Update: How Many Drake 2-B Receivers Were Made? Can Someone Send a Drake 2-B to Scott?

We first looked at this question way back in 2011: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-many-drake-2-bs-german-tank-problem.html

Scott K6AUS has been involved since the very beginning and continues to look at the mathematics: 

https://nomadiq.net/blog/post/how-many-drake-2bs-were-ever-made

Scott has given us a very useful update based on additional serial numbers provided by SolderSmoke listeners. 

How many?  About 11,300.  Check out Scott's page for some interesting mathematical details.  

Thanks a lot Scott!

BTW:  SCOTT K6AUS DOES NOT HAVE A DRAKE 2-B.  THIS IS JUST WRONG! HE HAS DONE SO MUCH FOR THIS RECEIVER!  HE SHOULD HAVE ONE!  IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE WHO CAN SEND A DRAKE 2-B TO SCOTT?   

Bob W8SX Interviews Hans G0UPL at FDIM 2026

Thanks to Bob W8SX for being the SolderSmoke Correspondent at FDIM again this year. 

We will present the audio recordings that Bob did for us.  The first of these is with Hans Summers G0UPL.   

Bob talks to Hans about the QMX and QMX + transceivers.  Hans reports that he has sold more than 16,000 of these transceivers in the last three years.  He describes for Bob how he made use of the Hilbert transform, and how the fact that this rig is SDR means that with each firmware update, the user gets essentially a new radio, with features that often did not exist before. 

Here is the recording: 

 http://soldersmoke.com/G0UPL FDIM 2026.mp3

Thank you Bob, thanks Hans, and thank you QRP ARCI. 

100 Billion Transistors on One Small Chip -- No Room for Homebrew!

https://newsroom.ibm.com/2026-06-25-ibm-debuts-worlds-first-sub-1-nanometer-chip-technology

FCC Amateur Radio Exam Question:  Draw the schematic for the new IBM sub-1nm chip, showing how it will be used in FT-8 operations. 

Mike WN2A suggested I ask AI about a schematic.   Here is what Gemini said: 

Here is what Gemini said: 

Please draw me the schematic (showing the connections of all 100 billion transistors) in the new IBM sub-nm chip.

I would love to help sketch out circuit diagrams, but drawing a literal schematic showing the individual connections for all 100 billion transistors is physically impossible!

To put that number into perspective, if we were to draw a schematic where each transistor was just a tiny 1-inch symbol on a piece of paper, the blueprint would be so massive it would easily cover the entire landmass of the United States.

Modern sub-nanometer chips—like IBM's cutting-edge nanosheet architectures—are far too complex for human hands to map out line-by-line. Instead, engineers use advanced software to design chips hierarchically. Here is how that massive sea of 100 billion transistors is actually organized under the hood:

1. The Building Block: The Gate-All-Around (GAA) Nanosheet

At the microscopic level, these chips no longer use the older FinFET (fin-shaped) transistors. Instead, they use nanosheets, where the channels are stacked vertically like a three-story sandwich. The gate wraps entirely around all four sides of each horizontal sheet, providing maximum electrical control and drastically reducing current leakage.

2. Standard Cells (The Functional Logic)

Instead of wiring 100 billion separate components, computer scientists group transistors into "Standard Cells." These are pre-designed functional blocks like:

• Logic Gates: AND, OR, NAND, and NOR gates (requiring anywhere from 2 to 8 transistors each).

• Flip-Flops: Memory cells that store a single bit of data (requiring about 20 to 30 transistors).

3. The Macroscopic Layout (Blocks and Cores)

Billions of those standard cells are then combined into macroscopic structural blocks that look less like a traditional schematic and more like a highly organized city map. If we were to draw a high-level schematic of the chip, it would look like a block diagram featuring:

• Processor Cores: The massive processing engines packed with arithmetic logic units (ALUs).

• Cache Memory (SRAM): Vast grids of 6-transistor memory cells stacked tightly together to hold data right next to the execution units.

• Interconnect Matrix: A vertical 3D skyscraper of up to 15 layers of microscopic copper wiring running above the transistors to route data and power across the chip.

