The 10 meter Beacon at HI7/N2CQR (and reception reports)

Above is the 10 Meter beacon at HI7/N2CQR.

The first one to hear the beacon was Dean KK4DAS in Northern Virginia, within hours of it going on the air. Here is Dean's recording of what he saw and heard:

Later, Mike WN2A heard it. Pete N6QW in California may have heard it too. A number of stations are reporting reception via the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN): It is being picked up almost daily (gray-line?) by Rico DF2CK who has an amazing station in Germany. K1RA in Warrenton Virginia (also an amazing receive set-up) is also picking up the station. W3OA in North Carolina is also hearing it and reporting by RBN. TI7W in Costa Rica has also heard it. Sadly, RBN is kind of clunky with beacons -- it seems to obstinately insist that I am in Northern Virginia.

Rico DF2CK writes:

Hi Bill,

thanks for info. 3 Watt can be loud on 10 if condx are good :)

The west direction skimmer setup on 10 m is a 6 el Yagi into a SDR with
AD9255 adc and XC7Z020 fpga.
A design by Pavel Demin which I am testing for a while now.

Enjoy the Caribean, here its minus 2 C and boot high snow.

73, Rico
DF2CK

Check out Rico's amazing station here: http://df2ck.de/

Andy K1RA wrote from Warrenton (Northern Virginia): 

Hi Bill

  Cool on spotting your beacon.  With good conditions I'm surprised you're not being heard elsewhere.

  I'm running a multi-band, multi-mode skimmer for CW, FT8, FT4, WSPR & JS8CALL continuously and simultaneously covering 160m-6m, 24x7 with Redpitaya SDRs and KiwiSDR/RaspSDRs

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NPwjQe1am2Ym5GMV8L2V8fnQ_W9J0EbH/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103988113912782027869&rtpof=true&sd=true

15 minute map view through PSKreporter here:

https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html?preset&callsign=k1ra&timerange=900&hideunrec=1&blankifnone=1&hidepink=1

73 & good DX'ing!

andyz - K1RA

SolderSmoke Podcast #256: HNY SKN, LA Fires, Barkhausen! Southern Cross, Homebrew vs. Kits, AN762 Kit, Woe, Beacon, ARRL Kids, SDR Build, DC RX videos, Pete Hacked! Power alternatives, KWM4, Mailbag

A Tale of Woe! 

SolderSmoke Podcast #256 is available: 

Audio:  https://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke256.mp3

Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYuEhljOtAQ

Travelouge:  From the DR.  

Happy New Year! 

Fires in LA.  

Dean:  Breaking the Barkhausen criteria.  

Seeing the Southern Cross for the first time in 30 years. 

For all three of us:  The SolderSmoke Homebrew Challenge.  And assembling a kit. https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2025/01/some-history-of-homebrew-ham-radio-from.html

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-magic-that-only-comes-from-radio.html

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2025/01/steve-g0fuw-talks-homebrew-and-kits.html

________________________________

Bill's (Southern) Bench: 

-- SKN with QCX given to me by Bob.  Thanks Bob! 

-- Finishing up the AN762 .1kW amplifier.  Socketry and relays.  Working well.  

-- A tale of woe:  Some difficult troubleshooting on the 15-10 rig. Intermittent oscillation.   Naturally I blamed the TJ DC RX AF amp.  Spent a lot of time working on that amplifier.  But problem always returned.  Started looking at output from carrier osc/BFO.  Waveform weird. Then weirdness disappeared and so did the whooping.  So I rebuilt the entire carrier osc/BFO/ mixer board.  Went back to singly balanced 2 diode mixer.  Used LTSpice for the oscillator amp.. No more whooping.  Turning the diodes on and off  but not quite 7 dbm...  Should I be concerned? 

-- A 10 meter beacon!  28.233   Please listen. Send e-mail reports.   Thanks to WN2A.   

-- Antenna thoughts.  Getting a tripod.  

The HI7/N2CQR 10 meter Beacon

_______________________________

SHAMELESS COMMERCE!   Mostly DIY RF!  Lots of useful kits and boards there.  I have used their TIA boards.  Todd K7TFC is one of us.  FB store. 

Become a SolderSmoke patron.  We need the help.  Homebrew is under seige!  We are one of the few sites, blogs, podcasts that are promoting it!  Help us!  

Buy stuff from Amazon and E-bay using the links on our sites. 

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

Dean's Bench: 

-- ARRL kids day -- Exhausting.

-- VWS Makers SDR receiver build.  

-- High School DC RX Build news. How to watch the videos.  

_______________________________

Pete's Bench:  

-- Hacked! 

-- Power Alternatives. 

-- Thermatron Finals

-- KWM-4. 

__________________________

Mailbag

Dave Newkirk W9BRD (son of Rod).  Great comments on homebrew radio. And a great picture. 

Derek N9TD built the DC Receiver.  FB Derek! 

Peter VK2EMU at 39C in Australia.  HOT! 

Drew N7DA -- Some great comments on kits vs. homebrew. 

Tommy SA2CLC has a nice video about fixing the cavity resonator in his HP8640.  Respect! 

