SolderSmoke Daily News — Ham Radio Blog – Page 151 – Serving the worldwide community of radio-electronic homebrewers. Providing blog support to the SolderSmoke podcast: http://soldersmoke.com

The Salvage Super

I can remember a time in the United States when it was not unusual to hear someone described as “a great humanitarian” or as having “a great love for mankind.” The plaque we left on the moon says “We came in peace for all mankind.” You don’t hear much of that talk anymore. Our discourse has grown more nationalistic, and today it seems the best thing we can say about somebody was that he or she has “a great love or country.I can remember a time in the United States when it was not unusual to hear someone described as “a great humanitarian” or as having “a great love for mankind.” The plaque we left on the moon says “We came in peace for all mankind.” You don’t hear much of that talk anymore. Our discourse has grown more nationalistic, and today it seems the best thing we can say about somebody was that he or she has “a great love or country.

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Mates for Mighty Midgets

Hi Bill,

Gosh, we haven’t exchanged e-mails for—literally–-years now…! You may recall me from those heady days of yore when we both worked on / built / modified / boast of our respective MFTMM receivers…

A good friend of mine—Bill, VE3CSK—is in the process of collecting parts for an HB receiver, & I’ve been trying to sell him on the idea of an MFTMM: I keep telling him it’s an excellent “foundation” receiver, & that it’ll prove to be much more than a toy, or pleasant diversion, if he leaves enough room on the chassis & the front panel for future mods. I think I may be finally winning him over: he’s asked me for the references to the rig, & has placed an order for a National-brand slide rule dial with a fellow Stateside!

Do you still have your receiver, Bill…? If so, do you have any nuggets of info that might be worth sharing re. it, that I could pass onto Bill…?

I’ve since built yet another superhet here—in keeping with my interest in 1929-ish radios, I built this thing, & have been having a ball ever since: http://www.superhets.info/page9.html

This rascal can REALLY play—but it’s a LOT larger than my MFTMM rig!

~73!~ de Eddy VE3CUI – VE3XZ

————————————-
Hello Eddy! Great to hear from you. I like you FB page on the Super Hets. Beautiful.

Yes, I still have my MMRX. Haven’t used it for a while, but I am thinking of putting it back in operation — I am now getting active on 75 and 40 AM, and it would be fun to use this RX.

Here is an idea: The 455 kc filter crystals are now un-obtanium. But I’m thinking that we could substitute some 455 kc ceramic filters, which are readily available.

I like the receiver. A lot. So far it is my only real tube HB project. Encourage your friend to give it a go!

Keep me posted! 73 Bill

Save 20% on SolderSmoke, The Book

Go to http://www.soldersmoke.com/book.htm for more info. Use the Coupon Code to save 20% when buying from Lulu.

W1GQL, Cyrillic Morse, and HEX Beams

I’ve been hearing a lot about hex beams, and I think I’d like to build one. Maybe for 17 and 20 meters.
W1GQL has a lot of good info on these antennas on his site. I also found his discussion of Russian CW to be very interesting:
What I really like to do with my CW, however is to operate CW in the Russian language. Years ago I taught myself the cyrillic morse code and can use it. Not as fast as the International Morse code but at a usable speed of maybe 15-20 wpm. I have had many contacts with Russian stations and really surprised them coming back to them in fluent Russian. It turns out that Russian hams nowadays don’t use the cyrillic morse code often and are no longer even required to learn it to get their licenses. Newer Russian hams don’t even understand their own language well in CW. But if you can hitch up with an older ham that does, it is great. I had a QSO a few years ago with a ham licensed right after WW2. He told me that our QSO in Russian was the very first one he had ever had with someone outside Russian using cyrillic morse code. That gives you and idea of how unusual it is. Russian hams use the International morse code when communicating with each other even.

Switching from International CW to cyrillic CW can blow your mind. To send a Russian V you use our W. If you send a V it is actually their letter with the sound “zh”. A C becomes their letter for the “TS” sound. Their letter for the “SH” sound is four dashes. Their letter for the “CH” sound is three dashes and a dot. Send our H and you get a Russian X. Send an X and you get a Russian softsign and so on. Gets confusing until you have done it for a while. I have a lot of fun with it. I wish the propagation were better now. I don’t get as many solid Russian QSOs as I did when the sunspot numbers were higher.

