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ANTENNAS
Invert-Vee
2 Meter J Pole
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I'm always building something.
When Heathkit stop selling their Ham Radio Kits, it ruined my day. All is not lost!
There are many companies and even radio clubs out there that sell radio kits. Here
I would like to share with you radio kits I have found and enjoyed building. Click
on the images to see a larger image. Click on the external links in
Bold
Fucia to see more information.
Elecraft
K1:
This is an excellent 5 watt CW-QRP transceiver amateur
radio kit
with a very well documented instruction manual. As good of or better a manual of
any Heathkit I have ever built. This is my favorite radio to operate. But I
haven't bought the KX-1 yet. I never leave home without it, Hex-Key, Tenna
Dipper* and my PAC-12 antenna. This little radio has it all. There is a built-in
iambic (mode A or B) keyer with 2 memories, RIT, 3 position audio filter, DDS
controlled VFO. I bought the internal battery option, 4 band version (15, 20, 30
and 40) and built-in Automatic Antenna Tuner. And did I say it's micro-processor
controlled? Visit the
Elecraft web site for kit prices
including all the optional accessories.
Elecraft
KX1: Here is the
ultimate camper's portable Ham Radio rig,
The Elecraft KX1. All you need is a set of
headphones and a hunk of wire hurled up into a tree and you're making contacts.
I never leave home without it. The internal batteries ( 6xAA) gives the rig a
little more than 1 watt output. Using an external 12 volt battery pack ups the
output to about 4 watts. It also comes with the optional iambic paddle but I
prefer either my Code Warrior while camping or my Hex Key while operating from
the home QTH. The entire station; rig, antenna, headphones, external battery
pack, log book (handheld PDA Log), Code Warrior, other stuff, fits inside a
small vinyl lunch pack. My KX1 came with all the options. 40 meters, 30 meters
and 20 meters, automatic antenna tuner, self contained paddle. Since I
completed my KX1 I have added the 80 meter option and a 3rd party tuning
indicator. 80 meters is great for those late nights at the campsite.
Rockmite
20 meter Ham Radio Transceiver:
How about a 1/3rd watt (that's right, about 300 milli-watt) CW-QRPp
transceiver that fits inside an Altoids tin? Yes, you can work 1,000s of
miles with less than one watt of RF power with the proper antenna. This fun
little radio comes with an iambic CW keyer and dual frequency crystal
controlled direct conversion transceiver. Available from
Small Wonder Labs
in 20, 30, 40 and 80 meter versions and cost only $27.00 less the
Altoids tin. You also supply the connectors and switches which are still
available at Radio Shack, Mouser and many surplus outlets. There is a Yahoo
Group where you can find plenty of help and boat-loads of modifications. Go
to the
Rockmite Yahoo Group.
DSW-II
20 meter Amateur Radio Transceiver:
A 4 watt CW-QRP transceiver that has a DDS vfo, RIT, iambic keyer and CW
frequency readout. This kit took me about 3 evenings to build and is a hot
little radio. When you first turn it on it automatically comes up on 14,060KHz.
With the touch of the switch you change the tuning rate from 200Hz to 50Hz then
back again. Push the switch up and the transmit locks and the tuning control is
now a RIT at 50Hz clicks. My 20 meter version also tunes in WWV 15MHz. Available
from
Small Wonder Labs in 20, 30, 40 and 80
meter versions. This kit costs $150.00 and includes the case and all knobs. A
fun little radio to take out onto the backyard patio table and work DX in a fun
way. I use it with my BLT tuner listed below.
SW+
40 meter Ham Radio Transceiver:
Here is actually several kits crammed into one box.
The transceiver is another great little kit from Small Wonder Labs, the SW+ 40
meter version 2.5 watt CW-QRP transceiver. Also in the picture is a Small Wonder
Labs Freq-mite and TiCK Keyer now available through
Kanga US. The little perf board you see on
the left is a resistive bridge SWR meter driving an LED. The main transceiver
board is available from
Small Wonder Labs for $55.00 and comes in
80, 40, 30 and 20 meter versions. The Freq-mite also from SWL costs $20.00 and
can be installed in many radios as a CW frequency read-out.
