HAM’S LIFE

 Mari Parker KE7QML sent me the following question in an email.  I am unable to help Mari but I am posting the email content in hopes someone out there might have some information.  Please email the information to me and I will email it on to Mari.  My email, as always, is wa6ohp@yahoo.com and please put hamslife in the subject line or it might become spam monster food. 

Dear fellow ham,
My parents were involved with  MARS many years ago. I beleive it was about 1957 and in Germany (maybe Hamburg or Stutgart) ( I can bet that was really  bad spelling sorry) anyway, They helped set up the office back than. This information is all I remember as I was a child. I remember Mother did the decorations and not sure but beleive Dad was in charge (childhood memories). Anyway, right now I do not remember their call signs but I am checking for that. I was wondering is there anyway at all to get the information about the MARS office. Their names were Robet C. Genn, Jr. his rank was never higher than Staff Sgt. and Mother was Evelyn Louise Genn (however she never used Evelyn, for anything).  I am pretty sure this is not going to help but I would love to have it for my children. My memories are great but sometimes Grandmas and Great-grandmas memories are not believed and when they get old enough to think that I was hoping to have some documentation of some sort.
Would you know where I might find that information?
 
 
Thank you for any help,
Mari Genn Parker

In 1960 there were five classes of ham radio licenses issued by the FCC.  They were the Novice, the Technician, The General, The Conditional and the Extra.  The General and the Conditional licenses were actually the same but those who were 100 miles away from an FCC office where the radio license tests were given could have a proxy who held a General class license or higher administer the test.  

The Novice license required the passing of a written test and a five word per minute code test.  To pass the code test, and this was true of all FCC Morse code tests, the applicant had to have one full minute of error free copy with no corrections allowed after the code stopped.   The written tests were much like the tests today in that they were multiple choices with questions that were appropriate to the state of the art and regulations of the day.  

The Novice class operators were allowed to operate on 3.700 to 3.750 MHz (written MC for Megacycles then), 7.150 to 7.200 MHz, and 21.100 to 21.250 MHz CW only.  We were also allowed to operate 145 to 147 MHz using CW, MCW, AM, and FM.  The Novice transmitters were restricted to a maximum of 75 Watts input power to the final amplifier and they had to be crystal controlled.

Because the transmitters were crystal controlled we would tune a few KHz (KC) up and down from the frequency of our crystal to see if anyone was answering us.  So if my transmitted signal was 7.174 MHz I might receive an answer from a station on 7.160 or 7.180 MHz.   

The Novice Class license was good for one year and could not be renewed.  Anyone who had ever held an amateur radio license of any class was not eligible for a Novice Class license.    

The Technician Class license applicant took the same written test as the General Class applicant.  They were only required to demonstrate the sending and receiving ability of 5 WPM international Morse code.  The Technician Class operator was allowed all amateur radio privileges on amateur radio bands from 50 MHz and above.

The General Class license test had to be taken in a FCC field office.  The code requirement was 13 WPM.  The General Class licensee had all amateur operating privileges on all amateur radio bands.

The Conditional Class license was the same as a General Class with the exceptions already described.

The Extra Class applicant had to go to the FCC field office.  They were required to demonstrate an ability to send and receive Morse code at 20 WPM and take a written test with a lot higher technical knowledge then any other amateur radio class license. 

The Extra Class was a prestigious class only.  There were no increased operating privileges given to the Extra Class.  There were several hams that went for the Extra Class license just for that bragging rights of saying they were Extra Class. 

You would have to be at least fifty years old to have been doing anything on 12/10/1960 and if you are like me you might have problems remembering what you did yesterday much less then fifty years ago.  I can say that on 12/10/1960 I communicated with Dick WV6MZZ at 1557 PDT on 7.176 MHz using CW.  How do I know this?  Because I still have my first log book.

Fifty years ago we were required to keep a log of every transmission we made even if we were mobile.  A log entry required the date, time, frequency, station worked, emission type, and power input to the transmitters final.  We were only required to keep a log book for one year after the last entry unless it had a distress call entry and then it was required to be kept five years after the distress entry.  I kept my logs because it is fun to look back in them. 

