|
Re: R35 & R37 on the RF Board
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýYou are gonna have to ask Justin why he did that¡ ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Duane B via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 10:59 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] R35 & R37 on the RF Board ? Hi.? I purchased a set of boards from Justin, AI6YM.? I working on putting the RF module/board.? Looking at the schematic, it reads that R35 and R37 are supposed to be 3.3K¦¸.? Looking at the board, which has all the SMT populated, I noticed the 3.3k ¦¸ resistors have 0¦¸ soldered on top of them.? Was this a mistake, or or should thy be 0¦¸?? R40 and R42 have the 0¦¸ resistors in place.? ? ? Thank you for your time. ? Duane - K5CA |
|
Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýI started out contesting when I was 15¡ like all my friends and most of the contesters today.? The first contest I ever entered was a novice round-up. and I only made about 25 contacts because the power went out.? I still submitted my score and QST published it.? I was pretty proud of that measly score and it gave me a big boost to see it in a big time publication like QST.? As time went one, I got better at contesting¡ I started spending more and more of my money from odd jobs buying equipment to do better, get better scores.? A few years later I won an ARRL 10 meter contest.? That was a fantastic feat¡ I was still in high school when it happened¡ and I still have the score that was published in QST in a frame.? Over the years I got better and better and started getting invited to contest with some real legends¡.at some really serious monster stations. ? What I learned, though, is that these contesters are the guys that those adds with the $10K+ amplifiers, radios, antennas, towers, etc. in QST are written for¡ and they are the guys that sink some serious money into their stations (K1LZ has over one million dollars invested in that contest station).? They also support the contests by volunteering to organize them, score them and rule check, and get the scores publish in periodicals like CQ and QST... through sales of periodicals, advertisements, and donations of time and money.? Their contributions make sure that the person with lowest score in a contest gets published for his/her contribution to the hobby no matter what it is. ?And at one time, that was me.? ? I¡¯ve written articles for QST, QEX, NCJ, and lots of hobby electronic rags over the years too.? There¡¯s lots of room for that too in the form of technical/ operating/ experience articles.? The last one was for the cover story of NCJ Jan/Feb 2021.? Never once took a dime for writing an article though, but that¡¯s just me. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 10:49 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award ? I've submitted scores to contests, too, and I can understand interest in where you placed. However, I think listing the top, say, 25, in each category would be enough. The complete listing could have been kept on line or, before the internet, perhaps you could send in a postcard and have it mailed back with your score/position. ? I know you are a huge contest person and with the station setup you have and the people who work with you, you're used to being near the top of the heap, and that would be published. But CQ would sometimes devote 30 pages to nothing but calls and scores. I just think it was overkill and there may have been a better way to service those who are interested in the scores and the remaining readers who would rather read something else. ? I talked many times with numerous other hams who feel the same way. I'm a little miffed by CQ and Rich Moseson because I wrote 6 issues with a column plus some articles for him and, despite promises and me trying to help him, he never paid me for any of them. Rich was aware of the contest results printing and was advised by me and others to find a way to placate both sides, but he wouldn't budge. He was told by many that he needed to get back to what CQ was at its outset, but it didn't happen and it finally collapsed. ? Alas, the ARRL and QST seems to be moving away from those things that made it great towards a magazine that seems to be interested in selling ads. I would love to see more new building projects and less reprints of past articles that I can look up in the archives. I think contest results could have the Top X List printed and the rest available for review online. I think that would better-serve everyone. ? Jack, W8TEE ? On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 09:52:34 PM EDT, K9HZ <bill@...> wrote: ? ? Certainly no more than the thousands of people that participate in them and submit their scores¡ ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io ? When it came to contest scores, I think CQ was the worst offender.? I found it hard to believe more than a handful of people would care about all of the scores in all of the contests. ? Jack, W8TEE ? ? On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 06:38:24 PM EDT, jerry-KF6VB <jerry@...> wrote: ? ? I was never much impressed by QST.? It always seemed to be mostly a
|
|
R35 & R37 on the RF Board
Hi.? I purchased a set of boards from Justin, AI6YM.? I working on putting the RF module/board.? Looking at the schematic, it reads that R35 and R37 are supposed to be 3.3K¦¸.? Looking at the board, which has all the SMT populated, I noticed the 3.3k ¦¸ resistors have 0¦¸ soldered on top of them.? Was this a mistake, or or should thy be 0¦¸?? R40 and R42 have the 0¦¸ resistors in place.?
