"Looking inside and seeing the o-scope probe in place while the radio was on the air reminded me of neurosurgery where the patient is awake and talking while the surgeon probes different brain regions soliciting feedback. Sure, ham radio isn't neurosurgery, but it's not too far at times. Also, you already have rocket science covered."
Podcasting since 2005! Listen to Latest SolderSmoke
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
A Contact with my Old Azorean DSB Transceiver
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Innovation and a Dual Band Sweep with Version 2 of the 15-10 Transceiver
The video below shows the receiver in action this morning on 15 and 10 meter SSB. I think it sounds pretty good.
Monday, February 12, 2024
Dean's Amazing Homebrew sBITX
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Pine Boards, Analog VFOs, and Homebrew BITX Transceivers -- AG5VG's Magnificent Creations
This is amazingly cool. WE ARE NOT ALONE! There are others out there breaking the tyranny of the Si5351, building BITXs with analog LC VFOs. And using copper clad boards affixed to pine boards. Plywood cabinetry! And medicine bottle coil forms. Really great. And what a wonderful workshop. Thanks Michael.
Good Afternoon Bill,
Sunday, February 4, 2024
Scott KQ4AOP Successfully BUILDS a Receiver (Video) -- This is the Homebrew Spirit at its Maximum
This is just so cool. Scott KQ4AOP has successfully homebrewed a ham radio receiver. He used the circuit Dean and I developed (with a lot of input from Farhan and others) for the High School receiver project. But Scott has had more success than any of our students. And I think he has had -- in a certain sense -- more success than any of us. After all, how many of us can say -- as Scott can -- that he used a homebrew receiver that he made to listen -- for the very first time -- to amateur radio signals? Scott writes: "Those first sounds were my first time ever hearing any Amateur Radio first hand!"
In the video above you can watch Scott tune the entire 40 meter band and a bit beyond. You hear CW at the low end. Then FT-8. Then SSB. Up just above the top of the band I think you can hear our old nemesis Radio Marti. And this powerful broadcaster is NOT breaking through on the rest of the band. FB Scott. Congratulations.
----------------------------------------------
Bill,
Bill and Dean - Thank you for sharing and documenting this receiver. I greatly appreciate you publishing the circuit, class notes, and build videos. That got me 75% to completion.
I feel blessed that both of you chipped in and encouraged me through the troubleshooting to finally getting the receiver to start “breathing RF”.
Those first sounds were my first time ever hearing any Amateur Radio first hand!
Friday, February 2, 2024
First Light! First Signals received on Version II of Homebrew 15-10 Transceiver
Ianis S51DX in Slovenia was the first call sign heard. Some peaking and tweaking remains to be done, but the receiver is working.
Congratulations to Scott KQ4AOP who got his Direct Conversion receiver working yesterday, And congratulations to Armand WA1UQO who got his regen receiver working. I think all of us are following Farhan's advice and are taking some time to just listen to the receivers we have built ourselves.Friday, December 15, 2023
Check out the Hyderabad, India Hamfest! LARC-6
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Mythbuster Video for the Lamakaan Amateur Radio Club of Hyderabad, India
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Sunburst and Luminary: Apollo "Rope" Memory, and other items of interest
Wow. That is the method that they stored computer memory for the moon missions. When they were satisfied with a program they would say it was time to "put it on the rope."
Here's an article on the women who built the rope memory (and the integrated circuits used in Apollo). This reminded me of the women's collective in Hyderabad that "wove" the ferrite core transformers for Farhan's BITX rigs:
Here is a Wikipedia article on core rope ROM memory with some great illustrations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_rope_memory
-- Not long before the fatal Apollo 1 fire, an MIT colleague of Don Eyles had a drink with Astronaut Gus Grissom. Grissom unloaded about the poor state of the spacecraft, saying that, "What we have here is a Heathkit." Grissom died in the fire.
-- Eyles mentions the use of 6L6 tubes in analog audio amplifiers.
-- MIT's Doc Draper used a Minox camera.
-- When the Apollo 11 astronauts came back and were living for two weeks in an isolation chamber, NASA had bulldozers on standby to bury the whole thing ("astronauts, staff and all") in case some dangerous moon bug was detected. (Is that true?)
-- At one point soon before an important missile test, engineers realized that they needed an isolation transformer. They did not have enough time to order one. So they took an isolation transformer out of one of their soldering stations and used it in the missile. It worked. Sometimes you just use what you have on hand.
