Owner`s Manual
Contents
1. ZIJPALSTAR R30A SHORTWAVE RECEIVER Owner s Manual Copyright 2008 Palstar Inc 2 Important Safeguards WARNING TO PREVENT FIRE OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK DO NOT EXPOSE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE iWARNING RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN WARNING TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT REMOVE COVER OR BACK NO USER SERVICABLE PARTS INSIDE REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL 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 1 The lightning flash with arrow head symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage within the product s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance servicing instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance WARNING TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE DO NOT OPEN THE CABINET WHILE OPERATING REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL ONLY CAUTION 1 Read Instructions All the safety and operating instructions should be read before the appliance is operated 2 Retain Instructions The safety and operating instructions sh2. Antenna Inputs Audio Outputs Power Supply 1 800 773 7931 100 kHz to 30 MHz AM LSB USB CW Microprocessor controlled PLL tuning dual conversion superheterodyne receiver 6 digit backlit LCD display additional indicators show ATT AGC LSB USB AM BW Analog S meter calibrated S1 to S9 20dB 40dB 60dB Rotary encoder Tuning rate 20 Hz to 100 Hz slow and 100 Hz to 500 Hz per step in fast mode Up Down buttons 100 KHz per step 100 frequency memories selected with front panel encoder tuning knob or up down buttons Receiver frequency is retained while switched off Locked display with tuning knob All modes either 2 5 kHz or 5 8 kHz operator selectable 10 dB Power on off and volume MODE AM LSB USB MEM Memory button ATT Attenuator BW Bandwidth AGC Fast or Slow Up amp Down 100 KHz steps 50 050239 500 ground with compression terminals 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 External 12 DC supply amp internal 10 cell battery pack for portable use lamps in off mode 2 1mm ID 5 5mm OD center positive DC Input Jack WWW PALSTAR COM Dimensions Sensitivity Selectivity Dynamic Range Spurious Responses Intermodulation Frequency Stability AGC Range Audio
3. S N Ratio Power Supply 1 800 773 7931 Specifications 25 232mm W x 100mm H x 225mm D 9 13 W x 3 94 H x 8 88 D Weight 1 8 kg 3 9 Ibs 100 kHz to 2 MHz AM 2 uV SSB 5 uV 2 MHZ to 30 MHz AM SSB 5 pV max 10db S N N 45 MHz 8 kHz BW 455 Khz AM 6 kHz SSB 2 4 kHz gt 90 dB at 50 kHz from desired At 45 MHz At 455 MHz gt 65 dB rejection gt 90 dB rejection Third order Intercept 15dbm 20 Hz per hour 15 C to 50 C to 500 mV lt 2 dB change Attack time lt 3ms Delay slow lt 4 secs Delay fast lt 5 secs 2 watts into 8 Q 2 THD Distortion 1 kHz signal AM at 60 mod Depth lt 1 SSB 5 AM Mode 6 kHz filter ref 6096 1 kHz 5yV 20 dB 500 uV gt 50 dB SSB Mode 5 uV 30 dB 500 uV gt 50 dB DC required 12 vdc 1A regulated Quiescent current 350 mA with lamps Typical current use 350 800 mA WWW PALSTAR COM 26 Notes 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM Warranty and Service Limited Warranty Palstar Inc warrants products manu factured by it to be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use and service for a period of two 2 years for the AT AUTO ATIOK 5 AT4K and all other products for one 1 year from the date of delivery to the first buyer the Warranty Period Palstar Inc s obligation under this war ranty is limited to repair or replace ment of the product at its option at the Palsta
4. the cycle per second is named after Heinrich Hertz an early radio researcher One Hertz is equal to one cycle per sec ond Closely related to the frequency of electromagnetic waves is the characteristic known as wavelength As a single radio wave or cycle begins to leave an antenna it travels outward through space How far does it get before one cycle is completed It trav els at the speed of light 186 000 miles per second or in Metric units 300 million 300 000 000 meters per second If we were to radiate a one hertz wave the front edge of it would have traveled 300 million meters by the time the rear edge of the wave leaves the antenna one second later Thus the wavelength of a one Hertz transmission would be 300 million meters or 186 000 miles long If we were to radiate a wave with a frequency of one million Hertz one cycle would only take one one millionth of a second and the wavelength would therefore be one one millionth of 300 million or 300 meters One million Hertz can be referred to as 1000 kilohertz KHz or 1 megahertz MHz 1 MHz is located just about in the center of the standard AM broadcast band To calculate the wave length of any frequency in meters simply divide 300 by the fre quency in megahertz With this explanation 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
