Entrenched in the state West Virginia lies Pendleton County. As of 2000, the population was 8,196. The county has a total area of 698 square miles.

Pendleton County was pro-Confederate during the American Civil War. The county became  part of West Virginia even though the residents didn’t want it forced upon them.

In 1758, near 60 settlers were massacred by Shawnee and Delaware native Americans. It was the attack of Fort Seybert, which is located in Pendleton County.

There is a remote sight in Pendleton County that is located near a small, quaint town of Franklin. It’s called Sugar Grove, or commonly called “the Grove”. The cost of living is low and the place is very laid back. The Grove is about an hour and a half drive from Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Hidden in the mountains of Sugar Grove there is the largest “eye” or “ear” if you prefer, on the east coast, where the NSA has set up shop. It is operated by the U.S. Navy and the US Air Force.

The location is part of an area called the  U.S. National Radio Quiet Zone [NRQZ].

The task of the station in 1991 became “to maintain and operate an ECHELON site” [Cyber-rights.org].

On December 29, 2005, Navy Security Group Activity Command was disestablished. Navy Information Operations Command, Sugar Grove was established as part of the integration of NAVSECGRU functions into Naval Network Warfare Command. The SECGRU Service Cryptologic element responsibilities have been performed by the Information Operations Directorate of NETWARCOM ever since [Source: NIOC].

The NSA has the capability to scan e-mails, faxes, instant messages, web searches, text messaging, and  phone calls, including cell phones and landlines. Originally designed to spy on other countries during the Cold War, it is believed that the U.S. government is now spying, or has the option to do it, on all American citizens.

The USA PATRIOT Act was enacted into legislation by George W. Bush during his presidency on October 26, 2001. This controversial act reduced restrictions on law enforcement agencies’ ability to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records.

Just before the midnight deadline on May 26, 2011, President Barack Obama signed a 4-year extension of three key provisions in the USA Patriot Act. Opponents argue that this act is unconstitutional.

NATIONAL RADIO QUIET ZONE COORDINATION REQUIREMENT

* Amateur Radio — NRQZ coordination is required for all new or modifed, permanent, fixed, licensed transmitters inside the NRQZ, as specified for federal transmitters by NTIA manual section 8.3.9 and for non-federal transmitters by the FCC in 47 CFR section 1.924. [NRAO]

ON AIR — Hosts: Bob Heil, K9EID, and Gordan West, WB6NOA. A special guest is Larry Junstrom, who is the bassist of American rock band 38 Special.

Larry Junstrom, an avid ham radio operator, he has the call letters K4EB, which translates to: known for electric bass. Larry gives some tips about about D-Star.

Another musician by the name of Joe Walsh (WB6ACU) wrote and played the Ham Nation theme. Ever heard of this ham operator?

HAM Nation is the new TWIT show about ham radio. Bob Heil, with various co-hosts and guests will cover the excitement and importance of ham radio – from tossing an antenna wire in a tree allowing you to talk to the world, to the importance of ham radio operators in time of disasters. HAM Nation airs live each Tuesday at 6:00 PT/ 9:00ET on Twit TV [http://live.twit.tv].

160 Meters
1.800-2.000 MHz

80 Meters
3.600-4.000 MHz

60 Meters
5332, 5348, 5368, 5373, 5405 kHz Channels
5330.5, 5346.5, 5366.5, 5371.5, 5403.5 kHz Tuning

40 Meters
7.125-7.300 MHz

30 Meters
10.100 -10.150 MHz CW, RTTY, Data

20 Meters
14.150 -14.350 MHz

17 Meters
18.110-18.168 MHz

15 Meters
21.200-21.450 MHz

12 Meters
24.930-24.990 MHz

10 Meters
28.300-29.700 MHz

The top US license class is Amateur Extra Class. Those with Amateur Extra licenses are granted all privileges on all US amateur bands.

Frequency Allocations: ARRL

You haven’t fully utilized your ham radio capacity until you’ve tried to construct a dipole. A simple wire dipole is center-fed as the driven element. The dipole was invented by Heinrich Hertz around 1886.

The dipole is one of the most popular antennas and one of the most practical. It is easy to design and easy to install. In fact, the set of rabbit ears we used for the TV is an example of a dipole antenna.

