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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Falcon 9 Rocket Flies Over the Dominican Republic -- February 18, 2025

Just 30 minutes prior to this, my wife Elisa happened to see on Instagram a map showing the flight path of the Falcon 9. We didn't know that this was coming! I checked and got a live feed from Cape Canaveral of the launch. I figured we might see something if we looked to the north-west. Wow, did we. The Falcon 9 put on an amazing display. On January 25, 2025 we had seen a meteor-bolide fireball on a similar track. That was quite something, but this was really amazing. You can hear our excitement in the audio.

Thr bright object is Venus. The rocket appears to turn off its engines shortly after (from our point of view) it passes Venus.

Monday, February 17, 2025

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Why Should We Build Analog Gear When the World has Gone Digital?

Our friend Todd (Vasily) had recently been thinking about this on his excellent Popcorn Electronics blog: 

https://qrp-popcorn.blogspot.com/

There are many answers to this question.  Todd's post made me think about a message from Farhan VU2ESE on this same subject. See:  https://www.vu2ese.com/index.php/2022/08/04/daylight-an-all-analog-radio/ My comment and a quote from Farhan appears below: 

Hello Todd!  I have been thinking about the same things.  As you know there is a lot of magic in using gear that you have built yourself.  And it is still possible to do this.  But I think the builder has to make some choices:  Building it yourself might -- as you say -- require you to move away from the perfection, bells and whistles of the modern ICOM 7300 style rigs while embracing the simple functioning of analog rigs.  Farhan was thinking of this three years ago: 

"So here we are, talking analog radios in 2022.  Here is the memo : The analog never died. The world is analog all the way, until you descend into Quantum madness. The antennas are analog, Maxwell died a content, analog man. Our radios, ultimately, are analog machines and we are all analog beasts too. Amateur Radio technology has evolved into the digital domain. However,  it has only made it easier for us to do analog with computers to simulate and print our circuits.  So, it’s time to bid good bye to our Arduinos and Raspberry Pis and build an Analog Radio for ourselves. So let’s see what we can achieve in hindsight, a return to our native land and a rethink of our approaches. The radio is called Daylight Again, a nod to being back at the FDIM in 2022 after a gap of two years. It is named after the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s song that had been humming all the time while put this radio together, emerging after 2 years of lockdown.  This radio that took two days to come together, no actually two years! That’s: parts of it got built and stowed away, thoughts were struck in the shower, questions popped up during early morning cycle rides and notes and circuits were scribbled in the notebook.  I must take the first of many diversion here: I hope you all maintain a notebook. Write down the date and whatever you thought or did on the bench and the result. Nothing is trivial enough to leave out. Wisdom comes to those who write notes.  I started to build this on Saturday the 14th May and I checked into the local SSB net on Monday morning, the 16th May 2022. Back to the radio.  What can an analog radio do that will appeal to us homebrewers?"

More to follow.  73  Bill  Hi7/N2CQR 

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Heard on the Old Military Radio Net: W4SVA

 https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.qrz.com/a/w4sva/IMG_8375.JPG

So there I was, early Saturday morning (earlier here -- we are one hour ahead of the East Coast) listening -- as I do -- to the Old Military Radio net.  3385 kHz  AM. I use the K3FEF Web SDR in Pennsylvania.  I heard a station that sounded familiar: Chris W4SVA.  He said he was in the Shenandoah valley and was receiving on an R-390A and transmitting with a homebrew rig.  I kind of remembered talking to a guy with a station like that.  I searched through the SolderSmoke blog.  No joy.  Then I remembered it was probably a log entry.  There he is, W4SVA.  Here is his QRZ page:  https://www.qrz.com/db/W4SVA  I was almost certainly on the K2ZA DX-100.  

Here's my log entry:  

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

12 August 2018

75AM W4SVA Chris in the Shenandoah, 15 miles south of Harrisonburg.  Very FB.  AM guy.  Building rack-mount rig.  Lots of HB stuff.  Sent him the Shenandoah rocket pictures.

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

I also heard Buzz W3EMD from the Hudson Valley -- the dynamotor was clearly audible. FB Buzz. 

Thanks Chris. And thanks again to John Zaruba for the DX-100.


Wednesday, February 12, 2025

SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver Challenge -- Bonus Video -- Using an Oscilloscope to Test Your Receiver

 SolderSmoke Challenge – Bonus Episode – Using your oscilloscope to test your DCR

 

New homebrew radio builders often struggle with test and measurement.  You can build a board perfectly but if you don’t have your tools setup correctly you won’t be able to tell if your board is working, or worse you’ll thing it is not working when it is working perfectly.  In this bonus episode Dean, KK4DAS takes us through the basics of configuring and oscilloscope to test the boards, particularly the  PTO oscillator, buffer, and the mixer. 

 

We say this often, but if you really want to learn about oscilloscopes and test and measurement there is no better resource than our friend Alan, W2AEW’s YouTube Channel.  Check it out!

 

 

Alan Wolke, W2AEW’s YouTube Channel:

https://youtube.com/@w2aew?si=TEZcVYWOG8Frce1c

 

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

 

SolderSmoke blog DCR posts:

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search/label/TJ%20DC%20RX

Sunday, February 9, 2025

Light Beam Communication from the Dominican Republic?


Mike WN2A sent me the PIC board to generate the CW for my "Lil Slugger" Doug DeMaw transmitter.  Then I started wondering about having a light source flash with the CW.  Mike recommended some super-bright green LED's.  I had a big broken flashlight with me (the benefits of junk!) so I put all the parts together and hung the light in the window of my seventh floor shack.  Last night as Elisa and I walked the dog, I looked back from a quarter mile south.  The video above shows the scene. The cell phone camera understates the brightness.  


The video above shows the rig in action (but with the bulb on the shelf).   Note the PLJ freq readout, the SWR meter and, of course, the green bulb.  

I half joked with Elisa that I would love to get a reception report on the light beam.  This is not all that far-fetched.  We have an email address in the CW message, and the light beam is aimed to the south, across the open Caribbean.  

All of this reminded me of an article by Rod Newkirk of some light beam communication that he engaged in in Indonesia during World War II.  Great story: 

Saturday, February 8, 2025

SolderSmoke Challenge -- Direct-Conversion Receiver Video #5 -- Building the Audio Frequency Amplifier

 SolderSmoke Challenge – Direct Conversion Receiver – the Audio Amplifier Build and Receiver Demonstration

 In this episode Dean, KK4DAS wraps up the initial build of the SolderSmoke Challenge DCR.  He takes us through the audio amplifier stage and demonstrates the newly built receiver just moments after connecting the audio module to the mixer and hooking up a speaker.  The audio module is conceptually simple – three nearly identical stock-standard common emitter audio amplifiers which provide the 80-100 dB of amplification you need to go from microvolts of RF to volts of audio to drive a speaker.  The challenge with all that amplification in a small board is to keep it amplifying but to stop it from oscillating and as you’ll see in the video, good construction technique is critical to good performance.

 

And wow!   We now have more than 30 builders working on the SolderSmoke Challenge, with more builders completing the challenge every day.  And those are just the ones who are active on tour Discord server.   If you have completed the DCR or even if you have just started building it, we want to hear from you.  Send a picture or better yet a video – make it a selfie and you can join the SolderSmoke challenge hall of fame!

 

And if you are not yet building it, you must ask yourself one question: 

 

What are you waiting for?

  

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

 

SolderSmoke blog DCR posts:

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search/label/TJ%20DC%20RX

 

Thursday, February 6, 2025

SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver Challenge: A Short Video from Dean about the Virtues of Building the AF Amplifier ONE STAGE AT A TIME

 Dean will soon post his longer video on how to build the fourth and final board of the SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Challenge receiver, but we know many builders are chomping at the bit, and are going ahead with the building of the AF amp board. We hope that this short preliminary video will help. Here Dean descibes the benefit of building the three stage amp, ONE STAGE AT A TIME.

Response to the challenge has been great. There are at least 30 receivers under construction around the world. Many are already inhaling RF. All of the problems that arise with true homebrew are being identified and fixed. Dean's full AF amp video will be out shortly. Thanks Dean!

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Mr. Carlson Restores a BC-348 -- But 40 Meters Sounds Very Weak. Why?


Mr. Carlson mentions that he is a ham radio AMer.  He is also on SSB, but AM is, he says, his preferred mode.  FB. 

I got a real chuckle about the MVC switch position on the front panel.  "Manual Volume Control"  like "Manual Gain Control."  I thought I had invented this term.  You know, "real hams control their gain manually."  This is why Farhan never put AGC in the BITX20. But it seems the Army Air Corps was way ahead of me with the BC-348.    

Mr. Carlson makes it sound (!) like the Dynamotors are a thing of the past.  Not true.  Every Saturday morning I listen to the Old Miltary Radio Net and hear a number of Dynamoters spinning in the background.  One belongs to Buzz W3EMB who uses a BC-348.  Buzz has an SDR attached to the IF of his BC-348, which I think is an admirable mix of the old and the new.  Those BC-348s are, after all, quite old.  WWII old -- like 85 years old.  And still working.  

Paul has a good discussion of the importance of short lead length, and of mounting shielded capacitors properly, and of the usefullness of a good groundplane under the capacitor.  Go Manhattan boards!  Paul's presentation on how to identify the outside foil of a capacitor was very good, but I was wondering if you could also find out by using a file to remove some of the yellow insulation, then test with a DMM to see which terminal is connected to the foil. 

"Lots of times you have to add solder to remove solder."  Indeed. 

The importance of testing for BOTH capacitance and leakage.  Yes. 

But why bother with "period correct" internal wiring harnesses, when you have already put a bunch of modern caps in there?   I mean, I'm in favor of the re-capping, but this seems inconsistent with the need for "period correct" internal wiring harnesses. 

When Paul first fired up the receiver, I was hoping he would disconnect the antenna to see how much band noise was getting through. 

When Paul got to the IF alignment, he spoke of the dangers of working on energized high-voltage gear.  I had been thinking about getting a BC-348 myelf, but Paul's comments reminded me of why this is probably not a good idea for me.  Paul's comments about "knowing where your hands are" is on target.  "One hand behind the back, " is a good rule for this kind of energized testing -- this will help prevent current from a mishap from flowing through your chest.  

I may have more comments later.  Off to the beach now.  

Back from the beach:   

"Contrary to popular belief, the simpler the receiver, the better they hear."  Amen Mr. C. 

Paul's heroic cleaning of the 915 kc crystal made me feel like a wimp for not having tried to do this with some "bad" 455 kc rocks I was given while trying to build the Mate for the Mighty Midget receiver.  I may go back to those crystals and try to clean them as Mr. C did. 

The grand finale of this 2.5 hour video was, as expected, a demonstration of how good it sounds.  But unfortunately it did not sound good.  Paul tuned through the 40 meter band and I heard NO CW signals.  I didn't even hear FT8.   There were a few anemic SSB signals and, as he reached the upper portion of the band some very weak AM broadcast signals.  I didn't even hear CHU Canada's time signal.  Huh?  Why?   Our very simple homebrew Direct Conversion receiver sounds a LOT better than that.  I mean look at the sweep of 40 meters that I did using only a simple dipole:  https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/12/an-evening-bandscan-on-40-meters-using.html  Why is there such a big difference in performance? 

Could it be the antenna that Paul was using?   He was on what he calls the 369 antenna.   Could there be a problem in the receiver?  Could it be band conditions?   

Saturday, February 1, 2025

SolderSmoke Challenge – Direct Conversion Receiver – the Band Pass Filter

 The SolderSmoke DCR challenge is going well.  Our Discord server is bustling with activity and we are impressed that several intrepid homebrewers have already completed the receiver.  So,  we know that you can too!  In this episode Dean, KK4DAS walks us through the design and construction of third of our four boards, the 40-meter band pass filter.  The band pass filter ensures that the only signals that get through the receiver to the speaker are those that are in the 40-meter band.  Dean also  gives an update on the Challenge  and discusses some recent improvements we've made to the circuits based on feedback from our builders. 

 

 

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

 

SolderSmoke blog DCR posts:

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search/label/TJ%20DC%20RX

USAF Video: Why SSB is Superior to Ordinary AM


OK, the title of this blog post has an element of click bait in it.  Just this morning I was listening to the Old Military Radio Net on 3885 AM.  I'm sure some of those guys would disagree with the assertion that SSB is better than AM.  But I think this old Air Traffic Command video lays it out very well.  

I kind wish they had dicussed Double Sideband, Suppressed Carrier transmission.  

I wonder want the year of production of this video was.  Does anybody know?

For the record:  I am the owner of a DX-40, a DX-60, and a DX-100.  I also am on 10 meter AM with a converted CB rig.   So I have transmitted both sidebands, and the carrier.  

 

Friday, January 31, 2025

Update from KK4DAS on the SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Challenge: BP Filter Added to Circuitry -- Full Video on BP Filter Soon


Dean now has the PTO, the Diode Ring, and now the 40 meter bandpass filter.  Dean fires up his signal generator and, using his 'scope we see audio coming out of the mixer.  FB.  

Dean says he will have the complete build video for this stage soon.  Thanks Dean. 

 

Radio Antenna Fundamentals Part 1 -- 1947 USAF Film


Lots of good info in this 1947 film.  But... At the end they say that an impedance mismatch between the line and the antenna will result in the loss of radiated power.  Is that really true?  This seems to lead to the obsession that many hams have with an SWR of 1:1.  If some power is reflected due to the mismatch, where does that power go?  And what if you put a transmatch at the junction of the transmitter and, say, an open wire feedline.  You could match the antenna system perfectly to the 50 ohms that your transmitter is looking for.  But the mismatch between antenna and feedline would remain, right?   

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Video of images and Data Stream: Huygens Probe Parachuting onto Titan


This happened back in 2005, but I saw this video for the first time this morning.  I really like the display.  I frequently see Titan next to Saturn with the 6 inch reflector that Elisa got me. 

And I like parachutes. 

Diode Ring VFO Part II: How Much LO into a Diode Ring?





Last week we were trying to determine how much LO injection we really need in the SolderSmoke Direct-Conversion receiver.  The answer seemed to be "enough to turn the diodes in the diode ring on and off."  Ok, but this brought us to the question of how far we should go with this.  Does it make sense to go for more LO signal? If so, why? And how much more?   Todd VE7BPO offered a very thoughtful comment.  He pointed out that for a simple receiver like this, turning the diodes on and off would probably be sufficient.  Sometimes we hear 7 dbm, others say 10 dbm, or even 0 dbm.  But what is the logic that underpins these figures?   Solid State Design for the Radio Amateur (SSDRA) provides the answer on page 120.  See above.  

With a diode ring (or other switching mixer) you want the LO (VFO or PTO) to be the signal that is switching the diodes  You do not want the incoming RF signal to also be strong enough to switch the diodes.  Having the RF do this would result in something of a mess at the output.  

If you have a weak LO signal going into the mixer, it might on peaks reach the level of turning the diodes on.  You will get some mixing action.  But as the SSDRA paragraph indicates, during much of the LO cycle the diodes will not be switched on.  And they won't be firmly turned off either.   A strong RF signal could come in, add to the LO voltage, and switch the diodes.  That would not be good. 

So if you put a strong LO signal in there, on half the cycle that signal will be turning two of the diodes on.  But on the other half of the signal, that same LO signal will bereversed in polarity,  turning those same diodes off.  Hard off.  Definitively off.  It would take one very strong RF signal to overcome the reverse bias signal put on those two diodes by that LO voltage.  That is the advantage of a stronger LO signal.  
 


Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Other Workshops: Making The World's Smallest Motor


When I watched this very cool video, I thought of all those hams who complain so bitterly about how difficult it is to wind a toriod on a T-50 core. 

Thanks to Hack-A-Day for alerting us to this. 

 

Monday, January 27, 2025

First 10 Meter AM Contact from Hi7/N2CQR


I threw this in the bag on the way to the DR, almost as an afterthought.  But I am glad I did.  Today, watching reports on my 10 meter CW beacon (Mike WN2A provided the keyer),  I noticed that my signal was unusually strong.  At W3POA I was 7 db above the noise.  At DF2CK I was 4 db above the noise.  So I switched to the 10 meter AM rig (which is a converted GE brand CB rig) and worked John G3YPZ (see video above).   I was running about 5 watts to a quarter wave vertical.  But the signal reached the UK. 

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Fireball (Meteor) Over the Dominican Republic

Click on the link below to see the video


I had been telling Mike WN2A how I had put a little red LED on my beacon (he gave me the keying hardware) and that I was hoping to put the LED in the window of my 7th floor shack.  I want it to serve as a kind of CW "lighthouse." We are, after all, close to the ocean.  I thought it would be cool.  Last night, soon after sunset, Elisa and I went out to walk the dog and to look a my little light.  

Well, as expected my little light was too small.  But HOLY COW,  it had us looking in exactly the right direction at exactly the right moment.  At 7:09 pm on January 25, 2025 a very bright, green, long-lasting fireball streaked across the sky from North to South (the guy in the clip above got the direction wrong).  It was throwing off fragments.  One kid in the neighborhood saw it.  And soon Instagram lit up (!) with reports and videos.  I filed a report with the International Meteor Organization: https://fireball.imo.net/members/imo_view/event/2025/516  It was all very cool.  The tiktok clip (above) has a collection of some of the best shots.  Just click on the link below the picture.  

I hadn't seen one of these since March 1995 (I was in the Dominican Republic then too!):  

7 MARCH 95 EVENING: POSTED ON CIS:

Also observed a pretty spectacular fireball in the North (near Polaris) at about 2330. So bright I thought it was a skyrocket. Very slow moving looking like pieces falling off it.


SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Challenge The Mixer and Diplexer


SolderSmoke Challenge – Direct Conversion Receiver – the Mixer

 

The mixer is the heart of the direct conversion receiver.  It’s the circuit that makes a receiver a receiver.  It takes the RF from the antenna and mixes it with the local oscillator to extract the audio.  In this video, Dean, KK4DAS walks us through the design, build and testing of the double balanced diode ring mixer we chose for the SolderSmoke Challenge DCR.  He also explores some of the myths, legends, and lore around mixer design.  If you are not yet convinced, we can make an effective receiver with just four simple boards you definitely want to watch this vido to the end. Mixers have been a passion (some say obsession) of mine for a long time.  If you search for “mixer” on the SolderSmoke blog you will find many postings over the years.   Whenever I want to learn more about some RF circuit or other I always turn to Alan Wolke, W2AEW’s excellent YouTube video series.   In the video linked below Alan does an excellent job of explaining mixer theory and demonstrating how the switching action of the diodes produces the sum and difference frequencies.

 

Related links:

 

Alan Wolke, W2AEW - YouTube Video #167:

How a Diode Ring Mixer works | Mixer operation theory and measurement

https://youtu.be/junuEwmQVQ8?si=zinwuz9FcBDbUXM6

 

SolderSmoke Blog on Mixers:

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2022/10/how-diode-ring-multiplies-by-1-and-1.html

 

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

 

SolderSmoke blog DCR posts:

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search/label/TJ%20DC%20RX

 

 

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

A Tale of Woe from Mike WU2D, PLUS: The Importance of Band Noise


It was so cool to watch master homebrewer Mike WU2D candidly describe his error (tale of woe) made while building the Simple X Super receiver.  

It was also great to see his joy in hearing the band noise.  Watch his glee as the noise jumps up when he connects the antenna.  "That's the good stuff!"  Indeed it is.  So many younger builders see noise -- all noise -- as a bug not a feature.  Mike obviously sees it as a feature:  Thunderstorms in Brazil!  The weed-whacker down the street!  Remants of the Big Bang!  Hearing this stuff lets us know that the machine we have built is alive, and is inhaling the universe.  

SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver Challenge -- Soldering!

The DCR challenge is going well, and we have several builders making good progress.  We noticed that some first-time builders are having a little trouble with soldering. Cold or weak solder joints are the bane of the of the homebrew builder’s existence.   It happens to all of us.  A board that was working fine suddenly is not working – you poke around and touch some part and the board springs to life – you just found a cold solder joint.  Dean, KK4DAS put together a short bonus video just on soldering.  He covers the tools you need for a basic soldering station, and step-by-step instructions for reliable soldering Manhattan Style.

No Bunching Up! It is Possible to Achieve Dial Linearity (and Stability) with an LC VFO


One of the major complaints about LC VFOs is that they allegedly cause "non-linear tuning."  Essentially, this complaint claims that you will inevitably end up with your frequencies all "bunched up" at one end of the tuning range, with frequencies greatly "spread out" at the other end. BUT WE HAVE FOUND THAT THIS IS NOT NECESARILY TRUE.  With a bit of careful design work, you can avoid the dreaded "bunching up."  I have used the calculator in Bob's Electron Bunker to DESIGN VFOs that do not "bunch up" the frequencies.  

Recently, Mike WU2D built a version of the Simple X Super receiver.  It has a VFO in the 5 - 6 MHz range.  And guess what?  There is NO bunching up of frequencies. As proof, I present the tuning dial that Mike made for his completed receiver.  See above.  Note the nice linear tuning.   

So you see, success in this area is possible -- all it takes is some careful design work. 

Similar results are possible with the other major allegation about LC VFOs:  That they are inherently and irreparbly unstable.  Proponents of this theory would have you believe that only by the use of an Si5351 (or something similarly digital) is stability possible.  Again, NOT TRUE!  It is possible to make LC oscillators that are stable.  All it takes is careful design and good construction practices. 

Monday, January 20, 2025

SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver Project -- Video #2 -- Building the PTO/VFO

The response to the SolderSmoke DCR challenge has been terrific -with nearly 7,000 views of the first episode!  Thanks so much for checking it out.  The goal is to convince you that you can build your own receiver and then go get you started on Homebrew ham radio.  We already have confirmation that it can be done!  Congratulations to Peter, VK3PTM and Matthew, KY4EOD who have both completed the receiver.  The boards look good and, even better, they sound great.   Videos and descriptions are here on the blog and on the SolderSmoke Discord sever.   Speaking of the Discord server, we already have a very robust conversation going,  It’s a great place to give feedback and to get your questions answered. Builders are helping builders and we at SolderSmoke are trying to answer as many of your questions as we can.  This is a beginner’s project, so all are welcome.

 

In episode 2 of the SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver challenge we tackle the PTO.  We discuss a bit of the theory, walk through the schematic, and take you step-by-step through building and testing the oscillator and buffert.  By the time we are done we will have achieved JOO!  (the Joy of Oscillation).  And when you build it you will be 1/4th of the way to having build your own 40 meter receiver.

 

 

Links:

 

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

 

SolderSmoke blog

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search/label/TJ%20DC%20RX

SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver Project: The Input to the Mixer from the VFO -- How Much Is Enough?


I was asked to post some pictures of how the input from the VFO (from the J-310) to the diode ring mixer looks.  The picture above is the VFO output across a 47 ohm resistor to ground through the .1 uf cap to the drain of the J-310.  The mixer is NOT connected.   The question is: Is this enough VFO signal?   

Realize that the VFO is just turning the diodes on and off at the VFO rate.  See this page for more details: 
Look carefully at the scope pattern and at the diagram.  Also look at Alan Wolke W2AEW's excellent video (URL in the above post).  You will see the importance of the VFO turning on and off the diodes.  This is how the diode ring multiplies by 1 and -1.  This is how mixing happens.  This is how audio is produced.  

Now, back to the question:  Is the output we see above "enough."   We can check to see if the VFO is turning on and off the diodes by reconnecting the mixer to the VFO and looking again at the mixer's VFO input port (with no resistor connected).  This is what I see when I do this: 


Here you can see the diodes being switched on and off on the peaks of the VFO voltage.  That is the flat topping you see.  It looks to me as if this is enough. And indeed I have no problem hearing down to the band noise (I can hear an increase in the hiss when I connect the antenna) and I can hear plenty of CW, FT-8 and LSB signals.  I am using ordinary 1N4148 silicon diodes.  

Often we hear manufacturers say that their mixer (like the SBL-1) needs 7 dbm (about 1.4519 V peak to peak across 50 ohms) input from the VFO.  But I think that is just for the SBL-1.  Ours is a homebrew diode ring.  It is, I think, different. So it might not NEED 7 dbm.  In fact, look at the voltage level differences:  Across the 50 ohm resistor we see 504 mV p-p.  But with the diode ring connected we see 1.5 V p-p.  This implies that the LO port input impedance is not 50 ohm, but is probably around 150 ohms.  Indeed when I put a 150 ohm resistor across the output of the VFO (no mixer connected) I measured aroung 1.4 V p-p 

Bottom line:  Just make sure your VFO is turning the diodes on and off. 

Saturday, January 18, 2025

Looking for Contacts on 10 meter AM from the Dominican Republic -- 29.005 MHz AM


I was listening to the Old Military Radio Net this morning and I heard Tim WA1HLR talking about some contacts that he had made on 10 meters, near 29 MHz.  So I pulled my modified CB rig off the shelf, connected a power supply and my 10 meter vertical, and began to listen.  Soon I heard CQs!  One from G4ITR and then one from  G4VZR.  I now have high hopes for at least one QSO.  So please, point those ten meter beams at the Dominican Republic and give me a call.  I am on 29.005 Mhz.  

73  Bill HI7/N2CQR

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Ugly and Manhattan Construction from Popcorn Electronics


Todd (oops, I mean Vasily) has a really nice video on Ugly and Manhattan construction techniques on his re-born Popcorn Electronics site.  See above for the video.  The site's URL is https://qrp-popcorn.blogspot.com/

Some people apparently dislike these techniques.  To each his own, but I like the Manhattan method.  In fact, in the SolderSmoke Direct Conversion project, we are recommending the use of Manhattan circuit board tecniques.  With Manhattan, you get a lot flexibility.  At one  point, for example, the High School students told us that they had forgotten to put a needed pad on the board.  No problem!  Just glue in a new one.  Or if you put in one too many, just take one off.  

You also keep all the circuitry and all the connections on one side of the board.  This facilitates repair or modification.  This kind of thing is not so easy when you have components on one side of the board and the connections on the other side.  You spend a lot of time flipping boards over, breaking wires,  trying to remember what goes where.  Also, because the pads push the connections a couple of millimeters above the ground plane, I find that Manhattan technique actually reduces the chances for an accidental short to ground. 

There has been some discussion of where the term "Manhattan style" comes from.  Having been born on Manhattan island, I too wonder about the origin of the term.  Some see it as the result of the grid pattern (like Manhatten's street grid) that results from the rectangular or square pads that are often used.  Others point to the vertical parts placement that we see when looking at a board from the side -- the parts look like the skyline of Manhattan.   Either explanation, I think, works.  

Here is a Manhattan-style board I recently built in the Dominican Republic for my homebrew 15-10 meter SSB transceiver. I couldn't find any Gorilla glue here, so I went with Loctite Coqui. Same stuff.   Latin American super glue! 

The 10 meter Beacon at HI7/N2CQR (and reception reports)

Above is the 10 Meter beacon at HI7/N2CQR.

The first one to hear the beacon was Dean KK4DAS in Northern Virginia, within hours of it going on the air. Here is Dean's recording of what he saw and heard:

Later, Mike WN2A heard it. Pete N6QW in California may have heard it too. A number of stations are reporting reception via the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN): It is being picked up almost daily (gray-line?) by Rico DF2CK who has an amazing station in Germany. K1RA in Warrenton Virginia (also an amazing receive set-up) is also picking up the station. W3OA in North Carolina is also hearing it and reporting by RBN. TI7W in Costa Rica has also heard it. Sadly, RBN is kind of clunky with beacons -- it seems to obstinately insist that I am in Northern Virginia.

Rico DF2CK writes:

Hi Bill,

thanks for info. 3 Watt can be loud on 10 if condx are good :)

The west direction skimmer setup on 10 m is a 6 el Yagi into a SDR with
AD9255 adc and XC7Z020 fpga.
A design by Pavel Demin which I am testing for a while now.

Enjoy the Caribean, here its minus 2 C and boot high snow.

73, Rico
DF2CK

Check out Rico's amazing station here: http://df2ck.de/

Andy K1RA wrote from Warrenton (Northern Virginia): 

Hi Bill
  Cool on spotting your beacon.  With good conditions I'm surprised you're not being heard elsewhere.

  I'm running a multi-band, multi-mode skimmer for CW, FT8, FT4, WSPR & JS8CALL continuously and simultaneously covering 160m-6m, 24x7 with Redpitaya SDRs and KiwiSDR/RaspSDRs


15 minute map view through PSKreporter here:


73 & good DX'ing!

andyz - K1RA

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity --- Wonderful Video by Jim Al-Khalili (sent to us by Ashish N6ASD)

From Ashish N6ASD -- Oil Lamps and Electronics

Here is the link to the video: 


First, thanks to Ashish Derhwagen N6ASD for alerting me to this video.  You should all check out his blog

This is a really important video.  It is the best I have seen about the history of electricity and electronics.  It is from 2011, but it is still very good. Jim Al-Khalili travels through the world and displays the actual devices developed by the likes of Heinrick Herz,  Guglielmo Marconi, and Jagadish Chandra Bose.  There is great discussion of Benjamin Franklin, Volta and Galvani.  The role of electricity in The Enlightment is discussed.
  

Jim talks about the early transatlantic cables, and why some of them didn't work. 

We see Jagadish Chandra Bose developing early point-contact semiconductors (because the iron filings of coherers tended to rust in the humid climate of Calcutta!) 

There is a video of Oliver Lodge making a speech.   There is a flip card video of William Crookes (one of the inventors of the cathode ray tube and the originator of the Crooke's cross).  

We see actual coherers.  

There is simply too much in this video for me to adequately summarize here.  Watch the series.  Watch it in chunks if you must.  But watch it.  It is really great.  

Thanks Ashish.  And thanks to Jim Al-Khalili.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtp51eZkwoI

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