SK Rev George Dobbs G3RJV.

For sometime I have known that  G3RJV had not been too well, I have not made much noise about it on here, as I think he would of wanted it that way.


I understand George Passed away in the early hours of this morning, "my birthday" how am I ever going to live that one down every March 11th.

For sure George is never going to be forgotten by the GQRP club which he started back in 1974 and continues to flourish by an ever growing active membership, along with Sprat the magazine which he edited until his last 12 months. All the QRP books he written and co wrote, along with his monthly pages with Practical Wireless "Carrying on the Practical Way", encouraging those from a start, to where they actually understood the basics of radio, developing from a simple diode to using a couple of transistors, that made something that really worked and was useful. Of course my first contact with George Dobbs was when I built his 3 transistor radio from the Ladybird book back in the mid 70's.

How shall I remember him, well he will be up there with the greats of QRP, the Sudden is one radio that comes to mind, a design that showed all the basics of radio with minimum parts. Oh yes his encouragement, if he thought you had got it, he bent over to help, endorsing my Blog in it's early days The Reverend reviewed. I guess he liked what I had written, even though I may be a bit slow at times. The references to G3RJV's work will never be forgotten and won't, and must be brought to the forefront for new audiences to see and understand, helping them to learn the basics from the start.

To George's Wife and family, I send out my sincere condolences, he will be really missed!

M328 LCR-T4 an updated version of M328 LCR Transistor tester.

I wrote about the original M328 Chinese kit sometime ago, which I had to build to prove to myself that VK3YE's capacitance offset error problem was a calibration error:


http://g1kqh.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/building-m328-component-tester-1.html



http://g1kqh.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/building-m328-component-tester-2.html


However there is now a newer pre built SMD version (M328 LCR-T4) which came into my hands recently, all that you have to do is kit it together with a prebuilt case  and a 9V battery NO SOLDERING: (Cost less than £8 inc case inc delivery).


This version has the advantage of being ready built with ZIF skt, and supports a better LCD full sized display!

I like this for it's ability to identify "any" transistor, or diode, you seem to throw at it.  Displaying the gain figures of, and whatever way around the device is plugged into the ZIF socket, it has the ability to identify the pin out configuration, and if it is PNP or NPN, or even a FET. so you do not have to keep getting the semiconductor book out or downloading the data sheet for the pin data.

I thought this version was so good! I got G4WIF of the GQRP club recently to include it into the new Tribal Knowledge - Test Equipment document here

The great British export - Sprat on DVD 1974 -2017

You could say amongst our Chinese purchases what is there good from the UK for our hobby?


My new SPRAT DVD arrived this morning, complete in it's jewel case. Although a collaboration of designs and work from G-QRP members from around the world, you could say it is one of the best exports from the UK, putting knowledge right back into the Amateur's hands.

The DVD is well put together as always, an excellent scan of each magazine, with good indexing. Used in conjunction with your browser and PDF reader, you are right on top of each issue.

Revised right up to this current Autumn issue 2017 it has got to be a good stocking filler.

Of course you have to buy one to see if I am right, but I don't think  many will be disappointed, especially with the price!

See my previous write up about it's launch:  sprat-on-dvd-2017

The Reverend reviewed

May brought Radcom the RSGB's monthly magazine for its members. It normally takes me about a month to hunt out the bits what I want to read, then it gets filed in the pile with the rest. A quick flick through is always the norm, this months (June issue), I was perusing through at great speed over my evening tea, I hit the bi monthly QRP page written by the Rev George Dobbs (G3RJV). What is this, my name and callsign suddenly grabbed me! George was reviewing my Blog and items I had pulled to the front from the Chinese and others.

                                                                                                    
History lesson: The first time I came to know of a George Dobbs, was back in the mid 1970s when I was a schoolboy at around the age of 12. I built his project Making A Transistor Radio published in a Ladybird book. A three transistor germanium circuit that was slowly put together in stages from a crystal set, to a fully working regen radio. Built without a soldering iron, perhaps he didn't want us to burn our fingers? Components clamped down under screws and screwcups on a piece of wood. The radio worked first time and was the first electronic project I ever built. At the time I didn't know much about George Dobbs, only 20 years or so in the late 1990s, I would return back to the book and discover that this was the G3RJV George Dobbs associated with the G-QRP club he formed in 1974. Since then, George has gone on to write many QRP related books, monthly insert Carrying on the Practical Way in Practical Wireless, and  of course QRP in Radcom and a few others.
 
So it was an honour to find he had devoted his entire QRP page over to my blog. My wife has got fed up with me by now picking up and down Radcom every five minutes and reading the page over and over again. She said of course your going to blog it, you bet sure I am!

George starts his review of my blog explaining the name "The Font of all Knowledge" and how linguistic scholars that make up half of the RSGB would lay me open to scorn for using the name Font, but how Oxforddictionaries.com claim households are split over the word scone. Of course being a man of the cloth he would know from the amount consumed at the tea parties he has resided over at the Vicarage over the years of his service. The real secret is I take no applause for the name, this I give over to my linguistic friend, scholar, and blogger  Roger G3XBM,  who is the one whom is responsible for thinking it all up. Before I started my blog I was passing him over information "and still do" about useful links that could prove valuable to be included in his blog. Roger refered to me as the Font of All Knowledge, so I decided to use this when I created my blog late last year.

I now hope that puts peoples minds at rest where the name came from.

Once George has made every one happy, and comfortable, with the name and the importance of its place within the hobby. He then continues forward taking a look at the items I have reviewed, the pixie kit  which G3XBM also picked up on and built one.

The Oscilloscope Kit, I recently noted and passed the information over to G3XBM:

http://www.banggood.com/DIY-Digital-Oscilloscope-Kit-Electronic-Learning-Kit-p-969762.html

PSDR from Michael Colton:

http://g1kqh.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/pdsr-from-michael-cotton.html

I have been very happy with what I have seen G3RJV write, and I am glad the blog continues to score many daily hits from Amateurs around the world.  Of course its up to me to find things new, this will continue, when I see something good, and of value, along with other aspects of the hobby I am involved in.

Thank you G3RJV for bringing this to the forefront of Radcom, and thanks to G3XBM for creating the name "The Font of all Knowledge" Swoon! (I only went to a Comprehensive school that got burnt to the ground twice in 4 years while I was being educated there.)  

Thanks to Graham G3MFJ for supplying the photo.