Evil Mad Scientist Builds a Heathkit

You guys will get a kick out of this:  An old unbuilt Heathkit is discovered, and is then put together by "Evil Mad Scientist." EMS obviously loves electronics, but is clearly of the digital/IC generation:    "The tubes are gorgeous!  Their exteriors are glass with electrodes extending from the bottom!"  Wow.

The Evil Mad Sci guy fears that the solder provided by Heath will have "gone bad over time" and says that he will use "more modern solder."  Hold your horses Frankenstein! Don't you dare put that Heathkit together with lead-free solder!  That could tear a hole in the fabric of space time!  Also, I dunno about the idea of putting all the components on the lugs and rotary switch terminals first, with all the soldering coming later.  The boys at Benton Harbor wouldn't have liked that.  And you might want to gradually bring the voltage up on that big electrolytic cap up using a variac.  Which brings to mind some needed advice:  BE CAREFUL!  You have moved out of the realm of 12 V DC.  That old Heathkit could zap you good! 

http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/heathkit-part1


Thanks to Mike Butts for alerting us to this.

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USB/LSB Urban Legend DEBUNKED!

Astute aficionados (like Steve --Snort Rosin -- Smith) immediately recognized that I was talking rubbish when, in SolderSmoke 143, I said that the current LSB/USB convention on the HF bands has its origins in the FACT (not!) that when using a 9 MHz filter and a 5 MHz VFO, with a single carrier oscillator crystal you can very conveniently get USB on 20 and LSB on 75, supposedly because of "sideband inversion" that takes place when you switch from the sum product of the second mixer (20 meters) to the difference product (75 meters).  I got out paper and pen and quickly discovered that Steve was right.  No sideband inversion with this scheme.

I was susceptible to this urban legend because when I was building my 17 meter SSB rig out in the Azores,  I used a 5.174 MHz filter from an old Swan 240.  I started out with a VXO running around 12.9 MHz, obviously using the sum output from that second mixer.  Later, I decided to move the VXO up to around 23.3 MHz and take the difference product.  Here I DID get a sideband inversion, and I had to go back to the carrier oscillator and change the crystal so as to get LSB coming out of the filter.  When this 5.173 MHz LSB went to the second mixer, the sideband inversion took place and --Viola!-- 17 meter USB resulted. 


The key factor here of course is that the VFO freq was now ABOVE the filter freq.  


In the podcast I said that I "learned" about the alleged origins of the LSB/USB convention from the 2006 ARRL handbook.   I had read it very quickly while in the local library.  I don't think they would have gotten this wrong.  It was probably my quick reading of the article that caused the rubbish talk.  


Maybe it was this:   Could it have been that in the early days of SSB, guys were using a 5 MHz FILTER with 9MHz VFOs?  Maybe from old Command Set surplus gear?  With the VFO above the filter freq you would get the sideband inversion that I was babbling about, right?   Or might this have been the result of the phasing method of sideband generation popular back in the day?   
 

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SolderSmoke Podcast #143

SolderSmoke Podcast #143 is available:


http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke143.mp3


Cappuccio the Flying Retriever
Kite Flying (no  injuries this time!)
April 1 getting more and more difficult
Turtle Wax and Telescope Maintenance
Titan's Orbital period
NJQRP's Amazing "Chat with the Designers"
QRP-Tech and A-QRP
Billy's workbench and computer build
Sony Vaios goes toes up (really)
Digi modes make me grumpy
Kick Panel rig gets a receiver
The Joy of Belden 1671A
I want to bulild a BITX 75/20!
Solar Flux when I was born (300+)
SPRAT 150! Congrats!
Jason NT7S and his new OpenBeacon QRSS kit
BONANZA!
MAILBAG


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Hans Summer's Homebrew 'Scope

  

The picture right away gives you a sense of the depth of this project, and of the guy who completed it.  One of my biggest mistakes in the UK was missing the opportunity to meet Han Summers, G0UPL.  Check out Han's Homebrew 'scope project, and be sure to look around his site for other, similar adventures:


http://www.hanssummers.com/tinyscope.html

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Alan Sends Video Through HIs 'Scope

Who needs plasma screens!  Real hams get their video on the screens of Tektronix oscilloscopes! 

Good one Alan!  Glad to see that you made it onto Hack-a-Day with this one! 

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Kick Panel Progress; Podcast Delay

 

I'm kind of behind on podcast production, but once again I have a good excuse:  I've been melting solder.   I decided to finally finish the Kick Panel DSB rig that I started building back in London.  It is built on a kitchen cutting board purchased in a Dyas store in Windsor.  The cabinet is fashioned from an aluminum kick panel for a door (a pub door!).   

