SolderSmoke Daily News

The TW-100 "Fly Away Transceiver" --- A CW-SSB Rig I Never Heard of Until Today

2026-05-02T07:12:24.391-04:00

I was listening to the Old Military Radio Net this morning. Rhett KB4HG checked in on Upper Sideband. He was using a loaner TransWorld TW-100 "Fly Away" CW-SSB transceiver. I had never heard of this rig. It is very interesting. See the W7UUU YouTube video above for more details.

OM John W3JN called into the net and commented on Rhett's rig. John noted that the State Department had sold at auction a number of these rigs. John reported that the ROM had been removed from MOST of these rigs. But one of them still had the memory. This allowed all the other TW-100s to be put back on the air. FB.

BTW: W7UUU has a very FB YouTube channel. Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/@davesradioshack

The Agony of Troubleshooting -- Shielding, Bypassing, Testing, Throwing Things at the Wall

2026-04-30T09:01:48.540-04:00

This might not seem like it has a lot to do with homebrew radio, but I had it playing as I was going through a similar level of agony with a recalcitrant NE602 frequency readout. I found it reassuring that I was not alone in my agony.

We see a lot of applicable stuff in this video. Note how he tries to suppress some toublesome noise using electrolytics, resistors, and ceramic caps. He thinks he has the problem solved, until he loads the entire thing in the case, at which point the problem returns. Sound familiar? Indeed, he found that inside the case an unshielded cable ended up too close to a noise-carrying wire.

He also comments on the need to do a full system check before flight. Good point.

It will be cool to watch the video that this device is built to capture. Stay tuned.

Homebrew Cylindrical Variable Capacitors: What the Steering Wheels are Controlling in Danny's Regen Receiver

2026-04-28T10:06:00.942-04:00

Grayson KJ7UM asked a very good question about Danny ON1MWS's regen receiver: What were those two very cool "steering wheels" actually controlling?.

Perhaps because of our recent experience with Permeability Tuned Oscillators, I kind of assumed that we were talking about some form of variable inductor. But no, I was wrong. They are for homebrew variable capacitors. That just makes it a lot cooler.

Danny explains:

Dear Grayson,

Tnx for the compliments. I used to build normal square boxes while I was a mechanic in a light advertisement factory. We had a one hour lunch break and were allowed to work for ourselves during the break. But I left that firm in 2019, as a consequence I had to find a way to build rigs without custom square boxes… the result is wood, tin cans of all sorts and a simple ground plate. After posting my CW rig on the FB group ‘the art HAM radio homebrew’ in 2023, Steve Fabricant noted ‘It could be a radiosonde that they sent down from a saucer to detect intelligent life, and failed.’ LOL, I found that very funny actually.

As for your question, all of my homebrew tuning capacitors have a shaft made off a M8 (about 8mm) threatened rod. The rod turns through a steel girder bracket. I am not sure how these things are called in English, but they are easy to find on the net and very cheap. The rod is the ‘ground’ of the capacitor. The ground plate is clearly visible in the pictures of the solid state regen and the ground plate is hidden under the wood in the tube regen. In the case of the tube regen, the left tube has an inner diameter of 10mm and the right one about 13mm. The right one is coarse and the left one fine tuning. Not sure about the capacitance. 30pF at most I think. The tube regen tunes from 7 to 7.25 Mhz so that's ok.

As you turn the rod the rod will shift in or out the metal tube. The tube is obviously the ‘hot’ side of the capacitor. The M8 rod moves 1.25mm for one turn of the rod. If memory serves me right the tube is 80mm for the tube regen, so we have a tuning gear reduction of 80/1.25= 64. The hot side is connected to the main tuning coil to create a tank circuit.

I did try different designs before but this is the best one. The tube/treaded rod capacitor is just as good as a commercial one. One thing I learned is that any friction must be avoided in a homebrew capacitor or it is useless in practice.

I am going to try to build a similar 400pF version for a homebrew crystal set as I wrote to Bill. It will be huge I guess.. I think I will need a 2”tube… But my current homebrew projects are insulating our house better as our natural gas prices are rising.

Like the way you call tubes Thermatrons. Yes, sound much cooler and more fitting for these beautiful devices. My ultimate aim is building a one band thermatron SSB exiter. No time for the moment.

