Mythbuster Video for the Lamakaan Amateur Radio Club of Hyderabad, India

I was really pleased when Farhan asked me to speak at this year's Lamakaan Amateur Radio Club convention.  He asked me to talk about my Mythbuster 75 and 20 meter SSB rig.  It was especially nice to talk about this rig because so much of the inspiration and circuitry for it came from Farhan's BITX rigs.  

I recorded a video so that we could avoid WiFi trouble -- the video appears above.  Below you can see photos of the convention and the presentation of the video.  

Thanks Farhan and thanks to the Lamakaan ARC! 

Super Solar Storms May Not Be So Rare

 

Click on the image for a clearer view

Yesterday's Washington Post had a good story about large solar storms.  We are all aware of the Carrington Event (September 1859) but there were others.  The Japanese painting above depicts an event of February 4, 1872.   

From the Washington Post article: 

Around 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 4, 1872, the sky above Jacobabad suddenly brightened, as if a portal to heaven had opened. A passerby watched in amazement and terror, while a pet dog became motionless, then trembled. The godly glow morphed, from red to bright blue to deep violet, until morning.

Electric communication cables mysteriously glitched in the Mediterranean, around Lisbon and Gibraltar, London and India. Confused telegraph operators in Cairo reported issues in sending messages to Khartoum. One incoming message asked what was the big red glow on the horizon — a fire or a faraway explosion?

This of course reminded me of the event that I witnessed as a teenager in New York in 1972: 

 https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2009/09/carrington-flares-aurora-where-were-you.html  

That post has resulted in a steady stream of comments, mostly from non-hams.  Apparently people remember seeing the event, then search the web for clues as to what it was.  Google brings them to that post on the SolderSmoke Daily News.  The comments are usually along the lines of, "Wow!  I saw it too!"  Very cool.  

Help! Bill Needs Computer/Website/DNS Help!

Some SolderSmoke fans have noticed that many links to earlier podcasts (and other things) have disappeared from the SolderSmoke Daily News blog.  This is my fault.  I am trying to correct it, but have been having a tough time.  This is definitely a problem that is outside my analog, discrete component comfort zone.    

The host is Bluehost.  They also are the DNS host.  This morning I wrote to them explaining the problem: 

 -- For many years I have had a website on Bluehost called soldersmoke.com.  On this website I stored many (around 250) .mp3 files, a .rss. and other important files.  

-- On November 20, I created a WordPress site on bluehost: https://dqu.......

-- On November 29, I attempted to have my Bluehost soldersmoke.com site point to the new WordPress site. I may have renamed the WordPress site.

 

-- After carrying out this action on November 29, I was dismayed to find that all of the many .mp3 and .rss files I had on the soldersmoke.com site are no longer accessible.

 

-- I have carried out backups of the soldersmoke.com site going back to November 15.  While these backups appear successful, the files remain inaccessible.

 

-- I think there is a pointing/naming/DNS problem that remains to be resolved. 

-- Please go back to the pointing/naming action I took on November 29 and undo or reverse this action so that the files that I have on the soldersmoke.com site are again accessible. 

-- I am not concerned about the new WordPress blog --  can recreate this later.  

With help from Dean KK4DAS we will today again attempt to fix this problem.   But if anyone out there has any good ideas on how to fix this,  please let me know.  

Thanks,  73  Bill 

The Beginning of MY Radio Life...

 

Unlike Pete (see below), I don't have any cool pictures of me in front of an early station.   But in the picture above,  there I am, at the Thanksgiving table in 1973 age 15.  I was on the air by this date, on CW as WN2QHL.  Armed with a Lafayette HA-600A and a DX-40, I was tearing up the ham bands, especially 40 meters.  Look at the tension in my face, the grip of my fist... I just wanted to finish that turkey and get on the air!  But no, I had to have Thanksgiving dinner. 

I recently realised that I have been a ham for more than 50 years. Is there an HCWA?    

