Tuesday, November 10, 2026

How Henry Jenkins W7DIZ Built His Rig during the Storm on Tillamook Rock -- How Many Hams Could Do This Today?

›
See yesterday's SolderSmoke Daily News.    The above article is from the February 1935 QST, pages 45-46:  https://www.worldradiohistory....
1 comment:
Monday, November 9, 2026

October 21, 1934 at the Tillamook Light Station, Oregon -- W7DIZ Saves the Day by Building a Transmitter (and Receiver!) from Scratch

›
  W7DIZ is seated on the right.  Note headphones. From the January 1935 issue of QST:  Shown here is the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse as viewed...
2 comments:
Friday, November 6, 2026

OBIT: Cyril Hilsum -- The Many Who Made Big HDTVs possible

›
For obvious reasons, we don't have a lot of obituaries on the SolderSmoke Daily News. (We are aware of our demographics, and even a mode...
Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Stellafane: Homebrew Telescopes -- The Telescope Makers of Springfield, Vermont -- PLEASE COMMENT

›
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/24/science/space/stellafane-telescopes-makers.html?unlocked_article_code=1.N1E.ZDIZ.cdzUED-FHW76&smid=ur...
6 comments:
Monday, November 2, 2026

Grayson Evans KJ7UM Talks Thermatrons with Charlie NJ7V on Red Summit

›
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgqYNlvXfOg This is a really great interview.  It is reminder of what a great resource Grayson is, and of ...
6 comments:
Saturday, October 31, 2026

More Clandestine Spy Radios -- Soviet Spies in Japan during WWII -- Spies On The Air! Please Comment!

›
Sorge I may have been too quick to dismiss the possibility that Soviet spies built their own radios.  Maybe they did, but with a radio speci...
4 comments:
Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Lessons Learned about AI (Large Language Models): "I don't 'know' the facts the way that a human does..." Let's do an experiment...

›
Yesterday, as I struggled with a Large Language Model that at first gave good advice (how to build a 5 crystal filter) and then really bad a...
15 comments:
Tuesday, October 20, 2026

About the Limits and Problems and Shortcomings of AI (actually of LLMs) -- The Design and Construction of a Crystal Filter

›
Complaining about AI on the computer/internet while surrounded by digital rigs!   A couple of days ago, I described in this blog how AI (spe...
20 comments: