November 24, 2023
Hello Bill
I have just built an tested a 20 meter “Sputnik” transmitter. It uses two Soviet era “rod” tubes and is fixed tuned to 14.060 MHz. I was able to compress the design to fit in an Altoids tin. The plate tuning capacitor was replaced with a fixed capacitor value closest to the variable for peak power out. Plate voltage is 90 volts and I key both the oscillator and PA via the B+ line. Power output is around 200mW and my first test transmission from the Chicago area was picked up 864 miles away on the east coast via the Reverse Beacon Network. It was definitely Joy of Oscillation and Joy of Transmission!
73, Mike
AA9IL
EN52
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Mike's rig has been heard by many Reverse Beacon Network stations:
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November 29, 2023
Bill:
I started a QSO with AC2C in Ellicott, MD who responded to my CQ but the band dropped (20m)
But that’s a good start and I’ll keep at it! So, yay!
73 Mike
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Here are some earlier blog post on rigs using Soviet rod tubes:
Great looking Sputnik rig Mike!
ReplyDeleteDave
AA7EE