November 2009 - eBuild-A-Thon and BBQ

WOW, the November 2009 - eBuild-A-Thon and BBQ has come and gone, we had several projects being worked in different parts of the Shop at the same time -  I could not keep up with all of the very interesting projects, activities and chats. Sorry, photos were not taken.

The QRSS "Beac-in" (not talk-in) beacon was not found, no one brought DF equipment - therefore the prize will be saved for the next event in December.

By my count, there were 22 people that came by to work on projects or just chat throughout the day. Unfortunately, I did not get a complete list of names and calls, forgive me if I don't mention your name or project. Next time I will try to have a official "meet and greeter", to help with names, notes and project photos.

Roger K7RXV brought his network analyser, but I think he worked mostly on a PCB case for an Intermod Meter.

John KC7NVE brought his Transceiver, Portable Antenna and Laptop, to demonstrate station operations in; SSB, CW, and WSPR modes.

Doug W7RDP brought his Lineman Crimping tool for demonstration and use, Doug brought  a section of very small (1/8 inch) hard-line. It will be used for future project intra case connections.

Lyle KK7P worked on a PCB case for one of his  projects, by the count of the accumulated  punched circles at the base of the punch he was a very busy person. I am looking forward to see the resulting case and finished project.

The Next Day Photo

I love the evidence of intent work

Thanks to Lyle, we will now have many large "manhattan style" PCB construction components.

Alan K6ZY worked on repair of a watt meter via meter replacement and face plate adaptor.

For a while, there was competition for the punch access with so many PCB projects needing holes punched. Die changes were coordinated for best overall effective use.

Thanks to my sister, Carolyn, Lunch was served adhoc and projects were continued though out the day.

Tess (my dog) thought it was great - she had so many people that were willing played ball with her - she was exhausted by the end of the day, but she loved every minute.

Thanks to all for a enjoyable event.

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E-Mails

I had a great time at Eldon's eBuild-a-Thon today.

Eldon, your shop facility is, like, awesome, dude. Totally.

And the hospitality was superb. Thank you, than a big thanks to Carolyn
as well.

I'm hooked!

73,

Lyle KK7P

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All,

Just wanted to mention Richard L's Thames & Komos Radio Ace medium and shortwave dual-triode regenerative receiver he took to a past Build-A-Thon does work. It seemed to not work at the past Build-A-Thon because it has much poorer sensitivity than we expect from regenerative receivers. But today Richard turned it on in the low lands of Snohomiosh county and received multiple BCB (AM broadcast band) stations. Selectivity seems good for a simple receiver.

I'm hypothesizing using B+ = 12 volts on a 12AU7 handicaps the tube. (Or is it a 12AT7 or 12AX7?) Unlike most one or two active device receivers I've played with, an adjustable antenna loading coil did not improve volume on the AM BCB.

Annie, Richard, and I very much regret missing the Build-A-Thon. Richard is in pain from extensive (3-hours) dental work yesterday. I've not fully recovered my strength from mild food poisoning on Thursday. After describing a past Build-A-Thon to some e-pen-pals, some (hams in Kentucky, and Japan, and a technical university professor in Lima, Peru) have emailed me with very positive comments.

Very best regards and wishes to all,

Steven, KD7YTE

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