5. can expect to hear on these differ ent frequencies Radio Propagation Propagation refers to the way radio waves travel through the air When radio waves leave an antenna some of them travel close to the ground Receivers close to the antenna receive these ground waves directly The range of ground waves is limited The close ness of the waves to the Earth means that the Earth absorbs some of their energy and farther away from the antenna the Earth curves downward away from the straight traveling waves and the waves pass too high overhead to be received on the ground To receive radio waves at longer distances some other mechanism is needed 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM 16 Radio Propagation continued The upper atmosphere of the Earth contains layers of electrically charged or ionized gasses These ionized layers are caused by the action of light and energy from the Sun on the atmosphere The ionized layers act as reflectors of radio waves causing them to bounce back toward the Earth By bouncing back and forth be tween the Earth and the ionized layers it is possible for radio waves to travel all the way around the world This is called sky wave reception The study of shortwave radio propagation is a scientific discipline in itself but fortunately for us it can be simplified Because the nature and location of the ionized layers in the atmosphere are caused by the action of light and energy from the Sun it is easy to u
6. have been set aside for a specific purpose For 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM Electromagnetic Spectrum amp Propagation 15 example the 80 meter band is amateur radio band that runs from 3 5 MHz to 4 0 MHz The 49 meter band is assigned to international shortwave broadcasting and runs from 5 90 MHz to 6 20 MHz These meter designations for the bands are chosen to be a nice round number from somewhere near the middle of the band The frequency of an 80 meter wave is 3 75 MHz the frequency of a 49 meter wave is 6 122 MHz Obviously some of the wavelengths in the band are shorter and some are longer than the length desig nated by the band name The Electromagnetic Spectrum Electromagnetic waves have different characteristics depending on their frequency The only difference between radio waves the microwaves that cook your food light beams and X rays is their frequency The Palstar R30A receives frequencies in the range of 100 kilohertz KHz to 30 megahertz MHz Frequencies in the range of 100 kHz to 300 kHz are called Long Wave LW Fre quencies in the range of 300 kHz to 2 MHz are called Medium Wave MW Frequencies in the range of 2 MHz to 30 MHz are called Short Wave SW or High Frequency HF At frequencies above 30 MHz which are higher than those re ceived by the Palstar R30 we run into the range of Very High Frequency VHF and Ultra High Frequency UHF and beyond We will discuss later what you
7. parts are required be sure the service techni cian has used replacement parts specified by the manufacturer or have the same character istics as the original parts Unauthorized sub stitutes may result in fire electric shock or other hazards 20 Safety Checks Upon completion of any service or repairs to this product ask the service technician to perform safety checks to determine that the product is in proper operat ing condition 21 Outdoor Antenna Grounding Before attempting to install this product be sure the antenna or cable system is grounded so as to provide some protection against voltage surges and built up static charges a Use No 10 AWG copper No 8AWG alumi num No 17AWB copper clad steel or bronze wire or larger as ground wire b Secure antenna lead in and ground wires to house with stand off insulators spaced from 4 feet to 6 feet apart c Mount antenna discharge unit as close as possible to where lead in enters house d A driven rod may be used as the grounding electrode where other types of electrode systems do not exist Refer to the National Electric Code ANSI NFPA 70 1990 for infor mation e Use jumper wire not smaller than No 6 AWG copper or equivalent when a separate antenna grounding electrode is used EXAMPLE OF ANTENNA GROUNDING ELECTRIC SERVICE EQUIPMENT NEC NATIONAL ELECTRIC CODE 1 800 773 7931 ANTENNA LEAD IN WIRE ANTENNA DISCHARGE UNIT NEC SECTION 81
