WEBVTT 00:00:09.420 --> 00:00:12.259 Thanks for tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on 00:00:12.259 --> 00:00:30.199 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:32.939 tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:40.130 Please stand by. This episode of HamTalk Live 00:00:40.130 --> 00:00:43.770 is brought to you by Tower Electronics. For connectors, 00:00:44.170 --> 00:00:49.590 cables, and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit 00:00:49.590 --> 00:00:55.469 pl -259 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, 00:00:55.750 --> 00:01:00.710 logged it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash 00:01:00.710 --> 00:01:04.569 amateur for more information about ICOM radios. 00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:38.900 Hey, good evening, everyone. It's time for HamTalk 00:01:38.900 --> 00:01:44.640 Live. It's episode number 140, Kits for the Holidays, 00:01:44.900 --> 00:01:49.620 recorded live on Thursday, November 8th, 2018. 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:53.680 I'm your host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Thanks for 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:58.260 tuning in to another episode of HamTalk Live. 00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:03.000 Tonight we're joined by Joe Eisenberg, KZeroNEB. 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:07.040 And we'll take your kit questions live in just 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:12.080 a few minutes. Last week, Rich Mosison W2VU was 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:17.080 here to talk about some news and views. He is 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:20.819 the editor of CQ Magazine. And if you missed 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:24.099 that show, you can still listen on demand at 00:02:24.099 --> 00:02:27.900 HamTalkLive .com or on your favorite podcast 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:32.430 app. We're also available on YouTube. Just a 00:02:32.430 --> 00:02:35.210 couple of announcements. The HamTalk Live limited 00:02:35.210 --> 00:02:39.569 edition May the grid square be yours shirts have 00:02:39.569 --> 00:02:43.330 been ordered. So if you ordered one already, 00:02:43.449 --> 00:02:45.629 yours will be in the mail as soon as I get them. 00:02:45.650 --> 00:02:48.689 And as soon as they're finished, I'll get those 00:02:48.689 --> 00:02:52.280 out in the mail. I did get a few extras to bring 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:56.000 the cost down, so if you still want one but didn't 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:59.520 order in advance, I do have a few, but the sizes 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:02.560 are a little limited compared to what we had. 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:08.449 If you want an adult size small through 2X, So 00:03:08.449 --> 00:03:11.909 small, medium, large, extra large, or 2X. I will 00:03:11.909 --> 00:03:16.030 have a few of each of those available. So if 00:03:16.030 --> 00:03:18.870 you want that, go to the link on our Facebook 00:03:18.870 --> 00:03:23.969 or Twitter feed. And there's also one on HamTalkLive 00:03:23.969 --> 00:03:27.430 .com. If you click on the show schedule link, 00:03:28.210 --> 00:03:31.349 there you will find a link to the Google form 00:03:31.349 --> 00:03:35.150 to fill out for the shirt. And then the information 00:03:35.150 --> 00:03:40.020 on how to PayPal. cost of that so if you still 00:03:40.020 --> 00:03:43.180 want one you can get one but the size options 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:49.639 are limited also the ARRL division director ballots 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:54.020 are going to be due here soon. They just need 00:03:54.020 --> 00:03:57.139 to be back to Newington by November 16th. So 00:03:57.139 --> 00:04:00.379 if you're an ARRL member in the Central, Hudson, 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:03.900 New England, Northwestern, or Roanoke divisions, 00:04:04.419 --> 00:04:06.960 you should have a ballot. And if you didn't get 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:10.759 one, make sure you let ARRL staff know. But be 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:13.419 sure to vote and get that back in the mail so 00:04:13.419 --> 00:04:17.120 it counts. So be sure to do that by November 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:19.959 16th. So you need to be doing that right away. 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:25.899 So hopefully that went well for you, and like 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:29.399 I said, if not, be sure you let them know. Okay, 00:04:29.500 --> 00:04:31.720 we'll get your questions ready to go after the 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:35.000 interview. You can give us a call on the telephone. 00:04:35.220 --> 00:04:44.779 It's 812 -NET -HAM -1, 812 -638 -4261. We quit 00:04:44.779 --> 00:04:49.019 advertising Skype. Skype did decide to work again 00:04:49.019 --> 00:04:53.199 tonight. We're still on our Skype connection, 00:04:53.579 --> 00:04:56.759 but we may be changing that soon. We're just 00:04:56.759 --> 00:04:58.500 going to go with the phone number from now on. 00:04:58.699 --> 00:05:04.850 It's 812 -638 -4261. You can still tweet us though. 00:05:05.009 --> 00:05:09.730 We're at ham talk live on Twitter So you can 00:05:09.730 --> 00:05:13.230 tweet us now if you want to And then we'll take 00:05:13.230 --> 00:05:17.009 your calls on the phone number a little bit later 00:05:17.009 --> 00:05:20.009 in the show So I'll be back with Joe right after 00:05:20.009 --> 00:05:24.290 this word from icon America right here on Ham 00:05:24.290 --> 00:05:27.810 talk live for the love of the holidays surprise 00:05:27.810 --> 00:05:30.449 your favorite ham this season with the gift that's 00:05:30.449 --> 00:05:33.170 on their hot list the holidays are just around 00:05:33.170 --> 00:05:36.689 the corner and ICOM has plenty of cheer for everyone. 00:05:37.009 --> 00:05:41.709 The IC7610, the SDR every ham wants and just 00:05:41.709 --> 00:05:44.269 in time for the holidays. This high performance 00:05:44.269 --> 00:05:47.490 SDR has the ability to pick out the faintest 00:05:47.490 --> 00:05:50.850 of signals even in the presence of stronger adjacent 00:05:50.850 --> 00:05:55.589 ones. The ICOM IC7610 is a direct sampling software 00:05:55.589 --> 00:05:58.350 defined radio that will change the world's definition 00:05:58.350 --> 00:06:07.550 of an SDR transceiver. It has RF direct The IC7300 00:06:07.550 --> 00:06:10.490 is changing the way entry -level HF is designed. 00:06:10.790 --> 00:06:13.310 This high -performance, innovative HF transceiver 00:06:13.310 --> 00:06:17.209 with a compact design will far exceed your expectations. 00:06:17.610 --> 00:06:21.649 It includes RF direct sampling, 15 discrete bandpass 00:06:21.649 --> 00:06:24.449 filters, a large 4 .3 -inch color touchscreen, 00:06:24.829 --> 00:06:27.709 real -time spectrum scope, and SD memory card 00:06:27.709 --> 00:06:32.019 slot. The ICR30 is raising the bar. on DC to 00:06:32.019 --> 00:06:34.699 daylight receivers, powerful yet easy to use, 00:06:34.939 --> 00:06:38.019 the ICR30 is packed full of features you have 00:06:38.019 --> 00:06:41.279 come to expect from ICOM. The perfect stocking 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:44.399 stuffer, the ID51A Plus 2 provides new modes 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:47.339 for extended D -Star coverage. Enjoy integrated 00:06:47.339 --> 00:06:50.980 GPS, independent AM FM receiver, and free Android 00:06:50.980 --> 00:06:54.100 apps. For all of these products and more ICOM 00:06:54.100 --> 00:06:57.579 radios, visit icomamerica .com slash amateur 00:06:57.579 --> 00:07:01.180 for more information. Who is the most dangerous 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:04.540 person in the world? A ham with some wire, a 00:07:04.540 --> 00:07:08.139 potato gun, and an idea. You are listening to 00:07:08.139 --> 00:07:29.839 Ham Talk Live with Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Thanks 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:32.899 again to ICOM America for sponsoring the show 00:07:32.899 --> 00:07:36.699 tonight to help bring you HamTalk Live each and 00:07:36.699 --> 00:07:41.220 every week right here at HamTalkLive .com. Tonight 00:07:41.220 --> 00:07:46.579 our guest is Joe Eisenberg at KZero NEB from 00:07:46.579 --> 00:07:49.060 Lincoln, Nebraska and he's well known for his 00:07:49.060 --> 00:07:52.500 kit building expertise. Joe is also well known 00:07:52.500 --> 00:07:55.939 for his picture shows of the Dayton Hamvention. 00:07:56.350 --> 00:08:00.730 He's the longtime kit building editor at CQ magazine 00:08:00.730 --> 00:08:04.089 and often makes presentations and offers kit 00:08:04.089 --> 00:08:08.029 builds at ham fest conventions and club meetings. 00:08:08.250 --> 00:08:11.730 And Joe started ham radio at an early age and 00:08:11.730 --> 00:08:15.449 has been licensed since 1969. He's also well 00:08:15.449 --> 00:08:18.829 known for his famous Dr. Seuss hat that he wears 00:08:18.829 --> 00:08:25.769 only at Dayton Dayton Dayton Dayton Dayton. So 00:08:25.769 --> 00:08:30.709 Joe, welcome back Well, good evening Neil and 00:08:30.709 --> 00:08:33.529 Glad to make an appearance on ham talk live you 00:08:33.529 --> 00:08:37.149 do such a great job here on this podcast Well, 00:08:37.149 --> 00:08:40.509 thank you and and we were just talking during 00:08:40.509 --> 00:08:45.149 the break Ham fest seasons about over for you, 00:08:45.149 --> 00:08:49.860 but you've got a trip coming up in January Yep, 00:08:49.860 --> 00:08:53.080 I'm going to be speaking at ham radio university. 00:08:53.100 --> 00:08:55.340 It's kind of a ham fest without a flea market 00:08:55.340 --> 00:08:59.799 or anything like that the booths are mostly clubs 00:08:59.799 --> 00:09:04.659 and organizations and It's mainly a day of seminars 00:09:04.659 --> 00:09:07.399 and I think they have like six or seven seminars 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:13.820 at a time and So it's basically an eight to four 00:09:13.820 --> 00:09:18.450 ham fest uh, with nothing but seminars and I'll 00:09:18.450 --> 00:09:21.090 be doing my kit building techniques for success. 00:09:21.289 --> 00:09:23.629 Uh, kind of like what I do at most of the other 00:09:23.629 --> 00:09:27.169 ham fest, but I've never spoken in the New York 00:09:27.169 --> 00:09:30.330 city metro area. So I'm going to celebrate 50 00:09:30.330 --> 00:09:33.710 years as a licensed ham the week that I go there. 00:09:33.830 --> 00:09:37.529 Oh, that's great. 50 years as a ham. Congratulations 00:09:37.529 --> 00:09:41.690 a little early on that and, and maybe we'll get, 00:09:41.789 --> 00:09:46.360 uh, Karen Eve Murray KD2GUT to bring some bagels 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:51.960 or something from Long Island when you go. That 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:54.559 sounds great. I'm really looking forward to seeing 00:09:54.559 --> 00:10:00.740 the big city. Well, it's a big one. It is. That's 00:10:00.740 --> 00:10:03.200 for sure. Especially for a guy from Nebraska. 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:10.419 Yes. The corn husker country just isn't quite 00:10:10.419 --> 00:10:16.259 like New York City. Nope, not quite. Well, there's 00:10:16.259 --> 00:10:21.440 been several new kits out lately. I know FourStates 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:27.779 QRP Group released a few really interesting ones 00:10:27.779 --> 00:10:33.179 recently, so tell us about these new kits here 00:10:33.179 --> 00:10:36.279 just in time for the holidays. Maybe they'll 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:39.860 make some good gifts. Well, Neil, the first one 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:42.830 I want to talk about is the Hill Topper. Now, 00:10:42.889 --> 00:10:46.669 the Hill Topper is available for 20 meters as 00:10:46.669 --> 00:10:49.929 well as 40 meters, and the 40 meter version just 00:10:49.929 --> 00:10:52.269 came out, so I haven't even had a chance to make 00:10:52.269 --> 00:10:55.490 that one myself. But they're really identical. 00:10:55.909 --> 00:10:59.090 If you look at them, it just says 40 instead 00:10:59.090 --> 00:11:02.769 of 20, and obviously the components are slightly 00:11:02.769 --> 00:11:05.110 different, but it's the same basic construction. 00:11:05.809 --> 00:11:08.129 Now, the neat thing about that kit is it puts 00:11:08.129 --> 00:11:12.779 out 5 -watt solid of CW. So it's what we call 00:11:12.779 --> 00:11:17.399 a full gallon for QRP. Now what's different is 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:21.600 instead of being crystal controlled or a regular 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:28.720 VFO, it is synthesized. And so it uses digital 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:33.399 tuning to tune the entire band. So you can tune 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:36.399 the entire 20 or 40 meter hand bands or even 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:38.799 some of the shortwave broadcast outside those. 00:11:39.289 --> 00:11:43.929 Now what's neat about it is there are three knobs. 00:11:44.029 --> 00:11:47.789 One is tuning, and that knob is also a button. 00:11:48.009 --> 00:11:51.149 And when you push that down, you can change the 00:11:51.149 --> 00:11:55.769 tuning steps. And if you hold it down, it does 00:11:55.769 --> 00:11:58.710 different functions. Now there's a function button 00:11:58.710 --> 00:12:02.909 next to that one. And that function button, if 00:12:02.909 --> 00:12:06.230 you just tap it once, it will tell you in CW 00:12:06.230 --> 00:12:10.320 what frequency you're on. So you don't need a 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:13.960 digital display which draws more current. There 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:17.659 is a speed knob which controls the speed of the 00:12:17.659 --> 00:12:20.759 internal keyer and then there's a gain control 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:24.960 obviously for the received audio. Now the cool 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:28.899 thing about it is unlike a lot of kits, this 00:12:28.899 --> 00:12:33.950 kit has the case with it. Now, the case is not 00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:38.210 a separate box. What it is, is it is pieces of 00:12:38.210 --> 00:12:43.629 PC board material. Now, we use the PC board material 00:12:43.629 --> 00:12:48.690 to make a case that not only is functional, it's 00:12:48.690 --> 00:12:52.649 strong, very sturdy, and it's double shielded. 00:12:52.649 --> 00:12:56.750 Don't forget, it's a double -sided circuit board. 00:12:56.809 --> 00:12:59.889 So you have just as well shielding as if you 00:12:59.889 --> 00:13:03.659 had an aluminum case. But it's actually copper 00:13:03.659 --> 00:13:07.340 clad board and by following the directions carefully 00:13:07.340 --> 00:13:12.120 it goes together really nicely and I suggest 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:15.460 taking some time to piece the case together before 00:13:15.460 --> 00:13:19.139 you Solder the little pads that that hook it 00:13:19.139 --> 00:13:23.820 together But like I said this this kit you just 00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:26.940 plug in your 12 volts and your antenna and your 00:13:26.940 --> 00:13:32.000 key or your paddle and away it goes and You get 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:35.139 a really nice, pre -printed, pre -drilled case. 