All posts by KK6GXG

2 Months? Really?

Yes, indeed it has been a long time since my last post.

No excuses, I have been distract by all sorts of things, mostly work though. As of yet I have not taken any of my commercial radio tests.

ARRL-VEC VEJust about the only thing I have managed to keep up with in radio is my regular attendance at the VE sessions. I am now up to 12 for the year with another one coming up next Saturday. This is one of those commitments that just takes precedence for me. It’s less than 4 hours, usually 3, two times a month. I can find time for this.

Tomorrow marks a shift in workload and a re-commitment to getting my commercial tests done. It looks like I will take them one at a time so I can focus more clearly on the task at hand rather than trying to shotgun them all at once.

fcc-seal_rgb_emboss-largeIt has been about 2 months since I was ready to take the Element 1 test so I need a few days to get back up to snuff on the material but I believe I can get back to consistently passing practice tests before the end of the week. This means I should be ready for a Friday or Monday test (other commitments on Saturday and Sunday).

Once E1 is out of the way I will cram on E3 and try to knock that one out of the park by October 2nd giving me 2 weeks to get it together for that test. As for Element 8, I will make plans for that once I am done with E3 and have been assigned a call for my GROL. It will just need to be an add-on.

Post 201

Profile PicYesterday was an odd day. I suppose it was odd for many Americans for a variety of reasons. The most obvious of course being the 14th anniversary of 9-11, so I didn’t notice that my post yesterday was my 200th post.

For me September 11th has a strangely linked secondary meaning, it was also the day I started my formal flight-school training in 2003, though technically my first flight was April 22nd, 2003. I only had three flight lessons before deciding to go the professional academy route and the next available start date began five months later on September 11.

I always seem to think about aviation stuff on 9-11. Most of the time it is a sub-conscious shift in thought. I don’t even realize I have been thinking aviation until after my thought have shifted. Yesterday’s post obviously was aviation in theme and I have been mulling around a lot of stuff the last 12 hours or so.

When I notice the post being #200 this morning, it got me thinking of the many firsts I have encountered in the last decade or so; first pilot’s license, first college class taken, first instructors license, first aviation class taught, first mechanic’s license, first college class taught, first college degree, first amateur radio license, and my first VE session.

I’m sure there have been many other firsts along the way, certainly many smaller firsts came about as a result of these, but these in particular are mile-stone moments to me. They are all significant events marking recognized achievements in areas I am passionate about. Aviation, and radio, are things that are deeply embedded in my being. They have been a part of me in some form for much longer than a decade.

My contemplations of yesterday and today have been not only a pondering of opportunities and ideas. They have been a review of accomplishments, a review of the goals I have set for myself, how they intertwine, and how at several points I allowed myself to be distracted from the task at hand. Looking back from today’s vantage point, many of those delays were actually necessary. Ether to gain non-related skills, take the time for technology to change, or just let some things ruminate.

FrieslandIn many ways it is analogous to the farmer. Working the soil, providing nutrients, and sewing seeds. As the farmer must wait for the seeds to germinate and grow, I have been doing other “chores” waiting for that germination and growth. Stuff around the farm that may not directly relate to that crop, but still important for the overall operation of the farm. Now it’s time to do the finishing. Harvest comes soon, some will be reaped and some let go to seed.

What I really want to be doing as shifted, reformed, and modified, but those basic goals are still the same. The same as they have been for over a decade. Now I am in a much better position to see them through. Now it’s time to refocus on the finishing before harvest and make things happen.

I like it when an analogy comes together.

Until next time,
~FlyBoyJon

Like a phoenix…

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Vintage Areo Works

The old brain spins round and round, sometimes at speeds that make me dizzy as I frantically try to get down “on paper” what is rolling about in the brain pan.

As always, whenever I think about where life is taking me, my thoughts eventually wander to aviation, more specifically, spinning wrenches, experimental aircraft, and being the test pilot for first flights.

Whenever I start down a creative road I like to think about how I can get the most of my eclectic skill pool; how to incorporate as many of my interests as possible in the project. This one, at least as it is rolling around in my head now, has the potential to draw on a lot of my skills, and set me up for some new ones too!

I’m not really sure where the current thought process is going to take me but I was really inspired by the short video below. No, I’m not looking to build a swarm rotorcraft, but it really got the neurons in a frenzy and I want to run with it, see how far the rabbit hole goes as it were. In the meantime, have a gander at a really neat experimental rotorcraft.

