Re: Best wishes to our friends in India

Jack, W8TEE

Arv:

Off topic, but one of my grad school buddies took a job in DC at a small agency. A few months into the job, the director of the agency came around and told everyone to let the "In Box" stack up for the next few days. A few days later they had a "surprise audit" by the GOA. The director took the opportunity to plead for more workers because, as they could see by the In Boxes, they were swamped. He got more workers.

When I asked why (remember we were econ students), he said: First, there is zero reward to being efficient. Second, your position on the DC Social Ladder was a function of how many people you managed. The unimportance of efficiency is not unique to Capitalism. My Comparative Systems prof spent two years in Russia and became close friends with a Soviet bureaucrat who ran a major rail line. When he was coming close to the end of the current Five Year Plan, he was extremely short of his metric ton/miles quota. No problem. He loaded up 400 gondola cars with rocks and ran them back and forth between Moscow and Vladivostok until he surpassed his quota. He was rewarded for exceeding his quota.

I think there is a lot of similar crap going on in DC.

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 3:46:39 PM EDT, Arv Evans <arvid.evans@...> wrote:

Jack

Maybe Pogo was right? "We have found the enemy, and he are us!".

After all the FDA as a government entity is just the government

employees that we hired to do things in our name!? 8-)? 8-)

Arv

_._

Show quoted text

On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 1:35 PM Jack, W8TEE via <jjpurdum=[email protected]> wrote:

Arv:

I really don't know. All I know is that things were progressing rapidly and I know Gordon had one working on his coffee table! Then everything was turned over to the U of F team so they could take care of all of the paperwork. After that, the web site literally died. The last post that I have saved was back in September. It probably didn't help that the UF team's leader got frustrated with the rest of us and quit "to write game code". His absence may have hurt the effort in FL. Perhaps Gordon knows more...

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 3:20:43 PM EDT, Arv Evans <arvid.evans@...> wrote:

Jack

Seemed that things died just after being submitted to the University
of Florida.? Was this killed by the FDA, or by the University of Florida?
While it doesn't matter much now, it could be that politics and funding
in academia contributed to the project's demise.?

Might there be interest in India in taking over the project (and willingness
at the University of Florida to release the information) so that they (India)
could build their own ventilators??

To comment on an earlier comment...It only seems like the US is the first
to be ask for help, but that is because our view from the US makes it
seem that way.? When anyone needs help the US politicians automatically
give press conferences that make it seem like they are going to do
something.? But it rarely happens, is too little, too late, or nothing happens.
If you observe this from a different country the view is quite different.
Been there, done that.

Arv
_._

On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 11:36 AM Jack, W8TEE via <jjpurdum=[email protected]> wrote:
Bob:

I've read back through the posts and did not find anyone who said the FDA prevented other countries from using the ventilator developed here. I am the owner of the Ventilator group site you mentioned and worked with Farhan and Gordon on the ventilator. Things moved along quickly until the design was sent to the U of F medical team who were preparing the documents for FDA. Somewhere in that process, everything just died. I still think glaciers move faster than the FDA on almost everything except budget requests. If other countries want to use the ventilator, seeing a "waiting for FDA approval" whether they need it or not, is still an impediment. With tens of thousands of people dying worldwide at the time, I do not understand why FDA couldn't kick itself in the ass and get things done.
--
Jack, W8TEE

--
Jack, W8TEE

--
Jack, W8TEE

Re: Homemade Circuit Boards

#87976

Hi,

This method seems fascinating. The person uses pages torn out of glossy magazines as a toner transfer paper to the PCB boards.?

Are there any chemistry experts that could offer any wisdom to this question?

Photoresist can be sprayed onto a PCB, it will harden or set to a dry coating on the board that can then be exposed to UV light. The parts that are not exposed can be dissolved in some solvent and the exposed parts remain to protect the PCB from the etchant.

I have bottles of 3D printer resin. It is liquid except where exposed to UV light, which triggers a polymerization reaction to take place converting those parts of the resin to a solid.

It there a way to combine the 3D resin with something else that would allow you to coat a PCB board with the resin mix, that would harden to a film on the PCB but still be removable with some kind of solvent. But expose the coated board to UV light in selected areas and the exposed area would remain to protect those areas from the etchant, while the unexposed areas would come off with the solvent.

Maybe I'll just check eBay if someone sells a spray can of photoresist, but can't help wondering if I have most of what I need already in a bottle.?

