Loops and QRSS

On QRP-L there has recently been some discussion of the effectiveness of small loop antennas. Some hams in Northern Italy are doing something very interesting in this area. They have two identical QRP (1 watt) QRSS transmitters on 30 meters. They are keyed simultaneously, but one antenna is connected to a standard vertical antenna (with a very good radial system), while the other goes to a small, resonant CFA loop. By looking at the various QRSS on-line grabbers out there, you can get a real sense of how the two antennas perform. I just took at look at VK6DI's grabber -- I could clearly see the signal from the vertical, and could see quite a bit of the signal from the loop (see above at around 10140040 -- the loop signal is a few Hz above).

Claudio, I2NDT, has a good web page describing the experiment:

http://digilander.libero.it/i2ndt/pagine/Dual%20Beacon.htm

Herman Munster gets license, works Italy!

Nick, KA1BQ, alerted me to this one. I don't think Herman really had The Knack ( he seems more like an appliance operator to me), but he did work Italy, so it merits mention here.

SolderSmoke in Australia in 1944: Listen in!

Well, not exactly SolderSmoke, but these VK3 hams were obviously melting a lot of solder. One of them recorded some of their 1944 QSOs. (I may have mentioned this recording before, but it is good enough to mention again!)

Have a listen: http://www.crossbandradio.com/xbands/ehams.mp3

Cheerio and 73 Old Boy!

Kits and Parts dot com

For some nice offers on parts of interest to QRPers and Knack victims in general, check out the website of Diz, W8DIZ.

http://kitsandparts.com/

Google to the Moon! $30 Million in Prizes!

Extra prizes for finding artifacts! Will there be a SolderSmoke team in the competition?

SolderSmoke #89

   http://www.soldersmoke.com

August 3, 2008
Positano on the Amalfi Coast
QRSS: An Idea for More N. American Activity
Argo's bandwidth: .34 Hz
The New SolderSmoke Audio Filter
Knackered?  Translating American to British
Kanga USA helps in Lake Michigan rescue
Google's "Back to the Moon" contest
Russia's Mars sample return mission
Apollo 11
Lasers from San Diego to the Moon
N0TU's slideshow (with Tuna Tin Two)
MAILBAG: K4QO on clubs without rules.
G0WAT names me "Hodeghog #4"
VE7SL ID's Mystery Military Radio
ZL2GX finishing Ph.D.
KC0PET gets EMRFD
N5XL reports Tantalum shortage
G3WOE on Shep and 20 new BITX20s
W8OAJ is now N8WQ, building MEPT 

Italy Travel Report: Positano

We were down on the Amalfi coast this week, near Positano. This is on the southern coast of a beautiful peninsula that juts out into the Med, a bit South of Naples. I brought a SW receiver with me, but didn't hear too much. We did some fishing, down near the boats you see in the picture. This was the view from our window. I'll mention this in SolderSmoke 89 (probably tomorrow), so I thought I'd put a picture on the blog.

Rome Workbench

Here is the workbench, now located in Rome. If you look closely, between the two shelves on the wall you can see my "tool hanger." It is just six inches of insulated wire on which I hang diagonal cutters, pliers, wire strippers, etc. You can also see my little HAMEG 'scope.

Dan's Small Parts Back in Operation

http://www.danssmallpartsandkits.net/

Dan is a great source of parts for Knack victims. Check out his catalog -- take a look at his special deals.

VE7SL Identifies Mystery Military Radio

That's the one. That's the radio that Giorgio, I0YR, and I have had our eyes on. I found it in a local charity shop (location to remain secret, pending final transaction!). The one I found had no identifying plates, but with the scant info I provided in SolderSmoke 88, Steve, VE7SL, figured out what it was, and sent this picture to confirm. Not a BC-348, but instead a USMC BC-312.
UGLY BEAST! Not my kind of rig, but Giorgio may want it. Thanks Steve!

Check out Steve's web page: http://www.imagenisp.ca/jsm

Shep, SETI, Radar, Spark Coils

In this episode Shep builds a 2 meter rig to talk to locals, but picks up signals from much farther away. Musings on extraterrestrial DX. Also, our hero gets zapped by a spark coil.
As always, it takes Shep a while to get going on the ham radio stuff, so you might want to fast-forward through the groovy 1965 small talk at the beginning. EXCELSIOR!
Here is the mp3: Shep, 1965, 2 meters, SETI, Spark Coils.

The SolderSmoke Microphone

As promised, here is the infamous SolderSmoke microphone, featuring duct tape, and supported by a Radio Shack "Third Hand."

Check out the "popping on the letter P" audio filter I made out of a bathroom drain filter, a baby wipe, and duct tape. The previous effort using some foam from an old Walkman headphone is also visible.


Kind of appropriate, don't ya' think? I think this simple filter has helped with the audio problem.
(Let me know what you think.)