Click on the diagram for a better view.
Listen to the interview here:
I think this is what Grayson was talking about when he said that Hans is a genius, and that his SSB project for the QMX was very complicated. On his website Hans says as much: "This is a very complex project." Indeed it is. Just take a look at the bloc diagram above. This is not for the faint of heart. In this interview, he talks about a full year of intense work on SSB for the QMX. Wow.
I think Hans makes some good points on why we still homebrew. I liked his fish analogy: we can buy all the fish we want at the supermarket, but people still go fishing. Why? Because they like fishing.
I'm not too sure about "the IKEA effect." He seems to be saying that people derive homebrew-like satisfaction from assembling IKEA furniture. Well, maybe some people do, but I think this is a long way from what we would consider true scratch-built homebrew. Dean KK4DAS, for example, recently observed that he assembled two IKEA tables, but that this assembly does NOT make him a carpenter. This is related to our discussion about the differences between ham radio kits and true homebrew: IKEA flat packs are like the kits. I think Hans is right about the pride and satisfaction that people get from building their own radio gear.
Thanks to Hans GOUPL and to Bob W8SX for doing this interview.
Posts
Note also that the full G0UPL presentation is available on You Tube; just search for "FDIM 2025." --Walter KA4KXX
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense that kit building obfuscates the details of the circuit design so that is is just out of reach of the builder.
ReplyDeleteHomebrew could be guilty of the same for the person that builds the circuit and "it just works".
The catch is when you test a freshly completed homebrew module or completed project and it fails. The troubleshooting that ensues surely gives the homebrewer a closer intimacy with and respect for the design of the circuit.
That is not to say one can't get deeper understanding of the *parts* of the design from a kit but I suspect it is far less likely.
I wager that the endorphin hit of a successful build of a kit is lackluster compared to a homebrew circuit. It is there but...
Only a homebrewer would know...
A significant portion of Hans's genius is his unwillingness to offer a product until he gets it right. He's not interested in a "good enough" or "minimum-viable product" approach. He makes his offerings as good as he is capable of making them. That he's able to do so at the low prices he asks is another demonstration of his genius.
ReplyDeleteFor at least three years, there's been buzz--a few mild complaints--about an SSB version of the QCX. But the TX chain in that CW-only rig was easy compared to the challenges of SSB phone with DSP and quadrature modulation. It's a cool (and hard) head that works away at the problem without being tempted to just get something out.
Echo Todd's comments, Hans Summers' design and build innovations are world class, others employ these digital EER methods but Hans does it with a few dollar's worth of parts. QMX is a marvellous of creativity and experimentation. He truly is the Wes Hayward of digital homebrew radio! Paul VK3HN.
ReplyDelete