desperate last resort

wrote:
If you are desperately bored, for instance if you’ve been locked
accidentally in a public toilet over the weekend by a deaf council
worker, and you’ve read almost the whole internet on your little phone
gadget, you might as a desperate last resort like to have a look at

http://www.wrightsaerials.tv/articles/index.shtml

where I have posted several new magazine articles.



Excellent, as always, Bill!

Looking at the article with the notch filter to keep the RF output
channel of a satellite receiver clear reminds of my own, somewhat cruder
approach.

My first CATV STB had an output on Ch 41 and, in those days, the usual
method of feeding it and an aerial feed was via an A/B switch. (Later, a
range of tuned combiners were used to suit different transmitter areas.)

My first action was to replace the A/B switch with a 2-way combiner
(plenty of UHF signal available, so no amplification required) and all
worked well with no sign of interference on Ch 41 - until the first good
'lift'!

I found an old 600MHz directional coupler kicking about and prised the
back off. I then gutted it and soldered a wire between IN and OUT, then
another from the centre of this link to the TAP connector.

I connected it to the output of the STB and added a stub of about a
half-wavelength of coax to the TAP outlet.

Because of the velocity factor of the cable, it was too long but was a
reasonable starting point for 'fine tuning'.

I pushed a pin into the cable at intervals to short-circuit it, working
back from the end, whilst observing the output, and continued until just
past the null point, which I then investigated in more detail until I
was satisfied. The cable was then cut and stripped at the appropriate
point and the inner soldered to the screen. IIRC it was about 7" long at
the finish.

My completed notch filter was then transferred to the aerial feed and I
never saw another scrap of interference in the several years it was in use.

The whole operation probably didn't take much longer than it's taken me
to write this. However, as the notch was quite sharp, I don't know how
well it would have dealt with a strongish DTT signal on Ch 41 ...

--

Terry

"Steve Thackery" wrote in message
...

"Max Demian" wrote in message
...

Get this little utility: http://www.magicpdf.com/

It's good, but actually I find PrimoPDF to be even better if you just want
to "Print to PDF" (fewer glitches in the output, especially with diagrams,
and ESPECIALLY especially with gradient fills - albeit still not perfect).
It's free, of course.

http://www.primopdf.com/

SteveT

In the past I've always recommended CutePDF
http://www.cutepdf.com/products/cutepdf/Writer.asp
but maybe I should try some of the others too.

--

Brian Gregory. (In the UK)

To email me remove the letter vee.

On Apr 6, 12:04*pm, "Steve Thackery" wrote:
" wrote in message
Well, Bill, these articles (amongst other things, obviously) are your
contribution to society and your legacy to the world of broadcasting. *They
are tremendously valuable and helpful.

I am humbled. If only the various editors felt that way, and paid
accordingly!


So, I do hope that you will be sufficiently inspired and motivated to
de-prioritise some of the unimportant trivia in life (like interacting with
your grandchildren, going out with your wife, securing an income) and use
the time for the PDF-ing and updating!

SteveT

Of course you're right. Mind you, I haven't taken the missus out for
donkey's years. I could gain some time though, by disappearing for a
while so I don't have to act as handiman, taxi driver, light haulage
operator, and dog kennel proprietor, for all three of our children.
Discussing this with Hil, it seems that I could also gain a lot of
time by not going on the newsgroups.


By the way, regarding grandchildren, James came to visit for the first
time yesterday. At our previous meeting he was about 24 hours old, and
had just changed his name from Alf, to the relief of all his
grandparents. The photographs can be seen at
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...view=slideshow
(but don't bother unless you like unremarkable baby pics)
Anyway, this time he sat on my knee for the first time and I gave him
a cuddle, and he shat so copiously it leaked onto my jeans and belt. I
said, “Help Lou, he’s having a trouser explosion!” His sister laughed
like a drain. I suppose it will be good material for my speech at his
wedding. I'll be about 85 and thus immune from normal social
convention.

