Category: heathkits

K2ZA’s DX-100 Arrives at SolderSmoke HQ

Today was big day here at SolderSmoke HQ. John, K2ZA, and his lovely wife Erika drove down from New Jersey bringing with them the Heathkit DX-100 that John’s dad (now a silent key) had built years ago. John heard me mention my long yearning to once again own a DX-100 (I’d had one as a kid); he very generously decided to give me his dad’s.

It’s beautiful. And BIG: Shipping weight: Over 100 pounds. This, gentlemen, is the rig that they were talking about when they first started to refer to certain transmitters as “boatanchors.”

After some time on a Variac, I plan on pairing this magnificent transmitter up with a suitable thermionic-based receiver. Maybe the HQ-100. Then I will put it on 75 meter AM and will attempt to establish myself as one of the plate-modulated, big signal anointed, perhaps even attaining “tall ship” status. We can dream…

Getting the DX-100 was great, but even nicer was meeting John and Erica. What nice people they are!

John and I recorded (in both video and audio) a short segment about the DX-100. I will plug the audio into SolderSmoke #131, and will upload the video to the SolderSmoke YouTube page.

Here’s John with the Drake 2-B, the HT-37, and the INFAMOUS Astatic D-104:

Thanks John!

From Italy to Virginia: Move update

We’re still in a temporary apartment, waiting to move into our new place. The new QTH has some good tall trees suitable for wire antenna support. I have my eye on a room for the shack.

Not much radio activity this summer. I do have my Sony shortwave receiver with me — I’ve been listening to 75 meter AM. My Heathkit VF-1/DX60 combo will be coming out of storage, so I may soon be joining in.

My kids got I-phones and are having a lot of fun with them. As we drive along they are in multimedia contact with friends back in Italy (and elsewhere), texting, e-mailing, Facebooking, video-texting, etc. The I-phone 4 is an amazing piece of gear.

Summer reading: I kind of got bogged down in “Is God a Mathematician?” by Mario Livio. Good book, but as he gets deeper into it you really need to focus — I’ll get back to that when things settle down. I’m currently reading “Why does E=MC^2″by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw. I was attracted to the book because it promises to discuss the role of special relativity in things like toroidal tranformers. (There is a section called “Einstein in the Transformer in SolderSmoke — The Book.”) I like the authors’ approach to math: they actually explain where the formula for gamma in special relativity comes from.

Chuck Penson — Heathkits, Nukes, and QRP

Back in my days as an anchor-ologist (a fan of old, heavy “Boatanchors” radios), I frequently consulted Chuck Penson’s wonderful book about Heathkits. I was glad to see that he has developed an interest in QRP and is going to speak at CactusCon. Here is what the AZ Scorpion web site had to say about Chuck:

Chuck has a background in industrial archeology and a passion of the history of science and technology, with a special interest in nuclear weapons. He recently retired from the University of Arizona and now spends his time as the historian for the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley Arizona. He is the author of two books: “Heathkit–A Guide to the Amateur Radio Products” and more recenty “The Titan II Handbook: A Civilian’s Guide to the Most Powerful ICBM America Ever Built.”

Penson has been a ham radio operator since 1966 and currently holds an advanced class license. His other interests include renewable energy, astronomy, hiking and pizza. He lives with his wife, Kathryn, at their off-the-grid ranch in the desert west of Tucson.