2021-03-18

Question from the May Rae Class of 2021 - WhatsApp Group

 

The other day I was asked;"@John Brock hi there.. are you able to recommend any simple receiver circuit kits to build ?Just to help me understand some of the fundamentals I'm learning.. some of it is unintuitive."

Pause for thought, yes! But this is not an easy question to answer.

If this were a first world country, I would recommend a 'local' shop to go into and buy a kit.

There are lots of them both kits and shops...

I know because while staying with my daughter in Bristol UK, I ordered stuff and it was delivered to my (sorry her) door the next day!

There were (once upon a time) local shops here on the West Rand and in Johannesburg that sold components. Where hobbyists and Radio Amateurs could buy components or even test gear. Sadly they are long gone since last century.

You can buy kits and components - for a price - and have them delivered by courier. Definitely not the Post Office! But for anyone who is not wanting to spend serious amounts of money, this is not really an option.

The club does have a certain amount of components. Most left to the club after hams going 'silent key'. Some members and other Radio Amateurs sell them off at our regular 'flea markets' / 'boot sales'. I prefer the term 'boot sale' as the other makes you want to bring your own fleas!

Some hams have 'junk boxes' with components and old radios that can be used for new construction projects. I do.

I was going to put a cartoon in here but I did a search for the one sent to me recently. It is from CartoonStock thus has copyright! So no cartoon of an old guy with his son outside the garage saying;"One day son all this will be yours."

To answer the Question

The 'simplest' type of radio useful to a Radio Amateur is a "Direct Conversion" type. In the past I have recommended several designs. All needing components that are getting scarcer by the week.

Recently (in the last few years) I have been component 'scavenging'. This produces all sorts of components. Some basic like transistors and others like PWM generator integrated circuits. Lots of electrolytic capacitors of low and high voltage. These are from 'blown' ATX power supplies used in personal computers. One good Highveldt storm and the power supply is 'dead'! As it is always connected to the mains supply.

So here is a circuit from last century. In fact QST 1968. It has been built by many Radio Amateurs and it does not require 'fancy' components.

It doesn't say a lot of things but you get the general idea from the blocks. Using 'scavenged' components you could build it fairly quickly. You can of course substitute the blocks with alternative components. Also you can specify what frequency band to have the pre-selector tune.

If you have been following the RAE course, then some of the blocks should be familiar to you. The 'local oscillator' is a 'Hartley Oscillator'. The mixer is a 'double-balanced' mixer using diodes. Which in those days would have been germanium types. Giving a low level requirement on the 'local oscillator'.

These days with the interference levels being so high, you should consider a 'high Q' tuned antenna. To reduce the 'broadband' noise from the front end.

This is a discussion piece maybe it will trigger some construction enthusiasts. I hope so.

73 John Brock ZS6WL


 



 

2021-03-02

yl.beam #92 march 2021

Contents


  • SARL YL Sprint   March 6 88
  • DL – YL Women's Day 2021 March 8
  • XE-YL Mexico  International Women's Day, 2021 March 8   
  • GRUPO YL – Argentina March 8
  • Radio Club YL CHILE  -  WOMEN'S DAY 2021 - March 13, 2021
  • Solo Sailor  Land-cruising Oz
  • German YL in Antarctica
  • Quartz-Pause 2021
  • Contact & Calendar


The SARL (South African Radio League) YL Sprint is on the air on Saturday 6 March
Monday 8 March is International Women’s Day and to celebrate the day, the SARL YL Sprint will be on the air from 12:00 to 13:00 UTC (14:00 to 15:00 CAT) on Saturday 6 March 2021.
Mode & Band:  CW and phone sprint on the 40-metre band
Exchange  RS(T) report and YL or OM.
Please note that the QSY rules for Sprints apply.
Submit your log by 23:59 CAT on Thursday 11 March 2021 by e-mail to zs3vdk@webmail.co.za.
The rules are on page 70 of the 2021 Blue Book.

