Palms West Amateur Radio Club
Random Ham Stuff
With many of the projects described in this blog, the idea to build them had been in my head for a while (often years) before it was finally acted on. This one was a little different. I had been aware of the NorCal 40A for a long time but, other than knowing it was a […] [...]
NOTE: In the following post, I’ll be referencing component designators according to the original schematic, which is in the SST manual, available here, on Ken WA4MNT and Karen KF4EEL’s QRPBuilder website (check out their kits). I will also be making reference to the SST QRP-L archive, which is available here. (All links open in a […] [...]
Well gosh. About a month ago, it was feeling as if every builder in the homebrew community had built the SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver, apart from me. That’s a slight exaggeration, but I’d had a nagging feeling in the back of my head for quite a long time that I really ought to build it […] [...]
After finishing the two-transistor “Jingy 40” regen, I was looking for a little transmitter to use with it. I cycled through a few different designs, before deciding to “play it safe” and build another GM3OXX OXO transmitter. Why not just use the one I already had? Well, in the meantime, I had developed a “thing” […] [...]
I’m not a collector of vintage headsets. 2 years ago, I purchased a high impedance Western Electric headset for listening to crystal sets. I also bought a set of “Baldies”. Both of these were in good, though not pristine condition, so I felt OK with using them for everyday listening. Although I used the Western […] [...]
Back in 2010, I became interested in legal micropower broadcasting under the FCC Part 15 regulations, and assembled an SSTRAN AMT3000 kit transmitter for the AM broadcast band. I had limited success with an outdoor installation, but it worked well for “broadcasting” around the house. I later graduated to an outdoor installation with a Hamilton […] [...]
Or “The One-Transistor Regen That Turned Into A Two-Transistor Regen” with thanks to G3XBM and N0WVA. (Note – if reading this post on a computer, you can click on any of the images for a slightly larger version.) About 10 years ago, Doug N0WVA told me about an impressive little regen he had built with […] [...]
No new construction projects here, I’m afraid, and none planned for the foreseeable future, though I have made some exciting and worthy acquisitions. A couple of years ago, I was looking for a vintage high impedance headset to use with crystal sets. For regular use, I found a set of Baldwins (the famed “Baldies”) and […] [...]
Recently, I built a simple little TRF receiver for the AM broadcast band using a TA7642, a modern equivalent for a chip that was quite popular with electronics homebrewers in the 70’s and 80’s. The ZN414 was a device made by the British semiconductor company Ferranti. Housed in a metal TO-18 can with three leads, […] [...]
In the previous post, I described my recent build of a very simple little TRF receiver for the AM broadcast band. It happened as the result of a month or two spent with much more complex projects, namely a scratch-build of the receiver section of a Norcal 2N2/20, and a kit build of a complete […] [...]