Category: TJ DC RX

Paul 9V1/KM7ABZ’s FB SINGAPORE SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver

Wow, I had been feeling a bit discourged about the slow-down in receiver completions, then I woke up this morning and found this e-mail from Singapore. My faith in ham radio was restored. Welcome to the Hall of Fame Paul. You get extra credit for doing it from far-off and exotic Singapore.

Paul includes in his “proof of life” video not only some Malaysian SSB and some CW, but also some very close-by China Radio International. FB Paul.

I also liked the way Paul used the local library to burn the schematic of the receiver burned into the board upon which it was placed. And the library also 3D printed his PTO coil form.

And ET confirmed Proof of Life! FB!

Be sure to check out the really nice build description in Paul’s blog and Github page (links below):
Paul writes:

Hi Bill, Pete, and Dean,

I’ve finally made a “proof of life” video for you, plucking some CW, voice and shortwave signals from the 40 and 41m bands here in Singapore. What fun this was, and I am amazed at how well this works, even from the confines of my 15th floor apartment.


Thank you so much for laying down the challenge – it came at just the right time for me, rekindling my enthusiasm and electronics and radio. It even encouraged me to finally get my license – I’m newly minted general class KM7ABZ (yet to get a 9V1 conversion license for my home here in Singapore). I can honestly say that listening to the SolderSmoke and Ham Radio Workbench podcasts since 2018 or so was worth *at least* 50% on the exam… somehow I already knew a bunch of stuff by pure osmosis!

Everything went pretty smoothly with the build. The only real issue I had was adding some caps to tame persistent motor-boating in the audio amp. Other than that, the build follows the official SolderSmoke schematic and parts selections.

I used the laser cutters at our local library to cut and etch a custom base. The library is a great resource: it’s also where I printed the PTO former.

To get on the air from my apartment in Singapore, I’m using an MLA-30 Active Loop antenna, with a PLJ-1601 frequency counter attached to the PTO to take some of the guesswork out of tuning.


All the details of my build are published at https://leap.tardate.com/radio/soldersmokedcrx/ (from GitHub).


Cheers,
Paul
🎉KM7ABZ🎉 from 9V1 land

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Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Doug AA0MS’s FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver: “This project has been a hoot!”

Doug built a really beautiful receiver, but reception was marred by a bad hum. It was quickly determined that this was caused by a noisy “wall wart” located close by. A re-location of the power supply remedied that, and allowed Doug to pull in some really nice signals.


Doug writes:

Had a lot of fun doing this over the past couple of weeks. Not my first DC receiver build–I built a Neophyte Receiver from QST years ago–but this one was the most fun. Thanks Bill, Dean, and the whole DCR challenge community–I’m learning a lot in my old age!

I’m a retired pastor who’s been fiddling with radio stuff since about 1991, and though I’ve been inactive for long periods of time, I’ve always enjoyed QRP and homebrewing (and I’ve built a bunch of kits, too, including my main rig, an Elecraft K2). It’s been a while since I had a halfway decent antenna up, but that’s in the works. As a boy I was at my dad’s side in his modest shack whenever he was building or operating (he was K8LZO back in the day), and one day while listening to shortwave broadcasts during the first Gulf war, I tuned around and heard some CW signals and decided it was time to learn the code and get my license. Anyway, this project has been a hoot, and I so appreciate all of you and your generosity with your experiences and experiments and successes and failures. Thanks! 73, Doug, AA0MS

Congratulations Doug and welcome to the Hall of Fame.

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Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:


Ramakrishnan VU2JXN’s FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver: “Extremely thrilled! Hooked!”

This is a really important Hall of Fame entry for us. This is our first completed SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver from India (more will come).

Most importantly, this receiver was built by our good friend Ramakrishnan VU2JXN (ex VU3RDD). Ramakrishnan goes way back in SolderSmoke history. He was the one who first suggested (in 2006!) that our podcast needed a blog to go with it. This was the origin of the SolderSmoke Daily News. A short time later we announced the birth of Ramakrishnan’s daughter. That same daughter now has her ham license and will build a second receiver with her dad.

