EMRFD Message Archive 8113
Message Date From Subject 8113 2013-01-17 20:42:40 Ashhar Farhan Understanding Amateur Radio
George Grammer. This is for my son who is seven.
Most of the in-print books skimp lightly on the homebrewing aspect.
Between EMRFD and "Ham Radio for Dummies" there is little choice.
Neither of them is suitable for someone who is young and wants to
solder his way through the hobby : a dated trajectory. Are there any
other good books one can recommend that he take keep by his bedside?
- farhan8114 2013-01-17 20:56:20 Jerry Haigwood Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
I have a first edition of "Understanding Amateur Radio" copyrighted in
1963. It is all tube stuff - not something a young ham would like. I
suggest "Solid State Design for the Radio Amateur" by Wes Hayward and Doug
DeMaw. It will have parts that are getting hard to find (dual gate FETs)
but much of it is still relevant. Then again, I am not too sure a 7 year
old would be able to understand much of any technical book.
Jerry W5JH
"building something without experimenting is just solder practice"
8115 2013-01-17 21:07:23 Ashhar Farhan Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
his understanding of physics. So, I guess texts that are a little
challenging are fine business. I am still plodding my way through IRFD
after all these years!
There was another book too, from RSGB by pat hawker. This was for beginners.
Wierdly enough, my first handbook was amateur radio techniques - a
compilation of technical topics by pat hawker. It was quite unusually
suited for a beginner. It dealt only with building blocks! So one
developed a way of looking at circuits as a collection of blocks. Plus
one could read it, one topic at a time, from the 1000s that filled its
pages!
- f
On 1/18/13, Jerry Haigwood <jerry@w5jh.net> wrote:
> Hi Farhan,
>
> I have a first edition of "Understanding Amateur Radio" copyrighted
> in
> 1963. It is all tube stuff - not something a young ham would like. I
> suggest "Solid State Design for the Radio Amateur" by Wes Hayward and Doug
> DeMaw. It will have parts that are getting hard to find (dual gate FETs)
> but much of it is still relevant. Then again, I am not too sure a 7 year
> old would be able to understand much of any technical book.
>
> Jerry W5JH
>
> "building something without experimenting is just solder practice"
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>8116 2013-01-17 22:23:56 Todd F. Carney Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
Here's a link to a book put out by Make Magazine that seems to have
excellent reviews that praise the book's simplicity without being
simplistic. I've flipped through it before, and it is a nice, easy to
follow, primer.
http://www.makershed.com/Make_Electronics_book_by_Charles_Platt_p/9780596153748.htm
From one reviewer:
I was expecting a fairly decent guide to working with circuits and building
> electronic devices, what I wasn't expecting was an awesome and hands-onBy the way, every smart kid reads himself to sleep every night. It's a very
> guide with both useful background science and history guides, along with
> straight-forward instructions on how to build things and *why* those things
> work the way they do. That each section gives you a shopping list (with
> part numbers!) and each chapter gives you the exact parts you need to build
> each device was an amazing addition. The projects are fun and give you
> some room for variation and play with what you're doing. I also think the
> writing style and layout of the book will appeal to a very wide age range
> and either gender. I could imagine having both my fianc� read this, as well
> as a 12 year old cousin.
good sign.
73,
Todd
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
K7TFC / Medford, Oregon, USA / CN82ni / UTC-8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QRP (CW & SSB) / EmComm / SOTA / Homebrew / Design
8119 2013-01-18 01:42:25 Ashhar Farhan Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
i am looking at the last of those editions, the early 70s one. It had
a direct conversion receiver with a CA3028 and a 6146B crystal
controlled transmitter as projects. more than the technology, it is
the science that was pretty well dealt in that book - from a
beginner's perspective.
todd,
thanks for the link. the book does look pretty good. i downloaded the
sample chapter. it unfortunately needs stuff like 'neodynium
cylindrical magnets'. and my son will make my life miserable if i
don't produce them for him to play with. i am still going to order the
book in any case.
the UAR covered operating, antennas, the whole works, and kept it to a
simple level.
- farhan
8120 2013-01-18 01:57:11 Ron McCurdy Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
There are inexpensive Neodynium magnets on Ebay.
Ron,
KE5QDA
_____
8121 2013-01-18 08:18:23 William Carver Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
bookstore. I started by reading the "Electrical Laws and Circuits",
"Vacuum Tube Principals" chapters and was motivated to get a Novice
license and start building little things. I was inspired to get an
engineering degree.
