SolderSmoke Daily News

My Parks 2 meter Nuvistor Converter, a QST review, and Bio Info on the Tektronix Hams who Designed It (Who is W7UHF now?)

2026-07-11T05:30:17.588-04:00

Denton E. Nelson (amateur radio callsign W7UHF) was an electronics engineer and a notable figure in mid-century amateur radio history, best known for co-founding Parks Electronics alongside fellow operator Loren Parks (K7AAD) [3.1.3].

Tektronix Background

Nelson spent part of his career in the 1950s working at Tektronix in Oregon, where he moved through various roles from assembly into test and production engineering [1.2.2, 3.2.3]. During his time there, he was also an active member of the Tektronix Employees Radio Amateur Club [3.1.2].

Parks Electronics and VHF Converters

In the 1960s, Nelson (W7UHF) and Parks (K7AAD) partnered to build high-performance VHF (Very High Frequency) converters, initially starting their production in Parks's garage [3.1.3]. At the time, amateur radio operators who wanted to operate on the VHF or UHF bands often relied on outboard converters to shift those higher frequencies down so they could be tuned on standard shortwave communication receivers.

Leveraging their rigorous professional backgrounds at Tektronix, Nelson and Parks applied strict commercial test-equipment standards to their amateur gear [3.1.3]. Parks Electronics quickly became famous for its superior "little black boxes" [3.1.3]. Unlike much of the consumer equipment of the era, every converter Nelson and Parks produced was individually tested for precise gain, bandwidth, and low noise figure before it was shipped [3.1.3]. This commitment to quality made their equipment highly sought after by VHF and UHF enthusiasts worldwide [3.1.3, 4.1.6].

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

One question about W7UHF: If you go to QRZ.com, you will see that there is still a listing for W7UHF, under the name of Denton E. Nelson. But it is for a Technician license. And it lists a previous call as KD6EFF. Who is that? Could that be OM Nelson's son? The holder is in Silicon Valley, and the license seems like it is about to expire.

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

Loren Parks (1926–2023), who operated under the amateur radio callsign K7AAD, was a man of three distinct legacies: he was a skilled electronics engineer who built highly respected amateur radio gear, and a pioneering manufacturer who made millions in the medical device industry. [3.1.1, 3.1.6].

Tektronix and Amateur Radio (K7AAD)

After serving in the U.S. Navy and earning a degree in psychology, Parks moved to Oregon and took a job in the 1950s with Tektronix, the pioneering test equipment manufacturer [3.1.1, 3.1.6]. He was heavily involved in the local amateur radio scene and the company's ham radio club [3.2.1].

Recognizing that operators needed better ways to tune into the VHF and UHF bands, Parks partnered with his Tektronix colleague Denton Nelson (W7UHF) to build outboard receiving equipment [3.2.2]. What started as a garage project became Parks Electronics [3.2.2]. By applying rigorous commercial test-equipment standards to their amateur gear, their VHF converters became famous for their high performance and exceptionally low noise figures. Parks was also a dedicated supporter of the wider ham community, at one point stepping in to purchase and run the VHF'er magazine to ensure the publication survived [2.3.2, 3.2.2].

The Medical Device Fortune

While his amateur radio converters were a critical success among hobbyists, Parks found his vast fortune in the medical field. In 1961, he founded Parks Medical Electronics in Aloha, Oregon [3.1.1, 3.1.7].

Pivoting his electronics expertise, Parks designed some of the world's first impedance plethysmographs and Doppler ultrasound systems [3.1.1, 3.1.7]. These devices are used by doctors to measure blood flow in vascular studies, detect faint pulses, and monitor patients during surgery [3.1.1, 3.1.5]. His company became a global pioneer in vascular diagnostics—making Parks a multi-millionaire in the process—and it remains one of the oldest manufacturers of Doppler systems in the world today [3.1.5, 3.1.7].

The Nuvistor, Thermatrons, RCA, Patents, the Rise of Asian Competitors (and my Parks Electronics 2 Meter Converter)

2026-07-10T09:32:41.385-04:00

Asianometry always does a great job with this stuff, although I find myself grimacing when he speaks positively about Sarnoff. Nevertheless the tube history is good (although he fails to mention that De Forest never figured out how his tubes worked).

I have four Nuvistors! They are in a 2 meter converter from Parks Electronics of BEAVERTON, OREGON. I may have this wrong, but I think the video said the Nuvistors were very expensive. This can't be right. Gemini AI says the 6CW4s in my Parks device sold for $1.50 to $2.50 in 1961.

Three cheers for the Nuvistor! I may try to see if they still work.

A Very Nice Audio Workbench -- With Lots of Great Ideas

2026-07-08T09:54:09.057-04:00

We covered Ben Hase's workbench earlier this week, focusing on his findings about glue, fusible resistors, and relays.

This is a more complete look at his workshop.

