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ARRL Homebrew Challenge
The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the
ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote:
The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Cheers, __ Gregg |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting
pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... :( Seems that most stuff homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas :) Scott N0EDV geek wrote: On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Cheers, __ Gregg -- Scott http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/ Gotta Fly or Gonna Die Building RV-4 (Super Slow Build Version) |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
"Scott" wrote in message .. . Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... :( Seems that most stuff homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas :) Scott N0EDV Not really so Scott. Try the PicaStar group. By the grace of Analog Devices in their enlightened policy of providing samples of even their most expensive devices, and the price of SMD ((NOT really so difficult to work with, just different. And you purchase new resistors and capacitors at $0.003 each (Not a typo, 3/10ths of a cent) from DigiKey!)) Mine came in at something under half your $700 figure for a 160-10 meter transceiver with more bells and whistles than the average $2000 radio, and more performance than most radios costing twice that! W4ZCB |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
And you purchase new resistors and capacitors at
$0.003 each (Not a typo, 3/10ths of a cent) from DigiKey!)) Mine came in at something under half your $700 figure for a 160-10 meter transceiver with more bells and whistles than the average $2000 radio, and more performance than most radios costing twice that! W4ZCB Well, Really not a typo, but at $0.31 for ten each, for the mathematically unchallenged, that comes out to THREE cents each. Going to have to go sweep up all those that have flipped out into never never land, hardly ever to be seen again and restock my supplies. Them things is more valuable than I thought. (Although I HAVE purchased SMD parts as inexpensively as $0.003 each at hamfests) Regards W4ZCB |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
On Oct 29, 1:42 am, geek wrote:
On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( It's astonishing that anyone was able to meet the requirements: A $50 HF CW and voice transceiver meeting FCC spectral requirements. That's astonishing. I mean, 40 years ago some of were cobbling together crystal-controlled CW transmitters for $10 or $15 plus a lot of raiding of old TV's and radios for tubes, transformers, etc. The fact that the same inflation- adjusted amount of money allows something that is way superior functionally with modern stuff is good news! IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Maybe, but requiring someone to build a multimode HF transceiver from scratch would have been even more onerous 40 years ago than it is today. Some folks will complain about the cost of a rig (and in fact these complaints were the impetus behind the homebrew challenge), but with used, all-band, multimode HF rigs available for just a few hundred dollars I don't see how cost can matter much. There was a really funny letter that QST published over the summer, saying "there's no way to do anything on HF without a $6000 radio and multiple towers filled with beam arrays anymore". My response: I turned on my old Heath HW-16 (paid $50 for it a few months before) and worked a dozen European/Eurasian countries and Senegal without even trying. It's like some are setting the bar way too high or way too low, when really it's about having fun. Tim. |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
On Oct 29, 8:26 am, wrote:
On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 22:42:11 -0700, geek wrote: On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST It's the $50 limit! Thats way too low under $100 then it's doable. A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( No it may speak badly for the challenge. I've built a lot of SSB VHF radios and $50 is a tight budget even with a large junkbox assist. IMHO one of the basic premises of the challenge - that the lack of sub- $50 radios is limiting access to the hobby - is the problem. After the designs are published and we don't see a huge influx of new hams, I think we'll finally be able to abolish the thought that sub-$50 radios aren't the silver bullet and move on to facing the real challenges instead of stupid lines in the sand. That said, I really look forward to the clever things done to make a multimode HF transceiver for just $50. Tim. |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
Well $50 is definitely Do-Able, for a SSB/CW radio.
