Daily GLOWBUGS
Digest: V1 #125
via AB4EL Web Digests @ SunSITE
Purpose: building and operating vacuum tube-based QRP rigs
Subject: glowbugs V1 #125
glowbugs Wednesday, October 1 1997 Volume 01 : Number 125
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 17:34:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: leeboo@ct.net (Leon Wiltsey)
Subject: Daytona ham fest
>To: gb
>From: leeboo@ct.net (Leon Wiltsey)
>Subject: Daytona ham fest
>Cc:
>Bcc:
>X-Attachments:
>
>Hi Gang
>traveled 140 miles from Sebring looking for a decent ba
>rec. Daytona beach Hamfest complete bust.
>Not worth the 5 bucks to get in, no tailgate sellers and
> less than 2 dozen tables and this included the computer sellers.
>Anybody know of a hamfest within 150 miles of sebring fl.in next
>3 months where there are some tailgate hams selling stuff? or
>at least more than a 60x 60 room for the whole show?
>
Thank the good LORD for all that you have!!!
67yr old semi disabled senior
(stroke got my balance and coordination) SO ONLY BA'S NO SOLID STATE
Leon (lee) Wiltsey 4600 Lake Haven blvd Sebring fl. 33872
KF4RCL TECK+
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 17:37:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: leeboo@ct.net (Leon Wiltsey)
Subject: MY REGEN
>To GB
>From: leeboo@ct.net (Leon Wiltsey)
>Subject: MY REGEN
>
>Hi Gang
>
>After reading all the reports on how good the regens you all made worked,
>and having my hw 16 blow 2 filter caps.(ANYBODY GOT A JUNK HW16 THEY
>WANT TO GET RID OF?I got out my regen which has been plagued with hum and
started working on it. First off I lowered the b+ by increasing the size of
a filter res and got the
>b+ down to 189v. Then changed the voltage divider to the det tube a 6aq5
so as to have
>less than 50v on the plate. With only 8v on the screen it osc.nicely and
the signals came rolling in. I could not believe how good it worked. With
150v on the plates of the 6sl7 dual
>stage audio driver, and 190 on the 6aq5 output the volume was terrifiic and
the hum
>went way down. Changing all the coupling caps to .001 in the audio also
helped, also added a high freq audio filter in grid cir of 6aq5 audio out ot
get rid of some of the high freq noise.I have
>a two turn coupling link in series with a 5-27 uuf cap to the ant. and this
also sli.changes the
>beat freq on cw.
>
>The final result is a regen that works as good as my old hw16 and tunes
over a much large range. With only one coil , I can cover all of 80 40 and
30 met. I have a switch that changes the cap of the bandspread cap so as to
make tuning roughly equal. Unless I can get some new parts for the hw 61 I
guess it will be relegated to standby duty as soon as my new 6ag7 osc
driving a 6l6 amp gets finished. Have the chassis all ready to start wiring.
>
>
Thank the good LORD for all that you have!!!
67yr old semi disabled senior
(stroke got my balance and coordination) SO ONLY BA'S NO SOLID STATE
Leon (lee) Wiltsey 4600 Lake Haven blvd Sebring fl. 33872
KF4RCL TECK+
Thank the good LORD for all that you have!!!
67yr old semi disabled senior
(stroke got my balance and coordination) SO ONLY BA'S NO SOLID STATE
Leon (lee) Wiltsey 4600 Lake Haven blvd Sebring fl. 33872
KF4RCL TECK+
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 17:05:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ken Gordon <keng@uidaho.edu>
Subject: Some HW-16 problems...
Picked up a basket-case HW-16 about a year ago. When I got it working the
FIRST time, it chirped with crystals, but not with an external VFO (VF-1),
and had a T-5 note on 80.
One or more of the filter caps shorted one day and took out two of the
"filter" resistors in the filter string, so I replaced the caps with
Nichicon 470 ufd @ 450 vdc, the resistors with a 6 Hy filter choke,
and installed two VR-150s. Rewired the tx osc. stage to put regulated 150
vdc on the screen and regulated 300 vdc on the plate, and, while I was at
it, used regulated voltages for all the receiver except the audio amp
plate.
Still chirps with crystals, but the note on 80 is now T-9 and it puts out
nearly 50 watts on all three bands.
Anyone have any really bright ideas concerning how to stop the chirp
without eliminating the QSK (such as it is)?
