Front L-R: Jack, N9TG - Don, WA9TGT - Jeff, K9ESE Roy, KV8KV - Tim, WB9NLZ Back L-R: Jack, WA0QZK - Rich, WB9LPU - Ned, W8VFM Jeff, KE9V - Tony, KB9YIG - Bill, W9VC

September 10, 2005

It's difficult to imagine how the summer got by us as quickly as it did but before we knew it, the time for another gathering of the ECI-QRP gang was upon us. The turnout was surprisingly light given the pains taken to find a Saturday in September that agreed with most folks schedule and an all-star line-up of presentations.

Nevertheless, eleven low-powered enthusiasts showed up for what was quite possibly the very best session we've had to date.

In attendance for the first time were Roy Crosier, KV8KV and Jack Worth, WA0QZK who made the long journey from northern Indiana to join us.

Returning visitors from afar included Tim Stabler, WB9NLZ from Valpraiso and Ned Newlin, W8VFM. Ned again gets the prize for traveling the farthest to join us as he lives in Sandcreek, Michigan. Bill Murray, W9VC was in from Richmond, Indiana and Rich Meiss, WB9LPU drove up from Speedway. Rounding things out from the local posse were; Tony Parks, KB9YIG, Jack Reynolds, N9TG, Jeff Imel, K9ESE, Don Garrett, WA9TGT and yours truly.

The setup at the library was as usual, fantastic. We like this particular location because there's plenty of room, the place is well-lighted, and it includes a nice little kitchen. As has become our custom, we had plenty of coffee, sodas, cookies and snacks. It's all brain food aimed at stimulating technical discussions. Or so we've been told.

After the initial warm-ups and niceties, we watched the ARRL Goes to Washington video. It's a nice piece of work that provides a tiny overview of the legal legwork done on behalf of radio amateurs by the ARRL. We also sampled their new 30 second radio-spot that highlights the role of amateur radio in the Hurricane Katrina disaster. It's also a very good bit of work.

First Presentation: The SoftRock-40

At a gathering nearly a year ago, Tony Parks, KB9YIG shared with us his enjoyment and discoveries using the software defined radio from Flex-Radio. Who would have guessed that in less than a year, he would have designed what has become the hottest kit on the market? But that's just what he did along with software developer Bill Tracey, KD5TFD. After kitting over 400 SoftRock's he has turned the project over to AMQRP who are ramping up to sell a boatload of these tiny wonders.

So for this gathering, we asked Tony to tell us all about the project.

The SoftRock-40 is a tiny 40 meter receiver. A software defined radio receiver that is tiny enough to be nearly lost in the nearest USB port. By the way, the USB connection is only a convenient way to borrow 5Vdc from the computer and no other signals make use of that connection. Otherwise, the receiver needs an antenna and a Line-In connection to a PC soundcard. All the rest of the work is provided by software that can be downloaded for free and the PC. We were all amazed at the receiver performance ... MDS readings of of -128 dBm are typical, with the 1 dB compression level at about -20 dBm! With just a hunk of wire tacked to the wall we were easily able to copy CW while inside the library.

Tony's presentation included a schematic, parts list and and PCB layout. Someone asked about the software used to generate the scematic and board layout and we were told that Express PCB was used and sounds like a great way to create and have made proto-type quantity printed circuit boards.

You can find all of the details, like minimum PC requirements, where to obtain and install the free software, and how to order from the SoftRock-40 Kit Resource page. The kit costs $23 (US & CAN) and $28 (DX) and they are kitting the second round of 400 right now. For those who don't want to assemble one, the board can be purchased pre-built for an additional fee.

Tony mentioned future enhancements to the project that are kicking around like including a soundcard chip on the receiver board as well as integrating the current work into a complete transceiver. Who knows how far this little Rock might skip?

We are very fortunate to have so many talented people like KB9YIG in our little group. Many thanks to Tony for his work and effort in keeping us on the cutting edge of this emerging technology.

Second Presentation: An Approach to Metalworking

Richard Meiss, WB9LPU is a true craftsman and I'll tell you how I know that. Whenever Rich passes around a half-dozen or so of his home made keys and paddles, I never get to see them all because folks don't pass them around the table--they just don't want to let them go! At our last gathering we asked Rich if he would put together a presentation to show us some of his hints and kinks for making good looking gear.

