FDIM 2026 Buildathon KIT, Seat & TOOLS @ FDIMPrice: $40.00 |
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COME to the FDIM Buildathon on Friday May 5th @ 4:00 PM EMPTY HANDED.....
GRAB a NICE toolkit....
PICK up a CP Sighter kit...
FIND a seat....
SOLDER some parts in the kit....
EAT some Pizza
DRINK some soda....
SOLDER some more parts in the kit....
TEST the kit out.....
WALK out with a belly full of pizza and arms full of tools and a COOL kit!
Starting in May of 1976, a series of construction articles appeared in QST instigated by the May*76 cover depicting the Tuna Tin 2 by Doug DeMaw then W1CER. The CB Slider 40m VFO for the Tuna Tin 2 and the Herring Aid 5 receiver quickly followed. All 3 designs featured food cans for chassis. The CB Slider and Herring Aid 5 designs are quite dated and not suitable for a single night Buildathon. So I took a shopping trip to a couple of local grocery stores looking for interesting cans to base some new Buildathon friendly QRP kit designs. I will be bringing out a few more Buildathon kits over 2024 using more cans from the above picture...or any new cans I stumble upon....
This next Buildathon project is based on a SPAM can but NOT a TT2 VFO project!
Potential SPAM can contents disposal recipes:
#1 Pan fried SPAM (family recipe)
Slice SPAM into 1/4" or so slabs, pan fry in olive oil and adding a can of stewed or diced tomatoes towards the end of the fry. Serve with Brown or Basmati rice.
#2 Hawaiian Pizza
Slice SPAM in THIN slabs and further into smaller pepperoni sized pieces. Use as pizza topping with DOLE pineapple chunks (cut thinner) and Kalamata olives cut in half. I use Naan bread as a quick personal size pizza shell. Rubbed lightly with olive oil, cooked for 2.5 minutes then topped with sauce, cheese & toppings. Cooked for another 8 to 8.5 minutes depending on oven and temp. I have a pizza setting on my countertop oven and 8.5 minutes work fine for me.
#3 Feed it to the Dog, Cat, Chickens etc.
OK, so now the kit...
I call it the CP SIGHTer. It is a device that fits in the antenna line on the output of your Tuna Tin 2, or other QRP transmitter, and lights up a vacuum tube in sync with you outgoing CW signal going out into the ether. It is a completely frivolous item for your QRP station but it sure looks cool in operation.. AND it is a pretty simple design that beginner & experienced builders can easily build in a single LIVE streamed one night session.
As always, the Buildathon kit is only a vehicle to build while imparting knowledge and tips about the kit building process...
Information and documents will be added to the web page when developed. The pcbs are finished and on their way to me now. I should have them by 3/9. I*m still missing a couple of parts but they should arrive sometime this week. Kits are scheduled to be shipped starting Monday 3/12.
I do have an existing kit that does the same thing but it is a larger pcb that fits on a tuna tin and comes with a tuna tin. I"m trying to keep the Buildathon costs low so I designed a smaller board for the SPAM can and YOU supply the can. Exercise extreme caution when cleaning out the can. The SHARP edge that remains from the EZ-Open feature can cut you so I use a soapy sponge and a fork to swish it around in the can keeping my fingers away from that SHARP edge!
Documentation