Latest Videos
Quantum Spectrum - a DSP option for SDRs
and maybe ALL radios (someday)
At the Connections Museum in Seattle
the insane telephone technology that led to today's computers
The Story of Heil Sound
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame presentationLatest Blogs
Latest Audio
The Birth, Life, and Death of the Cosmophone
As told by the inventor, Butch Mason W6KAG. Recorded by K6VOI in 1970
Sea Rad MM-50 marine radio
audio from the DX-60 Net Nov. 14, 2021
Jean Shepard K2ORS, "Ham Radio" (aka "Heising Modulation")
originally broadcast Jan. 29, 1965
NE1S - Larry from Gray, Maine, operating a 1929 Hartley transmitter
Recorded 11/9/19 on 40 meters
Final Call for N8ECR (SK) - Midwest Classic Radio Net 12/8/18
Harry N9CQX and Bill K8DBNLatest Links
Latest News
Posted: 12/18/2021
Comments: 0
Comments: 0
The Seasons Best Wishes
de KPH Yes, a holiday greeting card from the original KPH, Port Reyes CA. I don't have an exact date but I would guess late 50s or early 60s because it came from the estate of Roger Kaney (SK) who was W9AF when I knew him, but had been W9ZRU previously. Roger was a retired marine radio operator when I met him in the late 80s, and even then would "stand watch" at nigh... READ MORE
Posted: 12/14/2021
Comments: 0
Comments: 0
Larry Sabella KA9BQR, SK
known for his trademark hat, a good guy Lawrence “Larry” Joseph Sabella, 84 passed away Tuesday, November 16, 2021 at Serenity Hospice and Home in Oregon, IL. Larry was born on April 26, 1937 to Daniel A. and Jean M. (Konieczka) Sabella in Chicago, IL. In 1961, he married the love of his life, Barbara N. Wise in Maywood, IL. Larry proudly served his county for 5 ½ years as a sergeant in the United States Army and Army... READ MORE
Posted: 12/06/2021
Comments: 0
Comments: 0
May all your Christmases glow in the dark!
wishing you a very Mecky Christmas! A dark shot of the John Meck T-60 transmitter provides a warm glow for 2021's Christmas greetings!CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE... READ MORE
Posted: 10/30/2021
Comments: 0
Comments: 0
Wes Schum, Amateur Radio's Unsung Hero
new book released, available on Amazon My friend Nick Tusa K5EF has just released his book on the life of Central Electronics founder and ham radio pioneer, Wes Schum W9DYV. Wes was not only an innovator but a crack salesman and promoter of single sideband in the early days and his transmitters and other products did more to popularize this new mode of operation than anything else. It wasn't until after Art ... READ MORE
Posted: 08/23/2021
Comments: 0
Comments: 0
New! Online International Morse generator website
Nothing to download, works in your browser Pretty cool, a website that you can enter text into that will play Morse through your browser without any downloading or software:https://morsecode.world/international/trainer/generator.htmlSpacing and other customizations are possible. No excuses for not practicing your code now (says to self...)... READ MORE
Posted: 03/25/2021
Comments: 0
Comments: 0
More hamfests return to WI-IL-IA in 2021
it's about time! Hamfests return in 2021 to Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin! The 2021 DeKalb (Sandwich) and Starved Rock hamfests were great successes! This was the first time for Starved Rock Radio Club to hold the hamfest in Mendota IL which worked out great - hope it helps the club rebuild what was once one of the best hamfests in the area..The South Milwaukee 'fest is special because i... READ MORE
Posted: 01/08/2021
Comments: 0
Comments: 0
W9RAN wins MCRN 7th place
Midwest Classic Radio Net The Midwest Classic Radio Net has been conducted on 3885 kHz AM since 1987 as a salute to classic AM rigs and operation. The net remains one of the most popular AM nets in the country and sometimes last for well over an hour.Harry N9CQX took over the net after long-time NCS WA9ZTY became a silent key and instituted record-keeping to know how many stations participated. Befo... READ MORE
Posted: 09/21/2020
Comments: 0
Comments: 0
The Old QSL Card site is back
who doesn't love old QSL cards? After the old Google+ site was shut down by Google, the amazing online collection of old QSL cards maintained by Bob Green, W8JYZ, has a new home - at his website. Browse thousands of vintage QSL cardsIt doesn't take long to find a memorable name or callsign - maybe even someone you know!Please share your appreciation with W8JYZ at the link on the home page for providin... READ MORE
Posted: 09/12/2020
Comments: 0
Comments: 0
Spartanburg Hamfest - sanity in the age of COVID-19
Intelligent risk-management by attendees Sanity! Individual responsibility!From the BRARS webpage:Welcome to the Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Society (BRARS) HamfestBy purchasing a Hamfest ticket, You are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present, “While attending the BRARS Hamfest you and any guests that you may bring voluntarily assume all risks related to ex... READ MORE
Posted: 09/11/2020
Comments: 0
Comments: 0
Beaker Street returns to the air!
If you remember it, you were there! If you remember "Beaker Street" it's about the best news ever! Otherwise this will seem like going to someone else's high school reunion...In the late 60s, for kids living in "flyover country" in most small towns in the midwest, there were not many local rock and roll radio stations that could be heard during the day. But with sunset came the ski... READ MORELatest Articles
Technical
Posted: 12/343/2025
Comments: 0 |
Overhauling the R-390A Zero Adjust Clutch
Despite the R-390A receiver having been extensively documented over the past 40-50 years, I couldn't find a procedure for overhauling the Zero Adj. clutch assembly. Based on my sample of 4 units, the clutch failure rate is 100% and without a working clutch, it's impossible to calibrate the receiver so the PTO and Veeder Root counter display coincide. Th... READ MORE |
Technical
Posted: 01/29/2025
Comments: 0 |
Pico Rx performance - Excellent performance on 630m WSPR
The Simple Pico Rx is my minimalist implementation of Jonathan Dawson's "Pico Rx" at 101things: https://github.com/dawsonjon/PicoRX In this basic form the receiver consists of a Quadrature Sampling Detector (QSD aka Tayloe) and the Pico2 MCU which handles all DSP functions. There are NO front-end filters, the only bandwidth limitation comes from the tracking filter... READ MORE |
Crystal Replacement
Posted: 08/226/2024
Comments: 0 |
Making SMT "no lead" parts easier to use
SMT is the future - but how can we actually use parts without leads? ... READ MORE |
|
Crystal Replacement
Posted: 02/38/2024
Comments: 0 |
How good can a crummy receiver be?
Hundreds of different simple SDR receivers have been designed around Dan Tayloe's Quadrature Sampling Detector or QSD. Mine add nothing to the state of the art, and in fact subtract things, as I like minimalist solutions and the QSD is right in that sweet spot. Following the evolution of Tayloe's design I delete the resistors in series with the sample lines for inst... READ MORE |
Technical
Posted: 02/37/2024
Comments: 0 |
What's in a number (3253)?
The FST3253 dual four-to-one mux/demux IC has long been used as a "Tayloe Detector" or QSD (and QSE) in low-cost SDRs. They provide incredible performance for such a simple circuit, converting RF to baseband IQ with low loss and the ultimate in simplicity. Unfortunately the original FST3253 part has become obsolete and while substitutes are available, this is where the... READ MORE |
Vintage Ham Radio
Posted: 02/32/2024
Comments: 0 |
The Stancor 10P Transmitter
There weren't really many commercial transmitters in the 1930s as most hams built their own. But many of the ones that were offered came from the transformer companies who had two chances to profit. First, from those who would buy the kit, and two, from those would would see it in the (free) booklets the companies provided to their distributors who would then sell the iron to ham... READ MORE |
Vintage Ham Radio
Posted: 12/355/2023
Comments: 0 |
The Care and Feeding of the EF Johnson Courier amplifier
The EF Johnson "Courier" is a grid-driven amplifier using two 811A tubes. Switching is provided for operating in either class C for CW or as a class B linear amplifier for AM or SSB. Rated power is 500 watts input for CW, 500 watts PEP input for SSB, and 200 watts input for double-sideband AM with carrier. Since all amateur power levels were meas... READ MORE |
Historic
Posted: 11/329/2023
Comments: 0 |
TV Duplexer
Some things are interesting, even if totally useless nowadays. Such is the case with the Philco 426-3034 Crossover Kit for UHF TV. What the heck is that? Well, back in the late 50s, UHF television stations operating on channels 14-83 started to appear in many areas of the US where viewers had a VHF-only TV antenna, and in many cases an externa UHF converter was... READ MORE |
Crystal Replacement
Posted: 11/327/2023
Comments: 0 |
Replacing failed crystals
For decades, quartz crystals were used everywhere a stable frequency source was needed, even in some applications that depended on overtone (harmonic) behavior into the VHF range. These crystals were less stable and more dependent on circuit parameters that fundamental types and thus more problematic. Such was the case with the 94 MHz crystal in the 2 meter converter ... READ MORE |
Historic
Posted: 11/315/2023
Comments: 0 |
My Own Ham Radio Story by W9RAN
Everyone has a story of how they got involved in ham radio - this is mine. It started much earlier, including receiving a Knight Kit Span Master shortwave radio for Christmas in about 1963, at age 12. I'll never forget the night my dad and I finished building it and I wanted to try it out. It came with a 50 ft. antenna which was still coiled up - but ... READ MORE |