Anyone want to do a "group build" via arfcom?
I am interested in trying to build something, some kind of transceiver. I am open to cw, probably QRP, but really like the concept of the bitx40. I wish it was more of a "kit" than soldering on wires and adding a case, but I love the hopeful lack of alignment and winding coils. Price is good at $60, and I can play with Arduino, which I have no experience with.

Anyone else interested in getting a similar kit and building them around the same time?
My hope would be to have a kit in hand by mid June to July, and build in the evenings this summer, and update a thread here.
I am open to just about any "cheap" (less than $150) transceiver kit. 

Check out 4 state qrp group
http://www.4sqrp.com/index.php
Ive got the bayou jumper about halfway done.  Great project.

Eta: i potatoe wont let me hyperlink.  
And i dont have any problems with recommending these guys.  Good stuff.

Here are a few links for you: LINK.

If this is your first time, try to start with a relatively easy project, learn to solder and obtain a decent multi-meter, a scope, a signal generator or a service monitor. Find an elmer who can teach you some basics.
My first HF radio took me one year to build but I had to make my own case, draw by hand and etch all circuit boards. This was 30+ years ago. No online shopping was available. My dad is a ham and he helped a lot.

we ought to come up with a 40m CW QRP rig that uses a metal AR-15 magazine body as the case.

That sounds like fun, but I am still mostly CW illiterate (working on that) so that particular build doesn't interest me.

I do really like building beginner and intermediate kits. I am in the process of building a 70W HF amp kit I ordered from eBay. It was under $20 for the amp itself, but the price is going to come in closer to $70 or so with the low pass filter, heat sink, enclosure, fan, and various connectors, along with the interface circuit I will need to build to make the filter switch bands along with the radio. 

I think I have all the necessary parts in hand to complete the build. Now I just need some time when I am not exhausted and my wife and kids are out of the house for a day so I can concentrate on it undisturbed.

There have been a few build projects here that several people took part in. There was the little quart size dummy load from last year that was a nice useful item. My parallel resistors turned out so ugly I was embarrassed to post them but I get 50 ohms and the dummy load works, so I am satisfied with it. One day I will order another can and build a neater one. 

It would be cool to have some of the experienced hams do maybe a monthly build thread. Each month have a simple project like a balun or antenna or SWR indicator with links to sources for the parts and a brief tutorial, and then the rest of us could follow along and build the project that month if it interests us. And maybe do seasonal (4 times a year) projects for a more intermediate skill level like a SMD buffer amp build for an IF panadapter tap, or maybe one of the podcast Antenna analyzers, or one of the Coastal Chipworks TNC-PI kits, eventually working up to something like a big HF amp or an mcHF or something.

Getting motivated can be tough. I have not yet started on my $20 HF amp either.

My very latest little home brew project was a microphone effects processor built from a kit and put into a box from an old ethernet hub. It's not the most tidy project but, hey, it works. LOL.



I was lucky to learn everything about ham radio from my dad. He is in his late 70's but still builds little projects. He built several dozen HF amplifiers that looked and worked like professionally made products. My homebrew crap looks like junk, compared to his work. I've posted pictures of some of his work before but here is one them, my favorite. It's a kilowatt HF amplifier based on a single 3CX800a ceramic tube.




BTW, for those interested in small QRP CW radios. Look up: Breadboard Radio. It comes as a kit. Relatively easy to build. I was impressed, considering it's tiny size.

I built the TwoFer from qrpkits.com. I think it was around $40, has VXO frequency control, and puts out about 2 Watts. It comes with a rock for 7.040, but other frequencies can be ordered from Expanded Spectrum Systems.

I don't know how ICM shutting down will affect their crystal supply, though.

Wow that amp does look like it rolled off a commercial assembly line! Very tidy and not a lot of wasted space inside.

No kidding.  That is beautiful work!

Hm... you might have something there.  Maybe design it to key the transmitter when a shot is fired.  "Is that guy shooting CQ CQ CQ?!"

Sounds fun to me. Have a contest to see who can be the most creative, tactical, cartoonish etc.. case.

Ordered the bitx40 today, will update this thread with pictures as I move forward. 

For those that don't CW you look at the QRP Labs kit for a wspr transmitter and can also do beacon mode. Think they added JT65. You can also key it for CW. Cool little kit.

I'd like to build a BitX40 but my summer is super busy. Fall/winter might be more realistic for me.

Please do, looks like a fun kit. I built an ILER40 a while back and before I over volted it, it worked great.

They're building a BITX40 on The Workbench Podcast

At the rate I work I will still be building in the fall.

Here's my BitX40 project.
I was going to use an old base CB radio for the chassis complete with power supply.
Then I realized it would defeat the purpose of the BitX by making it too big to be truly portable.
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Then I ordered a Bud chassis but it was a bit too small.
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Then I found this CB antenna "phasing box".
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After making a new face plate for it, it's just right.
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