Ben KC9DLM sent good presentation from India: https://github.com/kholia/talks/blob/master/Dhiru_My_RF_Homebrew_Adventures.pdf

Scott KQ4AOP and Derek N9TD offering to 3D Print PTO coil forms.  FB!  

Donnie WA9TGT on the beautiful signals from DC receivers. 

Chuck KE5HPY's FB Altoids DC receiver. 

Todd VE7BPO:  POPCORN ELECTRONICS IS BACK!  Thanks Todd.  And thanks Vasily! 

Jim KA4THC has his uBITX on the air and is making contacts!  

Farhan VU2ESE fond memories of homebrew dinner with Wes and other HB Heroes (on the blog). 

Charlie ZL2CTM -- About his new Pelican Case SSB rig. 

Walter KA4KXX.  All new hams should build a transmitter. 

Buzz W3EMD  A nice QSO on 10 and then a shout out to the Old Military Radio Net

Stations that heard my beacon and reported to RBN

Derek N9TD's Magnificent Build of the TJ Direct Conversion Receiver

 

I think it is magnificent.  Derek N9TD fought his EE tendencies and recognized that the perfect can be the enemy of the good.  So he went ahead and built this receiver pretty much as we intended it to be built:  Four stages:  BP filter, PTO, Diode Ring Mixer, Super-simple AF amp. 

He went several steps further and added a fixed coil to slow down the tuning and keep it in the 40 meter band.  He added an RF gain control.  And he went with a steel (vs. brass) screw.  But these are all things that I myself have done.  (We still advise people to build it the simple way first.) FB Derek. 

The challenge is still out there.  The gauntlet has been thrown down.  Derek's completed project shows us that this project is entirely do-able.  Do it!   

Derek wrote: 

Bill, 

Let me introduce myself, I am a recent electrical engineering graduate from Purdue and a long-time listener of the podcast. I want to thank you and Pete for being one of the reasons I chose to pursue my degree in the first place. I'll admit that in the more difficult stretches of getting my degree, I often pulled out the podcast to be reminded of the fun that can be had with radio and electronics.

Until recently I had to hang my head low along with the majority of the other 'appliance operators' out there having never built anything with my two hands that can be used to pull signals out of the ether.

 I am no stranger to building projects, PCBs, and melting solder but I usually chose to either stick to the dreaded digital domain or focus on antennas, filters, and other ancillary equipment. The logic being that I like to have a "known good" radio for the shack and that I would focus on other equipment to supplement the radio. I still follow this logic when I want to contest and we all know that antennas are well worth the effort, I've just finally had enough of being an appliance operator and have your podcast to thank for the extra push. 

I had been following the original effort of the TJ DCRX with interest from the start and earmarked this project as one I would like to build based on its inherent simplicity and good performance. However, the demands of school and a recent (at the time) abortive attempt to build an AM superhet with an SA602 the year prior made me  (I got as far as feeling the joy of oscillation but regretfully petered out after that) put this one the backburner for about two years until December 2024.

By coincidence, I independently decided to start this project just before your show with the HRWB folks and the gauntlet being thrown down, which has spurred many to build this receiver. It has been great to see the extra coverage on the receiver, and the commentary has been very insightful for someone trying to build this for the first time and with as many of the "improvements" as possible. 

For better or for worse, I'm the type of guy who wants to understand the "why" behind all the design choices and, from there, try to incorporate as many lessons and improvements as possible to make the "best" version possible. I'm not saying I make the best version of anything, but it's just a quirk of the way I think and justify doing a project. It always has to be "this and some additional improvement;" otherwise, I would decide against doing it. 

Rambling aside, I ended up building the DCRX, adding the RF attenuator from N3FJZ's website, and incorporating the lessons you learned after experimenting with improving the tuning on the PTO. I added an external series inductor wound on a dowel rod and used a zinc-coated steel screw as opposed to brass. I found that this gave solid tuning performance across 40m and was easy enough to tune in CW or SSB signals (after 3D printing a large knob for the PTO bolt). Alan W2AEW's video on mixers was a great tutorial to use to verify that my mixer was mixing. With the radio assembled I was treated to the joy of hearing my receiver breathe in the sounds of 40m for the first time last weekend and even managed to copy some Croatian DX during last week's contest. As Farhan said to do, I have spent the last few days enjoying the receiver and figuring out its quirks before moving on to the next step. 

The only "issue" I have noticed is that I still get some AM breakthrough despite tuning in the bandpass filter. The problem is very noticeable if I accidentally put my finger on the wires going to the AF gain pot. If I do that the AM station is the only thing I can hear. This makes me think the problem is after the bandpass filter and more investigation is needed. Maybe using coax on the control lines to shield it will help? Regardless I am impressed with how well the receiver sounds, the stability of the oscillator, and the effectiveness of the simple audio amp....  

Again thank you and Pete for your work on the podcast and for helping inspire countless homebrew radio operators! 

As a thanks for reading through this long email, I'll leave you with some photos of my build as a reward. 

