Category: workshop

Building a Helio in Alaska from 75 year-old Blueprints

This video is part of our “Other Workshops” series. I like it because in the beginning it seems to have a Piper Cub vibe that reminded me of former SolderSmoke co-host Jeff Whitlatch KO7M. I also liked their discussion of how they did this with 75 year-old blue prints, how they brought the model into CAD, and how they used templates and other modern techniques to mas produce this plane. Also, it made me feel a lot better about frequently updating the schematic for our direct conversion receiver.

CuriousMarc Gets an Apollo DSKY Running. FPGA AGC Computer. Rope Memory.

I really liked this video. So much amazing wizardry in it. Just the FPGA Apollo AGC simulator that Mike whipped up. Wow. Kudos!

Their occassional references to “rope” brought back fond memories of “Sunburst and Luminary” by Don Eyles: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search?q=Apollo+rope

SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver Challenge — Soldering!

The DCR challenge is going well, and we have several builders making good progress. We noticed that some first-time builders are having a little trouble with soldering. Cold or weak solder joints are the bane of the of the homebrew builder’s existence. It happens to all of us. A board that was working fine suddenly is not working – you poke around and touch some part and the board springs to life – you just found a cold solder joint. Dean, KK4DAS put together a short bonus video just on soldering. He covers the tools you need for a basic soldering station, and step-by-step instructions for reliable soldering Manhattan Style.

Other Kinds of Workshops — Making a Clock with a Lathe

Somehow, this video fits well with the SolderSmoke theme. It may be that Uri cheerfully acknowledges that the lathe can kill you (the same is true of much of our gear). Or it may be his repeated use of the term “Bob’s your uncle” (has he been listening to SolderSmoke?). Whatever the reason, this beautiful video fits here. This is from Uri Tuchman’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/@urituchmanpigeon. Uri is in Germany. Thanks Uri!

The Importance to Bell Labs of Lunch or Breakfast with Harry Nyquist — “The Communicator” — Bimonthly Publication of the Surrey (British Columbia) ARC.

This is a good sample (!) of the great content to be found in “The Communicator.” This is the bimonthly publication of the Surrey (British Columbia) Amateur Radio Club. You can find the publication and digital back issues here: https://ve7sar.blogspot.com/

There is a lot of great material in this publication.

How to Organize a Small Shack

A YouTube comment from Paul VK3HN sent me back to “The Spirited Man” YouTube channel, and one of the first things I found was this video about how to organize a small space. This is very relevant to my shacks in Virginia and in the Dominican Republic.

Lots of good ideas here, but that propane heater kind of scared me. And it seemed inconsistent with concerns behind the fire-preventing garbage can. What do you folks think?

Thanks Paul.

Harry Caul had THE KNACK — Movie Review — “The Conversation” –1974 by Francis Ford Coppola (Harry Caul based on W3VCG)

I give it FIVE Soldering Irons!

I found it on Amazon Prime. The workshop scenes remind me of ham workshops. The movie character Harry Caul was based on real-life Marty Kaiser. Was Marty a ham?

POSTSCRIPT (August 23, 2024): Yes, he is a ham! W3VCG! FB. Here is his web site:

http://www.martykaiser.com/fbi1~1.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conversation

http://www.martykaiser.com/odyssey2.htm

Thanks to Roy WN3F for reminding me to watch this film. Roy found a clip that is reminiscent of hamfests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joM5VDCIQg8

ANOTHER Great Workshop

As I get ready to build the SolderSmoke Shack South, the Radio Gods (well at least YouTube) keep sending me these workshop videos. Today’s is also for a shop specializing in the repair of vintage audio gear, but the lessons-learned and observations are also applicable to a ham radio workshop. This fellow’s shop is in New York City, where space is very limited. Check it out. Lots of great ideas here.

And check out the Novalux Stereophhonic channel:

Some Really Amazing Test Gear

Wow. Really great test gear, and an amazing parts collection. This guy even gets a “nice workshop” comment from Mr. Carlson. Pac1085 seems to be in Rochester N.Y. and he says he specializes in the repair of vintage audio gear. He should have more subscribers. Does anyone have more info on him?

