Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: PSK-20 Small Wonder Labs

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 : PSK-20 Small Wonder Labs
Reviews: 40MSRP: 95
Description:
Dedicated PSK-31 QRP XCVR kit for 20m
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.smallwonderlabs.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00405
W0FMS Rating: 2000-09-14
Almost a Heathkit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It took a little too long to arrive.. but I'm impatient,
and was missing 7 resistors from the kit-- actually 5 of them were because of two sets of
2.2K instead of one 2.2K and one 22K... no big deal I had them in the junk box. One tuning
capacitor is a little flakey, but thats the cap manufacturers fault, not S.W.L's.. One other
nit is that IMHO the sex of the RS-232 connector is backwards.. I would have liked to use a
"straight through M-F" cable rather (which I had four of) rather than having to buy a special
cable for $9 at Radio Shack. But these are nitpicks, really. Most kits are far from as high
quality as this one is.

The quality of the kit is very good. The assembly manual is almost overdone in my opinion.
I have had troubles making QSOs at 1.5W... I think 5W would have been a little nicer..
there have been many times where I've almost made it with the PSK-20, but not quite.

I took pictures at every step in the process building this rig. When I "get-to-it" I'll post them
all on my website. Maybe this weekend.. Maybe..

The finished product is very attractive and very professional. All in all the whole thing is pretty cool.

I'd like to see other versions of this rig as well.. even if they are a little more $$$.. I'd like to see some more activity in PSK-31 and the other new modes (MT-63, MFSK, etc..) on bands other than 20m. My personal thought is that 30m is a perfect band for PSK-31, etc..

Fred W0FMS
WM0N Rating: 2000-09-09
Extreme fun here Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The SWL PSK-20 is a realy really fun thing. It went together easily and tuned up very easily. It is a great way to get into PSK31 with a modest investment. Mine went together in just a few nights, and worked pretty much first time after power was applied. Good clear directions and attention to detail throughout. One of the nicer things was to be able to go to my local radio shack with a list of part numbers for the cables required and just get them all without fooling around. Dave has supplied the proper list of cables in his directions. I believe that EIA-RS232 is the bane of modern civilization and I appreciate being shielded from this by the cable part list provided by Dave in the instructions. (Sorry for the obscure ranting here :-) )
W5DDW Rating: 2000-09-08
It is indeed a small wonder. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Instructions are clear, parts first rate, board top quality and all the parts were in the kit. The PSK20 worked right off. Alignment was no brainer and you won't believe how well 3 watts performs even with modest antennas. You won't get complaints on excessive IMD and you will have a blast. This one is worth your time and energy but you may have to wait for the kit... it is that popular.
AA4PB Rating: 2000-08-27
Amazing Combination, PSK and Low Power Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
With only 1.5 watts peak (3/4 watt in idle) my first two contacts were Russia and Poland with good reports.

The PSK20 is a great way to work PSK31.

Lets encourage Dave to do some other bands - how about 30 meters? His comment to me was that it would cause more because it wouldn't be able to use standard crystals. I'd be willing to pay a little more for the other bands.

K3SUI Rating: 2000-08-23
Incredible Value !! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have just completed the Small Wonder Labs PSK-20 20 meter PSK tranceiver. The value here is unbelievable. For $95 you get a fully self contained 20 meter psk unit, transmitter, receiver, and computer interface ... the PSK software for it is FREE!! The kit is of very high quality. The boards are of higher quality than we are familiar with as Heathkit builders. The instruction manual, while not showing you how to skin the insulation off of a wire, does show you how to solder, wrap toroid coils, and any other skill necessary for the beginner to build this kit. Although the parts density is high, I belive that this kit could be constructed by a rank beginner with only a little care. When completed you will have one of the neatest pieces of backpack gear on the market. Hook up the lantern battery, attach directly to the laptop (interfaces built in) and after throwing up an antenna begin operating. This is one of the least expensive ways to try PSK with a quality unit ... without tying up your big rig. This is also GREAT for people who travel for work. The S/N for PSK is so good, they can work the world from their hotel room with only a tuner and a wire.
WA4TQS Rating: 2000-08-01
Excellent product! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Very high quality circuit board and excellent assembly instructions reminiscent of HeathKits. If you are over 50, like me, I highly recommend some sort of magnification device for reading part numbers and inspecting solder joints. I used a pair of "magnifying glasses" purchased at a hobby shop. Adjustments are easy, and the transceiver works great. I have made a number of contacts with it and received good signal reports. I will buy another one when available for a different band.
K3EA Rating: 2000-06-28
GREAT KIT! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought the kit at Dayton, put it together in a couple of evenings. Worked as soon as I got it wired correctly .... (red to positive, black to negative #@!$*?!).