I saw a video where someone used their resin 3D printer screen to expose PCB boards. Seems like an interesting idea.?

Interesting that making PCB boards is such a old yet still difficult process. Especially through hole plated. It does seem that just letting the PCB board makers make your boards is the best way to go. It is great that thing have evolved to the place that small runs of things can be made quickly and cheaply. Not the tradition ways of days gone by, of extreme setup fees and large minimum runs before anyone would be interested in touching it.

Tom, wb6b

Re: Best wishes to our friends in India

#87975

Jack

Maybe Pogo was right? "We have found the enemy, and he are us!".

After all the FDA as a government entity is just the government

employees that we hired to do things in our name!? 8-)? 8-)

Arv

_._

Show quoted text

On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 1:35 PM Jack, W8TEE via <jjpurdum=[email protected]> wrote:

Arv:

I really don't know. All I know is that things were progressing rapidly and I know Gordon had one working on his coffee table! Then everything was turned over to the U of F team so they could take care of all of the paperwork. After that, the web site literally died. The last post that I have saved was back in September. It probably didn't help that the UF team's leader got frustrated with the rest of us and quit "to write game code". His absence may have hurt the effort in FL. Perhaps Gordon knows more...

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 3:20:43 PM EDT, Arv Evans <arvid.evans@...> wrote:

Jack

Seemed that things died just after being submitted to the University
of Florida.? Was this killed by the FDA, or by the University of Florida?
While it doesn't matter much now, it could be that politics and funding
in academia contributed to the project's demise.?

Might there be interest in India in taking over the project (and willingness
at the University of Florida to release the information) so that they (India)
could build their own ventilators??

To comment on an earlier comment...It only seems like the US is the first
to be ask for help, but that is because our view from the US makes it
seem that way.? When anyone needs help the US politicians automatically
give press conferences that make it seem like they are going to do
something.? But it rarely happens, is too little, too late, or nothing happens.
If you observe this from a different country the view is quite different.
Been there, done that.

Arv
_._

On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 11:36 AM Jack, W8TEE via <jjpurdum=[email protected]> wrote:
Bob:

I've read back through the posts and did not find anyone who said the FDA prevented other countries from using the ventilator developed here. I am the owner of the Ventilator group site you mentioned and worked with Farhan and Gordon on the ventilator. Things moved along quickly until the design was sent to the U of F medical team who were preparing the documents for FDA. Somewhere in that process, everything just died. I still think glaciers move faster than the FDA on almost everything except budget requests. If other countries want to use the ventilator, seeing a "waiting for FDA approval" whether they need it or not, is still an impediment. With tens of thousands of people dying worldwide at the time, I do not understand why FDA couldn't kick itself in the ass and get things done.
--
Jack, W8TEE

--
Jack, W8TEE

Re: Best wishes to our friends in India

Jack, W8TEE

#87974

Arv:

I really don't know. All I know is that things were progressing rapidly and I know Gordon had one working on his coffee table! Then everything was turned over to the U of F team so they could take care of all of the paperwork. After that, the web site literally died. The last post that I have saved was back in September. It probably didn't help that the UF team's leader got frustrated with the rest of us and quit "to write game code". His absence may have hurt the effort in FL. Perhaps Gordon knows more...

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 3:20:43 PM EDT, Arv Evans <arvid.evans@...> wrote:

Jack

Seemed that things died just after being submitted to the University

of Florida.? Was this killed by the FDA, or by the University of Florida?

While it doesn't matter much now, it could be that politics and funding

in academia contributed to the project's demise.?

Might there be interest in India in taking over the project (and willingness

at the University of Florida to release the information) so that they (India)

could build their own ventilators??

To comment on an earlier comment...It only seems like the US is the first

to be ask for help, but that is because our view from the US makes it

seem that way.? When anyone needs help the US politicians automatically

give press conferences that make it seem like they are going to do

something.? But it rarely happens, is too little, too late, or nothing happens.

If you observe this from a different country the view is quite different.

Been there, done that.

Arv

_._

Show quoted text

On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 11:36 AM Jack, W8TEE via <jjpurdum=[email protected]> wrote:

Bob:

I've read back through the posts and did not find anyone who said the FDA prevented other countries from using the ventilator developed here. I am the owner of the Ventilator group site you mentioned and worked with Farhan and Gordon on the ventilator. Things moved along quickly until the design was sent to the U of F medical team who were preparing the documents for FDA. Somewhere in that process, everything just died. I still think glaciers move faster than the FDA on almost everything except budget requests. If other countries want to use the ventilator, seeing a "waiting for FDA approval" whether they need it or not, is still an impediment. With tens of thousands of people dying worldwide at the time, I do not understand why FDA couldn't kick itself in the ass and get things done.
--
Jack, W8TEE

--
Jack, W8TEE

Re: Homemade Circuit Boards

#87973

Most people who are doing at-home PCB etching are now using Vinegar

for the etchant acid and Hydrogen-Peroxide as an accelerant.? This seems

safer and easier on the environment.? Thin it with water and flush the dilute

solution after using it.? Of course you still need to use appropriate safety

precautions.

_._

Show quoted text

On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 11:53 AM Mark M <junquemaile@...> wrote:

Just wondering...has anyone tried using a 3D printer to print the resist pattern on PCB material? I think it could be done but I don't know if the print filament material would resist the etchant well enough. Even the cheap 3D printers like I have can do some pretty high resolution prints when set up properly...maybe not good enough for some of the really tiny surface mount ICs but then they're too small for me to solder anyway. ;) Mutli-layer boards could be a challenge as well. Might be an interesting experiment.

Is the ferric chloride etchant still available these days or has it gone the way of other things we used to use but now are considered hazardous materials?

73...???? Mark???? AA7TA

Re: Best wishes to our friends in India

#87972

Jack

Seemed that things died just after being submitted to the University

of Florida.? Was this killed by the FDA, or by the University of Florida?

While it doesn't matter much now, it could be that politics and funding

in academia contributed to the project's demise.?

Might there be interest in India in taking over the project (and willingness

at the University of Florida to release the information) so that they (India)

could build their own ventilators??

To comment on an earlier comment...It only seems like the US is the first

to be ask for help, but that is because our view from the US makes it

seem that way.? When anyone needs help the US politicians automatically

give press conferences that make it seem like they are going to do

something.? But it rarely happens, is too little, too late, or nothing happens.

If you observe this from a different country the view is quite different.

Been there, done that.

Arv

_._

Show quoted text

On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 11:36 AM Jack, W8TEE via <jjpurdum=[email protected]> wrote:

Bob:

I've read back through the posts and did not find anyone who said the FDA prevented other countries from using the ventilator developed here. I am the owner of the Ventilator group site you mentioned and worked with Farhan and Gordon on the ventilator. Things moved along quickly until the design was sent to the U of F medical team who were preparing the documents for FDA. Somewhere in that process, everything just died. I still think glaciers move faster than the FDA on almost everything except budget requests. If other countries want to use the ventilator, seeing a "waiting for FDA approval" whether they need it or not, is still an impediment. With tens of thousands of people dying worldwide at the time, I do not understand why FDA couldn't kick itself in the ass and get things done.
--
Jack, W8TEE

Re: Talk: Does price buy Performance or Satisfaction in an HF Transceiver? by Frank Howell K4FMH

#87970

开云体育

You could sell a lot of simple radios with little more than a power switch, mic/speaker Jack an antenna jack, and a USB port. You would control it with CAT commands, no front panel at all.

Heck, you could sell a lot of single channel radios, as long as that channel was 14.074 USB (for 20m FT8).

Ken, N2VIP

Show quoted text

On Apr 27, 2021, at 13:20, Jack, W8TEE via groups.io <jjpurdum@...> wrote:

Bill:

Exactly. Al and I thought the uBITX was so good, we tried to extend it via the JackAl board. Not my best idea. However, we learned a lot and one message I keep hearing a lot is the "complex menuing system" of some radios. I agree and the JackAl suffered from that. Al and I are working on an SDT that we want and we have gone away from a complex menu system to NO push buttons. It has a lot of features, especially DSP stuff, but nothing is more than 2 button pushes away. Also, I'm arranging the menus we do have to do what I want. That's why changing the WPM can be done in a second or so. Obviously, if someone doesn't like my T41 menu arrangement, they can change it. While your radio may not "need" a microcontroller, they can make tailoring the radio to your specific needs a lot easier than changing the hardware.

Re: Talk: Does price buy Performance or Satisfaction in an HF Transceiver? by Frank Howell K4FMH

#87969

Farman,

I would have to agree with your assessment of the IC-7300 vs the uBITX series of radios on features and power. The one thing I do not get from my 7300 is the ability to make modification and then learn more about how the radio works.

