[Lowfer] Lowfer Final Transistors-Switching Time

Thu Aug 5 20:06:32 EDT 2010

Bill,JD

The demise of Popular Electronics,R/TV news, 73 Magazine was not from 
lack of subscribers but lack of contributors. Few will take the trouble 
to publish an article. QSt takes about two years, I am told, to get an 
article in the magazine. Most today will post on the internet.. Trouble 
with internet and many reflectors is the anonymity of the critics. I 
designed a simple SSB tranceiver about 16 years ago when the internet 
was in its infancy. The kit vendor and I decided to cease production 
because of maybe five lids who went from site to site trashing the rig. 
None that we were aware of had purchased one of the kits! One idiot was 
sending out mods for the rig that would possibly work and had not been 
tested.But with each negative post sales would cease for a week or so. 
In one of his last articles in CQ magazine Doug DeMaw said he would 
like to see more simple ssb and dsb rigs. I have dropped participation 
in a couple of reflectors because every time I made a statement one 
individual challenged me trying to prove me wrong. We need to lighten 
up and learn from others. 

I have finished the pc board design and made a prototype for a simple 
80 m ssb rec. Rather than use exotic parts and IC's I used singly 
balanced mixers ( 3pcs 2n2904) for the rec mixer and product detector. 
4 microprocessor xtals for filter, one for bfo xtal and 10.7mhz IF cans 
for coils( no coils to wind. Cost minus pc board is about $15. Two 
prototypes were built dead bug, the final prototype is on a pc board.I 
am now in a quandry as to where to go with it, maybe CQ or maybe QRP 
quarterly. 

I need to get back to work on a lowfer tx based on Lyle's Epson osc and 
2n2222/2n2907 design. Maybe with
a pc board more would try and put up part15 beacons. When I finish 
Lowdown would be a good place to showcase that one. I have a 
preliiminary layout in my PCB design program. 

Reprinting good articles from past issues would be a good thing for 
Lowdown. I will try and contribute as I can. 

Keep up the good work JD

Paul k5wms

Quoting Bill Ashlock <ashlockw at hotmail.com>:
>
> JD, (Gee, this thread is becoming the new record-holder for length). 
>
> I'm not sure how the Lowdown subscription numbers have been running over the
> last 5 years or so but I certainly hope you continue to stick with it 
> for many
> years to come. In spite of the dwindling number of technical articles 
> there is
> still 'something' about that publication that holds something near 
> and dear to
> most of us. Maybe it's the close relationship to the 1W license-free 
> LowFer band
> that for many of us is still the LF band of choice in spite of the new
> higher-power options. It may even be the physical size and feel of 
> that little
> publication. Perhaps others can better put in words what I am trying to say. 
>
> At any rate I hope I can find the time in the future to again contribute more
> articles to the LowDown - and I encourage others to do the same. 
>
> Thank you for all your efforts, John. 
>
> Bill A  (Remember the time when there were contributing Bills' with 
> last names
> beginning in A, B ,C, and D?)
>
> > From: listread at oswegoblade.com
> > To: lowfer at mailman.qth.net
> > Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 01:54:03 -0500
> > Subject: Re: [Lowfer] Lowfer Final Transistors-Switching Time
> >
> > >>>
> > I remember when Ken Cornell had his Scrapbook and monthly technical 
> stuff in
> > the LOWDOWN.  Then there was Vince Pinto with new technical stuff all the
> > time until he gave up the hobby and dissapeared.  His stuff was also in the
> > LOWDOWN.  What happened?
> > >>>
> >
> > Instant gratification happened, that's what. 
> >
> > The couple dozen or so regulars in this reflector who COULD be writing the
> > technical tips and articles that used to make the LOWDOWN a very active
> > publication, are instead chatting away in short daily snippets here and on
> > similar Internet services, rather than putting words down on paper 
> or into a
> > file where they could be shared with hundreds of other subscribers in a
> > meatier and more tangible form. 
> >
> > The club sure didn't tell the Ken Cornells and Vince Pintos and Lyle
> > Koehlers of the LowFER world that we didn't need them any more!!!
> >
> > Others who can write are mainly doing it for their personal Web sites now. 
> > Gratifying for them personally, perhaps; but certainly not as helpful as
> > having that content in a location that has always had as its 
> primary purpose
> > the promotion and publicizing of the hobby, and attracting newcomers to our
> > ranks with solid information. 
> >
> > If people don't write it, we can't print it!  That's "what happened."
> >
> > But I'll tell you, to say there's _never_ any tech information is not
> > accurate. 
> >
> > ______________________________________________________________
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> >
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Paul Daulton K5WMS
beacon WMS 185.302 khz qrss30/slow 24/7
Jacksonville,Ar 72076
em34wu