Some years ago my grandfather gave me an old Pontiac Fiero that had been sitting dormant for nearly twenty years. No precautions were taken to store or preserve it; it just sat outside in the elements with an undiagnosed engine problem keeping it from being moved. Once it was towed to my parents place, it …
This Summer, I had quite a bit of fun at Field Day 2013. I joined the Saginaw Valley Amateur Radio Association for their Field Day outing. Running a Kenwood TS-520S I recently picked up, along with the matching AT-230 tuner, I strung up a G5RV antenna in some nearby trees (with help form the club). …
I recently had to design a 2 active stage amplifier for a class. So, I turned to my favorite OpAmp, the TPA6120 (check out my older post for more info about this IC). The datasheet for this IC recommends using it in conjunction with the Burr Brown OPA134, another fantastic little OpAmp. Though not quite as fast as the mighty TPA6120, the …
Continue reading ‘A 2-Stage Headphone Amp Using the TPA6120 and OPA134’ »
I really wished this information was more readily available when I built my amplifier circuit, which is the reason I’m writing this. After purchasing a pair of AKG K-240 Studio Headphones, I decided I wanted a headphone amp to help drive them, and decided to build one, more or less, for the educational value. Having built …
Continue reading ‘Designing a Headphone Amp Around the TPA6120’ »
Back in March, I volunteered for three events: the Keweenaw Winter TSD Rally, The Copper Dog 150, and the Great Bear Chase. The TSD Rally was a blast, i got to ride all over the the Copper Country with Jack Swift N8WAV, one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. Leaving Houghton late in the …
Over the past couple week I’ve been reading a lot of all over the web about all the fun things to do in HAM Radio: DXing, satellites communications, antenna construction, moon bounce, etc. One thing I latched onto was Amsat, I spent a lot of time on their website. After downloading some satellite tracking software …
It’s been a week, since I got on the air. I’ve stumbled through a couple QSOs during the week, and there’s still a lot I have to learn. I got my Alinco rig set up and running. Although, I am a little worried about the audio equipment in my apartment and neighboring apartments, since when …
Last weekend I took the HAM test and got Technician Class License, almost on a spur-of-the-moment. The night before test I heard about the exam and decided I’d give it a go, and crammed for it in a few hours. I didn’t pass the first test I took, but I did make Technician on my …