Hot Iron Table of Tech Topics

Hot Iron’s editors are Peter Thornton, G6NGR and Frank Barnes, W4NPN.  Send membership or content questions to Frank at fbw4npn@gmail.com and send technical questions to Peter at  equieng@gmail.com 

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Topic of Interest Issue
Amplifier: Amplifier Classes 111
Amplifier: Emitter Follower, buffer 61, 68, 110
Amplifier, Bi-directional 107
Antenna: Grounding 111
Antenna: Current Indicator Circuit, Stripline SWR Measurements, 55, 109, 100, 118
Antenna: Folded Dipoles, “Universal” HF antenna (no ground) 107, 115
Antennas for Small Spaces; mini-80 meter dipole 34, 115
Antenna: Impedance Bridge (see Google for Sevick’s(SK) and Lythall’s (SM0VPO) work also) 100, 106, 109
Antenna: Resistive Matching Bridge 100, 109, 110
Antenna: Antenna Matching Metering 51
Antenna: Measuring Antenna Current 23, 116
Antenna: Current Meter 55, 56, 116
Antenna: The Inverted VEE (also see Cebik’s work under “Antennas” on this website). 107
Antenna: Loop Counterpoises 111
Antenna: Wire tuner & counterpoise tuner, with RF Amp meter,  Random Wire Tuner, ATU 90, 100, 114
Antenna: Loops & Nested Loops (85) 85, 95, 96
Antenna: Nested Dipole – all bands 68
Antenna: Matching Unit, losses,  efficiency 23, 24, 94
Antenna: Antennas, Tuners & ATU’s 101, 116
Antennas: Mini-Whip, Low height, RF Current Meter, Active RF Antenna 108, 100
Antenna: Random wires, counterpoises, etc 90
Antenna: RF Power Meter, SWR 99, 116
Antenna: Switching/transfer 103
Antenna: Top Loaded (1) & (2); Top Hats 96, 97
Antenna: 80 Meter Mobile, Mobile Bobtail 60, 114
Antenna: Low VHF Antenna Ideas 67
Antenna: Doublet Antenna Ideas 66
Antenna: Changeover Relays and Relay Contact Protection 103
Antenna: Balanced to Unbalanced Transformation 39
Antenna: Toroidal Transformers and Matching 39
Antenna: QRP Dummy Load Power Meter 3
Antenna: Variable High Voltage Capacitors – Pi Network Couplers 104
Antenna: The EP Antenna 49
Antenna: UHF; using copper water pipe 101
Antenna: Masts & Guys; Corrosion, Gin-Poles 110, 117
Attenuators, 50 ohm, etc 48
Audio: High-gain Audio Amp 85
Audio: Audio Amp Chips – Information & Comparisons 65, 116
Audio: A Versatile Audio Amplifier 20
Audio: Valve Heaven 112
Audio: The Audio Cube, W4AMV 111
Audio: Audio Preamplifier 85
Audio: Tuning Headphones & Select-O-Jet 100
Audio: Humbuckers & Mixed Topics 103, 117
Audio: Microphones & AGC for mikes 64, 79, 104
Audio: Microphones & More 73, 101, 103, 104, 117
Audio: Speech Processing, Filters 116, 118
Audio: Solid State Amp Chips; LM386 65, 114, 116
Audio: Audio Millivoltmeter 21
Audio: Adding Audio AGC to a Receiver 88, 22
Audio: Power Transformers as Audio Output Transformers 107
Batteries 117
Capacitors: Value calculations, formulas 42
Capacitors: Variable HV, using switches 104
Capacitors Electrolytic, Testing, Storage, Old ones, Reforming 80, 100, 107, 115
Capacitors: “X” and “Y” types for AC lines 107, 108
Capacitance Calculations 108
Capacitors: Polarity, Foil end 100
Capacitors: Home made HV Capacitors 111
Capacitance Multiplier, Regulator Output Smoothing; Wrap-around, Gyrater 106, 108, 110
Components:  Electrolytics, ESR, etc 79, 110
Components: Op Amp Theory 51
Components: Home Made RF Chokes & Low Ohms Resistors 112
Components: Ceramic Resonators; pulling 53, 62
Components: Crystals 100 (2 articles), 116, 117
Components: Common Diodes as Varactors 52, 53
Components: LED Photo Diodes 100