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:38.639 So you don't have to do any drilling, any labeling, 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:41.460 or anything else. It's all marked and ready to 00:13:41.460 --> 00:13:44.919 go for you. So all you have to do is crack these 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:48.679 little pieces of circuit board apart. And I take 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:51.399 an Emory board, and I just kind of sand off the 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:54.120 rough edges. And it only takes about two or three 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:57.559 swipes of the Emory board, and it's smooth as 00:13:57.559 --> 00:14:01.750 silk. It goes together very nicely all the hardware 00:14:01.750 --> 00:14:04.389 you need and the knobs and everything else all 00:14:04.389 --> 00:14:08.149 comes with this So the hill topper I think is 00:14:08.149 --> 00:14:12.529 around 90 some dollars Including shipping but 00:14:12.529 --> 00:14:16.350 very well worth it There are two surface mount 00:14:16.350 --> 00:14:20.809 parts on the main board And then there is a daughter 00:14:20.809 --> 00:14:24.129 board which has the synthesizer that has surface 00:14:24.129 --> 00:14:28.529 mount and none of those you have to put on So, 00:14:28.529 --> 00:14:30.730 the two surface mount parts on the main board 00:14:30.730 --> 00:14:34.230 are already pre -mounted for you, as well as 00:14:34.230 --> 00:14:36.570 the daughter board that has the synthesizer, 00:14:36.789 --> 00:14:39.649 and that is already put together, but you do 00:14:39.649 --> 00:14:43.889 have to solder that to the main board. So, no 00:14:43.889 --> 00:14:46.509 surface mount to do, although there is some surface 00:14:46.509 --> 00:14:48.889 mount parts with it. So, that's the Hill Topper 00:14:48.889 --> 00:14:58.220 20 and the Hill Topper 40. Parts in there for 00:14:58.220 --> 00:15:02.139 the case to get the shielding that's Exactly. 00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:05.980 And so the cases is made out of circuit board 00:15:05.980 --> 00:15:10.659 now The other kit I wanted to talk about it's 00:15:10.659 --> 00:15:12.639 an oldie but goodie This one has been around 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:14.919 for like four or five years from the four state 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:18.740 QRP group and due to incredible demand They have 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:23.480 brought it back and that is the 4s tuner and 00:15:23.480 --> 00:15:28.759 it's a great Partner for the hill topper kit 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:32.779 because you have to realize that most these kit 00:15:32.779 --> 00:15:37.480 Transceivers don't have any VSWR protection so 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:41.440 we have a tuner and When you're tuning a tuner 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:44.419 the SWR can go higher than what it would be without 00:15:44.419 --> 00:15:47.620 it while you're doing the tuning procedures Well, 00:15:47.620 --> 00:15:50.919 this tuner uses an interesting circuit that kind 00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:53.919 of acts like a partial dummy load. So the SWR 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:56.539 presented to the radio at the worst case is never 00:15:56.539 --> 00:16:01.980 more than 2 to 1. So you can feel free to take 00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:04.220 your time and get it tuned just right. And it 00:16:04.220 --> 00:16:08.500 uses two LEDs, a red one and a green one. And 00:16:08.500 --> 00:16:11.320 when you get the red dimmed down and the green 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:13.379 one lit up, that's when you've got it tuned. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:18.480 And a great way to get it pre -tuned is to simply 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:21.639 listen to it on receive, and you peak your inductor 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:25.220 and you peak the two capacitors, and you can 00:16:25.220 --> 00:16:27.940 get it pretty close before you ever key down 00:16:27.940 --> 00:16:31.879 and fine tune it. The neat thing about this tuner 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:35.980 kit is it has two BNC connectors for input and 00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:39.100 output, which means that you'll need a BNC to 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:44.799 BNC jumper to hook it to the radio. And an adapter 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:47.320 depending on what kind of coax connector you 00:16:47.320 --> 00:16:51.500 have going to the outside world But it also has 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:55.460 two Binding post terminals that you can either 00:16:55.460 --> 00:16:58.019 use with banana plugs or just stick a wire on 00:16:58.019 --> 00:17:02.240 it Or a spade lug or whatever you'd like and 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:06.079 what that's for so you can tune random wires 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:11.430 and things like that. And because this tuner 00:17:11.430 --> 00:17:14.849 is continuous tuning from 80 meters to 10 meters, 00:17:15.430 --> 00:17:17.789 you can use this with a general coverage receiver. 00:17:18.049 --> 00:17:21.250 So somebody who's not even a ham can just leave 00:17:21.250 --> 00:17:25.049 this thing in the operating mode and don't worry 00:17:25.049 --> 00:17:27.630 about the LEDs and just peak the three knobs 00:17:27.630 --> 00:17:30.569 until you get the loudest signal. And so you 00:17:30.569 --> 00:17:34.130 can use this as a tuner for shortwave listening. 00:17:34.840 --> 00:17:38.140 so it's a great kit I can't remember exactly 00:17:38.140 --> 00:17:42.619 what they get for these but the 4S tuner the 00:17:42.619 --> 00:17:46.599 new one is is available again and they went from 00:17:46.599 --> 00:17:51.460 enameled wire to just plain bare copper wire 00:17:51.460 --> 00:17:55.500 and with no problem at all just have to make 00:17:55.500 --> 00:17:57.460 sure you're careful with the placement of the 00:17:57.460 --> 00:18:00.640 wire on the on the coil so you don't have it 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:03.940 shorted and he turned shorted on it But as long 00:18:03.940 --> 00:18:06.160 as you do that, it's going to work just great. 00:18:06.660 --> 00:18:08.900 And if you're afraid of some wires getting a 00:18:08.900 --> 00:18:11.359 little close, you can just take a little dab 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:14.359 of hot glue or something and make sure they stay 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:18.539 in place and you'll be all right. So the 4S tuner 00:18:18.539 --> 00:18:22.019 is the other great thing from the forced AQRP 00:18:22.019 --> 00:18:24.420 group. Of course, we also have the crickets. 00:18:24.779 --> 00:18:29.140 which is a CW transceiver. It is crystal controlled, 00:18:29.579 --> 00:18:33.200 but an incredible receiver. It reminds you of 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:36.160 a pixie, but with a real receiver that can hear 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:40.079 signals that are down in the mud. In fact, I 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:42.599 think I hear the crickets. Wrong crickets, huh? 00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:51.420 And by the way, it also uses printed circuit 00:18:51.420 --> 00:18:55.119 board material to make the case as well. and 00:18:55.119 --> 00:19:00.039 such a low -cost idea to do that because it isn't 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:03.220 that much more expensive when you're making printed 00:19:03.220 --> 00:19:06.720 circuit boards to make the case out of the same 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:09.460 material. Now the interesting thing about the 00:19:09.460 --> 00:19:15.460 4S tuner is that everything solders to pads on 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:18.509 the board. There's no through hole. Components, 00:19:18.509 --> 00:19:21.130 so if you need to desolder it you can just take 00:19:21.130 --> 00:19:23.450 that iron and tuck it underneath that wire and 00:19:23.450 --> 00:19:26.789 lift it right up So you don't need solder wick 00:19:26.789 --> 00:19:31.309 and you don't need? Solder suckers or any other 00:19:31.309 --> 00:19:33.509 desoldering tool you just take the tip of the 00:19:33.509 --> 00:19:35.750 iron heat it up tuck it underneath the wire and 00:19:35.750 --> 00:19:40.930 lift it right up Which brings me to the other 00:19:40.930 --> 00:19:44.589 four -state kit and that is the merania and the 00:19:44.589 --> 00:19:51.269 merania is an am Broadcast receiver and it comes 00:19:51.269 --> 00:20:00.529 from the Old early 1960s boys radios that were 00:20:00.529 --> 00:20:04.029 like one or two transistors and those radios 00:20:04.029 --> 00:20:08.230 had a regenerative detector in it and But it 00:20:08.230 --> 00:20:11.339 was fixed regeneration And they were kind of 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:13.839 broad they weren't real selective But they were 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:16.400 very low cost and the reason was is that the 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:20.799 government put tariffs on the Japanese AM radios 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:23.980 that were coming in and so they based the tariff 00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:26.880 on how many Transistors that's why all the transistor 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:30.019 radio said four transistors or six transistors 00:20:30.019 --> 00:20:33.559 and so forth because that's how they were taxed 00:20:33.559 --> 00:20:36.799 But anything one or two transistors was considered 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:41.559 a toy so they weren't taxed at all and so they 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:45.359 came up with a very clever design and those radios 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:48.140 were very popular and they were called boys radios 00:20:48.140 --> 00:20:50.599 because they were sold through ads and magazines 00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:56.049 like boys life and things like that so This radio 00:20:56.049 --> 00:20:59.289 kind of borrows on that design and like the 4s 00:20:59.289 --> 00:21:03.269 tuner everything solders to pads So for a first 00:21:03.269 --> 00:21:05.529 -time kit builder, this is great. You just bend 00:21:05.529 --> 00:21:08.930 the leads and solder them down to the pads and 00:21:08.930 --> 00:21:11.730 Like I said, it's very easy if you made a mistake 00:21:11.730 --> 00:21:14.390 to just desolder it by just lifting up one leg 00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:16.869 at a time with the iron and move it where it 00:21:16.869 --> 00:21:19.170 belongs and take a needle nose hold it in place 00:21:19.170 --> 00:21:21.769 and heat it up again and You've got yourself 00:21:21.769 --> 00:21:25.730 a working AM radio Now, there's modifications 00:21:25.730 --> 00:21:29.930 out there that let you change the volume control 00:21:29.930 --> 00:21:32.890 to being more of an RF gain control. And I did 00:21:32.890 --> 00:21:38.029 that to mine. And it does vastly increase the 00:21:38.029 --> 00:21:40.490 selectivity of the radio. And then there's one 00:21:40.490 --> 00:21:43.289 resistor that once you do that mod, if you change 00:21:43.289 --> 00:21:49.789 that from a 1K to a 2 .7K resistor, it seems 00:21:49.789 --> 00:21:53.779 to have even less distortion from the regeneration 00:21:53.779 --> 00:21:57.720 process. It has a very large loopstick antenna, 00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:00.859 and especially for people who are out and away 00:22:00.859 --> 00:22:04.559 from powerful AM stations, they are hearing stuff 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:08.619 from a long ways away on that thing. So the Marania 00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:13.589 is a great gift idea. for not only experienced 00:22:13.589 --> 00:22:16.349 builders, but to teach your kids how to build. 00:22:17.269 --> 00:22:19.970 And they get a working, functioning AM radio 00:22:19.970 --> 00:22:22.670 out of it that really sounds good. Very enjoyable 00:22:22.670 --> 00:22:26.230 to listen to. In fact, during our last QRP meeting, 00:22:26.809 --> 00:22:29.670 while we're all building kits, I had the Nebraska 00:22:29.670 --> 00:22:32.650 football game playing on it. So it's a great 00:22:32.650 --> 00:22:34.829 radio. I can't imagine you having the Nebraska 00:22:34.829 --> 00:22:37.230 football game playing while you're building kits. 00:22:37.470 --> 00:22:40.829 That's just... Oh, definitely. Unbelievable. 00:22:45.099 --> 00:22:47.579 See, normally I have my favorite classic rock 00:22:47.579 --> 00:22:50.480 station on, but, uh, football days, you gotta 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:53.440 hear the game. It's game day. You gotta, you 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:56.059 gotta be in there. Yeah, that's right. You gotta 00:22:56.059 --> 00:22:58.980 know what the score is. Well, those sound like 00:22:58.980 --> 00:23:02.460 some, some really great kids. I like the, uh, 00:23:02.460 --> 00:23:06.740 the pads, you know, uh, To make it easier to 00:23:06.740 --> 00:23:10.220 desolder and get rid of your mistakes and and 00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:12.980 the shielding with the PC boards and everything 00:23:12.980 --> 00:23:15.980 So it sounds like they've come up some with some 00:23:15.980 --> 00:23:21.480 real winners here lately Yes, they did Let's 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:28.900 see The the guy k1 swl who did small wonder labs 00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:38.369 and created the Rock might CW transceivers that 00:23:38.369 --> 00:23:42.529 fit in an altoids tin He was part of the design 00:23:42.529 --> 00:23:47.150 of the hill topper radio And then the other part 00:23:47.150 --> 00:23:51.809 of it was done by David Cripe in M0s who came 00:23:51.809 --> 00:23:55.220 up with the board layout and the case And David 00:23:55.220 --> 00:23:59.460 is an RF design engineer for Rockwell Collins. 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:02.819 So he's a Collins radio engineer. He also came 00:24:02.819 --> 00:24:06.440 up with the 4S tuner and the Marania and a lot 00:24:06.440 --> 00:24:09.779 of the other four state kits like the crickets. 00:24:10.180 --> 00:24:13.240 And the cricket has coils like three or four 00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:16.259 coils on the board and you don't wind them because 00:24:16.259 --> 00:24:20.000 the coils are spiral wound etched on the circuit 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:21.980 board. So it's just part of the circuit board. 00:24:22.509 --> 00:24:26.029 So he's come up with some very clever designs 00:24:26.029 --> 00:24:28.950 that makes it so much easier for the builder. 00:24:30.029 --> 00:24:34.349 And the forced AQRP group is a nonprofit organization. 00:24:34.569 --> 00:24:37.769 Any money that's made from the sale of these 00:24:37.769 --> 00:24:41.250 kits goes to offsetting the expenses for Ozarkon, 00:24:41.390 --> 00:24:44.049 which is held in Branson, Missouri, every year 00:24:44.049 --> 00:24:46.970 the first weekend in April. And we do a live 00:24:46.970 --> 00:24:50.789 kit build there. And you can get the kit, usually 00:24:50.789 --> 00:24:54.769 a kit that we're going to be selling for very 00:24:54.769 --> 00:24:57.470 low cost there, as long as you're going to build 00:24:57.470 --> 00:25:01.309 it while we're there. We had over 50 builders 00:25:01.309 --> 00:25:08.529 last year building kits. So Ozarkon starts off 00:25:08.529 --> 00:25:11.920 with a banquet. and a kit build and then we have 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:15.259 a flea market and we have talks all day long 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:18.579 and lots of prizes and lots of shows to go see 00:25:18.579 --> 00:25:22.460 in Branson on Saturday night. You can go see 00:25:22.460 --> 00:25:26.559 Jakov Smirnoff. Well, I wish he was there in 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:30.420 April. He's usually there in the fall. But his 00:25:30.420 --> 00:25:32.759 theater has other stuff going on while we're 00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:37.339 there. Oh, very good. Well, are we at the end 00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:39.819 of the kit? Should we move on or you have, you 00:25:39.819 --> 00:25:45.539 have more? Well, let's see here. Um, I, uh, I 00:25:45.539 --> 00:25:48.440 have to mention the micro bit X because it's 00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:52.759 become very popular. Uh, I have a, a fellow club 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:56.960 member, Spencer Kelly, K E zero Q O Y here in 00:25:56.960 --> 00:26:01.519 Lincoln. And he built a 3d printer from a kit. 00:26:02.380 --> 00:26:06.400 and he used his 3d printer to actually print 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:10.200 me a case for my micro bit x and then he most 00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:13.079 recently printed me the knobs and a microphone 00:26:13.079 --> 00:26:19.039 for it so my micro bit x has entirely 3d printed 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:24.579 case and We could get into 3d printers and talk 00:26:24.579 --> 00:26:26.980 about those for a while, but I'm not an expert 00:26:26.980 --> 00:26:31.339 on it He's the expert and he's been able to absolutely 00:26:31.339 --> 00:26:35.240 work wonders for me with the 3d printer But the 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:38.819 micro bit X it is a kit, but the main board is 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:41.920 already assembled and aligned and ready to go 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:45.539 But you have to wire up all the controls and 00:26:45.539 --> 00:26:48.019 mount this thing into any one of a number of 00:26:48.019 --> 00:26:52.359 different cases that are popular Using a 3d printed 00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:57.819 case is I think just fascinating and When he 00:26:57.819 --> 00:27:00.180 asked me if I was building anything that needed 00:27:00.180 --> 00:27:02.319 a case I mentioned that right away and he says 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:05.740 oh, yeah, there's all sorts of case designs online 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:08.660 for those and it's a free file you download from 00:27:08.660 --> 00:27:13.460 thing thing verse and He printed it now it took 00:27:13.460 --> 00:27:17.059 about five hours for each of the three main parts 00:27:17.059 --> 00:27:21.359 of the case for him to print it but They came 00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:25.460 out absolutely beautiful It is a black case and 00:27:25.460 --> 00:27:28.940 then he printed me the two white knobs and he 00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:33.660 printed me the microphone shell and the parts 00:27:33.660 --> 00:27:36.579 inside that shell the switch for push to talk 00:27:36.579 --> 00:27:40.480 and the mic element are with the kit so all I 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:46.019 had to supply was a stereo audio cable which 00:27:46.019 --> 00:27:49.259 is the same cable that you use to plug in your 00:27:49.259 --> 00:27:52.839 PC speakers or things like that and because I 00:27:52.839 --> 00:27:55.180 work in IT I end up with lots of those cables 00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:58.059 so I just cut the end off stripped out the three 00:27:58.059 --> 00:28:00.559 wires and connected it all up to the mic and 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:04.940 the switch and then fed that through the little 00:28:04.940 --> 00:28:08.700 hole in the mic and then the end that had the 00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:12.210 ferrite choke That I put next to the radio. So 00:28:12.210 --> 00:28:15.470 I have a mic that already is choked and stuff 00:28:15.470 --> 00:28:18.769 and it's already shielded So we shouldn't be 00:28:18.769 --> 00:28:23.069 getting any stray noise down the mic line That's 00:28:23.069 --> 00:28:29.029 always a good thing because it happens So that's 00:28:29.029 --> 00:28:31.630 always a good thing. All right. Well, we're gonna 00:28:31.630 --> 00:28:34.150 take a break here and we're gonna come back We're 00:28:34.150 --> 00:28:40.480 gonna talk about some other gift ideas for the 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:44.779 kit builder and some things that might help you 00:28:44.779 --> 00:28:48.380 with your kit. So we'll talk about that when 00:28:48.380 --> 00:28:51.519 we come back. So I'll be back with Joe right 00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:54.519 after this word from Tower Electronics right 00:28:54.519 --> 00:28:58.759 here on HamTalk Live. Hey honey, have you seen 00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:03.619 the PL 259s anywhere? No, I haven't. Come on 00:29:03.619 --> 00:29:09.000 kids, let's go! There's just one place to go 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:12.079 for all of your connector needs. Tower electronics. 00:29:12.140 --> 00:29:15.240 Tower electronics. Tower electronics. A giant 00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:18.099 warehouse of connectors and adapters for every 00:29:18.099 --> 00:29:20.700 occasion. Thousands to choose from in every shape, 00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:23.759 size, and color. And they have antennas, soldering 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:27.140 supplies, cables, meters, and more. Where do 00:29:27.140 --> 00:29:29.299 you go if you want to buy a connector at a fraction 00:29:29.299 --> 00:29:32.900 of retail cost? Tower electronics. Tower electronics. 00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:35.980 Tower electronics. And this weekend only, take 00:29:35.980 --> 00:29:37.819 advantage of our special special liquidation 00:29:37.819 --> 00:29:41.539 sale. Buy nine solder -type PL -259s, get the 00:29:41.539 --> 00:29:46.400 tenth one for just one penny. They make great 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:51.660 Christmas presents. And what better way to say 00:29:51.660 --> 00:29:55.960 I love you than with the gift of a PL -259. TOWER 00:29:55.960 --> 00:29:59.619 ELECTRONICS! TOWER ELECTRONICS! TOWER ELECTRONICS! 00:29:59.779 --> 00:30:03.900 Hi, I'm Scott Cole, KB9 AMM, president of TOWER 00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:06.700 ELECTRONICS. I like the company so much that 00:30:06.700 --> 00:30:09.380 I bought it. TOWER ELECTRONICS, coming to a handfest 00:30:09.380 --> 00:30:14.450 near you, or online at PL -259 .com. And we're 00:30:14.450 --> 00:30:17.490 on the yellow pages under amateur radio connectors. 00:30:17.670 --> 00:30:21.569 My, wherever did you get that lovely PL259? Tower 00:30:21.569 --> 00:30:28.849 Electronics, pl -259 .com or call 920 -435 -2973. 00:30:29.269 --> 00:30:33.410 Do we sell PL259 connectors? Join the conversation. 00:30:33.730 --> 00:30:38.230 Give us a call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 00:30:38.230 --> 00:30:49.459 -638 -4261. Now, here's more HamTalk Live. This 00:30:49.459 --> 00:30:54.579 is your announcer, Andy Morrison, K9AWM. Why 00:30:54.579 --> 00:30:57.059 else would I be talking like this? You're listening 00:30:57.059 --> 00:31:11.900 to HamTalk Live with Neil Rapp. Tower electronics 00:31:11.900 --> 00:31:15.619 will be in Montgomery, Alabama this weekend the 00:31:15.619 --> 00:31:21.480 9th and 10th Then they'll be up my way and then 00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:25.099 north a little bit Fort Wayne, Indiana November 00:31:25.099 --> 00:31:29.380 17th and 18th and then Ocala, Florida November 00:31:29.380 --> 00:31:32.680 30th and December 1st and then Plant City, Florida. 