August 26, 2012
Lee De Forest Birthday August 26, 1873
Lee De Forest was born on this day August 26, 1873. De Forest was an electrical engineer and inventor of the Audion tube with three electrodes instead of two in 1907. The tube became known as the De Forest valve or triode. His innovation made electronic amplification and switching possible. The Audion Tube was a huge commercial success
August 22, 2012
FCC View of CC&R Preemption - Score One For HOA's
In a report released August 20, 2012, the FCC has recommended taking no action regarding expanding preemption rules to cover to private land use restrictions contained in covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) in home ownership deeds and condominium bylaws regarding amateur radio antennas.
Amateur radio operators across the country are finding it increasingly difficult to pursue their interest in amateur radio due to these restrictive covenants. As the saying goes, sometimes it has to get worse before it can be made better. For this round, score one for the HOA's and zero for amateur radio....
Excerpt from the report:
Recommendations
Private land use restrictions. Some commenters recommend that CC&Rs be preempted if they prohibit antennas that are within certain limits. Others suggest that private land use restrictions on amateur antennas should be permitted only for safety considerations, and not for aesthetic reasons.
As noted above, however, other commenters believe that it is not necessary to preempt private land use restrictions in order to promote amateur emergency communications, given the ways that even amateurs subject to CC&Rs can communicate effectively and the nature of amateur emergency communications.
Moreover, while commenters suggest that private land use restrictions have become more common our review of the record does not indicate that amateur operators are unable to find homes that are not subject to such restrictions. Therefore, at this time, we do not see a compelling reason for the Commission to revisit its previous determinations that preemption should not be expanded to CC&Rs.
Amateur radio operators across the country are finding it increasingly difficult to pursue their interest in amateur radio due to these restrictive covenants. As the saying goes, sometimes it has to get worse before it can be made better. For this round, score one for the HOA's and zero for amateur radio....
Excerpt from the report:
Recommendations
Private land use restrictions. Some commenters recommend that CC&Rs be preempted if they prohibit antennas that are within certain limits. Others suggest that private land use restrictions on amateur antennas should be permitted only for safety considerations, and not for aesthetic reasons.
As noted above, however, other commenters believe that it is not necessary to preempt private land use restrictions in order to promote amateur emergency communications, given the ways that even amateurs subject to CC&Rs can communicate effectively and the nature of amateur emergency communications.
Moreover, while commenters suggest that private land use restrictions have become more common our review of the record does not indicate that amateur operators are unable to find homes that are not subject to such restrictions. Therefore, at this time, we do not see a compelling reason for the Commission to revisit its previous determinations that preemption should not be expanded to CC&Rs.
August 2, 2012
Kenwood TH-22AT
We picked up a pair of Kenwood TH-22AT 2m handi-talkies at a yard sale for a good price. The pair came with drop-in charger and spare battery pack. Very durable feeling to the radio.
Kenwood put a lot of great features into this radio for its vintage. Having been a TH-F6A owner for several years, the TH-22AT seems surprisingly rather familiar. The TH-22AT includes 40 memories which is a must on a VHF HT. The programming is bit clunky though manageable. It only took a minute to figure out the 10 steps to enter a repeater into memory. Here are the actual steps we took to program a repeater (145.25 MHz) with a tone frequency of 131.8 into memory number 33.
1) Press VFO
2) Enter the frequency by turning the dial until the screen displayed 145.25
3) Press T/CT
4) Press and hold F for more than 1 second
5) Press T/CT
6) Select the tone frequency by turning the dial until the screen displays 131.8
7) Press T/CT
8) Press and hold F for more than 1 second
9) Select the memory number (0 to 39) using the dial until the screen displays 33
10) Press MR
Violà!
The TH-22AT has the same standard Kenwood headphone / speaker jack configuration as our TH-F6A. This means we will be able to use the TH-22AT with our APRS TNC plug-and-play.
Looking forward to using this radio as a spare, as a APRS tracker, and radio fox-hunting transmitter.
© Michael W. Maher and NJ2X.COM, 2012
 |
| Kenwood TH-22AT 2m HT |
Kenwood put a lot of great features into this radio for its vintage. Having been a TH-F6A owner for several years, the TH-22AT seems surprisingly rather familiar. The TH-22AT includes 40 memories which is a must on a VHF HT. The programming is bit clunky though manageable. It only took a minute to figure out the 10 steps to enter a repeater into memory. Here are the actual steps we took to program a repeater (145.25 MHz) with a tone frequency of 131.8 into memory number 33.
1) Press VFO
2) Enter the frequency by turning the dial until the screen displayed 145.25
3) Press T/CT
4) Press and hold F for more than 1 second
5) Press T/CT
6) Select the tone frequency by turning the dial until the screen displays 131.8
7) Press T/CT
8) Press and hold F for more than 1 second
9) Select the memory number (0 to 39) using the dial until the screen displays 33
10) Press MR
Violà!
Looking forward to using this radio as a spare, as a APRS tracker, and radio fox-hunting transmitter.
© Michael W. Maher and NJ2X.COM, 2012
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