He obliged us with this presentation that he titled: An Approach to Metalworking or How to Make Things So That It Looks Like You Knew What You Were Doing. Rich has published the companion article, A Simple Straight Key Project - a twenty page PDF document with pictures and information used in this presentation.

Rich shared with us his years of experience in making things look good without having a fully-equipped machine shop. His tips and hints for measuring, marking, and building jigs so that things like holes in two pieces actually mate up when assembled were most helpful. I don't think I was the only one who was surprised to see just how well machined a part looked when in fact the only tool to touch it was a drill press and hand file.

Planning and visualization of the end product was stressed. Rich says to plan, plan, plan and then sketch what you want to build on a napkin. Once your project is firmly established in your imagination, try to move it to some sort of CADD program. Many inexpensive and free programs are available, like these.

The common sense approach to mechanical design says that you try to take advantage of stock sizes of raw metals (rod stock and bar stock) and standard sizes of nuts and screws. Metal stock is dimensioned quite accurately in thickness and width, and the square edges are also quite dependable. Start off using aluminum for your first project, and choose a good machining alloy such as 2024-T4 (quite strong and hard) or 6061 (a bit softer, but still good to work with). Brass can come a bit later, since there are some special considerations for working with it.

Rich says that obtaining good materials to work with isn't at all tough, but he suggests that shopping online is in order. There are many sources of metal and other materials and parts that do business over the internet. A good source for materials is McMaster-Carr, which has an excellent interactive web site and offers very fast service, even with small quantities. Small Parts, Inc. also has an excellent stock of materials, although they are a bit more expensive. For metals only, you can try OnLine Metals. They are very accommodating and will cut metal to length for a small fee. These companies also have lots of written material describing the projects and what they are best suited for.

You'll want to obtain this entire presentation including links, pictures and slides as soon at is available. We will put it up on the Web page in PDF format for downloading.

A big THANK-YOU to Richard for inspiring us all to strive to make better looking projects. While I know he has a well apportioned shop, his suggestions and tips for making good looking components with a minimum of equipment were dead on.

Wrap-Up - But Wait!

Nearly four hours after getting things rolling, the pretzel bags were almost exhausted along with the cookies. A third pot of coffee had been drained and it was nearly time to tie the ribbons on this gatheirng. But wait! Bill Murray, W9VC had brought along a big box of special goodies to look at. Last time he did that out poppped a gen-u-ine 75M SSB receiver built by none other than Doug DeMaw, W1FB (SK). Wrapping things up would just have to wait!

Bill showed us what could well be one of the biggest collections of crystals anyone ever snagged in several bags at a hamfest. Some of the crystals were from the UK and were inside of glass tubes with an octal-like socket. No idea where those came from. Bill's idea of fun comes from buying a bargain bag of parts for next to nothing at a hamfest then seeing what all he can build from it ... what was it, 15 transmitters from a $5 bag of junk? Something like that. Send him a note on the mailing list and ask him about it - maybe it was 30 transmitters from a single bag...

Bill always brings along a LOT to see and this time was no exception. I think we could all take a lesson from him and spend more time looking for valuable junk lurking under the tables at hamfests. It goes right to the heart and beginning of amateur radio. Thanks Bill, keep bringing them goodies!

Door Prizes

If you never win anything then you missed an excellent chance to change all that if you missed this meeting. We had eleven attendees and at least seven door prizes ... and whenever someone won something, we took their name out of the hat. Them's darned good odds!

Many thanks to all those who generously donated to the fun. Below are listed all of the donated prizes and the winners that I recall. There is a good chance that I missed or confused something so please drop me a note and set it straight. I'll update this page as soon as I hear from you. I'm doing this from memory and it isn't that good these days!

That pretty well wrapped up things for yet another gathering of the ECI-QRPers. Watch the main Web site for details on our next gathering. You won't want to miss it!

Thanks to everyone for attending, donating prizes, refreshments and snacks, and a special thanks to those making presentations. I think this was our best yet.

See you next time!

Vy 72 de Jeff, KE9V
ECI-QRP #005