Any ham radio enthusiast will know that to formulate the magic number for the dipole, one would divide 468 by the frequency. This would give us the full length of the wire. And of course each half or leg, would be half of that number.

For example, say we want to cut a dipole for the 40 meter band, we would want to find a frequency that we often talk on. Let’s use 7.150 MHz. Dividing 468 by 7.15 we get 65.4 feet. We call this a half-wave dipole. Each leg would be 32.7 feet in length, which is called the quarter-wave.

So, I took a piece of insulated copper wire, measured it and cut it. No big deal at all. I ordered a center piece to attach both legs to, which is called a center insulator. The center insulator can be purchased at your favorite place that you buy amateur radio gear. My center insulator was around 14 dollars. It had two opposite ends to attach the wire to using bolts. Simply wrap the wire around the piece and tighten with a wrench. Bingo!

The store-bought center insulator worked magnificently. This obviously gives you something to attach the wire legs to and allows you to pull tightly on the wire. You want to take the slack out of the wire to get the best height you can muster. I forgot to wrap the wire around the ears of the center insulator before connecting it to the bolts and I quickly found out that was a no-no.

I also purchased what is called dog bones for the ends of the wire. These are small plastic pieces that have holes on each end, for a place to attach the wire and rope. The dog bones or insulators, cost around 50 cents apiece and they work very well.

So the next thing I tried to figure out was which dipole was more suitable, the flat-top dipole or the inverted vee dipole. It required a lot of work but I wanted to know which design I liked the best. I tried both designs and found out that both versions done me a fine job. The flat-top is ran straight across, while the inverted vee is an upside down v, naturally.

The flat-top version seemed to be more broad in nature and generally more versatile, but I’ve heard many inverted vees on the air that sounded absolutely fantastic.

Either way will work fine. I personally liked the flat-top version better. Based on the information that I found online, the flat-top gave a little more gain. Probably not much more gain though.

I had originally cut the dipole a little long on purpose. So it wasn’t tuning on the upper part of the band. I went back and cut six inches off both ends and it tuned perfectly. Well, it tuned clear across the 40 meter band. I never have to tune on 40 meters. Imagine that. Listening to others tune is very annoying.

I used no balun or 450 ladder line; just the wire fed with coax. I even used the thin gray coax.

The 40 meter dipole was a big winner. I ran mine from north to south. The first weekend I worked over 12 stations in Europe on the wire. Boy was I a happy camper. I’ve worked all over the U.S. Since I ran it north and south, I am just a little weak to the deep south below me, especially in the Caribbeans. Guess I’ll have to run another wire east and west.

Would I recommend this to another ham? You betcha. My wire is only about 25 feet off the ground. I get nothing but great audio reports. Personally, I’ll take a monoband over the G5RV any day of the week. You won’t hear me tuning on 40 meters.

Happy DXing.

160 Meters
1.800-2.000 MHz

80 Meters
3.800-4.000 MHz

60 Meters
5332, 5348, 5368, 5373, 5405 kHz Channels
5330.5, 5346.5, 5366.5, 5371.5, 5403.5 kHz Tuning

40 Meters
7.175-7.300 MHz

30 Meters
10.100 -10.150 MHz CW, RTTY, Data

20 Meters
14.225 -14.350 MHz

17 Meters
18.110-18.168 MHz

15 Meters
21.275-21.450 MHz

12 Meters
24.930-24.990 MHz

10 Meters
28.300-29.700 MHz

General class operators have privileges on portions of all amateur bands, and have access to over 83% of all amateur HF bandwidth, however the DX windows on most bands are not included.

On 160, 30, 17, 12, and 10 meters, a General Class license
holder is granted all amateur frequency privileges.

Frequency Allocations:  ARRL

My two way contact with Doug Wheelock on the International Space Station (ISS) from Robb Kunz on Vimeo.

Colonel Doug Wheelock has made it safely back to his home on earth since this video was captured. But in 2010 he was aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This is an integrated video by N0KGM, as he makes a contact with NA1SS. The download frequency which transmits from the ISS is 145.800 MHz. To talk to the ISS you must transmit on 144.490 MHz.

