Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
I love researching ham rigs built in the 1930's and those following WWII. They were spare in design and surprisingly work well even in 2026. One rig design was from QST (Aug 1947) called The Last Ditcher... to be used when all else fails. It was battery operated. I built it with an AC supply, and it could also run on batteries. The supply details are in the video. In 1947 safe rigs were not a high priority and the last ditcher keys the high voltage supply. This means the plate voltage could find it way across the key terminals. There is also a schematic for a high voltage keyer so there is a very low voltage across the key terminals. Standard fare includes a W3NQN LPF. The tank circuit is 10 Uhy (18 turns on a 1.5 in diameter form tapped at 9 turns) and the link is 1.5 turns. The power output is 422 milliwatts. The tube is a 1J6GT.
Come join the fun...
73's
Pete N6QW
I love researching ham rigs built in the 1930's and those following WWII. They were spare in design and surprisingly work well even in 2026. One rig design was from QST (Aug 1947) called The Last Ditcher... to be used when all else fails. It was battery operated. I built it with an AC supply, and it could also run on batteries. The supply details are in the video. In 1947 safe rigs were not a high priority and the last ditcher keys the high voltage supply. This means the plate voltage could find it way across the key terminals. There is also a schematic for a high voltage keyer so there is a very low voltage across the key terminals. Standard fare includes a W3NQN LPF. The tank circuit is 10 Uhy (18 turns on a 1.5 in diameter form tapped at 9 turns) and the link is 1.5 turns. The power output is 422 milliwatts. The tube is a 1J6GT.
Come join the fun...
73's
Pete N6QW