8. same as wing nut ground 4 Low impedance coaxial antenna connection A standard SO 239 connector for use with a standard PL 259 plug and coaxial cable antenna feed line This connector is for unbalanced anten nas To use with a balanced antenna an external BALUN BALanced to Unbalanced transformer should be used 5 High impedance connection for long wire and Hi Z dipole antennas For connecting a random length wire or other end fed unbalanced wire antenna Antennas of this type require a good RF ground for best performance Connect the antenna to the RED terminal and the ground to the BLACK terminal 6 EXTERNAL SPEAKER OUTPUT Audio output is DC isolated 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM 12 Rear Panel Functions Connections and balanced use 1 4 mono jack or supplied 3 5mm adaptor The external speaker should have an impedance of 4 to 8 O and a minimum power handling capability of 3 Watts When the exter nal speaker is plugged in the internal speaker is disabled 7 DISPLAY LIGHT SWITCH This press on press off switch al lows the backlighting in the Digital Display to be turned off to con serve power when operating from batteries recommended 8 MUTE JACK Ground center pin to mute receiver when using an external transmitter A standard phono RCA type jack is pro vided to connect a mute control line for use when the R30A is used in conjunction with a transmitter A relay contact closure or other control circuit cap
9. to Normal Mode the unit will be tuned to the station stored in the memory channel selected while in Memory Mode If the R30A is turned off while in memory Mode it will be in Memory Mode when it is powered up again b To store memory information In Normal Mode tune in the station you wish to store in memory All associated settings i e AM LSB or USB Bandwidth AGC and Attenuation will be stored along with the frequency Be certain that everything is cor rect before entering Memory Store Mode because once Memory Store Mode is enabled you will not be able to view or change the frequency or to view or change the associated settings c To enter Memory Store Mode First tune in the station you desire to store then press and hold the MEM button for 2 sec onds The digital display will show CH number The default number displayed will be the lowest available empty memory channel number and number will be flashing 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM Front Panel Functions 9 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 Choosing
10. 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 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM 10 Front Panel Functions The bandwidth automatically switche
11. 0 20 GROUNDING CONDUCTORS NEC SECTION 810 21 GROUND CLAMPS POWER SERVICE GROUNDING ELECTRODE SYSTEM NEC ART 250 PART H WWW PALSTAR COM 4 Table of Contents Important safeguards 2 General Description 5 Front Panel Functions 6 Rear Panel Functions 11 Other Features 13 Radio Theory Primer Frequency amp Wavelength 14 The Electromagnetic Spectrum 15 Radio Propagation 15 Shortwave Broadcast Bands 17 Amateur Radio Bands 18 World Time 19 Warranty and Service 21 Specifications 22 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM General Description 5 The Palstar RA30 is a compact high performance general coverage receiver for the Long Wave Medium Wave and Short Wave bands with tuning from 100 kHz to 30MHz The R30A HF shortwave receiver is capable of receiv ing multimode signals and features high sensitivity and high dynamic range to eliminate annoying intermodula tion distortion interference Two world famous Collins IF filters 2 5KHz ad 5 8KHz provide unmatched selec tivity The radio also features 100 programmable memories variable rate tuning and switchable bandwidth in all modes A 10 AA cell internal battery pack automatically connects to the radio when the AC adaptor plug is dis connected allowing portable operation 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM 6 Front Panel Functions SIGNAL PHONES AF GAIN 10 1 5 6 9 7 8 1 On Off amp Volume Control This knob functions as the
12. 1 Single Sideband SSB Reception 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 signal its pitch will change and you tune until the pitch is most pleasing to your ear Single Sideband SSB Reception Single Sideband SSB is a mode that provides the benefits of re duced bandwidth thereby taking up less room on the radio dial and greater efficiency in the use of transmitted power thereby allowing the signal to effectively reach further without increasing transmitter power The cost of these improvements is the require ment that the receiver have a Beat Frequency Oscillator BFO and tuning is somewhat more difficult SSB is widely used by Hams Utility stations the military and even some shortwave broadcasters Here is a brief explanation of what SSB is a radio transmitter is tuned to the frequency it is to transmit on called the carrier fre quency The desired signal voice or music is mixed with the car rier frequency in a process called modulation The result is three frequencies 1 the original carrier frequency 2 an upper side band consisting of the carrier frequency with the modulating signal added to it and 3 a lower sideband consisting of the carrier fre quency with the modulating signal subtracted from it All
