Pay More and Get Less. Flash the Cash!

In my quest to dump the Arduino MCU, I consulted the Oracle at YouTube. A short tour through the videos turned up a project to create a digital LO using the Pi Pico and a Si5351. It was not from the Kingdom of HamSpeak but the CB world. This is a great example as it could also be the basis for creating opportunities using the SSB CB Transceiver architecture for use on the ham bands. This is seed information to start a transition away from the Arduino. It is a twofer as it also is a starter project to get a cheap CB radio to work the 10M band.   As seen on hackaday a two element VFO using a Crowpanel Circular Display (with internal esp32 MCU and encoder) and a Si5351. That is the whole shebang. Hook up a couple of wires and you are there. This is like the JF3HZB circular display in a really compact assembly. Total cost with the Si5351 is about $35 and available at Bozos (Amazon). So, who needs the Arduino and Qualcomm. Caveat Emptor as you would have to know stuff to use the RPi Pi...

Many including myself have invoked the handwringing over the changes made by Qualcomm on the Terms of Service for the Arduino.  We all abhor the potential loss of freedom, and this can cloud a clear path to a solution. One response to the ToS... Homebrew, Raspberry Pi5 and SDR The issue has a simple answer and that is to change the platform. That has a significant advantage of adding capability to our projects. The Raspberry Pi Pico can run circles around the Nano and moving up to the RPi5 puts your project in the SDR playground. The critical path is not the Terms of Service but the thought of those hundreds of sketches you have written for the Arduino that would be abandoned. You would have to learn a new language and might even retrogress to LC Analog VFO's (poor you). In a short time, new code will suddenly appear on You Tube that facilitates the transition to the Pi Pico. BTW the Pi Pico is competitive price wise to the Arduino, but a lot more capable. We have a history of this...

You know, sometimes things just happen. Actually, I don't believe that. My family seeing this would be the 1st major holiday without my XYL suggested we all go to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. I am undecided at this point whether spontaneous or contrived. It doesn't matter as we all had a grand time. Nothing beats family. Sons Nick and Tim, the OM, Amy (Tim's XYL) and Gina. First, I got old and all three sons are taller than me! But I still have hair. Las Vegas has changed in the last 60 years which is a time span from my 1st visit. At that earlier time there was still present an organized crime influence. Now it is a corporate entity who I think are far better at getting all of your money. A $27 Blueberry Waffle and the Coffee is Extra The food was good but expensive as seen in the photo above. It wasn't even a whole waffle but small pieces. A cup of French onion soup was $25 with a bowl costing a lot more. Giordano's Pizza = Excellent and Reasonable We stayed at the...

Qualcomm has recently acquired Arduino which if I looked across my many homebrew projects, the Arduino MCU, in various forms, is just an embed in the rig.  The next step for Qualcomm was to change/amend their Terms of Service which has the effect of getting into our undershorts. Not being a lawyer, I asked Copilot to explain it to me. Here is the sobering response. Describe the real impact of the Acquisition of Arduino by Qualcomm with regards to the change to the Terms of Service. Is the maker community getting screwed over? Short Answer: Yes, the maker community is facing significant restrictions after Qualcomm’s acquisition of Arduino. The new Terms of Service (ToS) limit reverse-engineering, grant Qualcomm perpetual rights to user-submitted designs/code, and introduce surveillance-style monitoring , which many see as a betrayal of Arduino’s open-source ethos. 🔍 What Changed in the Terms of Service Reverse-engineering ban: The updated ToS explicitly prohibit users from decomp...

 Highlight of a trip to Las Vegas... A trip to the Mob Museum. Surely a must on  things to do. Amazing to see scantily dressed women on the street and just another day on the strip. One of the few places where they take all your money and that is just for food. Hope all those in need got a hot meal. 73's Pete N6QW

In a quest to keep me occupied, a result of the loss of my XYL, my kids are in overdrive finding things for us to do as a family. We have an upcoming short trip, and my #2 son suggested a place to go recommended to him by a close friend of his who is Jewish. It really was not necessary to mention his friend's ethnicity or religion but that was key to his next statement. My son's follow on was to share a saying from his friend which is as follows: You know that Italians are Jews with better food .  I was shocked to hear that as I have always believed and instilled in my kids that we look at all individuals as contributors while being blind about race, religion, color, creed and/or beliefs. But then I thought about it and realized that there likely is more to that statement than meets the eye.  A short diversion here about accomplishments of Italians in general. Look at the art, science, technology and of course the women (Loren, Lollobrigida and of course PM Giorgia Meloni). PM...

Turkey Day can be stressful! It is a time where if cooking at home can be a huge problem on how do you make all the food get done on time and cooked just right? But that is not the real stress as this year is complicated by politics. The host discovers the cost of the meal as compared to last year (for the same meal) costs 25% more and so that is significant. Then there are those family members who support a certain party to the extent they wear their red caps during the meal. This year the hosts had to actually prepare a strategy paper on a list of subjects that could be discussed without the meal ending up in a full-fledged food fight. Boy that sure ended up being a small list. The other tight wire act was the seating to ensure that those who were at war last year are seated apart from those that fought last year.  The family grace at the meal initiation which in itself can be politically charged is now a simple: Thank you and let's eat.  Here are some suggestions for surviv...

  We all like it when we are noticed except when failing to stop at stop sign and the cop noticed.  In our hobby, notice takes many forms such as the big antenna planted on a small lot or on the air with a rig such as the Apache Labs Anon plus a Mercury Amp and a 6kHz wide signal. Then there are those that create You Tube videos of the latest radio from offshore being unboxed. Others will create projects that are published in QST such "How to work 100 FT-8 stations in 20 minutes using AI and a Raspberry Pi".  Still, some will publish articles about a sojourn to E51 and how they provided contacts so others can achieve the WAR award (Worked All Rarotonga). Everyone knows someone who belongs to five different ham clubs and has a presence on every social media platform plus two blogs, five websites and two podcasts. While some will see this as being noticed, at the core, it is a basic caveman born "a projection of power" through visible and audible means. You will hear ...

A friend from the St Louis area and a blog reader in response to our posting the other day sent me two links to projects of old.   (Tnx Pete WB9FLW) One link is for a 1967 QST and the other a publication on "Transistors". The time of publications (1960's) is important for several reasons. These include a time when electronic technology was rapidly advancing, and transistors were taking a more dominant role in our beloved gear. It also represents a time when our hobby was technically grounded and not all about contests and operating. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/INTERNATIONAL/QST/QST-1967-06.pdf https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Technology/Author-Groups/Donald%20Stoner/Transistor-Transmitters-for-the-Amateur-Donald-Stoner.pdf As I read the QST link I was struck by the ads for the then advanced state of the art radios mixed with home-built gear projects like Solid State CW transmitters, Vacuum Tube SSB Transceivers, Beam Construction and operation on 2 Me...

So, you decided to build the CW transmitter project... good for you but now you need a CW control/keyer and we turn to AI for that piece. This part does not need to be consistent with the constraints document. You can cut and paste the code embedded in the link below. https://copilot.microsoft.com/shares/E3NXGChM6fd1RmTWbswDG Using an Arduino Nano write a sketch for a CW Transmitter controller. Input pins are A0, A1 and A2. Output pins are 4, 5, 6,7 and 12. Got it 👍 — you want an Arduino Nano sketch that uses A0, A1, A2 as inputs and controls digital pins 4, 5, 6, 7, and 12 as outputs for a CW (Continuous Wave) transmitter controller. Here’s a clean, well‑structured example sketch: cpp /* CW Transmitter Controller for Arduino Nano Inputs: A0, A1, A2 Outputs: 4, 5, 6, 7, 12 */ const int inputPins[] = {A0, A1, A2}; const int outputPins[] = {4, 5, 6, 7, 12}; void setup() { // Configure input pins for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) { pinMode(inputPins[i], INPUT_PULLUP); /...

I get it! No one is interested in building anything at any time nor anymore. But this blog posting should get your interest as this is a possible scenario for 2026 and this you can't avoid. I asked copilot "what is up for 2026"? See you could have built a CW rig. Mike, WN2A did email me about a transmitter he designed that meets our specifications from yesterday. His rig design and project graced the pages of QST so it has a pedigree, and design features we would want in a rig built in 2025! The bonus, designs presented for various bands and good for 20 watts of fire to the wire. OUTLOOK FOR 2026 In 2026, Americans are expected to grapple with major challenges around the economy, political polarization, government dysfunction, and social division. These issues are shaping both daily life and the upcoming midterm elections. 🇺🇸 Key Issues Facing Americans in 2026 💰 Economic Pressures Cost of living & inflation remain top concerns. Polls show voters giving low mark...

So, I had this hairball idea about a challenge project consisting of building a solid-state two (or more) transistor CW transmitter that is constrained by the following. No Michigan Mighty Mites No Circuits from EMRFD No Circuits from Bitx No Si5351 PLL No IC transmitters No 1 transistor rigs... must be at least two transistors No new purchased parts*... Junk Box only No Kits... all scratch built * Bartering parts and used parts found at ham fests are exempt.  It is also OK to use Claude.ai for help. Bonus points for those using Analog VFO's  and for your dining and dancing pleasure a sample of possibilities is shown below. Read the article   So, the why do this has many aspects, including for the 99% who do not homebrew anything a chance to enjoy an exciting aspect of the hobby and you might even learn how to use Morse code.  Who is up for the challenge? BTW this would be a perfect companion to the DCR from N2CQR/KK4DAS.  Just imagine what could be done with tw...

Alert: WSJTX, Win 11, Thetis, Success! The year was late 1966 and I just got back from a second trip (short tour) to Vietnam and also just dumped my girlfriend. (I was subsequently married to her for 57 years until her passing earlier this year). So, what do you do after escaping death for a 2nd time and no strings attached... you get active again on the ham bands. At the time I was living on the beach in Oxnard, in a real dumpy apartment but did have the National NCX-3 that I acquired when I was on Midway. I desperately needed some sort of stealth antenna to get back on the air when I saw an ad in CQ or 73 magazines for a Joystick DX antenna from the UK. This antenna would do everything except mix very dry martinis. I bought one through a US Agent and a month later it shows up. My Joystick (Antenna) looked like the above with rubber caps on each end and the instructions said with the rubber end caps you could lean it against the wall in an apartment and with a short counterpoise essen...