Every Thing Changes But Nothing Changes!

Is that really true? Well my answer is that indeed its true. Example we have some of the slickest technology in our rigs, but they still have problems. You know... that newly constructed 100 watt RF amplifier works great on 20M but is an attenuator on 10M or the code for the ESP32 MCU simply does not work despite being generated by AI. That newly built one tube regen retro circuit simply does not regen. 

We fuss, fret, ponder drinking, fever dream removing all the components yet a non-functional lump remains. Nothing we do seems to change the outcome thus every thing changes but nothing changes.

I had a great opportunity to spend some quality time with son #3 during our Colorado sojourn and he was sharing with me some of his current workplace experiences. I was totally shocked and amazed... different industry, advanced technology, and a 40 year time warp BUT the very same issues and problems I saw some 40 years ago when I was his age working in aerospace. Surprisingly the only common element is the human element.

We will not delve into those running our government as I am sure they monitor all blogs and you tube videos. So I will stop there.

I fabricated some more IF Can mounting plates as I found the copper PC Board is a bit thick for the Spring Clip mounted versions but OK for the solder lug type cans. I had some thin scrap aluminum and that is the perfect thickness for the Spring Clip type. 

I would be happy to share the dxf files for the two types should a reader have a CNC. I think back to all the times I hand cut IF Can mounting holes and most looked like a real butcher jobs. Now I just have to punch the Start button. Wow something did change and it required me to make the change... human element.

Turn off Alexa and reduce your digital footprint as AI is watching you.

Them that know can make it go.

73's

Pete N6QW

20M Hybrid Wireless Balanced Modulator Transformer

Time for some Homebrew Magic and Tribal Knowledge Tips. Several Blog posts ago I showed a notional schematic of a tube based Balanced Modulator. You can check it out. A key piece is the Balanced Modulator RF transformer.

The primary side of this transformer is in the plate circuit of the receiver mixer (6BE6) and is capacitively coupled to the crystal filter which in this case is a Heathkit Crystal Filter with a Center Frequency of 3.395 MHz. 

[Note the 6BE6 is used versus a 12BE6 as this tube's filaments are in series with the 6JH8 as all other tubes are 12 VDC filaments. DC is used versus AC because we saw AC hum pickup by the 6JH8 in the 40M Wireless.]

The secondary is an interesting arrangement in that each end of the windings connects to the plates of the 6JH8 and plate voltage is shunt fed to these same plates via 47K resistors. Each Plate has a Capacitor connected from the Plate to Ground.

This is the tricky part as this arrangement has the effect of summing the balanced outputs from the 6JH8 which is then reflected into the primary side of the transformer and onto the Crystal Filter. Believe it or not but the two caps although connected to ground are in series and resonate the secondary at 3.395 MHz.

Two transformer windings and two capacitors play a huge role in the transceiver for both receive and transmit and this is one reason why I identified the Balanced Modulator as a key piece of this transceiver.

We must homebrew this BM transformer and I started with a 455 kHz IF transformer that required two modifications, the 1st of which is how to mount it to the chassis plate and the 2nd piece is to convert the windings to 3.395 MHz. Fortunately, the paper coil form has ferrite cores so the primary and secondary each can be peaked at the operating frequency.

IF Transformer and Spring Clip

IF transformers were mass produced, cheaply made and were set up for quick installation. The foundation chassis was punched so that the IF transformer fits in a slotted mount and a U shaped spring clip was placed underneath the chassis, passed through slots in the chassis and clipped into holes in the sides of the IF Can. It was a snug fit and the transformer was anchored  solidly in place.

I attacked the mounting adapter plate as a 1st chore and a key tool is a set of digital calipers which are hawked by Lauen Bezos' OM. It cost a whopping $20.

Using this tool I measured the base of the IF Transformer and wrote a program for my CNC mill. Boom it was spot on like your feet in a pair of custom shoes.

