It comes with parts to put it on any one Amateur band. They suggest staying on 30 meters or below for performance reasons with the simple circuit, and I’d suggest the same because of that and the low sunspots at this time.
You can decide which band you want to try. You could change it later, but unless you are very careful unsoldering the changeable parts, you could probably only do this once or twice.
Morris and I have built these, and he has one for 80 meters combined with a qrp transmitter for that band. Mine is on 40 meters. It is suggested that you need a 15-35 watt soldering iron, small diagonal cutters or “nippers,” small needle nose pliers, and rosin core solder to assemble. If you don’t have these, don’t worry as club members will bring extras (hint, hint).
If you are new at soldering, read the file from Dave Benson, K1SWL, regarding how to properly solder on a circuit board.
You will also need to provide a set of “Walkman” type headphones of your choosing, which you can get cheaply at Walmart, the Dollar Store, Big Lots, etc. If you have a spare computer speaker, it will work well for good volume. We will have 12v. DC available for testing finished boards. It is probably not a good idea to power the receiver from an AC 12 volt regulated supply, because of a hum problem associated with this type of simple receiver. You can operate the audio section from an ac supply and run the rf section from a 9 v. battery, or other 9-12 volt battery. The manual outlines this operation.
The kit has the parts shown:
To the left of the circuit board is the front panel, drilled to fit the potentiometers on the board. When you finish the board, be careful in handling it because the potentiometer legs bend easily.
Printed is a template for the front panel, showing some info, plus the labels for the controls.
The front panel overlay (template) is printed on a stick-on label. Make sure your front metal panel is clean and smooth. (Use a file if it has bumps) Cut the holes at least partly first to make sure you get them centered. A piece of clear plastic sheet with adhesive on the back is included to go over the overlay. Put it smoothly on top of the overlay, and then finish the holes in each with a hobby knife or other small, sharp blade.
Should you foul up the overlay, you can download a template in Acrobat format, and type you call on the right, band on the left, then print it. Make certain your printer is set to print actual size. You can print it on thick paper or photo paper, and attach it to the metal panel with a spray all-purpose adhesive, then use a clear sheet of contact paper over it. If you are building the kit with the Harlan Co. Club, you can download this overlay, and fill in your call on the right and the band on the left. If you don't have a big label sheet, print it on glossy paper, use spray adhesive as mentioned above and the clear contact paper.
To the right is the wooden base board to mount the circuit board and other parts. The mounting holes for the board are drilled and counter-sunk to permit easy mounting of the circuit board. It mounts by taking the screws out of the standoff position when you have finished the circuit board, and sticking them up through the bottom of the wooden board. Then a nut goes on the screw on top of the base, and the circuit board goes above the nuts, and another nut to hold the circuit board in place.
The completed receiver needs to be mechanically sound, so this simple board system will accomplish that. Ten-Tec has an aluminum box that fits the circuit board for about 10 bucks, or you may want to build something of your own. The other object is an 8 cell AA size battery holder that runs the receiver. Radio shack has a long 8 cell holder that fits in the space well.
We've included a metal strip for the back to mount connectors for the antenna and other connections on if you so wish. You can drill the holes to fit your choice of connectors.
Keep the extra band parts - there are lots of receiver circuits in which you might be able to use them in a front end.
Thanks to the Right Fork and Rowdy Engineering Company for putting the extra touches on the kit - Jim and Morris spent long hours in my old, cold basement getting things together.
See you Saturday....K4AVX
Back to KMARC HOMEPAGE
Back to K4AVX's homepage....