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Sunday, September 30, 2012
Science Fair Light Beam Communications in 1960s
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Book Recommendation: "Martian Summer" by Andrew Kessler
I took this book with me to the Dominican Republic this summer, and I really enjoyed it. Kessler has an unusual, very funny, self-deprecating writing style. He is not a scientist nor an engineer, but he is given access to the inner sanctums of the Mars Phoenix mission, and spends an entire summer watching and documenting the work of the people running this mission.
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
Monday, September 3, 2012
Save 20% on SolderSmoke, The Book
Go to http://www.soldersmoke.com/book.htm for more info. Use the Coupon Code to save 20% when buying from Lulu.
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
Thursday, July 5, 2012
A BITX-20 Emerges from the SolderSmoke
It's not mine -- I haven't started yet. But Robert sent us this picture and progress report on his BITX-20 project. (Nice Tek scope in the background. Is that a 465?)
---------------------------
Dear Mr. Meara,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences in
SolderSmoke. I found your book (kindle version), to be entertaining and
inspirational. The amateur radio bug bit me hard early this year, earned
my tech & general in January, extra in February. Asking myself "Where
has this wonderful hobby been all my life"?
Especially want you to know that because of the reference of the
Bitx20 in your book, I built one (kit from India), and made my very
first hf contact using a homebrew rig and homebrew dipole antenna. The
thrill was absolutely fantastic! Attached is a picture of my bitx20
moments after making my very first hf contact ever between northern
Alabama (my QTH), and the Calgary Alberta radio club about 2k miles
away.
Please take some credit for being part of the inspiration!
Note, my bitx20 is now packaged and portable, next project will
is a QRP antenna tuner, and buying a commercial "fancy" HF transceiver.
Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Robert Conklin
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
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
29% Off on SolderSmoke Book! Leap Year Sale!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Winterfest!
We managed to get rid of a bunch of junk, and only bought one item of new junk (a Hallicrafters S-38E receiver). And we got to show our friend (and aspiring homebrewer) John what a real hamfest is all about.
Thanks to the VWS for another great 'fest.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
SolderSmoke -- The Book 20% off. And available for Ipad and Nook
The book is also available from Kindle, the Ibook store, and for the Barnes and Noble Nook.
Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics"http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20
Saturday, January 28, 2012
A Good Deal on SolderSmoke -- The Book 30% off!
See "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" at:
http://soldersmoke.com/book.htm
Our coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
30% off on SolderSmoke, The Book. December 7
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
Sunday, November 27, 2011
30% off on SolderSmoke, The Book. Cyber-Monday Sale. November 28
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
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Halloween Sale on SolderSmoke -- The Book
Our coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmoke
Our Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Meet the Author (of SolderSmoke) Event TODAY
One More Page Books
2200 N. Westmoreland Street #101
Arlington, VA 22213
703-300-9746
Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics"http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20
Monday, September 19, 2011
Book on Sale -- Save 15% (from Lulu)
Our coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmoke
Our Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20
Sunday, August 21, 2011
FT-817 Remote Access and The Perils of PC Board Etching
Mike is looking for some beta testers for his FT-817 remote control system, and for someone who is proficient on VB6 who can help him clean up the code.
....................
Bill,
Hello I am a 47 year old ham from Pittsburgh,Pa and my call is WA3O. I felt compelled to write you after my Kindle purchase of your Solder Smoke book. I don't usually read books cover to cover but, this book is different I can not seem to put it down. This is the first time I can personally relate to a book. Like you, I started ham radio at the early age of 13 and have built and struggled with the same projects you have. So I wanted to say thanks!...I am half way through the book and I am dreading finishing it because I probably will never find another book I can relate to so well.
