A Homebrew Workbench from Norway -- Please Comment: What would you have done differently?

I admit to being biased in favor of any project from Norway.  This is the result of the fantastic videos of Helge LA6NCA.   But even without the influence of Helge, this workshop/workbench project would stand out.   It is really good.  It is filled with good ideas.  I like the way he makes use of 3D printed parts.  The lighting scheme is excellent.  I like the chair he got.   There is a lot of humor in this video. 

But you may have done things a bit differently -- please comment on what you would have done. 

Thanks to Frengen Engineering.  Here is the YouTube channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@frengen_engineering

Helge LA6NCA Builds and Uses a Two Tube 80 meter Transceiver -- From Norway

This entire video is really excellent.  Thank you Helge! 

Once again, he shows us how to do it -- how to homebrew a useful rig, and how to put it on the air from the field.  POTA and SOTA operators take note! 

His receiver is direct conversion!  FB. 

I was delighted to finally see IRF510 FETs used the way they are ALLEGEDLY SUPPOSEDLY designed to be used (in the power supply). 

Helge's creation of 250 volts DC from a 12 volt battery is both ingenious and inspiring. 

His use of Altoids tins was just great and will be appreciated by GQRP. 

I really liked how Helge handled the need for CW T/R frequency shift.  FB. 

His generation of sidetone was also great and very creative.  

I did something similar with my ET-2 transceiver, but Helge had clearly gone beyond this.  

Thank you Helge!  

SolderSmoke Podcast #265: AI Pete, WSPR, sBITX, San Diego, Last Ditcher, NYC, 17-12 Fix, MMM Blasphemy, 6T9er, MAILBAG

SolderSmoke Podcast #265 is ready for download. 

Video Version:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jWYe6NxnJA

Audio Version:  http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke265.mp3

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Travelogue:  Pete to San Diego,  Dean to NYC,  Bill stays home. 

Field Day Report!   Dean?  Pete?  I had a bad back.  Really. 

The importance of "taking a break" discussed on "Hidden Brain" podcast. 

We need new chapters for the FMLA series.  Time to add the CBLA? 

 AI Pete? http://soldersmoke.com/AIPete.mp3

Dean:  WSPR success -- Report

Back on the air with the homebrew sBITX. 

VWS WSPR TX and AMP

KK4DAS WSPR Map

Pete:   Visit to surplus store in San Diego.

The Last Ditcher CW rig.  Frank Jones would approve!  Construction technique combining wooden slats and copper clad boards is FB. 

Homebrew CW rigs -- update. 

Schematics and Co-Pilot

Shameless Commerce Division:   

Mostly DIY RF

Become a Patron through Patreon.  

Do you want an emailed heads up about blog post and pocasts?  Send your e-mail to bill.meara@gmail.com

Please comment on the Podcast (on YouTube or on the blog) and about blog posts (on the blog page). Comments let us know that we are not speaking into the Google void!  

Bill:   Fixing the receiver in my 17-12 rig.  Adding 12 db to the TIA. 

The Open Circuits book.  Eric is the Eric from CuriousMarc.  And he is a ham! 

Blasphemy?  Bill redraws schematic for Michigan Mighty Mite. 

I have 6T9 tube.  I don't really want to build a CW transmitter.  But I may have to. 

Gemini explains "Low Value Content" They see 10,000 posts and assume it is AI Slop.  

Mailbag:  

Wes:  Nice email from W7ZOI. 

Peter Marks VK3TPM fixed the index file (with help from Claude). 

Peter VK3TPM and Paul VK3HN -- Great comments on AI. 

Also Dean KK4DAS and Bob KD4EBM

VK3HN sent FB AI QSL from ZL2BNE (see mine!) 

Bruce KK0S sent two FB AI QSL cards. 

Rogier PA1ZZ -- Sends "The World of El - AI"   IDK. 

Ryan KJ7KVD building a Michigan Mighty Mite (I sent parts) 

Robert W8MOX heard my beacon from the DR to Annandale Va. 

Kirk NTOZ -- The future of ham radio and what went wrong. 

Paul KL7FLR -- The Wizard of Wasila -- Finally 3D  printed a Toroid winder

Charlie NJ7V -- Doing great work over at Red Summit RF.  

Podstatus reports that we are #2 in Ghana!  Hooray for us! 

Farhan VU2ESE -- LARCSet CW mods! 

Walter KA4KXX Homebrew POTA proposal. 

Grayson KJ7UM: Likes Helge's Norwegian paraset

Gerald VA2GJ:  Including DC RX in Canadian license study materials. 

Ron WA6YOU: Spy radios RT-6 and RR-6

Scott K6AUS: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2026/06/update-how-many-drake-2-b-receivers.html We need to send him a 2B! 

