text:
Http:// - Soylent Recipe web app

Over the last 3 or 4 weeks I’ve been working on a Soylent recipe builder that takes the best bits from Google Spreadsheets and adds some cool features on top. I’ve got it to a stage where I can show something… so without further ado I’d like to present…

I took the liberty of creating a 4 minute screencast which demos the app which you can find on the home page (though you may need Google Chrome or Safari to view it).

Anyway, if there is some enthusiasm for the app I’d like to continue working to expand the feature set in the hope of creating a one stop shop for DIY Soylent makers.

Thanks to @bigepidemic for letting me use his recipe as a test.

Feedback much appreciated!

Awesome work! I’ve poked at it a bit, and got the error:
Cast to number failed for value “$121.45” at path “cost”

Obviously this was my fault, but it might be useful to strip out non-numerical characters when saving so it makes it easier to copy / paste from an existing recipe.

As a second feature-request, I’m not sure how feasible it would be from a user interface perspective, do you think it would be possible that when you select ‘add ingredient’ that you can pick from existing ingredients? They could be narrowed down by Source, Manufacturer, and Country of Origin. Or, simply auto-fill fields when it gets a matching URL ( notwithstanding, because that has the ability to create custom mixes.)

With your permission, I can throw this on the sidebar of the /r/soylent subreddit.

Thanks for the feedback :slight_smile:

I’ve now fixed the ‘cast’ error and also added your feature request whereby typing in an ingredient that already exists from the ‘new ingredient’ popup will bring up a list you can choose from. Selecting an item from that list will auto-fill the other fields.

There are tons of potential features for this app… but in the nearer term I’m planning on adding:

  • Comments
  • Ingredient list and detail pages (you can see the start of this at )
  • Nutrient list and detail pages
  • Recipe versioning and duplication (‘forking’)

Good idea but I don’t like the idea of signing up… why is it needed? What do you do with the information you get from signing up and how do you store it?

People are posting recipes with no ingredients and one with only 2… how are you going to stop the site from being filled with useless recipes? Maybe add a “demo” version where you can play with a recipe but cant save it to the site?

It’s so that only the author can edit or delete a recipe. Otherwise someone could come in and delete everything or generally mess things up. Passwords are salted and sha’ed before being stored in the db.

Also nice suggestion on the junk recipes. I’ll add in a ‘publish’ button once someone is ready to share a completed recipe on the search list.

@mrob would be more than happy for a link on the reddit sidebar

Great work Nick.

Manganese is missing a “n” & “a” in your ingredients list.

Nice Work!

How about a link to a Amazon shopping cart or similar as part of the recipe? I would not mind the recipe creator throwing in a affiliate link as well since they have done a lot of work creating the recipe and then sharing it.

Thanks for the recipe @bigepidemic.

looks good. would be nice if it was open source and/or there was a way to export your data.

i once made some suggestions in a thread about another soylent web app:

A bug report: you can see that both of my recipes have $NaN listed as the price on the front page, though both have the correct price listed when you click into the entry.

A feature request: could we write notes associated with our recipes, to explain the decisions involved in making them?

Another feature request: could we change the default order in which ingredients are listed?

Just wanted to let you know that the app looks great. I can’t wait to see how it evolves as ideas are suggested and added. Just wanted to say thanks for the work.

Thanks for the feedback everyone and encouragement :smile:

I’m currently working on a feature called ‘Nutrient Profiles’ that will let you define nutrient targets, then apply them to a recipe. I’ll post again here once it’s uploaded.

Fantastic, thank you!

I’ve uploaded a new version of the site… now with Nutrient Profiles :slight_smile:

You can also add formatted descriptions to recipes and nutrient profiles.

If anyone has more feature requests… please post them here.

Beautiful stuff Nick, thank you! :slight_smile:

My mom is trying to lose weight, and last night she asked me to make a soylent recipe that she could use for meal replacement. I used this website to work everything out. I also have a bunch of private recipes that I use to experiment with different versions of things. So in short, it’s been a great tool for me.

I noticed that you added the ability to enter descriptions. Thank you for that!

Now a bug report. When I click on an ingredient in any recipe (mine or otherwise), I no longer get the pop-up dialog about that ingredient. With two exceptions: in my recipes which include cinnamon and vanilla, I get the pop-up dialogs for those ingredients when I click them. These two ingredients are exactly the ingredients in my recipes which have no nutrition facts entered for them (no calories or anything else). I am on Windows 8, and I tried and got the bug identically in both Chrome and Internet Explorer.

If you are inclined to do it, it would be lovely to be able to enter upper limits for nutrients as part of our nutrient profiles. It would be particularly nice if this feature let us distinguish between “I haven’t entered an upper limit” and “I am not giving an upper limit because the ingredient is nontoxic and for all practical purposes you can put in as much as you want.”

Thank you for everything! This is a great website, and I am hoping to see people putting up lots of recipes on it in the future.

Nice! Just tried this yesterday and was about to suggest editable nutrition targets. Some suggestions:

  1. I’d also like the toxicity profiles. For example:

  2. “Calories” should be kilocalories (“kcalories”) in most places, no?

  3. A few more changeable units would be useful. E.g. currency (like €, not only $) and perhaps selectable mass unit when adding an ingredient (to avoid manual conversions). The most difficult ones seem to be IU. Found a converter here but it’s a bit cumbersome to work with when entering ingredients:

  4. How about showing mass units in the recipe table heading also?

  5. A vertical list (perhaps with a graphical bar chart, e.g. 0-500% and red when toxic!) of target nutrients under the recipe table would make it easier to see progress / current state of the recipe.

  6. “Private” checkbox for ingredients, too, might be a good idea. Some people may have access/preference to stuff that other people won’t find useful at all (like local products that can’t be purchased anywhere else in the world), and showing them as options for everybody just confuses them.

Great app. I was able to enter and edit a recipe, and I really appreciated the functionality. With the addition of the nutrient profiles, editing is broken as of now. 6:39 PDT 7/16/2013.

I had entered some ingredients without prices, and was going to edit them with prices. With editing not functioning currently, I ended up entering in a duplicate ingredient. I see you fixed the app to handle no price entry.

I would suggest that there be a monitored database of standard ingredients with the ability to have private ingredients. Inputting an accurate full nutrition profile can be a bit tricky, especially when units can vary.

Thanks so much for your time in producing this app. I think it has a lot of potential. it certainly has helped me tinker with my idea for a recipe that one can get up and running inexpensively within an hour of deciding to give this a try, instead of waiting a week for

By the way, I have not been able to determine the sulfur content of sulfured molasses, but it seems like a possible source for our Australian friends who cannot import Sulfur MSM. Also, a little bit of molasses adds a lot of nutrients, a nice caramel color, and a nice alternative to vanilla or cinnamon.

All oil from flaxseed is a little much. A coffee grinder works wonders for rolled oats and flaxseed, and reduces cost of oat flour to 99 cents for 454 grams.

I’ve just uploaded a fix for the editing recipes bug. I also added nutrient maximums which turn red in the recipe table when reached.

I also added private checkboxes for ingredients and units in the recipe table headings.

More soon!

After the fix, I was able to enter, edit and correct my recipe. This application is muy guapo.

I made the recipe public again, now that I have a decent draft. I just had my first glass of it, and it was great. I reduced the Brown Rice Syrup to 50g because I am looking to reduce carbs a bit, and the MSM to 2.5g which is the recommended serving. The Kale was added for Vitamin K, but adds high quality protein, Vitamin C, and more Vitamin A than carrots.

If you see any mistakes in the Oat, Whey, Flax, Brown Rice Syrup recipe, let me know.

Considering how much time many of us has spent in Google and Excel spreadsheets, tweaking and updating formula left and right, I’d say this is an apt statement.

Keep up the awesome work @nickp, I’ve since added it to the /r/soylent sidebar. Feel free to make a post about it, though!


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Jake - an independent review

I ordered two weeks worth of Jake Light and the following is my review:

  1. They have a good web site, plenty of information and easy to order, good email communication as well. They are based in Amsterdam and the product seems to ship from Rotterdam.

  2. Delivery was very quick, three days to the UK and they offer free shipping by DHL. They email a tracking number. Packaging was good, sturdy cardboard boxes with the contents safely inside. They include a shaker bottle which, again, is sturdy and fit for purpose. The cost was 118 euros which converted to 88 pounds sterling or 44 sterling for a week which makes it quite affordable.

  3. I use a Nutribullet for mixing the package. Each meal is individually packaged which makes for easy mixing. It mixes well and quite easily too. I have to say, although it is vanilla flavour, there is not much of a taste to detect at all. The main ingredient is pea protein isolate and maltodextrin and the vanilla seems to be enough to mask the taste of the ingredients. There’s not much of a dominant flavour at all. It’s not unpleasant, the texture is smooth without being creamy and there is a slight gritiness with some of the ingredients, particularly the flaxseed but it all goes down well. You are left with a small residue of solids at the bottom of the glass but it’s easy to add a little more water to rinse the remainder. All in all, quite a pleasant experience.

  4. I’m diabetic and was curious to see the effect on blood sugar with the maltodextrin and Dextrose but was very pleased to see no appreciable increase in blood sugar. I had no problem with gas, pooping or cravings for something else. In fact I was pleasantly surprised at how satiated I was after consuming. I had been mixing my own recipe but couldn’t manage to get it right so there wasn’t cravings so I’m pleased Jake is compiled better than I could manage.

  5. I’ve managed to lose three pounds in a few days which I’m pleased with. Cutting down to 1,500 good quality calories has been easy and no side effects at all. The package has 33% of all the required nutrition although it is higher in protein. The fats, which includes coconut oil, are all included in the powder so no oil bottle to worry about. Easy to clean up afterwards too.

To sum up, I was very pleased with my purchase, it’s a good product, ships quickly and I’ll definately order again.