Some fabulous pictures can be viewed @Astro_Wheels on TwitPic.

Many thanks to Colonel Wheelock for his dedication to ham radio. This video was presented on the ISS Fan Club.

Get in touch with the International Space Station!

I noticed a “ER-1″ while powering my HTX-202. This could be an indication of error in the operation memory. This can be caused by a low lithium backup battery, or can be caused by static discharge.

To clear the error, turn off the unit. Then press FUNCTION and CLEAR (the D key). While holding these keys, turn unit back on. Reset HTX-202 and clear memories.

There is a good possibility that I need a new battery. Probably a good idea to install a new battery.

Element Trimming
For this job, a fine-toothed saw works well. (Caution: During the following steps, be sure that you cut half the total amount from each half [ie, each side] of an element.) For operation at the low end of the band (144 MHz), cut the 66-inch element to a total length of 41 inches (see Figure 1B). This element becomes the reflector. Cut the next element in line (the driven element) to a length of 38 and seven-eighths inches. Cut the next three elements (directors D1, D2 and D3) to lengths of 38 and one-eighths, 37, and 36 and five-eighths inches, respectively. If you want to trim the elements for use at higher frequencies, cut one-fourth inch off of each element for each 1-MHz frequency increase. For instance, cutting a total of one-half inch from each element tunes and maximizes the antenna for 146 MHz. (Again, cut half the total amount from each half of an element section. For 146 MHz, the preceding example, that’s one-fourth inch from each half-element section.)

SO-239 Connector and Mount
Refer to Figures 4 and 5. Attach the SO-239 connector to the bottom of the boom beneath the driven element using an L-shaped piece of aluminum. Fabricate the bracket from a 3 and three-eighths inch length of aluminum cut from the 9×1 inch strip. Bend it at a right angle so that one side is about 1 and one-quarter inches long. Make the necessary holes to mount an SO-239 connector on the 1 and one-quarter inch long section and secure the connector to it. Fasten the bracket to the boom bottom using bolts and nuts, positioning the bracket so that the tip of the SO-239 center pin faces the reflector. Position the tip of the pin about three-sixteenths to one-fourth inch in front of the center of the driven element toward the director side.

Making The Gamma Match
Remove the outer insulation and braid from an 11-inch piece of RG-8 coax, leaving the center conductor and its insulation. Strip off one-half inch of the insulation and solder the center conductor to the SO-239 pin. At the pin, bend the wire at a right angle so that the wire is parallel to and about 2 and three-sixteenths inches away from the driven element along its length (see Figure 5). This lead forms the inner plate of the gamma capacitor. Next, select a piece of the scrap three-eighths inch tubing you cut from one of the antenna elements and cut it to a length of 11 inches. Slip this tubing over the RG-8 inner-conductor insulation to form the outer plate of the gamma capacitor. Position the tube seam so it faces the ground when the antenna is at its operating position; this allows moisture an easy way out. To complete the capacitor construction, wrap the remainder of the 1-inch aluminum strip around the driven element on one side and around the 11-inch tube on the other. Construct the strap so that the centers of the tubing sections are approximately 2 and three-sixteenths inches apart. Leave a tang on each side of the strap to accept a locking screw. Trim away any access material.

Tuning The Gamma Match
Before applying RF to the antenna, connect an SWR meter to the SO-239 connector at the antenna, not at the transmitter end of your transmission line. This insures that you are tuning just the antenna. For a quick adjustment of the matching network, you can try positioning the antenna straight up toward the sky, with the reflector setting on the ground. Using this approach, however, I found that when I raised the antenna to a height of 10 feet on a metal mast, the gamma capacitor needed readjustment. If you’re a perfectionist, it might ultimately be less work to tune the antenna while it’s mounted in the clear a few wavelengths above ground or setting at its intended operating position. If you’re going to use a metal support mast, attach it to the antenna prior to tuning. Use a non-metallic mast if you’re going to mount the Yagi vertically (so that the elements are in line with the mast); otherwise, antenna performance will suffer a bit. It’s okay to use a metal mast when using horizontal polarization.