There's a picture of one on the front page of the yahoo group. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ The fact that the are only 4 entries is a little disappointing, especially since none were Software Defined Radios. However, the task is difficult, and the prize was only a token $100. I know of a few hams who started designs but didn't finish in time. I've looked at the Picastar group, and that's real homebrew, they want you to iron Xerox paper onto blank PCB stock to make your SMT boards. So it's $300 in material, and probably 300 hours of your time. But saving money is not the normal reason for homebrewing these days. For $300 you could buy a decent used 160-10M HF radio on EBay. The first radio I built (in the 60's) was a simple 1 tube crystal controlled transmitter featured in an Electronics magazine that you could build for $7. Adjusting for inflation, $7 is about equal to $50 today. And for $50 you get much mo a VFO, digital readout, TX&RX, CW&SSB. I think the point of the $50 HF radio, is to attract VHF only hams to try HF. What's the statistic? 75% of all hams never operate on HF? The new no-code license should let these Tech class hams get a general pretty easily. On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST It's the $50 limit! Thats way too low under $100 then it's doable. A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( No it may speak badly for the challenge. I've built a lot of SSB VHF radios and $50 is a tight budget even with a large junkbox assist. IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. I do but, I am in a minority. Allison Tim Shoppa wrote in s.com: On Oct 29, 1:42 am, geek wrote: On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( It's astonishing that anyone was able to meet the requirements: A $50 HF CW and voice transceiver meeting FCC spectral requirements. That's astonishing. I mean, 40 years ago some of were cobbling together crystal-controlled CW transmitters for $10 or $15 plus a lot of raiding of old TV's and radios for tubes, transformers, etc. The fact that the same inflation- adjusted amount of money allows something that is way superior functionally with modern stuff is good news! IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Maybe, but requiring someone to build a multimode HF transceiver from scratch would have been even more onerous 40 years ago than it is today. Some folks will complain about the cost of a rig (and in fact these complaints were the impetus behind the homebrew challenge), but with used, all-band, multimode HF rigs available for just a few hundred dollars I don't see how cost can matter much. There was a really funny letter that QST published over the summer, saying "there's no way to do anything on HF without a $6000 radio and multiple towers filled with beam arrays anymore". My response: I turned on my old Heath HW-16 (paid $50 for it a few months before) and worked a dozen European/Eurasian countries and Senegal without even trying. It's like some are setting the bar way too high or way too low, when really it's about having fun. Tim. |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
Tim Shoppa wrote:
SNIP IMHO one of the basic premises of the challenge - that the lack of sub- $50 radios is limiting access to the hobby - is the problem. After the designs are published and we don't see a huge influx of new hams, I think we'll finally be able to abolish the thought that sub-$50 radios aren't the silver bullet and move on to facing the real challenges instead of stupid lines in the sand. That said, I really look forward to the clever things done to make a multimode HF transceiver for just $50. Tim. How about the BITX20? That can made for $50 surely. http://www.phonestack.com/farhan/bitx.html Charlie. -- M0WYM www.radiowymsey.org |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
Hi,
On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:26:50 +0000, no.spam wrote: snip It's the $50 limit! Thats way too low under $100 then it's doable. I'm not an RF collector by any means, but a HiFi guy and I'm sure I have enough stuff kicking around to make such with a $0 output. I did breadboard a tube SSB exciter for 27MHz... dunno of its spectral purity but it got out *shrug* Cheers, __ Gregg |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
Surface mount stuff is fine. I use them all the time in my transverters
(VHF-microwave) and my other homebrew stuff. OK on your 160-10 homebrew. My example (my Yaesu FT857 is what I had in mind) covers that PLUS 6, 2 and 432. How much would it cost to add those to your radio? Probably not too much, but it might still get you close to the $700 Yaesu. And, yours is not counting labor costs. How many hours did it take to build? When I build, I "pay" myself at $20/hours...less than that and I stay in bed! ;) I know it's a hobby, but even if I don't count my labor costs, it uses up my time where I COULD be making $20/hour. Don't get me wrong, I still love to build stuff!!! Scott N0EDV Harold E. Johnson wrote: "Scott" wrote in message .. . Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... :( Seems that most stuff homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas :) Scott N0EDV Not really so Scott. Try the PicaStar group. By the grace of Analog Devices in their enlightened policy of providing samples of even their most expensive devices, and the price of SMD ((NOT really so difficult to work with, just different. And you purchase new resistors and capacitors at $0.003 each (Not a typo, 3/10ths of a cent) from DigiKey!)) Mine came in at something under half your $700 figure for a 160-10 meter transceiver with more bells and whistles than the average $2000 radio, and more performance than most radios costing twice that! W4ZCB -- Scott http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/ Gotta Fly or Gonna Die Building RV-4 (Super Slow Build Version) |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
