BBQs and Upstairs Neighbours

Hi All,Just a rant about the moron who lives up the stairs from us.So yesterday we decided "Hey, it's a nice day! Let's get one of those disposable bbqs, get some people together and make an evening of it." So we did, we got some people together, got some food, and fired up the barbie.The old guy upstairs from us didn't like this. I don't...

read more "BBQs and Upstairs Neighbours"

A Simplified CW keying monitor

My homebrew CW station shown at http://www.io.com/~nielw/2tube_xmtr/2tube_xmtr.htmincludes a control (speaker/power supply/TR switch) box. I found, though, that I still needed some sort of CW monitor. The June 1952 issue of CQ magazine describes a simplified CW keying monitor using only 6 parts. Basically it is a neon bulb type audio oscillator...

read more "A Simplified CW keying monitor"

815 Transmitter Coil/L1

L1 of my transmitter calls for ten turns on a 1" coil form spaced over 7/8". I had the form and the wire I needed. Winding spaced turns, though, takes a trick. I first wound the ten turn coil on the form, tightening the wire as much as possible. The turns were not even. It was not pretty. I then wound another "coil" (the red wire) forcing...

read more "815 Transmitter Coil/L1"

Picnic Table QRPing in Decorah, IA

We spent the weekend in Decorah, IA and on Saturday and Sunday I had some spare time for hamming. I used my K1 with a 67' endfed wire up in the tree above the campsite. With the K1's built-in antenna tuner it loaded up on 40, 30 and 20. Sunday afternoon at 3:00 I did finally did have a QSO with Ken, WA8REI/4. He was on the Appalachian Trail...

read more "Picnic Table QRPing in Decorah, IA"

Final 815 Transmitter Layout

I've finally committed to a layout and mounted the major parts. From left to right along the front is the xtal (with B directly above it) C1 and C2. Left to right on top is 6V6, L2/L3, 815 and L4. RFC2 is mounted upright behind the 815 and L4. I elevated L2/L3 so that it could be mounted directly above C1. The toggle switch on top of the...

read more "Final 815 Transmitter Layout"

Final Layout / Drilling Guide

After "playing checkers" for several days tweaking the layout, I'm ready to drill. I usually mark major component locations and holes using masking tape. After I'm done the tape can be removed leaving no markings on the chassis itse...

read more "Final Layout / Drilling Guide"

How to make your own UV lightbox for PCBs

Ultraviolet (UV) light boxes can be pretty expensive, some costing upwards of £100. I don't have that kind of money to throw towards making a few hobby circuits, so I decided to build my own out of cheap parts (namely eBay-bought UV LEDs). I thought I'd share with you all my experience.What is a light box?A light box is used in a process...

read more "How to make your own UV lightbox for PCBs"

Another Power Supply Option

Bryan, WA7PRC, pointed out to me that an "economy" power supply would be a more elegant way of getting the lower B+ needed for the oscillator stage then wasting power in multiple dropping resistors.From Bryan:"It's an easy way to obtain high- and low-B+ voltage sources. In fact, there's more than one way to skin a cat... center tapped or...

read more "Another Power Supply Option"

815 Transmitter Power Supply

I keep a couple of generic brute force power supplies around to use with my homebrew projects. This one grew out of a much modified and cannibalized WRL transmitter that I found at a swapmeet several years ago. From the back, on the right side is the high voltage section including transformer, choke, filter capacitor and rectifier tube. It...

read more "815 Transmitter Power Supply"

QRP Operations from W0IBM shack

Today was a great day to stay inside in SE MN: windy, overcast, temp in the 30s and snow in the forecast. The first Tuesday of the month is informal meeting day at W0IBM, Rochester, MN. ( see http://www.w0ibm.org/ ) I took along my K1 as show and tell. 20 wasn't real active but I hooked up to the W0IBM three element yagi and managed a contact with George, KF4UCC, in Chesapeake, VA.On the 815 transmitter front I've done...

read more "QRP Operations from W0IBM shack"