Hi Peter. But there is still nothing to beat an old signal generator and an 
audio
amplifier and a piece of wet string. (Your illustration in the lf book). Why 
change
for the sake of it. It takes a lot skill to handle the drift.
73 Mal/G3KEV


Peter Dodd wrote:

> The Broadcaster fraternity  and Admirality engineers pioneered, and have been
> using the Low  frequencies for 50 years very successfuly. We Radio Amateurs in
> 1999 are merely re-inventing the WHEEL and have a long way to go to catch up
> with the commercial achievements.

I have been privileged to edit the LF Experimenter's Source Book and
the LF Chapter for the RSGB Communication handbook. The overwhelming
impression that I have is the sheer innovation of the equipment
designs that have emerged, from transmitter drivers to the class-D
PA's, which most of us are using these days. Methods of weak signal
detection, using readily available equipment and software is another
example of this innovation.  The display of equipment at the last
couple of HF Conventions has been a source of inspiration to many of us.

> It  is back to basic theory and interesting as
> long as one understands its limitations for the average radio amateur with a
> small back garden and very poor antenna, and limited ERP.

The amateur has succeeded in long distance because they ignored the
limitations described above. This is similar to the QRP club ethos,
where good operating can often make up for QTH limitations - the
final component in a communications system is the bit between the earphones.

--
Regards, Peter, G3LDO

<[email protected]>