The OM and YL

I share a common bond with two notable figures in history, those being E. Howard Armstrong and Brad Pitt. Yes, that bond, the same birthday, December the 18th.

Armstong impacted our hobby with two major inventions: The Super Regen and The Super Heterodyne. For the 45 Minute Wonders, the Superhet was not an invention by a K Pop Group and featured on a Tik Tok video.

Of course, Armstrong is a SK (long ago) but Pitt is still with us and might I add purring right along on all 16 cylinders. Pitt is 62 and his Girl Friend is 33 so that might explain the "pep in his step".

PNP --- Pitt N' Pal

Bravo, Brad, and have a great movie shoot in Greece. This truly is an OM and a very nice YL! Are the really baggy pants a part of a disguise or something else? Style is likely not the message.

Based on the Novice Special, QST 1956

The above circuit came from the February 1959, RCA Ham Tips (N4TRB website) and is a part of a project called "The Weekend Special". This is part of a 40M Valved CW transceiver that fits in a typewriter case. OK BTE's typewriters were before computers or the internet. I have my suspicions that the W7ZOI "Ugly Weekender" may be a solid-state update to W2QEX's (Lee Aurick) 1959 project. OK conspiracy theorists do you find it strange that the suffix of the call became the title of the ARRL techie publication QEX.

Them that know can make things go and those who don't know wished they did.

73's

Pete N6QW

What to Build?

The Soldersmoke Podcast 263 opens that session on February 23, 2026, with that very same question.

Soldersmoke Podcast #263

There were divergent answers amongst the three of us and that clearly reflects the state of our hobby. But one opinion was not stated that actually overwhelmingly characterizes today's answer from the supermajority of hams. That answer "NOTHING". One other piece of evidence is that as of February 25, 2026, at 5:00 AM PST there are not thousands of views on you tube. But in all fairness, there are more views of SS #263 than my paperclip unboxing video. 

As a datapoint a You Tube Video by a newly minted YL Extra who went to the top license literally overnight (the subject of the video) had 27K views in 2 days. Her stated objective was POTA.

But the Nothing answer requires an examination as the very founding of our beloved hobby had its start because you had to scratch build your rig to get on the air. Marconi's 1st effort was totally homebrewed.

So, the why of Nothing. I suggest the following may cover some of the answer and in reality, has parallels in other hobbies. 

Let us use a non-radio example. Take the iconic movie My Cousin Vinny with Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei. Pesci's character Gambini is a newly minted sort of lawyer, and his girlfriend (Tomei) Mona Lisa Vito are in the deep south trying to defend Gambini's relative on a murder charge. A key piece of evidence is provided by Tomei who was an automotive expert as she worked as a mechanic in her family's garage. The evidence involved tire tracks made by a getaway car and a Posi-traction rear end. The writer of the movie as a teenager knew the innards of every American car and this piece of the movie was an accurate fact based on his experience with homebrewed cars. The writer didn't have money to buy a Z-80, but scrounged junk yards and homebrewed a jalopy.

Two factors are presented in the above story, the first being that young people wanted to learn things, and they did that by doing. There was no Google or AI... you actually had to learn things and much of that was hands on. The second piece was disposable income. It was near zero and young people actually earned money with paper routes (pre-digital) or mowing lawns. I personally earned the $20 to build my 1st station (ARC-5 Receiver and 6V6 transmitter) by mowing lots of lawns.

A huge responsibility falls on the shoulders of the ARRL who chose to shift away from the techie side of the hobby and focus on contests, operating and reviews of expensive equipment. QST is no longer the technical journal it once was. 

Education is another factor where the emphasis on science and technology takes a back seat to Football, Lacrosse and lest we forget Basketball. I personally witnessed something extra-ordinary at my little high school back in Pennsylvania. The Russians launched Sputnik and 6 weeks later we had two new teachers on the staff and if you were in the college preparatory classes you suddenly had a curriculum change. New classes were added covering advanced mathematics and advanced physics both taught by teachers who had engineering backgrounds.  

Friends N2CQR and KK4DAS tried to introduce a STEM project at an upscale High School in VA. This project was their now famous DCR receiver. It did not finish well, as the problem was not the students but lack of support from the school administration.

The other ARRL piece is the 45 Minute Extra where the licensing requirements have essentially been bypassed so that nothing of substance is needed to hold the top license.

These factors have led to a hobby dominated by individuals who have money or headroom on the credit cards and an ability to remember answers to a set of canned questions. It has nothing to do with real knowledge, learned skills and an inquisitive mind to know things like how an oscillator oscillates or what is involved with a frequency conversion or the why of inverted sidebands.