Kind regards Danny.

This technique could prove very useful in homebrew projects. We found it very difficult to source suitable variable capacitors for our direct conversion receiver. That is why we went with the PTO circuit. But this technique makes it possible to actually homebrew the capacitors. FB Danny.

Thanks Danny. Thanks Grayson.

Other Workshops: Homebrew Sailboats

2026-04-27T05:36:45.138-04:00

In the Dominican Republic I sometimes find myself wanting to take sailing lessons on Juanillo Beach. Maybe next winter. I've also been following the far more sophisticated wooden boat-building effort of Leo Sampson and the Tally Ho. All of this helps explain why I watched this video. And a big part of this is simply an interest in "other kinds of homebrew workshops."

There is some practical advice for us: The importance of pilot holes. The fact that Philip head screws sometimes break (who knew?).

Check it out. Thanks to Hack-A-Day for alerting us to this. And thanks to the Cumberland Rover guy.

Don KM4UDX Talks about Homebrewing and the Vienna Wireless Society on Red Summit Video-cast with Charlie NJ7V

2026-04-26T06:35:57.869-04:00

It was a really nice surprise to see Don KM4UDX on the Red Summit Video-cast with Charlie NJ7V. Don talked about homebrewing and the Vienna Wireless Society (he is the current President of the club).

Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAIcltCbF0c

Thanks Don. Thanks Charlie.

Heathkits and American Industrial Decline

2026-04-25T10:02:36.500-04:00

This is an interesting video about the rise and fall of the Heathkit company, and how that company affected the rise and fall of American manufacturing.

The Heathkit history is interesting, but I disagree about the extent to which building a Heathkit led to an increase in technical knowledge. I guess it could, but Heath was famous for making kits that could be built by people who knew nothing about electronics. Even when many of them were done assembling the kit, most still "knew nothing" about electronics. Just look at those color TV kits: Did assembling one of those kits mean that you came to understand TV? I don't think so.

I'm looking at my HW-101 manual. It is 199 pages long. It is mostly instructions on which part should be soldered where. There is a section called "Circuit Description" but it is only 19 pages long and is at the end of the book. You could assemble the whole thing without ever reading the descriptions of the circuit. I suspect that this is what usually happened.

As for the fall of Heathkit, I think the video is closer to being correct. But it puts too much blame on the advent of small surface mount parts. That is, of course, part of it. But another part of this has to do with the shift towards FPGA and CPU chips.

Anyway, in spite of being AI produced, the video is worth watching. I note that at the end, we see a prominent homebrewer in his shack. Who is this guy?

Thanks to Rogier PA1ZZ for sending this to me.

UPDATE: Mike WN2A reminded me of who that guy in the video was: It was Greg, N8ZRY. He has been on the SolderSmoke blog several times. And here is his video showing his homebrew 20 meter transceiver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-k73b6ojyQ&t=21s Ironically, Greg proves my point about the Heathkits and kits in general: You just do not see a lot of Heath stuff in Greg's shack. You do see a lot of homebrew stuff, and it is probably from this gear that he really learned a lot. Thank you Mike, and thanks Greg!

SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver -- Total Receivers Built: 132 (124 plus 8 honorable mentions). Total Count: 132. Receivers built in 19 countries.

2026-04-23T04:31:34.891-04:00

The Chuck Adams Build of the SolderSmoke DC RX

Please let us know if you spot any errors, or if we have inadvertently missed anyone. Don't worry about being late to the game -- the challenge continues. All of the info is still available.

As of April 26, 2026 0855Z:

So far, total receivers built: 132 (124 plus 8 honorable mentions). Total Count: 132. Receivers built in 19 countries.

NE3U (KY4EOD) Matt

KQ4AOP First ham signals ever heard!

N9TD Derek

AC3NG Ryan

VK3TPM Peter Marks

W4KAC Ken

W4KAC Ken built a second one!

N2EPE Erik

VA3NCA Wayde (Canada)

KI5SRY Mark -- Gears on PTO screw

KA1MUQ Frying pan receiver

AA1N Adam

ZL1AUN Aaron -- Using SSB transmitter -- (New Zealand)

W8UC Never before homebrewed.

VK4PG Phil -- Nice case, "really pleased"

G7LQX Working well, video of CW and SSB. -- (England)

KE2AMP John Spring on PTO screw -- great

N9SZ Steve nice receiver

KD9NHZ Piotr Nice one

KE8ICE Calvin, Very cool receiver.

WV3V Jayson! Got it done!

GM5JDG Martin. -- (Scotland)

KF8BOG Jim: A long struggle, but success.

Chris Wales Fantastic video. -- (Wales)

YD9BAX Wayan! Homebrew transformer! (Indonesia)

N0NQD Jeff

WN3F Roy -- Made new stickers!

AB5XQ Bill
KB7ZUT Andy
AA1OF Jer

VictorKees Holland (Netherlands)
KC9OJV John -- Manhattan-style convert
WZ5M 1, 2 or maybe even 3 receivers!
K1KJW Jim in Vermont
KC5DI Dallas -- friend of WZ5M
Gary Australian -- Wooden PTO form (Australia)
LU2VJM Juan in Argentina -- (Argentina)
K1OA Scott "Most fun in 50 years"
KC9DLM Ben -- Had EFHW problems
PH2LB Lex Yellow, Glue Stick -- (Netherlands)

AI6WR David
G6GEV Dave (It was a blast!) (England)
KC1ONM Wayne MakerLabs NH
KB1OIQ Andy MakerLabs NH
KA1PQK Jay MakerLabs NH
W1TKO Mike MakerLabs NH
K5KHK Karl
SM0TPW Mikael -- (Sweden)
KI7LKB Brian (coat hanger tube)
M6CRD Chris (England)

W2DAB Dave in NYC
W4JYK Wes of VWS
KA4CDN Mike of VWS
M7EFO Adrian
VK5RC Rob (Australia)
KD8KHP Dave
VK1CHW Chris (Australia)
KA0PHJ Brian
W0IT Louis
W1PJE Phil

W2AEW Alan
KN6FVK John (Barkhausen-Be-Gone Spray)
VU2JXN Ramakrishnan -- (India)
AA0MS Doug
9V1/KM7ABZ Paul -- (Singapore)
VK2BLQ Stephen -- (Australia)
N3FJZ Rick
Daniel VE5DLD -- (Canada)
Student 1 Student of VE5DLD
Student 2 Student of VE5DLD

Student 3 Student of VE5DLD

K7WXW Bill

NK3H Mitch

KN4ZXG Ted

WA1MAC Paul

N4AVC Chuck

K3IY Kevin

N6ASD Ashish in Bangalore (India)

W1DSP Rick

WD4CFN Steve

KM5Z Mike

KF5DAN Dan

Fritz Fritz

N9OK Joe

WA5DSS Bill

K0GDB Grant

G0JNR Shane Glow-in-Dark Coil Form

KK7BCO Tobias

K2BVR Bob

Robert Sutton

K5YFO Dave (Texas)

KD4PBJ Chris

KN4GAH Chris -- EE perspective

F1GMA Philippe -- (France)

W2TEF Todd

EI9ITB Karl -- (Ireland)

VU2TUM Puneit Singh (India)

AA7EE Dave Richards

KI5VIR Jay

CT7AXD Graham -- Promoted from Honorable Mention! (Portugal)

G3MOT Josh (England)

KW4H Steve

NJ7V Charlie (RedSummit)

N2ETZ Denny

AB9LM James

W9XT Gary

G0PJT Alex

KF8FZZ Tyler

N7HPR Steve (Instructor) (N7HPR Group)

Clark (N7HPR Group)

KQ4ZHO Kurt (N7HPR Group)

KQ4OBR Brian (N7HPR Group)

KR4CUF Justin (N7HPR Group)

Amanda (N7HPR Group)

David (N7HPR Group)

KM4AED Jamey (N7HPR Group)

KN4MVH Larry (N7HPR Group)

N5GVW Dick (N7HPR Group)

W7KAL Kal

KC9LFP Joe

SP9DEL Marian (Poland)

LB8VA Ivar (Norway)

AA7FO Chuck Adams!

