Neil
My suggestion would be to shy away from the easy to build, but hard
to operate, or lower quality receivers. At this point I suspect the
grandson is not all that interested in how hard or easy a receiver is to
design or build. Rather I suspect he's interested in listening to stuff.
Don's suggestion about finding an SDR makes lots of sense. Add a key and
oscillator so he can make noise but not transmit and away he goes. The
goal of a quality receiver, that is simple to operate makes sense.
Good Luck,
David
On 11/5/2015 11:14 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
Neil,
I have seen several responses recommending a regenerative receiver. I
would suggest otherwise. While regenerative receivers are "fun" to
play with and can be quite sensitive and selective when properly
tuned, they do require some 'training' to know how to properly operate
both the tuning and the regen knobs together. If you want to pursue
the Regen route, look at some of the regen designs by George Dobbs
G3RGV - he has several that work well.
Since your grandson likely has access to a computer, I would suggest
that you look at some of the SDR receivers, such as the SoftRock kits
- inexpensive and quite functional for all modes. Building the kit
(with help from grandpa) may peak his interest in building his own
gear and add to his interest in the hobby. some software running on
the computer is necessary, but there are several software applications
that will do - Rocky is one of the easiest to install and configure,
HDSDR is good but requires a bit more configuration "smarts". There
is also PowerSDR that can be used and there may be more that I am not
familiar with.
If kit building is not in store, then look for a used
receiver/transceiver that may be up to the task. If you can find
someone who has an SWL40 transceiver for sale (ask on the QRP-L
reflector), that is a good starting point for 40 meters that will give
good results - there are versions for other bands as well, but I
suggest that 40 meters is the best starting band for single band
rigs. There is usually some activity on 40 when other bands are
'dead' - and an antenna for 40 meters is of a reasonable size.
I started introducing my 2 grandsons to electronics when they about 8
years old. It only "took" for one of them who got his license at age
13. The 6 granddaughters were not interested at all. So do keep
working with him - if it "takes", ham radio in its diverse interests
and niche activity groups can produce a lifelong hobby, and may be an
introduction to a rewarding career in electronics and/or
communications technology.
I am one of those examples - I became aware of ham radio in Boy Scouts
at the age of 14 when the local ham radio club offered classes in
morse code. That led to my novice license at age 15, and those ham
club members, coupled with my interest in math, led me to pursue an
electrical engineering degree. That led to a very rewarding career
and now even though I am officially retired and at age 75 1/2, my
workbench is always full (and usually backlogged) with repairs of
Elecraft gear. So there is hope for your grandson to engage in a
lifelong pursuit that he may really enjoy. If he enjoys puzzles, he
may enjoy puzzling over electronics problems which is the heart and
soul of troubleshooting (and design).
73,
Don W3FPR
73,
Don W3FPR
On 11/5/2015 6:46 PM, Niel Skousen wrote:
Found out last night that one of grandsons (6 1/2 yr) has developed
an interest in Morse code and radios. Who know how long it will last 8-)
BUT in the interest of feed the fire, I'm looking for something that
I can help him listen on at his house ...
Anybody got anything collecting dust that needs a new home ??
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1st district
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in the 1930s.
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