Radio Hacks

1451 Articles

X-Band Linear Rail SAR Imaging

June 17, 2010 by 17 Comments

[Greg Charvat] really wanted high resolution X-Band linear rail SAR imaging system. He wanted it bad enough to scrounge through parts at HAM radio swap meets until he had the bits to build one himself. The unit is used to take high resolution radar imaging. For example, the image above is constructed of push pins behind a foam wall. The synthetic aperture radar system came in at roughly  $250. Not bad at all. You may have to dig through the links a bit to find the build information. Be sure to check out the hardware gallery and the schematics(pdf).

[via Makezine]

Building Air Variable Capacitors

May 12, 2010 by 14 Comments

In keeping with our opinion that radio operators were the original electronic hackers here’s a guide to building your own transmitting air variable capacitors. Using some roof flashing, Plexiglas, and various fasteners [David Hammack] was able to make it work. It’s not a perfect solution but he has some ideas to make the next one better. Give this a try after you’re done tweaking your crystals and building input devices.

[Thanks Rich]