Posted: 8/11/2012 3:43:40 PM EDT
Am I the only one having trouble viewing the video though? It's asking me for a private album password...
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Sounds good. Probably would need to be early evening sometime as the AM broadcast on 40 meters is tough to work through on this thing later in the evening. Sometimes I wonder if I am cut out to do this stuff always seem to end up with problems and do stupid things.
So I mounted it today in the box everything was working OK then I tried something stupid. I didn't want to run through a bunch of batteries so I tried to run it off the power supply in theory that should work fine but apparently not if you accidentally reverse polarity on your makeshift power cable. I smoked one of the transistors. No problem had spares in my box so replaced the one still not working. Replaced the other nope. So then I took my little radio shack amplified speaker and hooked one end up to ground and started probing around where the audio should be once I found it and started tracing it I realized I had put the first transistor in backwards. DUH  So fixed that. Also I had a sketchy trace on the board near the smoked transistor so I fixed that. Works again no problems. The only difference is it has 3904s instead of 2222s (the 2222s did not come with the kit but I had some and that is what the original design calls for) not sure if that makes any difference output wise.
Now that it is working I can mount it again. |
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Sounds good. Probably would need to be early evening sometime as the AM broadcast on 40 meters is tough to work through on this thing later in the evening. Sometimes I wonder if I am cut out to do this stuff always seem to end up with problems and do stupid things. So I mounted it today in the box everything was working OK then I tried something stupid. I didn't want to run through a bunch of batteries so I tried to run it off the power supply in theory that should work fine but apparently not if you accidentally reverse polarity on your makeshift power cable. I smoked one of the transistors. No problem had spares in my box so replaced the one still not working. Replaced the other nope. So then I took my little radio shack amplified speaker and hooked one end up to ground and started probing around where the audio should be once I found it and started tracing it I realized I had put the first transistor in backwards. DUH So fixed that. Also I had a sketchy trace on the board near the smoked transistor so I fixed that. Works again no problems. The only difference is it has 3904s instead of 2222s (the 2222s did not come with the kit but I had some and that is what the original design calls for) not sure if that makes any difference output wise.
Now that it is working I can mount it again. I was hoping we could do a CW rag chew. Not much of a phone rag chewer, only use phone IF I have to. |
I will drop you an IM later in the week and we can try to set something up if the QRP doesn't work I will switch the antenna over to my Ten Tec. I will have it on anyway. I leave it set to dummy load when running this little thing it picks up just enough signal to act as side tone. I have a really hard time sending CW when I can't hear what I am sending. 
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Here are the finished pics. One thing I forgot that I may add eventually is an on/off switch. Sorry for the terrible cell phone pics. http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/Meathook65/downsized_0813021856c.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/Meathook65/downsized_0813021856.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/Meathook65/downsized_0813021856a.jpg Now you have me wanting to build one! Ok you must tell, what kind of key is that in the background |
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Here are the finished pics. One thing I forgot that I may add eventually is an on/off switch. Sorry for the terrible cell phone pics. http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/Meathook65/downsized_0813021856c.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/Meathook65/downsized_0813021856.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/Meathook65/downsized_0813021856a.jpg Now you have me wanting to build one! Ok you must tell, what kind of key is that in the background That is a Kent key. Here it is... The are some of the nicest non-boutique keys around. |
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Yes it is a Kent. I like it a lot. I think I have had it for 15 or more years.
