Home-Brew!

Sometimes it is good to take a look at how other people home brew different kinds of things.  Here is a fellow in Ukraine that really HOME brews.  

I think this FB video is a good place to start: 

https://fb.watch/ex9YG4EFJJ/

Here is his YouTube channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_nrEDtq-0OQEVupubH_QuQ/featured

HB-2-HB Contact! N4TD's Amazing Homebrew 20 and 40 meter SSB Transceiver

 

Oh man, this doesn't happen every day.  Using my homebrew BITX 40 DIGI-TIA,  I had just finished a great QSO on 40 meters with Greg W8GP, talking about Heathkits and homebrew radio.   Then I got a call from Taylor N4TD.  He told me he is a SolderSmoke listener.  Then he just casually mentioned the really big news:  HE TOO WAS ON A HOMEBREW RIG! 

I told Taylor that this a rare occurrence.  He agreed. 

Taylor told me his rig is for 20 and 40.  It is a single conversion design with a 9 MHz IF and a crystal filter.  Using a Ukraine-made PA board, it puts out 50 watts.  

Taylor sent me some pictures and wrote: 

Hi Bill,

It was great to work you homebrew to homebrew.  As you said, that doesn’t happen very often.  I used a modular architecture for this radio.  The module size is the ExpressPCB miniboard  size, so they are less expensive and all the same size so they can be moved around.  All the boards are homebrew except for the final amplifier module.  The PA module I got from 60dbm in Ukraine through eBay.  I had tested this module before and found it to be solid, and it was more economical than building the PA from scratch.  It delivers 50W+ and has been reliable through all my sometimes abusive testing.  

73 Taylor N4TD

Taylors rig -- Top view

Taylor's rig -- Bottom view

Duga-2 The Big Soviet Woodpecker Antenna (Video)

https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0864g3p/the-secret-soviet-radar-hidden-in-chernobyl-s-shadow