You really have to love "Homebrew" test equipment. By building it yourself you learn so much about "why" circuits work the way they do (or don't ;), because you have to design/troubleshoot the project yourself. You just don't get that experience by opening a box. Great video Dave!
Dennis! :) Talking of homebrew test equipment... I've been meaning to send you a photo of my ESR meter working, that you gave me so much help with before xmas. Sorry, guilty conscience here, I will get around to it. Thanks again for all your help with that.
Benjamin Maggi I disagree. I fail to see why some people are so obsessed with HAM radios, and I have no interest in them whatsoever. Since I am not a "real" engineer, I guess prefer the helpfulness of the open source hardware community over the elitist HAM radio people.
***** I'm sorry if your experience of HAM radio people is that they are elitist. Some are. Unfortunately, many of those who are left are not as technical as this guy. The arduino, etc. are really awesome developments and great tools. I think Benjamin is lamenting the fact that many people dabble in arduino and never get any deeper - to understand how things work inside. This older style work requires a deep understanding of device physics and RF principles. Much of today's work also requires that knowledge (like in high speed digital design) but few people get into it as a hobby.
Sean Breheny Thank you for that kind explanation. I am just getting into electronics, and am beginning with Arduinos and a Raspberry Pi. But, I am very interested in the fundamentals of electronics. I spend a lot of time watching the EEVBlog videos and others, and experimenting with what I have and reading about how things work and what other people are doing. I am very serious about it, but don't have as much time as I wish to be involved with it. I don't think it's fair to say that people that don't put in all their time in effort to use something are inferior beings. My main hobby is linguistics, but I don't get all up in arms when someone just learns a foreign language for a job and doesn't learn all the intricacies of the grammar of it and learn to pronounce it perfectly. Not everyone can do everything (unless they had infinite free time,) so I don't get angry with them for not sharing my passion for languages, as not everyone likes the same things. Some people might dabble in Arduinos for things like wearable electronics and never delve deep into electronics, but they very possibly have something they're very good at that you aren't, like sewing or crafts. And no hobby is inherently better than another, so there's no use blaming people for not being as passionate as a specific interest as you. I'm sure not all HAM radio hobbyists are elitist, but many times I've come across websites and forums related to it, I've come across such behavior. In any case, I have no interest in the intricacies of HAM radios, so I don't find this video very interesting. But that doesn't mean I or anyone else is an inferior human being for not being interested in it.
@@sjheiss HAM radio enthusiasts. “My Antenna Bigger than Yours.” Therefore I cant be seen talking to you. 😂 Unless of course, I’m holding fluorescents under it. About wraps up my relations with operators. They really are nice people, away from radios. Always tell them “Your the best I know” if you need any help getting off the ground. God bless radio waves.
OM Phil looks like an interesting fella. Love the idea of using the sweep signal from the scope to drive the IF VCO :-) "You're allowed on the air with that?!"
I second that. There's not much love anymore for old fashioned analog. Pete from Sparkfun did some nice video's and of course Dave. Another nice, often overlooked electronics channel is HomoFaciens (look for him on RUclips). I can recommend the MITx 6.002 course (www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-6-002x-circuits-electronics-1130). And Chris from the Amp Hour started a course I believe. But it would be nice to see some more tutorials on old fashioned PRACTICAL electronics in context of a real world "problem" / application. --> p.s Well that's weird I thought I replied to a comment from someone!?! Google+ doing weird things again?
You kids and your fancy store-bought analyzers!! In my day, a man wound his own coils, mixed his own IF, and ripped apart the spectrum with anything that had phosphor and a sweep circuit. I loved that project and the man, himself. Serious street cred.
That is so neatly laid out it's rather beautiful. I never thought to lay out something like this in so many small boxes like that but it's perfect sense, yeah. I wonder what else DIY kit he has!
you can't better the old school hobby electronics, down to real component level, real electronics hobby. not like to days stuff just link some ready smd made board together. thats not a real elec hobby. I remember in the laty 1970 messing about with 202Mhz stuff and saw filters and helical resonators , mmm those were the days of electronics. thats Dave for bringing this chap on the blog, more please. thank for the hard work you put in to these vblog.
