Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
More info on the SSB Transceiver is found here: n6qw.com/Dual_VFO_Dual_Filter.html
I spliced together two videos... so keep watching even though you see a FINITO page. The 2nd part is a demo as would be used on POTA.
There is a sensitivity in the ham community about two currently popular modes of operation namely POTA and FT-8. The Schism is based on the old versus the new. With time ham radio has devolved into contests and operating. This is not unlike when SSB was introduced and the AM crowd were appalled. SSB is now the standard!
POTA (Parks on the Air) is a much-abbreviated form of the old-fashioned rag chew. The contacts are typically brief and involve typically a signal report. name, Park Number and on to the next contact. For an OT you don't even get a chance to share info like the status of your enlarged prostate or high blood pressure. (The median age for US Hams is between 60 and 70, so these are common ailments for the median ham demographic.) FT-8 is like remote sex with two computers seeing all of the action.
I am in no way denigrating these two popular modes as that is the face of the hobby today and if the modes are reinvigorating the hobby, then that is a very positive outcome. So, let me be the 1st with a huge cheer for POTA and FT-8.
With the significant interest in these two modes, I lashed together a 20M N6QW designed homebrew transceiver and a N6QW designed digital adapter. The power is north of 6 watts and does well. I made those rigs because I can, but I am in the minority since the ham radio focus is moved way beyond any self-fabrication of radios and equipment. While all hams enjoy making contacts, there is a certain buzz for me beyond just making contacts especially with something I designed and built in my own lab.
The unique aspects of this transceiver include separate LSB/USB crystal filters with a common BFO at 9 MHz, and a front panel selection of A and B VFO's that initially boot up at 14.2MHz (VFO A) and 14.0740 (VFO B).
I find that some commenters now days are focusing on minutia and not the fact that doing Technical Projects is a part of the hobby. FCC Part 97.1 makes that clear regardless of others who chose to ignore the technical side which was once the core foundation of this hobby. Virtually nobody calls: "CQ Homebrew".
The secret of my digital adapter is that it does not use CAT control or the need to identify a specific radio. This opens up the world to using older radios on FT-8. Yes, Virginia using my digital adapter I put a Collins KWM-1 built in 1957 on FT-8. The method of keying uses RTS through an ADA Fruit control board. Now that is engineering and knowing technical stuff.
73's
Pete N6QW
More info on the SSB Transceiver is found here: n6qw.com/Dual_VFO_Dual_Filter.html
I spliced together two videos... so keep watching even though you see a FINITO page. The 2nd part is a demo as would be used on POTA.
There is a sensitivity in the ham community about two currently popular modes of operation namely POTA and FT-8. The Schism is based on the old versus the new. With time ham radio has devolved into contests and operating. This is not unlike when SSB was introduced and the AM crowd were appalled. SSB is now the standard!
POTA (Parks on the Air) is a much-abbreviated form of the old-fashioned rag chew. The contacts are typically brief and involve typically a signal report. name, Park Number and on to the next contact. For an OT you don't even get a chance to share info like the status of your enlarged prostate or high blood pressure. (The median age for US Hams is between 60 and 70, so these are common ailments for the median ham demographic.) FT-8 is like remote sex with two computers seeing all of the action.
I am in no way denigrating these two popular modes as that is the face of the hobby today and if the modes are reinvigorating the hobby, then that is a very positive outcome. So, let me be the 1st with a huge cheer for POTA and FT-8.
With the significant interest in these two modes, I lashed together a 20M N6QW designed homebrew transceiver and a N6QW designed digital adapter. The power is north of 6 watts and does well. I made those rigs because I can, but I am in the minority since the ham radio focus is moved way beyond any self-fabrication of radios and equipment. While all hams enjoy making contacts, there is a certain buzz for me beyond just making contacts especially with something I designed and built in my own lab.
The unique aspects of this transceiver include separate LSB/USB crystal filters with a common BFO at 9 MHz, and a front panel selection of A and B VFO's that initially boot up at 14.2MHz (VFO A) and 14.0740 (VFO B).
I find that some commenters now days are focusing on minutia and not the fact that doing Technical Projects is a part of the hobby. FCC Part 97.1 makes that clear regardless of others who chose to ignore the technical side which was once the core foundation of this hobby. Virtually nobody calls: "CQ Homebrew".
The secret of my digital adapter is that it does not use CAT control or the need to identify a specific radio. This opens up the world to using older radios on FT-8. Yes, Virginia using my digital adapter I put a Collins KWM-1 built in 1957 on FT-8. The method of keying uses RTS through an ADA Fruit control board. Now that is engineering and knowing technical stuff.
73's
Pete N6QW