-- Very useful were his descriptions of his "daily driver" 'scopes and sig gens.

-- I like the fingers for the patch cords.

-- It was nice that he has one analog 'scope.

-- WOW, HE HAS A KLH RECEIVER. SO DO I! ROGIER SENT IT TO ME!

-- His use of Scan-Snap is potenially useful for us.

-- I like his organization of parts bins.

-- His use of the "tray truck" is ingenious.

-- He has a good chair. I note that he has a physical therapy T-shirt.

-- His obvious devotion to HAKKO soldering tools is understandable.

-- He has the obligatory drawer full of Fluke meters.

We covered Ben's workshop when he was in Manhattan: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/06/another-great-workshop.html

It is great to see that he has more room now. His acknowledgment of his wife's support was very nice.

In this video, Ben visits Matt in the Pacific Northwest and swaps ideas on workbench construction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ0rupOQKvE

And in this one we see Ben's work on a badly mangled Sansui receiver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w-wH4CGeT0

With a workshop like that, Ben should be a ham. A homebrewer.

Shuji Nakamura -- Inventor of Blue LEDs -- Takes on Fusion Energy at Age 72

2026-07-07T08:10:55.560-04:00

This blog covered Shuji Nakamura at least twice before -- we reported on on how he had invented the blue LED: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search?q=Nakamura

Now we report on a more recent effort by Nakamura, this one is focused on nuclear fusion.

I think the inspirational thing about the Nakamura stories has to do with his persistence, his refusal to give up, and -- in this most recent story -- his willingness to take on big challenges at age 72.

Three cheers for Shuji Nakamura!

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

From a CNN story: https://www.cnn.com/science/shuji-nakamura-lit-up-the-world-and-now-wants-to-power-it-spc

Shuji Nakamura already transformed the world once. His invention of blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) changed everything about our daily lives.

Computers, phones, big screens, traffic lights and electronic billboards light up because of his invention.

Nakamura earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014, along with two other Japanese scientists, Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano, for their contributions to his LED breakthrough.

Some experts have hailed his invention as important as Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb.

And so, it’s big news when one of the world’s greatest inventors says his next invention will far surpass the importance of his previous one.

His goal: To create a power plant that uses a new kind of high-pulse laser for nuclear fusion, producing an “endless” supply of efficient, clean energy. With nuclear fusion, there is no uranium involved and no chance for a meltdown.

If he cracks the code, its potential is limitless, said Nakamura, a professor of materials and of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Santa Barara (UCSB).

At an age when many look to retire, Nakamura, 72, bursts with energy.

“Retirement is very boring,” he told CNN.

‘I became so desperate’

Long before Nakamura earned Nobel recognition, before he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, he was maligned and ridiculed — an engineer best known for explosions in his lab and for his lack of productivity.

Nakamura worked at a then-little known Japanese chemical company called Nichia Corporation, in 1979, heading its research and development team, comprised of just two people.

But after about 10 years in, he’d developed only three products — and none sold well. At company soccer and softball games, his colleagues harangued him saying, “Why haven’t you produced anything? You need to quit!”

Afterward, on Friday nights, Nakamura often returned to the office and roamed the halls taking on extra duty as an overnight security guard.

“Yeah,” Nakamura said with a laugh, “I had to check the whole company walking around.”

Feeling isolated, Nakamura developed a mentality of what he calls “invention by anger,” an extreme drive to prove others wrong. All his managers told him the same thing: You must quit.

“I became so desperate,” he said.

A last-ditch effort to save his job

Nakamura grew up in a small Japanese fishing village where he learned to love nature and the color blue because of the ocean.

His experience tinkering, toiling and blowing up stuff in his lab had given him the idea to chase his dream of cracking the code to blue LEDs.Major corporations like IBM, General Electric, Bell Labs, Sony and Toshiba invested millions over the decades trying to solve the mystery. Red and green LEDs were easily mastered, yet the solution to making blue LEDs remained elusive because blue light has a shorter wavelength and requires significantly more energy to emit.

At stake was the potential for a multibillion-dollar industry.

In a last-ditch effort to save his job, Nakamura approached Nichia’s founder and chairman Nobuo Ogawa.

“Can I develop blue LEDs?” Nakamura asked.

He couldn’t believe what came next.

“OK, no problem,” Ogawa said.

Nakamura was given a budget of $3 million, an unheard-of amount in 1988 that represented 2% of the company’s annual sales. Two-thirds of the money was for equipment; the rest was to be spent on studying and learning techniques that could lead to a breakthrough.

‘I feel resentful when people look down on me’

Nakamura then spent a year in a lab at the University of Florida learning about metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, or MOCVD.

At 34, he’d never stepped foot on a plane. He also never had a scientific paper published — a fact that earned scorn in Florida. To those with PhDs in the lab, Nakamura was a nobody with zero academic chops. They treated him like a lowly technician, he said, constantly asking him to fix this and fix that.