My latest project is some software I wrote for the FT817 and Icom radios. I am not a programmer but, I taught myself VB6 so I could write this remote software. After reading in the book about your Iphone “link”I thought you might like it and I wanted your opinion on it. The software is DTMF control of your radio from any phone. With Skype (and a Skype-in phone number) and my software, you can call your radio from ANY phone (not just a smart cell phone). You dial your number and after a security number the program turns your radio on via the printer port and you have pretty much full control of all the functions of your radio with the voice announcer on the radio (Icom) or the voice out on Microsoft computers it can announce frequency, signal, mode etc. you can even TX. The software even has a time out timer just in case of say a cell phone “drop call”. The software has many features like 50 memory recall, selective scanning, band scanning,direct frequency input. If you have a radio like a IC-7000 or a FT-817 and a auto tuner you have access to all HF,VHF and UHF. I brought the software idea up to some local hams and it sounded like it was a bad idea. I use it every day to listen to 160M while I drive to work in my truck without a BIG 160 antenna on it! I also thought it would be great for guys who just like to see what band conditions are on lunch break. Let's face it we all carry a cell phone. So I would really appreciate your opinion on this.
One last comment...while I was reading about your struggles with etching your own board it reminded me of my first experience with etching solution. My buddy etched boards before and told me all you had to do was draw what you wanted with a Sharpie on a copper PC board and throw it in some solution and “rock it back and fourth a bit and it works like magic. So unknowingly we put the solution in a pie tin and palced the board in. It immediately started boiling and put off an orange smoke! I said NEAT! And before my buddy could tell me it was NOT supposed to do that it ate thru the bottom of the pie tin...What a mess! And mom wasn't happy! LOL
So best of 73's and keep up the good work
Mike Lamanna WA3O
.......................................Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics"http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Big Book Sale
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Sale on Books 20% Off!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Summer Sales
Also, be sure to visit out T-shirt, coffee mug, and bumper sticker store. There is a 15% off sale there also: http://shop.cafepress.com/soldersmoke
Friday, June 10, 2011
iSolderSmoke: SolderSmoke in the Apple iBookstore
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Please Help Get SolderSmoke into RadioShack Stores
Several listeners sent me the link to a new campaign by the RadioShack stores. They apparently want to get back into supplying parts for the electronics DIY community. Great! I always liked the oft-maligned stores. I missed them when overseas, and was always saddened to see them drifting away from the world of our kind of radio shack. But it appears that the 'shack might be coming back! RadioShack has asked customers to leave comments on their blog page listing the three items that they would like to see added to the RadioShack inventory.
I would really appreciate it if you guys would go to that page and tell them that you think it would be a good idea for them to sell the book "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" in their stores. You can point them to the link http://soldersmoke.com/book.htm
Some things you might mention in your comments on the RadioShack blog:
-- One of the reasons I wrote the book was because I wanted to try to help perpetuate the old, friendly, cooperative ham radio spirit: The culture of the Elmer and all that. The shared junk box. The willingness to help someone with a project or a technical problem. This book might help foster the kind of sense of community that would help everyone (including RadioShack!)
-- The book was in part inspired by the RadioShack publications of the great Forrest Mims. Like Mim's books, SolderSmoke has lots of hand-drawn diagrams.
-- The book actually contains (already!) a very favorable comment about the important role played in DIY by the RadioShack stores.
-- While it is mostly about ham radio, it was written to appeal to the broader electronics DIY community, and contains wide variety of projects including astronomy, kite aerial photography and rocketry.
-- The author -- Bill Meara -- would be willing to work something out with them (!)
So, gentlemen: Please get typing! Don't tell them I sent you ;-) Let's make this seem like a spontaneous outpouring of popular support.
Here is the blog location for RadioShack: http://blog.radioshack.com/post/2011/05/19/RadioShack-And-The-DIY-Community-You-Talked-Were-Listening.aspx
or http://blog.radioshack.com/post.aspx?id=f7239c83-8fd3-47e4-9fb9-395f57b56bb7
If you are so inclined you could also tweet them your input @Radio Shack
And you could put your comments on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/RadioShack
Thanks a lot!