The first radios I ever built....

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Originally Posted by N8YX

Very nice. I want to construct a multiband, solid-state all-mode transceiver/receiver combo some day but the bike homebrewing tends to take all my free project time.

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Time to re arrange your priorities:mrgreen:

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Originally Posted by W3WN

I saw an article in CQ for a one tube "peanut whistle" crystal controlled transmitter. 117N7GT tube, designed so that it didn't need a transformer or anything else.

I was young enough to not know better. I used a cardboard shoebox. All I had available at the time.

Damn thing worked, too.

However, nothing was soldered (my dad didn't trust me with a soldering iron then... well, at least not his, but he used them to create sculptures, not fix electronics, can you say "acid core solder"?) and my younger brother had to play with the wiring... first time I ever blew up some electrolytic capacitors.

One of these days, I need to find that schematic and rebuild that. I already have another tube, I do need to find a socket for it...

On Edit: A little research reminded me that the article I was referring to was called "The Peanut Whistle" and it was in the August 1965 issue of CQ. Never did find a copy of the article, though.

...and, no sooner do I post that, a quick search finds a copy on eBay for a couple of bills. I remember the issue now, it featured astronaut Owen Garriot W5LFL on the cover. Should have it in a couple of days...

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Issue came yesterday. Sure enough, Owen Garriot W5LFL on the cover, and the 3 watt one tube peanut whistle transmitter inside.

Just what I need, another project. But this will be a fun one, I hope!

The first tube radio I ever "built" was a kit for a 3 tube regenerative receiver from a kit company called Graymark. The entire thing was chassis wired. I built it in an afternoon. In addition to wiring all the components, they gave three coil forms and a spool of enamled wire. You had to wind and solder the plug in coils. 1 for the AM Bcash band and 2 for segments of the HF spectrum. By evening I was listening on it and it was pulling in stuff from all over. Then I hit the 75 meter phone band and I heard for the first time in my life the great East-Northeast / New England AM sound !! I heard for the first time some great call signs like Steve/WA1QIX, Pete/WA1SOV, Dirk/WA2CYT. WA1HLR/TimTron, Ed/WA3PUN, Chris/WA2OMH and a few others. Years later I finally got to join them on the aire. But, it all started with that little 3 tube regen kit.

The first transmitter I ever built (in 1974) was a two tube 40 meter CW rig. It was entirely scratch built up from a schematic. I spent most of the spring and summer scouring the local Radio Shack, Lafayette radio, Canal Street for the parts I needed. I ordered the crapstals and the B&W Coil stock from a company called "Trigger". When finished I got it to power up but I could never get it to oscillate properly. In those days I didn't have enough experience in laying out RF circuits so it was very unstable.