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Showing posts with label cartoons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cartoons. Show all posts

Saturday, October 7, 2023

Charlie Brown LIKES Static (with ITU paper on radio noise)

Because when he connects the antenna, it lets him know if he has enough amplification to hear the band noise.  He realizes that his radio receiver is not an I-phone, and that "static" is a feature, not a bug. FB Charlie Brown! 

Mike WN2A points to a 2022 ITU report on radio noise.  This report provides a LOT of information on noise (give it a few minutes to download!) and goes a long way toward explaining the usefulness of noise.

Here is the introduction. 

The ITU Radiocommunication Assembly, considering a) that radio noise sets a limit to the performance of radio systems; b) that the effective antenna noise figure, or antenna noise temperature, together with the amplitude probability distribution of the received noise envelope, are suitable parameters (almost always necessary, but sometimes not sufficient) for use in system performance analysis and design; c) that knowledge of radio emission from natural sources is required in: – evaluation of the effects of the atmosphere on radiowaves; – allocation of frequencies to remote sensing of the Earth’s environment; d) that radio noise from man-made sources is significant in setting the limit for some radio applications; e) methods for measurements of radio noise are given in Recommendation ITU-R SM.1753; f) methods for indoor noise environment measurements are given in Recommendation ITU-R SM.2093, recommends that the following information on the background levels of external radio noise should be used where appropriate in radio system design and analysis: 

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Another Podcast -- "Lamp Talk"

 

This is a blast (!) from the past.   A SolderSmoke listener sent this to us in 2006.   

So hey,  be careful with the high voltage!  

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Tim Hunkin's "The Radio Set" Drawing, and The Secret Life of the Radio (Remastered)

 

Click on the image for a better view. Click here for the whole drawing: 

I really liked this, and there is a lot more like it on the site of Tim Hunkin, the fellow who made all the great Secret Life of Machines shows.  His site: https://www.secretlifeofmachines.com/index.shtml

They remastered the show about radios.  It is worth watching: 

Thanks Tim! 

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Pete's Eclectic Approach to the Pea Shooter, San Jian counters on Analog VFOs, Non-Restaurant Menus

I liked Pete's comments on the various (analog, digital, mixed) approaches to homebrew: 

http://n6qw.blogspot.com/2022/02/2022-return-to-peashooter-build.html

http://n6qw.blogspot.com/2022/02/2022-peashooter-20m-compact-ssb.html

I too have San Jian digital counters watching the stability of analog VFOs (DX-100, HQ-100, Mythbuster). 

Variety is the spice of life!  

I also liked Pete's comment about the fellow who does on-the-air menu counseling for FTDX-3000 owners.  I sometimes run into guys on the air who want to do something similar with my simple homebrew rigs.  They start by making comments about my audio -- they will usually say it is "too high" or something like that.  Especially when I'm using the separate transmitter and receiver (which have to be "netted" imprecisely by ear), I have to explain that maybe resort to their RIT control would help.  If they persist, I sometimes have to tell them that how my rig sounds depends A LOT on the placement of the carrier oscillator relative to the passband of the crystal filter (most recently, the filter from the 1963 Swan 240).  Most of them have never had to do that kind of adjustment, so the "technical discussion" usually ends at that point, with my interlocutor saying 73, and presumably moving on to someone whose rig has menus to fiddle with.  (Recently heard audio techno term: "massaging the codec.") 

To each his own!    


Thursday, September 2, 2021

A Public Service Announcement

 

Only YOU can prevent reverse polarity accidents! 
Thank you Jeff Murray.

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

A REALLY Cheap Receiving Rig


Wow, lots of ingenuity in this 1921 receiver.

-- Has anyone actually made a diode out of a light bulb in the way described? 

-- The antenna coupler on the table leg is not much different from the tuner that I have attached to the wall of my car port. 

-- Note that when our hero finishes the receiver, he is able to pick up signals from Mars!  FB OM. 

Who will be the first to recreate this 1921 receiver? 


Sunday, March 14, 2021

A Homebrewer

 

That is Homer Price, the lead character in two books by Robert McCloskey, published in 1943 and 1951.  The thing in the valise is Homer's pet skunk.  Of course. 

More info here: 


Homer is clearly a fellow we need to know more about.  I have ordered the book. 

