Jim was a prolific software developer for radio amateurs. He was the source of the Elsie program used by so many of us.
I had a very useful e-mail exchange with Jim in 2022 about envelope detectors. Much of the exchange was about a 2012 article that Jim wrote on this subject. I was looking for it just today. Unfortunately Jim's software business (and his websites) are all apparently tied up with the executor. I can't access them.
Does anyone out there have a downloaded copy of Jim's 2012 article on Envelope Demodulators that they could send to me?
It is a tribute to the contributions made by a radio amateur that even after his passing people are scrambling to find his articles and his software. Condolences to Jim's family.
Thanks to Walter KA4KXX for alerting us to this gem of a book. L.B. Cebik is best known as an antenna guru. I did not know that he also did a book on the homebrewing of rigs.
I was a bit apprehensive when I saw "designing" in the title. We have talked about how, all too often, modern hams seem to challenge the homebrew nature of our rigs by asking if we had "designed" it ourself. "Well," I answer, "I did not invent the Colpitts oscillator, nor the common emitter amplifier, nor the superheterodyne receiver... But I did build this rig myself." I worried that OM Cebik might have been plunging us into this design debate way back in 1979.
But no need for worry. His definition of "design" is quite expansive:
I have not read the whole thing yet. I hope that others will go through it and highlight for the group the parts that they find to be the best. Please put your thoughts in the comments section below.
I was really pleased to confirm that Dale Parfitt, W4OP, was inducted into the QRP Hall of Fame in 2025. It would have been a travesty to leave him out.
I met Dale on the internet years ago. After homebrewing one myself, I had found on the internet a version of Doug DeMaw's Barebones Superhet receiver using a FAR printed circuit board. Years later, I was having a bit of trouble with it. I think was probably trying to change the band from 20 meter to 17 meters or something like that. There was this guy named Dale who was helping me a lot. After a while, he said something like, "Hey, wait a minute. That receiver board you have sounds very familiar. Wait! That's the receiver that I built!" It was. I was working on a receiver that Dale himself had built.
It turns out that I have told this story many times on the SolderSmoke blog. (That's what happens when a story is good, and when the blog is OLD!) Many other W4OP adventures appear on the blog (including a water-cooled EME anteanna, and reception of Mike Rainey AA1TJ's Vanguard replica transmitter). Check out the W4OP posts on the SolderSmoke blog here:
I used to say that at a hamfest, you should get three things: 1) some parts 2) a tool, and 3) a book. I thought I had maxed out on books. Until Bob KD4EBM sent me this one. I made room for it.
Just consider some of the chapter headings and sub-headings:
-- The Philosphy of Troubleshooting.
-- Quashing Spurious Oscillations
-- Oscillations Crop up
-- Roundup of "Floobydust:" Loose ends that don't fit elsewhere
-- Real circuits and real problems
-- Experts have no monopoly on good advice
-- Learn to recognize clues
-- When computers replace troubleshooters, Look Out
-- Understanding diodes and their problems
-- Identifying and avoiding transistor problems
Sadly Bob died in 2011. But his good advice and wisdom lives on:
About 17 years ago, when I set up the SolderSmoke blog, I wanted three columns. Google Blogger/Blogspot didn't seem to have one, so I expanded my search. I ended up using an external (to blogspot) template. All was well until recently the SolderSmoke blog started to look kind of strange.
I consulted with Peter VK3TPM. He looked at the code and concluded that it was probably a problem with the external template. He suggested just changing the template to one that is provided by Google Blogspot. I didn't want to get into a lot of digital troubleshooting and fruitless calls to help lines, so that is what I did.
The new template seems to work well. There are (kind of) three columns. I kept most of the widgets from the old blog. I cleaned it up a bit. I think it looks pretty good.
Both these words came up during a very nice conversation that I had this morning with Luis EA5BRE on 20 meter SSB. I told Luis that I had first heard "cacharreo" from Cuban hams who had apparently done a lot of it. I recently heard "artilugio" being used in a podcast from Spain; they were using it to mean a "gizmo" or a "contraption." All of us do a lot of "cacharreo" and we build a lot of "artilugios." And we have all done some weeping as a result of our artilugios (see below).
Google AI says:
The Spanish word cacharreorefers to the act of tinkering or fiddling with something, often in an attempt to fix, modify, or improve it. It is an informal, colloquial term derived from the verb cacharrear.This activity is typically done in an amateur way, not by a professional.
Common uses of cacharreo:
Hobbies and DIY: It is used to describe hands-on hobbies like tinkering with electronics, computers, cars, or audio equipment. For example, a video about "hifi systems" was described as a "Ruta del Cacharreo".
Minor repairs: It can refer to attempting to fix a broken household item. For instance, "Estuve cacharreando con la TV, pero sin éxito" translates to "I've been fiddling with the TV trying to fix it, but to no avail".
General fiddling: It can also be used in a more general sense to mean "messing with" or handling something without a clear purpose. For example, "¡Deja de cacharrear con el refrigerador!" means "Stop messing with the fridge!".
The roots of cacharreo
The word is related to cacharro, which can refer to a variety of items, including:
A piece of junk or old, useless object
A broken-down car
A cheap gadget
A cooking pot or dish
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Artilugio is a Spanish noun referring to a device, gadget, or contraption. The word is often used informally or with a slightly pejorative or humorous connotation, suggesting that the object is unnecessarily complex, strange, or difficult to use.
The term can also refer to a trick or ruse used to achieve a goal.