I do have a 7300 and 4 uBITX. ?So the investment is equal when I add in the enhancement kits and parts, ?but the uBITX wins hands down in the number of hours of enjoyment.

Waiting for your SDR that you are discussing in the up coming talk.?

73
Evan
AC9TU
?

Re: Talk: Does price buy Performance or Satisfaction in an HF Transceiver? by Frank Howell K4FMH

#87968

Ashhar,

?

I agree with you. I have QRP radios but am looking for a tabletop portable radio with more power and a built-in tuner. I was thinking of the XEIGU but decided on using the 7300 in the EMERGENCY mode. The tuner has a wider range and 50 watts is more than enough.

?

Mike N2MS

Show quoted text

On 04/27/2021 1:12 PM Ashhar Farhan <farhanbox@...> wrote:

?

?

I might get booted out of here for saying this, but, the IC7300 is an amazing deal for the price point. For 1000 bucks, it gives a huge radio. 100 watts, DDC receiver, all the SDR bells and whistles. If you just want to get in air, that's the one to buy. If is a far better option that a xeigu at 450 dollars. I keep saying to the HF signal folks, our competition is the IC7300. At five times the price, it is twenty times the radio.
Ok, i have put on my tin foil hat, may the stoning begin.

On Tue 27 Apr, 2021, 10:35 PM Trystan G0KAY, < trystandavies+nodirect@...> wrote:

Building a transceiver from scratch is indeed great fun. Soldering the components on, winding the toroids, aligning the IF, setting up the filters. Then testing it all for smoke, and seeing if it works.

It's even better if you have designed the circuit, perhaps from Doug DeMaw's design guides.

Even putting on the knobs and connectors on the ready-built UBitX is fun too and can give some sense of achievement too.

It's all good.

Some areas of our hobby do however almost preclude home construction to some extent. Also as people get older they may find they don't have the dexterity or eyesight they used to have. We also have a huge chunk of the community who rarely turn on a soldering iron (that's if they own one). There are also people who travel for a living, or have little space, and having a ready-made transceiver makes more sense. We all may have a reason to purchase a commercially made transceiver.

This talk will give us some idea of whether they really are as good as the money you pay for them.

Trystan G0KAY
?

?

Re: Talk: Does price buy Performance or Satisfaction in an HF Transceiver? by Frank Howell K4FMH

Jack, W8TEE

#87967

Bill:

Exactly. Al and I thought the uBITX was so good, we tried to extend it via the JackAl board. Not my best idea. However, we learned a lot and one message I keep hearing a lot is the "complex menuing system" of some radios. I agree and the JackAl suffered from that. Al and I are working on an SDT that we want and we have gone away from a complex menu system to NO push buttons. It has a lot of features, especially DSP stuff, but nothing is more than 2 button pushes away. Also, I'm arranging the menus we do have to do what I want. That's why changing the WPM can be done in a second or so. Obviously, if someone doesn't like my T41 menu arrangement, they can change it. While your radio may not "need" a microcontroller, they can make tailoring the radio to your specific needs a lot easier than changing the hardware.

I bought a Xiegu G90 not because I love the radio, but because it small and easily taken just about anywhere. Its 20W on SSB makes a big difference when 5-10W just isn't enough. I ran 15W SSB and worked into France, Portugal, and Ireland during FD. Our SDT will be capable of 20W SSB/CW, but I can easily dial it down for QRP contest, plus it has a lot of DSP stuff the G90 doesn't have. Also, the G90's 25kHz display is almost useless during a contest using QRP. We are currently displaying 100kHz which is much better for hunt-and-pounce QRP operating.

My point is, each one of us has different perceptions of what the "ideal" radio is and how much we can afford to plunk into it. Being able to hack a uBITX, QCX, or a T41 often is where most of the fun comes from.

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 1:55:57 PM EDT, Bill Cromwell <wrcromwell@...> wrote:

Hi Jack...

......Farhan,

I have a uBitX V3 and have helped a few others by aligning and setting
them up. I also have some toys from uBitX real competition, QRP
(fill-in-the-blank). Both outfits have shown me the pieces that I need
to build the radio I really want. My radio does not need a
microcontroller to control *everything*. It doesn't need that for T-R
control at all and I don't need any built-in voltmeters nor operating
modes, nor uC keyer. I especially don't need an encyclopedic menu
*system*. The frequency accuracy and partly frequency stability is the
bright place for the uC :) I have started accumulating the parts to make
the radio I want. It may not cost less but it will be what I want -
nothing more and nothing less. All mode operation from DC to daylight
with 1500 watts? Nope :)

So thanks to HF Signals and that other outfit (you know who you are,
Hans) for the designs and the hardware.

73,

Bill KU8H

bark less - wag more

Show quoted text

On 4/27/21 1:16 PM, Jack, W8TEE via groups.io wrote:
> I would give my left...whatever...to be able to design a circuit. It
> is still amazing to me to see someone sit down and, looking through
> some spec sheets, knows how to string things together and make a
> circuit work. Silly questions for those people, like why is that
> resistor 10K and not 15K, and why is that toroid there, are major
> stumbling blocks for me. Still, I really enjoy kit building and I can
> make some things dance to a different tune if they are programmable,
> and I get a kick out of that, too. Sadly, there are a lot of old guys
> like me who miss out on both the soldering and programming fun and
> there's really little to lose by trying.
>
> Digital modes, SMD parts, microcontrollers, programming, etc. are all
> elements of our hobby and we should all at least try them before
> giving up on them. Who knows, you may find a new element of this
> wonderful hobby that you let bypass you when a little effort would
> have opened an entirely new world. So, go ahead...jump in! There are
> plenty of people here who can help you out if you start to sink.
>
> Jack, W8TEE
>
> On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 1:04:44 PM EDT, Trystan G0KAY
> <trystandavies+nodirect@...> wrote:
>
>
> Building a transceiver from scratch is indeed great fun. Soldering the
> components on, winding the toroids, aligning the IF, setting up the
> filters. Then testing it all for smoke, and seeing if it works.
>
> It's even better if you have designed the circuit, perhaps from Doug
> DeMaw's design guides.
>
> Even putting on the knobs and connectors on the ready-built UBitX is
> fun too and can give some sense of achievement too.
>
> It's all good.
>
> Some areas of our hobby do however almost preclude home construction
> to some extent. Also as people get older they may find they don't have
> the dexterity or eyesight they used to have. We also have a huge chunk
> of the community who rarely turn on a soldering iron (that's if they
> own one). There are also people who travel for a living, or have
> little space, and having a ready-made transceiver makes more sense. We
> all may have a reason to purchase a commercially made transceiver.
>
> This talk will give us some idea of whether they really are as good as
> the money you pay for them.
>
> Trystan G0KAY
>
> --
> Jack, W8TEE
>

--
Jack, W8TEE

Re: Best wishes to our friends in India

#87966

On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 12:36 PM, Jack, W8TEE wrote:

I do not understand why FDA couldn't kick itself in the ass and get things done.

<sarcasm>I heard they started an exploratory committee to define the parameters to establish a committee to investigate specifying the proper footwear for auto foot to gluteal striking.</sarcasm>
?
--

Re: Talk: Does price buy Performance or Satisfaction in an HF Transceiver? by Frank Howell K4FMH

#87965

Satisfaction to me is being able to use and to exploit minimalistic HF rigs, render them effective beyond imagination. Apart from HF Signals, I really have fun with Softrock RXTX. What is missing from Jap rigs, I? really don't know: software does everything! DSP on all modes, NR, split receiving a channel on the left speaker and the other on the right at the same time, recording, dx cluster on the waterfall, QSO recording and? CQ parroting, compressed and equalized modulation. Do I really miss something?

Show quoted text

Il mar 27 apr 2021 07:16 PM Jack, W8TEE via <jjpurdum=[email protected]> ha scritto:

I would give my left...whatever...to be able to design a circuit. It is still amazing to me to see someone sit down and, looking through some spec sheets, knows how to string things together and make a circuit work. Silly questions for those people, like why is that resistor 10K and not 15K, and why is that toroid there, are major stumbling blocks for me. Still, I really enjoy kit building and I can make some things dance to a different tune if they are programmable, and I get a kick out of that, too. Sadly, there are a lot of old guys like me who miss out on both the soldering and programming fun and there's really little to lose by trying.

Digital modes, SMD parts, microcontrollers, programming, etc. are all elements of our hobby and we should all at least try them before giving up on them. Who knows, you may find a new element of this wonderful hobby that you let bypass you when a little effort would have opened an entirely new world. So, go ahead...jump in! There are plenty of people here who can help you out if you start to sink.

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 1:04:44 PM EDT, Trystan G0KAY <trystandavies+nodirect@...> wrote:

Building a transceiver from scratch is indeed great fun. Soldering the components on, winding the toroids, aligning the IF, setting up the filters. Then testing it all for smoke, and seeing if it works.

It's even better if you have designed the circuit, perhaps from Doug DeMaw's design guides.

Even putting on the knobs and connectors on the ready-built UBitX is fun too and can give some sense of achievement too.

It's all good.

Some areas of our hobby do however almost preclude home construction to some extent. Also as people get older they may find they don't have the dexterity or eyesight they used to have. We also have a huge chunk of the community who rarely turn on a soldering iron (that's if they own one). There are also people who travel for a living, or have little space, and having a ready-made transceiver makes more sense. We all may have a reason to purchase a commercially made transceiver.

This talk will give us some idea of whether they really are as good as the money you pay for them.

Trystan G0KAY

--
Jack, W8TEE

Re: Talk: Does price buy Performance or Satisfaction in an HF Transceiver? by Frank Howell K4FMH

#87964

Hi Jack...

......Farhan,

I have a uBitX V3 and have helped a few others by aligning and setting them up. I also have some toys from uBitX real competition, QRP (fill-in-the-blank). Both outfits have shown me the pieces that I need to build the radio I really want. My radio does not need a microcontroller to control *everything*. It doesn't need that for T-R control at all and I don't need any built-in voltmeters nor operating modes, nor uC keyer. I especially don't need an encyclopedic menu *system*. The frequency accuracy and partly frequency stability is the bright place for the uC :) I have started accumulating the parts to make the radio I want. It may not cost less but it will be what I want - nothing more and nothing less. All mode operation from DC to daylight with 1500 watts? Nope :)

So thanks to HF Signals and that other outfit (you know who you are, Hans) for the designs and the hardware.

73,

Bill KU8H

bark less - wag more

Show quoted text

On 4/27/21 1:16 PM, Jack, W8TEE via groups.io wrote:
I would give my left...whatever...to be able to design a circuit. It is still amazing to me to see someone sit down and, looking through some spec sheets, knows how to string things together and make a circuit work. Silly questions for those people, like why is that resistor 10K and not 15K, and why is that toroid there, are major stumbling blocks for me. Still, I really enjoy kit building and I can make some things dance to a different tune if they are programmable, and I get a kick out of that, too. Sadly, there are a lot of old guys like me who miss out on both the soldering and programming fun and there's really little to lose by trying.

Digital modes, SMD parts, microcontrollers, programming, etc. are all elements of our hobby and we should all at least try them before giving up on them. Who knows, you may find a new element of this wonderful hobby that you let bypass you when a little effort would have opened an entirely new world. So, go ahead...jump in! There are plenty of people here who can help you out if you start to sink.

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 1:04:44 PM EDT, Trystan G0KAY <trystandavies+nodirect@...> wrote:

Building a transceiver from scratch is indeed great fun. Soldering the components on, winding the toroids, aligning the IF, setting up the filters. Then testing it all for smoke, and seeing if it works.

It's even better if you have designed the circuit, perhaps from Doug DeMaw's design guides.

Even putting on the knobs and connectors on the ready-built UBitX is fun too and can give some sense of achievement too.

It's all good.

Some areas of our hobby do however almost preclude home construction to some extent. Also as people get older they may find they don't have the dexterity or eyesight they used to have. We also have a huge chunk of the community who rarely turn on a soldering iron (that's if they own one). There are also people who travel for a living, or have little space, and having a ready-made transceiver makes more sense. We all may have a reason to purchase a commercially made transceiver.

This talk will give us some idea of whether they really are as good as the money you pay for them.

Trystan G0KAY

-- 
Jack, W8TEE

Re: Homemade Circuit Boards

Mark M

#87963

Just wondering...has anyone tried using a 3D printer to print the resist pattern on PCB material? I think it could be done but I don't know if the print filament material would resist the etchant well enough. Even the cheap 3D printers like I have can do some pretty high resolution prints when set up properly...maybe not good enough for some of the really tiny surface mount ICs but then they're too small for me to solder anyway. ;) Mutli-layer boards could be a challenge as well. Might be an interesting experiment.

Is the ferric chloride etchant still available these days or has it gone the way of other things we used to use but now are considered hazardous materials?

73...???? Mark???? AA7TA

Re: Best wishes to our friends in India

Jack, W8TEE

#87962

Bob:

I've read back through the posts and did not find anyone who said the FDA prevented other countries from using the ventilator developed here. I am the owner of the Ventilator group site you mentioned and worked with Farhan and Gordon on the ventilator. Things moved along quickly until the design was sent to the U of F medical team who were preparing the documents for FDA. Somewhere in that process, everything just died. I still think glaciers move faster than the FDA on almost everything except budget requests. If other countries want to use the ventilator, seeing a "waiting for FDA approval" whether they need it or not, is still an impediment. With tens of thousands of people dying worldwide at the time, I do not understand why FDA couldn't kick itself in the ass and get things done.
--
Jack, W8TEE

Re: Talk: Does price buy Performance or Satisfaction in an HF Transceiver? by Frank Howell K4FMH

Jack, W8TEE

#87961

I would give my left...whatever...to be able to design a circuit. It is still amazing to me to see someone sit down and, looking through some spec sheets, knows how to string things together and make a circuit work. Silly questions for those people, like why is that resistor 10K and not 15K, and why is that toroid there, are major stumbling blocks for me. Still, I really enjoy kit building and I can make some things dance to a different tune if they are programmable, and I get a kick out of that, too. Sadly, there are a lot of old guys like me who miss out on both the soldering and programming fun and there's really little to lose by trying.

Digital modes, SMD parts, microcontrollers, programming, etc. are all elements of our hobby and we should all at least try them before giving up on them. Who knows, you may find a new element of this wonderful hobby that you let bypass you when a little effort would have opened an entirely new world. So, go ahead...jump in! There are plenty of people here who can help you out if you start to sink.

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 1:04:44 PM EDT, Trystan G0KAY <trystandavies+nodirect@...> wrote:

Building a transceiver from scratch is indeed great fun. Soldering the components on, winding the toroids, aligning the IF, setting up the filters. Then testing it all for smoke, and seeing if it works.

It's even better if you have designed the circuit, perhaps from Doug DeMaw's design guides.

Even putting on the knobs and connectors on the ready-built UBitX is fun too and can give some sense of achievement too.

It's all good.

Some areas of our hobby do however almost preclude home construction to some extent. Also as people get older they may find they don't have the dexterity or eyesight they used to have. We also have a huge chunk of the community who rarely turn on a soldering iron (that's if they own one). There are also people who travel for a living, or have little space, and having a ready-made transceiver makes more sense. We all may have a reason to purchase a commercially made transceiver.

This talk will give us some idea of whether they really are as good as the money you pay for them.

Trystan G0KAY

--
Jack, W8TEE

Re: Talk: Does price buy Performance or Satisfaction in an HF Transceiver? by Frank Howell K4FMH

#87960

I might get booted out of here for saying this, but, the IC7300 is an amazing deal for the price point. For 1000 bucks, it gives a huge radio. 100 watts, DDC receiver, all the SDR bells and whistles. If you just want to get in air, that's the one to buy. If is a far better option that a xeigu at 450 dollars. I keep saying to the HF signal folks, our competition is the IC7300. At five times the price, it is twenty times the radio.

Ok, i have put on my tin foil hat, may the stoning begin.

Show quoted text

On Tue 27 Apr, 2021, 10:35 PM Trystan G0KAY, <trystandavies+nodirect@...> wrote:

Building a transceiver from scratch is indeed great fun. Soldering the components on, winding the toroids, aligning the IF, setting up the filters. Then testing it all for smoke, and seeing if it works.

It's even better if you have designed the circuit, perhaps from Doug DeMaw's design guides.

Even putting on the knobs and connectors on the ready-built UBitX is fun too and can give some sense of achievement too.

It's all good.

Some areas of our hobby do however almost preclude home construction to some extent. Also as people get older they may find they don't have the dexterity or eyesight they used to have. We also have a huge chunk of the community who rarely turn on a soldering iron (that's if they own one). There are also people who travel for a living, or have little space, and having a ready-made transceiver makes more sense. We all may have a reason to purchase a commercially made transceiver.

This talk will give us some idea of whether they really are as good as the money you pay for them.

Trystan G0KAY

Re: Best wishes to our friends in India

#87959

I agree that that this isn't the place for pushing a whining political agenda, but since some people have, some misstatements need addressed.