I originally intended this to be just a transmitter (for use with my trusty Drake 2-B) but it is so easy to add a direct conversion receiver to a DSB rig that I just threw together a version of the NE-602 LM386 Neophyte receiver and hooked it up to the 75 meter VFO.  It sounds great.  I love DC receivers. They seem to connect you directly to the ether. And now I'll have a complete 75 meter DSB station in one box.

This morning I tested the balanced modulator (singly balanced with two diodes).  DSB is being generated.  All I have to do now is put a little 6 db pad between the modulator and the amplifier chain, then work on the antenna a bit and I should be on 75.  The amplifier chain dates back to the period when Mike, KL7R, and I were using LTSpice to design amps....

I was very pleased to include in this rig a part that Michael, AA1TJ, sent me:  I have a little 10.7 MHz IF can in the front end of the RX.  A cap allows it to tune in 75 meters. Thanks Mike!

I hope to get a podcast out this weekend (if the computers cooperate -- the Sony Vaios "light bulb-repaired" laptop finally gave up the ghost last weekend.) 

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SolderSmoke Lexicographer

Mike, AA1TJ, is the QRPoet Laureate, but I think we can now officially name Steve Silverman, KB3SII, our official SolderLexicographer:

Hi Bill

Here is an interesting possible explanation for the term LID:

'It's a term that goes back to land based telegraphers, before radio was even used. Some say it has to do with placement of a tobacco can or lid to enhance hearing the telegraph sounder. Such things were apparently trademarks of the poorer ops.'

So there you, using a tobacco can sounder "hearing aid" defined you as a LID, as in using the lid of the can to tune your RIT.  But in telegraph location with lots of QRM, such as in a major telegraph office or along side of a noisy train track, the lids enabled an operator to distinguish his sounder from the background clicks and clacks.  The Car Talk guys would love this explanation.

73

Steve

KB3SII





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The Idea Factory

Hello Bill,

I think you will like a new tech history book about Bell Labs. The name of the book is The Idea Factory and the author is Jon Gertner.

Here's a neat example of what's in the book from page 85:

"Atoms within semiconductors bond easily with a number of other elements. Scaff and his colleagues knew that when they cut n-type silicon (atomic number 14) into smaller pieces on a power saw, for instance, they could smell something they were sure was phosphorus (atomic number 15). None of the measurement equipment could pick up the taint, but their noses could."

How cool is that? The book is full of this kinda of stuff and it details the early lives of those involved in Bell Labs.....anyway I find Idea Factory a page turner and I think you will enjoy it.

Another "abstract" from page 38:

"The young Bell Labs recruits had other things in common. Almost all had grown up with a peculiar desire to know more about the stars or the telephone lines or (most often) the radio, especially their makeshift wireless sets. Almost all of them had put one together themselves, and in turn had discovered how sound could be pulled from the air."

73

Herb/WR9H

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Revenge of the Electric Car

My wife and I watched this on PBS last night.  Really interesting. You guys will like it.  There's Elon Musk and his car named for Nikola Tesla!  There's a guy named "Gadget" who is part of a worldwide movement of electric car homebrewers.  Yes, this one's for us!  


I'm sorry that Hulu probably won't let folks outside the USA watch this.  Maybe see if you can access the video via other systems. 

 http://www.hulu.com/watch/322022/revenge-of-the-electric-car
 
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"Analog Man" by Joe Walsh

Very cool to have world famous rocker and fellow boatanchor enthusiast Joe Walsh singing about the virtues of analog.
What next?
An ode to 60/40 solder? 
Some troubleshooting blues? 

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Marconi Archive

Brian, G0NSL, alerted us to this very interesting archive on Marconi: 

http://markpadfield.com/marconicalling/museum/html/archivehome.html


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Club 465

I mentioned on the podcast that a generous friend sent me a Tektronix 465 scope. It now seems like every day I'm discovering new and interesting things about this magnificent piece of gear.   I've also discovered that there a LOT of guys out there who are loyal and enthusiastic users of Tek 465s.   George Heron, N2APB, and Joe Everhart, N2CX, have been putting out an excellent podcast called "Chat with the Deigners." They recently talked about oscilloscopes with our friend Alan Wolke, W2AEW:  http://www.njqrp.org/teamspeak/Apr10.html
George mentioned that he has a 465.  Our friend Farhan, VU2ESE, is using one.  Who else is in Club 465?  Send us your names! 


Preston. WJ2V, up in the Big Apple sent me a very interesting message about a feature of the 'scope that I was unaware of.  Thanks Preston!

