Congratulations to Charlie Morris ZL2CTM for his first contact with his Simple SSB rig.
There are so many cool things in Charlie's video, starting with his mention of having been woken up early (2 am) by the very strong earthquake off New Zealand. Exhibiting true homebrew spirit, Charlie apparently went straight for the shack and worked on his rig. FB OM.
Al fresco! I love the spacious layout on the board and the obvious division into stages. And I like the wooden board that holds it all together.
I like the idea of two bandpass filters -- this is simpler than switching one from transmit to receiver.
Hooray! Homebrew diode ring mixers! Yes!
I think Charlie follows the UK convention with his T/R switch -- they have up as off. I may be wrong but I think most US homebrewers have up as on, and up as transmit. Cultural differences.
Notice Charlie touch-testing the heatsink during that first QSO. We all do that.
I like the 24 volts on the IRF-510 drain. Allison always said that IRF-510s run better at 24V than they do at 12V.
Of course I disagree a bit on the issue of analog VFOs. But this is just a matter of personal circuit preference.
Charlie's calculations and notes are really wonderful. His candid discussion of impedance matching is especially useful. I think his use of loose-leaf sheets of paper is wise and it paves the way for a useful folder for each HB rig.
Here is the introductory video for Charlie's Simple SSB project:
Here is Charlie's 10 part video series on his simple SSB rig:
And here is Charlie's YouTube channel:
Thanks Charlie!
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Charlie always adds great photography to what is already a very enjoyable video.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course "on" is very definitely "down" for switches. Like driving is on the left :-)
Tony: I learned this from the power supply that I bought at the Kempton park rally. You sent me the chip needed to turn it into a current-limiting supply. I keep the switch in its original UK configuration to remind me of happy ham radio times in London. Thanks and 73 Bill
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