[KL7AA] Alaska QRP Club - Details, meeting, building homebrew (Long)
Jim Larsen - AL7FS
[email protected]
Thu, 17 Oct 2002 09:24:36 -0800
Alaska QRP Club, Third Friday - 7:00 PM: Hams with QRP (low power
under 5 watts) and Homebrewing interests meet for a social meeting
monthly. Meet at Denny's on DeBarr & Bragaw in the back room. Info
contact Jim Larsen, AL7FS - Jim [email protected] or 345-3190.
====================================
The first program is mostly defining what everyone wants to do but will
most likely include a discussion on what we can all build to enhance the
fun of ham radio. There will be a series of articles on QRP building in
this and future AARC newsletters. If you have built a QRP rig or have a
Yaesu 817, bring it along for show and tell. If you have built antenna
tuners or test gear of even the most simple type, bring it. Lets have
fun. Show off your stuff.
If there is interest, we will all be building "practice" kits as
described below. The new article in the November Newsletter of the AARC
will talk about building a very unique $25 20-meter transceiver. I have
also attached the concept for the club. Please excuse the multiple
copies.
I hope lots and lots of you can be there.
73, Jim
--
Jim Larsen, AL7FS
Anchorage, Alaska
http://www.qsl.net/al7fs/
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Alaska QRP Club First Meeting
The Alaska QRP Club will hold its first meeting on Friday, October 18 at
7:00PM at Denny's Restaurant at 3950 DeBarr Road.
The first program is mostly defining what everyone wants to do but will
most likely include a discussion on what we can all build to enhance the
fun of ham radio. There will be a series of articles on QRP building in
this and future AARC newsletters.
=========================================
Proposed structure for an Alaska QRP Club - Anchorage.
What, who we are.
By Jim Larsen
Welcome to the Alaska QRP Club - Anchorage, a group of QRP enthusiasts.
Started in South Central Alaska in October 2002, it is now seeking
members to participate in local QRP meetings, homebrew building, QRP kit
building, operating and other activities.
Our interest is to promote QRP fellowship by means of our monthly
meetings.
Let me preface the description of our meetings by addressing the
organization of the club itself. First and foremost, there are no
officers, directors, nor constitution. Neither are there any dues.
Having no officers, nor any structure of any significance, every member
is equal to every other one. This means that, for example, if you want a
QRP net, start one. No permission is needed. You want an official club
badge? Have one made, whatever color or design you like. It is an
official Alaska QRP Club badge. Contest? Great idea! Organize it any
way you like, but make sure you get the details to the current holder of
the email list (currently AL7FS) in sufficient time for him send out
emails.
We like this lack of structure and ensuing equality. It avoids the usual
club problems of personalities, politics, and factions. Moreover, our
egos do not even require that the club continue to exist. If it
continues to serve a need via our meetings and projects, fine. If not,
it will die, as well it should.
As with any organization, however, there is a need for housekeeping. Jim
Larsen, AL7FS, is the current keeper of the email list and the keeper of
the Alaska QRP Club home page at http://www.qsl.net/kl7aqc/.
We meet the third Friday of the month starting on October 18, 2002, at
the Denny's at 3950 DeBarr Road. The time is 7PM.
These meetings have no formal agenda, just come as you are, and bring
whatever you think is of interest. Come early or late, stay until
everyone is gone, whatever meets your time and interest?
I hope members will be satisfied with this lack of formal agenda, but if
we get tired of it, we will try something else, or chuck the whole
thing. This is our meeting philosophy as well as our format.
Email information will be the primary means of sharing information.
Delivery time is strictly a haphazard matter, over which, obviously, the
Club will have no control. The needs of the club will dictate.
Each QRP Club email may share internet addresses of interest or
articles, ranging from the technical to the humorous. Members are
encouraged to submit copy; writing or drawings to
mailto:[email protected]. Writing skills are not necessary; so
do not let modesty in any creative area deter you, please. Share what
you are doing.
