A Crummy Commercial

As I recall the Japanese word, tora ( 虎 ) means tiger.  So I named my version of the L'il Tiger the Tiny Tora.  Now per this wiki: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E7%8C%AB 大猫 means "big cat" -  close enough for kit work :) Here again is the original L'il Tiger schematic: And here is my version, Tiny Tora: Finally I also tried this: where I removed the top Darlington as a diode and replaced it with an NPN as a diode.  As I recall it didn't make much difference. I can't find the prototype for the Tiny Tora today but I will dig it out and try it again.  I've also joined diyAudio.com and will try a few questions on the circuit there. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm 

I purchased a SWTPC L'il Tiger audio amp kit in the early 1970s.  I never got the amp to work correctly.  Of course at the time the only test gear I had was a VOM.  I suspect oscillation and/or a power supply problem caused a blow-up.  I eventually parted out the L'il Tiger.  Later I got an old Eico  tube amp with a gold tinted case.  Working on the Fox Point rubbish crew had a few perks.  The amp worked but had some hum.  I paired it with a Knight stereo tuner that I got from one of my Elmers, Mr. Dobbratz: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2022/08/i-found-out-that-one-of-my-elmers-died.html   Eventually since I never really liked tube equipment I gave it away.  Now it's probably worth a fortune :) https://www.stereophile.com/content/eico-hf-81-integrated-amplifier Anyway, back to the L'il Tiger, after discovering the mighty-mighty Worldradiohistory site I looked up the L'il Tiger in Popular Electronics.  It was the cover story for ...

The Ford X-100 concept car - sorta reminds me of the Chrysler turbine concept car or maybe the Black Beauty from the Green Hornet ? IEEE Spectrum had an interesting article on the Ford X-100 concept from 1953: source:  https://spectrum.ieee.org/ford-x-100-concept-car Obviously a really neat car but with tons (figuratively) of electronics and electrics !  It was featured at the start of this movie, Woman's World : source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBbbgttdqBQ I started to watch the movie but lost interest after the X-100 and the X-100 convertible were shown.  So I switched my focus to this: What does a 1960s plastic model of a custom car built for a TV show have to do with the Ford X-100 ?  Nothing really, but per this page: http://www.munsterkoach.com/specs.htm it was made using three Ford Model T bodies !  In 21 days ?  For $18,000 in 1964 ?  Of course here is the almost mandatory inflated price: I built one of those AMT models - one thing tha...

I did get all my manual clocks set, finally.  Some like the Spartus alarm clock bought over 4 decades ago are easy, just wind the hands back an hour.  Some like my bath scale are impossible without instructions.  I finally found them in the internet, printed them and taped them to the back. One that I've had trouble with is the Elecraft K2 clock in the KAF2 audio filter.  Usually it only has to be set after years go by when the coin cell is dead so I don't remember the setting method.  I found this video from the user, Utubebaf, with helpful tips on setting the K2 clock: source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwNsp35GFxs It is hard to get it exactly right on the second though.  I finally gave up and just noted that I'm 1 second fast.  I wanted to do a starting point setting for a test of the accuracy of the clock with the TCXO mod I made using the DS32kHz TCXO from Dallas Semi. Here is a page from the notebook when I first installed the TCXO: ac...

 I've mentioned the Morse Clock (watch) and the time change day before: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-time-change-on-march-13-2022-brings.html Today I rechecked the Morse Clock: SMT version using the SMT Keyer board it has gained a total of 80 seconds since being set 2023-11-9.  Since last year (2024-11-3) it has gained 53 seconds.  53 seconds / 364 days = .146 seconds per day, not too bad. A couple of things occur to me, first, make the Morse Clock a true pocketable / wearable watch.  That golden watch: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/03/gold-and-cardboard.html keeps decent time but it is awkward to use, especially when on a bicycle.  I could start with the Morse watch as just a plastic cased watch and then maybe shrink it to wrist size ?  Using it outdoors might be a problem, the small piezos aren't loud.  Also, the buttons must be easily usable but not prone to accidental presses. Second: instead of using a crystal, use a 32.768 kHz osci...

to 1964 - the kid on the left has what I think is a Digger mask: Digger was a character from the Hawk plastic model line of Weird-Ohs. https://www.shorpy.com/node/27843 Here it is on the LOC site: source:  https://www.loc.gov/item/2021636510/ I built that kit but never saw such a mask !  They had stuff in New York that could only be imagined in Milwaukee.  Also, is that a cab in the background taking these kids Trick-or-Treating  ?  In 1964 Wisconsin you walked ! source:  https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hawk-530-100-digger-way-out-dragster--1235633 More on Digger and the Weird-ohs: history:  https://www.oldmodelkits.com/blog/plastic-model-kit-history/history-of-the-hawk-weird-ohs-plastic-model-kits/ Digger model:  https://modelingmadness.com/review/misc/figures/gooddigger.htm The photographer, Angelo Rizzuto is famous for his pictures of New York: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelo_Rizzuto Mentioned him previously: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/20...

Continuing to think on that NOVA program: Superfloods mentioned yesterday: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/10/superfloods-video.html I took a look at Midland's weather radio offerings (because there are 9 zillion weather radios out there and Midland is a brand I remember).  The ER10 was the cheapest at $25: https://midlandusa.com/collections/on-the-go-emergency-preparedness/products/er10vp-eready-compact-emergency-alert-am-fm-weather-radio It has a digital display, AM/FM bands, a flashlight as well as the weather radio itself with the alert feature.  It would be hard to beat at this price.  I may get one on Ebay or possibly they have them on the island. I also looked at used radios, the Radio Shack weather cube is in abundance on Ebay.  It's more what I was thinking for a kit as far as a circuitry, using the now defunct MC3357 FM chip, varactor tuning and LM386 audio. The semi-obligatory inflated price (from the 1973 Radio Shack catalog): Yikes !  Certainly t...