Friday, June 30, 2023
SolderSmoke Podcast #247 -- Hating on the IC-7300, Pete Goes FT-8 with a KWM-1, Bill's 15-10 Rig, MAILBAG
SolderSmoke Podcast #247 is available:
Audio Podcast: http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke247.mp3
Bill’s Bench:
The 15-10 Dual Bander.
n 10
pole crystal filter at 25 MHz.
n G3UUR,
Dishal, AADE and all that..
n Testing
woes. Looked bad. But it was a bad test cable. Duh.
n VFO
(Colpitts) at around 3.5 MHz.
n Buffer
blues: Bad J-310s. Beware!
n Variable
cap from a Heath Q Multiplier
n A
bit of a black art – competing goals. Freq coverage, etc.
n BFO
needed an amp to turn on the diodes in the balanced modulator
n TIA
amps. SIX dual direction TIAs. 18 transistors.
n On
a pine board (like Frank Jones)
n Will
use the N6QW all discrete AF amp.
n Maybe
an RD16 in the final?
n Will
build a second one for the DR.
Shameless Commerce: Mostly DIY RF and the PSSST kit. Todd K7TFC reports: “The P3ST is on
track for Lee Deforest's birthday release (August 26th). I'm going to send out
another newsletter on July 4th, and I'll give some details on P3ST development.”
Results of Todd’s Survey.
Pete’s
Bench
n
FT-8 on the KWM-1!
n
Presentation to the ham club.
n Why the Icom 7300 is the anti-thesis of homebrew.
MMAILBAG:
-- SPRAT 195 Summer 2023, in the
mailbox. A happy day at N2CQR
-- Armand WA1UQO sent a wonderful book about Faraday and Maxwell… And told
me Jim K8OI was heading to our area. I
met Jim at the VWS Field Day event.
FB. Thanks Armand.
-- Tony G4WIF sent Father’s Day greetings.
-- Alvin N5VZH asking about electrolytics for his 2-B. Hayseed Hamfest!
-- John AC2RL replacements for the IBEW.
We need to start over!
-- Steve “Snort Rosin” Smith WB6TNL was in the area. Sorry I missed him.
-- Joh DL6ID helping us to track down origins of a homebrew receiver
Grayson saw in Berlin.
-- Grayson KJ7UM was in Europe visiting his wife’s relatives. But I think he is back in the USA.
-- Walter KA4KXX sent a QRP HB family portrait.
-- Wouter ZS1KE sent info on surface mount soldering.
-- George Zaff KJ6VU Ham Radio Workbench – re-runs! Recommended audio
processor. Let me know how it sounds.
-- Michael AA1TJ Great to hear
from him.
-- Alan Wolke W2AEW on the toroids
he used in Diode Ring video.
Thanks Alan!
-- Dean KK4DAS, AI and SWR meter project
And new lexicon word:
Hamsplaining.
-- Bob N7SUR -- Let me know we are semifinalists in the Hack-A-Day prize!
Thursday, June 8, 2023
Canadian Build of the Direct Conversion Receiver -- Do This in Your Town! (Video)
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Farhan VU2ESE FDIM Interview (#6) by Bob Crane W8SX: VHF Rig, sBITX, and Good News on Raspberry Pi 4
Here us Bob's interview with Farhan:
http://soldersmoke.com/VU2ESE23.mp3
Friday, May 26, 2023
Coffee with Farhan VU2ESE (video)
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Farhan and Bill Fire up the sBITX and (at the other end of the tech spectrum) a Direct Conversion Receiver (video)
Farhan Describes his New 2 Meter SSB Transceiver (Video)
Friday, May 19, 2023
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Farhan Visits Northern Virginia En Route to FDIM (Videos to Follow)
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Farhan's sBITX -- Taking Orders! (Video)
It is really looking great. Congratulations to Farhan for bringing yet another amazing rig to the amateur radio community.
Order yours here:
https://www.hfsignals.com/Monday, March 6, 2023
Pictures from Farhan's Hyderabad High-School Direct Conversion Workshops
Sunday, March 5, 2023
Farhan's High-School Direct Conversion Receiver Workshops in India
We are starting to see similar efforts in different parts of the world -- Andreas with university students in Germany, Daniel with high school kids in Canada. We hope there will be others.