The sad part of Nothing is that Nothing will change except that the number of hams will become less and less as there is no incentive to look under the hood.

There may be pockets of one or two individuals that are challenged by the basic first principles, but AI will be the dominant factor for new designs and technology breakthroughs.

I witnessed perhaps one individual who may be one of those who will lead us forward. About a month ago on my morning walk in the neighborhood, I spotted a young teenager on the side of the road with an older mini motorcycle that was sort of rough running. I said hello and asked about his "rig". He mentioned that he had just acquired it and that it was not working when he got it and now was trying to fix it. Bravo... no doubt he will get it running and just think of what he was learning. I also smiled at him as I saw sticking out of his pocket were a large screwdriver and two wrenches. 

My response of what to build was a test oscillator and N2CQR's was a crystal set and KK4DAS suggested a Regen receiver. The crystal set here in SoCal literally demands you know Spanish or have a strong stomach for right wing talk shows. The dynamics of AM radio have like "no homebrewing by hams" have changed. 

Them that know will always know but for many they just wished they knew.

73's

Pete N6QW

State of the Union (SOTU)

How does one reconcile what will be said today at the SOTU when compared to the reality of our check books. 

I am now paying significantly more for groceries, gas, utilities, insurances and all the added tariffs on the few things I do buy. Despite all the smoke blown up our butts, things are not good.

Who is responsible? You cannot be living here and not ask that question. But one must wonder who will be fingered as the designated scapegoat.

Something Electronic?

73's

Pete N6QW

200 Meters and Down... why we have the ham bands we have.

There is a publication from the ARRL called 200 Meters and Down which explains why we have the hams bands that we have. Actually, it was a form of punishment at the hand of the US Navy.

In the early days of wireless operation, the focus was contacting ships at sea and thus the US Navy staked a claim of controlling all things radio. The transmitters of those days were not SDR (Answer to question #19 on the 45 Minute Extra License exam) but spark gap transmitters. Given the technology at the time most radio transmissions were in the Long Wave bands. (Below the AM broadcast band, see question #27.) 

Well hams being hams often they would drift into the Naval Frequencies and that "pissed off" the Navy. So, the Navy came up with a punishment... Hams could have radio transmitters but could only operate 200 Meters and Down. For those who don't know you divide 300 by 200 and get 1.5 MHz which is the low end and say it was 160M then that is 1.875 MHz. The US Navy in essence said... there work with that. It was a gift. You ask why the 300, that is a constant of the speed of light in meters that lets you convert meters to frequency.

In 1923 Fred Schnell, 1MO/John Reinartz, 1XAL and Leon DeLoy, 8AB ran the famous trans-Atlantic tests where they made contact between the US and Europe on 80M CW. In essence the hams of old paved the way for HF communications. It was the hams that taught the US Navy how to make long distant contacts using frequencies 200M and down. What a payback.

Along the way let us not forget Chiquita Banana and the United Fruit Company. This company did a great deal of radio development in connection with their radio network used to contact banana boats plodding the path between South America and New Orleans. 

Thus, the why of the ham bands as originally established below 200 Meters. BTW it was the US Navy who still controlled all things radio that in 1919 caused the formation of RCA to build shipboard radio equipment. The Navy saw us as vulnerable because until that time that sort of gear was built by the Eyetalians (Marconi) and the Germans (Telefunken). The US Navy engaged the following companies to form RCA: Westinghouse, General Electric and United Fruit. General Electric was for a long time the major stockholder of RCA. And as they say the rest is history.

Big Transmitter. That will cause a lot of QRM.

Them that know, now don't care if you know.

73's

Pete N6QW

Rotten Through and Through. There it is staring us in the face!

It starts with a good process and good intentions, then it is purposefully infected with a malicious transgressor. In time it is fully maggot infested.  Yet, a cult like faithful awaits to "Drink the Kool Aid" all the while Oohing and Aweing how good the result will be. In many places it is outlawed but the faithful clandestinely partake and regrettably have a high risk of consequences.

We definitely are not talking about Trump 2.0 and the daily antics; but instead Casu Marzu.

One has to wonder how this process was started or invented. It may be like many things of old... it happened spontaneously, was refined and then adopted. I also see a parallel with our 45 Minute Extra Class licensee.

Heard on 20M, a DX Station was running a string of contacts and this Extra Calls him (we know he is an extra with the 2X1 call sign). He then asks the DX station to repeat his call sign, which he does. But the Extra keeps asking for a repeat (5 times). The DX station then say phonetically Xray Quebec ***. The Extra keeps bumbling the call. Finally, the DX station says you are not listening... QRZ from XQ***. The Extra must have had a dose of Casu Marzu. BTW XQ*** is in Chile and this particular XQ has 363K lookups in QRZ. 

The Extra could have listened for a bit longer to get the call correct but instead he bumbled along and took time away from others who were trying to get a report. How inconsiderate and showing his ignorance of operating procedure.  The DX station was articulating it properly and gave it with phonetics... The stateside ham truly was not listening and if your focus is contests and operating you best learn how. Pure and Simple a ROOKIE 45 Minute Extra!

Them that know would not eat Casu Marzu.***

73's

Pete, N6QW

***

Traditional Sardinian cheese

Casu Marzu is a traditional Sardinian cheese made from sheep's milk, known for its soft, spreadable texture and strong, tangy flavor. The cheese is produced by introducing live maggots of the cheese fly Piophila casei into aged pecorino cheese, which causes a fermentation process that breaks down the cheese's fats, resulting in a creamy consistency. This cheese is often compared to Gorgonzola and is typically enjoyed with Sardinian bread and red wine. Due to health concerns, Casu Marzu is banned in many countries, including the United States, and is considered one of the most dangerous cheeses in the world because the maggots can survive stomach acid and potentially cause serious health issues if consumed. 

Wikipedia+2

A Tri-Band Conversion of a More Modern Radio

I would like to share a literally untapped source of commercial SSB/CW transceivers that can be retrofitted as modern ham transceivers. 

It is no big secret that many commercial SSB radios can be made to work, and nicely I might add, on our ham bands. Yet there doesn't seem to be a lot of information on specific radios and details of the conversions. 

Radios that are great candidates often are the ones operating in the 2 to 12 MHz range and Crystal controlled. These are often really cheap, because they are not frequency agile, (read crystal controlled) and not on the top of the want list. Many Marine SSB radios are also good candidates and have direct frequency entry. SEA has marine radios listed on eBay and that cover from 80M through 15M and have the direct frequency entry. Don't overlook the Collins AN/PRC-47 which is that same 2-12MHz, 20 Watts, USB topology.

Eleven years ago, I spotted a Ten Tec Model 150A, 8 channel, 2-12 MHz SSB/CW radio for less than $100. It is a 100-watt radio, all solid state, has selectable sidebands and a noise blanker. It was in operational condition... I did the buy it now! 

The Manual for the Ten Tec Model 150A is HERE.

TT Model 150A W/N6QW Mods

SEA Marine SSB

SEA Direct Entry Radio

Northern Radio 12 CH Marine Band

Back to the Model 150A... This is not a conversion that can be undertaken by the typical newly minted/anointed 45 Minute Extra as you really have to have a significant background in electronics to be successful in the conversion. Let me explain.

The 1st approach was to have an 160/80/60/40/30/20 Meter radio under the control of a remote-control box as seen below. The box had an encoder and also you could up/down tune the radio using two of the keypad keys. The 8X2 LCD gave you all the info you needed to operate the radio. You could also choose the step tuning rate via the keypad.

Remote Control Box

This conversion had to be "engineered" as no one had done this before to this radio (as far as I know) and it was not some kit to be installed.

The tasks were many, starting first on how to generate the code for the digital LO so Key #1 = 160M and so on. Following that, how and where to inject the Digital LO and BFO signals into the Model 150A. 

Now the radio had 8 channels that you could select via a band switch (BSW). But that BSW also selected a bank of band pass filters so that position 1, liked the 2 MHz frequencies and position 8 was for the 12 MHz frequencies. A matrix in the manual identified the correlation. The first problem here was to take the Position 8 filter which maxed out at 12MHz and move that to 15MHz to cover 20M. Lots of time was spent with LT Spice to find the filter constants. I changed those constants while the boards were installed in the radio.

I mentioned that the Model 150A had selectable sideband (USB/LSB), there was even a front panel switch for that selection. But USB was standard for these commercial radios and LSB was optional. No, it was not a matter of finding a LSB BFO crystal as TT used the separate USB and LSB filters with a common BFO frequency. The Filter CF was around 12 MHz. I tried to find a 12MHz LSB filter... no luck. On a posting to a reflector one ham worked on commercial SSB products and he sent me a matching USB/LSB set of filters at 16MHz. I popped those in the radio but some of the IF stages couldn't be twizzled to cover 16MHz.

The Model 150A filters were not the stock ladder type you see in the Ten Tec ham radios but were from Network Sciences in Phoenix. A call to that company actually found the guy who designed the 12 MHz filters, and he told me that the filter was so good you could use two separate BFO frequencies... you just had to find them. I did and the Si5351 generates two BFO frequencies that are panel selected. 

I soon found that the remote-control box was like in the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner... an albatross around my neck. I 68'd the box. BTW the term 68 is from the Mafia. You bump the guy off and bury him 6 feet down and 8 feet away. 

