Video of Pete Juliano's 20-40 Bilateral Rig

Wow, what a beautiful rig.  Nice work Pete.  Kind of eerie how we both chose the 20/40 combination after building 17 meter rigs. We'll have to talk more about this in SolderSmoke 162.  Soon!

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 Post Card from Paris

This arrived from Paris, from our friend Rogier, PA1ZZ KJ6ETL. "Men are like computers: one never knows what's going on inside."  But it looks to me like the OM in the picture knows EXACTLY what's going on inside that rig.  So I guess this is commentary on the perils of black boxes, and the benefits of an analog, discrete component, Hardware Defined Radio approach.    I'm with you Rogier!  Merci!


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

Thought Provoking Comments from Bert, WF7I

 
Hey Bill. 

 I enjoyed the interview with Pete N6QW very much.  So many main points were covered and I kept nodding in agreement, especially some of the stuff about the ease of doing homebrew that we have these days.  Like you, or similar to you I'm guessing, I have memories as a kid staring at the pages of an ARRL handbook, saying "huh?"  These days almost any question can be answered with a Google (and if not, an appropriate book overnighted via Amazon).  You guys both nailed it too with the comments about the free design software that is plentiful and the cheap crystals (I still need to order some "bags" of these!).  When I started out it seemed crystals were a big expense.  I guess not so much now.  It's really a great time to be a homebrewer.

I was trying to think of more questions for him for the second half of your interview but most of what I could come up with was too pedestrian probably or already covered.  I am curious about amplifiers but I believe he's going to talk about that next anyway.  Nothing was said about using varactor diodes in VFOs (unless I missed it) and I'm a little curious about his experiences with them.  And whether he still uses air variables or not (and if he has an opinion on these more compact "polyvaricons", one of which is in the Hendricks version of the Bitx-20 I'm building).   It sounds like most homebrewers these days are pairing up their VFOs with digital architecture of one type or another for stability and the display.  I guess you can't argue with the price of some of the needed parts.  But like you I feel like I'm not wanting to jump into the complex digital too far, the simplicity and ease of understanding of the simple circuits is really refreshing and fun for me.  The moment you have to rely on software for something I feel that the project is lessened a bit, not as robust in a way, kind of like having to rely on cholesterol-lowering meds so that we can keep eating cheeseburgers (had to slip in a food reference somewhere).

Something else dawned on me a few weeks ago, soon after I'd built my 40m direct conversion rig ("mrad-40") -- does anyone consider the audience on the band they're designing for???  I'm only partly joking!  There are some rude and coarse dudes on 40m.  It takes a little bit of luster off the whole "first light" experience of a new homebuilt radio when you turn it on and hear some drunks arguing politics or making fun of a YL ham on another frequency!  Probably not a suitable question for Pete!

I also really enjoyed the FDIM edition.  As always, it's one of the best of your podcast series.  My favorite was the interview with the ham near the end, I think he was 2nd to last.  He seemed to really sum up the entire homebrew motivation and experience.  I don't remember his name offhand.  But his description of sitting there with store-bought radios and the sort of transactional nature of appliance operating ("telephoning strangers") perfectly describes how I felt about a dozen years ago.  I'd migrated towards DX chasing and 6m grid collecting but that too can get pretty stale after awhile.  I'm getting closer to having a station that is all home-built, but I'm not sure I'll ever sell my commercial rigs as he did (although it would free up money for more test equipment!).

Maybe one final comment for Pete or just in general.  Since I've been a ham I feel like there's always been this pressure to build/design something that is in some way "cutting edge" or new.  In today's landscape that would be along the lines of the FDIM guy turning an Android phone into a ham rig.  I'm wondering if others feel some sort of peer pressure to "push the envelope" in some way with what they're doing, to establish bragging rights of some kind or to somehow feel that what they're doing is important or relevant.  I've never been clever enough to succumb to this pressure and invent something ingenious!  And I find doing lots of software coding incredibly boring and I know I'm not very skilled at it. 

So...I guess the question or point is, should we all in some way as "responsible" hams feel obligated to break ground in some new technical aspect of the hobby somehow, especially as builders and homebrewers (and hams)?  In other words, should I be riddled with guilt if I decide to devote the rest of my life to building regens and not SDRs?  Do you know what I mean here?  There seems to be a mindset among some hams that the hobby was founded on experimentalists pushing the boundaries of what was known, and in some way we all carry that torch.  For me, I've always pretty much seen it as a hobby, and if it felt like work I didn't do it!  Any thoughts on that?

