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Showing posts with label Thailand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thailand. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

"The Perfect Trap for the Engineering Mind" -- Leo Fernekes' Stirling Engine


I did a post about Leo back in August: 

Although it is not about radio, homebrewers will find much to resonate with in Leo's Stirling engine project.  

Warning:  There is a Part II.  And there may be more.  Proceed at your own risk. 

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Great Video on PC Board Techniques, with a Focus on Surface Mount



Wow, lots of wisdom in this video from Leo Fernekes.  Great hints and kinks on prototyping with copper clad boards. I need a Dremel just so that I can make Leo's board cutter.  And I can see that I need some of that liquid flux and isopropyl alcohol. Surf boards and headers! Who knew?  Teflon coating for the wires -- gotta get it. Glad to see that Leo is also a fan of copper tape.

His emphasis on the importance of stage-by-stage construction and testing is right on the mark.  

My only disagreement with Leo is about his use of steel wool.  I've found that steel wool will inevitably cause little tiny "Murphy Whiskers" to float around your workbench. They will eventually settle onto the most inconvenient and damaging place on your board.  So I have banished steel wool from my workshop.  Those green, non-metallic Scotch Brite pads work just as well and don't cause shorts. 

Three cheers for Leo. He is based in Thailand.  He has an interesting background and some really amazing projects and insights:  

http://www.luminati.aero/leofernekes

http://www.fernekes.com/blog/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe1bjEcBichpiAMhExh0NiQ/videos

Thanks to Tore LB4RG for alerting us to Leo's video.  

Saturday, March 24, 2018

SolderSmoke Podcast #203 Winter, Transceivers, Antennas, DC RX, uBITX, Mixers, 'fests, MAILBAG

N6QW in 1959. Building an SSB transceiver
SolderSmoke Pocast #203 is (FINALLY!) available: 

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke203.mp3


24 March 2018

--The reasons for our delay. 
Winter, Computers, College, Family Trees, Lawyers....

-- Winterfest 2018 
-- Pete launches 2018    THE YEAR OF THE TRANSCEIVER
    http://n6qw.blogspot.com/
-- SDR -  Satan's Digital Radio?  
-- Direct Conversion Receiver Projects
-- Mixer Musings 
-- A Thailand Troubleshoot 
-- Nor'Easter knocks out Bill's Moxon -- An appliance replacement? 
-- Homebrew Electret Mics.  Seriously.  
-- uBITX Build with Rogier
-- Civilized Crystal Testing
-- Baofeng! 
-- DRAGNET

-- MAILBAG
KD4PBJ's REGEN 
N6ORS's SDR rig
Mike Rainey's DX-100

Monday, February 19, 2018

A Wonderful Troubleshooting Story -- Thailand, Mixers, a Simpson 260, Microwaves, and some Black Tape


My old friend was really fortunate to have had such a good Staff Sergeant instructor at Signal School, someone for whom the mixer trig was obviously not enough.  And our old friend obviously also benefitted greatly from having had a dad who set him up with a Simpson 260 and some handmade experimental glass diodes. Wow.  It all came together with some black tape in Thailand... 

Bill,

Enjoyed your latest blog. I remember your asking about mixers years 
ago.  I received much the same explanation from a Staff Sergeant 
instructor at Ft. Monmouth in 1967.  His example was a mixer with 
diodes, noting the need to have them forward biased by the LO supply.  
We worked out much the same waveforms as shown in your Blog and 
the concept became part of my 'intuitive' knowledge.

A few years later I was fighting 120hz hum on the baseband of an IWCS 
microwave system feeding USAF command at the Korat Air Base in
Thailand. The hum was pretty high level and causing inter-modulation 
problems on the 60 channels of signal sideband suppressed carrier 
being applied to the microwave system.

We ended up with a couple of DCA DoD employees being flown in to help, 
to their credit they were prior service and darn good at what they did.  
After three days of testing all parts of the microwave system with a 
very long distance and long duration phone call to the manufacture in 
Calif, they still had not found the trouble.

I had stayed working with the DCA guys all of the time, during the 
testing I noted the hum seem to lessen in strength with someone standing 
directly behind the radio bay.

I went around to the back and took a close look, Yep! the mixer diodes 
for the baseband order-wire were glass and exposed.

