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Re: LM-386 Live or Die?
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýDavey,?You lucky guy. The only camp ground I live and work at is our retirement home on a nice lake. ?I am 78 and my wife is 71 and our handy man petered out on us this year so we are doing ourselves all the lawn maintenance and putting the boats, etc., in for the grands that don¡¯t come very often. ?Hope to get out in the yard soon and do some portable work as all this raking and hauling is making us both ?achey and tired before our time¡.. ha! ?Very little noise at out QTH since the AM radio business is less profitable and the AM radio station across the lake sold their property and took down their 4 tower directional antenna on 1310 (3 x 1310 is 3930 kHz). ?1330 kHz is a great frequency for statewide nets that I participate in occasionally. I have often thought of offering my handyman services to a camp ground in the winter but it has never happened. ?My wife keeps me busy enough. ?Fifty years together. She got a new ring and I got a wad of money for Dayton¡. Fair trade in this household and I don¡¯t wear jewelry.? Dave K8WPE since 1960 David J. Wilcox¡¯s iPad On May 11, 2023, at 12:24 AM, David Knapp via groups.io <renewables@...> wrote:
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Re: LM-386 Live or Die?
Dan, Rex sent me the layout view and where the breaks are. My jumper connected the circuit back together, but Rex suggested adding one or two more just to emulate the original plane interconnections. I just started building the Sudden Storm receiver so I will compare the performance with each other when the weather warms up a bit and I can get to the national forest away from all of these Fluorescent antennas in this large RV park. Right now the sounds I hear are more like a regenerative receiver if the volume control is higher than minimum, so when I can get out to the USFS away from the powerlines I will bring my Penntek TR-35 to send a mw signal or two for comparison. Once satisfied, then I can start on the two Super Tuna ][+ TXs I have ready to assemble. My XYL is a ham and has been more than generous with allowing me to take up the desk workstation in the RV for my soldering projects since she is the manager of the local 13 USFS campgrounds in this district and needs a lot of computer time herself. Cheers, Davey - KU9L
On Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 10:00:13 AM MDT, Daniel Walter via groups.io <nm3a@...> wrote:
Davey,
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Re: LM-386 Live or Die?
I got the jumper installed on the WWVR radio with the Ver 3 board, but I assume they now ship with the Ver 4 board? I found in my storage a Sudden Storm Ver 6 receiver kit that was not built yet, yeah!!! It supersedes my Ver 2 from 2012 or so. I am going to build it this weekend to compare to the WWVR receiver. I think my WWVR receiver is working, but I haven't been able to get my Penntek TR-35 out yet to test it. Too much QRN inside this RV to hunt down WWV, but I have plenty of 10.106/10.116 Mhz xtals to play with. We are getting daily thunder snow, sleet, & rain storms so now is the time to build something between installing 210-gallon water tanks and golf cart batteries at the 13 campground host sites that are still mostly snowed in. Yesterday I received three Predator 3500-watt generators from Harbor Freight which are too heavy for me to lift safely so I can't wait until my two maintenance men start work in a week or two to start helping me. I did not order the generators, but the camp hosts like it when I get them with one and a 5-gallon can of gasoline for their personal use and to charge the golf carts! Davey - KU9L
On Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 08:56:37 AM MDT, David Knapp via groups.io <renewables@...> wrote:
Okay, that did partially work, but Rex tells me there may be more since I am using an outdated bare board not intended for prime time. I had a lot of those in aerospace, that is why my hair fell off my head and landed on my face, LOL. Cheers, Davey - KU9L
On Monday, May 8, 2023 at 08:21:28 PM MDT, David Knapp via groups.io <renewables@...> wrote:
Okay, the progress so far. Kit: WWVR Receiver, marked Ver. 3 - 11/21 Probing around for a couple of hours I verified that +12-volts is getting to where it needs to be. I only have the 2019 schematic available from the website, but I was able to verify that good power got all of the ways to the 78L06 6-volt voltage regulator. The ground pin on that device also was good and verified all of the way back to the input connector. Things were checking out great until I got to the SA612 mixer and the LM386-4 audio amplifier. The schematic shows multiple points grounded on the ICs and they turned out to be connected together as shown at the ICs, caps, varactor, and trim pots, but not then back to the 78L06 voltage regulator. There is a break in the ground plane that also does not include a lot of the .1uF filter caps which IS connected to the IC ground points. As far as I can tell with my tired, crusty eyes, that is the only break in the "circuits". Not having the 2021 documentation there might be a mod jumper that I am not aware of, but I am not aware that there was such a document posted, this is just speculation. After I get some coffee and let my eyes settle, I am going to place a jumper from the VD1a ground pad to the +12-Volt Ground pad about an inch and a quarter from each other. I will post my results later. I purchased a stack of 10 LM386-4s and?SA612ANs that should be here in the next few days. I suspect I may have trashed my LM386-4 during the troubleshooting phase, but at least I did not let out the magic smoke. We used to get special trophies from the department manager in Test Equipment in aerospace when we let out lots of smoke, some thought it a badge of honor, I usually went into tomato mode during that meeting of 150 engineers with very, very big egos. I was so much not into the big ego thing that during that phase in my life, I had my 2-foot-long beard, LOL. Cheers, Davey - KU9L
On Sunday, May 7, 2023 at 09:27:36 PM MDT, David Knapp via groups.io <renewables@...> wrote:
My version of the Sudden Storm Kit is Ver 2 and I can only find the original or Version 3 on QRPme.com, so there will no doubt be some minor differences. I do not have access to the computer I used in 2016 or I might have exact documentation stored there. I will compare the parts list with the Ver 3 build guide and schematic to see where I stand. Tonight I had 4 hours of onboarding online training with my work and for the next two days, I have all-day meetings with the USFS in Woodland Park 2+ hours away, so I will get back to assembly ASAP. Cheers, Davey - KU9L
On Sunday, May 7, 2023 at 10:49:10 AM MDT, David Knapp via groups.io <renewables@...> wrote:
Davey - KU9L
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Re: LM-386 Live or Die?
Okay, that did partially work, but Rex tells me there may be more since I am using an outdated bare board not intended for prime time. I had a lot of those in aerospace, that is why my hair fell off my head and landed on my face, LOL. Cheers, Davey - KU9L
On Monday, May 8, 2023 at 08:21:28 PM MDT, David Knapp via groups.io <renewables@...> wrote:
Okay, the progress so far. Kit: WWVR Receiver, marked Ver. 3 - 11/21 Probing around for a couple of hours I verified that +12-volts is getting to where it needs to be. I only have the 2019 schematic available from the website, but I was able to verify that good power got all of the ways to the 78L06 6-volt voltage regulator. The ground pin on that device also was good and verified all of the way back to the input connector. Things were checking out great until I got to the SA612 mixer and the LM386-4 audio amplifier. The schematic shows multiple points grounded on the ICs and they turned out to be connected together as shown at the ICs, caps, varactor, and trim pots, but not then back to the 78L06 voltage regulator. There is a break in the ground plane that also does not include a lot of the .1uF filter caps which IS connected to the IC ground points. As far as I can tell with my tired, crusty eyes, that is the only break in the "circuits". Not having the 2021 documentation there might be a mod jumper that I am not aware of, but I am not aware that there was such a document posted, this is just speculation. After I get some coffee and let my eyes settle, I am going to place a jumper from the VD1a ground pad to the +12-Volt Ground pad about an inch and a quarter from each other. I will post my results later. I purchased a stack of 10 LM386-4s and?SA612ANs that should be here in the next few days. I suspect I may have trashed my LM386-4 during the troubleshooting phase, but at least I did not let out the magic smoke. We used to get special trophies from the department manager in Test Equipment in aerospace when we let out lots of smoke, some thought it a badge of honor, I usually went into tomato mode during that meeting of 150 engineers with very, very big egos. I was so much not into the big ego thing that during that phase in my life, I had my 2-foot-long beard, LOL. Cheers, Davey - KU9L
On Sunday, May 7, 2023 at 09:27:36 PM MDT, David Knapp via groups.io <renewables@...> wrote:
My version of the Sudden Storm Kit is Ver 2 and I can only find the original or Version 3 on QRPme.com, so there will no doubt be some minor differences. I do not have access to the computer I used in 2016 or I might have exact documentation stored there. I will compare the parts list with the Ver 3 build guide and schematic to see where I stand. Tonight I had 4 hours of onboarding online training with my work and for the next two days, I have all-day meetings with the USFS in Woodland Park 2+ hours away, so I will get back to assembly ASAP. Cheers, Davey - KU9L
On Sunday, May 7, 2023 at 10:49:10 AM MDT, David Knapp via groups.io <renewables@...> wrote:
Davey - KU9L
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Re: LM-386 Live or Die?
Okay, the progress so far. Kit: WWVR Receiver, marked Ver. 3 - 11/21 Probing around for a couple of hours I verified that +12-volts is getting to where it needs to be. I only have the 2019 schematic available from the website, but I was able to verify that good power got all of the ways to the 78L06 6-volt voltage regulator. The ground pin on that device also was good and verified all of the way back to the input connector. Things were checking out great until I got to the SA612 mixer and the LM386-4 audio amplifier. The schematic shows multiple points grounded on the ICs and they turned out to be connected together as shown at the ICs, caps, varactor, and trim pots, but not then back to the 78L06 voltage regulator. There is a break in the ground plane that also does not include a lot of the .1uF filter caps which IS connected to the IC ground points. As far as I can tell with my tired, crusty eyes, that is the only break in the "circuits". Not having the 2021 documentation there might be a mod jumper that I am not aware of, but I am not aware that there was such a document posted, this is just speculation. After I get some coffee and let my eyes settle, I am going to place a jumper from the VD1a ground pad to the +12-Volt Ground pad about an inch and a quarter from each other. I will post my results later. I purchased a stack of 10 LM386-4s and?SA612ANs that should be here in the next few days. I suspect I may have trashed my LM386-4 during the troubleshooting phase, but at least I did not let out the magic smoke. We used to get special trophies from the department manager in Test Equipment in aerospace when we let out lots of smoke, some thought it a badge of honor, I usually went into tomato mode during that meeting of 150 engineers with very, very big egos. I was so much not into the big ego thing that during that phase in my life, I had my 2-foot-long beard, LOL. Cheers, Davey - KU9L
On Sunday, May 7, 2023 at 09:27:36 PM MDT, David Knapp via groups.io <renewables@...> wrote:
My version of the Sudden Storm Kit is Ver 2 and I can only find the original or Version 3 on QRPme.com, so there will no doubt be some minor differences. I do not have access to the computer I used in 2016 or I might have exact documentation stored there. I will compare the parts list with the Ver 3 build guide and schematic to see where I stand. Tonight I had 4 hours of onboarding online training with my work and for the next two days, I have all-day meetings with the USFS in Woodland Park 2+ hours away, so I will get back to assembly ASAP. Cheers, Davey - KU9L
On Sunday, May 7, 2023 at 10:49:10 AM MDT, David Knapp via groups.io <renewables@...> wrote:
Davey - KU9L
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Re: LM-386 Live or Die?
My version of the Sudden Storm Kit is Ver 2 and I can only find the original or Version 3 on QRPme.com, so there will no doubt be some minor differences. I do not have access to the computer I used in 2016 or I might have exact documentation stored there. I will compare the parts list with the Ver 3 build guide and schematic to see where I stand. Tonight I had 4 hours of onboarding online training with my work and for the next two days, I have all-day meetings with the USFS in Woodland Park 2+ hours away, so I will get back to assembly ASAP. Cheers, Davey - KU9L
On Sunday, May 7, 2023 at 10:49:10 AM MDT, David Knapp via groups.io <renewables@...> wrote:
Davey - KU9L
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Re: LM-386 Live or Die?
Davey - KU9L
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LM-386 Live or Die?