BTW: A drone is an unmanned vehicle, this is obviously not a drone. Just saying.

~FlyBoyJon

Remnants Of Past Lives

It is with a some trepidation, but great conviction I am offering up some of my toys for adoption to good homes where they will enjoy new lives. Unless specifically noted I am open to reasonable offers. Click on the pics for larger photos.

If you are interested in any of these items please email me jon at flyboyjon dot com or if you already have my phone number send me a text or call.

I have …

  • 5 edge weapons (3 swords, 1 knife, and 1 brush blade)
  • 3 BB-guns (plastic-pellet type)
  • 2 ballistic nylon holsters
  • Super8 movie projector and 8mm film viewer/editing station (no sound on the editor).

Edge Weapons

#1 is the Scimitar – 48″ overall length with the blade coming in at 35″. This is a big honken, sharp, mean looking blade. I love this sword. The scabbard is a modern style that I had planned on replacing with something more period correct but never got around to it. It’s pretty spiff in the pics, but it is way cooler in person, just saying…
I’d like $40 for this blade OBO

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#2 is the Celtic. At 32″ overall and a blade 24″ long this is a stocky sword. Also a sharp blade, the blade could pass for Roman or Celtic but the hilt, grip, and pommel are definitely Celtic in appearance.
I’d like $30 for this blade OBO

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#3 this is the “Chinese Brush” sword… ya, I didn’t come up with that designation. This is a kind of axe/cleaver/machete hybrid with a stout 15″ stainless steel blade and a 550 cord (it’s not true 550) wrapped handgrip bringing the total length to 26″. A little big for a Go Bag, but if the zombie apocalypse happens, this is the blade you want in your hand. The sheath sucks, I’ll say that right now, I would never consider using the criss-cross back straps, but the blade rocks.
I am firm on $50 for this blade.

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#4 is a costume grade Bowie knife at 16″ with an 11″ blade. It is solid enough but rough all around. With some TLC it could actually be a good knife.
$$ Best Offer $$

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#5 is a costume grade basket rapier, a few rust spots here and there. Will clean up well for costume use. 42″ overall length with a 35″ blade. Twisted-wire wound grip. No scabbard.
$$ Best Offer $$

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BB-Guns

First up are the pair of black pistols that look like 9mm autos. They have an orange barrel tip but are otherwise all black. I purchased them for costuming, and they do actually work as plastic-pellet guns. They are in great condition and include a pack of pellets each.
I would like $20 for the pair OBO

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The second BB-gun is a clear (with orange barrel tip) plastic-pellet target shooter. Also purchased for costuming. Works well and includes a pack of pellets and target.
I would like $10 OBO

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Holsters

The holsters are ballistic nylon thigh holsters with all of the straps for attaching to the belt and leg. They can also be used on the hip directly attached to the belt, or used with an ALICE or MOLLE rig. They were used with the BB-guns for costuming, but are perfectly suited for average size 9mm autos and similar handguns. One is black and the other is tan.
I am looking to get $10 each OBO

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8mm Film Equipment

My interests in filmmaking are generally geared to digital and non-linear editing, however, when the opportunity presented itself in the form of this Super 8 projector and the viewer/editor I jumped.

I started by checking out both units top to bottom and ordering spare replacement lamps for both (1 spare for the viewer and 4 for the projector) and conducting operations checks with the new lamps. Everything works on these units. The catch for me is, I don’t have any 8mm film stock, developed reels, or a camera.

I aint makin’ anything on this deal, I just want them to go to a good home with someone who will use them.
I am looking for $50 for the entire setup OBO

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Commercial Radio Exams

fcc-seal_rgb_emboss-largeIn the continuing saga of studying for my commercial radio license exams I spent much of the long weekend reviewing, quizzing, and taking practice tests.

I am quite confident that I can take the Element 1 (E1) exam at any time. Passing the E1 exam by itself qualifies you for the MROP or Marine Radio Operator Permit (MP).

With all of the practice tests I am averaging in the high 90s for at least the last 10 consecutive tests. E1 is a short test of only 24 questions from a pool of 144 covering rules and regulations, communications procedures, equipment operations, and marine radio frequencies.

While the name of the license and topics favor maritime activities it is also an aviation radio license. For pilots who regularly fly oceanic routs, or off shore and coastal operations, knowing marine communications and being licensed to operate on those frequencies is important.

