Rap 'n Tap
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From: W4HAY Frank
Date: 9/6/99
Time: 4:53:28 PM
Remote Name: 206.228.243.5
Our local Dollar General store has 2-packs of off-brand 9V zinc-carbons for $1.50! At 10 mA draw I estimate about 20 hrs. usage which is el-cheapo B+! My 1T4 detector draws about 2 mA and the 1S4 audio about 8 mA driving 2k 'phones.
Typically I build a set, play with it for a few hours, then tear it apart to make something else. Battery life is not that much of a deal.
From: Harvey Harbicht
Date: 3/20/99
Time: 9:30:53 PM
Remote Name: 169.207.118.218
I found a nice coil form last night. It's a 3.5 inch by 3.75 inch cardboard tube (alright, I stole it from the Men's Room at Jewel, but I didn't take the TP that was around it <grin>). Anyway, taking all the #22 insulated wire I had I wrapped the form. 51 turns. Then I tried it as a tuning coil. Pretty poor. However as a loading coil on the antenna of the RS kit it's great! All the stations come in much louder.
Here's the weird part. Just for fun I connected it anywhere to see what would happen. When I put it across the RS tuning coil where the earphone is connected (Green and Yellow) all the stations spread WAAAAY out on the dial. With the stock RS kit they are all crowded in the upper 1/4 of the dial. With the added coil across the tuning coil they spread out properly like a regular radio. I can pick out 3 or 4 more stations in between the powerhouses at either end.
WHY?