This is not imaginary.
Here is a BBC article on what has happened: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250611-ai-mode-is-google-about-to-change-the-internet-forever
Here is TWiT TV talking about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDdLw1ubLaY&t=86s
Andreas Speiss (White gloves, Swiss accent, motorcycle hat) talks about the YouTube trends that are causing him to stop regular video production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTerwIniB24
Leo Sampson talks about the pressure to get high hit numbers on YouTube (scroll forward to the 3 minute 20 second mark): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4tSOQO3kxY
Fraser Cain of Universe Today talks about the Google ""AI apocalypse" (scroll ahead to the 18 minute mark): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/
As a journalist, Will Everett has reported from the Middle East, South Asia and West Africa for National Public Radio, the BBC, Voice of America and other outlets. With Walter Cronkite he wrote and produced the 2006 documentary World War One Living History Project, the only media project to honor the last surviving veterans of WWI. He also collaborated with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien on a program for the National Campaign to Stop Violence.
For ten years he was the creator and host of the syndicated NPR program Theme and Variations. His work has been recognized by the Society for Professional Journalists, the New York Festivals, the National Headliner Awards and the Poynter Institute.
His novel We’ll Live Tomorrow was published in October 2015. He also provided lyrics for a choral collaboration with Joseph Martin, “The Message,” published by Hal Leonard.
Will holds a master's degree from the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
My comment: Good post with good points about the under-appreciated differences between true homebrew and kit building. I have a lot of Heathkits around me, but I never considered them to be homebrew. There is a big difference. We have been promoting and supporting the HOMEBREW construction of 40 meter direct-conversion receivers. No one would confuse these receivers with commercial, or even kit-built gear. But they work very well, and the builder earns the satisfaction that comes with building something from scratch. There are no factory made PC boards to “populate.” All four of our boards are made using Manhattan construction techniques (super glue, isolation pads, copper-clad substrate). Almost 90 receivers have been completed, in more than 15 countries. Check out the receivers. Build one if you dare:
https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search/label/DC%20RX%20Hall%20of%20Fame
BTW — I own a Dymo machine, and my SSB transceivers are in wooden boxes made from junked packing material. 73 Bill N2CQR
1. The first of course was back in February 2023 with W4AMV. On this one I was using a simple "10 Minute Transmitter" that I threw together thinking that I would use it to demonstrate the receiver to our high school students. "Wait a minute," I thought. I called CQ and W4AMV answered. I was running about 100 mW. He too was using homebrew gear. https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2023/02/first-qso-with-high-school-receiver-100.html
2, 3, 4. On June 4, 2025 I again fired up the 10 minute transmitter. My T/R scheme was VERY simple: I have an MFJ coax switch that I use to select the rigs that will connect to my various antennas. On the antenna switch I selected my 40 meter dipole. I ran two pieces of coax from two different positions on the MFJ switch. One I marked RX, the other TX. The transmitter and the receiver were working off 9 volt batteries. I quickly worked N2WJW. Gil in New Jersey. But I noticed that the 10 Minute rig was drifting. So I pulled out my trusty old Tuna Tin 2 transmitter and used it to heartlessly replace the 10 Minute Transmitter. Now with SEVERAL HUNDRED milliwatts, I worked W2XS, John in New York on June 5, 2025. Later that same day I worked N9FGC in Indiana.
5. My most amazing contact came on June 7, 2025. Here is my log entry: 40CW K1OA First 2 way contact with station also using a SolderSmoke DC Receiver!At around 0630 EDT on June 7, 2025 I heard K1OA calling CQ on 7030 kHz CW. This was exactly where I had a crystal. I called him, but he didn't hear me. I sent him an e-mail. We tried again -- he heard me calling him and I heard him responding by calling me, but I don't think we succeeded in exchanging signal reports. It was close, but no cigar. I had to walk the dog. Scott and I agreed to meet on 7030 kHz at 0730 EDT. Arggh. There was a QSO there. I thought we might have to try to change frequency, but this would have been tough because both of us were crystal controlled on transmit. Fortunately, the contact on 7030 kHz wrapped up. Scott called me, I responded, and we were able to exchange signal reports. I was so excited that I almost forgot to hit the record button on my phone. But I caught the last minute or so.This was really something. This really goes to prove what Dean and I have been saying all along: this receiver is not a toy! It can be used for real ham radio contacts. And now we have had these receivers on both ends of a contact. For transmit, Scott was using a KA4KXX transmitter with about 3 watts output. I was on my Tuna Tin 2 at about half a watt output.
