The Hall of Fame -- Completed SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receivers (So far --- more to come!)

Dean KK4DAS's Receiver

Please let us know if you spot any errors, or if we have inadvertently missed anyone.  Don't worry about being late to the game -- the challenge continues.  All of the info is still available (see below). 

As of April 29, 2025  0942Z:

So far 59 completed receivers, with 4 honorable mentions:  

NE3U (KY4EOD)  Matt 

KQ4AOP       First ham signals ever heard! 

N9TD             Derek

AC3NG          Ryan

VK3TPM       Peter Marks  

W4KAC         Ken 

W4KAC         Ken built a second one! 

N2EPE           Erik

VA3NCA        Wayde    

KI5SRY          Mark -- Gears on PTO screw

 

KA1MUQ       Frying pan receiver

AA1N              Adam

ZL1AUN         Aaron -- Using SSB transmitter

W8UC             Never before homebrewed. 

VK4PG           Phil -- Nice case, "really pleased"

G7LQX           Working well, video of CW and SSB. 

KE2AMP        John     Spring on PTO screw -- great

N9SZ              Steve  nice receiver

KD9NHZ        Piotr  Nice one

KE8ICE          Calvin, Very cool receiver. 

 

WV3V              Jayson!  Got it done!

GM5JDG         Martin.    

KF8BOG          Jim:  A long struggle, but success.  

Chris Wales    Fantastic video.  

YD9BAX        Wayan! Homebrew transformer! 

N0NQD        Jeff 

WN3F              Roy -- Made new stickers! 

AB5XQ            Bill  

KB7ZUT          Andy  

AA1OF            Jer

VictorKees        Holland

KC9OJV           John -- Manhattan-style convert

WZ5M              1, 2 or maybe even 3 receivers!

K1KJW             Jim in Vermont

KC5DI              Dallas -- friend of WZ5M

Gary                 Australian -- Wooden PTO form

LU2VJM          Juan in Argentina

K1OA               Scott "Most fun in 50 years"

KC9DLM         Ben -- Had EFHW problems

PH2LB             Lex  Yellow, Glue Stick

AI6WR             David

G6GEV            Dave (It was a blast!) 

KC1ONM        Wayne  MakerLabs NH

KB1OIQ          Andy    MakerLabs NH

KA1PQK         Jay       MakerLabs NH

W1TKO           Mike    MakerLabs NH

K5KHK            Karl

SM0TPW         Mikael

KI7LKB           Brian (coat hanger tube)

M6CRD            Chris

W2DAB           Dave in NYC

W4JYK            Wes of VWS

KA4CDN          Mike of VWS

M7EFO             Adrian 

VK5RC             Rob

KD8KHP          Dave

VK1CHW         Chris

KA0PHJ           Brian

W0IT                Louis

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Honorable Mentions: 

*AA7U            Steve No PTO

*VK7IAN        Ian -- No Manhattan boards 

*KC1FSZ        Bruce's build on a PC board

*CT7AXD       Graham -- different AF amp

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Candidates for the Hall of Fame: 

SA5RJS              Rasmus

KA9TII               James

W2AEW             Alan

AA7FO              Chuck 

K7WXW            Bill 

W1PJE               Phil  MIT

VA3ZOT           Tony  Surface Mount -- Honorable Mention? 

KM5Z              Mike Yancey

AB2XT             John (Done, just need the video)

KO7M              Jeff (Piper Cub)

KD4PBJ           Chris

For more information on how you too can build the receiver: 

Join the discussion - SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

 

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

 

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@soldersmoke

Wes W4JYK's FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver by a Vienna Wireless Society Makers Group Member

I was very glad to see Wes W4JYK finish this reciever.  Wes is a member of our local radio club -- the Vienna Wireless Society, and is part of the club's Makers Group.  

Wes writes: 

The DCR is up and running.  Listened to East Cars Net along with a few other stations.  Very cool! and good project.

Thanks Wes and congratulations on entering the Hall of Fame!

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For more information on how you too can build the receiver: 

Join the discussion - SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

 

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

 

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@soldersmoke

Dave W2DAB's NEW YORK CITY Homebrew SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver. Manhattan Construction IN MANHATTAN! FB!

Dave W2DAB is a long-time friend of the SolderSmoke podcast.  When Steve Silverman was moving out of NYC, Dave went on the subway down to lower Manhattan to retrieve (for me) Steve's HP-8640B signal generator. And that thing is heavy!  Months later I picked it up from Dave.  Dave is also rumored to have participated in some of the SolderSmoke sticker operations in New York City.  I will neither confirm nor deny his participation.   