Components: Digital & Analog Potentiometers 35, 117
Components: Diode Switching 41
Components: FET Biasing 40
Components: Fuses: Multiple Uses for 100
Components: HV Diodes (microwave, others) 108
Components: Inductance Calculations, Free Inductors, Much more 78, 100, 114
Components: Inductive Reactance, markings 43
Components: Transformers, 50/60 cycle, Dull Lamp Test, Calculations, etc 100
Components: Logic Chip Families, Desoldering 22, 117
Components: Pinout diagrams of transistors 63
Components: Testing Mosfets 66
Components: TOKO IF Can Freq Ranges 13, 65
Components: Toroid winding 23, 25
Components: Zener Diodes; testing 18
Components: Voltage Regulators; irregularities 107
Components: Logic Families – Characteristics 22
Components: Op Amp Configurations; Single-Rail Op Amps 87, 100
Components: Designing Series Resonant RF Tracks 23
Components: Solid State Replacements for 6AK5, EL95 & others 78, 84, 100
Components: Sourcing Low-value NPO Capacitors 67
Components: Beware of Buffers: Stopping VHF oscillations in them 68,61
Components: MOSFET Devils, Testing MOSFETs 82, 66
Components: JFETs Configured as Dual Gate MOSFETS 91
Components: More about Dual Gate MOSFETS 48
Components: MOSFET Pairs 107
Components: FET Biasing & More about FET’s 40 & 48
Components: Testing/Removing Electrolytics 80, 100, 110
Components: HV “Door Knob” Capacitor Substitutes 104
Components: Variable Capacitors and All That… 92
Components: Not all transistors with same number have same lead orientation;  Replace GE Transistors with Si NPN’s 80, 100
Components: Easy Inductance Calculations 78
Components: Using DC Bias to adjust toroid inductors 111
Components: TOKO Coil Ranges 65
Components: Radio Frequency Chokes 47
Components: Testing Transistors, Ft Measurement 75, 100
Components: Calculating Needed Resistor Wattage 53
Construction Techniques 107, 110, 119
Construction Techniques, Manhattan 107, 110
Construction Techniques, Copper Connecting Straps 111
Construction: Salvaging wire, B+ wire 110
Construction: Stripping Parts & Wiring 111
Construction: Elevated pcb bus rails 104
Construction: Avoiding RF wires to front panels 98
Construction: Home-built Printed Circuit Boards 83
Construction:  Stainless Steel Soldering, Q-Max Cutters, Tank Cutters, Hole Saws, Terminal Rails, Strange QRM? 100
Crystal Checker Using Oscilloscope & Signal Generator 25
Decibels 49
Digital:  DSP 98
Diode Switching 41
Dummy Load; Misc & QRP load w/meter (3) 3, 32, 77
Ferrite Cores; identifying, uses 79
Filters:  CW, Notch, etc 14, 34, 56, 58, 106
Filters: Discussion of 43
Filters: RF Bandpass, TOKO pinouts 13
Filters: Analog Switched Capacitor Filters 111
Frequency Counter – adding one 106
Freq Counter & Oscilloscope buffer 106
Frequency Counter Buffer/Amplifier 36
Freq Display, w/varicap tuning 34
Fuses 107
Grid Dip Oscillator – how it works 31, 32, 106
Grounding: of circuit boards 99
Harmonics 82
Inductance Calculations 108
Interference – LED’s and HF 115
Interstage Coupling 20
Low Pass Filter 74
Magnetic Amplifier 100
Mixers (jfet) 107
Mixers (Pullen) 107
Mosfets: Biasing (85), Testing (52) 52, 85, 115
Mosfets: High Voltage, xmtrs 89
Mosfets: Theory 36, 48, 82, 115
Morse Code; Practice; 6U8A Osc 115
NE602 usage 72
Noise Source for Impedance Bridge 107
Oscillator: VFO Construction 118
Oscillator: A novel crystal osc 114
Op Amps 87
Operating: PSK31 37
Oscillator: Ceramic Resonators 102
Oscillator: The Synthetic Rock 112