I also had to parallel the 150 pfd cap (which is switched across the final
tuning cap for 80) with another 12 pfd to get the final to tune at the low
end of 80.
Ken W7EKB
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 17:39:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: kd6poc@jps.net (Adam McLaughlin)
Subject: Need some BC schematics
Dear old radio fans,
I am in need of the following schematics:
Detrola 2811
Silvertone 833
If anybody has these schematics and would be willing to reproduce them for
me, I would be glad to pay the reproduction costs and mailing.
Thanks a bunch,
Adam
Adam McLaughlin KD6POC
QRG: 7037 Kcs & 7014 Kcs (DX Only)
kd6poc@jps.net
www.jps.net/jmclaugh
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 02:38:43 +0000
From: Sandy W5TVW <ebjr@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: CW "prosigns"
Hello gang,
Ever wonder where the CW expression "es" comes from? The one everyone
uses for the word "and".
Discovered it is really a holdover from American (landline
telegraph) Morse.
It means the ampersand "&" in Morse!
You learn something new everyday from the old , old books!
73,
E. V. Sandy Blaize, W5TVW
"Boat Anchors collected, restored, repaired, traded and used!"
417 Ridgewood Drive
Metairie, LA., 70001
Date: Wed, 01 Oct 1997 13:55:24 +0200
From: Jan Axing <janax@li.icl.se>
Subject: Re: Gain control in regennys
Walt Turansky wrote:
> I was planning to do just as you suggested and put a pot on the drive to
> the peaked audio stage. I'm just wondering if anyone has some cleaver
> ideas on how to vary antenna coupling.
How about a variometer? I will try mounting the antenna link coil on a
drive shaft and place it near the input coil. Placing it inside the coil
may give too much coupling by stray capacitance.
Jan, SM5GNN
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 08:18:15 -0500 (EST)
From: "Roberta J. Barmore" <rbarmore@indy.net>
Subject: Variable antenna coupling, was Re: Gain control in regennys
Hi!
On Wed, 1 Oct 1997, Jan Axing wrote:
> How about a variometer? I will try mounting the antenna link coil on a
> drive shaft and place it near the input coil. Placing it inside the coil
> may give too much coupling by stray capacitance.
A variocoupler should work fine. An old Frank Jones trick is to use a
(U-spring or 90-degree) mono 1/4" phone jack as a panel bearing, bending
the tip contact back just a little. You can either slide the antenna coil
laterally or rotate it to vary the coupling. A piece of 1/4" diameter
plastic rod is used for the control shaft.
Stray capacity's the bete noir of this trick, but the fix is easy: a
Faraday Screen! Wind wire around a thin sheet of insulating material--the
wire can be bare or enamelled or whatever, though bare wire must be spaced
with care--space about the wire diameter. Stick it down with coil dope or
Duco cement. Once the glue dries, take scissors and trim one end so all
the "loops" are open. At the other end, remove the insulation etc. from
the wires right along the edge and solder a hunk of small buss wire along
it, leaving one end long to connect to ground and provide mechanical
support. Mount the completed thing (which resembles a long-toothed comb
stuck on a sheet of insulation) between the antenna coil and the tank
coil. For best results, it should be at least 2x the coil diameter in all
directions--4x is even better. Some sources peel off all the wire on one
side, which can simplify mounting and keeping just the one ground
connection.
This can be taken to extremes; Jones/"Radio" Handbooks from the '30s
showed a "noise-free autodyne" with an external, screened coupling coil
driving a shielded link to the set. Antenna connected to a sliding coil
outside the screen, and the set was a pretty serious mid-30s HB comms
receiver.
The other way is to go with capacity coupling, and just hang a knob on
it: mount a smallish (15pF or less) variable condenser near the antenna
terminal (and away from grounded stuff--stray C to ground shows up across
the tank circuit!), and use a long insulated shaft to bring the control to
the front panel. This method is typical of the better inexpensive
"one-tuber" kits. (It can even be homebrewed--those with the awful habit
of pulling condenser plates should at least save 'em for this trick! And
BTW, gang, a little series trimmer works just as well as yanking plates
and won't cripple up the cap for your *next* project!)
Points of interest here are that even 15pF can be a lot, and may tend
to pull the tuning as antenna coupling is changed. Changing from a direct
connection to a "gimmick" will help, or you can be formal and hang a
small, good-quality fixed condenser between the antenna and the
variable-coupling cap. Also finding a condenser with low *minimum* C can
be tricky, which is one arguement for homebrewin' 'em--doesn't take too
much thought to dope out a configuration with the lowest Cmin!