If you are working on a homebrew electronics project and want to map out a circuit diagram for an RF amplifier, a QRP radio transceiver, or a simple analog filter, I can absolutely help you draw or troubleshoot those schematics! But for 100 billion nanosheets, we have to leave the drafting to the silicon foundries' supercomputers.

My AI QSL Card: Wood Boxes, a D-104, Books, a 'Scope, the EB-63A, Guapo, our Sticker, and a Cup of Coffee! KK0S's Cards

Inspired by the ZL2BNE card sent to me by VK3HN, and the excellent question from Walter KA4KXX,  I endeavored today to create a QSL card that was sort of like that of OM ZL2BNE.  

I kind of like the result: 

-- We have the wooden box rigs.  I am working on one of them.  (That happens a lot!)

-- There is a D-104.

-- We see the EB-63 .1kW Linear. 

--  There are books on the shelf:  SSDRA, EMRFD and SPRAT in a binder.   And we see a book by Hayward.  

-- There is an oscilloscope.  

-- There is a nice map of Northern Virginia and my Maidenhead Grid Square. 

-- We see Guapo, and a cup of coffee. 

-- We also see the SolderSmoke sticker. 

Here is how I did this:  

I used https://www.canva.com/  You have to select the AI option.  Then I told it I wanted it to look like the ZL2BNE card (I sent them a copy).  At that point you have to start modifying what the AI comes up with.  You have to do this many times until you get it sort of right.  

Please send me your results! 

Here are a couple of QSLs that Bruce KK0S did with ChatGPT: 

A Really FB HB QRP QSL Card from New Zealand

 

That's the spirit!  The solder is melting.  Note the oscilloscope.  Note the books on the shelf. This amazingly good QSL card was sent to us by homebrewer Paul VK3HN, who made the contact with ZL2BNE.  

This card reminded me of my first real DX:  ZL2ACP many years ago.  15 meter CW with my new Drake 2B receiver.  I had crossed the Pacific before I had crossed the Atlantic.  I ran upstairs and woke my parents to tell them of this amazing feat!  I still have that QSL card.  

The RT-6 and RR-6 Motorola "Spy Set"

I don't know if this rig really qualifies as a "spy set" but it nevertheless is very interesting.   It is a tube rig, designed for use by B-47 bomber crews who could not make it back from the Soviet Union after dropping their nuclear bombs.  Supposedly they would bail out, then use these radios to call for help. Good luck with that!  Note the fold-out CW key. 

This rig was also reportedly hidden in European countries as "stay behind" assets to be used in the event of a Soviet invasion. 

 Here is a web site with more info: https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/rs6.html

First QSO by Chris (aka Morny) G7LQX and it was Homebrew CW!

I must have missed this five months ago, but better late than never: Congratulations to Chris G7LQX for his first ham radio contact.  And he was using a homebrew CW transceiver. 

Details here: https://www.qrz.com/db/G7LQX  

Chris has a very nice fist, and he is one of the only YouTubers I have seen who holds the straight key properly, with his forearm resting on the table.  All of the others seem to keep the forearm floating in the air, above the key. 

Canadian Ham to Include SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver in Teaching Materials for Canadian Ham License

Good morning Bill N2CQR.

I currently teach Canadian amateur radio certification courses.

The Advanced certification (akin to the FCC Extra Class license) has topics nicely showcased with the NorCal 40a transceiver.

Happily, the SolderSmoke DCR project will be included in my next editions of teaching materials (books, zoom presentations, monthly newsletters) once the Canadian question bank revisions are published later this year.

I really learned a great deal from the YouTube videos for each module in the DCR. Especially appreciated were the recommendations for trimpots and how to use them in the RF filter and the back-to-front build-test procedure for the cascaded audio amplifier. And these are just 2 of the many precious circuit building strategies learned from the documentation supporting this project.

Kudos to you and Dean and all the people involved at SolderSmoke.

All the best, 73 de VA2GJ, Gérald Julien Lemay.

