Saturday, July 18, 2026

Why is AM on 3885 kHz?

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It is Saturday morning, 0500 EDT.  I am tuned to 3885 kHz, listening to the Old Military Radio Net.  It is on 3885 kHz.  Why this frequency?...
6 comments:
Friday, July 17, 2026

How Were 3.579 MHz Crystals Used in Color Television Sets?

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Gemini explains:  In NTSC analog color television, the 3.579545 MHz crystal was the heartbeat of the entire color decoding system. Its prim...
1 comment:
Thursday, July 16, 2026

The 43.333 MHz Crystal in my Nuvistor Converter was Bad. But WHY did I Find Another One in my Junkbox?

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Gemini explains why:  As a radio amateur, you have likely run across these crystals in countless parts bins, swap meets, and vintage schemat...
8 comments:
Wednesday, July 15, 2026

The Smith Chart -- Veritasium Explains its Origins and How it Works

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This is really interesting and represents one of the best explanations of the Smith Chart that I have seen.   One quibble:  In the beginning...
7 comments:
Tuesday, July 14, 2026

A Nice Workshop (With The Logical Song)

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2 comments:
Sunday, July 12, 2026

How to Build a MODERN Electronics Workshop (and How Much it Might Cost) (PLEASE COMMENT)

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First, kudos to this fellow for pronouncing "solder" correctly.  The L is silent (sorry to our British readers).  He does have an ...
4 comments:
Saturday, July 11, 2026

My Parks 2 meter Nuvistor Converter, a QST review, and Bio Info on the Tektronix Hams who Designed It (Who is W7UHF now?)

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  Denton E. Nelson (amateur radio callsign W7UHF ) was an electronics engineer and a notable figure in mid-century amateur radio history, be...
3 comments:
Friday, July 10, 2026

The Nuvistor, Thermatrons, RCA, Patents, the Rise of Asian Competitors (and my Parks Electronics 2 Meter Converter)

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Asianometry always does a great job with this stuff, although I find myself grimacing when he speaks positively about Sarnoff.  Nevertheless...
2 comments:
Wednesday, July 8, 2026

A Very Nice Audio Workbench -- With Lots of Great Ideas

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We covered Ben Hase's workbench earlier this week, focusing on his findings about glue, fusible resistors, and relays.   This is a more ...
4 comments:
Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Shuji Nakamura -- Inventor of Blue LEDs -- Takes on Fusion Energy at Age 72

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This blog covered Shuji Nakamura at least twice before -- we reported on on how he had invented the blue LED:  https://soldersmoke.blogspot....
1 comment: