This was a very nice meeting. We just talked homebrewing and why it is such an important part of ham radio. Video above
Topics included:
— Jean Shepherd
— Being “Electrically Inclined”
— The Herring Aid 5
— Radio Clubs around the world
— The Shame Shelf
— Making mistakes, releasing smoke
— Errors in ham radio magazines and schematics
— The importance of understanding the circuit
— The Michigan Mighty Mite
— Building a power supply for the HW-32A
— The origins of the SolderSmoke podcast
— Knack stories, the IBEW and what we all have in common
— The importance of books
Thanks to The L’Anse Creuse ARC for the invitation.
Re: ways of understanding, I had a major boost to my understanding of electronics in the 1970s with a Tutor Text. I forget which one, they publish on a myriad of topics, but their texts are not in linear page order. They’ll start off at page 1 with a concept and ask a question, telling you to turn to page 84. Turn to page 2 and they’ll chide you and repeat go to page 84! The subject is fully explained, with the time spent turning pages giving time to think, and it brings you into a ‘mode of thought’ that increases your ‘correct answer score’. I claim credit for you Herring Aid success, with another view of winding ‘sense’: Right-and left-hand screw threads that might be the same pitch and profile but *will not* mesh. So much of Electronics can be explained in mechanical terms. 73 de ZL2DEX p.s. much of Politics can be explained in Steam Engine Terms, particularly social-societal matters.
Indeed Dex spotted — from the other side of the planet — the error in my coil winding. He made it possible for me to get this receiver going after 38 years. The story is here: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2014/03/herring-aid-it-was-not-dots-rotational.html Thanks again Dex!