[amsat-bb] Off-the-shelf cheap hack 2.4GHz signal source

[Margaret Leber <maggie@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Folks who are looking for a jackleg 2.4 GHz test signal source may need 
to look no further than their own house or local Radio Shack.

I'm currently listening to audio from my VX-5R (tuned to a broadcast 
station) playing though an "X-10 Wireless Audio/Video Sender", beamed 
out our kitchen window to my 16-turn helix and barefoot Millcom 
downconverter. (It's identified on the name plate as "2.4 GHz 
Audio/Video Sender", FCC ID B4SVT30A.  A scrutload of technical data is 
available at http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/ when you query on the device)

My lifepartner Gwennie NG3P picked up a sender/reciever pair to link the 
various VCR/DVD/TV equipment laying about the household for about US$90 
a few years ago. Set to "Channel A", I'm receiving it on an IF around 
142.840 with my FT-847 set for FM, but the Millicom/X-10 combination has 
been drifting quite a bit. When I first powered up the Millicom it was 
at 142.786. There's also signifcant 60Hz hum in the audio (Which I'd 
been blaming on Gwennie's TV set in the past.)

Possibly useful for gross system-level checkout if you compensate for 
the frequency drift with *frequent* retuning on the recieve side. And 
when you're not using it for that, it can be used to link audo and video 
around your house. Apparently there's also 310 MHz back-channel intended 
to drive IR remote controls, but we've never gotten that to work.

Good thing we don't live in Bremerton, WA, see:

    http://www.bremertonsun.com/news/2001/may/05131keyless.html


73 de Maggie K3XS

-- 
-----/___.   _)   Margaret Stephanie Leber    / "The art of progress  /
----/(, /|  /| http://voicenet.com/~maggie   / consists of preserving/
---/   / | / |  _   _   _    `  _AOPA 925383/ order amid change and /
--/ ) /  |/  |_(_(_(_/_(_/__(__(/_  FN20hd / change amid order."   /
-/ (_/   '  K3XS  .-/ .-/    ARRL 39280   /___ --A.N.Whitehead ___/
/____ICQ 7161096_(_/_(_/__AMSAT 32844____/ <maggie@voicenet.com>

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