Armstrong's Regen (and lots more)

There it is. Howard Armstrong's regenerative receiver. Mike, KC7IT, led me to the wonderful website that has this picture, and much more. The site has all kinds of schematics and pictures and letters related to the work of radio pioneer Howard Armstrong. Check it out (you should probably take the tour by hitting the NEXT button on each page):
http://users.erols.com/oldradio/eha1.htm

I continue to work on my regen (part of the ET-1/FETer minimalist project). Jim, K9JM, says the raspy tone on CW signals is caused by FMing of the regen stage and prescribes a coil of higher Q. Thanks Jim.

Notes and Video on Doug N0WVA's Amazing Single Transistor Regenerative Receiver

When I had trouble getting the regen receiver in W2UW's ET-1 circuit to work, I turned to the internet and -- through AA7EE's site -- found the circuit of Doug N0WVA.   This circuit has completely changed my attitude toward regen receivers.   I have been exchanging e-mails with Doug -- below is a compilation of the info and regen-wisdom that he has shared.  More to follow... Thanks Doug. 

From Doug N0WVA: 

I came up with the diode after exploring ways to ditch the source r/c combo. The thinking was the closer I could get the source to ground the less voltage/capacitance fluctuations the gate would see.  Also I hated seeing everyone using .01 bypass to avoid audio oscillations and also losing audio gain. 

 The green LED works good but even better is directly grounding the source. Then feed a small negative bias through the gate leak resistor , adjustable via a potentiometer.  

On video, the audio is taken straight from the radio shack headphones that are connected to the audio transformer. The headphones are held directly to the phones case ( no hole for the microphone seen on the phone)  

The variometer is  made with I think a 1.25 inch pill bottle and the tickler inside is around an inch in diameter pill bottle. I used a pharmaceutical syringe's outside tube for a shaft. The tickler form has a couple holes cut for the shaft to pass through, it is a friction fit, more like slits cut and the rod pushed through. I used the soldering iron to melt round holes on the actual outside coil form for the shaft to turn on. On the back of the shaft is a small screw that goes through the outside coil form and screws into the syringe center hole that holds it in place. The tickler is one turn, I think, and routed through the inside of the shaft via small holes melted with the soldering iron.

A couple tweeks to mention is instead of a resistor in the gate, use a choke for less noise, makes a big difference, especially if you listen to AM.  Also I have been using a gimmick for the gate cap.  Just maybe a #36 enamel wire wrapped around  the hot tank lead 5 or 6 times and then I remove turns till the thing stops oscillating, then add a turn. This helps cut down even more on strong signal pulling. 

I have always been on a quest for more performance out of the least parts. This design was about as far as it could go, I think....

I have never done any real sensitivity tests on the regen, so you have gone farther than me already. One thing was noticed though is the gate resistor does add a lot of noise, especially noticeable just under oscillation in AM detection mode.  So I took a one meg 1/4 watt resistor and wound as many turns of #38 wire on as I could, probably around 80 turns, then subbed it out for the gate leak.  This dramatically improved the noise level just under oscillation. This was with a simple antenna band noise test. I think it also improved the noise under oscillating conditions. 

Adding extra antenna coupling will probably help a lot, but, there is a point where we start getting too much strong signal pulling.  The strong external bias battery trick will also improve this, although at the cost of extra parts.

C.F. Rockey, W9SCH, Homebrew Hero, SK

In podcast # 148 I recounted how I had turned to one of his articles, "Prolegomena for QRP Transmitters" for inspiration.   Just Monday Brian,  N1FIY,  e-mailed asking for info on how to find the article.  Today, Mikey,  WB8ICN,  let me know that on December 23, 2012,  QRP Hall of Famer C.F. Rockey,  W9SCH, had become a Silent Key.  

I've been a big fan of Rockey's writing and projects for a long time.  I was sad to hear that he had passed away, but I know that through his writing his influence will be felt in workshops and on the airwaves for a long time to come.  