?
?
Thank you for your time.
?
Duane - K5CA
|
|
Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
I've submitted scores to contests, too, and I can understand interest in where you placed. However, I think listing the top, say, 25, in each category would be enough. The complete listing could have been kept on line or, before the internet, perhaps you could send in a postcard and have it mailed back with your score/position. I know you are a huge contest person and with the station setup you have and the people who work with you, you're used to being near the top of the heap, and that would be published. But CQ would sometimes devote 30 pages to nothing but calls and scores. I just think it was overkill and there may have been a better way to service those who are interested in the scores and the remaining readers who would rather read something else. I talked many times with numerous other hams who feel the same way. I'm a little miffed by CQ and Rich Moseson because I wrote 6 issues with a column plus some articles for him and, despite promises and me trying to help him, he never paid me for any of them. Rich was aware of the contest results printing and was advised by me and others to find a way to placate both sides, but he wouldn't budge. He was told by many that he needed to get back to what CQ was at its outset, but it didn't happen and it finally collapsed. Alas, the ARRL and QST seems to be moving away from those things that made it great towards a magazine that seems to be interested in selling ads. I would love to see more new building projects and less reprints of past articles that I can look up in the archives. I think contest results could have the Top X List printed and the rest available for review online. I think that would better-serve everyone. Jack, W8TEE
On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 09:52:34 PM EDT, K9HZ <bill@...> wrote:
Certainly no more than the thousands of people that participate in them and submit their scores¡ ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 8:41 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award ? When it came to contest scores, I think CQ was the worst offender.? I found it hard to believe more than a handful of people would care about all of the scores in all of the contests. ? Jack, W8TEE ? ? On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 06:38:24 PM EDT, jerry-KF6VB <jerry@...> wrote: ? ? I was never much impressed by QST.? It always seemed to be mostly a
-- Jack, W8TEE |
|
Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýCertainly no more than the thousands of people that participate in them and submit their scores¡ ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J62K(J68HZ) 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 8:41 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award ? When it came to contest scores, I think CQ was the worst offender.? I found it hard to believe more than a handful of people would care about all of the scores in all of the contests. ? Jack, W8TEE ? ? On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 06:38:24 PM EDT, jerry-KF6VB <jerry@...> wrote: ? ? I was never much impressed by QST.? It always seemed to be mostly a
|
|
Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
When it came to contest scores, I think CQ was the worst offender.? I found it hard to believe more than a handful of people would care about all of the scores in all of the contests. Jack, W8TEE
On Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 06:38:24 PM EDT, jerry-KF6VB <jerry@...> wrote:
I was never much impressed by QST.? It always seemed to be mostly a gossip magazine.? Lots of contest scores. ? I saved all my 73's and Ham Radio magazines from the 70's, but the QSTs got recycled. ? ? Really sad what happened to Ham Radio Magazine. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? - Jerry, KF6VB -- Jack, W8TEE |
|
Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
Yes, "Sprat on a Stick" is a great bargain and I have that as well. I never got to meet Rev. Dobbs, as I came to QRP radio late in the scheme of things (2009). I bought an ARRL Life Membership in 1972 so I get QST print edition "free", and the digital editions of everything else. It cost me $125 at the time. Still, add up the subscription fees for 53 years and it's one of the best investments I've ever made. True, QST is not what it used to be, but my marginal cost is zero, so I'm happy. Jack, W8TEE
On Monday, April 21, 2025 at 11:25:11 AM EDT, Tim via groups.io <w4yn@...> wrote:
I have printed and CD's of Sprat publications. Really miss Reverend Dobbs! Met him a FDIM.
QST articles are lame and have mistakes or incorrect data, supposed to be reviewed but stuff gets thru.
QEX got so bad I dropped getting it.