Hi David, what a suspiciously positive review you wrote there! Just kidding :] it is nicely written and clear. However, it leaves me with a pretty significant question - what is Jake? I’ve been lurking around the community for quite a bit and I am from amsterdam myself (!), but I haven’t heard of Jake.

Also, with regard to diabetes, I am interested to know how you measured your blood sugar? I’m not diabetic, but I am interested to keep it steady just to have a constant flow of energy. One would expect maltodextrin en dextrose to give quite a spike…

This is my first activity on discourse.soylent so if I’m not following the community standards - I will get used to them in the course of time. Anyways, hi everyone!

Find more at: http://jakeshake.eu/

1 Like

Hi Sipa, I only stumbled on Jake by chance when I was doing a search using soylent and their web page came up. I think they must be a new company as they haven’t come up in previous searches. Basically, they sell their brand of soylent. Their web page is www.jakeshake.eu

I had previously bought soylent through Amazon from actibest but their product had too much sugar in it and my blood was going off the scale. Using google translator it appears Actibest use maltodextrin and glucose so a high reading was not surprising. I still have half a box of the stuff lying unused.

I use a blood glucose monitor to check my blood and I ran several readings over a three hour period after first consuming Jake and all the readings were normal which surprised me. I was expecting high readings due to the high GI of maltodextrin but I didn’t get them which obviously was good news. I can only imagine that in combination with the other ingredients making up the fats and protein the GI is lower. I did notice that there is quite high protein, same as carbohydrate in fact. If I had encountered a high sugar spike I would have had to abandon using Jake.

Interestingly, just this morning my sugar was quite low, 3.8 mmol and it was getting near lunchtime and that was low enough to cause some physical effects and I would normally take some sugar to bring it up. Instead I had my lunchtime Jake and within 20 minutes or so everything was back to normal. I’m finding a steady energy level on Jake although it’s just been a few days and I haven’t been particularly active.

I’ve seen a few of the recipes on diy soylent and some of them look like they would cause a few sugar problems for diabetics. I’m curious as to why the maltodextrin, which has a high GI is not giving me problems. Perhaps the more experienced members could advise.

By the way, I’m not in any way affiliated with Jake, I’m in the UK (Scotland) but I like the product and thought it reasonable to make a review.

1 Like

Thanks for the detailed answer. Sounds good! I’m really curious to try it out. Peace

Joylent has been shipping in the EU for a lot longer, but I might give Jake a try just to see how it compares.

1 Like

Jake from State Farm?

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I’m curious as to why the maltodextrin, which has a high GI is not
giving me problems. Perhaps the more experienced members could advise.

Jake claims (in a mail conversation we had) that by using inulin, a storage carbohydrate, the absorption of sugars into the blood is more balanced. In this way the spikes are capped.

Many thanks for the comment, I didn’t know they added inulin. Anything to minimise diabetic problems is welcome.

Here’s a link to an article on inulin and diabetes

also http://fca.com/inulin-super-nutrient-against-diabetes/

I didn’t get a high glucose reading from taking Jake and perhaps the inulin helped. Even though Jake contains maltodextrin and dextrose, although in what quantity I don’t know, the overall product appears to have a low GI, or at least insofar as taking blood glucose readings seems to imply.

I have been using both Jake and Mana and they are both good in different ways, I prefer Mana for taste and texture I think but Jake is more practical, no oil bottles and one meal individual packets. They are both quite filling and had no unexpected side effects.

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Cannot install boot loader

Manual or automatic partitioning?

1 Like

Manual without home, / is on /dev/sdc4. GRUB on sdc + bios_grub sdc1. But whatever i try, it is not working with a separate /home on /dev/sdc6 either.

1 Like

Are you remembering to create /boot? Have you tried going to manual partitioning, select the option to auto-create partitions, and then manually adjusting them to how you want?

1 Like

Been getting the same error for the past couple days:
Dec 03 08:37:36 noname anaconda[1881]: program: /sbin/grub2-mkconfig: line 268: /boot/grub2/ No such file or directory

In addition, the installer is creating nested directories: /boot/efi/EFI/EFI...

I have tried with automatic partitioning as well as with manual partitioning - same error.

Are you dual booting? If not, can you try deleting the ESP and installing again? If you are, can you try selecting manual partitioning -> hit the button to create the partitions -> remove the /boot/efi mount point and re-create it as a new partition?

1 Like

Well, in my case, i got it to work on /dev/sda with default options. But that SSD was due for a secure erase, so … yeah. I dont want Silverblue on /dev/sda. I will happily wait another two years until the Silverblue team got their anaconda sorted out, so i can finally install it on /dev/sdc4 with multiboot.

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Every time I try to install Silverblue on a drive with pre-existing EFI partition (dual booting), I get the message “failed to write boot loader configuration”. The installation log is showing the same above messages, and I confirm the nested directories /boot/efi/EFI/EFI... too. Is this a known bug for Anaconda?

If anyone is interested, this worked for me:

Run this from the shell when the error dialog box comes up, and then ignore the error and continue the installation (replace <deploy_id>.0 with the existing folder):

chroot /mnt/sysimage/ostree/deploy/fedora-workstation/deploy/<deploy_id>.0 /bin/sh
mv /boot/efi/EFI/EFI/* /boot/efi/EFI
rm -r /boot/efi/EFI/EFI
grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/grub.cfg

It might be this one:

I ran into it trying to install Fedora Workstation 29 on my laptop. Said laptop is currently dual-booted Antergos Linux and Windows 10 Pro, so I know dual-booting is possible. It also was dual-booted with Ubuntu 18.04 at one time.

Any Anaconda experts here?

1 Like

Hmm that doesn’t seem like the same bug, I recognized @erubio0’s case as one I ran into as well that’s Silverblue-specific. IIRC Anaconda just copies the EFI directory without checking if it’s already present in the ostree variant?

1 Like

¿You know? You saved my day. This bug seems a little bit absurd TBH.

FTR to enter shell: Ctrl+Alt+F1; then Ctrl+B 2

1 Like

After doing this and finally having a working Fedora Silverblue, the grub screen doesn’t use any default value. I always have to select one deployment. Any suggestions to fix that?

Also I have:

Fedora 31.20191220.0 (Workstation Edition) (ostree:0)
Fedora 31.1.9 (Workstation Edition) (ostree:1)

I have no idea on which one is the good one, or what do ostree:1/0 mean… wasn’t it supposed to be using ostree always? :confounded:

1 Like

Hello @yajo, Welcome to the discussion.

The commits are listed from newest to oldest so 0 is the newest (an default selection) and 1 is the previous commit. The commits are always Ostree, what you are seeing is the variant of Fedora used for Silverblue (Workstation).

I too see the most recent commits at Grub menu, if I wait the most recent one boots, or I can select which one, there is time (~5 seconds in my case).

Thanks for your replies :smile:

Yes, but in my case it will never choose one automatically, no matter what I do.

1 Like

Sorry @yajo, I have been away for a bit. Did you solve your problem with Grub? If so could you comment about the solution here for future info, and if not let’s see what we can figure out.

1 Like

Unfortunately, this bug is still alive. Here’s the workaround update for Silverblue 31:

chroot /mnt/sysimage/ostree/deploy/fedora/deploy/<deploy_id>.0 /bin/sh
mv /boot/efi/EFI/EFI/BOOT/* /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/
mv /boot/efi/EFI/EFI/fedora /boot/efi/EFI/
rm -r /boot/efi/EFI/EFI
grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/grub.cfg

This is a real pain. I’m not even able to do the workaround since my keyboard is bluetooth one and we have no bluetooth here in Anaconda!

So let’s please file this bug in the end if it wasn’t already. Anyone aware of the situation?

PS: also, the installer seem doesn’t allow to continue the installation, so not sure if workaround is enough…

1 Like

Apparently, there are a lot of this bug reports already, starting from 2017, but the bug is still there:

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Ok I found the issue and provided the fix:

Not sure why is should had to take 3 years if one is really care…

1 Like

Wow! Just that to solve an x-years problem?!

Silly, yeah? Actually, I’m just going to test it :slight_smile:

1 Like


text:
New Tuition Model at Hiram College Offers Educational, Career, and Financial Benefits

Title: Student Loan Debt: Who is Paying it Down?

Authors: Diana Farrell, Fiona Greig, Daniel M. Sullivan

Source: JPMorgan Chase & Co. Institute

A new report from the JPMorgan Chase & Co. Institute looks at student loan repayment data for over 300,000 Chase checking account customers who were either making payments towards student debt or possess outstanding student debt. The authors found differences in repayment trends across age, race, and income status.

In particular, the report notes that while the median borrow is positioned to pay 3.8 percent of their take-home income, many low-income and younger borrowers navigate rates that are over 10 percent. Additionally, Black borrowers, relative to white borrowers, have lower incomes, higher debt balances, and are less likely to receive repayment help. The authors also provide insight on loan payment progress and deferral trends.

Click here to read the report.

—Anna Marie Ramos

Higher Education Today


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Skip to Navigation
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record distribution

Guido - Orchestral Lab / Way You Make Me Feel

Recording info

2009 brings the debut from the final member of the much talked about Bristol Purple Trinity who, alongside Joker and Gemmy, has crafted new technicolour frequencies for the ever evolving dubstep spectrum. Orchestral Lab is pure Davinche style strings, square wave pulses, infectious hooks and 808s. Restrained yet anthemic. Irrestistable and addictive. This track has been raising eyebrows on dancefloors and radio for a few months. The other side brings a switch in tempo but remains definitively Guido. A 21st century lament and a cure for dubstep depression, wonky woes and grimey gloominess. This is just a glimpse of the colours Guido has in his lab. This is 2009, the Purple WoW Sound is here.