Here's a sample of Rockey's writing:  http://n4trb.com/AmateurRadio/QRPp_Vol01_No03.pdf

Here's Rockey's obit:


Charles Franklin "Rock" Rockey, Jr.,
Whitewater, WI (1918 - 2012)
June 21, 1918 - December 23,2012
Charles Franklin Rockey, Jr., known as "Rock", age 94, of Whitewater, died on Sunday,
Dec. 23, 2012, at Fairhaven in Whitewater. Rock was born in Oak Park, IL, on June 21,
1918, the son of Dr. Charles F. and Ada (Nichols) Rockey. At an early age, he became
interested in ham radio, earning his amateur radio license at age 16. Operating as W9SCH
for more than seventy years, he made contact with ham radio operators all around the world. In 1996, he
was inducted into the QRP Hall of Fame. Rock graduated from Oak Park-River Forest High School in
1937. He enrolled in Elmhurst College, but interrupted his studies in 1942 by enlisting in the U. S.
Navy. He served as an aviation electronic technician in Port Lyautey, French Morocco, and in Naples,
Italy. After World War II, he returned to Elmhurst College, graduating in 1947.
Rock worked at Walhenius Institute instructing brew masters, then in the early 1950's, taught at
Milwaukee School of Engineering. From 1955-1979, he taught chemistry, physics and electronics at
New Trier High School in Wilmette, IL. He was also the faculty sponsor of the student radio station
WNTH.
On retirement, Rock and his wife (the late Frances) moved from Deerfield, IL, to Albany WI. Rock
became friends with the local farmers in Green County as a milk tester for the Wisconsin Dairy Herd
Improvement Association. In addition to contributing many articles to radio and scientific magazines,
Rock wrote two books: "Electrons, Atoms, and the World: Chemistry for the Young in Heart" and
"Secrets of Homebuilt Regenerative Receivers." He greatly enjoyed playing polkas on the accordion.
Rock is survived by his son, Joseph (Jane) of Highwood, IL; and two grandsons, Jonathan (Meghan) of
New York City, and William (Alexandria) of Esparto, CA.
A Memorial Service was held at Fairhaven in Whitewater. Memorial contributions are requested to
Fairhaven Senior Community, 435 Starin Road, Whitewater, WI 53190.



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

Colin M1BUU's New Receiver Project

Hi Pete,

Just checking in :-)

I have actually been melting solder recently. I decided to build a little CW receiver. I love my regenerative RX that I built as a teenager, but after all these years, I'm tired of constantly tweaking the controls!

My project is a 20m CW only superhet receiver with a 9MHz home brew filter. I'm using the SI5351 for the oscillators. I originally thought I would cover multiple  bands, but for now I have the parts for 20m coverage. I might tinker with other bands at a later point.

I'm using your LBS code on the Arduino, the one for 20m with 9MHz IF. I haven't applied power to the rig yet but it's not far off fully built. I tweaked the Arduino sketch using my Uno and tonight I have successfully transferred the code to a Pro Mini. (Code went into Pro Mini on first attempt - amazing!).

73 for now,

Colin M1BUU

AA1TJ -- As always, in the Vanguard

Here is a recent e-mail exchange between Michael, AA1TJ, and Dale, W4OP.  (Dale happens to be the fellow who built the W1FB Barebones Superhet that I am currently using on 17 meters. Details on this caper appear in SolderSmoke -- The Book). 


----------------------------------------------------
From AA1TJ: 


Wahoo...Dale, you amazing!

You are my first QSO with the Vanguard 1 reproduction satellite beacon transmitter. My circuit is a fairly close copy of the one shown on the lower left-hand corner of the 1959 CQ Magazine article (notice the output signal pick-off shown in this schematic is incorrect, or at least incomplete). My circuit uses link-coupled output impedance matching, which is similar to the only other documentation that I was able to dig up. The attached image "Early_Microlock_Bcn.jpg" was snipped from an original NASA report on the transmitter used in early airborne and sub-orbital tests leading up to the Vanguard flights. 

Yes, you heard correctly. I'm using a Philco 2N504 surface-barrier transistor, but please let me back up a bit. 

Roger Easton (a native Vermonter...and still resides here!) was at the helm of the communications development for the Vanguard/Minitrack project. Of the Vanguard "grapefruit" satellite beacon transmitters, he wrote in the May 2008 issue of High Frontier magazine

"We tried subminiature tube transmitters first. They worked marginally. Finally, Bell Telephone/Western Electric developed a very nice transistor for the task, and the problem was solved." 

However, that leaves out a small detail. They first tried Philco surface-barrier transistors, which worked fine on the bench, however two problems were discovered. They were found to be too temperature sensitive; the RF output power from the one-stage transmitter dropped excessively at elevated temps. Secondly, there was some issue with the packaging that produced erratic operation when the transistor was rotated positionally. The Western Electric devices proved better on both counts. 

