ARS NB9M

Apache & Mohawk - Live on 3880 Kc

Article on the gorgeous Mohawk coming soon. This one is from Ham&HiFi - an awesome EBay vendor.

Rare & Working Regency Whamo 10 Scanner

Shown with even rarer Digital Frequency Selector

ARS NB9M Towers #1 & #2

Summer, 2019

NC-183D Receiving Zoomer Radio, 740AM

This Toronto, CA station plays Big Band music on Saturday night.

Roger, W9BZ, Elmer Emeritus

My old friend attended the Indiana Historical Radio Society Winter Meet (3/9/2019)

WA4USO Spark Gap Demonstration (IHRS Winter Meet, 3/9/2019)

This is a working transmitter demonstrating a 100+ year-old technology

RME 69 Receiver from 1936!

Vendor packed in peanuts! 80+ years old, 40lbs, & shipping in PEANUTS???

Bob, K2BXN

December 2018 Shack Visit

Thanks to Bob, K2BXN, for this well-preserved Collins R-288/URR Receiver!

This one is an Army Signal Corps. Needs an alignment, but is in awesome condition.

Clegg 99er Six Meter Transceiver

Amazing cosmetics, working, found at 2018 Sturgis AM meet for $50!

Icom IC-7300 w/Acom 1010 & K42

Fun on 40M CW

Friends at the 2019 Princeton, KY Hamfest

Left to right: Uncle Edgar & XYL Shirlene, Ron, K8SHY & XYL

Mickie, N4MHT

Princeton, KY hamfest, 6/1/2019

Mike, WA4SKU (center) and his haul @ Princeton, KY Hamfest (6/1/2019)

Mike won all his stuff; the rest of us had to buy it.

Kent, N8ZRD (August, 2018)

Thanks to Kent for handing off this nice Johnson Ranger II!

Swan 400 w/matching 420 VFO

Later SN. Swan 400 has the best receive audio, IMHO, of them all.

RME 6900 Receiver from 1962

With the rare matching 6901 speaker

The Super-rare Star Twins!

Feast your eyes, because you will not likely see the SR-700A & ST-700 twins from 1964 again.

Straight Key Night, 2019

Using the Swan Twins to work SKN contacts on low end of 40M

Super Rare Cosmophone!

On display at the 2017 CE meet in Jonesboro, TN

Regency Range Gain 1

Truly in "collector's condition" - an EBay catch.

Heathkit SB-310

An excellent example of this uncommon receiver w/AM, Sideband & AM Filter

Studio B: Novice Operations

Drake 2B, Eico 723/722, Heathkit HR-1680/HX-1681 Twins (my favorite on CW)

Studio A: General Operations

BCB-UHF Ham and SWL. Equipment in constant rotation (August 30, 2019)

George (W1LSB) - Brad (NB9M) - Bob (W9EID)

Freiberg's German Restaurant, Johnson City TN (July 2018)

David (W5SU) - George (W1LSB) - Bob (W9EID) - Bob (W9RAN) - Nick (K5EF)

2018 W9DYV Jonesborough Speakers

Swan Twins (from the estate of AA5T)

Behold the 600-T and 600-R Custom!

Posted: 01/13/2020
Comments: 0

The Smart Potato

Makimg A Scathing Point About Useless Smart Gadgets I almost walked right by it. But then I realized the object the young man was holding up, apparently thrilling the small crowd gathered around his tiny CES 2020 booth, was a potato.The vegetable in question looked like an ordinary, chunky Idaho spud, although protruding out of one side was some kind of antenna, a black plastic appendage bent upward. Close to the potato's surface, the... READ MORE

Posted: 11/11/2019
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W9DYV Radio Symposium Flyer (.pdf)

Winterfest 2020 – St. Louis Friday January 24th, 2020 Click the link above to view and/or print the PDF fileThe 8th W9DYV's Amateur Radio SymposiumJanuary 24-25, 2020If you boatanchor guys in the Midwest really wanted to attend the W9DYV Radio Symposium in past years but didn't relish so long of a drive, fret no longer - the Symposium is coming near you!Next year, boatanchor/restoration enthusiasts, historian-hobbyists and those wishing ... READ MORE

Posted: 10/21/2019
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Air Force finally retires 8" floppies

IBM Series/1 computers still used in missile launch control Five years ago, a CBS 60 Minutes report publicized a bit of technology trivia many in the defense community were aware of: the fact that eight-inch floppy disks were still used to store data critical to operating the Air Force's intercontinental ballistic missile command, control, and communications network. The system, once called the Strategic Air Command Digital Network ... READ MORE

Posted: 10/14/2019
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Would you trust a flying car?

Porsche and Boeing team up on prototype The companies have created a mockup of a vehicle that looks like a sleeker version of the Batmobile from The Dark Knight Rises – exactly what you might expect from Porsche designers....While Jetson-style flying cars seem far-fetched and face numerous safety obstacles, consulting firms are pretty upbeat about their potential. Deloitte predicts sales will start slowly in the US, but by 20... READ MORE

Posted: 10/14/2019
Comments: 0

Cassette Tape Production Delays

Worldwide Material Shortage Delays Cassette Tape Production National Audio Company, the largest cassette tape manufacturer in the U.S., hopes to return production to “normal” by end of year.While the cassette resurgence has not matched the vinyl boom, tape sales are on the rise, growing 23% in 2018. This has led to a period of immense productivity for National Audio Company, the largest audio cassette tape manufacturer in the United S... READ MORE

Posted: 09/15/2019
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AM & SSB: A ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’

Online Petition to ARRL Click the link above to leave your name and call if you wish to support Bob's plea.Hello to my friends and Directors of the ARRL,I noted with pleasure that the ARRL Board has passed a motion addressing HF data bandwidth.For many years, there has been an outcry from HF AM operators to have the ARRL Board address the situation of the original ‘Gentlemen’s’ agreement that w... READ MORE

Posted: 07/30/2019
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The FACOM 128B (Japan)

Technician keeps the 1959 computer humming. NUMAZU, Shizuoka Prefecture--Long obsolete and not just a museum piece, an early massive computer developed 60 years ago remains working, thanks to a technician dedicated to preserving it for future generations.Tadao Hamada believes that keeping the historic FACOM128B operational will help hand down Japan's technological heritage to posterity.“I will maintain it forever,” said Hama... READ MORE

Posted: 07/22/2019
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Are You Smarter than AI?

Images Expose Weak Spots Computer vision has improved massively in recent years, but it’s still capable of making serious errors. So much so that there’s a whole field of research dedicated to studying pictures that are routinely misidentified by AI, known as “adversarial images.” Think of them as optical illusions for computers. While you see a cat up a tree, the AI sees a squirrel.There&rsqu... READ MORE

Posted: 07/04/2019
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TALK-RADIO PIONEER CHUCK HARDER DIES

Founder of the Peoples Radio Network Chuck Harder passed away April 18th, 2018 at age 75. During the middle 1990s, his syndicated show on his Sun network was second only to Rush Limbaugh with over 300 stations. Here is one of many recordings of his broadcasts found on YouTube.I remember fondly the quiet, honest and unique For the People, broadcasting from the Telford Hotel in Florida. Chuck's Peo... READ MORE

Posted: 06/30/2019
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Flat Earth Programs On WBCQ

Beginning July 8, 2019 WBCQ Programming Schedule: http://wbcq.com/schedule/MONTICELLO, MAINE -- The world's most powerful radio station, 500,000-watt WBCQ in northern Maine will be transmitting programs around the world produced by a wealthy religious organization proclaiming the earth to be flat. Daily continuous religious programs from "World's Last Chance" are scheduled to begin July 8 ac... READ MORE

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Category: Friends
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K5LYN's SB-10/Collins 310B/DX-60 Experiment

Below is a picture of my latest project. After doing the transceiver thing, with a CE20A, mated to a SX-115, then the next transceiver project, a 10A mated to any Drake R4 series receiver, I had an idea. Those transceiver projects have a lot of oscillators, and even the crystal oscillators can drift as they warm up, which requires re-zeroing the transmitter to the receiver from time to... READ MORE

Category: Nets
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Favorite HF Nets

