Pete Shrinks the Transceiver (Video)

Pete writes:  This video shows the LBS XCVR shrunk down to a mainboard that is 2.5 Inches by 4.5 inches. The board contains the 20 Meter Band Pass Filter, the RxTx Mixer, a TUF-3, two bilateral amplifier stages a 5.185 MHz Homebrew Filter. a TUF-3 PD/BM. The Audio amp stage and the microphone amp. Not built as yet is the bi-directional stage that on receive is the RF amp and on transmit the Tx pre-driver stage. Extensive use of SMD components makes the size reduction possible. The transmit final stages will be on a 2nd board that is stacked on top of the mainboard. An Arduino Pro-Mini does all of the control for the Si5351 VFO/BFO. The final size will be 4X6X2. Oh it also has a color display! http://www.n6qw.com/.

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

Bob Crane's Interviews at Four Days in May 2015

Once again our correspondent in Dayton, Bob Crane W8SX, has done an excellent job in interviewing the presenters at the Four Days in May event.  Through Bob's interviews we hear from:

-- George Dobbs, G3RJV. George puts the "L" back in solder and is asked to comment on his recent (richly deserved) awards. 

-- G4GXL talks of his new duties as President of QRP ARCI.

-- K8IKE  Talked about looking at the amateur radio station as a system.

-- KC3BRA talks about coming to ham radio from the Hacker/Maker world.

-- KW5GP  talks about his new book on Arduinos in ham radio.

-- W1RFI talks about the work of the ARRL lab.

-- M0XPD talks about new trends in  ham radio involving microcontrollers.  Paul also talks about Pete Juliano N6QW.  Pete had asked Paul to accept on his behalf the QRP Hall of Fame induction plaque. Well done Paul.

You can listen to or download the podcast here:

http://soldersmoke.com/SolderSmokeSpecial FDIM 2015.mp3

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

A Really Interesing Interview with Elecraft's Wayne Burdick, N6KR

http://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/n6kr
 
Eric 4Z1UG does a podcast called QSO Today.   He interviews interesting hams.   A few days ago I listened to his talk with Wayne Burdick, N6KR, as I worked on my Tuna Tin 2/Herring Aid 5 rig.   It was the  perfect accompaniment, but the interview was so good that I intend to listen to it again, this time with no distractions from melting solder.  Thanks Eric.  Thanks Wayne.   Here it is.  Just click on the "Listen to podcast"" button:

http://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/n6kr
  
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

Two Party Balloons, an Arduino and an Si5351 FLY! ALOFT! UP IN THE AIR!

http://www.qrp-labs.com/ultimate3/balloon.html

Farhan alerted me to this.  This is clearly the coolest use so far of the Dynamic Duo (Arduino+Si5351).

It took me a moment to get my head around this.  It is so fantastic.  Let me break it down for you:

You take two party balloons.  You build a little payload consisting of an Arduino Nano, an Si5351 board, a GPS module and a battery.  You load the Nano with firmware that will take the GPS info and transmit it via WSPR and JT9.   Then you release the whole thing and sit back to receive the telemetry packets that tell you where the thing is.  Very cool.  Very cool indeed.  

THE Si5351 SERVES AS THE WHOLE TRANSMITTER.  It connects to the antenna.  (Steve Smith will, I'm sure,  insists on a low pass filter, even here!)

Here is a similar project: 

http://picospace.net/

And be sure to stop by the QRP Labs online store.  Lots of good stuff there:

https://shop.qrp-labs.com/

I've been interested in balloons for a long time.  A few years ago Billy, Maria and I released a party balloon over Northern Virginia with a note requesting that the finder send us an e-mail (It landed about 10 miles away, across the Potomac river, in Washington D.C.).   Here is a picture of a paper-mache hot-air  balloon that we built and flew near Lavallette, New Jersey (Ocean Beach Unit III) sometime around 1969.  Many of the kids in the picture are my cousins:

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

Farhan's ATU (and his new blog!)

Farhan has built a very cool antenna tuner.   More important, it is the subject of the first of what we hope will be many postings on his new VU2ESE blog.   I really like the re-purposed Sony meter, and the homebrew feedline for the multi-band (80-6 meters) doublet.  This is clearly a suitable antenna and tuner for the multiband Minima.  I have been inspired!  I hope to brew up some feedline soon!  No more store-bought transmission line for me! 

VU2ESE Blog:  http://hfsignals.blogspot.com/p/about.html

VU2ESE Tuner Article:  http://hfsignals.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-balanced-tuner.html


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

Doug DeMaw's Rigs Found, Donated to ARRL for Exhibit

http://www.arrl.org/news/museum-donates-doug-demaw-w1fb-homebrew-equipment

This is really good news (Thanks to Pete Eaton for the alert.)

I wonder if the Barebones "Barbados" Superhet was in this batch.

We KNOW where that Tuna Tin 2 is....  

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

New Rigs but Old Mics

http://www.cbgazette.com/history_tommoss-turner.html

So now I have THREE BITX transceivers on the operating bench.  I've been getting tired of moving the old D-104 around as I change bands.  Surely each of these rigs merits its own mic.  This would allow me to avoid the hassle of having to adjust the level on the D-104 each time I change rigs.

Fortunately in the junk box I have some useable old mics.   An old "Turner SSB+2" mic  has been kicking around in there for decades.  I probably got it when I was a kid. The element was no longer working, so I just popped an electret element in there, took out the preamp circuit, but kept the adjustment pot.  At first I had a 3.3 uF coupling cap in there at the output, but this was letting too much 300 Hz energy through.   So I changed the coupling cap to .1 uF and this seemed to even things out a bit. 

I know, I know: It is CB gear.  It is painted BLUE and it looks like something George Jetson would use to talk to his interstellar Good Buddies. But it was preceded by a very similar mic made for hams (see above).   And I like it.  It even has the word "Transistorized" emblazoned in script across the PTT bar. 

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