Category Archives: Radio

Overloaded 1931 Transformer [Fried Electronics]

Posted on June 7, 2013 by jwk

I’m working on a 1930/31 Westinghouse WR-8 Columnaire clock-radio which had a bad transformer. The filter capacitors failed and shorted the high-voltage secondary, burning it open and causing a lot of heat and melting.   The replacement is a General … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY, Electronics, Projects, Radio, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Coming Soon: KN0CK Rev B Integrated HF RTLSDR

Posted on May 1, 2013 by jwk

Marty KN0CK developed a very interesting v1.0 HF converter based on surface mount technology that fits inside the casing of an RTLSDR tuner dongle. He’s recently sent me schematics for the revision, which should offer even better performance! This new iteration … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Projects, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

KN0CK HF Upconverter Fits Inside the USB Tuner’s Enclosure

Posted on February 19, 2013 by jwk

Marty KN0CK sent me some details to publish about his great looking miniature HF upconverter board for the RTLSDR, the HF Alchemy DVB-T Active HF Upconverter. It’s an incredibly miniature SMT board with an SA612 mixer and SMT oscillator, and … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY, Electronics, Photos, Projects, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

DIY SDR HF Up-Converter by WA7JHZ: Another good choice for your RTLSDR.

Posted on February 2, 2013 by jwk

Reader David Forsman, WA7JHZ, read the round-up of RTLSDR upconverter choices and sent me a photo and build schematic of one he designed which was featured in the January 2013 issue of QST, the ARRL‘s monthly magazine. This circuit up-converts … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY, Electronics, Projects, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Round-Up of RTLSDR Upconverter Choices

Posted on September 14, 2012 by jwk

1/31/2026: This was originally written in 2012 and hasn’t been updated since 2014, but it’s preserved here in case any of the information is useful and to show the state of the ecosystem when RTLSDR first came on the scene. … Continue reading →

Posted in Collections, DIY, Electronics, Radio, Radios and Tubes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 49 Comments

Shortwave Radio Reception with the RTL-SDR Dongle

Posted on August 6, 2012 by jwk

Need your own upconverter? Click here! I bought and did a quick setup on my RTLSDR dongle using SDR# a few weeks ago, where I used it to listen to FM radio stations around my area and a few public … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Hardware, Projects, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments