Before building Jim W4LF’s Hobbydyne™ crystal set, I put together an impedance matchbox, for matching the detector diode to a variety of different headsets and earphones, so that I could determine the best ones to use. The world of serious crystal set listening was new to me, so I did some reading up. To give […] [...]
Growing up as the youngest of 4 boys, I was well positioned to receive all the hand-me-downs. Although that might sound as if I just ended up with second-rate stuff, that was not the case at all. I inherited a lot of great things from my older brothers. I couldn’t have cared less that they’d […] [...]
I first tried WSPR out in 2009, with a Signalink USB interface attached to my FT-817 and PC. For anyone interested in QRP and QRPp, the process of being able to decode a signal that is up to about 34dB below the noise level is quite fascinating. Morse code, sent by way of CW, engages […] [...]
I haven’t been building much at all, for quite a long time now. However, the urge occasionally returns. When it does, it’s wonderful to have a small stash of parts on hand, so I can pull the soldering iron out and start building before the desire dissipates. I’ve been interested in beacons for a while, […] [...]
When I built the VE7BPO DC Receiver Mainframe recently, it wasn’t intended to end up as a final finished project. The intention was more to have it as part of an experimental platform. The little box that contains the DBM, diplexer, and AF amplifier that make up the mainframe will most likely stay largely the […] [...]
This is one of those projects that has been residing in my head for a long time, as something I wanted to build. I’ve always liked direct conversion receivers. With them, as with regens, I felt that they have been underestimated by many builders and hams as being novelty items. Their apparent simplicity can also […] [...]
Please note that the above photo is of my SW200, though Rod’s no doubt looks exactly the same. A few months back, I received this note from Rod KQ6F – Hi Dave – I very much enjoyed your review on this product. It was largely the reason I bought one. My application is AM […] [...]
In this post from May of last year, I detailed the construction of a 1mW solar-powered HiFER beacon. I named it the Boris Beacon, in tribute to my neighbor’s cat. The beacon was never mounted permanently outside. I kept it indoors, powered from a small solar panel in the window, and feeding an “antenna” of […] [...]
This will be a very brief post, and in no way constitutes a review. It’s barely even an “initial impressions” type of post. It’s just that I’ve been wanting a C Crane Skywave SSB for a while now, recently purchased one, and wanted to tell you! I’m sure many readers will identify with the search […] [...]
Back in May of this year, Sheldon N6JJA began sending me information and details of his version of N1BYT’s WBR regenerative receiver. It went through several iterations, before ending up at the final version as shown here. Even this version is still a work in progress – as all good products of experimentation are. Sheldon […] [...]