I have a WWVR Ver 3 receiver that I have been troubleshooting using my standard aerospace electronics methods to eliminate any assembly errors. So far I haven't found any since I took the whole evening and basically triple-checked as I went and also rechecked with my dental tools to locate any hidden shorts or opens. Fortunately, these kits are very easy to assemble with fewer parts than my old Heathkit days. However, upon powering up, I do not yet get to hear the familiar sound of hiss in my headphones. I do hear a loud click in the headphones, followed by a soft low-frequency buzz from my 12.3-volt buck converter supply. After a few seconds, it switches to silence for 1/4 second, then repeats endlessly with the low-frequency buzz & then silence cycles. I can only find the Ver 1 documentation and I have a Ver 3 board so there may be an assemble detail I may be missing. I have a Sudden Storm Ver 2 kit unbuilt, so I borrowed the LM-386-3 and the SA612 from it. This time there is just a soft click in the headphones and no hum or his, total silence. Antenna or dummy load, nada, nothing to Hiss about. There is not change with the SA-612's swapped. No change with the Varactor installed or not. There is no change with the band module installed or not. I may build the Studden Storm I have just to make a comparison. First I have to check on a few campgrounds I haven't opened yet to see how deep the snowdrifts are and to see if I can get in there to drop off the Host's water tank and get to their golf carts to install the batteries. But I look forward to a little sudden storm action later tonight. I might have been wise to order up a few LM386s ahead of time. Fortunately, I have been following my aerospace ESD practices, however, at 23% relative humidity it is only going to get drier in here as the summer progresses. It is still getting down to freezing every night and we expect a few more snows before the holiday weekend when I really start to get busy for the season. Cheers, Dave David Davey Knapp, depending on who is asking - KU9L |
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Re: BCI Filter Kits K9DP vs N4ELS : Summary
Oh, I agree entirely Chuck, and I thank you. As a 13-year-old, I nearly froze to death attaching my xtal radio set that I got for Christmas to my grandfather's 1/4 mile long electric fence wire and listening to the strong local stations in the headphones with the 3 others in the background that you could hear much fainter, but that fixed the DX bug in me to the point I was bringing wires into the house to hook around the ferrite antennas. Then I started winding random small coils across the tuning capacitor of grandma's Zenith tube-type AM radio to discover Radio Canada International upon which I listened so much that I often forgot about doing my chores or my homework. Eventually, a friend loaned me his Hallicrafters SW radio where I learned the code as I was a 10M addict since it was close in frequency to my other grandfather's CB that his neighborhood used to tp citizen patrols for wayward teens through their REACT club. Grandpa was a retired colonel so discipline he vowed to teach me besides calculus. It seems like I learn the best by doing things the hard way and never like anyone else thinks I should. Anyway, it has been a lot of fun playing with these BCI filters and learning the ins and outs of them. Davey - KU9L
On Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 04:45:17 AM EDT, Chuck Carpenter <w5usj@...> wrote:
Davey, On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 03:59 PM, David Knapp wrote: That said, depending on the strength of the local AM radio stations the strength of the filter needed may vary greatly. IOf course, that's true but: The QRPme filter has from 1000 to 10000 times more attenuation from 1.6MHz to 0.5MHz, the AM Radio broadcast band. Just on general principals you'd pick the one with the most attenuation. For a specific station/channel use a tuned notch. The K9DP filter has slightly less transmission loss from 3.5MHz to at least 50MHz.. |
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Re: BCI Filter Kits K9DP vs N4ELS : Summary
Thanks for all of the investigation Chuck. I think that some of these filters have evolved through personal experience and some designs did not manifest until the experimenter solved his problem of interference. That said, depending on the strength of the local AM radio stations the strength of the filter needed may vary greatly. I do not have any of the Chinese SDR radios, but they might not need as much BCI filtering as my simple Tuna/Sprite receiver might, just my personal speculation. I also have not tested my Penntek TR-35 yet either as I have been down with this virus that makes my jaw and teeth feel like someone is pulling them apart with vice grips. However, if we can quit having large hail and tornadoes here in the Midwest, I want to throw out a wire for a quick POTA activation before we have to leave this state park on Monday while heading for Colorado. Davey - KU9L
On Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 03:01:36 PM EDT, Chuck Carpenter <w5usj@...> wrote:
As indicated by the data in the previous message the QRPme N4ELS BCI LPF is MUCH better for attenuating BCI received via your antenna than the K9DP filter. A suggestion:? Build the filter in a shielded enclosure and use best quality RF connectors, e.g., SMAs and BNCs. Also use coax, not audio cable. The BNCs used with the K9DP are good, snug fit and didn't rattle causing noise. Proper grounding ensures that RF noise is conducted away to the ground instead of being conducted from radiation. Shielding, filtering, and grounding are the immediate answers to the question of how to stop radio frequency interference in electronic circuits. |
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Re: Sea Sprite+ v6 Assembly -- Measurements
If you click View Reply Online in the link near the bottom you can establish your account and manage all of your other subscriptions to all of the other ham radio & hobby forums too. It is easy & only takes a couple of minutes. Many Ham Radio Blogs use this master system for commenting as well.
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Davey - KU9L
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Re: Sea Sprite+ v6 Assembly -- Measurements
Would you please change my email to dhdeitrick@... Thank you On Fri, Mar 3, 2023 at 2:33?PM Chuck Carpenter <w5usj@...> wrote:
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David Wilcox K8WPE
David Knapp
David Deitrick