Better than anyone else ever has, Michael Hopkins, in his fictional series about Frank Jones and the Five Meter Liberation Army, captures the spirit of homebrew radio. There is just so much of us in those articles. I read them some 20 years ago when they first came out; reading them again recently I appreciated them even more.
Frank was a bit of a curmudgeon: There are jabs at the appliance operators, Hiram Percy Maxim, hamfests, SSB, the Collins collectors, the QRP movement, and even Electric Radio magazine. Howard Armstrong makes an appearance, as do Carl and Jerry. It all made me want to put a five pin SAW filter on my lapel.
As I read, I thought about what a great writer Michael was. When I Googled him, a few of the results led me back to my own book. I'd forgotten that Michael was in there, but he is. On one page he advises me how to power my Mate for the Mighty Midget receiver without using a power transformer (a very Frank Jones approach). On another page I note that Michael had sent me a kit for the Doug DeMaw "Barbados Receiver." Wow, that was my first Superhet. (I also have one that was built by Dale Parfitt.) Most of the parts were put to use in other projects. But I still have the board (see above). Reminded that it came from Michael, I will now have to complete the construction.
Below is a nice article about Michael that appeared in the Flying Pigs newsletter. (Click on the images for an easier read.)
The articles can be found here:
Michael's 2005 Obituary:
Thank you Michael. VIVA EL FMLA!
These days, qrp is mostly kits and commercial qrp rigs, we need Frank Jones
ReplyDeleteI think you are referring above to Hiram Percy Maxim, not Maxwell.
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