Ramakrishnan VU2JXN

The roots of this receiver are deep in India. When Dean and I first went to the local high school to talk about ham radio support, I carried with me a Direct Conversion Receiver inspired by Farhan VU2ESE. In fact, that receiver had a picture of Farhan and quotes from him taped to the wooden base. When Dean and I designed the receiver that we tried to build with the High School kids, we used an oscillator based on the DC receiver that Farhan was building with youngsters at Indian girl’s schools. That is the receiver design that we are using in this SolderSmoke Challenge.

Ramakrishnan is in Bangalore now, which is where he built this receiver. Ashish N6ASD is also there now, and is building a receiver.

Ramakrishnan writes:

This morning before I got ready to come to work, I got a few minutes
to turn on the radio and catch the morning nets. Extremely thrilled to
get this working. The PTO is very stable.

Needless to say, you folks convinced me to get back into homebrew
and you have hooked me into it with this project.

I am off to my ailing mother’s place tonight. I don’t have a station
there, but I am carrying a copyof EMRFD with me (I have two!).

I want to listen with this receiver as you all always say
and make simple modification to this receiver and improve it.

Again, couldn’t turn off from it even though I am at work! The bug has
caught me.

Here is some more video of Ramakrishnan’s receiver:


Congratulations Ramakrishnan. Welcome to the Hall of Fame!

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Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

John KN6FVK’s FB Homebrew SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver — Crickets Killed with Barkhausen-Be-Gone Spray!

I went to bed worrying about this one. John KN6FVK had been having a lot of problems. He had repeatedly reported hearing nothing (crickets!) when he fired up the receiver. Members of the Discord group had provided a lot of coaching, but still, CRICKETS! John had a good sense of humor. When I pointed out that oscillations in the AF amp are caused by a feedback path that meets “the Barkhausen criteria” John said he went to Lowes and bought a spray can of Barkhausen-Be-Gone. It seems to have worked. Actually I think John put some additional capacitance on the DC rail of the AF amp. In any case, he was going to wait for the evening for test out the fixed receiver. The time difference with California meant that I went to bed with fingers crossed. Happily the BBG spray and (more likely) the extra capacitance worked. John sent us some really nice videos of his receiver in action. I really like the inscriptions on his pine board. This should become “a thing.”

John writes:

I‘m very ok now…. — sigh / smile — THANK YOU ALL for your help and patience. As painful as this was, it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. After I build an actual work bench, I might try this again (looks are important). But I’m definitely going to start playing with it and learning from it. On to Mods and Upgrades! Need to learn-up on this “Barkhausen” silliness too. -73

Here is John’s receiver pulling in CW (WB6CGJ):

Congratulations John, Welcome to the Hall of Fame.

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Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Alan Wolke W2AEW’s FB Homebrew SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver

It is really and honor to have Alan Wolke W2AEW build one of our receivers. Alan is a true wizard. Armed with an amazingly popular YouTube channel, he has taught electronics and ham radio to thousands of grateful viewers worldwide. A Field RF Application Engineer for Tektronix, Alan has a special knack for showing us how to get the most out of our test gear.

So many times have I gone back to videos that Alan made years ago, just in an effort to refresh my memory on the insights that he shared. For example, it was from him that we learned how the diode ring mixer really works — what it really means to say that this mixer multiplies signals by 1 and -1. Alan even showed us how to get our ‘scopes to display the multiplication. This was all very cool and very typical of Alan’s work. His videos have been an important reference for this direct conversion receiver effort.

On this project, Alan dug into his junk box, only to discover to his dismay that he didn’t have the AF transformer that we recommended. I am sure that Alan could have whipped up several alternative circuits that did not require the transformer, but he wanted to build the receiver the way we recommended, so a slight delay took place while Mouser filled his order.

Alan did build the circut modularly, stage-by-stage, using the Manhattan method, but he admits to giving in to his temptation to use a very small board. This may be the most compact of our 60+ DC receivers. In an encouraging reminder that even the great ones worry about unwanted feedback, Alan writes:

Why am I always compelled to build as compactly as possible? I hope feedback doesn’t bite me in the butt!


Thank you Alan! And welcome to the Hall of Fame!

(This picture was created by displaying NTSC video from my digital camera on Alan’s old Tektronix 485 oscilloscope using a simple converter circuit that is described in a video on my YouTube page)
QR code for his YouTube site
X Y Screen
On the SolderSmoke Blog there are 41 posts tagged with “Wolke–Alan”:
https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search/label/wolke%20–%20Alan
Alan’s QRZ page:
https://www.qrz.com/db/W2AEW
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Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Phil W1PJE’s Amazing MIT SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver

We are really pleased to see that Phil W1PJE has completed his direct conversion receiver and has thus joined the Hall of Fame. Congratulations Phil.