Today we are no longer required to keep a log of every transmission but many stations still do.  There are some good reasons for keeping a log.  If someone used your call and violate FCC regulations a properly kept log could serve as legal evidence that it was not you.  If you allow another ham to be the control operator of your station and that person violates FCC regulations you share responsibility for the violation so it would be good if you had a log to prove that it was not you that did the violation [97.103(a)]. And it is just fun after fifty years to go back and see who you have worked. 

While preparing this post I noticed that on 12/03/60 I worked WV6OWH, Bob. WV6 prefix were given to novice class stations and when they upgraded to technician class or higher the prefix was changed to WA6 so WV6OWH became WA6OWH when he upgraded to general.  Back then Bob and I were both teenagers but now we are both grandfathers.  Bob now lives less then two miles away from me and we have talked on two meters many times over the past few years not realizing we had talked to each other fifty years ago.  

I have been lax with my blogs and I am sorry but I have it has been a busy
fall.

I taught a technician class using only my http://www.hamslife.blogspot.com
for a text.  There were three students and two of the three passed their
exam.  The third was close but missed by two questions.  

The month of October was a mile stone for me. October 10 was my 50 year anniversary
as a ham radio operator.  I had planned
to write some articles, and still plan to do some, on how it was 50 years ago
in ham radio.   

The comment section of this blog will have to remain closed.  That really saddens me because I would like
to hear from you my readers.  Spamers
have almost destroyed my computer with Trojans, spy wear, and viruses.  The conditions of my computer also made it
difficult to post or do anything else.  I
have been able to get enough memory back so I can limp along with it.   

Got to run but I want to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year and for my Jewish readers, I know I am a little late but, I hope you
had a blessed Hanukkah.

73

When I started Ham’s Life I had a vision of an interactive site where information could be passed and questions could be asked.  Every one was allowed to leave a comment though every comment was checked before it was posted.  Every web site associated with a comment was checked before posting.  Very few comments were of substance and by far the majority were deleted and never appeared on the site because they were inappropriate or the site associated with them was inappropriate.

Since starting this site I have struggled with keeping various forms of malware out of my computer.  I used the most powerful tools I could find to protect my computer from these viruses, Trojans, spy ware, and more but they still kept damaging my computer.  Attempts to find the source of these malware were fruitless.

These little demons continued to steal memory and destroy programs until finally my computer crashed.  I was able to get it back to operate but with only about 1% of its original memory. All files and most programs were lost. 

I have reason to believe the offending programs have possibly been coming in either through the comments or websites where I would go to checking validity of each comment and their sources.  Thus I have had to take an action I did not want to take.  I have deleted all comments and will not check or post any future comments.  I am attempting to find out how to prevent comments so no one will wonder why their comment was not posted.

Please understand it was not my desire to do this but I must do this at least until I can determine if indeed this is the source of the destruction of my equipment.  

Follow me at the new ham radio social page Ham Radio Nation   (http://www.hamradionation.com/home.php)

Do you know anyone who is interested in
becoming a ham and needs some study material?
I have just updated my ham radio class blog at http://hamslife2.blogspot.com . 

I will be teaching a class using the basic
format found in these ten lessons.  The
class will be held at the Colusa County Sheriff’s office in Colusa, California.  The classes will be every Saturday starting
on September 11, 2010 going through October 30, 2010.  The time will be 9 AM to 12 noon. 

Wednesday, 07/14/2010 the FCC released, in a Report and Order (R&O) release, their intent to change the restriction on government-sponsored disaster preparedness drill restrictions that required employees  from participating without a waver.  The new rule change will also affect employee participation in non-government drills and exercises.  

The FCC contends that the new ruling does not conflict with the non-commercial principles of Amateur Radio.  Basically it is a way to make it easier for such drills to involve all Amateur Radio operators whether employed by those conducting the drill or not.  There are some time restrictions so no one will be hired to run the ham radio station 40 hours a week and claim it is an emergency drill.  The rule will also reduce the paper work for the FCC but they didn’t mention that. 

The effective date has net yet been determined but new rules will not take effect until after it appears in the Federal Register.

The rapid developing electronics field has a very close association with ham radio and I refer to other technologies to illustrate that the expediential advance in technology covers much more then just electronics.  It may be a stretch in the mind of some to link this with ham radio but in my thinking there is a connection.  