It is amusing to think back of the crude "understanding" I gained at 12
years old. I remember thinking the "dB voltage" and "dB power" were
different things for example. But even though the book was way over my
head, I was able to learn Ohms law, understand how the magnitude (but
not phase!) of inductive/capacitive reaction behaved, etc.
So I would not worry too much about stretching your son with a moderate
challenge. With your insight, and digging a little on his own can only
improve self confidence, and develop his skill of learning from books.
W7AAZ8122 2013-01-18 08:36:27 Chris Howard w0ep Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
RadioShack (62-1336) Basic Communications Electronics
by Jack Hudson and Jerry Luecke8123 2013-01-18 09:06:55 Pete N6QW Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
I have been following the responses to your post about your son. You have presented the classic problem of the theoretical versus the practical. You have so well stated the case that on one hand is EMRFD and the other Ham Radio for Dummies, with a void in between.
The real thrust needs to be on publications where someone new to the hobby can get some hands on experience that builds on that experience that will ultimately lead to more complex projects and need I mention furthering the learning process.
Having a LED blink at various rates driven by an NE555 has only so much interest even for a 7 year old.
Actually I believe two publications that are produced quarterly, fill that void. One by the GQRP Club called the SPRAT is a home brewer's delight for simple, practical, low part count and actually usual ham radios. I can remember one project that was a complete CW transceiver using only an MPF102 that was soldered to the terminals of a DPDT slide switch. I think the total part count may have been about 20 or so parts. Back issues are available but it does require a subscription and for the US it is less than a $20 bill. The SPRAT even includes some "valve" projects. Much like your seminal project the BITX20, the thrust is comm8124 2013-01-18 12:52:13 C WEAVING Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
Following Peters note, there is also a CD with all the back issues of Sprat from the GQRP Club. A tremendous sorce of info at a very modest cost (about £8 if I remember)
Colin M3WCK
________________________________
8125 2013-01-18 13:19:50 Gary, WB9JPS Re: Understanding Amateur Radio 8126 2013-01-18 15:21:35 popmedkoh Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
There is an excellent book called "From Crystal Sets to Sideband" written by Frank Harris K0IYE in 2002 and last updated in 2011. It's a wonderful work of more than 400 pages starting with basic electricity working all the way up to design considerations for homebrew sideband rigs and beyond. Full of great photos, diagrams and humorous cartoons, it's an entertaining read as well as a great reference sourcebook...and it's FREE! K0IYE graciously and generously donated it to the public. Thanks to Four State QRP and QRPARCI it's available to be downloaded and printed freely at http://www.wa0itp.com/crystalsetsssb.html
Here's the table of contents:
Chapter 1
THE FASCINATION OF RADIO
Chapter 2
HOMEBUILDING AMATEUR RADIO EQUIPMENT
Chapter 3
SETTING UP AN ELECTRONICS WORKSHOP
Chapter 4
HERTZIAN WAVES IN THE BASEMENT
Chapter 5
GETTING ON THE AIR
- DECIDING WHAT TO DO FIRST
Chapter 6
BUILDING A QRP HOMEBREW
Chapter 7
BUILDING A CODE PRACTICE RECEIVER
Chapter 8
POWER SUPPLIES
Chapter 9
ACCESSORIES FOR THE TRANSMITTER
Chapter 10
VARIABLE FREQUENCY OSCILLATORS
Chapter 11
Building a VFO for the higher bands (PMOs)
Chapter 12
FINAL AMPLIFIERS
Chapter 13
BUILDING A HOMEBREW HF RECEIVER
Chapter 14
OLD-TECH VACUUM TUBE RADIO
Chapter 15
THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR SIDEBAND
It can't be that hard! Want to bet?
Chapter 16
ANCIENT MODULATION & OTHER TOPICS
His closing thoughts:
"In conclusion,
Homebrew ham radio is never complete - when it works perfectly and does all the latest
stuff, the hobby is over. Not likely. Long live homebuilding!"