The WE transistor appears to be "unobtainium" these days. That, plus the fact that my circuit won't be flying up to space anytime soon, prompted me to settle on a Philco 2N504. Although my device was manufactured in September of 1959 (Vanguard TV-4 - re-Christened "Vanguard 1" - first orbited on March 17, 1958), the 2N504 was an off-the-shelf item on the launch-date.

The only other obvious difference is the Vanguard 1 beacon circuit operated on 108MHz, whereas mine is presently working on 14.0596MHz. I recently had it running as a beacon on 10m for 48 hours but I had no luck given present band conditions.

The receiver is a simple, 0-V-0 regenerative set using a single Raytheon QF721 (fabricated in February 1953). I heard little activity on 20m when I started up my auto-keyer this morning. I had it looping 3X1 CQs whilst I worked on another project. To make matters more difficult, the exhaust fan was running in my shop and it happened to be raining heavily when you called. Worse yet, the receiver had drifted off my calling frequency by the time you called. I barely discerned a high-pitched CW "1" or "J"...which prompted me to quickly switch off the fan and re-tune. You were subsequently a solid 579. 

Of course my heart jumped when I heard you calling me...how I love that feeling! And it was a fabulous QSO so far as I'm concerned. Following our contact I opened my metal index card file box and pulled out the QSL that you sent to me following our "Code Talker" QSO. To think I now have another happy memory to add to that one! Thank you once again, Dale. It figures you'd be the one to pick-off my unannounced presence on the 20m QRP calling frequency with 25mW. Well done, OM. 

Also, you might enjoy this video of the actual launch, including some interesting control room audio banter. It may be found here: http://www.nrl.navy.mil/vanguard50/index.php. The way at least one of them nervously repeats, "Keep going baby!" gives some indication of the pressure these guys were under...having failed so spectacularly on two previous occasions. 

All the best,
Mike, AA1TJ    
        

On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 11:51 AM, Dale Parfitt wrote:

Hi Michael,

That was fun!

I first heard you on my SG-2020 rig, but did not have a paddle handy, so I fired up the K3. I don't ever recall having QRN on 20M, but it was  bad. Without it, you were 579 and even with it, 569 towards the end of the QSO.

I just happened to be QRV on 060 listening when I heard your CQ's. Not bad for a 25mW signal from (I think you said) a Philco transistor.

73,

Dale W4OP

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

More Homebrew Tubes -- This Time from Poland

That's a homebrew triode built in an apartment workshop by the intrepid Polish radio wizard Aleksander Zawada. The last line in the blog post really got to me:

"All is needed now is to solder a socket to the base of the triode, and use it to make (for example) a regenerative radio receiver!"

Check it out: http://lekernel.net/blog/2011/09/prywatna-wytwornia-lamp-where-diy-meets-vacuum-electron-devices/

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

SolderSmoke Podcast 160: Special Four Days in May (FDIM) issue

   

George Dobbs, G3RJV

SolderSmoke Podcast #160:

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke160.mp3

Bob Crane, W8SX, was out at the Four Days in May event and did an excellent series of interviews with the guys who made presentations:
 

Harold Smith, KE6TI
    Many Ways To Homebrew
 

Chris Testa, KD2BMH 
     Battery Powered Software Radios:
   Having your cake and eating it, too
 

George Dobbs, G3RJV 
    The Classic World of the Regenerative Receiver
 

Gary Breed, K9AY 
     Why Does My Rig Have a Receive Antenna Jack ?
 

Craig Behrens, NM4T 
    The Great Arduino, JT65 and Rebels Caper
  High adventure with new radio paradigms
 

Dave Cripe, NM0S 
     PoW QRP

 
-------------------------------------
 
VIDEOS OF THE PRESENTATIONS ARE HERE:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/47599691


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

SolderSmoke Podcast #164 Ancient Tribal Knowledge: Tube and Tube-like Radios

SolderSmoke Podcast #164 is available:

August 16, 2014

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke164.mp3

ANCIENT TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE -- TUBE AND TUBE-LIKE RADIOS

Workbench Updates: 
-- Pete's Arduino Keyer Project
-- Bill Builds (and LIKES!)  a REGENERATIVE RECEIVER
-- The Joys of Regen Shortwave Listening
-- Grayson Evan's Tube (Thermatron) Book
-- Book review:  "The Joy of X"  (It's about math).
-- Shameless Commerce:   A Plug for Bill's Book
-- Pete discusses tube projects
-- Making your own enclosures from Home Depot flashing
-- Amplitude Modulation
-- Compactrons, Nuvistors and other unusual tubes
-- BANDSWEEP:   Radio Havana on Bill's new regen 