 Tenna
Dipper: This is one
of the neatest little gizmos since flush toilets! This thing quickly helps me
set-up and tune my portable antennas such as my PAC-12. It's kind of like taking
your MFJ-259B Antenna Analyzer camping with you but this thing fits inside a
shirt pocket. I packaged mine nicely in an Altoids Tin. On the end of the RG-174
coax is a BNC connector I hook up to my feed line. To use I set the dip switches
to the frequency range of the band I'm wanting to tune my antenna to, turn the
pot until the LED goes dim, press the push button switch and the resonant
frequency is heard in CW. I lengthen or shorten my antenna a little bit then
repeat the steps above until I get it just right. For me it usually takes about
4 to 5 tweaks and my
PAC-12 is
tuned! And I didn't have to haul my expensive MFJ-259B analyzer with me. Was
available from the
Four State QRP Club. I see they are
sold out and retired the kit :( .
Tenna
Dipper with Display:
Above is the KD1JV Tenna Dipper. Here is the Tenna Dipper on steroids. Well,
actually, it's the Tenna Dipper with a
Digital Display added on. Although the
Tenna Dipper comes with an audible CW frequency counter and the 27 wpm CW
makes for good code practice, it's nice having a visible digital display.
It's sort of like my expensive antenna analyzer but smaller and just tells
me when I have a 50 ohm match. I have a few more pictures I took while
building it. Click on these picture links:
Picture 2 -
Picture 3 -
Picture 4.
The case is the same as the BLT tuner. I bought an extra undrilled aluminum
clam shell case from Hendricks QRP kits and I used it here on my Tenna
Dipper.
Ok, I have receive a few request on how I
tied the Digital Dial to the Tenna Dipper. From the 74HC00 chip on the Tenna
Dipper pin 11, I tack soldered a 2.2k ohm 1/8th watt resistor to the center
conductor of a short piece of RG-174 that goes to the input of the Digital
Dial. Click on the YouTube Player to see a larger screen.
Norcal
BLT Radio Tuner:
Here's a nifty little antenna tuner (transmatch*)
for those little QRP rigs that don't come with an ATU. An entire kit is
available from Doug Hendricks at
Hendricks QRP Kits. But I
just bought a predrill clam shell case and the little PC board because I
have a well stocked spare parts box. I like to use this BLT with my DSW-II
shown above or my SST 30 meter QRP rig below. I can use it with vertical
coax feed antennas but it's name sake is to use it with balanced feed line
doublet antennas such as maybe a G5RV dipole. There is an adsorptive SWR
bridge feeding a LED. You just tune for a minimum glow on the LED. Here's a
picture of the rear view.
Wilderness
Radio SST:
How about a nifty little QRP Ham
Radio Transceiver
that's fun to build and even more fun to operate? Then it's the SST. The
cost of the kit is $90.00 plus a few bucks for postage and you get not just
the PC board and the parts, you also get all the connectors, knobs and a
pre-drilled aluminum case. Available from
Wilderness Radio.
As you might see, there's and extra little switch on the front of my 30
meter SST rig. The VXO comes with 2 different varicap diodes for 2 different
tuning ranges. You chose which tuning range by selecting one of the diodes
during construction. I asked, why not both? So I put a small spdt switch to
select different tuning ranges. Power output is about 2 watts which is more
than enough to make DX contacts.
K40
Keyboard CW Keyer:
I was at the
NETXQRP group lunch and
Chuck W5USJ was showing me his
K40 Keyboard Keyer. His was nicely
packaged inside a metal box and using a separate computer keyboard. I had
the thought of cramming it inside the case with the keyboard. Now to find a
Ni-MH battery to fit in there also. Right now I have to use and external
battery pack. I found a keyboard at Fry's for about $15.00 that was compact
and still large enough to house the K40 PCB. Since I built this keyer the
designer, K1EL Steve is coming out with an add on RTTY filter board. This is
a great toy when contesting or Field Day. An iambic paddle can plug into the
rear of this keyboard to use as a regular keyer.
Have I left anything out? I'll get back to
you. More to come!
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