SPRAT, the FETer, DLR headphones, and recent QSOs on the ET-2

Yesterday we had QSO #13 on the ET-2.  This was with Jim W1PID.  In an earlier contact Jim told me I had some chirp.  I fiddled with the coupling cap and the bias pot and am now T9!  These days, chirp is an endearing, nostalgic problem to have.  Thanks for the report and QSOs Jim! 

Contact #9 was with Fred K9SO.  He is in Wisconsin and QRZ.com put our distance at 633 miles.  That is our DX record so far.  Not bad for 92 milliwatts to a dipole on 40 meters. 

Most of my contacts come as a result of pleas for assistance on DX Summit or the SKCC Sked page.   But I did make one "random" contact: Contact #6 with N2VGA.  He just heard my CQ and gave me a call.  FB. 

I checked to see if OM Glen Yingling W2UW -- the guy who started all this with his ET-1 -- is still around.  He became a silent key in 2012.  But his ideas live on... 

SPRAT 137 (Winter 2008/09) has a great article by QRP hero G3XBM.  Roger built a version of the ET-1.  His was for 80 meters and he called it the FETer.   FB.   I was struck by his estimate of the sensitivity of the ET-1 receiver: -100 dbm.   I measured the N0WVA receiver (the one that I am using) has having a minimum discernible signal of -93 dbm.  Pretty close.  We may be at the limit of what you can expect from a single transistor receiver. 

SPRAT 137 had something else that really resonated with me.  G3YVF had an article on a minimalist rig using only one 6V6 tube.  Geoff opened the article with this warning "Don't try this unless you have a set of balanced armature type DLR 'phones as they are really sensitive."  I have a collection of old headphones that I picked up at hamfests in London years ago.  When building the ET-2, I checked all the old phones for sensitivity.  A set marked DLR was the most sensitive.  So Geoff's observation had been independently confirmed.   QRP Quarterly had an article comparing the sensitivities of old headphones -- we should dig that article up.   

SPRAT #137 is a reminder of what a great resource SPRAT -- The Journal of the GQRP Club -- really is.  As we say on SolderSmoke, if you are not a SPRAT subscriber you are just wrong!  Here is how to join GQRP and subscribe to SPRAT: http://www.gqrp.com/join.htm

Hangin' it up (the ET-2)

My ET-2 minimalist QRP CW adventure is (for now) officially over.   I have taken the rig - festooned with the callsigns of all the stations I contacted -- and have put it up on the wall.  This may be a new form of art.  I think I am the first radio amateur to do this.  I think it is pretty cool. 

Here are the stats:   I made 20 contacts with the rig. I had it on the air from 12 October 2019 to 7 December 2019.    Seventeen of the contacts were the result of my posting pleas for help on the SKCC Sked page and/or the Summit DX page.  Three of the contacts were completely random. One station -- W1PID -- provided four of the contacts.  Thanks Jim. 

My power out was usually around 100 milliwatts.  I used either a 40 meter coax fed dipole or a 135 foot doublet fed with window line. 

My best distances were Wisconsin and Georgia. 

Crystal control was the real limiting factor.  100 milliwatts didn't seem to be much of an impediment. The most amazing thing about this rig is the N0WVA regen receiver.  It took a lot of peaking and tweaking, and it took some skill to operate. but once I got it going it was an amazingly good receiver.  Really Amazing for just ONE J-310 FET. 

The last contact was really nice.  I was calling CQ and AA8OZ came back.  He was in a cabin on a trip with some scouts.  He too was on a wire antenna.  He was one of those guys who said WOW! when I told him about the rig.  We had a nice long conversation on 40.  It was a great way to wrap up the ET-2 adventure. 

Thanks to all who helped me make contacts and for all those who tried to work me. Thanks to N0WVA for the regen inspiration. And thanks to Glen Yingling W2UW (SK) for the ET-1 idea. 

The rig is standing by.  On the wall.  Perhaps it will return to service, maybe during solar max. 

Minimalist Masochism at Solar Minima -- But More Contacts with the ET-2

Dylan Thoams

  "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" 

I thought of that line from Dylan Thomas's poem when I read on G3XBM's web site that we are kind of at the very bottom of the solar cycle.  Roger wrote on 22 October: "Solar flux is 64 and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=0. As far as I am aware this is the lowest solar flux this solar minimum."   

I also thought of this as I pounded brass (Indian brass!) in an effort to make a few more contacts with my ET-2 two transistor rig.  Obviously venturing forth on 40 meters with just TWO transistors (one for transmit and one for receive) and crystal control AT SOLAR MINIMA is not for the faint of heart.  It is almost a Dylan-esque act of defiance. 

