The AM Forum

The FOX Network's show "Touched" is a pretty good program, if you're into watching the vast wasteland.

However last night's installment had a segment showing a NY City cab company dispatcher who was a collector of antique radios.  One such radio he had on the shelf was a Hallicrafters S20R Receiver.

However the producers, in order to heighten the drama, did the following:

1-  The dispatcher heard a "CQ DX" call on the S20R from the International Space Station.  That could be possible, but the dispatcher didn't even have to tune in the signal.  It just appeared out of nowhere.  They did use believable ham radio call signs.

2- He plugged in a microphone into the headphone jack on the S20R (remember, this is just a receiver)  and called the ISS.   They heard him and carried on a conversation which saved the life of an astronaut that was outside the ISS but could not communicate with the astronaut inside.

3-  Probably the best thing that was mentioned is that ham radio is used to communicate world wide in emergency situations like this.  That was nice to say.

I actually like this program.  Maybe I'll pick up one of those S20R's and talk to the astronauts too.

Dick,

It is a well known fact that Irb, W2VJZ, before he passed away, frequently talked to the "lonely voice in the wilderness" using an S20R.

Same deal as what you saw on TV -- no tuning adjustment, no compatibility check between tx/rx, and certainly a "message" got through regardless.

This suggests, of course, that the TV show has patterned part of its communications infrastructure on that from Liberty Or.

That sounds like a good plug for antique and ham radio. I have never seen the show, have no idea what it is all about. But it sounds like that episode would be fun to watch just for the radio part of it, realistic or not. I'm pretty sure that I heard a Klingon battlecruiser on my HQ-129 once. It was around 27 Mhz so it must have been freak skip or something.  Its funny though, one of the voices had a Scottish accent and they were talking about whales.

.......Larry

SAVE THE WHALES!!!!!!!!!!!

 SAVE THE WHALES!!!!!!!!!!!
 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYHfJks15jY)

In this region they speak what sounds like Spanish and talk about fish and picking up fares not whales.

Collect the whole set.

To be inclusive.

SCREW THE WALES, SAVE THE TA TAs   ;D  ;D

"There be whales here"

I gotta look at my Hallicrafters and Hammurlands; their sensitivity on those freqs is rally bad.  Must be an issue with the subspace radio converter.