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Before yesterdayMain stream

Who can tell us more about Lovelock's homebrew shortwave radio?

✇SolderSmoke Daily News
By: Bill Meara
5 September 2024 at 10:13

"Three years earlier, Lovelock had listened on his homemade shortwave radio in Finchley to the 'beep, beep, beep' transmission of the USSR’s Sputnik, the first satellite that humanity had put into orbit. Now he was playing with the super powers."


A bit of a soap opera, but the radio question is, I think,  interesting. 

AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium 2024

✇AMSAT-UK
By: Editor
25 July 2024 at 06:50

Kents Hill Park Conference Centre Milton Keynes MK7 6BZAMSAT-UK is pleased to announce that the 2024 Colloquium will take place alongside the RSGB Convention at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Milton Keynes, MK7 6BZ on the weekend of 12/13th October 2024.

As in previous years, the AMSAT-UK Colloquium will run as a separate stream within the RSGB Convention and will include presentations on a variety of satellite and space related topics.

The Annual General Meeting of AMSAT-UK will take place during the colloquium.

An AMSAT Gala Dinner will be held on the evening of Saturday 12th October at the Marriott Delta Hotel on Trimbold Drive, Kents Hill, Milton Keynes MK7 6HL. Attendance is restricted this year at the hotel and a limited number of tickets are on sale via the AMSAT-UK Online Shop https://shop.amsat-uk.org/

The cost of the Gala Dinner is £39 per person and includes a three course meal with tea / coffee at its conclusion.

Alongside the Gala Dinner, AMSAT-UK has negotiated a deal at the Marriott Delta for the evening of Saturday 12th October 2024. These rooms include breakfast on Sunday 13th and are priced at £89 per room for single occupancy. Tickets for the Gala Dinner can be purchased on the AMSAT-UK Online Shop.

Bookings for the Gala Dinner are now available on the AMSAT-UK Shop, but must close on 1st October 2024 unless sold out sooner, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Entrance to the RSGB Convention is managed by the RSGB and you will be required to purchase Day Tickets for the Saturday and/or Sunday to attend the AMSAT-UK Colloquium.

RSGB Convention booking is at https://rsgb.org/main/rsgb-2024-convention/

The schedule of Colloquium talks will be released closer to the date.

Electromagnetic Waves -- Sir Lawrence Bragg -- Royal Institution (Video)

✇SolderSmoke Daily News
By: Bill Meara
14 July 2024 at 11:14

This is a really wonderful video.  I especially liked his presentation on the nature of the EM spectrum, and his use of the centimeter waves to demonstrate wave behaviour.   The two slit experiment was very nice.  Sir Lawrence's presentation on SWR was brilliant.  

Still, you wonder how would all this be done if those waves of Sir Lawrence (and Young, Maxwell and Faraday) were considered to be the photons that they also really are? 

In any case, three cheers for the Royal Institution: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search?q=Royal+Institution  


Rigs on Vertical Boards -- Then and Now

✇SolderSmoke Daily News
By: Bill Meara
22 May 2024 at 12:57

 
I saw this on Facebook today.  G1AVQ (SK) Rig

The G1AVQ rig reminded me of the N3FJZ rig that I worked in 2015:

I am a big fan of breadboards, and have recently been following the lead of Frank Jones W6AJF in using pine boards as the bases for my homebrew rigs.  Mine are more horizontal, but we see here from N3FJZ and G1AVQ that a vertical orientation works too.  

Laser Communication in London 2007 -- a Pointer, a VW Solar Panel, and Radio Kismet

✇SolderSmoke Daily News
By: Bill Meara
21 May 2024 at 11:52

Hack-A-Day has an article today about using a laser for data transmission.   This reminded me of a discussion I had with Mike KL7R about similar systems.  My son Billy and I built a very simple version in London in 2007.  Check out the podcast above.  Scroll foward to 19 minutes 15 seconds and you will hear how we did this.  

This was Mike's last podcast.  He was killed in a car accident in Hawaii about 10 days later.  RIP Mike.  73 OM.  

Mike KL7R


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