Credit goes to Hans Summers who first mentioned this book in 2005 on your Bitx20 forum and hosted an earlier revision8127 2013-01-18 16:20:07 David LeVan Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]8128 2013-01-19 03:25:57 Niels Moseley Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
I always liked Doug DeMaw's QRP notebook, published by the ARRL. It contains mostly crystal controlled transmitters and receivers using very few components. Doug does not go into much detail with respect to the operation of the circuits but does cover some of the basics. I think this is a good book for a young person to get to know the circuits and build a few things, before going to a more advanced book, such as SSDRA, which covers more theory.
I also find the ARRL handbooks contain a good collection of knowledge, but think the older ones are better. I particularly like the 1989 edition; it's on good theory and has more circuits than the recent editions. Often, these handbooks can be picked up for little money on flea markets, although this might be different in India. I also see them offered on eBay sometimes.
Good luck and I hope your son has lots of fun learning electronics and ham radio.
Regards, 73,
Niels PA1DSP.
On 18 jan. 2013, at 05:42, Ashhar Farhan <farhanbox@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am looking for a copy of ARRL's Understanding Amateur Radio by
> George Grammer. This is for my son who is seven.
>
> Most of the in-print books skimp lightly on the homebrewing aspect.
> Between EMRFD and "Ham Radio for Dummies" there is little choice.
> Neither of them is suitable for someone who is young and wants to
> solder his way through the hobby : a dated trajectory. Are there any
> other good books one can recommend that he take keep by his bedside?
>
> - farhan
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]8129 2013-01-19 07:06:50 Stephen Farthing Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
GW4HWR. John, who I have never met, is a great educator, writes clearly,
and actually seems to have an understanding of where someone starting out
might be coming from. The books are :-
Practical Receivers for Beginners ISBN 1 872309 35 6
Practical Transmitters for Beginners ISBN 1 872309-21-6
The nice thing about these books is that they start out from basic
principles and have simple fun projects as well as more complicated ones
and they also have some microwave projects as well as HF/VHF. And nothing
is going to break the bank in them.
I would also recommend the excellent :
Practical Wire Antennas by John Hays G3BDQ ISBN 0 900612 87 8
The trouble is these books were written some time ago and are out of print
and some of the components in the first two are difficult to source now and
technically they are obsolete.
But it does beg the question "Where are the new books?". The choice a
beginner, especially if they are computer literate, has today is
incredible. Were I starting out today I would buy a USB DTV dongle for a
receiver and make a simple TX, possibly a "oner". Or may be a "real" SDR
kit such as a Peaberry or an Ensemble. This can be done for a fraction of
the cost of a commercial transceiver (the one I have gather's dust, I
generally only switch it on if I want to find out if one of my homebrew
things is oscillating". But there is generally no guidance in this
direction for someone starting up. The new generation of potential hams are
very different than us old timers, they are mostly computer literate,
probably have less disposable income, less leisure time, less space (e.g.
no big junk pile in the garage for harvesting), less span of attention, and
a very different science education that we had. They watch TV programs like
"Mythbusters", read Make magazine and are into micro controllers, sensor
networks and the Internet of things. I read yesterday that sales of the
Rasberry Pi (the single board Linux computer targeted at hackers and
education) had exceeded 1,000,000. I was pretty amazed at this. Even if we
could get 10% of the buyers interested in Ham Radio it would be a real shot
in the arm for the hobby.
What we need is some modern guidance for them, not recycling yet another
version of the NE602 DC RX (though they do work quite nicely).
To give you an example. Until recently I kitted some simple QRSS Beacons,
to a design by my good friend Hans Summers G0UPL, which could TX WSPR. But
they were crystal controlled and crystals for the WSPR sub bands are
generally unavailable. WSPR beaconing is hugely popular. Within an hour of
hooking up a 100mW beacon which is very simple to make you get to see
"spots" all over the world if conditions are good. I still get a thrill
with this and I am sure a beginner would too.
The fact is that crystals for any ham band frequencies are getting hard to
find as are old friends like the 2N3819. Some of the WSPR guys were
spending $30 or more getting crystals custom made for the WSPR frequencies.
At the same time you can buy a nice microcontroller board from Ti
(Launchpad MSP430) for $4.30 delivered, and a DDS Module with from EBay for
about $8. Together they will give you a sinewave output on any frequency
from 1-30 MHz. A little bit of programming and a simple PA and LPF and you
are good to go. Code for WSPR is in the public domain. You want another
mode, write some code for it or find someone else's. Change frequency? No
problem, either alter the code recompile and reload or write a routine for
a keypad and/or rotary encoder.