Bill,

I am caught up and just listened to number 142.  The podcasts continue to be new and interesting each issue.  I too have a 465 workhorse in the shack.  I have one suggestion that will turn it into an even more valuable instrument.  Note that you have an amplified output in the back with the vertical signal presented at a BNC connector.  This is made for connection to a frequency counter.  In fact, some of the military versions of this scope came with a frequency counter.  If you have a counter in the shack, just connect it to the vertical output in back of the scope.  This will faithfully report the frequency of any wave you see on the screen.  Since the signal is amplified, the counter will be able to read small signals in receiver stages, while you view them on the scope.  Amazingly helpful in setting up and troubleshooting receivers.  I leave a dedicated counter connected to the 465 all the time, as it enhances the usefulness of the scope many times.  I also am lucky enough to have an early Steve Weber ("Melt Solder") SASA II device available for connection to the scope whenever needed.  This is a 100 MHz spectrum analyzer adapter, with a built-in calibrator.  It gives a great view of the output of transmitters.  But, of course, you can see the quality of a clean sine wave with just the scope.  The SASA II will just help you to see where in the spectrum the junk is coming from.  Sadly, I don't think Steve made more than about a hundred of these terrific kits.  Also, it did not have provision for a tracking generator, which would have made it an ideal instrument for designing and checking IF filters.  Steve and I talked about this, and he said he might revisit this someday.

As to seeing your QRP (or even higher) signals on the scope, of course you would not connect a transmitter to the input of the scope--that would burn it out in short order.  But a proper bypass/attenuator connected to a proper 50 ohm pass-through termination at the input to the scope would give the ability to see why your SWR meter is showing an abnormally high SWR with your homebrew transmitter that's generating spurious stuff.  There is a very practical article for building the two pieces you need on simple PC board "cabinets"  (more like half-cabinets) in the wonderful Drew Diamond books, I think in volume II.  These simple devices will give you the ability to see what you're doing with your transmitters, using the scope--

72,

WJ2V

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30th Birthday for the TRS-80 Model 100

We have one of these (I'm sure many of you guys have one also).  I'm not really a computer guy, but I've been holding onto this thing because 1) it has always seemed to me to have a very high "cool tech" feel to it and 2) I figured that Billy or Maria might someday take an interest.  Billy is now deep into his PC build, and is developing what looks like a computer-focused shack up in his room.  So the Model 100 has moved up there.  


Here is a nice interview about this machine:
 
http://www.thepowerbase.com/2012/04/trs-80-model-100-interview-with-john-r-hogerhuis/

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Shuttle Discovery Arrives in Washington

I was out on the national mall yesterday morning to watch the Shuttle Discovery (atop a 747) fly over Washington DC en route to Dulles Airport and the Smithsonian Museum. Having watched Discovery when it was in orbit it was kind of bittersweet to see it go by this way. The event reminded me of going out to Hyde Park in London to watch the final overflight of the Concorde SSTs.


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Alan Wolke on "Chat with Designers" Tonight!

From the fellows at NJQRP:

This week's session of Chat With The Designers is tomorrow evening(Tuesday), starting at 8pm Eastern (0000z) on Teamspeak. We are in for a real treat this week, as Alan Wolke, W2AEW, a field applications engineer for Tektronix, will be leading the discussion on atopic he is very familiar with ... "Oscilloscope Basics. '' If you watch an electrical engineer tackling a tough design project, or a service engineer troubleshooting a stubborn problem, you¹ll see them grab a scope, fit probes or cables, and start turning knobs and setting switches without ever seeming to glance at the front panel. To these experienced users, the oscilloscope is their most important tool but their minds are focused on solving the problem, not on using the scope. We have a Notes page set up with a terrific presentation that we¹ll betalking to in this session, so be sure you have your browser set to thisduring the discussion as well ... http://www.njqrp.org/teamspeak/Apr10.html

If you¹ve not joined us for past topics, you¹ll find that we have some funin this 1-hour online meeting talking about various technical topics thatare likely of interest to homebrewers and experimenters here in our hamranks. It¹s open for everyone and all you have to do is have the Teamspeakdriver loaded onto your computer. (For guidance on this, see

http://www.njqrp.org/teamspeak/TeamspeakInstructions.html)Looking forward to seeing
(hearing) many of our 30-some regulars, and inviteothers who have not yet joined in on the fun!73, George N2APB& Joe N2CX& Alan Wolke W2AEW
Chat With The Designers ...http://www.njqrp.org/teamspeak/TeamspeakChat.html

(See this page too for past sessions and MP3 podcasts of the audio portionof each week.)PS: If you happen to follow us in our audio podcasts each week, the lastsession on ³Soldering 101² is loaded and available at:http://www.njqrp.org/teamspeak/Mar20.html
-----------------------------------------
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We need more sunspots!