Bert WF7I

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

El Peregrino (The Pilgrim) from Spain

Eduardo, EA3GHS, sent this to me.  It looks like a wonderful bilateral SSB rig for 17 meters.
They said they wanted a "daylight" rig (for a daytime band) because in Spain the religious pilgrims walk all day and are tired at night.  Hence 17 for Los Peregrinos!

http://ea3ghs.qrp.cat/peregrino.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

Alan Wolke's GREAT Video on Transmission Line Termination

An outSTANDING Wave video from Alan!  Check out the comments from new hams on the YouTube page:  Alan has a real knack (!) for explaining technical material, and for imparting real understanding. 

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

Harv's Minima

Good Evening Bill & fellow Solder-smoke friends,

 

Well, I’m following the pack. I began gathering items for the Minima Transceiver back in March 14. There had been a good bit of strong back-N-forth discussions on the Minima Blog about what works and what doesn’t work. Some circuit refinements had been agreed upon while other were left to individual preferences. So, I decided to just be silent an learn from the experts. As a result, I did several months of observing before I took the plunge. While my efforts are not nearly as aggressive as others, I decided to forge a much slower path to success.

In my own quirky way of doing things, I kitted each module, measured all the parts statically, laid out the components, and finally built & tested each assembly before going to the next.

As a result, the learning’s were great and the performance of each section equal or better than my expectations.

 

I went the Manhattan Style this time but,  I have purchased several sets of Minima PCBs to use in the future. As I see it, there is a lot more solder melting ahead.

 

Bill, building radios is NOT DEAD yet. That desire to get back to the golden days of home-brewing still lives on.

 

At the end of the Memorial Weekend, this is my current Minima progress…

 

·         Construction of all 3 Audio Stages now complete (see photos)

·         The Microphone Pre-Amp is now awaiting voice testing

·         Audio Amplifier and Final Amplifier have been tested together

·         The results of audio testing has been superb for all stages thus far

·         3 complete sets of Micro Relays have been order and I’m now awaiting their arrival

·         24 – various ferrite and powered iron cores arrived several weeks ago, these are the heart of the front-end RX/TX stages

·         100 - 20 Mhz. crystals have arrived and await characterization

·         25 - 8” Male to Male SMA Cables have arrived this weekend, will need to order 15 – 4” Male to Male SMA Cable Assemblies next

·         5 – 12” X 15” Copper Clad Boards have arrived this weekend

·         25 –J310 N-channel J RF Power FETs were ordered and arrived this weekend, these are used in the Mixer Stage

 

 

Final Audio Stage

 

 

Audio Amplifier Stage

 

 

Microphone Pre-Amplifier Stage (see microphone connector mounted at rear)

 

I’m ready to begin kitting the Side Tone Oscillator and RX/TX Relay Stages.

The largest and most intense modules are yet to be tackled.

The Bi-Directional Amplifier has 34 parts alone.  So far I have installed over 40 parts in the three modules I’ve completed…

I realize it is just a start but, I’m motivated to see this one project through to completion.

 

73’s & Happy Soldering

 

Harv -=WA3EIB=-

Albuquerque, NM.

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

Contact Reestablished with ISEE-3 Satellite

http://spacecollege.org/isee3/we-are-now-in-command-of-the-isee-3-spacecraft.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

SolderSmoke Podcast #161: Homebrew SSB: An Interview with Pete Juliano, N6QW

 

SolderSmoke Podcast #161 is available:

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke161.mp3

26 May 2013

Homebrew Single Sideband -- An Interview with Pete Juliano, N6QW

-- Pete's background:  55 years in radio.  Boatanchors AND Arduinos. 40673 Mosfets.  Guitar!
-- A personal transition from CW to phone.
-- The importance of passing on "tribal knowledge."
-- What you need:  A library, tools, test gear and a junque box.
-- A new word in the homebrew lexicon:  Pete explains "noodling."
-- One stage at a time!
-- The attractiveness of standard circuit blocks (that work!)  
-- The importance of IF selection.
-- Building your own crystal filters is easier than ever.
-- Thinking (early) about the enclosure.
--VFOs, VXOs, and (gasp) Direct Digital Synthesis

Thanks Pete! 