Thank you for your interest in QRP and the Alaska QRP Club-Anchorage, a
club that will march to a different drummer. QRPer are a great group of
Ham Radio enthusiasts; to me the cream of the crop, not easily
frustrated, nor frantic to be at the top of the pile. Rather, mellow
and laid back, a super group of helpful friendly hams.
And perhaps also, the last of the home brewers?
72,
Jim Larsen, AL7FS
3445 Spinnaker Drive
Anchorage, AK 99516
Phone 345-3190
mailto:[email protected]
Credit to NORCAL QRP Club.
============================================
Proposed building ideas for the first meeting (Part 1 and 2):
So You Want To Be A Builder, Huh?
(Update of What Kit To Build)
Part 1
by Doug Hendricks, KI6DS
A few years ago, I wrote a series of articles for a talk that I gave at
Hamcom in Dallas. In it, I talked about what kit to build, and why.
Got a lot of nice comments on it, and it is probably still on the web
somewhere.
A lot of time has gone by since then, and the series needs updating, so
here it goes. By the way, this is gonna be long, it is gonna be my
opinion, but I will support my opinions with reasons, hopefully valid.
Now what makes me think that I am qualified to write about this
subject? Well, I have built over 100 kits in the last ten years, have
managed every NorCal Kit Project (thousands of kits), and have advised
several other clubs and companies about kits. I don't know everything,
and I am certainly not the world's authority, but I do have some real
life experience.
When I was in grade school, I read the library copy of Boy's Life
religiously. Every month, I would drool over the ads for the Ham Radio
receivers. I even went so far as to write Hallicrafters and ask what a
receiver cost. When they told me $48.00, it might as well have been 48
Million, because there was no way that I had that kind of money as a 10
year old kid growing up in Kansas. I had no idea what the ARRL was,
there were no hams in my hometown, and it was just a dream. Then when I
was a sophomore in high school, our science teacher took us on a field
trip to a ham's house in the next town. Wow, I could not believe all the
stuff he had out in his garage. It was piled floor to ceiling with
equipment, and it all glowed in the dark in 1964. I asked him how to
become a ham, and he was not very friendly, said that you had to take
FCC tests from the government, follow all kinds of rules, etc. He did
say that he built most of his equipment from old military surplus and tv
sets. Hey!! That was my ticket. I would build my own stuff. That night
and many nights after, I dreamed of being a ham and building my
equipment.
I finally got my ham ticket in 1976, that means that I could officially
be a member of QCWA now grin. But I didn't build any of my equipment, I
bought it second hand. I was on the air, made 499 qso's as a novice,
but didn't feel like a real ham because I had not built my equipment. I
wanted to be like the guy I met in high school and build my own station.
I am sure that many of you who have never built anything and lurk on
this list can identify with me. Stay with me, and I may be able to help
you.
I have been very lucky to have met and known some wonderful builders in
my time as a QRPer. Dave Fifield, Dave Meacham, Derry Spittle, Ed Burke,
Vern Wright, Wayne Burdick, Eric Swartz, Jim Kortge, JayBob Bromley,
Keith Newman, Chuck Adams, Dave Benson, Dennis Foster, Mike Gipe, Paul
Maciel, Dan Tayloe, John Liebenrood, Wayne McFee, Paul Harden, George
Heron, Joe Everhart, Mike Fitzsimmon, and many others. They all have one
thing in common. Do you know what that is? They all learned how to
build by building. None of them was a master builder out of the box.
They had to put in their time and make their mistakes. But they did it.
They built everything that they could. Some of those guys I mentioned
are EE's. Some aren't. One is a dentist another worked in the auto
industry and several are just average Joe types of guys. Anyone who can
learn how to solder, read and follow directions, learn how to understand
a schematic, and identify parts can become an excellent builder. But it
takes practice. Chuck Adams told me once that education costs. You will
pay for it one way or another. He is 100% right. I know guys that have
never built anything and start with a K2. Do I recommend that?? NO
WAY. But it has been done. No, I don't recommend building the K2 or K1
as a first kit, they came quite a way down the road, but they do come.
What I do recommend is that you start with a good soldering iron, some
good solder, read on the web about good soldering techniques, and
practice with some resistors because they are cheap, grin.
My method involves a gradual learning curve. You start with simple
projects that don't cost an arm or a leg, and you learn on the
inexpensive kits. (That means you will make your first mistakes on
them). The next installment of this article will cover a couple of easy
kits, that are cheap, fun to build, and they will work!!
72, Doug, KI6DS
=================================================
So You Want To Be A Builder, Huh?
(Update of What Kit To Build)
Part 2
by Doug Hendricks, KI6DS
This is the second in a series of articles on how to become a successful
builder of ham radio equipment. The opinions are my own, and just that.
What I say is not gospel, nor the final answer, but it is based on my
experience as a builder, teacher, qrper and guy who likes to grin and
have fun. I am writing the series to share with my fellow hams. Enjoy.
I have 3 favorite kits that I think are super values, fun and easy to
build, and the best part is that they are cheap. Before you build, you
will need some tools. They include a good 15 - 25 watt soldering iron,
with a small, but not tiny tip. It's even better to buy one that can
take interchangeable tips. You don't need a $100 soldering station to
learn on!! Just a good quality iron. You will need a good pair of side
cutters, needle nose, and chain nose pliers. I like to use 2% silver
solder with a water soluble resin flux. DO NOT USE ACID CORE SOLDER!!!
That stuff is for plumbers. And you will need some solder wick or a
desoldering hand pump deal from Radio Shack. When you have all of that
stuff, you are ready to get started.
The first kit you should build is the VE3DNL Marker Generator from the
Fort Smith QRP Group. You can order one for $12 postage paid from Jay
Bromley, 9505 Bryn Mawr Cr., Ft. Smith, AR 72908. The Marker Generator
can be seen at: http://www.fix.net/~jparker/norcal/marker/marker.htm.
Check it out. The kit is simple, 7 parts to solder and comes with all
needed parts, a beautiful silk-screened solder masked board, and a
comprehensive assembly manual. Don't let the simplicity of this baby
fool you. You will be building a quality, useful piece of test gear
that you will use many, many times in your future building career. What
does a Marker Generator do? Well, as the name implies, it generates
markers, so that you can use it to calibrate a dial, use it as a simple
signal generator to peak a receiver, and several other uses. Believe me,
you will use it. But the best part of this kit as a beginning is that
it only has 7 parts. I am a science teacher, and one thing every
scientist knows is that if something doesn't work, you look at the parts
for causes. Let's say that you build a marker generator, plug it in to
a 9V battery and listen for it on your receiver. Nothing. Nada. Now what
do you do? Well, you start going through it part by part. My first step
would be to check every solder joint. Is everything soldered? If not,
you better solder it. But don't worry, you only have 33 solder joints to
check. Takes just a few seconds. Make sure every solder joint is bright
and shiny. If not, reheat and add a dab more solder, making sure the
joint liquefies before you take away the heat. Ok, you do that, check it
out and it doesn't work. My next step would be to make sure that I had
put every part in the right place. Now this not only involves putting it
in the right holes, but the right way. There is a right and a wrong way
to mount the chip. And there is a right and a wrong way to mount the
diode. The manual will explain how, but each part has a mark that is
used to orientate the part, it is an important step, and one that you
will need to master to become a successful builder. You only have 7
parts to check not hundreds that you would have in the K2. The bottom
line is that the VE3DNL Marker Generator was chosen because it is
useful, cheap, only has 7 parts, and is almost impossible to not build
successfully.
