I need to upgrade my old  hand tools. Which are the best quality, non-Chinese hand tools around ?

It is well known, that mush and tuning noise is present when tuning an SI570,especially at slow tuning rate. 
Looking for a 16F88 software to control an SI570, with minimum tuning artifacts.An alternative to AA0ZZ PEgen570 software. Any suggestions please !

This is the free downloadable  Kenwood RTX manual, which describes servicing procedure for various old rigs:

http://www.jvgavila.com/man_ham/rtx/...nual_index.htm

Enjoy
Paul
9H1FQ

From time to time, I remind Kenwood rig  owners about the free Kenwood RTX service manual for various old rigs. It can be downloaded here:

http://www.jvgavila.com/man_ham/rtx/rtx_manual_index.htm

Enjoy

Paul
9H1FQ

Hi Guys,
I am looking for a good working circuit or kit  Resonance Meter to measure an LC frequency
Also, a crystal checker with a range of some 100khz  up to 30Mhz and possibly beyond.

Paul

Hi all. I am new to this group. I am a ham interested in homebrew.

I have seen hundreds of usb microscopes with various specs. But, I hardly see any specs regarding the working distance, which  is a property, much important in pcb /smd soldering.

Which is the ideal microscope for pcb SOLDERING, not just inspection !

Apart from the expensive dinolite, I came across the AVEN 26700-206, which claims to have  a working distance of  112cm !
Has anyone used this model please, or are there any other models, which are not so expensive ??

Also, there are many pcb holders on the market. The panavice, ideal-tek, the Weller, to name a few.
I intend to build my own, but first I need to know the ideal, so I can design accordingly !
Lets hear some expierences.

Paul

Hi all
Thanks once again for your response.

Since we are on the subject, how about some ideas about a pcb board holder, or vice, to make it easier to solder !

Hi all,

Thanks a lot for the most interesting ideas and suggestions. Never expected such a response.

I did solder many smd components by hand, lens headband, solder paste, liquid flux etc etc, but now  my patience is limited, and I need to do small quantities, I can do with a little help from  a handy aid.

Thanks again all

Paul
9H1FQ

I am looking for a home made or commercial smd jig to hold an smd component in place for soldering .
Any ideas please

I hate using a pc for ham gear, so I decided to convert my Softrock Ensemble RXTX kit to be used in analogue mode, with an external PIC controlled SI570, and the R2pro analogue all pass audio phase shift network for RX and TX processing. PTT is no problem, but re inserting the carrier for cw is an issue.

So, how can I unbalance the FST3253 tx switch modulator to pass the carrier for cw mode ? Should I inject a 5 volts, where ?

Paul

I have a Lexma X255 headset, works excellent on a PC. I want to fit it onmy transciever, but I am puzzled with the mic connection. It has the usual 3.5mm jack, with a tip, ring & sleeve. The connection to the PC soundcard input is indicating that both the 4.5 volts supply and the audio output are coming from the tip. When tried to feed it this way, with a 10uf dc blocking capacitor, it did not work. Anyone can help please. Thanks

Anyone has details please, of a 1:6 or/and 1:9 and other less popular ratios of balun xformer, using a binocular cube core, like the BN61.

Forget the theory for a while! Let’s be practical!

We often hear a pileup trying to work an elusive dx station. You can hear scores of   very  distorted  low frequency  voices, with  lack of tops !
Out of the blues, comes a rich, well equalized voice, with no compression, no punch,  just a clear , understandably almost hi-fi, nearly pro vocal !
And he get an answer from the dx station, even thou, the others were probably an S9 or so !!!!
Why do you think some hams prefer a mic from another? The difference is in the response. So to hell with the theory of 3Khz bandwidth!

Try fitting a professional 30Hz to 20Khz condenser microphone, instead of the so called ssb mics, and you will hear the difference!  3Khz or not, the difference will be there, and very very noticeable,  because we are talking in practice not theory !!!  If your aim at a final result of   3Khz, then you should  start your design for 6Khz  or more.  to compensate !! If you design for 3Khz, with all the filters, circuit losses etc, you finish up with 2 or even less Khz !!!

The  TS850  has a variable IF bandwidth from 12Khz down to 100hz (with optional filter). Today's ham bands are not so crowded, as used to be (except in an annoying contest) so opening the bandwidth is not going to harm anyone. Sometimes, closing the bandwidth causes a peak in the noise! ot to mention the noise caused by the insertion of the carrier to read ssb !

I intend to set up my TS850 with a Neuman, Sennheiser or AKG professional condenser mic, feeding a THAT1570 mic amp chip, with almost unmeasurable  distortion and noise. The main problem is how to bypass or eliminate the existing mic amp of the TS850

Ex European Sound Engineer !!!

I know about the yahoo group. Not much activity thou.
Still, I did work as a sound engineer, some years ago.
Many, if not all ham radio manufacturers, authors, and homebrewers, neglect the audio chain, as if anything goes here !
Homebrewers and authors keep on using noisy, distorted chips like the Lm380/386, despite some mods. Try shutting off any  rf/if  gain in modern transcievers, and open the af volume up !
Most mics advertised for SSB, have  restricted bandwidth, but the eq should be made in a proper equalizer, not in the mic ! We should aim at lowest noise, distortion etc at audio or rf level.

I need to fit an external microphone amplifier and compressor to my TS850. Where shall I connect it at the rear ? Do I need to set the software ?

Also, I do not have the DSP100, but I have heard, that I can still improve the audio quality of my transmission by adjusting the  8mhz tx filter to 6 khz. Can I do this, without upsetting the other settings ?