73s,

 Derek N9TD

Happy Birthday to Pete Juliano, N6QW

 

Pete Juliano 

Excellent husband and father.

Vietnam veteran who went into harm's way for his country.

Master homebrewer. 

A great cook.

A wonderful friend. 

A great co-host of the SolderSmoke podcast. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETE! 

SolderSmoke Podcast #255 -- Accept the HB Challenge!, DeMaw SSB, Brilliant TR-3, Tube Talk, Ground Truth, Tales of Woe, SDR RX, Pico Balloons, MAILBAG

Mythbuster II -- 20 meters only

SolderSmoke Podcast #255 is avalable: 

Audio:      http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke255.mp3

Video:       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c54qiITMxwM

--   First: Happy Holidays!   I have on a Santa Claus hat!  

-- December 18.  Pete completes another orbit.  Happy Birthday Pete.  Please send him birthday greetings. 

 --  Bill was on Ham Radio Workbench: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/11/bill-n2cqr-appears-as-guest-on-ham.html  Our challenge to HRWB.  Gauntlet thrown down... OUR CHALLENGE HAS BEEN GRACIOUSLY ACCEPTED!     We now extend the challenge to the entire SolderSmoke community: Build one of these:  https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

Homebrewing is not for the faint of heart!  Accept the challenge!  Build stuff! 

Our question:  Did Doug DeMaw ever build an SSB transceiver?  Starting in September 1985 he wrote a five part series on an SSB TRANSMITTER for QST.  But he prefaces it by asking, "Why would anyone build an SSB transmitter today?" He says it would be fun "for the experience and understanding it would provide." But not for use, you see... And it is not a transceiver. 

Bill's theory about DeMaw, SSB,CW and sideband inversion:  He was a CW guy so sideband inversion did not really matter. He could get it wrong and still make it work.  

Pete's Bench: 

Brilliance and the TR3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C-eYB8yFzg&t=13s

A tale of woe.  Done in by a light bulb.

Thanksgiving dinner and SSB transceivers. https://n6qw.blogspot.com/2024/11/11292024-how-to-homebrew-thanksgiving.html             https://www.pastapete.com/

Hybrid plans:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKUjHZMf3Fs&t=5s

Dean's Bench:

Travelogue – Falcon 9 Launch

Building a homebrew T Match tuner for the end-fed long wave – sourcing the parts, winding the coil – taps, testing 

VWS Makers Projects

SDR Receiver Project – starting in January

VWS Pico Balloon – Traquito - Traquito - WSPR Pico Balloon

Revisiting the 10M DSB rig

Soldersmoke listener challenge – build a DCR with KK4DAS – overview then one board a week

SHAMELESS COMMERCE DIVISION:  Mostly DIY RF.    Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel.  And use the Amazon link on our blog.  Become a Patron via Patreon (on the blog). SolderSmoke is now on Blue Sky and Threads -- follow us or at least like us there. Please turn on automatic downloads on your podcast app -- most podcast apps will only store a few episodes. This will help bump the numbers, which will improve visibility.  Please give the show five stars and, if possible, a nice review on your podcast service,  That will help with the discovery rate for people looking for new podcasts.

Bill's Bench:

Is "The Ground" a Myth?   ARRL VP says Ground is a Myth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdX-978tvkY.  Bill disagrees.  Helicopter story.  Refrigerator story.  Original single wire telegraph system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-wire_earth_return

Front Panel and Freq Counter for the Mythbuster II. 

Another Tale of woe:  A mysterious audio problem on the 15-10 II rig.  Done in by.... Duh!   Comparing sideband suppression with Mythbuster I.  Differences in Hfe?  Notes on Mythbuster II build. 

TinySA Ap -- A cure for Fat Finger Syndrome? : http://athome.kaashoek.com/tinySA/Windows/  How to get and load the Ap (you might want to start watching at 1:11) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu4X5dyUlpo&t=2s  General info video on the TinySA Ultra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C24RnYNOWQ&t=1143s

For the DR shack -- I got a Swan SWR-1A on E-Bay. 

 MAILBAG:   

-- Scott KQ4AOP trying to track down the DeMaw SSB transceiver mystery.  On the DC Receiver: This was my first receiver build and, it was great fun. When you finish the build and prove you are able to tune through the band, you are welcomed into the secret society! The build is the initiation.I am happy to print and ship the PTO if needed. 

-- Bill WA5DSS has built a High School Direct Conversion Receiver! 

-- Grayson KJ7UM liked the 1971 video on old THERMATRON AM radios: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/11/basic-radio-circuitry-1971-film.html

-- Chris KD4PBJ sent nice electronic care package. 

-- Walter KA4KXX is honored that Dean named his dog for him (Walter was just kidding) 

-- Thanks to Bob W8SX for FDIM 2024 interviews.

-- Tony G4WIF insomnia driving him to podcasts.  Amazed by quantity of food eaten on Thanksgiving. 

-- Nice comment from Trigger about the podcast.

-- Clint says "valves" when he means THERMATRONS.   Kindly asks about "Oooo Thats Awesome"

-- Eric 4Z1UG faced with a new challenge.  Get well soon OM.

