More Background on the Mythbuster II Rig (and a short video)

Above is a short clip of me hearing an old friend on the new receiver.  TRGHS. 

A couple of guys on Facebook asked for a schematic for this rig.  I don't really have one -- as you will see it is a collection of different circuits from lots of different sources.  I was also thinking that if you need a schematic for a rig like this, you probably shouldn't try to build a rig like this.  But in an effort to be nice, I supply here some background info on some of the circuitry and parts sources.  And no, I don't have BOMs nor Gerber files.   

More info on the Yaesu VFO is here:

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2021/07/mythbuster-video-3-using-vfo-from-yaesu.html

The VFO is kind of high in frequency. But it is very stable. I can't really take credit for this -- the credit goes to Yaesu. But I like the circuit because it is all analog and all discrete component. It even has a split stator temperature compensation variable cap! At Pete's recommendation, I originally bought these boxes thinking that I'd just get the anti-backlash gears and the reduction drives. But the sellers always sent the entire VFO boxes. They even come with a "clarifier" circuit which I now use as an "up 5-10" feature that lets me work the DX-peditions on 20.

As for the tape, I got mine from Amazon. It has conductive adhesive:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QQJ4MX1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The boards for the IF Termination Insensitive Amplifiers come from Todd K7 TFC at Mostly DIY RF:  https://mostlydiyrf.com/tia/

The little LM386 boards that I have been using are available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LNACGTY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title  I precede it with one stage of AF amplification from the original BITX 20 sechematic.  I put a 10K pot between this stage and the LM386 board. 

Here is the Amazon source for the 1/8 inch plywood that I will use for the case (I have used up all the pandemic treadmill packing material):  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5VCBBP4?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Around the World Twice (and maybe more) on 15 meters

 

John EI7GL has a great blog post about some experiments recently done by Salvador EA5Y.  Salvador was aiming his 4 element yagi in one direction, sending dits, and watching for the signal to come around the other side.  You can see the results in the display above.  I commented that this might be the time for one of those antennas with which you can instantly reverse the pattern. Or, probably better, have some other hams aim their antennas in the opposite direction so that they can catch the circumnavigating signals. 

Check it out: 

https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2023/12/twice-around-globe-on-21-mhz-and.html

Two trips around is 80,000 km or about 50,000 miles!  That's quite a trip.  But how about 3 times around?  Or more? 

Thanks to John EI7GL and to Salvador EA5Y.  

"Ham Radio Ireland" June 2023 edition (and Free Propagation Guide)

 

Get the latest edition here: 

 https://www.docdroid.net/VlSXkrD/crnews0623-pdf

Thanks to Steve Wright EI5DD.  I had the great good fortune of running into my friend Michael EI0CL on the 17 meter band recently.  Mike mentioned that he had been talking to Steve.  So Steve is in good company.   

Steve also sent me a useful Solar Indices Data Card, suitable for lamination.  You can download it here: 

http://soldersmoke.com/Solar Indices Data Card.pdf

EI0CL as Heard on a uBITX in the Dominican Republic

 27 December 2022: My old friend Mike EI0CL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYlI603BOXY

WD-40, a Hard Drive, a Coat-Hanger Antenna, Dumpster Diving, and Amateur Radio Satellites from the Azores

 

Last month I was talking to Ira VP2EIH on my new 1712 SSB rig.  Ira is interested in satellites.  Talking to him caused me to dig up some old material about satellite operations.   Here is a 2003 QST article about working the satellites from the Azores: 

http://www.gadgeteer.us/AZORESSP.HTM

Regarding the usefulness of WD-40, during my time in the Azores John EI7BA once told me that WD-40 is, "the Pope's pee!"  Apparently that is high praise in Ireland.  It is indeed good stuff. 

Messias CU2BJ is a Silent Key.  I hope Ray CU3GC, WL7CDK is doing well.  

Dean's Supercharged, 16-Watt, Furlough 2040, Simple SSB Rig

 

'Tis a thing of beauty. 