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Monday, October 12, 2020

Quino, The Creator of Mafalda ("BASTA!") RIP


Putting "Basta" in the SolderSmoke search box yields many blog posts.  The cry of ENOUGH! from six year-old Mafalda has been part of the podcast for many years and is now part of the SolderSmoke lexicon.   

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

We don't do a lot of obits on this blog (we try to keep it all upbeat) but the passing of Mafalda's creator Quino is news that many of you may have missed, and that I think merits mention here.  This link has a nice 3 minute report from NPR: 

https://www.npr.org/2020/10/04/920038792/mafalda-cartoonist-quino-dies-at-88

Adios Quino. Gracias por todo. 


Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

For All You Guys Who DON'T Use the Proper Fuse Value


Pete has been trying to talk sense on this issue for a long time, but some folks just won't listen. 
You need to have a reverse polarity protection circuit in your rigs AND you need to carefully determine fuse size needed for normal operation.  If your final transistors for some reason start pulling more than the normal amount of current, the fuse will blow before your PA transistors release their smoke. 

Friday, November 1, 2019

Don't do this yourself...


...or else you'll be spending a LOT more time on 17 meters. 

Friday, June 21, 2019

Wall Warts

Thank you to Michael Rainey AA1TJ who posted this cartoon, which I'm sure speaks to us all. 

Sunday, June 26, 2016

NASA'S New Mars Recruiting Posters

Artist's concept of an astronaut pointing to the viewer with Earth, the Moon, and Mars in the sky. It is a more peaceful version of the World War I and World War II posters of Uncle Sam pointing to recruits with the slogan 'I want you.'

More like this one here:
http://marsmobile.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/resources/mars-posters-explorers-wanted/


Bill,

Doesn't this fabulous artwork remind you of the 1950-60's era and the intense interest we all had in space and spacemen?
http://marsmobile.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/resources/mars-posters-explorers-wanted/

I recall there was so much inspiring artwork showing men in spacesuits, even though at the time it was before we had put men in obit around the earth never mind set foot on our moon. Packets of breakfast cereal came with plastic model spacemen and rockets.

It struck me that amateur radio will play a huge part for those who venture to Mars and Phobos, as they will need the type of people who have the practical abilities to improvise and repair equipment while severely restricted in the availability of spare parts.

NASA should do a poster showing an intrepid Mars Soldersmoker with his workbench with some piece of electronic equipment in pieces.
73
David GM4JJJ

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

Jeff K1NSS? 
http://www.dashtoons.com/




Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Some Sympathy from the New York Times Crossword Puzzle


Hi Bill,
Pete "The Crossword Guy" K4PHS here again.
In the New York Times Crossword for Tuesday June 21, 2016 the clue for 52 across is:
"Enough, Enrico!"
And the answer is:
"Basta!"
72, Pete, K4PHS


And from October 5, 2015

Hi Bill,
The clue for #7 across in todays New York Times Monday Mini Crossword puzzle is:
“special talent”
And, of course, the answer is KNACK!
72, de K4PHS Pete
"Keep Calm and Melt Solder"





Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Audiophoolery



Hi Bill:
 

   I remember reading an outraged letter in a stereo magazine back in the 80's, right after CD's came out.  The writer had condemned a particular CD player for having a single digtal-to-analog converter that was time-shared between the two channels, consequently inducing an "unlistenable" phase error in the audio.
    An engineer (and I hope a ham!) wrote in to observe that this was indeed correct, but helpfully noted that the phase error could be corrected by moving one of the speakers about a half inch farther away from the listener. That's noodling!  :-)
And you might enjoy this article:
...Some audio scams are so blatant you wonder how anyone could fall for them, like a replacement volume control knob that sells for $485. The ad copy proclaims, “The new knobs are custom made with beech wood and bronze … How can this make a difference??? Well, hearing is believing as we always say. The sound becomes much more open and free flowing with a nice improvement in resolution. Dynamics are better and overall naturalness is improved.” ...
  James Randi, magician and hoax-buster, had a standing offer of $1M to some makers of "paranormal" audio equipment, like $700/foot cable, if they could prove it was better in blind A/B testing.  Nobody took him up on it.

 73,
  Bob

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

A Knack Victim's Midlife Crisis


Thanks to Steve WA0PWK for sending us this Jim Williams cartoon.  

Been there, done that. It doesn't mean you are a bad person.

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