Alan Wolke in the Dinosaur Den (Video)

Very cool.  But it makes me sad that my Tek 465 broke (and I can't fix it!).

Interview with Paul Horowitz (W1HFA) -- A Giant In Radio Electronics (Video)

I've been hearing about this book for years, but until I watched this interview, I knew nothing about the author.  Thanks Lady Ada.  (And thanks to Farhan for the alert.) 

As a native New Yorker, I'm pleased to include in the blog yet another reminder that the Big Apple is not all fashion and finance -- a lot of solder has been melted in my home town. 

Paul Horowitz has a truly awesome bio.   He got his ham license at age eight.  QST tells us that lots of little kids do this, but unlike some of the youngsters we see in the magazine I suspect young Paul really mastered the theory.  Paul Horowitz has "The Knack."  Big time.

PhD from Harvard.   Author of "The Art of Electronics."  Pioneer in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.  Carl Sagan is believed to have  modeled the main character in "Contact" partly on Paul.  Check out the wiki  page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Horowitz

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Farhan's Secret Project: The SPECAN (Extremely Cool) (video)

I had been sworn to secrecy for so long,  I thought I was going to burst.  I almost hinted at this in the last podcast.  But I didn't.  I kept the secret.  But now Farhan has made public his latest creation: 

http://hfsignals.blogspot.in/p/specan-reboot-of-w7zoi.html

This is really great.  I want to build one.  I have to build one.  I NEED one of these.

Great work Farhan.  Thanks for bringing the ham community another amazing piece of gear.

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Another BITX DIGI-TIA -- AC9JQ's (video)

Wow, Dean's BITX with Termination Insensitive Amplifiers (3 of them) sounds really nice. And this is with a homebrew ladder filter (see below).

 

I also like the way Dean makes his enclosures -- he uses scrap aluminum and 1/2" angle.  This might cause me to abandon the wooden cigar boxes.

  



Dean will now add the driver and PA stages and plans on following Pete's suggestion by making this a 20/40 rig. 

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Video of Curiously Strong Altoids Tin Frequency Counter

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The Truly Amazing Workbench and Shack of VE7ZWZ (Video)

Brace yourselves.  This is almost too much.  Prepare for sensory overload and possible palpitations.
 
Wow.  This is really amazing.   Note the very casual way Paul manages to mix Eico 430 oscilloscopes with the latest Tek touch-screen 'scope.  Heck, the doesn't even mention the SP-600s!  He does briefly note "a very large transmitter." Indeed. And he has a microscope on the bench.

This video is part of an excellent YouTube channel called "Mr. Carlson's Lab."   Great stuff in there.  Paul works on everything from old tube type receivers to modern Yaesus and Icoms.

It took me a little digging to find his ham radio call sign.  There are many Paul Carlsons on QRZ.com, but Paul's pronunciation of "solder" gave him away.  It seems our Canadian friends also (like the Brits) pronounce the "L."  VE7ZWZ. 

Check out his channel.   Lots to learn there:   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqmegXoB7lA

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BITX DIGI-TIA Build Update #3 Video of Receiver in Operation

A few things I forgot to mention in the video:

That USB port on the front panel has already come in handy.  I needed to switch the tuning increment from 1 kHz to 100 Hz.   I just went into the Arduino program, removed one zero, and then re-uploaded the code.  

I also put to use the sideband inversion rule-of-thumb:  My IF is at 9 MHz.  I want to receive signals in the 7.2 MHz range, and I want the VFO running ABOVE the IF frequency.  So obviously the VFO will be running at around 16.2 MHz.  So, rule-of-thumb time:  Will I be subtracting the frequency with modulation from the frequency without modulation?  Yes I will!  So, there will be sideband inversion.  This tells me where to position my BFO frequency.   The signals on 40 start out as Lower Sideband.  But as explained above, by the time they get to the filter they will be inverted and will be upper sideband signals.  So I need to put the BFO slightly BELOW the filter passband so that I can tune the signals in such a way as the sidebands fit into the filter passband and have the proper frequency relationship to the BFO to allow for demodulation. I put it at 8.9986 MHz.  With the Si5351, changes to the BFO and VFO frequencies are very easy.