This and the recent movie from India led me to think about the timeline of my early radio days: 

-- Christmas 1972.  Santa brings me a Lafayette HA-600A general coverage receiver.  With jeweled movements.  Age:  14

-- April 27, 1973.  Novice Ticket becomes effective.  WN2QHL.  Age 14. 

-- July 19, 1973.  First contact (with Elmer WN2NEC).  Age 14.

-- February 1 and 2 1973.  A grumpy old-timer calls -- during the Novice Roundup! -- to tell me that I'm putting harmonics onto the 20 meter band.  I get scared and go off the air.  Geez!  I probably just needed to retune the tank circuit.  Age 15. 

-- February 23, 1974.  I go back on the air with a DX-100.  Age 15. 

-- March 5, 1974.  I take the General Class exam at the FCC office in New York City. I pass. Age 15. 

-- April 11, 1974.  I buy the Drake 2-B from WN2NEC. This revolutionizes my radio life.  Fifteen meter contacts become possible.   Age 15. 

-- April 13, 1974.  I work ZL2ACP on 15 meter CW.  I wake up my parents to tell them.  Age 15. 

-- April 21, 1974.  END OF NOVICE OPERATION.  Apparently we were still working under a one year limitation on Novice operation.  Could the expiration date have been marked on the license? 

At this point the FCC screwed up and sent me a Technician License instead of a General Class License.  My father got on the phone to Gettysburg and straightened this out.  Thanks Dad.  So I was only a Technician for a few weeks. 

-- April 9, 1974.  General Class License effective.  I become WB2QHL,  a man of substance.  Age 15. 

-- May-June 1974.  I acquire a Heathkit HW-32A 20 meter SSB transceiver from the Crystal Radio Club.  But I have to build the power supply from an old TV.  Somehow, I survive. Age 15. 

-- June 11, 1974.  First contact with the HW-32A.  Age 15.   

-- November 9, 1974.  Last contact with the HW-32A . Age 16. 

-- March 15, 1975.  First contact with my Hallicrafters HT-37. Age 16. 

Above is my only photo of my teenage ham radio station.  I can date it via the QSL card above the map. I still have that card.  I worked W7RUK on March 25, 1975.  That contact was on 20 SSB, but when this picture was taken I was on CW (the key is plugged in, not the microphone).   

-- June 1976   I graduate from High School.  Age 17.  

-- I was active and on the air through the summer of 1976. 

-- July 1976 -- QST article on the Herring Aid 5 receiver.  I try to build it and fail.  Age 17. 

-- October 1976 -- I depart for Army Basic Training. 

There is someone else who needs honorable mention here:  My sister Trish.  Here she is, next to me at the Thanksgiving table in 1973.  Trish helped me keep my ham radio log book.  Thanks Trish! 

Pete Juliano, Field Day, 1959.  With a DX-100B and (gasp!) a QF-1. 

"My Radio My Life" A Film about Radio Enthusiasts

My Radio My Life | Trailer | 4K from Makarand Waikar on Vimeo.

Wow!  VU2DTR is presenting a film about radio made by her mom VU2RBI.  They are showing it in Bethesda, Maryland today.  

Trailer above, summary below:  This looks really great.  I hope we can see the whole film on-line soon! 

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

Set in the 21st century, the film revisits the golden era of radio in, when it was the dominant, popular, and only source of entertainment, news, and knowledge.

Being a medium that is heard across national borders, the radio has been instrumental in expanding horizons and enriching the lives of generations. Besides giving companionship to individuals, the radio brought families together and inspired people to make life choices.

Radio continues to enthrall people with its evolving nature and the sentiments associated with it.

Other Workshops: Mission to Jupiter's Icy Moons: The Making of JUICE: The Full Movie

I really like this film.  The enthusiasm of the people involved comes through very clearly.  They love this project.  At the end, you can see a person from the ESA team crying with emotion when they received word that telemetry had been picked up from JUICE -- it had survived the launch. 

Imagine the difficulties involved in doing this across many countries and many languages, in the midst of the COVID pandemic.   Three cheers for all those who made this happen. 

