Eric 4Z1UG has a really wonderful interview with H.P. “Pete” Friedrichs AC7ZL. Pete is the author of “The Voice of the Crystal” and “Instruments of Amplification.”
I sat in the shack this morning with a cup of coffee, mesmerized by the things Pete was saying. I actually took notes. Some highlights:
— In describing his zeal to avoid the use of store-bought components, Pete acknowledged that there are limits to this. But then he revealed that his limits are different than those of even the most fundamentalist of homebrew fundamentalists: “Well, I’m not going to mine my own copper.” Don’t worry Pete — no one will call you an appliance operator if you use store bought wire.
— On the same subject, when describing his homebrew diodes for crystal radios, Eric asked Pete why he didn’t just go out and buy a Germanium Diode. “That would be cheating,” replied Pete. Indeed.
— “Obsolete technology often gets short shrift.”
–“My nature is to build.”
Check out the podcast here:
http://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/ac7zl