Hi,
I'm finally finding a little time to work on my backlog of radio projects.
What this means is that I am getting motivated to get an inexpensive
spectrum analyzer. My budget is very low, but I've seen a few on eBay that I
can probably afford. I know there's a lot of knowledge and experience out
there, so hope you can give me some good advice. What should I consider and
what should I stay away from? Are there any good deals you're aware of?
Obviously, I want everything for almost nothing, but these are my
requirements:
1. Coverage of ham bands from 2 Meters through 10 GHz
2. Usable frequency display, digital desired but not required (OSD or
not, either is ok)
3. Stable and fully functional but not necessarily absolutely
calibrated (I'm willing to use fudge factors for calibration errors as long
as they're minor and predictable)
4. Display quality not noticeably degraded
5. Some type of computer/printer output desired, but not required
6. Tracking generator desired, but not required
7. Popular make and model so parts and information are readily
available, newer is better
8. Capabilities and functionality are more important than cosmetics
9. Portability is desired, but not required
10. Price below $1000, preferably below $500
All help is appreciated,
Rod, wb9kmo(a)sbarc.org
Greetings SBARC Members,
We'd like for you to join us as communicators for the events:
Sunday, Sept. 26, 2004, Carpinteria Triathlon
http://www.carpinteriatriathlon.com/
Saturday, October 16, 2004, MS Bike Tour
http://www.santabarbarabiketour.com/
Saturday, Nov. 6,2004, Santa Barbara News-Press Half-Marathon
http://www.sbcoast.com/halfmarathon/index.html
Contact operations(a)sbarc.org for more details.
________________________________________________________________
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A support bicycle rider on the run portion of the triathlon is also desired.
Thanks,
Hubert
________________________________________________________________
The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
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Greetings All,
We still need quite a few more operators for the Santa Barbara Triathlon on Sat. Aug. 28, 2004.
Unfilled Positions(12):
SAG Vehicle
Medical Tent. @ East Beach
Transition area east entrance @ East Beach
Transition area west entrance @ East Beach
Bike Director
Olive Mill & Danielson
So. Jameson & San Ysidro
Sheffield & San Leandro (new this year because of detour)
State Street & Pier @ Bike path
Shoreline Dr. & Loma Alta @ mile mark 2
Oliver rd. & El Camino de la luz @ mile mark 4
Borton Dr. & Mesa Lane waterstation
Thanks,
Hubert
_________________________________
________________________________________________________________
The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!
Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!
Looks like I finally got the APRS I-Gate on La Vigia working! It used to be seen on APRS-IS via K6SYV on Figueroa and then N1VG in Santa Maria:
20040824044245,K6TZ-10>BEACON,K6SYV-10*,WIDE,qAR,N1VG:!3424.34NN11942.91W#PHG4200 Santa Barbara ARC Inc. WIDEn-n APRS Digi-peater on La Vigia Hill.
now it's direct:
20040824083311,K6TZ-10>APJI20,TCPIP*,qAC,K6TZ-10:!3424.34NI11942.91W&Santa Barbara ARC Inc. javAPRSIgate on La Vigia Hill
You can check-up on it on find-U at <http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=K6TZ-10>.
K6TZ Santa Cruz weather now makes it directly to APRS-IS via our IGate. See the switch-over from N1VG (in Santa Maria) to K6TZ-10:
20040824075250,K6TZ>APTW01,WIDE2-1,qAR,N1VG:!3401.75N/11947.06W_SBARC Diablo Peak, Santa Cruz Island
20040824080251,K6TZ>APTW01,WIDE2-2,qAR,K6TZ-10:!3401.75N/11947.06W_SBARC Diablo Peak, Santa Cruz Island
You can see it directly at <http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxpage.cgi?call=k6tz> or for the raw stuff <http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/raw.cgi?call=k6tz&start=1&length=3&time=1>.
The status page of the javAPRSIgate server is at <http://sbarc.dyndns.org:14501/> in case you're interested in the stats.
I'm sure it's not all configured 100% correctly. Just let me know if you spot something in need of improvement.
