Home work for Feb 18th

[Seldom Seen]

Watch these Videos

1st one just for fun ~15 min long (note the nice clean 60):

Video 1

Video 2 ~12min

Work safe

 

[Red_Chili]

So, I succeeded.
I got my son somewhat interested because it was a demo of satellite acquisition. We watched for 15 minutes, they failed, but I succeeded in convincing my son his father is a hopeless geek who is not cool.

He didn't stick around for the much better second one...

 

[Red_Chili]

So what's up with "Charlie Nancy 88"? November optional?

Nothing replaces just hearing guys talk, that's for sure.

 

[Seldom Seen]

So what's up with "Charlie Nancy 88"?

Grid Squares (http://www.qrz.com/gridfinder) it's brevity for giving your QTH using the Maidenhead system.

November optional?

sorta, Nancy is the old phonetic "N"

 

[DaveInDenver]

sorta, Nancy is the old phonetic "N"

Names are sometimes still used by public service, often police. Adam, Baker, Charlie, David, Edward, Frank, etc. I prefer the NATO/ITU mostly because I work around DoD and aerospace and that's what all the ex-military guys use. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, etc.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Names are sometimes still used by public service, often police. Adam, Baker, Charlie, David, Edward, Frank, etc. I prefer the NATO/ITU mostly because I work around DoD and aerospace and that's what all the ex-military guys use. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, etc.

I heard a guy the other day that used places.....Alabama, Boston, Colorado, Delaware, etc. Thought that was pretty creative!

 

[Red_Chili]

Interesting... so it is not all that tight?
Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta... is easier for me to remember.

 

[corsair23]

Those are some pretty nerds

Amazing to watch that all get setup and actually work. I expected better coverage/quality whatever but still interesting...

 

[DaveInDenver]

Interesting... so it is not all that tight?
Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta... is easier for me to remember.

Most people recommend sticking with a known one for a couple of reasons, but there is no requirement to do so. Whatever makes your message clear through static. But if you make up your own you run the risk of negating the whole reason for using phonetics, clarity. NATO picked the words they did because the pronunciation is clear with any native European accent (so it's pretty understandable worldwide) and no two words can be confused, they all sound different. Other phonetic languages, like the names of people achieve the same, the first letter is pretty clearly the letter it represents. Uncle Ben's State names works, but probably wouldn't be nearly as good outside the USA and probably Canada, since the names of US states is less recognizable. It's like someone from Germany using Augsburg, Bayern, Chemnitz, Dusseldorf, Emden, Frankfurt, etc. It might get the point across, but not optimal since their proper pronunciation would make them hard for us to understand. For example NATO has 'A' as 'Alfa' with an 'f' rather than 'ph' because 'ph' does not mean the 'eff' sound in all languages. Or 'Juliett' with two 't's is spelled that way for the French, so it's said right. A lot of tax money was spent coming up with it, you know, so might as well use it. ;-)

 

[Uncle Ben]

Most people recommend sticking with a known one for a couple of reasons, but there is no requirement to do so. Whatever makes your message clear through static. But if you make up your own you run the risk of negating the whole reason for using phonetics, clarity. NATO picked the words they did because the pronunciation is clear with any native European accent (so it's pretty understandable worldwide) and no two words can be confused, they all sound different. Other phonetic languages, like the names of people achieve the same, the first letter is pretty clearly the letter it represents. Uncle Ben's State names works, but probably wouldn't be nearly as good outside the USA and probably Canada, since the names of US states is less recognizable. It's like someone from Germany using Augsburg, Bayern, Chemnitz, Dusseldorf, Emden, Frankfurt, etc. It might get the point across, but not optimal since their proper pronunciation would make them hard for us to understand. For example NATO has 'A' as 'Alfa' with an 'f' rather than 'ph' because 'ph' does not mean the 'eff' sound in all languages. Or 'Juliett' with two 't's is spelled that way for the French, so it's said right. A lot of tax money was spent coming up with it, you know, so might as well use it. ;-)

Make sense........wait.....what?

 

[RockRunner]

Names are sometimes still used by public service, often police. Adam, Baker, Charlie, David, Edward, Frank, etc. I prefer the NATO/ITU mostly because I work around DoD and aerospace and that's what all the ex-military guys use. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, etc.