Release Info

  • Catalog:
  • DRUNK 011
  • Label:
  • Punch Drunk
  • Format:
  • 12"
  • Title:
  • Orchestral Lab / Way You Make Me Feel
  • Artist:
  • Guido
  • Style:
  • Dubstep
  • Country:
  • United Kingdom
  • Released:
  • 2009 week 9
  • Order:
  • End of Life

pos title
A1 Orchestral Lab
B1 Way You Make Me Feel
distribution © 2006-2020 | contact | top


text:
Category: DEFAULT

Sonora 3

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    Delivery & Pickup Options - 7 reviews of McDonald's "It's time for me to update my McDonald's reviews I have to say I haven't had any burnt buns or burgers lately, the one thing I do enjoy immensely is the curb service I order my food through my cell phone I let them know what McDonald's I'm at, I pull into the curb service parking stall and they bring out my food to me rain or shine, thank.
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text:
Instinctual Leadership: Working with the 27 Subtypes of the Awareness to Action Enneagram

Instinctual Leadership: Working with the 27 Subtypes of the Awareness to Action Enneagram

Mario Sikora & Maria Jose Muni

11 in stock

SKU: 9781661911133 Categories: , , ,

(2020) Mario Sikora and Maria Jose Munita are executive coaches and leadership-development consultants who have used the Enneagram to help their clients master the human side of business. Here for the first time, they share descriptions of all of the 27 subtypes according to the Awareness to Action Approach to the Enneagram. This approach to the subtypes and the three instinctual biases—Preserving, Navigating, and Transmitting—is based on experience with clients at all levels, from front-line workers to CEOs, in companies of all kinds on five continents. This experience includes conducting 360 assessments on hundreds of leaders and observing the consistent pattern of expression of the instinctual biases that they discuss in this book.This unique and timely book provides not only descriptions of the subtypes, but a framework that can be used to help leaders (and those who advise them):•Identify potential structural or organizational vulnerabilities of their company or teams and devise solutions to overcome those vulnerabilities; •Improve communication and collaboration, and implement cultural changes; and•Remove barriers to improving individual performance. While the 27 subtypes of the Enneagram have been of quickly growing interest in the field, this approach to them takes a unique perspective. It is a perspective grounded in over two decades of practical application in the business world and consistent with what we know through cognitive science and evolutionary psychology. This short book provides a foundation of fundamental concepts without delving too much into the theory underlying those concepts, and provides a framework with which readers can explore and implement those concepts. Contact us at [email protected] for information on how to become certified in the applications of the Awareness to Action Enneagram or to become an Awareness to Action International licensee.


text:
Diy & Crafts

100 DIY Dollar Store Christmas Decor Ideas

Make your home look festive for less with these DIY dollar store Christmas decor ideas. There are wreaths, candles, centerpieces, home accents and much more!

Items You Can Get At Dollar Tree for $1:

Items You Can Get at Walmart for $1:

  • Christmas village figurines (small ones are less than $1)
  • Acrylic paint ($0.50 for small bottles of Apple Barrel paint)
  • Christmas picks (Dollar Tree does have some picks, but not as much selection as Walmart).
  • Clip Ornaments ($1-$3, depending on size)
  • Paint brushes
  • White & Black spray paint (other colors are $3)
  • Wood and Chipboard Letters
  • Christmas Chenille Stems (Pipe Cleaners) – $0.88
  • They also have a dollar craft corner where you can get a number of items too
  • Christmas Lights ($2 for 100 ct.)

Candle DIY Dollar Store Christmas Decor

Snowy Pinecone Luminaries from Crafts by Amanda

candle-pine-burlapBurlap Evergreen Candle (source unknown)
Tall Jar Candle + Burlap Ribbon + Twine + Evergreen Spig
Here’s how to preserve evergreen for decorating

wineglass-pineWine Bottle Candles (source unknown)
Wine Glass Bottles + White Taper Candles + Twine + Pine Twigs

Dollar Store Christmas Candle Snowmen from Good Housekeeping

Snowball  Candleholder from Just Another Hang Up

candles-snowglobeWine Glass Snow Globe from Pop Sugar

wine-glass-christmas-ornament-decorationWine Glass Ornament Decoration (source unknown)
Small Round Ornaments + Wine Glasses + White Votive Candles  + Mirror Candle Tray

Tea Light Christmas Decorations from Craft Ideas

candle-candycane2Dollar Tree Christmas Candles from Passionate Penny Pincher

Christmas Bow Candle from Prudent Penny Pincher

Christmas Candles from Creative Me Inspired You

Glitter Candles from Two Sisters Crafting

Snowflake Candles from Midwest Living

Dollar Store Christmas Candle Holder from Coupon Closet

Wreath DIY Dollar Store Christmas Decor

Candy Candle Wreath from Martha Stewart

wreath-santaSanta Wreath from Baby Rabies

Christmas Ornament Wreath from Six Sisters Stuff

DIY Dollar Store Ornament Wreath from Tip Junkie

wreath-snowflakeDollar Store Snowflake Door Hanger from Rae of Sparkles

wreath-candycanePeppermint Wreath from Gwynn Wasson Designs

Christmas Ribbon Wreath from Shelterness

wreath-mossFloral Moss Wreath from The Inspired Room

wreath-burlapBurlap Christmas Wreath from Love of Family and Home

Clothespin Wreath from Gwenny Penny

wreath1DIY Burlap Wreath from What’s Your Home Story

Coffee Filter Wreath from Lil Luna

Berry Wreath from That What Che Said

wreath-bowsGift Bow Wreaths from Design Improvised

Christmas Cookie Cutter Wreath from Dollar Tree

Glam Wreath from

Candy Cane Garland Wreath  from Prudent Penny Pincher

wreath-pompomChristmas Pom Pom Wreath (source unknown)

Framed Ornament Wreath from Artsy Chicks Rule

Twine Star from Lowes

Snowflake Wreath from A Fish Who Likes Flowers

Other DIY Dollar Store Christmas Decor

Dollar Tree Christmas Snow Scene from Prudent Penny Pincher

christmas-village Christmas Snow Village from Confessions of a Plate Addict

fruit-glitterSilver Faux Fruit (source unknown)
Decorative Fruit + Silver and White Glitter ($1.50 Walmart) + White Spray Paint + Spray Adhesive

door-snowmanSnowman Door from The Creative Stamper Spot

Snowflake Curtains from

Window Ornament Decoration (source unknown)
Assorted Round Ornaments + White Curling Ribbons + Large Bow

Wrapping Paper Cabinets from Country Living

Gift Bow Cabinets (source unknown)

Dining Room Chandelier Decorations from House of Noise

Falling Snow from Pinterest
Cotton Balls + Fishing Line

Lighted Burlap Garland from Create Craft Love

Snowman Bowl from Rosyscription

Dollar Store Fishbowls Snowman from Smart School House

Doily Christmas Basket (2:53 in the video tutorial) from Youtube

Winter Vases from Taryn Whiteaker

Christmas Candy Vase from Good Housekeeping

Dollar Store Framed Reindeer from Saved by Love Creations

Christmas Apothecary Jars (source unknown)
If you happen to already have some glass jars around the house then this is an easy decor idea. Just buy some gift bows, candy canes and ornaments from Dollar Tree. If you don’t have the jars, you could find some at a thrift store for under $5.

Giant Craft Stick Snowflakes from Crafty Nest

Glitter Globe from Camille Styles

Mason Jar Christmas Snow Globe from Fox Hollow Cottage

Pine Cone Christmas Trees from Scissors and Spoons

Rustic Christmas Balls from Splash of Something

Centerpiece DIY Dollar Store Christmas Decor

Snowy Mason Jar from Deco Art

Joy Bottle Centerpiece (source unknown)
Wood Letters + Red Acrylic Paint + Burlap Ribbon + Wine Bottles + White Spray Paint + Christmas Ribbon

Rustic Christmas Mason Jars (source unknown)
White Chalk Paint + Mason Jar + Christmas Pick + Twine

Snowy Bottles Christmas Display from Cleverly Inspired

Candy Cane Centerpiece from Living Well Spending Less

Ornament Centerpiece from Midwest Living

 Mini Tree DIY Dollar Store Christmas Decor

mini-trees2Ornament Mini Christmas Tree from One Project Closer

Silver Spoon Christmas Tree from High Styler Style

mini-trees3Peppermint Mini Christmas Tree from One Project Closer

Mason Jar Christmas Tree from Country Living

Table DIY Dollar Store Christmas Decor

Gold Dipped Holiday Glasses from Momtastic

Monogrammed Place Card (source unknown)
Glittery Letters ($0.98 each at Walmart) + Pinecones

Mini Stocking Utensil Holders (source unknown)
All you need is a pack of mini stockings from the Dollar Tree

Candy Cane Placeholder (source unknown)
Candy Canes + Place Cards + Ribbons

Holiday Shakers from Country Living

Holiday Tiered Serving Tray (source unknown)
Glass Taper Candleholder + Various Plastic Christmas Plates + Red Charger + E6000 Glue

Snowman Spoons (source unknown)
Wooden Spoons + White Spray Paint + Black & Orange Acrylic Paint

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“Give me FIVE!” – A QRP SSB multiband transceiver for 5 bands with 10 Watts output power

FYI: 4 and 1/2 years after having published this article I have built another multiband HF radio with some new features and an improved design:

An experimental HF 6-Band SSB Transceiver

I owned an old ATLAS 215 RF transceiver once. This unit was destroyed because by a momentary laps of reason.  I put 12 V DC to it with wrong polarity. Sh..! Since this very sad day I’ve always wanted a new 5 bander rig. OK, I could have bought one. Money is not the big problem. But, as a passionate homebrewer, I thought to myself: “Why not building a 5 band trx instead of the monoband rigs that I’ve built so far?“. This decision was made in summer 2015. Now, in late autoumn, this rig s nearly completely finished.

5 band multi band QRP SSB transceiver - 10 Watts output (C) Peter Rachow (DK7IH)
5 band multi band QRP SSB transceiver – 10 Watts output (C) Peter Rachow (DK7IH)

So, let’s tell the whole story…

General aspects

Building a multi band rig is, as you might conceive, much more complicated than setting up a monobander. Seems sensible. So, first I went through literature to avoid fulminant project failure which is more probable when making serious mistakes that can easily be avoided by careful planning.

