Kit Building on the “Cheap”

The beginning

Kit building

“for the cheap”

The beginning

Far Circuits Bitx20 Board set $25

EB7HPM’s

board layout found on the internet

The board layout reworked

After much rework

First Contact - W4WEL in North Carolina1500 miles using 4 watts and a low dipole

2nd Kit – QRP Kits Bitx20a

Not bad for $165.00

Also available in 17 meter band

1 last 20 meter QRP Rig

• The Bitx20 Version 3

• Semi-kit from India. This one takes a little more work

• Different options available for some of the harder-to-get parts

• $20.00 - $42.00 including postage from India

Exciter board

Linear and power supply

Fully functional 20 meter ssb rig

KitsAndParts.Com

• RF Toolkits are Electronic Building Blocks.

Most RF Toolkits include a small 1.2" x 1.9" PCB plus parts to createan electronic building block. Think of these small kits as a QRP Erector Set.

• Most kits cost $8-$10.

Kitsandparts.com• Universal LowPass Filter • Universal BandPass Filter • Universal Dual BandPass Filter • HF RF Amplifier • Crystal Filter • Discrete IF Amplifier - available spring 2009 • High Gain IF Amplifier • Universal Diode Ring Mixer • Universal Gilbert Cell HF Mixer • Gilbert Cell Audio Detector • Universal VFO • Universal BFO • Discrete Audio Amplifier • LM386 Audio Amplifier • Universal Voltage Regulator • Generic Development PCB • Transmit Diode Ring Mixer • 5 Watt CW RF Amplifier • 10 Watt 40+ dB gain 1.8-30 MHz Linear RF Amp • Universal PIN Diode Switches • Memory Keyer • Universal SWR bridge • SWR/Power Display - available spring 2009 • Freq Counter Display - available spring 2009 • Very Stable Freq Standard/Ref Kit (TCO) • Universal Interconnect Kit

Kits and parts 40 meter CW Receiver

The Future - Software Defined RadioSoftrock Lite II

$10.00 (includes postage)

Softrock Lite II Receiver

• Tunes 48-192khz of selected band depending on soundcard

• Frequency centered in the CW portion of the band

• Available in choice of 160 – 15 meter bands

• $10. including postage

• $12 for 15, 20, and 30 meter version

Softrock "Xtall+Lite" V9.0 Software Defined Radio

Multiband for $45

4 Individual plug-in bandpass filter boards to cover 160 – 10 meters

Remember the plug-in coil days?

Electronically switched bandpass filter add-on

• 1.8 MHz to 30 MHz - $13

or• 3.5MHz to 30 MHz plus 6 meter - $13

What kind of kit do you want to do?

• If surface mount doesn’t scare you – Softrock II Lite as a starter

• If you want SSB and you like a little challenge – Bitx Version 3

• If you just want to solder – Bitx##kit

Softrock lite

• Probably can be built over 2-3 saturdays

• $10 - $12 dollars total expenditure

• Good starting point to try SDR

Bitx20 version 3

• Great kit for someone that wants to “experiment”

• Will need to collect parts. Most components not included

• Plenty of room for “fat fingers” while building

Bitx##a kit

• Turnkey kit available. Everything included

• 12 watts output vs 5-6 of version 3

• Professional looking case with decals

Web Sites

• kc0wox.com• Pictures and videos of many kits

• qrpkits.com• Bitx##a kits

• wb5rvz.com/sdr/• Softrock information

• Kitsandparts.com• RFtoolkits

Kit Forums

• Yahoo Bitx http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BITX20/

• Yahoo Softrock http://groups.yahoo.com/group/softrock40/?yguid=294830569

• Kits and Parts http://kitsandparts.com/fluxbb/