Saturday night I heard the last part of a radio talk show that apparently had a guest earlier in the show.  The guest, it would seem as I followed the call in discussion, believed that modern electronic technology came as result of a UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico in July of 1947.  Now I can not prove nor disprove if a UFO crashed in Roswell or if any technology was learned from that craft if it did crash but I do not believe we need UFO conspiracy theories to understand modern technology advancements.

The Industrial Revolution is considered to have started around 1760.  Up to that time things did not change much.  When people wanted to go somewhere by land they walked, rode a beast of burden, or rode in some kind of wagon or cart drawn by such animals.  If they wanted to go by water they had to row or be wind driven.   Harnessed steam power change that.

The world started changing.  The change, sense that time, has continued to change at an accelerated rate.  Swifter means of transportation and greater productivity of factories prompted the need for faster and more efficient communications.

The word telegraph comes from Greek and means distant writing.  Though a few telegraph devices using electricity were developed prior to Samuel Morse’s telegraph but they died while Mr. Morse’s telegraph took root and grew.  The telegraph started the age of electronic communications in 1837. 

Just 40 years after Mr. Morse showed the world how to put messages on wire and send them long distances in a flash Alexander Graham Bell showed the world how to put the human voice on wire and send it over long distances. 

While the world of electronic communication was growing during 1800’s and early 1900’s other fields of technology also grew.  Accelerated development was happening in all fields Firearms, Electric lights, Internal Combustion engines, photography, and the list could go on. 

Nikola Tesla demonstrated a wireless telegraph in St. Louis, MO in 1893 but Guglielmo (Italian for William) Marconi made it to the patent office first with an economical and effective system that communicated more then just a few meters away.  It was 60 years (1837 to 1897) from when the first effective wire telegraph was patented until the first effective wireless telegraph was patented and it was 40 years from when the telegraph was invented until the telephone was invented but it was only 2 years from when the wireless telegraph was demonstrated until the wireless telephone was demonstrated.  1899 A. Fredrick Collins successfully made a voice transmission.

In 1906 Lee De Forest placed a grid in the vacuum diode and made it a triode he called an Audion.  The Audion had a little gain but it was not until about 1912   triodes with sufficient gain make an oscillator was able to be produced.  The vacuum tube was further developed.  It had more grids added and it was reduced in size.  Using the vacuum tube allowed transmitters to operate with a continuous wave (CW) on a specified frequency rather then the parasitic signal spread over a band.  Receivers could then use active devices rather then the passive units of prior days.    The little glowing marvel made it so that almost every home in the United States had at least one radio receiver in it by 1930.

In 1939 RCA released the AC/DC radio using the All American Five vacuum tubes and radios started appearing in several rooms in the home.  They could fit in packages small enough to sit on a book shelf, kitchen counter, or bed side night stand.  Soon many companies started selling these efficient, attractive, small, inexpensive, and very dangerous radios.  Compact battery operated vacuum tube radios were also being produced.  Automobiles with radios started showing up just after 1930.

By 1947 Television antennas were sprouting on the roofs of houses all across the United States. 

In 1925 Julius Edgar Liliendfield filed the first patent for a transistor in Canada.  The new transistor was very similar in operation to a Field Effect Transistor.  Because Mr. Liliendfield did not publish any research and his patent did not cite any examples of the device being constructed Oskar Heil was able to patent a similar device in 1934.

Though Bell Laboratories was not able to patent a working bipolar transistor prior to December of 1947 they had been working on the concept of a solid state replacement for the vacuum tube for several years before 1947.

Now all of this was prior to the events that happened in Roswell in July of 1947.

Looking at the technological developments that took place from the beginning of the Industrial Revelation until 1947 and noticing the accelerating advances in that technology and comparing it to the rate of acceleration sense 1947 personally I would say we are just about on target where we should be without the need of some extra-terrestrials technology input.     

The new Technician class question pool has seven diagrams, three schematic and four block diagrams.  The new technician class candidate does not have to actually be able to read the schematic or identify them.  All that is required is to identify eleven different components drawn in the schematics.  These eleven are: Battery, Lamp, Transistor, and Resistor from Figure T1; Transformer, Variable Resistor, Light Emitting Diode, a

Single-pole single-throw switch and Capacitor from Figure T2; Antenna and Variable Inductor from T3.