WE6Z Doug

-------------------------
Honorable Mentions:

*AA7U Steve No PTO

*VK7IAN Ian -- No Manhattan boards -- (Tasmania)

*KC1FSZ Bruce's build on a PC board

* DL1AJG Andreas -- (Germany)

* Matthew Student of DL1AJG

* Arash Student of DL1AJG

*KA4KXX Walter -- FB 20 Meter version

*M9KCA-ST2NH Nader - LM386 in place of AF amp

Nader M9KCA-ST2NH's Beautiful Build of the SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver: NO SMOKE!

2026-04-21T13:28:00.000-04:00

Nader wrote:

Hello everyone! After more than 30 years, I've rebuilt the DCR again. I wanted to share the fun of the 40m SolderSmoke DCR Challenge with all of you. It was a fantastic project — fully documented, with many people sharing their experiences online. I'm truly delighted to show you my prototype. The best part? It ran from the very first power-up — no smoke, no tuning needed! Yes, all on one board. The audio amp isn't quite ready to challenge the role yet, but it's still a lot of fun.

Nader's Sudanese callsign rang a bell with me. I had talked about him in SolderSmoke podcast #58 on May 13, 2007. Here it is: https://www.soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke58.mp3 And I included a long quote from him in the SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures book. So Nader is an old friend indeed.

He clearly built the receiver, with excellent results. He used the innards of a glue stick to build the support for the PTO inductor. But he has not yet built the three-transistor AF amplifier. So, in the interim, I am placing him in the "Honorable Mention" category. When he completes the AF amplifier, he will be promoted to full membership in the Hall of Fame.

The REALLY BIG Dish: China's Sky Eye

2026-04-21T05:28:00.000-04:00

The technology used is really interesting, as is the struggle to maintain a radio quiet zone around the telescope. The limestone geology with lots of useful sinkholes was very helpful in selecting the site (we have similar geology in the Eastern part of the Dominican Republic). The contrasts with Arecibo are also quite telling.

Thanks to Rogier PA1ZZ for sending this.

Dean KK4DAS and I Receive the G QRP G2NJ Trophy

2026-04-19T12:58:00.001-04:00

This award means a lot to us. It is for making "the greatest contrbution to international QRP." Dean and I are both big fans of G QRP and of their journal, SPRAT. (As we say on the SolderSmoke podcast, if you are not a member of G QRP and are not getting SPRAT, you are just WRONG.)

This award is a real honor. Thanks very much to G QRP, and especially to their chairman Steve Hartley, G0FUW.

Mitch NK3H Talks Homebrewing with Charlie NJ7V of Red Summit RF

2026-04-19T07:33:00.002-04:00

This is a really cool interview. Both Mitch NK3H and Charlie NJ7V are members of the SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver Hall of Fame. Mitch has built a dual-band superhet rig, which is the subject of this interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK_EVt5iAQ4

Here is a video Mitch did about his SolderSmoke DC receiver:

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2025/05/mitch-nk3hs-fb-soldersmoke-direct.html

Mitch also built the Michigan Mighty Mite. And he did an SSB version!

Mitch is a very interesting guy. He was a professor, he worked in biotech, founded his own company which was funded by venture capital, later retired, got interested in astronomy, and came to ham radio at the start of the pandemic. Wow, great stuff.

In Charlie's video, Mitch provides a lot of good explanation of his experimentation process. I had to chuckle when Mitch pointed out that he did NOT invent the Colpitts oscillator. Good point Mitch!

Mitch credits Pete N6QW as one of the people who helped him design his superhet transceiver. He also mentions Farhan VU2ESE, Alan Wolke W2AEW and several others. FB. And he credits SSDRA, EMRFD and ChatGPT. Mitch also likes the videos of the IMSAI Guy.

Mitch has already made 50 contacts with this rig.

Mitch makes excellent use of microcontrollers and digital VFOs. He provides great info on the speed and cost of various sources of commecial PC boards.

Quote of the day from Mitch: "Electrons don't care how pretty or ugly your board is!"

Mitch concludes with a quote from Pete N6QW: "You gotta know stuff to do stuff." But Mitch adds to this an important coda: "But the process of doing it is the learning experience." Exactly right Mitch.

Thanks to Mitch and Charlie for a really great video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK_EVt5iAQ4

Pete N6QW is our Shifu

2026-04-17T06:31:00.002-04:00

In a comment to a recent post, Mike WN2A wrote: "N6QW is the Shifu.

( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifu )"

I found this term intriguing. I think we should consider including it in the SolderSmoke Lexicon. Steve? BTW, I agree on the designation of Pete N6QW as the Shifu.

AI Overview

In the context of electronics, Shifu (师傅) generally refers to a skilled craftsman, technician, or master tradesperson, such as a master electrician, repair technician, or electronics expert. It is a Chinese term denoting respect for someone with high-level technical expertise in areas like welding, circuit design, or device repair.

Here is more info on the origin of the term and its useage:

Thanks Mike!

Another 40 meter DSB Transceiver

2026-04-17T04:30:00.003-04:00

I like the homebrew spirit in this one, how it started out as a Direct Conversion receiver and expanded into a full double sideband transceiver.

Indonesian Direct Conversion Receiver (Another one - Not Wayan's)

2026-04-15T06:13:00.000-04:00

Who can forget Wayan's heroic homebrewing of the AF transformer? While others complained about the difficulty of ordering from an on-line store, OM Wayan YD9BAX rewound his own AF transformer in Indonesia. FB Wayan!

This morning I stumbled across another 40 meter DC receiver from Indonesia. See above. I got the blurb translated. Here it is:

-------------------------------

1,759 views  Aug 2, 2020  #diyradio #homebrewradio #timetables

This radio is a DSB (Double Side Band) type, not a Regenerative radio like in yesterday's video, this radio circuit uses VFO as the main tuning and is set for a frequency range of around 6,950MHz - 7,150MHz (comma, not thousands), and can be set to a larger or smaller frequency range as desired. This radio circuit is the result of a friend's assembly (Channel: Dr 504k), because I don't really understand radio science so I only made the box. The box is made of plain PCB, if you are interested in making a similar box using plain PCB too, try not to use fiber PCB, because it will itch on the skin when grinding, just use pertinax material, it is cheaper, flexible and looks more vintage. Disclaimer I deliberately did not focus the sound on a radio wave for too long because it concerns someone's conversation, so I apologize if there are parties whose voices were recorded. I am not a radio person, I am only a receiver for entertainment and additional insight. Thank you.

---------------------

I couldn't find the channel of the designer (Dr 504k) but from this video it looks like this builder used a polivaricon capacitor and a homebrew gearing mechanism. I also see a lot of electrolytic capacitors. FB. Can anyone find the schematic?

Background (from Maine!) On the "Most Interesting Man in the World"

2026-04-13T09:11:00.000-04:00

I know, I know. This doesn't really have anything to do with homebrewing. But in a way it does. This guy didn't get his start until age 68. So there is hope, right? And there is the Latino angle.

And here are some Dos Equis "greatest hits": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukosls76res My favorite from this bunch is "The last time he flirted with danger, danger got clingy."

One prominient homebrewer says that Pete N6QW is the "Most Interesting HAM in the world." I agree.

Stay thirsty my friends.

DSB Homebrew from Macedonia -- Sasho Z33ST

2026-04-11T07:55:00.000-04:00

This is a really nice DSB transceiver in progress. Below you see the modules, above you see how the modules will fit onto the board.

DOUBLE sideband is a mode too often dismissed by potential builders. Sasho shows that it is indeed a practical and relatively simple way to get on phone. Sasho has been using these rigs on Parks On The Air operations.

The modular approach is admirable.

Sasho writes:

Hello Bill,
This is a DSB radio design by R0AHZ using NE612 chip as mixer on receive and transmit.
Audio amp is LM386.
Frequency generation is by arduino nano and si5351
RF power amp consists of 2n3553 or any npn eqivalent as pre drive and BD139 as final. Power is about 1 to 2 watts max. I use it together with my power amp and I measure about 40 watts on tx.
Here is a link of me making a QSO wih it.
https://youtu.be/0GKlVfAPgV0?si=KstoJ64kyWRpE-up
73 de Z33ST

Thanks Sasho!

https://www.qrz.com/db/Z33ST

Sasho on POTA

SolderSmoke Homebrew Direct Conversion Receiver Hall of Fame Update: 129 Completed, 122 + 7 Honorable Mentions: (As of April 11, 2026, 0852Z)

2026-04-11T05:14:00.000-04:00

Marian SP9DEL's Receiver

Please let us know if you spot any errors, or if we have inadvertently missed anyone. Don't worry about being late to the game -- the challenge continues. All of the info is still available.