We are shamelessly calling this the “MIT receiver.” But the truth is that Phil’s job at MIT was not part of this project, and in fact distracted him from his radio building efforts. There was, however, one moment in which Phil had sent us a video of his receiver in progress. There was some audible fan noise in the background. Phil apologized, noting that the noise came from a nearby receiver that monitors upper atmosphere winds using meteors. Now that, my friends, is some cool MIT stuff.

Phil writes:

Hi Bill and Dean,

After a long hiatus (and a restrung antenna), I’m happy to report the Soldersmoke DC receiver is finally done and working well. The relatively long video above shows a tour from CW to SSB to AM to digital telemetry to time signal (CHU at 7.850 MHz). A bonus frequency counter was included to show the viewers where I was in the band. It’s not pretty but it works. I need to slow down the tuning but that is a future job. Sorry for the serious wobbly attempts to zero beat the AM carriers but I can fix that later… hmm.

Thanks for the fun and reminding me of a time when I was an undergrad at the EE bench. Modifications are next when I can find a few minutes.

73
Phil W1PJE

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Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

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Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Louis W0IT Completes a Very Long-Term Goal and Finishes His Direct Conversion Receiver

Louis W0IT did what true homebrewers often have to do: he persevered in an effort to make his machine work. And he succeeded. Congratulations Louis. Welcome to the Hall of Fame.

Louis writes:

I rebuilt all the boards, new components except the band pass filter and the mica caps, all which looked to be working up to spec. I bought the squares as they are smaller than the ones I made and while harder in someways they kept the mess down. I bought some J310’s from Mouser and either the ones I had were less than optimal or I fixed something in the resolder. I ended up with 4 batches of those. They all tested different and the Mouser sourced ones had the lowest Vg (turn on voltage?) according to my 12$ tester at 1.65 V rather than 2.35 or 2.65 for the Amazon ones. The noise on it sounds almost identical to the noise on my Kenwood on the same antenna. Thanks Everyone. It’s part of a very long term goal.

A very nice post about ham radio in Thailand by Louis:
https://louiskatz.net/wpt/
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Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Chris VK1CHW’s FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver — With A Very Innovative Homebrew PTO Coil Form

Chris VK1CHW sent us the above “proof of life” video. And alive it is! FB Chris. I especially liked the approach he took to the coil form for the PTO: He is getting a 3D printed one, but in the meantime he improvised with some electrical conduit and a bolt. Improvise satisfies! FB Chris. Congratulations and welcome to the Hall of Fame.

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Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Dave KD8KHP’s FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver

Very cool build by Dave. That PTO coil form looks great. And the receiver sounds especially good on sideband. FB. Congratulations Dave!

Dave writes:

This was a fun build, and I learned something.

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Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Wes W4JYK’s FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver by a Vienna Wireless Society Makers Group Member


I was very glad to see Wes W4JYK finish this reciever. Wes is a member of our local radio club — the Vienna Wireless Society, and is part of the club’s Makers Group.

Wes writes:

The DCR is up and running. Listened to East Cars Net along with a few other stations. Very cool! and good project.

Thanks Wes and congratulations on entering the Hall of Fame!
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For more information on how you too can build the receiver:


Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Dave W2DAB’s NEW YORK CITY Homebrew SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver. Manhattan Construction IN MANHATTAN! FB!

Dave W2DAB is a long-time friend of the SolderSmoke podcast. When Steve Silverman was moving out of NYC, Dave went on the subway down to lower Manhattan to retrieve (for me) Steve’s HP-8640B signal generator. And that thing is heavy! Months later I picked it up from Dave. Dave is also rumored to have participated in some of the SolderSmoke sticker operations in New York City. I will neither confirm nor deny his participation.

Dave obviously did a beautiful job on this receiver, and it sounds great. Dave’s reception is hampered by his high-rise location — he is currently limited to the use of a mag loop. I thought about suggesting that Dave take his receiver down to Central Park or to the banks of the East River, but I worry that this device might be too much even for the famously tolerant residents of the Big Apple.