Conditions on 17 meters are bad today. I pulled out my 6 inch reflector telescope to do some troubleshooting on ol' sol. Yea, just as I thought: one measly sunspot. Confirmed by the SOHO image above.
There was a discussion on QRP-L recently about historical solar flux data. I started wondering what the SFI was on the day I was born. A few clicks with google brought the answer: On September 14, 1958 SFI was close to 300. Today it was 94. :-(

Something should be done about this! Write to your Congressman! Demand more solar activity!

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Ponderosa Knack! Bonanza Astronomy!

I loved this episode, and I think most of you guys will too. I was alerted to it by an article by famed comet hunter David Levy. Wow! I never would have thought that in a 1962 episode of the cowboy show Bonanza, we would find amateur astronomy and experiments to determine the speed of sound and the speed of light. Amazing. There is no radio in this so it is not really The Knack, but young Mr. Michelson (yes, the Nobel Prize winner) does set up a shack-like workshop and he is trying to measure c. So this is all very Knack-like. There is also a very nice moral to this story, a moral that is related to our notion of an International Brotherhood of Electrical Wizards.
Three cheers for Ben Cartwright!

You can find the episode here. It runs for 48 minutes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzPRGV0HbMk

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EE Web Featured Engineer: Alan Wolke, W2AEW

I really liked this interview with our friend Alan. You can see definite signs of an early case of The Knack here: I was especially impressed by the fact that he made one of his first antennas from wire salvaged from the deflection coil on an old TV. (I took the easy path and chopped up my dad's extension cords!)

I also liked Alan's response to the question about his favorite software tool: "Gee, solder is soft, can we consider that software? I use a lot of that!" This is very reminiscent of a quote from the legendary Bob Pease (colleague of Jim Williams): "My favorite programming language is solder." (That quote was sent to me by Steve WA0PWK. Thanks Steve.)

Lots of good troubleshooting wisdom in this interview, and Alan's enthusiasm for electronics clearly shines through:
http://www.eeweb.com/spotlight/interview-with-alan-wolke

If you're also interested in the field of electronic repairs, visit www.guidetocareereducation.com for a list of schools offering electronics and engineering training programs.

Also, be sure to check out Alan's YouTube videos, especially those on how to use an oscilloscope:
http://www.youtube.com/user/w2aew

 
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"An Analog Life" A Video Tribute to Jim Williams

Yi Yao alerted us to this. Don't miss this one!


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Yi Yao has The Knack!

Hi Bill,

I discovered SolderSmoke a few years ago by listening to another pod
cast. Ever since, I have been hooked on this podcast and listen to it
whenever I have time. I have finally caught up and finished episode
142 today. I love the enthusiasm and spirit of discovery and creation
that goes into the stories in SS.

The first time I heard about amateur radio was in high school. It
seemed to be a overly nerdy thing at the time and I wasn't sure what
it was. However, after I started listening to SS, I discovered that
this is something that I wanted to do. So, on New Years Eve with the
kind help of a local examiner (Ori, VA3XW), I wrote my basic and
advanced exam and passed with honours. In Canada, we only have 3
categories: basic, advanced and morse code. I am very excited about
this and I am glad that SS made me make the jump.

You know, every time the word knack comes up, it is portrayed in a
negative way. Someone is "afflicted" with the knack or shows knackish
"symptoms" as if it was a horrible disease. I would like to change
this perspective.

I hereby declare myself blessed with the knack. Ever since I was a kid,
I disassembled various electronics around the house (to the dismay of
my parents). I knew when I was doing something right when I could put
something back together and it worked, or later, it worked better than
before. Despite my parents' persuasion to pursue other branches of
non-technical studies, I made up my mind to study electrical
engineering (must have been a teenage rebellion thing). Nonetheless
I finished school and found a job doing electronics design which I
love. Some of the people that you meet in this field are just
phenomenal. It has been a good career decision and I think it is truly
amazing. Thus, I see the knack as being a gift which I was fortunate
enough to hold.

I think one of the most important aspect of the knack is the desire to
understand and have self reliance on what we use on a daily basis. I
repair my own bikes and I've never bought a ready made computer.
Having a home machine shop greatly helps in this regard too. My first
oscilloscope I designed and built myself:
http://yyao.ca/projects/oscilloscope/
I have also resolved to build my first rig instead of buying one.
However, work is really busy these days, and it doesn't look like I
will be able to do this soon. One of these days, I will construct my
own rig and wiggle the ether.