"Scott" wrote in message .. . Surface mount stuff is fine. I use them all the time in my transverters (VHF-microwave) and my other homebrew stuff. OK on your 160-10 homebrew. My example (my Yaesu FT857 is what I had in mind) covers that PLUS 6, 2 and 432. How much would it cost to add those to your radio? Probably not too much, but it might still get you close to the $700 Yaesu. And, yours is not counting labor costs. How many hours did it take to build? When I build, I "pay" myself at $20/hours...less than that and I stay in bed! ;) I know it's a hobby, but even if I don't count my labor costs, it uses up my time where I COULD be making $20/hour. Don't get me wrong, I still love to build stuff!!! Scott N0EDV That's funny Scott. I put $20 an hour into a coffee can when I design/build a project. Figure I couldn't have more fun if I paid that much for it. About every 3 years, there's enough there for a 3-4 week vacation in the UK. With Bush spending money we don't have like a drunken sailor, the dollar is in the tank everywhere so it may be 4 years this time. Either that or I have to build more stuff. W4ZCB |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
On Oct 29, 4:48 am, "Harold E. Johnson" wrote:
"Scott" wrote in message .. . Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... :( Seems that most stuff homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas :) Scott N0EDV Not really so Scott. Try the PicaStar group. By the grace of Analog Devices in their enlightened policy of providing samples of even their most expensive devices, and the price of SMD ((NOT really so difficult to work with, just different. And you purchase new resistors and capacitors at $0.003 each (Not a typo, 3/10ths of a cent) from DigiKey!)) Mine came in at something under half your $700 figure for a 160-10 meter transceiver with more bells and whistles than the average $2000 radio, and more performance than most radios costing twice that! W4ZCB And I'll tell you, I am damned thankful that there are people like Harold, and Bill Carver, and Martein Bakker, who set the bar pretty high and give me inspiration to work on projects that will provide even better performance--performance that you simply cannot buy anywhere else at any price. Largely through an understanding of the goals that Bill and Harold, especially, have been working toward, I've become rather rabid in my pursuit of excellence in certain aspects of receiver behavior. Cheers, Tom |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
I'm one of the 4 who submitted an entry to the ARRL HBC contest. I
figure I put maybe 500 to 600 hours into the project. I had relocated in February to take a new job, and my family wasn't able to join me until July. Consequently, I had the time on my hands anyway. This may seem like a lot of time, but when you consider the average American spends that much time watching TV in four months, I don't feel too bad. I consider it time well spent. I learned a lot that I will be able to use on future projects. I'm sure that the other contest participants would agree. 73 - Dave NM0S |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
Harold E. Johnson wrote:
With Bush spending money we don't have like a drunken sailor, the dollar is in the tank everywhere so it may be 4 years this time. Either that or I have to build more stuff. Bush isn't spending it, it's the damned Congress. -- One meter, to within 0.0125% accuracy (off by just under .005 inches): Three feet Three inches Three eights of an inch |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
NM0S wrote:
I'm one of the 4 who submitted an entry to the ARRL HBC contest. Feel free to brag here in further detail. :) -- One meter, to within 0.0125% accuracy (off by just under .005 inches): Three feet Three inches Three eights of an inch |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
On Oct 30, 1:59 pm, clifto wrote:
NM0S wrote: I'm one of the 4 who submitted an entry to the ARRL HBC contest. Feel free to brag here in further detail. :) OK, don't mind if I do. Basically, my design is a direct-conversion rig, with a Class-E PA running about 90% efficiency DC-RF (CW anyway), delivering 5 to 6W PEP. Finals are push-pull 2N7000 MOSFETS, directly driven by a 74HC86 logic gate. VFO is a PTO covering the full 40M band. Voice mode is Double-sideband, suppressed carrier. There is an AGC on the receive, and ALC on transmit, so there is only one knob, for tuning. The receiver uses the PA MOSFETS as the receive mixer. The audio amp is discrete transistor design, with automatic bias control to reduce current consumption when no signals are received. Total current draw on RX is 30mA, on TX 600mA. There is a 200 Hz CW filter that is switched in when a key is plugged into the KEY jack. Total parts cost, including enclosure and PCB is $40. Will work from 9V with reduced power. ICs used a LM324, LM3900, LM339, 74HC86 and 78L05 I'll make boards available if there is interest. 73 - Dave NM0S |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
I hear ya, man! My problem exactly! I can still afford to build
microwave gear but I can't afford the drive to get to one of the better sites around here (about 6 hours away from me) :( Scott N0EDV Harold E. Johnson wrote: "Scott" wrote in message .. . Surface mount stuff is fine. I use them all the time in my transverters (VHF-microwave) and my other homebrew stuff. OK on your 160-10 homebrew. My example (my Yaesu FT857 is what I had in mind) covers that PLUS 6, 2 and 432. How much would it cost to add those to your radio? Probably not too much, but it might still get you close to the $700 Yaesu. And, yours is not counting labor costs. How many hours did it take to build? When I build, I "pay" myself at $20/hours...less than that and I stay in bed! ;) I know it's a hobby, but even if I don't count my labor costs, it uses up my time where I COULD be making $20/hour. Don't get me wrong, I still love to build stuff!!! Scott N0EDV That's funny Scott. I put $20 an hour into a coffee can when I design/build a project. Figure I couldn't have more fun if I paid that much for it. About every 3 years, there's enough there for a 3-4 week vacation in the UK. With Bush spending money we don't have like a drunken sailor, the dollar is in the tank everywhere so it may be 4 years this time. Either that or I have to build more stuff. W4ZCB -- Scott http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/ Gotta Fly or Gonna Die Building RV-4 (Super Slow Build Version) |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