The next step was to build the digital LO inside the Model 150A and make it a tri-band rig, 80/40/20M. The Model 150A had a front facing internal speaker which I removed and used that space for the Digital LO/BFO.

Tri-Band Model 150A

The board for VOX and CW was not installed, but I do have the schematic and could fab a board, but this is not a burning issue for me.

It is so nice to have a modern tri-band rig with amenities like selectable SSB, Noise Blanker, Digital LO, 100 watts and all solid state. The total bill after modifications was $150 including the radio. 

Them that know, can make it go. There is a 22-page document I prepared covering the nuts and bolts of how to convert the Model 150A. If you would like a copy, then send me an email to my QRZ.com address. This document has the LT Spice simulations and was made when the Keypad was the control medium.

If you read the document, then you will see that knowing the techie side of the hobby makes possible the creation of radios useful on today's bands and for little money. This is where ham radio started and the now "no need to know anything technical license" is killing the hobby. The Model 150A Remote Control Box adventure was the seed that enabled me to grow a Remote-Control Box for the Triton II as seen on the https://www.n6qw.com website.

73's

Pete N6QW

When Hams were Hams and not just operators/contesters!

At one time hams were experimenters. How do you think radio was invented? There was this Italian guy named Marconi who was an ardent experimenter. The story goes as he was expanding the range of transmissions (as there were no Baofeng UV5's at that time) he would send out assistants with receiving equipment and shot guns. As they moved further away from the transmitter, they would fire a shotgun to let Marconi know... I can still hear you! 

That spirit of experimentation lasted maybe 70 or 80 years until the ARRL came up with schemes like incentive licensing and giving away ham licenses. Essentially the ARRL forever changed ham radio and at the same time excised the experimenter aspect from the hobby. QST directly removed the techie side of the hobby from it pages and now if you want techie you have to go to QEX. The pages of QST are now filled with dribble about contests, operating and advertisements for radios made in the Far East.

Today I want to share an experimenter's story from the 1960's and it involves the Heathkit Monoband SSB transceivers. Some smart marketing guys at Heathkit produced the $100 SSB single band kit radio. Friend N2CQR shared his 1st appliance box SSB radio was an HW-32A, the 20 M version. When I was out on Midway Islands, the station on Eastern Island KM6CE ran a HW-32 into a 13 dB gain Rhombic Antenna pointed on the US... needless to say KM6CE was always heard stateside.

Now to the smart part, as an op if you wanted other bands, you spent another $100 and if you wanted triband you spent $300. That is until some experimenters realized that the main differences among the three versions were 4 coils... L2, L3, L5 and L4. If one somehow installed 3 band switches and then added the heterodyne crystals and second BFO crystal to any one of the monobanders plus have a set of all three coils of the L2-L5 you would have an instant Tri bander. Actually, the 80M version did not have an L5 nor a heterodyne crystal.

\

N6QW's Heathkit Tri-Band Transceiver

In fact, a limited run of modification kits was made by a 3rd party and now suddenly there was a Heathkit Tri-Band transceiver. It would be possible to just collect the parts, skip the kit and have at it. I spotted one of these Tri-Banders on eBay (It was less than just a Tech Special, as the term basket case was more like it). I got it for $50. It had a complete set of tubes. 

Short story long it was a basket case. But with a bit of magic, it is now working on receive on all bands and I managed to get 60 watts out on 80 and 40M and maybe 2 watts on 20M. One of the critical 20M coils has a stuck core and I can't get it to budge. The LSB signal on 40M sounds pinched and that I attribute to the BFO crystal as there is no trimmer to net the crystal. USB sounds FB. Kind of an interesting byproduct, as the radio has to use the USB BFO to produce LSB on 80M as the mixing process creates a sideband inversion. 

Beyond a basket case was one filthy radio. Two tribal knowledge tips: Ultrasonic jewelry cleaner for the knobs and Krud Kutter (a tip from N5OLA) for the font panel. Both available at Bozos (BoJack and Bezos).

Bottom line for the 1960's, it was an amazing feat. Today one of the SDR police on 40M complained about my restricted BW. Let us not lose site of the fact of the experimentation that was involved to create an "acceptable Tri-band radio" by 1960's standards. Bravo guys!

We are 14 months into the 2.0 presidency and so has anyone seen the new manufacturing revival. Has anyone asked the hard question how many manufacturing businesses have actually closed their doors since January 2025? BTW according to copilot about 50% all manufacturing businesses have 10 or less employees. The 2.0 tariff is a contributing factor.

Them that know can make things go! 

A Real Knack!!!!

73's

Pete N6QW