So, OK Pete, how do you mention J310's and Soda Bread in the same title without seeming like you are suffering early onset of dementia. Stay tuned and you will find out.
First the J310's. In earlier blog posts I mentioned I had found a board in the junk box (likely left over from my Simpleceiver project). It had been cannibalized but did have most of the parts in place. On this 4X2 inch board were four J310's (two each for the pseudo-DGM) an ADE-1 and an SBL-1, plus two steering relays. Last but not least, a 4 pole HB Crystal Filter at 4.9152MHz. See the March 27th, blog posting.
The tarnish on the copper board tells you it has seen better days. A different earlier post also showed the LT Spice schematic of this configuration with a 9 MHz commercial filter.
Is this a high-performance circuit on par with an Apache Labs or FLEX SDR -- hell no! But for a simple low part count module does it work -- YES!
BTW the audio amp stage in the video was also recently presented in the blog as was the small RF amplifier board as found on Amazon. If you as a reader have been paying attention -- in the background, we have been building a SSB transceiver but perhaps you missed it. The Driver and Final would have the PNP and P Type devices.
A representative IF Amp Stage
I can see blog readers shaking their heads about J310's connected as a DGM and all that fussing with Super Glue and cutting Manhattan pads. I call such glue and paste activity as drudgery!
Well for your Dining and Dancing pleasure soon you will see an answer to not having to do that drudgery work in the form of a Circuit module with the J310's. The Wizard of Portland OR will soon be sharing some exciting information about the availability of the J310 DGM Module.
With deliberate coincidence you can also find a suitable 4.9152MHz Crystal Filter available from K7TFC's menu of parts.
Hurry to the mostlydiyrf website and sign up for Todd's (K7TFC) newsletter so you don't miss out on this new device.
Of import what we are doing is not a warmed over Bitx design with a new front panel. Get out of your Bitx rut! We dared to do something different, and this follows with the soda bread.
On my daily shifts at the Board and Care facility the XYL has been watching the British Baking show series. Talk about watching a show over and over and thinking it is a new show each time. One of the baking challenges was Soda Bread. That caught my interest.
It seems like with many things, the history is clouded with credit for the Soda Bread recipe cited as Native American but popularized by the Irish during the potato famine. Like the J310's (see there is a link) the ingredients are sparse.
With four ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk you are there. The other delight was 35 minutes from start to finish. No rising of yeast is required or needed!
The dry ingredients are first combined and then the buttermilk added to form a dough. The dough SHOULD NOT be over handled as that makes the bread tough. A simple mixing using a butter knife in a large bowl and a final formation into a 6 inch in diameter by 1- and 1/2-inch Pattie is placed in a pan. The Oven should be pre-heated to 450F, and the bread cooked at this temperature for 10 minutes. The temperature is then reduced to 400F and baked for 20 additional minutes. All-important an X shape is cut in the top of the bread dough before baking. The resulting bread structure is thick, and several pieces toasted along with a platter of eggs was a breakfast delight this morning.
Two cups of all-purpose flour. 1/4 teaspoon each of baking soda and salt and 1 cup of buttermilk --- that is it.
You must remain awake during a blog reading as you may miss the connective points -- Soda Bread is indeed related to J310's ~ Simple and Sparse but Oh so Good!
73's
Pete N6QW
Visit www.pastapete.com