Italy – Page 2 – SolderSmoke Daily News

A Homebrew Compendium from Hungary

Stefano IZ3NVR sent me HA5KHC’s very interesting web site. Lots of ideas here.

For example, check out WA7JHZ’s 75 meter SSB transceiver.

http://konstruktor.ha5khc.hu/linkgyujtemeny/linkgyujtemeny.htm

Our book: “SolderSmoke — Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics” http://soldersmoke.com/book.htm Our coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmoke Our Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Progress on Pete’s “ZIA”

It is practically SPARKLING! Beautiful job Pete. I’m glad you are actually boxing this one up!

Pete has many more pictures of this project here:
http://www.n6qw.com/TIA.html

He also notes that there may have been some sub-conscious Knack wisdom at work when I dubbed his rig “The Zia.” I was thinking strictly in terms of language and ethnic heritage: TIA stands for Termination Insensitive Amplifier. But in Spanish it means “aunt”. But in Italian Aunt comes out as Zia. So Pete’s should be a Zia, right? Capisce?

Well Pete puts an electronic twist on it:

“Once again you are spot on with ZIA (With Z the electronic symbol for Impedance). Thus Impedance (The symbol Z) Insensitive Amp. Thank You.”

SolderSmoke, ArduinWoes, and BrainwagonBastas!

It might not be apparent, but I have it on good authority the guy with the blue face pulling the Brainwagon was saying “BASTA!” when this drawing was made, probably after an evening spent with Arduinos and their fascinating I2C libraries.

Mark, K6HX, kindly offered to help us with our ArduinWoes (painful details are available in SolderSmoke Podcast #175). Mark went to the trouble of getting the display and I2C backpack that have been giving us trouble, and then went and did a lot of testing to find the origins of the problems. He has written this all up in two brilliant blog posts:

http://brainwagon.org/2015/04/21/a-not-entirely-simple-lcd-display-for-the-arduino/

http://brainwagon.org/2015/04/22/using-a-sainsmart-lcd-panel-with-the-arduino-1-6-3-ide/

You will notice that Mark has made quite liberal use of the word “basta.” As Pete has noted, in order to get the full effect of this very therapeutic Italian word, you have to make use of the correct hand gesture. Veronika nails it at about 1:28 in this video (WARNING: VERONIKA CAN BE QUITE EXPLICIT):

Thanks Mark for all your help on this. I’m not sure if we are entirely out of the woods yet, but it is reassuring that we are not the only ones screaming…

Italy, Spain, Gibraltar, a Flight to Prague, and How the Mighty Mite Really Works

Gab IZ1KSW is a true Knack-afflicted member of the International Brotherhood of Electronic Wizards: He is an Italian homebrewer who lives in Spain and works in Gibraltar. At the end of this e-mail exchange he has a great story about reading “SolderSmoke — The Book” on a flight to Prague with his Greek girlfriend. It reminded me a bit of the problems I’ve had with fellow passengers while reading “Hot Iron” on the Washington DC train system.

A blog post about Gab’s version of the Mighty Mite is here: http://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2015/02/iz1ksws-italian-mighty-mite-video.html
His desire to REALLY understand the circuit is, I think, admirable. I know that my quick explanation of how the Mighty Mite circuit works isn’t complete, and I’m sure that others will jump in with more details.

……………………

Hi guys,

I write to you because I’m a bit lost.

Ok, the MMM is oscillating, brilliant!

Now I’d like to understand why it’s working and how it’s working.

I’ve been sitting on the workbench with the schematics in front of me and I found some resources on the internet, I’ve understood the concept of feedback loop but what really make me scratching my head is that I cannot match the MMM schematic with anyone of the typical oscillator design I found (Pierce, Colpitts, Hartley).

I’ve read online that it can be considered as a Pierce oscillator but from what I’ve found online I cannot find the purpose of the tapped coil. Maybe you can point me in the right direction before my GF starts complaining about the pile of schematics I’m accumulating in the living room!

Also, if you have any books to recommend, I’ll be happy to go “back to the books”

Thank you and 73

Gab – IZ1KSW

……………..