You do need to know that a transistor controls current because one question asks about the function of component 2 on T1 which is the transistor.

T6C02 (A)

What is component 1 in figure T1?

A. Resistor

B. Transistor

C. Battery

D. Connector

~~

T6C03 (B)

What is component 2 in figure T1?

A. Resistor

B. Transistor

C. Indicator lamp

D. Connector

~~

T6C04 (C)

What is component 3 in figure T1?

A. Resistor

B. Transistor

C. Lamp

D. Ground symbol

~~

T6C05 (C)

What is component 4 in figure T1?

A. Resistor

B. Transistor

C. Battery

D. Ground symbol

~~

T6D10 (C)

What is the function of component 2 in Figure T1?

A. Give off light when current flows through it

B. Supply electrical energy

C. Control the flow of current

D. Convert electrical energy into radio waves

~~

T6C06 (B)

What is component 6 in figure T2?

A. Resistor

B. Capacitor

C. Regulator IC

D. Transistor

~~

T6C07 (D)

What is component 8 in figure T2?

A. Resistor

B. Inductor

C. Regulator IC

D. Light emitting diode

~~

T6C08 (C)

What is component 9 in figure T2?

A. Variable capacitor

B. Variable inductor

C. Variable resistor

D. Variable transformer

~~

T6C09 (D)

What is component 4 in figure T2?

A. Variable inductor

B. Double-pole switch

C. Potentiometer

D. Transformer

~~

T6C10 (D)

What is component 3 in figure T3?

A. Connector

B. Meter

C. Variable capacitor

D. Variable inductor

~~

T6C11 (A)

What is component 4 in figure T3?

A. Antenna

B. Transmitter

C. Dummy load

D. Ground

~~

The bock diagrams depict a simple CW transmitter, a very simple representation using just three blocks to display a transceiver, a little more complex diagram of a Single-conversion superheterodyne receiver, and finally the most complex of the diagrams showing An FM receiver.

Figure T4 and Figure 5 both ask for circuit identification while Figure T6 and Figure T7 ask the candidate to identify the complete unit.  Both show a single conversion receiver but only question T7A02 gives that as an answer for Figure T6 while question T7A04 identifies Figure T7 as An FM receiver. 

T7A05 (D)

What is the function of block 1 if figure T4 is a simple CW transmitter?

A. Reactance modulator

B. Product detector

C. Low-pass filter

D. Oscillator

~~

T7A07 (B)

If figure T5 represents a transceiver in which block 1 is the transmitter portion and block 3 is the receiver portion, what is the function of block 2?

A. A balanced modulator

B. A transmit-receive switch

C. A power amplifier

D. A high-pass filter

~~

T7A02 (C)

What type of receiver is shown in Figure T6?

A. Direct conversion

B. Super-regenerative

C. Single-conversion superheterodyne

D. Dual-conversion superheterodyne

T7A04 (D)

What circuit is pictured in Figure T7, if block 1 is a frequency discriminator?

A. A double-conversion receiver

B. A regenerative receiver

C. A superheterodyne receiver

D. An FM receiver

~~

Possibly the most frightening aspect of the new Technician Class question pool for the prospective candidate is the diagrams now included. 

If break it down as I have above it really should not be all that frightening.  First just learn what those ten component drawings look like and answering any question you might have concerning the schematic should be a breeze. 

Remember that the first stage of a CW transmitter is an oscillator and that a transmitter and a receiver have to have some type of antenna switch if they are to use the same antenna and the next two diagrams should loose their ability to strike fear in the hearts of those testing.

Finally remember that both receivers are single conversion but only one if an FM receiver and the bugaboo of Figures T6 and T7 should disappear.  If you need a little more help remember that an FM receiver does not use a Beat Frequency Oscillator and the wide filter and the Limiter give T7’s secret of being an FM receiver away.

If you have been studying the old question pool and think you know it fairly well but you are afraid of the new questions you might just read through the new question pool.  New question pool can be seen at http://www.hamslife2.blogspot.com/