13. able of pulling a 5 VDC logic line to ground will cause the R30A to mute 9 EXTERNAL POWER JACK Connect to the provided wall adaptor or other suitable 12 VDC power source When an external power source is plugged into the power jack the internal battery pack is disabled The power plug is a standard 14mm long con nector 2 1mm ID 5 5mm OD center positive The limit of the acceptable voltage range that can be connected to the power jack is between 10 5 and 15 VDC However operating the R30A from voltages in excess of 14 VDC for prolonged periods can cause excessive heating of the built in regulator chips If you choose to power the R30A from a source capable of supplying 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 10 FUSE Fuses internal battery only use 5mm x 20mm 1A re placement 11 IF OUT Wideband 455KHz IF output for use with an external synchronous detector 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM Other Features 13 Tilt Bail A fold down wire bail is provided to tilt the R30A to a more convenient angle as illustrated on the front cover Internal Battery Pack The Palstar R30A has provision for inter nal battery operation Operation from the battery pack is enabled by the Power Source switch on the back panel The internal bat tery pack uses 10 size penlight cells no
14. at 5pm But is that 5pm in London where the program originates 5pm in Southeast Asia where the BBC relay transmitter is located or 5pm in New Zealand where the intended audience lives To eliminate such problems shortwave broadcast schedules are kept in World Time World Time is the local time at the Prime Meridian zero degrees of longitude which runs through Greenwich England In the past World Time was known as Greenwich Mean Time today it is usually called Coordinated Universal Time abbreviated as UTC The military designates UTC with the letter Z and refers to it as Zulu which is the phonetic pronouncer for Z UTC is a 24 hour clock and the times are written in four digits with no punc tuation Thus midnight is 0000 hours 1pm is 1300 hours and so on 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM 20 CW Reception 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 stat
15. atically MEMORY STORE MODE Steps DOWN through all memory channels one at a time If the button is held down it repeats auto matically 5 MEMORY Button a Entering memory mode Starting from the Normal Mode 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM 8 Front Panel Functions pressing the MEM button once will place the receiver in Memory Mode and the digital display will show memory channel informa tion The display will be CH number where number is the number of the active memory channel To display the frequency of the active memory channel press once on the Tuning Knob until it clicks To return to the channel number press on the Tuning Knob again To step through the memory channels either press the UP or DOWN buttons or turn the Tuning Knob If you have pressed the Tuning Knob to display memory channel frequency then the fre quency of the stored channels will be displayed instead of the channel numbers as you step through Only memory channels that have information stored in them will be displayed For example if only memory channels 1 through 10 have information stored in them continuing to step past memory channel 10 will loop back to memory channel 1 and start over Likewise if channels 1 through 10 and 15 through 20 have infor mation stored while channels 11 through 14 are empty stepping past 10 will skip over 11 through 14 and resume at 15 To return to Normal Mode press the MEM button again Upon the return
16. cupy a single frequency and broadcast on it every day The biggest difference that you will notice between these standard broadcast stations and shortwave broadcasters is that shortwave stations move around a lot Because the target audiences of short wave stations are located all over the world shortwave broadcast ers transmit on frequencies and at times chosen to have the best chance of reaching the target audience at the correct time of day In addition these frequencies are often changed with the seasons to take advantage of the seasonal changes in propagation Another difference is that there is more day to day variability in the reception shortwave stations Because the stations are located so far way often on another continent reception is totally dependant on the condition of the atmosphere between the transmitter and your receiver There will be some days when your favorite station will be very weak or not heard at all Amateur Radio Bands The Amateur Radio Ham bands are occupied by ordinary people from all over the world who have been licensed by their govern ments to engage in two way radio transmissions as a hobby Whenever there is a natural disaster such as a tornado hurricane earthquake etc the Ham bands are the place to listen It is com mon for Ham radio to be the only communications link into or out of a disaster area for many days after the occurrence In fact the ability of Hams to provide emergency communicatio
17. e fatal 15 Overloading Do not overload wall out lets and extension cords as this can result in a risk of fire or electric shock 16 Object and Liquid Entry Never push objects of any kind into this product through openings as they may touch dangerous volt age points or short out parts that could result in a fire or electric shock Never spill liquid of any kind on the product 17 Servicing Do not attempt to service this product yourself as opening or removing covers may expose you to dangerous voltage or other hazards Refer all servicing to quali fied service personnel 18 Damage Requiring Service Unplug this product from the wall outlet and refer servicing to qualified service personnel under the fol lowing conditions a When the power supply cord or plug is damaged b If liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the product c If the product has been exposed to rain or water d If the product does not operate normally by following the operating instructions Adjust only those controls 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 replacement
18. gnal the audio pitch will change and you will reach a point where the voice becomes understandable and it finally will reach a normal sounding pitch If you continue to tune past the pitch will again change ANTENNAS Previously we talked about the relationship between frequency and wavelength Antennas work best when their length is a signifi cant fraction i e 1 4 or 1 2 of a wavelength That means that an antenna gives its ideal best performance on only one frequency Since the Palstar R30A receives from 100 kHz to 30 MHz the range of wavelengths it covers is from 3000 Meters to 10 Meters so no single antenna can give optimal performance on all frequen cies Fortunately receiving antennas are less demanding than transmit ting antennas and adequate performance can be had with quite simple arrangements If you live in an ordinary frame or brick home surprisingly good results can be had with a wire strung around the walls of a room Just strip 1 4 10 mm or so of the insulation from one end and connect it to the Red terminal on the antenna terminal block on the back of the R30A The wire can be simple 22 gauge insulated 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 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM 23 Antennas continued tenna provides or if you live in a steel reinforced or metal sided building it may be too s
19. hielded 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 service en trance and drive it at least 8 feet into the earth The wire from the ground rod connects to the wing nut or to the Black terminal on the antenna connector block on the back of the radio The wire used in an outdoor antenna needs to be strong enough to support its own weight as well as to hold up any additional weight such as ice from an ice storm Normally 14 gauge or larger is considered an adequate size especially if the wire is copper clad steel especially designed for antenna use If the far end of the antenna is sup ported by a tree or other support that sways in the wind a pulley and weight arrangement will prevent the swaying from putting ad ditional strain on the wire WARNING Any outdoor antenna MUST be located so that it cannot fall on power lines or power lines cannot fall on it if they should come down Also any outdoor antenna MUST have an approved lightning arrestor installed in accordance with ap plicable building and electrical codes at the point where the antenna connection enters the building 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM 24 Specifications Frequency Coverage Reception Modes Receiver System Display Tuning Memory IF Filters RF Attenuator Controls
20. ions WWV or WWVH which broadcast simultaneously on standard frequencies of 2 5 5 10 15 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 WWW PALSTAR COM 2
21. nderstand that the differences vary between day and night and between summer and winter In the day and during summer radio reflective ionized layers are at higher altitude and the maximum frequency that the layers will reflect called the Maximum Usable Frequency abbreviated MUF is higher At night and more so in the winter when the days are shorter the reflective layers are at lower altitudes and the MUF is lower Frequencies in the lower VHF range and higher usually penetrate right through the ionized layers and are only able to be reflected under rare conditions The basics of shortwave 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 magnetic storms that upset normal propagation for hours and days at a time These disturbances are more frequent during times of high sunspot activity 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM What Can I Hear 17 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 directional beacons They transmit at low power usually 100 watts