By the way, that station Dave heard was Percy, KF2AT, right up the road from him on E 106th Street.

Dave writes:

The really nice part of this project is that it’s so broken down that I can understand all of the parts and I can keep working on this to make it better and better. Improvement and patience are necessary traits for successful home brewing. I don’t rule out a Park DCR Activation, as I like to say Manhattan construction is so much more interesting done in Manhattan.

(Percy KF2AT is also in Manhattan.)
Thanks a lot Dave, and congratulations, Welcome to the Hall of Fame!

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For more information on how you too can build the receiver:


Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Chris M6CRD’s FB SolderSmoke Homebrew Direct Conversion Receiver

Chris M6CRD built a really nice looking recceiver. And it sounds great too, both on CW (above) and SSB (below).

Chris writes:

Hi Bill. It is using an audio transformer on the output but its an ebay one of unknown impedance. The description said 1.3k:8r but I have my doubts how accurate that is. The radio runs fine after I quenched some initial oscillation with larger caps on the power rail of the audio amp, its just a little quieter than I suspect it should be with the correct transformer.

I told Chris that Dean and I had also had some early trouble with AF transformers of questionable specifications. But in any case his receiver was clearly inhaling very nicely.

Congratulations Chris. Welcome to the Hall of Fame!

For more information on how you too can build the receiver:


Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Brian KI7LKB’s SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver with a FB Unique PTO Coil form Using a Coat Hanger Tube!

Brian KI7LKB has built a very FB SolderSmoke direct conversion receiver. He made the PTO coil form himself, using the cardboard from a coat hanger as the tube. (I have used these tubes for many homebrew inductors. I thought I was alone! FB Brian.) In the video above we see Brian’s receiver pulling in SSB signals.

Brian writes:

Finished the DCR! Even with S-7 noise, from here in Southern Nevada, picked up stations in Canada, Texas and Louisiana. Built to plans, except the PTO coil form was fabricated from a clothes hanger tube mounted in a fiberglass frame. Antenna is an inverted “V”. A ham since 2017, I’m always looking for something to build, and the Soldersmoke podcast provided an educational and appropriately challenging project. I particularly like the fact it is modular, and I’ve already identified other applications for the audio amplifier. Your guidance was excellent and I learned a bunch. Thank you!

Here is Brian’s receiver at work in the CW portion of 40 meters:

Thank you Brian. Congratulations! You homebrewed a receiver!

For more information on how you too can build the receiver:


Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Mikael SM0TPW’s FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver from Sweden

I was very pleased to see Mikael’s video. This is our first receiver from Sweden. In his QRZ page Mikael talks of learning CW while in the military, and of making a few contacts with the equpment of his regiment. I had a similar experience — I once made a CW contact with the rig assigned to our team.

Mikael writes:

Thank you Bill.

I’ve been a Ham for 35 years with a long gap in the middle of 20+.

I am of course a Soldersmoke listener and tried to build this dcr when you built it in the highschool project, but I didn’t succeed that time and gave up.

But with all the guidance here on discord I gave it one more go, and succeeded. 😊

The hardest thing was, as for many other, the af stage and oscillation. But some bypass caps and problem solved.

I got so much help just reading all posts here so thank you all in this community!

Now I will lean back for a while and listen to my baby. I am a proud father right now.

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Indeed Mikael, that is what Farhan advises: sit back and enjoy the receiver that you have built. Congratulations! The receiver sounds great on CW and on SSB.

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For more information on how you too can build the receiver:


Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Mike W1TKO’s Beautiful SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver

Mike W1TKO is a realtively new ham, getting his ticket in 2022. But he has already done something that 95% of all hams never do: He has homebrewed a receiver. The personalization of the receiver adds a nice touch of class to the project. FB Mike. Congratulations!

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For more information on how you too can build the receiver:


Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Jay KA1PQK’s Wonderful SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver

On Jay KA1PQK’s QRZ page he says that he has long been interested in the minimalist side of ham radio. This project certainly fits in with that, but there is noting minimalist about the satisfaction that we can seeon Jay’s face as he tunes the receiver that he hombrewed himself. FB Jay. Congratulations!
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For more information on how you too can build the receiver:


Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:


Andy KB1OIQ’s FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver

Andy has a lot of homebrew projects underway, but I think this one must have been the most rewarding. He has done something that 95% of hams never do: He has homebrewed a receiver. Congratulations Andy!