geek wrote:
Hi, On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:26:50 +0000, no.spam wrote: snip It's the $50 limit! Thats way too low under $100 then it's doable. I'm not an RF collector by any means, but a HiFi guy and I'm sure I have enough stuff kicking around to make such with a $0 output. I did breadboard a tube SSB exciter for 27MHz... dunno of its spectral purity but it got out *shrug* Cheers, __ Gregg Us audio guys have enough parts to make one of these: http://web.telia.com/~u85920178/tx/317-tx.htm I just whipped one up the other night,did some testing on the top of the AM BCB.. ;-) A fun and neat little circuit. |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-(
IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. =============================== In the UK ,in order to obtain an Intermediate Level AR licence ,a candidate ,prior to sitting a multiple choice type of exam (test) will have to construct a (simple) piece of amateur radio related kit. It can be as simple as a sounder to practice Morse telegraphy or perhaps a simple receiver or a VFO or a crystal calibrator ,etc. Prior to the construction the candidate will be assessed on basic soldering / de-soldering skills. Frank GM0CSZ / KN6WH |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
Scott wrote:
Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... :( Seems that most stuff homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas :) ====================================== I fully support that approach . Station accessories can often be easily home-brewed as can simple QRP equipment , and usually at very modest cost . All wire type of antennas can be readily home-brewed as well at minimal cost using 'alternative' materials for insulators ,etc. Frank GM0CSZ / KN6WH |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
On 2007-10-29, John Tartar wrote:
Well $50 is definitely Do-Able, for a SSB/CW radio. If you were mass-producing a kit, it should be easy. The challenge (back when I read it) made it sound like it had to be buildable with printed instructions and $50. If you have to buy everything in single unit quantities and make your own PCB (or build ugly/Manhattan, a challenge that would seem more formidable than $50 to many new hams) then it's hard to squeeze everything in. How many tinkerers have any idea how much it would really cost to build one of their creations? They probably built most of it from the junkbox. -- Ben Jackson AD7GD http://www.ben.com/ |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
On 2007-10-29, Scott wrote:
Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... :( Seems that most stuff homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas :) While I agree that $700 is quite reasonable for an all-band rig, there actually _are_ people for whom $700 is an unreasonable investment in their hobby. It isn't as important for them to actually operate on every band all at once, it's more important that they find a reasonably priced entry point into the hobby. Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. But more important is the simple fact is that I learn more by building than by buying. If ham radio is really more than simply a glorified Citizen's Band, we are supposed to be educating and training outselves both to serve the public and to better our own understanding of radio and the radio arts. I think any attempt to make experimentation of that sort more accessible to the broad population of hams should be applauded. Mark KF6KYI Scott N0EDV geek wrote: On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Cheers, __ Gregg |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to
imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. --------------------------------------------------- You're joking, right? I think if you took a survey of 25 or so hams here (or in most other ham venues for that matter), you'd have a very difficult time finding even a few who have anything close to $3,000 invested in their hobby. Pile on me if I'm wrong guys, but pile on if I'm right too. Joe W3JDR "Mark VandeWettering" wrote in message . org... On 2007-10-29, Scott wrote: Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... :( Seems that most stuff homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas :) While I agree that $700 is quite reasonable for an all-band rig, there actually _are_ people for whom $700 is an unreasonable investment in their hobby. It isn't as important for them to actually operate on every band all at once, it's more important that they find a reasonably priced entry point into the hobby. Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. But more important is the simple fact is that I learn more by building than by buying. If ham radio is really more than simply a glorified Citizen's Band, we are supposed to be educating and training outselves both to serve the public and to better our own understanding of radio and the radio arts. I think any attempt to make experimentation of that sort more accessible to the broad population of hams should be applauded. Mark KF6KYI Scott N0EDV geek wrote: On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Cheers, __ Gregg |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
I'm guessing I have somewhere around $3000 invested over the 25 years in
the hobby...let me do some rough math...Kenwood 520S $300, Kenwood 690SAT $1500, Yaesu 857 $600, Astron 35A power supply $250, MFJ 1278 Multimode Controller $300, Cushcraft A50-5S $150...am I there yet? Countless PL-259, N connectors, LMR400 coax, etc. BUT, I certainly know anyone can get by with a lot less investment. The key is investment over time. If I take my $3000 over 25 years, it only averages $120/year...pretty cheap for a hobby. I fly as another hobby and I can tell you that it costs more than $120 a year! ;) Scott N0EDV W3JDR wrote: Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. --------------------------------------------------- You're joking, right? I think if you took a survey of 25 or so hams here (or in most other ham venues for that matter), you'd have a very difficult time finding even a few who have anything close to $3,000 invested in their hobby. Pile on me if I'm wrong guys, but pile on if I'm right too. Joe W3JDR "Mark VandeWettering" wrote in message . org... On 2007-10-29, Scott wrote: Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... :( Seems that most stuff homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas :) While I agree that $700 is quite reasonable for an all-band rig, there actually _are_ people for whom $700 is an unreasonable investment in their hobby. It isn't as important for them to actually operate on every band all at once, it's more important that they find a reasonably priced entry point into the hobby. Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. But more important is the simple fact is that I learn more by building than by buying. If ham radio is really more than simply a glorified Citizen's Band, we are supposed to be educating and training outselves both to serve the public and to better our own understanding of radio and the radio arts. I think any attempt to make experimentation of that sort more accessible to the broad population of hams should be applauded. Mark KF6KYI Scott N0EDV geek wrote: On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Cheers, __ Gregg -- Scott http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/ Gotta Fly or Gonna Die Building RV-4 (Super Slow Build Version) |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
On Nov 6, 2:14 am, "W3JDR" wrote:
Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. --------------------------------------------------- You're joking, right? I think if you took a survey of 25 or so hams here (or in most other ham venues for that matter), you'd have a very difficult time finding even a few who have anything close to $3,000 invested in their hobby. Pile on me if I'm wrong guys, but pile on if I'm right too. Joe W3JDR That brought back a beautiful image from when I first got my license. A couple of other teens in the same town got their licenses at the same time. One, in particular, was on limited means. Very limited means. I remember going over to his house and being very happy for him that he was working all over the place on 15M CW, using a little one-tube regen receiver, parts scrounged from somewhere. And I see no reason you can't do the same sort of thing today, on CW at least. Both the receiver and the transmitter can be simple and still be effective. Cheers, Tom |
ARRL Homebrew Challenge
You can easily dump $3,000 into a single, contemporary, mid-range "box". I don't even look at the catalogs or QST any more for this stuff which is large, at least two big knobs, severa dozen other knobs/switches, and panadapter screen with fancy-schmantzy readout (digital send VFO freq, receive VFO freq, bandwidth graphics, etc). But, over the last 30 years, yes, in total I easily dumped more than $3K into several VHF rigs, one UHF rig, several handi-talkies, a number of solid state HF rigs, amplifiers, old retro tube gear, some antennas (beams), rotators, SWR meters, antenna tuners....it all adds up. Easily, quickly. Now, a guy can --it is possible--get on the air with something like a used TS-520 (good basic HF rig) dipole, coax, microphone, all bare minimum, for less than $500, maybe even less (520s maybe down to $250 these days, depending on how badly a guy wants to sell his). Me, yes, I have a 520 and an old Icom 707 (bought at a ham store for $400, and it is vintage entry level simple broadband rig from at least 20 years ago). And, a couple of boatanchors. ===== no change to below, included for reference and context ===== On Tue, 6 Nov 2007, W3JDR wrote: Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. --------------------------------------------------- You're joking, right? I think if you took a survey of 25 or so hams here (or in most other ham venues for that matter), you'd have a very difficult time finding even a few who have anything close to $3,000 invested in their hobby. Pile on me if I'm wrong guys, but pile on if I'm right too. Joe W3JDR "Mark VandeWettering" wrote in message . org... On 2007-10-29, Scott wrote: Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... :( Seems that most stuff homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas :) While I agree that $700 is quite reasonable for an all-band rig, there actually _are_ people for whom $700 is an unreasonable investment in their hobby. It isn't as important for them to actually operate on every band all at once, it's more important that they find a reasonably priced entry point into the hobby. Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. But more important is the simple fact is that I learn more by building than by buying. If ham radio is really more than simply a glorified Citizen's Band, we are supposed to be educating and training outselves both to serve the public and to better our own understanding of radio and the radio arts. I think any attempt to make experimentation of that sort more accessible to the broad population of hams should be applauded. Mark KF6KYI Scott N0EDV geek wrote: On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Cheers, __ Gregg |
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