Sell/Swap, Vintage Radios & More All times are in Eastern unless otherwise indicated. Frequencies are in Megacycles. Recommended HF NetsNet NameDayTimeFREQ/ModeSwan Technical NetWednesday2200 UTC14.2925 +/- /USB3898 Traders NetWednesday8 PM3.938 / LSBBoatanchor NetWednesday7:30 PM CST3.870 / LSBWA9ZTY Vintage AM GroupSaturday7:30 AM3.885 / AMMidwest Classic Radio NetSaturday8:30 AM3.885 / AMSwan Technical NetSatu... READ MORE

Category: Vintage Manufacturers
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W1LSB Finds an EBay Treasure

This 1964 WRL catalog was addressed to Major General Butch Griswold – K0DWC I was first licensed as a novice in 1958, and the WRL catalog was really dominant in those days, with the Globe King, Globe Champ, and all of the lesser models gracing its pages. I had a Globe Chief 90 and often dreamed of owning the bigger iron in those pages. I have since collected most of the WRL catalogs from 1954 to 1964, and the last one turned out to be an interestin... READ MORE

Category: Crazy EBay Prices!
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Crazy EBay Prices!

Pictures of radio suckerbait on the world's largest online auction! Below are some screen shots of incredible prices demanded by some EBay vendors. Since posting an auction is free as long as the item is not sold, it costs nothing for the unscrupulous vendor to display their (often unremarkable) wares as if they were priceless artifacts. Enjoy. ... READ MORE

Category: The Radio Shack
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Swan Twins: 600-T, 600-R Custom, 600-S

From the Estate of AA5T These excellent examples of the Swan Twins are from the estate of John Thuren, AA5T of Houston, Texas. John had checked in to the 20M Swan net with these very desirable "big Swans" until a few years ago. A big thanks to Eddie, NU5K, who handled John's estate and placed these on EBay. He packed them well, knowing they are indeed an important find. Also... READ MORE

Category: SDR for Vintage Radios
Comments: 1

SDR techniques for Boatanchor Radios

W9RAN started playing with RTL-SDR dongles about 6 years ago, and knew they were going to have a big impact on the radio hobby. But since these $15 receivers only tuned the VHF and UHF bands, he designed a wideband upconverter to make HF coverage possible, and described how it worked in an article in Jan. 2013 QST "Cheap and Easy SDR". The "RANVerter" as... READ MORE

Category: Activities
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2018 Cave City Hamfest

Cave City, Kentucky, 3/3/2018 Barry, AC9NK and I attendended the 2018 Cave City hamfest, which was awesome this year. The facility was packed, with lots of vendors. We enjoyed the company of my friend Tom, N4LID for dinner the night before. Tom, who is blind, had not been able to get to the hamfest for many years. You will find more pictures at the Kentucky Phone Net site. A big thanks to Rod, N4ZIF, fo... READ MORE

Category: Vintage Manufacturers
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Remembering the Electra Company

Cumberland Indiana For nearly five years, spanning 1978 - 1983, I worked as an Electronics Technician in the original Bearcat manufacturing and service facility in Cumberland, Indiana. Electra was one of the best places I've ever worked, and were among the many innovative consumer electronics companies which sprang up in and around Indianapolis. Al Lovell, a former employee of Regency (also in ... READ MORE

Category: Care & Restoration
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Heath Tube-Type LMO Repair (PDF)

Glen E. Zook, K9STH The tube-type Linear Master Oscillators (“LMO”) used in the Heathkit SB-Line equipment is a very stable and accurate means of controlling the frequency in the equipment. Unfortunately, as the units age, many LMOs develop a “warble” when tuning. This “warble” usually stops when the frequency control knob is not rotated. However, accurately “zero-beating&rdq... READ MORE

Category: The Radio Shack
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NB9M Studio C Installed

A creative solution to managing big boxes in limited space. (Shown: 1/7/2018 checkin with the DX-60 Net on 3880, using the DX-60/HG-10B/HO-10 and the RME-6900)Using furniture-grade 5/8" plywood, simple tools and cold garage during Christmas vacation, I constructed Studio C, which occupies the south wall of the shack. Exploiting a sturdy, existing cabinet with drawers that I've had since I was a kid, I devised a scheme to reliably handle the ... READ MORE