{"id":1918,"date":"2025-02-26T13:36:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T02:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/2025\/02\/26\/matt-ne3u-ex-ky4eods-soldersmoke-direct-conversion-receiver-and-his-globe-circling-balloons\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T18:00:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T08:00:58","slug":"matt-ne3u-ex-ky4eods-soldersmoke-direct-conversion-receiver-and-his-globe-circling-balloons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/2025\/02\/26\/matt-ne3u-ex-ky4eods-soldersmoke-direct-conversion-receiver-and-his-globe-circling-balloons\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt  NE3U (ex KY4EOD)&#8217;s SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver (and his Globe-circling Balloons!)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"247\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qPxhILzrlt4?si=t4LJ6p5kV74Oxiu-?rel=0\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"440\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><b>Matt was one of the first builders of this receiver (see above). He heroically stuck with the very small speaker that we had used in the high school receiver. <\/b><\/div>\n<div><b><br \/><\/b><\/div>\n<div><b>Matt wrote: <\/b><\/div>\n<div><b><br \/><\/b><\/div>\n<div><i><b>I just wanted to publicly thank you for doing this. I\u2019m sure it\u2019s been a lot of work but I\u2019m very grateful for the experience. I\u2019ve always wanted to home brew and I\u2019ve done a few little things such as filters and attenuators but this has really given me the motivation to really dive in deep.<\/b><\/i><\/div>\n<div><i><b>I\u2019m 44 and I\u2019ve only been a ham a few years so hopefully I have lots of time ahead to get others excited about home brewing. We have a very active club here in KY and there are quite a few folks mildly interested in home brewing, I\u2019m going to push some of them to start a builders group in the club with me. This is entirely due to the effort you have put into this project!<\/b><\/i><\/div>\n<div><b><i>Thank you. <\/i><br \/><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Matt also builds balloons with tiny solar-powered ham radio transmitters aboard. These balloons fly around the world. He is advising Vienna Wireless Society on their balloon project. Just last night Matt wrote: <\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><b><span face=\"Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif\" style=\"background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;\">In case anyone is interested, my balloon that has been spending a lot of time in the northern latitudes popped back up again today after being quite for nearly two weeks. Looking at the path prediction on HYSPLIT it&#8217;s going to make another loop to the north but at least the earth is tilting back to give me a more favorable solar angle. It&#8217;s only going to get better as spring rolls in.<\/span><span face=\"Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif\" style=\"background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;\">This balloon lost a little altitude shortly after launch for unknown reasons so it&#8217;s not quite a high as I would like but as long as it can stay away from spring storms, it should still have quite a bit of life left in it. <\/span><span face=\"Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif\" style=\"background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;\">This one is still flying on my old callsign. I got my vanity callsign when I thought the balloon had gone down, then it showed back up. Whoops, oh well, I tried. Matt NE3U<\/span><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><b><br \/><\/b><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><a data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/traquito.github.io\/search\/spots\/dashboard\/?band%3D20m%26channel%3D200%26callsign%3DKY4EOD%26dtGte%3D2024-12-30&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1740618489909000&#038;usg=AOvVaw1F72jef_9p6xq9wGFQrQNy\" href=\"https:\/\/traquito.github.io\/search\/spots\/dashboard\/?band=20m&#038;channel=200&#038;callsign=KY4EOD&#038;dtGte=2024-12-30\" style=\"color: #1155cc;\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Spot Search Dashboard &#8211; Traquito<\/b><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\">\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEhgHsLO72ZTWt7OLUs7yeSX2tpdDHa97Elt-Qs3pnWSPMBT9-YJJrXcy0c5v-RqDq5pPy6k_FKw2iY7-w6RBOM1djEnbxGtQ5WudZLeLCQqVHjk9jizQUcWhmIO_di2YpfB7M3dEQfarEANvV668NSL_IuI4Vs-irRrjSJbkODS9HJZ3UMRbdlyXtOu448\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-original-height=\"558\" data-original-width=\"1218\" height=\"184\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image_1753064757.png\" width=\"400\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\">&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image_1753064760.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-original-height=\"1001\" data-original-width=\"1001\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image_1753064760.png\" width=\"240\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\">\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\">Matt is a veteran. Thank you Matt! <\/div>\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><b>For more information on how you too can build the receiver: <\/b><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><b><br \/><\/b><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px;\"><b><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Join the discussion &#8211; SolderSmoke Discord Server:<\/span><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><u><\/u><u><\/u><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px;\"><b><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt;\"><a data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/discord.gg\/Fu6B7yGxx2&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1739470652838000&#038;usg=AOvVaw1ZoxkyzfQb8pwED_KtyCKW\" href=\"https:\/\/discord.gg\/Fu6B7yGxx2\" style=\"color: #1155cc; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">https:\/\/discord.gg\/Fu6B7yGxx2<\/span><\/a><\/span><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><u><\/u><u><\/u><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px;\"><b><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"> <\/span><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><u><\/u><u><\/u><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px;\"><b><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Documentation on Hackaday:<\/span><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><u><\/u><u><\/u><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px;\"><b><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><a data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/hackaday.io\/project\/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1739470652838000&#038;usg=AOvVaw026vJuHIWdv6aJ9NJ9QDHJ\" href=\"https:\/\/hackaday.io\/project\/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver\" style=\"color: #1155cc; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/hackaday.io\/project\/<wbr><\/wbr>190327-high-schoolers-build-a-<wbr><\/wbr>radio-receiver<\/a><\/span><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><u><\/u><u><\/u><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px;\"><b><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"> <\/span><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><u><\/u><u><\/u><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px;\"><b><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">SolderSmoke YouTube channel:<\/span><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><u><\/u><u><\/u><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<div style=\"color: #333333; font-family: \"Trebuchet MS\", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.61px;\"><b style=\"color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><span face=\"Arial, sans-serif\" style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><a data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@soldersmoke&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1739470652838000&#038;usg=AOvVaw3FnV3eIUU7IiaVG8c_Qd3v\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@soldersmoke\" style=\"color: #1155cc; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@<wbr><\/wbr>soldersmoke<\/a><\/span><\/b><b> <\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Matt was one of the first builders of this receiver (see above). He heroically stuck with the very small speaker that we had used in the high school receiver. Matt wrote: I just wanted to publicly thank you for doing this. I\u2019m sure it\u2019s been a lot of work but I\u2019m very grateful for the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/2025\/02\/26\/matt-ne3u-ex-ky4eods-soldersmoke-direct-conversion-receiver-and-his-globe-circling-balloons\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Matt  NE3U (ex KY4EOD)&#8217;s SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver (and his Globe-circling Balloons!)&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,11,35,248],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-balloon","category-dc-rx-hall-of-fame","category-direct-conversion","category-direct-conversion-challenge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1918"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1921,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1918\/revisions\/1921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}