22. ng these openings must not be blocked or covered The openings should never be blocked by placing the product on a bed sofa rug or other similar surface 10 Grounding or Polarization this product is equipped with a 3 wire line cord receptacle It is intended for use with a 3 wire properly grounded power socket Do not defeat the safety purpose of the supplied line cord and plug 11 Power Sources This product should be operated only from the type of power source indicated on the marketing label If you are not sure of the type of power supplied to your home consult your appliance dealer or local power company 12 Power cord Protection Power supply cords should be routed so they are not likely to be walked on or pinched by items placed upon or against them Pay particular attention to cords at plugs convenience receptacles and the point where they exit 13 Lightning For added protection for this product during a lightning storm or when it is left unattended and unused for long periods of time unplug it from the wall outlet WWW PALSTAR COM Important Safeguards contd 3 14 Power Lines An outside antenna sys tem should not be located in the vicinity of overhead power lines other electric light or power circuits where it can fall into such power lines or circuits When installing an outside antenna system extreme care should be taken to keep from touching such power lines or circuits as contact with them may b
23. ns 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 is also a smattering of other modes radio teletype slow scan TV and other data communica tions methods These signals require the use of special decoder devices or computers with special decoding software in order to read or view them 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM World Time 19 The Amateur Radio bands are as follows Frequency in kHz Band Name 3500 4000 80 Meters 7000 7300 40 Meters 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 modes include CW AM voice SSB voice radio teletype and data The monitoring of Utes is a specialized and rapidly changing area of the SWL hobby It is beyond the scope of this guide to provide more details but there are books magazine columns newsletters and internet webpages if you want more information World Time Le s say you want to listen to a BBC newscast
24. of the information to be transmitted is contained in each side band Once sidebands are generated the only purpose the carrier serves is to provide a reference for the receiver to use in recover ing the audio from the signal If you strip away one of the side bands and the carrier what is left is a Single Sideband signal Feed it to an antenna and it will go out over the air just like any other radio frequency signal As you can see the term carrier is a bit of a misnomer it really doesn t carry anything Either the upper or the lower sideband can be used A regular AM receiver cannot properly process an SSB signal without the carrier to use as a reference If you try to listen to an 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM SSB signal AM mode you will hear a highly distorted sound often described as being a Donald Duck type of sound To prop erly hear the audio a local replacement for the carrier is provided by the BFO The USB and LSB mode buttons on the front of your Palstar R30A are pre tuned and optimized BFO settings for the reception of Upper and Lower Sideband signals You must choose the cor rect one listening to USB in the LSB mode or vice versa will result in more distortion To avoid confusion over which to use Hams by agreement use LSB on 160 80 and 40 Meters and USB on the bands above that Shortwave broadcasters tend to use USB Having chosen the correct USB or LSB setting as you tune across a SSB si
