Category: Geeky Stuff

Time Lapse Camera with the Raspberry Pi Zero W: Part 1

Today we’ll talk about using the Raspberry Pi Zero W to make a Time Lapse camera that can also be used for home security.  But first, I’m going to get a little meta with The Blog. I haven’t been posting a lot on The Blog lately, mostly because I’ve been quite busy with Real Life. My …

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Jackite Pole vs $10 eBay pole- Which should you use?

Jackite Pole Comparison

Howdy folks! In this video we compare the $10 QRP Antenna pole that we previously reviewed and the 31′ Fiberglass Jackite pole. They both have their uses, but which one is the clear winner? Or IS there a clear winner? The Jackite  pole is great because it’s sturdy, tall, and very high quality. The QRP antenna …

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A Simple 5v Power Supply for Arduino, U3S and more

Many electronics experimenters and builders take the lowly 7805 regulator for granted, and we pop it in a circuit without a second thought and move along. But for beginners who are wondering how to power their Arduino or other 5 volt project (such as the QRP Labs U3S) from a 12v-13.8v power supply, the 7805 …

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Arduino is so easy that MisDotGeek gets a new header

It isn't pretty, but it works!

I sat down at my desk tonight not sure what I was going to do. Right now I’m between QRP projects, as my uBITX hasn’t arrived yet and I’m not quite ready to put up my new antenna (I’ve got some building to do). So I grabbed an Arduino from my parts bin and a …

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W7RLF talks BITX on Amateur Radio Roundtable with Tom, W5KUB and Dave KE0OG

On January 2nd 2018 I was honored to be a guest on Tom Medlin’s Amateur Radio Roundtable over at W5KUB.com.   Dave Casler KE0OG, Tom and I discussed various BITX40 and uBITX questions: Are the BITX radio beginner friendly? Is it hard to get contacts on the air? Are there cases available for those who …

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Low Budget Tools and Parts For The Budget Builder

The uBITX is now out, QRP Labs QCX is on the market, and the BITX40 is still a fantastic kit- Hams all around the world are preparing burn some solder and get on the air! If the BITX40 has taught me anything it’s that you don’t need anything fancy to get your radio on the …

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The MiscDotGeek uBITX FAQ

The uBITX FAQ The uBITX is out and folks have a lot of questions about the kit. It’s my intention to answer as many of them as possible. Note: Questions about building the uBITX, what skills are needed, and suitability for beginners are all answered in the BITX40 FAQ. Check our post “Low Budget Tools and …

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BITX40 PTT Enhancement for Digital or CW

The BITX40 PTT is a simple circuit: A switch grounds out the PTT Relay and the transceiver goes into transmit. As a stripped down SSB radio, this works fine and is simple and uses few parts. Why modify it? The challenge is that the PTT circuit is not solid state. The PTT circuit is just …

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MultiBand BITX40 Conversion

MultiBand BITX40 Introduction In Several Older Posts I’ve touched on ways that you can make a multiband BITX40 radio. While those methods worked, they were experimental. The Dual Band option will likely work fine, but I found it overly complicated for the purpose. In this post, I’m going to show you a way that you can …

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Building an RF Probe for Fun and Measurements

Who needs an RF probe? Among the many things I’ve learned about ham radio, one of them is that you need test equipment. You can do a lot with a standard Digital Volt Meter, but one thing you can’t do is look at an RF signal in an HF radio. For that, you need an …

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