Bill's Mate for the Mighty Midget Receiver
3 6U8 Tubes on a Benton Harbor Lunch Box Chassis


Nuvistor 2 meter down converter


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

Homebrew Hero: John Rollins, W1FPZ

Ted, AJ8T, alerted me to the life and work of John Rollins, W1FPZ. As you can see from the text below, John was definitely part of the International Brotherhood of Electronic Wizards. I especially like the bit about his taking license exams in foreign languages, and about winding his own transformers in Madagascar. Great stuff. The videos about John and his workshop are really encouraging and inspirational. I laughed out loud when I heard John admit that he was surprised when one of his rigs worked the first time he fired it up. He said that he usually had to spend 3-4 months struggling to get his creations to work! Be sure to listen to the story about how John caught a Navy helicopter with his Vee beam. Thanks Ted, and thanks to Bruce, W1UJR, who took the time to make these wonderful videos.

Here are videos:

http://youtu.be/EV9ljdHLqLg

http://youtu.be/9qG6i8uvPhY

http://youtu.be/6eNze2nhmb0

From John's QRZ listing. This was written by Tim, W1GIG. (Thanks Tim!):

John passed away on March 18, 2008. It was 11 years ago that Bruce Kelly asked John to take over the Amateur Radio column in the OTB as Bruce himself was winding down. John was a man of many talents and had a most interesting life. Because he was always so busy helping others, he rarely took time to talk about himself, so I am going to take this opportunity to tell you a bit more about him.

John was born in Guatemala of American parents where his father worked for United Fruit Company (think bananas). At an early age, his father died of malaria and his mother moved the family back to New England. He also lived with an Aunt and later with his much older brother, an airline pilot, who lived on Long Island. As a teenager John discovered radio and his brother bought him a $5.00 two tube regenerative radio kit to build. John built the kit, but it was another 6 months before he got another kit for the power supply. With the help of a ham who lived nearby, he got the radio working which opened up a whole new world for him. John was in High School when his brother went with him into NYC to test for a ham license at the FCC Field Office. For the next couple of years he was active on 40 M. CW using the regen receiver and a Hartley oscillator.

At this point, WW II got in the way. John enlisted in the Army and was trained in radio repair, shipped off to New Guinea, and assigned to be a telephone lineman. The Army moved John steadily North to the Philippines and then to Japan where he was finally sent back to the States for discharge. John enrolled at the University of New Hampshire where he discovered his love of geology. He liked it so much he went on to get a Masters at the University of Nebraska and several years later, a Doctorate also from the University of Nebraska. He continued to work for Chevron exploring for oil in Africa, Madagascar, Spain, Denmark and many other countries including the US.

While he was in college, John remembered his love of radio, but unfortunately his ham license had expired, so he went back in 1954 to test again receiving the call W1FPZ which he held ever since. Later, he tested for his ham license in Madagascar (in French) and in Uruguay (in Spanish). Not many of us have tested for our licenses in three languages! While he was in Madagascar he built many of the transmitters that are still in use at his home. He even wound his own power and filament transformers to get the voltages he wanted.

John also discovered that he was an excellent pistol marksman, but that his results could be substantially improved by reworking the guns themselves, so he taught himself to be a gunsmith. His skills at woodworking, carving, machining, precision casting of bullets and loading target shells were such that this became a major hobby business for him which he pursued right up to recent months.

John was a survivor. While in the Army he survived a major brush with a 3,300 volt power line and later a plane crash while in Africa. Since small planes were the only way for John to get to his job sites, he decided that he’d rather trust his own skills as a pilot than rely on the brush pilots that the oil company had hired. Back in the States, recuperating from his injuries, he got a private pilot’s license, then went on to a multi-engine commercial license with full instrument ratings. Just before he retired, he was working out of Denver and flying his own twin engine Queen Air to Maine to work on his retirement home. He even flew from Maine to the AWA conference one year picking up Marshall Etter, W2ER from Long Island on the way.

Preparing for retirement, John and his wife Liz doubled the size of their new home in Maine. As part of the project, John wanted reliable ham communications with his friends around the world. Limited by normal power regulations, he decided to build a BIG antenna. His final choice was a horizontal V beam aimed at the Southeast. The beam legs were 1,100 feet long and supported on three 100 foot towers. Looking for wire strong enough to span the distance he ran across an ad for #6 phosphor bronze wire run by Marshall, W2ER who had salvaged the wire when he was closing the RCA site at Rocky Point. The two men became fast friends and co-conspirators. Marshall provided quality parts left over from RCA and John, using his metal and woodworking skills, customized the parts to suit his projects. The result was a long series of radio projects that he gave to friends with the caveat that they were required to use them on the air in AWA events.

John always had a fascination with the products of Jerry Gross of NYC. He built a Gross replica transmitter for Marshall who used it for many years. Parker Heinemann, W1YG found an original Gross and had John restore it along with the receiver, station monitor and antenna tuner. They set up an entry in the 1991 AWA contest that exactly duplicated a Gross add from the 30’s and took first place. After the conference, John got a call from Bill Orr who offered John his Gross if John would restore it. That transmitter is part of John’s home station.

Not satisfied with the Hartley oscillator, John discovered that if he used the Colpitts circuit with a split stator condenser and grounded rotor, he could eliminate the hand capacity effect. One of his last projects was to set up the tuned circuit for me and share several of his other construction secrets. The circuit is rock stable on 40 meters.

Thanks for the opportunity to fill you in on some of the less well known aspects of John’s life. It was an honor to know him and he will be missed by all.

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

Video: Regenerative Receiver Project!!!

Pete Juliano and Grayson Evans are luring me back into the world of tubes and (gasp!) regen receivers.  

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

Scott WA9WFA's Beautiful HBR-13 Receiver (3 videos)

This is Scott WA9WFA's first homebrew construction project.  He did an amazing job on a very complex project:  a 13 tube superhet receiver.  It features plug-in coils for multi-band coverage, dual conversion with IFs at 1600 kHz and 100 kHz, and several regenerative stages.  Scott's construction is top notch. He tells us that he had been working on this receiver for several years, so long in fact that some of his friends began to wonder if it really existed.  Well wonder no more.  Retirement has provided Scott with the time to finish this project. 

I like the way Scott talks about the project in these videos.  He puts it in the context of his long-standing goal of building his own high quality ham station.  With the HBR-13 done, he is more than halfway there.  We all know that the receiver is the hard part.   

I agree with those who say that Scott should keep the plexiglass front panel.  I think it looks very cool.  

In the third video, Scott takes us on a cruise through the 40 meter band.  The receiver sounds great.  Lou EA3JE's booming voice came through quite nicely from far-off Barcelona. 

Congratulations Scott on building a truly outstanding receiver. And on making some great videos. 

There is some additional background info on the HBR-13 in this blog post from back in September: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-hbr-13c-homebrew-receiver.html

Jason's WBR Regenerative Receiver

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

W4HBK's QRSS Grabber: The Amazing Pensacola Snapper

When we were in Italy, ON5EX provided my "go to" grabber. Because we were just one ionospheric hop away, and because Johan had a really excellent receive system, it seemed like my little signals were visible on his screen from dawn to dusk every day.

Now that we are back in the States, W4HBK's grabber is playing a similar role for me. His grabber consistently seems to pull in more sigs than most of the other North American grabbers. The above image is a sample of what you will see when you visit his grabber web page. (I'm also a big fan of the W1BW and VE1VDM grabbers -- thanks guys!)

My signal is the "shark-fin" pattern just a little below the middle of the screen. That's 20 mw to a 50 foot piece of AC line cord about 12 feet off the ground. And it is making the trip from Northern Virginia to Pensacola Florida very consistently. Thanks Bill!

Try taking a look at the Pensacola Snapper and see if you can spot my QRSS signal. My frequency varies from day-to-day (sometimes intentionally!). And lately Bill has occasionally been parking his receiver on 40 meters :-( But most days you will be able to see his 30 meter screen, with my shark fins menacing Pensacola. Please let me know if you see me.

Here is OM HBK and his bio:
Born: 1939, Pensacola, Florida

I was first licensed in 1954 as WN4HBK and upgraded to General in 1955 acquiring the call sign I've used to this day. My dad is responsible for my favorite suffix moniker. the Hot Biscuit Kid. I could really put away my mom's scratch biscuits!

My first station I built myself and consisted of super regenerative RX and a 6L6 TX.from designs in the ARRL Handbook. My dad was a radio mechanic for the Navy and taught me how to read schematics and solder. Later stations consisted of Hallicrafters S-38C, National NC-98, HRO-5 recievers and several Heathkit and Globe Scout transmitters. Boy, those were the days!!

After high school I entered college intending to become an antenna engineer but eventually gravitated towards a degree in Physics. This was pretty cool because it led to a career with NASA where I worked on the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle projectsall thanks to my early interest in radio.

Today I'm fully retired and living in Gulf Breeze, FL. just across Pensacola Bay from my hometown. My XYL (Anna) and I enjoy the local beaches in a variety of wayssurf fishing, beachcombing, hiking, painting (her) and photography (me). We are also enjoy gardening and winemaking.

My Amateur Radio interests are CW, DX, contests, antennas and digital modes.

Presently I am experimenting with QRSS and have a 250 milliwatt MEPT station on 10.140 MHzsend me an email if you copy my signal. I now have a grabber to present a spectral display of QRSS activity for other Hams worldwide to watch for their signals http://www.qsl.net/w4hbk/w4hbkgrabber.html

HOMEBREW HERO: Arnie Coro, CO2KK

I was getting ready to write a quick blog entry on Arnie Coro's latest contribution to ham radio (his idea to revive the old 40 meter novice band) when it occurred to me that Arnie's long track record of providing good ideas, technical advice, and inspiration definitely puts him in the HOMEBREW HERO category. Thanks Arnie!

Below you can find the transcript of Arnie's latest edition of Radio Habana Cuba's "DXers Unlimited." There is a good discussion of current solar conditions (improving!) and of Arnie's 40 meter CW initiative.

Arnie's work at RHC is archived and available on the net. It is a real Caribbean treasure trove for us: http://www.dxers-unlimited.dxer.info/

Here is Arnie's blog: http://dxersunlimited.blogspot.com/

From "DXers Unlimited" 16-17 Feb 2010:
Hi amigos radioaficionados around the world now enjoying the ongoing
upsurge in solar activity that has brought to us DX signals as
strong as we had not heard them since 2005 !!! Yes my friends,
finally, after waiting, and waiting, and waiting, we are seeing a
nice comeback of the sunspots... As a matter of fact, only two days
of 2010 had gone by with a totally blank Sun. The all important R
number from the very much respected Catania, Sicily reference solar
observatory was 39 yesterday... and two other sunspot groups are
just about to turn into view...
As a result of the sustained increase in sunspot count, we are
seeing the 15 meters or 21 megaHertz amateur band opening up every
day... I will tell you more about amateur radio Dxing later , here
at th emid week edition of Dxers Unlimited... The daily solar flux
is very near 90, and forecasters were looking at a lower flux during
the next three days, but this may change dramatically and in just a
few hours, if the new solar sunspots regions that are rotating into
Earth's view show high activity.
Item two: The amateur radio hobby is alive and in good health... ham
radio operators are enjoying the hobby and finding new ways of
improving their communications skills... Here is a recent example,
by carefully studying the behavior of activity on the 40 meters
band, I was able to find out that the band
segment from 7105 to 7125 kiloHertz was seeing very little use here
in ITU Region II, that is the Americas. So I launched the idea to
start using that segment by low power stations, on several of the
popular ham radio Internet mailing lists. In just a couple days , CW
activity , mostly by low power or qRP stations on that segment
roughly 20 kiloHertz segment has increased dramatically... For many
operators, finding such a nice and clear , interference free
segment, has meant having the opportunity of making many more two
way contacts.... and not only exchanging reports, but also , thanks
to less interference, we have carried out some really nice ragchews,
and just notice that I have just said WE, because I am , of course,
one of the happy radio amateurs operating on CW between 7105 and
7125 kiloHertz.
There are no digital stations using that segment... as they are now
present between 7030 and 7040 kiloHertz, the two frequencies were
QRP , or low power operators, are used to gather, and where for the
past year or so, it has become extremely difficult at times to make
even a single two way CW contact.
I am not saying that QRP operators should abandon the two favorite
watering holes, 7030 and 7040, what I have told the QRP , GLOWBUGS
and Regenerative receivers Internet list members, is that the
segment between 7105 and 7125 is in a much better shape regarding
QRM... yes there is a let less interference from other
communications modes...so chances to make nice contacts increase in
a very significant way.
Si amigos , Yes my friends , Oui mes amis...amateur radio operators
around the world are now enjoying the upsurge in solar activity, and
with it, we all must look around the bands and find ways to make
better use of them... After all, many other users of the radio
spectrum are always monitoring the ham bands, just to have data
available to substantiate their requests for more spectrum space....
In other words, if we, amateur radio operators are able to be more
time on the air, and the bands sound like a beehive of activity,
chances that those spectrum hungry users will just go elsewhere !!!