Originally the ventilator that some of us worked to develop was for use in the US and the effort was coordinated by U of Florida. Recall that as the perceived urgent need for ventilators in the US and around the world diminished, so did the effort to produce alternatives. A good read on this is? "the great ventilator rush of 2020"

posted by Erich Schulz in the final VentilatorDevelopers groups.io thread
/g/VentilatorDevelopers/topic/76205686#2215

No other country requires US approval to use a device. To claim that the FDA stopped India from using a device is silly. The FDA doesn't stop India or any other country from putting the design we worked on or any of the many other alternative ventilator designs into production.

--
? 73
??? Bob? KD8CGH

Re: Talk: Does price buy Performance or Satisfaction in an HF Transceiver? by Frank Howell K4FMH

#87958

Building a transceiver from scratch is indeed great fun. Soldering the components on, winding the toroids, aligning the IF, setting up the filters. Then testing it all for smoke, and seeing if it works.

It's even better if you have designed the circuit, perhaps from Doug DeMaw's design guides.

Even putting on the knobs and connectors on the ready-built UBitX is fun too and can give some sense of achievement too.

It's all good.

Some areas of our hobby do however almost preclude home construction to some extent. Also as people get older they may find they don't have the dexterity or eyesight they used to have. We also have a huge chunk of the community who rarely turn on a soldering iron (that's if they own one). There are also people who travel for a living, or have little space, and having a ready-made transceiver makes more sense. We all may have a reason to purchase a commercially made transceiver.

This talk will give us some idea of whether they really are as good as the money you pay for them.

Trystan G0KAY

Re: Talk: Does price buy Performance or Satisfaction in an HF Transceiver? by Frank Howell K4FMH

#87957

Most of the features are just software codes. Your main transceiver can be really, really simple. Yet you could have a front panel crammed with buttons and knobs that connect the micro inside the radio.

What takes money these days if the same thing that did cost an arm and a leg 20 years ago. Bandpass filters, crystal filters. Transmit bandpass filters of 100 watt range need high Q capacitors that can take 500v RF. If you have 3 section rx filter for each band, that translates to 33 coils (11 HF bands) plus 77 C0G capacitors. Add up the relays too. This is where a homebrewer can shine.?

A two band transceiver that covers just your favourite bands (mine would be 40/20), has good rx and tx band pass filters, two? crystal filters for 3 khz and 300 hz, runs off a nice analog vfo from a scavnged slow motion drive will cost less than hundred dollars and a month to build. It will run circles around any commercial rig for 1/50th the money.

- f

Show quoted text

On Tue 27 Apr, 2021, 9:39 PM Don - KM4UDX, <dontay155@...> wrote:

Reg -- we build stuff 'cause it is enormous fun.

Buying a complete radio is very cool if you want to move on quickly to the software (Fldigi, WSJT-X, logging, award tracking, etc etc) for example.? If your thrill comes from (say) building antennas or maybe the mysteries of HF propogation, then just buy a radio and get on to the stuff that floats your boat.?

In all these cases, the radio is just a means to an end.? So any radio having? YOUR required functions will do. After requirements are met, any radio will do -- they are interchangeable, if critical, links in the value chain.?

All of this suggests you are correct -- we use a small fraction of a modern rig's capability because the rig is a means to some other end -- the end that floats our boat.?

Also supporting your conjecture that we use a fraction of the radio's features, due to extraordinary feature richness and complexity, is the reality of computer control.? One can argue that we interact with radio-related software? 99% of the time, and push radio buttons/menu 1% or less.

All this gets (at last), to the point.? The joy of building, and associated simplicity, for many folks, swamps any bump from buying an endlessly feature rich and complex radio.?

So mostly all use only a few features on the radio, while we spend a majority of radio time interacting with software controlling the rig or supporting our interaction.? The implication here is that for many folks, there is scant value in a feature rich rig.?

If you follow this logic train, then building a simple rig has enormous potential for joy.? The satisfaction, the simplicity, the recognition of USB-based operation, all support building a simple rig.? Building a uBITX comes to mind, as well as the Simple SSB rig (aka KK4DAS, Dean's wonderful work).? And there are many many others.

If you think of a modern rig as a USB appliance, then you want it small and out of the way.? Your "rig" is the software on your computer.? ?A simple kit or "build" seems to fit the bill.