23 May 2026 13:02:30 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11434,11434#msg-11434 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11434,11434#msg-11434 nrc.canada.ca]
Wow... For decades, ops in the North East, that didn't have General Coverage Receive in their HF rigs, were able to still tune to the CHU FREQ's, when WWV was not as obtainable. Still, when propagation sucks for WWV / WWVH, CHU still can get through on their three FREQ's. So, this will be missed. BTW, I'd gotten word from an HFU post on this, just FYI.]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Fri, 22 May 2026 12:45:17 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11433,11433#msg-11433 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11433,11433#msg-11433 spacedaily.com]
OK... How come we were able to make gear that could last over 60 years, yet today you are damn lucky to have something that lasts 60 months? Huh...]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Thu, 21 May 2026 13:38:39 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11432,11432#msg-11432 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11432,11432#msg-11432 www.dxmaps.com] And, from there, I found this: [www.fmlist.org] Then, for Tropo & temperature Inversions, there's this: [www.dxinfocentre.com] This site is mainly for MW DX'ing, but has a boatload of various useful links: [www.bamlog.com] So, HAPPY Summer DX'ing in those upper bands!]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Wed, 20 May 2026 14:08:43 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11426,11429#msg-11429 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11426,11429#msg-11429
I used to wonder what Radio Locator meant about Unlicensed Stations too, cool that they actually have some, and they look like they could be Carrier Current, like the one in Colorado at the bottom of the dial.]]> Radio Animal General radio discussion Fri, 08 May 2026 22:49:21 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11426,11426#msg-11426 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11426,11426#msg-11426 radio-locator.com] Now, what's weird is when you look at the ownership of these stations. Alaska Broadcast Communications, Inc.??? Um, who dey??? And, why would they be practically the only ones listed as the 'owner' of these stations? Eh???]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Wed, 06 May 2026 11:15:10 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11423,11425#msg-11425 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11423,11425#msg-11425
They tried different things, like oscillators in ovens at exact temperatures for stability, and having an operator listening between two transmitters and remotely tuning them to zero beat when they drifted.

Today synchronization could be done automatically, GPS could be an obvious answer to do it cheaply, with other frequency standards like digital TV, which I think is being worked on now, maybe WWVB timecodes.

For independent sync, you could have a master oscillator and then slave units locked to it somehow, could it use pilot tones, or receive and sync with the main signal at to stay in phase, maybe with a master receiver between the signals?

Another issue on a tighter system with a lot of overlap in the signals is keeping the audio time-aligned too. Without that you'd get echo and hear audio phase differences.

These days I think AM sync is a good idea, getting a better signal close to dense groups of listeners in outlying small towns, with low power transmitters and small antennas within your coverage area.

Here's a question though, if you were a 1000 watt station, and you put a few, let's say 100 watt boosters around town, would you need to turn your main transmitter power down to 800 watts to maintain your total ERP going by the rules?

Silicon Carbide FETs are dropping in price after a few years of being out. They're still considered industrial devices, but I saw some at $10 on Mouzer for lower spec transistors. When compared to tubes these days, not bad.. ;)

Boomer]]> Radio Animal General radio discussion Sun, 03 May 2026 00:05:04 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11423,11423#msg-11423 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11423,11423#msg-11423 www.radioworld.com] Huh... On FREQ, AM Radio boosters are nothing new, since I've read about Part #15 stations actually doing this permissibly for years by some ops. Ernest Wilson, of Panaxis Productions, gave examples upon how that can be done. However, that FREQ better be tight, since just as much as a 1/2Hz off could actually cancel a signal instead. I've done that test myself, tuning up a signal generator on a test bench, and watching my own AM1620 HET with it IN and OUT.

And, as long as we're doing a Radio World kick, Boomer FWR these:

[www.radioworld.com]


[www.radioworld.com] Hmmmmm??? So, just how long will it be before Silicon Carbide MOSFET tech comes down to an affordable hobbyist level?]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Sat, 25 Apr 2026 13:38:05 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11418,11420#msg-11420 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11418,11420#msg-11420 ThaDood General radio discussion Sat, 18 Apr 2026 14:11:36 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11418,11418#msg-11418 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11418,11418#msg-11418 www.vinylthon.com] Most of these stations are LPFM'er, college stations, and other public radio stations. So, are there any Part 15 stations doing this, or even linking-in to a station doing this event? Where I am, I'll plan to link to LPFM'er, WTSQ-LP 88.1FM, and be an ass-backwards translator for them. Give them AM coverage where their FM signal does not reach here, and they dig that, and totally permissible. [wtsq.org] and [radio-locator.com] So, if you have some nice sounding audio on your Part 15 stations, flaunt it with the Vinylthon Weekend. If anything, you'll sound very nostalgic. Oh... And something rare today, about the only time that you will hear live DJ's sinning-it overnight.]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Sat, 11 Apr 2026 13:38:24 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11379,11415#msg-11415 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11379,11415#msg-11415
I was thinking the radio wouldn't tune right if the bar was too much bigger or smaller than the original, finding out later that you can go bigger for more capturing power, just re-tune the trimmers on the tuning cap to peak the signal around 1400 khz.