He quietly raged. “I feel resentful when people look down on me,” he once said. “At that time, I developed more fighting spirit. I would not allow myself to be beaten by such people.”

Nakamura is a professor of materials and of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. At 72, he has no plans to retire because he feels he's on the verge of his biggest breakthrough to date.
Matt Perko/Univ. of Calif.-Santa Barbara

When he returned to Japan in 1989, more hurdles were thrown his way. His biggest fan, the founder of Nichia, stepped aside as president.

And in his pursuit of a breakthrough, Nakamura chose to go all-in on studying the material gallium nitride as the key to unlocking blue LEDs. Almost every other researcher in the world worked with a different material, zinc selenide.

This became a huge problem, he said, when a renowned researcher held a seminar at Nichia with an emphatic message: gallium nitride was a dead end. Among those in the audience was Nakamura’s new boss.

By day’s end, a hand-written note arrived on his desk, ordering Nakamura to halt all work.

He rejected the order. “I threw it away in the garbage,” he told CNN, smiling.

More notes arrived every few weeks with the same order. He tossed them in the trash, too.

In Japanese culture, he said, it is nearly unheard of to ignore a superior’s orders. In fact, Nakamura stopped attending weekly R&D briefings so that he wouldn’t have to tell colleagues what he was doing.

“I became so angry,” he said, “so that I make the decision” to keep going and keep chasing his dream.

Within months, Nakamura was vindicated. He experienced “the greatest moment of my life,” when he made a simple LED that illuminated with a soft violet-blue light. He wasn’t sure how long the light might last.

He left for the night, and, in the morning, the light still glowed. “It was still very dim, but it’s surviving,” he said. “That moment is very ‘Oh my gosh!’”

On November 29, 1993, Nichia held a news conference that shocked the electronics world. The blue LED had been conquered.

It turned out Nakamura was right: Gallium nitride proved to be the key.

“The tamer of nature and successor to Edison,” Forbes magazine once wrote, “turned out to be an unknown researcher at a Japanese company few had heard of.”

Endless energy as his final chapter

Nichia and Nakamura eventually had a public falling out with back-and-forth lawsuits. The two sides settled their landmark dispute in 2005 — with Nichia agreeing to pay him $8.1 million, far less than the nearly $180 million a Japanese court had ruled Nakamura deserved for his invention.

Almost all of the money, he said, went to “attorney fees and also taxes.”

He prefers not to dwell on that part of his past. He’s proud of what he invented. Plus, he said, “Winning the Nobel Prize was greater.”

“I’m very happy,” he said.

Nichia didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment.

A recent report by the International Atomic Energy found that if old light bulbs were still used around the world, global electricity needs would be nearly unsustainable — “around 70% higher electricity consumption for indoor lighting in buildings.” The electricity saved on home lighting from LEDs, the report found, roughly equals the power used by the entire country of South Korea.

Nakamura is focused on the future and what he feels will have an even greater environmental impact by producing limitless energy with zero emissions.

To meet this goal, he has formed Blue Laser Fusion, a company that uses his blue LED technology to create laser power that could transform energy generation around the world.

About 99.5% of nuclear fusion research over the decades, he estimated, has focused on using powerful magnetic fields to create endless power. Nakamura believes the answer lies in the 0.5%.

“The story is very similar to the blue LED development,” Nakamura said.

In December 2022, researchers at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore Lab in California, a core part of the US Department of Energy (DOE), achieved the first-ever “fusion gain,” a major scientific breakthrough, when a laser-induced reaction produced more energy than it takes to trigger it.

Nakamura was not involved in that experiment. However, he had already begun developing a new high-power laser concept for inertial fusion, drawing upon his pioneering work in LEDs and laser diodes.

He co-founded Blue Laser Fusion in November 2022. The DOE fusion breakthrough further energized him. Nakamura is determined to take what was proven as scientifically possible in the lab and turn it into a functioning power plant.

He said Blue Laser Fusion has seen breakthrough after breakthrough in the years since.

To contain the continuous fusion reaction without burning everything up, Nakamura and his team have created what is called the optical enhancement cavity, which stores the high-pulse laser energy in its optical chamber, then amplifies the laser power by up to 100,000 times, which drives and contains the burn.

“In layman’s terms,” UCSB said in a 2025 news release, “the laser is the hammer breaking into a tiny pellet of hydrogen isotopes (atoms). The chamber is the anvil, keeping everything contained. The result? Genuinely clean, secure fusion energy.”

At this point, it’s far from Nakamura’s goal of limitless energy with far-reaching benefits.

More work is needed. The company is scaling up to meet its goal to construct a 1-gigawatt pilot fusion power plant — big enough to power 750,000 to 1 million homes — by 2032 near Santa Barbara, California.

Will this be his greatest achievement and gift to the world?

“Yeah, yeah,” Nakamura said simply.