What to read? First, “Solid state design for the radio amateur” by Hayward and DeMaw is still a very useful book. Even when sometimes people mail me and say “Oh boy, why are you always bulding all those nostalgia radios with old style components like the ‘741’? Boy, today, SDR is the standard!“. My simple answer then is: “No, it is NOT!“.

To learn more about multi band QRP transceivers I also browsed the web for similar projects. There are some, but often there is no full cicuitry given. Here are two sites that might be interesting: M0DGQ and  VK3EPW.

So, after some days of conceiving, I finally had the basic concept in mind. Mixing the modern times (DDS and microcontrollers) with the old style of QRP homebrewing. And what about “SDR”? Sorry, not on the agenda. Based on these prerequisites, here are the main ideas for this radio:

  • DDS controlled by microcontroller
  • Colored graphic LCD
  • 5 ham bands (80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters) to be covered
  • SSB only
  • 10 Watts out, transmitter equipped with bipolar transistors in push-pull mode (lots of CB-types still on my stock or replaced e. g. by ELEFLOW types)
  • Single conversion superhet receiver with AGC and high dynamic range (diode ring mixer). Must be able to deal with high signal levels on the lower ham bands.
  • Compact size to make the radio fit for portable, outdoor and holiday use (flight!)
  • Using “The usual suspects” like NE602, MC1496, LM386, MC1350 to be involved.

To avoid any fuss in recevier and ssb generation design I have again picked up the single-conversion principle that has successfully been applied in my former transceivers which uses only one interfrequency (IF). One of the reasons for this, besides circuit simplicity, is the fact, that a single conversion superhet produces less “birdies” than a double conversion one. Birdies are a particular problem when you use DDS frequency generation. Every DDS produces spurii that can be received with more or less intense signal strength in your own receiver. So I was not keen on having more than the inevitable number of self-reception signals by adding a second interfrequency.

Mechanical considerations

I love to build rigs that are compact and neat. I don’t like the bulky boxes only capable for home use. To make this fairly complex radio not too large, I found that sandwich design would be the best way to save space and make the transceiver friendly for building and service.

Based on the “sandwich-idea”, the rig consists of three different layers:

  • Transmitter board
  • Switch board with final low pass filters (centered between the two others)
  • Receiver board

All boards are connected from the laterals by a homemade plug system so that the single Verobaords can be removed and reinstalled into and from the assembly quickly. Here’s an overview picture showing this construction method:

5 band 10 watts QRP SSB transceiver, sandwich construction ( (C) 2016 Peter Rachow - DK7IH)
5 band 10 watts QRP SSB transceiver, sandwich construction ( (C) 2016 Peter Rachow  (DK7IH)

In the middle of the sandwich you can recognize the switching unit from where the plugs are lead to the receiver and transmitter board. The idea behind this on one hand makes the transceiver very compact. On the other hand it is very service friendly. It takes only 1 or 2 minutes for example getting the transmitter board out for changing a component. Pull the side connectors, remove 4 board screws + 3 screws at the rear-mounted heat sink and take out the board. Remounting the board takes some seconds more. But there is no need to disconnect and reconnect an endless number of cables each time you perform a modification. All lines are connected by the side-plugs. And that’s it! One shortcoming should be mentioned: When I built the rig there was a little bit more effort concerning wiring. But it pays!

As board No. 4 the DDS-VFO together with the microcontroller and the LCD have been put behind the front panel.

VFO and LO frequency considerations

In this transceiver the interfrequency (IF) is 10 MHz which is based on the fact that respective crystals can cheaply be purchased in larger quantities to build appropriate ladder filters with. I bought about 50 pieces for around 10 Euros. But other crystal frequencies are also possible. For example computer crystals of 9,832 kHz, standard 9,000 kHz xtals or others in the same frequency region can be used. Taking your IF between 8 and 12 MHz might be the best choice in my opinion.

Hint: Before choosing the final IF and purchasing crytals or ready-made filters it is highly recommended to do some basic calculations to ensure that none of the harmonics either of the VFO or the LO falls into the desired receiving band going together with a certain set of frequencies generated by the two oscillators.

So watch out where the frequencies of VFO and LO are located in the radio frequency spectrum! A spreadsheet software is extremely useful for this purpose, because you can change the IF quickly and see at first glance what you will get out when the DDS is about to generate the needed frequency to bring you to the desired band. Also keep harmonics in mind!

And also keep in mind that the image frequency on every band should not fall into shortwave broadcast bands (e. g. the 49m-band!)  where strong commercial stations may appear. OK, sometimes this can’t be avoided but it’s worth thinking of it before you start to build.

As said before, my rig uses a DDS system for obtaining versatile VFO functionality (equipped with an AD9850 made by Analog Devices). To get “a feeling” for this chip I first used one of those AD9850 modules available from China on ebay for e few bucks. The problem: They are more or less crap. at least for RF use. I don’t know what chips they install there, but the board was cheaper than buying a single AD9850 on the free market. No more questions. These boards produce a large number of spurii (aka “birdies”). A much greater number than I ever encountered with my last rigs using an AD9835 DDS chip that is nearly spurii-free. So I decided to buy some surplus original AD9850 chips and a breakout board to which I soldered the DDS chip and tried my own DDS board. It worked from the start. But there are also some spurii so I changed the AD9850 DDS to an AD9834 which is similar to the AD9835 from my other rigs. The AD9834 can be overclocked to about 100 MHz which makes him a candidate to substitude the AD9850 in the DDS. In the end I decided to use a more professional DDS by Analog Devices and came to the AD9951 that is also used in Kenwood’s TS590 transceiver. This one, as you might gues, worked best. Here is the description of this optimized DDS vfo.

Realizing the Transceiver

The DDS-VFO, the microcontroller and the colored LCD

Please note that the AD9850-based DDS has been replaced by an AD9951-system. Read the article here!

For a long time I have owned some colored LCD cellphone displays from a dive computer project that I had completed some years before. These boards are equipped with an ATMega128 micorocontroller which is capable to deliver enough capacity and calculation power even for extended software. So why not using this surplus material?

First, here’s the scheme of this unit:

AT Mega 128, AD9835, D072 Display Modul for 5 band QRP SSB transceiver (C) 2015 Peter Rachow (DK7IH)
AT Mega 128, AD9850, D072 Display Modul for 5 band QRP SSB transceiver (C) 2015 Peter Rachow (DK7IH)

Here’s an older picture of the practical realization of this DDS-VFO (running an older version of the software) with the LCD built in behind the front panel of my transceiver:

DDS VFO + colored LCD (by DK7IH)
DDS VFO + colored LCD (by DK7IH)

Why is using a DDS really cool?

What always was a problem in “pre-DDS”-times was to switch the VFO to the desired band. With the old 80/20-meter transceiver concept this was not a big problem, the 5-MHz-VFO did the job on either band. But it things were more complicated when you wanted to cover the other ham bands with only one VFO. Some basic concepts were switiching the coils and/or capacitors or bulding a superheterodyne VFO that mixed a basic VFO signal to the desired frequency. Lots of birdies included, sometimes at least.

With an appropriate DDS no superheterodyne or LC-switching circuitry is required to get the wanted  VFO signal for each band. The AD9850 is capable of being clocked with 125 MHz maximum rate. The AD9951 can be clocked to 500 MHz even if 400MHz are nominal by the manufacturer. Due to physical reasons (Nyquist frequency) the highest frequency you can get out of such a DDS is about one third of the clock oscillator frequency what in the first case means about 40 MHz. So you can easily recognize that you can get all the VFO sigs from the one DDS you need to drive an rf transceiver without that VFO fuss well known in the older times. In my rig I achieved to stay very much below the margin of 40 MHz because output voltage due to the frequency calaculation you can see underneath. Keep in mind: Signal quality of the DDS decreases significantly the closer you get to its maximum frequency. Among other reasons this is due to the fact that a low-pass filter is switched to the output of the DDS. I recommend to stay at least 5 to 10 times lower than Nyquist freqeuncy if possible.

Frequency calculations

For the two lower bands (80 and 40 meters) the operating frequency is calculated by the following scheme:

f = fif – fVFO (I)

For the upper three bands (20, 15 and 10 meters) another equation is used:

f = fif + fVFO (II)

Two effects are desired by using this scheme:

First, there is no requirement to switch the local oscillator because it is always on the “right” sideband. The sideband relay in my rig is without current except from those times when you want to use the “wrong” sideband. Second, the maximum frequency the DDS has to produce is about 19 MHz (for the 10-meter band). This will result in sufficient output voltage out of the DDS chip to drive the TX mixer (SA602) properly. For the receiver I use a diode ring mixer, which requires about 7 dBm injection level. Therefore an additional amplifier is required. The DDS can not drive the diode balanced mixer without amplification! In my AD9951 DDS an additional amplifier has been installed, please look there.

The Microcontroller

Now let’s look at the microcontroller unit. This time I used a pre-manufactured circuit board that contains a colored LCD together with an ATMega128 µC to do all the digital work. The board is an “D072” produced by German based manufacturer display3000.com. The board has nearly all the ports of the installed ATMega128 to be accessed by the developer. Only some lines of PORT B are reserved for the LCD SPI signals. But due to the fact that the ATMega128 has got plenty of available ports that is not a problem at all.

The cellphone display can be run in 2 different modes. Either you can use 256 or 65536 colors. Because of performance reasons I decided that 256 colors are enough because only one byte per pixel needs to be transferred in this mode. In high color mode on the other hand each pixel contains 2 bytes of data which makes data transfer a bit slower. This mode is mainly for showing photos on the 2.1″ display which I didn’t intend to do.

