SolderSmoke Homebrew Direct Conversion Receiver Hall of Fame Update: 129 Completed, 122 + 7 Honorable Mentions: (As of April 11, 2026, 0852Z)

Marian SP9DEL'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. 

As of April 11, 2026 0852Z:

So far Total Receivers Built: 129. 122 plus 7 honorable mentions.  Total Count:  129.  Receivers built in 19 countries.   

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  (Canada)  

KI5SRY         Mark -- Gears on PTO screw

 

KA1MUQ       Frying pan receiver

AA1N              Adam

ZL1AUN         Aaron -- Using SSB transmitter -- (New Zealand)

W8UC             Never before homebrewed. 

VK4PG           Phil -- Nice case, "really pleased"

G7LQX           Working well, video of CW and SSB.  -- (England)

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.   -- (Scotland) 

KF8BOG          Jim:  A long struggle, but success.  

Chris Wales    Fantastic video.  -- (Wales)

YD9BAX         Wayan! Homebrew transformer!  (Indonesia)

N0NQD         Jeff 

WN3F              Roy -- Made new stickers! 

AB5XQ            Bill  

KB7ZUT          Andy  

AA1OF            Jer

VictorKees        Holland (Netherlands) 

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 (Australia) 

LU2VJM          Juan in Argentina  -- (Argentina)

K1OA               Scott "Most fun in 50 years"

KC9DLM         Ben -- Had EFHW problems

PH2LB             Lex  Yellow, Glue Stick -- (Netherlands)

AI6WR             David

G6GEV            Dave (It was a blast!)  (England)  

KC1ONM        Wayne  MakerLabs NH

KB1OIQ          Andy    MakerLabs NH

KA1PQK         Jay       MakerLabs NH

W1TKO           Mike    MakerLabs NH

K5KHK            Karl

SM0TPW         Mikael  -- (Sweden)

KI7LKB           Brian (coat hanger tube)

M6CRD            Chris  (England) 

W2DAB           Dave in NYC

W4JYK            Wes of VWS

KA4CDN          Mike of VWS

M7EFO             Adrian 

VK5RC             Rob  (Australia) 

KD8KHP          Dave

VK1CHW         Chris (Australia) 

KA0PHJ           Brian

W0IT                Louis

W1PJE             Phil

W2AEW           Alan

KN6FVK          John (Barkhausen-Be-Gone Spray) 

VU2JXN           Ramakrishnan -- (India)

AA0MS            Doug 

9V1/KM7ABZ   Paul  --  (Singapore)

VK2BLQ          Stephen -- (Australia)

N3FJZ              Rick

Daniel               VE5DLD  -- (Canada)

Student 1          Student of VE5DLD

Student 2          Student of VE5DLD

Student 3         Student of VE5DLD

K7WXW          Bill 

NK3H               Mitch

KN4ZXG         Ted

WA1MAC        Paul

N4AVC             Chuck 

K3IY                 Kevin

N6ASD             Ashish in Bangalore (India)

W1DSP             Rick

WD4CFN         Steve

KM5Z             Mike

KF5DAN         Dan

Fritz                 Fritz

N9OK              Joe

WA5DSS         Bill 

K0GDB           Grant

G0JNR            Shane Glow-in-Dark Coil Form

KK7BCO        Tobias

K2BVR            Bob

Robert              Sutton

K5YFO           Dave (Texas) 

KD4PBJ          Chris

KN4GAH        Chris -- EE perspective

F1GMA           Philippe  -- (France)

W2TEF            Todd

EI9ITB            Karl  -- (Ireland)

VU2TUM         Puneit Singh (India) 

AA7EE             Dave Richards

KI5VIR            Jay

CT7AXD       Graham -- Promoted from Honorable Mention! (Portugal)

G3MOT           Josh (England)

KW4H             Steve

NJ7V                Charlie (RedSummit)

N2ETZ            Denny

AB9LM           James

W9XT              Gary

G0PJT             Alex

KF8FZZ         Tyler

N7HPR           Steve (Instructor) (N7HPR Group)

Clark               (N7HPR Group)

KQ4ZHO        Kurt (N7HPR Group)

KQ4OBR        Brian (N7HPR Group)

KR4CUF         Justin (N7HPR Group)

Amanda          (N7HPR Group)

David               (N7HPR Group)

KM4AED       Jamey (N7HPR Group)

KN4MVH      Larry (N7HPR Group)

N5GVW          Dick (N7HPR Group)

W7KAL          Kal

KC9LFP         Joe

SP9DEL         Marian (Poland) 

LB8VA           Ivar (Norway)  

-------------------------

Honorable Mentions: 

*AA7U            Steve No PTO

*VK7IAN        Ian -- No Manhattan boards -- (Tasmania)

*KC1FSZ        Bruce's build on a PC board

* DL1AJG      Andreas -- (Germany)

* Matthew      Student of DL1AJG

* Arash           Student of DL1AJG 

*KA4KXX     Walter -- FB 20 Meter version

Dean KK4DAS and Pete N6QW Talk to the River City (Sacramento, Ca.) Radio Club about the 40 meter Direct Conversion Receiver

On April 7, 2026 Dean and Pete spoke to the River City Radio Club about the 40 meter Direct Conversion Receiver project (see above).  Great job guys! 

Thanks to Carol KP4MD for the invitation. 

ANOTHER AMAZING Homebrew Station -- This one from Belgium -- ON1MWS

 

Those large "steering wheels" on the regen rig caught my attention, and I'm glad they did, because they led me to the sites of Danny ON1MWS. 

https://www.qsl.net/on1mws/

https://www.qrz.com/db/ON1MWS

Danny writes on his QRZ page: 

I'm especially interested in homebrewing my own station. everything from the power supply to the antenna is scratch-build. I have no commercial ham gear, nor do I use pre-fabricated kits or DDS chips.

My gear is a toy compared to a modern station. And it will never even come remotely close to commercial gear. However, the journey to learn how radio circuits work, improve the station and add capabilities over the years has been satisfying. R&D as amusement.

-----------------------------------

FB Danny!  Thanks for the rigs and web sites.  73  Bill N2CQR

A really AMAZING Homebrew Station in Brunei

Didier is F5NPV but he is V85MPV in Brunei for a few years.  Check out his amazing QRZ page:   

https://www.qrz.com/db/V85NPV

Are There Really Photons on the Signals from, say, a 20 meter Dipole?

This line from the Hack-A-Day article got me:   "Everything on the electromagnetic spectrum has some properties of both waves and particles, but it’s difficult to imagine a radio wave, for example, behaving like a particle." 

It is indeed difficlut (at least for me!) to imagine this, especially when we think of the operation of that dipole using waves (not particles).  

I really like Jeroen's channel and his approach.   Note him waking up, obviously thinking about this question.  

Thanks Jeroen, and thanks Hack-A-Day! 

U.S. Administration Supports Ham Radio Homebrew

 

In a decision that puzzled many analysts, the Federal Communications Commission has come out with a new policy that seems to support the at home construction ("homebrew") of amateur radio equipment.  The commission outlined a series of new requirements (see below) that, collectively, seem intended to breathe new life into what many considered a dying art.  

Commission spokesman Brian Cox tied the move to recent efforts by the Administration to bring industry back to the United States:  "For too long we have stood by and watched foreign manufacturers take larger and larger portions of the electronics market in the United States.  Part of this seems to be the unwillingness of many Americans to do what their grandfathers did and actually build their own electronic equipment. These steps are intended to help reverse that trend." Greene's comments may have been undercut by the fact that they were sent from his FCC-provided Iphone (which allegedly was not homebrewed in the USA) and then disseminated via Tik-Tok.  

Sources in the Administration also point to recent tariff moves by the government that will have the effect of removing the incentive of cheap foreign-made equipment.  "Just wait until those 1000 percent tariffs kick in.  You can almost feel those soldering irons warming up!" 

Collectively, this initiative seems tied to the political effort known as MAGA.  An anonymous White House spokesman explained: "First there was MAGA (calling for a return to GREATNESS).  Then came MAHA (HEALTH!).  Now we see MASA:  MAKE AMERICA SOLDER AGAIN.  We think this will be a real winner.  There will be so much winning, American hams will soon get tired of winning."  

The emphasis, a spokesman explained, will be on DOMESTIC production of radio equipment.  "We see the Michigan Mighty Mite as a good example.  I mean it just oozes domesticity!  MICHIGAN!  Why can't we go back to the day when millions of MMM rigs dotted our fruited plains, and people happily conversed via Morse Code using homemade transmitters?  Well we can.  And dammit we will, whether people like it or not!" 

Construction techniques will also be closely regulated, and the naming of these techniques has become an issue:  "We like the 'Manhattan' style of construction, but the name is too, well, too 'New York City.'  So we are re-naming the technique:  From now on it will be known as the 'Mississippi Technique.'  We also discovered that all of the Crazy Glue used in the Manhattan -- I mean Mississippi -- Technique comes from overseas.  So from now on, only good-old Elmer's Glue can be used.  MASA!" 

In a related move, the FCC announced that henceforth, only American Morse will be permitted in the United States. The use of International Morse Code will be banned, and masked ICE agents will destroy any equipment found to be using it.  "I mean, we invented it right?   So when did we go all 'woke globalist international'?  Enough of that."  It is hoped that this move will reduce the number of radio contacts with foreigners, something the FCC finds "highly woke suspicious."  "Americans should  be talking only to other Americans, right? "  An exception seems to have been made for one country: contacts with Russia will be allowed to continue.  No explanation for this exception was provided. 

Tracy Kidder, author of Soul of the New Machine, dies at age 80

 

He was a great writer.  His books are inspirational.  Thank you Tracy Kidder. 

Obit:   

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/books/tracy-kidder-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XVA.hssv.-OA5DxfI4WPv&smid=url-share

SolderSmoke Blog Posts about Tracy Kidder and his books: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search?q=Tracy+Kidder

The Green Hornet -- My Visual and 10 meter Beacon from the Dominican Republic

This all started a LONG time ago when I built a "Lil Slugger" CW transmitter, designed by Doug DeMaw. The schematic appears below -- it appears in both the W1FB Design Notebook, and his QRP Notebook.  

Last year I decided to put it on the air from the Dominican Republic.  Mike WN2A sent me a programmed PIC chip to key the beacon.  I just connected the output of the keyer to the base of the Lil Sluggers keying transistor.  This transistor just switched the transmitter's driver transistor on and off. 

In the course of messing with this device (and trying to get it to work with a 2 meter beacon) I managed to release smoke from Mike's keyer.  Fortunately, Mike had sent the schematic and I was able to tell that it was probably just the PNP transistor at the very end of the keyer circuit.  I have some 2N3906s on hand.  I replaced the suspect part and Bob was my Uncle.  I consider this a "good repair" -- I had to identify the fault, and then replace the part to make the device work.  

Then came the fun part.  The visual part.  I used the keying transistor from the Lil Slugger to drive a super bright green LED from LighthouseLEDs.  I had in my DR junk box the parabolic mirror from an old car spotlight (the kind you'd plug into the cigarette lighter).  That mirror became the mount for the LED.  Before I got the thing going this year, I had to remove some of the window coating that keeps the UV out of the house.  Unfortunately it was also keeping some of my beacon's photons IN.  It had to go.  I used my wife'd hair dryer to take the coating off.  As you can see, the visual beacon is now really bright.  So far, only one neighbor has noticed the green flashing light.  So far, we have heard from no ships at sea.  But we are hopeful.  Pete N6QW warns of possible cruise missiles.  I am prepared to live dangerously.  

This video shows the set up from inside the shack, during the daytime: 

The ten meter beacon has been doing well and is showing up on the Reverse Beacon Netwok (K1RA and NU4F).  I will improve the antenna and this should strengthen the signal even further. 

SDR vs. HDR -- Are analog hams Troglodytes, stuck in a rut, resistant to change, and all that ?

 

The above paragraphs appeared in a very good ham radio club magazine.   I had some comments on it which I shared with the author and the editor.  In light of our recent discussion of the ARRL Clean Signal Initiative, I thought that it would be useful for me to post these comments here. 

 

I think the author misses an important point:  The ability of radio amateurs to homebrew their equipment.  I know from experience that it is difficult to homebrew traditional analog SSB equipment

 -- I am running analog SSB gear from two separate 

locations.  But here is the key:   With traditional analog gear,  homebrewing of the gear can be done.  Not so with SDR gear.  

Sure, hams can do their own software (but usually this is limited to the software experts).  I suppose that AI will let people vibe code their own SDR software, but I suspect that most hams will not do this.  Even if they did, software development is a very different activity than is homebrewing of analog hardware.  

And as for the hardware, I suspect that we are rapidly approaching the point where this will come down to the placement of two (maybe one!) chips in their sockets.  One ADC chip, one FPGA chip (programmed by an FPGA expert) and you are essentially done.  Again, you are talking about a device that is radically different from a homebrew SSB analog transceiver. I can build an analog SSB transceiver, I really can't build an SDR transceiver.  

I have problems with your claims that SDR is inherently more sensitive than traditional analog rigs. Maybe if you go FT8, but not with SSB.  As for selectivity, well some of my rigs have homebrew 10 pole crystal filters.  The skirts are very nearly vertical. 

Finally, related to all of the above, is the commercial/SDR  vs. homebrew/analog issue.  If we go down this supposedly superior path, all of the rigs used by "amateur" radio operators will be commercially produced.  They will be much like the Iphone in my pocket.  And amateurs will have as much of an emotional connection to their "rigs" as I do to my Iphone:  ZERO.  

The article portrays the users of analog gear as old Troglodytes, resistant to technological change.  I just don't think this is accurate.  Some of us stick to the older analog gear because it is possible to really understand it, and it is possible to really homebrew it.  That, I think, is very valuable.  

73   Bill  Hi7/N2CQR

G-QRP 2025 G2NJ Trophy

Thanks to G-QRP for selecting us for this prestigious award.  This was for our efforts with the SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver.  

The ARRL's 2025 Technical Service Award

 

The ARRL's "Clean Signal Initiative" -- Does the ARRL Now ASSUME all Transmitters are Manufactured?

 

Will, KI4POV alerted us to this -- we've been reading about it for some time.  I have always found it worrisome.   Here is why:   ARRL -- an organization that has its roots in HOMEBREW radio -- seems to be adopting standards that will discourage radio homebrewing. They seem to be pushing for transmitter cleanliness standards that can only be met by advanced,  SDR-based, manufactured radios. 

I realize that the number of hams who actually build their own SSB gear is shockingly small.  Many of us eschew SDR architecture because of its complexity, and because much of it is based on CPU, ADC, and FPGA chips that, well, are manufactured by some distant company, and are NOT homebrewed by us. 

I am sure the Iphone in my pocket will meet or exceed the ARRL's Clean Signal Initiative standards. But should this be the model that radio amateurs follow?   Is the ARRL -- with its badges! -- moving us closer to FCC standards that will -- in effect -- outlaw things like non-SDR architecture, LC oscillators, and homebrew crystal filters?  What about older boatanchor gear?  Will the new standards be applied to my Hallicrafters HT-37?  Or my DX-100?  And what about the homebrew CW gear that is sometimes (all too rarely) heard on the ham bands?  These "rigs" (they deserve that title) often use (GASP!) tubes.  It seems that under the ARRL's CSI, all of these kinds of rigs will have to go.  They will all have to be replaced by properly-badged SDR mystery boxes from overseas manufacturers. Get out your credit cards guys, and put away the soldering irons! A new day has dawned, brought to you by the ARRL CSI!    

I can hear the howls of complaint already:  Bill is such a trolodyte.   He is opppsed to progress.  He is in favor of dirty signals.   He would have been with those defiantly proclaiming "SPARK FOREVER!"  He refuses to embrace progress and get with the CSI program.  

Well, if the new program does -- in effect -- lead to the prohibition of simple, homebrew circuitry by radio AMATEURS --  if it does move us ever closer to the day when the only way to meet purity standards is via a manufactured SDR mystery box, I am opposed to that.  I prefer homebrew rigs. 

Here is the latest on this ARRL initiative: 

https://www.arrl.org/files/file/QST%20Binaries/April%202026/Spatta%20Clean%20Signal%20Initiative.pdf