Pine Boards, Analog VFOs, and Homebrew BITX Transceivers — AG5VG’s Magnificent Creations

Click in image for a better view

This is amazingly cool. WE ARE NOT ALONE! There are others out there breaking the tyranny of the Si5351, building BITXs with analog LC VFOs. And using copper clad boards affixed to pine boards. Plywood cabinetry! And medicine bottle coil forms. Really great. And what a wonderful workshop. Thanks Michael.

Good Afternoon Bill,


This is Michael Sahn, AG5VG.

I hope your doing well, all is well here in south Texas. I have recently built a bitx20 receiver and bitx20 for 40 meters receiver.

I built it using the analog VFO and both of mine are stable. What an awesome feeling it is to have a stable homebrew VFO. I have attached pictures .

It’s been a fun journey to get to this step. I have just been enjoying the receiver as Farhan instructed us. Then I’m going to go through the transmit side.

Air core coils are great for VFO. On my bitx40 I used a medicine bottle bottom but I put the VFO in a tin can as you will see in the pictures.

The bitx20 is all out, hand capacitance is a slight issue but it’s all learning experience.
Going to be adjusting the pvc coil bandpass filter inductors, I think the value is a bit off so it’s not as loud as it should be, but everything else is set good.

Just wanted to check in and great job on the videos and podcasts. I really enjoy them

73s
Michael
Click on image for a better view
Click on image for a better view

K0IYE’s Thoughts on Homebrewing and Workshops

Click on the image for a clearer look

I like Frank Harris K0IYE’s book so much that I don’t mind posting about it frequently. “From Crystal Sets to Sideband” is must-read material for all homebrewers.

The picture above is especially significant. I first came across it in the old pulp-style magazine called World Radio. The picture, like Frank’s book, is truly inspiring.

This week I stumbled across a relatively new chapter in Frank’s book. Chapter 3A deals with his approach to homebrewing (Luddite, analog, HDR) and his advice on how to set up a home ham-radio workshop. There is a lot of wisdom in this chapter.

The opening paragraph of Chapter 3A really grabbed me. Check it out here. Click on the text below for a better view:

Click on the image above for an easier read
Frank’s advice on what to do when you get stuck on a problem is right on the mark, and a bit counterintuitive, but very true: Do something else for a while.
Click here for all of Chapter 3A:
https://www.qsl.net/k0iye/CHAP3A.html
Chapter 3B also looks great.

And click here for the entire book (including a Spanish translation!)
https://www.qsl.net/k0iye/

Thank you Frank for sharing with us all of this wisdom. 73 OM

Andreas HB9BLA’s Ideas on Building a Lab or Workshop

Lots of great ideas on workshop or lab design from Andreas, the guy with the Swiss accent. Andreas is HB9BLA. I liked all of this, especially his idea on books.

A while back Andreas was interviewed by Eric Guth on QSO today: https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/hb9bla

Thank you Andreas!

A Marine’s Home Workshop on Okinawa

Sergeant Malik Pugh recently won the Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal for stepping forward and 3D printing a part that was needed to put a satellite terminal back in operation. That’s was great, but even more interesting for us is the fact that Sergeant Pugh has a home electronics workshop in his place on family quarters on Okinawa. See picture above.

The workshop seems to be focused on RC cars, robots and drones, but there is clearly ham radio potential there. This may be the first time since David Cowhig WA1LBP’s tour on the island in the early 1990s that we see a workshop like this one. David was 7J6CBQ and, in addition to his duties at the American Consulate at Naha, Okinawa, served as 73 Magazine’s “Hambassdor” (I was the Hambassador to the Dominican Republic at the same time).

Read about Sergeant Pugh here:

Other Workshops: Genius Girl Fixes (Re-builds!) Old Tractor

This is amazing. I put it in the “other workshops” category, but when you watch this you will see that she re-builds this tractor with NO WORKSHOP AT ALL. It seems to be done at roadside and on the front yard of her house. With some very basic tools.

I would be a complete mess if I tried this. And I would fail to get it going.