chuck dot adams dot k7qo at gmail dot com
This page last updated January 30TH of 2012.
I thought you might be interested in the following. I have been purchasing some needed parts on Ebay. I find that the parts ordered from Hong Kong get here faster because it seems the parts for China sit in a sorting facility for some time as demonstrated here. I'd guess the export business is very good. But here is the current route of a package of 2N2222 transistors that went half-way across the US and then back and note the time differences. I've had packages go to Seattle then to Alask back to Seattle then to Los Angeles and then to Phoenix. Go figure.
I shipped a paperback book last week by Media Mail across the country and it go to its destination today. Took less than 4 days. It seems that media mail is faster than first class.
I had an older NorCal40a kit built up for many many years. Had not put it on the air and hadn't as I was waiting to put some keyer into it. I finally, as part of my New Year 2012 resolution, decided to get some projects out of the queue and done. This is one of several that I have gotten done in the last four days.
I did not want to put a lot of holes in the case. Something that I learned in building the 18 year old original NorCal 40 (not the A model) partial kit. The variable controls that I used were not the exact replacements for the original. So some things did not fit the same. I needed a method of adding extra support for the front and rear panels. I had some 'threaded brackets' from Mouser Electronics. Sorry. I had the part numbers up until 30 days ago and in moving the brackets from the plastic bag to a pill bottle I failed to keep the part number. A search on the Mouser site led to several thousand hits on the keyword search for 'bracket'.
I used CA, a.k.a. super glue, from the hobby store to mount each bracket to the panels and then used a hole in the PCB to hold the panel to the PCB. A photo is worth a thousand words. Here is the sequence for the NorCal 40a.
I have a number of K1EL K12 PCB keyer kits and I built one up for this project. I just love the little critters. I have made up my own PCB that mounts one of these to a 3.5mm Stereo Plug for use in my own xcvr projects so that the keyer mounts to the plug and I don't have to drill any extra holes in the case. Here is the link to K1EL.COM. On Jan 4th Steve was out of stock on the kit for $17, so check back regularly until they come back. It is probably just a short time until they do reappear. It is a popular kit and probably one of the best kept secrets in the ham world. There are a large number of us die hard fans of the little keyer.
Even though the piezo speaker is inside the case with no holes, I can still hear it to set the commands and I use the xcvr sidetone for monitoring my transmissions and do not need the keyer sidetone. If you really gotta have it, use the audio out to the LM386 through a high valued resistor (you have to experiment with the value to get the level you are comfortable with).
Having downsized and moved from Prescott AZ to Peoria AZ I found that I had lost track of a lot of 'stuff'. Before I moved I knew exactly where every thing was and could reach and get it in short order. That went out the door after the move. In starting the New Year with a goal to get back on the air after 9 years of being a silent key and having a number of unfinished projects, it was time to put up or shut up. And here is the blow by blow of each step and the time line to show that I said what I meant and I meant what I said 100 per-cent.... Dr Seuss.
The home made parts storage drawers sits on the left hand side. See the following details.
Now I built the drawers without plans and without a great deal of woodworking experience. I used a sheet of 4' by 8' of 1/4" MDF that I bought in Phoenix for the same price as a 2' by 4' sheet at the big box Depot store. I then used a hand held router with a guide on the side of a 1" sheet of plywood that was 2' by 4' in size. The secret is to use some templates along the edge to get the size that you want between the straight edge (and I do mean STRAIGHT) and the edge of the cutting bit. I leave the rest up to you. Here are some photos of the basic box structure of each drawer. The technique got me parts that were about as exact as you can get with cheap tools and a simple procedure. IMHO.
Now do not even bother to tell me that you would do it with the envelopes stored the long side vertical in order to keep parts from falling out. BS. Double BS. The parts will slide down and the envelope will take more horizontal space. Not to mention more wood for the same length drawer. Don't even think about it. I'll let you draw up the plans for yours.
Good news. K7QO is no longer a silent key. I've been QRT for almost the entire time from first weekend in Nov 2002. In Nov 2002 I worked the ARRL CW SS from Lander WY, where I took first place in the QRP class for that section. Since then I worked one station in OK for the Oct 8, 2007 Wall Street Journal article. Then last year two stations from Prescott AZ in the start of what was to be a serious run at 15m. Wound up in the hospital most of July and then moved to Peoria in Oct and been busy with all kinds of activities involved with the move, getting settled, etc. You know the drill. :-)
Well, here is the antenna that I will be using for a while. Bought the whip, Workman 15m, and mounted to the clamp to the push up pole (20') that I used in WY with a two element beam (W6MMA), which is no longer being made. No ground other than the pole in the center of the patio table. The structure that you see to the right is a Casita. Kind of a single bedroom with bath for guests. Max time allowed is three days and you can not afford the rent. :-). I have the rig set up there. Running 4W and today, Jan 9th, 2012, worked MO and WA on 15m CW. So the race has started. My goal, and it is lofty, is DXCC and WAS this year. See you on the air, so if the web page suffers, so be it......
I know that I will not be able, ever, to meet the performance of the old 80m vee-beam, but I'm now humbled to the ranks of the HOA from Hell crowd. :-)
It is still resonant slightly below 21.000MHz, so some cutting to do on the whip as the part that is inside the fiberglass tube raises the inductance as I push more into and lock it into place. I'm in no hurry on this. It works pretty well for what I'm restricted to. The whip will be changed out for the other bands and at night I can push up the pole to the full 20' extension for low band contests on weekends. So watch the 15m propagation study below for regular updates.....
On Tuesday, January 24th, I found a one page sheet that came with a Hamstick and it suggests a small cap from the whip to ground and I may add that, but then I'll have to reduce the length even more, but I may get the SWR down a little more. Every milliwatt counts at QRP levles.
Here is new project that will develop into its own page shortly. I believe that I have the only complete set of QRP ARCI Quarterlies on the planet. Here is the start of the missing issues for the rest of the planet to enjoy. Stay tuned.
Please note that the old issues used ancient technology, so the quality is not up to today's standards. Also note that they are legal sized and I have no scanner that can handle the format, so they are copied with a lot of overlap. Be patient. I'm OCRing the copies for possible later updates to PDF format.