SolderSmoke Podcast #197: Farhan, Fame, 'Fest, Testgear, SSB History, Dishal Dystopia, QRP CW, MAILBAG

SolderSmoke Podcast #197 is available:

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke197.mp3

Up in NYC, met Dave W2DAB. got Steve Silverman's HP 8640B Sig Gen.

Farhan's visit to SolderSmoke HQ

Got me a TEK1401A Spectrum analyzer

Farhan at "Geekfest" @W7ZOI   http://w7zoi.net/Farhan-visit.html

BITX40 Modules.  5,000 already.   1,000 a month.

The BITX pronunciation problem. 

QRP Hall of Fame.  I suspected April 1 reprisal!    "I am unworthy" 

Like in Wayne's World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBEn3a4TIUw

Dusting off my Tuna Tin 2, Herring Aid 5 and Farhan's key from India.

The Manassas Hamfest:  OLD crystal gear.   20's and 30's stuff. Leon Lambert RX and Philmore Fixed Crystal Detector. 

 Reminder of how YOUNG the radio art is.

RELATED:  Bell System 1953 Transistor Documentary.  11 year old Pete and his CK722.

Bought some good stuff from Charles AI4OT.

Armand WA1UQO gave me a big collection of Electric Radio.  So much history and HB wisdom in there. Frank Jones and Lafayette Radio.  Jim Lamb and 1930s SSB.  

Is the CK-722 the source of Pete Juliano's affinity for Juliano Blue?

Was Wes Hayward already using Juliano Blue?

"Your rig sounds real good for a homebrew rig!" 

"Well, your rig sounds pretty good for a Yaesu!"

Related topic: Going over the Waterfall:  The SDR Superiority Syndrome.  Feathering.

ARRL Arduino Book   by Popiel.    Very nice.  Right level.  Lots of good info.

BENCH REPORT:

Pete's Dishal Dystopia --  Is the perfect TRULY the enemy of the good enough?

Bill's  NE602 RIG: 

Replaced OLED.  Blue one seems noisier.  Shielded it with  copper flashing.

Made me yearn for bigger boxes WITH A HOOD!

DOCUMENTING WITH LTSPICE

MAILBAG:

Special Thanks to our correspondent in the Dayton Xenia Metropolitan area -- Bob Crane W8SX.

Jack Welch, AI4SV 5R8SV -- Our Man in Antanarivo -- Sent me a GREAT BOOK "I, Libertine" by Frederick R. Ewing.   EXCELSIOR!

https://qrz.com/db/5r8sv

Bruce KC1FSZ https://www.qrz.com/db/kc1fsz  Building Scratchbuilt BITX.  On the way put the VFO where the BFO should go and had a DC RX.  FB

Greg, VK1VXG   Suggestion for WA8WDQ on Arduino serial plotter

http://www.instructables.com/id/Ultimate-Guide-to-Adruino-Serial-Plotter/

Ben KC9DLM  Mercury PTO.  In a syringe!   No thanks! Maybe add some high voltage and selenium.  And a radium dial!  Yea!

http://webshed.org/wiki/Mercury_PTO

KY3R's metalized cigar boxes!  FB On Blog.

Richard WB2PEF has revived his Doug DeMaw 8P6 rig.  FB.  But bothered by PTT thump.

Update on Dave AA7EE (from Mike KC6SAX)

AI4OT and N2CQR

N2CQR AND W2DAB

KI6SN's 89-Cent Project Box Chassis

Eric 4Z1UG had a great "QSO Today" interview with Richard Fisher KI6SN.  Richard mentioned his method for making project boxes.  The commercial versions are getting very expensive, and the used ones are now hard-to-find at hamfests.  So use Richard's technique to roll your own! 

Details here: http://arsqrp.blogspot.co.il/2016/03/the-89-cent-homebrew-metal-project-box.html

FB.  Thanks Eric.  Thanks Richard.

