amiga600.net blog

My videos online

mike — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:39:52 +0000

I have had a YouTube account for quite some time now and have started to put more videos online. They cover similar topics to this blog – with a recent emphasis on ham radio, but with some retro computing thrown in and more to come on all kinds of subjects in the future.

Please take a look at my videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/a120068020

Image Gallery

mike — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:19:59 +0000

I have just added an image gallery to the blog. This will enable me to upload pictures I have taken of various subject matters, sorted into albums from computing and radio pictures to holiday snaps. I have uploaded a few but there will be more to follow as I get time to take and organise more photos.

To access the image repository, please click on the “Photo Album” link on the navbar.

Alpha Delta DX-CC Antenna Review

mike — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:21:18 +0000

I have just installed a new multi band parallel wire dipole (for 80/40/20/15/10 Metres). I got an Alpha Delta DX-CC, which needed 82 feet, although a smaller 40ft version, the DX-EE without 80m and longer 100ft version, DX-LB Plus with 160m is available. I only just had enough real estate and the manual kept reiterating it would only be resonant in the clear, yet even with a good proportion of it only a few feet from my roof and some metal structures, it is resonant on all the advertised bands – around 2:1 SWR but as low as 1:1 and highs of 3:1, except for 80m (the internal ATU copes beautifully with any matching required).

The usable bandwidth of this antenna on 80m is less than the entire band, but the proportion it will cover is considerable – i.e. most of it. An internal ATU can more or less do the rest. I had some good contacts into Italy and Ireland last night and before work this morning on 40 Metres and 20 Metres. The entire 40m band is a flat 1:1 SWR.

As I wanted to keep the Sirio Boomerang for vertical HF operations, plus I have “permanently” erected my 10M fishing rod antenna (made by Pro Whip Antennas) at the home QTH, I have just bought an LDG AT-100 pro, which has 2 antenna inputs, so I don’t have to worry about the limited capacity of the FT-2000′s internal tuner for the Sirio or the Pro Whip antennas.

You saw one of my skulls, didn’t you?

mike — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 22:37:43 +0000

One of the many great quotes of a film I have loved since I can’t remember when. The ‘Burbs I remember watching by chance when I was much younger and it was an instant hit. I must have seen it since at least 20 times. The film, although not widely known, does have cult status. There are various fan pages online and if you mention a few of the fantastic quotes to a group of people, someone will want to “talk ‘Burbs” to you. You either know this film, line-by-line or have never heard of it.

It’s a black comedy, with some huge names – Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman and Henry Gibson and even an appearance from Robert Picardo, who goes on to play the doctor in Star Trek Voyager. Interestingly, Wendy Schaal is in this film and she also played alongside Henry Gibson a few years previous in the film, Innerspace . The ‘Burbs is directed by Joe Dante, the story based around a Cul-de-Sac in the USA and a strange family who has moved to the street. Instead of leaving the weird family alone, the neighbours start doing their own investigations into what exactly IS going on in that house?

The characters are endearing, the laughs aplenty and I cannot recommend it enough. If you haven’t seen it, get it and watch it! Some other great lines (not so funny out of context but hey – for all the ‘Burbs fans out there)

I’ve never seen that. I’ve never seen anybody drive their garbage down to the street and bang the hell out of it with a stick. I-I’ve never seen that.
Hey… Pinocchio! Where are you going?
A thermostat on a home furnace; is that supposed to go to 5,000 degrees, you think?
There go the God damn brownies!
Actually Doc, we’re not all here, Walter, the old man next door, we don’t know where the hell he is!

Sirio Boomerang 27A as a HF Antenna?

mike — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 11:04:07 +0000

A QRP operator is supposed to compensate lack of power by using efficient antennas. But what if efficient antennas are not practical? At my QTH, I cannot put huge antennas up due to lack of real estate. I tried a Diamond CP6 but sold it to a friend after the overwhelming size and venerability to the wind, especially when I was out of town, I was always worrying when it got a little windy.

So, I have thus far been using just a 25M end-fed longwire, but I was missing the local 10M club net, so I found an old Sirio Boomerang 27A and put it up. It worked a treat on 10 meters, but trying it on other bands with my LDG Z-817 Tuner seemed to be acceptable all the way down to 40M. It is especially “sweet” on 20M and 17M. I have made contacts into the USA, Cuba and all over Europe. I hope that others will try this remarkable antenna. I tried to go one better using a half wave CB antenna and it didn’t come close to the performance of this quarter wave – perhaps its some matching circuit in the Boomerang – whatever it is, its the perfect small HF vertical.

You won’t get me I’m part of the union!

mike — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:28:28 +0000

It seems like the British Airways/Unite dispute has been running for ages, and still no agreement has been reached. Shame on the section of union members who voted for the disruption to service, that do not seem to grasp the fact that BA is currently a loss making business and to be competitive, pay and perks need to be bought down to a level that is closer to the other air carriers.

Gone are the days of BA’s dominance in the British airline business. Now there is lots more choice, consumers have more options for flights than ever before. By remaining steadfast in their refusal to compromise, all Unite are doing is weakening an already fragile business that cannot take the level of losses and public confidence forever. My take on modern day employment – if you do not like working for a company, leave! It amazes me a union can bring a company to it’s knees by blocking essential streamlining that is evidently needed.

A little less education, a little more action?

mike — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:21:38 +0000

The Conservative-Liberal coalition government has been running relatively smoothly so far, but it amazes me how the media and many people seem to make a point about the proportion of the cabinet members who are millionaires and/or graduates of the universally accepted top UK universities, Cambridge and Oxford. Whilst we don’t want to go down the road of politicians buying their way into power, I for one would prefer to have the country being run by successful educated people than bolshy trade unionists who don’t know the first thing about politics.