hanson (01/21/83)
I am a new ham, mainly interested in digital communications, though I suppose I wouldn't mind ragchewing, if it were about rigs or computers. Despite Novice standing, I plan to upgrade quickly, and I have a severely limited budget. With this in mind, I have several questions... 1. Digital communications take place mainly on VHF, so I'm told. What frequencies ? What modems/format/protocol ? (At least here in Chicagoland...) 2. Why are there no multiband VHF/UHF rigs - in the same way that MF/HF rigs are multiband (reminder, 160m = MF)? If I can afford only one rig, I'd like it to cover all frequencies of interest to me, so I'm not left out when a new (scarce) digital source goes on the air. One rig for 160m-10m and another for 6m, 2m, 220, 440 - pretty neat idea I think. Sure it'd be twice as expensive as a monoband rig - but it would cover four bands ! Or even three bands would be an alternative... 3. Why are there so few 220 rigs advertised in QST and '73 ? It seems that every 2m rig has a 440 counterpart, but no 220 ! Just the ICOM 3A(T). I'm confused, especially since I'm told that 220 is a popular choice for digital (2m is too crowded, 440 is too costly and lagging in power/propagation). Where are you 220 guys ? Stand up, please ! 4. I have 2 Hy-Gain CB boards, and have read that 10 meter AM is alive. I listen on the club rig and don't hear much. Why ? (time-of-day = noon, maybe that's why). It seems to me that a $ 7.00 rig and a homebrew linear (oh, 40 watts or so...) would be a very popular, LOW COST way to get on the air. Articles, anyone (I have only a few)? What bandplan for 10m AM ? Any personal experiences on the net about converting the Hy-Gain board: what am I getting into ? 5. Also, why 10 FM ? Is it really worth the extra hassle to convert to FM? If so, why don't I hear ANY activity at all here ? Even so, there are only a few channels reserved by agreement, doesn't seem like much of a choice... 6. Commercial FM broadcasters use stacked circularly-polarized bays to increase low-angle radiation (hence their ERP), and maintain omnidirectional coverage. Why are there only vertical omni's and horizontal beams in the ham world ? Is no one interested in gain AND omni coverage ? 7. Where can I see HF antenna types rated together for performance, directionality, gain, cost, etc ? How about some Elmers to the rescue... R. J. Hanson KA9OQD ihuxp!hanson BTL IW 1A-407