A Really Really Complete South African Workshop

This is really almost too much.  But I include it here because it is just an obviously impressive set of tools.  There are also many CNC machines (machines that Pete keeps talking about).  Finally, this video comes to us from afar, from South Africa. And SolderSmoke remains committed to INTERNATIONAL solidarity.  Thanks Ed for this wonderful video. 

Vintage Audio Restoration: Glue, Fusible Resistors, and Relays

 This guy is restoring VINTAGE audio gear.  It is definitely younger than the Boatanchors we usually work on, but it is a lot older than more recent gear that is made with largely pick-and-place machines and surface mount components. There are mostly through hole components here.  

There are some challenges I've never thought about: glue that over time starts to mess up the circuitry.  Fusible resistors?  Who knew?  And then there are relay contacts that go really bad.  We use a lot of these kinds of relays. 

All in all, there are a lot of good ideas in this video. His other videos are probably worth watching too.  I think it will be especially useful for my friend Bob, KD4EBM who does a lot of work in this area.  

Please let me know what you think.  Comment below.  

SolderSmoke Podcast #265: AI Pete, WSPR, sBITX, San Diego, Last Ditcher, NYC, 17-12 Fix, MMM Blasphemy, 6T9er, MAILBAG

SolderSmoke Podcast #265 is ready for download. 

Video Version:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jWYe6NxnJA

Audio Version:  http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke265.mp3

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

Travelogue:  Pete to San Diego,  Dean to NYC,  Bill stays home. 

Field Day Report!   Dean?  Pete?  I had a bad back.  Really. 

The importance of "taking a break" discussed on "Hidden Brain" podcast. 

We need new chapters for the FMLA series.  Time to add the CBLA? 

 AI Pete? http://soldersmoke.com/AIPete.mp3

Dean:  WSPR success -- Report

Back on the air with the homebrew sBITX. 

VWS WSPR TX and AMP

KK4DAS WSPR Map

Pete:   Visit to surplus store in San Diego.

The Last Ditcher CW rig.  Frank Jones would approve!  Construction technique combining wooden slats and copper clad boards is FB. 

Homebrew CW rigs -- update. 

Schematics and Co-Pilot

Shameless Commerce Division:   

Mostly DIY RF

Become a Patron through Patreon.  

Do you want an emailed heads up about blog post and pocasts?  Send your e-mail to bill.meara@gmail.com

Please comment on the Podcast (on YouTube or on the blog) and about blog posts (on the blog page). Comments let us know that we are not speaking into the Google void!  

Bill:   Fixing the receiver in my 17-12 rig.  Adding 12 db to the TIA. 

The Open Circuits book.  Eric is the Eric from CuriousMarc.  And he is a ham! 

Blasphemy?  Bill redraws schematic for Michigan Mighty Mite. 

I have 6T9 tube.  I don't really want to build a CW transmitter.  But I may have to. 

Gemini explains "Low Value Content" They see 10,000 posts and assume it is AI Slop.  

Mailbag:  

Wes:  Nice email from W7ZOI. 

Peter Marks VK3TPM fixed the index file (with help from Claude). 

Peter VK3TPM and Paul VK3HN -- Great comments on AI. 

Also Dean KK4DAS and Bob KD4EBM

VK3HN sent FB AI QSL from ZL2BNE (see mine!) 

Bruce KK0S sent two FB AI QSL cards. 

Rogier PA1ZZ -- Sends "The World of El - AI"   IDK. 

Ryan KJ7KVD building a Michigan Mighty Mite (I sent parts) 

Robert W8MOX heard my beacon from the DR to Annandale Va. 

Kirk NTOZ -- The future of ham radio and what went wrong. 

Paul KL7FLR -- The Wizard of Wasila -- Finally 3D  printed a Toroid winder

Charlie NJ7V -- Doing great work over at Red Summit RF.  

Podstatus reports that we are #2 in Ghana!  Hooray for us! 

Farhan VU2ESE -- LARCSet CW mods! 

Walter KA4KXX Homebrew POTA proposal. 

Grayson KJ7UM: Likes Helge's Norwegian paraset

Gerald VA2GJ:  Including DC RX in Canadian license study materials. 

Ron WA6YOU: Spy radios RT-6 and RR-6

Scott K6AUS: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2026/06/update-how-many-drake-2-b-receivers.html We need to send him a 2B! 

Bob W8SX:  FDIM interview with Hans G0UPL.  More to follow.

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.