Re: [Elecraft] Looking for volunteer to design a tiny CW transceiver for socially isolated kids/teens

[Fred Jensen]

It depends on a number of factors.  Here in the Colonies, our beloved 
version of OFCOM has defined three types of unlicensed radiators:  
Incidental, Unintentional, and Intentional.  Incidental are those that 
make RF as part of their operation but don't need to and it serves no 
purpose in their operation.  Basically noisemakers like PWM motor 
controls or arcing HV lines.  Unintentional are those that create RF as 
part of their operation but do not intend or need to radiate it. 
Computers are probably the best example, a one-tube regenerative RX is 
another.  Intentional are those that make and radiate RF as an integral 
part of their operation.  Remote sensing thermometers and weather 
stations are a good example ... so is Wayne's 1 mw TX.  They are all 
regulated by Part 15 of the FCC's regulations. 2.4 and 5.6 GHz Wi-Fi and 
Bluetooth devices are all covered by Part 15.  There are also duty cycle 
limits in some regions of the spectrum.


A big factor is the antenna, and one requirement of Part 15 is that the 
user be unable to modify it.  That's why I used the term "Part 15 
Engineering," one will have to test and certify that the device meets 
the Part 15 requirements including the field strength.  150 mW on 6 MHz 
with a 0 dBi antenna will produce a field strength of about 0.07 V/m at 
30 m which is way over the limit.  1 mW will be about 0.006 V/m or so.  
A very limited antenna with something like -15 to -20 dBi "gain" would 
probably bring the field strength down sufficiently, provided the user 
can't get to it to modify it.


I'd consider randomizing the TX frequencies within a very small [~5-10 
kHz?] "band" [like padding the xtals] and making the RX tuneable over 
that band so a group could have individual "conversations" such as at a 
Scout meeting or in a classroom.


73,
Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

On 10/19/2019 12:29 AM, CUTTER DAVID wrote:

Wayne was looking for 1mW output.  How does that equate in regard to the regs?

David G3UNA


On 18 October 2019 at 22:58 Fred Jensen  wrote:


If they're unlicensed, they will be intentional radiators subject to
47CFR15 Subpart C [15.201 et seq] which imposes field strength limits
that vary with frequency. 15.201(b) may also require certification.
Depending on choice of frequency, 150 mW may be way too high since in
the 1.7 - 30 MHz range, the limit is 30 uV/m at 30 m.  I think Wayne has
hit on a great idea, it's just going to take some Part 15 engineering.

73,
Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County




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Re: [Elecraft] Looking for volunteer to design a tiny CW transceiver for socially isolated kids/teens

[CUTTER DAVID via Elecraft]

Wayne was looking for 1mW output.  How does that equate in regard to the regs?

David G3UNA

> On 18 October 2019 at 22:58 Fred Jensen  wrote:
> 
> 
> If they're unlicensed, they will be intentional radiators subject to 
> 47CFR15 Subpart C [15.201 et seq] which imposes field strength limits 
> that vary with frequency. 15.201(b) may also require certification.  
> Depending on choice of frequency, 150 mW may be way too high since in 
> the 1.7 - 30 MHz range, the limit is 30 uV/m at 30 m.  I think Wayne has 
> hit on a great idea, it's just going to take some Part 15 engineering.
> 
> 73,
> Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
> Sparks NV DM09dn
> Washoe County
> 
> On 10/17/2019 4:07 PM, Jeff Kabel wrote:
> > 1) Wouldn't it be better to use one of the ISM bands? Then licensing is not
> > a problem. I'd feel uncomfortable giving radios that operate in the ham
> > bands to people without a license. There are bands 6.765-6.795MHz,
> > 13.553-13.567MHz, and 26.957-27.283 close to our 40, 20, and 12/10 meter
> > bands, and a number of bands in the VHF+ range. The 13MHz one is used by
> > the HiFER  experimenters already.
> > There are also the LowFER and MedFER bands.
> >
> > 2) Does the pixie not meet the requirements? They're cheap ($3-5 on eBay),
> > low power (~150mW), and have QSK. The kits you buy don't have a volume
> > control, but that is simple to add.
> >
> >
> > -- Jeff aa6xa
> >
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Re: [Elecraft] Looking for volunteer to design a tiny CW transceiver for socially isolated kids/teens

