Hams - Any Winter Projects?

1
We've got a couple of months until Antenna February ;) - what's happening in the meantime?

I just finished a W8TEE/K2ZIA antenna analyzer and have been tweaking my antenna a bit. Arduino's are fun little beasties!
http://qrpguys.apps-1and1.com/w8tee-k2z ... a-analyzer

Once the rest of the parts arrive, I'll be finishing the test gear trifecta with VU2ESE's Sweeperino and SPECAN - a frequency generator/sweeper/power meter combo and spectrum analyzer.
http://hfsignals.blogspot.in/p/sweeperino.html
http://hfsignals.blogspot.in/p/specan-r ... w7zoi.html

If I still feel like inhaling solder smoke after those two are running, the main event is a µBITX - a general coverage transceiver.
http://www.phonestack.com/farhan/ubitx/ubitx.html

This internet thing is making homebrewing a lot easier than it was in the 1970s. (The slow boats from China aren't any faster, though :lol: )

73
Attachments
aa1.jpg

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

3
Yeah, I have winter projects: Fixing lots and lots of stuff around the house. Patching sheetrock in the garage and installing bicycle "flies" to get them up and out of the way.
Rebuilding half a powder room--the half with the sink. Repairing track lighting in the home office, master bedroom, and kitchen. Restoring my Peugeot's MAFAC Racer brakes. Patching falling-out mortar in the front steps. etc, etc, etc, etc, etc....
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

4
I'm building a period-correct 1938 HLPM 80m 1kW AM transmitter.

A 3500-4000kc heterodyne VFO, the final is a Federal F-128A (https://frank.pocnet.net/sheetsF.html) modded by a pair of Amperex HF-300's.

Called St. George after Mr. Westinghouse, a major source for the parts.

Built from two alloy sets of rack channels, set at the Bell System spacing for 23" panels. 7' tall on casters

All panels 1/4" alloy, handmade. Powered by 208V 3-phase, all MV rectifiers.

The main meter panel took several months to complete; re-scaling some of them took a lot of time.

It is looking pretty good so far.

73
"Oozing charm from every pore, he oiled his way around the floor."
Attachments
St. Geo.4.JPG
St. Geo.1.JPG
St. Geo.5.JPG

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

9
senorgrand wrote:Man, I wish one of you guys was near me...you might be able to get my old Grundig running again. I've got no way to test old tubes.
Hunt on eBay for a tube-tester. I have a small one that can test all the classics from the 50's and 60's. About the size of a laptop PC. I think I got it on eBay--don't remember anymore.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

10
YankeeTarheel wrote:
senorgrand wrote:Man, I wish one of you guys was near me...you might be able to get my old Grundig running again. I've got no way to test old tubes.
Hunt on eBay for a tube-tester. I have a small one that can test all the classics from the 50's and 60's. About the size of a laptop PC. I think I got it on eBay--don't remember anymore.
How much??
Image


"Person, woman, man, camera, TV."

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

11
To be safe, there is a lot more to bringing an old tube radio back to life than a new tube or two.

Age kills all the capacitors in it, especially the filter electrolytics. Powering it up with those bad, can take out some tubes at best, or a power transformer at worst.

For the hassle of properly packing it up and sending it to me, I'll go through it for you free.

I do many radios a year, and it always make me feel great to bring another back to life :thumbup: (as long as it isn't used to listen to RW talk assholes :no: ).

What say?

And Andy, I'll post more pix as soon as I have time to work on it again.

Subs
"Oozing charm from every pore, he oiled his way around the floor."

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

12
SubRosa wrote:To be safe, there is a lot more to bringing an old tube radio back to life than a new tube or two.

Age kills all the capacitors in it, especially the filter electrolytics. Powering it up with those bad, can take out some tubes at best, or a power transformer at worst.

For the hassle of properly packing it up and sending it to me, I'll go through it for you free.

I do many radios a year, and it always make me feel great to bring another back to life :thumbup: (as long as it isn't used to listen to RW talk assholes :no: ).

What say?

And Andy, I'll post more pix as soon as I have time to work on it again.

Subs
Thanks Subs!

It's HUGE though...big 1953 hifi with turntable.
Image


"Person, woman, man, camera, TV."

