A Crummy Commercial

Everybody remembers this: source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anWLvZdn368 I lashed up my Sony muter plus delay for last nights Packer game: Jayden and Jordan after the game old Sony TV remote, Sony stereo remote, muter, 9 volt power supply The delay itself was supposed to be 2 minutes but it came out as 2 minutes and 2 seconds.  It actually worked pretty well even for football which is a little less time regimented than modern baseball - George Carlin must be spinning in his grave ! source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeCtFkHQtEo  The muter was connected on one leg of the left speaker.  The right speaker was disconnected.  One question: does it harm an audio amp to be run without a load ?  Certainly that is true with an RF amp but an RF transmitter is generally run at high power.  Most casual listening to an audio amp is done at milliwatts.  So the output stage should be able to dissipate the power.  But it's prudent to run the ampli...

Lightning, Tomahawk WI: source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsBumdSnH6U  I found this video so weird.  For one thing: the sky doesn't look dark and threatening.  No rain that I could see.  Just a bolt from the sky. The title says "powerful lightning" but I'm wondering if this was more of a random mini-bolt ?  It seems to me that a powerful strike would have done more damage. This also reminds me of the recent strike in the back: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/08/lightning-strikes.html  I wonder if it is time to consider making some kind of lightning detector ? https://wenzeltech.com/Projects/lightningdetectors.htm  I'd like to try that  No Moving Parts Field Mill  but dunno about plundering an Americium pellet from a smoke detector. Finally I also thought: too bad it was an evergreen, Wonderboy was made from hardwood: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/04/wonderboy.html     Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham...

I was paging through the October 2025 QST online when I came upon this on page 94: Really unexpected but a pleasant surprise !  I took that picture in June 1975 with my Olympus 35RC.  When the Glen Gates Gang Field Day entry was sent in the picture got included.  Somewhere around here I've got a plastic bag with several copies of that issue - I remember going over to Amateur Electronic Supply (on Fond du Lac in Milwaukee) and buying them.  I've mentioned the November 1975 cover before: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2022/06/field-day.html  The picture reminded me of Scott Tilton who died this year: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-novice-trio-no-more.html  Scott was the brains behind repurposing the tower to a transportable unit.  It's a shame that Scott's article for the tower wasn't published. Here's the Glen Gates Gang page with more of my pictures from Field Day: http://wb9kzy.com/ggg.htm  The fact that that magazine cover was from almost 50...

I've mentioned the Lionel Communications Lab 3270 before: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2023/12/lionel-communications-lab-mark-i.html  I saw this 3270 on Ebay in an unopened box: https://www.ebay.com/itm/167780230691  The semi-obligatory deflated price: In other words, it's actually cheaper than it was new ! They also had the Lionel Communications Lab 3272: https://www.ebay.com/itm/167780324136  This one is definitely the buy of the two based on value, (assuming that $39.95 marked on the box is accurate): Inflated price for the 3272: The cheapest person on earth defers on them both: "it could be a pig-in-a-poke" (or in this case, a sealed cardboard box.  And of course I'd open it, fiddle with it for 15 minutes and then set it aside :( Update:  I had watched both Ebay listings above, sure enough, in the early evening I got offers on both of 5% off, get thee behind me, Satan !  :)    Update 2025-9-10: Temptation is OVER:    Best Regards, Ch...

I got an email from a ham asking about the Ultimatic keying mode.  I did a brief text file on Ultimatic: http://wb9kzy.com/ultimat.txt  I did invite comments so emails are fair.  It turned out that this ham had a K1EL K45 keyer and a Yaesu FT-991a.  The Yaesu doesn't have Ultimatic as an option for the internal keyer.  The emailer wanted to know what could be done to send with Ultimatic on the Yaesu. I replied that the emailer should contact K1EL but that it was just a matter of buying of making up a keying cable between the keyer and the rig.  Also, the Yaesu menu would have to be set for straight keying. This reminds me that my kits (and site) may not be that beginner friendly in the same way that a Knight-kit or Heathkit was.  This is also probably why so many already built wire antennas and cable sets are sold, I guess it wouldn't occur to me to buy such things :) Also, when I became a ham most people weren't self taught.  I learned from local...