-- Sam WN5C and his Chat GPT AI Elmer. 

-- Paul VK3HN on using AI for electronic design.  I dunno... Apocalypse Now in the DR?

-- Tommy SA2CLC FB old military gear on QRZ site. Helps with HP8640B repair. 

-- Mike WN2A nice comments on Chappy Happy's FB Tezukuri DC RX https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/11/tezukuri-and-chappy-happy-amazing.html 

-- Allison KB1GMX.  Good info on ground truth. 

-- Phil W1PJE Had to throw out 15 test leads.  Fake wire!  

--Todd K7TFC Thoughtful comments on AI and ChatGPT, Help with TinySA Ap 

-- Steve KW4H Boatanchor guy.  Likes that we often scratch our heads trying to understand. 

-- Nick M0NTV built a 40 meter DC receiver: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/12/a-40-meter-direct-conversion-receiver.html

-- Dave AA0KU asks about CCI amp (AN762)  Also woking on Drakes. 

-- Jack (Dhaka Jack!) F4WEF/AI4SV  Good thoughts on how to bolster SolderSmoke's ratings.

--Tobias thinks the decline IS ALL HIS FAULT!   

-- Tony VE7JUL building a TJ DC RX.  Go Canada! Dean says: 3D print PTO former at 110%

-- Jim KI4THC getting his uBITX on the air. 

10S November 23, 2024 1517Z SV1AER Kostas in Athens.  Said a very sincere “Oh my goodness! Congratulations!  That is not a very common thing!” when I told him rig was homebrewed.  Nice fellow.  Great response. 

Pete N6QW Has Hybrid Rig On-The-Air

 

A thing of beauty on a wooden board.  Pete's post: 

https://n6qw.blogspot.com/2024/11/11252024-1st-dx-with-40m-hybrid-rig.html

"Them that know can make it go!"  Indeed.  

Pete talked about the history of this rig, and especially of the Thermatron portion of it, in the most recent episode of the SolderSmoke podcast: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/11/soldersmoke-254-audi-and-video-versions.html

Thanks Pete! 

SolderSmoke #254 (Audio and Video Versions): Australian Hex Beam Eaters, Fake Wires, Hybrid Rig, Antennas, Mythbuster II Transceiver, Mailbag

Hex Beam Eater

November 13, 2024

SolderSmoke Podcast #254 is available: 

Audio Version here:  http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke254.mp3

Video Version here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiZwWY1CQgI

Opening:  Disturbing news from Australia!  VK5RS reports that his Hex beam was EATEN by Cockatoos!  So stop whining about your HOA problems, OK?  It could be much worse! 

FAKE WIRES FROM CHINA!  Oh no!  Even the wires?  There is a good video from Mattias.  I have it on the SolderSmoke blog.  https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/11/clip-leads-made-with-fake-wire-buy-good.html  Important to note that Parts Candy doen't have this problem.  Buy your test clip leads from our sponsor, Parts Candy.  Link in the column on the right or go to partscandy (that's one word).com

Bill's appearance on the Ham Radio Workbench.  (Bill made some overly harsh comments about radio rejuvenation, and was trying to make amends.)  But now we throw down the gauntlet.  WE CHALLENGE the HRWB guys to build -- to homebrew - our TJ DC RX.  They will experience JOO, JVO and the elite status that comes with having built their own ham radio receiver.  And if they go on to build a 10 minute transmitter, they can use it for CW contacts.  Like on POTA (Thomas!) 

Anniversary approaching:  In August 2025 we will mark 20 years of the SolderSmoke podcast.  And we have already passed TEN YEARS OF JULIANISMO!  Pete joined the podcast on May 26, 2013.  Thanks Pete! 

Question for the group:   Which SSB transceivers did Doug DeMaw build?  

Pete's Bench:  Thermatron-Transistor Hybrid Goodness.  https://n6qw.blogspot.com/2024/10/blog-post_20.html

Dean's Bench:  The new Hex Beam (watch out for Cockatoos!)  Now that Dean and I both have Hex Beams, we plan on pointing them at Southern California in an effort to talk to an elusive RADIO GENIUS. Stay tuned! 

Dean's Hex Beam -- A Thing of Beauty

Also homebrew random wire with T match tuner for attic.  RF Burns!  

SHAMELESS COMMERCE:   Please link to our blog and podcast!   Please become a Patreon supporter (I have been posting special content there).  Be sure to make use of the great boards, parts and kits available at Mostly DIY RF.   Still use the Amazon link on the SolderSmoke blog page. 

Bill's Bench: The new Mythbuster II (20 meters only).  Built in about 3 weeks. On-the-air, while still on the bench!  Worked Euope and South Africa QRP.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o9QerQ7jzg

Getting another CCI amp for the Dominican Republic. 

MAILBAG: 

-- Paul VK3HN,  talks about the nice sound of the Mythbuster II's receiver, and a new QRP rig from Dave Benson K1SWL. 

-- Rick N3FJZ sent some very kind words in support of the SolderSmoke podcast. Thanks Rick. 

