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panbiker
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 Posted -
01/09/2008
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13:48
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Hearing Stanley's comment in another thread about someone he knew at Lancaster Uni that made a radio with a bucket and a coat hanger has got me going.
I'm going to need one or two bits and pieces to make this work.
Some wire, a safety pin, a pencil, some kind of earpiece and a razor blade. That should just about do it.
An appeal to all the locals, probably the blokes. Ideally I need one of those old fashioned single sided razor blades (preferably blued), although this could be sorted if its not. A later generation double sided Blue Gillette blade would probably do at a pinch but the single sided ones have recesses in the right place for fixing. Can anyone help?
We shall make music or speech (or both) out of the ether once we get the kit together.
Ian
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panbiker
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Posted - 03/09/2008 : 19:51
In the absence of a commercially produced blued blade this is just what I need Stanley. I was just going to stick it in a flame and see what happened but if there's a right way to do it, all the better. Thanks for that.
An odd blade that dulciesdad (Stan) turned up has started to rust despite the double wrapping of waxed and normal outer paper. I will keep this one back and try it without blueing. The oxidisation produced by the ageing of the metal can be enticed to produce the nescessary magic. I was on a website last night devoted solely to crystal radio designs and technology. It listed a huge array of minerals and oxides than can be used in variants of detectors.
I stripped a transformer last night but the enameled wire was not the right gague, not enough either. I could go out a buy a reel of new stuff but would prefer to rework old redundant stuff.
Unfortunately, a lot of my old amateur radio homebrew stock is packed away in the loft where I can't easily get at it so I'm still looking.
Ian  |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 04/09/2008 : 07:18
I have an old transformer and some other interesting bits in me treasures which I'll never use. Pop round and have a root....... or even a furtle. I promise you some interesting goodies....... Essential for good blueing that the metal is thoroughly degreased, pickled and bright, that gives the best results. The sand bath was the way the big sheets of blued steel were made for the outer case over the lagging on steam engines.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
andydiamond
Hairy Horologist
424 Posts
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Posted - 05/09/2008 : 09:13
Great Stuff this Ian, - - -
In the spirit of a true Yorkshireman, chasing down summat for nowt - - - - -
I was just wondering, What happens with a D.A.B. broadcast ?
Andy. G4 SEG
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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 05/09/2008 : 09:49
Doesn't apply in Barlick Nandy, we can't get a signal....... These backwards Yorkshiremen you know..... Unlike the thrusting Lancastrians.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Tizer
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Posted - 05/09/2008 : 09:55
Talking of DAB....why is the DAB radio signal on Radio 4 behind the analogue signal by about 10 words? (I don't know if all radio stations are the same - I should have tried before I wrote this!). I got a DAB radio recently and have it in the kitchen. If I switch on the analogue radio in the next room John Humphries is about 10 words ahead of the DAB John Humpries in the kitchen.
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belle
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Posted - 05/09/2008 : 15:03
shall we just rename OG "enquire within, upon everything" ?
Life is what you make it |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 05/09/2008 : 16:10
Not quite everything Belle, we're no good with women...... Same here T. If I have the radio on the TV (satellite) and its on in the kitchen at the same time (FM) I get two sets of pips.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Tizer
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Posted - 05/09/2008 : 17:13
Yes, Big Ben's bongs at 6.00pm can be disconcerting in DAB and analogue - which one has the correct timing? We have clocks set by the Atomic Clock that are supposed to be very precise and accurate. But which radio signal follows the Atomic Clock? I guess someone living within hearing range of Big Ben could tell us the answer (unles they live so far away that the time taken for the bongs to be heard by "the naked ear" was substantially increased).
Belle, it is a bit tricky at times when something suddenly jumps to the front of your mind, triggered by a post, yet not on topic. Barlick seems to have a high tolerance setting in this respect. Must be something to do with the engine drivers!
Edited by - Tizer on 05/09/2008 17:14:27
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panbiker
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Posted - 05/09/2008 : 17:50
There is a time delay introduced with DAB radio to allow for different propagation routes around the distribution network. Interesting question about the pips though, DAB does not easily lend itself to applications such as this at the moment. The technology is in its infancy and may well improve as better distribution systems are developed. In the meantime, sync your clocks on the old system.
Found this Wiki link that explains it in further depth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Broadcasting#Signal_delay
We wont have this problem with the project I'm building!
Edited by - panbiker on 05/09/2008 17:51:40
Ian |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 06/09/2008 : 07:16
What struck me was how they manage to sync sound and picture when they do a multicast of the proms on TV and FM? Is there a lag on some combinations of signal? ie, Satellite TV and sound plus FM? Is the moon really made of green cheese? Why is my head hurting?
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
panbiker
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Posted - 07/09/2008 : 23:05
One method would be to use a short time delay on one of the streams. This tecnique is often used on "live" radio to allow the producers to monitor what is said, perhaps on live phone ins etc. The delay before actual broadcast allows bleeping or other editing techniques to be used to filter before actual output. I suppose a similar system is used to sync up broadcasts from different sources.
Ian |
Mercury
Regular Member
233 Posts
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Posted - 08/09/2008 : 19:09
The reason for the delay is that it takes slightly longer to convert the digital signal into analogue audio. The same thing happens with digital hearing aids - you have to wear one in each ear, because with just the one, the delay is obvious and disconcerting, so I'm told.
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Tizer
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Posted - 09/09/2008 : 11:31
On the web site Hearing Aid World (www.hearingaidworld.com) it doesn't say you need two if they are digital but, just for information, it does say:
"If you have two ears with hearing loss, and if hearing in both ears could be improved from hearing aids, you will need two hearing aids."
"A hearing aid worn in only one ear will often sound "flat" & "dull". Binaural amplification -- aids on both sides -- minimizes impact of "head shadow" drop off, improves sound localization and widens dynamic range."
"Binaural hearing allows a quality of "spaciousness" or "high fidelity" to sounds, which cannot occur with monaural (one ear) listening. Understanding speech clearly, particularly in challenging and noisy situations is much easier while using both ears. Additionally, using two hearing aids allows people to speak to you from either side of your head."
"Lastly, most people simply cannot hear well using only one ear. There are studies in the research literature that show that children with one normal ear and one ''deaf'' ear are ten times more likely to repeat a grade as compared to children with two normally hearing ears. Additionally, we know that if you have two ears with hearing impairment, and you wear only one hearing aid, the unaided ear is likely to lose word recognition ability more quickly than the ear wearing the hearing aid."
[End of quote ]
Edited by - Tizer on 09/09/2008 20:12:21
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belle
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Posted - 09/09/2008 : 12:35
Tizer, was I getting a telling off or are you admitting to being a bit anal? er I mean inflexible, when it comes to off the cuff comments? You are right it's what og does best!
Life is what you make it |
Mercury
Regular Member
233 Posts
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Posted - 09/09/2008 : 19:03
Eh? Pardon? Didn't quite catch that. I think my head is suffering from 'drop off'.
Yes Mr Appetizer, that all makes perfect sense. But with one perfectly good ear, and one slightly deaf, you would need two digital aids. My info came from a source within the NHS.
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Amateur Radio Homebrew (Another Shed Culture)
