Category: homebrew
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Another antenna project (oh, no!)
A few weeks ago I found the remains of one of the original telescoping whips that came with my Buddipole set. They were made of brass, and took a lot of damage from blowing down in the wind. The stainless steel 17-foot whip I replaced them with has proved much more durable. Examining it with…
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Touch paddle project
Updated! This project got started in October last year and is finally (mostly) finished! After the first failure came a redesign, and some very intermittent work on it. A few days ago I started to work toward wrapping it all up: I salvaged the touch sensors and paddle pieces, gently cutting a saw kerf in…
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An end-of-July omnibus
Just stuff that’s been on my mind, but nothing big enough for a whole post. Projects, old and new The design was based on the article “What about the simple receiver?” in the June 1934 issue of QST, and “Rationalizing the autodyne”, January 1933. As something more in line with my current interests I am…
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Found-materials antenna challenge
It might have been 2 weeks ago that I stopped in a wayside and saw a tangle of something orange-ish laying on the blacktop as I was leaving; naturally I stopped to pick it up just for the sake of keeping the area clean. It proved to be two lengths of something like 24 gauge…
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Finishing the (tr)uSDX amplified speaker
June 24th: To quickly recap, the story begins here, and is continued here. All it took, in the end, was actually sitting down at the bench and (gasp!) actually working on it for maybe 40 minutes; I had the last remaining part, an input jack, right there. Finding one was the last thing I did…
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April omnibus post
Spring is getting pretty firmly established here; though we are still getting some light overnight frosts, the daytime temperatures can get into the 60s. The lakes and streams are still low; we need more rain! Home DIY is taking up a lot of time, and the expanded garden is making increasing demands. I managed to…
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A hike around Camel Bluff, and an amplified speaker for the tr(u)SDX
On Saturday I was en route to the nearest Aldi store and realized I would soon be passing by Mill Bluff State Park, which quickly led to trying to remember the last time I had hiked the Camel Bluff trail, or any of the other hikes at this small-but-fun park … I still have no…
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Mid-March omnibus
A summary of what’s been happening lately Tomorrow (the 19th) is the first day of Spring! Astronomical Spring, that is. Meteorological Spring already happened on the 1st; I suppose they do that for consistency in their statistical calculating, makes it easier to just move along and ignore all of that messy real-world stuff. Quick vignettes…
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Hung a new antenna today!
It seems like just yesterday I was thinking about getting an antenna up in the trees at home … Now, as the sun sets, I have one! The day started sunny and cold, but after noon sunny was winning and the temperature got up to around 30. I had all the necessary stuff handy (I’ve…
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A post about many things
re: Field Day 2023 The December issue of QST arrived a while ago and I invested maybe 15 minutes looking through the fine print for my score: 440 points. I think that my claimed bonus for Public Information Display was rejected; not unfairly mind you, it was a bit skimpy. Eh, surest way to fail…
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Cut down my knee board today
When I made this I cut it to fit in a good-sized backpack, never thinking that I might want to use it with any of the smaller packs that I more often use for portable operating; this is why it gets carried hanging outside the pack from a carabiner. Today I had a few moments…
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Touch paddle project, with updates
October 24th: I want to start off with a word of praise for UPS; yesterday evening my package was in Louisville KY; this morning at 5:30 it was in Rockford IL; but I lacked faith, I didn’t believe it would get here today … and there it was on my doorstep at 3! Thanks, UPS!…