Left Coast Political Scene

Sandra Bullock is one of my favorite actresses and one of her movies ends with a bit of a wish for "world peace"! Indeed, a great thought that as of today is not in clear focus in the foreseeable future. There is just not the appetite around the world to work cooperatively and if anything, it is every man for himself.  That was clearly demonstrated here in the USA just a month ago. Bad decisions any time, any place, and in any venue are difficult if not impossible to undo. There is no reset button for those who make bad decisions! But a really good decision is to take our hobby back to its core foundation where ham operators would actually build things. There is both the learning aspect and the satisfaction aspect, and the end result is something useful.  It doesn't have to be a self-designed SDR transceiver but something as simple as a dipole antenna or perhaps a Stockton Bridge SWR meter. Avoid kits as there is just about zero learning with a kit other than how to unbox...

With Christmas but 5 days away, my thoughts have turned to homebrewing special dishes traditionally served only at this time of year. Speaking of traditions, we had one at my home when I was growing up.  The tradition was that on my birthday (December 18) the Christmas tree would be decorated followed by a birthday party. For a birthday cake my mom would serve Zuppe Inglese. Literally translated Zuppe Inglese means English Soup -- but it is so much more than that description. So here is my mother's version of Zuppe Inglese. You start with four layers of white cake. Each layer is liberally soaked in rum and between the layers is vanilla cream pudding. The outside is covered in real whipped cream and topped with Maraschino Cherries. The cake must be made 24 hours in advance of consumption so that the rum flavoring fully permeates the cake.  A variant likely developed to solve a problem. One traditional Italian cookie is known as Biscotti (the root of the word biscuit). Believe i...

Yesterday was my birthday and I suspect Brad Pitt had a much better time celebrating than I did on our shared birthday. But I did buy myself a small cake with the requisite one candle and thanked God for still being alive That said I did receive birthday wishes from as far away as Bangalore, India, a couple from the UK, one each from Australia and Italy and a bunch from the USA. It was nice to be remembered. In two weeks, it will be 2025 and three weeks after that, a new administration will be running the United States. There are troubling signs of what the next four years will be like here.  Clearly already there are words of retribution and revenge mixed with individuals in key positions who clearly lack the experience. But you who voted for this option are now stuck with the results. One must ask what have you done? There are now less than five weeks to buy that new rig from the Far East before the price impacts commence from the new tariffs. 73's Pete N6QW

Friend N2CQR posted my KWM-2 Power Switch Fix on an Antique Radio Forum and of course that prompted a posting (possibly from the resident blog police person) that in essence said that is not the way to do it. The blog poster also mentioned something about using relays in the 516F-2 power supply. In truth, the relay in the power supply is a better solution and now I will show you how that is done. But what the blog poster police person forgot is that to enable the relay in the power supply you still need a working switch in the KWM2 or 2A. So, step #1 fixes the switch and step #2 installs the relay. The theory of the relay has as its roots in what is called the Motor Start Circuit . If you want to start a 50HP motor, you do not use a toggle switch in line with the motor. But what you do is to use the toggle switch to control the field coil of a 50HP rated contactor (fancy name for a really big relay) where our field coil draws hundreds of milliamps while the contactor pulls in the curre...

Things show up on my phone especially when I search through You Tube. One of the recent videos to appear on the screen was "Spy Radios" from WWII. Generally speaking, we might see these as pretty crude in comparison to what we have today. Often these radios were simple two tube regenerative receivers (6SK7) and a one tube transmitter (6V6). One of the more famous of these spy radios is the Paraset shown below.  Developed by the British SAS, it is officially known as the Whaddon MK VII. Often the array of items above were packed into what looks like a beat-up leather suitcase so it could be easily concealed and transported. The name "Paraset" came from the fact these were air dropped with the spies behind enemy lines. Power could be supplied from the mains or a 6VDC car battery using a Vibrator power supply.  Surprisingly it is a two-band rig covering the 80 and 40M bands and with a 6V6 transmitting tube (Crystal Controlled) you could get 5 or 6 watts from the Parase...

You Tube ~ Power Switch Repair One of the various known maladies of the KWM-2 (did I also mention it sucks on CW) is the failure of the main power ON OFF switch. When this switch fails you are SOL, and I was in that boat! [ What you are about to read is a solution to the power switch failure that was successful in large measure because of experience, tribal knowledge, and engineering genes. Having some nifty tools like a manual milling machine was also key. Also, significant in the fix is a well-stocked junk box. Soak in what was done as you, the reader, may have a problem like this one at some time and you can refer back to the N6QW solution.] In the upper left-hand corner of the KWM-2 and KWM-2A is a four-position selector switch that reads OFF ON NB CAL. It is a standard wafer switch but ganged to the non-round shaft of that switch is a second switch which only operates in going from OFF to ON.  We see this setup typically on Volume controls that also have the Snap Action switch...

