Alan Wolke W2AEW Moonbounce with Project Diana

Alan mentioned this in his interview with Eric on the QSO Today podcast.  I really liked Alan's video of the Project Diana moonbounce commemoration.  That HUGE display showing outgoing signals and then the echoes off the moon was really cool.  EME is on my to-do (someday) list. 

Alan Wolke W2AEW Interviewed on QSO Today! And it is GREAT!

A very cool interview indeed.  But how could it be otherwise?  With Eric on one end of the Skype connection and Alan on the other, coolness was inevitable.

In this interview we are reminded of the FACT that Alan has a major case of THE KNACK.  Proof is found in the way he obtained the wire for his first SW antenna:  he unwound the magnet wire in the yoke transformer of a discarded TV set.  THAT, my friends,  is the stuff that KNACK is made of!  

Check it out:

http://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/w2aew

I share Alan's affection for the TEC 465 'scope, but I twitched a bit when he said it is "easy to work on."  It scared the hell out of me!  It features both plug-in transistors and lethally high voltage -- so high that Alan had to lend me a special high voltage probe just to do the measurements.   

Alan's mention of Project Diana and the history of moonbounce reminded me of Ross Bateman, W4AO, the wizard who, in 1952 bounced the first amateur radio signals off the moon.  He did it from the town I live in now, Falls Church, Virginia. Alan provided me with the address from which the signals were launched. 

Thanks Alan! Thanks Eric!  

Alan W2AEW Hears me on 40 AM with his Drake 2B

Alan W2AEW writes: 

How appropriate! I was casually listening to 40m AM on my refurbished Drake 2B, and I hear the rotation get passed along to none-other than N2CQR - the man that got me excited about the 2B in the first place. FB 20 over signal in NJ, OM! I was able to grab the video camera quickly before you signed off.  Alan's video appears above.

73,
Alan W2AEW

Holy cow Alan,  THE RADIO GODS HAVE SPOKEN!  Clearly you need to get on 40 meter AM.  Maybe get a DX-60 or something.   In your video I spotted several items in your shack that are also in mine:  in addition to the 2B, I see  a Turner +2 transistorized microphone, and that little (very useful) RadioShack speaker. Glad you heard me OM -- thanks for the recording!

73 Bill

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!).

Alan Re-Caps His Drake 2-B

That Drake 2-B is a beautiful thing.   Every time I look at an older tube rig I'm reminded of the three dimensionality of these old machines.   Solid-state rigs are in Flatland, but tube rigs are in three dimensions.

Alan makes a very cool use of the I-pad in this repair.  And I'm jealous of his Hayseed Hamfest Electrolytic (I opted for the multiple caps hanging below the chassis).  Excellent management of the solder-sucker by Alan.  And I was impressed by the disciplined way he pulls solder from the reel -- he has the reel right next tot he rig and dispenses it directly.  I tend to hack off small lengths of solder and end up with lots of little bits of solder on the bench. 

Glad to hear that the other caps on the Drake are standing the test of time.  I wish the same could be said for all the caps in my Heath HW-101.

One thing caught my eye in Alan's video:  The dial cord.   You know you have become a true 2-B aficionado when you have actually gotten good at replacing the dial cord.  It is something of a rite of passage.   Perhaps this will serve as the basis for a future video by W2AEW,

Thanks Alan!  And congrats on passing 4 MILLION YouTube views.  People watch because your videos are so good.   

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Alan Wolke's Drake 2-B (video)

Alan's video inspired me to do a little work with my Drake 2-B.  Nothing major -- I was just making sure that the passband knob is in the right setting.  I've complained that the Drake 2-B doesn't sound great on AM.  I recently noticed that my BITX40 DIGI-TIA sounds surprisingly good with AM signals -- I just treat them as SSB signals and zero-beat the carrier with my Si5351 VFO.  I wanted to try doing the same thing with the 2-B, and then make some comparisons.  I only heard a few AM signals this morning, so I will try again later today and will report results here.   

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Alan Wolke Looks at Diode Ring Mixers

Bill,   I remember in your Soldersmoke book that you had difficulty for a long time trying to understand how a mixer created the sum and difference frequencies, and how this was accomplished in a diode ring mixer.  I know that you've got it all sorted out now, but I thought this was a good topic for a video anyway.  

Here's my video on the subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=junuEwmQVQ8

73,

Alan

Alan:  Thanks.  Great stuff. Yea, I've been looking at the innards of mixers for a long time. In my book, I try to explain how I have come to understand the physics of the mixing action -- how the use of a non-linear element causes two signals to "multiply" and how this "multiplication" results in sum and difference frequencies.  I tried to go beyond the trig functions because for me the trig didn't really explain anything. 

In the book I was looking at the classic two diode mixer (beloved of Doug DeMaw!).  A few years later, on the blog, I was looking at the action of the diode ring.  I concluded that there is a big difference between how the diode ring works and how the two diode mixer works.    RSGB provided a great diagram: 

http://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2009/04/are-diode-ring-mixers-fundamentally.html

73   Bill 

-----

I guess one way of describing the difference between a two diode mixer and a diode ring would be to say that the more simple mixer multiplies the signal by 0 and 1 (if it is operating in "switching mode), while the diode ring multiplies by 1 and -1.   