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:36.140 That's not too far from Tampa December 7th and 00:31:36.140 --> 00:31:41.180 8th and you can visit them anytime at PL -259 00:31:41.180 --> 00:31:45.180 .com and they're a great place to get a lot of 00:31:45.180 --> 00:31:48.019 these cables and parts and soldering supplies 00:31:48.019 --> 00:31:51.619 and all this stuff for these kits we're talking 00:31:51.619 --> 00:31:56.299 about, right Joe? You bet, and by the way Scott 00:31:56.299 --> 00:31:59.619 and Jill from Tower Electronics have all the 00:31:59.619 --> 00:32:02.079 plugs, jacks and connectors and things that you 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:05.250 need to work with your kits. And so I highly 00:32:05.250 --> 00:32:08.250 recommend them. They have all the adapters and 00:32:08.250 --> 00:32:10.650 the plugs and everything that you need to finish 00:32:10.650 --> 00:32:16.009 your kits. Also, the Hamfest and Ocala, if you 00:32:16.009 --> 00:32:23.160 go to vakits .com, that's vakits .com, Uh, there 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:26.460 is a kit manufacturer right there in Ocala and 00:32:26.460 --> 00:32:28.519 I'm sure he'll be there at the ham fest. Cause 00:32:28.519 --> 00:32:32.660 he goes to that and he goes to the one in Huntsville 00:32:32.660 --> 00:32:37.559 and the one in Orlando. And he has a lot of very 00:32:37.559 --> 00:32:40.859 low cost, easy kits to build. So it's a great 00:32:40.859 --> 00:32:44.779 place to get some pretty simple kits. All right. 00:32:44.779 --> 00:32:47.910 Very good. Well, there you go. So. Be sure you 00:32:47.910 --> 00:32:50.930 check out Tower Electronics at those shows or 00:32:50.930 --> 00:32:55.930 again PL -259 .com otherwise and they help bring 00:32:55.930 --> 00:32:58.130 you HamTalk Live every week. We're on the air 00:32:58.130 --> 00:33:02.349 every Thursday night at 9 p .m. Eastern Time 00:33:02.349 --> 00:33:05.650 and that's at HamTalkLive .com. Be sure to check 00:33:05.650 --> 00:33:08.750 us out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and 00:33:08.750 --> 00:33:11.470 it's time for your calls now. So if you want 00:33:11.470 --> 00:33:14.769 to... chime in if you have a comment or question 00:33:14.769 --> 00:33:17.390 about kit building or anything we're talking 00:33:17.390 --> 00:33:21.950 about give us a call at 812 -638 four two six 00:33:21.950 --> 00:33:27.829 one that spells eight one two net ham one eight 00:33:27.829 --> 00:33:30.430 one two six three eight four two six one or you 00:33:30.430 --> 00:33:34.029 can tweet us all uh check the tweets here uh 00:33:34.029 --> 00:33:37.930 in just a little bit uh but we actually got to 00:33:37.930 --> 00:33:41.250 talking about all the kits so much that we we 00:33:41.250 --> 00:33:45.720 ran out of time to talk about some kit accessories 00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:50.019 and building supplies That might make good gifts 00:33:50.019 --> 00:33:54.359 for the holidays as well So what are some other 00:33:54.359 --> 00:33:57.359 good gift ideas to get that special kit builder 00:33:57.359 --> 00:34:03.759 in your life? Okay first off the the key to success 00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:06.779 in kit building I think is a good soldering iron 00:34:06.779 --> 00:34:09.000 that's where you really got to start first because 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:12.099 if you can't solder easily and have it work well 00:34:12.360 --> 00:34:15.639 then you're not going to enjoy the experience 00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:18.780 and your kit may not work. So I'm going to give 00:34:18.780 --> 00:34:22.659 a website and I was introduced to this place 00:34:22.659 --> 00:34:25.599 a couple years ago by somebody in Ohio who orders 00:34:25.599 --> 00:34:28.159 all of his stuff not only for himself but for 00:34:28.159 --> 00:34:31.760 his work through this place and it's in Lincoln, 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:34.980 Nebraska and I had no idea this guy was there 00:34:34.980 --> 00:34:38.039 and it's just across town from me and he gave 00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:41.480 me some samples of different soldering equipment 00:34:41.480 --> 00:34:46.519 he has and it absolutely is is an Incredible 00:34:46.519 --> 00:34:51.260 value the web page is X tronic USA So I'm going 00:34:51.260 --> 00:34:55.039 to spell that x -ray tango Romeo Oscar November 00:34:55.039 --> 00:34:58.739 India Charlie uniform Sierra alpha So it's X 00:34:58.739 --> 00:35:05.019 tronic USA comm and I have I think it's the 3030 00:35:05.019 --> 00:35:08.800 soldering station which sells for I think it's 00:35:08.800 --> 00:35:13.579 around 50 bucks and and it is digital temperature 00:35:13.579 --> 00:35:18.099 controlled and what's so cool about that is that 00:35:18.099 --> 00:35:20.860 it maintains the temperature plus or minus two 00:35:20.860 --> 00:35:24.059 degrees Celsius and it has a switch to do Fahrenheit 00:35:24.059 --> 00:35:27.960 or Celsius and it'll heat up enough that you 00:35:27.960 --> 00:35:30.460 can do the lead -free solder if you wanted to 00:35:30.460 --> 00:35:35.559 or around 630 degrees or so for the regular or 00:35:35.559 --> 00:35:38.420 turn it back up to do desoldering and so forth 00:35:38.809 --> 00:35:43.250 It is shaped kind of like a weller Weller has 00:35:43.250 --> 00:35:46.409 made this one that's orange That's traditional 00:35:46.409 --> 00:35:50.030 and has a variable heat control But that variable 00:35:50.030 --> 00:35:52.630 heat control on the weller on that particular 00:35:52.630 --> 00:35:56.010 one that sells for around forty dollars Is not 00:35:56.010 --> 00:35:58.869 thermostatically controlled this is and this 00:35:58.869 --> 00:36:02.110 is digitally thermostatically controlled So it's 00:36:02.110 --> 00:36:04.130 going to maintain that temperature. So when you 00:36:04.130 --> 00:36:06.690 put that tip down on the connection and you've 00:36:06.690 --> 00:36:08.670 got something drawing that heat away, it's going 00:36:08.670 --> 00:36:11.969 to allow more current to flow into that tip and 00:36:11.969 --> 00:36:16.190 get it warmer. It has two different tip cleaners. 00:36:16.829 --> 00:36:21.670 One's a sponge and one is a brass, kind of a 00:36:21.670 --> 00:36:25.289 brass ball thing. That has some flux underneath 00:36:25.289 --> 00:36:27.369 it. So if you push the tip down into there You 00:36:27.369 --> 00:36:29.590 can clean the tip with the flux and brush it 00:36:29.590 --> 00:36:32.710 off with the brass and you can also wipe it off 00:36:32.710 --> 00:36:35.309 with the sponge so of course it has a tip holder 00:36:35.309 --> 00:36:40.650 or a Handpiece holder and it also has a solder 00:36:40.650 --> 00:36:43.949 roll holder so that your roll of solder doesn't 00:36:43.949 --> 00:36:46.590 become a cat toy I want two cats around the house 00:36:46.590 --> 00:36:50.190 here that the solder would just end up going 00:36:50.190 --> 00:36:53.869 down the hall, so The solder roll holder keeps 00:36:53.869 --> 00:36:58.929 it out of the way and so it's quite a bargain 00:36:58.929 --> 00:37:02.630 for the $50 range and you can order it through 00:37:02.630 --> 00:37:05.489 Amazon and if you've got Amazon Prime of course 00:37:05.489 --> 00:37:08.710 you get two -day free shipping and I think during 00:37:08.710 --> 00:37:11.690 the holiday season now anything over like $35 00:37:11.690 --> 00:37:15.829 or something from Amazon they ship it free and 00:37:15.829 --> 00:37:18.869 so this is the time to take advantage of that 00:37:18.869 --> 00:37:23.590 they also have Hot tweezers and they have soldering 00:37:23.590 --> 00:37:28.110 stations that have Lab type bench power supplies 00:37:28.110 --> 00:37:32.570 built into them They have rework stations hot 00:37:32.570 --> 00:37:36.369 tweezers so that you can pick up or replace surface 00:37:36.369 --> 00:37:40.309 mount parts And they even have board preheaters 00:37:40.309 --> 00:37:45.070 for use with reworking surface mount boards Absolutely 00:37:45.070 --> 00:37:49.280 incredible and for the cost of these things just 00:37:49.280 --> 00:37:52.900 absolutely remarkable and very reliable. The 00:37:52.900 --> 00:37:55.739 tip style is the same as a certain series of 00:37:55.739 --> 00:37:57.900 Haco irons and I would have to look on their 00:37:57.900 --> 00:38:00.340 website to see which one that's equivalent to. 00:38:00.679 --> 00:38:03.400 So the tips are easy to come by. They sell tips 00:38:03.400 --> 00:38:06.920 as well as you can use certain Haco tips on it 00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:10.920 as well. Now the best soldering iron in the world 00:38:10.920 --> 00:38:14.340 is not worth anything without the best solder. 00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:17.280 And so there are several different brands of 00:38:17.280 --> 00:38:23.380 this stuff You can get Kester and There's the 00:38:23.380 --> 00:38:27.480 MG electronics that you can get it fries And 00:38:27.480 --> 00:38:30.800 other electronic stores and what I use is not 00:38:30.800 --> 00:38:34.059 6040 I only use 6040 if I'm doing things like 00:38:34.059 --> 00:38:37.179 PL 250 nines and antenna wires and things like 00:38:37.179 --> 00:38:42.360 that If I'm building a kit, I'm using 63 37 and 00:38:42.360 --> 00:38:44.739 the reason is this is what we call you tactic 00:38:44.739 --> 00:38:50.619 solder. So it has a much narrower plastic state 00:38:50.619 --> 00:38:53.139 and what that means is that you're much less 00:38:53.139 --> 00:38:55.659 likely to get a cold solder joint when it hardens 00:38:55.659 --> 00:39:00.219 it hardens right away and the thickness of the 00:39:00.219 --> 00:39:09.460 solder there's .031 and .025 inch thick solder 00:39:09.460 --> 00:39:14.659 and I I don't know about the .015 that's really 00:39:14.659 --> 00:39:17.219 hair thin and the only time I would use that 00:39:17.219 --> 00:39:20.599 is some real fine surface mount which most kit 00:39:20.599 --> 00:39:24.699 builders won't ever run into so the .025 or .031 00:39:24.699 --> 00:39:29.159 thickness of the 6337 solder is the best and 00:39:29.159 --> 00:39:31.400 you'll discover that it melts a lot easier than 00:39:31.400 --> 00:39:35.519 the 6040 and seems to wet the connection better 00:39:35.519 --> 00:39:39.019 and flow a lot nicer the other thing to look 00:39:39.019 --> 00:39:43.780 for is definitely rosin core with the 6337 and 00:39:43.780 --> 00:39:46.179 you can also get an option that's rosin core 00:39:46.179 --> 00:39:48.940 no clean it looks a lot better and that's what 00:39:48.940 --> 00:39:52.639 i use and i have a customer in fact i'll be seeing 00:39:52.639 --> 00:39:56.019 that customer tomorrow morning here in lincoln 00:39:56.019 --> 00:39:59.420 and it's an electronics plant and although i 00:39:59.420 --> 00:40:03.099 fix printers i see what they have at their desks 00:40:03.099 --> 00:40:06.380 and i see The Haco irons, but I've also seen 00:40:06.380 --> 00:40:09.639 a couple of these extronic irons and they use 00:40:09.639 --> 00:40:16.559 the 63, 37, 025, and 031 on no clean rosin core 00:40:16.559 --> 00:40:19.460 solder. So I know I'm doing the right thing when 00:40:19.460 --> 00:40:22.019 the professionals right here in town that I go 00:40:22.019 --> 00:40:25.599 see as my customers, that's what they're using. 00:40:27.079 --> 00:40:31.420 Very good. So some great ideas for some gifts. 00:40:31.900 --> 00:40:35.179 Now here's another thing to look at there are 00:40:35.179 --> 00:40:37.400 kits out there you'll look for them and it says 00:40:37.400 --> 00:40:40.900 Transistor tester with LC or something like that 00:40:40.900 --> 00:40:44.000 and they sell this on these Chinese sites like 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:47.920 banggood .com and things like that or wish wish 00:40:47.920 --> 00:40:51.139 actually has these as well and you look for a 00:40:51.139 --> 00:40:54.099 kit that they it might say component tester or 00:40:54.099 --> 00:40:57.559 transistor tester or it might say transistor 00:40:57.559 --> 00:41:02.110 and LC and These things let you test any part 00:41:02.110 --> 00:41:04.690 and it will tell you what it is and if it's working 00:41:04.690 --> 00:41:08.489 and what its value is. And that's a great thing 00:41:08.489 --> 00:41:11.269 for a kit builder to have because if the numbers 00:41:11.269 --> 00:41:13.250 get rubbed off a part or something, you know 00:41:13.250 --> 00:41:17.309 what it is. And so that's something to look for. 00:41:17.750 --> 00:41:24.530 Also, they still make these the DSO 138 oscilloscope 00:41:24.530 --> 00:41:29.150 kit. So the key would be to look up DSO 138. 00:41:29.449 --> 00:41:32.789 And you can get this kit for around $23 that 00:41:32.789 --> 00:41:35.269 has all the surface mount parts done for you. 00:41:35.289 --> 00:41:37.530 So all you have to do is the through hole parts. 00:41:38.070 --> 00:41:40.349 And for not much more, you can get it with a 00:41:40.349 --> 00:41:44.289 clear plastic case that you put together and 00:41:44.289 --> 00:41:46.449 it makes a nice little oscilloscope. Obviously, 00:41:46.690 --> 00:41:49.309 it's not going to be an RF scope. It's going 00:41:49.309 --> 00:41:52.349 to be more used for tracing audio circuits and 00:41:52.349 --> 00:41:54.670 checking power supplies and things like that. 00:41:55.800 --> 00:41:58.619 but an oscilloscope that you can hold in your 00:41:58.619 --> 00:42:02.280 hand for 20 some dollars and it's a pretty easy 00:42:02.280 --> 00:42:05.739 kit and a lot of fun to put together. Now mine 00:42:05.739 --> 00:42:08.000 I bought it when it first came out so I had to 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:12.059 do all the surface mount parts by hand but like 00:42:12.059 --> 00:42:14.099 I said the new ones you don't have to do that 00:42:14.099 --> 00:42:16.519 if you get one that says the surface mount is 00:42:16.519 --> 00:42:22.800 already done. Very good. Some great ideas for 00:42:23.039 --> 00:42:28.619 the kit builder in your life and Just in time 00:42:28.619 --> 00:42:31.820 for the holidays, so yep and me time to start 00:42:31.820 --> 00:42:35.800 dropping hints Meters are meters are always worthwhile 00:42:35.800 --> 00:42:38.460 and and I tell people especially if they're starting 00:42:38.460 --> 00:42:41.420 out in kit building Don't shy away from those 00:42:41.420 --> 00:42:45.579 $3 Harbor freight meters because they work. It's 00:42:45.579 --> 00:42:49.719 not a fluke, but it actually works and They're 00:42:49.719 --> 00:42:53.500 great for a first -time kit builder. And like 00:42:53.500 --> 00:42:58.039 I said, reasonably accurate enough that very 00:42:58.039 --> 00:43:01.500 few kits would I ever really need a Fluke meter, 00:43:01.579 --> 00:43:06.780 although that's what I have. And don't discount 00:43:06.780 --> 00:43:10.719 old test equipment that can be fixed up. I have 00:43:10.719 --> 00:43:14.579 a Fluke 8000A on my bench. My boss gave it to 00:43:14.579 --> 00:43:17.239 me. It was in some box in the back of the office. 00:43:17.239 --> 00:43:20.909 Apparently, they used to use it. and but you 00:43:20.909 --> 00:43:23.409 turn it on and it just drifts up and down and 00:43:23.409 --> 00:43:25.690 there are people out there that fix those up 00:43:25.690 --> 00:43:32.070 and that is now my bench meter is a early 80s 00:43:32.070 --> 00:43:37.170 vintage fluke desk desktop meter and it's just 00:43:37.170 --> 00:43:42.050 darn accurate it is actually certified oh there 00:43:42.050 --> 00:43:45.610 you go and nice thing about those little three 00:43:45.610 --> 00:43:50.679 dollar meters if you blow one up yeah it cost 00:43:50.679 --> 00:43:53.500 more cost almost as much for the 9 -volt battery 00:43:53.500 --> 00:43:57.400 so you just go to Harbor Freight and get another 00:43:57.400 --> 00:44:02.019 one yeah you know I have to worry if you blow 00:44:02.019 --> 00:44:05.300 it up although we don't advise trying to blow 00:44:05.300 --> 00:44:07.460 them up no definitely definitely don't put it 00:44:07.460 --> 00:44:09.519 in the ohms range and plug it in the wall socket 00:44:09.519 --> 00:44:15.659 yeah exactly well let's uh let's beg for calls 00:44:15.659 --> 00:44:21.480 here for a minute 812 -638 -4261 812 -net -ham 00:44:21.480 --> 00:44:24.480 -1 if you have a call we're about out of time 00:44:24.480 --> 00:44:28.920 here but like to grab a call or two if we can 00:44:28.920 --> 00:44:34.139 and checking Twitter here as well so if you want 00:44:34.139 --> 00:44:37.739 to chime in or have a question give us call 812 00:44:37.739 --> 00:44:45.960 -638 -4261 or at HamTalk Live On twitter so and 00:44:45.960 --> 00:44:49.320 