OK Gab. I’ve been meaning to do this. This little circuit needs some explanation. I’ll take a shot:

Start by thinking of this circuit as an amplifier. The 27 ohm resistor from the emitter to ground (negative terminal) puts a limit on how much current will flow.

The 10K resistor from the base to the positive terminal puts a positive voltage on the base and biases it so that current will flow through the transistor.

Now the fun begins! It is an amplifier, but it has no input signal! The input signal is the output signal — it is like a dog chasing his tail!

The crystal is very important. It is the main frequency determining element, and it is the conduit for the feedback that gets this thing oscillating. It is a piece of quartz. If you put a voltage across it, it will begin vibrating (physically) at a specific frequency. As it physically vibrates, it also creates electrical vibrations.

So, when you turn this thing on, noise in the circuit will put a bit of charge on the crystal. It will begin to ring, much like a musical tuning fork. The electrical vibrations from the crystal will go to the base. They will be amplified by the transistor and will emerge (stronger) from the collector. From the collector, they go to the 3.579 MHz tuned circuit formed by the big coil and the variable capacitor.

The coil wound on the film box serves several purposes. The portion of the coil between the positive terminal and the collector carries the 12V DC to the collector of the transistor. It also carries the amplified 3.579 MHz signal coming from the collector. This signal goes through the lower portion of the coil and causes the coil and the capacitor to resonate. The signal at the top of the tuned circuit peaks when the tuned circuit is tuned to…. 3.579 MHz.

The capacitor/coil tuned circuit (with the tapped coil) are set up so that the right amount of energy is fed back from the output to the input, and that this energy is fed back in the proper phase relationship to the signal at the input. Think of a child’s swing at a park: To keep the swing oscillating, you have to push at the right moment (frequency and phase) and with the right amount of energy.

The little capacitor across the battery is to prevent “key clicks.” The output coil on the main coil takes some of the energy and sends it to the antenna while converting the impedance of the antenna to a suitable “load” for the transistor.

Whew, how did I do? Lots of electronics and physics in those 7 parts!

73 Bill

…………….

Hi Guys,

Bills explanation is absolutely perfect –but there is some additional Math in the woodworks known as the Barkhausen criteria where kB = 1

see this http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10470-008-9250-1#page-1

73’s

Pete N6QW

……………

Well, what can I say Bill? Grazie mille!!

I keep thinking that you would have been a great teacher, you have the rare ability to explain complicated concepts using simple words.

Yesterday I finished reading your book SolderSmoke GAWE (yes, you deserve an acronym too) and there have been several “eureka” moments while I was reading it. It gave me a lot of motivation to go in depth and understand what’s going on in a circuit down to the physics of the components. I got the Kindle version but I’ll order the paper version too, I love the hand make schematic and they’re not very readable in the electronic version, plus I believe that a book about radio home brewing must be in the old fashioned paper version don’t you think?

There’s a funny story about the book. Few days ago I was on a flight to Prague with my YL, I was reading the book and zooming on the schematics to see them better, I was really into it and I didn’t notice that the guy sitting on the seat next to me started to look at the kindle nervously, he probably though I was an bomb home brewer HI! So I decided to pass the Kindle to Angeliki so that she could read her books. She’s Greek and she started reading a Greek book, written with the Greek alphabet which looks quite weird if you don’t know it. At that point probably the guy thought to be sitting in the middle of some exotic terrorist… it was funny.

Wow… as most of the Italians do, I talked too much! Thanks again both for the big effort you make spreading the tribal knowledge with the podcast, the ARCI LBS articles and the books.

Siete fantastici!

IZ1KSW – Gab

IZ1KSW’s Italian Mighty Mite (Video)

Hi Bill and Pete,

This is a great day for me!

I just managed to get my MMM oscillating!

This is my very first homebrew project guys and I’m so excited! I started from scratch… and when I say from scratch, I mean that I didn’t even have one of the 7 components required, no PCB boards, no junkbox, nothing… just the soldering iron and the will to “build something”.