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Alan Wolke Explains Varactor Diodes

As always, a very illuminating presentation by Alan.  I wish my oscillators were that stable!
And I couldn't help thinking how much simpler this circuit is in comparison to the DDS devices we've been talking about. 

Alan Wolke's GREAT Video on Transmission Line Termination

An outSTANDING Wave video from Alan!  Check out the comments from new hams on the YouTube page:  Alan has a real knack (!) for explaining technical material, and for imparting real understanding. 

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

BITX (and W2AEW) on Hack-A-Day

The guys over on Hack-A-Day ran a little follow-up article on the BITX-17.  Check it out:
http://hackaday.com/2013/11/13/bitx-a-return-to-hackers-paradise/#comments

They also had an article about Tek-Wizard Alan Wolke earlier in the week:
http://hackaday.com/2013/11/11/diagnose-and-repair-a-yaesu-ft-7800-ham-radio/

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SolderSmoke Podcast #155 BITX17, TEK465

Podcast # 155 is available for download (or you can listen by clicking on the button above):
http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke155.mp3

October 14, 2013  (Delayed Back-to-School edition)

Topics covered:

-- BITX Beauty -- Building a BITX17

-- VFO woes, and the wisdom of Doug DeMaw's love for crystals

-- Why does a 55 year old man NEED clear nail polish varnish?

-- How the VFO KILLED the Tek 465

-- Trying to fix the Tek 465 (not for the faint of heart)
 
-- New products:  Justin Beiber Duct Tape, bifocal safety glasses,
magnetic reading glasses, Ward Silver's new book

-- Backwards British Bike Brakes

-- MAILBAG 

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Tek Troubleshooting Triumph

Thanks to the manual provided by Jim and the HV test gear provided by Alan Wolke, I was able to finish the troubleshoot on the broken Tek 465.   It is the HV multiplier, U1432.   The cathode voltage is supposed to be -2450.   It initially tested at -1000.    The manual calls for a jumper to be removed to take the HV Multiplier out of the circuit.  As soon as I did that, the cathode voltage went to -2500.   Bingo.

 

Now I have to get a replacement for U1432.    Any carcasses laying around?

 

Thanks guys. 

 

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

Inside a Tek 465

The TEK 465 'scope is as they'd say back in the Bronx "a piece of work."  It has real character.  Perhaps a bit too much.  If you look closely, you'll see transistors in sockets.   I had kind of gotten my head around that, when I noticed that many of the transistors were not in sockets.  They looked like they had been soldered to into the holes in the PC boards.  But NOOOOO!  They are snugly in the holes, but they are NOT soldered in!  You can pull them out, then (if you are lucky!) slide them back in.  There is even quite a bit of "ugly construction." with connections floating in the air.  You can really see the influence of tube era thinking in this instrument.

I think I have narrowed the problem down to the HV supply.  Alan Wolke is lending me a high voltage probe.  I hope to be able to get it fixed this weekend.  I need to get it working because my BITX 17 is nearing completion and I'll need the 'scope for the lineup and de-bugging.

The picture above is from:  http://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/tektronix-465-repair-and-restoration/   More pictures of the scope are available there.  Also see http://www.spurtikus.de/basteln/repair/tek465/index.html for more scenic views of this instrument.


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

Fixing TEK 465 Oscilloscopes

I'm having TeKnical difficulties.  My beloved Tek 465 'scope quit on me.  I'd been running it continuously for a day or so, watching the output on my BITX VFO.  Then, suddenly, it blew the 1.5 amp fuse.  I replaced the  fuse, but afterwards the trace was gone and the "Low Line" light was acting weird -- on when it should have been off, then flickering.   I consulted with Alan Wolke.  He happened to be out at TEX HQ in Beaverton, Ore.  He provided some good suggestions, but before I had a chance to try them, the trace came back.  I attributed this good luck to the Radio Gods being pleased with Alan's presence in Beaverton... but my reprieve was short-lived.  Trace went out again today. 

I found this video of the legendary Jim Williams (RIP) fixing a Tek 465.  (Check out Jim's junk box!)
I'll start by checking the Tantalums.  I may get lucky. 

If anyone has any other suggestions, send them this way.  The Tek scope may be old, but it is a COMPLICATED piece of gear... 

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

Three Great Videos from Alan W2AEW

Bill:

While not really homebrew, they do deal with QRP and RF.  The first two are walk-throughs of the schematics of two QRP transceivers, and the last is a discussion of how diodes can be used as RF switches.  I thought you'd find them interesting.

MFJ-9340 QRP Cub CW Transceiver kit schematic review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QSwXv2RJzw

 

Heathkit HW-9 schematic walk-through:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPM1vvGorTo

Using diodes as RF switches:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBNIq_d56sA

73,

Alan
Http://www.youtube.com/w2aew

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

Vintage Tektronix Museum

The radio gods seem to have been guiding me to this web site.  Last night I was listening to 17 meter phone and I heard a station calling TEK guru Alan, W2AEW.  I couldn't hear Alan (skip zone and all that) but just hearing his call turned my thoughts to Beaverton, Oregon.  This morning I found a message from Dino, KL0S, alerting me to the VintageTEK museum.  FB!  Analog Rocks On! 


http://www.vintagetek.org/

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Alan Sends Video Through HIs 'Scope

Who needs plasma screens!  Real hams get their video on the screens of Tektronix oscilloscopes! 

Good one Alan!  Glad to see that you made it onto Hack-a-Day with this one! 

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