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

14
SubRosa wrote:To be safe, there is a lot more to bringing an old tube radio back to life than a new tube or two.

Age kills all the capacitors in it, especially the filter electrolytics. Powering it up with those bad, can take out some tubes at best, or a power transformer at worst.

For the hassle of properly packing it up and sending it to me, I'll go through it for you free.

I do many radios a year, and it always make me feel great to bring another back to life :thumbup: (as long as it isn't used to listen to RW talk assholes :no: ).

What say?

And Andy, I'll post more pix as soon as I have time to work on it again.

Subs
Yeah, you need a variable voltage transformer to slowly bring up the voltage and reform the capacitors, or risk blowing them. Unfortunately, such things used to be common, but aren't anymore.
Image
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

16
SubRosa wrote:Reforming caps is like reloading Berdan; a waste of time.

They will fail again very soon, best thing for the health of the device is to just shotgun them all.

Subs
Not a ham but I did spend a lot of time working with Dynaco tube amps. Transformers are more likely to degrade after 40-50 years.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

19
I really need to take advantage of having a family friend as an Instructor who is a retiree with a wife who wants he to get out more. ;)

Wife is on board, need to get the two pack of Baufengs and get used to them (no, I will not hit the send key!).
In a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich the chicken and cow are involved while the pig is committed.

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

20
SubRosa - Is your amp documented in a past Handbook by any chance? Also...any guesses on which decade's Handbook might have AM projects? My '82 ARRL Handbook (and '83 handbook from the RSGB) were doing more SSB, digital, and satellite. I'm wondering if I need to get back into the 1960s or so? Thanks OM!

ETA...I found a 1941 edition of the Handbook - socketed coils - yummy!

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

21
It is an original design by yours truly. I spent almost a half century in broadcast engineering, so my leanings are towards things that will run 125% over design, 24/7. Factory ham gear always seemed a little 'flimsy' to me, no offense meant.

The heterodyne VFO is partly patterned after an article in the '38 ARRL book, and I borrow heavily from the Jones books from '35-'40.

I wish I had mote time just now, too many drains on me to work on it currently.

73Subs
"Oozing charm from every pore, he oiled his way around the floor."

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

22
Very cool, Subs! Scratch building is one thing, but having the EE chops to start from a plain sheet of paper is a different level entirely. Much respect!


One doesn't need really pointy tweezers to install tubes...
tweezers.jpg
I ordered two lots of 470Ω resistors instead of one lot of 470 and one lot of 47Ω. 'Muppeting' a wired resistor shows that the amp works, though. Still missing a few parts for the Sweeperino project, so decided to fill some amplifier boards until the LCD displays arrive.

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

23
Also a ham; but I haven't been very active. I have a vhf/uhf in my car and it is normally on 146.520 and the local repeater; I almost never hear anything on either.

I haven't been on HF in quite a while. I don't have a HF radio in the town I work in and I ended up taking my antennas down at home . . . I need to put them back up. I have never made a HF contact and that may be largely responsible for my overall lack of enthusiasm about bothering with more antennas.
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matt. 25:40

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

24
My winter project is to get a license. Any pointers or online/hard copy prep resources?

What does the brain trust think about this as an entry-level device?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MAULSOK/_e ... 3YHS&psc=0

I found that a ham radio would have been very useful during the fires here. Land line was down (connected via cable internet) and cell phone was spotty over much of the county. I'm 25 miles from home and would love another way to "phone home" should another fire or the overdue earthquake hit.

Re: Hams - Any Winter Projects?

25
featureless wrote:My winter project is to get a license. Any pointers or online/hard copy prep resources?

What does the brain trust think about this as an entry-level device?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MAULSOK/_e ... 3YHS&psc=0

I found that a ham radio would have been very useful during the fires here. Land line was down (connected via cable internet) and cell phone was spotty over much of the county. I'm 25 miles from home and would love another way to "phone home" should another fire or the overdue earthquake hit.
This is the one I used to get my general and Extra https://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/ I didn't just memorize, if there was something I got wrong I would look it up, generally on Wikipedia, but sometimes other resources. I would study the thing until I understood it.

For my Tech, I took a class at the college I was getting my AS in Electronic Technology from; but that was back in the 80's.
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matt. 25:40

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests