A Little WSPR Beacon (Aren’t They All Little?)

I first tried WSPR out in 2009, with a Signalink USB interface attached to my FT-817 and PC. For anyone interested in QRP and QRPp, the process of being able to decode a signal that is up to about 34dB below the noise level is quite fascinating. Morse code, sent by way of CW, engages […]

A Passive Tunable HF Preselector

When I built the VE7BPO DC Receiver Mainframe recently, it wasn’t intended to end up as a final finished project. The intention was more to have it as part of an experimental platform. The little box that contains the DBM, diplexer, and AF amplifier that make up the mainframe will most likely stay largely the […]

The VE7BPO Direct Conversion Receiver Mainframe

This is one of those projects that has been residing in my head for a long time, as something I wanted to build. I’ve always liked direct conversion receivers. With them, as with regens, I felt that they have been underestimated by many builders and hams as being novelty items. Their apparent simplicity can also […]

The C Crane Skywave SSB Portable Radio

This will be a very brief post, and in no way constitutes a review. It’s barely even an “initial impressions” type of post. It’s just that I’ve been wanting a C Crane Skywave SSB for a while now, recently purchased one, and wanted to tell you! I’m sure many readers will identify with the search […]

Yup – It’s Another Si5351 VFO

To many, this will be just another Si5351 VFO project, with nothing to distinguish it from the others. In fact, that’s exactly what it is. The “how to” of connecting an Arduino board to an Si5351 board, wiring up a display, and loading the firmware, is straightforward, and well established. To me though, it was […]

The QCX 5W CW Transceiver From QRP Labs

The original intention wasn’t to write a post about this, but seeing that I’ve been absent from blogging for a while, I thought there was no harm in putting up a few pictures of the kit I just assembled for a friend. He’s been having a rough time recently with his health.  As an experienced […]

The Manhattan Projects of Bob W3BBO

Bob W3BBO and I have been communicating via e-mail for a couple of years now, and I’ve been meaning to write this post for quite a long time. I’ve been on hiatus from home-brewing, and expect to be in the future too. The brief run of Manhattan projects I built was really fun, but I […]