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Ham radio Blog, focusing on homebrewing and testing antennas, rig mods and contesting.

Presents a construction project for a 1:1 current balun, specifically detailing the _Sorbie Balun and Bottle Choke_ design. The resource outlines the winding technique, employing 4+4 turns of mini coaxial cable on a large ferrite core, and provides insights into the physical assembly. It includes specific material recommendations, such as the type of ferrite and coaxial cable, crucial for achieving the desired impedance transformation and common-mode current suppression. The content covers the practical steps involved in building the balun, from preparing the coaxial cable to securing the windings on the ferrite toroid. It also discusses the integration of the balun into an antenna system, emphasizing its role in maintaining pattern integrity and reducing RF interference in the shack. The resource offers a clear, step-by-step approach, making the project accessible for homebrewers. Illustrations and photographs accompany the text, visually guiding the builder through each stage of construction. The article concludes with performance expectations and considerations for deployment, ensuring the constructed balun functions effectively across the intended frequency range.

A few pictures of an homebrew magnetic loop RTX antenna project, working from 30 to 12 meters with excellent results

Home Brew a 4-1000A RF power amplifier project by W4NFR

Desgining crystal filters and find out crystal data by measuring it.

Solar power DIY kits. Homebrew your own solar power regulator, and power center.

Vhf and UHF homebrewers of hardware and antennas. Find help, idea, or someone with just the same interest as you.

AX.25 Packet Modem homebrew project on Arduino

DIY beacon for six meters band by K9MU

Amateur radio kits. Makers of the WinKeyer, their goal is to keep homebrewing and kit building alive.

Homebrewing special insulators with PVC and copper corona rings

A december 2003 QST article to Build a condenser microphone that will perform like the costly commercial units by KT4QW

Homebrew 30 meter full quarter wave vertical antenna.

This online project guide details the construction of a homebrew boom microphone system. It details the assembly of a microphone shell from a 3/4" PVC pipe section and an end cap, requiring a drilled hole for a snug fit of the electret or condenser mic element. The internal wiring schematic specifies a **2.2 K** resistor and a **47 uF** polar capacitor for signal conditioning, with a circuit diagram provided for integration with IC-706 series transceivers. The guide outlines the use of CAT-5 cable for internal connections, incorporating strain relief at the rear of the mic shell, and an inline 3.5 mm jack to facilitate an external _PTT_ line, designed for a foot-mounted switch. Further construction involves fabricating a microphone shock mount from a 2-inch PVC connector, detailing the creation of four "fingers" and the insertion of screw-eyes for attaching elastic bands, which are twisted 180 degrees for tensioning and vibration isolation. A foam wind screen is also incorporated into the microphone assembly, secured with adhesive. The boom arm itself is repurposed from an articulated architect lamp, with the original lamp assembly converted into a **60 watt** resistive load for testing power sources. Microphone cabling is secured to the boom arm using wire ties, ensuring sufficient slack at hinge points to maintain articulation. The boom base is mounted to a bookshelf, requiring specific positioning to achieve proper microphone placement in front of the operator. Performance evaluation of the microphone system is conducted through on-air audio signal reports from other amateur radio operators. DXZone Focus: Online Project Guide | Boom Microphone Construction | Electret Mic Element | PTT Line

A 70 MHz QRP transverter project

Homebrewing portable antennas for field day operations

Homebrew Amateur Radio 440Mhz Interdigital Bandpass Filter

Announces the retirement of Brand Electronics, a manufacturer specializing in **power meters** and various ham radio accessories, effective 2025. The company has served the amateur radio community for over 35 years, providing equipment for station setup and operation. The product line historically included accessories compatible with major transceivers from Icom, Yaesu, and Kenwood, alongside components and technical references for homebrew projects. Their offerings supported accurate RF power measurement, crucial for optimizing antenna systems and ensuring legal limit compliance. This notice serves as a final update regarding the company's operational status, marking the cessation of manufacturing and sales activities. The site provides no further details on product support or inventory liquidation.

Home Brew 6 Meter Amplifier with a single 4CX250B by W4NFR

A 50 MHz homemade RF spectrum analyzer

OZ9FW CDG2000 High-end transceiver homebrew project

The page provides a detailed guide on how to build your own NOAA weather satellite receiving station, covering hardware, antenna, computer setup, and software installation. It offers a straightforward explanation suitable for beginners and serves as an educational project. The content includes step-by-step instructions and tips for observing satellites in the night sky.

Homebrewing a vhf bicone antenna with 8 clothes hangers and 4 feet of Sch40 non-metallic rigid conduit

Some techniques on homebrewing yagi antennas by VK5AJL

Six meters is a great band for home built Yagis. The elements are reasonably small, but not so small that building tolerances are critical. With careful construction and detailed instructions, it is certainly feasible to build no-tune Yagis up to 432 MHz.