25. or so and their signal consists of a two or three letter identi fier repeated over and over in Morse code Medium Wave MW frequencies range of 300kHz to 2 MHz The lower end of this range from 300 kHz to 540 kHz was once the mainstay of ship to shore communications mostly in Morse code As ships have increasingly switched to high tech satellite communications there is less and less activity there Many official agencies such as the Coast Guard have even abandoned their round the clock monitoring of the old international distress fre quency of 500 kHz The main band of interest in this frequency range is the Standard AM broadcast band which runs from 540 kHz to 1700 kHz The higher power stations can be heard over large areas at night MW is also home to one Amateur Radio band the 160 meter band from 1600 kHz to 2000 kHz Short Wave SW frequencies in the range of 2 MHz 30 MHz Shortwave Broadcasters The primary bands of interest in the Shortwave SW spectrum for most listeners are undoubtedly the international broadcast bands They are as follows Frequency in kHz Band Name 2300 2495 120 Meters 3200 3400 90 Meters 4750 5060 60 Meters 5960 6200 49 Meters 7100 7300 41 Meters 9500 9900 31 Meters 11650 12050 25 Meters 15100 15600 19 Meters 17550 17900 16 Meters 21450 21850 13 Meters 25600 26100 11 Meters 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM 18 What Can 1 Hear Everyone is familiar with standard AM and FM stations which oc
26. ould be retained for future reference 3 Heed Warnings All warnings on the appliance should be adhered to 4 Follow Instructions All operating and use instructions should be followed 5 Cleaning Unplug this appliance from the wall outlet before cleaning Do not use liquid cleaners or aerosol cleaners Use a damp cloth for cleaning 6 Do Not Use Attachments not recom mended by the manufacturer or they may cause hazards 7 Water and Moisture Do not use this product near water for example near a bathtub wash bowl kitchen sink laundry tub in a wet basement or near a swimming pool and the like 8 Accessories Do not place this product on an unstable cart stand tripod bracket or table The product may fall causing serious injury to a child or adult and serious damage to the appliance 9 Ventilation This product should never be placed near or over a radiator or heat register This product should not be placed in a built in installation such as a bookcase or rack unless 1 800 773 7931 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 proper ventilation is provided or the manufac turer s instructions have been adhered to Any slots or openings in the cabinet are provided for ventilation To ensure reliable operation of the video product and to protect it from over heati
27. power on off switch and controls the audio output volume 2 Tuning Knob NORMAL MODE Turning the Tuning Knob changes the fre quency of the receiver The tuning rate varies with the speed at which the knob is turned There are two tuning rate ranges The SLOW rate is 20 Hz per step increasing to a maximum of 100 Hz per step as the knob is turned faster The FAST rate is 100 Hz per step increasing to a maximum of 500 Hz per step as the knob is turned faster To switch between the two rates press the Tuning Knob toward the front panel until it clicks To return to the other rate once again press the knob until it clicks With a bit of experi ence you can easily tell which rate is selected by watching the digital display change while turning the knob MEMORY MODE Once Memory Mode is enabled by pressing the MEM button once turning the Tuning Knob steps through the stored memory channels Pressing the Tuning Knob toward the front panel until it clicks switches between display of the channel numbers and display of the frequency of the stations stored in each memory channel If the digital display shows CH number number is the num ber of the active memory channel then pressing the Tuning Knob 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM Front Panel Functions 7 toward the front panel until it clicks will cause the stored frequen cies to be displayed instead of the channel numbers To return to channel number display once again
28. press the Tuning Knob until it clicks To return to Normal Mode press the MEM button again FREQUENCY LOCK MODE prevents the tuned frequency from being changed by either the Tuning Knob or the UP and DOWN buttons This is used when it is necessary to monitor a specific frequency and you want to be sure the tuning cannot be changed by inadvertently bumping the controls or by vibration After tuning in the desired station to engage Frequency Lock Mode press in and hold the Tuning Knob for 2 seconds The Digital Display will show LOCDIS to indicate that the frequency cannot be changed To release the Frequency Lock once again press in and hold the Tuning Knob for 2 seconds If the R30A is powered down while the frequency is locked it will still be locked when powered up again 3 UP Button When in NORMAL MODE Increases receiver frequency in 100 Kilohertz steps If the button is held down it repeats automatically MEMORY MODE Steps UP through the recorded memory chan nels one at a time If the button is held down it repeats automati cally MEMORY STORE MODE Steps UP through all memory channels one at a time If the button is held down it repeats automatically 4 DOWN Button When in NORMAL MODE Decreases receiver frequency in 100 Kilohertz steps If the button is held down it repeats automatically MEMORY MODE Steps DOWN through the recorded memory channels one at a time If the button is held down it repeats auto m