Along with E1, E3 is also required for the GROL or General Radiotelephone Operators License (PG). I am studying E3 now, 100 questions from a pool of 600. This is the license the FCC requires for anyone working on marine or aviation radios. The FAA and Coast Guard have additional requirements for their respective services, but this is the starting point. There are also separate requirements for the radiotelegraph (T1) license (E6 100/600), the GMDSS Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (DO, RG, DM) licenses, and the RADAR endorsement (E8 50/300).

717549main_ED11-0184-16-cropped2Once I have completed my GROL license I plan on adding the RADAR endorsement by taking the E8 exam which is specifically for RADAR operations and maintenance. Radar is used in many application on aircraft such as collision avoidance, weather avoidance, and ground proximity systems so this is a useful endorsement for an A&P mechanic with an interest in working on aviation radio systems and avionics.

As a ham I am also interested in working for my Radiotelegraph Operators license. I signed up for a class on CW (Continuous Wave or Morse Code) for January/February 2016. If I do reasonably well with learning the code I will need to get my copy speed up to 16 code groups and 20 words per minute to pass the two FCC Telegraphy Code tests and study for the E6 written, another 100 question exam from a pool of 612 questions. No real need for getting this license, but it would be a nice feather in my cap.

The remaining commercial licenses center on the GMDSS requirements for operators and maintainers in the maritime services. Since I don’t see myself being shipboard any time soon I’m not too concerned with this license.

It’s been a while since the FCC dropped the requirements for land base and mobile stations or service technicians in those services to be licensed. With the prodigious growth of wireless technologies it would be nearly impossible for them to manage all of the licensing needs of industry. There would have to be an system not unlike a national Department of Motor Vehicles but for wireless devices, operators and techs. A massive system in place to manage the licensing and testing of everyone who works on or with wireless equipment.

Just sitting here at my desk typing this post I  have 7 wireless devices within 10 feet of me, my laptop, my wife’s lap top with a dongle for another device, my phone, a printer, a tablet, and a router connecting them all. Our society is crammed full of wireless devices all around us. Just think about all of the devices you run across in a day that use wireless technologies. Even the gas pumps use wireless technology to connect to the controller in the stations office, just look for the little antenna on top of the pump pedestal.

Our world is a wireless world. Just some food for thought. For me, it’s back to study time.

73,
~Jon KK6GXG

Not As Planned

Well, it’s the 30th of June and there are a few things that didn’t go as planned.

First and foremost, the Beach 40 is still not ready for prime time. The AF amp is still lagging on power-down and I still haven’t checked the PA. Needless to say, the 40 did not make it on Field Day.

Which leads me to the second no-go for the month, Field Day. Not only didn’t the radio make it on-air for FD, nether did I, on any band or mode.

The day job has been keeping me hopping this month and all my free time has been going to studying for my commercial radio license.  I have been running through Elements 1, 3, & 8 heavily for the last couple weeks. The header for this post is my desk piled up with 30 practice tests, 10 for each element.

My general rule for taking FAA/FCC exams is that when I can take 10 practice tests in a row at 85% or better I’m ready to go for the rel thing. As for Element 1, I am up to 10 in a row at 98% average across the last 10.

Now I am working Element 3 at full speed ahead. The plan is to take the Elements 1 & 3 exams some time over the next 2 weeks. While I’m not pushing it, I want to wrap Element 8 by the end of the month.  3 is the “big one” out of the three with 100 questions from a pool of 600 so it will take the most time to study for.

That’s all for now. Time to get back to the studying.

73,
~Jon KK6GXG

Slacker Week

Oh, I’m a baaaad boy…

I have been busy, but not so busy that I couldn’t get a small post up, what a slacker. I just wasn’t up to it, so this week is catch-up week.

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The clear bins on the left replaced one of the black drawer units and brought a bunch of stuff up from under the bench

One thing that got done was making some component storage changes on the benchtop. There was a bunch of stuff under the work surface that if I wanted a component I had to pull out and unstack containers to get to parts. Now most of the components and parts are on the benchtop. Staying organized is hard work. 😉

The Beach 40 is getting closer to completion. I have all of the sections done(ish), I need to go back and swap out a pair of capacitors in the Audio Amp and test the RF Amp section. The biggest thing I am behind on is posting updates to the project page which I will be doing this week.

I have a bunch of day-job stuff that I need to get done this week as well so it will be a bit of a crunch on time so I don’t see much solder melting in this weeks schedule but I do believe I’ll be up and running for Field Day, *knock on wood*.

On Saturday the De Anza Electronics Flea yielded some sweet fruit. A very nice edition of Andrew P. Peabody’s 1873 A Manual  of Moral Philosophy in great condition. Another awesome find was a Millersfalls No. 2 egg beater style hand drill, also in really good condition. The crank handle needs a little straightening but the drill is in great condition for daily use. Last but certainly not least was a bag-o-relays. Which is what I was specifically looking for at the flea. Thirty eight relays, all good for radio work, and only $20.

A really good flea market day, something for the mind, something for the hands, and something for making radio waves. What more could I ask for.

Sunday was the Bay Area Radio Builders Club meeting in Cupertino. A small gathering but plenty of radio building chin-wagging along with some show-and-tell. Topics ranged from my DSB transceiver to a Raspberry Pi controlled HT set up as an Echolink station with many more abilities under the hood, and the clubs TAK-40 radio build progress. (TAK-40 link to QST magazine article PDF)

That’s all for now, the day job beckons.

Until next time, 73,
~Jon KK6GXG

Taking the car to a shop

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Not my car, just a shot of the shop from the waiting room

As a mechanic myself, taking the car in to a shop for simple mechanical work is more than a little frustrating, it’s down right painful.

In our current location we don’t have the space for me to do any wrench-monkey work. Besides the lack of space there is also the issue of the complex rules not allowing any vehicle mechanical work on site. We tweak rules here and there for our own benefit on occasion but nothing more than we do for other residents who have been there for 20+ years.

The shop space I do have is minimal and of course it isn’t a garage or anything similar I could get a vehicle near let alone inside so anything that would require an overnight period of disassembled exposure is out of the question.

I have so many negative feelings about taking the car in for anything, but for something simple like an oil change or breaks, wow, guilt, inadequacy, sloth, the list goes on and on. Intellectually I know I could do the work without any problems. I have confidence in my skills and abilities. I enjoy doing the work.

It’s not just the space issue. If I am out doing an oil change and a tennent sees me doing it they assume it is okay for them to as well, regardless of their skills or lack of attention to environmentally safe practices. This is one of the reasons we had to lock out all of the hosebibs to prevent car washing. Soapy water down storm drains makes the city cranky especially when it is swirled with petroleum waste, and they don’t stop to check and see if it is a 100% biodegradable product.

For a little context, I’m writing this post while I sit watching my car’s oil being changed, by some one else. Also while sitting here a thought is forming in my head, a different kind of maker space, a club/community auto shop space. Dues paying members can schedule a space for a day to do basic less-than-a-day mechanical work and members with longer term projects can rent a bay by the week or month. Members bring there own hand tools but power, air compressor, and hydraulic lifts are provided by the space. The space could evolve over time to include other shop tools both large and small.

A club would be a good way to do it. Meetings with presentations on new equipment, or educational presentations on various mechanical skills. “Learn auto upholstery this Friday” anything that the group would be interested in. Body work, rebuilding a transmission… It wouldn’t be that hard to come up with new stuff to cover.

Doing something like this in the S.F. Bay Area would be a pain to organize with all of the compliance issues and costs, not to mention the insurance requirements and zoning issues. But the concept, I think it has a lot of potential. A Motor Transport club, cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, airplanes, if it can fit in the space of a single bay, it could be worked on or built in this kind of environment.

I shall ruminate on this for a bit…

~FlyBoyJon

Solder-less Progress

Some good stuff got done this week even though I didn’t melt much solder.

I had an amateur radio testing session on Saturday. It was a busy day with lots of new hams passing there Technician, some going on to pass the General exam, and even an Extra! We also had several upgrades to General and Extra.

For me the session was also a good learning experience as a VE because I had the opportunity to get some training in another job with the group.

We basically have three jobs split among the VEs present at any given session; two administrative jobs, and a panel of test examiners.  I have been participating as an examiner for the last several months. Today I received some training for the administrative side of things.

I have been putting off the testing on the Beach 40 until I get the last few details finished on the audio and RF amps as well as the LP filter. This week I am playing beginning of the month catch-up with the day job so time is short.

Also tied to everything else is the change over from Windows to Linux. I have deleted the Win partition on the laptop and am now running full on Linux. I am loosing two programs I liked but just couldn’t get them to work with Linux native or emulated and I don’t want to run virtual machines. I still have all of the data, and I do have a Windows 7 laptop in the shop I basically only use for the web browser.

The programs I am loosing are Quicken and Business Plan Pro. BPP will just go away. I exported all of the business plans I have put together over the last decade to .doc files which I can access through OpenOffice. I can use the previous plans to build new ones as needed in document formats.

