Chitika: frequency counter

Showing posts with label frequency counter. Show all posts

These little frequency counters from China have a lot of potential. And they add a dash of digital color to an otherwise bland analog hamshack. I got mine on e-bay.

My BITX17 has now been "accessorized" with
1) A rotatable Moxon antenna (big improvment!)
2) A 120 watt Communications Concepts Linear amplifier (another big improvement) and
3) This digital frequency readout.

What next?

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

SolderSmoke Podcast #171 is available:

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke171.mp3

Bench Report:
Pete's Small Screens (in Color!)
Si5351s
Bill's Graph Paper Frequency Readout
Bill's Broadened Barebones Barbados RX. DIGITIZED!
Another AD9850 DDS using M0XPD Kanga UK Shield
New 13 dollar Color Display (Prettier than Graph paper!)

Pete and Ben's Article in QRP Quarterly Available free here:
http://www.qrparci.org/qqsample/qqsample.pdf

The DEEP SPIRITUAL REWARDS of DC Receivers
The Importance of Good Power Supplies
SPRAT Article on HW8 Design Error
Latest Edition of Hot Iron
Elecraft KX3 -- Has one of the best receivers in the world

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Even though my pencil and graph paper frequency readout for the BITX rigs has its own undeniable charm, this little device could get me to go digital. I heard about it from Chuck Adams and the folks on the qrp-tech mailing list. 13 dollars. It covers .1 MHz to 2.4 GHz. You just hook up a 9 volt source and the RF input. It also does IF offset. The construction looks great and it would be very easy to put into (or aside) any rig. Here is where I got mine:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400732593471?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

I've been getting tired of being in the dark about the frequency on which my BITX17 was operating. So I pulled out some graph paper, my frequency counter, and a pencil. You will see two frequencies at each point -- that's because I use two crystals, switched by the black knob on the left. I realize this paper and pencil approach is hopelessly out of date, but I see it as "appropriate technology" for a discrete component all-analog transceiver.

Pete set me straight on how to come up with the numbers: VXO frequency minus ACTUAL carrier oscillator/BFO freq. After doing this I took great delight in going on the air and asking guys with fancy "glowing numerals" rigs to compare their freq readout with my pencil and graph paper readouts: they were painfully close.

But I am not slipping completely into stubborn Luddite-ism; this weekend I worked on a DDS-based AD9850/Arduino VFO with I-Q output based on Paul M0XPD's Kanga-UK Arduino Shield. STAY TUNED!

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Sometimes it is better to have LESS test gear. Watching my 5 MHz VFO on the frequency counter was driving me nuts. If I hadn't had the counter, I might have been satisfied with the VFO. Ignorance is bliss! It did settle down a bit. But then it would wander off. I hated watching it drift around. I have been spoiled by Doug DeMaw's VXOs.   So, I went for the VXO.   It will run around 23 MHz. I'll build the filter at 5 MHz. That's definitely the plan. For now.

I intend to go back and build a real VFO someday.    There seems to be a lot of magic and lore involved. Bees Wax! Hot Glue! Nail Polish! Q-Dope! Air-wound coils!

TEK 465 is still broke.   I think it is the high voltage supply or (less likely) the CRT.

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

We did a short article on Yi Yao a while back, noting that he definitely has The Knack. His homebrew frequency counter (above) confirms that he does. In a recent e-mail from him I also detect an inclination toward poetry. April is Poetry Month, so I thought I should share the latest from Yi:

Hi Bill,

I haven't gotten around to making my first rig yet. But, after
listening to SolderSmoke since the beginning, it seems like the universal rule
of homebrewing has been to avoid regens!

I've been focusing on mechanical design for the last while. Having
spent 2 years in a heavily electrical engineering oriented
environment, I decided to try something new. Most of the smoke that
I inhale these days is from cutting oil vaporizing as I turn something
on the lathe. Chips mean bits of metal that are created from cutting
metal. Soldering is done with a torch. The common thread with
electronics is the knackish pursuit of elegant design and beautiful
construction.

I've been thinking about getting myself a copy of SSDRA, but even
looking at online used book stores, this is costing in the
neighbourhood of some of my university textbooks. There's no shortage
of good information and ideas for homebrewing online though. I think
that's what I will use.

Cheers,
Yi

Our book: "SolderSmoke -- Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics" http://soldersmoke.com/book.htmOur coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmokeOur Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20

Chitika

Glowing Blue Numerals! A Frequency Counter for the BITX17 (VIDEO)

SolderSmoke #171 DC RX in QQ, Power Supplies, Small Screens, 12 Buck Counters, HW8 Error?, KX3 RX

More Glowing Numerals! BIG! BLUE! $13!

New Analog Frequency Readout for BITX17 VXO

BITX Build UPDATE # 5: ADRIFT!

An update from Yi Yao, VA3YAO

AHMED HASSAN MOHAMMED

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