Oscillator, Crystal: Pushing & Pulling 108
Oscillator: Resistance Stabilized 108
Oscilloscope Probes 75
Power Supply:  Wall Warts 85
Power Supply:  “Ideal” Pwr Supply, Notes on Grounding, the Dinky Doubler, QRP or QRO 112
Power Supply: Class “X” and “Y” Capacitors 107
Power Supply: HV, Soft-start 101, 117, 119
Power Supply: the Pink Brazilian doubler+full wave 102
Power Supply: Ideas, Protection, Smoothing 72, 81, 115
Power Supply: Some Topics; Review of 12V Supplies 111, 117, 118
Power Supply: Overvoltage & Overcurrent Protection 86
Power Supply: Protection, Crowbars, Light Bulbs – simple protection circuits 13, 28, 69, 94
Power Supply: “Silent Supplies;”  Economy Pwr Supply 100
Power Supply:  Transformers, Low Voltage AC for testing 110, 115
Power Supply: Regulated and B+ 42, 106, 110
Power Supply: Some Voltage Regulator Thoughts 76, 116
Power Supply: Screen grid power supplies & regulation…to extend the life of power tubes 101
Receiver: A Frequency Standard for 66, 122
Receiver: Original, and Updated Neophyte Receiver 112
Receiver: 6U8 Regenerative Receiver-All about it 112
Receiver: Hartley Regen Receivers; also A Guide to Successful Regen Receivers 112
Receiver: DC & SSB – the 4th Method? 112
Receiver:  Franklin 105
Receiver: 602 as RF amp, Single Chip Receiver 93, 115
Receiver: Adding AGC 88
Receiver: Bandswitching Coils 84
Receiver: building SDR’s 99
Receiver: Fine Tuning 92
Receiver: Ford DC rcvr 99, 116
Receiver: HF 106, 119
Receiver: Misc ideas re wiring & circuits 98
Receiver: Phasing DC, for sideband rejection 79
Receiver: Projects 95, 107, 115
Receiver: Projects, MOSFETS 91, 90
Receiver: Regenerative Designs/Information 58, 60, 63, 66, 67, 77, 79, 80, 84, 87, 89, 90, 101, 107, 108, 110, 112, 115, 116, 118
Receiver: TRF Receiver Designs/Info 76, 101, 102
Receiver: A very simple modular receiver 65
Receiver: Differential SA602/NE612 receiver 101
Receiver: DC Receivers 99, 110, 112
Receiver: SA602 as Receiver RF Amplifier 93
Receiver: Cascode RF Amplifier for Receiver 102
Receiver: LF Receivers using SA602 93
Receiver: Simpleceiver DC Receiver using JFET’s as DG MOSFETs 91
Receiver: Modern alternative to the crystal set! 91
Receiver: Mixers 117
Receiver: Local Oscillator Schemes for Superhets 107
Receiver: Use Meter as Varicap Tuning Display 33
Receiver: RF amp 92, 95
Receiver: Q Multiplier 110
Receiver: Sensitivity 41
Receiver, Regen: Using TV Tubes 107
Receiver: 2 Band Mixing with NE612’s 16
Receiver, Information about AM Radios; Synchronous Detection 58, 59, 100
Receiver, Digital Signal Processing Fundamentals 98
Receiver, A Simple Introduction to Software Defined Radio (SDR) 97
Receiver, Homebrewing an SDR 99
Receiver: Updated Spontaflex Rcvr 111
Resistors: As Voltage Dividers 54
RF Chokes 47
RFI, from 3 Phase Motor Inverters (link) Not in Issues
RF Stage Loose Coupler 105
RFI Febetrons & Marx Generators for RFI proofing 111
SA602 & Overtone Crystals 47
SDR:  Introduction 97
Transceiver: One tube 108
Test Gear: Meter Multipliers, Grid Dipping, DC Analysis 115, 119
Test Equip: Simple 50 Ohm Test Gear 48
Test Equip: The Dim Lamp Tester 101
Test Equip: Fault-finding/Troubleshooting 5, 71, 60, 116
Test Equip: Using the Arduino + Color Display as a Panel Meter 101
Test Equip: A Megohm meter 39
Test Equip: Parasitic Oscillator Finder 101
Test Equip: Fault-finding, Cleaning Circuit Boards 107, 116, 117
Test Equipment & Low-pass filter for DVM’s 100
