Posted: 4/9/2015 12:11:27 PM EDT
|
Has anybody purchased this kit from the guy in India - his reviews seem pretty good on ebay but I was wondering what your experience was with him (and how it was to build the kit)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BITX-VERSION-3B-3C-QRP-SSB-TCVR-BASIC-KIT-/141632095373?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20f9ee448d |
|
Not the full kit, but just ordered two of the AGC/S-Meter kits. Did not take long at all to get them on the way. Have been subscribed to the Yahoo BITX20 group for some time now. He seems to be a great fella and very helpful. Would have no hesitation from ordering from him. I have had good results so far from kits from India. Better then from China as the documentation is better. Kinda like their overall design philosophy, simple, inexpensive, easy to operate and very easy to modify. Really like the case and the modular way that the BITX20b is designed, more then likely will get the full kit one of these days and build it for a 75/20m dual band. Looks to be enough room in the chassis that building it into a multi-band version would be possible. |
|
Rather than buy a kit, how about doing a bit of true homebrewing?
The designer of the BITX Ashhar Farhan VU2ESE still has his pages up at http://www.phonestack.com/farhan/. If you don't want to go all the way with Manhattan construction then just get the pc board and source the parts yourself. Boards are available at http://www.farcircuits.net/ with further information available at http://www.golddredgervideo.com/kc0wox/bitx20/index.htm. Sourcing the parts isn't that difficult if you are willing to wait a few weeks for them to arrive from China. Just do an eBay search. For example the 2N2222 transistor are 50 for $1 shipped. I'm seeing 1N4148 diodes 40 or 50 for $1 shipped. Pick up this resistor assortment for $20 and you'll be 90% of the way there. Source the rest of the bits and widgets. Fire up the soldering iron and have at it. I have a couple of eBay vendors that I've had very good luck with. PM for details. When you're done you can truly say you built it rather than assembled it. |
|
Just one OBTW about those cheap Asian components I get. Check the value of each and every component such as resistors and capacitors prior to adding it to your project. Check each and every transistor and diode for function prior to adding it to your project.
I've had a few resistors and capacitors be out of spec. At the price I get them I can afford to throw away 10% that don't make the grade. Haven't had a problem with transistors or diodes. Jury is still out on ICs but one homebrewer I know uses nothing but the cheap Asian stuff and hasn't gotten burned yet. |
|
If they were currently in business, they would be an option. |
|
Quoted:
If they were currently in business, they would be an option. Quoted:
If they were currently in business, they would be an option. Give them a few weeks I built one before and it was a nice kit |
|
Quoted:
I like the idea (and the practice) of homebrewing but I've been burned before by not being able to get that one unobtanium jehosaphat 
I will check it out, I'll see if I can source the parts - reports forthcoming! I've been studying this design for my next project. Ashhar designed/built it from common parts with simple tools (an oscilloscope is recommended). He suggests that you/I first learn to build a simple power supply. Then an oscillator. Then an amp. A filter network, etc. When you put these together you've built a SSB radio. |
|
Quoted:
I've been studying this design for my next project. Ashhar designed/built it from common parts with simple tools (an oscilloscope is recommended). He suggests that you/I first learn to build a simple power supply. Then an oscillator. Then an amp. A filter network, etc. When you put these together you've built a SSB radio. Quoted:
Quoted:
I like the idea (and the practice) of homebrewing but I've been burned before by not being able to get that one unobtanium jehosaphat
I will check it out, I'll see if I can source the parts - reports forthcoming! I've been studying this design for my next project. Ashhar designed/built it from common parts with simple tools (an oscilloscope is recommended). He suggests that you/I first learn to build a simple power supply. Then an oscillator. Then an amp. A filter network, etc. When you put these together you've built a SSB radio. Getting a board and stuffing it with components is fine, when it works. When it doesn't now you have to figure out which stage is causing the problem. That can cause you to take Teslas name in vain. Additionally building in stages allows you to play with different circuits to find the one you like. For example you can build a discrete component audio amp using 2N3904 / 2N3906 transistors and get about 1w out. Switch the circuit a little bit and use TIP31 / TIP32 transistors and get 2w out. Or say screw it and go with an IC such as the LM386 family. Within the LM386 family are different chips to provide the output you want at the input voltage you're working with. Once you like what you see, remove that old stage and plug in the new stage. Another SSB transceiver that has my attention is the Let's Build Something (LBS) design from Pete N6QW. Featured in the last issue QRP Quarterly from QRPARCI. More info on the design available here with the article available here until the next issue comes out. |
|
Since this is semi-relevant to the thread
Lets build something SSB This is the first video in the series and the first article is in QRP quarterly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFZL8avwD3Y |