All neccessary auxiliary moduls are also present on the D072-board including voltage regulators, charge pump and positive/negative power supply for the LCD, the MAX232 chip used for serial communication purposes and so on. Even a PWM modul is installed to make the display light controlable by software. All what you have got to do is to connect the various ports of the microcontroller to your application. These are the DDS chip, some sensors for measurement issues using the AT’s ADC, switches and so on. This is the reason why I drew only the relevant lines for my transceiver to the schematic above.

The AD9850 DDS and its refinements

Please note that the AD9850-based DDS has been replaced by an AD9951-system. Read the article here!

As I mentioned above, DDS is a nice thing. I only had to find a DDS chip that could cover the  frequency range from 3 to about 20 MHz used for my rig. I first chose the AD9850 by Analog Devices.

But some experiments were neccessary to optimize the VFO circuit. First, to increase output voltage, I used a symmetric output with a trifilar wound transformer.

DDS for multi band transceiver (DK7IH 2015)
DDS for multi band transceiver (DK7IH 2015)

Balanced output to my experience is recommended when using Analog’s DDS chips that supply 2 output ports. Use  a simple output transformer (e. g. on an Amidon FT37-43-core, trifilar wound). The transformer is followed by an amplifier. See the full scheme for this one! A low pass filter in between these two sections improves waveform and eliminates harmonics. The signal then is fed into the TX and RX mixers simultaneously. The DDS now puts out 2 Volts p-p on from 3 to 20 MHz giving a pure sine wave with flat signal levelling over the full frequency span.

Hint: If you own a spectrum analyzer you can write a simple test program to produce sine waves over the whole frequency an check the flatness of your DDS this way.

DDS and amplifier for QRP SBB multi band transceiver (C) 2015 DK7IH
DDS and amplifier for QRP SBB multi band transceiver (C) 2015 DK7IH

Band switching

The main thing that makes a multiband transceiver much more complex than a monobander is the neccessity to switch frequency related filters in certain parts of the circuit even if broadband designs are widely applied. There are three sections in which band switching must take place in my rig:

In the receiver section:

  • At the front end.

In the transmitter section:

  • At the output of the transmit mixer before first amplifier, and
  • after the final stage where the low-pass filters for each band are selected.

At the low power end of the chains (front end and tx mixer) where signal levels don’t exceed 1 or 2 volts p-p several ways of switching are theoretically possible:

  1. Diodes as switching elements
  2. IC-Multiplexers
  3. Miniature relays

Method 1 usually involves stray capacities, so signal seperation is far from being overwhelming. Effective decoupling is a big problem with this on the other hand cheap and handy method.

Alternative 2 ensures very much a higher level of signal seperation but depends on the availability of the respective ICs needed like the 74HC4052 (a multiplexer IC) for example

Because of the fact that from a former model railraod project I still had a large bunch of 5V coil voltage OMRON relays, I decided to use these. Most relays normally tend to have good RF decoupling capabilities because capacities of the unswitched contact pairs are in the 1..2 pF region or even lower. That is absolutely OK for rf designs! Check the data sheet for exact data before buying a certain relay model.

In my transceiver the 3 relays sets for each band (receiver front end, TX mixer output and low-pass filter after final amplifier stage) are connected in series and are driven directly by 12 volts by a simple switching transistor directly controlled by a port line from the microcontroller using a small transistor driver stage (see circuit of microcontroller board). Each relay gets about 4 volts of coil voltage (then drawing about 40 mA) which is more than enough because my OMRON relays start reliable switching from a coil voltage of about 3.3 V. So the transceiver theoretically can be operated down to 10 Volts DC without any danger that the band relays might not switch correctly.

Band switch drivers

The drivers for each band that drive 3 series switched relays per band are controlled by one seperate port of the controller (Ports PE3 to PE7). PE3 is for 80 meters, PE4 for 40 and so on. BC547 transistors are enough because the 5V Omron PCB relays draw about 35  mA. Max. collector current for a BC547 is 100mA.

Measurement section for “environmental” data

A lot of values are detected with sensors in this rig. Several voltage dividers are visible on the upper left part of the scheme. They measure:

  • Power supply voltage
  • Temperature of the TX final stage heat sink
  • RX signal level derived from the AGC
  • RIT voltage

The signals are fed into the various PORTS of the ADC of the µC. Check for the software code that will be soon postet for details.

The transmitter

I have to admit, I underestimated the diffculties that I was going to face when constructing a 3 to 30 MHz broadband QRP amplifier with a power output level of about 10 watts on all the five bands covered. I read a lot of stuff in advance, particularly the ARRL library, to get aquainted with the basics of designing linear broadband amplifiers for rf.

To make clear what I’m talking about, here’s the final and full circuit after hours and hours of testing, improving, testing, conceiving, improving…. 😉

A 5 bands 10 Watts multi band SSQ QRP transceiver: The full transmitter section including broadband linear amplifier from 3 to 30 MHz (C) Peter Rachow (DK7IH) 2015
A 5 bands 10 Watts multi band SSQ QRP transceiver: The full transmitter section including broadband linear amplifier from 3 to 30 MHz (C) Peter Rachow (DK7IH) 2015

The mere power amplifier strip has, as you can see, got 4 stages:

  • Preamp
  • Predriver
  • Driver (push-pull)
  • Final amp (push-pull)

The design is capable of delivering about 20 watts of rf power but I wanted to run it within a well defined distance from its limits to ensure top signal quality. On the other hand I had kept in mind that a broadband design always offers significantly lower overall gain than a monoband amplifier. So there should always be a certain amount of gain in reserve.

You may ask why I used 2 push-pull stages. The answer is: Due to the fact that they are operated in class AB-mode I wanted to keep linearity as high as possible. Class AB amplifiers have got a relatively low standing current (bias) and therefore a higher degree of efficiency than class A.  The transistor gets only a low quiescent base current, so linearity lacks compared to class A. But it does not get far as hot as his class A brother.

The solution to the bias-problem is the push-pull circuit. Each transistor of the pair now only amplifies one of the half-waves of the duty cycle. These are seperated by the input transformer and are put together again by the output transformer:

Principles of class AB mode SSB push-pull linear amplifier
Principles of class AB mode SSB push-pull linear amplifier

So, in contrast to a class A amp which has to  be biased for amplfiying the positive half-wave AND the negative share of the waveform and thus needs a much higher bias current, the push-pull design can be operated with lower bias because it has to amplify only one part of the wave cycle which is now split by polarity into two transistors.

And, because a push-pull amp offers built-in even-harmonics suppression, the production of overtones is limited by this circuit without the need for filters.

After the amp was finisehd I did a lot of research using my old HP8558B spectrum analyzer and found that harmonic suppression is excellent as well as third order products are if you don’t use the full power capabilities of the amplifier strip.

How to make an amp broadband

The main problem with transistor amplifiers (mainly those designed for rf purposes) is the gain-vs-frequency problem. When increasing the operating frequency of such an amplifier you’re about to lose 3 dbs of gain per octave. This means, you get high amplification rates on 80 meters and a very much lower one on 10 meters. Not very nice if you want to achieve a comparable amount of gain on all the bands the transceiver is going to cover.

Next topic: I use CB transistors with a relatively high transition frequency (ft) of about 150 MHz or even higher. This means on 80 and 40 meters you can expect tremendous gain. A strong tendency towards self-oscillation and instabilties is one outcome of this situation. But on the other hand for 15 and 10 meters this high ft is a must!

So, a lot of potential problems ware waiting for the ambitious radio constructor. But, no need to get desperate: There are various cures for the various problems. To make the amp stable and clean I applied the following techniques:

  1. Amplifier stages are coupled by relatively low valued capacitors,
Coupling transistor stages with capacitors
Coupling transistor stages with capacitors

My first mistake before bypassing correctly was to try to bring monoband concepts to a broadband amplifier. Adequate emitter bypassing was one of these. First I used large capacitors in the range of 0.1µF. Much too much, as I found out later. OK, a high valued emitter bypass capacitor hands you back a lot of gain but unfortunately not equally distributed over the frequency span. It’s much better to reduce the value of the emitter bypass capacitors down to some nanofarads. You may ask: “Why is this the case?” Simple answer: The resistance of a capacitor for alternating current is given by

XC = 1/(2*Pi*f*C)

Low value capacitors thus prefer higher frequencies and attenuate the lower ones.

2. The same is true for the emitters bypasses:

The bypass capacitors lets ac flow unresitedly over the paralleled resistor.

3. In addition, negative feedback is applied to the 3 of the 4 stages to reduce gain when the operating frequency is low:

Negative feedback in a transistor amplifier stage
Negative feedback in a transistor amplifier stage

A certain amount of rf energy floats back to the base but is 180° out of phase thus compensating input energy.

4. Emitter degeneration also helps to get gain constant AND lowers distortion:

Emitter degeneration in a transistor amplifier stage
Emitter degeneration in a transistor amplifier stage

The unbypassed capacitors causes a voltage drop when emitter-collector current rises. Therefore the voltage between base and emitter lowers (base is biased to a fixed value), the gain decreases.

But, as I said before, all these measures cost a certain amount of gain. That’s why I use a 4 stage amplifier rather than a one with only three stages. The effort, by the way, paid. The waveform of the two-tone test is absolutely top on all the 5 bands. But it was a hard way to go there!

Crucial mistakes and their correction

When I tested the first version of the amplifier, I was deeply disappointed. The signals were bad, distortion was a severe problem. Also I had lots of parasetics particularly on the higher bands and self-oscillation occured as soon as I started to increase the drive coming from the tx mixer. One of the reasons for this was improper shielding of the band filter section that follows the TX mixer. I will talk about this in a later post.

By the way, don’t ask me, if the amp was “flat”. No, it wasn’t. Definetely NOT! That was the point when I began to hate this  project. 😉 But then (instead of giving up) I started thinking of what I could have done wrong. Step by step I got closer to my  goal…

Construction methods for the test procedures: “Plug and pray!”