Dave obviously did a beautiful job on this receiver, and it sounds great.  Dave's reception is hampered by his high-rise location -- he is currently limited to the use of a mag loop.  I thought about suggesting that Dave take his receiver down to Central Park or to the banks of the East River, but I worry that this device might be too much even for the famously tolerant residents of the Big Apple.  

By the way, that station Dave heard was Percy, KF2AT, right up the road from him on E 106th Street.   

Dave writes: 

The really nice part of this project is that it’s so broken down that I can understand all of the parts and I can keep working on this to make it better and better. Improvement and patience are necessary traits for successful home brewing.  I don’t rule out a Park DCR Activation, as I like to say Manhattan construction is so much more interesting done in Manhattan.

(Percy KF2AT is also in Manhattan.) 

Thanks a lot Dave, and congratulations,  Welcome to the Hall of Fame!  

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For more information on how you too can build the receiver: 

Join the discussion - SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

 

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

 

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@soldersmoke

My Hanmilt HK 22 Drone -- Video and a still picture

This is the beginners's drone that I was using in the Dominican Republic this past winter.  It was really great.  The hover capability was amazing -- this made it very easy to learn to fly.  If it looked like I was getting into trouble, I would just go up a bit, hover, and figure out what to do. Obviously I could not do this with a fixed wing R/C plane.  Photography was excellent. See picture below -- I took this shot from my drone this winter.  I have a video on the Patreon channel.  

I flew this thing dozens of times, and only had one crash.  It was very minor.  I am still using the original propellers. 

The brand names change on these things very quickly, and Hanmilt might not be available anymore. But there are a lot of drones like this.  I paid about $100.  

I think my next drone will be a DJI drone.  But this will have to wait until I return to the Dominican Republic in June (I am in the FAA's "No Drone Zone" around the national capital.) Here is a really interesting video on DJI: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weDjwOyZaMc&t=225s

Chris M6CRD's FB SolderSmoke Homebrew Direct Conversion Receiver

Chris M6CRD built a really nice looking recceiver.  And it sounds great too, both on CW (above) and SSB (below). 

Chris writes: 

Hi Bill.  It is using an audio transformer on the output but its an ebay one of unknown impedance. The description said 1.3k:8r but I have my doubts how accurate that is. The radio runs fine after I quenched some initial oscillation with larger caps on the power rail of the audio amp, its just a little quieter than I suspect it should be with the correct transformer. 

I told Chris that Dean and I had also had some early trouble with AF transformers of questionable specifications.   But in any case his receiver was clearly inhaling very nicely. 

Congratulations Chris.  Welcome to the Hall of Fame!

  

For more information on how you too can build the receiver: 

Join the discussion - SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

 

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

 

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@soldersmoke

FCC to Ban Direct Conversion Receivers

From the FCC News Line:  

The Federal Communications Commission announced today that it will soon ban a wide range of communications equipment due to interference that this equipment is causing to Starlink communications satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).  The banned equipment includes a range of legacy analog-type circuitry that, according to the Commission, has "lost relevance" and constitutes "an archaic electromagnetic nuisance."  Under the proposed Commission action, banned equipment will include all regenerative, super-regenerative, and direct conversion receivers.  

The interference potential of regenerative receivers has been known since the 1920s.  Direct Conversion receivers were thought to be less prone to Problematic Spurious Emission (PSE),  but in recent months  LEO satellites have experienced serious interference from terrestrial sources.  

An FCC official was nearly apoplectic when speaking about the devices that are causing this interference:  "They have no shielding.  They are built on wooden boards, and are made with superglue!  Heck, the main tuning device is -- get this -- a screw! A screw!  To think that something like that could threaten an entire LEO satellite system.  This is really unacceptable."  The official said that two persons in Northern Virginia had encouraged the construction of these "terrorist devices."  The FCC is working with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to bring these people to justice. 

The vast majority of the interference is believed to come from home-made ("homebrew")  direct conversion receivers.  These devices employ simple oscillators in the 7 MHz range.  The 85th harmonic of these oscillators falls in the middle of the UHF frequencies used by the satellite system.  The interference appears when the satellites are over areas known to be used by ham radio direct conversion enthusiasts.  There have been communications issues near Melbourne  Australia, the North Island of New Zealand,  Bali Indonesia, all across the U.S. (especially in the area of Nashua, NH), Canada, the UK,  Holland,  and Sweden. Recently there have been reports of interference from Argentina. 

A satellite company CEO of has been briefed on the matter, and promised to use his influence in the U.S. government to "squash this problem like a bug."  The spokesperson for a major ham radio organization in the United States reassured members: "Don't worry, commercial SDR transceivers will not be affected by this ban." 

Brian KI7LKB's SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver with a FB Unique PTO Coil form Using a Coat Hanger Tube!