The complete script of the program , devoted to the promotion and
development of our radio hobby in general and amateur radio in
particular, can be read at:
http://dxersunlimited.blogspot.com
later this Tuesday, after the program goes on the air

Comments , suggestions and ideas on how to help promote
amateur radio are welcome at my e-mail address
inforhc at enet dot cu

72 and DX
Arnie Coro
CO2KK

Comet Hits Sun, SFI up, Report from San Vito

The SOHO spacecraft caught some great images of a comet crashing into the sun. The YouTube clip above is from July. Here is NASA video of one that took place just last week:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/comet-cme.html

Coincidentally I'm sure, the solar flux has increased significantly and the upper HF bands are working again. My 17 meter rigs still need final amps -- I am ordering parts for Farhan's JBOT circuit. (I plan to build three or four.) But because I had the 2B on 15 meters for the Sputnik event (still no Sputniks heard here) I noticed that DX was coming on that band. Using my HT-37 and a 40 meter dipole I easily worked several Europeans on 15 meter SSB. Especially nice was a long rag chew (using my rusty Italian) with Gianfranco, IZ4NPE, in beautiful Ferrara, Italy (a bicycle city).

Somehow tying this all together, I got an e-mail from Walter in San Vito, Puglia (the heel on Italy's boot). Walter has one of those "dream jobs" for a radio amateur: He tracks sunspots!

Hi Bill,

Walter here from San Vito, Italy. Just wanted to drop a note to say hi and let you know that I'm enjoying your book. Thanks for making it available as a Kindle version. While reading, it brought back similar experiences with me as a youngster. I too was fascinated by airplanes and would ride my bike to the local airport and watch for hours as the planes would take off and land. My mom gave me my first airplane ride as a birthday present when I was 11. I have to admit that I was scared when we made our first airborne turn. I didn't realize that a plane banks in the turns. I was also fascinated with shortwave radios and my best Christmas gift was a Radio Shack Globe Patrol (regenerative... hi hi) receiver kit. The gift from by grandparents was a Weller soldering gun (140 watts) to put it together with. Again, great job on the book.

The Sun has been keeping us busy at the Solar Observatory. I'm monitoring anywhere from 4 to 12 flares a day, 2 regions popped out of nowhere yesterday. The radio bands have been favorable with all the activity. I've got several projects in the works, a Genesis G3020 SDR rig is about 1/3 completed on the workbench now. It's probably me when you see Puglia show up on the website spinning globe. Take care and keep the podcast's coming. Ciao for now.

- Walter

I7/AC4IM

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

1BCG -- 1921 Transatlantic Test and the Upcoming 100th Anniversary

In December 2021 we will reach the 100th Anniversary of the famous Transatlantic Test that marked the first crossing of the Atlantic by radio amateurs.  The video above provides a really excellent description of the momentous event. A few things struck me: 

-- Even then they struggled with amplifiers that wanted to oscillate. 

-- Armstrong should have gotten more credit for the transmitter design.  After all, it was his regenerative system that gave rise to the kind of oscillators that allowed for CW (vice spark) and that formed the basis of the MOPA transmitter that these fellows used. 

-- The info on the Superhet receiver used by Paul Godley in Scotland was really interesting:  It used   "resistance-coupled amplifiers without transformers," similar to what we have today in Farhan's BITX transceivers. 

-- Wow, Harold Beverage himself! And his antenna was used at the Scotland receiving station. 

-- "It was a miracle that no one got mixed up with the high voltage."  Indeed.  

The Antique Wireless Association has built a replica of the 1921 transmitter.  The video below shows it being tested. 

 

The 1BCG website announces that: 

On December 11, 2021 the American Radio Relay League, The Radio Club of America and the Antique Wireless Association will recreate these historic transmissions on 160 meters near the same location that was used in 1921, using a replica transmitter constructed by volunteers at the Antique Wireless Association. This special event is your opportunity to relive a historic moment in amateur radio history.

The operating schedule and frequency for the 1BCG Transatlantic Tests Special Event has not been established.

Additional details will be posted here when they are available.

http://1bcg.org/1BCG/

Helge LA6NCA's Altoids Tin Receiver

Here's another great video from Helge LA6NCA.  This is a follow-up to his Altoids Spy Transmitter project.   Really well done.   Hack-A-Day called this receiver "regenerative" so naturally I was disappointed, but when I watched I realized that it is NOT a regen but is instead a direct conversion receiver.  TRGHS.  All is right with the world.  Thanks Helge!  73 

Mike WU2D POTA CCC Camp Activation (21 October 2024) with 1930s-era Station -- See If You Can Contact Mike!

