It’s nice to see we hams, who I think suffer from a bit of an image as throwbacks in the larger maker community, get some recognition for the good stuff we’ve accomplished. Today on Hackaday, a nice article about Manhattan and Ugly construction was posted, with ample coverage given to the fact that a lot… Read More Nerd Famous
I’ve been working on getting the little bugs out of the Si5351 SSB rig and making improvements to the circuit. Since SSB QRP operating can be a bit more challenging than CW QRP ops, Dave AA7EE suggested that I think about a speech processor IC to use in place of the op-amp microphone amplifier. He… Read More For Noontime Net
Now that I think I’ve fairly well determined that the Si5351 is suitable for use in a ham radio transceiver, it seems like time to put thought into action and actually try to build one. Ever since discovering that the Si5351 can output multiple independent clocks from one IC, I thought it would be neat… Read More A Prototype for a Si5351-Based SSB Rig
CC1 Beta Kit For Sale I ended up having one leftover kit from the CC1 beta test and I thought that an experience builder might like to build it. There are a few minor mods to perform to the PCB, so it’s best suited for someone who feels comfortable with that. The (hopefully) final PCB… Read More Wideband Transmission #2
Last night, I had the very first 2x CC1 QSO with Dave AA7EE on 40 meters. Rather than try to blather about it, I’ll let the video do the talking. Needless to say, we were both quite stoked!
For the first time in quite a while, I’ve taken a project from start to a complete finish in an enclosure. I wanted to have my prototype SSB QRP rig ready to take with me to Salmoncon, so I busted a move this weekend to tweak the last bits of the circuitry to my liking,… Read More SSB In A Box
I don’t know exactly why, but I’ve had a bit of an obsession with the T32C DXpedition to Kiritimati since they got started a few weeks ago. Maybe because I found them easier to work than many of the DXpeditions that I’ve tried before. The fact that they are a very well-run operation has something… Read More Two Watts Across the Pacific
During some discussions with AA7EE regarding a seeming lack of 20 meter propagation between us at any time right now, we both decided to do a bit of research into what was even feasible according to predictive software. Dave went to the VOACAP web service from OH6BG to get some nice plots which showed that indeed… Read More VOACAP For Linux
Here it is, the first CC-Series beta unit completed by someone other than me! As is obvious by glancing at the photos, Dave AA7EE has done a magnificent job of assembling the CC-20, as well as creating a custom enclosure for the radio out of red copper clad using the WA4MNT technique. There’s really not… Read More The First Wild Beta
As I’ve previously noted, the VRX-1 is a nifty little basic direct conversion receiver, but it has some shortcomings that could be problematic under certain circumstances. Here’s a story of one of those issues and the cure that was found. Dave AA7EE purchased and built a VRX-1 kit a while ago but was never fully… Read More Curing Common Mode Hum in the VRX-1