Podcasting since 2005! Listen to Latest SolderSmoke
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Ferdy HB9DSP's 5 band Moxon -- The Moxhorn!
Sunday, January 7, 2024
SOTA Antennas -- FREE Antenna Modelling Software
Given that the audience of SolderSmoke is more angled towards home brew and self construction, I wonder if you would mind informing your listeners of a very valuable antenna design website that despite the high level of quality work put in, is not getting very many visitors and may therefore be taken down.
Access to the site is free and the URL is sota-antennas.com.
My favourite little jewel is in the off-centre-fed dipole section where the positioning of the feed-point is varied automatically to show you the bands the antenna will resonate on. So as an Example a 40m OCFD with a feed-point at 33/66% will not resonate on 15m however one with the feed-point located somewhere near 18/82% will.
The website currently supports Linked-Dipoles, Off Centre Fed Dipoles, End Fed Half Waves, Delta Loops, Half Squares and Moxon antennas. It could be extended to support others but that is unlikely if the current site is not used more.
73 Ed DD5LP
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Voyager, Canopus, JPL, and 74xx Logic Chips from the early 1970s
"So somewhere out there in interstellar space beyond the boundary of the Solar System is a card frame full of 74 logic that’s been quietly keeping an eye on a star since the early 1970s, and the engineers from those far-off days at JPL are about to save the bacon of the current generation at NASA with their work. We hope that there are some old guys in Pasadena right now with a spring in their step."
https://hackaday.com/2023/07/31/just-how-is-voyager-2-going-to-sort-out-its-dish-then/
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Jam on Radar Antenna of Jupiter-bound Spacecraft FIXED! Antenna deployed!
Great news. This stuck antenna was getting me down. Three cheers for the ESA folks who fixed it from afar.
https://phys.org/news/2023-05-stuck-antenna-freed-jupiter-bound-spacecraft.html
Here is how they did it:
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice/Juice_s_RIME_antenna_breaks_free
Friday, May 5, 2023
SolderSmoke Podcast #246: PeteGPT! DC RX, Si5351, Franklin osc, Cuban DSB, Hex beams, uBITX mods, DX, 10 meters, MAILBAG
SolderSmoke Podcast #246 is available:
AUDIO PODCAST: http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke246.mp3
YouTube VIDEO: (247) SolderSmoke Podcast #246: uBITX, Hex Beam, DX, High School DC RX, 10 meter SSB Rig, MAILBAG - YouTube
The AI Deep Fake Threat! PeteGPT!
Hearing Aid info: I
can hear the cymbals in my audiogram adjusted Airpods.
Update on the TJ DC RX project – Several receivers working! https://hackaday.io/project/190327-high-schoolers-build-a-radio-receiver
Sunil’s company provides Nano/Si5351 combos. With the KD8CEC software. Very cool. http://amateurradiokits.in
They have a new SSB dual band transceiver – the Airpal.
Mark AJ6CU helping me. Sent me Nanos with KD8CEC software. His
uBITX Settings Editor seems very cool. https://github.com/AJ6CU/uBITX-Settings-Editor/releases/tag/V2-beta-1
Thanks Mark.
Franklin Oscillators.
Cuban Islander and Jaguey info. Send more!
Fixing up uBITX 2 How Bill blew up TWO Raduino Nanos. My results
with the KB1GMX mods. (see below)
Hex Beam work: Adding
10 and 15 meter elements. But now I can
hear AM breakthrough from WFAX 1220 AM
(5 kW during the day), So I made
a high pass filter.
Made first contacts on 15 and 10: Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic.
First contacts with both India VU3TPW and China BA4TB. SSB homebrew.
sBITX news. Taking orders!
Pete’s 10 Meter SSB Project
Mailbag:
--Lex PH2LB. uBITX mods. TO-18 Heatsinks. New stickers (see above).
--Kostos SV3ORA and Hans G0UPL about the Franklin Oscillator.
--Listening to HRWB 178: Great stuff, many old friends: George KJ6VU moved to Oregon. Thomas K4SWL on the show. Ben, an old friend of Pete’s, mentions John Zaruba K2ZA – the guy who gave me the DX-100. Wonderful connections.
--Thanks to Todd VE7BPO for sending me another AADE LC meter. I need it for the SSSS.
--Nick MONTV planning a 15/10 meter dualband SSB rig. Me too! See video.
--Trevor Woods in W. Australia – The portrait in Artie Moore’s shack. Chuck WB9KZY – Willam Ramsay
--LA6NCA Helge three tube RX. Regen or DC? Mike Masterson WN2A and I discuss.