-- Chris KD4PBJ sent us a very nice message.  Thanks Chris. 

-- Kevin from Belgium sent a nice blog post in support of SolderSmoke. 

-- John WB4BTL spotted his old call (from 1974) in my Novice Log.  

-- Dave KD2E spotted his Novice call in  my Novice log:  WN2TBB. He also  saw a good friend WN2EHE. 

-- Mehmet who has the awesome and useful WEBSDR of NA5B helped me with a Facebook problem.  Thanks Mehmet! 

-- Mike WN2A asked about the Yaesu FT-101 9 MHz VFOs. 

-- Phil W1PJE (from MIT!) writes about old broadcast radio shows. And some really nice words of encouragement. 

-- Grayson KJ7UM sent kind words of encouragement, and great background on hybrid rigs. 

-- Peter VK3TPM writes about the decline of blogging, but notes that blogs are useful repositories. 

-- Todd K7TFC sent me some additional Mostly DIY RF boards.  Thanks Todd! 

-- Ed DD5LP/G8GLM  Kind words on SolderSmoke, nice info on the G-QRP 50th edition. 

-- Bill AH6FC  Encouraging words and good info on solar.  Mahalo Bill!  

-- Michael AG5VG Building LC VFOs for 7 MHz.  FB OM!

-- Bob K7ZB An EE who likes the treatment of mixers in the SolderSmoke book.  

More on How the AI Deep Dive Podcasts Were Made -- Soon: PeteGPT!

 

So, soon we may actually have these kinds of AI products using voices and even video images that are known to us, but, with the dialogue completely artificial.  Soon, we may hear and see N6QW badmouthing the Si5351, and singing the praises of LC VFOs.   Just a year ago this was the subject of an April 1 SolderSmoke joke.  Now it is becoming a real possibility.   We are living in the future my friends.  

Here is the new article on how they are doing this: 

https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/pushing-the-frontiers-of-audio-generation/

And here are our first two experimental uses of this AI technology: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/09/a-new-experimental-podcast-about.html

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/09/here-is-another-short-podcast-about.html

SolderSmoke Podcast #253 AUDIO VERSION: NYC, SF, DR, PC, DSC, PODCAST IN DANGER, SPRAT, sBITX, CW, IMD, AI, PNP, MAILBAG

SolderSmoke Podcast #253 is available:  

 http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke253.mp3

October 16, 2024

Sponsor!  Parts Candy is back!  Handmade in Chicago!  Standard test leads,  Hook clips, alligator clips in 12" and 32" and multimeter leads

Travelouge/Intro

Bill's trip to NYC -- The Empire State Building

Dean goes to the Bay area. 

Harry Caul,  Marty Klein W3VCG , "The Conversation" and THE KNACK.https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/08/harry-caul-had-knack-movie-review.html

Joe Piscopo in Bell System video! https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/08/soldersmoke-quiz-question-who-is-actor.html

Bill's Bench 

Bill's report from SolderSmoke Shack South: The tropics:  What this means.  Guapo wouldn't  go out when the sun was overhead. 

 Skies not great for astronomy now.  But we see a lot of satellites, and meteors.

Antenna developments:   1/4 vertical on a fishing pole.  

Lightning suppression coming for the building. Lightning suppressors.  Got 2.  Good video from the IMSAI guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EyABPuNDMA Argon gas suppresion tubes.Need to crimp! 

Hurricane prevention. Metal storm curtains. 

Thinking of solar panels. 12 panels, 5 kW system.  Probably without batteries.  What do you think? 

A golf cart. 

New PC.  BeeLink.  Very tiny! (palm of your hand)   24 inch screen. Works well https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVFKN7ZL?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

A very satisfying fix on the 15/10 rig -- loose connection to RF amp.  The highly suspect Ramsey Kit Amp was NOT the culprit!  Got to use the new Rigol DS-1102.  A fun fix. Will build a second CCI amp. 

Digital Selective Calling -- listening to ships and shore stations on HF.  https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/10/monitoring-maritime-radio-messages-with.html

SHAMELESS COMMERCE:  Our blogs and the podcast are in danger!  Pete is already on a permanent  blog hiatus.  I have seen a big decline in readership.  Frankly, if no one is reading or listening, we just may decide not to do it anymore.  We don't want to do this.  So please, link to the blogs.  Talk up the blog and podcast on your own blogs and social media.  

Parts Candy Test Leads are back as our sponsor.  Pete has them.  Dean has them, I have them in two different countries!     DON'T SCRIMP WITH A CRIMP!  

SPRAT Summer 2O24 Special EXTRA 50th Anniversary issue! https://www.gqrp.com/sales.htm

Dean's Bench

First CW contact:  With KK4DAS on his HB sBITX  and  Alan W2AEW POTA.  TRGHS. 

