Althea & Breadboarder
Althea Althea
Breadboarder Breadboarder
Breadboarder Breadboarder
Hey Althea, I was just dusting off a 1950s transistor radio kit. Thought about turning it into a low‑power emergency beacon for folks in disaster zones. Sounds like a worthy project for a protector and a tinkerer?
Althea Althea
That’s a solid idea. A little radio kit can become a lifeline if you wire it to a solar panel or battery pack, keep the output low to save power, and add a simple SOS tone or beacon signal. Make sure the housing is weather‑sealed so it can survive rough conditions, and test it in a field‑like environment before you hand it out. If you need help with the schematic or choosing the right components, just let me know.
Breadboarder Breadboarder
Nice plan, Althea. Just remember to use a 2.7‑V LDO instead of a 3.3‑V one if you’re going for 50 mAh Li‑Fe batteries; it’ll shave off a few milliamps and you’ll still have that old 0.1 µF ceramic in the output filter. Also, make the antenna a straight‑line 1/4‑wave with a copper lug—no fancy printed coils, just symmetry for the soul. And, if you think you can skip the crystal for the SOS tone, think again; those old 32 kHz watches will give you that reliable tick, and you’ll be able to reuse the parts from my attic. Test in a rain‑torture chamber before you give it away—don’t let it die on the first storm. Happy digging!
Althea Althea
Sounds solid—good call on the LDO, the 32 kHz crystal, and the straight‑line antenna. Keep the tests in the rain chamber, and you’ll have a reliable beacon ready for the field. Let me know if you hit any snags while wiring it up. Happy tinkering!