Brian KI7LKB has built a very FB SolderSmoke direct conversion receiver.  He made the PTO coil form himself, using the cardboard from a coat hanger as the tube. (I have used these tubes for many homebrew inductors.  I thought I was alone!  FB Brian.)  In the video above we see Brian's receiver pulling in SSB signals. 

Brian writes: 

Finished the DCR! Even with S-7 noise, from here in Southern Nevada, picked up stations in Canada, Texas and Louisiana. Built to plans, except the PTO coil form was fabricated from a clothes hanger tube mounted in a fiberglass frame. Antenna is an inverted “V”. A ham since 2017, I’m always looking for something to build, and the Soldersmoke podcast provided an educational and appropriately challenging project. I particularly like the fact it is modular, and I’ve already identified other applications for the audio amplifier. Your guidance was excellent and I learned a bunch. Thank you!

Here is Brian's receiver at work in the CW portion of 40 meters: 

Thank you Brian.  Congratulations!  You homebrewed a receiver! 

For more information on how you too can build the receiver: 

Join the discussion - SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

 

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

 

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@soldersmoke

Mikael SM0TPW's FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver from Sweden

 I was very pleased to see Mikael's video.  This is our first receiver from Sweden.  In his QRZ page Mikael talks of learning CW while in the military, and of making a few contacts with the equpment of his regiment.  I had a similar experience -- I once made a CW contact with the rig assigned to our team.  

Mikael writes: 

Thank you Bill.

I’ve been a Ham for 35 years with a long gap in the middle of 20+.

I am of course a Soldersmoke listener and tried to build this dcr when you built it in the highschool project, but I didn’t succeed that time and gave up.

But with all the guidance here on discord I gave it one more go, and succeeded. 😊

The hardest thing was, as for many other, the af stage and oscillation. But some bypass caps and problem solved.

I got so much help just reading all posts here so thank you all in this community!

Now I will lean back for a while and listen to my baby. I am a proud father right now.

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Indeed Mikael, that is what Farhan advises:  sit back and enjoy the receiver that you have built.  Congratulations!  The receiver sounds great on CW and on SSB.  

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For more information on how you too can build the receiver: 

Join the discussion - SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

 

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

 

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@soldersmoke

Checking in to the Old Military Radio Net, March 29, 2025

This was a fairly typical session of the Old Military Radio Net. 3885 kHz AM 0500 local on Saturday mornings. (Distant listeners can tune in via WebSDR.) This clip shows W3EMD, N2CQR (me) and, N1SNG. Buzz W3EMD from the Hudson Valley of New York was on with his KWM-1. Normally he uses a BC-348 powered with a Dynamotor. Last week he told the group that someone had COMPLAINED about the noise that his mic was picking up from the Dynamotor. Geez! I told Buzz that we had been commiserating with him about this on the SolderSmoke podcast. Later in this morning's session I heard WU2D, WA1HLR, AJ1G, and others. I reported on an emergency De-Oxit spraying of my HQ-100's band switch, just minutes before net call up. I also noted that I had found a crystal for 3885 kHz; the radio gods have spoken (TRGHS).

The MakeIt Labs of Nashua, New Hampshire -- Four Successful Direct Conversion Builds

 

This picture came in on February 27, 2025 from Nashua, N.H. 

On February 27, 2025 they wrote:

 Hello from MakeIt Labs (a makerspace in Nashua, NH, USA).  Andy (KB1OIQ), Jay (KA1PQK), Mike (W1TKO) and Wayne (KC1ONM) are building the DCR as a Tuesday Night Project Night activity.  This week we all experienced the joy of oscillation 😂

On March 27, 2025 all four builders completed their projects, submitted "proof of life" videos, and entered the Hall of Fame.  

And it looks like they had a lot of fun.  That MakeIt Lab looks like a great way to pull people together for projects like this.  Well done guys!  Thanks and 73! 

Mike W1TKO's Beautiful SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver

Mike W1TKO is a realtively new ham, getting his ticket in 2022.  But he has already done something that 95% of all hams never do:  He has homebrewed a receiver.  The personalization of the receiver adds a nice touch of class to the project.  FB Mike.  Congratulations! 

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For more information on how you too can build the receiver: 

Join the discussion - SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

 

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

 

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@soldersmoke

Jay KA1PQK's Wonderful SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver

On Jay KA1PQK's  QRZ page he says that he has long been interested in the minimalist side of ham radio.  This project certainly fits in with that, but there is noting minimalist about the satisfaction that we can seeon Jay's face as he tunes the receiver that he hombrewed himself.  FB Jay.  Congratulations! 

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For more information on how you too can build the receiver: 

Join the discussion - SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

 

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

 

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@soldersmoke