I put this in the "Other Workshops" category.  At some points the workshop seems to be all of Europe.  At other times (like when they move JUICE to the test facility) it seems like one specific place. 

I wonder how the procedures we see in this film compare to the famed spacecraft-building procedures of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.  But just remember:  When it came time to launch the Webb Space Telescope, NASA opted to launch from the ESA facility in French Guiana.  Their Ariane rocket apparently had a better success rate than ours.  But it did seem to me that they did discover problems with some of the instruments in the thermal phase of the "shake and bake" but then corrected them without re-running the thermal tests.  Was that a violation of test principles? 

Watching this movie makes me really want to take out my small telescope and aim it at Jupiter (which is now high in our evening sky). 

We see a lot of "soul" built into this new machine:  the inclusion in the spacecraft of a copy of pages from Galileo's Starry Messenger and the names of those involved in the project, and the selection of the faring logo from a children's contest,  for example.  Yaryna, the young Ukrainian artist who drew the logo at age 8, even mentions "soul" in her remarks.  

Godspeed, JUICE! 

AA9IL's Sputnik Tube, Altoids Tin Transmitter

November 24, 2023

Hello Bill

I have just built an tested a 20 meter “Sputnik” transmitter. It uses two Soviet era “rod” tubes and is fixed tuned to 14.060 MHz.  I was able to compress the design to fit in an Altoids tin. The plate tuning capacitor was replaced with a fixed capacitor value closest to the variable for peak power out. Plate voltage is 90 volts and I key both the oscillator and PA via the B+ line. Power output is around 200mW and my first test transmission from the Chicago area was picked up 864 miles away on the east coast via the Reverse Beacon Network. It was definitely Joy of Oscillation and Joy of Transmission!

73, Mike

AA9IL

EN52

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

Mike's rig has been heard by many Reverse Beacon Network stations: 

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

November 29, 2023

Bill: 

I started a QSO with AC2C in Ellicott, MD who responded to my CQ but the band dropped (20m)

But that’s a good start and I’ll keep at it!  So, yay!

73 Mike

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

Here are some earlier blog post on rigs using Soviet rod tubes: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search?q=Sputnik+tubes

Other Workshops: Genius Girl Fixes (Re-builds!) Old Tractor

This is amazing.  I put it in the "other workshops" category, but when you watch this you will see that she re-builds this tractor with NO WORKSHOP AT ALL.  It seems to be done at roadside and on the front yard of her house.  With some very basic tools. 

I would be a complete mess if I tried this.  And I would fail to get it going. 

I have posted about Lin's projects before.  See:  https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-next-time-you-hear-someone.html

Here is her channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LinGuoErOfficial

Video on Discovery and Restoration of the Apollo Guidance Computer

I've probably posted before about CuriousMarc's efforts to restore the DSKY Apollo Guidance Computer.  But this Wall Street Journal video sums it up and adds detail about where the computer they worked on came from:  the guy in the video found it discarded in a junk warehouse that he bought in the 1970s!  Those of us who scour those under-the-table parts boxes at hamfests will appreciate this find, and the ensuing restoration. 

Some Short-Wave Listener QSL Cards

Click for a better view

I haven't received many, but I always like QSL cards from shortwave listeners.  Someone out there is listening!  

The top one is from recent contact. It arrived from Hungary via the W2 QSL bureau.  Here is Tamas HA00001: 

https://www.qrzcq.com/call/HA0002SWL

https://www.c3.hu/~ha0khw/ha00001.html

The middle one is from my youth.  in 1975 Nick in Moscow USSR heard my contact with OD5IO.   I didn't remember the contact with Lebanon.  It turns out that the operator was K4NYY (who is now a silent key.  See https://www.qrz.com/db/K4NYY/?mlab=). 

The bottom one pre-dates me by more than twenty years.   It comes from Berlin in 1936. W5AIR was heard working EI7F on 20 meter CW.   Does anyone have any info on this SWL? 

