Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
Paul M. Stokes (K4JSU)
on
May 21, 2004
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I just finished assembling a "QRP" wattmeter from a kit. "QRP" is one of a set of "Q-signals" that are abbreviations for certain questions or statements that are used in communications. Q-signals were first developed when radio operators used Morse code (known as "CW" for "continuous wave"). For example, "QTH Miami" would mean, "my location is in Miami". "QTH?" would mean, "What is your location?" The signal "QRP" means "I decrease power" and "QRP?" means, "Can I decrease power?" So a "QRP" wattmeter is a meter that measures small scale RF power.
There is a group of ham radio operators who use as little power as possible to communicate over the airwaves. Five to ten watts of output power is considered the top range of QRP operating. The maximum that the FCC allows amateur radio operators on most bands is 1500 watts of output, and the average ham rig has an output of 100 watts. On the other hand, some QRP fans try to stay under 1 watt of output power. In fact, the meter that I built has three scales: a 10-watt scale, a 1-watt scale, and a 100-milliwatt scale.
About a year ago I built from a kit a QRP transceiver that operates on 20 meters on CW only. Its top output, according to the meter that I just built, is about 7 watts. I have "worked" (meaning, I have communicated with via CW) people in NY, Texas, PA, NC, Indiana, and Guatemala with this "rig".
One of the advantages of building a kit is that, via email, one can sometimes communicate with the owner of the business that sells them. This was the case with the kits I built. The kits are not "plug and play" sorts of products. I ran into some difficulty in building both kits. I contacted the owner through the Internet and he talked me through each problem over the course of about a week. Having the problems that I encountered worked an advantage for me, because I learned more dealing with these problems assisted by a competent mentor who really cared than I would have had I simply stuck everything together and it worked the first time.
Hmm. -- Is there some theology here?
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Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by K9FV on May 21, 2004
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Good article and I agree completely with learning more from a "problem" project than from one that goes together without problems.....
Only one small thing, the article was written perfect for a non-ham group - explaining things that are part of life, BUT as there are lots of beginners reading these pages, perhaps it is written as it should be - so hang in there and write more articles.
Ken H>
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Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by LNXAUTHOR on May 21, 2004
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- nice article... i have built a half-dozen QRP-related kits so far, and have been pleased with every one...
- for links to a number of kits, check out:
http://www.amqrp.org/kits/kits.html
- highly recommended:
the NorCal BLT tuner
- building your own equipment provides a number of bonuses, such as soldering experience, learning about electronics, and acquiring user-maintable gear at (usually) a lower cost...
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RE: Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by WB2WIK on May 21, 2004
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It was even better when Heath was around designing and selling kits that were, for the most part, incredible. If you built a Heathkit and kept the original manual, there was nothing that could happen to it that you wouldn't be able to fix, yourself.
Even more amazing was their uncanny ability to get things so right that extremely complex kits usually worked first try. After having a few "ham" kits under my belt, at the ripe old age of 14 I agreed to build their 25" color TV kit if my dad agreed to buy it! That kit must have had 10,000 parts, and when completed it weighed just about 100 lbs (including the wooden cabinet!). And on first power-on, it did everything the manual said it would. Alignment and convergence took about an hour, and we had a color TV. Unbelievable.
I miss them!
Good story, by the way, and I hope you'll build many more kits!
WB2WIK/6
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RE: Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by K8LEA on May 21, 2004
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I can't remember how many Heathkits I built....
My first was a Q-Multiplier back in the 50's. I had to get my Elmer (Lee, K8AAK, who's bad luck got him me for a neighbor about 14 years ago) to help me install it in an SX-99, but it did work.
I also built a 19" Color TV. One of the first solid-state sets on the market. An error on my part and/or in the manual (actually, the schematic and the instructions disagreed about how to wire the degaussing coil) caused a nasty bang when it was initially fired up, and being courageous enough to dig into the sealed HV assembly (wasn't really sealed - just pre-assembled and marked "stay out!") resulted in a diagnosis that turned out to be right. About a week between picking it up at the Railway Express office (remember _that_?) and watching Laugh-In, including the explosion and a trip to a local parts store for a transistor.