73,
--Bobbi
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 08:42:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Tom R. Rice" <tomrice@netcom.com>
Subject: Doug DeMaw, W1FB, SK
Apologies if someone has already posted this QST which
just appeared on another list. I've probably built
more of Doug's stuff over the years than all others
put together. He wuz one of the really good guys....
73 de WB6BYH
> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB057
> ARLB057 Doug DeMaw, W1FB, SK
>
> ZCZC AG57
> QST de W1AW
> ARRL Bulletin 57 ARLB057
> >From ARRL Headquarters
> Newington CT September 29, 1997
> To all radio amateurs
>
> SB QST ARL ARLB057
> ARLB057 Doug DeMaw, W1FB, SK
>
> Acclaimed ham radio icon Milton F. ''Doug'' DeMaw, W1FB, died
> September 28. He was 71. One of the most widely published technical
> writers in Amateur Radio, DeMaw was diagnosed with leukemia earlier
> this year and had been in failing health in recent weeks.
>
> DeMaw was first licensed in 1950 as W8HHS. An electrical engineer,
> he was a member of the ARRL Headquarters staff for 18 years--from
> 1965 to 1983--and served as Technical Department Manager and Senior
> Technical Editor from 1970 to 1983. During his tenure at HQ, DeMaw
> served as editor of The ARRL Handbook. In 1970, he engineered the
> shift in emphasis toward solid-state design in QST and the Handbook.
>
> He has hundreds of articles in QST and other publications to his
> credit. DeMaw also was founder and publisher of VHFer Magazine. (His wife,
> Jean, W1CKK, also worked on the Headquarters staff.) DeMaw was a life
> member of the ARRL and a senior member of the IEEE.
>
> After retiring to the family farm in Luther, Michigan, he was
> elected chairman of the Lake County Board of Commissioners and
> continued to write books and articles. He also tried his hand in the
> Amateur Radio business as proprietor of Oak Hills Research. Among his other
> books, DeMaw wrote W1FB's Design Notebook, W1FB's QRP Notebook, W1FB's
> Antenna Notebook, and The ARRL Electronics Data Book, which remain popular.
> In recent years, DeMaw also penned a regular column for CQ magazine.
>
> A former ARRL colleague, Membership Services Manager Chuck
> Hutchinson, K8CH, counted DeMaw among his friends. ''Doug loved to
> experiment with circuits and antennas. He also loved to encourage
> others to try their hand at building,'' he recalled. Hutchinson said DeMaw
> not only wrote prolifically about ham radio but also about gardening,
> another of his avocations. ''He was an avid gardener and cook,'' he said.
> DeMaw also was an outdoorsman and hunter. ''He loved to hunt with bow and
> rifle--both modern and muzzle loader. He was very good at throwing a knife
> or hatchet,'' Hutchinson said. Paul Pagel, N1FB, also was one DeMaw's
> colleagues during his days at ARRL HQ. ''Amateur Radio benefited greatly
> from his work,'' Pagel said. ''He was a multifaceted man. I doubt there was
> anything he couldn't do if he set his mind to it.'' Jerry Hall, K1TD, who
> also worked with DeMaw during his years at HQ, called DeMaw a writer of
> ''uncanny'' ability. ''Doug could write it once, and it was done,'' he
> recalled.
>
> Survivors include DeMaw's wife, Jean, and a son, David, N8HLE, a
> technical writer who lives in Connecticut.
> NNNN
> /EX
>
- --
"Start off every day with a smile and get it over with." --W.C.Fields
Tom R. Rice
tomrice@netcom.com
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 08:51:26 -0700 (MST)
From: Jeff Duntemann <jeffd@coriolis.com>
Subject: Re: Ticket for Boatanchors and glowbugs....
Bravo, guy! Sounds like you have the equipment, in spades. Make it happen.
As for rushboxes on HF, I had a 10m rushbox working at one point, but like
all of its kind it was very broad in tuning and only really detected AM.
Also, absent a good RF amp to isolate the antenna from the detector you can
hear them radiate for miles.
The Heathkit Tenner (which has become pretty rare as I understand) is the
only commercial rig I've ever heard of to put a rushbox on HF. I use my
Sixer on the Junkbox Radio Net periodically, but it's painful to listen to
and has no squelch.