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Drake Dongle Derring-Do -- 2B goes SDR (video)

Here I take my Drake 2B  -- arguably the quintessential Hardware Defined Radio -- and connect its first Intermediate Frequency circuitry to an RTL-SDR Dongle, allowing me to digitally process, filter, and display (panoramically!) the signals being inhaled by the ancient receiver.  Another cool tech twist:   To get at the 455 kHz IF signal I use the "Q-Multiplier" jack on the back of the receiver.  This connector was put there to allow for the use of a selectivity enhancing regenerative stage.  So I'm using that connector for a similar purpose, but using technology that wasn't even being dreamed about when that Drake 2-B was being designed in 1961.  


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Greg W's Australia-Finland Mighty Mite (VIDEO)

Greg is a VK6 Australian ham living permanently in Finland.   He has been a SolderSmoke listener for many years.  Greg sent a nice picture and a video of his VK-OH Mighty Mite.   FB Greg!


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SDR Dongle Modified for HF. Watch it work on 40 meters (VIDEO)

With SPRAT 162 by my side, armed with an FT37-43 trifilar wound transformer, I popped open the RTL-SDR dongle.  I had hopes of being able to solder two tiny wires to the unused input pins (3 and 4) but I quickly realized that I was NOT going to be able to do that -- they are far too small for me to work on.  So I did what Ken Marshall G4IIB did:  I took out the SMT caps going to pins 1 and 2 and soldered two small wires there.  This will limit this dongle to HF only -- if I want VHF/UHF I'll just spend another $13 dollars!  You can see the results in the video above.

 

I used the yellow stuff to hold the wires in place.  It was later removed.

Tony Fishpool did a neater job.  See his work here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1987387/Even_more_on_using_the_RTL2832U_Dongle.pdf


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Chuck Adams' Secret Recipe for Muppet PC Boards (and lots of other homebrew tips)

A few days ago I shared an e-mail from John N8RVE on his re-build of the SW-40.   John used a "Muppet" board, Muppet being a combination of Manhattan and Ugly techniques.  But there is nothing ugly about it really.  I joked in the title of the blog post that the beauty of this technique is almost enough to get a homebrewer to abandon the Manhattan technique.  Now, I was born on Manhattan island, and I went to Manhattan College, and I have been using the Manhattan technique for many years, so there is a lot of homebrew inertia at work here.   But that SW-40 looked good.  John mentioned that Chuck Adams K7QO has a series of YouTube videos on how to make Muppet boards.   This morning as I waited for the bands to open up, I  decided to take a look. 

Wow, they are really great.  I couldn't stop watching them. I kind of "binge watched" the whole series. Chuck Adams is a really great teacher.  There are lots of great homebrew tips in those videos, and not just about the boards. I NEED one of those new G3UUR crystal testers, the version that also gives you ESR!  I WANT a laminator, an infrared thermometer, some Krylon clear, and pool chemicals!  And a harmonica reed tuner!

I've been sort of planning my next rig.  It will be a version of the BITX.  But having recently built two BITXs using the Manhattan technique, I kind of feel the need to do something different.  I am planning to use some different circuitry (termination insensitive amplifiers) and MAYBE an Si5351.  Perhaps plug-in filters.  But now I want to also move forward in terms of building technique.  I want to Muppet!

Thanks Chuck! 

Here is the link to part one of Chuck's excellent video series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6AmT1trO60


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Final Integraton And On-Air Test of the LBS Transceiver (Video) (FB!)

Very nice.  A beautiful and educational project from Pete and Ben.   I have to start putting "tune switches" in my rigs and ammeters in the bias circuits of my finals. 