W1GQL, Cyrillic Morse, and HEX Beams

Curiosity Puts Morse Code in the Martian Dust

Jim, K1KJW, and others alerted me to this very cool move by the inventive minds at JPL. They put a Morse Code pattern in the tire treads of the Curiosity rover. So now as it drives around, it spells out JPL in the Martian regolith.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20120829f.html

Singapore Knack

Bunnie Huang has The Knack. This was confirmed when, with obvious delight, he said that he’d found in China a book of schematic diagrams of a wide variety of laptops. He then studied said schematics and endeavored to understand the role played by one transistor in the LED display of one of the computers. KNACK CONFIRMED! Somebody get Bunnie a ham license! Cool video.

Give the Moon a Wink for Neil Armstrong

As I’m sure is the case with many of you, Neil Armstrong was one of my childhood heroes. Neil passed away yesterday. His family made a very nice request for those wishing to do something on the occasion of his passing:

“For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”

SolderSmoke on Tinkernation

SolderSmoke is on the Tinkernation web site:
http://www.tinkernation.com/your-story/bill-meara-homemade-radios-and-magic-carpets/#more-698
(Note that SPRAT is in both pictures.)

Curiosity’s Descent to Mars

Maybe it’s because I’ve done some parachuting myself… I was really blown away by this picture. Taken by the Mars Orbiter as Curiosity descended.

And here is the initial low-res video from the rover itself. Very cool.

Completely Homebrew Cuban Ham Station

Wow, OM Orlando even homebrewed the rotor controller… AND THE ROTOR! FB! Thanks to Ernie, AJ4BP, for alerting us to this. For more info and photos, go to CM6OMA’s QRZ.com page.

Curiosity Goes for the Gold!

The Olympics are fun but the real big event tonight will be the rover Curiosity’s landing on Mars.
What an amazing machine! The Atlantic has a collection of photos guaranteed to get you psyched for the descent to Mars and the exploration that will follow. Fingers crossed!

How many hams in China? Not many.

I’ve been wondering about amateur radio in mainland China. Given the very large population, and the high levels of technical and engineering activity, you’d expect to see evidence of more ham radio activity from that country. Sure, there are plenty of commercial rigs manufactured there, but I’ve never seen an article about a Chinese homebrew rig, or a reprint from a Chinese ham radio magazine. I did some Googling, and unfortunately found out that my suspicions are correct: There are very few Chinese radio amateurs.

What a pity! Imagine the great rigs and circuits that would come out of that country.

Here are the numbers from from a 2009 IARU report (authored by the Chinese Radio Sports Association:

The total number of individual amateur radio stations in the mainland of China is about 19,000, while the number of active club stations is 124， as counted in March 2009. In fact there are over 10,000 new comers get amateur radio station licenses each year, the total number of certified amateur operators during the past 10 years is accumulated as over 70,000. However, as the license is valid for 2 years and about the same number of previous licensees did not renew their license in time in each year, the net population of valid transmitting amateur radio station appears almost flat.

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

Report from Dover Construction Club

GM Bill,

Dover Construction Club lads all send their regards! We’re still gong strong but summer is always a bit slack.

Young Neil has built himself a HUNTER SDR receiver, the rest of us are involved on projects but often chin wagging takes preference and little gets done….. Merv is the big offender of course, not me!

I’m working on a big linear for my 160m winter fun…. using a Russian triode…. of course it will loaf along at 400W, our legal limit.

Nigel is now the other side of the country but he’s still involved and considers himself an active member. Building like mad but still not doing the important thing of bashing on with his Morse. He’s getting better and that was proved last night.

Peter came round with his new KX3 and we put it on the air….. We worked Nigel and he insisted that he did not use his morse reader….. I could be ingratious and say there may have been a little ‘porky pie’ (lie, sorry, London cockney slang!) It might have been running on the side of the bench but he didn’t look at it!

I have a KX3 on order and expect that in the next few weeks….. I’ve gone for the kit.

While on holiday my ic 7200 burst into flames….. well, filled the house with smoke! The PSU had gone to 22v and the PA board did not like it. It’s a real mess inside but surprisingly enough there are few internal problems…. a few charred caps on various boards and one 9v reg giving 8volts but the Rx still works!