Check out Andy’s presentation on Linux to the 2025 Dayton Hamvention:
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For more information on how you too can build the receiver:


Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Wayne KC1ONM’s FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver

Wayne KC1ONM built a very nice direct conversion receiver. He has done something that 95% of hams never do: He has HOMEBREWED a receiver. FB Wayne. Congratulations!

After his completion of the receiver, Wayne put it all in a beautiful homebrew case:

To mark the PC boards, Wayne says, “MakeIt Labs has a MOPA laser. They were marked after construction of the board (the focus is high enough not to interfere with the components), but before attaching them to the box.”

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For more information on how you too can build the receiver:


Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Dave G6GEV’s Very FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver, with an Innovative Bic Pen PTO!

This is a really nice one. In the “proof of life” video we find a lot of proof, and a lot of life. SSB from the UK sounds really good. This is one of the beauties of the Direct Conversion architecture — you end up with a receiver that sounds very good. Doug DeMaw said these receivers have “presence” — it sounds like the other fellow is present in the room with you.

Dave’s happiness and satisfaction really shines through in his comments. Dave writes:

I’ve just completed my DCR, and it’s been an absolute blast!

I’m a retired EE, where PCBs and surface-mount components are the norm. I’ve occasionally prototyped using dead bug or Vero-board, but this is my first exposure to Manhattan construction – and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. Electronics and radio were my childhood passions, but inevitably, they lost some of their appeal once they became a career. Thank you, Bill and Dean, for helping me regain some of that lost joy!

My biggest challenge was trying to locate parts from a single UK source to minimize shipping costs (yes, I’m cheap). I briefly contemplated building a push-pull audio amp to avoid purchasing the transformer from Mouser, but in the end, I found most parts there, then padded the order with common junkbox parts to get free shipping. I’m so pleased that I heeded Bill and Dean’s advice to build the receiver as presented (well, almost). The results are so much better than I expected, with great-sounding, room-filling audio when connected to the passive half of an old active stereo speaker pair. Tuning is a bit fiddly but improves with practice. Luckily, I had no problems with any of the stages, and it just worked when the boards finally came together.

To save money (did I mention that I’m cheap?), I decided to use NP0 capacitors in the PTO instead of silver mica. The thermal coefficient should be similar, and if they didn’t work out, I planned to swap to mica later on. It turns out NP0 works great for me, with no noticeable drift after several minutes.

I don’t have easy access to a 3D printer, so I decided to roll my own PTO former. I wound the coil on a Bic Biro with a layer of heat-shrink tubing to bring the diameter to 10mm. This was glued to a wooden support, and the M6 threaded brass bar was a perfect fit inside the Biro. I finished it off with a tuning knob made from an old RC aircraft prop spinner. After experimenting with coil spacing, I ended up with wide spacing under the actively tuned area of the coil and tight spacing at the other end. This reduced the tuning sensitivity, and I now get around 40 kHz per revolution.
I’d really like to make a home-brew 2-way contact with this receiver, so maybe I’ll try a DSB transmitter next…
Thanks again to Bill and Dean for providing this fantastic resource. I’ve been a SolderSmoke listener since episode #1, and after 20 years of constructing radios vicariously, I’ve finally built one myself!
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FB Dave! Thanks and congratulations.
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For more information on how you too can build the receiver:


Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel:

Honorable Mention: Graham CT7AXD’s Reassembled SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver

Graham was another good sport. When I asked him about the receiver, he had already moved on, and — is often happens — had separated the stages and replaced some of them. He agreed to put the receiver back together and to shoot a video of it in action. Above you can see it, happily inhaling SSB from nearby Spain. He used a different AF amplifier cicruit — that is why this is in the Honorable Mention catergory.

Graham writes:

It has been an interesting exercise as I’ve tended to use active mixers before, but I think I am converted to DBMs now. The other rx I’ve been working on with a VCO is performing very well. I need to move the preamp over to the PTO one and see how it performs.

Thanks Graham and congratulations.
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For more information on how you too can build the receiver:


Join the discussion – SolderSmoke Discord Server:

https://discord.gg/Fu6B7yGxx2

Documentation on Hackaday:

https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver

SolderSmoke YouTube channel: