[KYHAM] Radio Theory and Construction Workshop

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 13:07:29 -0400

The Radio Theory and Construction Workshop will meet Saturday, August 30, 
2003 in the basement of the Red Cross Building at 1450 Newtown Pike, 
Lexington, KY. The Workshop will begin at 1:00PM and continue until 3:00PM.

We will NOT meet on the following Saturday, September 6,2003 due to hamfest 
schedule. One hamfest is just North of Elizabethtown, Kentucky on Saturday 
and the other in Findlay, Ohio on Sunday. You can find out more about these 
at the following websites.

http://www.qsl.net/glha
http://www.findlayradioclub.org

This workshop is for anyone interested in the subject of radio theory or 
construction. Anyone may join in the workshop at any time. This workshop 
does not really have a beginning or an end. It is a continuing effort to 
help those that are interested in knowing more about the internal workings 
of radios (receivers, transmitters and antennas) and/or building them. A 
ham license is not required and there are no age restrictions. I encourage 
young students to participate.
Participants will have to obtain their own tools and they will need to 
purchase a beginner's radio kit (AM-550K).

I have some kits in stock just now so you will not have to wait. Just pay 
me for the kit and I'll order another to replace it in stock. That way we 
will have some always available for new participants.

This kit cost about $20 and it is perfect for learning soldering, component 
identification and basic radio theory. Sources for these kits are:
Edlie Electronics http://www.edlieelectronics.com/
Electronics express http://www.elexp.com/.
There are two styles of kits. One has an integrated circuit audio amplifier 
(AM-550K) and the other has a transistor audio amplifier (AM-550KT). We 
prefer the one with the integrated circuit Amplifier but you can use the 
other if you like or if the preferred one is not available. Also, a very 
basic portable cassette tape player will be needed. These are less than $10 
at many department stores or can be found in garage sales for a $1 or so. 
It has been reported that WalMart has them for about $5. The cassette 
player will be modified to become a sensitive audio amplifier for future 
experiments and trouble shooting. I try to encourage participants to be 
resourceful and use common items found around the home. The tape player is 
a good example.
If you wish to join our workshop please e-mail me so that I can add you to 
our list. I have a short questionnaire to get some information about your 
interest, experience and knowledge level. If you cannot be contacted by 
e-mail call me in the evening at (859) 272-9523 and I will add you to a 
phone list. This is necessary because we do not hold the workshop every 
weekend due to other obligations, vacation, hamfest and license exam sessions.
Please let me know if you are coming and what you have to bring or would 
like to discuss at the workshop so I can have some time to prepare and 
gather any materials that will be helpful. Even if you are not coming to 
the workshop I would appreciate an email. I like to stay informed of your 
project's progress and I am always happy to answer any questions you may 
have. If anyone is interested in starting the beginning basic workshop or 
if you know of someone please contact me.

The Bluegrass Amateur Radio Society's Youth Education Program (Y.E.P.) can 
provide books, kits, tools and parts students up thru the 12th grade.

This Saturday we will be demonstrate Amateur Radio operations and hopefully 
make some overseas contacts  (DX) for new students. The  students will also 
have an opportunity to talk on the radio. We will follow this up our workshop.

I have gotten some more AM radio kits in and some new soldering irons. 
These soldering irons are very good quality for the price. I have seen them 
prices from $13 to $30 each. The lowest price dealer has non of these 
soldering irons in stock so I just got two at a somewhat higher price to 
try out. I have tried one out and it works very well. These have easily 
replaceable plated tips similar to the expensive Weller irons. And there is 
quite an assortment of tips available as well.  Even though they are 
advertised as temperature controlled they are actually power controlled 
from about 16 watts to 30 watts. The power is set by a screwdriver 
adjustment on the side of the iron which is part of effectively an internal 
light dimmer circuit using a triac, diac, capacitor and resistors.  An 
unique feature is an Power On LED so that may remind you that you have left 
it plugged in or that it may be hot. In any case I will get a few  more of 
these for the workshop when they become available at the lower price.

73
Bill wa4lav

William L. Fuqua III P.E.
Electrical Engineer
CP 177 Chemistry Physics Building
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Kentucky
Lexington,KY 40506-0055
Phone: 1-859-257-4155
e-mail: [email protected]

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