Prototype IF Can Cut Out

Fit Check

Snug Fit

Bonus Package: CNC Milling with the Clip

The IF can I chose out of a batch I have does not use the spring clip but has two lugs which likely  were originally soldered to a piece of PC Board. Using my CNC Mill I was able to accommodate the Spring Clips for the actual two IF cans.

The next step was to modify the transformer to work at 3.395 MHz and at this stage I removed all of the wire from the paper core and made two windings of 20 Turns each using #30 enamel wire. This was a starting point and no magic calculations involved. As a starter I tack soldered a 100pF cap across one of the windings to simulate the two capacitors in series. Using a signal generator and my 200MHz DSO I saw this resonated at about 6 MHz. I then tried a 330pF cap and tuned the cores and this is what I got. I did not forget that the impedance of the Heathkit filter is 2K which translates to about 94 microhenries. Thus 20 Turns might be a little light, which suggests perhaps more turns may be needed. Keep in mind our homebrew processes are often experimental.

3.395MHz

In the final build each capacitor would be 660pF as the series combo of capacitors are like resistors in parallel. 

This is just a start and we might find that we will need further tweaking once installed in a circuit. At the very least we have a starting point.

This was a fast tour through fabricating a home brew Balanced Modulator and note no Nano VNA's were used to derive this answer.

The fabrication of this rig has relied on tools perhaps not found in every ham shack like digital calipers and CNC Mills. True my CNC Mill cost me $250K but you can buy a mill for around $300 from Amazon and of course we know a $20 Bill will get you the calipers.

Them that know can make things go.

Did you turn off Alexa and reduce your digital footprint? Take action before it is too late as they are after all of us.

73's

Pete N6QW 

Numbskulls, NIMCELS and SS Podcast #261

SolderSmoke Podcast #261 dated August 7, 2025 discussed rich topic areas for hams worldwide.  Coexisting in that podcast were the terms Numbskull and NIMCEL.

A Numbskull is a derisive term literally meaning a person whose brain has gone into hibernation whereas a NIMCEL is an acronym coined by the New York Times which means Niche Internet Micro Celebrity. A NIMCEL often is a Tik Tok or You Tube star with a following whose claim to fame is Cat Videos or demonstrations of how to unclog your toilet.

The mere fact that I participate in the podcasts and soon will celebrate   close to 100 podcasts puts me in the NIMCEL target bullseye and my daily forays into smoked parts and release of magic smoke certainly suggests Numbskull.

Yesterday was a partial Numbskull Day as I finished wiring up the 20M Digital LO / BFO. I counted the wrong number of pins on the underside of the prototype board and a wire wrap connection was put on a wrong pin. It didn't smoke but it didn't work! The circuit would boot up but kept resetting. Yes, I did do a wiring check initially but made the same mistake in the counting error.

Now in my defense the ESP32 VROOM does not sequentially number the pins like on the Arduino. The sequential numbering could be like 18, 2, 5, 21, 17. You get the drift.

Proof of Life!

About two more times through the wire list and I found the error and the unit is now working. But still an issue remains.

On one GPIO pin (Pin 25) I designate this as the Sideband Select pin and previously, I simply had the display change to USB or LSB. That worked on the display but did not actually change the BFO frequency. 

Then I hit upon an idea to show the actual value to be loaded into the sketch and those two numbers exist in only one place in the sketch. Bottom Line engage the switch and load this number into the sketch, and upon disengagement load this number. Once loaded, show the number on the display. In my numbskull this was full proof it worked!

Well that partially worked as you see the BFO actual value change on the display but not in real life. I know how to do this with the Arduino, but the ESP32 proves I am a numbskull.

In a prior blog posting I identified what I thought were two critical areas in a SSB transceiver those being the Balanced Modulator and the Product Detector. I have to homebrew the Balanced Modulator transformer and am starting with a 455KHz IF transformer that has two windings. 

There are two issues with this mod, one is moving the frequency up to 3.395 MHz (about 1/8 the windings) and two how to mount the transformer on a 1/16-inch aluminum plate. The chassis plate is 12X12 inches. 

My plan is to CNC mill out a 1.125 inch by 1.125 inch copper PCB as a mounting plate for the transformer and then mount this adapter plate to the aluminum chassis plate.

Turn off Alexa and reduce your digital footprint as you know who is watching you.

Them that know can make things go.

73's

Pete N6QW

Wire Wrapping

Security Check: Alexa Off, Tape over the Lap Top Camera, Mic on Mute. No doubt you are being spied upon! The spy could be a governmental or non-governmental agency!

A quick way to construct circuits, far advanced beyond the archaic chunks of copper PC Board and superglue is to use prototype boards and wire wrapping. 

First, a disclaimer as wire wrapping is not suitable for RF circuits but really shines when using ones and zeroes in the digital world.

Pin Sockets from Amazon

I am covering this subject today as wire wrapping is the process I am using to build the Digital LO / BFO for the 20M Hybrid Wireless Rig. 

Firstly, wire wrapping is over 60 years old as a technique and thus mature as a process. The wire wrap process is simple and involves a more or less square pin and using a special tool the wire is tightly wrapped about 10-15 times around the pin. The square pin has sharp edges, so the wire grabs around the pin and won't slip off. A round pin having no edges we find would not securely hold the wire.

Close up of wire wrap on the square pins

Wire Wrap Tools

Amazon 3 in 1 Wire Wrap Tool

LINK to Tool

Our ESP32 VROOM MCU has 38 pins thus a single header cut in two makes sockets for one device.  A pack of 10 costs about $10 so enough material for 10 ESP32 devices.

Should you make a mistake it is fairly easy to "unwrap" the wires and the bonus no soldering of wires.

Them that know can make things go. Them also are vigilant about unwanted surveillance like trackers that follow your internet meanderings. Norton and McAfee have software to fix the trackers. No kidding this is 1984 in 2025!

73's

Pete N6QW

The Building of the Digital LO/BFO for the 20M Hybrid Wireless.

We are down in the weeds with the actual building of the Digital LO/BFO for the new 20M Hybrid Wireless set. 

But 1st did you turn off Alexa and did you check your blog, so it is sanitary? We are being watched, monitored and observed thus the concept of the land of the free and the home of the brave is now questionable.

I have been working on modifying the JF3HZB sketch for the new 20M Hybrid Wireless. So far, I am able to show on the face of the display a sideband selection (USB LSB), but the code still needs to work to actually generate two different BFO Frequencies. A single BFO Frequency would work OK if you only wanted one sideband like LSB on 40M or USB on 20M. 

A single BFO frequency would also work if you used a pair of filters out of say a Drake rig like a T4XC where the filters are switched in the circuit depending on the sideband you select. Thus, the filters are switched and not the BFO. A DPDT switch would do all of the heavy lifting, with 1/2 of the switch inputting to the ESP32 and the other 1/2 controlling two relays to switch in the different filters.

Yesterday was spent on the start of actually building the hardware. First up was a power supply. The Vin for the ESP32 is 5 VDC and having no 7805 three terminal regulators, I used as LM317 to create the 5VDC.

LM317 connections, R2 is adjustable to set 5VDC

(R2 = 220 Ohms + a 500 Ohm Trim Pot)

CNC Board Layout

The Built Power Supply

A slight adjust will make +5VDC

Once the supply was built and mounted on a board it will fit under the actual Digital LO/BFO, 

I made a part fit check of the ESP32, the Si5351 and the breakout headers. See below for the arrangement. Just to left of the top board midpoint you can see the Trimmer Adjust screw to set 5VDC.

Digital LO/BFO above the Power Supply

Final note is that I created an isolated copper pad where I soldered the LM317 to the copper pad and now we have a heatsink. Copper makes for a great heatsink and has better thermal conductivity at 2X!

