A New Index for the SolderSmoke Podcast -- Thanks to Peter VK3TPM (with some help from Claude)

 

https://soldersmoke.com

I posted the first SolderSmoke podcast in August of 2005.  That was almost 21 years ago.  I opened the soldersmoke.com Bluehost account in August 2006.  Since that time I have been just updating the index file of soldersmoke.com each time we did a new podcast.  Sometimes there would be links.  Sometimes there would be imbedded pictures.  At some point we started also doing videos of the podcast.  And all the while there was a steady flow of "improvements" and updates to the html format of the web.  I ignored all of these changes.  Then, sometime in 2024, the editor that allowed me to update the soldersmoke.com site (without knowing any html) disappeared.  Soon the index file fell into disrepair. I had been hoping to find a way to fix it.  Peter Marks VK3TPM came to my rescue, just as he did when I needed to make a WordPress backup of the SolderSmoke blog. 

Peter tells me that when he looked at the html of the index files (there were two!) his heart sank.  Fixing this would involve going through and cleaning up each of the entries for 264 SolderSmoke podcasts. That would be a lot of work.  But then it occurred to him: LET CLAUDE DO IT.  That is what reduced the workload.  Claude took to the task admirably, it wrote python scripts to parse the page, read the Soldersmoke blog to get other information and got the modification dates of the mp3 files to derive the publication dates. Claude was able to go through the podcasts, putting all of them in order, and eliminating any unnecssary links or images.  A job that would have taken several days of tedious manual work was done by AI in an hour or so. The size of the index file shrunk from well in excess of the Bluehost editors 1 megabyte limit, to a much more manageable 300 kilo byte size. 

All of us (especially me!) should be grateful to Peter for fixing this.  And I joked with Peter that Claude and his AI colleagues should also be grateful -- they will have an easier time training on the sleek new index that now holds summaries of all the SolderSmoke podcasts. 

Check out the new index: https://soldersmoke.com

A Very Basic (and Cool) SSB Transmitter from Australia and New Zealand

 

https://www.siliconchip.com.au/Issue/SC/2026/June

Our good friend Peter Marks VK3TPM sent this to me, after QRP Guru Peter Parker VK3YE alerted him to it.  Silicon Chip is the electronics magazine of Australia. 

This is a really basic, but very cool SSB transmitter that Andrew ZL2PD built into the case of an old microphone.  I think it does a good job of illustrating some of the key elements of an SSB transmitter:  the balanced modulator (to get rid of the carrier), the crystal filter (to get rid of the unwanted sideband), a very simple mixer circuit, followed by a bandpass filter to select only the difference frequency while rejecting the sum.  Finally a good low pass filter.  This transmitter operates on a fixed frequency of around 3.7 Mhz.   The schematic and most of the article appears in the free online version of the magazine:  https://www.siliconchip.com.au/Issue/SC/2026/June

Andrew ZL2PD has a very interesting web site:  https://zl2pd.com/

Thanks to Peter VK3TPM for sending this to us. And thanks to VK3YE and to ZL2PD. 

A Quick Review of "Open Circuits" by Eric Schlaepfer and Windell H. Oskay

Wednesday's post about this book caused me to pull it off my shelf and to take another look.

Highlights from the SolderSmoke perspective: 

Page 34  Glass Capacitors.  Phil W1PJE left me some. 

Page 48  Ferrite Beads.  Underrated.  People often don't think they will work. 

Page 66 Glass-Encapsulated Diodes.  Yes, 1N4148's in our Direct Conversion Receiver. 

Page 70 2N2222.  In a metal can. 

Page 72 2N3904.  We use them so often. 

Page 90 Color LEDs.   The Green Hornet beacon in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic. 

Page 116  Electromagnetic Relay.   We use them a lot. 

Page 142 DIP sockets  I recently struggled with them with my NE602 chips. 

Page 182  12AX7.    Thermatron! 

Page 186 Cathode Ray Tube.   I have some. CuriousMarc recently fixed one. 

Page 190 Mercury Tilt Switch. I had one as a kid.  You can change a reflector to a director.  

Page 196  Dipped Silver Mica Capacitor.    We use them.  A lot.  Sometimes as NP0 caps. 

Page 198  IF transformer.  S-38E.  HQ-100.