29. r factory in Piqua OH Effective only when the product is returned to the factory with all trans portation charges prepaid and exami nation of the product discloses in Pal star s judgment to have been defective during the Warranty Period The Warranty Period shall not extend beyond its original term with respect to interim in warranty repairs by Pal star This Warranty Period shall not apply to any product which has been repaired or altered by anyone other than Palstar without prior written authorization Warranty does not ex tend to any products which have been subject to damage from improper in stallation application or maintenance in accordance with the operating specifi cation Palstar neither assumes nor authorizes any person to assume for it any obligation or liability other than herein stated 1 800 773 7931 27 Repair Policy When sending in a product for service please double box it carefully and ship it insured for your protection Please include a note clearly describing the problem how you wish the item returned and how you wish to pay for the service Package your radio prop erly Palstar Inc is not responsible for merchandise damaged in shipment Our service rate is 30 per hour 1 2 hr minimum Return Policy All returns must receive prior authori zation from Palstar Returned items must be received in original AS SHIPPED condition including the original box manuals accessorie
30. s and copy of sales receipt Returns must be within 4 days of purchase Returned items are subject to a 2576 restocking fee Shipping is not refundable WWW PALSTAR COM Palstar Incorporated 9676 N Looney Rd Piqua OH 45356 USA Customer Service and Sales Telephone 1 800 773 7931 1 937 773 8003 Email info palstar com Version 1 1 August 15 2008
31. s to the width appropriate for the reception mode selected by the MODE button but the oppo site bandwidth can be selected by pushing the BW button once Pressing BW again will return to the previous setting 8 AGC Automatic Gain Control Button Switches between Fast and Slow AGC response time The indicator is lit when AGC responses time is FAST For most normal reception AGC re sponse time should be SLOW The primary use for the FAST re sponse time is when listening to CW Morse code stations 9 ATTenuator Button Switches in 10 dB of attenuation to pre vent overloading of the receiver by strong local stations The indi cator is lit when attenuation is ON For most normal reception at tenuation should be OFF 10 Headphone Jack A standard 1 4 monaural phone plug 2 conductor is provided to enable listening without disturbing oth ers The headphone jack is designed for use with 8 ohm monaural headphones If stereo headphones are used the sound will only be heard in one ear When headphones are plugged in the inter nal speaker of external speaker if one is in use is disabled 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM Rear Panel Functions 1 4 11 7 8 10 Rear Panel Functions Connections 1 LINE AUDIO A standard phono RCA type jack is provided to connect audio to the Line Input jack of a tape recorder so that off air recordings can be made 2 WING NUT GROUND To earth ground or water pipe 3 CLIP GROUND
32. t provided Alkaline cells are recommended for maximum battery life If rechargeable cells such as Nicad or NiMH are used they must be recharged in a separate charger Access for installing or changing the batteries is gained by unscrewing the 6 screws located on the sides of the unit and removing the top cover Next remove the battery restrain ing strap by removing the screw at one end and then pivot it up until the other end unhooks Be sure to observe proper polarity when installing the batteries Once the batteries are in place se cure them with the battery restraining strap and replace its screw then reinstall the top cover 1 800 773 7931 WWW PALSTAR COM I4 Radio Theory Primer Radio Theory Primer Frequency and Wavelength Radio is a way of communicating across distances without the use of wires by means of electromagnetic waves These electromag netic waves can travel through the Earth s atmosphere but unlike sound waves they are not reliant on the air to carry them They travel just as well or even better through the vacuum of space The most basic characteristic of any electromagnetic wave is its frequency which is the rate at which it rises from zero to some positive level and then back through zero to some negative level and then back to zero again One of these complete alternations is called a cycle The number of these cycles occurring each second is the frequency of the electromagnetic wave The unit of fre quency
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