The technology of spread spectrum has a strange history with an unlikely cast of characters. Here’s a very condensed synopsis:
In 1911, an Austrian naval officer of Italian descent named Georg von Trapp married a young gal named Agathe Whitehead, who just so happened to be the great-granddaughter of the torpedo’s inventor, an Englishman named Robert Whitehead.
Von Trapp was a submariner and within three years, he’d use a primitive submarine and Whitehead’s equally primitive but effective torpedoes to kill over 700 of his wife’s former countrymen, sinking a total of 48,000 tons worth of British (and one French) ships during World War I.
Years passed, seasons and politics changed and World War II loomed… Continue reading 'Spread spectrum’s cause/effect, history & characters'»
In 1902, Guglielmo Marconi received the letter S in Morse Code from across the Atlantic.
His receiver used a coherer as its detector and, since today is Marconi’s birthdate, I decided to to build one myself and make a video of its operation. Continue reading 'My video tribute to Marconi…and Branly'»
From CQ Magazine, Oct 1972
Freely downloadable as a pdf file from Ade W0RSP:
The Five Watt QRP Movement in the US, 1968-81 is a 119 page look at the changes and personalities of QRP during the years covered.
Contributing authors include Doug DeMaw W1FB, Wes Hayward W7ZOI and others.
From back when QRPers shared their news via mimeographed newsletters, a look back at the sequence of events that led QRP from 100 watts to today’s 5 watt definition.
Contained within Ade’s ebook are snippets from various newletters describing circuits, QRP results and ads from Ten Tec’s pre-Argonaut days when $50 would buy a “completely wired” Power-Mite transceiver.
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Table of Contents
Part 1. K6JSS and the 100-watt QRP ARCI …………………………………………. 1
Part 2. QRP/8 Newsletter, QRPP CORNER Column, and THE MILLIWATT:
The Beginning of the Five-Watt QRP Movement in the US … 3 Continue reading 'New eBook from Ade Weiss W0RSP'»
1952 Hallicrafters - click for larger
A recent blog posting by Mike VE3WDM has re-kindled an interest I’ve had for a long time – to build a QRP rig into a clear housing.
With such housings being made by Dave W8FGU to fit various Elecraft accessory kits, along with Hanz W1JSB’s see-thru project to inspire me, I recently bought a sheet of Lexan and a few appropriate tools for working with it. Now I’m just waiting for a kit to build into it.
(You reading this, Jason? Hint, hint…!) Continue reading 'Transparent construction and “printed wires”'»
If our music-loving predecessors could see us today with our tiny MP3 players that hold thousands of songs…
Judging from the following articles, portable music - if not easily attainable - has always been on the drawing board and in the imagination.
”Listening to the Sunday sermon while motoring” – what a concept. Continue reading 'Inspiration for Sony’s Walkman?'»
Radio and aviation began at roughly the same time and perhaps it can be said that they also progressed at similar rates. With no prior trend to look back on, it’s almost understandable that those in aviation might look to blame radio for some of the inevitable occasions when gravity won out over aerodynamics.
With “countless thousands of horsepower of RF being pumped into the air” and no pre-radio aviation history that would allow them to say, “Hey, these things stayed in the air before you guys with your QRO tubes came along!” they can almost be said to have a point worth investigating.
From Modern Mechanix, June 1933: Continue reading 'Blaming radio'»
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