To enable me to change the “critical” components like emitter bypass capacitors very fast without taking the soldering iron into my hand I use SIP socket strips:

Experimenting techniques: Socket strips for quick change of components
Experimenting techniques: Socket strips for quick change of components

Advantage: You can run endless tests without being endangered to seriously damage the solder pads of your Veroboard! The needed numbers of pins are cut from the strip with a coping saw or a mini cut-off wheel. Once soldered they remain in the board till the end of days. Disadvantage: If your component has thin wires, these will fall out off the socket. But for 98% of my components this works fine!

Components prone for being optimized by this method are:

  • Coupling capacitors
  • Emitter bypassing capacitors
  • Emitter resistors
  • Negative feedback resistors and/or capacitors (whatever you have!)

Optimize your rf transformers!

RF amplifiers in high-power stages (i. e. above the Milliwatt level) usually use transformers for coupling rf energy from one stage to the next. They hereby can serve as impedance transformers, because input impedances of trasistor stages are often in the range of only some ohms whereas the output impedances of the previous stages are 4 to 10 times higher. I own a large number of my favourite Amidon toroid cores so that I can produce a variety of test transformers that can be soldered quickly to soldering nails. Again this is to avoid the repeated soldering process ruining my Veroboards:

Soldering transformers to ensure that frequent resoldering won't damage your PCB
Demonstration how to solder rf transformers to a Veroboard. Using soldering nails to ensure that copper pads on the Veroboard won’t be damaged by frequent resoldering.

By methods like these and 2 months of steady improvement I finally got the transmitter working the way I wanted it to have.

Measurement results at the completed unit:

  • Output power in two-tone-test: 10 Watts at 11.9 V DC power supply
  • Carrier suppression: greater than 50dB
  • IMD3 products: 36dB (measured at 14,200 kHz)

Spectral analysis of output signal (f=14,200 MHz):

Spectral analysis of output signal of transmitter at 14MHz. Left picture p.out=10 Watts.  Right picture amp is overdriven. Vertical division 10db each.
Spectral analysis of output signal of transmitter at 14MHz. Left picture p.out=10 Watts. Right picture amp is overdriven. Vertical division 10db each.

The receiver

Now it’s time to discuss the receiver section of my 5 band QRP SSB transceiver. The main objectives for the receiver were:

  • Must be able to deal with high signal levels particularly on the 80- and 40-meter-band.
  • Must be able to seperate strong out of band signals (broadcaster etc.).
  • Must be able to seperate strong in band neighbourhood signals.
  • Must have high dynamic range.

Here’s a brief description of the various stages of the receiver board:

  • 5 relay switched 3 pole band pass filters make up the front end,
  • followed by dual gate MOSFET-preamplifier and a
  • diode ring mixer equipped with a diplexer,
  • IF preamp with bipolar transistor,
  • IF main amp with IC (good ol’ MC1350),
  • product detector with 2 diodes,
  • AF preamp with bipolar transistor,
  • AF final with LM386.

As usual, here’s the circuit first:

Receiver section for 5 band qrp transceiver by DK7IH (Peter Rachow)
Receiver section for 5 band qrp transceiver by DK7IH (Peter Rachow)

Some words concerning the various sections of the circuit:

The front end

On the left you can see 5 relay switched band pass filters. To ensure maximum out-of-band signal suppression I chose 3 pole filters. The effort is a little bit higher, I have to concede, but it’s absolutely worth. No intermodulation or other interference by strong broadcasters close to ham bands (particularly on 40 meters!) occurs.

The filter coils are wound on TOKO style coil formers of this kind. The relays are OMRON G6A-234P pcb relays. They are designed for 5  V coil voltage. Due to the fact that my rig needs 3 sections of relay switched circuitry (rx front end, band filter past the tx mixer and low pass filter past the exciter) I switched the corresponding relays for one band in series. They then are driven by 12 volts controlled by the ATMega128 driving my DDS system. The wiring of the relays is a little bit more complicated as if I had them switched in parallel but in the end this was a nice way of recycling a larger bunch of these relays that I still had on stock from a former model railroad project. 😉

Past the front end filters next stage is the well-known dual gate MOSFET rf preamp controlled by AGC.

The Mixer

The amplifier terminates broadband style (toroid transformer) putting its rf energy into a diode ring mixer which by definition is a balanced mixer circuit. The DDS VFO signal is injected on the other side of the mixer. Please note that you need a preamplfier if you run that mixer type by a DDS because the outputlevel of a DDS (if not amplified) does not suffice the 7 dbm a diode ring mixer needs for proper operation. Therefore I’ve included a small signal amp with a bipolar transistor.

To minimze spurs in your receiver it is of maximum improtance that this VFO amp works 100% linear. Keep an eye on not overdriving the amplifier! Any signal level beyond linear operation condition produces spurious emmissions. If available check the output with a spectrum analyzer! Reduce input voltage by inserting a voltage divider made of resistors (not capacitors!) if input level is too high!

A diode ring mixer also needs to be accurately terminated to 50 Ohms for optimized performance. Thus I’ve added a diplexer after the mixer which ensures an adequate termination of the mixer on the IF frequency.

IF and AF stages

Next steps are an IF preamplifier (which is connected to a manual gain control potentiometer sited in the front panel), a ladder filter with about 2.4 kHz width and the IF main amp equipped with MC1350 by Motorola. The IF amplifier IC is connected to the AGC strip at the end of the receiver section.

The succeeding diode based product detector is fed by the amplified IF and by the carrier oscillator which is also sited on the receiver circuit board.

An audio preamp and the LM 386 as the power amp do the final job of amplifiing of the audio signal together to loudspeaker level.

The audio-derived AGC circuit is the same like in my hand-held transceiver. Two dc outputs are available. One delivers increasing voltage when signal strength is rising, the other decreases voltage under the same condition. The first one is about to control the MC1350, the later one is for the dual gate MOSFET that can be found in the receiver’s front end.

Here, for the final, is an overview of the receiver board in my 5 band QRP SSB transceiver. Thanks for reading!

Receiver section for 5 band qrp transceiver by DK7IH (Peter Rachow)
Receiver section for 5 band qrp transceiver by DK7IH (Peter Rachow)

First QSOs went very fine on 20 meters where my antenna is tuned to. Let’s see what the rig will show the next weeks, I’ll keep you informed. Please watch later posts on this blog that will show adaptions and modifications of this rig. 😉

73 de Peter (DK7IH) and thanks for reading!

42 Replies to ““Give me FIVE!” – A QRP SSB multiband transceiver for 5 bands with 10 Watts output power”

  1. On the transmitter schematic you left out the value of the capacitor across the primary of T2.

    • Oh, yes you’re right. In the meanwhile I’ve removed that C again because signal quality improved. I blew one of the original Motorola 1969ers due to overheatuing (a VERY long test run and insufficient cooling were the reason) and installed 2 replacement 1969ers made by ELEFLOW. These delivere more power and a cleaner signal so that C was made redundant.

      73 de Peter

      • I was thinking of duplicating that power chain using Motorola MRF475 output transistors and MRF476 as drivers, as I have these in the junk box. Your circuit looks similar to the Motorola AN779 ap note.

        • Yes, seems to be so. 😉 But the approach is a general one. And AN779 follows this. I used push-pull-driver and push-pull final stage to achieve optimized linearity in the class AB stages of the transmitter. This is only given to the maximum extent if you use a push-pull design. Therefore my circuit might resemble AN779 application note. 😉

  2. A QRP SSB multiband transceiver for 5 bands The coil using on receiver side
    LC tune to IF. What coil is that

  3. By the way,
    before Band Pass Filter, i have been constrained to placed a LNA circuit (bfr91a) because without lna the receiver was so weak. But when i put a lna circuit, the receiver become an excellent one.
    May be i couldn’t find your dual gate fet. Instead of yours i used BF961 so may be this fet is not sufficient one.
    I used AD9850 DDS. Pretty good result one. 73

    • Hi,

      total costs are all in all 200 to 250€, depending on what you already have in your scrap box. 😉 And I didn’t integrate 160 because I don’t have a suitable antenna for this band.

      73 de Peter

      • Are you available to build a qrp transceiver for me which covers 40 meters?

  4. Hi there,

    sorry to say so, but my activities are strictly non-commercial since my occupation takes 100% of my working time. Amateur radio is just a hobby besieds my professional activities.

    73 de Peter

  5. I made 5 band project. it works perfectly, but with a difference, after front end 3 adjustible coil filter, i had to placed a LNA (low noice amplifier) has one transistor. Because dual gate fet was not sufficent. Now it is okay.
    I want to send you a youtube video of my “prototype” receiver: Thank you share this project.

  6. Yes Peter, ofcourse i will try to put it into a cabinet, but it is more hard to put it into a cabinet than to make an elecronic circuit. TX Exciter also is okay. That is; LM741+ MC1496+NE602 content SSB circuit is working well, second portion is filter and Power Amplifier is also working well, but PA is not your circuit.
    Happy new year & Marry Christmas 73

    Another video:

  7. You can share your project Atmega program. “Give me FIVE!” – A QRP SSB multiband transceiver for 5 bands with 10 Watts output power. I started to work with your arms to make your device work. 73’s

  8. Peter,
    I drowed a pcb by using dip components for 5 band rig. it was working well, but signal gain was very weak. to strenght it, I applied a LNA between filter and fet. Yesterday, i discovered that, the DDS aplifier transistor design does not amplifiy the signal of VFO. Resultant signal strenght is the same inlet signal. But transistor is not faulty. I tryed to cancel emitor resistors, and connect emitor directly to GRAUND. Ohh my god… the signal amplified 10 times, according to my oscilloscop. And receiving signal increased too much. now no need LNA.
    I mean, the DDS amlifier section should be wrong designed? Thank you.

    • Hello Dündar,

      thanks for your reply. I don’t think the design is wrong because I have used it frequently for other transceivers and it can be found in a similar way on all kinds of rf amplifiers.