Put a length of black tape over them and the hum went away.  Not the 
power supply problem everyone was fixated on, it was diode photo 
sensitivity.  I guess we could have just turned off the florescent 
lights too.

When I was 10 years old my father showed me how to use a Simpson
260 to check diodes and early transistors*. We were on the floor of the 
living room with sunlight streaming in.  I saw the forward resistance change
a lot when the glass diode was in sun light vs shade. It was this memory 
that prompted me to try the black tape.

All the MW systems in SEA later received a MWO to change out the 
order-wire board and I found that the assembly was a non-standard part 
of the microwave system just for military use.  Civilian deployment of 
that microwave system had no need for the order-wire.

Thanks for the quick trip, for me anyway, down memory lane and the 
memory of being an electronics tech hero for all of two minutes. The DCA 
guys made me buy the first round at the club.

73  from an old friend....

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

SolderSmoke: On Sale on Thai Beaches!

An interesting e-mail from Thailand arrived this week. Excerpts:

Hi Bill Now for the full story

Life was so uncomplicated and peaceful before soldersmoke!

Last October I was lying on the beach in Pattaya City Thailand. I was just lying there enjoying a cold rice beer watching the various peddlers trudging along the sand. I wasn't bothering anyone and thought I was enjoying my retired life style. (Little did I know what was about to happen). Casually the wife reminded me there was a Ham club meeting in about three hours, I should hold off on another beer. Ok, I'll manage till later.

Pattaya Thailand has a great little Ham Radio club with locals from all parts of the world enjoying the one universal hobby without boundaries.

We showed up at the meeting on time and found a nice corner table. ( now the plug for the club - the meetings are the Friday after the first Sunday of every month and are held at Jimbos Bar). After about an half a beer a friend from England wandered over and sat next to me. He produced a CD from his pocket and said is was SolderSmoke, would I like to buy a copy for 100Baht. (approx. 3.00US) . As with most normal people, my first question was, what is soldersmoke? This was my first big mistake. I should have said not interested and looked for other friends that were arriving. But, no, I had to ask what was SolderSmoke.

My friend tried to explain, but feel short of being able to fully relay the meaning of the word SolderSmoke. If I remember correctly there were episodes 1 thru 80 something. I took the CD back to my house. and the next day spent over 5 hours glued to the CD player. My world was beginning to crumble.

I listened to more episodes. and started to think in terms of QRSS, QRPp, long wires etc. This new terminology was fascinating. I grew up in Idaho and was first licensed in 1963. I still have my first rigs that consisted of a Hammarlund HQ-100 and a Knight Kit T-60. I apparently had the knack at age 13 or so, but didn't know what it was called then. hi hi

In a couple of SolderSmoke episodes there was mention of a Drake 2B, a great receiver in all respects. I found myself wanting one (I sure didn't need one), and looking every where. I bought one in great condition with the original for sale tag still on it. It even had the crystal calibrator installed.

Now my vocabulary has expanded to whisperers, grabbers, mickums, reggies, knights of the realm and other terms before unknown to my vocabulary. Fessenden was a terrific individual although I'd never heard the name before episode 90 something. I started to build a QRSS beacon. I am in constant contact with Michael Rainey , AA1TJ. He is a great guy and has helped with a lot of questions.

For the first time in several years I am involved with something I enjoy. This is really fun I said to myself after fabricating a one transistor transmitter patterned after the discontinued ONER. 0-Yes let's not forget Mr. Doug Demaw, I bought the QRP notebook and Solid State Design (I didn't tell the XYL how much this book cost).

I've always been taught that addictions are bad things. I am in serious trouble now. I am thoroughly and completely addicted to SolderSmoke. I get impatient and unpredictable when the podcasts are a little late being posted on the internet. It's just like getting your fix for the week. Yes, fix for the week because it doesn't last the full two weeks. hi hi

I guess this is a non e-cursing thank you kind of Email. SolderSmoke has ruined my life, but my new life is much better with it.

Hope this epistle hasn't bored you to much. Your providing a great focal point for fellow knack victims.

Only thing left to say Bill, is KEEP ON SMOKIN!


Thanks for SolderSmoke

73 de
Stephen (Himself) (seems like everyone has a nickname)
HS0ZHB / NM7J
Designer: Douglas Bowman | Dimodifikasi oleh Abdul Munir Original Posting Rounders 3 Column