- --73--
- --Jeff Duntemann K7JPD
Scottsdale, Arizona
At 02:00 AM 9/28/97 -0500, Stefan A Schulz wrote:
>
>Hurrah, I got my tech plus ticket today!!! I'm gonna put my AN/GRC-109 on
>the air and glowbug me hartley to go with my R-390A. BTW, has anybody
>heard of using a superegen on the HF bands? I've always heard of using
>them on UHF/VHF. I can't wait to get on the air :)
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 08:55:55 -0700 (MST)
From: Jeff Duntemann <jeffd@coriolis.com>
Subject: Call change!
Hi gang--
As of this past Saturday, KG7JF became K7JPD, courtesy Vanity Call Gate
Four. I've wanted a 1X3 for almost 25 years, and being west of the muddy
Mississip I figured a K would be appropriate. And my initials were
available. Egad, it was a Sign.
Having been WN9MQY, WB9MQY, KB2JN, KI6RA, and KG7JF, this one final change
was no big deal--and I suspect this is the call I will keep until I hang my
meat suit up.
- --73--
- --Jeff Duntemann K7JPD
Scottsdale, Arizona
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 09:07:05 -0700 (MST)
From: Jeff Duntemann <jeffd@coriolis.com>
Subject: Re: Doug DeMaw, W1FB, SK
>> Acclaimed ham radio icon Milton F. ''Doug'' DeMaw, W1FB, died
>> September 28. He was 71. One of the most widely published technical
>> writers in Amateur Radio, DeMaw was diagnosed with leukemia earlier
>> this year and had been in failing health in recent weeks.
Bad year, this. Frank Jones, Helge Granberg, and now W1FB.
Of the numerous homebrewing gods in my pantheon, the top three are Don
Stoner, Lew McCoy, and Doug DeMaw. I've had numerous long conversations
with Don Stoner, have met Lew twice, briefly, at Fort Tuthill swapmeets,
but have never had the honor of shaking W1FB's hand. Maybe two out of
three ain't bad--but the one I missed was #1.
- --73--
- --Jeff Duntemann K7JPD
Scottsdale, Arizona
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 17:04:28 -0400
From: "Brian Carling" <bry@mnsinc.com>
Subject: Re: Ticket for Boatanchors and glowbugs....
Mr. Duntemann,
What time & frequency is this Junk Box Net??
Location(s)?
Thanks & 73 de AF4K
On 1 Oct 97 at 8:51, Jeff wrote:
> Bravo, guy! Sounds like you have the equipment, in spades. Make it happen.
>
> As for rushboxes on HF, I had a 10m rushbox working at one point, but like
> all of its kind it was very broad in tuning and only really detected AM.
> Also, absent a good RF amp to isolate the antenna from the detector you can
> hear them radiate for miles.
>
> The Heathkit Tenner (which has become pretty rare as I understand) is the
> only commercial rig I've ever heard of to put a rushbox on HF. I use my
> Sixer on the Junkbox Radio Net periodically, but it's painful to listen to
> and has no squelch.
>
> --73--
>
> --Jeff Duntemann K7JPD
> Scottsdale, Arizona
>
>
> At 02:00 AM 9/28/97 -0500, Stefan A Schulz wrote:
> >
> >Hurrah, I got my tech plus ticket today!!! I'm gonna put my AN/GRC-109 on
> >the air and glowbug me hartley to go with my R-390A. BTW, has anybody
> >heard of using a superegen on the HF bands? I've always heard of using
> >them on UHF/VHF. I can't wait to get on the air :)
>
>
>
****************************************************
*** 73 from Radio AF4K/G3XLQ Gaithersburg, MD USA *
** E-mail to: bry@mnsinc.com *
*** See the interesting ham radio resources at: *
** http://www.mnsinc.com/bry/ *
****************************************************
AM International #1024, TENTEN #13582. GRID FM19. Using a SWAN 250 on 6m,
Other rigs: Valiant, DX-60/HG-10, FT-840, TM-261, Ameco TX-62, Gonset Communicator III
HTX-202...TEN-TEN #13582, DXCC #17,763 Bicentennial WAS
End of glowbugs V1 #125
***********************
Created by Steve Modena, AB4EL
Comments and suggestions to modena@SunSITE.unc.edu