Page 206 - 207 Point Contact Diode and Germanium Diodes.  Crystal radios. Great fun. 

Page 210 Windowed EPROM. Was this the Rom chip in the TW-100s? 

Page 212 Core Memory.  Rope!   As used in the Apollo spacecraft. 

Page 228 Single-Side Printed Circuit Boards.  Almost (but not quite) Manhattan. 

Page 238 MicroSD Card.  I have one in my Drone. 

Page 262 Crystal Oscillator.     TCXO?  In a can?  As in Dean's WSPR transmitter? 

What do you guys think? 

Eric KK6GZM of CuriousMarc is the Author of Open Circuits

I've been watching the CuriousMarc YouTube channel for a while now.  I am sure that many of you also watch.  We know that Marc is a ham (AJ6JV).  But I didn't know that Eric (who appears on the show a lot) is the author of the Open Circuits book.  This book has a lot of photos of electronic components that are cut or filed open to show what is inside.  I came across the book some time ago, and could not resist.  I didn't know that Eric was an author!  Is Eric also a ham? (With the social media handle TubeTimeUS, there is a good possibility.) 

NOTE:  Our friend Walter KA4KXX checked and found that indeed, Eric is a ham!  He is KK6GZM.  FB! 

Here is what Gemini has to say about this: 

On the CuriousMarc YouTube channel, Eric is Eric Schlaepfer, a highly skilled hardware engineer and hardware reverse-engineering expert who frequently collaborates on the channel's most complex vintage electronics restorations.

Online and on social media, he is widely known by his handle, TubeTime (@TubeTimeUS).

When Marc and the team hit an incredibly stubborn digital or silicon-level roadblock, Eric is often the "reinforcement" they call in. He brings massive engineering expertise to the bench, along with a suite of specialized diagnostic tools.

A few things he is best known for on the channel and in the broader electronics community include:

• Deep-Dive Troubleshooting: He famously helped Marc debug a dead IBM PS/2 Model 77 computer by hookup up a logic analyzer and using Ghidra software to reverse-engineer the custom BIOS down to the binary level, successfully tracking down a deeply hidden motherboard ASIC failure.

• The Open Circuits Book: Eric co-authored the popular book Open Circuits: The Inner Beauty of Electronic Components (with Windell Oskay of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories). On CuriousMarc, he has featured cross-section videos where he literally slices electronic components—like old resistors, capacitors, and ICs—perfectly in half and polishes them to reveal their intricate internal engineering under a microscope.

• The MOnSter6502: Outside of the channel, he is famous in the retro-computing world for designing and building a fully functional, giant-sized MOS 6502 processor made entirely out of thousands of discrete, individual transistors and surface-mount LEDs so you can visually watch the data flow through the registers.

Whenever Eric shows up in the lab next to Marc, Carl Claunch, and Ken Shirriff, you know the video is about to dive deep into microscopic component analysis, logic analysis, or advanced circuit reverse-engineering.

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

Here is the CuriousMarc video about the bad French resistor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2UXwW55kAI

Here is the cover of the book: 

The Texas Telescope Ranch

Who knew?  Not me!  Cool idea.  

CuriousMarc Repairs the French Oscilloscope of His Youth -- ACHTUNG!

It was very cool to watch CuriousMarc go back and repair the French Oscilloscope that he used as a kid. 

I was reminded of my work on a Tek 465 scope.  There is a LOT of high voltage around those CRTs.  I needed to measure the HV on my Tek 465 -- Alan Wolke W2AEW lent me a high voltage probe. Thanks again Alan.  I eventually gave up on the Tek 465 but that was because mine had plug-in transistors.  Yuck -- one bump of the elbow during troubleshooting and you could easily inject new problems into the broken machine. 

Marc's work also caused me to think about working on the HAMEG 10 MHz scope that I have in the shack.  Also there is the older Eico scope that was so bad and so limited in bandwidth that it has been banished to the basement.  But I must say, watching Mark move around high voltage made me realize why so many of us have migrated to solid-state scopes.  I have modern Rigol scopes in both my shacks. 

As with Mr. Carlson, I must say that Marc should be more careful with energized gear and capacitors that hold their charge.   Marc seems to think that those insulating gloves protect him from HV, but he still grabs that beast with both hands and makes skin to metal contact with at least one arm.  Yikes!  Don't do that!  Volts jolt but mils kill OM!  One hand behind your back!  Marc does recognize the danger, and displays this sign at least three times during the video.  (Marc is obviously NOT a dummkopf!)     