Reduce your transmitter’s output power to about 1 or 2 W for safety use or, an antenna analyzer. Don’t use more than a few watts – you don’t need it. Set the transmitter frequency to that for which you cut the antenna. First, adjust the gamma strap (sliding it back and forth) on the driven element for the lowest SWR. Then slide the gamma tube (capacitor) back and forth within the strap for the lowest SWR reading. You should be able to get a match by alternately making adjustments to the strap and gamma tube. I was able to tune my antenna to a 1:1 match. (An SWR of 1.5:1 or less is acceptable.) Recheck the SWR after finally tightening the strap to be certain that everything is still okay. Check by eye to ensure the gamma-capacitor tube is parallel with the driven element from one end to the other. It doesn’t matter if the gamma-capacitor tube is slightly in front of or behind the driven element, but it should be parallel to it.

[A Five-Element, 2-Meter Yagi for $20 - July 1999 QST] To read the article in its entirety and see all the diagrams click here. Go back to Part 1 here.

In a matter of a few hours, you can easily build a broadband, 2 meter Yagi. The antenna offers a gain of about 10 dB, is lightweight, mechanically strong and rivals the performance of similar commercial antennas.

You can modify a RadioShack FM broadcast receiving antenna (RS 15-2163). (Or you can use a scrapped TV antenna.) It is a 70-inch long by 1-inch square boom, a set of six and three eighths-inch diameter elements, antenna mounting hardware, and two plastic end caps to seal the boom ends. In addition to RadioShack’s antenna, you’ll also need some nuts and bolts to remount elements, an 11-inch length of RG-8 (or similar) coax, a SO-239 connector and a 9×1-inch long aluminum strip. This strip is cut into two pieces to fabricate a strap for the gamma match and a mount for the SO-239 connector. The thickness of the strip is not important as long as it can be bent easily and is strong enough to hold the SO-239 connector firmly in place. To close any unused holes and the tips of the elements, you’ll need some noncorrosive sealant, such as RTV.

Element Relocation
Refer to the accompanying photo and Figures 1,2, and 3. First, open all the antenna elements to their fully extended positions. Three of the elements are attached to plastic insulators and are tied together electrically with stiff, crossed, bare aluminum wires. Each of these elements looks like a dipole broken in the middle at the plastic insulators. One element measures about 58 inches from end to end, another about 56 inches and the third about 43 inches. You’ll not need the 43-inch element.

Cut the wires next to the rivets on the 43-inch element. Drill out the rivet holding the element to the boom and discard the element. Use a screwdriver and pliers to release one wire from beneath one of the rivets on the 58-inch element. Try not to damage the rivet. Pull the wire out and away from the rivet. Go to the remaining wire on the 58-inch element; its opposite end attaches to another rivet on the 56-inch element. Unwind the end of the wire from beneath the rivet on the 56-inch element and pull it towards the 58-inch element. You now have a single wire on the 58-inch element with one loose end. Pull that wire straight across to the opposite rivet that no longer has a wire under it. Use pliers and whatever force is necessary to loop the wire around and under the rivet head as was the original wire. Seat the wire fully beneath the rivet (see Figures 2 and 3). I was able to get the wire fully seated by pulling hard on the wire with my hand and squeezing the wire under the rivet head using the jaws of Vise Grip pliers. If you cannot get the wire fully wound and seated under the rivet, drill out the rivet and replace it with a bolt and nuts. Do not cut the wire off at the rivet. Pull the wire back toward the opposite rivet and cut it off leaving a pigtail about 1.5 inches long. You may want to reseat the rivet by hitting it with a hammer. Just be sure to back up the rivet’s head with a hard object before striking the rivet’s opposite end. Be careful not to damage the plastic insulator. You have now turned a two-piece element into a one-piece element, and this will be the driven element.

Drill a mounting hole in the boom (for the one-piece element) 17 inches away from the center of the adjacent 66-inch element (reflector). Remove the 58-inch element from its original location and mount it at the new position using a bolt, two washers and a nut. Place one washer directly against the plastic insulator under the wire that connects the two and three-eighths inch diameter tubing halves together. Position the other washer on top of the wire so it bears down on the wire when the bolt is tightened. This puts the center of the element at the same electrical potential as the boom. Using the one and a half inch pigtail, bend it and place it between the two washers so there is a piece of wire on each side of the bolt. This prevents the washers from tilting and makes for a cleaner fit. Trim off any excess wire.

