SolderSmoke Podcast #117

http://www.soldersmoke.com

In SolderSmoke 117:

24 October 2009
Climbing Monte Calvo + Horseback riding + Piggy-backs = LOWER BACK PAIN
Visit of Bob, W8SX, Soldersmoke correspondent in Dayton
AA1TJ's point contact adventures -- Backwaves and Backwash
AF Collins on Kindle -- "William" Marconi
Hans Summers and Turkish Piracy
RSGB Convention via Skype
"Air and Space" Aurora Article
My new, old Pentium III with Ubuntu (Thanks Jorge!)
Roadkill computing
CQ interviews Joe Taylor, K1JT
New Spart and new Sprat CD
AA1TJ's voice-powered transmitter (and some advice from Italy)
QSOs from Ponticelli: DK1HW/P (SOTA) and UN9GD.
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"El Silbo": Michael Rainey's Amazing Voice-Powered DSB Transmitter

Oh man, the wizard of the Vermont hobbit hole has really outdone himself this time. Michael Rainey, AA1TJ, has posted a very interesting report on his experiments with voice-powered radio. I was, of course, delighted that he went with DSB. Check it out: http://mjrainey.googlepages.com/elsilbo

I don't mean to seem like I'm taking any credit for this, but I did provide Michael some technical advice on how to increase power output:

Michael: Obviously the Italian elements in the project were of critical importance. Some of them may have escaped your attention. I note that an olive can was involved... For further progress I think you should consider working in some of the other substances that help keep Italy going: cappuccino, Nutela, and perhaps some vino bianco...

Another thing: While you are shouting, be sure to use the proper gesticulations. I recommend that you go Neapolitan here -- they are the best. I'd say that before each CQ, you should put yourself in a Neapolitan frame of mind: imagine that someone has bumped into your car and that you and the other guy are arguing about who is at fault. This should generate at least 20 mW!

In boca a lupo! 73

Bill

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Great CQ Article on Joe Taylor, K1JT

The October 2009 issue of CQ magazine has a really interesting article on Joe Taylor, K1JT. Joe is a winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics. The article is by CQ magazine editor Rich Moseson, W2VU. I was particularly interested in the Joe's description of how his radio astronomy work led eventually to his creation of the WSJT and WSPR programs that many of us are now using. (Above you can see a WSPR report showing Joe's station in New Jersey receiving my 20 mW WSPR signal.)

CQ magazine has put a "Digging Deeper" article on Joe on its web site. It is not the full October 2008 magazine article, but the on-line article has much of the tech info from Rich's interview with Joe, and in some areas goes deeper. Great stuff! Here it is:
http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/Joe_Taylor_webOct09.pdf
Thanks Rich! Thanks CQ! Thanks Joe!

Some Interesting QSLs from W7ZOI

Wes, W7ZOI, just put up on the web some QSLs from his collection. They are all very interesting. Take a look: http://w7zoi.net/qslcards/qsls.html I especially liked the "lemon QSO" card shown above.

While visiting the QSL page, I also came across the story of Wes's first encounter with homebrew ham radio. As a kid, he he would listen to a local 75 meter AM operator who was a hardcore homebrewer. On this guy's rig, "even the knobs were homebrew." Wes was listening with a crystal radio! What a great way to get started. More on this here: http://w7zoi.net/shack.html
Thanks Wes!

Duct Tape Repair of Lunar Rover

Hey, doesn't that mountain ("Shorty") on the moon look a bit like Mount Calvo (the one that Billy and I were climbing last weekend, see below)? But I digress. This is all about Duct tape. Apollo 17. The right rear fender on the moon buggy gets broken. Duct tape to the rescue!
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/21apr_ducttape.htm

Monte Calvo and a Summit on the Air

We had kind of a mountain theme this weekend. We were out in the country again. After some horseback riding in the morning, Billy and I and some friends decided to hike up a little mountain in the area. It is part of Monte Calvo. We didn't make it to the summit (too much underbrush) but I managed to send an e-mail with the coordinates of our highest point. I put the location it on Google Earth --you can see how we did. On to the summit next time!
Speaking of summits, I only made two contacts with the HW-8 this weekend (from the house, not the mountain). The first was a contest station on 20 meters, UN9GD. But the second (also on 20) was a QRP "Summit on the Air" station. DK1HW/P was running four watts from a KX-1. It was nice to work another QRP station. (It was cold in the mountains this weekend -- my fist was not at its best!)