K8GZ's Towering Tea Tin Ohio Mighty Mite

Here is a very innovative approach to the Mighty Mite.  The compression cap atop the coil form gives it a towering appearance.  Pete and both liked the button key.  The Te Tin is very nice and marks another example of the long ham radio tradition of bringing kitchen items (breadboards!) into radio projects.  E-mails from K8GZ appear below.  

Podcast 171 is fantastic, loaded with
Information and inspiration. Your
podcasts continue to lead me down
the road of home few. I'm trying to
get the demons out of a regen that
will companion my MMM.
I have attached photos of my MMM,
complete with on board key. A ceramic
trim capacitor fills in for the air cap.
A reverse polarity diode helps to keep
electronic smoke in precious components.
Thanks for the crystal and inspiration.
The MMM emits a stable signal whether
it is powered by 1.5 or 12 volts.
73
K8GZ
Kaye Hartman

Thank you for the crystal that arrived on 

Sat. the 13th. I was hoping for a 

"Plug-N-Play" since the MI Mighty Mite

was assembled, waiting for a crystal. 

However, Noodleing was required. 

Several salvaged transistors were tried 

with the winner being an unmarked one 

with a low hfe of 21. It draws 120 ma. at 

12 volts and 4 ma. at 1.5 volts. I added a 

cap across the key to soften the key 

clicks (per Pete).  Also I added a reverse-

protection diode (to protect myself from 

additional moments of stupidity). 

I live in an environment that is not 

antenna friendly, so no air time yet. 

I must try some portable operation 

to get the MMM on the air. 

Thanks for the crystal. It really makes the 

project extra special. 

Pictures will follow as soon as I figure out 

how to send them. Time to have a tech-talk 

with my grandchildren. 

73,

Kaye Hartman, K8GZ

Lancaster, OH

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" http://soldersmoke.com/book.htm Our coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmoke Our Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20