I am currently visiting Silicon Valley here in California. There is
much to visit and do here. For example, the De Anza Flea Market
happens every 2nd Saturday (which is my first introduction to a swap
meet):
http://www.electronicsfleamarket.com/

The Computer History Museum is amazing:
http://www.computerhistory.org/

For a limited time, you can see Jim William's work bench at the
museum. If you thought your workbench was messy, you haven't seen
anything:
http://www.eetimes.com/ContentEETimes/Images/EELife/williams%20desk.jpg

Now, imagine having the world's most smartest electronics engineers
having dinner together. That's what the Analog Aficionados Party is about:
http://www.edn.com/blog/Anablog/41523-Analog_Aficionados_party_Feb_18_2012.php

On top of that, there are a lot of trade shows which you can go to
check out the latest and greatest of test equipment. They don't have
the same feel as some of my analog oscilloscopes, but they are shiny.
As you can see, this is a paradise for anyone blessed with the knack.

Anyhow, this email is long enough and I hope your eyes haven't glazed
over yet. My best regards to you, Billy, Maria and your wife.

73,
Yi Yao
VA3YAO
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Workbench Upgrade

Lots of good ideas in Todd's video. I need to do a lot of this kind of improvement.



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Google CW!

Google announced this yesterday. VERY timely. I wish I had thought of this!



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Murphy's Whiskers: SHAVED (with Belden 1671A!)

Brad, AA1IP, has come to the rescue and is offering Belden 1671A at prices SIGNIFICANTLY below cocaine levels. Thanks Brad!

Hello--
In response to Bill's plea on SolderSmoke #142 for an inexpensive source of Belden 1671A semi-rigid coaxial cable, I can offer it for sale at $.30 per foot in lengths up to 10 feet to 20 feet; handling longer lengths is problematical, as I don't have a good wire-respooling method at present. Postage and packaging for up to 10 feet of 1671A cable is extra and costs $3.25 for shipping via first-class mail to U.S. addresses (I honor PayPal and certain other payment methods). Note that coaxial connectors for 1671A are available (but not from me, alas). Also, the outer jacket of 1671A is best cut with a fine-toothed coping saw or a miniature tubing cutter such as... http://www.amazon.com/Pit-Bull-Mini-Tubing-Cutter/dp/B0027BBHW0

Questions welcomed as always. 73-- Brad AA1IP

P.S.: the "Murphy's Whiskers" Bill refers to are small pieces of copper braid wire that break off from RG-174/U (or other) coax braid and cause intermittent short-circuits in whatever they fall into.

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A Workshop That's Really "Out There"

Wow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/garden/in-a-remote-part-of-utah-life-alone-in-a-hangar.html?_r=1

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Saturn and Titan

One of the rewards of being an amateur astronomer is that from time to time you get to discover on your own astronomical facts that were actually discovered centuries ago. Like the orbital period of Titan. About ten days ago I reported on my early morning observations of Saturn. Titan was in the far right of my field of view. Then, a week later I looked again and saw that Titan was now in the far left of the field of view. It looked like it it had gone to the opposite end of its orbital track in about a week. I checked and, sure enough, Titan takes about 15 earth days to complete an orbit. Neat.

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The Giant Magellan Telescope

Wow, seven 28 foot mirrors! They just started blasting away the top of a mountain in Chile to make room for this magnificent 'scope. More details here: http://www.gmto.org/index.html
For those of you who are looking, they have some job openings (link at the bottom of their site).

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics"http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

NJORP's "Chat with the Designers" Podcast

N2APB and N2CX of the New Jersey QRP Club have been hosting weekly, live, on-line technical discussions called "Chats with the Designers." They are recording these sessions, and turning them into -- in effect -- podcasts. Yesterday I listened to their session on circuit simulators and really enjoyed it. Today, I'll be listening to the one on digital modes. I think you guys will like this. Lots to learn from the NJQRP guys:
http://www.njqrp.org/teamspeak/TeamspeakChat.html


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A Rare Tour of the HP Garage

Kim, VK5FJ, sent this to us. Amazing pictures. Inspiring! Look at that work bench. Note the ARRL antenna book.

http://dvice.com/archives/2012/03/rare-tour-of-th.php#25


Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics"http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

SolderSmoke Podcast #142

March 19, 2012

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke142.mp3

SWR meter as a poor man's spectrum analyzer
QRP Quarterly: Pete Juliano's SSB Rig, Idea Exchange, Mike's articles
Great contacts on 17 SSB
Squeezing the birdies out of 17 meter rig. Again.
STOP MURPHY'S WHISKERS! A PLEA FOR BELDEN 1671A!
My new 'scope
Zen and the Art of Telescope Maintenance
SETI Live: Search the waterfall for ET's sigs
Ade Weiss's wonderful new book
Chinese Knack?
Soul in the Machine: Billy's earliest toroids
Re-cycling my 20 meter CW rig (from cycle 22)
Winterfest report
Relay repairs and back EMF dangers
MAILBAG