--Mike WU2D video on Retro QRP rigs – Steve G0FUW discusses Severn rig long in the works –started 1983 and nearly finished!
--Tim Hunkin of Secret Life fame did video with speaker made from potato ship bag. Discussed with Tony G4WIF and others. Also, Tim has an amazing video on cutting holes in metal. On the SolderSmoke blog.
--Bob Crane W8SX will be covering FDIM for SolderSmoke!
--Glen VE3DNL working on a more sophisticated DC RX.
--Craig KC2LFI from the beach on Grand Cayman. FB.
--Steve EI5DD reports We have changed our name - The May Issue of the HAM RADIO IRELAND Magazine, Ireland’s only independent magazine for the Radio Experimenter: https://docdro.id/SHH0VEy
--Mike EI0CL on 15 meters with Dean KK4DAS. FB
--Howard N3FEL of the Penn Wireless Association wants to do a group build of a DC RX.
--Martin LW9DTR in Buenos Aires looking for help with the code for an AD9850
--Todd K7TFC – always helping other homebrewers.
--Really thoughtful message from Kevin WN7Z
Thursday, March 30, 2023
An Antenna for the High-School Direct Conversion Receiver (and Next Steps in the Project)
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Save the Antenna!
Friday, December 9, 2022
R-390s, KWM-2s, Airplanes, and Magnetic Loops -- A Really Interesting Interview with Ted Robinson K1QAR
Eric Guth 4Z1UG has a really interesting interview with Ted Robinson K1QAR.
I really enjoyed hearing Ted's inspiring story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUUzlKMMANg
https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/K1QAR
Listeners will like the discussion of the R-390 and the KWM-2. And his talk about airplanes. And the joy of repair.
Sunday, September 11, 2022
An Especially Good (Old) SolderSmoke Podcast
Friday, August 19, 2022
VK3IO's Wonderful Antenna Tuning System
Friday, August 5, 2022
SolderSmoke Podcast #239: Hex DX, VFO Temp Comp, DC RX, Polyakov!, DX-100, Wireless Set, Farhan's "Daylight Again" HDR rig, MAILBAG
SolderSmoke #239 is available for download:
http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke239.mp3
TRAVELOGUE:
James
Webb Space Telescope. Mars returning to
opposition in early December.
BILL'S BENCH
Hex Beam K4KIO - on roof – TV Rotor – 20-17-12 Lots of fun.
Working Japan regularly, Australia, South Africa on long path 17,000
miles. 52 countries SSB since July 11.
VFOs and Temp stabilization.
Dean KK4DAS found my ceramic resonator VFO for DC receiver drifty. He
was right. So I built a real LC Colpitts
VFO. Got me into temp stabilization. A new hobby!
An obsession. HT-37 and Ht-32
parts. Ovens? WU2D’s second VFO video. Understanding thermal drift and how to
address it. Split stator caps. Cut and
try.
Built a Polyakov DC Receiver. https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2010/03/polyakov-plus-dual-band-receiver-with.html Lauser Plus. Lauser = Imp or Young Rascal! DK2RS. He used a ceramic Resonator VXO at 3.58 MHz. Mine works great on 40 with VFO running 3.5 -- 3.65 MHz. See schematic below.
On 40 AM with DX-100 and MMMRX. DX-100 died.
12BY7 VFO buffer went bad. How
common is failure in this tube type? Nice QSO with Tim WA1HLR about the DX-100.
Got my Dominican license: HI7/N2CQR! SSSS on the way. Thanks to Radio Club Dominicano and INDOTEL.
Getting more active in the Vienna Wireless Society.
BOOK REVIEW:
"The
History of the Universe in 21 Stars” by Giles Sparrow. Written during the pandemic. Published by Welbeck, in London. https://www.amazon.com/History-Universe-21-Stars-imposters/dp/1787394654 Also:
From “Atoms to Amperes” by F.A. Wilson available for download. See blog.
SHAMELESS COMMERCE DIVISION:
Todd K7TFC getting ready to launch “Mostly DIY
RF.” I used his TIA boards in my 1712
rig. He will have boards like this and
much more. Stay tuned.
I need more viewers on YouTube. They want 4,000 hours IN A CALENDAR
YEAR! Please watch!
FARHAN’S NEW “DAYLIGHT AGAIN” RIG. Analog.
VFO. Comments, observations. We need to get him on the podcast. Maybe two shows: SDR and HDR.
PETE'S BENCH
Time very limited. But still sharing lots of tribal wisdom.
Wireless set with tubes!
Tool recommendation – Air compressor
Farhan VU2ESE – Speaking of big antennas “Whenever
I look at the huge construction cranes in Hyderabad, I always think how one
could make 160m, 4 element yagi using it as a boom..”
Todd K7TFC in Spain, spotting Log Periodics in Madrid.
Andreas DL1AJG: Can
Biologists fix Radios?
Janis AB2RA Wireless Girl.
Expert on Hammarlunds. And was my
first contact with the Tuna Tin 2. She too was HB!
Peter Parker VK3YE on Owen Duffy VK1OD
Lex PH2LB on homebrew radio
Would this really be homebrew? Mail from H-A-D article on FM receiver
F4IET a DSB rig from France
Ciprian got his ticket YO6DXE
Josh G3MOT sent us a good video about the Vanguard satellite
and IGY.
Dave Wilcox K8WPE bought Chuck Penson’s Heathkit book.
Rogier -- So many great articles and links from PA1ZZ
Bill AH6FC Aloha.
Retiring. Wants to build. Mahalo!
Grayson KJ7UM Working
on an Si5351. Gasp.
Mike KE0TPE viewing YouTube while monitoring 6 meters. He will have a lot of time to watch!
Chris KD4PBJ spotted Don KM4UDX from VWS FB
Mark WB8YMV building a superhet. Having trouble with 455 kc IF can filter.
Walter KA4KXX Great comment on the Daylight Again rig.
Ramakrishnan Now VU2JXN was VU3RDD. Found lost Kindle with SolderSmoke book on it. Building SDR rig from junk box. Trouble with the LM386.
Pete, Farhan and Tony: Shelves of Shame
Saturday, July 16, 2022
Hex DX! First Long-Haul Contact with the New Hex Beam - VK4KA on 20 SSB
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Hex Beam at N2CQR
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Homebrew Variable Capacitors -- VU2NIL's Antenna Tuner (and other projects from Basanta)
Friday, June 10, 2022
SolderSmoke FDIM Interview: Adam K6ARK and his 2.6 gram Mini-Pixie SMD Transceiver
I liked how Adam recorded in the field the CW from his rig, I also liked his key (!) and his EFHW antenna and "tuner." Adam's ability to cope with no CW sidetone was also admirable.
Adam's YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/c/K6ARKPortableRadio
Thanks to Adam and to Bob Crane.
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
The First Commercial SSB Trans-Atlantic Radiotelephone System
Saturday, February 5, 2022
Thomas K4SWL -- SOTA Activation on Bearwallow Mountain, North Carolina (video)
Thursday, January 6, 2022
Roy Lewallen W7EL Gives Us All EZNEC for FREE! Thanks Roy! (Video)
Monday, January 3, 2022
1BCG -- The 100th Anniversary of the Trans-Atlantic Test
Phil W1PJE managed to hear and record some of the 2021 transmission (Thanks Phil). Listen here:
https://drive.google.com/file/
Phil also sent this spectrogram of the signal.
Saturday, September 11, 2021
Visiting the Site of Marconi's Wireless Station at Wellfleet, Massachusetts
We were in Boston and the Cape Cod area this week. We stopped off at the Marconi Wireless site at Wellfleet, Mass.
This is from the National Park Service web site:
Spanning the Ocean
Impacting Lives
January 18, 1903 the first public two-way wireless communication between Europe and America occurred. With elation, communiques from President Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII were translated into international Morse code at the South Wellfleet and English stations, respectively, and were broadcast.Ocean-going vessels quickly adopted Marconi apparatus to receive news broadcasts, and soon ship-to-shore transmittals were a major operation. Business and social messages could be sent for fifty cents a word. The South Wellfleet station became the lead North American facility for this function. The station’s effectiveness was limited however, so broadcasts were made between 10 pm and 2 am when atmospheric conditions were best.
This brought little enthusiasm from local residents, who endured the sounds of the crashing spark from the great three-foot rotor supplied with 30,000 watts. The sound of the spark could be heard four miles downwind from the station. Eventually, the novelty of wireless telegraphy waned. However, the need for communication at sea remained high. Effective communication resulted in numerous sea rescues, culminating in the Carpathia’s wireless-aided rescue of over 700 people from the Titanic in 1912.
For fifteen years the South Wellfleet sparkgap transmitter continued in commercial use. Skilled telegraphers sent out messages at the rate of 17 words a minute, and station CC (Cape Cod) served in effect as the first “Voice of America.”
https://www.nps.gov/caco/learn/historyculture/marconi.htm