Bob W8SX:  FDIM interview with Hans G0UPL.  More to follow.

Helge LA6NCA's Norwegian Paraset

This is a very cool video.  I even liked Helge's creative use of AI for the narration.  It was amazing that this old rig still works.  

Thanks you Helge.  And thank you to all the brave members of XU, who so valiantly risked it all in the fight against Fascism. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XU 

Ragnar LA1UH's Wonderful Museums in Norway

Here are two more great museum visits by Helge LA6NCA.  In these two he visits Ragnar LA1UH.  

Ragnar has a lot of maritime experience, so we see a lot of older ships' radios.  But his interest in the radio art is much broader and we also see a lot of other kinds of gear: 

-- Wow,  a "travel radio" in a suitcase from 1927.  Was this the idea that later lead to the Parasets of WWII? 

-- Lots of "Stay Behind" gear from the Cold War. That "Africa" receiver (that never made it to Africa!) is very interesting. 

-- We see an ART-13 with autotune, ANGRC-9s, several ARC-5 command sets.  I was hoping Raganar would fire up a Dynamotor, but no. 

-- I spotted a Galaxy V transceiver.  I have the VFO reduction drive from one of these in my homebrew 15/10 rig.   

-- We see several variometers in the emergency (500kc?) maritime transmitter.  I used a variometer in my super-simple ET-2 transceiver (with an N0WVA receiver). 

-- Lots and lots of tubes. 

Ragnar says he himself is of 1944 vintage. I hope some "stay behind" provisions have been made for these amazing museums. 

Thanks to Helge LA6NCA and to Ragnar LA1UH.  

Jens OZ1GEO's AMAZING Radio Museum

Brace yourselves.  This is just too much, too much radio history, too much cool stuff.  We are into ham radio sensory overload territory here. The rigs, the radios, the radioactive stuff (including tubes!).  Lots of Whermact stuff.  A Chinese receiver.  Tesla coils and Faraday shields.  Much more. 

Thanks to Helge LA6NCA for alerting us to this and for shooting these videos.  And thanks to Jens OZ1GEO for putting this magnificent collection together.  I hope they find sometplace to keep this all together so that future generations can benefit from it. 

George WB5OYP points out there is more from Jens here: 

https://teslaman.dk/oz6zs/test/6zs/jens-exp.php

 

Helge SM/LA6NCA Activates Colorburst Liberation Army in Sweden!

FB Helge.   This is really cool.  I didn't realize until I saw the schematic at the end that he was on 3579 kHz -- that is the old color-burst frequency, and now the frequency of the Color-burst Liberation Army. 

It was challenging to do this without sidetone.  But there appears to be a bit of room left in the matchbox -- could he squeeze in a few more components for a rudimentay sidetone?  Maybe just a piezo buzzer across the key? 

VIVA EL CBLA! 

SolderSmoke Podcast #246: PeteGPT! DC RX, Si5351, Franklin osc, Cuban DSB, Hex beams, uBITX mods, DX, 10 meters, MAILBAG

 

SolderSmoke Podcast #246 is available: 

AUDIO PODCAST: http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke246.mp3

YouTube VIDEO: (247) SolderSmoke Podcast #246: uBITX, Hex Beam, DX, High School DC RX, 10 meter SSB Rig, MAILBAG - YouTube

The AI Deep Fake Threat!  PeteGPT!

Hearing Aid info:  I can hear the cymbals in my audiogram adjusted Airpods.

Update on the TJ DC RX project – Several receivers working! https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

Sunil’s company provides Nano/Si5351 combos.  With the KD8CEC software. Very cool.  http://amateurradiokits.in They have a new SSB dual band transceiver – the Airpal.

Mark AJ6CU helping me. Sent me Nanos with KD8CEC software. His uBITX Settings Editor seems very cool. https://github.com/AJ6CU/uBITX-Settings-Editor/releases/tag/V2-beta-1  Thanks Mark.  

Franklin Oscillators. 

Cuban Islander and Jaguey info.  Send more!

Fixing up uBITX 2   How Bill blew up TWO Raduino Nanos. My results with the KB1GMX mods. (see below)

Hex Beam work:  Adding 10 and 15 meter elements.  But now I can hear AM breakthrough from WFAX 1220 AM  (5 kW during the day),  So I made a high pass filter.

Made first contacts on 15 and 10:  Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic.

First contacts with both India VU3TPW and China BA4TB.  SSB homebrew.

sBITX news. Taking orders!

