Palstar R30A Owner'S Manual Download Page 9

 

20 

CW Reception  

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To convert UTC to local time, you will need to know how many 
time zones you are located east or west of Greenwich, England. If 
you are located east of Greenwich, you add the number of time 
zones, west of Greenwich you subtract the number of time zones.  
 
Also, you need to remember that UTC never goes on Daylight or 
Summer Time, so your offset will be different between summer 
and winter if you live in an area that sets the clocks forward in 
summer. 
 
If you live in North America, one of the easiest ways to determine 
UTC is to tune your R30A to the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology’s shortwave stations, WWV or WWVH, which 
broadcast simultaneously on standard frequencies of 2.5, 5, 10, 15 
and 20 MHz. (WWVH does not transmit on 20 MHz.) They an-
nounce the UTC time every minute, with accuracy tied to the most 
accurate atomic clocks on the world. 
 
WWV is located in Boulder, Colorado, and WWVH is located 

on 

the Island of Kauai 

 in Hawaii. So you can tell them apart, WWV has 

a male announcer voice, and WWVH has a female announcer 
voice. One or the other of these stations should be able to be 
heard on one of the frequencies 24 hours a day from anywhere in 
North America. 

You may find that having a clock that can be left set to UTC will 
make it easier to figure out when your favorite shortwave program 
is on. There are several low-cost 24 hour digital clocks available 
from suppliers who cater to radio buffs. 
 
 

CW Reception 

 
CW (an abbreviation for Continuous Wave) or Morse code recep-
tion requires a bit more doing than listening to AM voice transmis-
sions. A CW transmission is simplicity itself -- a transmitter is 
switched on and off by a telegraph key in the pattern of the dots 
and dashes of the Morse code. However, if you tune in this signal 
in regular AM mode, all you will hear is a kind of intermittent raspy 
noise as the dots and dashes go by. To convert the CW signal into 
a pleasant audio tone that is easy to read, there is a circuit in the 
receiver called a Beat Frequency Oscillator (BFO). The BFO cre-

 

1-800-773- 7931       W W W .PALST AR.CO M  

d. To store the previously tuned station in the default channel 
number, 

press the MEM button once. 

 

e. To store the previously tuned station in a memory channel 
other than the default:

 First select the channel desired by using 

the Tuning Knob or the UP and DOWN buttons. Empty channels 
will be indicated by a FLASHING channel number. Previously 
used channels will be indicated by a FLASHING channel number, 
followed by the FLASHING letter “P”. Choosing to store in a previ-
ously used channel will cause the new station information to over-
write the previously stored information. Once the desired channel 
number is displayed, press the MEM button once to store. 
 

f. If you are in Memory Store Mode, 

and decide that you do not 

want to store a memory, turn the power off and wait 5 seconds or 
so. When the R30A is turned on again, it will come up in Normal 
Mode. 
 

NOTE:

 The memories in the Palstar R30A are non-volatile, the will 

remain no matter how long power is disconnected from the re-
ceiver. Once a memory channel has had information stored to it, it 
cannot be deleted or emptied, it can only be overwritten by new 
information. 
 

Digital Display 
 
NORMAL MODE: 

Displays received frequency. 

 

MEMORY MODES: 

Displays memory channel information. 

 
FREQUENCY LOCK MODE: 

Displays “

LOCDIS

” 

 

6.  MODE Button - 

Repeatedly pressing the MODE button steps 

through Amplitude Modulation (AM), Lower Side Band (LSB), and 
Upper Side Band (USB) reception modes. 

The currently selected 

mode is indicated by the lights to the left of the digital display. The 
bandwidth automatically switches to the width appropriate for the 
reception mode selected. 
 

7.  BW (BandWidth) Button - 

Switches between WIDE bandwidth 

(5.8kHz) for AM reception and NARROW bandwidth (2.5 kHz) for 
SSB reception. 

The indicator is lit when bandwidth is NARROW. 

Front Panel Functions       

Summary of Contents for R30A

Page 1: ...ney Rd Piqua OH 45356 USA Customer Service and Sales Telephone 1 800 773 7931 Fax 1 937 773 8003 Email info palstar com Version 1 1 August 15 2008 Copyright 2008 Palstar Inc Printed in the U S A R30A SHORTWAVE RECEIVER Owner s Manual ...

Page 2: ...R SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL ONLY CAUTION TO PREVENT ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT USE THE THREE WIRE CORD WITH AN EXTENSION CORD RECEPTIACLE OR OTHER OUTLET UNLESS THE BLADES CAN BE FULLY INSERTED TO PREVENT BLADE EXPOSURE An appliance and cart combination should be moved with care Quick stops exces sive force and uneven surfaces may cause the appliance and cart combination to overturn The lightnin...