Sputnik, IGY, Korolev, 1 Watt

Here is the Wikipedia on Sputnik 1:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1

I didn't know how badly Korolev had been injured while in the Gulag. 

The transmitter had 1 watt at 20 and 40 Mhz. 

Why It Makes Sense to Take a Break When Stuck on a Problem: "Unleashing Your Creativity" -- Hidden Brain Podcast

Wow.  For years we have been telling other builders that when they get stuck on a technical radio problem, when they can't fix a rig or get something to work, they should NOT stick with it, pull their hair out, and bang their heads against the wall.  Nor should they do what many of us do in our troubleshooting nightmares:  start pulling components off the board until, in the end, the board is empty.  No, don't do that.  Take a break, take a walk, do some gardening, do something different.  Then, when your mind is clear, suddenly the solution will come to you.  "Of course," you will think, "R16 should be 10K not 10 ohms!"  Or something like that. 

But why does that happen, and how does it happen?  It seems that many creative people through the centuries have been aware of this phenomenon.  

Listen to this podcast.  They discuss the benefits of taking a break and clearing your head. 

https://www.hiddenbrain.org/podcast/unleashing-your-creativity/

Q Dope, AI, and Homebrew Q Dope: Putting Packing Pellets to Good Use

 

Our friend Grayson KJ7UM recently asked about something that brought back old ham radio memories: Q Dope.  No, this not some new scary narcotic.  It is an old liquid that many of us had on our shelves until it dried out.  It turns out that AI knows all about it: 

"Q dope" was a specialty product—essentially a high-quality polystyrene lacquer—widely used by radio builders and amateur radio operators, particularly in the mid-20th century. It served as a protective coating for hand-wound coils and transformers in RF (radio frequency) circuits.

Why it was "Special"

Its primary value lay in the combination of two properties essential for high-performance radio gear:

• Low Dielectric Loss: When you wind an air-core coil for a tuned circuit, you want the "Q factor" (Quality factor) to be as high as possible. The Q factor measures the efficiency of the inductor, representing how well it stores energy versus how much it loses to resistance and dielectric absorption. Standard varnishes or glues could introduce "lossy" materials into the magnetic field of the coil, effectively lowering the Q and broadening the bandwidth of the tuned circuit (which reduces selectivity). Q dope was formulated specifically to have an extremely low dielectric constant and low loss tangent, meaning it wouldn't "dampen" the energy in the circuit.

• Mechanical Stability: Without a binder, hand-wound coils can be microphonic or physically unstable; if the wire moves due to vibration or thermal expansion, the inductance changes, causing the frequency to drift. Q dope acted as a cement that locked the turns of wire in place without adding the electrical losses of common adhesives.

Modern Context

While the term "Q dope" is less common in modern surface-mount or PCB-based electronics, it remains a topic of interest for those working with vintage radio restoration or homebrewing equipment where the specific electrical characteristics of air-wound inductors are required.

Because it is essentially just polystyrene dissolved in a volatile solvent (like toluene or acetone), it was also notorious for being simple to "home-brew." Many hobbyists simply dissolved scrap pieces of clear polystyrene (often from discarded plastic items) into a solvent to create their own batch, which served the exact same purpose as the commercial product.

--------------

And wow, here is a video on how to homebrew your own Q dope.  Finally those annoying packing pellets are useful for something: 

Troubleshooting in "2001 -- A Space Odyssey" -- And Trouble with the AI (HAL 9000)

Steely-eyed troubleshooters on Discovery

Their test gear

Here is Arthur C. Clarke's description of the procedure: 

This is probably our first entirely fictional description of troubleshooting. The amazing thing is that it comes to us from 1968, which is 58 years ago! 

YouTube's algorithm sent me a short video on how Stanley Kubrick made the movie, and how Arthur C. Clarke wrote the book:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJUBK1K84P8 

I remember going to see the movie in 1968.  Our neighbor Leonard's father (a Russian refugee), took all of us up to Haverstraw, New York to see the film.  It was obviously a memorable occassion.  

Ongoing discussions of AI and the possibility of AI consciousness make all of this even more relevant today.