It worked fairly well for quite a few years until my kid destroyed it.... Over the years the vertical hold, or maybe it was the horizontal, or both, got real flaky. I repaired it several times, but it got to the point that, with a new baby in the house, all I had time for was very carefully diddling the thing into sync and walking away without bouncing the floor too much.
When the kid started pulling herself up on furniture, the TV was a natural. Naturally, the Hold knobs were at the bottom of the set where she could reach them.... I gave it away....
However, a point for Heath - I have a friend who's somewhat marginal. IQ of maybe 80. His dad and I were pretty good friends, and I used to keep an eye on the kid. He decided he wanted a CB and bought a Heathkit tube-type kit. It didn't work when he finished it, so he asked me if I'd take a look at it.
ONE coupling capacitor connected to the wrong pin on a tube socket (and unsoldered - pretty easy to spot) and it was working perfectly.
I once built an Eico scope kit that I was suprised worked at all. Between the time that the manuals had been printed and the kit boxed up, the standards for things like resistor values had changed. That meant that references to (for example - I don't remember the whole thing) 47K resistors in the instructions meant that I needed to find 50K resistors in the parts bag. Capacitor color coding and coding _types_ were equally screwed up, and other things (like the power transformer winding color codes) were a little off, too.
I also built an "Allied" SWL receiver for a friend. Not too bad, but not Heathkit....
I miss 'em....
Stu K8LEA
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Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by WA2JJH on May 21, 2004
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Built my share. I also agree Heathkits were unique. They would work right after you built em. IF you followed the NASA like checklist!!!!
I used to also etch my own boards. Then find most of the parts at a RADIO SHACK,DALE,LaFAYETTE RADIO, or Canal street NYC. Sorry if I sound like an old Foggy!
I never had one single kit work perfectly after the Vcc is connected!!!!!! It's always something simple.
Cold solder joints, backward diodes, ect.
My big problem is that I will have a kit working to 100 percent spec. I do a little redesign. THEN POOOFF!!!!
I did get away with using 2n3866's instead of 2n22222's for the classic tuna tin 2 TX. Result after fidling with some bias and swamp resistors....2 watts!
2 bad it put out 2 watts for less then 2 minutes!
The original QST design was speced for .5W.
Have fun. 73 DE MIKE
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RE: Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by KG6IRW on May 22, 2004
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I, too, built (and repaired) my share of Heathkit products over the years. Like all posters here, those memories are positive and all still remember the first time the piece of gear fired up for the first time.
For me, you reall did learn from the ones that didn't necessarily do the first time. Those required that you take what you had just learned and start applying some diagnosis and logic to determine where things went awry. I worked on many for folks who gave up too quickly, too. Alas, for many, when Heath ceased the kit supply, kit building just seemed to disappear.
The good news today is that there's still a thriving community of amateur-related products with the same level of support but now utilizing the Internet communities for support and modifications.
Such an example is the Elecraft line of amateur radios (www.elecraft.com). I've built a couple of K2s, the tuner and the 100W power amp along with almost all the add-ons and found that the same fun I remember with those yellow-page Heathkit manuals lives on with Elecraft. Likewise, many of the other popular kit suppliers also enjoy and encourage an active community of on-line Elmers to make sure that "you can't fail", as the old Heathkit tag line went.
Disclaimer: I have no business relationship with Elecraft - just a happy customer. They do, however, have their offices just down the road and I do know the staff there quite well - all excellent supporters of ham radio *and* active hams.
Cheers,
David/KG6IRW
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Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by K9NYO on May 22, 2004
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I built a code practice key from Heath when I was a teenager, but it was lost in one move or another. I built a 24-hour digital clock with bright green LEDs, too. I also did a lot of breadboarding when I was a kid...with an actual cutting board, components and Fahnstock clips. I recommend Ramsey's kits or just grabbing a good idea from QST and building it...it's very satisfying.