[Fred Jensen]

If they're unlicensed, they will be intentional radiators subject to 
47CFR15 Subpart C [15.201 et seq] which imposes field strength limits 
that vary with frequency. 15.201(b) may also require certification.  
Depending on choice of frequency, 150 mW may be way too high since in 
the 1.7 - 30 MHz range, the limit is 30 uV/m at 30 m.  I think Wayne has 
hit on a great idea, it's just going to take some Part 15 engineering.


73,
Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

On 10/17/2019 4:07 PM, Jeff Kabel wrote:

1) Wouldn't it be better to use one of the ISM bands? Then licensing is not
a problem. I'd feel uncomfortable giving radios that operate in the ham
bands to people without a license. There are bands 6.765-6.795MHz,
13.553-13.567MHz, and 26.957-27.283 close to our 40, 20, and 12/10 meter
bands, and a number of bands in the VHF+ range. The 13MHz one is used by
the HiFER  experimenters already.
There are also the LowFER and MedFER bands.

2) Does the pixie not meet the requirements? They're cheap ($3-5 on eBay),
low power (~150mW), and have QSK. The kits you buy don't have a volume
control, but that is simple to add.


-- Jeff aa6xa



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Re: [Elecraft] Looking for volunteer to design a tiny CW transceiver for socially isolated kids/teens

[Wayne Burdick]

Thanks, Dave.

I've had many responses to this request. Excellent response from a community 
that not only wants to help kids, they also want more CW ops on the air :)

73,
Wayne
N6KR




> On Oct 17, 2019, at 7:21 PM, Dave AD6A  wrote:
> 
> You could use most of the circuitry of the SMK-1 40m QRP rig to do exactly 
> what you describe Wayne (leave off the PA!).  The SMK-1 has Full break-in, no 
> clicks or chirps, and a half-decent receiver in it. Feel free to use the 
> design as you see fit.
> 
> Dave Fifield
> AD6A
> 
> Sent from my  iPhone XS (Max)
> 
>> On Oct 17, 2019, at 11:06 AM, Wayne Burdick  wrote:
>> 
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Someone recently told me that he'd benefitted throughout his life from 
> learning Morse code as a teen. Ham radio helped him cope. He's gone on to 
> promote Morse because it can help kids with certain cognitive or social 
> issues. Such problems are exacerbated by social media, these days. We all 
> know of teens who've ended up ostracized or worse.
> 
> He was wondering what the ham community may be able to do for them. 
> 
> I proposed a simple ($5-$10), unlicensed CW transceiver (kit or assembled or 
> both) that would put out maybe 1 milliwatt. It would serve as a code-practice 
> oscillator for solo use. But with a short wire hanging from the PCB, kids 
> could work "DX" -- like across a room, or better yet, outdoors. 
> 
> This got his attention. I went on to describe a scenario that he found very 
> plausible, based on his experience with Morse advocacy: You hand kids the 
> little modules (just a PCB with a built-in 4x AAA battery pack, code key, 
> antenna wire, and cheap earbuds), and ask them to try sending/receiving a few 
> letters. The complete code would be silkscreened onto the PCB. After they try 
> this, you say, "Now see how far apart you can get and still copy you friend's 
> signal." This is where the magic happens, at least for those of us who have 
> been leveraging action-at-a-distance ourselves for many years :)  It takes 
> things a step beyond ordinary code practice. Connects kids to other kids. At 
> best it could serve as a bridge to a world outside themselves. 
> 
> I'm picturing the little rig as SA602 based, with one crystal for TX and one 
> for RX, running so little power than licensing is a non-issue. Frequency? 
> TBD. Something available in cheap fundamental crystals from Digikey. Each one 
> would have its crystals offset slightly from the others, so the effect of 
> having a number of them in one room might be a bit like being on a crowded CW 
> band. Picking out the pitch of a signal of interest and copying it is a skill 
> many of us have learned. I'm sure kids who are motivated would be able to do 
> it as well.
> 
> It should not have debilitating clicks or thumps when keyed. The only control 
> should be for volume. It should be full break-in, which at this power level 
> is easily obtained.
> 
> This is a project I would gladly take on myself if not for my 
> greater-than-full-time commitments to Elecraft products. I'm hoping there's a 
> tinkerer out there with more free time who could start from a minimal 
> description and design the little rig.  The gentleman I spoke to has been 
> frustrated over the years in trying to get his message out, and in trying to 
> find ways to take Morse code to a wider range of kids. He felt that this idea 
> had a lot of merit.
> 
> If you're interested in this project, or know of something that matches this 
> description that's already available, please contact me directly.
> 
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
> 
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Re: [Elecraft] Looking for volunteer to design a tiny CW transceiver for socially isolated kids/teens

[ktalbott]

I've spent hours playing with Pixies. Good choice only if keying is cleaned
up.
Ken ke4rg

-Original Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net  On
Behalf Of Jeff Kabel
Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2019 7:08 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] Looking for volunteer to design a tiny CW transceiver
for socially isolated kids/teens

1) Wouldn't it be better to use one of the ISM bands? Then licensing is not
a problem. I'd feel uncomfortable giving radios that operate in the ham
bands to people without a license. There are bands 6.765-6.795MHz,
13.553-13.567MHz, and 26.957-27.283 close to our 40, 20, and 12/10 meter
bands, and a number of bands in the VHF+ range. The 13MHz one is used by the
HiFER  experimenters already.
There are also the LowFER and MedFER bands.

2) Does the pixie not meet the requirements? They're cheap ($3-5 on eBay),
low power (~150mW), and have QSK. The kits you buy don't have a volume
control, but that is simple to add.


-- Jeff aa6xa
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Re: [Elecraft] Looking for volunteer to design a tiny CW transceiver for socially isolated kids/teens

[Dave AD6A]

You could use most of the circuitry of the SMK-1 40m QRP rig to do exactly what 
you describe Wayne (leave off the PA!).  The SMK-1 has Full break-in, no clicks 
or chirps, and a half-decent receiver in it. Feel free to use the design as you 
see fit.

Dave Fifield
AD6A

Sent from my  iPhone XS (Max)

> On Oct 17, 2019, at 11:06 AM, Wayne Burdick  wrote:
> 

Hi all,

Someone recently told me that he'd benefitted throughout his life from learning 
Morse code as a teen. Ham radio helped him cope. He's gone on to promote Morse 
because it can help kids with certain cognitive or social issues. Such problems 
are exacerbated by social media, these days. We all know of teens who've ended 
up ostracized or worse.

He was wondering what the ham community may be able to do for them. 

I proposed a simple ($5-$10), unlicensed CW transceiver (kit or assembled or 
both) that would put out maybe 1 milliwatt. It would serve as a code-practice 
oscillator for solo use. But with a short wire hanging from the PCB, kids could 
work "DX" -- like across a room, or better yet, outdoors. 

This got his attention. I went on to describe a scenario that he found very 
plausible, based on his experience with Morse advocacy: You hand kids the 
little modules (just a PCB with a built-in 4x AAA battery pack, code key, 
antenna wire, and cheap earbuds), and ask them to try sending/receiving a few 
letters. The complete code would be silkscreened onto the PCB. After they try 
this, you say, "Now see how far apart you can get and still copy you friend's 
signal." This is where the magic happens, at least for those of us who have 
been leveraging action-at-a-distance ourselves for many years :)  It takes 
things a step beyond ordinary code practice. Connects kids to other kids. At 
best it could serve as a bridge to a world outside themselves. 