Very responsive customer support from Dave. The kit was missing the 9Mhz crystals. Dave promptly mailed them the next day after receiving my e-mail.

Easy to build for an experienced (intermediate) builder. Excellent assembly and alignment instructions. Very easy to align. You just need a voltmeter and a low power wattmeter.

Have worked European and S. American DX with an R5 trapped vertical.

Am running with a laptop and it looks like it will make a great portable rig for camping trips, etc.
KZ1X Rating: 2000-05-21
5 square inches of FUN! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I built an early copy of the PSK20 rig from Small Wonder Labs. It took me only 5 1/2 hours to build and that INCLUDED a thorough inventory AND alignment.

It worked the first time I applied power.

I'd have a hard time telling you how much fun this sub-$100 radio is providing. What's more, the usefulness of it, to me, is also hard to quantify. You see, like many busy business people today, I travel a lot with my laptop PC. This rig is SO small and easy to carry, it fits well inside my PC carry bag. With it and a clever antenna, I am mobile on HF from almost any hotel room I'd likely stay at.

My advice, then is two-fold:
1) get one
2) get one soon, before they are all gone!

73 Steve KZ1X/4
N9VV Rating: 2000-05-21
Amazing and delightful experience Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The new PSK-20 from www.smallwonderlabs.com is an amazing piece of engineering and thoughtful ham skill. Howard (Skip) Teller KH6TY and Dave Benson NN1G have created a kit that is fun to build (approx 7 hrs) and so easy to operate you will be stunned and delighted.
The PCB is laid out well and obviously great care has gone into it's prototyping and final design. Dave is known for his superb DSW series of rock solid CW rigs. He has hit another home run with this SSB PSK31 transceiver. After initial alignment (15 minutes) I was on the air making my first contact. See a picture of the event at http://home.uchicago.edu/~khopper/psk20project.html and check out my helper in the shack.
I heartily recommend this kit to anyone wishing to experience the fun and excitement of PSK on a modest budget with a fully portable rig. This is the future of ham radio!
dit dit
de Ken N9VV
AI0RC Rating: 2000-05-21
Another Winner, from Small Wonder Labs Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.


The PSK-20 is a crystal controlled QRP XCVR for 20m, power out is about 2-3W PEP, and the stability is excellent. The rig is tailored for use with Digipan, but should work well with other software.



The kit is very easy to assemble and align. I finished my kit in about 8-10 hours, (I go slow and take my time) instructions are well written and clear. The kit uses top quality parts and the PCB is first rate--solder masked and silk-screened.



There a only four toroids to wind, like other Small Wonder Labs Kits, Dave Benson, owner/designer uses tunable inductors to simplify building and alignment.



Also there is _NO_ chassis wiring, all the connectors are PCB mounted--when you are done building the rig it's time to play!



Using the PSK-20 couldn't be easier, just hook it up to your computer with _STANDARD_ cables (available at places like Radio Shack and elsewhere) and you're good to go. It took me less than 10min to install DigiPan, connect the radio to the computer, and start copying PSK-31 signals.



The RX is great, with only an attic dipole I easily copy signals from all over the world. Signal reports from other stations compliment the stability and clean signal. Many can't believe I am running only two watts. (PSK-31 lends itself well to QRP operation) Unlike most commercial rigs the PSK-31 is designed from the ground up as a PSK-31 rig, one interesting feature is the bandwidth that the PSK20 covers, about 3.5kHz of 20 meters, 14.0695 to 14.073 kHz.



Bottom line for me, I'd buy another PSK-20 without hesitation. It is an easy and fun way to get involved with a fun mode, PSK-31. I've had my PSK-20 up and running for about a week and I've already had QSO with stations all over the USA. Even bagged my first DX the other night and HK3 form Bogota Columbia! This rig's got HooDoo!



Rod Cerkoney, N0RC Fort Collins, CO