122GHz

September 18, 2021

Started working on the first dish - below I am measuring the brass tubing which is being used as circular waveguide for the the stock chaparral feed mount.  The units will mount to the back of the dishes.  The excessive length on the brass tubing will be removed once I complete the measurements.

September 17, 2021

Unit #2 before closing it up.  Both units complete except A/B switch connection.

September 10, 2021

Unit 1 on left and unit 2 on right

September 9, 2021

Working on unit #2

Above - 1st unit RX - 2nd unit TX.

Below - 2nd unit TX below and being built.

September 5, 2021

Working on the case for unit #2

September 3, 2021

The CW sounds better now - I changed the filter 3 setting on the IC-705 IF radio.

Finally success in TX/RX - I had to point the two units directly at each other - one has the conical horn (RX) and the other has the chaparral feed (TX).  This was before I tuned the filter 3 on my IC-705 radio - see better results above.

August 31, 2021

Started working on second unit yesterday.

August 29, 2021

Did the same 10MHz mod to my first board as VA3TO.  I no longer need the 1PPS source.

VA3TO Mod on his board below.

August 26, 2021

Checked the VCO Test Point and received the expected 1.914GHz on the first unit.

August 26, 2021

Everything so far setup and tested except the reset or the channel A/B switch.  I have tested the PTT and the key and beacon mode - all testing good.  I am waiting on info to do the 10MHz modification and then this first unit will almost be complete except the reset and channel A/B switch.

August 24, 2021

August 21, 2021

I have my first unit connected to power, 1PPS, serial RX/TX and the 10MHz out connected to my SA.  I see the light on and I'm getting a 10MHz signal from the board.  

Seeing the boot messages and the GPS info.

The red and black mini-grabbers connecting to the GPS header are supplying 1PPS from my GPSDO.

In the first picture you see the power wires near the bottom of the picture.

Tests successful so far.    

Serial tests below

My units arrived - August 18, 2021

 Progress on case - June 1, 2021

Waiting on my boards to arrive - working on the case for the first board.

Inside - above

Left ( <- top) - above

Right (top -> ) - above

Top - above

Hamshack Hotline and low cost VOIP

 

Hamshack Hotline and Low cost VOIP

Hamshack Hotline Extension: 610 000 0015

VOIP: 470-502-4075

New Project - Push-Pull tube stereo amplifier

Push Pull Stereo AMP - June 4, 2021

10GHz - out in the field on 21 May 2021 at Brasstown Bald

 No contacts, but I learned a lot.

As transported (above)

Really a mess - I plan on cleaning it up and putting most of it in a box.

On top of Tripod (above)

Geoleni Twist Focus Tribrach Without Optical Plummet (Green)

Under the shelf - mates with tribrach on top of tripod - allows swivel and can be locked with set-screw.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085HYY38D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

10GHz - 3 watts finally

 15 May 2021 - Working on my 10GHz transverter today - I have the 3W amplifier hooked up - all I need to do is work on the cable routing and change all of my power connectors over to PowerPoles.

On the bench (above)

On the SA to a dummy-load (above)

A video of it on my SA

Testing MAX2871 at 10GHz for Spurs

Most recent tests 

5GHz from wide band antenna with ~1" stinger on SA input - no signal seen (above)

~1" stinger on SA input and 10GHz horn antenna (above)

10GHz from horn antenna (above)

Comparison - 5GHz from port 1 with port 2 set to output 10Ghz below top - below bottom the 5GHz signal from port 2 set to output 10Ghz

Hallicrafters S-120 Restoration Project

Latest update: 

May 8, 2021 - Re-cap completed and tested.  See below video of it on radio.cz - the next step is to cleanup the front and paint the cabinet.

April 30, 2021 - As received there was nothing but noise on all bands - checked voltages on tubes and found some issues - replaced selenium rectifier and voltages now closer to what is expected, still noting but noise.  I ordered a complete capacitor re-cap kit.  Looked around for any obvious issues and found cracked .001uf capacitor between antenna connection and another connection point (see picture) - temporarily bypassed it with on-hand capacitor of same value but lower voltage rating - miraculously she sprang to life and I was able to receive a nearby AM station with some static. 

Next steps are to complete a re-cap and align - then look at tubes to see if any are weak and need replacement.  Once all of that is complete I can begin the cosmetic cleanup on the outside.

As purchased on eBay (below)

Inside bottom view before any work done

Selenium diode (green device) replaced with 1N4007 diode - the large black component is a "glowbar".

Temporarily replaced this large .001uf capacitor with one on-hand but with smaller voltage rating until re-cap kit arrives.

Unit on my lab bench. May 1, 2021.

Recap complete - yellow capacitors from Hayseed Hamfest - https://hayseedhamfest.com/products/s-120-re-cap-kit 

Listening to readio.cz after re-cap