Google Gemini said this about the sign: 

The language is German (though it is a bit grammatically jumbled and misspelled).

Translated to English, it roughly means: "Is it not for work by blockheads!" or "Is this not for use by fools!"

A Quick Breakdown

The phrase looks like a slightly mangled variation of a classic piece of old internet joke-lore known as "Blinkenlights."

Back in the early days of computing, tech rooms often had mock-warning signs posted in broken, comical German (often called "Mock-German" or "Germlish") to warn non-technical people not to mess with the machines.

If you are looking at a quirky warning sign or an old tech joke, the proper full phrase usually goes something like this:

"Achtung! Alles Lookenspeepers! Das computation-machine ist nicht für gefingerpoken und mittengrabben! Ist easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und popencorken mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht für gewerken bei dummköpfen!"

In short: "This is serious equipment—no touching, and it's definitely not meant to be operated by fools!"

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

And be sure to check out the oscilloscope music as seen by Marc's old scope: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCukVSqoZyI

Building an Electronics Work Bench (and fixing an old CNC Lathe)

It is interesting to Watch Wes Work.  Recently I came across his YouTube channel when he described his effort to repair an old CNC machine.  Being the frequent beneficiary of Pete N6QW's $250,000 CNC machine, naturally I took a look (see below).  

I am really glad that Wes built a proper electronics work bench (above).  He has flux!  He has rosin core solder!   I just hope and pray that he is not using lead-free solder.  I admire his use of the 3D printer.  And he has some cool tools, especially that de-burring device.  He has a Rigol oscilloscope and he has a big collection of leads.  Is Wes a ham?  If not, he should be.  

Here is the CNC lathe video. 

Wes's YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@WatchWesWork

School for Danger -- the SOE, and Radio, in Nazi Occupied France

Hack-a-Day had a link to this film.  It is really good.  There is some stuff about radio, and especially the S-Phone system.  But the bigger message of the film is the danger faced by the heroic teams who parachuted into occupied France.  As shown in the film, many of these people were young women who risked it all in the most dangerous of airborne operations.  It is a reminder of how ridiculous the focus on masculine valor in airborne and special operations really is.  Three cheers for the SOE. For all of them. 

Farhan Talks LARCSet (CW & SSB) at FDIM (with a Lot of Homebrew Wisdom)

Watch the presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MefojjQ84YY

Farhan made it to FDIM 2026  (he must hold the "distance travelled" record!). We thought he might be talking about the latest version of the digital SDR sBITX, but NO!  Farhan talked about the entirely analog LARCSet, a 30 dollar SSB/CW monobander.  And in the process he shared a lot of good homebrew history and wisdom. I took notes on the video of his presentation: 

-- Farhan recounts his discussion with Steve Hartley, President of GQRP.  Farhan said he started to talk about SDR projects, but Steve steered him away from all that.  Farhan said he realized that the homes of GQRP members are often small, and projects need to fit into took boxes that are pulled out as needed.  There is often not even enough room to mount a screen.  Analog rigs just fit better.  

-- Farhan talked about the beauty of analog.  He also shared some info on the recent timeline of analog rigs, going back to 1976 with the IARU gift kits made available by W1VD.  Farhan very kindly mentioned the DC receiver that Dean and I are promoting.  He talked about the 2003 BITX 20 rig, and the subsequent uBITX.  Farhan talked about the cleanliness of all-analog rigs.  "SDR's are a mess!" he said. "With SDRs it is difficult to avoid hash." 

-- Farhan said he had trouble measuring the phase noise of the VFO in the LARCSet.  He consulted with Wes W7ZOI.  Wes told him this was NOT a measurement problem; VFOs have almost no phase noise.  The level is even lower than that of crystal oscillators.  Of course, crystal oscillators are more stable, but they also have more phase noise.

-- He noted that almost no recent homebrew design does not rely on an Si5351.  This, he said, is "not a healthy situation."  Indeed.   

  --  Farhan talked a bit about how Indian regulations seemingly require a deviation from the completly open source ethos.  Indian regs require companies to have assets.  So the PC board layouts have to remain proprietary.  

