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Reviews For: Small Wonder Labs Rock-Mite

Category: QRP Radios (5 watts or less)

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Review Summary For : Small Wonder Labs Rock-Mite
Reviews: 74MSRP: $25
Description:
Crystal-controlled direct-conversion transceiver operating on 7040 KHz
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.smallwonderlabs.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00744.9
KC9IIM Rating: 2006-06-01
Cool Kit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just ordered a Finger Tip Tapper and a whip antenna the other day. I haven't had time yet to transmit. However, today, I was able to test out the receive with our school club's 40m vertical. After a little listening, I was able to hear several CW signals. It was amazing!! As for kit building, I have minimal experience with electronics. As far as I go is an eighth grade engineering course in which we spent a couple of weeks on electronic components. I found all the soldering easy enough for a beginner. I decided to use an American Morse MityBox. It looks really snazzy!!
Try it out,
KC9IIM
AB5CC Rating: 2006-02-16
This must be the best value in ham radio! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have built many QRP kits over the last 14 years and I must say that the RockMite is the best value of all. It is elegantly simple. And, best of all, it works wonderfully. The use of an extra crystal to narrow the front end of the direct conversion is a stroke of genius. Where else can you get a QRP transceiver kit With Built-In Keyer for $27? Don't forget to get a Mity-Box to go along with the kit and it becomes a work of art. And, unlike many inexpensive QRP kits, you can actually make contacts on this rig. I purchased the Finger Tip Tapper key and the ALT (Altoids Longwire Tuner) to use with the RockMite. If you build kits, you must try this one.
OD5SK Rating: 2005-12-20
Excellent Kit Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is the best transceiver kit I have ever built.The instruction manual is very clear,high quality component and the most important thing that is really works :) the built-in keyer is a beauty..its nice to build and work DX with this little thing, Thanks Small Wonder Labs.
Best 73's,
Samir ( OD5SK,HZ1SK,KC5RYL )
http://www.od5sk.com
KA7OEI Rating: 2005-10-20
Elegantly simple... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
For a direct-conversion radio, this is one of the best ones that I've ever used and a brilliant application of the KISS principle - especially with the use of the crystal in the front end solving several problems with DC receivers.

Of course, I immediately went about and somewhat violated the KISS principle, adding a volume control and an RIT (allowing it to move +800 Hz or so.)

Initially, I had installed the extra coil and capacitor that had been provided with the kit to bring it up to current FCC specs, but noticed that in so-doing I not only lost output power but that current consumption during transmit went up by a bit. My suspicion was raised by this so I put it on the service monitor which showed some nasty spurs, so I removed the new components (that is, returned it to its original circuit) and the problem went away. Measuring the harmonics (using several different analyzers to be sure) I observed that the 2nd harmonic was at last -48 dBc, so no worry there...

A great kit, easy to put together, and fun to use on the air.
WA3ELQ Rating: 2005-10-18
Fun radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just finished building the Rock-Mite 30. This gives me the full set (80, 40, 30, 20) available so far. All have been fun and easy to build, and fun to use.

I had just made the last solder connection and was giving the Rock-Mite 30 the "smoke test" when I heard a station calling CQ. I decided to answer, and had a solid QSO with a station in Texas (I am in eastern PA). I was using a dipole up only 10 feet, and a 500mw Rock-Mite not yet finished and in its box. QRP with a Rock-Mite is great fun!

Larry WA3ELQ
WY3A Rating: 2005-08-10
The RockMite Rocks Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had heard that Dave Benson's ROCKMITE (Small Wonders Lab) QRPp (400 mw) minimalist transceiver was a good little radio. But I didn't know how good it was until I had mine on the air for a day or two and enjoyed many easy contacts including a DX ragchew on 40 meters.

Building the 40M Rockmite was a joy with a magnifying lamp and my old Radio Shack "helping hands alligator clip "vice". For a more detailed write-up go to my RockMite page:

http://www.qsl.net/wy3a/RockMite.htm

Once I got the board inside the enclosure, I hooked the rig up to a regulated supply at my main operating position, tested transmit, frequency shift, and keyer functions, which were good, then called CQ a few times. Moments later I was in QSO with a guy on a fishing trip in the Allegheny mountains of western PA running a battery powered 5 watt rig. That first day, a half dozen easy QSO's were enjoyed from my QTH in eastern Pennsylvania with stations from Massachusetts to Michigan, using a low G5RV multiband antenna and a higher 40M 1/2 wave sloping (nearly) vertical dipole.

