the dawn of amateur radio in the u[1].k.(收音机雏形的诞生)-第13节
按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
the week…end。 So I went to look for a cheap hotel。 Looking out of the
bedroom window I saw a lot of people running in one direction。 At that
moment a woman brought me a towel and a small bar of soap； so I asked
her what was going on outside。 She said the butcher near the hotel had just
received some liver。 Would she buy me some I said。 I gave her some
money and she returned nearly two hours later with the liver wrapped in
newspaper。 When I opened it I saw it was horse liver cooked with corn
and it had an awful sour smell。 I just could not face it； although I was
starving by now。〃
I asked Takis about the shops in Moscow。 He said he had found
several shops with parts and some made…up receivers in the State owned
shops。 He learned later that these receivers were made by amateurs
because the factories only made equipment for the armed forces。 He
45
… Page 46…
The dawn of amateur radio in the U。K。 and Greece ： a personal view
bought a triode valve called 'MICRO' and was told it had an amplification
factor of 7。 He wrapped it carefully in cotton wool for the return journey
to Odessa。 He also bought a dry battery pack which gave 80 volts； and an
enormous single headphone for one ear which was ex…army surplus。
When he returned home and began to build his receiver he raided his
mother's kitchen to build things like terminals； switches etc。 There was an
electric bell circuit between the dining room and the kitchen and as they
didn't use it his mother said he could dismantle it and use the wire； which
was quite long because it went up into the loft and then down again to the
kitchen。
〃I had acquired a small square of bakelite and I used a penknife to
make a holder for the valve； twisting a few turns of wire round the pins as
I could find nothing to use as a socket。 I had no idea how to connect the
various items I made or bought。 I had seen a circuit diagram in a French
magazine of a detector with reaction。 I made the connections by twisting
wires together and finally the receiver was complete。 The next thing was
the aerial。 I made an enormous aerial with four parallel wires； like the
aerials I had seen on ships。 Putting it up was a dangerous operation as our
house had a rather steep tiled roof； so I got some friends to help me。 Some
of them who had 'superior knowledge' told me the down…lead must have
no bends。 I got hold of a stiff copper wire and supported the down…lead on
two enormous bell insulators as used on telegraph poles。 I had to smash a
corner of my bedroom window to bring the wire in。 I had bought a large
knife switch which could be turned over to connect the aerial to ground。 I
was afraid the large flat top of the aerial would attract thunderbolts。 When
I finally connected the aerial to the receiver I heard ABSOLUTELY
NOTHING。〃
I asked him how he tuned the receiver。 He said he had put many taps
on the coil and he twisted his antenna to these taps trying various
combinations with the tuning capacitor。
〃All I heard was this breathing noise。 I learned later that it was the
'carrier wave' of a broadcasting station without modulation； but I didn't
know what that meant。 As my friends also heard the same noise I was
convinced my receiver was working。 We soon found out that the long
46
… Page 47…
The dawn of amateur radio in the U。K。 and Greece ： a personal view
wave transmitter at Ankara； the capital of Turkey was making test
transmissions without modulation。 Ankara was one of the first
broadcasting stations in that part of the world。〃
Norman： 〃Regeneration should have produced a whistle。〃
Takis： 〃Yes； indeed。 And in a peculiar way。 When I approached the
receiver my hand produced the whistle。〃
Norman： 〃Hand capacity effect。〃
Takis： 〃And foot capacity effect as well！ When I approached my knee
to the metal leg of the work…bench I would lose the station I had been
listening to。〃 He said the tuning capacitor he had made was obviously too
small and he had to alter the taps on the coil continuously。 About three
o'clock in the morning during a cold winter night he heard a new sound …
the breathing （carrier） noise and a sort of regular ticking。 He later found
out that it was the new broadcasting station in Vienna； Austria； which
transmitted the sound of a metronome throughout the night。 This would
have been about 1926。
I asked Takis about school。 〃In spite of the late nights listening I
never missed a day at school。 My father was the Chairman of the School
Committee and I couldn't let him down。 But I had to earn some pocket
money to pay for the bits a pieces I needed。 Particularly a decent pair of
headphones； I had to hold the army headphone to me ear with one hand
which gave me pins and needles。 For some years I had kept goldfish and
pigeons； so I sold them。 A friend of mine had gone to sea as a cadet and
his ship went abroad； so I asked him to get me a pair of headphones。
〃I must explain to you that it was no easy matter for a Russian
seaman to serve on a vessel which visited foreign ports。 First one had to
go through the Communist Party sieve and then he was told that if he
jumped ship his family would suffer for it。
〃Anyway； he bought me a lovely pair of Telefunken headphones
when the ship berthed at Constantinople （Istanbul） which I have to this
day。 But not on his first trip； when he was not allowed to go ashore。 And it
was not the captain who decided who could go ashore。 A trusted member
of the Party would pick out a group of seamen who could land but they
had to stay together the whole time。
47
… Page 48…
The dawn of amateur radio in the U。K。 and Greece ： a personal view
〃I never managed to go abroad。 At the Club I had obtained a morse
test certificate for 40 letters a minute （8 wpm） in Latin characters and 90
letters （18 wpm） in the Cyrillic alphabet （Russian）。 To go abroad one had
to up…grade to 80 Latin and 120 Cyrillic letters。 （16 & 24 wpm）。 I was put
on a small coastal ice…breaker which cleared the river estuaries in the
Black Sea。
〃The Black Sea is one of the most treacherous inland seas in the
world。 During the winter its northern shores are frozen whereas the coast
of Asia Minor keeps the southern shores relatively warm by comparison。
This results in gale force winds and rough seas。 Waves follow each other
very closely as opposed to the long swell one gets in the Pacific。 Ships
have to leave port to avoid crashing into each other。
〃I was about 18 when I first went to sea as a cadet W/T operator。 One
day when we came out of an estuary the sea was so rough that the captain
decided to turn back。 As we turned to starboard we noticed an American
freighter behind us heavily laden with wheat and very low down in the
water。 To our horror it was caught between the crests of two enormous
waves and broke in two roughly amidships。 Although we were only about
half a mile away the freighter sank before we could get to it。 We saw a few
survivors in the water； but it would have been impossible to put a boat into
that treacherous sea。 Apart from which a man cannot survive many
minutes in a water temperature just above freezing。 It was all over in a
flash and we returned to Odessa in deep shock。
〃Odessa used to have four harbours。 The callsign of the W/T station
was EU5KAO。 I remember it very well because it was my job to take the
weather forecasts for shipping which it transmitted regularly。〃
Takis spoke about some amusing misconceptions of that period。
When he first completed his receiver and was getting poor results with it
he asked a more experienced amateur to look at it。 The 'expert'
immediately found the first fault： the downlead from the antenna had a
bend in it of more th
