{"id":6639,"date":"2025-03-16T15:51:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T04:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/2025\/03\/16\/scott-k1oa-fb-soldersmoke-direct-conversion-receiver\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T18:00:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T08:00:58","slug":"scott-k1oa-fb-soldersmoke-direct-conversion-receiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/2025\/03\/16\/scott-k1oa-fb-soldersmoke-direct-conversion-receiver\/","title":{"rendered":"Scott K1OA FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver"},"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\/1_dqXcEinGE?si=-9YC8L_Bn0iQmCd8?rel=0\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"440\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><b>Scott K1OA has been a licensed ham for more than 50 years, but he tells us that this was his first Manhattan-style project. He reports having built a lot of kits and even a DC receiver from EMRFD using an SA602 chip, but he says the SolderSmoke direct conversion receiver was the most fun. That comment meant a lot to us. We continue to believe there is value in homebrewing from scratch. <\/b><\/div>\n<div><b><br \/><\/b><\/div>\n<div><b>Scott writes: <\/b><\/div>\n<div><b><i><br \/><\/i><\/b><\/div>\n<div><span id=\"docs-internal-guid-262a3382-7fff-67f4-eb66-594c1d409df6\"><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>Hi Bill,<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><b><i><br \/><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>This will be my 50th year as a licensed ham and my first<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>Manhattan style project. I&#8217;ve built a dozen kits in the past<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>15 years or so and bread-boarded a simple crystal <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>controlled DCR from a circuit in EMRFD<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>using an SA602, but the Soldersmoke DCR<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>challenge has been the most fun!<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><b><i><br \/><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>The most challenging aspect has been trying to get the<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>PTO tuning range close to 7-7.3 MHz. I&#8217;m still <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>experimenting with that.Audio output is loud and <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>sensitivity is pretty good.<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><b><i><br \/><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>I&#8217;m thinking my next project might be a simple crystal <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>controlled CW transmitter to pair up with the DCR, and <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>considering the Pebble Crusher 1\/2W design from the <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>ARRL Handbook that uses a pair of 2N2222A<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>transistors. I&#8217;m interested in your thoughts on that.<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><b><i><br \/><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>Thanks for putting forth the challenge and for all the <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>great support you and Dean have provided!<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><b><i><br \/><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>73,<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>Scott K1OA<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><b><i><br \/><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>p.s. &#8211; love the podcast and your Soldersmoke Adventures <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #1d2228; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;\"><b><i>book!<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<div><b>Thanks Scott and congratulations. <\/b><\/div>\n<div><b>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212; <\/b><\/div>\n<div><b><br \/><\/b><\/div>\n<div>\n<p style=\"background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: \"Trebuchet MS\", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.61px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;\"><b style=\"color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\">For more information on how you too can build the receiver: <\/b><\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: \"Trebuchet MS\", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.61px;\">\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><b><br \/><\/b><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\">\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><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scott K1OA has been a licensed ham for more than 50 years, but he tells us that this was his first Manhattan-style project. He reports having built a lot of kits and even a DC receiver from EMRFD using an SA602 chip, but he says the SolderSmoke direct conversion receiver was the most fun. That &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/2025\/03\/16\/scott-k1oa-fb-soldersmoke-direct-conversion-receiver\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Scott K1OA FB SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dc-receiver-build","category-dc-rx-hall-of-fame","category-tj-dc-rx"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6639","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=6639"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11119,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6639\/revisions\/11119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}