Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Slo-Polks CW NET


SLO-POLKS CW NET
Freq 7.043.000
Alternate 7.041.500
Every Sunday Evening
9:00pm
Starting Nov. 7, 2010
We will begin with check-ins and then take comments
in check-in order after announcements, and traffic.
Speed will be that of the slowest check-in rate.
Any questions call Gary 863-510-5649 or ks4ji@yahoo.com
NECOS KS4JI

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Tour WTES With Don

Don Jerrings will be giving a tour of the WTES transmitter and downlink facility on Knights Station Road next Tuesday, October 19, 2010, approximate time 10:30 AM. Space is limited so please RSVP Don at djeerings@tampabay.rr.com . Don will give you directions, or if you wish, you can join the breakfast club for breakfast next Tuesday, 9:00 AM, at the Brunch Box, and Don will direct all interested parties to the site after the meal.

The Brunch Box735 East Memorial Boulevard
Lakeland, FL 33801-1847
863) 686-9786
Get directions

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Thursday, October 7, 2010

Rust Remover For Morse Code

So you want to sharpen those rusty Morse code skills. Short of humming dits and dahs you might want to generate some sounds using a key. We all remember those buzzers we used as kids. They were basically door bells with the hammer removed, and didn't produce a very realistic sound. Today, by replacing the old door buzzer with a piezo buzzer we can utilize the same simple series circuit to produce a much more pleasant tone. Piezo buzzers are found in things like microwave ovens that signal when you coffee is warm, and can be purchased for as little as a dollar. If you have a HF radio, and don't mind being tied down to it, most of these allow you to send code to your speaker only, and make good code practice oscillators. Or, you might want to build a code oscillator utilizing one of the oldest, and still very popular integrated circuits the 555 timer.

Don Jeerings was kind enough to supply the following circuit and parts list. It is certainly a more complicated approach than an electro magnet or piezo buzzer in series with a key and battery, but if you are interested in learning more about the 555 timer, and dusting off those soldering skills the extra effort is justified.

Here is the parts list:

1, 9 volt battery connector
2. Resistor, 689 ohm (in stock
3, Resistor 1 K (in stock)
4. Resistor 10 K 5, pot
5. 25 K (pitch control)
6. pot 500 ohm (volume control)
7. Condenser 0.22 Mfd
8. Condenser 10 Mfd
9. Speaker 8 ohm $1.29 (Jameco)
10 IC chip 555 timer
11 8 pin dip socket
12 Key jack
13 Substrate of some sort to mount the above equipment