As of April 11, 2026 0852Z:

So far Total Receivers Built: 129. 122 plus 7 honorable mentions. Total Count: 129. Receivers built in 19 countries.

NE3U (KY4EOD) Matt

KQ4AOP First ham signals ever heard!

N9TD Derek

AC3NG Ryan

VK3TPM Peter Marks

W4KAC Ken

W4KAC Ken built a second one!

N2EPE Erik

VA3NCA Wayde (Canada)

KI5SRY Mark -- Gears on PTO screw

KA1MUQ Frying pan receiver

AA1N Adam

ZL1AUN Aaron -- Using SSB transmitter -- (New Zealand)

W8UC Never before homebrewed.

VK4PG Phil -- Nice case, "really pleased"

G7LQX Working well, video of CW and SSB. -- (England)

KE2AMP John Spring on PTO screw -- great

N9SZ Steve nice receiver

KD9NHZ Piotr Nice one

KE8ICE Calvin, Very cool receiver.

WV3V Jayson! Got it done!

GM5JDG Martin. -- (Scotland)

KF8BOG Jim: A long struggle, but success.

Chris Wales Fantastic video. -- (Wales)

YD9BAX Wayan! Homebrew transformer! (Indonesia)

N0NQD Jeff

WN3F Roy -- Made new stickers!

Student 3 Student of VE5DLD

K7WXW Bill

NK3H Mitch

KN4ZXG Ted

WA1MAC Paul

N4AVC Chuck

K3IY Kevin

N6ASD Ashish in Bangalore (India)

W1DSP Rick

WD4CFN Steve

KM5Z Mike

KF5DAN Dan

Fritz Fritz

N9OK Joe

WA5DSS Bill

K0GDB Grant

G0JNR Shane Glow-in-Dark Coil Form

KK7BCO Tobias

K2BVR Bob

Robert Sutton

K5YFO Dave (Texas)

KD4PBJ Chris

KN4GAH Chris -- EE perspective

F1GMA Philippe -- (France)

W2TEF Todd

EI9ITB Karl -- (Ireland)

VU2TUM Puneit Singh (India)

AA7EE Dave Richards

KI5VIR Jay

CT7AXD Graham -- Promoted from Honorable Mention! (Portugal)

G3MOT Josh (England)

KW4H Steve

NJ7V Charlie (RedSummit)

N2ETZ Denny

AB9LM James

W9XT Gary

G0PJT Alex

KF8FZZ Tyler

N7HPR Steve (Instructor) (N7HPR Group)

Clark (N7HPR Group)

KQ4ZHO Kurt (N7HPR Group)

KQ4OBR Brian (N7HPR Group)

KR4CUF Justin (N7HPR Group)

Amanda (N7HPR Group)

David (N7HPR Group)

KM4AED Jamey (N7HPR Group)

KN4MVH Larry (N7HPR Group)

N5GVW Dick (N7HPR Group)

W7KAL Kal

KC9LFP Joe

SP9DEL Marian (Poland)

LB8VA Ivar (Norway)

-------------------------
Honorable Mentions:

*AA7U Steve No PTO

*VK7IAN Ian -- No Manhattan boards -- (Tasmania)

*KC1FSZ Bruce's build on a PC board

* DL1AJG Andreas -- (Germany)

* Matthew Student of DL1AJG

* Arash Student of DL1AJG

*KA4KXX Walter -- FB 20 Meter version

Dean KK4DAS and Pete N6QW Talk to the River City (Sacramento, Ca.) Radio Club about the 40 meter Direct Conversion Receiver

2026-04-10T09:49:00.000-04:00

On April 7, 2026 Dean and Pete spoke to the River City Radio Club about the 40 meter Direct Conversion Receiver project (see above). Great job guys!

Thanks to Carol KP4MD for the invitation.

ANOTHER AMAZING Homebrew Station -- This one from Belgium -- ON1MWS

2026-04-09T05:44:00.004-04:00

Those large "steering wheels" on the regen rig caught my attention, and I'm glad they did, because they led me to the sites of Danny ON1MWS.

https://www.qsl.net/on1mws/

https://www.qrz.com/db/ON1MWS

Danny writes on his QRZ page:

I'm especially interested in homebrewing my own station. everything from the power supply to the antenna is scratch-build. I have no commercial ham gear, nor do I use pre-fabricated kits or DDS chips.