I have had to resort to please for help on the DX Summit, the SolderSmoke blog and the SKCC Schedule page.  Fortunately for me, the brotherhood has sprung to my support.  

W1PID (who gave me contact #3) also gave me contact #4 on 21 October. 

W4KAC in Hickory NC was contact #5.  This was on 22 October.  This was the only marginal contact so far.  He was running 5 W into an end fed half wave. 

Yesterday was a big day for the ET-2. I had two solid contacts: 

#6 was N2VGA in New York UPDATE:  Larry N2VGA confirmed by e-mail that this was a "random" contact -- not the result of my on-line pleas for assistance.  He just heard my CQ and responded.  FB.  

#7 was K4CML in Newport News, Va.  He switched to QRP himself at 2.5 watts for a nice 2X QRP contact. 

Looking at my Rigol 'scope, I now think I'm putting out about 150 milliwatts.  Not bad for a single J310.  I may have to invest in a heat sink.

40 seems most cooperative in the morning (around 0930 local) and again in the afternoon (around 1630 local). 

Thanks to all who have helped.  I will try to make a few more. 

ET-2 Contact #16 -- Pete, KD2OMV, Builder of a 6T9er (with video)

Yesterday I had my  first contact using the ET-2's improved receiver.  I had watched the video of N0WVA's receiver and I realized that more sensitivity was possible.  So I tried to replicate his LC ratio. I think that helped a lot.  Today I posted a plea for help on the SKCC Sked page and then called CQ on 40.  I was answered by Pete, KD2OMV who was so loud that I had to take the headphones off my ears!  He was booming in, all the way from upstate New York. The receiver was running off a somewhat depleted 9 volt battery.   I made a quick video (above).  I'm just holding the I-phone up to the headphone, while also trying to copy the incoming CW. 

This was a really great contact.  Pete has a wonderful knack story.   He was licensed as a kid but never made a contact.  As an adult he found his old box of parts for a 6T9er in his parents house. So he builds it and uses the homebrew rig to make his first ham radio contact.  FB Pete. Thanks for the contact OM.  I wrote your call on the ET-2. 

Pete KD2OMV

The ET-2 with Callsign Tattoos

Slots are still available! 

Get your callsign on the ET-2!

This rig will probably soon turn into wall art here at SolderSmoke HQ.  With this in mind I have started writing on the wooden base of the rig the callsigns of all stations worked. So far we have 10.   There is space for more.  

Frequency is 7038.6 kHz.    I usually try for contacts around 1430 UTC (0930 Eastern) and again at around 2130 UTC (1630 Eastern).  I post messages asking (pleading!) for assistance on the DX Summit site and on the SKCC Sked board.  

If you are within reasonable range for a signal in the 100 milliwatt range (antenna is either 40 meter NVIS dipole or a doublet) please keep an eye on the DX Summit and/or SKCC sites and maybe try to have a contact.  

Background on the rig here: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2019/10/more-on-et-2-better-pictures-and-more.html

More on the ET-2 : Better Pictures and More Circuit Description. Some Thoughts on Simplicity

 

So yesterday I made my first contact using my ET-2 rig.   Last night I got an e-mail from Gary, the fellow at the other end of that contact: 

Evening Bill, N2CQR….Yes I did learn about you from the spot on the DX Summit cluster. I tuned to the freq to see if I could even hear your 80 mW and you were a good real 569 when calling CQ.  You built up to a real 589 on the later transmissions. I did not have either of the two pre-amp positions on in the ICOM 756 Pro II. There was not any QRM on the freq either. Your spot indicating the 80 mW is what really got my attention.

My antenna is a 2 element yagi at about 115 ft and it really works great for me.

Thanks for the picture of the great little transmitter. Glad to be your first DX QSO with it. Hi Hi  Maybe again soon.  My pleasure to work you.

73, Gary, K4MQG

Fort Mill, SC

Farhan commented on yesterday's post, saying that it was hard to tell (from my pictures) where he rig started and ended.  He was right.  So this morning I have tried to clean up my bench a bit -- I hope these pictures are better.  

Above you see the whole rig.  The transmitter board is right next to the key that Farhan gave me.  You can see the 7040 crystal.  A C-Clamp holds to the bench the piece of scrap plywood that serves as the base for this rig.  Next to the C-Clamp you see the TR switch -- the just switches the antenna -- both transmitter and receiver are powered at all times.  I can hear the transmit signal in the headphones and this serves as my sidetone. 

Here is a close-up of the transmitter with the schematic below: 

 

The transmitter is VERY simple.  Nine parts, including the low-pass filter.  You can barely see the J310 FET to the right of the crystal. 