Test Equip: Miscellaneous, Signal Tracer/Injector, Growler 103, 114
Test Equip: Attenuators, RF amp, dummy load 35, 39, 48
Test Equip: Counter & O’scope buffer amp 36
Test Equip: Grid Dip Oscillator, Kaliatron grid dipper 14, 31, 32, 114
Test Equip: ESR Tester 108
Test Equip: Field Strength Meter, AC/RF Field Sensor 101, 66, 118
Test Equip: Grid Dip Oscillator examples 14, 31, 32, 41
Test Equip: Harmonic Marker Generator 73
Test Equip: Measuring C, L, Hi-value R 39
Test Equip: Easy way to measure Inductance 5
Test Equip: Using an Oscilloscope + Time Bases & Triggering 15, 16, 17
Test Equip: Test Leads & Probes 12
Test Equip: Test Leads: High Voltage Probes 111
Test Equip: RF Probe without diode offset voltage 101
Test Equip: Simple RF RMS Power Meter 99
Test Equip: Multi-voltage Power Supply 76
Test Equip: Osc to test unknown coils 56
Test Equip: Oscilloscope probe, use, theory 15, 16, 17, 75
Test Equip: Peak Reading RF Voltmeter 35, 86
Test Equip: Pock-Pock RF Generator 104, 109
Test Equip: RF Power & volt Measurement 18, 85
Test Equip: Crystal Checker 22
Test Equip: SCR tester 17
Test Equip: Transistor Tester 75, 104
Test Equip: Sweep Oscillator 105
Test Equip: Noise Source 107
Test Equip: Signal Generators 82, 87
Test Equip: Simple RF Signal Generator 87
Test Equip: AF/RF Signal Tracer 101, 102, 103
Toroids 46
Transformers: About, Testing 47, 103
Transistors:  Substitute, finding 106
Transistors: Testing, pin-out (varies by mfr) 80, 107
Transmitter: Wiring “Octal” sockets to take FT241, 243 & HC6-U crystals 103
Transmitter: Harry Lythall’s 5 Watt xmtr; simple AM xmtrs 101, 114
Transmitter: PCL 86 xmtr by G4VAM, and a QRPP 2m Transmitter 112
Transmitter: 2 Tube Transmitter; 1 Component Xmtr 75, 118
Transmitter: Low Band Transmitter 87, 116
Transmitter: 6CU6 or EL84, simple 84
Transmitter: Balanced Modulator, SSB 87, 117, 118, 119
Transmitter: Gate Modulation 85
Transmitter: Linear Amp 96, 97
Transmitter: MOSFET Cathode Modulator 86
Transmitter: One tube tx-rx design 65
Transmitter: Two Tube, Using odd tube types 107
Transmitter: FET RF Power Amplifiers 9
Transmitter: The Roaring Mick 6CU6 84
Transmitter: The Mick Modulator – Cathode Modulation 85, 86
Transmitter: Output Links 82
Transmitter: Plate Supply Choke 89
Transmitter: Refurbishing a 1930’s “Plank” Xmtr 64, 65
Transmitter: Measuring RF Output Power 86
Transmitter: RF Power Measurement 85
Transmitter: Two Meters: Different Approach to 2M FM? 111
Transmitter: Two Tone Audio Oscillator for SSB Rig Tuning 8
Transmitter: Transmit/Receive changeover 112
Troubleshooting with no meter 115
Troubleshooting: Cold testing semiconductors, Resistors & Capacitors, 112 115, 116
VFO:  Misc discussion 43, 51, 98
VFO: Building and Design 8
VFO: Fine Tuning of VFO 92
VFO: Wide Range Crystal Oscillator for 80 meters 20
VFO: Mosfet example 44, 92
VFO: VFO Drift 91
VFO: VFO Ideas for Multiband CW 77
VFO: Stable VFO for 20/30/40 meters 51
VFO: Simple Fun 80 meter VFO 44
VFO: Pulling Ceramic Resonators Higher in Frequency 44
VFO: Ceramic Resonator VFO’s 13, 15
VFO: Tuning by Variable Resistor 43, 44
VFO: Wide Pull (Range) VXO 38
VFO: Pulling a Crystal Oscillator 34, 36
VFO: Harmonic VFO Possibilities 58
VFO: Using Ceramic Resonator 13
VFO: Wide Range VXO; Pullable VXO 8, 34, 36, 38
VFO: Comparisons of crystals, ceramic resonators, digital correction, DDS/Synthesizers and much general information 98
VFO: Very Stable VFO 97
VXO: About VXO’s 97
VSWR; about 46