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09-14-2007, 12:26 AM
CHAPTER III
The first fax in the tray was from a local theater. A play, "Everyman" presented by her old college group, was to appear one night only at a tiny playhouse on Brand Boulevard. She made a mental note to attend. "I don't get out often enough," she thought.She laid that fax on top of the machine and reviewed the second one.
Sure enough, it was her client, assigning her to the Nicole Pager case. Diana removed an empty file folder from a stack and noted the day,s date on the tab.As an afterthought,she wrote"The Riddle of the Sphinx"under the date. "Thers. That will keep you in the proper prespective, David Simone." She put the folder in her briefcase then wandered into her bedroom and to the spacious closet that also served as storage for her parent's posessions.
Moving aside several boxes,she came across her objective. Carefully, she lifted the heavy grey shortwave reciever,and carried it to the living room. Putting the massive radio on its former perch of days gone,she dusted it off and plugged it in. The large dial lit up, and a barly preceivable hum came from the speaker.
Making a face, Diana spun the main dial. Aside from a few squeals and an increase in static, she heard nothing. Switching the band selector to SEVEN MHZ,near the center on one of the shaded areas on the dial indicating amateur radio frequencies,she then spun the bandspread until it registered ZERO KHZ.Stillnothing was heard.Diana centered the dial marked B.F.O. and switched the mode switch to CW/SSB. Aside from a change in pitch of the ambient noise coming from the radio,there was still no signal. "Let's see, what am I forgetting?" Diana stood,glancing over to the bedroom window. "An Antenna!" She moved into the bedroom and peered out the window. There, suspended between the garage and the house, and just above the bedroom window,was the wire antenna her father had installed when he bought the massave radio a lifetime ago.
Diana recalled that just days ago she had inspected the wire leading under the house, and the wire leading to the copper rod hammered into the ground. She reemembered two holes just under the carpet behind the table, that the wires were strung thru. Rushing back into the living room, she knelt down beside the small table and pulled at the carpet. It lifted easily to her effort.
"There you are!" Two heavy gauge plastic insulated wires were coiled next to each other. "One black wire to theantenna,the other white wire to the ground." Diana stood and leaned over the radio to inspect the back."And,one screw labled antenna,you go here." She wrapped the bare wire exposed from the end of the proper lead...instantly she heard an increase of noise coming from the reciever. "And you go here." Diana wrapped the other lead to the screw marked ground. She then tightened both screws with her fingernail.Sitting back, she felt a wave of satisfaction wash over her.
"Well, that settles the duck-people issue." A jumble of multiple semi-intelligible voices was heard from the loudspeaker. Single side band, a mode of voice communication on shortwave must be precisely tuned or it sounds much like, well,ducks not quite quacking but quack-talking. Diana adjusted the bandspread until the strongest signal filled the loudspeaker. Watching the needle of the S-meter slam into its stop.she turned the R.F.Gain knob counter-clockwise until the peaks of the signal barley came close to it. She then turned theB.F.O. to the left. The unintelligible quack voice became a very intelligible"CQ,CQ,CQ 40 meters, this is...."
The light on the main dial winked out, and the audible signal quickly faded into oblivion. "Crap, I blew a fuse!" Diana stood and peered to the back of the radio. Seeing a black dial marked FUSE, she turned it and pulled the knob. An automotive style fuse came out of the radio.
Sure enough. Holding the glass fuse up to the sunlight streaming in through the window,she inspected thetwisted ans melted conductor within."Well, I'd have thought I may had to repair you. It looks like some of your tubes are old." Re-inserting the fuse into its receptacle, she unplugged the radio from the wall outlet. Then she inserted her finger into the hole in the top, and lifted. The hinged top of the reciever opened easily.
"Hello, and just what are you?"Reaching inside, Diana removed several newspaper-wrapped objects. Unwrapping one, she gazed in wonder at her find. It was an Intricately designed morse-code key, but was not adorned with MADE IN U.S.A. It had Chinese markings on it.
"Now just how did you come to possess this?" as she laid her find aside...
Want to know more? ...Buy the book.
The first fax in the tray was from a local theater. A play, "Everyman" presented by her old college group, was to appear one night only at a tiny playhouse on Brand Boulevard. She made a mental note to attend. "I don't get out often enough," she thought.She laid that fax on top of the machine and reviewed the second one.
Sure enough, it was her client, assigning her to the Nicole Pager case. Diana removed an empty file folder from a stack and noted the day,s date on the tab.As an afterthought,she wrote"The Riddle of the Sphinx"under the date. "Thers. That will keep you in the proper prespective, David Simone." She put the folder in her briefcase then wandered into her bedroom and to the spacious closet that also served as storage for her parent's posessions.
Moving aside several boxes,she came across her objective. Carefully, she lifted the heavy grey shortwave reciever,and carried it to the living room. Putting the massive radio on its former perch of days gone,she dusted it off and plugged it in. The large dial lit up, and a barly preceivable hum came from the speaker.
Making a face, Diana spun the main dial. Aside from a few squeals and an increase in static, she heard nothing. Switching the band selector to SEVEN MHZ,near the center on one of the shaded areas on the dial indicating amateur radio frequencies,she then spun the bandspread until it registered ZERO KHZ.Stillnothing was heard.Diana centered the dial marked B.F.O. and switched the mode switch to CW/SSB. Aside from a change in pitch of the ambient noise coming from the radio,there was still no signal. "Let's see, what am I forgetting?" Diana stood,glancing over to the bedroom window. "An Antenna!" She moved into the bedroom and peered out the window. There, suspended between the garage and the house, and just above the bedroom window,was the wire antenna her father had installed when he bought the massave radio a lifetime ago.
Diana recalled that just days ago she had inspected the wire leading under the house, and the wire leading to the copper rod hammered into the ground. She reemembered two holes just under the carpet behind the table, that the wires were strung thru. Rushing back into the living room, she knelt down beside the small table and pulled at the carpet. It lifted easily to her effort.
"There you are!" Two heavy gauge plastic insulated wires were coiled next to each other. "One black wire to theantenna,the other white wire to the ground." Diana stood and leaned over the radio to inspect the back."And,one screw labled antenna,you go here." She wrapped the bare wire exposed from the end of the proper lead...instantly she heard an increase of noise coming from the reciever. "And you go here." Diana wrapped the other lead to the screw marked ground. She then tightened both screws with her fingernail.Sitting back, she felt a wave of satisfaction wash over her.
"Well, that settles the duck-people issue." A jumble of multiple semi-intelligible voices was heard from the loudspeaker. Single side band, a mode of voice communication on shortwave must be precisely tuned or it sounds much like, well,ducks not quite quacking but quack-talking. Diana adjusted the bandspread until the strongest signal filled the loudspeaker. Watching the needle of the S-meter slam into its stop.she turned the R.F.Gain knob counter-clockwise until the peaks of the signal barley came close to it. She then turned theB.F.O. to the left. The unintelligible quack voice became a very intelligible"CQ,CQ,CQ 40 meters, this is...."
The light on the main dial winked out, and the audible signal quickly faded into oblivion. "Crap, I blew a fuse!" Diana stood and peered to the back of the radio. Seeing a black dial marked FUSE, she turned it and pulled the knob. An automotive style fuse came out of the radio.
Sure enough. Holding the glass fuse up to the sunlight streaming in through the window,she inspected thetwisted ans melted conductor within."Well, I'd have thought I may had to repair you. It looks like some of your tubes are old." Re-inserting the fuse into its receptacle, she unplugged the radio from the wall outlet. Then she inserted her finger into the hole in the top, and lifted. The hinged top of the reciever opened easily.
"Hello, and just what are you?"Reaching inside, Diana removed several newspaper-wrapped objects. Unwrapping one, she gazed in wonder at her find. It was an Intricately designed morse-code key, but was not adorned with MADE IN U.S.A. It had Chinese markings on it.
"Now just how did you come to possess this?" as she laid her find aside...
Want to know more? ...Buy the book.