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The Allen Telescope Array

I'm really getting into the SETI Live project. Whenever I get a chance I go to the SETI Live page, log on, and classify a few signals. Today I was looking at the tech aspects of the antenna array. Very interesting, and very appealing to homebrewers. They are making use of dishes that were made for TV reception. And they are using software-defined receiver systems. All of this makes upgrades relatively easy.

Jill Tartar of "Contact" fame is running this project.

Check it out: http://www.seti.org/ata

So, I'll be I'll be using a big array to listen (watch really) for the REAL DX on .5 to 11.2 Gigahertz. I'll let you guys know if I hear any "new ones"!

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UK Balloon Launch and a North Sea Splashdown

I like balloon projects.
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SETI Live!

Wow, this is really very interesting. The Allen Telescope Array (seen above) is back in operation and they are looking for on-line volunteers to analyze the signals that are streaming in. But unlike the now-familiar SETI-AT-HOME screensaver system, in SETI Live, they want you to personally evaluate signals -- very recent signals -- from the Allen Array. You'll be looking at waterfall displays similar to what we see with SDR rigs. They want you to mark and classify the signals and then upload your work. They are trying to screen out terrestrial sigs, man-made satellites, etc.

This is just the thing for those days when the solar flux is low and 17 meters is dead!

Check it out: http://setilive.org/

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Planets Galore!

Good times for astronomy in Northern Virginia. The temperature is freakishly high, and daylight savings time has pushed the darkness into my early-morning shack time. My telescope troubles are sorted out, and I just discovered that with my current contact lens prescription, my right eye is much better for telescope work than the left. (Who knew!) I found an excellent and inspirational book on astronomy: "The Four Percent Universe." And this morning, while fooling around with my Stellarium program, I noticed that Saturn is high in the South-West before dawn. Coffee cup in hand I went out and was rewarded with a spectacular view of the ringed planet. I could even see one of the divisions between the rings. Titan was also visible. Last night Maria and I were looking at Mars. I can make out the ice cap and (vaguely) some the big valley features. No canals.

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Happy Pi - Einstein Day!

The card is for a special event sponsored by the Lake Effect Amateur Radio Club:
http://www.lakeeffectarc.info/Event-PiEinsteinDay/PiDay.htm

I've been reading "Math and the Mona Lisa" so lately I've been more into Phi than Pi. When will we have Phi Day? January 6th?

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Twisted Waves Across the Venice Lagoon

I don't really understand the physics behind this, but it seems to be important. And the video is a lot of fun. There is much Italian brio and bella figura in this. They even got Princess Elettra Marconi involved. And the video features audio from Marconi himself.
Hypertuning! Radio Vorticity! Helicoidal Parabolic Antennas! Gondolas! Segnale Ricevuto! Bravi!

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/48869

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Mars in Opposition

Jupiter and Venus are getting all the media attention because they happen to appear close in the sky, but Mars is the real object to see this month. It is in opposition (see diagram). This happens every two years. Last time we were out in the Sabine Hills north of Rome (sniff, sniff).

I cleaned the 6 inch mirror on my Dobsonian telescope a while back, and when I put the whole thing back together, something wasn't quite right. I was getting dim and blurry views. So yesterday I went into telescope maintenance mode and, as the Brits would say, got it all sorted.

I was out looking at Mars last night. The view is not nearly as spectacular as the image above, but it is very nice. But I can't see much of the northern polar cap -- it is, after all, summer time in the Martian Northern Hemisphere.


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Ralph Baer, Electronic Wizard

Here is a another nice video, this one about Ralph Baer, one of the pioneers of video games. At age 90 Ralph is still creating things at his workbench.

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Amazing R/C Airplane Video From Germany

Wow, this is real techno-art. Take seven minutes, put it on full screen, crank up the audio and sit back to enjoy a unique aerial view of a beautiful part of Germany. Thanks to Bill, N5AB, for alerting us to this.

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JBOT Thoughts

Posted today to the BITX-20 Group:

Good to see so many JBOTs under construction. I recently built two of them. Farhan has asked me to share with the group my experiences using -43 core toroids. Ironically, TV cores are a bit harder to find here, so I had to go with the fancier toroids!