I'm picturing the little rig as SA602 based, with one crystal for TX and one 
for RX, running so little power than licensing is a non-issue. Frequency? TBD. 
Something available in cheap fundamental crystals from Digikey. Each one would 
have its crystals offset slightly from the others, so the effect of having a 
number of them in one room might be a bit like being on a crowded CW band. 
Picking out the pitch of a signal of interest and copying it is a skill many of 
us have learned. I'm sure kids who are motivated would be able to do it as well.

It should not have debilitating clicks or thumps when keyed. The only control 
should be for volume. It should be full break-in, which at this power level is 
easily obtained.

This is a project I would gladly take on myself if not for my 
greater-than-full-time commitments to Elecraft products. I'm hoping there's a 
tinkerer out there with more free time who could start from a minimal 
description and design the little rig.  The gentleman I spoke to has been 
frustrated over the years in trying to get his message out, and in trying to 
find ways to take Morse code to a wider range of kids. He felt that this idea 
had a lot of merit.

If you're interested in this project, or know of something that matches this 
description that's already available, please contact me directly.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

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Re: [Elecraft] Looking for volunteer to design a tiny CW transceiver for socially isolated kids/teens

[Clay Autery]

Y'all wanna talk Super LP CW with a kit builder, contact Floyd Hoskins, 
N5FH.  He's seen, fixed, built, et al. many different designs.


__
Clay Autery, KY5G
(318) 518-1389

On 17-Oct-19 15:32, Brian Hunt wrote:
Back when Halted Specialties Company (HSC) was in business in the SF 
Bay Area I bought a PIXIE2e kit from them for $14.95.  It is a crystal 
controlled direct conversion transceiver using only a 2N 
oscillator and LM386 audio amp on a 1" x 2" PCB.  It came with 
crystals for 80m and 40m.  RF output 200-300 mW with a 9v battery. I 
never built it and dug the kit out of my "archives." I'd be glad to 
offer it up as a design or evaluation candidate.


73,
Brian, K0DTJ

On 10/17/2019 11:05, Wayne Burdick wrote:

Hi all,

Someone recently told me that he'd benefitted throughout his life 
from learning Morse code as a teen. Ham radio helped him cope. He's 
gone on to promote Morse because it can help kids with certain 
cognitive or social issues. Such problems are exacerbated by social 
media, these days. We all know of teens who've ended up ostracized or 
worse.


He was wondering what the ham community may be able to do for them.

I proposed a simple ($5-$10), unlicensed CW transceiver (kit or 
assembled or both) that would put out maybe 1 milliwatt. It would 
serve as a code-practice oscillator for solo use. But with a short 
wire hanging from the PCB, kids could work "DX" -- like across a 
room, or better yet, outdoors.


This got his attention. I went on to describe a scenario that he 
found very plausible, based on his experience with Morse advocacy: 
You hand kids the little modules (just a PCB with a built-in 4x AAA 
battery pack, code key, antenna wire, and cheap earbuds), and ask 
them to try sending/receiving a few letters. The complete code would 
be silkscreened onto the PCB. After they try this, you say, "Now see 
how far apart you can get and still copy you friend's signal." This 
is where the magic happens, at least for those of us who have been 
leveraging action-at-a-distance ourselves for many years :)  It takes 
things a step beyond ordinary code practice. Connects kids to other 
kids. At best it could serve as a bridge to a world outside themselves.


I'm picturing the little rig as SA602 based, with one crystal for TX 
and one for RX, running so little power than licensing is a 
non-issue. Frequency? TBD. Something available in cheap fundamental 
crystals from Digikey. Each one would have its crystals offset 
slightly from the others, so the effect of having a number of them in 
one room might be a bit like being on a crowded CW band. Picking out 
the pitch of a signal of interest and copying it is a skill many of 
us have learned. I'm sure kids who are motivated would be able to do 
it as well.


