Easiest ShopTalk in a long time.
As you probably know, son G2 may be coming back this winter to build a home down here. Despite his role as medical director on a 750-tradesman server farm build, even he knows there’s a lot left to learn about housifying. So I did what any proud dad (with a keyboard addiction) would do — I cooked up a straightforward guide that turns homebuilding into a recipe.
It’s called:
“The DIY House Bible: A Practical Guide for First-Time Builders”
The DIY House Bible
It’s not complete, but you can at least get a sense of where the alligators are. This isn’t some glossy, blue-sky bullshit brochure. It’s measure-cut-join-finish wisdom. If you’ve ever thought about picking up a hammer or saw, this one’s for you, bud.
SX-32: Whether to Weather
With the new Evolution table saw up and running – just the ticket if you want to build a quick 3″ square tube rocket stove en masse – (because you can cut mild steel on it) – the only major projects around here get around to ham radio.
The only change I would make to the saw, by the way, is for them to lighten up on the glossy print on the box – which looks great and I’m so sure there’s a retail point to it, but the shit will not burn worth a damn (high clay content papers are like that) so if you buy and Evolution and IF you have a burn barrel, don’t be in a hurry, yeah?
OK – hot weather and now we’re into the time of the year when full-scale ham radio nonsense lands in the office. All the projects are lined up BUT I still don’t have the kick-ass old school general coverage receiver. (Well, except the Hallicrafters SX-26 Super Defiant). Imagine my surprise when an SX-32 in reasonable shape popped on eBay Saturday for $89-bucks! (OK, over $200 with tax and shipping, but still..)
Roosevelt’s Radio?
Yes, that’s right: I love working on old-time, old school tube type radio gear. When not mashing down the frontiers of domain wall-scaling which is a whole other deal.
If you remember your history> Franklin Roosevelt used to sit in the Oval during WW 2 and listen to reports from all over the world – BBC and American networks. (Like Trump, but without a social account, one imagines.)
His radio of choice was a Hallicrafters SX-28. Which was a dandy radio because it had two (not the usual one) R.F. Amplifier. In a superheterodyne radio, having two RF amplifiers between the mixer tube and the antenna- makes it harder to intercept what the receiver was tuned to. this “RF oscillator leakage idea was a key element in one of the late Clive Cussler’s novels, with Jack Du Brul, too. *(The Sea Wolves…Isaac Bell Adventures #13.)
Understand I have always wanted a perfect SX-28 for my desk. Thing is? They run about a kilobuck (or more – and this is before shipping – for something totally minty). This SX-32 (which is even more rare, ergo a better “investment” in the hobby) is a great $89 wish-filler.
The SX-32 is almost (but not quite) identical to the coveted SX-28-A. Similar push-pull 6v6 audio output and I have the right speaker in the collection already. Except that the SX-28 has a bass boost while the audio curves of the SX-32 are a bit more “vanilla” but “have soldering iron, can fix” is the motto here.
It should be a great deal of fun. And besides, once it is back up to spec and a mains-powered Heathkit Q-multiplier is added, it should be fine as a low band receiver and it might match up with the Globe Scout (and either the HA-5 VFO or the Globe 755).
Only five months from Straight Key Night so times a-wasting! Planning three classic tube rigs for the event this winter: The SX-32 (or Super Defiant) and the Globe, the Gonset GSB-100 with Thunderbolt amp and Drake 2B/BQ, and last but not least, the Hallicrafters SX-117/HT-44/ and Loudenboomer amplifier. I will doubtless burn your eyes out on the electronic trivia behind getting ready…
An Advanced Ham Radio Note
A side of RF engineering with that coffee for you? How about we delve into why some ancient tube type transmitters may have “punched above their weight” on the air due to scalar effects from poor circuit design?
You will love this paper… The Knightmare Loop. All may come back to a quirk in neutralization…but that will have to wait for lab time this fall…
With temps here due north of 100 Wednesday, Mr. Ure is planning some “kick-it” time on 20 CW and time working on the next book…
So for now, shop reorganizing and praying for cooler weather will be occupying most of the coming week. Along with the new crowns being installed by the dentist, which verily, verily, reduced the flow of play money for the month a bit…
Write when you get rich, it cools off, or we get a “false peace” to stall the global war in the fall, It will be a bonus if we all make it to SKN…
[email protected] /ac7x
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