| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 1017.1 | Ham answers | LEDS::HUGHES | Dave Hughes (LEDS::HUGHES) NKS1-1/E3 291-7214 | Thu Jun 01 1989 17:39 | 33 |
|
I believe this is discussed in other notes, and if the moderators
find it elsewhere please let us know and we'll move it.
A brief answer is that "converting" your radio means replacing
the RF module in the transmitter and the entire receiver.
Airtronics does it for free if you send them a new -in-the-box
72MHz radio, if it's one of the models that they support on 6
meters (used to be just the CS7P, but some of the new models
are also available on 6 meters).
My personal opinions is that I don't think it's worth converting an
older radio, you'd spend almost enough money to buy a new one. Sell the
old one to a non-ham and buy a new one on 6 meters.
As far as which band (50 or 53), the 50 MHz channels require narrow
band equipment just like the 1991 72MHz does. 53 MHz is 100kHz
spacing, and will NOT be obsoleted in 1991. If I was going to buy
a new radio now, I'd try for 50MHz, but I'd first check to see if
there are any repeaters around - they've put some down there at
the bottom of 6 meters.
Ham radios do not have to be type-accepted by the FCC, that is one
of the privileges of being a ham. I don't know how AMA deals with
this, but I'd be surprised if they objected. It is perfectly legal
for a ham to build his own radios from scratch. It's also legal for
a ham to operate R/C on ANY ham band, but I do think the AMA would
restrict you to one of their "sanctioned" frequencies at any formal
AMA meet.
Dave Hughes
WA1MPF
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| 1017.2 | Buy it on 50/53! | POBOX::KAPLOW | Set the WAYBACK machine for 1982 | Thu Jun 01 1989 19:50 | 28 |
| If you are buying a new radio (thats what your second paragraph
implies), don't worry about "conversion", just buy one on the 6
meter band. Many RC vendors don't offer this option, but enough do
that you shouldn't have a problem getting one. You won't find one
in your local store, or discount house. Thus it may be cheaper to
buy one and convert it than to buy one at retail. Still, stick
with a vendor who offers 6 meter gear and it should not be a
problem. Airtronics does offer ham gear.
Conversion done by re-crystalling and re-tuning only works on
close-by bands (business to 2 meter for example). This may result
in a minor perfromance loss. It COULD be done on the cheap 49Mhz
radios to 50/53Mhz, but they probably aren't worth the bother. To
convert a 72Mhz to 50/53Mhz you would have to replace or
re-engineer the whole RF deck.
My understanding is that the new ARRL band plan for 6 meters
has NO repeaters anywhere near the 50.xx narrow band channels.
There may be repeaters on either side of the 53.x0 channels,
just as close as the pagers on 72.xx.
As to competition, both the 50.xx and 53.x0 frequencies should be
permitted. They ARE part of the AMA band plan. Of course you must
show your FCC license. Other legal ham frequencies are at the
option of the CD. Your membership handbook should explain all of
this, and tell you the proper flag/number to use.
Bob WB9WDV
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| 1017.3 | Piece of cake... | CLOSUS::TAVARES | John -- Stay low, keep moving | Fri Jun 02 1989 18:17 | 12 |
| If your radio is AM, and if you are a ham, you should be able to
get an RF deck from Ace RC, 1991 ready, and install it yourself.
Its simply a case of mechanically locating the deck; in the case
of my Futaba radio the Ace deck is about the same size and would
fit into the same place. Then you need to hook up the output of
the present encoder, the meter input, and the power wires. You
may need to invert the modulation as described in RCM recently
(if you need the article, let me know offline).
Should be no problem for someone who can do dit dah dit at 5 or
more WPM.
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