Asked how he might react if a young scientist in his lab defies his orders and continues doing whatever he or she wants to do, Nakamura laughed.

His message to young scientists everywhere, he said, is this: “Taking a risk is most important.”

Doing so might just change the world.

How Hans G0UPL Cracked the Code for Stable I and Q from the Si5351

2026-07-06T04:45:39.134-04:00

L to R: Farhan, Roy Lewallen, Eric Guth and Hans Summers

Back in 2018, I remember Farhan telling me that "Hans has cracked the code" getting stable I and Q from the Si5351. But I never really appreciated the importance of this breakthough until I recently started looking at the receiver from Macedonia. Then I asked AI (Google Gemini) for a readout on who was responsible for the I and Q innovation. Here is what I got yesterday from Gemini:

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

The credit for solving this problem and unlocking stable, single-chip $I/Q$ quadrature generation from the Si5351 goes to Hans Summers, the British QRP developer and founder of QRP Labs.

While other talented developers in the amateur radio community—most notably Jason Mildrum (NT7S)—wrote the definitive, widely used standard open-source Arduino libraries for basic Si5351 tuning, it was Hans Summers who fundamentally cracked the math required to force the chip into a stable $90^\circ$ phase shift over a wide frequency range without breaking lock.

The Breakthrough Discovery

Around 2014 to 2015, while designing highly compact, low-cost transceivers like the QCX and ultimate VFO kits, Summers realized that standard programming libraries were completely incompatible with generating stable quadrature signals.

He pioneered a completely reversed architectural method to control the chip, which became the blueprint for homebrew SDR builders everywhere:

Flipping the Fractional Math: Standard libraries fixed the primary internal Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO/PLL) at an integer value and used the second stage (the MultiSynth fractional dividers) to dial in the exact frequency. Summers realized this broke the phase shift. He discovered that you must lock the MultiSynth divider to a fixed even integer and force the first stage (the PLL VCO) to do the fractional math instead.
The "No Reset" Discovery: Standard practices issued a soft PLL reset command to the chip every time the user turned the tuning dial to ensure clean frequencies. This reset caused the phase relationship to drop out or randomize. Summers proved that after an initial startup reset to align the phases, you can smoothly glide the VCO frequency up and down via the $I^2C$ bus without resetting the PLL, keeping the $I$ and $Q$ signals locked in a perfect mathematical embrace.

Thanks to Hans Summers publishing his detailed engineering application notes and open-sourcing his mathematical methods, developers around the world were able to write the code that modern microcontrollers (like the ESP32 in your receiver) use today to keep the $I/Q$ phase rock-solid as you dial across the bands.

An Interesting Receiver from North Macedonia

2026-07-05T07:38:56.764-04:00

https://hackaday.com/2026/07/02/diy-si5351-radio-tunes-in-sw-mw-and-more/

There are some really cool features in this receiver: There is an ESP microcontroller and an Si5351. There is the rotary digital dial that we had been working with. There is an NE602 mixer and a receiver that is sometimes (SDR mode) direct conversion and other times (Radio mode) a simple superhet with an 455 kHz IF. Wow.

There are really two receivers in this box, and AI kind of confused them. When I asked what the IF was, Gemini told me that there was no IF - it was, they said, a direct conversion reveiver. But no! In the quickly displayed schematics in the video, we see an IF amplifier and what appears to be two IF transformers and a BFO at 455 kHz. So at least in the "RADIO" switch position we see a superhet. The VFO freuency fed into the NE602 is 455 kHz above or below the signal frequency. If they had a BFO on they could listen to CW and SSB in the "Radio" position (it would not be single signal -- there is no sharp filter in there). But even wthout a BFO, in the RADIO mode you could also listen to AM signals using the envelope detector in the IF strip.

Things change when you throw the switch to the SDR mode. Much of the IF/Demodulator board is turned off. The Si5351 now feeds the signal frequency to the VFO port of the NE 602, turning it into a direct conversion receiver. You could feed this signal into your SDR but you would not get image rejection. For this you would need I and Q signals to go to the computer. This receiver provides I and Q output from the Si5351, and it is this that you need to turn that computer into a true single signal, image-rejecting receiver.

Thanks to Hack-A-Day for alerting us to this, thanks to Mirko Pavleski for building this receiver and showing it to us, and special thanks to Hans Summers G0UPL for cracking the code that let the Si5351 produce the stable I and Q signals needed in SDR receivers like this. More on this tomorrow.

A Really Really Complete South African Workshop

2026-07-03T04:56:14.925-04:00

This is really almost too much. But I include it here because it is just an obviously impressive set of tools. There are also many CNC machines (machines that Pete keeps talking about). Finally, this video comes to us from afar, from South Africa. And SolderSmoke remains committed to INTERNATIONAL solidarity. Thanks Ed for this wonderful video.

Vintage Audio Restoration: Glue, Fusible Resistors, and Relays

2026-07-02T06:18:56.305-04:00

This guy is restoring VINTAGE audio gear. It is definitely younger than the Boatanchors we usually work on, but it is a lot older than more recent gear that is made with largely pick-and-place machines and surface mount components. There are mostly through hole components here.

There are some challenges I've never thought about: glue that over time starts to mess up the circuitry. Fusible resistors? Who knew? And then there are relay contacts that go really bad. We use a lot of these kinds of relays.

All in all, there are a lot of good ideas in this video. His other videos are probably worth watching too. I think it will be especially useful for my friend Bob, KD4EBM who does a lot of work in this area.

Please let me know what you think. Comment below.

SolderSmoke Podcast #265: AI Pete, WSPR, sBITX, San Diego, Last Ditcher, NYC, 17-12 Fix, MMM Blasphemy, 6T9er, MAILBAG

2026-06-29T11:04:05.694-04:00

SolderSmoke Podcast #265 is ready for download.

Video Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jWYe6NxnJA

Audio Version: http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke265.mp3

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

Travelogue: Pete to San Diego, Dean to NYC, Bill stays home.

Field Day Report! Dean? Pete? I had a bad back. Really.

The importance of "taking a break" discussed on "Hidden Brain" podcast.

We need new chapters for the FMLA series. Time to add the CBLA?

AI Pete? http://soldersmoke.com/AIPete.mp3

Dean: WSPR success -- Report

Back on the air with the homebrew sBITX.

VWS WSPR TX and AMP

KK4DAS WSPR Map

Pete: Visit to surplus store in San Diego.

The Last Ditcher CW rig. Frank Jones would approve! Construction technique combining wooden slats and copper clad boards is FB.

Homebrew CW rigs -- update.

Schematics and Co-Pilot

Shameless Commerce Division:

Mostly DIY RF

Become a Patron through Patreon.

Do you want an emailed heads up about blog post and pocasts? Send your e-mail to bill.meara@gmail.com

Please comment on the Podcast (on YouTube or on the blog) and about blog posts (on the blog page). Comments let us know that we are not speaking into the Google void!

Bill: Fixing the receiver in my 17-12 rig. Adding 12 db to the TIA.

The Open Circuits book. Eric is the Eric from CuriousMarc. And he is a ham!

Blasphemy? Bill redraws schematic for Michigan Mighty Mite.

I have 6T9 tube. I don't really want to build a CW transmitter. But I may have to.

Gemini explains "Low Value Content" They see 10,000 posts and assume it is AI Slop.

Mailbag:

Wes: Nice email from W7ZOI.

Peter Marks VK3TPM fixed the index file (with help from Claude).

Peter VK3TPM and Paul VK3HN -- Great comments on AI.

Also Dean KK4DAS and Bob KD4EBM

VK3HN sent FB AI QSL from ZL2BNE (see mine!)

Bruce KK0S sent two FB AI QSL cards.

Rogier PA1ZZ -- Sends "The World of El - AI" IDK.

Ryan KJ7KVD building a Michigan Mighty Mite (I sent parts)

Robert W8MOX heard my beacon from the DR to Annandale Va.

Kirk NTOZ -- The future of ham radio and what went wrong.

Paul KL7FLR -- The Wizard of Wasila -- Finally 3D printed a Toroid winder

Charlie NJ7V -- Doing great work over at Red Summit RF.

Podstatus reports that we are #2 in Ghana! Hooray for us!

Farhan VU2ESE -- LARCSet CW mods!

Walter KA4KXX Homebrew POTA proposal.

Grayson KJ7UM: Likes Helge's Norwegian paraset

Gerald VA2GJ: Including DC RX in Canadian license study materials.

Ron WA6YOU: Spy radios RT-6 and RR-6

Scott K6AUS: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2026/06/update-how-many-drake-2-b-receivers.html We need to send him a 2B!

Bob W8SX: FDIM interview with Hans G0UPL. More to follow.

Update: How Many Drake 2-B Receivers Were Made? Can Someone Send a Drake 2-B to Scott?

2026-06-28T07:29:28.137-04:00

We first looked at this question way back in 2011: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-many-drake-2-bs-german-tank-problem.html

Scott K6AUS has been involved since the very beginning and continues to look at the mathematics:

https://nomadiq.net/blog/post/how-many-drake-2bs-were-ever-made

Scott has given us a very useful update based on additional serial numbers provided by SolderSmoke listeners.

How many? About 11,300. Check out Scott's page for some interesting mathematical details.

Thanks a lot Scott!

BTW: SCOTT K6AUS DOES NOT HAVE A DRAKE 2-B. THIS IS JUST WRONG! HE HAS DONE SO MUCH FOR THIS RECEIVER! HE SHOULD HAVE ONE! IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE WHO CAN SEND A DRAKE 2-B TO SCOTT?

Bob W8SX Interviews Hans G0UPL at FDIM 2026

2026-06-27T06:20:40.201-04:00

Thanks to Bob W8SX for being the SolderSmoke Correspondent at FDIM again this year.

We will present the audio recordings that Bob did for us. The first of these is with Hans Summers G0UPL.

Bob talks to Hans about the QMX and QMX + transceivers. Hans reports that he has sold more than 16,000 of these transceivers in the last three years. He describes for Bob how he made use of the Hilbert transform, and how the fact that this rig is SDR means that with each firmware update, the user gets essentially a new radio, with features that often did not exist before.

Here is the recording:

http://soldersmoke.com/G0UPL FDIM 2026.mp3

Thank you Bob, thanks Hans, and thank you QRP ARCI.

100 Billion Transistors on One Small Chip -- No Room for Homebrew!

2026-06-26T04:07:58.653-04:00

https://newsroom.ibm.com/2026-06-25-ibm-debuts-worlds-first-sub-1-nanometer-chip-technology

FCC Amateur Radio Exam Question: Draw the schematic for the new IBM sub-1nm chip, showing how it will be used in FT-8 operations.

Mike WN2A suggested I ask AI about a schematic. Here is what Gemini said:

Here is what Gemini said:

Please draw me the schematic (showing the connections of all 100 billion transistors) in the new IBM sub-nm chip.

I would love to help sketch out circuit diagrams, but drawing a literal schematic showing the individual connections for all 100 billion transistors is physically impossible!

To put that number into perspective, if we were to draw a schematic where each transistor was just a tiny 1-inch symbol on a piece of paper, the blueprint would be so massive it would easily cover the entire landmass of the United States.

Modern sub-nanometer chips—like IBM's cutting-edge nanosheet architectures—are far too complex for human hands to map out line-by-line. Instead, engineers use advanced software to design chips hierarchically. Here is how that massive sea of 100 billion transistors is actually organized under the hood:

1. The Building Block: The Gate-All-Around (GAA) Nanosheet

At the microscopic level, these chips no longer use the older FinFET (fin-shaped) transistors. Instead, they use nanosheets, where the channels are stacked vertically like a three-story sandwich. The gate wraps entirely around all four sides of each horizontal sheet, providing maximum electrical control and drastically reducing current leakage.

2. Standard Cells (The Functional Logic)

Instead of wiring 100 billion separate components, computer scientists group transistors into "Standard Cells." These are pre-designed functional blocks like:

Logic Gates: AND, OR, NAND, and NOR gates (requiring anywhere from 2 to 8 transistors each).
Flip-Flops: Memory cells that store a single bit of data (requiring about 20 to 30 transistors).

3. The Macroscopic Layout (Blocks and Cores)

Billions of those standard cells are then combined into macroscopic structural blocks that look less like a traditional schematic and more like a highly organized city map. If we were to draw a high-level schematic of the chip, it would look like a block diagram featuring:

Processor Cores: The massive processing engines packed with arithmetic logic units (ALUs).
Cache Memory (SRAM): Vast grids of 6-transistor memory cells stacked tightly together to hold data right next to the execution units.
Interconnect Matrix: A vertical 3D skyscraper of up to 15 layers of microscopic copper wiring running above the transistors to route data and power across the chip.

If you are working on a homebrew electronics project and want to map out a circuit diagram for an RF amplifier, a QRP radio transceiver, or a simple analog filter, I can absolutely help you draw or troubleshoot those schematics! But for 100 billion nanosheets, we have to leave the drafting to the silicon foundries' supercomputers.

My AI QSL Card: Wood Boxes, a D-104, Books, a 'Scope, the EB-63A, Guapo, our Sticker, and a Cup of Coffee! KK0S's Cards

2026-06-25T07:32:31.211-04:00

Inspired by the ZL2BNE card sent to me by VK3HN, and the excellent question from Walter KA4KXX, I endeavored today to create a QSL card that was sort of like that of OM ZL2BNE.

I kind of like the result:

-- We have the wooden box rigs. I am working on one of them. (That happens a lot!)

-- There is a D-104.

-- We see the EB-63 .1kW Linear.

-- There are books on the shelf: SSDRA, EMRFD and SPRAT in a binder. And we see a book by Hayward.

-- There is an oscilloscope.

-- There is a nice map of Northern Virginia and my Maidenhead Grid Square.

-- We see Guapo, and a cup of coffee.

-- We also see the SolderSmoke sticker.

Here is how I did this:

I used https://www.canva.com/ You have to select the AI option. Then I told it I wanted it to look like the ZL2BNE card (I sent them a copy). At that point you have to start modifying what the AI comes up with. You have to do this many times until you get it sort of right.

Please send me your results!