Bill

In message , "Brian Gregory
[UK]" writes
"Steve Thackery" wrote in message
...

"Max Demian" wrote in message
...

Get this little utility: http://www.magicpdf.com/

It's good, but actually I find PrimoPDF to be even better if you just want
to "Print to PDF" (fewer glitches in the output, especially with diagrams,
and ESPECIALLY especially with gradient fills - albeit still not perfect).
It's free, of course.

http://www.primopdf.com/

SteveT

In the past I've always recommended CutePDF
http://www.cutepdf.com/products/cutepdf/Writer.asp
but maybe I should try some of the others too.

I have tried these (and a few more besides). They are still 'in there',
but I usually use 'Bullzip PDF Printer' or 'doPDF'. [One of those
doesn't require Ghostscript, but I can't remember which.]

Note that most PFD 'printers' have various user options (including
compiling, joining and appending). It is sometimes worth experimenting a
little in order to get a filesize which is no greater than really
necessary, but still produces a PDF which is good enough for what you
want.

Note also that some are 'own use only', so shouldn't be used for
commercial purposes. [The file 'properties' will reveal which
application which produced them.]
--
Ian

"Terry Casey" wrote in message ...
wrote:
If you are desperately bored, for instance if you’ve been locked
accidentally in a public toilet over the weekend by a deaf council
worker, and you’ve read almost the whole internet on your little phone
gadget, you might as a desperate last resort like to have a look at

http://www.wrightsaerials.tv/articles/index.shtml

where I have posted several new magazine articles.



Excellent, as always, Bill!

Looking at the article with the notch filter to keep the RF output channel of a satellite receiver clear reminds of my own,
somewhat cruder approach.

My first CATV STB had an output on Ch 41 and, in those days, the usual method of feeding it and an aerial feed was via an A/B
switch. (Later, a range of tuned combiners were used to suit different transmitter areas.)

My first action was to replace the A/B switch with a 2-way combiner (plenty of UHF signal available, so no amplification required)
and all worked well with no sign of interference on Ch 41 - until the first good 'lift'!

I found an old 600MHz directional coupler kicking about and prised the back off. I then gutted it and soldered a wire between IN
and OUT, then another from the centre of this link to the TAP connector.

I connected it to the output of the STB and added a stub of about a half-wavelength of coax to the TAP outlet.

Because of the velocity factor of the cable, it was too long but was a reasonable starting point for 'fine tuning'.

I pushed a pin into the cable at intervals to short-circuit it, working back from the end, whilst observing the output, and
continued until just past the null point, which I then investigated in more detail until I was satisfied. The cable was then cut
and stripped at the appropriate point and the inner soldered to the screen. IIRC it was about 7" long at the finish.

My completed notch filter was then transferred to the aerial feed and I never saw another scrap of interference in the several
years it was in use.

The whole operation probably didn't take much longer than it's taken me to write this. However, as the notch was quite sharp, I
don't know how well it would have dealt with a strongish DTT signal on Ch 41 ...

The debt collectors at the large TV rental firm I used to work for knew
nothing about standing waves and velocity factors.

They were however very skilled with a pin through the coax used as a ploy
to gain access.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

On Apr 6, 1:01*pm, Terry Casey wrote:
wrote:
If you are desperately bored, for instance if you’ve been locked
accidentally in a public toilet over the weekend by a deaf council
worker, and you’ve read almost the whole internet on your little phone
gadget, you might as a desperate last resort like to have a look at

http://www.wrightsaerials.tv/articles/index.shtml

where I have posted several new magazine articles.

Excellent, as always, Bill!

Looking at the article with the notch filter to keep the RF output
channel of a satellite receiver clear reminds of my own, somewhat cruder
approach.

My first CATV STB had an output on Ch 41 and, in those days, the usual
method of feeding it and an aerial feed was via an A/B switch. (Later, a
range of tuned combiners were used to suit different transmitter areas.)