Quicken is the one giving me headaches. Supposedly you can export the data to a file for import to Skrooge. No joy. After several exports and several hours I made the contagious/stupid decision to just go back and reenter all the data for this year.  It sounds a lot worse than it is. I will just do one month at a time and by the end of this month I should be all caught up. Not to mention very familiar with the new software.

I have found replacements or versions that will run on Linux or in emulation for all of my radio software an in fact found some new stuff that looks mighty interesting. Big plus here.

Along with the radio specific software, I found gEDA Schematic Editor. WOOT! It took a little getting used to the interface and component placement, but I like the results a lot. I have been redrawing the schematics I originally did on schematics.com for the Beach 40 and think they look much better. I will be posting them soon to the build page. A good thing too because there are some errors on those schematics. Ooops!

One last update before I go, I was working on test prep for my commercial radio license a while ago but got sidetracked by all of the build projects and the day job. One of my goals for second/third quarter is to take my commercial radio exams, at least two of the three anyway, and get my commercial license. So I will be committing some of my limited time to that endevor over the next few weeks. The build will continue, I still hope to have the Beach 40 up by Field Day, but I need to budget more time to the Day Job/Future Day Job.

Anyway, I have 0.5TB of files syncing with Google Drive and a pile of accounting stuff that needs to find a new home in Skrooge so that’s it for today.

Until next time, 73,
~Jon KK6GXG

Back to the radio

KK6GXG-MakingWavesTo keep domestic peace I have not been building on the Beach 40 non-stop as I might otherwise do and there is a side benefit… By taking some time away from the build I can clear out the cobwebs and refocus on the greater project to check my thinking and my work.

I still need to do testing on a few of the sections. However I have all but two sections assembled with only minor followups. I need to figure out the value of the common emitter voltage limiting resistor on the Audio Amp and I need to wined and connect the two bifilar toroids in the RF Amp.

T_R Switch
Not a literal schematic, just a rough idea

The last two sections to build are the Low Pass Filter and the T/R Switching sections. The bit that I have been burning cycles on is the T/R Switch. I want to do something that consumes the least power overall at-rest, something basic and bulletproof.

My current thinking on the T/R Switching is a pair of relays, one NO and one NC. RX on the NC and TX on the NO. This way everything is normally in the at-rest state and I only need to run one power lead from the TX momentary switch to both power leads on the relays. Since I don’t have the relays in stock I will need to go get a pair. Sounds like a trip to HSC. 🙂

Once I have the relays I will draw up a new schematic for this section and get it posted on the project page.

While not working on the Beach 40, I did do some radio stuff. I picked up some parts for stock from Jameco one day, a bag of varactor diodes, then two days later went back to pick up voltage regulators, a bag each of 5, 9, and 12 volts.

The XYL went with me to a local Radio Shack that is closing down. We picked up a bunch of zener diodes, a pair of bridge rectifiers, and some mechanical connections at 80% off. There wasn’t much left to pick through. I also found a pair of NO SPST relays which got me thinking more about the previously mentioned T/R switching circuit.

I also ordered a few bags of various op amp transistors that are frequently used in radio circuits. Purely a stock order, and I’m pleased to say the parts bins are slowly filling up and I am getting to the point I think I could actually build my next radio without going out and buying any parts. This is a good thing and I’m fairly certain my wife will agree.
Sneak Peak: I’m thinking about a Beach 20…

Also radio, not Beach 40, the beginnings of research on VFOs. I have been looking at a lot of material on VFOs without finding what I am looking for. I want something small physically, low power consumption, as close to all discrete components as possible, all readily available parts, stable, and a wide tuning range. A tall order I think.

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First pencil sketch, next into the lab book and beyond

A first design only slightly out of specifications is this one I worked up from a test circuit diagram from N6QWs VVC page and the NE/SA602 spec sheet. It will be my VXO-X01 build. 😉

An Experiments page has been set up to keep a log of these kinds of long-term projects. I haven’t created the page for the VFO research yet but that will be up shortly after I update the Beach 40 build page.

One other non-radio, well mostly, is the slow planned migration to Linux. I have been wanting to this for a long time but the last time I tried it wasn’t so well planned. This time I am running both Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows (8.0) side-by-side rather than one virtual. It will be a long protracted process this time but it should result in a much better transition.

That’s it for now. Trying to keep the smoke inside the parts where it belongs until next time,

73,
~Jon KK6GXG