In my first amp (used in a 17 meter DSB rig) I used the smaller FT-37-43 cores in all three transformers. T1 and T2 were wound and placed in the same way that Farhan did with the TV cores. For T3 I used superglue to stack 4 of the cores 2x2, then wrapped them with a bit of electrical tape. I wound T3 so the input wires were on one side and the output on the other. (On this amp, I had started out using some large binocular cores from the junk box, but I had a tough time getting the amp stable with these cores, possibly because using them resulted in longer lead lengths. So I went back to the smaller FT-37-43 cores).

In the second amp (used in a 17 meter SINGLE Sideband rig) I used FT-50-43 cores for T1 and T2. The bigger gores were a little easier to work with. I glued them vertically to the copper clad board. For T3, I again went with 4 FT-37-43 cores. (I tried using 4 FT-50-43 cores for T-3, but I found that output was low, so I went back to the smaller cores for T3). Note that on the second amp, I put some insulation between the heatsinks and the copper clad board (gorilla tape) -- I was worried about possible short to ground if the anodized layer on the heatsinks got breached.

In building my amps, I used the photo on Farhan's Phonestack page as my guide.

As is always the case with amps that I build, I found that a certain amount of "taming of the beast" had to take place before I got the devices stable. This is certainly the result of the kind of homebrew devices into which they are being inserted! Following advice from Doug DeMaw, I made liberal use of ferrite beads. I put one on the lead carrying 12 volts to the amp board. I put another on the lead from the 12 volt line to the final's RF choke. And I put one on the line carrying the .6 volt bias to the secondary center tap of T2.

I put a bit of shielding (copper-clad board) between the low pass filter and T3.

These steps allowed these amps to work nicely with my contraptions.

As long as we are talking about JBOTS, I have a question for the group:

On my second amp, I noticed that the output was a bit lower than it should have been -- only about 1.5 watts. I did a lot of troubleshooting, then I finally checked the bias currents in the first two stages. I found that BOTH were running at about 50 ma.

I looked at Farhan's JBOT notes and found that the second stage is supposed to be running at 100 ma. I found that the base bias voltage on the second stage was 1.13 volts, while the first stage had 1.9 volts on the base. That didn't seem right.

I then turned to the bias.exe program that comes with EMRFD. I plugged in the values from the JBOT schematic and, sure enough, the predicted collector bias current was 50 ma, not the 100ma the design was looking for.

Using that program, I made some changes to the base resistor in the second stage. I found that with 150 ohms instead of 100 ohms, the collector bias current goes up to the desired 100 ohms. This also seemed to bring power output up to the desired range of 3-4 watts (output should be a bit lower at 18 MHz, right?)

More info (and pictures) on my JBOT adventures can be found here:
http://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search/label/JBOT

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR JBOTS!

73 Bill N2CQR
http://soldersmoke.blogspot.com

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics"http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Australia's Largest Hamfest

Hi Bill,

Just wanted to pass some pics of the Central Coast ARC Hamfest in New South Wales at Wyong approx 100km north of Sydney and about 80-90km south of my QTH. As you can see there was a reasonable amount of people there and some boot sales as well.


The first thing that I found in the boot sale area was a copy of SSDRA (1977 vintage) almost as old as I am. I found it in one of those boxes under a table with other books on top. I immediately gave the book to the guy selling it and asked how much, and to my surprise he said $5 Aust. I couldn't get my money out quick enough and put it my bag that I had for collecting all those small parts. See attached pic of said book. I saw a brand new copy of EMRFD at the WIA stand for $85.
On my way around the boot sales I also saw this Hallicrafters radio and I thought of you and took a photo of it the only thing was I have no idea what model it is?

I also picked up a couple of small variable caps with the nice ceramic fronts on them and only $1 each. I also picked up some hard drawn stranded copper wire 2.5mm dia & 200m long for only $170 which isn't too bad a price here in Oz.

The biggest part of the day was catching up with all the guys I know from the area where I am now and others I haven't seen since I went last time in 2008, so it was a great outing and will have to start reading another book and start looking at maybe making a HB 30m APRS Txer for when I go I my next trip.

73,

Adam

VK2YK & VK6GA

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

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CircuitLab Online Simulator

I gave the new CircuitLabs online circuit simulator a test drive this morning. It worked very well, even on my clunky old computer. I think this online system will open up circuit simulation for people who haven't used a simulator before. And it looks like a great tool for collaboration. Give it a spin!

https://www.circuitlab.com/

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics"http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Finnish Knack

Congratulations Ari! Thanks for the nice e-mail.

Hi,

I just wanted to thank you for your inspirational and enjoyable
book "SolderSmoke -- Global adventures in Wireless Electronics".
I bought it from Amazon.com as an electronic eBook a few months
ago and started reading. After a few pages a lot of flashbacks
from my own youth came into my mind.