-- Farhan talked about the sharpness and shape of the BP filter in the LARCSet.  I remember talking to him about the shape of my BP filters in my dual banders -- I had to rebuild the filters.

-- On the crystal filters that form the heart of SSB rigs, Farhan noted that cheap low Q crystals often introduce a lot of loss in the filters (that may explain my problem with some styles of computer crystals). 

-- A member of the FDIM audience asked about the Sharpie written frequency readout on the LARCset that Farhan showed to the group.  Farhan told them that this was the only frequency readout used in the rig. 

  -- With the LARCSet, Farhan used varactors to vary the frequency.  But the varactors he used were cheap but horrible.  They varied the frequency as the rig hearted up.  The LM386 was the source of heat.  He also noted that the cheap varactors, while cheap, did not provide linear frequency readout. Farhan said the varactor scheme was still not perfect; he offered a PTO solution that could be used instead.  Three cheers for the PTO! 

-- Farhan said the LARCset was really an SSB rig, but when coming to FDIM he said he felt obligated to present a rig that included CW, "or they would throw me out of the room."  Farhan described a scheme to generate CW based on what was done with the Atlas rigs. 

-- Farhan said the LARCset might even work on 2 Meters.  Hmmm.  

-- On tuning, Farhan said he used a very large tuning dial (he said it was like a steering wheel) and then recommended the use of a smaller control that could serve as an SSB "clarifier." 

-- Farhan pointed out that homebrew rigs are never really done; even decades later, they can still be modified.  

Watch the presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MefojjQ84YY

Rick N3FJZ on the Red Summit Podcast with Charlie NJ7V

 

Check it out! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUQA2uNskEs

I liked Rick's story about his early days in radio electronics.  Taking old TVs from the street -- been there, done that!  FB Rick, 

Rick points out that he has never used a commercial ham radio rig, so he is unfamiliar with some of the "features" of such rigs.  Sometimes, I think, the lack of experience is a good thing. 

I really like the display that Rick uses, showing the operating frequency, the VFO frequency and the BFO frequency.  This might help with our struggle with those who complain that we are 40 Hz off.  Rick then notes that he used 15,000 lines of code for this display.  Wow, that shows the benefits of being -- like Rick is -- both a real software wizard and a hardware wizard. 

Rick describes how  he uses tin-plated steel boards in lieu of copper clad boards.  

I liked his approach to schematic drawing -- we benefited from this in the SolderSmoke Direct Conversion receiver project. 

When Rick talks about taking pieces of schematics from other rigs and making them work in new rigs, Charlie notes that, "this is the ham radio way."  Exactly. 

There is a lot of really sentimental stuff in this podcast.  SolderSmoke is mentioned frequently.  They mention Pete and Dean.  This starts at around 22 minutes. Rick talks about Farhan at around 26 minutes.  And he talks about Wes W7ZOI.  

Rick talks about some of his early projects.  I have a sentimental attachment to his Lakeside DC receiver: 

  

Then, a few years later, we had our first HB2HB contact.  Homebrew rigs on both sides:  

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2015/10/hb2hb-n3fjz-n2cqr-si5351-and-bitx-tias.html

Finally, I agree with the last sentiment expressed by Rick in his conversation with Charlie:  The Red Summit podcast -- especially with its focus on homebrew -- is exactly what this hobby needs.  Anything that encourages hams to experience the fun of homebrewing is a good thing.  Three cheers for Rick and for Red Summit. 

SolderSmoke 264: CW TX, Repair of 17-12 Rig, AI and Repair, Back on 40m, HB for 2m, VWS WSPR Makers Project , MAILBAG

QSO May 8, 2026 with Lou EA3JE.  I was using my Mythbuster

May 12, 2026

SolderSmoke Podcast #264 is available for download: 

Audio:   http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke264.mp3

Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9FcfuqjZxA

We had a small recording glitch at the beginning of this video. But we didn't lose much. We had talked about the success of the SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver Project. We talked about the receivers built by Nader Omer ST2NH and Chuck Adams AA7FO. We had also gloated a bit about our April 1 post -- you know, the (bogus! ) story about how the Administration is "Supporting Homebrew Radio." (Let us know if you were taken in by this, even for just a few seconds.) At that point, we were just beginning Pete's section; that is where the recording began. Here are the notes for the rest of the podcast:

Pete: 

Three CW transmitter projects featuring low parts counts.  Good results from Reverse Beacon Network. 

