I've gotten the RF portion of my AWA 6AQ5 transmitter ( https://www.antiquewireless.org/homepage/pcb-item-12 ) done and tested on 80, 40 and 30 mtrs. This transmitter sounds nice on 80 and 40 running 8-10 watts out with a single 6AQ5. It doesn't sound quite as good with HC49S crystals on 30 but it is still acceptable.
Monday, August 11, 2025
AWA 6AQ5 Transmitter
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Vintage Homebrew
Recently I was asked by the Long Island CW Club to give a zoom talk about my vintage homebrew projects. The transmitters, receivers and power supplies I discussed covered the late 20s through the mid 50s. My talk, though, wasn't just about recreating some pieces of ham radio history. I also covered the economics, technology and current events that drove ham radio during this period.
My power point charts with my speaker script is at http://www.wiegandfamily.org/HomeBrewTalk_March25/VintageHomebrew_LICW_31Mar2025.pdf
Friday, April 18, 2025
A Siamese Paddle
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Vinage Radio Homebrew - Handy Links
QST Magazine 1915 – 1969: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/QST.htm
ARRL Handbooks: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Bookshelf_ARRL.htm
VE7SL Radio Notebook: https://www.qsl.net/ve7sl/
6C4-5763 transmitter by WB8DQT: www.arrl.org/files/file/QST%20Binaries/Jan2012/w1ts_project.pdf
Thursday, October 17, 2024
W0VLZ's Homebrew Gallery
Over the past many years I've homebrewed many receivers and transmitters along with several accessory pieces.
Go to http://wiegandfamily.org/W0VLZ_Homebrew/W0VLZ_Gallery.htm to see my vintage homebrew projects.
Saturday, September 28, 2024
A 1951 Transmitter for the Beginner
Here's the construction information on my version of this transmitter: http://wiegandfamily.org/6AG7_Xmtr/1951Transmitter.htm
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
A 1941 Simplified Superhet
One of my favorite homebrew receivers is the one I built based on the "Two Tube Superhet Receiver" shown in the 1941 ARRL Handbook. This one has a regenerative detector running at 1700KHz with a tunable convertor stage (covering 80 and 40) and a single stage of audio.
After few minutes of playing with the two tube superhet on 40 meters I decided that a BFO was needed for reasonable CW and SSB reception. The two tube superhet became a three tuber. The regenerative IF remained. It is not typically run into regeneration but just below to improve IF gain and selectivity. As a modern safety measure I RC coupled the headphones into the plate circuit of audio stage rather than directly connecting them. Read about this project here.
I then decided to make a major improvement by adding a crystal filter. This gives this simple receiver almost single signal selectivity. At 6dB down, the bandwidth is only 250Hz. Inserting the crystal into the middle of the regenerative IF stage feedback loop allowed regeneration to make up for crystal insertion loss without adding an extra tube. Also modified from the original was changing the regenerative detector from 1/2 of a 6C8 to a 6J7, adding better bandspread and a front panel BFO adjustment. The attenuator on the antenna input was added after experiencing problems from strong signals overloading the receiver. This version is described here.
The single AF stage really did not drive a speaker very well. As built this is a headphone radio. In addition it needed an external power supply. I built another AF stage (with a speaker) and a power supply into an external box. In addition I added a toggle / Transmit-Receive switch.
I typically use this receiver with my 6J5-6L6 Transmitter.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
QRP in the Park
It's 60 degrees and sunny today. After a "Minnesota Nice" winter and playing with Boat Anchors in the Basement it is turning into time to take my KX3 to a local
park.
Last night I gave a "QRP in the Park" talk at the meeting of the Rochester Amateur Radio Club. I covered many possible objectives of portable operating, how these might affect equipment/operating plans and then looked at some of today's options and my specific equipment and antenna choices.
Download a pdf version of my talk here: http://wiegandfamily.org/QRP/QRPInTheParkTalk_10Apr2024.pdf
See a video showing me setting up my 20 mtr C-Pole vertical here: https://youtu.be/nYn-GnwcSoE
See a video showing how to get an antenna wire over a tree limb here: https://youtu.be/zibrXtaG_Ro
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
WN6ULH / WA5VLZ / W0VLZ Through the Years
Here is a look at my stations through the years: http://wiegandfamily.org/shack_tours/shacks.html