Pete's Web Site:  http://www.jessystems.com/

Pete's YouTube Channel: 
 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_ft4-oTdCMlWlL4XXHScg/videos


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

Meteor Shower Tonight

If the skies are clear, and if I can stay awake, I'll be out there looking for the new meteor shower. 

But there is no real need to go outside.  David, EA1FAQ has an SDR receiver tuned to a radar frequency in France.  You can see and hear the meteors as they create a path for the RF.  Very cool. 
Thanks David:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/live-meteor-radar

You can also listen for meteor pings here:

http://spaceweatherradio.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

Overheard at Dayton: Drake 2B Market Manipulation! (& Help needed with 455 kc IF can)

I received a very nice message from Preston Douglas.   Conveniently, he is an attorney, and I have asked him to stand ready to defend me in court should I ever be accused of manipulating the markets for Drake 2-Bs (and perhaps the market for SSDRAs). 

Can any out there help Preston with his SX-110 455 kc IF can?
 

May 20 at 3:38 PM

Hi Bill,

 

I enjoyed #160, even though I heard those talks, live at FDIM. 

I thought you'd be amused by what I overheard in the flea market on Saturday in Dayton.  I was looking at a Drake 2B and Q multiplier being offered by a lady who said they were her father's.  They looked to be in pretty clean shape, though of course there was no way to know what was going on under the hood.  She was asking $200 for both, and said she was open to reasonable offers.  Now, I already have a 2B and haven't found any need for the Q multiplier.  And I had flown out to Dayton from NY, so would have had to ship the pair of boxes home--probably should have bought them anyway and sent them home by UPS for that kind of money.  

 

Anyway, there were two other guys looking at the 2B.  One said to the other that these were among the best receivers of the tube era, but that the prices had become inflated by this guy who does the Soldersmoke podcasts talking up the virtues of the 2B.  Couldn't help smiling at that.

 

As to the Hallicrafters SX-110 on the repair bench.  Well, I worked out a deal with a professional tech guy to trade him my non-working HP 8640b sig gen for some bench time on the 110.  He found that the first IF  transformer that I was having so much trouble aligning was non-working.  He had no replacement, so he bypassed the whole transformer with a cap to get signal to the next stage.  This is, of course, not a satisfactory solution.  And nobody has that IF can to sell.  I did read on another radio repair guy's web site  that he, too, usually stops working on a set with a bad IF can because repair is so labor intensive.  

Frankly, I don't accept that.  I mean what's inside there?  A couple of coils and some open silvered mica leafs. So, I plan to remove the can, open it, and fix it.  According to the Internet, the built-in caps on these cans become defective and need replacement by modern capacitors.  Or, maybe a wire is broken off.  Before I do anything, I am going to see if that transformer is really unable to peak at 455.  Anyway, maybe I'll get some time to mess with this radio over the holiday weekend.  

 

One of the guys (or was it you?) recently said he builds 'em, makes a few contacts to prove they work, and then puts them on a shelf.  Then he builds another one.  It's like that sometimes.

 

PRESTON DOUGLAS

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

Latest Project: 17 Meter Moxon

17 Meter Moxon by AE6AC

That's what I have in mind.  I ordered four fiberglass "crappie" poles yesterday.  I have a tripod for the roof.   What should I use to spin this thing around?  A TV rotor is an obvious solution, but the last time I used one it didn't hold up too well.  There is always the Armstrong method...  

Here's AE6AC's site:

http://www.moxonantennaproject.com/ae6ac/ae6ac.htm


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 Podcast 160: Special Four Days in May (FDIM) issue

   

George Dobbs, G3RJV

SolderSmoke Podcast #160:

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke160.mp3

Bob Crane, W8SX, was out at the Four Days in May event and did an excellent series of interviews with the guys who made presentations:
 

Harold Smith, KE6TI
    Many Ways To Homebrew
 

Chris Testa, KD2BMH 
     Battery Powered Software Radios:
   Having your cake and eating it, too
 

George Dobbs, G3RJV 
    The Classic World of the Regenerative Receiver
 

Gary Breed, K9AY 
     Why Does My Rig Have a Receive Antenna Jack ?
 

Craig Behrens, NM4T 
    The Great Arduino, JT65 and Rebels Caper
  High adventure with new radio paradigms
 

Dave Cripe, NM0S 
     PoW QRP

 
-------------------------------------
 
VIDEOS OF THE PRESENTATIONS ARE HERE:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/47599691


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