[Elecraft] Looking for Grandkid radio

[Al Gulseth]

I guess my reply suggesting a regen/kit was influenced by my own experience. I 
was around Niel's grandson's age when my dad took me to his workbench in the 
attic. I came away with a homebrew crystal set which I built under his 
tutelage. It would only pick up the two local BC stations, but it worked. (I 
did eventually get to have his old Hallicrafters RX in my room for a while.)

My homebrewing and kitbuilding continued later on from there with items like a 
Heathkit portable AM receiver (which I still have) and on to more recent kit 
offerings including Elecraft.

My experience with today's web/smartphone focused kids is that any mention of 
communicating by radio with someone on the other side of the world is met 
with glazed eyes. Suggest doing that with a radio that they built and watch 
the lightbulb come on....

73, Al

On Fri November 6 2015 10:31:19 am David Heinsohn wrote:
> Neil
>
>    My suggestion would be to shy away from the easy to build, but hard
> to operate, or lower quality receivers. At this point I suspect the
> grandson is not all that interested in how hard or easy a receiver is to
> design or build. Rather I suspect he's interested in listening to stuff.
> Don's suggestion about finding an SDR makes lots of sense. Add a key and
> oscillator so he can make noise but not transmit and away he goes. The
> goal of a quality receiver, that is simple to operate makes sense.
>
> Good Luck,
> David
>
> On 11/5/2015 11:14 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
> > Neil,
> >
> > I have seen several responses recommending a regenerative receiver. I
> > would suggest otherwise.  While regenerative receivers are "fun" to
> > play with and can be quite sensitive and selective when properly
> > tuned, they do require some 'training' to know how to properly operate
> > both the tuning and the regen knobs together.   If you want to pursue
> > the Regen route, look at some of the regen designs by George Dobbs
> > G3RGV - he has several that work well.
> >
> > Since your grandson likely has access to a computer, I would suggest
> > that you look at some of the SDR receivers, such as the SoftRock kits
> > - inexpensive and quite functional for all modes. Building the kit
> > (with help from grandpa) may peak his interest in building his own
> > gear and add to his interest in the hobby. some software running on
> > the computer is necessary, but there are several software applications
> > that will do - Rocky is one of the easiest to install and configure,
> > HDSDR is good but requires a bit more configuration "smarts".  There
> > is also PowerSDR that can be used and there may be more that I am not
> > familiar with.
> >
> > If kit building is not in store, then look for a used
> > receiver/transceiver that may be up to the task.  If you can find
> > someone who has an SWL40 transceiver for sale (ask on the QRP-L
> > reflector), that is a good starting point for 40 meters that will give
> > good results - there are versions for other bands as well, but I
> > suggest that 40 meters is the best starting band for single band
> > rigs.  There is usually some activity on 40 when other bands are
> > 'dead' - and an antenna for 40 meters is of a reasonable size.
> >
> > I started introducing  my 2 grandsons to electronics when they about 8
> > years old.  It only "took" for one of them who got his license at age
> > 13.  The 6 granddaughters were not interested at all.  So do keep
> > working with him - if it "takes", ham radio in its diverse interests
> > and niche activity groups can produce a lifelong hobby, and may be an
> > introduction to a rewarding career in electronics and/or
> > communications technology.
> >
> > I am one of those examples - I became aware of ham radio in Boy Scouts
> > at the age of 14 when the local ham radio club offered classes in
> > morse code.  That led to my novice license at age 15, and those ham
> > club members, coupled with my interest in math, led me to pursue an
> > electrical engineering degree.  That led to a very rewarding career
> > and now even though I am officially retired and at age 75 1/2, my
> > workbench is always full (and usually backlogged) with repairs of
> > Elecraft gear. So there is hope for your grandson to engage in a
> > lifelong pursuit that he may really enjoy.  If he enjoys puzzles, he
> > may enjoy puzzling over electronics problems which is the heart and
> > soul of troubleshooting (and design).
> >
> > 73,
> > Don W3FPR
> >
> > 73,
> > Don W3FPR
> >
> > On 11/5/2015 6:46 PM, Niel Skousen wrote:
> >> Found out last night that one of grandsons (6 1/2 yr) has developed
> >> an interest in Morse code and radios. Who know how long it will last 8-)
> >>
> >> BUT in the interest of feed the fire, I'm looking for something that
> >> I can help him listen on at his house ...
> >>
> >> Anybody got anything collecting dust that needs a new home ??
> >
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