And here-here on the rule of not working the first time...my dad always said that if it worked right the first time then I did something wrong--I wouldn't learn to troubleshoot it and make it work right.
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Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by WA5MKA on May 22, 2004
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Paul---I too built several electronic kits back in the 60's, i.e. Heath Kits & Knight Kits (2 meter A.M. xcvr,walkie talkies,shortwave rcvr). Had a lot of fun doing it & learned a lot about electronics in the process. Also home-brewed an audio amp. from just the schematic, using the chassis from another piece of gear after stripping everything out of it. I never built anything totally from scratch(punching holes in the chassis or etching the PCB) though, except 2 xtal radios & a 2 transistor radio, which were all breadboard/terminal strip style. Haven't built anything lately though , because I just don't have an area I can devote to kit building, without having to set it up & take it down every time I use it ! I'm also not too enthused about the surface mount parts they're using now a days. But if some kit comes along that I think I will use with traditional parts, a pre-made PCB or perf board, & pre-wound coils, I might give it a shot !
When I retire in a few years I'd like to do some C.W. QRP kit building(but not surface mount & the coils have to be pre-wound) & portable operating. It sounds like fun to me ! Hopefully I will have an area I can devote to the kit building by then ! I may even give coil winding a shot ! HiHi
It sounds like you're having loads of fun with your kit building. GOOD FOR YOU ! Keep it up. It's just another one of the enjoyable aspects of HAM RADIO !
73,
George---W7KCU, ex:WA5MKA
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RE: Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by VE3GNU on May 24, 2004
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Since my retirement I've had dealings with several QRP kit-building businesses---namely OHR, TEN-TEC, SWL, WILDERNESS RADIO, as well as Idiom Press, and I can honestly state that all are just great people to deal with. Communication has been prompt and courteous---and all queries answered, shipping has been 'on time', and the entire building-experience has been very gratifying! It's been well over 25 years since the heady days of Heathkit, the parts are smaller now, my eyes need help, I can take my time---but the end-results are just as fun---if not more satisfying---and a 'learning experience' to boot.
I heartily recommend QRP Kit-building to any Ham who would like to re-energize their hobby, become re-acquainted with CW, and try soldering with pencil-like tips.
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Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by K1MVP on May 28, 2004
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QRP Kits are one of the best ways for a beginner to
get "hands on" experience.
Another great way to learn is after building a few
kits is to "homebrew" a QRP receiver, or transmitter.
In most cases, the homebrew receiver or transmitter
will not work on the 1st try, es you will have to
"troubleshoot" it, and that is when you will really
have to learn how it works.
Ask any "old timer", --about the rigs that he had
"work at" to get to work, and that is usually the
one that, once "fixed", performed the best.
73, K1MVP
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Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by WA3RSL on May 31, 2004
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QRP interests me. But I was wondering if anyone has tried working different bands and difference distances with minimum power. What I mean is how "low" can you go to still have a contact. Years ago I had some very large wire beams on 40 meters and did some experiments with how low I could go and still be heard. If I recall I was down to less than a watt and still could be heard from coast to coast. Seems like a fun challenge. You would have to have a wattmeter accurate in the milliwatts.
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RE: Kits, QRP, and an On-Line Mentor
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by K1MVP on May 31, 2004
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Re.WA3RSL,
As far as how "low" in power u can go es still
work worldwide or stateside, it usually is dependent
on band propagation, es ur antenna.
Don`t let a "basic" antenna, such as a dipole or
G5RV discourage u though.
I have worked into Europe,(regularly) on 20 meters
with a Heathkit HW-8(only 2 watts) es a dipole only
20 feet off the ground.
I have also worked into the midwest,(Chicago) etc,
with a homebrew "sardine sender", on 80 meters with
less than a half a watt, es a low dipole.
I have read stories of guys working dx with 100
milliwatts on 10 meter cw, coast to coast(an article
in 73 magazine).
Anybody can work dx with QRO(big power) 100 watts
es more, but the real test for some of us is to
be able to "work em" with QRP.
73`s, K1MVP
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