      The only thing with my circuit is, that the emitter resistor with 560 ohms is a little high (usually people use 100 to 200 ohms). But this was because the amplfiier in my circuit put out too much voltage so that it overdrove the rx mixer leading to low IMD3 performance.

      What type of transistor are you using?

      vy 73 de Peter

      • Peter,
        I drowed a pcb by using dip components for 5 band rig. it was working well, but signal gain was very weak. to strenght it, I applied a LNA between filter and fet. Yesterday, i discovered that, the DDS aplifier transistor design does not amplifiy the signal of VFO. Resultant signal strenght is the same inlet signal. But transistor is not faulty. I tryed to cancel emitor resistors, and connect emitor directly to GRAUND. Ohh my god… the signal amplified 10 times, according to my oscilloscop. And receiving signal increased too much. now no need LNA.
        I mean, the DDS amlifier section should be wrong designed? Thank you.

    • Peter,
      I drowed a pcb by using dip components for 5 band rig. it was working well, but signal gain was very weak. to strenght it, I applied a LNA between filter and fet. Yesterday, i discovered that, the DDS aplifier transistor design does not amplifiy the signal of VFO. Resultant signal strenght is the same inlet signal. But transistor is not faulty. I tryed to cancel emitor resistors, and connect emitor directly to GRAUND. Ohh my god… the signal amplified 10 times, according to my oscilloscop. And receiving signal increased too much. now no need LNA.
      I mean, the DDS amlifier section should be wrong designed? Thank you.

      • Peter, thank you for fast reply. I used 2n2222 , bu you offer 2sc930. May be if find this transistor i replace it instead of 2222.
        Also transmitter section, 741-mc1496-NE602 tripple section, i can say “exciter” is so sensible & produce a very very perfect SSB signal. In my oscilloscop, the ssb signal, mc1496 signal suppression & modulation is perfect. Again thank you for this exciting project.

        • Hello Dündar Yasa,

          the 2N2222 is OK for this purpose. Then the only thing that I can imagine is that there might be a defective component in the emitter line or a faulty soldering. The amplifier works well within half a dozen of my constructions.

          What you can do: Bridge the 10 Ohm resistor and change the 560 to 100 Ohm. Then gain must be in the range of 10 to 12 dB if the circuit is OK. Maybe you can check that an give me a reply.

          vy 73 de Peter (DK7IH)

  9. Peter, my amplify transistorfor of VFO frequency is 2n2222.
    But I’ll try to find your 2sc930 transistor, otherwise, try to decrease the values of emitor resistors, instead of connect directly to the ground. It is not through to connect directly emiter to the ground I guess.
    By the way, can should be the Chinese resistor’s value different than write-on it? so, the giant value blokage the transistor?
    It was good to conversation with you Peter. I’ll try & write you the result from this page. 73 from TA3IHD

    • Hello Dündar, Yasa, maybe you can check the resistor with an ohmmeter. I found that metal film resistors are hard to read concerning the color code on them. Carbon resistors are much easier to recognize. vy 73 de Peter

  10. Hello Peter, I just realised a DDS AD9951 with a PIC18F controller code in PICBASIC. It’s working but level is not that high… -9dBm from 1.8 to 30MHz. So I’m really interested to make a small QRP amplifier. As I don’t want more than 30 to 33dBm, and as i have 2 2SC2166 in stock, I wonder how to make your amplifier without the last amplifier stage (2x2SC1969). I would like to understand how to know the Z out of the 2x2SC2166… And how to match to 50Ohms broadband at this point (output). This will be a fabulous lesson of HF techniques for me. Can you help/explain ? Best regards and 73’s F1SLU Hervé

    • Hello Hervé, thanks for your entry. Here are some thoughts on the topic you mentioned:

      You require an output level of about 30 to 33dBm. With 50Ohms antenna impedance, that means your transmitter must have 1 to 2 watts output. I think a push-pull final with 2 2SC2166 is ab little bit “overkill”. I would recommend a single ended amplifier instead.

      Output Z calculation can be done by calculation or on an experimental basis.

      First you can use the following formula:

      Z = VDD²/2*Pout.

      This will give you an approximate value in a given range of uncertainty for output impedance. The problem is that you must take into account the windings of your output transformer and the respective ratio of primary vs. secondary windings if there are any.

      Another method uses a more experimental approach: You connect the input of the transmitter to a signal generator (or the DDS in your case). The TX output will be terminated with a non-inductive resistor. This resistor is changed during the experiment in steps. I usually start with 20 Ohms and then increase the value of R to let’s say 70 ohms in steps of 5 to 7 Ohms depending on the resistors available.

      For each resistor I measure the output voltage (rms) with a VTVM and rf probe attached. Afterwards I calculate the output power (P = Vout²/R). When entering this set of values (R -> Pout) to a spreadsheet (or a paper if you prefer the classical method 😉 ) you will get a function with a peak. That is max. output power. Due to the fact that you will get max. PWR when input and output impedance match you can see the output impedance of the transmitter.

      This can be done theoretically with any transformer. All you have to know is the winding ratio. The impdedance transformation then is squared. A 1:2 winding ratio will result in a 1:4 impedance ratio.

      vy 73 de Peter (DK7IH)

  11. Thank you for reply, Peter. I remember now the formula: Z = VDD²/2*Pout . OK, so if the output power of a 2SC2166 is about 3Watts then Z = 24 Ohms. If I understand, I need a transformer 1:2 to match 50R in a single 2SC2166 amplifier. Is it correct ? Unfortunately I talk about 1-2 watts but this is not a good choice if I want to drive another amplifier (5W input) So… a pair of 2SC2166 will be the good choice. Question: For this new (same as your schematic) stage and if now Z output = 12R, I need 1:4 transformer in place for T2 (connected like T3). Do you have any link to help me to make this kind of transformer (covering 160 to 10m) ? May be, could you explain the way you make your T1 transformer ? Thank you very much. Hervé

    • Hello Hervé, for T1 I would start with a 12:6 ratio and also would build a 12:8 transformer and then check out which one performs better. This is because the calculation only is approximate. For T2 (1:4) I’d use 2 turns primary (center tapped) and 4 turns secondary. As a test I’d also build a transformer with 5 turns sec.

      I found out that it is a good idea to have a larger numbers of toroids on stock so that you can build alternative transformers and then check out which one is best.

      And, sorry to say, I don’t have a web resource on transformers because I did all the experiments on my own getting started with values from existing transceivers.

      vy 73 de Peter (DK7IH)

  12. Peter i had to written before about dds amplifier for rx.
    The transistor was not amplify enough & was ground emiter so then amplify the signal.
    But in that case, transistor heates much.
    When i increased value of emiter capacitor from 1n to 10n the result was perfect.
    It amplifys the signal from 2v to 5v on oscilloscop.
    I obtain on tx perfect ssb signal on ne602. But my power transistors was all fake. So didn’t amplify that weak ssb signal.
    Now wait the genius trsnsistors to make pa.

  13. Peter,
    In tx section, after ne602 ic, there is a group of two coil filter.
    Between two adjustible coil, there are transition capacitor “C2”. For 20 & 40m band, what is the values of these capacitors?
    Thank you from TA3IHD 73.

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Mr. Jesse Bell » Bio

I received a Bachelors of Science from Jackson University in Jackson, Mississippi. I have taught in Demopolis City Schools for twenty-five years. I coach middle school football and basketball. My wife and 8th grade math teacher, Mrs. Kim Easley-Bell, have two children, Ashanti and Jeremiah. They are also enrolled in Demopolis City schools.


text:
Easter & The Covid Parable

And so it came to pass that a scourge was unleashed across the land, and…

This reads like the beginning of a parable, the Covid Parable, because history is being made and the last half of the parable has yet to be written.

This Easter is clearly different from any Easter that has ever come before. It’s a dark and frightening time. I’m reminded of those “choose your own adventure” books where the choices you make determine the outcome – but this is no novel and our choices mean life and death, both for ourselves and others.

easter mask basket.jpg

Instead of traditional Easter baskets, this year, my grandkids received a bucket of face masks functioning as a nest for chocolate. Necessity is the mother of invention. Truly, face masks are the single most loving thing I can do for my family now.

easter dropoff.jpg

The Easter Grandma delivered the basket by meeting half-way in-between our houses at a truck stop, outside, sliding a box into the back of their Dad’s truck and stepping away. No hugs this year.

Easter Sylvia.jpg

My granddaughters loved their custom masks. I hope those masks will become part of good memories about staying home together and pulling together to stop a pandemic in its tracks.

In addition to the Easter bucket, packed into that box were 50 face masks for my son’s co-workers, public servants who have no choice, work with the public daily, yet have no face masks or other protective gear.

We stood more than 6 feet part and chatted lightheartedly for a few minutes, making the best of an uncertain situation.

I don’t know when I’ll see them again, or, truthfully if I will ever see them again. That’s excruciating, especially when turning to say goodbye and walking away. What do you even say, other than “I love you”?

Due to my son’s career choice, he lives in some degree of danger every day. As a result, I’ve learned to deal with ever-present danger to some extent. Other family members have been in dangerous, life threatening situations too from time to time. The difference now is that everyone is in danger, all at once, from a stealthy, invisible enemy.

How do we turn the tide on this rolling disaster?

The next chapter in this pandemic story is up to you, and to me, and to our neighbors. In other words, our world-mates. Because just like with DNA, we’re all connected.

Winning the Fight with a Pause for Love

Doner, a Southfield-based ad agency created an incredibly inspirational video. I’m particularly proud of this ad because Doner was my customer for about 20 years when I worked in a technology field. They were then, and remain, an amazing, creative company and you can read, here, about how and why Doner created this video.

Please watch, here or the Facebook link if you’d prefer.

It’s is just beautifully done, and so hopeful.

Wake Up Call

This pandemic is clearly a wakeup call, in so many ways.

It’s ironic, or perhaps prophetic, that this devastation is peaking during the Holy season. This time of year, in the spring as the Earth reawakens from its winter slumber in the northern hemisphere, every religion celebrates with their own rituals and traditions.