My first action was to replace the A/B switch with a 2-way combiner
(plenty of UHF signal available, so no amplification required) and all
worked well with no sign of interference on Ch 41 - until the first good
'lift'!

I found an old 600MHz directional coupler kicking about and prised the
back off. I then gutted it and soldered a wire between IN and OUT, then
another from the centre of this link to the TAP connector.

I connected it to the output of the STB and added a stub of about a
half-wavelength of coax to the TAP outlet.

Because of the velocity factor of the cable, it was too long but was a
reasonable starting point for 'fine tuning'.

I pushed a pin into the cable at intervals to short-circuit it, working
back from the end, whilst observing the output, and continued until just
past the null point, which I then investigated in more detail until I
was satisfied. The cable was then cut and stripped at the appropriate
point and the inner soldered to the screen. IIRC it was about 7" long at
the finish.

My completed notch filter was then transferred to the aerial feed and I
never saw another scrap of interference in the several years it was in use.

The whole operation probably didn't take much longer than it's taken me
to write this. However, as the notch was quite sharp, I don't know how
well it would have dealt with a strongish DTT signal on Ch 41 ...

--

Terry

Yes, these basic tricks are often forgotten, yet they can be very
useful. See
http://www.wrightsaerials.tv/referen...terference.pdf
(That's an example of the articles that need re-doing -- the
illustrations are not good!).

Some years ago I put a stub on the downlead of an FM receive aerial at
a very small radio station. The tx aerial was on the same roof and was
preventing reception of the competitors, which was what the customer
wanted. Luckily the Tx frequency was near the end of the band, so the
stub did the trick, allowing the desired signals to pass almost
unhindered. I left it coiled up in the bottom of the rack, with a
label: 'Tuned stub for xxx.xxMHz'. The signal fed into a small VHF/UHF
distribution system. About six months later the manager rung up to say
that TV reception had S shaped lines on it, and someone had noticed
that they wiggled in time with the station's audio. In the racking a
lot of old redundant cables had been stripped out (laudable) and a lot
of very neat interconnects had replaced some very scruffy tangled ones
(laudable again), and the stub had disappeared.

Bill

" wrote in message
news:5535bfe8-d23b-49e2-bc52-

Discussing this with Hil, it seems that I could also gain a lot of
time by not going on the newsgroups.

Yeah, but this place is your "shed". Every man needs his shed.

SteveT

In article
,
writes
On Apr 6, 7:51*am, "Peter Crosland" wrote:
" wrote in message
Most useful Bill. Much more comprehendible that all the textbook on the
subject.

Peter Crosland

Thanks for that.

Ironically a young lady who is a large-budget decision maker at a
housing association complained in an email last week that my
explanation of the situation regarding a TV distribution system was
'incomprehensible to a normal person'. I asked an 80 year old female
and a 14 year old male to read it, and both seemed to understand it
perfectly.

Sounds like you need an executive idiot's? summary at the top of your
reports for the benefit of such as her. Keep the idiots happy and follow
up with the technicals in case it gets forwarded to anyone with brain
engaged.
--
fred
FIVE TV's superbright logo - not the DOG's, it's ********

"Graham." wrote in message
...
The debt collectors at the large TV rental firm I used to work for knew
nothing about standing waves and velocity factors.

They were however very skilled with a pin through the coax used as a ploy
to gain access.

Disgraceful.

How much does that knock off the life of the cable (before it fills with
water)?

--

Brian Gregory. (In the UK)

To email me remove the letter vee.

On Apr 6, 2:28*pm, "Steve Thackery" wrote:
" wrote in message

news:5535bfe8-d23b-49e2-bc52-

Discussing this with Hil, it seems that I could also gain a lot of
time by not going on the newsgroups.

Yeah, but this place is your "shed". *Every man needs his shed.

SteveT

You know, you're right. And what's more I have Lisa Gallagher in the
corner.

Bill