I saw this on the web and wondered if this was a mini ham radio transmitter in an Altoids tin ?



http://sunwatt.mystarband.net/49er.html

First off, is it a mini ham radio transmitter? I'm clueless.


Secondly, how useful is something like this ?

Just Curious......

Yep, that is QRP transceiver. (QRP in the ham community is transmitting with less than 5 watts.) I have a few friends that have built these kits, and I have all the parts to do it, but haven't made the time. But to answer your question, I usually use ham equipment that has the same output as this radio and the same frequencies. And yes it can be useful. I've been backpacking before using a radio kinda like that one, with a power output of around 300 mW (1/3 of a watt) and held a nice conversation (on morse code) with a fellow in Chile from a beautiful mountain peak in Colorado. When the conditions are right, the receiving station can not tell if you are running milliwatts or hundreds of watts.

If you need more info, just do a search for QRP with your favorite search engine, and you'll have mucho info.

--Chris

Now I have seen just about everything! Is there no end to uses for Altoids tins? That looks like something a POW would have put together in WW II to get the BBC or something!

I had this crazy aunt. Everytime it rained, she climbed onto the roof with a flashlight to warn the ships at sea. One day she claimed she heard Jack Benny talking in her head <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> The guys in white suits were enroute, when my grandfather heard Jack Benny too <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> It turns out recent dentalwork had created a simple receiver, a rare but documented phenomenon <img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> After that we simply had her turn around until Jack or Red Ryder came on <img src="images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> I want an ALtOID transmitter now <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I read about that phenomenon as a kid... An Archer (Radio Shack) project book claimed that the fillings in some peoples teeth formed a crystal radio.

Now, I'm 38 with a Ph.D. in physics and I've yet to figure out how saliva and mercury amalgum can mimic the characteristics of crystal/germanium diode. <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

It's definitely a real, and apparently somewhat common, effect tho...