| KG6LRI |
Rating:    |
2005-11-12 | |
| Not too bad! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I just got my Pixie2 and a set of all band crystals. Actually I got 2 pixies so that I can play around with them.
Like everyone says, documentaton was pretty vague, I work with soldering iron, so I am not a noob, yet it took me a while to figure out wher to put each component, since the board doesn't have a silkscreen. First board took me about 90 minutes (that's a lot for 2 transistors and one IC), second one took me 10 min.
I tested 80M TX sitting next to my HF rig, the problem is that Oscilator is constantly running so my HF rig picks up CW even if I am not keying.
I have two Pixies for 80M and I can't communicate between them, with identical components, frequency is not the same, so I have to put a little tunning curcuit in series with crystal in order to use them on the same band.
Don't expect to use this Kit for any serious project. Yet it is worth $10.
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| KC4NHR |
Rating:   |
2005-03-16 | |
| Motorboating |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
When I got the kit together and all hooked up to earphones, it motorboated like you know what. I had no idea what was going on. After looking at an NS LM386 data sheet, I found that all of their designs (except for the oscillator :-) include a 10uF bypass capacitor on pin 7. The Pixie leaves pin 7 unconnected. I put a 100uF (just to make sure) bypass on pin 7 and it works great.
From looking at the data sheet, adding this cap may reduce the gain--but hey, no motorboating. |
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| ROLFEDH |
Rating:     |
2005-02-25 | |
| Challenging &Success |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
My FIRST kit. It was tricky, but I made it. I think you'll be happy with it. Here are some tips to help you:
- Instructions well intended but poorly written. Read twice before starting. Also visit http://www.qrpp-i.com/pixie2.htm
- In diagram, "C6" looks like "C8". C6 is near the top. C8 is near the bottom.
- Take time to identify the parts. Line them up and tape them to a sheet of paper - write the part number next to each one. If you're not sure - test the value of the part with a multimeter. A magnifying glass and plenty of light might help when IDing some of the smaller parts.
- Use small amounts of high-quality solder. I put on too much and got the 'popping sound'. Had to clean out the mess between the three legs of Q1 - then it worked!
- Connect the negative lead from the battery to the ground (-) under C7.
- Use a 9v battery as your power supply if you get buzzing noise from an AC to DC power supply when you listen to the Pixie.
- Open the kit in the store when you're sure you're going to buy it, and get all the other items needed but not included (e.g., crystal oscillator, battery connector, earphone jack, antenna connector, connector for key)
- Avoid overheating the parts when soldering. Keep it short and sweet. Use alligator clips to bleed heat from the oscillator and caps.
- For newbies, a 40m dipole antenna should be approx. 66.8 feet or slightly less. Cut that in half. Connect one half to the antenna"+", and the other half to the antenna "-". 80m antenna is approx 133 feet, so I recommend building the 40m version. Light insulated wire is fine for low power rigs like this one.
- I'll rewrite the instructions and publish them somewhere.
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| N5VWN |
Rating:   |
2005-02-18 | |
| Don't expect to much. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Goes together easy. Transmitts a clean signal at about a 1/4 watt. Okay so far. Wish a few more parts were added to help the receiver. It didn't receive where it transmitts. What I mean is while doing test with a couple of friends in town, I would transmit and they would find me on thier regular rigs. But when they transmitted, I couldn't hear them well. Almost zero beat and weak. My friend got very lucky with his. He made a contact 70 miles away on the second call. It don't have a sidetone but I used a MFJ mini keyer. USE A TUNER or you'lle get lots of broadcast interferance. Okay, I didn't expect the world. But to top it all off. This $10.00 kit from Halted came with a bad transistor. Luckly, Radio Shack had lots of 3904's. Also, Halted company, only 70 miles away from me soaked me for over $7.00 for shipping and handling, putting it in a big box full up static charged shipping popcorn. It would have shipped in a tiny padded envelope just fine. That's what small wonder labs did with my rockmite. Now that's a much better 1st choice. It's a real radio! You know, I'm more upset with the company, Halted, than I am the pixie. Now just go over and read my review of the Rockmite. Best $27.00 I ever spent! And they got a real fan club rather than a support group. hi hi |
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| WA2JJH |
Rating:  |
2004-12-20 | |
| GARBAGE |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Bought 3. Could one get one to work.