Here are a couple of QSLs that Bruce KK0S did with ChatGPT:

A Really FB HB QRP QSL Card from New Zealand

2026-06-24T05:18:50.380-04:00

That's the spirit! The solder is melting. Note the oscilloscope. Note the books on the shelf. This amazingly good QSL card was sent to us by homebrewer Paul VK3HN, who made the contact with ZL2BNE.

This card reminded me of my first real DX: ZL2ACP many years ago. 15 meter CW with my new Drake 2B receiver. I had crossed the Pacific before I had crossed the Atlantic. I ran upstairs and woke my parents to tell them of this amazing feat! I still have that QSL card.

The RT-6 and RR-6 Motorola "Spy Set"

2026-06-18T10:33:23.664-04:00

I don't know if this rig really qualifies as a "spy set" but it nevertheless is very interesting. It is a tube rig, designed for use by B-47 bomber crews who could not make it back from the Soviet Union after dropping their nuclear bombs. Supposedly they would bail out, then use these radios to call for help. Good luck with that! Note the fold-out CW key.

This rig was also reportedly hidden in European countries as "stay behind" assets to be used in the event of a Soviet invasion.

Here is a web site with more info: https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/rs6.html

First QSO by Chris (aka Morny) G7LQX and it was Homebrew CW!

2026-06-17T07:44:04.200-04:00

I must have missed this five months ago, but better late than never: Congratulations to Chris G7LQX for his first ham radio contact. And he was using a homebrew CW transceiver.

Details here: https://www.qrz.com/db/G7LQX

Chris has a very nice fist, and he is one of the only YouTubers I have seen who holds the straight key properly, with his forearm resting on the table. All of the others seem to keep the forearm floating in the air, above the key.

Canadian Ham to Include SolderSmoke Direct Conversion Receiver in Teaching Materials for Canadian Ham License

2026-06-15T17:43:27.936-04:00

Good morning Bill N2CQR.

I currently teach Canadian amateur radio certification courses.

The Advanced certification (akin to the FCC Extra Class license) has topics nicely showcased with the NorCal 40a transceiver.

Happily, the SolderSmoke DCR project will be included in my next editions of teaching materials (books, zoom presentations, monthly newsletters) once the Canadian question bank revisions are published later this year.

I really learned a great deal from the YouTube videos for each module in the DCR. Especially appreciated were the recommendations for trimpots and how to use them in the RF filter and the back-to-front build-test procedure for the cascaded audio amplifier. And these are just 2 of the many precious circuit building strategies learned from the documentation supporting this project.

Kudos to you and Dean and all the people involved at SolderSmoke.

All the best, 73 de VA2GJ, Gérald Julien Lemay.

Sputnik, IGY, Korolev, 1 Watt

2026-06-13T13:50:59.132-04:00

Here is the Wikipedia on Sputnik 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1

I didn't know how badly Korolev had been injured while in the Gulag.

The transmitter had 1 watt at 20 and 40 Mhz.

Why It Makes Sense to Take a Break When Stuck on a Problem: "Unleashing Your Creativity" -- Hidden Brain Podcast

2026-06-11T10:14:55.986-04:00

Wow. For years we have been telling other builders that when they get stuck on a technical radio problem, when they can't fix a rig or get something to work, they should NOT stick with it, pull their hair out, and bang their heads against the wall. Nor should they do what many of us do in our troubleshooting nightmares: start pulling components off the board until, in the end, the board is empty. No, don't do that. Take a break, take a walk, do some gardening, do something different. Then, when your mind is clear, suddenly the solution will come to you. "Of course," you will think, "R16 should be 10K not 10 ohms!" Or something like that.

But why does that happen, and how does it happen? It seems that many creative people through the centuries have been aware of this phenomenon.

Listen to this podcast. They discuss the benefits of taking a break and clearing your head.

https://www.hiddenbrain.org/podcast/unleashing-your-creativity/

Q Dope, AI, and Homebrew Q Dope: Putting Packing Pellets to Good Use

2026-06-11T05:23:37.758-04:00

Our friend Grayson KJ7UM recently asked about something that brought back old ham radio memories: Q Dope. No, this not some new scary narcotic. It is an old liquid that many of us had on our shelves until it dried out. It turns out that AI knows all about it:

"Q dope" was a specialty product—essentially a high-quality polystyrene lacquer—widely used by radio builders and amateur radio operators, particularly in the mid-20th century. It served as a protective coating for hand-wound coils and transformers in RF (radio frequency) circuits.

Why it was "Special"

Its primary value lay in the combination of two properties essential for high-performance radio gear:

Low Dielectric Loss: When you wind an air-core coil for a tuned circuit, you want the "Q factor" (Quality factor) to be as high as possible. The Q factor measures the efficiency of the inductor, representing how well it stores energy versus how much it loses to resistance and dielectric absorption. Standard varnishes or glues could introduce "lossy" materials into the magnetic field of the coil, effectively lowering the Q and broadening the bandwidth of the tuned circuit (which reduces selectivity). Q dope was formulated specifically to have an extremely low dielectric constant and low loss tangent, meaning it wouldn't "dampen" the energy in the circuit.
Mechanical Stability: Without a binder, hand-wound coils can be microphonic or physically unstable; if the wire moves due to vibration or thermal expansion, the inductance changes, causing the frequency to drift. Q dope acted as a cement that locked the turns of wire in place without adding the electrical losses of common adhesives.

