Code practice oscillator completed

The panel mount potentiometer I used in the CPO was missing the nut needed to secure it into place. After determining that I needed a 1/4″-32 thread hex nut, I went scouring my Radio Shack and hardware store bins looking for some.

At Radio Shack, I found a bag of assorted hex nuts in their parts bins, with the right thread number, but none of them were smaller than 5/16″. Next stop was a big box hardware store. There I found 1/4″ nuts, but the finest thread they had was 28. The hex nuts they did have with a 32 thread were all #10 or smaller.

Then I went to a couple of the smaller box hardware stores. Much larger selection of nuts and bolts, but still the same problem as with the big box hardware store. Nothing with a finer thread than 1/4″-28, and nothing larger than a #10-32.

So much for instant gratification.

Thanks to a suggestion in the Google+ Ham Radio Homebrew community, I found some (Bourns H-38-1) at Mouser Electronics. Ordered 20 of them so I’d have extras in case I needed some for later. They arrived a few days ago and now my NT7S code practice oscillator is complete!

NT7S code practice oscillator
NT7S code practice oscillator
NT7S code practice oscillator
NT7S code practice oscillator
NT7S code practice oscillator
NT7S code practice oscillator