Over on The SWLing Post blog,  readers posted this info: 

Klaus WernerNovember 25, 2023 at 1:12 pm On the German SWL card, it would probably need some serious digging into records.Consider, it’s dated 1936, about 3 years before the nazis started WW2 (which included tough restrictions on all radio listeners, including death penalties for listening to and spreading enemy news).The name STOLP is fairly common in Germany.Interesting, the Bernauer Strasse in Berlin was well known during the cold war as there was a border crossing to East Berlin used for exchanging spies (I believe).
13dka

November 26, 2023 at 8:32 amDE 2518 /F was Willi Stolp, the DE number popped up in listener contest lists in “CQ” 1936 and 1944. There is an Excel spreadsheet that lists him as DE 2518 /G (/F stands for Berlin, /G for Silesia) with a (inaccessible) link to the DARC district Chemnitz, which may indicate that he survived the war and became a regular ham. That’s all there is to find out so far, there is a ham with the same name but since the name isn’t that rare it may not be the same guy.

A FREE Book from the Early Days of Ham Projects with Transistors: The CK722 -- The Device that Got Pete Juliano Started in Homebrew

 

Pete N6QW sent this amazing book to me this morning.  Pete wrote: 

"The book was the size of a Notebook and had a gray cover. I built some of the projects like the CPO. If you had a CK722 then you were there."

You can get the book for free here: 

 http://n4trb.com/AmateurRadio/RaytheonTransistorApplications/Raytheon%20Transistor%20Applications.pdf 

The impact of the CK722 on Pete Juliano, on ham radio, and eventually on SolderSmoke was quite profound. Back in 2015,  I wrote about this on the blog: 

I knew Pete had a lot of experience with transistors, but I didn't realize just how far back this experience reaches.  Pete writes, "The March 2015 issue of QST  had an article about a 1953 transistor transmitter project which was really advanced technology since the transistor was only invented about 5 years before that time...  About 1953 at the age of 11, I built my first solid state audio amplifier using the venerable CK722 from Raytheon. The transistor did look a bit strange in that cool blue cube shape with a red dot on the side to identify the collector. What a joy and surprise to me that it worked the first time power was applied...  It  was the CK722 that in large measure started me on a life’s work and engagement in a wonderful hobby. That CK722 path also led me to designing and building a QRP solid state version of the Collins KWM2 which I call the KWM-4."  I asked Pete why an 11 year-old kid in 1953 felt compelled to build a solid state audio amp.   The answer is very cool:  Pete's father had introduced him to crystal radios at age 8.  Pete wanted an amplifier for his crystal set, but his dad was worried about him building high voltage tube gear.  So that's how Pete got his VERY early start with transistors.

We are really lucky to have Pete Juliano sharing his vast tribal knowledge with us.

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

You can see a complete set of SolderSmoke posts about the CK722 here: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search?q=CK722

Wikipedia has a nice article on the CK722.  The design contest Raytheon sponsored would be the kind of contest we could really get into!  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CK722

Thanks Pete.  And thank you Raytheon! 

Other Workshops: A Twin Cylinder Solenoid Electric Motor and some Very Cool Craftsmanship

This project caught my eye for a couple of reasons:  

First, it is the product of a very cool metal shop and a very skilled craftsman.  It is fun and inspiring just to watch Maceij build this motor.  We see great precision in the metal cuts, speedy tap and die work, and some great PC board technique.  The use of an open flame on the heat shrink material was, well a bit courageous. 

Second, this is a far more sophisticated version of the trivial electric motor that my son Billy and I built 17 years ago (I still have it!), following up on inspiration from Alan Yates VK2ZAY (see below).   With Alan's device we turned on power to the commutator by just sanding away the insulation on one side of the enameled wiring.  Maceij takes a much more sophisticated approach, with carefully milled switches and opto controllers turning on and off power at the right time to each of the solenoids.    

 

Maceij's YouTube channel has many other projects, many like this one:  https://www.youtube.com/@maciejnowakprojects 

Thanks to HackaDay for the heads up.