Today: 40th Anniversary of the Launch of Voyager 1

https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/          (Thanks Joh!) 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/opinion/pondering-voyagers-interstellar-journeys-and-our-own.html?emc=edit_th_20170905&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=54115026

Nuclear Powered QRPp? Tritium Nuclear Batteries and Plutonium Pacemakers

OK QRPers, it is time to explore another power source.  Enough of the nails in lemons and all that mess.  It is time to go NUCLEAR! Check out the motor in the video above, then look at the video below for more info on how the nuclear battery was made.  Who will be the first to QSO with homebrew nuclear power?  Or has it happened already? 

Mike Rainey -- this seems like the perfect project for you OM.


Oh and by the way, in the course of reading up on this, I learned that we once used PLUTONIUM to power pacemakers.  Check it out:

https://www.mdtmag.com/blog/2016/01/medtech-memoirs-plutonium-powered-pacemaker

And no, today is not April 1. 

SolderSmoke Podcast 199 Eclipse, Regen, BITX, DC RX, 3D OLEDS, Iphone Boxes, Mailbag

SolderSmoke Podcast #199 is available. 

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke199.mp3

2 September 2017

The Eclipse.  The Floods. 

Sawdust Regen gets John Henry off to a good start. 
Voltage regulators as audio amplifiers

The return of the Simple-ceiver (Direct Conversion)

Ceramic Resonators

3D OLEDS

iPhone Boxes as rig enclosures

Electric Radio on Frank Jones

17 Meter Contacts 

MAILBAG

VE1LEB's Ergonomic BITX Enclosure (in Juliano Blue)

Wow, Michael's amazingly cool BITX enclosure looks like you could use it to ask Scottie to beam you up. 
Put an end to those freakish contortions -- 3D print yourself an Ergonomic BITX box! Very FB Michael. Thanks. 

Hi Bill and Pete:

I thought you’d be interested to see my ergonomic enclosure for the BITX40. While operating homebrewed regen radios, I noticed that my hands/arms/shoulders were becoming uncomfortable after a while. After thinking about this for a few days, I realized that the dials on the front of these small radios were forcing my hands into freakish contortions—and having both hands on the dials at all times while tuning made matters worster faster! So I did some homework and determined that our arms and hands most naturally hold things toward each other, as though they are holding a small cylinder by the ends. But the conventional “dials-and-speaker-facing-front” radio case forces us to twist our hands up and outwards from our bodies to twist things. See my blog post http://blog.generaleccentric.net/?p=2009 for illustrations of this problem.

My enclosure design for the BITX40 re-orients the volume and tuning knobs toward the sides of the radio, making their operation much more natural—and pleasant. Although it’s not retro, it does have an unconventional appearance and should fit in quite naturally with all the other homebrewed solutions featured on SolderSmoke. 

You can visit my post at http://blog.generaleccentric.net/?p=2082; the box is available for download and printing at Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2508147

By the way, I also have a 3D printable mic for the BITX40: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2500483

73, Michael VE1LEB

Something else "Completely Different": Meteor Pings

Very cool.  I want to try this.  I have the RTL-SDR and the software, so all I need is the antenna.  I may try to resurrect the 5 element 2 Meter Quad from my 90's adventures in the Dominican Republic (I still have the copper tube elements!).  I know the Graves radar is out of range, but there must be a suitable North American signal for this kind of thing.  Any ideas? 

For more info:
http://hackaday.com/2017/08/27/sorry-us-europeans-listen-to-space-with-graves/#more-270298

https://dk8ok.org/2017/08/23/graves-reflections-out-of-the-blue/

Knack Victim Makes Good! Alan Yates in Seattle

Jean Shepherd used to say that in life, many of us come to a fork in the road:  down one path lies success.  Down the other, ham radio flea markets.  Alan Yates is proving Shep to be WRONG. 

I have fond memories of Billy and I building many versions of Alan's trivial electric motor.   We look forward to his virtual reality.  