It is especially appropriate for us to use that Irish phrase because the design of the rig's new final amplifier is out of  Ireland. Our friend Dean KK4DAS added a 16 watt RF amplifier based on a design by EI9GQ to his homebrew N6QW Simple SSB rig.  Note the IBEW label on the top. 

Here is Dean's blog post on this wonderful project (with video and more pictures). 

https://kk4das.blogspot.com/2021/12/furlough-2040-supercharged-final-bench.html

Dean has it on the air and is getting good reports.  He has clearly come a LONG way from his Michigan Mighty Mite build of just two years ago.  FB OM. 

Here is Dean's build of the EI9GQ 16 Watt Final

Final final assembly! 

16 W 

More info here: 

https://kk4das.blogspot.com/2021/12/furlough-2040-supercharged-final-bench.html

The Galway Radio Experimenters Club

 

My old friend Mike EI0CL used to remind me that hams in Ireland are granted not just an amateur radio license, but an amateur radio experimenter's license, with an emphasis on experimentation. I think we can see that emphasis in the newsletter of the club.  It has a remarkably high level of technical content.  Check it out, and look at more information on the club: 

https://www.galwayradio.com/  

Here is their latest newsletter: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LGBbCJhgoSNgr-Lu8s8EaOaCb1GXK9SW/view

Pete N6QW's PSST rig is mentioned on Page 4 of the Winter 2021 edition. TRGHS. 

Thanks to John EI7GL for alerting us to this gem via his FB blog. 

https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/

Dean KK4DAS Builds an EI9GQ 16 Watt RF Amplifier (and Noodles in the Process)

 

I really like Dean's description of the building process, especially where he describes the need to sit down with paper and pencil for some noodling.   We see that in the picture above.  Too often we hear from guys who seem to be looking for detailed, step-by-step instructions, and then get frustrated and stuck when this kind of detail isn't available. Dean shows what to do in this situation:  noodle! 

Check out Dean's blog post on this project: 

https://kk4das.blogspot.com/2021/10/ei9gq-16-watt-power-amp-start-to-finish.html

Dean's post made me think about the origin of the verb "to noodle."  We know it has its origins in music.  Google provided this interesting explanation: 

To noodle around on something, while it does make use of the noodle (head), may derive from the regional German nudeln, to improvise a song, or from the late-19th-century Scottish sense of noodling as humming a song to oneself. By 1937, to noodle was to fool around with notes to create music.

We noodle around with parts and schematics to create rigs. 

M0NTV's Latest Breadbox Rig -- The Radio Gods Have Spoken (TRGHS)!

Tony G4WIF sent me this video from Nick M0NTV.  It presents Nick's latest Bread Bin project -- "The Optimizer." 

-- I really like the Bread Box enclosures.  And leaving the b and the d on the box is just brilliant.  These letters now stand for BiDirectional!  They even appear symmetrical.  TRGHS!

-- The switch for a tuning tone is a great idea.  I still have to plug my Maplin AF sig gen into the mic jack to do this.  FB. 

-- I too have the connector on the back for keying the outboard linear amplifier.  (Shhh! Don't tell G-QRP!) 

-- As for the bidirectional TIA amps.  I'm really glad that someone else is using these circuits.  Wes's article came out in 2009 and concluded with a call for someone to build a complete rig with these circuits.  I wonder how many rigs like this have been made.  It is a great circuit.   One thing I would suggest for Nick:  Wes's article points out that you CAN have higher gain in one direction than you have in the other.  Just use resistor values in the chart provided in the 2009 article.  You could have an amp with 15 db in the transmit direction and 24 db in the receive direction.  BTW:  I have been getting a lot of help from Alan W2AEW and Farhan VU2ESE on how to use the NanoVNA to confirm the input and output impedances on solid state amplifiers. 

-- For many years I had the same map of the Moon in my shack.  I hope that map makes it to the new house Nick. 