Sorry to rant on but I feel quite strongly about this. We need the ARRL and
the RSGB to get their acts together to commission some books for beginners
that use contemporary rather than outdated technology and that look to the
future rather than the past.
73s Steve G0XAR
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]8130 2013-01-19 19:33:16 Ashhar Farhan Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
thanks for the suggestions. i have located a copy of the 1972 ed co-written
by Demaw, Jay Rusgrove and George Grammar. It was available on ebay for 15
dollars. Shipped it to a friend in USA.
i was looking for a book that took from basics of electronics to
homebrewing simple ham radio projects (rather than general electronics
projects). i am still looking for such a book with 'just enough theory'.
probably, someone has to write such a book.
a few have mentioned Solid State Design as a candidate. SSD is now dated -
its purpose was to help homebrewers migrate from valves to transistors.
technology, devices and our own understanding has changed. EMRFD has
everything that the SSD had with more and sometimes less. The EMRFD direct
conversion receiver using three transistors will out perform all the direct
conversion receivers described in the SSD. I still refer to SSD, but less
and less.
- farhan
8133 2013-01-20 08:21:46 Eric Sluder Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
73 - Eric
W9WLW
Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]8135 2013-01-20 08:21:46 Reginald Beardsle... Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
The physical skills to build things might prove more frustrating than you'd expect.
The mental aspect I don't think matters too much. I learned a lot of things reading books way over my level. I just had to read them quite a few times.
If you think procuring neodymium magnets is a problem, wait until he asks for a tube TV to strip ;-)
Have Fun!
Reg
---8136 2013-01-20 08:21:46 iam74@rocketmail.... Re: Understanding Amateur Radio 8137 2013-01-20 10:50:09 Ashhar Farhan Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
whatever I could lay my hands on. My first contact with electronics was an
article in a Reader's Digest Omnibus for kids that described a crystal set.
But I never got hold of a high impedance headset.
Then, I bought a book called Entertaining Electronics written by a Russian
Author Sedov. It was an amazingly well written, very fun book. I wish I
could get a copy of it somehow. And then I discovered ham radio at school
and kept borrowing handbooks. Yes, I do have a whole set of ARRL handbooks,
a rare 1929 RSGB Handbook, and many others too. But i miss the George
Grammer book on the shelf. That apart, I do keep a 'library' on the
computer too. ARRL pdfs, datasheets of interest, circuit and transceiver
manuals and a few downloads.
- farhan
8145 2013-01-21 06:36:54 Weddig, Henning-C... Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
the book
Do You mean "Practical transmitters for novices" ??? -- instead of
begineners---
I just purchased the two booky via ebay.co.uk...
73
Henning Weddig
DK5LV
Am 19.01.2013 16:00, schrieb Stephen Farthing:
> There are a few RSGB books I would recommend by the excellent John Case,
> GW4HWR. John, who I have never met, is a great educator, writes clearly,
> and actually seems to have an understanding of where someone starting out
> might be coming from. The books are :-
>
> Practical Receivers for Beginners ISBN 1 872309 35 6
>
> Practical Transmitters for Beginners ISBN 1 872309-21-6
>
> The nice thing about these books is that they start out from basic
> principles and have simple fun projects as well as more complicated ones
> and they also have some microwave projects as well as HF/VHF. And nothing
> is going to break the bank in them.
>
> I would also recommend the excellent :
>
> Practical Wire Antennas by John Hays G3BDQ ISBN 0 900612 87 8
>
> The trouble is these books were written some time ago and are out of print
> and some of the components in the first two are difficult to source now and
> technically they are obsolete.
>
> But it does beg the question "Where are the new books?". The choice a
> beginner, especially if they are computer literate, has today is
> incredible. Were I starting out today I would buy a USB DTV dongle for a
> receiver and make a simple TX, possibly a "oner". Or may be a "real" SDR
> kit such as a Peaberry or an Ensemble. This can be done for a fraction of
> the cost of a commercial transceiver (the one I have gather's dust, I
> generally only switch it on if I want to find out if one of my homebrew
> things is oscillating". But there is generally no guidance in this
> direction for someone starting up. The new generation of potential hams are
> very different than us old timers, they are mostly computer literate,
> probably have less disposable income, less leisure time, less space (e.g.