I think if I was to build another one of these I would build it for 80 meters or something other than 40 they send the inductors for the pi network for both 80 and 40. I built for 40 because my antenna woks better on 40 than 80 figuring I would need all the help I could get at 300 mw but the broadcast stations are brutal on this thing. It's like listening to an old time AM radio with some CW mixed in. I actually think 30 meters would be a good option too. I will need to see if anyone has the calculations for the pi network and buy a separate inductor. I may just buy one and build it so you can swap out the inductors and the crystal and have a multiband toy. This 7040.00 crystal they sent seems to be about 7039.15 is so if you hear a weak KA#XXX call around there calling CQ give me shout. |
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Yes it is a Kent. I like it a lot. I think I have had it for 15 or more years. I think if I was to build another one of these I would build it for 80 meters or something other than 40 they send the inductors for the pi network for both 80 and 40. I built for 40 because my antenna woks better on 40 than 80 figuring I would need all the help I could get at 300 mw but the broadcast stations are brutal on this thing. It's like listening to an old time AM radio with some CW mixed in. I actually think 30 meters would be a good option too. I will need to see if anyone has the calculations for the pi network and buy a separate inductor. I may just buy one and build it so you can swap out the inductors and the crystal and have a multiband toy. This 7040.00 crystal they sent seems to be about 7039.15 is so if you hear a weak KA#XXX call around there calling CQ give me shout. 30m is a very fun band. If you aren't using it, you are missing out. I only do QRP on 30, I am not sure why, but it seems fun that way. |
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I found this last night. http://la3za.blogspot.com/2003/04/using-pin-7-of-lm386-to-reduce-bci-and.html Looks like some ideas to curb the broadcast issue. I was actually searching for a way to build side tone and found this. I will have to try it.
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I read online all these guys making Q's with these little radios and 300mw but I can't seem to eek a single one out. I knew it wouldn't be easy but I have probably CQ'ed a few hundred times (not exaggerating) and nothing. Part of the problem is at night when propagation is better the broadcast stations are clobbering me. I know I am making it out at least to RI and NJ (250-350 miles) on occasion because I can hear myself on the online radios not strong but loud enough to copy.
Elijah been meaning on taking you up on a sched but just haven't had a time when I knew I was going to be around. I think IN is a bit of a stretch at best I think a few hundred miles is what I am looking at unless conditions were stellar. I did have the idea today to feed the output from the radio into SDR-Radio software the idea being that I could play the audio through my laptop and use the audio filtering of my laptop to narrow the receive a little bit. I think it will work but there was some guy doing RTTY or some other digital mode right near my crystal frequency. So I really couldn't give it a good test. |
| UUuuuuugh so close but yet so far I have had two people answer me back on this thing but can't seem to get a complete call sign the guy tonight every time he would send it the stinking broadcast interference and other QRM got in the way. I manage to get my signal report and that he was from Green Bay WI. That is 514 miles as the crow flies. But then I lost him completely. I need to build a radio with a front end that isn't as wide as a barn door. My report was a 339 so I was amazed the guy even tried. He definitely had my call so maybe he will QSL and I will at least know who it was. |
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I need to build a radio with a front end that isn't as wide as a barn door.
Have you thought about a Small Wonder Labs Rock-Mite? |
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Well you talked me into it I ordered the Rockmite. I am going to wait to see how Vulcan94 makes out with the SDR build. That might be my winter project. I also need to upgrade my soldering equipment to do the SMT.
I picked up the 30 meter version since I don't have anything on that band. I emailed Dave at Smallwonders and he said it should ship either Friday or Tuesday so hope to have it by next week. I will let you know how it goes. |
| Having a few second thoughts on the 30 meter choice. Mainly because my home antenna is a zs6bkw it will not work all that great for 30 even with the tuner. Also not sure how I will tune it with hardly any registration on the meter may just need to tune it to best audio. Hmmmm maybe should have stuck to 40m my go to band. Also going to have to use the old Hallicrafters 38-c to test since I don't have anything else that will tune that band. |
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Well I think I have found out the issue with this little rig. The transmit is at about 7039.15 but the receive is closer to 7037.71. So I had the same thing happen to me again where I was testing propagation with a webSDR in NJ and called CQ with the pixie the person answered me on the frequency I was transmitting on 7039,15 but I could not hear them on the Pixie because it was listening at 7037.71. Was able to make the QSO in this unconventional manner. I could use my Ten Tec with a T/R switch but since this radio has an oscillator that is always running you would have to switch off power to hear not really ideal.
So need to add some sort of RIT or something to get the frequencies closer. Makes me wonder how many of the hundreds of CQs I sent out on this thing were answered but I just didn't hear them. 
On the bright side I have made a few contacts this way and made several on the Rockmite so 1/2 a watt or less works if your patient. |