Here is the receiver:

I really like N0WVA's regen.  The green diode in the source circuit is the key.  This one does not squeal when you go into excessive regeneration (when you think about it, regens should NOT squeal at audio frequencies -- but most do).  Also, the green diode dims a bit when you are at the right amount of regeneration.  In the picture you can look down the tube of the variometer that Pericles HI8P gave me many years ago.  The big variable cap is from the junk box -- I think it may be from a Johnson Viking transmitter.  Note the long shaft with the insulating connector -- this is to reduce the hand capacity effect.  On the right you see a smaller cap with just one vane -- this is my fine tuning control --- with the smaller cap at mid range, I would just set the big capacitor to put the receiver at 7040 -- with the smaller cap I could tune +/- 12 kc.  I also used an insulating shaft on the smaller cap -- the connector for this one is from an old 1930s era regen that I picked up at the Kempton Part rally in London.

Instead of the audio transformer and Radio Shack headphones, I just used some old DLR-1 WWII Headphones.   They are very sensitive and work well. 

Lots of soul in this new machine:  The variometer from Pericles.   The WWII headphones.  The 1930s era shaft connector.  The circuit idea from the Autumn 2001 SPRAT.  Farhan's key. 

I recently read on Hack-a-Day of a new FPGA chip that has on it 35 BILLION transistors. I'm sure that thing can produce some fascinating results, but can anyone really understand it, or feel that they really BUILT something that has that kind of chip at its center?   On the other hand, I did rely on a lot of modern digi technology in this project:  The Reverse Beacon Network reported back that my unanswered CQs were in fact getting out (one as far as Kansas to K9PA).  And in the end I had to ask -- via the DX Summit Spotting cluster -- for someone to listen for me.   So I can't go full Luddite here.  And I wouldn't want to have to use a rig this simple every day.  No way.  It is just too hard to use. But there is a beauty and a challenge in simplicity.  There is some virtue in using just two transistors instead of 35 billion. 

Thanks to N0WVA, W2UW,  VU2ESE, HI8P, K4MQG, The G-QRP club and their inspirational journal SPRAT, the RBN and the DX Summit. 

ON6UU's DB4020 EA3GCY Rig

Hi,

Recently I got the EA3GCY newsletter,  it announced a new kit DB4020,  a 2 band transceiver kit covering 40 and 20 mtrs.  I know Javier EA3GCY’s kit are good so I ordered one.  A week later it arrived in a brown enveloppe in which I found all components and printboard wrapped in bubblewrap,  it was all well packed and after checking all components all was accounted for,  all components were indeed there.

8 toroids have to be wound,  following the instructions it was piece of cake,  no problem,  

After several hours of work - relax max style - I got everything in place to test,  hurray,  no smoke !!!!  So now the SSB part was ready,  I have 7W on 40 and 3.5W on 20mtr.  Good power for qrp sota,  wff or just garden activity.  A fortnight later I got notice that the CW part of the kit was ready and another week later it arrived here,  I soldered the 2 boards as soon as possible to get a multimode 2 band transceiver.   The 2 boards are the CW interface which also holds the KB-2 keyer,  the second board is the 500-600HZ CW filter.   The KB-2 give the user 4 memories,  beacon function and some more functions.  Good thinking to include the keyer,  it makes life easy when you’re on an activation. 😊   I opted to make the filter switchable,  I like to be able to listen broadband too,  very simple,  cut one leg of the 13 pin connector on the bottom of the CW interface and put a switch on both ends.

After some figgling around I also got the box ready,  a military grade plastic box with wall thickness of 5 mm,  this box should be able to withstand a lot of shocks and a drop to the ground.  I also made a docking station for a laptop battery which holds some 5Ah and which should be able to give me a lot of hours of listening and some 2 to 3 hours of operation.  I had an old laptop which the screen was broken and had some other malfunctions,  I have taken the battery connector out of it,  luckily I still have another laptop which still works and this is the charging station for the batteries …. ..  😊   The docking is only to test,  I will box it up in maybe a some box where I can then maybe also fit a end fed solution or tuner for coax fed antennas.

A new radio also needs a new CW key so I made one out of an old relay,  painted the base green to fit somewhat the box et voila,  here is the result of the complete portable station.

The key can be fitted to the box by means of a bolt and a wingnut.  A short cable goes to the CW connector of the transceiver.