Dean fixes the sBITX problems. Again.  SUB-THRESHOLD CONDUCTION!    Lots of patience and stick-to-it-ivness. LPF leakage!  https://kk4das.blogspot.com/2024/08/homebrew-sbitx-lpf-leak-stopped.html

IMD IMD IMD and the Tiny SA Ultra https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/09/sherwood-its-time-to-clean-up-our.html

AI  AI   AI -- Experimental AI Podcasts about SolderSmoke (no kidding -- (NOT April 1) Where they came from https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/09/where-ai-podcasts-came-from.html 

AI Podcast #2 https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/09/here-is-another-short-podcast-about.html

AI Podcast #1  https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/09/a-new-experimental-podcast-about.html

Pete's Bench

 An all PNP rig -- A notional look, https://n6qw.blogspot.com/2024/08/august-30-2024-pnp-20m-ssb-transceiver.html 

Videos on old Boatanchors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnboJ75NCmY&t=1s

MAILBAG:  

Lex PH2LB making some new stickers.  Look out San Francisco!  

Rogier PA1ZZ sending lots of good ideas and links. 

Todd K7TFC  great idea on SS readersip decline 

Todd VE7BPO  aka Vasily -- great info on how to stabilize LC oscillators. https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/09/qrp-homebuilder-shows-us-how-to-build.html

Eric 4Z1UG  Welcome words of encouragement on the blog and podcast 

Dave W2DAB says that AI just can't replace the Tappit Brothers of ham radio.  Now the Tappit Triplets. 

Michael AA1TJ  Thoughtfully skeptical about AI. 

Grayson K7JUM on the cleanliness of the 32S-3. Also amazing video on Thermatron MMM. 

Mike WN2A working on DC receivers and hum! 

Floran OE7FTI building Farhan's JBOT amp! 

Mike Murphy WU2D building 1930 replica rigs using a Frank Jones circuit 

Dave K8WPE always great to hear from such a strong SolderSmoke supporter. 

Walter KA4KXX  Great ideas from the Wizard of Orlando. 

Paul G0OER -- Reacting to the 1970s Ham Radio video. Didn't remember being so cool. 

Thomas K4SWL -- Struggling with the hurricane in NC.  Hang in there OM. 

Nick M0NTZ building another Direct Conversion receiver -- with videos about it.

Michael AG5VG building a Mythbustrer-style 20 meter rig.  FT-101 VFO.  FB

Tony G4WIF -- Readership problem advice 

John AB2XT sent us 6000 47 pf NP0 capacitors.  So we are now good for caps!   Thanks John. 

Paul VK3HN Was suitably impresses by the AI podcasts we put on the blog. Thanks Paul. 

SolderSmoke Podcast #253 VIDEO VERSION : NYC, SF, DR, PC, DSC, PODCAST IN DANGER, SPRAT, sBITX, CW, IMD, AI, PNP, MAILBAG

SolderSmoke #253 is available in video form.  See above or: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQBojTLL7VY

The audio version is available in the post immediately above this one, here: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/10/soldersmoke-podcast-253-audio-version.html

AI Podcast #2: Here is Another Short Podcast ABOUT SolderSmoke.

Click here for the second "About SolderSmoke" podcast. 

 http://www.soldersmoke.com/About SolderSmoke 2.mp3

This one looks not at the SolderSmoke Daily News blog, but instead at the SolderSmoke podcast itself.

I was delighted to see the inclusion of Pete, Dean, Farhan and Mike Rainey!   This was really great.  

Look, it is not perfect.  There are errors.  But probably about the same number of errors that you would get from real, human hosts, right?    Voltaire told us not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.  And I find this to be amazingly good. Look, it is so good that it is kind of scary, right?

Before you get too critical realize how this has been done:  I did nothing more than load the SolderSmoke Podcast Archive website into GPT-like model. Then I asked it to produce a deep dive podcast.  That's it.  About 5 clicks.  It developed the podcast in about 3 minutes.  I did the same thing yesterday but with the SolderSmoke blog.  And this is only the beginning.  

AG5VG's Homebrew 20 meter Superhet (with a CW rig Coming) (Video)

 Michael AG5VG finished this receiver last weekend.  He hopes to build a CW transmitter using an output of the Si5351.  Obviously I defer to Pete on that one.  Good going Michael.  I think it sounds great and looks even better.  

Excellent New Video from Grayson KJ7UM on his Thermatron version of the Michigan Mighty Mite

Here is a really wonderful video from Grayson Evans, KJ7UM, author of Hollow-State Design for the Radio Amateur.  

I really loved this video.  Throughout we see Grayson's sense of humor.  Early on he explains the differences between a tube (what remains from a roll of paper towell), a valve (like the plumbers use) and a THERMATRON (like a 6146).  Grayson is the inventor of the word Thermatron.  We should all pledge to use it whenever possible. 

Grayson's humor also shows up when describing the parts acquistion process for the Thermatron Michigan Mighty Mite.  He puls out a coil (a huge coil) and laments that it is not -- despite its large size -- sufficiently inductive. 

There are wonderful shout outs to SolderSmoke, to Electric Radio, to the Color Burst Liberation Army, to Pete Juliano,  and to Rex Harper.  

Grayson describes the utility of Rex Harper's Thermatron ME pads.  