Didn't do much today other than listen to sports.  The Brewers crushed the Pirates: the Mis had a sensational game, over 100 pitches, still throwing 100 MPH and the Packers beat the Lions: Micah Parsons ?  He FAST ! A good day in Wisconsin ! But I can sympathize with the players like Christian Welch on the Brewers or various Packers players with back soreness.  My back was sore today so not much got done. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm 

Bing has been mentioned before, most recently: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/08/bing-redeemed-itself-via-redemption.html  Today (Saturday) the limiting seems to be off ?  I was able to score all of the 100 mobile and 150 desktop points before 7 AM  -  when I was limited to 20 points every half hour it took until the afternoon to get to the limits. Why pursue these limits ?  I am hoping to get several thousand points so I can re-up Windows 10 for another year of security updates.   Got my fingers crossed ! Update: 2025-9-7, Bing is still OK, no limiting ! 2nd update: 2025-9-8, Bing still working ! 3rd update: 2025-9-9, working => this is a trend !   4th update: 2025-9-10 uh-oh !  Bing is limiting again ?   Whew !  no, it was just their news feed that was being limited.   5th update, 2025-9-11: oh fudge !     Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm 

I have resisted the install of development software on this Lenovo Ideapad.  It is an underpowered machine so I figured that I could always run those kind of programs on my other computers (Windows 10).  But I guess I've gotten familiar with this Windows 11 machine, the older ones seem a little "off" - especially the keyboards. So I decided to resurrect at least my old PIC "Burn and Crash" setup: the PIC development icons on the squiggly road desktop of this Lenovo Ideapad The idea is to use several programs to edit, assemble and program PIC microcontrollers.  The user "burns" a microcontroller chip with code and then plugs that chip into a circuit to see how it "crashes".  Then the cycle is repeated. The editor is either Notepad or Write, the simple text editors built into Windows.   The assembler is MPASMX: https://www.microchip.com/en-us/tools-resources/develop/mplab-x-ide  To save from downloading a buncha stuff I wouldn't use I just ...

 I saw this on the Digikey site: The PVI is no longer made ?  It's the heart of the Keyall HV and Keyall HV+.  I looked at the suggested replacement, it is surface mount but DigiKey doesn't sell it :(   This is a problem with the DigiKey notification system, if it's a part that hasn't been ordered recently, DigiKey doesn't send a notification.  I guess it's better than Mouser, they don't send anything at all.   Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm 

Learned another lesson today: take a picture. I've been a photographer since grade school but possibly that hasn't always served me well in the 21st century.   Nowadays once the camera has been purchased each picture taken is essentially free.  In the olden days it cost money to buy film, develop and print it - and I did my own B&W developing.  In addition, it was a certain time sink to process the film.  So maybe I'm unconsciously avoiding picture taking ? Today I was working on this: It's the clock module from the old Westclox clock that has been on/off the shame shelf seemingly since the battery leak. https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2023/05/boss.html    I had ripped out the battery contacts (all corroded) and soldered wires to an external battery holder.  But something just wasn't right.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not - bad for a clock.  It's a shame because the module kept excellent time. Today I was going to touch up the solderi...

In a recent blog post the Koss Headset with a built in USB port was mentioned: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/08/time-for-freedv.html  For no good reason I did look on Ebay and bought one: It was listed as NEW but really more like: "new ?"  and there was a slight "air" about it. it was out of the box at least once before I got it Oh well, the seller did mail it as I wanted.  The headset is comfortable although I'm not sure how much I can bend the microphone stalk.  It also sounds fine and it seems to record OK although with a little hum.  I'm not sure if there are any adjustments, there aren't any instructions in the box or on the Koss site.  It really was plug and play - after plugging in the SB-45 I was able to hear mp3 files and record a voice message without doing anything other than opening the mp3 player and voice recorder, nice. I'm partly prepared for FreeDV - it's already September, really need to put up at least some kind of antenna !...

Continuing with the filter test saga from yesterday: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/08/self-inflicted-wound.html  I dug out the Si5351 breakout board on a solderless breadboard connected to an Arduino Nano. After a few misadventures with the Arduino IDE and the Skyworks Clockbuilder I was able to generate this: Unfortunately it is wrong, I wanted 27.005 MHz (CB channel 4) but punched in 27.05 instead and of course the silly software did exactly what I punched in :) Re-doing the frequency with Clockbuilder I got this: This is after being peaked through a double tuned LC filter, yikes !   Finally able to peak the filter - but while I was wrestling with the Arduino and Clockbuilder I remembered the NanoVNA:  isn't filter work the exact reason for having a NanoVNA ?  And doesn't it already have an easy to program Si5351 (or equivalent) inside ? I tried listening to the 27.005 carrier on the K2, double yikes !  Really sounds terrible (although strong) but hope...