  DL – YL Women's Day 2021
 

For the 8th  time, the DARC YL group is organizing an international YL event on International Women's Day

Date: Monday, March 8, 2021  
Time: 1800 to 2100 UTC (1900 to 2200  CET)
Band & Mode:  40m and 80m in SSB & CW.
Goal of the event:  to encourage  YLs to be active during the 3 hours of this activity
The points per QSO are awarded according to the following scheme.
There are two categories of participants: OM and YL.
Points per QSO:  YL/OM1 point ; YL/YL 3 points ; OM OM 0 points
Each station can be worked once per band.
The following applies to SWLs:
1. All logged QSOs between YL and YL (3 points)
2. All logged QSOs between YL and OM (1 point)
Logs: The logs should be submitted in chronological order and include the QSO date, time (in UTC), band, mode, callsign of the QSO partner, name of the QSO partner, RST and the included points claimed.
The deadline for entries is March 25, 2021.
The log should be sent as an Excel file in the following format (callsign as file name): DATE Time UTC Band Mode Callsign Name Report Points Surname: Callsign: E-mail:
An Excel and Open Office log template can be downloaded from www.darc.de/yl/contest.
Alternatively, logs can be submitted in CABRILLO format, ADIF files and paper logs Will not be accepted. The participants send their log to Karin DL2LBK (karin@wraase.com) and
receive a certificate in PDF format by email after the evaluation.
The list of results will be published in the CQ-DL and on www.darc.de/yl/contest.
We wish all participants good luck and many successful contacts!
33 + 73 + 55 de Karin DL2LBK & Heike DL3HD
A wonderful opportunity to earn important points for the different YL diplomas 🙂
Further information can be found at: https://www.darc.de/yl/contest
organized by the YL department of the DARC e.V. There is more information in the new CQ DL 3-2021 on page 76.
QRZ.com : DJ5YL YL Johanna van Eckert-Schoof (image)

XE-YL Mexico  International Women's Day, 2021
Radio Club Puebla Dx  invites all Mexican and foreign radio amateurs to participate in the contest XE-Young Lady, which aims to promote the participation of women in  ham radio.
Objective: Obtain the highest number of contacts with licensed women operated stations.
Date: March 8 to 00:00 at 23:59 Time UTC     During: 24 hours
Mode: SSB, CW, PSK-31, RTTY ;   Bands: 10 to 80 meter. No  WARC bands
Call: CQ YL contest
Categories:
Mono-operator YL, low power 100w.
Mono-operator OM, low power 100w.
Final score: The sum of points obtained according to the QSO's achieved
Scoring: QSO YL - OM = 2 points.    QSO YL - YL = 5 points.
Rules: One contact per callsign in mode and band.
Exchange: OM: RST + consecutive number to QSO, begining with 1, regardless of the mode used.
YL: RST + “YL”
Log: Log delivery from the end of the event and until on march 31, 2021.
Only electronic format submission is accepted
Please submit your log in the ADIF file format, as attachment xeylcontest@hotmail.com .
Include: Name, Callsign, Categorie
Final results: The final results will be published on the official contest web page:
xeylcontest.puebladx.org  . april 8, 2021
Awards: Electronic Certificates will be to every participant, and will be available to downlad once the final results become public.
The page to consult results, and download certificates is: xeylcontest.puebladx.org
3rd. Edition  2021 Contest Manager  Paty Mohedano XE1SPM

GRUPO YL – Argentina Womens Day 2021

Theme * Women with Stories in Time of Pandemic *
The YL Group invites, for 03/08/2021 all Radio amateurs and Listeners LU ... LW to participate in the delivery of a Tribute Certificate .. to a single contact * In memory of all Women with roles and functions in Time of Pandemic ”Doctors, Biologists, Nurses, Cleaning staff assistants, etc.
 The log of the contacts must inform QTR (Time of contact) Mode, Date and QRA of the Station (License)  via e mail           (GRUPOYL@YAHOO.COM)
 They will be received until 03/18/2021 without exception, the bases will be uploaded on the QRZ.COM site and on the group's Facebook site (GRUPO YL.)
The certificate will be up to 15 days after Activation.
 Attention: Any log that is not sent to the group's email will not be processed, in addition, those who wish to confirm personal qsl's, must do so directly with the operators. (NOT TO THE MAIL OF THE YL GROUP)
 The bands to use all are subject to the prevailing spread, if conditions do not help us on the 8th we will continue on 03/09/2021.
Lucia Sajara -  Radio Club La Rioja (LU1SF)

 Radio Club YL CHILE  -  WOMEN'S DAY 2021 - March 13, 2021
In 1977, the UN assembly decreed International Women's Day on March 8 of each year. This date was established due to the struggle of women in society and their full development as a person.
For this reason, the Radio Club YL CHILE has planned an activity for Saturday, March 13, 2021
The Certificate bases are as follows:
Date: 03/13/2021    Time: • Start: 19:00 Hrs. UTC. • End:  23:00 Hrs. UTC.
• To obtain a digital Certificate, the participating stations must contact at least 3 of the official operators of the Radio Club.
• Operators:
- CE1RFI Maritza - CE2PJH Emelina
- CE3TLE Isabel - CD3NIN / 4 Nora
- CD4IRE Marcela - XQ4NUA Leticia
Exchange in 40 meters:
• Participants deliver their call sign and RS, official stations deliver UTC and RS time.
EchoLink Contacts:
• The stations that make contacts through the nodes of the echolink conference network * ATACAMA * and * REDCHILE *, will be awarded the digital Certificate for a single contact.
• Operators:
- CE1ROA Carmen (Tuty) - CD1CQY Catalina
Sending Log and QSLs:  the Log and the sending of QSLs with the contacts made with the different operators, should only be sent to ce4ylc@gmail.com
The data required for the email are:
Subject: "International Women's Day 2021"
Callsign: Name and surname: Mode: Frequency:
RS: UTC time: Operator with whom you made contact:
The receipt of the emails will be until March 21, 2021.
Sending of Certificates "International Women's Day 2021" will be from April 1 onwards.
We hope  for your participation!     73’s Board of Directors Radio Club Yankee Lima CHILE


  Solo Sailor  Land-cruising Oz  
Lyn Battle VK4SWE reports: We were lucky enough to catch up with intrepid solo yachtie Jeanne Socrates VE0JS, who recently became the oldest person to sail solo around the world. Shirley VK5YL and I had great fun following her journey and speaking with her when she checked in regularly to the ANZA DX Net. So it was great to finally meet her and we had a great time swapping stories! She is marooned in Cairns for the foreseeable future due to Covid and hopes to travel south during the year. So she may be able to catch up with more of our YLs along her circumnavigation of the land of Australia. She is currently hard at work writing a book about her adventures so save up your pennies for that one when it gets into the bookshops!
(ALARA NEWSLETTER   January 2021 Issue No. 176   Australian Amateur Radio Assoc.)

  German YL in Antarctica  
Radio Amateur YL (DC1TH) Theresa Thoma from Fürstenfeldbruck started her Antarctic adventure on December 20th. As a member of the winter team, the 26-year-old radio amateur will work at the German Neumayer III research station of the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, (AWI for short) until February 2022. Her enthusiasm for technology began in a youth group of the German Amateur Radio Club (DARC) eV
“In the next few months I will dare the greatest adventure of my life so far: As part of the winter team, I will live and work in Antarctica for over a year.” Theresa Thoma has been preparing for this exciting journey since August. Until recently, she was in individual quarantine and then cast off with the ice-breaker 'Polarstern' on December 20, 2020.  A “job” that will take you to Antarctica from December 2020 to February 2022, to a place 4400 km away from the nearest city. The wintering phase begins in March - the time of isolation. Until November 2021, the radio amateur will spend the winter in the ice with five scientists, two other technicians, a cook and a doctor. In the Antarctic summer, the team consists of up to 50 people.
As an electronics engineer, her main task is to keep EDP and radio technology running and to support scientists with technical questions. “I take care of the computers, the servers, the radio and satellite connections. I am the help desk: 'How do I get into the WLAN?', 'My printer does not work!'. But things like lubricating the small wind turbine at the penguin observatory or contacting schools via amateur radio are also part of my job. Then there is everything that we have to do because we are the only ones on site, for example all those who spend the winter in the station fire brigade, ”Theresa explains the content of her area.
In addition, she and the responsible scientists ensure that the scientific equipment in the observatories (geophysics, meteorology, air chemistry) and the greenhouse is operational. She looks after underwater microphones and the WSPR beacon. A large area of responsibility in which you have to be flexible.
The foundation stone for her enthusiasm for technology was laid in one of the almost 1000 DARC local associations. Theresa has been a DARC member since 2006 and an active participant in the craft afternoons in the Fürstenfeldbruck local association. Of the 163 members, 55 are young people who are introduced to the basics of electronics in a playful way. And this is where the spark jumped. Theresa's passion for electronic kits can also be found in her thesis.
For those interested, the entry into the world of amateur radio is often the beginning of a successful professional career in the technical / scientific field. In addition, the fun of building it yourself offers the opportunity to expand practical skills and knowledge in building electronic devices. In schools, too, by engaging with amateur radio, young technical and scientific talent is recruited and promoted - true to the motto “From radio amateur to engineer”
You can find  DARC association on the Internet at www.darc.de/home#c153658 .
https://www.lifepr.de/pressemitteilung/deutscher-amateur-radio-club-ev/Abenteuer-in-der-Antarktis/boxid/829207?fbclid=IwAR21yuXPQtOtaOU   Baunatal , 23.12.2020)


