N6QW Homebrew Radio

Building the Si5351 VFO/BFO Board!11/07/2018 ~ Post Mid-Terms I have transitioned to the remote console andthe result are very satisfying. You will see that shortly and I want to tie in a program on the Velocity Channel which is a cable reality show 24/7 showing guys and gals homebrewing amazing cars mostly out of junk parts. So it was with the new console which formerly housed a linear power amplifier stage.

This box was fabricated from double sided copper PC board with an aluminum back cover. It was fully intended to be a totally shielded enclosure and it served that purpose when initially built as a power amplifier stage for a Ten Tec Model 540 that I acquired sans the linear amp brick. This was the prototype and a second one that was built was installed in the Model 540 which I later added a Digital Display effectively making it a Model 544. So I had a spare shielded enclosure in the "junk box".
When you undertake these zany projects there are often unexpected by products a…

10/28/2018 ~ Questions about Si5351  Visit www.n6qw.com 

This is not an Arduino/Si5351 but my Pasta dish! Those are fresh cherry tomatoes in the sauce with fresh Basil, loads of Garlic and the key ingredient Virgin Olive Oil and of course Angel Hair Pasta http://www.pastapete.com







With the publication of the Sudden Transceiver project in the GQRP SPRAT #178 (for those who have received their SPRAT --some of us are still waiting) and are undertaking the project a couple of questions have arisen. One specific question is about "How do I build the Si5351 Oscillator and connect to the display". The Sudden project on my website has a section on building and wiring the Arduino and Display but for someone undertaking this as a first project I am sure it leaves a lot questions. Thus today's posting.
Firstly, having built quite a few rigs with the Si5351/Arduino (think close to three dozen) purely by accident you find some things that work well and some that are absolutely never do that a…

Why Build Another Transceiver?10/16/2018 ~ See the latest Video on the Heathkit SSB Transceiver
10/10/2018 ~ Breaking the Guinness Book of Records.1014/2018 ~ The Heathkit Rig is on the Air

Running 100 MW with just the Driver Stage the Heathkit Rig is doing WSPR. Just installed a Refined Driver Stage with the 2N2219 -- a healthy 100 MW. The Transistor with the heatsink in the lower left corner is the 2N2219






This is the WSPR Data at 100 MW


Get off the couch and start soldering!
73's Pete N6QW


The SMD board above is the Plessey Bilateral Amplifier in surface mount. This is the work of Nick, G8INE who recently acquired a CNC machine. You can see the small size as compared to the ADE-1 DBM. Nick has done a superb job --and he reports it has been proofed and is a working board!

If you go to my website www.n6qw.com under the Sudden Transceiver link there is a link to G8INE and he has offered to provide the Gerber files for this really small board. Thanks Nick!

Pete N6QW

What are you thinking --…

Using the Digital Modes WSPR & FT89-11-2018
Some nice spots into Africa and South America. Am using a new site for displaying information. This site also has analytics about your spots. Thanks Phil, VK7JJ.

http://wspr.vk7jj.com/


73's
Pete N6QW



This is about 15 minutes this morning, 7 AM PDST, running 10 watts on 40 Meters and a droopy dipole. You can see the paths favor NE SW and are pretty consistent even running 5 watts. Some of those paths are in excess of 12000 KM.
The secret is the newly designed and scratch built digital interface that can turn any SSB, USB capable transceiver into a digital workhorse. Unless you modify the Bitx40 it will not work without modification to USB. Most of my rigs are homebrewed by me and thus are USB capable.


I modified a sound card interface board from KF5INZ (eBay) which used a Serial Port for communication with my computer so now the lash up works on USB. The computer is a small form factor Windows 10 Intel NUC that is about the size of a CD case…