73! Thorsten - N6TVE
Santa Barbara Triathlon 2004 Unfilled Positions(12):
Medical Tent. @ East Beach
Transition area east entrance @ East Beach
Transition area west entrance @ East Beach
Bike Director
Olive Mill & Danielson
So. Jameson & San Ysidro
Sheffield & San Leandro (new this year because of detour)
7110 Gobernador Cyn with boy scouts @ Water exchange.
State Street & Pier @ Bike path
Shoreline Dr. & Loma Alta @ mile mark 2
Oliver rd. & El Camino de la luz @ mile mark 4
Borton Dr. & Mesa Lane waterstation
________________________________________________________________
The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!
Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!
I will be fiddling with the K6TZ APRS radio/TNC at the mesa over the next
few hours trying to get an IGate running. I will be monitoring 146.790 so
feel free to yell if I'm messing up or you need the APRS repeater to work
right now. I'll probably be toying around again tomorrow.
TvE - N6TVE
Open Positions, Santa Barbara Triathlon 2004:
Medical Tent. @ East Beach
Transition area east entrance @ East Beach
Transition area west entrance @ East Beach
Bike Director
Olive Mill & Danielson
So. Jameson & San Ysidro
Sheffield & San Leandro (new this year because of detour)
Sheffield & East Valley rd.
Foothill & Nidever
7110 Gobernador Cyn with boy scouts @ Water exchange.
State Street & Pier @ Bike path
Shoreline Dr. & Loma Alta @ mile mark 2
Oliver rd. & El Camino de la luz @ mile mark 4
Borton Dr. & Mesa Lane waterstation
________________________________________________________________
The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!
Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!
I'd like to note that Darryl Widman, KF6DI, was the person who got this
started initially with a talk to Art Goddard, W6XD, up at the Santa
Maria Swapfest. It is nice to see this taking off!!!
Marvin
*********************
New Mentor Logo
Follow this link to view the new logo that will be used on the ARRL
Mentor page. This page will have links to many tools and resources that
the League will have
for clubs to use in their mentor programs.
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/mentor/
ARRL has always supported the Affiliated Clubs and the fine job that
they do helping new hams.
________________________________________________________________________________________
OJT
On the Job Training. Nobody that comes out of school knows anything,
let alone everything. And like a lot of things in life Amateur Radio is
a lot of OJT. We
read a book, memorize some formulas, study some questions and get a
license. Now what? Now we need someone to show us the ropes. This
someone is
going to take us under their wing and provide us with some guidance and
inspiration and allow us to grow and enjoy the hobby. That person is
our mentor.
The biggest reason that most new hams never become active is because
they didnt get any support from a local club or help from a mentor.
Take a few minutes
to think about when you were first licensed and who the person was that
helped you. It may have been your dad or a family friend or a neighbor,
but one thing is
for sure and that is you did not get smart by yourself. Now take
another moment and think of the last person that you offered help to.
Hopefully that person came
to mind quickly.
We have been highlighting some of the great things that the clubs have
been doing with new hams. I have to tell you that there really are some
super programs
working out there. We want to share this information with all of the
clubs in the hope that they will be able to take a piece of a successful
program and make it
work for their members. Sharing ideas makes us better.
If you have any successes from your club that you would like to share,
please send the information to: clubs(a)arrl.org
Time For Class
Ham radio class, that is. Now is the time that your club should be
organizing and advertising Amateur radio licensing classes for this fall
season. Vacations are
winding down and people will be looking for things to keep themselves
busy. With all of the publicity about ham radio during the recent
disasters people have
seen the importance that the Amateur Radio Service has in their
community. Now you can let them know that they too can obtain an FCC
license and be trained
to help their neighbor should an emergency occur.
For more information on organizing a ham radio class, visit the ARRL
Volunteer Instructor Primer on the web at:
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/instructor/oip/
________________________________________________________________________________________
501(c)(3)
Clubs interested in 501(c)(3) status may check out the IRS website:
http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=96109,00.html
_________________________________________________________________________________________
On September 11, 2004 the Pentagon Amateur Radio Club (PARC) will be
operating a special event station commemorating the attacks that
occurred on the Pentagon, the World Trade Center and over Pennsylvania
in 2001.
The club will be using the callsign K4AF and intends a 24 hour operation
on 20m, 40m & 80m. There will be a special QSL available for stations
that work K4AF.
Members of PARC include civilian employees of the Pentagon as well as
personnel from all branches of the military. The club has a website at:
WWW.K4AF.ORG
More information, as well as QSL information, will be available as we
get closer to the event.
73,
Norm Fusaro, W3IZ
ARRL Affiliated Club/Mentor Program Manager
225 Main St.
Newington, CT 06011