9. June 11, 2025 (Really evening of 10 June 2025) Famous homebrewer, Anchorologist, Heatkit authority and fellow member of the QRP Hall of Fame Mike Bryce called me! 40CW 0034 WB8VGE Mike Bryce came back to my CQ! Mike wrote: Nothing like quartz locked frequency control!You know it sounded pretty damn good at 500mW. You were holding your own until QSB would take you out in a deep fade. But all in all, one hell of great QRP QSO.I was running my Ten Tec Scout that I had just put back together a couple of days ago. Got around to putting the case back on it tonight, and had it cooking in the back ground just listening to the stations come and go. I had worked a few POTA stations near by and found a quite spot. I was working on a project when I heard your CQ through the din of the 40M band. Glad I took a break and worked your QRPp signalbest 73 QRP # 4816 You get a QSL for that QSO!
Here's my post about Mike, WB8VGE: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2018/09/wb8vge-on-qso-today-qrp-hb-boatanchors.html
10. Around June 11, 2025 I worked W4MY in a contest.
11. On June 12, 2925 I worked some DX with the rig. It was VA3ICC, Ian in Ontario.
Here are the two blog posts from 2009:
https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2009/08/sonya-had-knack.html
https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2009/09/sonyas-rig.html
And here is my 2025 post on Sonya:
https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2025/04/agent-sonya-did-soviet-spies-really.html
One friend recently mentioned that we have not seen any museum evidence of these kinds of homebrew spy rigs. If this really was a widespread practice, you would expect to find at least ONE of these rigs in a museum somewhere. Has anyone seen this kind of thing?
Here is something more recent about Sonya from the National WWII Museum in New Orleans:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU9-APiIUaQ
The Macintyre interview is really interesting. A friend told me that he is a very serious writer on the topic of espionage, whose assertions have to be taken seriously. For our purproses, here are some highllights:
22:18 Sonya goes through Soviet Spy School and is trained on how to build radios.
24:50 In China under Japanese occupation, had bamboo poles supporting antenna over her house!
25:40 Transferred to Switzerland, "built another radio."
34:18 Transferred to UK, built a "powerful radio transmitter in her loo."
51:41 Macintyre refers to Sonya as "the only Soviet radio operator in Switzerland."
So, I still don't know about the claim that Sonya was homebrewing radios. It does appear that Sonya was building them. But it also seems like she was more of a radio operator than she was a spy... Perhaps the Soviets didn't see the same distinction that we do. Still, it would be nice to find in a museum somewhere at least one example of Sonya-style homebrew radio.
Macintyre says that "all biography is burglary." What would autobiography be?
Please let us know if you spot any errors, or if we have inadvertently missed anyone. Don't worry about being late to the game -- the challenge continues. All of the info is still available (see below).
For more information on how you too can build the receiver:
Join the discussion - SolderSmoke Discord Server:
Documentation on Hackaday:
https://hackaday.io/project/
SolderSmoke YouTube channel:
This video is almost enough to get me to work on my old HW-101.
Pete N6QW has been working on an HW-32A monobander. Some of the info in this video might be applicable.
Dewey, Cheatham & Howe! Right in the window!
How computers in cars have killed the joy. "There is just not a lot to be in love with anymore."
"The show sounds like the kind of thing you'd hear on a high school PA system." Indeed.
Other influences: Jean Shepherd. HCJB. Radio Moscow. More to follow.
Here is their 1999 MIT Commencement Speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWG1Yxoa_Os
https://hackaday.com/2025/06/12/crowdsourcing-sigint-ham-radio-at-war/#more-786810
I've had the video on the SolderSmoke blog several times. It is so good that it warrants inclusion yet again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwbzV2Jx5Qo&t=228s
That regen looks a lot like the one I bought at the Kempton Park rally (London) so long ago. I still have it. And those headphones found in the old "radar" station look a lot like some that I have in my shack today. And of course there is that HRO dial. I build a whole receiver around that gem from Armand WA1UQO.
