Tag: homebrew
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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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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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Omnibus and variorum in K minor, Op. 7_1beta
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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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!…
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Another mini-mic (lol)
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I purchased all of the parts needed to make a few more mini-mics to use with other radios. I had one of each sitting out on the benchtop for a day or so while I noodled about what to use to give it some structure … then a…
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Adapting the (tr)uSDX mini-mic to the X6100
I posted a few weeks ago about building K6ARK’s Mini-mic kit for the (tr)uSDX, and my plan to adapt it to the X6100 to save weight and pack space, and I have been moving that project forward a little bit at a time. Today I finally had time to try out the result and write…
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Homebrew EFHW from scratch
I have been thinking about making a couple of minimalist EFHW antennas with SMA connections for use with the (tr)uSDX. After weeks and weeks of out-of-stock conditions for my preferred kit, I ordered up some parts and started to make one from scratch. Starting with an FT50-43 toroid core, I wound the 49:1 unun: The…
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Wrapping up some kit building …
The workbench has been developing a backlog of kits that need to be finished; a QRPguys Multi-Z Tuner, a QRPguys Digital Power/SWR Meter w/Dummy Load, and a K6ARK Mini-Microphone are the principal ones (there are others, but … ). QRPguys Multi-Z Tuner This one got stalled right out of the bag! Step one is assembling…
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Finishing that antenna
I really hate to lose momentum on a project, but that was more-or-less happening with the short base-loaded whip antenna I was making after the pattern of the QRPguys DS1; the mounting wasn’t going to fit on the tripod head, so I ordered new copper clad board (G10 this time), and for no reason, the…
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Making a common-mode choke
Over the winter I bought a couple of different EFHW antenna kits, not all of which are assembled yet. (More about these in the weeks & months to come!) I have been wishing for a common-mode choke to work with them because of all the stories that one reads about RF-on-the-coax-shield interfering with the operation…