Dino's HW-8 Mods

Bill -

Enjoyed the recent Hamvention interview with Ed Hare and your comment about him and a Heathkit HW-8 QRP rig.  I recently rescued the HW-8 I bought on eBay that had been sitting in my project queue for several years.  As I was refurbishing the rig I found that John KC9ON (http://kc9on.com) has several HW-8 mods that are very reasonably priced and I incorporated in the the refresh.  They included replacements for the audio amplifier and the T/R relay, the “miniYAK” electronic keyer that I installed internally and built-up a external control dongle for the keyer.  Cleaned up the additional audio filter that the previous owner had installed (ancient MFJ CWF-2 op-amp filter, surprisingly still available from the MFJ Vectronics brand, model VEC-820K) and did a complete realignment of course.  The T/R replacement includes provision for a red and green LED that indicates that the rig is in the receive mode (green) and transmit (red); I was able to mount them directly behind the relative output meter using a piece of plastic drapery hardware (always pays to keep that kind of stuff!).  Finally installed a fresh S-meter mod.

RF output is ok on all the bands except for 15m and I still need to figure that out.  Getting rid of the old Molex power connector and replacing it with a Powerpole was a real plus I thought.  Have swapped out the PA transistor with several different types but the one the last owner substituted in seems to be the best (ECG488).  Have to admit I’ve never been a devoted QRP guy but love the community for it’s technical bent but since I’ve been looking for some new challenges I thought this would be a enjoyable one.

As you’ve pointed out Mike Bryce’s HW-8 handbook is a must have for anyone updating their radio and there is also a seminal 2-part article series in CQ magazine that probably started the mods craze; they appeared in the August and October 1977 issues of CQ.

Here are some pix of the clean up process and shows I’m not afraid to drill holes in a boat anchor to make it more useable!

73 - Dino

Here’s the new audio board installed:

The additional audio filter with the new 5-pole selectivity switch put in by the previous owner…had to add some audio coupling caps and clean up all the wiring.  The plastic piece over the meter was from some old drapery hardware and it now holds the RCV/XMT green/red LEDs:

I replaced the original S-meter mod with a proper terminal strip (old parts were just hanging in the air).

Here’s the solid state T/R circuit that replaced the mechanical relay:

Les Moxon, G6XN

I was on 40 SB tonight talking to Don KC5YR. He is the creator of the web site known as the Moxon Antenna Project: http://www.moxonantennaproject.com/   That site had this great picture of OM Les Moxon, inventor of the wonderful antenna that bears his name.  I also found this old QSL card that shows some of Les's homebrew gear.  Les has been a Silent Key for many years now, but his legacy lives on.

FDIM: Bob Crane Interviews Ed Hare W1RFI

I always associate "Ed Hare" with that picture of him holding an HW-8 in the ARRL lab.

I was supposed to edit this one a bit at the beginning, but I forgot.  Sorry about that Ed. 

Thanks to Ed and to Bob Crane for the interview. 

http://soldersmoke.com/FDIM17W1RFI.mp3

Stay Thirsty My Friends --- A Very Inspirational Article

There is no real connection to radio here, other than the fact that some of us are in this guy's age group, and that we have had a few Dos Equis Guy memes on the blog.  But do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes with this article.  You will be glad you did. 

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/02/most-interesting-man-world-friends-barack-obama-215215

Thanks to Larry K8MU for alerting us to this.

Stay thirsty my friends.

Put Yourself on the BITX Map

On Jun 9, 2017, at 4:53 PM, Doug W wrote:

Seeing the topics for regional operator lists got me thinking.  If words are good, pictures are better.  I set up a google map that you can add yourself too to help visualize where everyone is located.  I was going to add people that responded to the other topics but out of respect for privacy (and my laziness) this should be entirely opt in only.  The map is only accessible with the link below.  The interface is reasonably intuitive but I will do my best to explain how to add yourself.

go to

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Oa_egVdStSJBF5C7mpS6MXrkces&usp=sharing

type your address in the search bar on the top of the map (the box with the magnifying glass to the right)

hit enter or click the magnifying glass
verify the location displayed
click add to map at the bottom of the box that pops up
now click the pencil/edit icon at the bottom right of the box
change the highlighted address to your call sign and click save at the bottom left of the box
you can also add more information to your spot if you choose to
bookmark the link and check back as more people add themselves

I am making this sound much more complicated than it is.  If anyone can describe the process better please do.