K.P.S. Kang's Speech Processor and Antenna Tuner for the BITX (and other rigs)

Check out the blog of homebrew wizard K.P.S. Kang.   OM has a nice speech processor based on the LM386.   He also has a very simple antenna tuner and SWR bridge.  FB OM.  

http://smallwonderqrp.blogspot.com/2017/08/two-essential-add-ons-for-bitx-and.html

The Return of Pete's Simple-ceiver Plus (and a possible analog option)

Winter is approaching ladies and gentlemen, and it is time to think about radio projects.   Bob N7SUR suggested a direct conversion receiver project.  I think this is a great idea.   As a kid, I had fallen victim to the idea that building receivers was "too hard" for radio amateurs. Not true!  DC receivers to the rescue!  Carry on with the DC revolution first launched by Wes W7ZOI in 1968.

Pete N6QW is providing guidance and tribal knowledge via his blog.  For those of you who want to join the ranks of those who have defied the conventional wisdom and have broken through the "receivers are too hard" barrier.  I say build yourself a DC receiver.  Build it from scratch.  Many of you already got your feet wet in homebrewing with the Michigan Mighty Mite project.  Now it is time to jump into a DC receiver project.  

You folks already know what kind of VFO Pete will prefer:  It will be an Si5351.  That's fine.   But I will try to keep the banner of discrete component analog ludite-ism flying high.  This morning I ordered a batch of 7.37 MHz ceramic resonators.  I hope to pull them down into a significant portion of the 40 meter phone band.  If this works, I will share the batch with anyone who wants to joining my Analog Army (remember the CBLA?).   Note (above) that Pete has magnanimously left open the possibility of using a non-digital VFO. What a guy!    

Check out Pete's project here: 

http://n6qw.blogspot.com/2017/08/a-new-line-of-transceivers-difx_19.html

Pre-eclipse Solar Observation

I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a look at the eclipse tomorrow -- I'll be at work,  and in any case Washington DC will be far from the zone of totality.  But all the eclipse talk made me want to get my old 4 inch reflector telescope out today for at least one solar observation.  And yes, I know not to look through the 'scope. I projected the image onto a piece of white paper.   Notice the three large sunspots at the center of the solar disk.  Pretty cool.  

BTW, it is easy to aim the scope at the sun without endangering your eyesight.  Don't ever put your eye to an eyepiece (even on the spotting or aiming 'scope) when ole' sol is in the sky!  Instead, just look at the shadow that the scope tube is casting on the ground.  Make it circular and you will be very close to having the main tube aimed at the sun. See below.   

 I like to have the eyepiece aimed down at the ground or well above horizontal to avoid the danger of someone accidentally walking through  the powerful sunbeam coming out of the eyepiece.  You do have to be careful, especially if there are kids around. 

Building an Airplane in the Basement with Insulation Foam, Tape, Glue, Poplar...

But this one is not a model RC plane.  This kid intends to pilot this plane while actually sitting in it.  

As a parent, I must say this is really nuts.  Stick to the models Peter!  Or maybe put some goggles on the big dog and let him fly it!  

Nevertheless, this is an inspriational look at what can be built in a basement using stuff from Home Depot or Lowes.    

For more info see:
http://hackaday.com/2017/08/14/building-an-ultralight-out-of-foam-in-a-basement/#more-268614

Here's Peter's earlier Cargo Plane project:

Voltage Regulators as Audio Amplifiers - Who Knew!?

Mike KC7IT pointed out that the AF amplifier chip in my Sawdust regen receiver is actually a TL431 voltage regulator. Mike writes: "It's using the voltage reference input as audio in, and the voltage being regulated as the audio out."  It works great as an audio amplifier, and with just three terminals it is a lot easier to use than our normal LM386 or 741 chips. I'd never seen a regulator used this way.

Here's the data sheet:  http://www.ti.com/lit/gpn/tl431

And here are a couple of sites that discuss this very interesting repurposing:

http://theradioboard.com/rb/viewtopic.php?t=6733

http://techlib.com/electronics/audioamps.html#TL431

A Regen that is NOT Evil

Look at that thing.  It is already painted Juliello -- this is a very good sign.  Steve Silverman sent me one of these Sawdust Regen kits a few years ago.  I put it together this week for my nephew John Henry who is very interested in Morse and ham radio.   

This is a regen that even I can love. It is simple, small and stable.  40 meters comes booming in.

Look at the schematic.  Why haven't we used that simple three-terminal AF amp IC before?   

Get your Sawdust Gear here: https://breadboardradio.com/breadboardradio/Products.html