Pete’s 10 Meter SSB Project

Mailbag:

--Wes W7ZOI provided great info and analysis on the Franklin oscillator. And lots of great tech info on other topics: http://w7zoi.net/oldtech/ponder.html Thanks Wes!
--Lex PH2LB. uBITX mods. TO-18 Heatsinks. New stickers (see above).
--Kostos SV3ORA and Hans G0UPL about the Franklin Oscillator.
--Listening to HRWB 178: Great stuff, many old friends: George KJ6VU moved to Oregon. Thomas K4SWL on the show.  Ben, an old friend of Pete’s,  mentions John Zaruba K2ZA – the guy who gave me the DX-100. Wonderful connections.
--Thanks to Todd VE7BPO for sending me another AADE LC meter. I need it for the SSSS.
--Nick MONTV planning a 15/10 meter dualband SSB rig. Me too! See video.
--Trevor Woods in W. Australia – The portrait in Artie Moore’s shack. Chuck WB9KZY – Willam Ramsay
--LA6NCA Helge three tube RX. Regen or DC? Mike Masterson WN2A and I discuss.
--Mike WU2D video on Retro QRP rigs – Steve G0FUW discusses Severn rig long in the works –started 1983 and nearly finished!
--Tim Hunkin of Secret Life fame did video with speaker made from potato ship bag. Discussed with Tony G4WIF and others. Also, Tim has an amazing video on cutting holes in metal. On the SolderSmoke blog.
--Bob Crane W8SX will be covering FDIM for SolderSmoke!
--Glen VE3DNL working on a more sophisticated DC RX.
--Craig KC2LFI from the beach on Grand Cayman. FB.
--Steve EI5DD reports We have changed our name - The May Issue of the HAM RADIO IRELAND Magazine, Ireland’s only independent magazine for the Radio Experimenter: https://docdro.id/SHH0VEy
--Mike EI0CL on 15 meters with Dean KK4DAS. FB
--Howard N3FEL of the Penn Wireless Association wants to do a group build of a DC RX.
--Martin LW9DTR in Buenos Aires looking for help with the code for an AD9850
--Todd K7TFC – always helping other homebrewers.
--Really thoughtful message from Kevin WN7Z

uBITX 2

My KB1GMX mods to uBITX 2

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 

Helge LA6NCA Builds a Double Sideband Thermatron Transmitter

Helge is an amazing homebrewer. Check out the shack.  Note the R-390 and the Tek 'scope.  Watch how Helge designs his rig.  Watch him check the 3-D printed coil and the variable caps for resonance.  Most of all, watch his happiness when the new transmitter works.  I just wish he would have showed us some OM complaining that he was on the "wrong" sideband. FB Helge!  Thanks. 

LA6NCA Designs and Builds a Very Hybrid 80 Meter Transmitter (Si5351 and a 12A6 Tube) (Video)

Helge LA6NCA put out a really nice video explaining how he designed and built an 80 meter transmitter. 

I like how he put the Si5351 and the Arduino chip in what looks like a slightly expanded FT-241 crystal box.  Nice.  

I like the box and the chassis.  

I like his testing/tuning technique.  

The homebrew capacitor was a very nice touch.  

Where can I get some of those coil forms?  

And of course, the R-390 receiver adds a lot of mojo to the shack. 

Helge's web sites document an enormous number of great projects:  

Helge's page on the 12A6/Si5351 transmitter: https://www.la6nca.net/homebrew/tx_12a6/index.htm

Helge's main site:  http://www.laud.no/fykse/index.htm

Thank you Helge! And thanks to Hack-A-Day for alerting us to this. 

Sunspot 1046 Explains Mysterious Rome-Norway Propagation

I've been trying to understand the propagation conditions that caused my little 20 mW DSB signal to be received ALL-NIGHT-LONG at a distance of 1900 km by station LA3JJ on the night of 12/13 Feb 2010 (click here for more details).

A visit to spaceweather.com provided the answer. At around 1126 UTC on 12 Feb we had the brightest solar flare in more than two years: Sunspot 1046 produced an M8.3 Flare. Helge Mortensen in Norway reported that on 15 Feb in Norway there was "a fantastic blast of aurora." He took a beautiful picture of it (above). Could it be that we see in this picture particles from the same flare, or a coronal mass ejection associated with it?

One of the really cool things about the spaceweather.com site is that it includes lots of input from amateur astronomers and photographers like Helge. Emiel Veldhuis in the Netherlands happened to be observing 1046 when the M flare occurred and he took this series of shots:

Terje Isberg in Switzerland was listening to a DRM station on sortwave. He observed and recorded the radio blackout (SID) caused by the flare:
Rogiero Marconi in Brazil took this shot of the sunspot:
Amazing stuff. This is a good example of how WSPR really puts you in touch with solar conditions and space weather.