The DC Receiver Project

Since this photo, I've added an additional filtered RF stage at the input which increases the sensitivity a whole bunch. (A technically educated fellow would include a db figure to show the gain here, but I'll stick to the dabblers definition of "whole bunch." Also added a couple of voltage regulators to provide different voltage levels for the chips, etc.

Anyway, the receiver is now housed in a nice, unmarked, metal case with two knobs on the front and on the back are two switches, one for power and the other to switch in the additional front end stage. Also, on the back, is the antenna, power, and speaker jacks.

The receiver tuning with a ten-turn pot is nice and smooth. It covers the 40 meter CW band. (Of course with a DC receiver you get twice as much for your money, hearing the same signal twice!) I do intend to juggle the capacitors in the tank circuit, using some poly caps with to offset some of the drift that occurs with changes to ambient temperatures. (Someday, when there's a clear spot on the workbench.)

Steelhead?

No Steelhead in the river. There is a dam at the lower end of Couer d'Alene lake that blocks all upstream fish migration, so no annual upstream flow of migrating fish. (No sea-run from the columbia.)

This is a Northern Pike.. It was caught by my fishing buddy's grandson. Twenty-nine pounds. Quite a fish for a 12 year old!

Northern Pike were illegally planted in the Coeur d'Alene lake several years ago and now it is a very good but regulated fishery, making the local tackle sellers lots of money.

 

Kokanee

 

 

 

For Frank and the Woodrat Bunch.. Blueback (Kokanee) before and after..

For Frank and Joe

More views of the ATS-3. Power, headphone, and key jacks.

A view of the business end of the ATS-3. Powers on with cw sidetone, identifying the band. A single press of the Menu button announces the frequency in CW.

This is the iambic paddles my nephew gave me several years ago.
http://www.wa0itp.com/n5drbpadpix.html

This is the home-brew tuner, built by Fred, W7KCP, a local OT who is now in Assisted Living and no longer on the air. It will handle lots of power and tunes my wires FB...

ATS-3 (Ham Radio

Frank and Joe, this is the ATS-3. The enclosure is quite simple, consisting of two Altoids tins with the lids tack slodered together. One houses the transceiver and the other is storage for the extra band modules and battery leads. Most of the time I also have a nine volt transistor battery which will provide about 3 watts output for several hours of operation.

Canadian Jay (Camp Robber)

A quiet bird of the conifer forests, the Canadian Jay is better known as "Camp Robber." Camp in the northern woods for any length of time and these birds will show up. Silently drifting out of the conifers to confiscate food scraps, they become quite bold in short time.

Pictured here is one of a pair that were feeding on elder berries growing along an old logging road in the Lindstrom Peak area south of St. Maries, ID. (Where I live.)

Ready for winter?

Bev and I Stopped at the Giant White Pine on White Pine Drive for a pic-nic lunch and we were joined by this little pine squirrel, who was busily working the fir trees for cones. They cache cones in tree cavities and on the ground around stumps and dead trees, etc., for winter food banks.