Saturday, November 14, 2015

W2DLH's 20 meter Mighty Mite



N2CQR & N6QW,
 
I ran across a reference to the SolderSmoke book and read through it very quickly.  Through the book, I discovered the SolderSmoke podcast and have been enjoying every minute!
 
I just want to thank the two of you for the inspiration and new motivation I’ve found in a hobby I’ve loved for 25 years!  I’ve never tried homebrewing anything but that’s about to change.
 
It took me a while but we have oscillations on or about 14.060 MHz!
I adjusted the circuit to use resistor divider biasing of the 2N2219 and changes to the biasing and coil to accommodate the 20m crystal. Also the only cap I had that worked was a 10-50pF trimmer. Aside from my placing the crystal in the wrong point in the circuit because I wasn't paying attention, this Michigan Mighty Mite needed minimal tweeting. The antenna is a 50 ohm resistor which the KX3 heard very well with its attenuator in line. 
 
Now my problem is that I listen to SolderSmoke in the car and it's bad form to take notes and drive at the same time. Also, I find myself wanting to experiment with all of the ideas from the podcast at once...  If I build your LBS in modules, Pete, then I can experiment later and swap circuits to my hearts content.
 
One question for now...where is a good source of plentiful, inexpensive crystals?
 
Thanks again, guys!
 
Darryl Hambly, W2DLH
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Grid DM78pu
G-QRP 15014
QRP ARCI 15138
SKCC 10990
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http://www.qrz.com/db/W2DLH

2 comments:

  1. Congrats, Darryl!

    ... but did you ever watch Mary Poppins as a kid? Supercaifrag...
    "My father gave my nose a tweak and told me I was bad"
    So it's Tweak (twist/manipulate/adjust) not tweet (chirp).
    I also heard no 'chirp' on the signal - good work!
    73

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  2. Here's a good source for crystals, ham owned too. Rich is actually the president of our local club here in central Florida.

    http://www.expandedspectrumsystems.com/order.html

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