The next night I was doing computer work and not paying much attention to the ROCKMITE's audio coming through the headphones sitting on the desk. Suddenly, I thought I heard a very loud F3 (France) station ragchewing on my frequency (7040.9)! The headphones were quickly off the desk and on my head. When their QSO ended, I called, but F3NB worked someone else. When they were done I called again and was astonished that Andy came back and gave me a 559 report through the QRN on his side. We then enjoyed a 100% solid copy ragchew. I kept looking at the Altoids tin in disbelief that I was actually hearing and talking to Andy in Toulouse France, on 40 meters, through THAT little radio. I even glanced at my big radio to make sure it was turned OFF.

Before that QSO I had worked many hundreds of European stations on 40 CW. But never with less than 500 mw and a transceiver in an Altoids tin. And -- it might be my imagination -- but I could swear to you that the little ROCKMITE sounds better in my headphones than my full size rig.

The RockMite Rocks.
AE1X Rating: 2005-06-29
Great Project Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I built my RM-40 and it worked immediately. This was not a major surprise to because I'm an expert technician. What was surprising is the performance. The receiver is really hot for such a simple direct conversion design. I don't have much time to operate, but I have made a couple of contacts with it. One to FLA and the other to Nova Scotia from MA.

For those of you having a problem with the side tone level. I would suggest that you place a rheostat in series with the capacitor that couples the side tone signal to the output jack. The value of the pot will depend on the load you are employing at the output. I use an older 1k headset so one would need between 100k and 10k to attenuate the side tone level, but if you are using a 32 ohm walkman headset, you will only need between 50k and 5k to achieve the same range of control. I would suggest that a 50k pot would be a good choice for this functionality.

Output:
12v - 440mW (unmodified). This output drops slighty during operation and the 2N2222 gets a bit warm.

I would suggest using a 2N2219 in this application. This device is in a TO-5 package which will dissipate more power. You could then reduce the emitter resistor to increase the output power. I've seen people get about a 1W with this device.

I love my RM and wouldn't trade it for anything. The only thing I like better is my Elecraft K1-4.

Ken


What
KE6KQV Rating: 2005-06-29
A nice kit but the tone volume not be adjusted Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This was a great kit to build and a surprise at how well it worked but the volume of the tone when the key is down cannot be adjusted to match the level of the receiving signal. I have tried several different caps at C8, as suggested but I the volume is just too high for this transceiver to be used comfortably.
W2LJ Rating: 2005-06-28
Short and Sweet Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I can give my Rockmite 40 no better review than to tell you all that I am going to purchase a Rockmite 20 to accompany it. What more can I say? Dave Benson and his company, Small Wonder Labs are terrific!

If you've become "bored" with Amatuer Radio; and want the thrill of your Novice days back again, then you need do nothing more than buy and build one of these great little kits! Every QSO is like DX!
N2XE Rating: 2005-03-08
Still Better than Sex Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I wrote a review for the RM about two years ago when I had one for 40 meters. It's time for a critical update.

I now have five. I've spent more than twice what the rig costs for custom crystals. All are housed in the AmericanMorse Mitybox. I've tried every mod imaginable only to put it back to stock condition.

I used to curse 500mW but now I often run 'em at 9 volts with 150mW out. I've tightened up the audio with narrow filters but took them off--the RM may be "wide" but the audio fidelity is the best in my shack.

There's just something magic about the low power, simplicity and just darn cuteness of the RockMite.

I use these little critters more than any other rig I own and I own many.

I've taken them out on the trail, canoeing and rock climbing. They've been bashed in the pack, smashed against rocks, dropped, drowned, kicked and abused. They've baked by the campfire and flash-freezed in the winter. And when I apply power and ask the RM once more to cast RF into the aether, it complies.

After 3 years of solid and hard use, simply put, the RockMite is a legend in its own time.