Heck, if a ferrite antenna bar is broken, you can glue it back together and it will work fine. I've only read that, haven't tried it yet that I can remember.

You can even wind your own open air loop on cardboard, it could be even better, still more capture area. Older radios still need lots of turns to get the hundreds of microhenries like a ferrite loop has, while newer loops for newer and DSP tuners are smaller, I have a plastic one that's 14 turns on a 8 inch loom, just a magnetic pickup loop that's untuned apparently.

Boomer]]> Radio Animal General radio discussion Mon, 06 Apr 2026 22:36:26 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11408,11410#msg-11410 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11408,11410#msg-11410
It's another type of low level communications to keep around.]]> Radio Animal General radio discussion Mon, 30 Mar 2026 22:12:43 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11408,11408#msg-11408 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11408,11408#msg-11408 www.radioworld.com] Well, at least we are keeping our NOAA Weather Radio, unlike Canada, which plans to shut theirs down. I don't mind my tax $$$$'s paying for VHF High Band propagational beacons. (Hi-hi...) Thanks again, Boomer!!!!]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:36:11 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11379,11407#msg-11407 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11379,11407#msg-11407 ThaDood General radio discussion Sun, 29 Mar 2026 11:08:17 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11379,11404#msg-11404 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11379,11404#msg-11404 Radio Animal General radio discussion Fri, 27 Mar 2026 23:07:53 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11401,11403#msg-11403 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11401,11403#msg-11403
I don't know if I got a Tempered Steel tape or not, I had a P-15 station down there, but can't recall playing the really hard stuff on the air at that time, on Canine 103.

Good run-down on the history of Tempered Steel, and with all the energy and drive that Dale had, I wonder what happened to him and the show? He might have disappeared into the internet, after finding after finding a place for his shows there pretty Early, pun intended.

As for music and on-air talent getting stale after 2000, I think it's that now everyone can broadcast, so we don't always get the cream of the crop, there's lots of average out there now.

Boomer]]> Radio Animal General radio discussion Fri, 27 Mar 2026 23:02:38 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11401,11401#msg-11401 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11401,11401#msg-11401 temperedsteelradio.blogspot.com] You might ask, why have a hardcore 1990's metal program be mentioned under a bit on Pirate Radio History? For about 2 years, Dale Early did the show on flame thrower, WAYJ, (Way-FM), from 1989 - 1991. [radio-locator.com] A well produced 2hrs program indeed, that was fast paced, with Dale's energetic announcing. There was really no other show like it, and he recorded his shows off-air. Then, when his show was cancelled on-air by WAYJ, he put in an ad in Heaven's Metal Magazine, and mailed out hundreds of his shows on cassettes for free. I was one of the recipients. (Thanks, to The Lady Stranger for seeing the ad and telling me about it.) Incidentally, many of those shows were aired on pirate FM stations. And, it was from the requests of these stations that Dale then produced the 1hr version of Tempered Steel, using WAYJ's production statudios. Some college stations even picked-up the show, and Dale even bought an hour each week on shortwave's WWCR late Saturday nights. (I may have had something to do with that one.) However, Dale didn't care if the stations were licensed, or not, he just wanted to get the shows out and give bands, that you'd never hear anywhere else, on-air exposer, like Mortification, Corpse, Vomitoral Corpulence, Decision D, The Lead, Torn Flesh, Possession, Drop dead, Sacrament, Royal Anguish, Oblation, Erase, and a host of many others. Well, here's a site that someone has made to download 40 of these shows. (40 out of hundreds.) By the late 1990's, Tempered Steel made it on-line via the pioneering streamer, at the time, www.solidrockradio.net . However, the majority of the shows were via radio, mainly unlicensed stations. Somewhere, I have two over-the-phone interviews with Dale Early that I need to dig-up. Anyway, from 1989 - 1999, there was no other metal show like this, and with the advent of music, and on-air talent, getting pretty stale after Y2K, there hasn't been such a show since.]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:26:07 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11400,11400#msg-11400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11400,11400#msg-11400 www.radioworld.com] Hmmmm.... "The FCC’s public interest standard requires radio and TV broadcast licensees to operate in the “public interest, convenience and necessity” — a broad mandate stemming from the Communications Act of 1934, obligating broadcasters to serve local needs with diverse programming rather than just maximizing profit." Did they fail upon this endeavor? Um, yeah... They haven't been called the Federal Corporate Coddlers for nothin'. Then again, won't they just come up with something worst? Usually... OK... Your comments are welcome. (Thank you Boomer for FWR this.)
(BTW, one of my bosses in television pointed what the FCC failed upon. Needless to say, I agreed with her.)]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Sun, 22 Mar 2026 14:18:38 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11395,11399#msg-11399 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11395,11399#msg-11399
I haven't needed to use them though.]]> Radio Animal General radio discussion Sat, 21 Mar 2026 23:02:08 -0400 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11395,11395#msg-11395 http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,11395,11395#msg-11395 www.radioworld.com] and [pentalabs.com]
You can see various reviews on [www.eham.net] (Thanks for the link Boomer!)]]> ThaDood General radio discussion Thu, 19 Mar 2026 11:38:41 -0400