Page 3: ...ontrols that are covered by the operating instructions An improper adjust ment may result in damage and will often require extensive work by a qualified technician to restore the product to its normal operation e If the product has been dropped or the cabinet has been damaged f When the product exhibits a distinct change in performance this indicates a need for service 19 Replacement Parts when re...

Page 4: ...z to 2 MHz AM 2 µV SSB 5 µV 2 MHz to 30 MHz AM 1 µV SSB 5 µV max 10db S N N Selectivity 45 MHz 8 kHz BW 455 Khz AM 6 kHz SSB 2 4 kHz Dynamic Range 90 dB at 50 kHz from desired Spurious Responses At 45 MHz 65 dB rejection At 455 MHz 90 dB rejection Intermodulation Third order Intercept 15dbm Frequency Stability 20 Hz per hour 15 C to 50 C AGC Range 1µV to 500 mV 2 dB change Attack time 3 ms Delay s...

Page 5: ...ession terminals Audio Outputs External speaker 1 4 jack selected balanced output Headphone 1 4 jack Internal Speaker is disconnected when headphones or external speaker are plugged in Recorder output line audio Mute audio for use with a transmitter Power Supply External 12 DC supply internal 10 cell battery pack for portable use lamps in off mode 2 1mm ID 5 5mm OD center positive DC Input Jack Ge...

Page 6: ...s the num ber of the active memory channel then pressing the Tuning Knob 1 10 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 8 23 Antennas continued 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM building it may be too shielded for an indoor antenna to work well Performance of the antenna will be improved by providing an earth connection to a ground stake For best results get a good quality ground stake approved for grounding an electrical servi...

Page 7: ...ted hookup wire If you don t have a metal roof effective wire antennas can also be strung in attics You may desire the improved performance that an outdoor an tenna provides or if you live in a steel reinforced or metal sided Front Panel Functions 7 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM toward the front panel until it clicks will cause the stored frequen cies to be displayed instead of the channel number...

Page 8: ...west available empty memory channel number and number will be flashing 8 Front Panel Functions 21 Single Sideband SSB Reception 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM ates a signal that is mixed with the received signal with just enough frequency offset to result in the audio tone In the Palstar R30A the BFO is engaged by choosing the Upper Sideband USB or Lower Sideband LSB modes As you tune across a CW ...

Page 9: ...nd of intermittent raspy noise as the dots and dashes go by To convert the CW signal into a pleasant audio tone that is easy to read there is a circuit in the receiver called a Beat Frequency Oscillator BFO The BFO cre 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM d To store the previously tuned station in the default channel number press the MEM button once e To store the previously tuned station in a memory ch...

Page 10: ...s 10100 10150 30 Meters CW Data only 14000 14350 20 Meters 18068 18168 17 Meters 21000 21450 15 Meters 24890 24990 12 Meters Shared with Fixed Service 28000 29700 10 Meters Other Services The Shortwave spectrum is also home to many other radio ser vices including ship to shore transoceanic airlines government military and others Often called Utility Stations or Utes for short their transmission mo...

Page 11: ...mmunications link into or out of a disaster area for many days after the occurrence In fact the ability of Hams to provide emergency communications is one of the primary reasons Ham radio exists The primary modes heard on the Ham bands are CW Morse Code usually down at the lower end of each band and voice communications in the form of Single Sideband SSB there will be more about SSB later on There...

Page 12: ...ng high currents such as the battery of a car or boat you must protect the radio by placing an in line fuse holder in the power cable and use a fast blow fuse rated no more than 1 Amp What Can I Hear 17 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM What I can hear on my Palstar R30A Receiver Long Wave LW 100 kHz to 300 kHz The most common inhabi tants of this range of frequencies are navigation aids known as non...

Page 13: ... radio propagation can be summarized in a few statements 1 The higher frequencies are better during daytime and in the summer months 2 The lower frequencies are better during night time and in the winter months 3 Periods of high sunspot activity favor the higher frequencies periods of low sunspot activity favor the lower frequencies 4 Solar flares and other disturbances on the Sun can cause geo ma...

Page 14: ...xplanation of wavelength you can now understand what is meant when someone talks about say the 80 meter band or the 49 meter band This is just another way to refer to a group of frequencies that have been set aside for a specific purpose For Electromagnetic Spectrum Propagation 15 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM example the 80 meter band is an amateur radio ham band that runs from 3 5 MHz to 4 0 MH...

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