> no big junk pile in the garage for harvesting), less span of attention, and
> a very different science education that we had. They watch TV programs like
> "Mythbusters", read Make magazine and are into micro controllers, sensor
> networks and the Internet of things. I read yesterday that sales of the
> Rasberry Pi (the single board Linux computer targeted at hackers and
> education) had exceeded 1,000,000. I was pretty amazed at this. Even if we
> could get 10% of the buyers interested in Ham Radio it would be a real shot
> in the arm for the hobby.
>
> What we need is some modern guidance for them, not recycling yet another
> version of the NE602 DC RX (though they do work quite nicely).
>
> To give you an example. Until recently I kitted some simple QRSS Beacons,
> to a design by my good friend Hans Summers G0UPL, which could TX WSPR. But
> they were crystal controlled and crystals for the WSPR sub bands are
> generally unavailable. WSPR beaconing is hugely popular. Within an hour of
> hooking up a 100mW beacon which is very simple to make you get to see
> "spots" all over the world if conditions are good. I still get a thrill
> with this and I am sure a beginner would too.
>
> The fact is that crystals for any ham band frequencies are getting hard to
> find as are old friends like the 2N3819. Some of the WSPR guys were
> spending $30 or more getting crystals custom made for the WSPR frequencies.
> At the same time you can buy a nice microcontroller board from Ti
> (Launchpad MSP430) for $4.30 delivered, and a DDS Module with from EBay for
> about $8. Together they will give you a sinewave output on any frequency
> from 1-30 MHz. A little bit of programming and a simple PA and LPF and you
> are good to go. Code for WSPR is in the public domain. You want another
> mode, write some code for it or find someone else's. Change frequency? No
> problem, either alter the code recompile and reload or write a routine for
> a keypad and/or rotary encoder.
>
> Sorry to rant on but I feel quite strongly about this. We need the ARRL and
> the RSGB to get their acts together to commission some books for beginners
> that use contemporary rather than outdated technology and that look to the
> future rather than the past.
>
> 73s Steve G0XAR
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>8146 2013-01-21 21:42:57 blumu Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
> receiver and make a simple TX, possibly a "oner". Or may be a "real" SDR
> kit such as a Peaberry or an Ensemble.
> 73s Steve G0XAR-------------------------------------------------------------------
Any recommendations for a reliable, affordable USB dongle
- and for SDRs for Linux or Windows 2000/XP ? Too much turns
out to be only compatible with Windows 9 on a 8-core processor.
Okay, slight exageration, but the issue is real...
Michael8148 2013-01-22 06:44:26 Stephen Farthing Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
Sorry, I made a mistake, you are right. I hope you like the book.
If I could add another book to the list for those who really want to go
back to basics :-
An Ecological Approach to Crystal Sets by Carlo Bramanti
Published by Libri Sandit ISBN 978-88-97599-17-3
This has both Italian and English language versions in one book
73s Steve G0XAR
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]8149 2013-01-22 08:49:40 Stephen Farthing Re: Understanding Amateur Radio
There is a lot of activity now on using the cheap DVB/T USB dongles for ham
radio. One example is here :-
http://www.hamradioscience.com/using-the-rtl2832u-on-the-macintosh/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HamRadioScience+%28Ham+Radio+Science%29
A lot more information including a list of applications is here :-
http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr
If you want to try this out you can easily source the dongles on EBay or
Amazon.
A lot of SDR software will work with them, including the new kid on the
block HDSDR.
Personally I think a beginner can learn a good deal by starting out with of
these dongles. For a start you can "see" the signal being received. And
there are a number of projects which could be developed for a homebrew
point of view :-
Bandpass filters
Aerial Matching Unit
Aerials
Convertors for other bands.
Also, you can,
Observe the output of a homebrew TX in just about any mode you want.
Write your own software to use with the dongle
I am not trying to denigrate the "old school" beginners books or the way
that we learned. But modern technology has given us more and better tools
to learn with.
I'll finish with little story, I know a few real old timers (at 60 I am a
mere youngster) who often say "I am not interested in computers, just
radios. Yet they run transceivers with DSP, Digital Frequency Displays,
memories, microcontrollers controlling the DDS systems and so forth. Would
they swap them for an analog radio without these facilities. Not on your
life :-)
73s Steve G0XAR
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]8165 2013-01-26 08:26:16 iam74@rocketmail.... Re: Understanding Amateur Radio