Thanks, Dave. I've had many responses to this request. Excellent response from a community that not only wants to help kids, they also want more CW ops on the air :)
73, Wayne N6KR > On Oct 17, 2019, at 7:21 PM, Dave AD6A <[email protected]> wrote: > > You could use most of the circuitry of the SMK-1 40m QRP rig to do exactly > what you describe Wayne (leave off the PA!). The SMK-1 has Full break-in, no > clicks or chirps, and a half-decent receiver in it. Feel free to use the > design as you see fit. > > Dave Fifield > AD6A > > Sent from my iPhone XS (Max) > >> On Oct 17, 2019, at 11:06 AM, Wayne Burdick <[email protected]> wrote: >> > > Hi all, > > Someone recently told me that he'd benefitted throughout his life from > learning Morse code as a teen. Ham radio helped him cope. He's gone on to > promote Morse because it can help kids with certain cognitive or social > issues. Such problems are exacerbated by social media, these days. We all > know of teens who've ended up ostracized or worse. > > He was wondering what the ham community may be able to do for them. > > I proposed a simple ($5-$10), unlicensed CW transceiver (kit or assembled or > both) that would put out maybe 1 milliwatt. It would serve as a code-practice > oscillator for solo use. But with a short wire hanging from the PCB, kids > could work "DX" -- like across a room, or better yet, outdoors. > > This got his attention. I went on to describe a scenario that he found very > plausible, based on his experience with Morse advocacy: You hand kids the > little modules (just a PCB with a built-in 4x AAA battery pack, code key, > antenna wire, and cheap earbuds), and ask them to try sending/receiving a few > letters. The complete code would be silkscreened onto the PCB. After they try > this, you say, "Now see how far apart you can get and still copy you friend's > signal." This is where the magic happens, at least for those of us who have > been leveraging action-at-a-distance ourselves for many years :) It takes > things a step beyond ordinary code practice. Connects kids to other kids. At > best it could serve as a bridge to a world outside themselves. > > I'm picturing the little rig as SA602 based, with one crystal for TX and one > for RX, running so little power than licensing is a non-issue. Frequency? > TBD. Something available in cheap fundamental crystals from Digikey. Each one > would have its crystals offset slightly from the others, so the effect of > having a number of them in one room might be a bit like being on a crowded CW > band. Picking out the pitch of a signal of interest and copying it is a skill > many of us have learned. I'm sure kids who are motivated would be able to do > it as well. > > It should not have debilitating clicks or thumps when keyed. The only control > should be for volume. It should be full break-in, which at this power level > is easily obtained. > > This is a project I would gladly take on myself if not for my > greater-than-full-time commitments to Elecraft products. I'm hoping there's a > tinkerer out there with more free time who could start from a minimal > description and design the little rig. The gentleman I spoke to has been > frustrated over the years in trying to get his message out, and in trying to > find ways to take Morse code to a wider range of kids. He felt that this idea > had a lot of merit. > > If you're interested in this project, or know of something that matches this > description that's already available, please contact me directly. > > 73, > Wayne > N6KR > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to [email protected] > > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
