K8GZ's Towering Tea Tin Ohio Mighty Mite

Here is a very innovative approach to the Mighty Mite.  The compression cap atop the coil form gives it a towering appearance.  Pete and both liked the button key.  The Te Tin is very nice and marks another example of the long ham radio tradition of bringing kitchen items (breadboards!) into radio projects.  E-mails from K8GZ appear below.  

Podcast 171 is fantastic, loaded with
Information and inspiration. Your
podcasts continue to lead me down
the road of home few. I'm trying to
get the demons out of a regen that
will companion my MMM.
I have attached photos of my MMM,
complete with on board key. A ceramic
trim capacitor fills in for the air cap.
A reverse polarity diode helps to keep
electronic smoke in precious components.
Thanks for the crystal and inspiration.
The MMM emits a stable signal whether
it is powered by 1.5 or 12 volts.
73
K8GZ
Kaye Hartman

Thank you for the crystal that arrived on 

Sat. the 13th. I was hoping for a 

"Plug-N-Play" since the MI Mighty Mite

was assembled, waiting for a crystal. 

However, Noodleing was required. 

Several salvaged transistors were tried 

with the winner being an unmarked one 

with a low hfe of 21. It draws 120 ma. at 

12 volts and 4 ma. at 1.5 volts. I added a 

cap across the key to soften the key 

clicks (per Pete).  Also I added a reverse-

protection diode (to protect myself from 

additional moments of stupidity). 

I live in an environment that is not 

antenna friendly, so no air time yet. 

I must try some portable operation 

to get the MMM on the air. 

Thanks for the crystal. It really makes the 

project extra special. 

Pictures will follow as soon as I figure out 

how to send them. Time to have a tech-talk 

with my grandchildren. 

73,

Kaye Hartman, K8GZ

Lancaster, OH

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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! 

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Video of Colin's First Contact with his Homebrew Scratch-built BITX20

I love this video.  Colin finished his BITX a week or so ago and has been waiting for an opportunity to test it.  Over the weekend he braved the winter of Northern England and, with his son,  set up his new rig out in his snow-covered garden.   Appropriately for a first contact with scratch-built rig, the circuitry was unencumbered by any kind of case or box.  That's the way it should be done!  Well done Colin!  You are well and truly a member of the International Brotherhood of Electronic Wizards, and the diagnosis of "The Knack" has been confirmed (a severe case, it appears). 

Hi Pete and Bill,

It's been a lovely fine day here in West Yorkshire, so I took a table out into the garden and set up my BITX circuit on it. I set up my SOTA dipole on a 9m fishing pole.

I heard a strong German station calling CQ, so I gave him a call and hoped for the best!

How amazing to contact someone in another country using a rig and mic you've made yourself! Do I qualify as a REAL radio ham now? Do I have a confirmed case of the knack? :-)

Although I may appear underwhelmed in the video, (besides the air punches!), I did really get a kick out of the QSO.

73 and huge thanks to both of you for the encouragement and support.

Colin, M1BUU

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Brian's Mighty Mite

Bill,
All the parts finally arrived from China so the MMM lives :)
Good to finally join the CBLA!!

It made for a very enjoyable Saturday afternoon while the snow fell!
I left some room between the antenna connector and the coil for the low pass filter I'm going to build if the caps ever arrive.

Thanks for the crystal and the inspiration to get busy and build something; it brought back a few childhood memories of building things for the homebrew contest at the local hamfest.

73,
Brian
KA0PHJ

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 #171 DC RX in QQ, Power Supplies, Small Screens, 12 Buck Counters, HW8 Error?, KX3 RX

SolderSmoke Podcast #171 is available: 

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke171.mp3

Bench Report: 
Pete's Small Screens (in Color!) 
Si5351s
Bill's Graph Paper Frequency Readout
Bill's Broadened Barebones Barbados RX.  DIGITIZED! 
Another AD9850 DDS using M0XPD Kanga UK Shield
New 13 dollar Color Display (Prettier than Graph paper!) 

Pete and Ben's Article in QRP Quarterly Available free here: 
http://www.qrparci.org/qqsample/qqsample.pdf

The DEEP SPIRITUAL REWARDS of DC Receivers 
The Importance of Good Power Supplies
SPRAT Article on HW8 Design Error
Latest Edition of Hot Iron
Elecraft KX3 -- Has one of the best receivers in the world  

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

15% Off on SolderSmoke and other books at Lulu This Weekend

All three of my books are here:  

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/soldersmoke

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 Glowing Numerals! BIG! BLUE! $13!

Even though my pencil and graph paper frequency readout for the BITX rigs has its own undeniable charm, this little device could get me to go digital.  I heard about it from Chuck Adams and the folks on the qrp-tech mailing list.  13 dollars.  It covers .1 MHz to 2.4 GHz.  You just hook up a 9 volt source and the RF input.   It also does IF offset.  The construction looks great and it would be very easy to put into (or aside) any rig.   Here is where I got mine: 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400732593471?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

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

Beagle 2 Found On Mars

I was one of the millions of people who woke up that Christmas morning in 2003  thinking not of Santa Claus but of Colin Pillinger's Mars Lander, the Beagle 2.  We were in London by then, and later on I got to meet Colin Pillinger.  I still have the books about Beagle 2 that he gave to me.   Wow, it looks like they came very close.  Too bad Colin did not live to see these pictures. 

The Planetary Society has a very good article on all this:  

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2015/01160800-beagle-2-found.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

Back Into the Digital Morass

Using a very nice M0XPD AD9860 shield from Kanga-UK and software by Richard AD7C I put together another little DDS VFO.  This one went together without a lot of hair pulling.  I put the LCD, brightness control and rotary controller on one piece of vero board -- this will also serve as the front panel.  

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

The Battery That's Been Working for 175 Years

In case you missed this.  Makes you think, doesn't it?  I'm thinking of a QRPp QRSS transmitter that would just keep on going.  Battery designed by Giuseppe Zamboni.  

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/this-battery-has-lasted-175-years-and-no-one-knows-how

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 Analog Frequency Readout for BITX17 VXO

I've been getting tired of being in the dark about the frequency on which my BITX17 was operating.  So I pulled out some graph paper, my frequency counter, and a pencil.  You will see two frequencies at each point -- that's because  I use two crystals, switched by the black knob on the left.  I realize this paper and pencil approach is hopelessly out of date, but I see it as "appropriate technology" for a discrete component all-analog transceiver.  

Pete set me straight on how to come up with the numbers: VXO frequency minus  ACTUAL carrier oscillator/BFO freq.  After doing this I took great delight in going on the air and asking guys with fancy "glowing numerals" rigs to compare their freq readout with my pencil and graph paper readouts: they were painfully close.    

But I am not slipping completely into stubborn Luddite-ism; this weekend I worked on a DDS-based AD9850/Arduino VFO with I-Q output based on Paul M0XPD's Kanga-UK Arduino Shield.   STAY TUNED! 

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

Jailed for The Knack: Gerry Wells, Homebrew Hero

Thanks to Thomas of the "SWLing Post" for alerting us to the story of UK radio legend Gerry Wells. As Thomas said in his post, you really need to drop what you are doing and listen to this great BBC program about Gerry: 

http://swling.com/blog/2011/02/radio-documentary-the-wireless-world-of-gerry-wells/

The poor fellow was actually JAILED for his "radio obsession."  Wow.  That was kind of harsh.  But Gerry overcame adversity and had a very happy life in radio.  

Thomas has more on Gerry here: 

http://swling.com/blog/2014/12/jonathans-interviews-with-gerry-wells/

Thanks Thomas!  And thanks to the BBC. 

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