I am no stranger to kits! Built the Tuna- Tin 2
back in 1977. I did it with no kit.
I found missing parts in kits.
I know it is a DC RX. It's really an amplified xtal radio! |
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| KB0ZEM |
Rating:   |
2004-06-27 | |
| Didnt work for me so far. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Im not a rookie to kits, and electronics, but all I could get out of this kit is a motorboating sound from the LM386. Its possible that they sent me a wrong part, and it got past me, but now that its together, I cant find it, and the documentation is so weak, Im having trouble troubleshooting as well. If ANYONE has had the same problem and FOUND it - I'd love to hear from you. If your considering buying this kit... Id think twice unless your building with a group, and have several to compair with. |
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| SM0YSR |
Rating:     |
2004-06-27 | |
| A neat little project |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I built a Pixie 2 using dead bug construction, took an hour and didn't cost me much (certainly not the $10 or something some kit makers charge!)
It works. And due to the magic associated with QRP(p) radio, you can make contacts with it. After having tested it for a few minutes, I managed to fry it while soldering with the power on (BAD habit). But as many others will tell you, you can make pretty distant contacts with a few 100 mW. Later an OH ham managed to hear my QRP station with his Pixie. So the receiver isn't all that bad, in spite of its extreme simplicity. Maybe this isn't a good primary rig, but you sure can have some fun with it. |
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| K8AG |
Rating:      |
2004-06-21 | |
| Amazing |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Not for tech lights, this radio is an amazingly simple cw transceiver that actually works. Its not a Heathkit, but the collection of parts is worth the $10 price tag. I used mine to get my 1000 Mile Per Watt award from QRP ARCI. If you are unwilling to learn to read schematics or use a soldering iron, this radio is not for you. But they are really a lot of fun.
73
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Earlier 5-star review posted by K8AG on 2003-12-02
OK so its wide as a barn door and has virtually no QSY. Its only 3 active components! Mine generates a bit over 100mW and so far my farthest QSO has been with a buddy nearly 300 miles away. That's over 2200 miles per watt. Great fun for those of us who don't mind handling a soldering iron. |
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| KB2HSH |
Rating:  |
2004-05-06 | |
| JUNK |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Bought 2(!) of them from HSC in 1999. Let's just say that I'm not a rookie with an iron...so the failures of the kits weren't due to novice mistakes. Sure, $10 for a transceiver sounds like HEAVEN...but trust me....save the money. HSC's Pixie 2 kit is THE single worst radio I ever attempted to build. (And I thought the Kanga "OXO" was a poor performer) BOTH kits simply would not work...even with replacing EVERY component with IDENTICAL ones from my own collection of parts. JUNK, junk, junk.
For those that have made this radio work, God Bless. Perhaps someday I'll just breadboard one...without the HSC curse. |
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| K5III |
Rating:  |
2004-03-25 | |
| Don't waste your money! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I expected at least something that worked from HSC. I received the kit in good order. The instruction sheet was miserable at best. After thorough inspection of placement of all parts and soldering, powered up and nothing but squeal. I spent roughly 12 hours checking and rechecking components and connections and trying various voltages and bias levels, and even trying new transistors. My conclusion was that everything, parts, components, 80m crystal were all good. I checked website after website and a variety of reviews. I have built numerous kits and repaired many pieces of electronic gear over the years so I am well experienced in electronics and well qualified in soldering technique. This one simply does not work as advertised. Definitely a dud. You will be disappointed at best. It now resides in my junk box. |
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