I had a lot of fun constructing this kit,  the box,  the docking and the key.   For 180€ you get a arduino nano controlled CW/SSB transceiver with 2 bands on which most of the activity is and you also get a keyer with memories.   Good deal I think.   More info is available on EA3GCY’s website.  Javier is also very quick in responding to questions,  he ask for opinions and offers almost an Elecraft style of service.

I made some video’s which are on youtube :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9sUbyAlF00&t=12s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGDwLdkr3HU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiMnpfte4cI&t=35s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLYIgVv7So8&t=130s

The kitters website :

https://www.qrphamradiokits.com/

https://www.qrphamradiokits.com/transceivers/db4020-dual-band/#cc-m-product-12710260049

Best 73

Frank

ON6UU

Success with my ET-2 --TWO TRANSISTOR RIG

 

In my effort to replicate the ET-1 rig of Glen Yingling W2UW, I had a hard time getting the receiver to work well with the single FET being switched between receiver and transmitter, so I retreated a bit and went with individual FETs for the TX and the RX.  This doubled the transistor count -- to TWO.  So it is an ET-2.

I also boosted the power to 80 milliwatts by putting 12 V on the transmitter.  The receiver was running off the 9V battery you can see in the left in the picture. 

Here is the story of the contact: 

To K4MQG from N2CQR:

Gary: Wow thanks for the QSO today.  I was using 80 mW transmitter that consists of just 8 parts!  The receiver was a regen using one single transistor.  So one transistor on transmit and one transistor on receive.  And it reached South Carolina.

I was about to give up hope.  I had been calling CQ for days.  Then I was talking to Rob VE4GV on 20SSB.  Rob suggested that I "spot myself" on one of the DX clusters.  So I did (see below).  Obviously you saw my spot and a minute or so later, SUCCESS!   I'm really pleased.

Attached is a picture of the rig.  The transmitter is around the crystal and the blue pot on the right.  The headphones are from WWII.  The receiver was powered by the 9V battery.  The regen uses a variometer given to me by a friend in the Dominican Republic in 1992.  The main tuning dial is connected to the cap by an adapter from a 1930s-era regen.  Antenna was a 40 meter dipole at about 25 feet.  Obviously your 3 elements a 115 feet were doing the heavy lifting.

Thanks again Gary!

And thanks to Rob for the suggestion on the spotting.

73  Bill N2CQR

SolderSmoke Podcast #214 is FINALLY out!

WE ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE THE AUDIO QUALITY.  IN THE FIRST RELEASE OF THIS PODCAST SOME OF THE AUDIO WAS KIND OF MUFFLED.  I TRIED TO FIX IT THIS MORNING AND I THINK I MADE SOME IMPROVEMENTS.  THE IMPROVED AUDIO IS NOW AT THE LINK BELOW.  

4 November 2019 (shockingly late!)

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke214.mp3

The visit of Farhan to Northern Virginia
"I heard this guy from Southern California on 20..."
Fire Report from Pete

Pete's Bench Report
"When you know stuff, you can do stuff!" 
The CRAP rigs 
Old Boatanchors -- the Swan 120  with SUPER STABLE ANALOG VFO! 
Ten Tec rigs dial cord replaced with Chinese digi sig counter 
Pete's 500 mW encounter with a QRO curmudgeon
The ZL2BMI Challenge has Pete building crystal filters
The Left Coast Loafer CW rig 

Bill's Bench Report

ET-2 Refinements
N0WVA's Regen Receiver 
Going from ET-1 to ET-2
J-310s vice MPF-102
100 mW from a single J-310
Receiver kind of deaf -103 dbm MDS
10 contacts so far in 9 states 
THREE contacts yesterday.
Worked Wisconsin - 633 miles on 92 mW 
We are at sunspot minimum. 
"Rage, rage against the dying of the light." 
Simplicity is the real reason for CW 

IDEA:  Get those Michigan Might Mites on the air! 
Use Reverse Beacon Network to see if you are getting out 
Use SDR receivers to make contacts

MAILBAG
DL1AJG
KC6SAX
W9VNE
KA4KXX
N0WVA
Zl2BMI
AJ6BD  

Listen to the ET-2's Minimalist Regen Receiver

I'm guessing that most of you have never listened to a regen receiver that uses only one transistor.  So in these videos I've tried to capture the experience.  The audio that you hear from the receiver is from a small I-phone microphone taped to the one of the headphones on my DLR WWII headphones.  So you are hearing it just as I hear it -- with no additional amplification. 

Here is N0WVA's schematic.  When I tune the "regeneration" control I am turning the knob on the variometer.  The broad or "bandset" tuning control is essentially N0WVA's 25 pf cap.  My fine tuning control (the one that I use the most in the video) is the equivalent of the smaller cap in parallel with the larger tuning cap. 