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

N9IZ's Steam-Rollered Indy Mighty Mite (Video)

Not even the U.S. Postal Service's Anti-Crystal Steam Roller can stop an intrepid homebrewer.  OM N9IZ got his Mighty Mite working and produced a really nice video and blog post on the project.  You can just feel the enthusiasm:  On the blog he writes:   "Everything was assembled on a bread board for trial.  I must admit to being overjoyed when I saw the visual waveform on the PowerSDR panafall display of my Flex-5000A main shack radio.  So much so, that I ran through the house calling for my YL, KC9TAH.  She was in the shower and thought I’d cut off a finger or something while in the mad scientist lair.  Much to her dismay, it was only a nasty CW signal emanating from the Flex speaker.  She did humor me by going out to see the marvelous project before asking me what I was going to fix for lunch."  FB OM!   
  
Bill
 
I thought you might like to hear that another MMM has been brought into the fold.  You might remember that the crystal you sent me was steamrolled by the USPS.  Believe it or not, it works!  Not sure the frequency is exactly spot-on, but who cares...it works!  I enjoyed it very much and made a youtube video of the testing process.  I also took pictures and posted it all to my webpage.  Most of my other projects have been more QRO in nature so I'm treading in uncharted territory.  We'll see how far that goes, but right now I'm loving it.  I have my issue of QRP Quarterly and plan to follow along in constructing the LBS project.  All for now from Hoosierland.  Hope you enjoy the blog post on my webpage.  73 OM.

DE N9IZ

N9IZ Webpage

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Video on W4OP's Progressive Receiver (Solid State Drake 2-B)

This is so great.  I saw pictures of Dale's receiver a few years ago, but somehow missed the video.   I am the proud owner of a W4OP-built Barebones Superhet.  And, of course, of a Drake 2B (mine has tubes!) 

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

This Kid has THE KNACK TO THE MAX! And is in the International Brotherhood of Electronic Wizards! (VIDEO)

Oh man, we've all been there in one form or another.  The struggle, the frustration, then, THE TRIUMPH!  I love when his mother drops the plate.  
Thanks to John KC0BMF

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

SPARK FOREVER! George and Tommy Build a Spark Rig

It has been a while since I visited the Amateur Logic TV site.  When I looked in last week I found George and Tommy building a spark transmitter.   Pretty cool!   The sparks begin to fly at about about the 23 minute point in this video.  Very interesting.  Way to go guys!  

SPARK FOREVER! (You will see that emblazoned on the QSL cards of REAL old timers. They were railing against those newfangled Continuous Waves.  There is a lesson in there for me... )  

More AmateurLogic here: http://www.amateurlogic.com/downloads.htm

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REALLY AMAZING! The Portable SDR Project! 42 Hours Left To Save It!

Holy cow!  Look at that rig.   The whole HF spectrum.  AM,  CW,  SSB,  Digital Modes, Waterfall display,  GPS.  It may even have a Vector Network Analyzer!   (Deep breaths Pete Juliano, deep breaths!)

Michael KE7HIA is trying to get this project going via a Kickstarter campaign.  He needs to get to $60,000   He currently has about $47,000 pledged.  There are only 42 hours to go:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1703258614/psdr-pocket-hf-sdr-transceiver-with-vna-and-gps   

Wow, this rig would have been great for my Double A DR DX-pedition! 

Features:

• Coverage from 0 to 35MHz
• Waterfall display that lets you see radio signals
• Receives AM, USB (Upper Side Band), LSB (Lower Side Band), and Morse code (CW)
• Modulates USB and LSB signals
• Variable bandpass filter

Hardware:

• Powerful ARM processor
• Color LCD display
• Dual DDS frequency Synthesizers
• Quadrature Sampling Detector & Exciter
• Digitally controllable instrumentation amplifiers
• Morse Code key (the "Giblet" on the bottom right corner of the enclosure)
• Magnitude & Phase measurement chip (for VNA and antenna analysis functions) with Impedance Bridge
• Dual SMA connectors, smartphone style earphone/microphone connector, and USB port
• GPS
• Built in Microphone and Speaker
• Internal Lithium Polymer battery with charger and high efficiency switching regulator
• MicroSD slot
• Pads for grabbing raw I/Q signals, both in and out.

