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Did you connect straight to the balanced modulator input? I'm curious if you used a coupling capacitor, and if so what value. My only quibble with the no-frills approach is the Radio Shack audio transformer. They work, but there's a reason they only cost $5: according to the listed specs, the...

Alright, I finally got my butt in gear and hooked the computer up so I could make a recording of the TS-950SDX. Here's the sample: http://people.freebsd.org/~wpaul/ts-950sdx/modulation/amssb.mp3 This recording was made by monitoring myself on my Kenwood TS-850's receiver. It occurred to...

Here's my contribution to this discussion. This is a recording of me made by Big Radio 549 in Texas a couple months ago: http://people.freebsd.org/~wpaul/ts-850/modulation/bill_essb.mp3 No, I don't really have a great radio voice. In fact I sound like a dork. (I need to learn not to say...

I try. :) The audio gear I have is actually pretty minimal. The Nady EQ and the Behringer MDX1600 cost $79.95 each, and the Behringer mixer was only about 40 bucks. The most expensive part of the chain is the mic, which retails for just under $100. (That price includes the mic, wind screen...

I think I've finally run out of toys to buy for my shack, so it's time to post a photo. :) Equipment show includes the following: Left side (old station): Kenwood TS-850SAT transceiver Kenwood DSP-100 accessory unit Kenwood SP-31 speaker Kenwood MC-60A desk mic MFJ-962D antenna...

You can get them from DigiKey: Transistors (BJT) - Single | Digi-Key Or from Mouser Electronics: TIP29 Fairchild Semiconductor Bipolar Power There's no minimum order: you can buy just two if that's all you need. But they cost 50 cents each, so you'll end up spending more money on...

The Kenwood TH-F6A tri-bander has a wideband receiver that covers pretty much everything from .1Mhz to 1.2Ghz (except for the usual cellular blockage). It supports AM/USB/LSB/NFM/WFM and the mode is user-selectable from the keypad. I've had mine tuned to the aircraft band before so I know it...

What kind of SWR meter is it? (Manufacturer/model?) Many SWR meters have a calibration knob on them that you're supposed to adjust before taking a reading. Some are auto-calibrating (you just hook them up and go). There are also some, like the MFJ cross-needle ones, where see both forward and...

I have one of these. When it works, it can make the difference between a station being completely drowned out by noise and being clear as day, but it takes a little time and careful setup to get the best results. Ideally, you need a second 'noise' antenna that can pick up the offending noise...

BTW, the silvery discoloration on the inside of tubes is normal. Vacuum tubes need to be completely free of oxygen and other non-inert gases, but it's difficult to pump out all the air during manufacturing, so they build tubes with a small amount of reactive material inside called a 'getter.'...

I'm not sure of the answer to your first question. (Are you saying the 29 is generating a 2 watt carrier, and hits 122 watts on modulation peaks? I'd give anything to see what that looks like on a scope.) But for your second question, no, your friends with AM receivers would not be able to...

I worked 4A4A on 40 meters recently. They're on the Revillagigedo Islands in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico. Being stuck at the office 9-5 during the week means I can't take advantage of 10 meter openings until the weekend, but 40 meters has been open in the evenings too. I've been able to...

148, just FYI, I heard you here in downtown San Francisco on 38 LSB over the weekend, about the same time 4040 was trying out the Gain Master. I think you may have heard me too, but there was so much activity it was hard to tell. Just my luck though, the highest solar index numbers are...

The way I think of it, as you turn the RF gain control and the needle moves forward, the radio is telling you: "signals must now be at least this strong for you to hear them." -Bill

SWR is really the ratio of reflected power to forward power. The ratio is the same regardless of output (unless your output is a few kilowatts and you set fire to the antenna). Typical SWR meters have a calibration control that you're supposed to set before taking an SWR reading. You need to set...

You said: "with external meter on CAL and mic gain turned down the meter still goes to 3." With a properly functioning radio set to SSB (either USB or LSB), you should never have any RF output (or at least none that you can easily measure) until there's audio at the mic. That means with...

Just to be clear, you have a Kenwood TS-450S that doesn't have the automatic tuner already built in? You didn't mention this specifically in your original post. The internal tuner is/was optional, but most of the ones I've seen on the used market had the tuner included. If that's the case...

I looked up the ps52k on google and it looks like it has both voltage and current meters on the front. When you say "no volts or any thing" I'm assuming this means the meters don't move. (If that's _not_ what you meant, then please elaborate.) I had a Pyramid power supply a long time ago. It...

Well, first, understand that there are two different ways to achieve band scope functionality with the TS-850. One is the ACC1 jack, the other is the IF OUT connector. (Note: in my previous post I mistakenly identified the computer control port as ACC2. It really is ACC1. Sorry for the...

Just to follow up on this, I recently decided to buy the PIEXX IF232USB adapter that I mentioned in my previous post for my Kenwood TS-850SAT. It works as advertised. It uses an FTDI RS232 to USB adapter chip, and comes with a CD with drivers. The only problem is, the optional Kenwood DSP-100...