Moving has a way of causing you to revisit the recesses of your house. As I was digging around in the closet in my shack, I discovered an abandoned project. Last hamfest I went to, I acquired a mobile antenna mount and some Shark HamSticks for 20, 30, 40 and 80. I thought: rather than […]
Author: WB0ISG
A QRP CW enthusiast who frequently operates portable. QRP is for Beginners!
This particular block should be straightforward. Basically, Diz’s kit ships with a programmed IC for using with a paddle. I believe that we will also be installing the keying switching transistors as well in this section. Components J4 – command button J5 – paddle jack J10 – speed control potentiometer (10k linear recommended; not included) […]
Last time around, I built the power supply and had an absolute blast discovering why components were placed in their particular way. This time, I’ll be building up the audio amplifier section while performing research as I did in Phase 1. In general, this section revolves around placing an LM386, the requisite components that make […]
Yesterday, I was doing some reading and came across an article in QST that caught my interest. The ARRL publishes the names of people who have received their Certificate of Code Proficiency periodically in the club magazine. As I read, I recognized the callsign of one of my fellow Long Island CW clubmates, KN4ZMA, Sean. […]
When building the 5Watter by W8DIZ, K7QO recommends building the power supply first as a troubleshooting measure. If the voltage regulators are installed and giving correct voltages, then you’ve eliminated one potential problem down the line. That, and it is difficult to determine whether everything else is working correctly if you can’t feed power to […]
When I first began my ham radio career some seven years ago, I was immediately drawn to kit building. One of the first kits that I discovered was the 1Watter, offered by Kits and Parts. I held off too long on getting that particular kit because of the small SMD parts and the lack of […]
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SMD Soldering Practice: Basic FM Receiver
A few days ago, I received a 5Watter kit from Diz, W8DIZ. I knew that it would contain some small parts but they were even smaller than I imagined. In preparation for soldering smaller and smaller components, I decided that a lower cost kit would offer the practice necessary to solder these small parts. While […]
The FT-817/818 has been in production for over 20 years and now that I own one, it is easy to see why. It is a fun radio to operate and fits a lot in a small package. There’s really just one thing that I don’t like about it: the wideness of its filtering can make […]
The allure of an unactivated 8 pointer is hard to resist for long. Luckily, I had a four-day weekend during the Thanksgiving holiday so I set my sights on a long dreamed of summit. Potato Hill Mountain is a one-hour drive from my house and I arrived at the end of the forest service road […]
After building up my new antenna, the QRPGuys Portable Multi Band End Fed Half Wave Antenna, I was hankering for an excuse to go try it out. After some plans fell through, I decided that today was the day for this antenna’s maiden voyage. Poteau Mountain is only an hour from my house and required […]
Amateur Radio Station WB0ISG 