Just go to http://soldersmoke.com. On that archive page, just click on the blue hyperlinks and your audio player should play that episode.
http://soldersmoke.com
Very cool video. We have visited VE7ZWZ's amazing shack before. This time he takes us inside a BIG commercial AM transmitter that he has modified for use on the amateur bands. I know that he had the plate voltage turned off, but I still felt myself cringing when he reached up to touch the plate connectors on those enormous thermatrons. The filaments were on, adding to my unease. Dude, don't do that! And if you are standing INSIDE the transmitter, keeping one hand behind your back might not be as beneficial as it normally would be. His comments on his VFO were interesting. I was kind of disappointed that he went with a varactor circuit. A varactor? Amidst all those bread slicer variable caps? It just doesn't seem right. (And BTW they are bread slicers, NOT "potato slicers.") But I kind of liked the heater--thermistor--insulation set up that keeps the VFO at constant temperature. I thought it was interesting that these transmitters were kept on, with the tubes glowing for years at a time. Thanks Mr. Carlson, for another great video!
Nothing spectacular for this old duffer - except SCALE!. One gotcha though: referring to 6L6s as triodes. Sorry, they're (beam-power) pentodes. The series went like this: 6F6 signal pentode (may even have been a tetrode, I forget...) > 6V6 (beam-power, ~5W) pentode > 6L6, ~30W ... all intended for audio but serviceable to HF. UK names EF3? for the 6F6, EL3? for the pentodes (30-series Octal, there were equivalents in the 80-series B9G envelopes, including a double-6V6!). An early version of the 6V6 was the 'side-pin' socketed EL3N (Mullard). Gads, history! :) I had a side-pin superhet set that I rescued in High School: ECH3 triode-heptode converter, EF3 (?) IF, EBF2 detector/AGC+audio, EL3N output, AZ1 rectifier. Broadcast and short-wave 6-18mc/s (yep, that early!). That helped me immensely in my French studies - I could find Radio France each end of the dial. :)
"SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" is now available as an e-book for Amazon's Kindle.
Here's the site:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004V9FIVW
Wanted: Matching speaker for NC-183D
-
Does anyone have a excellent condition 10" version of the matching speaker
for a NC-183D they would like to sell?
If so, please contact me at wd4lur@gmail....
Photos from the Stuart Hamfest 2024
-
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike (VE3MKX), who shares the
following photos by Ben (VE3ST) of the Stuart Hamfest 2024 held in Florida:
Photo Gal...
Dale Goes “SOTA-Lite” with the Elecraft KH1
-
Many thanks to Dale (N3HXZ) who shares the following field report:
SOTA-Lite with the KH1 by Dale (N3HXZ) My KH1 Edgewood Package finally
arrived in late F...
Handy breakout board for Raspberry Pi Pico
-
Just picked up a few of these breakout boards. I'm not sure that I like the
screw terminals but it is handy having LEDs on each GPIO pin. I'm really
gettin...
Ugly Construction!
-
Here’s a little project I put together on a whim about 18 months ago. It
was my tribute to the unlicensed (i.e. pirate) beacon cluster around 4096
KHz. The...
Repairing a dead Kenwood TS-850S
-
Recently, a Kenwood TS-850S - a radio from the mid-early 1990s - crossed my
workbench. While I'm not in the "repair business", I *do* fix my own
radios,...
A 51S-1 Restoration Story
-
I came across my Collins 51S-1 in a big junkyard in Ankara, Turkey around
2012. It was in a pile with a lot of other electronic scrap, probably from
one o...
New QRP Cluster Online From OM0ET and OM6APN
-
By DX EXPLORER
DX EXPLORER
Paul OM0ET and Peter OM6APN recently launched a new cluster dedicated to
QRP operations. Have a look and I hope you will enjoy...
3D Printing The Hadley 114mm Newtonian Telescope
-
Yes, we’re building a 3D Printed Newtonian Telescope called Hadley. It’s
being printed in PETG and in the video below, I give a quick tour. My build
isn’...
3D printed project boxes
-
I have been busy with some other things that have kept me away from
electronics projects for quite a while. Now I can get back to them, but
realize I n...
Daylight Again – An all Analog Radio
-
What’s all this? In 10 seconds, A high performance, 7MHz, 5 watt SSB rig
Draws just 24 mA of current 90 dB dynamic range, 80 dB close-in dynamic
range 3D ...
Adding Enclosure to your sBitx Boards Order
-
The early buyers of the sBitx board set who bought it for $270 USD might
want to also add the enclosure (box) for in the kit. What you will now get
is a f...
Digi-chirp! Digital synthesis of ‘nostalgic’ CW
-
The bottom ends of 80, 40 and 20m are not what they used to be. For
starters, the busiest part is the digital segment where computers talk to
computers – l...
-
A Simple Speech Processor
(For QRP/SSB Homebrew Transceivers )
Over the last few weeks I had been thinking to build a small AF speech
processor to add to...
A New Look for your uBitx!
-
Adding a "Cool Blue" Display to your uBitx!
The standard "green background" with black lettering frequently reminds me
that I suffer from Chronic seasickn...
Nothing spectacular for this old duffer - except SCALE!. One gotcha though: referring to 6L6s as triodes. Sorry, they're (beam-power) pentodes. The series went like this: 6F6 signal pentode (may even have been a tetrode, I forget...) > 6V6 (beam-power, ~5W) pentode > 6L6, ~30W ... all intended for audio but serviceable to HF. UK names EF3? for the 6F6, EL3? for the pentodes (30-series Octal, there were equivalents in the 80-series B9G envelopes, including a double-6V6!). An early version of the 6V6 was the 'side-pin' socketed EL3N (Mullard). Gads, history! :) I had a side-pin superhet set that I rescued in High School: ECH3 triode-heptode converter, EF3 (?) IF, EBF2 detector/AGC+audio, EL3N output, AZ1 rectifier. Broadcast and short-wave 6-18mc/s (yep, that early!). That helped me immensely in my French studies - I could find Radio France each end of the dial. :)
ReplyDelete