Ten-Tec 1054 Shortwave Kit
 

Hi,

I built a Ten-Tec 1054 kit and I don't seem to be able to pick up any
stations. I've rechecked all the parts and they are all in the right
place and oriented correctly. I get a lot of static, but nothing that
even sounds like a signal. I live in Chicago. Are there a lot of
stations that can be picked up from here? I'm using a 6 foot antenna.
Any suggestions?

Ten-Tec 1054 Shortwave Kit
 

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,

I built a Ten-Tec 1054 kit and I don't seem to be able to pick up any
stations. I've rechecked all the parts and they are all in the right
place and oriented correctly. I get a lot of static, but nothing that
even sounds like a signal. I live in Chicago. Are there a lot of
stations that can be picked up from here? I'm using a 6 foot antenna.
Any suggestions?

A simple sanity check is to check the AM band.

Ten-Tec 1054 Shortwave Kit
 

Ten-Tec 1054 Shortwave Kit
 

I discovered that the solder connections on a capacitor were bad.
Apparently, the solder iron overheated the contacts on the board
causing plastic on the board to melt onto the contact. I made a
temporary fix by soldering the capacitor directly to the resistors it
is connecting. I'm picking up radio stations now, but there is a loud
squeal. Maybe the timer is oscillating? Is there anything that can
clean melted plastic off a contact?

Ten-Tec 1054 Shortwave Kit
 

I think the board has some kind of plastic or polymer coating because
the heat from the solder iron causes the clear coating to melt. I'll
hook the circuit up to an o-scope to see what part is oscillating. I
suspect something is miswired, I'll let you guys know later in the week
how it went. Thanks for everyone's help!