It should not have debilitating clicks or thumps when keyed. The only 
control should be for volume. It should be full break-in, which at 
this power level is easily obtained.


This is a project I would gladly take on myself if not for my 
greater-than-full-time commitments to Elecraft products. I'm hoping 
there's a tinkerer out there with more free time who could start from 
a minimal description and design the little rig.  The gentleman I 
spoke to has been frustrated over the years in trying to get his 
message out, and in trying to find ways to take Morse code to a wider 
range of kids. He felt that this idea had a lot of merit.


If you're interested in this project, or know of something that 
matches this description that's already available, please contact me 
directly.


73,
Wayne
N6KR

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Re: [Elecraft] Looking for volunteer to design a tiny CW transceiver for socially isolated kids/teens

[Brian Hunt]

Back when Halted Specialties Company (HSC) was in business in the SF Bay 
Area I bought a PIXIE2e kit from them for $14.95.  It is a crystal 
controlled direct conversion transceiver using only a 2N oscillator 
and LM386 audio amp on a 1" x 2" PCB.  It came with crystals for 80m and 
40m.  RF output 200-300 mW with a 9v battery. I never built it and dug 
the kit out of my "archives."  I'd be glad to offer it up as a design or 
evaluation candidate.


73,
Brian, K0DTJ

On 10/17/2019 11:05, Wayne Burdick wrote:

Hi all,

Someone recently told me that he'd benefitted throughout his life from learning 
Morse code as a teen. Ham radio helped him cope. He's gone on to promote Morse 
because it can help kids with certain cognitive or social issues. Such problems 
are exacerbated by social media, these days. We all know of teens who've ended 
up ostracized or worse.

He was wondering what the ham community may be able to do for them.

I proposed a simple ($5-$10), unlicensed CW transceiver (kit or assembled or both) that 
would put out maybe 1 milliwatt. It would serve as a code-practice oscillator for solo 
use. But with a short wire hanging from the PCB, kids could work "DX" -- like 
across a room, or better yet, outdoors.

This got his attention. I went on to describe a scenario that he found very plausible, 
based on his experience with Morse advocacy: You hand kids the little modules (just a PCB 
with a built-in 4x AAA battery pack, code key, antenna wire, and cheap earbuds), and ask 
them to try sending/receiving a few letters. The complete code would be silkscreened onto 
the PCB. After they try this, you say, "Now see how far apart you can get and still 
copy you friend's signal." This is where the magic happens, at least for those of us 
who have been leveraging action-at-a-distance ourselves for many years :)  It takes 
things a step beyond ordinary code practice. Connects kids to other kids. At best it 
could serve as a bridge to a world outside themselves.

I'm picturing the little rig as SA602 based, with one crystal for TX and one 
for RX, running so little power than licensing is a non-issue. Frequency? TBD. 
Something available in cheap fundamental crystals from Digikey. Each one would 
have its crystals offset slightly from the others, so the effect of having a 
number of them in one room might be a bit like being on a crowded CW band. 
Picking out the pitch of a signal of interest and copying it is a skill many of 
us have learned. I'm sure kids who are motivated would be able to do it as well.

It should not have debilitating clicks or thumps when keyed. The only control 
should be for volume. It should be full break-in, which at this power level is 
easily obtained.

This is a project I would gladly take on myself if not for my 
greater-than-full-time commitments to Elecraft products. I'm hoping there's a 
tinkerer out there with more free time who could start from a minimal 
description and design the little rig.  The gentleman I spoke to has been 
frustrated over the years in trying to get his message out, and in trying to 
find ways to take Morse code to a wider range of kids. He felt that this idea 
had a lot of merit.

If you're interested in this project, or know of something that matches this 
description that's already available, please contact me directly.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

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