In lieu of our December club meeting, we are getting together at the Lil Rebel Family Restaurant this month for Holiday Fellowship and Socializing. This is a family-friendly event so bring the whole crew!

UPDATE: We had a great turnout, everyone ate well, and a good time was had by all. Thank you Gene, for the story about Rudolph and how his di-odes work!

See below the photos for his story….

“I’d like to share a little story with you that you might find interesting—or, at least, that you might find valuable as a learning situation in the finer points of advanced electronics.

But first, I need to go through a little convoluted background to get to the subject.

Years ago, maybe 25 or 30, several of us employees of Duke Power Communications Department were sitting around discussing electronic components. One newer employee, a recent graduate of Cullowhee Tech, made a somewhat goofy comment: “What do a diode do?” We made fun of him, accusing him of being a graduate of “Cowweed Tech.”

Well, about seven years ago, I was teaching an FCC licensing class in David Mann’s auction office in Greer. I made some casual comment about, “What do a diode do?” I thought David Mann would never stop laughing at that. He has since moved to California, but even now, on the telephone, he laughs about it.

Three years ago, he sent me a Christmas card asking if Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a diode in his nose. Then recently, I wrote back with the following:

Dear David,

Thank you for your inquiry about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer having a diode in his nose, and what that diode does. Diodes do have something to do with Rudolph’s red nose. It’s a little involved but let me explain.

The electromagnetic and electrostatic radiation emanating from the northern lights are picked up by Rudolph’s antlers. And due to the 90-degree phase relationship between the two types of signals—much like what is known as diversity reception—his left antler receives the electromagnetic signal, and his right one receives the electrostatic signal, assuming he is pointing north.

These digital signals are then passed through a DSP circuit, converting them to analog, which are passed on to the light-emitting diode on Rudolph’s snout. This diode does double duty: it acts as a mixer for the two signals and illuminates the LED on Rudolph’s nose.

It is to be pointed out that the direction Rudolph is heading affects the intensity, or brightness, of the LED nose bulb. It is brightest when Rudolph is heading true north and varies slightly in intensity as he moves east or west. As he points 180 degrees true (due south), the LED glows very faintly.

The accuracy of the above has been verified by the electronics staff at Cowweed Tech—uh, I mean Cullowhee Tech.

Disclaimer: This is not to be taken as any kind of a slam against Cullowhee Tech. And of course, the verification mentioned above is not true.

Gene Creasy, W4FHJ”