Now do you see why we start simple and build up to complex. Let's say
the absolute worst case scenario happens. You cannot solder, you cannot
build (which I seriously doubt), how much are you out if you bought a
VE3DNL? Just $12. What if you bought a several hundred dollar kit to
find that out??? Not a fun thing to explain to your wife. But I know
that you will be successful in building the VE3DNL, it is almost
impossible to mess up. But if you can't possibly get it to work, you
get on qrp-l, swallow ahem your pride, and ask for help. Guess what?
Guys like Jim Duffey, Dave Fifield, Mike Gipe and others just like them
will step forward and help you. QRPers are a friendly bunch, and they
love to help other QRPers.
Ok, we got the VE3DNL working, what next? Well, we're gonna spend $15
this time and build a piece of ham radio history, the famous Tuna Tin 2,
that was designed originally by Doug DeMaw, and updated by Dave Meacham,
W6EMD. The Tuna Tin originally used parts that were all available from
Radio Shack. But sadly, a couple of those parts are extinct. Mr.
Meacham came to the rescue and figured out how to build the kit using
modern easily available parts. The Fort Smith QRP Group, Jay Bromley and
the boys, also sell this kit. You don't have to chase down any parts,
because the kit comes with a board, all board-mounted parts, and a
manual. All that you have to do is provide an empty tuna can or cat
food can, some connectors, and you can build a transmitter!! Whoa, now
we are talking real ham radio. Yes, you can build a transmitter with
about 300 mW of power for your own shack, and the best part is that it
only costs $15 delivered!!!!!!!! Again you order this from Jay Bromley
at the address above. Send him $15 for the kit, US funds, check or money
order made out to Jay Bromley, not Fort Smith QRP Group. It helps a
bunch if you enclose a self-addressed mailing label. When you build the
Tuna Tin, you will get to do a couple of new things. One, you will
learn how to wind toroids. Don't despair, it is very simple, and two
you get to solder parts that are not on the circuit board. Again, very
easily done. This may be the most popular QRP rig ever kitted.
Thousands have been built. It is easy to build, fun, and will always
draw comments from your friends when they see a tuna can with a radio
transmitter built in. You can see a Tuna Tin 2 kit at
www.norcalqrp.org Just scroll down the page and you will see it.
Simple kit #3 is another piece of test gear, and it comes from the
Arizona ScQRPions and Bob Hightower. It is the ScQRPion Stinger Singer,
and is a Frequency Counter for $20!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, you read it right,
Twenty Bucks!! Dan Tayloe, N7VE, designed this little jewel that fits in
an Altoids tin, and the secret is a small chip called a PIC that is
programmed to read a frequency and then give the output in audio via
Morse Code. This kit again, has all the parts included, and has 17
parts, plus a beautiful circuit board that was laid out by Dave Fifield
for the ScQRPions. The Arizona group of QRPers is great people, and they
are very similar to the Ft. Smith group in size and both groups host an
outstanding QRP Forum that you will want to attend. In fact, when you
buy the kits that I am talking about you will be supporting those
forums. It is a good cause. You can see a picture and get ordering
details on the ScQRPion Stinger at:
http://www.extremezone.com/~nk7m/cwafc.htm and you can also specify
whether you want slow or fast speed chips. The slow chip runs at 10 -
15 wpm, the fast 18 - 27. What do you do with the Stinger Singer after
it is built. You use it as frequency readout for that rigs that doesn't
have readout on it. You check oscillators to see how stable they are
and where they are oscillating, use it to determine what frequency
crystals are, use it to match crystals, in short, you use it for
anything that you would use any other frequency counter for, and the
best part is that it doesn't cost $100 plus. It is $20 and you get the
fun, pleasure and satisfaction of building it yourself.
Do you have to build all three kits? No but I strongly suggest that you
do. You will be building separate skills with each kit, and you will be
gaining some confidence in your abilities as you go. Get out the
checkbook, order the kits and get that solder flowing. As my good
friend, Steve Weber, KD1JV likes to say, Melt Solder. The next
installment will cover our first transceiver kit.
72,
Doug
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