Frank Jones lives!  See if you can work Mike on Monday.  Let us know if you do! 

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

Bill,

 

I’m scheduled to tour the Civilian Conservation Corps. Camp at Bear Brook State Park here in NH on Monday. This is the largest totally intact camp in the country.

I will be activating POTA with the 1930s portable Station. The POTA CCC Camp event is scheduled for Monday around 2:30 ET (if I get everything setup after the camp tour). Primary 7057 kHz Sec 7054 kHz.

 

The station is an internal battery powered, push-pull Jones Oscillator Transmitter at around 3 Watts out, and a two-tube regenerative receiver that is a period ham artifact. So, four type 30 battery tubes in total.

The antenna is a single wire feed Windom with suspended counterpoise so basically an Off Center Fed Hertz (OCFH).

 

Between the weather, running the station, logging, and doing camera work, and of course, MURPHY - this should be nuts.

1930s Regen with Transmitter – Fully Self-Contained Portable. Note Charger that is attached to top off the internal battery on transmitter. I did not buy the proscribed 25 9V Batteries and make a TX HV pack up! I used a DC-DC converter and a LiPO drone battery! The Receiver is 100% Dry Cells However.

 

73’s Mike WU2D

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

More info here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2Pdprx0ItY

And many other great videos on Mike's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MIKROWAVE1

The Ladybird TRF (Regen!) Receiver

http://www.mds975.co.uk/Content/trfradios02.html

My feelings about regenerative receivers and their possible connections to the nether-world are well known.  But the receiver described on this beautiful British web site is almost enough to make me change my mind.  Thanks to Stephen, G7VFY, for alerting me to this (and to so many other great sites!)   I also find myself forced to give regens another chance because George Dobbs, G3RJV, was the original source of this design.  It comes from a book he wrote in 1972.    I love the wooden bread-board construction.  Thanks Stephen!  Thanks George!



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

Colin Finishes His BITX

Wow, that is one beautiful BITX.  Nicely done Colin.  But I must say that you are exhibiting an almost inhuman degree of patience!  Who needs a case?  Fire that thing up and make the traditional "still-on-the-workbench" initial contact. 

Hi Guys,

I loved the last SolderSmoke, it was another great episode. It really does amaze me, that a few years ago, hams were saying that it was too difficult to build your own gear that would be anywhere near to the commercial stuff, but here we are with Arduinos etc bringing powerful functionality to the masses. I couldn't have imagined building an SSB rig with a pretty and functional LCD screen when I started in ham radio.

Bill, first regens, now SDRs? Amazing! I exchanged a few words with George Dobbs about your change of heart towards regenerative receivers, he seemed genuinely pleased. :)

Pete, your Si5351 work with the pretty displays is cool, I can see me getting pretty hooked! I have the Si5351 board, Paul M0XPD advised me to buy it. I'd love to build another SSB rig in a smaller box for regular SOTA activating. I must look into the pretty little displays and have a play with the Si5351. I notice that Hans Summers has now put out a cheap Si5351 based kit, handy for us guys in Eu. http://www.hanssummers.com/synth.html

I finished building my BITX board yesterday but wanted to have a sleep before applying power! Today I carefully checked the circuit for errors and found none, phew! I fired the rig up gently, watching the current carefully. I wound up the TX bias to 50mA as stated in the MKARS80 instructions, all went well. I plugged in the mic and spoke - BANG! - Everything went off. Oops - I had used a 500mA fuse for initial safety and forgot to swap it for the bigger one! I fitted a 1.6A fuse and hey presto, all was fine. I was absolutely amazed and to be honest, rather proud of myself. I think the TX is a little bit too hot, my meter is showing about 6W on voice peaks- eek! The rig seems to be perfectly behaved though, no wierd effects seem to be happening. I can just turn the bias down a bit, right?

Anyway, I was happy with my progress so I finished for the day. I still need to investigate and probably tweak the carrier suppression.

I spent a short while talking into a dummy load, using my FT817 to monitor the transmission. My 2yr old son was interested in my voice coming out of the 817'sspeaker!

Thanks for all the guidance and help along the way, I'm elated that I've built a voice rig that works! I've attached a pic of my finished board, I only just squeezed the circuit on, but isn't she pretty? :-)

Can't wait to get the rig built into it's case and score that first QSO.

73, Colin, M1BUU

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