Things it will be able to do with your help:

I designed the hardware to be capable of the following, but I can't write all the software myself. Please note that I can't guarantee when or if these functions will be added, or that they will work as desired.

• Work as a full Vector Network Analyzer (VNA)
• Work as a spectrum analyzer
• Cover more modes, including digital modes and image modes
• Work as an emergency location beacon
• Antenna Analyzer
• Frequency Synthesizer
• Media player
• E Reader / Picture viewer
• Have improved audio
• GPS Mapping navigation device
• High end ARM development board
• USB control of any features, including the possibility to operate the PSDR remotely. The USB port supports USB On-the-Go, making it possible to connect keyboards or other devices. Firmware updates will also be possible over USB.

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Lucien's German Mighty Mite (Video)

Excellent Lucien!  Thanks for sending this.   I know what you mean about a project that doesn't work.  It is rewarding and educational to figure out where you went wrong.  I knew a guy who would ask, at a hamfest, "Does this rig work?"  If the the seller admitted that it didn't, he'd reply, "Good, I pay extra for that!"   He liked the challenge of fixing it.  Of course, there are limits to this, and sometimes these challenges will make you wish you had taken up stamp collecting. 

Hi Bill and Pete,

For me too, it's a happy day - I got the Mighty Mite working! Thank you so much for the inspiration to get into homebrewing...

I'm just licensed for a year now and this was my very first project (except for 2 basic kits that I build) and it really was a great learning experience. The best part: Since it didn't work out "plug'n play", I had to debug the thing and actually start thinking - so I put 2 caps in parallel instead of the wrong one I had used (I found them in a little box some guys at a hamfest gave me for free - never thought I would ever use something from it...). And I had to use the voltmeter to look for a short circuit. Basic stuff, but for me, this was a breakthrough!

Here are some more things I learned during this first project (don't laugh):

• Where the heck do I plug stuff that's supposed to go to "ground" in? Now I know: usually to the negative pole!
• When 2 lines cross in a schematic, that doesn't mean there's a connection!
• How do these ready-made breadboards actually work? Had to try out...
• It's important to think about the actual layout beforehand!
• When debugging, trial and error doesn't help.
• There's yet another crazy foreign unit called "gauge"! (I used smaller magnet wire than recommended, it still seems to work...)
• 9V-blocks get VERY hot when shorted for a minute or so!

Attached is an image of my ugly prototype, now I want to give it a better "home"... And here is a little video, demonstrating that it works, inspired by IZ1KSW:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxXyAb_np8I&feature=youtu.be

BTW, frequency is about 3,5793 Mhz.

Thanks again for all the great inspiration and vy 73 from Germany,

Lucien / DH7LM

 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

Glowing Blue Numerals! A Frequency Counter for the BITX17 (VIDEO)

These little frequency counters from China have a lot of potential.  And they add a dash of digital color to an otherwise bland analog hamshack.  I got mine on e-bay. 

My BITX17 has now been "accessorized" with 
1) A rotatable Moxon antenna (big improvment!)
2) A 120 watt Communications Concepts Linear amplifier (another big improvement) and
3) This digital frequency readout.  

What next?  

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

Mama Mia! N2HTT's Regen Receiver (Video)

I am fairly certain that Pete Juliano will take pride in N2HTT's success on this project, and will attempt to attribute it, in part, to the Italian ancestry that they share.  The Tarantella background music will definitely encourage that kind of thinking.  

In presenting this nice video, we continue with our "rigs not yet in a box" theme.  There is something especially nice about the sound of receivers that are not yet boxed up. 

Mike has some great information on the construction of this receiver (and other projects) on his blog:

http://n2htt.net/  

Bravo Michele! 

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