Hello Bob N6KL,

The old 1950's era " slat-board " 6V6 transmitters like the one you described
that I discovered in the 1955 " ARRL How To Become A Radio Amateur " are
available as kits - should you be interested.

Go to:

http://www.nt9k.com/slatboard.html

He has other kits also including the slat-board power supply.

73,

Sam Neal N5AF
__________________________________________________________

------ Original Message ------
Received: Mon, 20 Feb 2017 02:34:35 PM CST
From: "Bry Carling af4k@... [4sqrp]" <4sqrp@...>
To: "4sqrp@..." <4sqrp@...>, Bob Nelson

Subject: Re: [4sqrp] QRP & Novice Rig Round Up - It's a Hoot!

Great story Bob - thanks for sharing your recollections!

We all have some kind of interesting background on how we came into the radio
hobby.

I have already worked about 10-12 QRP stations in the NRR this week.

Many QRP guys like the NRR because it is a sensible speed, and not all crazy
PLUS the ops listen VERY carefully for weaker signals since most of us are
using 25 - 35 watts

Thanks for your comments and your interest - Bry AF4K

http://NoviceRigROundup.com

NOVICE RIG ROUNDUP 2017
novicerigroundup.com
ANNOUNCING NOVICE RIG ROUNDUP 2017!!! The dates are 0000 UTC on FEB 18 through
2359 UTC on FEB 26, 2017 - that is 9 full days (UTC.) GOOD NEWS: THIS WILL
COVER two ...

________________________________
From: Bob Nelson
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2017 2:25 PM
To: 4sqrp@...; Bry Carling
Subject: Re: [4sqrp] QRP & Novice Rig Round Up - It's a Hoot!

Wish I still had my Novice rig. it was a 6V6 xtal oscillator built
on two strips of 1x2 wood, from an idea in an issue of CQ magazine of
about 1951 or 1952 vintage, IIRC. But I built it about 1956 - when I was a
bona fide Novice.
The receiver was a Heathkit AR-3 I built in the Fall that year, after
working in an auto-wrecking yard all summer to raise the cash. I
got 90 cents an hour, and my father took half for "room and board".

I'll never forget the first time I heard my own call sign coming back to
me pursuant to a CQ. I was KN6ZGQ at that time. (My present call is a
"used" one I asked to be assigned when the original OM passed away.)

Then the first transistors became available the next year. I got one,
a CK722 from Raytheon, for $2.40, with a refund of $1.40 because the
price had dropped while my money was in the mail.

That transistor was so fascinating that I became a builder more than
an operator, and have always been that way ever since. Electronics
became my lifetime profession. Even got an advanced degree in EE, and
a medal while I was in the military back around 1967 for "solving" a
"electronic intelligence" problem all branches of the military had been
spending MILLIONS of dollars on every year -- a problem most any experienced
radio ham could have handled same as I did.
So I have a whole lot I owe to our "hobby" - perhaps the most useful,
beneficial and valuable hobby anyone could ever engage in.

May the Novice Roundup last forever !

73 - Bob, K6KL

On Monday, February 20, 2017 12:16 PM, "Bry Carling af4k@... [4sqrp]"
<4sqrp@...> wrote:

Thanks Bobby! jump in and join the fun, QRP friends.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Bobby Drummond >
Date: February 20, 2017

Just a reminder that the Novice Rig Round Up is in full swing and continues
until next weekend - until February 28th at 2359 UTC.

Here is the URL for the NRR:
www.novicerigroundup.com

There is full information about this year's Novice Rig Round Up (you don't
have to be running a Novice license rig to participate) and information about
the previous years' NRRs.

There is also a convenient online logging program (or you can choose to submit
an ADIF file, for instance, when you finish, etc)

When you finish you can submit something to the "Soapbox" -- including
pictures -- if you'd like as well.

This is my first year participating in the NRR and I'm having a ball. I'm
using my homebrew MOPA rig (on 40 meters) that I've mentioned several times on
the list and also using a homebrew solid state 80 meter rig. It's great to
exchange NRR numbers and hear some chirps, follow some drifting VFOs and also
work some rock steady novice era rigs. If you really want to take a ride on
the way-back machine, work another NRR participant "duplex" for more realistic
feelings of how it was back in the novice days. (Call CQ on your crystal
frequency and then tune up and down that section of the band for a response
that might be dozens of kilocycles away from your transmitting frequency.)

There is a chat room website for setting up skeds or maybe just for the
camaraderie with your fellow Novice rig brothers/sisters of key.

The best part? it doesn't cost a single dime to participate (even though
donations to help offset some of the expenses are appreciated)

Come on, join the fun. If you've got one, get that old rig outta' the closet
and enter the fray. This Novice Rig Round Up thing is a hoot!

73 de Bobby Drummond - AK4JA