Homebrewing an W3HH Antenna in french

An attempt to make a capacitor out of kitchen foil and cling film

A 144MHz FM class C RF Power Amplifier based on a 2N6084 RF transistor, that can produce 50w output max

Homebrew CW notch filter project by KN9B

Homebrew Tube Projects, Vacuum Tube Data, Articles From Old Handbooks

How to homemade antenna to be used with a handheld on the aircraft band to locate noise sources

Antenna design for Horn Antennas

Noise Canceller kit originally developed about 1989 by G4WMX and GW3DIX and improved by DK9NL and DG0KW.The VK5TM Noise Canceller is another version of the design, with the HF Vox circuit removed and a couple of other minor changes, including the use of SMD JFETs and a double-sided pcb.

Constructing a dip oscillator provides radio amateurs with a fundamental piece of test equipment for resonant circuit analysis. This particular design, adapted by VK3YE from a concept by _Drew Diamond VK3XU_, details a practical build using readily available components. The unit incorporates four plug-in coils, covering a frequency range from **2.6 MHz to 55 MHz**, mounted on 5-pin DIN plugs for versatility. A salvaged two-gang air dielectric variable capacitor, fitted with a vernier reduction drive, serves as the tuning mechanism, with the smaller gang optimizing bandspread at higher frequencies. In practical application, the dip oscillator is used by setting the meter needle to approximately two-thirds scale. When the instrument's coil is brought near a tuned circuit under test, a noticeable dip in the meter reading indicates resonance. This allows for precise measurement of resonant frequencies in antennas, filters, and other RF circuitry, proving invaluable for homebrewing and troubleshooting. The design emphasizes short wire runs for stable operation, particularly at the higher end of its operational range.

The Information Source For Makers, Experimenters, DIY, Home Brewers, Restorers, and Amateur Radio Operators

A fun little project I did over a couple of days was making this little 6 element yagi for 70cm. There are so many designs and ways one can do this so after some reading of different designs and measurements

23cm 1296 MHz Field Day Yagi Construction, a 26 element conventional-style design. Article with several pictures and detailed homebrewing instructions

Blog site for various home brew projects including antennas, power dividers etc

An homebew microphone boom by W2DTC

Homebrewing a Lightweight linked dipole HF antenna for portable SOTA operations

Homebrew, QRP, Beacons & Diplomatic / Spy Radio

Full article on how to build a home-made wire dipole antenna for 40 and 80 meters band. Article is fully in italian, as it was published on ARI RadioRivista, but is plenty of self explaining pictures that will guide you on homebrewing this trapped dipole antenna for the lower amateur radio bands.

Make your own battery clip by nj2x

This antenna is designed for stations having a difficult time putting a decent signal on 160M from small or CC&R d lots. It is a 24.5 ft. vertical antenna, made from three 10 ft. PVC sections bolted together, and half wavelength of antenna wire helically wound around the PVC sections.

Constructing a high-performance RF spectrum analyzer up to 1000 MHz requires careful attention to component selection, shielding, and circuit isolation. This resource details a project that improves upon the _Spectrum Analyzer for the Radio Amateur_ design by Wes Hayward (W7ZOI) and Terry White (K7TAU), incorporating ideas from Scotty Sprowls' project, particularly his 1013.3 MHz IF bandpass cavity filter. The analyzer utilizes a Mini-Circuits SRA-11 mixer with a sweeping local oscillator from 1013 to 2013 MHz, feeding into a 4-pole copper pipe cavity filter. The design employs a second SRA-11 mixer with a fixed 1024 MHz LO to produce a 10.7 MHz final IF. This signal then passes through narrowband resolution filters and is processed by Analog Devices AD603 and AD8307 ICs for IF amplification and logarithmic detection, driving an oscilloscope in X/Y mode. The project emphasizes modular construction, using salvaged components and double-sided FR4 material for PCBs, with critical notes on minimizing spurious images through effective shielding and proper voltage regulation for each module. Key components include a Z-Communications V585ME48 VCO for the first LO and a Z-Comm V583ME01 VCO controlled by a Motorola MC145151 PLL for the second LO. An optional Hittite HMC307 step attenuator and K&L 5L121-1000/T5000-O/O low-pass filter manage RF input. Tuning procedures for the 10.7 MHz IF resolution filter are also detailed, showing before-and-after spectrum views.

A very well done presentation about End-Fed Half-Wave antennas. This PDF document contains a summary of experiences in how to build custom EFHW antennas. Includes an interesting comparison table of UnUn configurations with recommended toroids, Wire size, turns and capacitors. An useful recap on common errors in building homebrew EFHW Ununs completes the document.

A two element beam antenna for ten meters band. This home-brew two-element beam is the perfect introduction to rolling your own gain antenna

Amateur Radio I0QM personal page with station and QSO information. Includes homebrew projects

A Tower Project at WOIVJ. A pictorial story of the erection of a 40 foot, self-supporting, fold-over tower.

A homebrew radio transmitter project, based and inspired by the original 30 Watts input on 80 50 and 15 meters band transmitter by W11CP