Common translations include:
Gadget: A small tool or device with a specific function.
Contraption: A machine or device that looks strange or complicated.
Gizmo: An informal word for a gadget or device.
Gimmick: A trick or special feature used to attract attention.
Contrivance: A mechanical device, or a clever plan or scheme.
Etymology The word artilugio is thought to have an ironic origin, combining the Latin words ars ("skill" or "art") and lugere ("to mourn" or "weep"). The combination humorously implies a device that, despite being "artful," is so complex that it might make one "weep" out of frustration.
Thanks to the ARRL for the award. It is much appreciated. Thanks too to all the people who built this receiver. There are more than 100 of them and they come from all around the world. We hope that they will go on to become homebrew Elmers, and help others to discover "the magic that emerges in a room full of solder smoke, and that only comes from a receiver that you have built yourself."
And special thanks to Bruce KC1FSZ for nominating us for this award.
This is kind of a re-run. I came across it today on YouTube and thought it was pretty good. So here it is again.
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Dean KK4DAS asked me to speak to our local radio club, the Vienna Wireless Society. It was a lot of fun. I talked about my evolution as a homebrewer, some of the rigs I made, the moments of joy, and the tales of woe. You can watch the presentation in the video above. I was really glad to be able to explain in the presentation the importance of people like Pete, Dex, Farhan, Wes, Shep and even Dilbert. I was also pleased to get into the presentation the N2CQR sign that Peter VK2EMU made for me. Thanks Peter! Here is the URL to the YouTube video (also above): https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3414&v=VHSr-v4QO7Q&feature=emb_logo And here are the PowerPoint slides I used: https://viennawireless.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/VWS-presentation-Rig-here-is-homebrew.pdf
Congratulations to Karl EI9ITB for the successful completion of his SolderSmoke direct conversion receiver. Above you can see Karl's receiver inhaling SSB on 40 meters. We also got a nice CW video.
Karl worked hard on this, taking seriously our admonition that builders should try to understand each of the four stages. Karl went the extra mile with the audio amplifier, building a virtual copy in a simulator. Karl is following the long Irish tradition of being "radio experimenters." FB Karl.
Karl is our first ever builder in Ireland. This receiver was built in Ireland. Karl is American by birth with the call sign of KB8SWH.
One of the first articles that I put on this blog was an NA5N post about the SA-612 -- this was originally posted on December 2, 2006: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2009/06/na5n-on-ne602.html Today our friend Paul VK3HN today noted the end of production. The SA-612 is no longer being produced, but it is not forgotten, and there are a lot of them still around. Thanks Paul.
One thing I would add: It took me a while to get my head around the Gilbert Cell mixer that is the heart of the SA-612. Here is how I came to understand it:
The end of a four decade life, the NXP SA612 (in SOIC8) ceased production and the final delivery date for orders placed by the last-time-buy deadline was August 18, 2023.
The SA612 truly is a remarkable chip. It's as if The Radio Gods got together back in the early 80s and said, 'what integrated circuit can we bring into the radio world that will supercharge homebrew radio and help enthusiasts to build their own rigs?'. And after the wise council settled on a combined oscillator-mixer in a single DIP-8 package, the rest is history . The 602/612 launched dozens of DIY radios and even businesses, and the careers of the QRP pioneers, from Doug DeMaw to Wayne Burdick to Dave Benson. I'll bet even Wes Hayward built a few.
SA612 discussions on Groups.io lists such as Qrp-Tech ran for decades and continue to attract attention and raise new insights today.
Even Elecraft with all of their digital radio know-how and resources launched the KH1 hand-held CW rig into production with SA612s in its receiver as late as 2023.
It really is an almost ideal part for simple homebrew receivers and transmitters. A 200MHz mixer with balanced inputs and outputs, an on-chip stable LO that can be used in three ways - a crystal BFO, an LC (or varactor) VFO, or a buffer for an external oscillator or clock such as the si5351 digital PLL/multisynth. Up to 15dB conversion gain which mostly eliminates the need for IF gain. Able to be gain-controlled with a DC AGC applied to its input. And did I mention low current?
Its only weakness is in its mixer dynamic range and strong signal performance but if you put a basic BPF in front, for simple homebrew rigs at home or portable/field rigs, this hasn't really been a problem.
Of course there are other mixers that outperform the 612 but some consume much more current, and none have the built-in oscillator.
Vale the SA612. You served, and continue to support the homebrew community like no other chip. You will not be forgotten.
Fortuitously, eBay is full of $5 a piece NOS parts on tape, which pretty much guarantees they are not fake. And at this price, for all you get, they're still great value!
So not everything that comes from AI is bad. This AI generated picture is pretty good. That actually looks a bit like my rig. And as someone who has spent four years in the UK, I can really appreciate the "Keep Calm and Solder On" sign. Indeed. Words to live by my friends!
48,060 visits to the SolderSmoke Blog site on September 21, 2025????
I took a look at where the traffic to the SolderSmoke blog has been coming from during the last 3 months: U.S. visits are down to 68%. Together, Singapore, Hong Kong and Mexico account for 17%. Any of these three locations far outweigh the UK and Germany. Obviously this traffic comes not from humans but from AI robots.
Even Wikipedia sees the problem:
The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that hosts Wikipedia says that it’s seeing a significant decline in human traffic to the online encyclopedia because more people are getting the information that’s on Wikipedia via generative AI chatbots that were trained on its articles and search engines that summarize them without actually clicking through to the site.