Thanks to Pete suggestions I managed to put some components together and now I have a (small) junkbox (I’m very proud of it) and thanks to soldersmoke I entered the ranks of the homebrewers.

I send you also a couple of pictures, I used Manhattan style and I found it very useful to understand the circuit. It’s far from being a clean and neat building but it’s a first step.

I’m looking forward for the next one!

73 de
IZ1KSW / EA7JUG – Gab

Mama Mia! N2HTT’s Regen Receiver (Video)

I am fairly certain that Pete Juliano will take pride in N2HTT’s success on this project, and will attempt to attribute it, in part, to the Italian ancestry that they share. The Tarantella background music will definitely encourage that kind of thinking.

In presenting this nice video, we continue with our “rigs not yet in a box” theme. There is something especially nice about the sound of receivers that are not yet boxed up.

Mike has some great information on the construction of this receiver (and other projects) on his blog:

http://n2htt.net/

Bravo Michele!

The Battery That’s Been Working for 175 Years

In case you missed this. Makes you think, doesn’t it? I’m thinking of a QRPp QRSS transmitter that would just keep on going. Battery designed by Giuseppe Zamboni.

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/this-battery-has-lasted-175-years-and-no-one-knows-how

I Wrote Another Book

This one is not about radio or electronics, but over the years many SolderSmoke listeners have written in saying that they liked the opening “travelogue” portion of the podcast. This book may appeal to them. It might also be of interest to spouses who’ve been hearing about these “soldersmoke people.” This would be, I think, a good “beach book.”

The title is: “Us and Them — An American Family Spends Ten Years with Foreigners”

Here’s the description:

What happens if you take an American family and send them to Europe for ten years? In the summer of 2000, Bill and Elisa Meara, accompanied by 2 year-old Billy and 4 month-old Maria, left their home in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and moved to the Azores. There they experienced the highs and lows of diplomatic life on a small distant island. After three years in the Azores, they spent four years London and three years in Rome. Overseas they lived in two houses and two apartments, went to five schools, used four different health care systems, experienced one earthquake, 9-11, the terrorist attack on London, tea with the Queen, the election of Barack Obama… and all the ordinary things that families go through. They lived mostly with the locals, learned Portuguese, Italian, and a bit of Cockney, and made many friends (foreign friends!) They returned to the United States in 2010 with a changed view of the world. This is their story.

In print form is available from Amazon and from Lulu:

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Us-Them-American-Family-Foreigners/dp/1499286287/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403693380&sr=1-2&keywords=meara+us+and+them

LULU: http://www.lulu.com/shop/bill-meara/us-and-them-an-american-family/paperback/product-21687240.html

And it is available in e-book form from
AMAZON KINDLE:
http://www.amazon.com/Us-Them-American-Family-FOREIGNERS-ebook/dp/B00L8DR4RK/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1403653620&sr=1-2&keywords=us+and+them

If you know anyone who might like this book, please use the little MAIL icon (below) to forward this post to them. Thanks.

Bert WF7I Finishes BITX, WORKS ITALY

That, my friends, is the look of exhausted contentment that comes after you have FINALLY gotten your new homebrew rig to work, and were rewarded by crossing the mighty Atlantic on your first call. Congrats Bert! Details here:

http://wf7ihomebrew.wordpress.com/2014/06/18/bitx20a-on-the-air/

Message in a Bottle — Beacon in a Bottle

Wow. Very cool. Don’t get hung up on the legalities or the environmental consequences. Just enjoy the simplicity and the technique. All the details are on this very nice Italian site. Google will translate it for you, but the pictures and the schematic tell most of the story. Bravi!

http://air-radiorama.blogspot.it/

The Viganella Heliostat — A Village Brings in the Sun (Video)

http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/viganella-the-italian-village-that-built-its-own-sun.html

A Visit to the Arduino Factory (video)

Named for an Italian bar, produced by cool people in Ivrea who wield soldering irons and wear T-shirts that say “Make it Simple.” You gotta love Arduino!

Today I will finish connecting my Arduino Uno to my Doug Demaw Lil’ Slugger 10 Beacon rig. Code (computer code!) by K6HX.

Simple Homebrew SDR

I know that “simple” and “homebrew” aren’t the words that come to mind when we think of Software Defined Radios, but minimalist guru Peter Parker, VK3YE, reminds us that with little more than an antenna, a diode, a crystal oscillator and a connection to the computer soundcard, you can dive into the world of SDR.

I’ve been doing this for some time now, but my receiver uses a 40673 dual gate MOSFET and a universal VXO from George Dobbs, G3RJV. I’ve been running mine with the FLDIGI and JT-65 HF programs. Peter’s video alerted me to the charms of SDRadio from Alberto, I2PHD. This is a very nice program. Of course, I’m always happy to add a dash of Italy to my operations. Thanks Peter! Thanks Alberto! Thanks George!

Fabio’s Direct Conversion Receiver

Fabio, IK0IXI, is an electronic wizard from Civitavecchia, near Rome. Check out his very nice DC receiver. Note that wonderful direct conversion sound. Very cool that has it atop our beloved SPRAT. Below you can hear the effectiveness of the audio filter. Bravo Fabio!

Il Fido — A Simple Receiver from Italy

As part of a refresher course in Italian, I am reading a bunch of old radio magazines from Italy sent to me by Stephen. There are some really wonderful projects in these magazines and I feel compelled to share them with the SolderSmoke community. No full translations yet, but perhaps that would provide a good language learning opportunity. For now, just schematics and drawings (aren’t they beautiful?).

This one is a simple crystal receiver with one stage of AF amplification. It covers the AM broadcast band, the HF bands, and (apparently) VHF using a switch and three different coil/capacitor combinations. You could make it a lot simpler by just building it for one band. Looks to me like a nice rig for an Altoid tin.

“Zen and the Art of Radio Telegraphy”

OM Carlo Consoli, IK0YGJ, has produced a nice book on radio telegraphy. Very much in the spirit of the International Brotherhood of Electronic Wizards, he has made it available in Italian, English, French and German. I have started a refresher language course in Italian and intend to use Carlo’s book as reading material for the course (my instructor will be sympathetic because her son is a radio amateur). Who knows, I may be able to improve my Italian and my CW at the same time!

Check it out: http://www.qsl.net/ik0ygj/enu/index.html

ARDUSAT: Arduino In SPAAACE!

Billy’s Arduino Uno board arrived yesterday and he has been working on getting the LED to blink. (We bought the board with funds generated by people who have been entering Amazon through the SolderSmoke blog site — thanks.) We really like the little Italian board. On it you will find a map of Italy, including Sardinia and Sicily. And there is a notation on the board noting that its production was carbon neutral. Bravi!

The video above shows one of the cooler applications of the Arduino board.

Our book: “SolderSmoke — Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics”http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Arduino’s Massimo Banzi Talks Homebrew

I liked Banzi’s presentation and I think you guys will like it too. Arduino and the open source movement seems to have something in common with of the old ham radio tradition of helping fellow amateurs. Bravo Massimo!

Twisted Waves Across the Venice Lagoon

I don’t really understand the physics behind this, but it seems to be important. And the video is a lot of fun. There is much Italian brio and bella figura in this. They even got Princess Elettra Marconi involved. And the video features audio from Marconi himself.
Hypertuning! Radio Vorticity! Helicoidal Parabolic Antennas! Gondolas! Segnale Ricevuto! Bravi!

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/48869

Our book: “SolderSmoke — Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics”http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Arduino and the Techno-Hippies

Phillip Torrone over on Maker blog has a good article about the Arduino, and what you can do with it. I especially liked his comments on the “techno-hippie” aspect of the Arduino project (“Arduino: baby-talk programming for the pothead”), and how it might be “Italy’s Google.”

Check it out:
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/02/why-the-arduino-won-and-why-its-here-to-stay.html

Will we soon see Arduino’s working alongside Raspberry Pi computers?

Our book: “SolderSmoke — Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics”http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20