Quartzfest is held in  the last full week of January every year. It is an RV "Boondocking" (dry camping) event which comes to life each year, rising from nothing in a remote area of the Sonoran desert in Arizona (USA).  Hams, their families and friends travel and set up this desert community, and immerse themselves in this week-long one-of-a-kind ham radio, camping, learning and living event. Because of pandemic restrictions on gatherings the 2021 was called Quartz-Pause

Quartz-Pause 2021 February 2021 Recap Newsletter
Quartz-Pause has come and gone and was it ever fun. Lyn and I got to take it easy this year. We spent lots of time sitting under our awning visiting with folks when they dropped by.
The weather wasn’t bad either. It was sunny most days but did rain on us one day and the wind wasn’t really bad during the week. Weather for our off-road trip was beautiful and in the mid 70’s.
What did we do during the week? Well, we had to move our storage shed and had plenty of help with that. A big thanks to Neil for coordinating the move.
Activities during the week included two separate socially distanced and masked VE exam sessions, Cast Iron Cooking, our aforementioned off-road trip of 25 vehicles led again by Frank KB7IQ, talks by ARRL representatives Rick Paquette W7RAP Arizona Section Manager and Dick Norton N6AA Southwestern Division Director and our annual Yard Sale/Swap Meet.
Total attending…we only took attendance over the air of licensed hams…169. If we counted significant others, partners and friends, we probably had 250-270 in attendance.
Next year’s Quartzfest will be our 25th anniversary. Dates for next year will be January 23rd – 29th 2022.
73,   'Kris – KR1SS & Lyn – KJ7DSE (Who Passed her General Exam at Q-Pause)

 CONTACT  US:  https://web.facebook.com/ham.yls?_rdc=1&_rdr ‘HAM YL'
  yl.beam news:  Editor Eda zs6ye.yl@gmail.com    
Earlier newsletters can be found on the website of WEST RAND ARC
 wrarc-anode.blogspot.com     &   https://wrarc-anode.blogspot.co.za/
and:  Italian Radio Amateurs Union: QTC U.R.I.
also @ https://www.darc.de/en/der-club/referate/yl/
 
Unsubscribe: If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please  email zs6ye.yl@gmail.com
 

 St Patrick Day 17 March  
March 2021 Calendar
 

YL Essex Ham Net 1st  Saturday of the month, starting at 20:00. on the GB3DA Danbury 2 metre repeater.

March 6        SARL YL Sprint; ARRL DX SSB contest;

March 7        SARL HAMNET 40 m contest;   ARRL DX SSB contest

March 8         International Women’s Day  

March 13       Radio Club YL CHILE  Saturday

March 13-14  SARL National Field Day

March 13-14  SARL VHF/UHF Analogue contest

March 14       JLRS YL CQ Day  SUN, 9:00 AM UTC+09 – 4:00 PM UTC+09 (2nd Sunday)

March 16-17  CLARA  Chatter Party 2021,  1700Z to 1700Z

March 20-21  CLARA  Chatter Party 2021 1700Z to 1700Z

March 17 St Patrick’s Day;

March 17 SARL 80 m Club Sprint  

March 27 Passover;

March 27-28  CQ WPX SSB contest