-- Finally, I was really surprised to hear EI0CL calling CQ during Nick's demo of the receiver.  That is Michael Higgins out in Galway.   Michael was one of my regular contacts when I was out in the Azores.  He is a truly amazing guy.  He is mentioned frequently in my "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" book.  TRGHS. 

EI7CLB's Ladybird Receiver (George Dobbs Design), and Voice over the Internet

 

I suggested that Tryg once again gather the parts to build George Dobbs's Ladybird receiver.  He should use the same wooden base.  That would be great.  

As for VOIP, I told Tryg that SolderSmoke got its start in a VOIP program  called Echolink -- Mike KL7R and I used to converse from London to Alaska.   Mike recorded one of  our conversations, and that became SolderSmoke #1.  I was using VOIP even before that -- from the Dominican Republic in the mid 90's I was connecting my Radio Shack 2 meter HT to an early VOIP program Internet  Phone or I-phone.  The company that made it was an Israeli firm called Vocaltech.   

---------------------------

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the recent emails and podcasts. I have attached a picture of my first radio - or at least what is left of it. I plundered it for parts down through the years as you can see. It is the build from the late Reverend George's "Making a Transistor Radio", the Ladybird book that really put the hook in me all those years back. I was probably only 11 when my late Grandmother and I went to Dublin by train (300 mile round trip) to Peats of Parnell Street to buy what components my pocket money could afford in order to build the first couple of stages of the radio, The wooden base was cut for me by a worker at a local furniture making factory here in Galway. He got a great laugh out of it when I told him I was going to build a radio - he kept putting the wooden blank up to his ear and joking: "I can't hear anything yet!". I will always remember it.

On another front I wanted to thank Pete and yourself for an entertaining and informative couple of podcasts. I made the leap a couple of months back and bought a set of boards for a uSDX (W2CBA version) but I may just use it as a receiver if I ever get around to building it. I don't know yet. The kit that Pete mentioned in episode #228 really got me excited. I expect you can imagine that my imagination is running riot at the moment.

Finally, I would be interested to hear about your take on half duplex VOIP apps such as Peanut. I realise that it is not 'real' radio to many but I have enjoyed several contacts with operators around the world with it and it has been quite satisfying. These ops that I have spoken with have often been infirm, elderly or have mobility issues. There are also a couple that are under HOA restrictions. One OM in particular lives in a retirement village and is a full-time carer for his wife. I think it is a good thing that they can still be involved in radio without all of the physical demands it might make on them or annoying their neighbours. It might, at least, it might be a worthwhile topic for discussion. Thanks again for an excellent Podcast. BTW, I am a bit of a guitar nut too - is that a Stratocaster that Pete is holding in the picture on the Soldersmoke Blog Page?

Right ho, time to put the kettle on. Tea is a vital component for operational efficiency in my radio world!

73,

Tryg de EI7CLB

Another Amazing Rig from VK3HN (Video) (EI9GQ Design)

An Irish Knack Story

I think Tryg should get that Ladybird receiver working again. 

-------------

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the great podcasts and also to Pete for his unique contributions. I have been interested in radio since I was a kid but only really got back into the hobby in 2009. Back when I started playing with electronics in the 1970's I hankered after a soldering iron of my own. I bought the one in the picture in 1977. A "modest" 60 watt job, it was the cheapest one in the shop but I used it to harvest parts from all manner of abandoned old iron. I was really surprised to find it clearing up recently. The snips in the picture was a tool that my late Uncle had surplus and passed on to me, it too played a role in my scavenging for parts. In Ireland in the 1970's it was hard to get parts. I remember my Grandmother taking me from Galway to Dublin - 3 hours each way!!!) to buy parts for my first project, Rev. G.C. Dobbs venerable transistor radio from the "Making a Transistor Radio" book by Ladybird. I still have the book and the dusty remnants of the radio, long since plundered for parts. When I returned to the world of radio it wasn't long before I discovered QRP and the GQRP club. It was a real surprise to find the good Reverend was at the helm there. I just thought that the picture and story might raise a smile amongst followers of the blog. Thanks to yourself and Pete for the podcast. Keep up the great work! QRP Forever!