The Tx works up to the PA board as well! It was insured and they have paid up so I might order a new PA board and keep that in the workshop as the rig down there.

I’ve started to downsize as well…. I have far too much gear…. I’ve got 160 Morse keys for a start and use four of them!

Sorry, in rabbit mode….. 73 for now

Ian, G3ROO and GB2SPY (oh, and KG3ROO and G0ROO)…. and DCC lads

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

SolderSmoke Podcast #145

SolderSmoke Podcast #145 (July 29, 2012) is available

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke145.mp3

— Derecho Storm hits Northern Virginia

— Cappuccio impersonates a Pitt Bull

— July 4 Fireworks

— A 17 Meter QSO with W5JAY (QRP Hall of Famer)

— Rules of Thumb for Decoupling Caps (.1 uF now suspect)

— Heathkit: Mic jack? Or Mike jack? (Who is this Mike guy?)

— On the air with the K2ZA DX-100

— Saturnian Sidewalk Astronomy

— NJQRP “Chat With The Designers” — Mandatory Listening!

— Back with the ARRL: Goodwill Transmitters and Herring Aid Receivers

— Billy’s computer build and Arduino adventures

— Fixing up NE602 20 meter DC rig

— Join G-QRP! Support our SPRAT!

— MAILBAG

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

Our Electric Vocabulary

Bob, W8SX, alerted us to this really excellent video. You guys will like it. Thanks Bob!

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

UPDATE: HW-7 Fixed After 36 Years

Dave Oldham had sent us a report on his resurrection of a long-broken HW-7. I responded by saying that the FCC should give him a license on the spot, based solely on his HW-7 success. Well, Dave got his license (by the normal procedures) and has put his rig on the air. Here is Dave’s report:

Update — Granted a license today. Couldn’t wait to make a contact. Took just a couple of minutes. Heard Dave, N9KKY, calling CQ and I answered him and he heard me. The very first contact this old radio has ever made. Based on his location he was 237 miles from me as the crow flies. My dipole is between 12′ to 18′ off the ground, so it was NVIS since Dave was off the ends of my wire. Anyway, between whipping the dial back and forth to hear and be heard plus other close stations and my newb status to both sending and receiving Morse, the QSO was short and mostly missed by me. But it was neat hearing my new call sign, KC9WIP, come back to me on this ole girl…I’m happy! 73

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

KJ6VU Talks about Microcontrollers at Dayton

Podcast listeners will recall that George, KJ6VU, of Sierra Radio Systems, was a sponsor of SolderSmoke. When I was running George’s announcements, I felt kind of bad about the fact that I really didn’t have a good feel for the product, or how I might use it. I’ve also felt guilty about the fact that I haven’t yet put to use the HamStack starter kit that George sent me.

I feel that the time is coming for me to redeem myself. The radio gods are pushing me in the direction of microcontrollers:

1) Billy is getting into them.

2) This weekend, for no apparent reason, I started working on my old N3ZI Digital Dial (a gift from Jerry, NR5A). It is built around a microprocessor.

3) I need a new frequency generator.

4) I came across George’s video (above)

In the video, George does a great job of explaining how microcontrollers can be used in ham radio. In answering the last question from the audience, he explains the differences between microcontrollers and the new Raspberry Pi boards.

Great stuff! Thanks George!

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

Valve line-up of British Homebrew Rig

A number of electro-archeologists out there have asked about the valves found in the old British homebrew rig I presented yesterday. Here you go:

Mic amp: ECC83

What I think is the modulator: EL84

Suspected oscillator: M8162 also marked as 12AT7 WA UJ

What looks like the driver: EL85

Final: QQVC3.10

I’ll try to determine the resonant frequency of the tuned circuits.

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

Beautiful British Homebrew (with Valves!)

I was rummaging around the junkbox and I found this gem. I probably bought it at the Kempton Park rally in London. I think it is an AM transmitter for VHF. Maybe 6 meters? Or perhaps that British 70 MHz band? What do you guys think? Can anyone estimate the frequency from the size of the coils?

I think the workmanship is beautiful. The technique of putting the tube sockets on a copper clad board is interesting. I wonder why he did that — obviously he wasn’t afraid of metal work. Look at that cable harness work! FB! It’s too bad the builder didn’t mark it with his call.

Anyone recognize the design? Any idea when this was built? For bonus points: Who built it?

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