Tim W4YN
-- Jack, W8TEE |
|
Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
I agree. Al and I submitted a mag loop and controller article to QST several years ago, and the editors rejected it saying people don't like building antennas and they had too many antenna articles already. We submitted it to Rad Com, who did publish it, and it was selected for the RSGB Bennett Prize that year. One of my favorite magazines is Sprat. It's QRP oriented and has lots of projects and interesting articles. I think QST has lost some of its focus and relatively few articles that interest me. I question the idea of reprinting old articles. It also seems to have gone on a diet lately. Jack, W8TEE
On Sunday, April 20, 2025 at 06:53:15 PM EDT, Tim via groups.io <w4yn@...> wrote:
QST has fallen behind members needs, I to used to look forward to building projects from QST as well as Popular Electronics.
RSGB's Radcom is a much better magazine. Plus the organization is much more attuned into promoting interest especially with youth.
Tim W4YN
-- Jack, W8TEE |
|
More boards and kits info...
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýFor those of you that ordered T41 board sets with the MAIN board in the set (A Full set of V12 boards, or an Upgrade set of $1 V12 boards), You got a pre-programmed ATTiny85 just like usual with the set purchase.? HOWEVER, ?I may have put the part(s) in one of your other packages due to room constraints.? Don¡¯t just throw the packing away without doing an inventory! ? If you ordered a 20W PA kit¡ remember to carefully remove the inner package from the pink bubble-wrap envelope¡ and the CAREFULLY slit the two recipe cards apart at the edge (slit the tape, don¡¯t cut the cards!).? When you open the two cards¡ the parts are facing each other¡ and you can cut the cards apart then to keep the part numbers with the parts¡ easier to ID!.? Do NOT remove the parts from the cards before you are ready to use them¡ and the do so individually.? The FET and the Transistor look alike! ? I have only 3 more packages to wrap up and send.? One is a large order in the USA and I¡¯ll get that one done tonight.? One is for an RF board that I promised to mount the PE4302 parts for him (this is NOT a usual service at the moment).? The last one is an invoice I sent out and have not been paid. ? Please note that I will cease taking orders as of the end of next week to allow time for some traveling and then attending FDIM and Hamvention.? ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? |
|
Re: TX IQ Cal question
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýSorry, Its easter so plenty of family things going on today¡ usually you just need to ask and one of us will get back with you.? Glad you are having success. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Tim via groups.io
Sent: Saturday, April 19, 2025 4:56 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] TX IQ Cal question ? I was not getting any were with TX cal. T41 was in LSB rx in USB, I had gain at .800 and was making it worse! Then I tries -.800 for IQ gain and all started to make sense. I was using cal instructions on Dr. Bills GetHub page. Tim W4YN ? ? |
|
Re: February 2025 QST Cover Plaque Award
Thanks, Doug...it's appreciated. I think there are a lot of us who used to be excited to get our issues of QST because it frequently had projects that we could build to make our stations better. I remember a 15M beam I built from 10' sections of electrical conduit (McCoy or DeMaw??) for about $20 and used it to run phone patch traffic between Guam and the Marshall Islands and SAC headquarters in Omaha back in the early 1970's. The only thing that kept me from building something new with almost every issue was money! I think people are still interested in building things. My first Cover Plaque Award was for an article that added a VFO to the cheap 49-er transceiver (March, 2016). The next CPA was an homebrew antenna analyzer (Nov., 2017). The third was for a homebrew dummy load/watt meter (Nov., 2018). This last one was to make it easier to wind toroids for various projects. The common theme: All were (related to) construction projects. I used to love 73 Magazine because it would have multiple projects in each issue. I think CQ's demise was hastened because it rarely had anything of interest to hams who enjoy building stuff. QST has lost sight of the fact that many hams enjoy building stuff. Indeed, when I started out in 1953, my ham radio budget was from mowing lawns. I wonder if our failure to attract young hams is because we expect them to buy their radio rather than build it. That's a mistake. I think some element of QRP's popularity is because it's a low-cost entry point for many hams. To me, QST needs to realize that hams enjoy reading about things other than equipment reviews. I'd like to see a series on how to get the most out of test equipment. How do you use various test devices, from DVMs to oscilloscopes, to troubleshoot a circuit. Many high school STEM programs have test equipment I can only dream of. How many beginners buy a kit and, when done, it doesn't work, and they don't have a clue what to do next so they give up and take up pickle ball. Instead of doing something useful, QST takes up 10 pages reprinting articles that members can access for free anyway. They need a whack in the side of the head with a 2x4 to get them back on course. Don't misunderstand: I am grateful that QST makes the Cover Plaque Award a venue for readers to express their preferences. I just hope the editors see that many QST readers still enjoy things related to building radio equipment. (Stepping down from soapbox...) Jack, W8TEE
On Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 10:58:37 AM EDT, Doug W via groups.io <dougwilner@...> wrote:
Congratulations Jack.? Thank you for pushing the league to keep publishing what I want to read.? If that last statement sounded selfish it was.? I hope I am not the only one.? When an article about what we want to see wins the plaque it reminds the ARRL that there are still lots of us that build and want to read about it.? Another benefit that is not as obvious is it shows people like us the league is still relevant.? I put off joining for years because I thought there was nothing for me other than a shiny magazine full of ads for Japanese radios.? After seeing several articles by Jack and others that I wanted to read I joined as a life member and wish I had done it sooner.? Sometimes I wonder if the league understands this enough but that is a very different topic.? That was a very long winded way to say again congratulations Jack on a well deserved award.
-- Jack, W8TEE |
|
Update
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýJust a note on boards and kits¡ ? I¡¯m a little behind on getting the latest round of boards and kits out.? The response in the last few weeks was so overwhelming that I needed to stop shipping on multiple occasions and put together more kits.? Just yesterday I put together another 25 20W PA kits that took me the majority of the day.? Most of the orders that did not include the PA kit have been shipped and you should be able to track it with the number that got sent to you.? Those orders with the 20W PA I¡¯m working on today and I should have them all sent.? I have two larger orders¡ one for over-seas and one USA that I will need to get boxes from the postal service to ship.? That will happen Monday.? My goal is to get everything out the door by Monday. ? I¡¯m also gearing up for FDIM and Hamvention so I¡¯ll see a lot of you there¡ we are inside this year¡ Building#4 (where you drop off your ticket stubs for the prizes) in spot #4111.?? More on this later and what I will be bringing.? I¡¯ve talked to Al and he will be at our booth on a couple of days with a T41 operating and able to sign books and answer questions. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? |
|
Re: Book
¿ªÔÆÌåÓý
Jack,
Thanks. ?The typo¡¯s or spelling errors I can live with. ?It¡¯s more the egregious type errors that get to me. ?
Jim ?KE4CON
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of jjpurdum via groups.io <jjpurdum@...>
Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 12:49?PM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] Book I am confident of the content but to say there are no spelling or typos is less certain. I can tell you that Al and I have each read every page in this edition of the book 9 times and we've had two independent readers (who
know nothing about radios) read it as well. Each time I think we have caught all the errors, someone finds one. Truthfully, if you are going to be disappointed by a typo or spelling error, don't buy the book cuz I'm sure there's at least one lurking somewhere
that we missed. On the other hand, if you think the content is good enough, squint your eyes, skip over the error, and continue reading.
Jack, W8TEE
On Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 01:40:18 PM EDT, James Rospopo via groups.io <jrospopo@...> wrote:
Jack,
Are there any other corrections or fixes that need to be made to the book ? ?I hate ordering something then finding that there are errors that need correcting.
Thanks
Jim ?KE4CON
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of jjpurdum via groups.io <jjpurdum@...>
Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 12:12?PM To: SoftwareControlledHamRadio <[email protected]> Subject: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] Book All:
Greg pointed out that Amazon (finally) has changed the ad on their page for our updated DSP book:
Note that the publication date is April 16, 2025. The bad news is that we lost over 150 reviews where most (85%) were 5 Star reviews. That will hurt as that's a good rating for a technical book. So, if you like the book, please take the time to write a review. If you don't like the book, go ahead and write a review...just don't send it in! Jack, W8TEE
-- Jack, W8TEE -- Jack, W8TEE |
K9HZ
jjpurdum