Jewish families celebrate Passover with Sedar, the Christian faith celebrates Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter, Muslim people begin Ramadan and others celebrate Spring Equinox. The beautiful April “Pink Moon” is named for the time of year when pink flowers begin to bloom.

Everyone celebrates the departure of cold and gloom in their own way, but this year, we are not celebrating in groups in an attempt to stop the advance of this Covid plague. We’re isolating at home using technology to come together, at least most of us are. The world has suddenly become a much quieter and less polluted place, healing a bit as we hunker down.

It doesn’t matter whether or not your state has a mandatory lockdown order, you need to stay at home to protect yourself, and by protecting yourself, others. Just do it. It’s the single most important thing you can do to facilitate survival and limit the devastation.

The alternative is unfathomable.

Look at it this way – if everyone stays at home unnecessarily, or “too long,” the worst that happens is that we are uncomfortable, safely, at home. Conversely, if we don’t stay home, and should have, death on a massive scale will result.

We are all in this together – the world is connected – by people. One by one.

Take Time for Personal Reflection

Might I suggest that this is an opportunity for personal introspection? Can we take this time to reflect, quietly and personally on what we can do to save ourselves, to save our neighbors, our elderly in nursing homes, people residing in group facilities, our beloved family members and life as we know it?

Not everyone “prays” in the same way, but in the way that you seek the light, will you focus on the following intentions:

  • Resolve to stay home. Understand that you really don’t need to go anyplace and that you are literally saving lives by staying home. That’s all you need to “do,” literally nothing.
  • Consider that you really don’t need to see anyone personally to celebrate anything right now.
  • Use the technology available to interact and encourage others to do the same in order to stay connected while remaining at home and isolating. Facetime, Skype and Zoom are all easy to use on phones or PCs.
  • Send positive energy for world and local leaders to be guided to seek the wisest and most humane path – without political bias or ulterior motives. And I don’t mean just the politicians you support or like – I mean all of them because they are what and who we have right now and we are ALL in the same life-or-death battle together.
  • Figure out how you can help someone else, without going out and making the situation worse if you are a non-essential worker. Volunteer online, make masks for pickup – just select something positive and do it.
  • Pray, in whatever way you do, that we, as world citizens will find the wisdom, insight and resolve to stay at home. Then, after this is over, to collaborate and work together so that something like this never, ever has such deadly consequences again. Pray that humans never again ignore ominous signs as precious time slips away, until it’s too late.
  • Leave politics out of this for now – no matter how strongly you feel – unless you’re a politician. There will be plenty of time to resolve political situations later, but right now, we have a pandemic to survive and we need united focused behavior to do that.
  • If you are a politician, do everything you can to encourage people to stay home and to facilitate cooperation with surrounding governmental agencies, states and countries. Covid-19 knows no borders and our response can’t either – or we will all suffer and many will perish whose deaths could have been avoided. Set politics aside and reach out to find speedy solutions to obtain equipment, protect people and flatten the curve. When in doubt, trust the scientists.

Isolation Does Not Have to Mean Alone – Finding Inspiration

Staying home, especially this weekend, feels unnatural and insurmountable to many people, but it isn’t. Aside from electronic family-gathering tools like Zoom, Skype and Facetime, here are some uplifting, soothing options to make you feel good.

Easter Andrea.png

On Easter Sunday, Andrea Bocelli in combination with the mayor of Milan, Italy and the Duomo cathedral is offering a free live-streamed performance, Music For Hope. The cathedral will, of course, be vacant, except for Andrea and you, remotely. You can watch here at 6 PM UK, 10 AM PST and 1 PM EST. Even just the trailer is beautiful, inspirational and brings me to tears.

I’ll be lighting my own candle for the world. You do the same!

Regardless of your religious faith, music is uplifting and universally speaks to our souls.

I would like to share nine of my favorite music videos. Sometimes when I’m feeling low or have a particularly difficult day, I listen to these inspirational selections. Perhaps you will enjoy them too:

Let there be no doubt – the grace of God, Goddess, He or She, whatever you perceive the Deity to be, shines through these performers. Their music, a gift of courage that communes with our souls and lifts us up.

If God is with Andrea Bocelli in the empty Duomo, and with these artists, then God is also with you, wherever you are.

God Is in the Garden

easter hyacinth.jpg

God isn’t in a building. God is in the garden. More to the point, God is with you wherever you are. You don’t need to “go someplace” or even listen to anyone else. God doesn’t just make house calls, God lives in you.

God speaks through music, through others who grace our lives and through nature – directly to you. To your heart.

God is found in nature.

I built this labyrinth as a quiet place of reflection twenty years ago. God meets me here. I have walked this oh-so-familiar path hundreds or thousands of times. Sometimes seeking centering or healing, for myself or someone else. Sometimes with a heart filled with gratitude. Other times, blinded by burning tears of grief.

Today, I try to leave my fear here, forging a path forward. Asking what I can do, and how, and finding the resources to do it. The answers are there, within each of us, if we quiet our minds and listen.

I walk as fresh green growth appears and I’m hopeful, oh so hopeful that we will all do what we need to do, unselfishly, to save ourselves and others.

It’s an individual choice we each have to make.

What’s the Ending?

How will this pandemic end? Which of these scenarios will it be?

“And so it came to pass that a scourge was unleashed across the land…”

…and people took refuge in their houses. The plague was slowly defeated while the earth healed. People understood the message and resolved that a pandemic would never again ravage the earth.

…and at least one in every family died. There were not enough graves. People buried their dead in trenches. There were no funerals. The people realized too late that they should have stayed home, but by then, it was too late. The economy collapsed and eventually food and everything else became scarce. Slowly people recovered, but life was never the same. Families were broken and the devastation lasted for 7 generations.

…and all but one in every family died. Some families were wiped from the face of the earth, and the earth was forever changed. All nations on the earth crumbled.

The ending is up to you.

Create the End of the Story

You complete this chapter of our shared human history, the Covid Parable.

How memorable, historically, will this event be? Just a blip on the radar, remembered for the next generation or two through family stories about face masks for Easter, or something on the scale of the Bubonic Plague that literally wiped out 60% of the population of Europe? Or worse?

It’s up to you – today – tomorrow.

Stay home.

Stay safe.

Save lives.

You make the difference.

Commune with God in the garden.

Wherever you are, God is there too.

Our collective future is in your hands.

You are tasked with that.

What will it be?

Choose wisely.

Choose love.

29 thoughts on “Easter & The Covid Parable

  1. Just what we need. Thank you for your contributions to our understanding DNA, and especially for this wonderful piece. Through all the loss of our loved ones, may we remain vigilant, grateful and hopeful.

  2. maybe this is the time to ask ourselves,, Did we see evil or participate in it and do nothing?? How are we living our lives, if we ask to enjoy the lives we live, with honesty,, kindness and love, How do we dare violate those issues for others? If we have no honesty and kindness toward the ones we have victimized,, maybe it is time to ask,, should we do this? How do we fix it. Think hard now, because we will have to fix it,

  3. Thank you for all the great ideas and information. My little town seems pretty active here in Florida with tennis, biking and even a few bars and restaurants. I wish I could have them read your blog for your wisdom. Wishing you a very happy and blessed Easter.

  4. Thank you. I must admit I’m struggling with the not getting caught up with the politics of this. Very difficult to rise above when people are trying to save lives and their cries for help and supplies are ignored. Still, I will try. Anger serves no purpose in the current situation.

    • I understand completely. I’m with you 100% but I did not want this to be a political lightning rod. We are so polarized right now.

  5. Bobbi,

    As always, your comments and thoughts speak for most of us. You are so eloquent and so very thoughtful.

    Thank you,

  6. I made masks for employees at the local Humane Society, as they are still dealing with the public. They were appreciative both because they were needed, and that someone was thinking about them.

    This was a nice post, but despite your request politics did creep in. Too bad,

  7. Thank you, Roberta, for the well written and said article. Your ability to put together one’s most inner thoughts, on paper, is blessing to those of us who have the ability to gain the availability to your writings. You are truely remarkable.

  8. Roberta, Your words here are so inspiring. They brought to mind part of a lyric from the “We Are The World” song by all the wonderful music artists. I had watched a video of the recording session about a week before the pandemic exploded in the U.S. Here is the lyric: It’s a choice we[‘re making; we’re saving our own lives…
    It seems appropriate at this time when making the right choice can save our life and so many others. Stay safe.

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Define Incentive

FeetPort has the feature of calculating Commission / Incentive for Mobile users based on parameters as defined by company. To Define incentive  follow below steps :

  1. Tap on Incentive option in navigation menu
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3.1. RTEMS Project Support

3.1.1. Users Mailing List

RTEMS offers a variety of support options and ways to contribute to the project. Users can ask their questions on the Users Mailing List. This is a low frequency mailing list intended for topics related to the use of RTEMS. If you are new to RTEMS, please join the list and ask whatever you want.

3.1.2. Documentation

You find the latest set of manuals at the Documentation Site.

3.1.3. All Mailing Lists

We have several mailing lists for RTEMS users and developers:

3.1.4. IRC

RTEMS IRC is available on the Freenode network. See the Freenode web site for details on connecting, selecting a nickname, and general usage tips. If you are new to IRC it is recommended reading.

These is currently only one IRC channel available for RTEMS:

This is a general channel for all things RTEMS. You can just hang out with other RTEMS users and developers to talk about RTEMS, using RTEMS or to make contact with other RTEMS users.

The #rtems channel is logged. You can find the logs at:

You can search the logs using Google by adding

site:rtems.org inurl:irclogs

to your search terms.


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Our standard return policy is 30 days from the day you receive your order.

What Products Are not Returnable?

  • Electronic items that have been turned on.
  • Custom painted figurines, and standard pre-painted figurines for color variations as they are all hand painted.

You can read our full ordering, shipping, and return policy here: Ordering & Returns
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