During the video, Grayson actually builds the Thermatron MMM.  In under 2 minutes!  He then experiences the Joy Of Oscillation, or JOO as it has come to be known.  OM needs a contact -- listen for him on 3579.  He is calling CQ.  

Grayson talks about his book, Hollow-State Design.  I have a copy with me here at SolderSmoke Shack South in the Dominican Republic.  Great stuff.   The above link takes you to Lulu, where you can order the book.  You can also get it from Electric Radio Magazine here: https://www.ermag.com/product-category/books/

Thank you Grayson for bringing us this video, and so much more over the years.  And for giving us the very useful and fun word:  THERMATRON!  

SolderSmoke Podcast #252 -- First Podcast from SolderSmoke Shack South

For the moment this podcast is video only.  The video appears above.  Here is the URL for the video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeNTv3YjiHU  We will try to get the usual audio podcast version out soon. 

-- This is the first podcast from SolderSmoke Shack South:   Eastern tip of Island of Hispaniola.  Cap Cana, DR, 70 feet up, 1 mile from Mona Channel.  Seventh floor shack with view of the ocean.  Antennas:  Dipoles for now, maybe Moxons or Hex later. STARLINK

- The San Francisco case against me.  One guy thinks we DESERVE prosecution!  Get off of my lawn! 

Like the library cop on Seinfeld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9tP9fI2zbE

But one fellow wrote letter to the mayor asking for leniency.  Proposes "Bill Meara Day in SF." FB!  I fell victim myself this year:  Mike WU2D got me with WA1HLR on SSB video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLvCNJ_OnEc

-- Dean:  Fighting a spur in the sBITX.  Filters? 

-- Dean:  Exploring Class A, Class AB and the RD06HHF1

-- Dean: Extensive work on getting flat gain from FETs up through 10 meters. 

-hh- Dean and Bill:  OIP3 measurement and setting the bias on an RD06HHF1

-- Pete:  Discovers for all of us "RF Man"   In spite of all the CB stuff, he is the THE MAN!  On YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@rfmanchannel6915

-- Pete fixes Dean's relay chattering problem: SUBTHRESHOLD CONDUCTION!  Yikes!  

-- Pete's refurb and rejuvenation of the Drake Twins, 

-- MXM news.  New docs, and ads from WD5L. All on the blog. 7030 crystals.  Why MXM? Chuck Adam's mods, Joh DL6ID's questions about VFO.  Yes!  VFO from RX.  Was Bruce Williams an early Swan Designer? 

-- Weird paradox with 25 MHz filter:  Low profile xtals have higher Q, but produce more rounded passbands.  Why?  I note that Minima's 20 MHz filter also had curved passband. 

-- Allison's wisdom on filters at higher frequencies.  The importance of physical layout.  Diodes in the dark!  It is indeed more difficult up there.  But don't let the perfct be the enemy of the good!

-- Is Bill  the only one to ever build a 10-15 Dual Bander using a 25 MHz crystal filter.  Why?  Farhan's Minima has a 20 MHz 6 pole QER crystal filter.  And it too had a rounded passband.  But it tooc WORKED.  

-- Did my receiver sound tinny due to rising frequency response of uBITX Rev 4 amp?  Yes! So I put in a  TJ DC RX Af amp.

-- Bill BLOWS UP a Tiny SA Ultra. Ooops.  But quickly got a new one from R&L Electronics.  Very, very useful.  I knew 25 MHz IF rigs were inferior, but by how much?  How much was the carrier suppressed?  Which filters worked better?  What was the opposite sideband rejection.  TinySA permitted measurement and comparison. 

-- Bill quit 15 meter SSB (for a moment) and went to the 1.22 nanometer band with a Wilson Clound Chamber.  Videos on the blog. 

SHAMELESS COMMERCE:  Thanks to new Patreon sponsors.  I am sending some additional video content to the sponsors.

MAILBAGg

-- Thanks to Bob Crane W8SX for FDIM interviews.  I will get them out! 

--Wes -- W7ZOI has a new TIA amp with variable gain on his web site: https://w7zoi.net/

-- Geoff N6GWB's Rad Receiver https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-rad-receiver-from-n6gwb.html

-- Dave K1KA sent Ensemble RTX SDR parts.   Thanks Dave. 

-- Chuck Adams AA7FO provided good background on my MXM rig, including the meaning of MXM (1990) . Again, great to hear from Chuck, a true homebrew hero.

-- Gerardo HI8P collecting info on the other HI8P, my friend Pericles (SK) 

-- Alvin N5VZH picked up a Silktronix CB VFO.  What to do? 

-- Jorgen SM4WWG listening from Sweden, and making PCBs.  FB! 

-- Mike WN2A  Wondered about opposite sideband rejection of MXM.  Not great. 

-- George WB5OYP loaned me a book from Elmer Bucher.  THE Elmer?   https://k9zw.wordpress.com/2020/01/24/on-the-origins-of-elmer-a-reasonable-theory/

-- Wes W7ZOI, Farhan VU2ESE -- Thanks for help on filter issue. Thanks too to Alan W2AEW and G3UUR

-- Josh G3MOT -- Nice message of support in our "struggle" with SF authorities. Going portable to Vancouver island in August.  VE7/G3MOT

-- Paul VK3HN -- Antipodean solidarity.  Thanks Paul. 

-- Rogier PA1ZZ -- great input and help. Thanks

-- Tony G4WIF reminded me of G3ROO's  parasets.  See Blog

-- Pavel CO7WT His experiences (building, freezing, heating) the VFO in the Jaguey DSB rig.

-- Grayson KJ7UM Sent latest ER with his Collins 51S-1 story. Thanks Grayson. 

-- Allison KB1GMX  Commiserating on higher freq crystal filters. Thanks Allison 

-- Wes W4JYK Notes that Dewey, Cheatam and Howe are based in SF. Can they help with sticky sticker problem? 

Will KI4POV on QSO Today with Eric 4Z1UG

I really liked Eric's interview with Will KI4POV:  

https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/KI4POV

Will has appeared on this blog and podcast before: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search?q=KI4POV

There were a lot points in Eric's interview with Will that resonated with me: 

-- Will told about how his very understanding and perceptive wife KNOWS when a homebrew project is not going well.  Yea, we have the same situation here!

-- Will mentions the wisdom of Wes Hayward, Doug Demaw, and Pete Juliano.  

-- Eric mentioned that there is a bit of his own blood in most of his homebrew projects. One slip of he screwdriver is often enough.  My projects also often have a bit of my A+ in them.  This adds soul to the new machine. 

-- Will spoke of S-38s and HW-8s.  I have both these devices here with me in the Dominican Republic. I  have used both of them here.

-- Will mentioned the magic that comes when you listen with a receiver you built yourself.  Yes. 

-- NanoVNA.  Yes, very useful.  

Lots more great stuff in this interview.  Thanks Eric and thanks Will. 

Farhan Talks Radio Tech at SolderSmoke HQ (EAST) (TWO VIDEOS!)

Great stuff!  We were really fortunate to have Farhan and Humera visit the SolderSmoke East shack after Dayton and FDIM.  Dean and I had a chance to talk BITX with the creator. Here is the two part video.  Most of the tech talk is in Part II (below).  

 

Farhan and his zBITX

Dean and Farhan with three sBITXs

Dean's homebrew sBITX

Farhan Phone

A Really Cool Homebrew Computer

Wow, very cool.  On Hack-A-Day this morning:

https://hackaday.com/2024/05/26/homebrew-computer-from-the-ground-up/

It caught my eye because the architecture seems similar to that of the MostlyDIYRF PSSST rig.  

There is a lot to learn from this little machine, especially for an analog guy like me. 

Mostly DIY RF PSSST

Pete Juliano's Amazing Videos -- 318 of Them!

Blogs come and go, but (hopefully) YouTube is more permanent and accessible.  This morning I re-found Pete N6QW's YouTube channel.  When you use it, I suggest you click on "oldest" first.  This will take you back 14 years,  to Pete's time in the Pacific Northwest.   The video above (him playing guitar) was shot just before he and his XYL moved back to California.  

Here is Pete's YouTube channel:  

https://www.youtube.com/@N6QW/videos

This is a tremendous resource for ham radio homebrewers.  It should be preserved and protected. 

Subscribe!  

Thanks Pete! 

Version II of 15-10 Rig -- Updates on Bal Mod, AF amp, and RF Amp, DX

Version II of the 15-10 rig is mostly done. I did a lot of work on the AF amp, balanced modulator, Mic amp, carrier oscillator, and filter. Dean KK4DAS and I continue to test and measure the RF power amplifier. I describe the brutally simple, non-sequenced T/R switching arrangement, and the spread-out open air construction style.

Version I of this rig is on its way to the Dominican Republic. Version II will stay in Virginia. I have already worked a lot of SSB DX with this rig, including, Thailand, Taiwan, China, India, Kenya, Australia, American Samoa, and others.

This video was inspired by the recent work of Nick M0NTV and Charlie ZL2CTM. And of course, Pete Juliano N6QW.

Nate KA1MUQ's Amazing Thermatron Receiver

https://natesbasement123.blogspot.com/2024/02/thank-you-bill-dean-grayson-pete-and.html

Wow, some really wonderful work is taking place in Nate KA1MUQ's basement in California. 

-- I really like the pill bottle coil forms.  I wonder if Nate faced suspicion (and possible arrest) in the pharmacy when he asked for the pill bottles.  (I got some suspicious looks when I went I asked for empty pill bottles while building my thermatron Mate for the Mighty Midget receiver back in 1998.) 

-- The variable capacitors are also quite cool, as is the big rotary switch.   Is that for band switching? 

-- Oh  man, all on a plywood board.  Frank Jones would approve!  

-- Indeed Nate, that beautiful receiver NEEDS an analog VFO.  And we need to hear it inhaling phone sigs, not that FT8 stuff. 

-- Please keep us posted on your progress.  And of course, one hand behind your back OM.  Lots of high voltage on those thermatrons.  

Thanks Nate!