Modern Context

While the term "Q dope" is less common in modern surface-mount or PCB-based electronics, it remains a topic of interest for those working with vintage radio restoration or homebrewing equipment where the specific electrical characteristics of air-wound inductors are required.

Because it is essentially just polystyrene dissolved in a volatile solvent (like toluene or acetone), it was also notorious for being simple to "home-brew." Many hobbyists simply dissolved scrap pieces of clear polystyrene (often from discarded plastic items) into a solvent to create their own batch, which served the exact same purpose as the commercial product.

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

And wow, here is a video on how to homebrew your own Q dope. Finally those annoying packing pellets are useful for something:

Troubleshooting in "2001 -- A Space Odyssey" -- And Trouble with the AI (HAL 9000)

2026-06-10T09:00:29.003-04:00

Steely-eyed troubleshooters on Discovery

Their test gear

Here is Arthur C. Clarke's description of the procedure:

This is probably our first entirely fictional description of troubleshooting. The amazing thing is that it comes to us from 1968, which is 58 years ago!

YouTube's algorithm sent me a short video on how Stanley Kubrick made the movie, and how Arthur C. Clarke wrote the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJUBK1K84P8

I remember going to see the movie in 1968. Our neighbor Leonard's father (a Russian refugee), took all of us up to Haverstraw, New York to see the film. It was obviously a memorable occassion.

Ongoing discussions of AI and the possibility of AI consciousness make all of this even more relevant today.

The Snake Shack of the Amazon

2026-06-09T10:00:03.116-04:00

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/science/snake-collector-mera-ecuador.html?unlocked_article_code=1.o1A.2O0_.gzrRsoBWgWvH&smid=url-share

Think of this as part of our "other kinds of workshops" series. In this case, it is literally another kind of shack.

The article describes an understandable cultural message that says snakes must be killed. Like the people in this story, we have to fight against similar cultural issues in the Dominican Republic.

Anyway, I liked the story. I hope the link survives.

Pete N6QW's "Last Ditcher" CW Thermatron Rig -- Frank Jones would approve. A new installment of the FMLA series?

2026-06-08T05:28:04.021-04:00

I like this rig. Perhaps I like it too much. I find myself plotting to build it myself. I mean, I have tubes. I have a bunch of old parts (many sent to me by Pete himself).

Alas, I have to fight the temptation. I have to tell myself that this is for CW (a mode that I have come to be impatient with). And it is a thermatron rig that requires potentially lethal voltages.

Still, Pete's construction technique is really neat. It combines old style slat-board construction with modern copper clad boards. Frank Jones would approve.

I think we need someone to write another episode of the FMLA series, this one using Pete's build. And maybe featuring Pete himself.

Here is some needed background info on Frank Jones and the FMLA articles:

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2021/07/summer-reading-for-homebrewers-frank.html

I look forward to hearing from protential authors. If the new articles are good, I will put them on the SolderSmoke blog.

Helge LA6NCA's Norwegian Paraset

2026-06-07T09:53:49.996-04:00

This is a very cool video. I even liked Helge's creative use of AI for the narration. It was amazing that this old rig still works.

Thanks you Helge. And thank you to all the brave members of XU, who so valiantly risked it all in the fight against Fascism. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XU

A Possibly Blasphemous Redraw of the Michigan Mighty Mite Schematic

2026-06-06T07:41:08.207-04:00

Ryan KJ7KVD is building a Michigan Mighty Mite. I sent him some parts, and mentioned that I had redrawn the schematic. I find that it sometimes helps me understand a circuit if I just re-draw the schematic.

Above you will see what I came up with. Here is what I told Ryan:

Attached is my re-daw of the MMM schematic. The emitter and base resistors just needed some clarification. The original schematic led some to believe that the two resistors should be connected. Not so! I think the redraw clarifies this.

The most significant re-draw is in the coil. All I have really done is to "pull out" the tapped "tickler" coil. You will read in the literature that the two are equivalent. This just shows that L1 can be seen as a separate coil, imparting RF to the parallel LC tank circuit that is tuned to the operating frequency. The phase shifts introduced by the transistor, the tank, and the crystal all add up to the needed value in order to meet the Barkhausen criteria: Oscillation results!

Go ahead and build the coil with the tap as in the original schematic. This re-draw may help you understand how the thing works. Understanding is important.

Here is one of the orignial schematics (from https://www.qsl.net/wb5ude/kc6wdk/transmitter.html):