My gear is a toy compared to a modern station. And it will never even come remotely close to commercial gear. However, the journey to learn how radio circuits work, improve the station and add capabilities over the years has been satisfying. R&D as amusement.

-----------------------------------

FB Danny! Thanks for the rigs and web sites. 73 Bill N2CQR

A really AMAZING Homebrew Station in Brunei

2026-04-08T11:11:00.003-04:00

Didier is F5NPV but he is V85MPV in Brunei for a few years. Check out his amazing QRZ page:

https://www.qrz.com/db/V85NPV

Are There Really Photons on the Signals from, say, a 20 meter Dipole?

2026-04-07T05:59:00.005-04:00

This line from the Hack-A-Day article got me: "Everything on the electromagnetic spectrum has some properties of both waves and particles, but it’s difficult to imagine a radio wave, for example, behaving like a particle."

It is indeed difficlut (at least for me!) to imagine this, especially when we think of the operation of that dipole using waves (not particles).

I really like Jeroen's channel and his approach. Note him waking up, obviously thinking about this question.

Thanks Jeroen, and thanks Hack-A-Day!

U.S. Administration Supports Ham Radio Homebrew

2026-04-01T04:56:00.003-04:00

In a decision that puzzled many analysts, the Federal Communications Commission has come out with a new policy that seems to support the at home construction ("homebrew") of amateur radio equipment. The commission outlined a series of new requirements (see below) that, collectively, seem intended to breathe new life into what many considered a dying art.

Commission spokesman Brian Cox tied the move to recent efforts by the Administration to bring industry back to the United States: "For too long we have stood by and watched foreign manufacturers take larger and larger portions of the electronics market in the United States. Part of this seems to be the unwillingness of many Americans to do what their grandfathers did and actually build their own electronic equipment. These steps are intended to help reverse that trend." Greene's comments may have been undercut by the fact that they were sent from his FCC-provided Iphone (which allegedly was not homebrewed in the USA) and then disseminated via Tik-Tok.

Sources in the Administration also point to recent tariff moves by the government that will have the effect of removing the incentive of cheap foreign-made equipment. "Just wait until those 1000 percent tariffs kick in. You can almost feel those soldering irons warming up!"

Collectively, this initiative seems tied to the political effort known as MAGA. An anonymous White House spokesman explained: "First there was MAGA (calling for a return to GREATNESS). Then came MAHA (HEALTH!). Now we see MASA: MAKE AMERICA SOLDER AGAIN. We think this will be a real winner. There will be so much winning, American hams will soon get tired of winning."

The emphasis, a spokesman explained, will be on DOMESTIC production of radio equipment. "We see the Michigan Mighty Mite as a good example. I mean it just oozes domesticity! MICHIGAN! Why can't we go back to the day when millions of MMM rigs dotted our fruited plains, and people happily conversed via Morse Code using homemade transmitters? Well we can. And dammit we will, whether people like it or not!"

Construction techniques will also be closely regulated, and the naming of these techniques has become an issue: "We like the 'Manhattan' style of construction, but the name is too, well, too 'New York City.' So we are re-naming the technique: From now on it will be known as the 'Mississippi Technique.' We also discovered that all of the Crazy Glue used in the Manhattan -- I mean Mississippi -- Technique comes from overseas. So from now on, only good-old Elmer's Glue can be used. MASA!"

In a related move, the FCC announced that henceforth, only American Morse will be permitted in the United States. The use of International Morse Code will be banned, and masked ICE agents will destroy any equipment found to be using it. "I mean, we invented it right? So when did we go all 'woke globalist international'? Enough of that." It is hoped that this move will reduce the number of radio contacts with foreigners, something the FCC finds "highly woke suspicious." "Americans should be talking only to other Americans, right? " An exception seems to have been made for one country: contacts with Russia will be allowed to continue. No explanation for this exception was provided.

Tracy Kidder, author of Soul of the New Machine, dies at age 80

2026-03-31T13:52:00.001-04:00

He was a great writer. His books are inspirational. Thank you Tracy Kidder.