In the early 1980's when I was a teenager I got some local
electronics and ham-radio books into my hands through relatives
and the local library. They were very interesting and I got
my mind and time set into DX-listening, building electronic devices
etc., but the HAM-radio licence just seemed to be so difficult
to achieve that I sort of displaced the idea from my mind
for a long time.

After that I did my conscriptional military service in the
Finnish navy, passed a 5-month radio communications course
(including the part that I feared the most in the HAM-radio
exam too - the CW) and served as a radio and battle control
radar operator on-board local corvette Turunmaa in the
late 80's.

After that university studies, foreign job assignments and
establishing my own family extinguished a lot of these former
hobbies for quite some time but now for the past few years as
things have sort of stabilized, I started to think and do
something about them again. Inspired at least partly by your
book decided to try it out and started studying the material
for our local radio amateur license exams. The exams were held
a couple of weeks ago and my license arrived today in the mail.

73 de Ari OH2ECG

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics"http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Ade Weiss's New Book

Big news on the QRP/homebrew literature front. One of the titans of the genre, Ade Weiss, has released another amazing book about our hobby. I really enjoyed Ade's first history of QRP, and, because it covers a more recent period (1968-1981), I think this new this one is even more interesting. I took a portion of it with me on the train yesterday (and will be doing the same for the rest of the week!) The book is a wonderful technical history. It is filled with interesting stories and with very illuminating schematics and technical discussions. Ade takes us through the exciting early days transistor transmitters and direct conversion receivers. There is a lot of discussion of the commercial rigs that we've come to know and love -- lots of HW8s and Argonauts. And Ade has made it all available as a free download! Thanks Ade!

http;//www.QRPdxPropagationAntennas.com

ADE WEISS'S NEW HISTORY BOOK -- PDF DOWNLOAD:

http;//www.QRPdxPropagationAntennas.com

THE FIVE-WATT QRP MOVEMENT IN THE US, 1968-1981

by Adrian Weiss W0RSP (ex-K8EEG),

author of

JOY OF QRP: STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS

HISTORY OF QRP IN THE US, 1924-60

IONOSPHERIC PROPAGATION, TRANSMISSION LINES, AND ANTENNAS FOR THE QRP DX’R

The Milliwatt: National Journal of QRPp

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part 1. K6JSS and the 100-watt QRP ARCI ………………………………….......... 1

Part 2. QRP/8 Newsletter, QRPP CORNER Column, and THE MILLIWATT:
The Beginning of the Five-Watt QRP Movement in the US ... 3

Part 3. The QRP World Outside the 100-watt QRP ARCI ………………….... 22

Part 4. The QRP Takeover of the 100-watt QRP ARCI. ………………….......85

THE MILLIWATT QRPp DXCC and MILLIWATT DXCC Trophy List..........105

Adrian Weiss W0RSP’s Bibliography: Selected Technical Articles. 109

EPILOGUE: W0RSP Retro-ARRL-DX-Contest 2/18-19, 2012 Log, PIX....111

***************

IF you are interested in where our niche in the hobby came from, and would

like to read about the developments in technology caused by the transistor

and IC, and see many then-new but still-used circuits, and learn the

history of the commercial evolution of QRP gear from Ten-Tec, MFJ,

Heathkit and others, then this book is for you!

It is 115 PAGES in length in PDF FORMAT--

FREE!!! DOWNLOAD (32MEGS, ~ minute +/-) FROM:

www.QRPdxPropagationAntennas.com

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

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29% Off on SolderSmoke Book! Leap Year Sale!

Leap Year Sale at Lulu on "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics"http://soldersmoke.com/book.htm

Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D

This is about 2 years old, but somehow I missed it. It is really beautiful, and it helps keep things in perspective.

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics"http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Winterfest!

Billy and I went to the Vienna Wireless Association's Winterfest hamfest yesterday. We had a great time and met many SolderSmoke fans. Above you can see me and Randy, N3UMW, the designer of our SolderSmoke logo. Thanks again Randy!

There's Charles, AI4OT. Charles bought a copy of the SolderSmoke book at last year's Winterfest. This year he dropped by to show us his tiny Steve Weber QRP rig in an Altoids tin. FB! And he was kind enough to talk-up the book, helping me make a few sales! Thanks Charles!

We managed to get rid of a bunch of junk, and only bought one item of new junk (a Hallicrafters S-38E receiver). And we got to show our friend (and aspiring homebrewer) John what a real hamfest is all about.

Thanks to the VWS for another great 'fest.

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