This is a view of the micro-shack where I have my own little world..... It must be a little
world because
I can contact most of it from here.
I have two High Frequency Radio Transceivers, a very old (but faithful) YAESU 747 and an ICOM IC-
746 which is virtually a "shack in a box". There are two antenna tuners. (I don't know why we call them antenna tuners they are aerial tuners, an antenna is what sticks out of an insects head.) The one directly above my head is the NEVADA TM 1,000 with balun fitted internally. The black box on top of the Nevada (under the book) is the SGC Smartuner model SG-230. The Icom 746 has an automatic tuner fitted and it is pretty good, however I discovered that it is possible to connect either the TM 1,000 or the SG-230 in series
with it for really fine tuning. You will also notice what appears to be a ZETAGI HP 1000 Transmatch
well it is not a Zetagi Transmatch, it was, but I ripped the innards out and replaced them with a circuit of
my own design.
Below the Transmatch you will notice a long squat blue rectangle this is my version of the Tona Tuner
which enables me to accurately zero in on packet stations very quickly and accurately. The 747 is below
that and below the 747 is my faithful SE Automatic Counter / Timer Model SM 205 this was a quality
instrument in its day, as it still works perfectly it has a place in the shack.
To the right of the SM-205 you will see two switch boxes, these enable me to change over rapidly from
one computer to another. The switches also enable me to switch between the Internet and Fax, to the
Packet Modem, then through the Camera Interface to position four which is the Weather Station.
The black box under the Watson PSU is the IC-746 and to the right of that is the monitor for my small
computer. There are two modest computers in the shack the main computer was built by Mossbank and
the small computer is a special design also built by Mossbank. Neither computer are large machines or
even fast they were built for reliability and endless number crunching as required by SETI (Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence) which is what they do when I am not using them. You may ask why am I searching for extraterrestrial intelligence? The answer is very simple .... There is no evidence of it down here on Earth !!!
The strange dial sticking out of the right side of my head is a barometer for measuring air pressure, not
inside my head but atmospheric pressure. The other strange object sitting on top of the switch boxes will be immediately recognisable by a few strange people who have difficulty with one of their trouser legs.
I retired from my profession during 1995 and began building kites to further my hobby of Amateur
Radio, fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view the kite building began to take over
my life and I inadvertently found myself working full time again. I now only build kites when I feel like it, It's
only a hobby now and that's the way I intend it to stay.
There are three other VHF/UHF rigs, An Alinco DJ-G5 used for back packing and possible emergencies.. An Alinco DR-150E used in the car and a very simple Yaesu FT-23R which is exclusively used in the kitchen to monitor my favourite frequency S22, 145,550 Mhz. I am also a compulsive designer and builder, the debris in the shed is witness to that.
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Two simple Lightening Detector Circuits.
My home was struck by lightning on 8th June 2003 and cost my insurance company several thousand
pounds
to replace my computers and radio equipment. Lightning is a terrible force of nature and a warning of its approach
will give you time to disconnect everything, hopefully in time before a strike hits. I have also recently taken up hill walking which represents another chance of possibly being struck so I decided to do something about it. The circuit I am now using is my version of http://www.techlib.com/electronics/lightning.html which I have updated to more readily available transistors 2N3906 and 2N3904. All I need from this unit is for a buzzer to sound each time there is a discharge and to turn itself off immediately to await the next discharge. The original SCR version would not reliably turn off when using a DC supply but this more complicated version is be very economical powered by two AA cells, or with the addition of a 78L05 a miniature 12v or 9v battery.
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