Posted	Category
	Godzilla 2019 Trailer Battle of the Boatanchor Radios?  Personally, I've never been a fan of Godzilla or other manic monster movies, and yet there is a new one coming this summer.  Believe it or not, this will be the 35th movie of the Gozilla franchise since the first one appeared in 1954.Maybe that's why when it comes to communications, the latest movie relies on 1950s technology?   Well to be fair it is somewhat enhanced ...  READ MORE	ranickels 04/20/2019	History and Humor
	Crystals Go To War A documentary about the technology that won WWII Clear communications were critical to the success of the Allies in World War II. The stability of the Allied transmitters and receivers depended on the performance of tiny quartz crystals. During WWII, the heavy reliance on these crystals spurred on tremendous advances in the manufacturing of dependable crystals. Before the wartime need, the performance of radio crystals was largely inconsistent b...  READ MORE	ranickels 04/12/2019	Ham Radio Information
	"Shortwave...take it down, quick!" The Three Stooges copying CW Larry, Moe, and Curly need a little more CW practice, but their Morse sounder has a nice T-9 CW tone!...  READ MORE	ranickels 03/19/2019	History and Humor
	LM386 audio amplifier makes a really good regenerative receiver! Demo of simple AM BC receiver breadboard I'm nuts for minimalist solutions...as the wise old engineers would say "It's easy to make a circuit work if there's no limit on parts or cost".    Early television mogul Earl "Mad Man" Muntz fumed about "overengineering" and gained notoriety by snipping out components until the picture or sound stopped working, then told his engineer "...  READ MORE	ranickels 02/25/2019	Ham Radio Information
	Emergency Radio telephone circa 1939 Field Day, Ma Bell style... Interesting 3 minute video showing how AT&T used portable radio equipment to provide telephone communications after disasters disrupted wirelines.    "And it only weighs a few hundred pounds"!...  READ MORE	ranickels 02/22/2019	Ham Radio Information
	WWII Command Set radio checkout in a P-47 Thunderbolt Radio Mechanic Jones...bring your screwdriver, you have a lot of Dzus fasteners in your future! PREFLIGHT RADIO INSPECTION FOR FIGHTER AIRCRAFT is a WWII film made for newbie Army Air Force Radio Mechanics. The film shows a P-47 Thunderbolt's SCR274 radio being checked out on the ground, part of the routine pre-flight for any fighter aircraft. What's really interesting about it, is that the film really goes into great detail on the inspection including showing the various forms that ...  READ MORE	ranickels 02/18/2019	Ham Radio Information
	The Sputnik Moment - the day everything changed Oct. 4, 1957 It was a 58 cm (23 in) diameter polished metal sphere, with four external radio antennas to broadcast radio pulses on 20.005 and 40.010 MHz. Its radio signal was easily detectable even by hams using regular receivers and the 65° inclination and duration of its orbit made its flight path cover virtually the entire inhabited Earth. This surprise success of the Russian launch of the fir...  READ MORE	ranickels 01/15/2019	Ham Radio Information
	Heathkit Interviews - the Heathkit Files A couple of the "hams at Heath" "The Radio Geek" on YouTube atteneded the 2016 Heathkit Employee Reunion and interviewed two of the long-time "hams at Heath".   David Poplewski and Ed Mosher share their memories of the late, great (until Zenith took over!) Heathkit Company....  READ MORE	ranickels 01/04/2019	Ham Radio Information
	Ham Radio and Disaster Preparedness A California ham's vintage radios featured in EMCOMM video CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. - The Coachella Valley is prone to potential natural disasters like earthquakes which could knock out many lines of communication. If that happens ham radios can be the key in sending essential information.A radio is being tuned as this ham radio operator works from his Cathedral City home searching for people to talk to. For him it’s something he loves to do.“Th...  READ MORE	ranickels 12/18/2018	Ham Radio Information
	Controlling external devices using VERSA-TR VERSA-TR can be used as an RF-actuated switch to control external devices such as a linear amplifier. Sometimes it's nice to be able to turn something on/off when RF is present.   A common example is to key a linear amplifier without having to run DC control signals, or to turn on an "On The Air" sign to impress shack visitors!   This is easy to do using the VERSA-TR as shown in this video.A special cable with a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo type plug is needed and wir...  READ MORE	ranickels 11/28/2018	RAN Technology Product demos