Solar Max

Mon May 16 08:04:25 EDT 1994

To respond to all the questions about Solar Max at one time,

please read this.  I have no stake in Solar Max but I think

it's a neat GAME.

Question:  What is Solar Max?

Solar Max is a PROPAGATION GAME.  It is a 24 hour contest set up

in 1/2 hour segments.  You set your location, time of year, and

solar flux.  Then it's up to you to choose the right band at the

right time.  When you have chosen the band, it informs you on how

many contacts and multipliers you made and what your score is.

At the end it gives  you a summary hour by hour, qso's/multi score.

Pretty neat. You can order it from NM7M for $10.

If you want to order send it to:

Bob Brown NM7M

504 Channel View Dr.

Anacortes WA 98221

73 de KI8W

--
  @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 
  @     Barry Martz  Traverse City Michigan        @
  @     (( KI8W ))  (( ad196 at leo.nmc.edu ))        @
  @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@										

>From Aponte (513) 643-2724 11 PM EST <apontej at dmapub.dma.org>  Mon May 16 13:16:35 1994
From: Aponte (513) 643-2724 11 PM EST <apontej at dmapub.dma.org> (Aponte 643-2724 11 PM EST (513))
Date: Mon, 16 May 1994 08:16:35 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: CQ WPX Remote CNTL MultiOP/SingleXmtr Contest Station
Message-ID: <m0q31b1-0001ADC at dmapub.dma.org>

ward, dave & others... when the kidding around stops... those that are
interested in this please reply directly to me... I am looking for three kinds
of persons (1) those that can influence the rules of the contest
           (2) those who wish to operate a contest station like this
           (3) those who have the technical background to help us develop it

others that are against it please stand aside... even if disqualified one
single xmter operated by multiple remote operators can perhaps get a big score
in a contest like cq ssb wpx or cq cw wpx... I did talk to steve bolia over a
year ago... & discuss this topic... what he did was change the rules from 1993
to 1994... I will look at the Jan 1994 cq issue to confirm this... for those
interested the master station will have a receiver physically connected to the 
antenna... for the sake of rebuttal, if this does not state that there can not be multiple receivers remotely... in essence that are what packet cluster are 
receiving listening posts that are loosely coupled to the computer station at
the xmter... for those of you have care to comment against this please use a
logical & factual rebuttal... other than humor... your serious email is welcomed
the rules should not prohibit innovation nor should that be its intent, it is
one of the reasons why these frequencies are allowed to be used free of charge..
there are many others who want them & would be willing to pay a great deal of 
$ per megaHZ... I have heard the figure of $1M per megaHZ used for the 900 Mhz
band... any of the above three kinds of persons please reply directly to me
& will will share it with the others or set up another reflector if the interest
is enough & by this I mean 10-25 interested persons... the other who want to 
debate the rule issues this is as good a forum as anyone else.. the rules to
allow for packet clusters at present... does anyone have n8bjq email address?

73's de kp4uy

>From alan at dsd.es.com (Alan Brubaker)  Mon May 16 14:44:48 1994
From: alan at dsd.es.com (Alan Brubaker) (Alan Brubaker)
Date: Mon, 16 May 94 07:44:48 -0600
Subject: '94 Swwepstakes
Message-ID: <9405161344.AA20768 at dsd.ES.COM>

Hi Larry...

CW SS:  2100Z Nov 5 1994 to 0300Z Nov 7 1994

Phone SS:  2100Z Nov 19 1994 to 0300Z Nov 21 1994

Alan, K6XO

alan at dsd.es.com

High solar fluxes are for wimps...

>From slay at netcom.com (Sandy Lynch)  Mon May 16 21:32:34 1994
From: slay at netcom.com (Sandy Lynch) (Sandy Lynch)
Date: Mon, 16 May 1994 13:32:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Heil & the FT-1000D (update)
Message-ID: <199405162032.NAA29135 at netcom.com>

A month or so back, I queried the reflector about potential problems
(i.e. low audio drive) in the stereo receive mode when using the Heil
Proset-4 and the Yaesu FT-1000D. 

I had discussed the problem with Heil and received a long personal fax
and phone call from Bob Heil.  He offered to replace the pre-existing
headphone speakers with new, lower impedance units.  This was done at
the factory (but can be done by the user, fairly easily, too).
Well, here are the results:

The Good News:
--------------
I connected the Proset-4 to my FT-1000D (manufactured in 1992) and
did realize a noticeable improvement in audio drive.  Rush Drake
(W7RM) has been using my rig up at his QTH and he pronounced the
difference to be very "signifcant and quite adequate".  It is still
not possible (nor necessarily desirable) to get a deafening roar
out of the speakers, though. ;-)

A minor intermittent in the mic audio was determined to be due to 
a loose solder connection of a ground wire - that was fixed easily.

The Bad (?) News:
-----------------
Prior to checking out the Proset-4 on my rig up at W7RM's, I did
an "A-B comparison" with another Proset-4 on the FT-1000D (1992 date code)
at the QTH of Russ, W7LXR.  He had been having the same "low audio"
problem with his headset - and had even taken it back to HRO and
checked it out on another (Kenwood) rig.  His recently purchased
headset "probably" did not include the newer low-impedance speakers.
Well, to be honest, there was no substantial difference in audio
output between our two headsets.   So, the results, from this test,
anyway, are inconclusive.   The mic audio is still fantastic, though.

Cheers de Sandy
WA6BXH   slay at netcom.com

>From John W. Brosnahan" <broz at csn.org  Tue May 17 03:04:32 1994
From: John W. Brosnahan" <broz at csn.org (John W. Brosnahan)
Date: Mon, 16 May 1994 20:04:32 -0600
Subject: FT-1000 Headphone Audio
Message-ID: <199405170204.AA28987 at teal.csn.org>

To Sandy and others with low audio on the FT-1000.

I have spent some time reviewing the schematic of the FT-1000 in reference
to the low audio issue with both Bob Heil and Chip Margelli at Yaesu.

There are series resistors in the headphone output lines that were 47
ohms in older FT-1000s and 22 ohms in the newer FT-1000s.  Those series 
resistors determine the source impedance and for maximum power transfer 
you need to match the headphones to that impedance.

The FT-1000 seems to drive the Yaesu headphones adequately, but not the
Heil and I think it is a function of both headphone impedance and 
efficiency.

The 8-pin SIP stereo driver IC is a bit wimpy in my estimation since it will
only do about 100 mW with the +/- 9 volt supply and series resistors, so I am
looking at options in this area, including a better driver IC, as well as 
optimizing the output impedance.  

Chip has promised to send me some Yaesu headphones so I can characterize
them as to efficiency and impedance as well as the Heils with both old
and new drivers.

I am keeping both Yaesu and Heil in the loop on my work and hope to have
a definitive answer on all of the issues within the next few weeks.  I
will report the results here on the reflector and hopefully have a
strategy for improvement at that time.

73 John  W0UN  broz at csn.org