Michael Black wrote:
Bob Monaghan ) writes:

Wasn't there a recent historical article in QST on the role of the quartz
xtal industry in WWII, how they figured out overtone osc. issues and so
on?

Given that some sources ask $12 and up for scanner and ham crystals, these
costs add up rather fast if you need to replace a bunch of xtals in a
scanner. So the search for alternatives seems quite worthwhile ;-)


But they already figured out the solution, thirty years ago, and
it did not require going to the quarry for quartz and digging out
old QSTs. The need for a lot of crystals luckily coincided with
digital ICs, so before most people could get around to paying for
all the crystals to fill out a mult-channel unit, synthesizers came
along so you only needed one crystal. About as soon as it could be
done practically, hams built them and wrote up articles in the ham
magazines.

Anyone who decides to make their own crystals today, other than
for the sake of doing so (and I admit it would be an interesting
thing to try), will likely find they can't go for the subminiature
look, and probably will find that putting effort into building
a synthesizer still makes sense if you need more than a few
crystals.

Michael VE2BVW


Absolutely: You should only make your own crystals for the same reasons
you'd knap your own stone tools -- to understand how it was done back in
the day, and to have some thing to show off to friends. You could get
crystals much faster by cleaning toilets at McDonald's and buying them
at $12 a pop than you could making them from scratch.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

"Bill Janssen" wrote in message
...
Steve Nosko wrote:

"H. Peter Friedrichs" wrote in message
link.net...

Hello, All:
Rumor has it that QST featured an article in a January/1930 or
January/1935
issue on the subject of homebrew transmitter crystals - how cut, lap,
and
mount them. If anyone has QST on CDROM for those years, I'd sure
appreciate
if you could take a look.
Remove XXX's and ZZZ's if you wish to reply directly, and thanks.
Pete
AC7ZL




Pete,

I have my Dad's grinding stuff, but don't do it. One thing to keep
in
mind, and I don't know the details, but remember that the crystal
activity
is effected by the edges. Grinding the edges is one of the more esoteric
aspects.


The trick isn't the edges but keeping the two surfaces parallel and
flat. The procedure is to grind a little
and check the activity. If it is down try to grind the center or edges
and check again. If it gets better
then go back to to grinding and trying to keep it flat.

Anyway that is the method I used.

Bill K7NOM

Sounds important, Bill, but my words may have been misunderstood. By
edges I meant the end surfaces...as in ; stand the blank up on one edge -
vertically - there are four of 'em. I don't remember if he said that the
ends must be made to have a 90 degree angle with the faces or what. I just
remember that he said that you grind these sides for best / better activity.

I was not referring to the outer reaches of the two large faces as in; is
the face flat or curved in some way.


--
Steve N, K,9;d, c. i My email has no u's.

"Bill Janssen" wrote in message
...
Steve Nosko wrote:

"H. Peter Friedrichs" wrote in message
link.net...

Hello, All:
Rumor has it that QST featured an article in a January/1930 or
January/1935
issue on the subject of homebrew transmitter crystals - how cut, lap,
and
mount them. If anyone has QST on CDROM for those years, I'd sure
appreciate
if you could take a look.
Remove XXX's and ZZZ's if you wish to reply directly, and thanks.
Pete
AC7ZL




Pete,

I have my Dad's grinding stuff, but don't do it. One thing to keep
in
mind, and I don't know the details, but remember that the crystal
activity
is effected by the edges. Grinding the edges is one of the more esoteric
aspects.


The trick isn't the edges but keeping the two surfaces parallel and
flat. The procedure is to grind a little
and check the activity. If it is down try to grind the center or edges
and check again. If it gets better
then go back to to grinding and trying to keep it flat.

Anyway that is the method I used.

Bill K7NOM

Sounds important, Bill, but my words may have been misunderstood. By
edges I meant the end surfaces...as in ; stand the blank up on one edge -
vertically - there are four of 'em. I don't remember if he said that the
ends must be made to have a 90 degree angle with the faces or what. I just
remember that he said that you grind these sides for best / better activity.

I was not referring to the outer reaches of the two large faces as in; is
the face flat or curved in some way.