by the way, yeah, go ahead Yeah, the november 00:44:49.320 --> 00:44:51.840 issue of cq is out electronically and it'll be 00:44:51.840 --> 00:44:58.099 in the mail shortly and I'm I cover the wa3 rnc 00:44:58.099 --> 00:45:02.480 Cw transceiver kit and that one has all of 24 00:45:02.480 --> 00:45:05.000 parts for you to put on the board and all the 00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:08.239 toroids are already wound for you and they're 00:45:08.239 --> 00:45:11.280 wrapped Such a way in different envelopes. So 00:45:11.280 --> 00:45:14.360 you you have a tougher time to misidentify them 00:45:14.360 --> 00:45:18.199 and They're already stripped and tinned and everything 00:45:18.199 --> 00:45:20.760 and then there's over a hundred surface mount 00:45:20.760 --> 00:45:23.820 parts on that board And those are already put 00:45:23.820 --> 00:45:29.099 on there and the tuning Coils and stuff in there 00:45:29.099 --> 00:45:32.159 are already pre tuned for you so all you have 00:45:32.159 --> 00:45:36.639 to do is put those 24 parts on and mount it in 00:45:36.639 --> 00:45:43.559 the the plastic shell that that it sits in and 00:45:43.559 --> 00:45:46.619 You have a working CW transceiver that really 00:45:46.619 --> 00:45:48.840 puts out a lot of audio. It's pretty darn loud 00:45:48.840 --> 00:45:54.440 in my headset and Actually works quite well So 00:45:54.440 --> 00:45:58.219 that would be at whiskey alpha 3 romeo november 00:45:58.219 --> 00:46:04.420 charlie .com wa3 rnc .com And he also has versions 00:46:04.420 --> 00:46:07.760 of the kit that have digital displays and so 00:46:07.760 --> 00:46:12.739 forth. So it's kind of an interesting kit for 00:46:12.739 --> 00:46:16.260 a beginning kit builder. I would say for a beginning 00:46:16.260 --> 00:46:19.360 builder to try something simpler first and then 00:46:19.360 --> 00:46:21.920 put something like this together. But like I 00:46:21.920 --> 00:46:25.719 said, there's only 24 parts on that board. But 00:46:25.719 --> 00:46:28.239 things are a little tight on there. So I'd get 00:46:28.239 --> 00:46:30.559 a little experience with some other kits first 00:46:30.559 --> 00:46:34.420 and then do this one. But it's a wonderful kit, 00:46:34.619 --> 00:46:41.219 puts out a great CW signal. Another great idea 00:46:41.219 --> 00:46:47.179 and lots of good gift ideas out there, so start 00:46:47.179 --> 00:46:53.900 dropping hints now. Oh, definitely. You know, 00:46:54.099 --> 00:46:59.159 you were talking about the soldering stations 00:46:59.159 --> 00:47:04.610 and I've been clearing out my mom and dad's house 00:47:04.610 --> 00:47:10.250 and found that dad had a thermostatically controlled 00:47:10.250 --> 00:47:14.829 soldering station that came home with me and 00:47:14.829 --> 00:47:18.429 I'm just amazed you know I've got the little 00:47:18.429 --> 00:47:20.789 the weller you were talking about the orange 00:47:20.789 --> 00:47:24.389 one with the little knob on it you know and I'm 00:47:24.389 --> 00:47:28.090 just amazed how much difference that makes absolutely 00:47:28.090 --> 00:47:30.920 and that's that's You know and you don't have 00:47:30.920 --> 00:47:33.219 to pay that much more to have something that's 00:47:33.219 --> 00:47:35.820 going to give you a good experience And that's 00:47:35.820 --> 00:47:39.480 the thing if you Are a first -time builder and 00:47:39.480 --> 00:47:42.960 you're using like one of these nine dollar pencils 00:47:42.960 --> 00:47:46.119 or something like that And you don't succeed 00:47:46.119 --> 00:47:48.340 how many more kits are you going to want to build? 00:47:48.579 --> 00:47:54.280 Well, you're not so I always say If you can succeed 00:47:54.280 --> 00:47:56.659 the first time you're going to do it again and 00:47:56.659 --> 00:48:01.789 again and again and It makes it a lot more worthwhile 00:48:01.789 --> 00:48:04.929 if you get the right tool and so like I said 00:48:04.929 --> 00:48:09.409 this soldering station is like $50 and it's hard 00:48:09.409 --> 00:48:11.630 to beat it, especially now that they're running 00:48:11.630 --> 00:48:16.489 free shipping during the holidays and it it gives 00:48:16.489 --> 00:48:19.389 you a much better chance of having success when 00:48:19.389 --> 00:48:23.949 you put together your kit and There's different 00:48:23.949 --> 00:48:28.190 factors involved you have the fact that You're 00:48:28.190 --> 00:48:30.409 doing it at the right temperature. So if you're 00:48:30.409 --> 00:48:32.610 too low a temperature, you'll get cold solder. 00:48:32.769 --> 00:48:35.650 If it's too hot, you'll boil off the flux and 00:48:35.650 --> 00:48:41.190 so it won't stick correctly. It matches the solder 00:48:41.190 --> 00:48:44.670 that you're using and doesn't overheat the component 00:48:44.670 --> 00:48:48.039 so you don't get Component damage that you might 00:48:48.039 --> 00:48:50.480 from a pencil iron that's not regulating gets 00:48:50.480 --> 00:48:53.519 too hot and then it doesn't heat up enough when 00:48:53.519 --> 00:48:57.260 it's Under demand while this soldering station 00:48:57.260 --> 00:48:59.820 does all that for you You just turn the knob 00:48:59.820 --> 00:49:03.159 set it and forget it and if you leave that thing 00:49:03.159 --> 00:49:06.900 in the holder Don't use it for a while. Guess 00:49:06.900 --> 00:49:10.480 what? It does it goes into sleep mode So it drops 00:49:10.480 --> 00:49:13.500 it down to about half heat so that it doesn't 00:49:13.500 --> 00:49:16.940 bake off the coating on the end of the tip and 00:49:16.940 --> 00:49:19.500 Then as soon as you pick it up out of the holder 00:49:19.500 --> 00:49:24.039 it senses that and it goes back up absolutely 00:49:24.039 --> 00:49:29.400 a smart iron for around $50 yeah, that's a great 00:49:29.400 --> 00:49:35.469 deal and I like that. I like the sleep mode idea. 00:49:36.369 --> 00:49:40.210 That's pretty cool. Don't have that one. Well, 00:49:40.210 --> 00:49:45.030 Joe, we're already over time, so I'm not going 00:49:45.030 --> 00:49:47.429 to hold you any longer, but thanks for coming 00:49:47.429 --> 00:49:51.170 on the show as always, and we look forward to 00:49:51.170 --> 00:49:56.670 next time you're on, and enjoy the trip to the 00:49:56.670 --> 00:50:01.960 Big Apple and 50 Years in Ham Radio. the same 00:50:01.960 --> 00:50:05.139 time yep i really look forward to it as long 00:50:05.139 --> 00:50:08.400 as the weather is good we'll make it yeah that 00:50:08.400 --> 00:50:12.260 sounds like a a cool trip and a cool way to celebrate 00:50:12.260 --> 00:50:19.199 so enjoy and we'll catch you next time 73 is 00:50:19.199 --> 00:50:24.420 neil all right 73 that is a wrap for this week's 00:50:24.420 --> 00:50:27.800 edition of ham talk live Thanks to my guest, 00:50:28.079 --> 00:50:31.079 Joe Eisenberg, K -Zero, N -E -B, and everybody 00:50:31.079 --> 00:50:34.460 out there in cyberspace for listening in. And 00:50:34.460 --> 00:50:37.300 come back next Thursday night at 9 p .m. Eastern 00:50:37.300 --> 00:50:41.059 Time, Michael Colley, W -4 MCA, the chairman 00:50:41.059 --> 00:50:45.239 of the Orlando Hamcation will be here. And he 00:50:45.239 --> 00:50:48.840 has a big announcement to make on the show, he 00:50:48.840 --> 00:50:52.050 tells me, so. We'll have to tune in for that. 00:50:52.150 --> 00:50:55.590 I don't know what it is, but got an idea, but 00:50:55.590 --> 00:50:58.869 I'm guessing. So come back next week and hear 00:50:58.869 --> 00:51:02.670 a little bit about Orlando hamcation and Michael's 00:51:02.670 --> 00:51:05.909 announcement by listening at 9 p .m. Thursday 00:51:05.909 --> 00:51:09.829 night Eastern Time at hamtalklive .com. And if 00:51:09.829 --> 00:51:12.670 you like the show, please leave us a review on 00:51:12.670 --> 00:51:15.489 iTunes if you would or wherever you listen that 00:51:15.489 --> 00:51:19.059 helps. Other people find us faster, so we'd appreciate 00:51:19.059 --> 00:51:21.539 it if you would do that. So for now, this is 00:51:21.539 --> 00:51:26.719 Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7 -3, 7 -5, and may 00:51:26.719 --> 00:51:45.440 the good DX be yours. 73, and good luck from 00:51:45.440 --> 00:51:46.820 HamTalk Live.