I thought the comments on the ability to detect the nationality of the enemy operator from his Morse Code "fist" (sending style) was very interesting.
Three cheers for the Voluntary Interceptors!
At around 0630 EDT on June 7, 2025 I heard K1OA calling CQ on 7030 kHz CW. This was exactly where I had a crystal. I called him, but he didn't hear me. I sent him an e-mail. We tried again -- he heard me calling him and I heard him responding by calling me, but I don't think we succeeded in exchanging signal reports. It was close, but no cigar.
I had to walk the dog. Scott and I agreed to meet on 7030 kHz at 0730 EDT. Arggh. There was a QSO there. I thought we might have to try to change frequency, but this would have been tough because both of us were crystal controlled on transmit. Fortunately, the contact on 7030 kHz wrapped up. Scott called me, I responded, and we were able to exchange signal reports. I was so excited that I almost forgot to hit the record button on my phone. But I caught the last minute or so. See above.
This was really something. This really goes to prove what Dean and I have been saying all along: this receiver is not a toy! It can be used for real ham radio contacts. And now we have had these receivers on both ends of a contact. For transmit, Scott was using a KA4KXX transmitter with about 3 watts output. I was on my Tuna Tin 2 at about half a watt output.
Thanks Scott! And thank you Walter!
Inspired by K1OA and KA4KXX, I put the SolderSmoke DC receiver to work on the CW portion of 40 meters. At first I used a very (perhaps overly) simple "Ten Minute" transmitter. On June 4, 2025 I worked N2WJW in New Jersey. But the transmitter drifted as it got hot. So I switched to the more robust Tuna Tin 2 (TWO transistors!) and worked W2XS in NY and N9FGC in Indiana on June 5. With both transmitters I was "rock bound" -- crystal controlled. Power out was always less than 200 milliwatts. Antenna was a low to the ground dipole. The receiver was powered by our beloved 9V battery. The transmitter had a second 9V battery. Some observations: First, even if you CAN hear other signals, the different tones allow your brain to seperate them out (this has long been known to CW operators, but might not be readily apparent to newcomers). So even if the DC receiver is broad in frequency response and even though it IS also receiving the other side of zero beat, you can make CW contacts (unless, of course, another station is on a frequency that produces exactly the same tone as the one you are trying to work), even at very low power . Second, you don't always really have to be right on the other station's frequency. Here's why: If he is looking he can see you in his waterfall! So that SDR waterfall is now a friend to crystal-controlled HDR operators. Who would have thought? Above is a picture of the my station with the Ten Minute transmitter. See the notes I wrote on the QSO with N2WJW.
This goes to prove what we have been saying all along: this receiver is not a toy! It is capable of operating as part of a real 2-way ham radio station. Hall of Fame member Scott K1OA has paired his receiver up with a Merry Christmas transmitter designed by Walter KA4KXX and has been making CW contacts with it (see above). Walter supplied the crystal and many of the needed parts. Scott has already worked WA9RNE, N4HAY and W3RJ, and has tried making contact with Walter but no luck yet. He has gotten RBN reports from Germany and New Zealand. All that with just 3 watts.
This is not the first time this receiver has been out to use. I made one contact with it using a "Ten Minute" QRPp transmitter that I had intended only to use for test purposes:
https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2023/02/first-qso-with-high-school-receiver-100.html
HoF member Aaron ZL1AUN used his receiver with an SSB transmitter to make contact using his receiver:
https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2025/02/soldersmoke-direct-conversion-receiver_23.html We understand Aaron's article about the receiver has been published in "Break-In" magazine -- we hope to get a copy (electronic would be fine!)
And who can forget HoF member Nate KA1MUQ who turned his "frying pan" direct conversion receiver into a double sideband transceiver and used it to make phone contact with Idaho from California:
https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2025/03/nate-ka1muq-turns-his-frying-pan-dc.html
If anyone is aware of other contacts made using this receiver, please let me know.
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