--
Steve N, K,9;d, c. i My email has no u's.

Michael,

I'm interested in "extreme" homebrew for its own sake. I simply like it.

http://www.mindspring.com/~pfriedr/b...ry/gallery.htm
http://www.mindspring.com/~pfriedr/b...ry/gallery.htm

Pete
AC7ZL

"Michael Black" wrote in message
...
Bob Monaghan ) writes:

Wasn't there a recent historical article in QST on the role of the
quartz
xtal industry in WWII, how they figured out overtone osc. issues and so
on?

Given that some sources ask $12 and up for scanner and ham crystals,
these
costs add up rather fast if you need to replace a bunch of xtals in a
scanner. So the search for alternatives seems quite worthwhile ;-)

But they already figured out the solution, thirty years ago, and
it did not require going to the quarry for quartz and digging out
old QSTs. The need for a lot of crystals luckily coincided with
digital ICs, so before most people could get around to paying for
all the crystals to fill out a mult-channel unit, synthesizers came
along so you only needed one crystal. About as soon as it could be
done practically, hams built them and wrote up articles in the ham
magazines.

Anyone who decides to make their own crystals today, other than
for the sake of doing so (and I admit it would be an interesting
thing to try), will likely find they can't go for the subminiature
look, and probably will find that putting effort into building
a synthesizer still makes sense if you need more than a few
crystals.

Michael VE2BVW

Michael,

I'm interested in "extreme" homebrew for its own sake. I simply like it.

http://www.mindspring.com/~pfriedr/b...ry/gallery.htm
http://www.mindspring.com/~pfriedr/b...ry/gallery.htm

Pete
AC7ZL

"Michael Black" wrote in message
...
Bob Monaghan ) writes:

Wasn't there a recent historical article in QST on the role of the
quartz
xtal industry in WWII, how they figured out overtone osc. issues and so
on?

Given that some sources ask $12 and up for scanner and ham crystals,
these
costs add up rather fast if you need to replace a bunch of xtals in a
scanner. So the search for alternatives seems quite worthwhile ;-)

But they already figured out the solution, thirty years ago, and
it did not require going to the quarry for quartz and digging out
old QSTs. The need for a lot of crystals luckily coincided with
digital ICs, so before most people could get around to paying for
all the crystals to fill out a mult-channel unit, synthesizers came
along so you only needed one crystal. About as soon as it could be
done practically, hams built them and wrote up articles in the ham
magazines.

Anyone who decides to make their own crystals today, other than
for the sake of doing so (and I admit it would be an interesting
thing to try), will likely find they can't go for the subminiature
look, and probably will find that putting effort into building
a synthesizer still makes sense if you need more than a few
crystals.

Michael VE2BVW

Jack/All

Thanks very much for the tips. I have already decided to purchase the QST's
I'm looking for on CDROM. I wonder if CQ offers back issues in electronic
format...I'd have to bop over to their web site and see.

Pete
AC7ZL


"J. Yazel" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Apr 2004 21:29:32 GMT, "H. Peter Friedrichs"
wrote:
Hello, All:

Rumor has it that QST featured an article in a January/1930 or
January/1935
issue on the subject of homebrew transmitter crystals - how cut, lap, and
mount them. If anyone has QST on CDROM for those years, I'd sure
appreciate
if you could take a look.

Remove XXX's and ZZZ's if you wish to reply directly, and thanks.

Pete
AC7ZL
============================

Here's a few more pointers:

CQ 01/49 p. 37 Grinding xtals simplified
CQ 11/57 p. 74 How to grind xtals
CQ 10/65 p. 52 Grinding surplus xtals
QST 02/54 p. 45 Using grid-dipper as aid to xtal grinding
QST 06/58 p. 19 Grinding xtals

Jack W8RAG

Jack/All

Thanks very much for the tips. I have already decided to purchase the QST's
I'm looking for on CDROM. I wonder if CQ offers back issues in electronic
format...I'd have to bop over to their web site and see.

Pete
AC7ZL


"J. Yazel" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Apr 2004 21:29:32 GMT, "H. Peter Friedrichs"
wrote:
Hello, All:

Rumor has it that QST featured an article in a January/1930 or
January/1935
issue on the subject of homebrew transmitter crystals - how cut, lap, and
mount them. If anyone has QST on CDROM for those years, I'd sure
appreciate
if you could take a look.

Remove XXX's and ZZZ's if you wish to reply directly, and thanks.

Pete
AC7ZL
============================

Here's a few more pointers:

CQ 01/49 p. 37 Grinding xtals simplified
CQ 11/57 p. 74 How to grind xtals
CQ 10/65 p. 52 Grinding surplus xtals
QST 02/54 p. 45 Using grid-dipper as aid to xtal grinding
QST 06/58 p. 19 Grinding xtals

Jack W8RAG

Steve Nosko wrote:

"Bill Janssen" wrote in message
...


Steve Nosko wrote:



"H. Peter Friedrichs" wrote in message
thlink.net...



Hello, All:
Rumor has it that QST featured an article in a January/1930 or


January/1935


issue on the subject of homebrew transmitter crystals - how cut, lap,


and


mount them. If anyone has QST on CDROM for those years, I'd sure


appreciate


if you could take a look.
Remove XXX's and ZZZ's if you wish to reply directly, and thanks.
Pete
AC7ZL




Pete,

I have my Dad's grinding stuff, but don't do it. One thing to keep


in


mind, and I don't know the details, but remember that the crystal


activity


is effected by the edges. Grinding the edges is one of the more esoteric
aspects.




The trick isn't the edges but keeping the two surfaces parallel and
flat. The procedure is to grind a little
and check the activity. If it is down try to grind the center or edges
and check again. If it gets better
then go back to to grinding and trying to keep it flat.

Anyway that is the method I used.

Bill K7NOM



Sounds important, Bill, but my words may have been misunderstood. By
edges I meant the end surfaces...as in ; stand the blank up on one edge -
vertically - there are four of 'em. I don't remember if he said that the
ends must be made to have a 90 degree angle with the faces or what. I just
remember that he said that you grind these sides for best / better activity.

I was not referring to the outer reaches of the two large faces as in; is
the face flat or curved in some way.




I understood what you meant. Just never considered that important. Maybe
that is something I missed.

Bill K7NOM

Steve Nosko wrote:

"Bill Janssen" wrote in message
...


Steve Nosko wrote:



"H. Peter Friedrichs" wrote in message
thlink.net...



Hello, All:
Rumor has it that QST featured an article in a January/1930 or


January/1935


issue on the subject of homebrew transmitter crystals - how cut, lap,


and


mount them. If anyone has QST on CDROM for those years, I'd sure


appreciate


if you could take a look.
Remove XXX's and ZZZ's if you wish to reply directly, and thanks.
Pete
AC7ZL




Pete,

I have my Dad's grinding stuff, but don't do it. One thing to keep


in


mind, and I don't know the details, but remember that the crystal


activity


is effected by the edges. Grinding the edges is one of the more esoteric
aspects.




The trick isn't the edges but keeping the two surfaces parallel and
flat. The procedure is to grind a little
and check the activity. If it is down try to grind the center or edges
and check again. If it gets better
then go back to to grinding and trying to keep it flat.

Anyway that is the method I used.

Bill K7NOM



Sounds important, Bill, but my words may have been misunderstood. By
edges I meant the end surfaces...as in ; stand the blank up on one edge -
vertically - there are four of 'em. I don't remember if he said that the
ends must be made to have a 90 degree angle with the faces or what. I just
remember that he said that you grind these sides for best / better activity.

I was not referring to the outer reaches of the two large faces as in; is
the face flat or curved in some way.




I understood what you meant. Just never considered that important. Maybe
that is something I missed.

Bill K7NOM

"Bill Janssen" wrote in message
...
Steve Nosko wrote:
I was not referring to the outer reaches of the two large faces as in; is
the face flat or curved in some way.

I understood what you meant. Just never considered that important. Maybe
that is something I missed.
Bill K7NOM


Unfortunately, Dad went in the blink of an eye. I'm glad for him, but I
didn't have the chance to talk, ask questions or say goodby.

--
Steve N, K,9;d, c. i My email has no u's.