Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: DCxxA family of transceivers

Category: QRP Radios (5 watts or less)

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : DCxxA family of transceivers
Reviews: 4MSRP: 40
Description:
Popular kit distributed by Kendricks QRP Kits
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.qrpkits.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0044.3
G4ILO Rating: 2009-05-05
Very disappointing Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been impressed by the kits offered on the QRP Kits website, so my experience with the DC20B came as a big disappointment.

I found the 16-pin DIL socket was missing. Not having read the previous review, I didn't realize that it was no longer being included, so I went out and bought one.

The rig went together OK, but the sidetone is an ear-splitting volume compared to the receiver. The fix for this was to install a resistor in a space provided for one, but marked in the instructions as not used. Odd.

The supplied 14.060 crystal oscillated a full 1KHz above the QRP calling frequency, making contacts hard to come by. The keyer memory feature doesn't work at all. It plays back messages okay, but it actually only sends the first "dah" of each character.

According to the Yahoo support group, the kit designer is away backpacking or something, so no help is forthcoming. Needless to say, I shan't be buying any more kits from this company.
WA7OCZ Rating: 2009-02-14
Missing Parts and Typo Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Please don't let my review sway you from buying this kit. It's a nice little radio, even though I would have preferred a 7.030MHz xtal due to lots of RTTY being on the supplied freq of 7.040MHz).

I gave this a 5 but I think people need to be alert to some of the problems I ran into.

I ordered the 20 meter and 40 meter kits of the "B" model.

While I think the design sound, I was rather disappointed with all the missing parts, a typo in the resistor check list, and a kit design change that wasn't included in the instructions.

Both kits were missing the hardware to attach the jacks to the front panel.

The 20 meter kit was missing a resistor (R22).

The check list stated 2.2K for R5 but the color call out was for a 1K (this might throw someone not experienced in color code values).

The 16 pin IC socket was "missing" in both versions, then I was informed by Doug, via email, that some people were having trouble with installing it to the board, so it was no longer included.

Again, don't let my review deter you. Maybe they were packaged up on a Friday or something. Once I get these all together, I'm sure they'll be worth it.

Don
WA7OCZ
formally KA7JQM
AK2B Rating: 2008-06-18
A DC gem Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is a another cool little rig designed by Steve Weber. If you've never heard the nice clean open sound of a DC receiver, this isn't a bad place to start. I built the DC20A with the crystal on 14.060 and made one or two contacts before I decided to go the DDS-VFO route described on the QRPKITS website. I already had a FCC1/2 and it only took about an hour before I could go anywhere on 20 meters. If you are of the opinion that 1 watt won't get you much on these dismal gloomy days of no sunspots, you are wrong. The weekend that I finished the DC20A there was a QSO party going on and I managed to work several stations with no problem. Hanging around 14.060, while busy doing other things, I will eventually hear another QRP'er calling CQ. QRP to QRP QSO's are one of the more satisfying things I've done in this hobby. We are such a patient group :-).
The kit is a bargain for $40 and goes together painlessly. I find myself using the DC20A more often than I would have imagined. There is just something really nice about making contacts with a simple radio and one watt of power.

Tom, AK2B
VK4JAZ Rating: 2008-01-29
This is a real winner! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This Steve Webber-designed kit is a real winner. The kit is well designed with excellent components etc. The instruction manual is first class too. It all went together easily and there are good smoke tests along the way to ensure all is well as you progress. There are a few torroids to wind but that was no problem as the instructions talk you through it well. Tune up is also a breeze. Within hours of completing the build, I made contact with a station over 1,300 Km away and received a 539. Well done Steve and Doug on a fantastic kit. I will be building more from your stable ...