Dave just curious where you work? I support aerospace engineers and am around DoD and other clearances all day.

 

[Groucho]

Homework for the Feb 18th Class--

So here are things to help keep it interesting during class. As we learned last week from Barbara and Bruce, HAM radio enjoys a rich and colorful history. While most of this culture surrounding HAM radio will not be on the test, here starts the things that will help each one of you become a better operator.

We will start with pro-signs. Pro-signs are basically abbreviations for words or phrases that are used to keep the communication as short and concise as possible. Most of these pro-signs have origins in early telegraphy, where every letter or number cost the sender money to send. For instance, if each letter in a message cost 1 dollar to send via western union telegraph, look at the following message and the difference in cost:
Please confirm Single Side Band schedule text tomorrow, Thanks.
This line cost $55, including punctuation. Same line using pro-signs:
PSE CFM SSB SKED TXT TMW TNX
The pro-sign line cost $22, less than half. They say money drives innovation, and this is a very good example. How the terms became standard is a history lesson in of itself. They also translate into shorter Morse Code messages with regards to DITs and DAHs. Less letters means faster speeds.

For Feb 18th, these few pro-signs you will be required to learn and will be quizzed on them at random times throughout the class. This is not for a grade, it is for fun. The idea is to try and get everyone into the habit of using pro-signs when they apply, and also to use them to keep the communication as short and concise as possible. That way, just like the FCC wants us to use the minimum amount of power to get our signal to the intended receiver, we also should keep our communication to as minimum as possible to still facilitate the message.

The biggest point to remember about being a good operator is to L-I-S-T-E-N. Listen first, and then transmit. Operators will best learn how to enter a conversation by listening. When it is time to speak, speak clearly, across the mike and know what you want to say.

Q-Signals:
QTH - What is your location? My location is ___.
QSL - Can you acknowledge receipt? I am acknowledging receipt. (I understand)
QSY - Shall I change to another frequency? Change transmission to another frequency
QRZ - Who is calling me? You are being called by ___
QRN - Are you troubled by static? I am troubled by static.
QRM - Is my transmission being interfered with? Your transmission is being interfered with.

Common Abbreviations:
73—Best regards
88—Love and kisses
CQ—Calling any station(Seeking you)
OM—Old Man
YL—Youg Lady
XYL—Wife
LID—Poor operator
HI, HI—Laughter
VFO—Variable Frequency Oscillator(Tuning dial)
FM—Frequency Modulation
Fine Business—Excellent
DX—Distance
CW—Continuous Wave(Morse Code)
SSB—Single Side Band
RTTY—Radio Teletype
Rig—Station Equipment
AM—Amplitude Modulation

Be prepared to use these pro-signs in response to questions in the next class. There may even be prizes for those who do.
Guys, get your gals this info so they too can participate!!!!

 

[Seldom Seen]

Gosh, Dave is bringing back old Army memories . Another thing too is... there is a built in error correction. Let's say you missed or couldn't hear the 1st syllable of the word....you hear 'vember and you know it's November or "N".

Now if someone is using Charleston for "C" and Boston for "B"

 

[DaveInDenver]

Doing some reading, the Adam, Boy, Charlie alphabet actually is called the APCO (Association of Public Safety Communications Officials) Phonetics alphabet and is apparently pretty common in law enforcement. Funny, all the times in the back of a squad car and I never noticed what their phonetics alphabet was. Anyway, who hasn't wanted to say "1-Adam-12, 1-Adam-12, 211 in progress. Will give chase. License plate Robert, Nancy, Paul, five, niner, zero."

http://www.lacdcs.com/training-apco-endpage.html

 

[Groucho]

Niner...

...Funny, all the times in the back of a squad car and I never noticed what their phonetics alphabet was. Anyway, who hasn't wanted to say "1-Adam-12, 1-Adam-12, 211 in progress. Will give chase. License plate Robert, Nancy, Paul, five, niner, zero."

Richard: "A message. What number did you call?"
Tommy: "2... 4... niner, 5, 6, 7. 8..."
Richard: "I can't hear you. You're trailing off. And did I catch a "niner" in there? Were you calling from a walkie-talkie?"
Tommy: "No, it was cordless."

Tommy Boy Niner