⚖️ Comparison Table

Property	Copper	Aluminum
Thermal Conductivity	~400 W/m·K	~200 W/m·K
Weight	Heavy	Light
Cost	Expensive	Affordable
Machinability	Difficult	Easy
Corrosion Resistance	High	Moderate

Them that know, protect themselves. Dump Alexa, Tik Tok, LinkedIn, all social media, (X, and Facebook) and the ARRL. This is so that you create a very small digital footprint.  

You might also consider stop making You Tube political based videos as they are being watched by you know who. 

73's

Pete N6QW

Do you have any clue who is monitoring you?

Cautions and Conspiracy Theories

No Radio Stuff today so now that you clicked on my link, you might want to find some other blog to consume your time. 

Given our current political state, the red flashing lights are on. No doubt we are all being monitored and that suggests we need to be aware of what we once took for granted.

I took a sledgehammer to that Alexa ball sitting in my living room. Here is what the Microshaft Copilot had to say when queried if Alexa was spying on me.

Short answer yes! All the stuff you asked Alexa is being recorded and stored on a server. Alexa employees have been known to peek at your files and old what is his name can gain access to that info. Unplug your Alexa, do it now!

What we write in a blog is also being perused and so even this homily is being scanned by some non-government or government organization. You must never use someone's real name nor suggest doing harm or other key words involving overt actions or devices that could cause harm. But is OK to say high voltage power supplies or magic smoke.

What we say on the air is an open forum and just that! Be it known that your discourse is not protected in the sense anything heard can be repeated without your express permission. A third party can simply say I heard a QSO on 40M where a ham in call area 7 said...

Basically, freedom of speech is no more protected or respected.

I was subjected to a scam (not successful) but here is what happened. When I was on vacation in Denver, my #3 son rented a car, and Denver has toll roads that are also Diamond Lanes. Electronic readers scan your plates and automatically send a bill to the plate owner. In the case of rental cars, boom it gets added to the car rental fees. 

So, I get a text message about owing a fee for a toll that was not paid. The scam device is somewhere on one of those roads as the scammer is pinging your cell phone number and then sends you a text message with a link where to send your credit card. I immediately identified the text sender as a scam. The scam software identifies any cell number outside of the Denver area and that is the scam target.

So, if this scam uses a sophisticated software program like this to get your credit card number just think what your government can do and is doing to watch what you do.

AI is at the root of this surveillance! Go to Copilot and make an inquiry using your call sign like: Tell me about the person with XYZ call sign. I was amazed and flattered that for the most part what was said about being a prolific SSB transceiver creator was true. Just a few simple words and you could get a visit from ICE or DHS. Trust me the government has far more sophisticated software than copilot. 

Them that know are careful about what they do.

73's

Pete N6QW

(Who is watching you?)

Parts are starting to arrive... many with tariffs.

There are, in my opinion, two critical parts to an SSB transceiver not withstanding solid-state or vacuum tube. These key pieces are the balanced modulator and the product detector. 

Today I would like to talk about a vacuum tube balanced modulator tube, the 6JH8. Many of the tube balanced modulators in the early days of SSB used the RCA 7360 Beam Deflection Tube. 

Check your early Swan's, or National transceivers and you will find the 7360. The rising cost of this tube caused a look at what else can do the job and enter the 6JH8, also a beam deflection tube at a fraction of the cost of a 7360.  Collins, Drake and Heathkit did not use the 7360 or other beam deflection tubes.

A Simple Tube Balanced Modulator.

You can read more on Balanced Modulator tubes for SSB HERE 

I bought a NOS tested, 6JH8 for $3 which arrived yesterday. My balanced modulator go to circuit is the same as the 7360 circuit as used in the Swan Monoband SSB circuits. I have seen 45 dB of carrier suppression using the 6JH8.

Them that know can make things go.

A big thank you to those who responded to my quest for 9 pin tube sockets.

73's

Pete N6QW