73,

Tryg de EI7CLB

---------------------

Irish Mighty Mite

Hi Bill and Pete,

I couldn't stand it any longer, listening to you guys on the podcast and seeing all the Mighty Mites being built I had to have a go myself.  Concerned that I might plunge Soldersmoke into receivership if I asked for a free crystal to be posted to Ireland I used a 3.560MHz one, recently purchased from the GQRP club store.

2 amazing things happened when I was building it.

1) for the first time ever I had all the parts I needed in my junk box.  Since getting my licence in 2012 I've been gradually collecting and buying components.  It's so much easier when you find everything you need.

2) for the first time ever it worked straight away.  When I finished the last component I heard this voice from over my shoulder, it was Pete saying "Now go and noodle through the circuit and check your work"  Sure enough I'd missed one of the connections and everything else checked out ok.

So I plugged it in, hid behind the shack chair and turned it on.  Success!!!

Keep up the good work both of you!

73 de Chris EI6KH
Licensed since November 2012
Fists UK Member #15966
G-QRP Member #13730
Phoenix Radio Club Member
IRTS Member
MLS: IO63jk

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" http://soldersmoke.com/book.htm Our coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmoke Our Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Good News From Ireland!

Hi Bill,

I'm not sure what's in your sacrificial solder but it sure is good stuff!!!

I received my results today and I'm very very pleased to say I passed.

Now I can finally set my mind to building a shack...

I'm going to celebrate by ordering one of Tim Walford's excellent looking beginner kits and I've just started building Tony Park's Ensemble RXTX.

I'm not sending in my cert just yet though as I want to pass my morse test first.

Thanks again for the kind support, I'm sure it got me a good few percent on the test!!

Also thanks to Steve Smith WB6TNL and his words...

"Thousand of people have taken this examination and passed. There is no reason why I cannot also pass."

He was right!

Also I hope Dave passed, unfortunately I didn't get to meet him at the exam, hopefully we'll figure out how to contact each other, it'd be good to have a newly passed fellow ham to share ideas with.

Regards, or should that now be 73 :),

Chris

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" http://soldersmoke.com/book.htm Our coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmoke Our Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Ham Radio Exam Day in Ireland: October 4

OK gang, it is time for us to do what we can to help a worthy Short Wave Listener transition into the world of amateur radio.  Chris will be facing the Irish radio examiners on October 4.  So please try to send some positive vibes in the direction of Ireland.  Cross your fingers (especially the ones with the soldering iron scars!)  Maybe melt some sacrificial solder. C.F. Rockey might suggest sacrificing a chicken to Papa Legba.   Say a prayer if you are so inclined.   Good luck Chris!  

Hi Bill,

Just wanted to say thanks for the great podcast and keep up the good work.

I’ve been listening for a good while now and following your subscriptions advice on things like Tim’s “Hot Iron” Constructors club and QRP/Sprat magazine.

I’ve got my Amateur Radio licence test in 2 days time (4^th Oct) over here in Ireland (Dublin’s Comreg Offices) so please give all the candidates a mention and wish us luck.

Great book as well…  When I’ve had my fill of studying I switch over to your book for a while to relax a bit and read your thoughts on getting to grips with it all.

There’s only one licence here in Ireland so it’s Full or nothing  so it’s going to be tough! My brain is well and truly fried!!

I’m determined not to be a (can’t even remember what you call them in your book ha ha) “User” and go out and buy everything I need so I’m looking forward to lots of construction projects when (IF!) I get my licence J

Best Regards (I don’t think I’ve earned my right to use 73’s yet),

Chris

(EI1628 SWL/qrz.com)

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" http://soldersmoke.com/book.htm Our coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmoke Our Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20