I had trouble shooting the video for this post -- taping the mic to the headphone turned out to be a bit difficult.  So I ended up with a few extra (and imperfect) videos.  I include them here for anyone who might want to listen some more to a single transistor regen.  (I have a few more -- let me know if you'd like to see them!)



In the next one, at the end I throw the switch to transmit allowing you to hear what "sidetone" sounds like on the ET-2

Contact #10 with the ET-2 -- Perry K9NZ

Perry K9NZ was contact #10 with my ET-2 QRPp rig.   I found the above on his QRZ page.  Beautiful sentiments.  Most of us have similar stories, and similar feelings about ham radio. FB Perry.  

Crystals -- Old and New and World War Two

I was watching Greg Charvat's great video about the WWII ARC-5 receiver yesterday. Greg admonished all of us to preserve any WWII gear we might have in our shacks.  Just one day earlier I had found the crystal pictured above in my junk box.   There is some old stuff floating around in here! I will preserve this one. 

Speaking of crystals,  Walter KA4KXX recently sent me some 40 meter crystals for use with my ET-2 transceiver.  Walter suggested that I use them to check into the daily (1300Z) Sunrise Net on 7123 kHz.  These were modern "short" computer crystals.  So I put them into FT-243 and FT-241 holders.  (Don't worry Greg, no WWII gear was destroyed in the process).  It was kind of fun to put the new rocks in old boxes. They work just fine in the ET-2.  Thanks again Walter! 

Finally, Chris KD4PBJ has been helping a buddy of his buy a Drake 2B.   This morning Chris asked about the E Crystal adjustment coil on the back of the Drake.  I told him that was to allow the use of "overtone" crystals.  But, sadly, I advised him not to worry about it too much because the days of ordering bespoke crystals (overtone or otherwise) are behind us. 

QSO #3 with the ET-2 Minimalist Transceiver

 

The Radio Gods were clearly supporting me on 16 October 2019.  I had sent out a plea for people to listen for the 80 mW CQ from my ET-2 rig.   I had specified 0930 Eastern as the time.  Little did I know that there would be a contest at that hour (on a Wednesday morning!) on 40 meter CW.  There was no chance of my signals getting through.  I leaned that the contest would be over at 1000 hours, so I waited and called CQ again at that hour.  Jim W1PID had guessed that I would do that.  I immediately recognized his call -- he was often at the other end of Michael Rainey's most daring low-power adventures.  He was a participant in the famous Rexpeditions, including a coastal effort to send Michael's voice-powered CW signal across the Atlantic.  His normal operating habitat is in the field.  We had a wonderful QSO.  He told me I peaked at S-6.  

I have worked W1PID on at least two Straight Key Nights and this blog has had many postings about his long-standing involvement in QRP. 

Thanks a lot Jim! 

 

ET-2 Contact #18 W4FOA -- RANDOM, UNSCHEDULED, AND NOT SPOTTED (Video)

On December 1, 2019,  my 100 milliwatt signal flew more than 500 miles to reach Tony W4FOA in Chickamauga, Georgia. And -- icing on the cake -- this was a random contact.   Tony just heard my CQ on 7038 kHz -- he had not been alerted to my CQ by any spotting site or by the SKCC Sked page.  I made a quick video of my side of the contact (above). 

In a follow-up e-mail Tony explained how my CQ sounded to him: 

"I was just listening on the 40 meter band and having been a QRP'er for 50+ years, I tend to notice the weaker stations, thus explains my calling you.  Also, your signal had that little "sound" of "yesteryear" when signals were not all pure, hi.  Had it not been for the QSB and QRN we could have had a long chat despite the weak signal from your QRPp.  Over the years I have QRP DXCC, 2 way QRPARCI WAS, and my best DX was two QSO's with 2 different VK7 stations on 40 when I was running 1 watt.  I've had a lot of different QRP rigs and still have some home brew stuff plus a couple of HW8s, HW9, Elecraft K2, etc..."  

From Tony's QRZ.com page, we learn more about his ham radio activities (note his homebrew rigs and his obvious affection for the Drake 2B and 2BQ) 

First licensed as WN4FOA in April 1954. Other calls held include EL2AD, 7Q7AA, PY1ZBA. Prefer to work CW but I do work some SSB, primarily DX-related. Enjoy chasing DX on all HF bands. Have 9BDXCC and I now have worked and confirmed all of the current DXCC countries . I enjoy QRP operation and currently use an Elecraft K2 (#2213),Ameco AC-1, Kenwood TS-130V SW-40, DC-40, HW-8 (2), Heathkit HW-9 Deluxe (WARC) PSA-9 HFT-9B SP-99 HM-9 HD-420 VLF, MFJ 40T and MFJ 40V VFO,  and a homebrew 6AG7/6L6 or a 6C4/5763  etc. I also enjoy operating boatanchor gear which includes a Johnson Viking Adventurer, Viking Challenger,  an Eico 720 and an Eico 723 with a HG-10B VFO and a Heath AT-1 and a Drake 2NT. Recently added a neat Lysco 600 transmitter and a Knight Kit T-60, Johnson Viking II, and a Ten Tec 544.  Boatanchor receivers include a Hallicrafters SX-100, SX-110, SX-71, Drake R4C and the incredible Drake 2B/2BQ combo. Recently added a Kenwood TS-830S, VFO-240, AT-230 and SP-230.

Tony W4FOA

Thanks a lot Tony.  73

SolderSmoke Podcast #215 Regen Madness, KWM-4, Paesano, Mailbag

Latest N2CQR version of N0WVA's Regen

SolderSmoke Podcast #215 is available. 

25 November 2019

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke215.mp3

Happy Thanksgiving! 
Transit of Mercury
Book Reviews 

Bill's Minimalist Adventures:
-- 15 Contacts with the ET-2 
-- Ethical issues:  Is spotting yourself OK?  OK to use TWO FETs? 
-- Using Reverse Beacon Network
-- How to keep receiver on the right frequency
-- N0WVA's receiver sounded better, so I built a second N0WVA receiver
-- Regens reach back to Edwin Howard Armstrong's 1912-1923 breakthrough
-- Regens are fun, but they are not good projects for new builders. 

-- Pull out those Michigan Mighty Mites and listen for yourself via on-line SDR receivers.

Pete's Projects: 
"WHEN YOU KNOW STUFF YOU CAN DO STUFF!"
-- Left Coast SSB -- "The Paesano" -- To be featured in December 2019 SPRAT. 
-- Pete's KWM-4 on The Collins Collectors Net
-- Pete builds an N0WVA regen -- just in time for Sweepstakes CW Saturday! 
-- Arduino IDE Library trouble
-- uBITX 6.0? Fake News? 

No more BITX40 Modules.  Long Live BITX40 HOMEBREW! 

BITX-101.   Intriguing but on second thought, no.   

MAILBAG

Steve Silverman:  Lexicon:  "Audible Modes." 
Felipe CU2BD   Old buddy from the Azores
Michael Rainey AA1TJ:  Come back Mike!  The ionosphere needs you! 
Jack Welch  AI4SV is in 5G land  (Cyprus, not the cell phone thing). 
Walter AC4IM is at the San Vito Solar Observatory in Italy.  DO SOMETHING WALTER! 
Kostas SV3ORA has an amazing homebrew web site.  Thanks Kostas! 
Mike KC6SAX -- How to deal with the frustration of HB projects that don't work. 
Paul KL7FLR -- Pete is 7 Hz high. 
Keith W3ISZ  sent his photo of the Transit of Mercury.  

PLEASE USE THE AMAZON SEARCH BOX ON THE SOLDERSMOKE BLOG PAGE WHEN DOING YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING. 

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE SOLDERSMOKE CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE. 

N2CQR's ET-2 with callsign Tattoos 

SolderSmoke Podcast #216 Is Available: BITXs, Paesano, Paraset, ET2, Antuino, Mailbag

Bill's uBITX with HB keys and the mic that used to be the podcast mic! 

SolderSmoke Podcast #216 is available 

21 December 2019

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL! 

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke216.mp3

Pete's Bench 

Sprat Article

BITX 40 Fun

ZL2BMI Rig

Paraset.   Three tubes!  Almost an ET-3!

Bill's Bench

ET-2 Adventure over,  Rig on the wall

Final QSO count. 20   3 "random" 

Last QSO with AA8OZ

Lessons learned:  100 mW not the problem. Crystal Control cramps your style. 

N0WVA regen amazingly effective.

Tried for the Sunrise Net.  Walter sent me some crystals.  

On to the uBITX. 

Accidentally wiped out calibration and BFO settings. 

Had to do recalibration and reset BFO. 

Learned a lot about the rig. 

How they did CW and how they do it now. Shift TX?  Or shift RX?  Or just shift BFO on RX? 

How all the signals end up as upper sideband.  Only one BFO freq.  Very cool. 

TalentCell 12 V Lithium Ion 3 AmpHour battery. Size of a deck of cards. 

Inspired by Peregrino -- I ordered EFHW Tuner from QRP Guys. 

Homebrew Straight Keys

Antuino upgrade 

SMT soldering. 

Back to Arduino Nano and the IDE.  

A very cool tool. 

Antuino filter analysis.

Version 6 of uBITX out. 

The "Watt Meter" DC power meter.  Very useful.  8 bucks.  LINK:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-DC-combo-Meter-LCD-Watt-Power-Volt-Amp-RC-Battery-charging-Analyzer-M/152339793114?fbclid=IwAR0u9SlZi2Dm6zOJyZt4fDTu7w_pjBIEYD_FiNfLymxtQUbMjcNHjfB17P0

SPRAT, balloons and hardcore homebrew hydrogen. 

MAILBAG

VK3HN's AM receiver.  I ordered 6kHz 455 kHz filters from Australia. 

Dean's MMM

Peter VK2EMU   Hertz not hertz. 

Ben KC9DLM LTSpice YouTube Videos

Steve Silverman  Electroluminescent Receiver Kit

Lyndon N0LFX back to listening.  FB OM

Steve M0KOV built a pill bottle variometer.  Did you get the regen going? 

Anthony VU3JVX   FB HB uBitx.  

Allison KB1GMX  Great to hear from her

Leif WB9IWT -- helped me trouble shoot my uBITX (BFO was low)

Mike EI0CL  old buddy from Azores days.  Recognized his voice on 20.  Great QSO.  

The Awesome Homebrew of Will KI4POV

 

Will's homebrew station is really something.  The rig (it truly qualifies for this term of praise) is amazing all by itself  (see below), but a look at Will's QRZ page reveals other ingenious inventions and techniques:  There is the clock made from panel meters.  And the method he uses for making aluminum project boxes.  He even made an N0WVA regen receiver.  That's the one I used in my ET-2.   Fantastic.  

Will really needs to share his homebrew skills with others.   I hope he is soon in a local high school teaching students how to build things.  Thanks Will!  

Bill and Pete,

Just wanted to send a note to update you on the latest projects here. The last time I emailed, I mentioned wanting to build a superhet, which you (rightfully) discouraged, pushing for a DC receiver.

Well, I finished the superhet at the end of last year. I had most of the receiver working long before then, but got bogged down in an AGC system. The final receiver is a 5 band si5351a controlled single conversion superhet loosely based on Todd, VE7BPO's design with several modifications. I used a 9 Mhz IF instead of 4, I used a digitally controlled LO and BFO, and as mentioned, I added an AGC system, which ended up being the most challenging (and most interesting) part. The final AGC system I ended up with used the detector and amplifier side of Wes Hayward's "full hang" AGC from SSDRA, but I didn't have the IC IF amplifiers with variable gain, so instead, it fed a PIN diode attenuator circuit to control the IF gain. The final result worked great, but I nearly pulled my hair out getting it to work. I originally intended to build the receiver for 40 and 20 meters, but it ended up covering 80, 40, 30, 20, and 15 since I used the filter relay board from QRP Labs which had 5 slots.

After I got the receiver running, I decided I needed a matching transmitter, so I  built up a simple CW transmitter to match. It uses an si5351a VFO driving a 74HC04 hex inverter as the buffer amplifier. The trick here is that by driving all the inverter gates in parallel, the output impedance is ~14 ohms broadband, suitable for driving a BJT PA without any need for matching transformers. The PA is 3 2N2222s in parallel with heat syncs putting out about 2 watts from 80 - 15.

The part I'm most proud of is that I have the arduino for the receiver connected to the arduino for the transmitter through a serial line. The receiver sends it's current frequency to the transmitter so that the transmitter can track the receiver's frequency as you tune (like a transceiver). I'll attach a few pictures of my homebrew station below. The transmitter is on the left, receiver is on the right. The box on top of the transmitter is my homebrew keyer. Next up on my build list is a solid state T/R switch.

Bill, I've enjoyed following the updates on the school DC receiver build. My local club is wanting to do some youth outreach, and I'd love to get them involved in building. I'm the only builder in the club though, so I don't know if I personally have the manpower to make it happen. Also, thanks for the recent info and pictures of Cuban homebrew rigs. I grew up listening to Arnie Corro, so I love seeing their resourcefulness and ingenuity. Makes me want to take apart some old electronics.

Pete, I'm enjoying following the 10M SSB project. With the uptick in propagation, I've been bitten by the 10M bug, and I'm thinking a 10M rig may have to be on my project list for this year.

73,

Will - KI4POV

KI4POV's Clock

KI4POV's N0WVA Regen

Ciprian's Romanian Ten Minute Transmitter with Roots in SPRAT, KA4KXX, and the Florida Sunrise Net

It sounds great Ciprian!  It was really cool to see your video and hear you reference not only the SolderSmoke blog, but also SPRAT, the Michigan Mighty Mite, and Walter KA4KXX. Your little rig has a very fine lineage!  

I found Ciprian's video just after seeing the wonderful Herndon Mighty Mite of Jack NG2E.  TRGHS!  The Color Burst Liberation Army is on the march!   For more info on NG2E's Mighty Mite, check out his blog: https://jackhaefner.blogspot.com/2021/05/mounting-to-perfboard-and-scope-test.html 

Jack has in his possession one of the  7.123 MHz crystals that Walter KA4KXX sent me back in 2019 (during my ET-2 craze).   It seems obvious that Jack should build a Ten Minute Transmitter and use it to check into the Sunrise Net  https://qsl.net/srn/. 

SolderSmoke Podcast #250 Dean KK4DAS joins Pete N6QW and Bill N2CQR

SolderSmoke Podcast # 250 is ready for download: 

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke250.mp3

VIDEO VERSION: (1707) SolderSmoke Podcast #250 -- With Pete N6QW, Dean KK4DAS, and Bill N2CQR - YouTube

Intro:   Welcome to Dean KK4DAS.  For 2024 Pete and I hope to jazz things up a bit by bringing in fellow homebrewers to talk about their projects.  Dean is our first victim.  Welcome Dean. 

Some good news:  Several new homebrew receivers are inhaling:  Armand WA1UQO in Richmond has an amazing looking regen.  Scott KQ4AOP in Tennessee got his DC RX working.  Mike AG5VG in Texas has been homebrewing BITX 20s and BITX 40s.  All are on the blog.  

Pete's report: 

-- Recent blog entries on filters,  SSB rig architecture, and of course digital VFOs. 

-- Phasing measurements, quadrature, and the Seeed Xiao RP2040

-- Error in QST article on early SSB transceiver.  ANOTHER ERROR!

--LC VFO on blog!  FB Pete!  

Dean's report:  

-- Tales of woe on the homebrew sBITX

-- Help from Farhan.  

-- Ground Bounce.  FFT Hallucinations.   Wisdom files.

SHAMELESS COMMERCE DIVISION:   

-- Whenever you are tempted to buy something from AMAZON, just start at the Amazon symbol on the right side of the page.  We get a cut from Bezos, and it doesn't cost you anything.  

-- You can try to do the same thing with E-bay.  We are finding a lot of great parts there. 

-- If you see a SolderSmoke post on Facebook,  please Like and forward. 

-- Become a patron!  Go to the Patreon page.  We put the money to good SolderSmoke use. 

-- Visit Mostly DIY RF and buy a PSSST kit!  

Bill's bench:  

-- Building yet another BITX dual bander.  15-10 again. Tried to use a 25 MHz filter left over from the earlier project, but I had to build another.  Built a new VFO using the variable cap and anti-backlash gear recommended by Pete.  Was a bit tough to get the receiver sounding good.   Had a diode ring as the second mixer, but went back to a singly balanced mixer. 

-- 10 meter AM -- Thanks to Jerry Coffman K5JC for mod. 

Other topics: 

--Counterfeit chips.  Why? 

MAILBAG: 

Wes W7ZOI 

Jim Cook W8NSA  Transoceanic BFO

Grayson KJ7UM -- Vintage Computer Museum

Chuck Adams --Glad to hear that Chuck is doing well.  

Frank Harris  K0IYE --  NO CHIPS!!!! 

ED DD5LP  Antenna software

Eldon KC5U  10 AM We  made a contact

Joh DL6ID  10 AM   

Phil   W1PJE of MIT   10AM   Where is L5? 

Bob WP4BQV now in UK 

Dino Papas KL0S in Wilmington   Reverse Polarity protection. 

AA7EE Dave Richards  Liked Armand's receiver

Rogier PA1ZZ  

Jonathan-san W0XO  Listened to my ET-2 CW Whoop,whoop

Nick M0NTV  Great videos from Nick the Vic

Will KI4POV  Working on his own SSB rigs.  

John West -- Who is the South American ham who made his capacitors and heat sinks? 

Ed KC8SBV  Working on DC receiver, experimenting with FETs 

Mike WN2A great contributions.  Si5351 sole source danger! 

Nick N3FJZ -- watch out for dead bands when testing receivers! 

Don KM4UDX encouragement from new Prez of VWS

Dave K8WPE Likes QF1 Cap backlash.  Says I'm getting soft! 

Dave WA1LBP My fellow Hambassador, from Okinawa USMC Sergeant with a workshop.