[HBR] Rookie here

[Ed Swynar]

Greetings All,

Walt is right on the money 100% --- do NOT start out building your all-time
"dream machine" right from the get-go just yet! Get some practical "wins"
under your belt first...

I committed the error back in 1982 with the undertaking of Doug Blakeslee's
experimental 75-meter receiver, which was described in QST back in the early
70's...big mistake! I would have been FAR wiser to go for something along
the lines of The Mate For The Mighty Midget (see 1929 ARRL HANDBOOK, or
April 1966 QST), which I ultimately did do, some 14 years later...

After that small project, I felt qualiified --- and experienced enough ---
to SUCCESSFULLY tackle things like a 4-tube 1929-style regenerative
receiver, & The QST Super-12 1929-style 12-tube superhet, which I finished
here a couple of years ago...

Funny thing is, I would STILL like to build Blakeslee's ultiimate DX
machine...I KNOW I could do it some justice a second time around...

~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ





----- Original Message -----
From: "Walter A. Hutchens" <waltah at earthlink.net>
To: "HBR Receiver List" <hbr at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 5:20 PM
Subject: Re: [HBR] Rookie here


> Steve said:
> > I'm like to homebrew one heck of a good receiver...and would appreciate
> > your generous help in the matter.
>
> This is what I've wanted to do all my life -- I mean, since about 16 y.o.
> Unfortunately it took 50-some years for my design and construction skills
to
> get to where I could hb ANY receiver and get it to work.   And I still
have
> two or three good unfinished (not quite working) projects sitting around
for
> the day when my skills catch up with the challenges I dreamed up.
>
> Thus, I'd suggest starting with something not above three tubes unless you
> already have some vacuum tube construction experience.    There's just so
> darn much art to learn and it can only be learned by doing.
>
> When you have *A* project that works, you'll know what you're ready to do
> next and have some idea which way you want to twist the trade-offs that
> N2EY mentioned.    If you are feeling fairly comfortable I don't think you
> could do better than something like the HBR-8.    With plug-in coils you
can
> get whatever tuning ranges you like, by winding appropriate coil sets.
>
> I think I'd start with the receiver theory in the Radio Amateurs Handbooks
> of the mid-late 60's.   There are also some fine project receivers there.
> The RSGB handbooks Jim mentioned are also excellent on theory.   Beyond
> that I suggest G2DAF's extended discussion of receiver design principles;
I
> believe that that was added to the HBR CD available from our listowner.
>
> The conclusions in G2DAF's paper are somewhat dated, but the issues and
> the way you think about them in a design, are timeless.
>
> Current project is a substantial complexification of the Handbook 2X4.   7
> tubes: 35W4 rectifier, 12AT7 push-pull mixer, 12AU7 push-pull oscillator,
> 2x 19JN8 IF, 1/2 19JN8 (triode, diode connected) bias rectifier, 1/2
> 19JN8 (triode) AGC detector, 1/2 12AU7 plate detector, 19JN8 1st audio
> stage, 1/2 12AU7 2nd audio, 1/2 19JN8 (triode) xtal BFO.   IF is 5400, LO
> tunes 1400-1900 giving coverage 3500-4000 and 6800-7300.  Half lattice
> crystal filter.
>
> This one works well but 'transformerless' design of a high gain selective
HF
> superhet is not for the faint of heart because of the decoupling issues
> associated with having two separate grounds that have a voltage between
> them.
>
> Walt
> KJ4KV
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