The next element (56 inches long; Director 1) is handled similarly to the preceding one. However, this element originally had two wires beneath each rivet head. One of those wires has already been removed. At the opposite rivet, unwind one of the two wires so that only one wire remains beneath each rivet. Pull one loose end of a wire straight across to the opposite rivet and force the wire into place under the rivet just as before. Pull the other loose wire end to its opposite rivet and force it into place. The two element halves should now be connected together with two wires. The wires will be parallel to each other and on opposite sides of the rivet that secures the element to the boom.

Next, drill a hole in the boom 13 inches from the center of the 58-inch element (DE). Remove the 56-inch element from (D1) its original location and mount it on the boom at the new hole. Again, place a washer on opposite sides of the wires so that the washers squeeze against the wires as the bolt and nut tighten the element to the boom.

The remaing three elements (REF, D2 and D3) don’t need to be modified; their individual dipole sections are already joined by metal plates. All you need to do is remove two of them from the boom, drill new mounting holes and mount them at their new locations. The first 50-inch element (D2) is place 16 inches (center to center) from the adjacent 56-inch element. The end element (D3) –  also 50 inches long –  is placed 21 inches (center to center) from the new location of its adjacent 50-inch element. All of the elements are now in place ready to be cut to length for 2-meter operation.

[A Five-Element, 2-Meter Yagi for $20 - July 1999 QST] Go to Part 2 here.

On November 2, 1936, BBC engineers at Alexander Palace transmitted what is often claimed to be the world’s first television program. However, the world’s first public television transmissions had begun in Berlin, Germany, the previous year. Adolf Hitler became absolutely furious, upon hearing BBC boasting the claim to be the first broadcaster to transmit a television program.

On March 22, 1935, the first regular television program in the world was broadcast from an aerial on the top of the Funkturm Berlin tower. Since 1962, the tower is no longer used for TV transmissions.

The first practical use of television was in Germany. Regular television broadcasts began in Germany in 1929 and in 1936 the Olympic Games in Berlin were broadcast to television stations in Berlin and Leipzig where the public could view the games live.

Nikola Tesla had actually predicted back in 1915 that mankind would produce technology that would allow him to transmit voice and images. In 1936, his prediction did become reality. Tesla was right about many things.

[Source: Television History]

On a special television cable the picture of the speaker in Berlin is transmitted to Leipzig and vice-versa. In this way the two persons are able to see one another and to converse simultaneously over a telephone wire. This is 1936 in Berlin, Germany.

On August 25, 1924, the Funkturm Berlin tower would transmit a radio program. The radio tower ‘Berliner Funkturm’ was opened to the public on September 3, 1926. Albert Einstein made the opening speech at the 1930 Wireless Exhibition (Funkausstellung) at the foot of the radio tower.

A personal reminiscence for radio amateurs: The author of this page personally also knows the tower from its highest point. For the Radio and Television Exhibition (Internationale Funkaustellung, IFA) in 1971 he was installing antennas with other amateurs (DC7AL, DC7BH, DC7CH, DJ7IC, DL7MO, DL7OG, DL7RR, DC7BJ – the author) on the uppermost mounting platform (on top of the elevator housing) for the amateur radio VHF repeater DL0UB on an outrigger. Lack of vertigo was a must and the reward was a breathtaking view of the city. DL0UB later became DB0WF. Decades later the author was up there again to help servicing the 70 cm – band repeater DB0TA. 73 de DC7BJ, Rainer [Source: Wumpus's Old Radio World]

The Funkturm Berlin built between 1924 and 1926 by Heinrich Straumer, which is nicknamed “der lange Lulatsch” (“the lanky lad”), is a point of interest in Berlin. Since 1973, the radio tower no longer serves as a regular transmission tower for broadcasting purposes, but it is still used as relay station for amateur radio, police radio, and mobile phone services.

Phone: (030) 38 19 05
Opening hours: Mon. 11am – 9pm; Tue. – Sun. 10am – 11pm
Map: Mapquest