Tag: #kit-building

Clubs / Technical

PART of Westford Kit Building with DrDuino

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PART of Westford logoAndy Stewart, KB1OIQ, writes in the PART of Westford PARTicles newsletter, November, 2019:

The PART kit building team is Andy, KB1OIQ; Steve, W1KBE; and Allison, KB1GMX. We recently received a very generous donation from an anonymous member of ten (10) DrDuino kits. You may remember reading about this kit in a recent issue of QST.

The PART kit building activity got started in KB1OIQ’s basement classroom on November 7th, 2019. There were five (5) kit builders: George, K1IG; Rakesh, KC1HTB; Niece, KA1ULN; Rich, AB1HD; and Scott, KB1WMH. The first session was spent soldering together the kit. The next two sessions will be Arduino programming lessons taught by Andy (KB1OIQ). The attendees will learn how to program switches, LEDs, potentiometers, a speaker, an ultrasonic distance measuring device, and those very colorful (and BRIGHT) LED strips. If there is time, we may also make a simple CW practice oscillator and a binary counter displayed on the LEDs.

There will be a future kit building activity using the four (4) remaining DrDuino kits (I built one). Additionally, this training will be a great prerequisite for the DDS VFO kit that we’ll unleash during a future session.

All things considered; the first session went really well. I’m really looking forward to the next two sessions!

Clubs / Technical

80-Meter Amateur Radio Direction Finding Activity in Westford

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PART of Westford logoAndy Stewart, KB1OIQ writes on the PART of Westford list:

I have built an 80m fox transmitter and plan to deploy it once spring arrives.  I also have two ARDF receivers for 80m. Very preliminary testing shows that the fox can be heard on 3.5805 MHz at least 3/4 mile away on slightly hilly terrain. This fox transmitter consists of an Arduino, which I programmed for this project, and a Cricket 80a (an 80m QRP CW transceiver).  It runs off of a 9.6V NiMH rechargeable battery.

More detailed information and the Arduino source code, can be found at https://sourceforge.net/projects/kb1oiq-ham-radio-projects/files/80m_ardf

You have time to get your 80m fox receivers before spring arrives. Consider the R3500D from China, or the RigExpert FoxRex 3500, or build your own!

http://www.crkits.com/r3500d.jpg
https://rigexpert.com/products/ardf-receivers/foxrex-3500/

Have a lot of fun, and 73.

Youth

New England Technology Trek at NEAR-fest, May 4-5, 2018

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A Hudson, New Hampshire amateur is proposing a youth event at NEAR-fest on May 4-5, 2018.  Dubbed “New England Technology Trek,” the event’s focus is to expose youth to a number of exhibits and activities, including:

  • 3-D printers and CAD
  • Robotics.  Build a circuit. Build a robot
  • Drones, homemade and various applications
  • Space communications,  HAB and portable satellite station
  • Kit building
  • Software Defined Radios
  • RaspberryPi and Arduino applications
  • Fox hunting and outdoor adventures (SOTA)

Bill Barber, NE1B says a number of schools have been invited to participate. “You will see yellow buses on Friday, followed by kids and their parents on Saturday.  Stop by the Arts & Crafts Building to see what is happening. That’s the big building near the Fairgrounds entrance, the one with the VE tests downstairs.”

NE1B is looking for volunteers to help staff the eighteen- to twenty different exhibits. “Contact me if you can help for an hour or two.”  [yccc@groups.io]

Clubs / Technical

Zola Center Kit Building Workshop, Feb. 17

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Members of the Zola Center ARC are participating in a kit-building workshop on February 17, 2018 at the Irving K. Zola Center for Persons with Disabilities in Newton Highlands.

According to Zola Center ARC’s Bob Druk, WA1UIY, “the group will build continuity testers as a club project. At the December meeting we held a soldering workshop where we they learned the basic fundamentals of soldering. At the end of the session each participant was able to successfully solder the ends of wires together.” Many of the current Zola members are either legally or totally blind.

WA1UIY adds: “The continuity tester project is the next step in their progression. Their goal is to build an AM/FM radio from an Elenco kit which they hope to start by April.”

Additional volunteers are sought to assist in this project.

Dan Brown, W1DAN, Eastern Massachusetts Technical Coordinator and president of the Wellesley Amateur Radio Society will conduct this week’s session.