  We have been building the various parts of the tube final for the Hybrid rig. This effort will move it more toward an All-Tube rig versus its original Hybrid form.  Work has been completed simulating the Band Pass Coupler (12DQ7 to 12GE5) and the coupling from the 12GE5 to the W3NQN LPF. We are now building that hardware for those circuits. You can see the parts in the photo above. It is also planned to use a 9-pin miniature plug and socket for the power interconnects (upper right-hand corner). The main power module will house the 9 Pin socket, and this unit will have the 9 Pin plug and 1-foot pigtail.  We are ready to start the wiring. This process may result in a few more changes, but this is the 1st prototype. Do you see the analogy where the various selections to fill out the new government positions are much like Brown Shoes with a Black Tuxedo? Hmmm -- nothing but the best people. Pete N6QW

We often take things for granted! You know, you snap on your homebrew rig or appliance box, and it comes alive. Or that if you want a fresh salad, there is lettuce. (BTW the thing I missed the most second behind 44DD YL's when I was at Chu Lai, was fresh salads). Then there was yesterday when our power supplier (SCE) pre-emptively turned off the power because of high winds. They did this at 3 AM yesterday and then back on at 3AM today. It was awful as there are just so many things linked to the power grid. Something I was able to do was tether the laptop to the cell phone so you could get into the Internet -- but that was not for watching Netflix but for only must have needs.  A bit of preparations would have made an extended outage a bit more bearable. Always keep your cell phone charged and likewise your laptop. I have a USB portable power pack where I can charge my cell phones but beyond that not much good. Flashlights and a stock of batteries are important items and having a fl...

  The following individuals have a common bond. Josef Stalin Ty Cobb Ray Liotta. Betty Grable WWII Pin Up Girl ~ Betty Grable Katie Holmes Edwin H Armstrong Christine Aguilera Brad Pitt Archduke Ferdinand Stephen Spielberg Roger Smith Billie Elish Sia Keith Richards Pete Juliano One of them is a radio pioneer, most are in the entertainment field but there is at least one baseball player and one dictator in the gaggle. Have you figured out the common bond?

There is good chance ham gear and electronic parts will cost more as a result of the new tariffs soon to be enacted.  I have stocked up on parts and a bunch arrived this weekend so back to work on the Tube final. Hard to believe that an ICOM IC7300 that can be had today for about $1000 soon might cost $2000. If you are thinking about a new appliance rig --- best to get it before year end. 73's Pete N6QW

What a thought-provoking question? There often are a myriad of answers that are quickly offered. You know the "usual suspects" like old age, failure to read the instructions, misuse, poor design and the all-encompassing I haven't a clue. We often then find that what is broke can't be fixed and that is reflected in what is about to happen on January 20th. Even time won't fix that problem. It likely will never be fixed and as we are on the path our founding fathers fought so hard to never happen. But it has happened so strap in for a bumpy and never-ending ride. So, what failed at N6QW? Well, the power switch on my beloved Collins KWM-2 just failed. Now this is a rather unique "power on" switch and that is why its failure is not easily fixed. Let me explain. The power "ON" switch is really two switches. In the upper left-hand corner of the radio is a four-position selector switch with 1st position being "OFF" followed by ON, NB and Cali...

We should never forget this day, December 7, 1941,  when America was attacked. Thankfully, we had really good people in government who led us through those war years.   Regrettably those who will soon take over the reins of your government -- not even close. Just pray in the next four years we don't get attacked again! 

Work is progressing nicely as we have some of the major components mounted on our PC Board and we have completed the Simulation of the Band Pass Coupler that sits between the 12DQ7 and the 12GE5.  We also have a first draft of the No Tune Output Network simulation that mates the 12GE5 with the antenna. This may be a bust but I see it as having a good chance of working. Impedance matching is key.     Adding Parts to the Transmit Board   On the left is the 12DQ7 in a shielded socket, where below that will be the Band Pass Coupler. The RF from the lower level stages is fed just behind the 12DQ7 . A shield is planned between the two stages. In the center is the Bias Pot.    Now I am planning ahead should a Pi Network be needed and that Bias Pot bracket becomes one anchor point for a front panel which would house the Tune Cap which would be to the right of the 12GE5. Immediately you can see the why of the 12GE5 -- no exposed High Voltage on a Plate Cap. Behind...