Obit:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/books/tracy-kidder-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XVA.hssv.-OA5DxfI4WPv&smid=url-share

SolderSmoke Blog Posts about Tracy Kidder and his books:

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search?q=Tracy+Kidder

The Green Hornet -- My Visual and 10 meter Beacon from the Dominican Republic

2026-03-25T10:03:00.008-04:00

This all started a LONG time ago when I built a "Lil Slugger" CW transmitter, designed by Doug DeMaw. The schematic appears below -- it appears in both the W1FB Design Notebook, and his QRP Notebook.

Last year I decided to put it on the air from the Dominican Republic. Mike WN2A sent me a programmed PIC chip to key the beacon. I just connected the output of the keyer to the base of the Lil Sluggers keying transistor. This transistor just switched the transmitter's driver transistor on and off.

In the course of messing with this device (and trying to get it to work with a 2 meter beacon) I managed to release smoke from Mike's keyer. Fortunately, Mike had sent the schematic and I was able to tell that it was probably just the PNP transistor at the very end of the keyer circuit. I have some 2N3906s on hand. I replaced the suspect part and Bob was my Uncle. I consider this a "good repair" -- I had to identify the fault, and then replace the part to make the device work.

Then came the fun part. The visual part. I used the keying transistor from the Lil Slugger to drive a super bright green LED from LighthouseLEDs. I had in my DR junk box the parabolic mirror from an old car spotlight (the kind you'd plug into the cigarette lighter). That mirror became the mount for the LED. Before I got the thing going this year, I had to remove some of the window coating that keeps the UV out of the house. Unfortunately it was also keeping some of my beacon's photons IN. It had to go. I used my wife'd hair dryer to take the coating off. As you can see, the visual beacon is now really bright. So far, only one neighbor has noticed the green flashing light. So far, we have heard from no ships at sea. But we are hopeful. Pete N6QW warns of possible cruise missiles. I am prepared to live dangerously.

This video shows the set up from inside the shack, during the daytime:

The ten meter beacon has been doing well and is showing up on the Reverse Beacon Netwok (K1RA and NU4F). I will improve the antenna and this should strengthen the signal even further.

SDR vs. HDR -- Are analog hams Troglodytes, stuck in a rut, resistant to change, and all that ?

2026-03-24T18:50:00.003-04:00

The above paragraphs appeared in a very good ham radio club magazine. I had some comments on it which I shared with the author and the editor. In light of our recent discussion of the ARRL Clean Signal Initiative, I thought that it would be useful for me to post these comments here.

I think the author misses an important point: The ability of radio amateurs to homebrew their equipment. I know from experience that it is difficult to homebrew traditional analog SSB equipment
-- I am running analog SSB gear from two separate
locations. But here is the key: With traditional analog gear, homebrewing of the gear can be done. Not so with SDR gear.

Sure, hams can do their own software (but usually this is limited to the software experts). I suppose that AI will let people vibe code their own SDR software, but I suspect that most hams will not do this. Even if they did, software development is a very different activity than is homebrewing of analog hardware.

And as for the hardware, I suspect that we are rapidly approaching the point where this will come down to the placement of two (maybe one!) chips in their sockets. One ADC chip, one FPGA chip (programmed by an FPGA expert) and you are essentially done. Again, you are talking about a device that is radically different from a homebrew SSB analog transceiver. I can build an analog SSB transceiver, I really can't build an SDR transceiver.

I have problems with your claims that SDR is inherently more sensitive than traditional analog rigs. Maybe if you go FT8, but not with SSB. As for selectivity, well some of my rigs have homebrew 10 pole crystal filters. The skirts are very nearly vertical.

Finally, related to all of the above, is the commercial/SDR vs. homebrew/analog issue. If we go down this supposedly superior path, all of the rigs used by "amateur" radio operators will be commercially produced. They will be much like the Iphone in my pocket. And amateurs will have as much of an emotional connection to their "rigs" as I do to my Iphone: ZERO.

The article portrays the users of analog gear as old Troglodytes, resistant to technological change. I just don't think this is accurate. Some of us stick to the older analog gear because it is possible to really understand it, and it is possible to really homebrew it. That, I think, is very valuable.

73 Bill Hi7/N2CQR