I really think this is one of the best vlogs in a few weeks. You should bring him to the show and let him explain the circuit diagrams :p just kidding, that would probably take ages! Nice video, really shows that you can actually do without all the fancy high priced digital stuff and make your own (although it does require a lot of skill!).
awesome video, really love seeing soldering on copper planes like this. I guess I have a love affair with melting solder -- I just love soldering TO-220's to heatsinks/copper planes etc!! Turning on my iron is the favourite part of my day
Wow Phil ! That's a very interesting and impressive build , nice to see what one can achieve if you put your your brains to work. Greetings from Holland
Wow! That must have been some serious work to construct back in the 70's. These days we just type into google "how to build a spectrum analyser with an arduino" and we take it for granted
Pedant warning: Dead bug construction and Manhattan style are different IMO. Dead bug joins nodes 'in the air' above the ground plane. Manhattan style joins nodes on little snippets of PCB superglued to the main ground plane board. My personal preference is Manhattan - looks prettier, survives ham fisted poking about better and isn't much or any slower to build. You can cut your own pads with a Dremel (wear a dust mask).
What a very educational interview love it Dave, Its like 1970 porn ooyeah bit rough around the edges but does the job so cool . Love your interviews Dave keep it up.
Great interview / video. As a radio amateur I really like the home built kit. Some of the guys in the hobby are geniuses but everyone I've ever come across has been helpful and gone out of their way too share the knowledge. What took you to their shack Dave?
Very nice. I even decided to build an analog one like this. Just using horizontal trigger to synchronize signal to a oscilloscope. However, I just cannot find a good analog bandpass filter schematic to have enough resolution for audio band, which should be accurate to 100Hz. For RF band, it is okey to do that. I am still learning that.
Conversion frequencies that may seem random are chosen carefully. Each conversion involves building and shielding a local oscillator, dealing with an image reponse and providing an IF filter. He explains that the first conversion is upward, so that the image response is kept well outside the 0-200 MHz display range. He shows the local oscillator frequencies that can leak into the display when not screened. The 10.7 MHz IF is standard for FM radios which allows him to use a readily available cheap ceramic IF filter.
Oddly the old CRT Spectrum Analysers is why I never really got into electronics. I always thought they looked odd and too complicated and hated the green background on the CRT. They were never taught to us in a clear, easy to understand way. The new flat panel ones look so much better and more interesting but then maybe it's also because I'm a lot older.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
There are a lot of things to learn from Phil VK2BDF. Universities should employ creators like Phil to inspire students... Pure respect!
Anyone who really knows the secretive black arts of magic called analog electronics has my respect. This guy's got it all.
I am SO jealous of Phil's abilities!
You really have to love "Homebrew" test equipment. By building it yourself you learn so much about "why" circuits work the way they do (or don't ;), because you have to design/troubleshoot the project yourself.
You just don't get that experience by opening a box.
Great video Dave!
Dennis! :) Talking of homebrew test equipment... I've been meaning to send you a photo of my ESR meter working, that you gave me so much help with before xmas. Sorry, guilty conscience here, I will get around to it. Thanks again for all your help with that.
I agree with you... And your last sentence was like a cherry on top of a cake!
Great interview Dave, Im tired of listing about the arduino, raspberry and 3d printers, this is real electronics done by real engineers !!!
Benjamin Maggi I disagree. I fail to see why some people are so obsessed with HAM radios, and I have no interest in them whatsoever. Since I am not a "real" engineer, I guess prefer the helpfulness of the open source hardware community over the elitist HAM radio people.
*****
I'm sorry if your experience of HAM radio people is that they are elitist. Some are. Unfortunately, many of those who are left are not as technical as this guy. The arduino, etc. are really awesome developments and great tools. I think Benjamin is lamenting the fact that many people dabble in arduino and never get any deeper - to understand how things work inside. This older style work requires a deep understanding of device physics and RF principles. Much of today's work also requires that knowledge (like in high speed digital design) but few people get into it as a hobby.
Sean Breheny Thank you for that kind explanation. I am just getting into electronics, and am beginning with Arduinos and a Raspberry Pi. But, I am very interested in the fundamentals of electronics. I spend a lot of time watching the EEVBlog videos and others, and experimenting with what I have and reading about how things work and what other people are doing. I am very serious about it, but don't have as much time as I wish to be involved with it.
I don't think it's fair to say that people that don't put in all their time in effort to use something are inferior beings. My main hobby is linguistics, but I don't get all up in arms when someone just learns a foreign language for a job and doesn't learn all the intricacies of the grammar of it and learn to pronounce it perfectly. Not everyone can do everything (unless they had infinite free time,) so I don't get angry with them for not sharing my passion for languages, as not everyone likes the same things. Some people might dabble in Arduinos for things like wearable electronics and never delve deep into electronics, but they very possibly have something they're very good at that you aren't, like sewing or crafts. And no hobby is inherently better than another, so there's no use blaming people for not being as passionate as a specific interest as you.
I'm sure not all HAM radio hobbyists are elitist, but many times I've come across websites and forums related to it, I've come across such behavior. In any case, I have no interest in the intricacies of HAM radios, so I don't find this video very interesting. But that doesn't mean I or anyone else is an inferior human being for not being interested in it.
@@sjheiss HAM radio enthusiasts. “My Antenna Bigger than Yours.” Therefore I cant be seen talking to you. 😂
Unless of course, I’m holding fluorescents under it.
About wraps up my relations with operators.
They really are nice people, away from radios. Always tell them “Your the best I know” if you need any help getting off the ground.
God bless radio waves.
Wow. I love to listen to people with long experience.
I love seeing that old school Ham fun like that. It's like the DIY repeater I have at home from a ham buddy of mine. :)
OM Phil looks like an interesting fella. Love the idea of using the sweep signal from the scope to drive the IF VCO :-)
"You're allowed on the air with that?!"
Excellent, please him give him our thanks for everything he has done.
a beautiful piece of art... thanks Phil & Dave
That's a shit load of fundamental fridays for you. I love electronics like this.
I second that. There's not much love anymore for old fashioned analog.
Pete from Sparkfun did some nice video's and of course Dave. Another nice, often overlooked electronics channel is HomoFaciens (look for him on RUclips). I can recommend the MITx 6.002 course (www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-6-002x-circuits-electronics-1130). And Chris from the Amp Hour started a course I believe.
But it would be nice to see some more tutorials on old fashioned PRACTICAL electronics in context of a real world "problem" / application.
-->
p.s Well that's weird I thought I replied to a comment from someone!?! Google+ doing weird things again?
You kids and your fancy store-bought analyzers!! In my day, a man wound his own coils, mixed his own IF, and ripped apart the spectrum with anything that had phosphor and a sweep circuit.
I loved that project and the man, himself. Serious street cred.
That is so neatly laid out it's rather beautiful. I never thought to lay out something like this in so many small boxes like that but it's perfect sense, yeah. I wonder what else DIY kit he has!
That was a spectacular interview!
cool, love guys like that.
That's a proper graybeard!
true exactly what I was thinking.
What a talented gent, and so modest over that beautifully crafted creation. Nice video, nice guy, very impressive!
Fantastic. Hats off !
Loved it. I bet he knows his left hand rule from his right hand rule.
Brilliant. Beautiful build.
Hmm, an episode I missed.. It appears to be full of the deep magic. Glad I finally got a chance to watch it.
I was wondering where my man cards went, but now I see that Phil has them all.
Thanks for helping me solve that mystery!
you can't better the old school hobby electronics, down to real component level, real electronics hobby. not like to days stuff just link some ready smd made board together. thats not a real elec hobby.
I remember in the laty 1970 messing about with 202Mhz stuff and saw filters and helical resonators , mmm those were the days of electronics.
thats Dave for bringing this chap on the blog, more please. thank for the hard work you put in to these vblog.
I really think this is one of the best vlogs in a few weeks. You should bring him to the show and let him explain the circuit diagrams :p just kidding, that would probably take ages! Nice video, really shows that you can actually do without all the fancy high priced digital stuff and make your own (although it does require a lot of skill!).
awesome video, really love seeing soldering on copper planes like this. I guess I have a love affair with melting solder -- I just love soldering TO-220's to heatsinks/copper planes etc!! Turning on my iron is the favourite part of my day
Yeah that was one sexy beas of a machine.
Ah the smell of rosin first thing in the morning.
Wow Phil !
That's a very interesting and impressive build , nice to see what one can achieve if you put your your brains to work.
Greetings from Holland
Wow! That must have been some serious work to construct back in the 70's. These days we just type into google "how to build a spectrum analyser with an arduino" and we take it for granted
That was very impressive.
Keep this kind of stuff coming. Excellent and nice!
Brilliant! Thanks, Dave and Phil.
Richard, KE7GKP
Ah man, you gotta love homebrew RF magic.
Excellent job! Thank you Dave for sharing with us.
Best regards to you and Vy 73 to Phil de CT7AFR, Emmanuel.
Great job. You should be proud!
Very awesome, absolutely brilliant!!
Pedant warning: Dead bug construction and Manhattan style are different IMO. Dead bug joins nodes 'in the air' above the ground plane. Manhattan style joins nodes on little snippets of PCB superglued to the main ground plane board. My personal preference is Manhattan - looks prettier, survives ham fisted poking about better and isn't much or any slower to build. You can cut your own pads with a Dremel (wear a dust mask).
he reminds me of an old engineer I used to work with and really admire
Great design, thanks for the video!
Interesting interview, thumbs up.
golden content - super cool
brilliant stuff :-) nice interview Dave!!
Excellent!
so awesome
impressive.
Just awesome
Very nice work by VK2BDF!
73 de VK2TIM.
Beautiful! I love vids like this.
aww too bad you can't really see the display well with the frequency flickering through the camera
Cool stuff!
he is the steve woz of radio gear
Great stuff
Job well done DIY spectrum analyzer!!
What a very educational interview love it Dave, Its like 1970 porn ooyeah bit rough around the edges but does the job so cool . Love your interviews Dave keep it up.
Really clever.
Very impressive
Great interview / video. As a radio amateur I really like the home built kit. Some of the guys in the hobby are geniuses but everyone I've ever come across has been helpful and gone out of their way too share the knowledge. What took you to their shack Dave?
Has he ever come up with a comercial version of this?? i'm certainly interested!
The prototypes made in HP's lab probably never looked better than this.
It is the Tenma-720/Hung Chang/Dick Smith scope!!!
I have one (:
love you videos dave keep on making good videos
very nice
Very nice. I even decided to build an analog one like this. Just using horizontal trigger to synchronize signal to a oscilloscope. However, I just cannot find a good analog bandpass filter schematic to have enough resolution for audio band, which should be accurate to 100Hz. For RF band, it is okey to do that. I am still learning that.
This is classic D.I.Y. Excellent!!!!
very cool
I'm a fellow HAM as well call sign VE9LCB only got my basic and will write my advanced someday. Cheers from N.B. Canada.
thats some good stuff
Got to hand it to the guy, he needed it, and found a way to git it done!
It amazes me how RF is more of a art than a science. Frequencies chosen seemingly at random... Very cool
Conversion frequencies that may seem random are chosen carefully. Each conversion involves building and shielding a local oscillator, dealing with an image reponse and providing an IF filter. He explains that the first conversion is upward, so that the image response is kept well outside the 0-200 MHz display range. He shows the local oscillator frequencies that can leak into the display when not screened. The 10.7 MHz IF is standard for FM radios which allows him to use a readily available cheap ceramic IF filter.
love the ham radio content when you do it, are you ever going to get your ticket old man
How much time and patience did it take to build it? A very impressive thing!
That's brilliant. Pity the camera messed with the display.
So.... Where can i learn this stuff?
Oddly the old CRT Spectrum Analysers is why I never really got into electronics. I always thought they looked odd and too complicated and hated the green background on the CRT. They were never taught to us in a clear, easy to understand way.
The new flat panel ones look so much better and more interesting but then maybe it's also because I'm a lot older.
gerat work, thx ! an electronic schematic or tutorial would be nice :)
Hey! That's a tenma 72-320! same scope as I have!
Amazing! Only
Nice 🔧😀
i thought: "horizontal sync for the bandpass sweep? engineering, fuck yeah!"
I always find the use of dB to measure electronic/radio signals baffling. Doesn't dB measure air pressure?
Hello from Frank, KB2VNG
Where can I get used spectrum analyzers? I need one!! Anyone??Any ideas?
More ham radio videos!
projeto bom...
I have that CRO! hehe
73!
Hi Dave, a Back to the Future musical is opening in the West End here in London soon! www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25976383
real old school
73 from YO5OXT
Dave, in all that spare time you have you ought to get yourself an Amateur Radio License. Hi. Hi. 73 EA5IGC Marcus
Hams. The original hackers :-)
DAVE! Why dont you have your Ham License? Comon and join the community! 73
KC9SKV
oldskool SDR!
A true hacker!
OH thats how it works! "Got it" ????????????????????????????????????????????
looks like it can call aliens , or at least listen to them
This guy is a BAMF
Is this guy smart!!!!!
become a teacher [ ? / ! +1 ]
dont really like the outings you do when people dont have a good microphone voice
You tell him Mitch you.... miserable get. haha. Give the guy a break. Just dont watch what you dont like. Loads here love it, myself included.