Posted: 7/16/2008 7:14:47 PM EDT
[#19]
Quoted:
Quoted: I have the 857d,,,, Now I just have to figure out how to use it.
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switch over to 40M band, start spinning the funny looking knob... |
keep in mind that the 40m band is currently shared with international shortwave stations; at nighttime (in the USA) you will get tons of interference on 40m. if you want to listen to Croatian music or Radio Netherlands, simply wait until it's dark, switch your rig to AM, and tune around the 40m band. my advice for breaking a new HF radio/user is to try 20m/40m during the day -- but at night 80m is likely a more usable band unless you can find a quiet hole on 40m to sit in. at least that's the way it is here on the east coast. also see the related entry in the tacked Ham Radio 101 thread -- it's on the second page, titled "so you got your first HF radio home -- now what?" or something along those lines. ar-jedi en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_meters
The 20 meter amateur radio band is a portion of the shortwave radio spectrum, comprising frequencies stretching from 14.000 MHz to 14.350 MHz.[1] The 20 meter band was first made available to amateurs in the United States by the Third National Radio Conference[2] on October 10th, 1924.
The 20 meter band is widely considered among the best for DXing, and is one of the most popular (and crowded) during contests.[3] Several factors contribute to this, including the band's large size, the relatively small size of antennas tuned to it (especially as compared to antennas for 40 or 80 meters) and its good potential for daytime DX operation even in unfavorable propagation conditions. | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40_meters
The 40 meters or 7 MHz band is a core amateur radio frequency band, spanning 7000 to 7300 kilohertz, allocated to radio amateurs in all countries worldwide. The 40 meter band was made available to amateurs in the United States by the Third National Radio Conference on October 10th, 1924. 40 meters is considered the most reliable all-season DX band, most useful for inter-continental communication at night. It is extremely useful for short to medium distance contacts from local contacts out to a range of 500–1500 km, depending on conditions, during the day. In higher latitudes, daytime inter-continental communication is also possible in winter, for example a good path often opens between Japan and northern Europe in the hours leading up to European midday from late November until late January, with a long path opening to the west coast of the United States and Canada after midday.
For many years the portion of the band from 7100-7300 kilohertz has been allocated to short wave broadcasters outside the Americas and not available to radio amateurs outside ITU Region 2. At the World Radio Conference WRC-03 in 2003 it was agreed that the broadcast stations would move out of the section 7100-7200 kiloherz on 29 March 2009 and that portion would become a worldwide exclusive amateur allocation afterwards. Discussions on releasing the remaining 100 kHz of the band to amateurs at a later date will continue in future conferences. Several European countries have now allowed amateur communication in the 7100-7200 kilohertz section on a shared non-interference basis as an interim measure.
Due to the 24 hour nature of the band, the wide variety of ranges that can be spanned with it, and its shared nature, it tends to be extremely crowded, and interference from other amateurs and broadcasters can be a serious limiting factor. In addition, amateurs in east and south-east Asia have suffered severe interference from illegal users in recent years. | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_meters
The 80 meter or 3.5 MHz band is a core amateur radio frequency band, allocated frequencies from 3.5 to 4.0 MHz in IARU Region 2, and generally 3.5 to 3.8 or 3.9 MHz in Regions 1 and 3 respectively. The portion of the band used for voice communications is sometimes referred to as "75 meters". The 80 meter band was made available to amateurs in the United States by the Third National Radio Conference on October 10th, 1924. 80 meters is the most popular band for regional communications networks through the late afternoon and night time hours. It is usually reliable for short to medium distance contacts, with average distances ranging from local contacts within 200 miles/300 km out to a distance of 1,000 miles/1,600 km or more, depending on atmospheric and ionospheric conditions. |
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