The goal in these projects is to raid the junk box and severely limit any new purchases of components.  Pete had no idea of the depth of parts he bought and just stashed away.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YLZ7aZpmxQ&t=30s

Bill: 

Fixing the 17-12 Rig.  Parasitic VHF Oscillations with the SK3050.  Good advice from Gemini. Killing NE602s. Fat Finger Syndrome -- hard to work with ICs.   Different freq when on transmit -- need for .1 uF cap on pin 8. Worked South Korea -- TRGHS. 

Putting the DIGI-TIA back on the air. On 40! And SW listening with the Q-31. 

Hard to homebrew for 2 meters.  Did some beacon experiments to Puerto Rico on last day in DR. 

SHAMELESS COMMERCE DIVISION: 

The importance of Patreon!  Thanks!  patreon.com/SolderSmoke

Mostly DIY RF!  https://mostlydiyrf.com/

Universe Today Podcast with Fraser Cain.  No Ads.  Great stuff.  Listen!   https://www.patreon.com/public-rss/75186?show=1744036

Dean: 

The VWS WSPR project.  

Mailbag:  

Ed N3EML  Heard me on 40 with my Digi-Tia

Grayson KJ7UM  Liked WWII training video: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2026/05/radio-receivers-1942-training-film.html

Mike WN2A  -- Pete Juliano is our Shifu! (Lexicographer Steve Silverman KB3SII approves,)

Todd K7TFC Thoughtful comments on ARRL "Clean Signal Initiative."

Danny ON1MWS's regen with unusual variable capacitors. 

Mike WU2D  S-38, Nearfest,  Mu Metal.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUQ4xml1dSY

Charlie NJ7V  Interviews Mitch NK3H who homebrewed an SSB transceiver. 

Charlie also had Don KM4UDX, President of the Vienna Wireless Society on the podcast. 

Bob KD4EBM -- El Cilindro. Radioactive Hospital Waste -- basis for a Ruben Blades song.  It was 1987 in Brasil.  Cesium 137 left in hospital waste.  

Hamilton  KD0FNR   Big fans of "The most interesting man in the world."https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2026/04/background-from-maine-on-most.html

Rhett KB4HG -- TW-100! Used on the OMRN. https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-tw-100-fly-away-transceiver-cw-ssb.html

What happened to Glenn KU4NO's homebrew rig? https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-rig-with-maximum-soul-5-band.html

Ryan KJ7KVD is listening to OLD SolderSmoke podcasts.  He will build a Michigan Mighty Mite. 

Will N5OLA restored a Heath SB rig.  We now know why they went to HW rigs.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt2d1Ia8lqQ 

Paul G0OER -- Thanks us for PTOing the HB world, but sends us a video of a unique Eddystone receiver with 39 permeability tuned coils!  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/L4oQHU5_kQk?feature=share

Rick N3FJZ -- A very cool video today on his homebrew HF power amplifiers:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CUVAF4HyfY

Farhan VU2ESE -- I heard from him yesterday as he was landing in Chicago. 

A Very Impressive Workshop from the UK

This one is almost scary.  There is an amazing number of machines crammed into that workshop.  There is even more stuff in the drawers down below.  Honestly, I sometimes thought that we radio homebrewers would be the worst offenders in this regard, but I see here that most of us are not even close.  This guy wins!  

At the end, at about the 24 minute mark, he demonstrates the use of a "scissor table" that can be used to bring the item he is working on to the needed height.  That is pretty cool, and would be quite useful for those working on really heavy gear -- think DX-100s or R-390As.  I have heard of hams installing small cranes in their shacks to move these heavy boatanchors around (they do seem to get heavier with time!).  The scissor table would take care of this.  

After showing the scissor table, he hits a button and an empty work table top drops from the ceiling to cover the scissor table.  Very cool.  Very useful.  

One note of caution.  I found myself worried about all those propane torches that he seemed to have stashed in odd corners of the workshop.  I would be worried about the danger of fire.  It might be wise to add a fire suppression sytem to the impressive inventory of gear in that shed.  

Sorry for that nanny-state suggestion.  That said, this workshop is magnificent.  Three cheers for the owner.