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#11
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Surface mount stuff is fine. I use them all the time in my transverters
(VHF-microwave) and my other homebrew stuff. OK on your 160-10 homebrew. My example (my Yaesu FT857 is what I had in mind) covers that PLUS 6, 2 and 432. How much would it cost to add those to your radio? Probably not too much, but it might still get you close to the $700 Yaesu. And, yours is not counting labor costs. How many hours did it take to build? When I build, I "pay" myself at $20/hours...less than that and I stay in bed! ![]() count my labor costs, it uses up my time where I COULD be making $20/hour. Don't get me wrong, I still love to build stuff!!! Scott N0EDV Harold E. Johnson wrote: "Scott" wrote in message .. . Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... ![]() these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas ![]() Scott N0EDV Not really so Scott. Try the PicaStar group. By the grace of Analog Devices in their enlightened policy of providing samples of even their most expensive devices, and the price of SMD ((NOT really so difficult to work with, just different. And you purchase new resistors and capacitors at $0.003 each (Not a typo, 3/10ths of a cent) from DigiKey!)) Mine came in at something under half your $700 figure for a 160-10 meter transceiver with more bells and whistles than the average $2000 radio, and more performance than most radios costing twice that! W4ZCB -- Scott http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/ Gotta Fly or Gonna Die Building RV-4 (Super Slow Build Version) |
#12
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![]() "Scott" wrote in message .. . Surface mount stuff is fine. I use them all the time in my transverters (VHF-microwave) and my other homebrew stuff. OK on your 160-10 homebrew. My example (my Yaesu FT857 is what I had in mind) covers that PLUS 6, 2 and 432. How much would it cost to add those to your radio? Probably not too much, but it might still get you close to the $700 Yaesu. And, yours is not counting labor costs. How many hours did it take to build? When I build, I "pay" myself at $20/hours...less than that and I stay in bed! ![]() I know it's a hobby, but even if I don't count my labor costs, it uses up my time where I COULD be making $20/hour. Don't get me wrong, I still love to build stuff!!! Scott N0EDV That's funny Scott. I put $20 an hour into a coffee can when I design/build a project. Figure I couldn't have more fun if I paid that much for it. About every 3 years, there's enough there for a 3-4 week vacation in the UK. With Bush spending money we don't have like a drunken sailor, the dollar is in the tank everywhere so it may be 4 years this time. Either that or I have to build more stuff. W4ZCB |
#13
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On Oct 29, 4:48 am, "Harold E. Johnson" wrote:
"Scott" wrote in message .. . Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... ![]() these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas ![]() Scott N0EDV Not really so Scott. Try the PicaStar group. By the grace of Analog Devices in their enlightened policy of providing samples of even their most expensive devices, and the price of SMD ((NOT really so difficult to work with, just different. And you purchase new resistors and capacitors at $0.003 each (Not a typo, 3/10ths of a cent) from DigiKey!)) Mine came in at something under half your $700 figure for a 160-10 meter transceiver with more bells and whistles than the average $2000 radio, and more performance than most radios costing twice that! W4ZCB And I'll tell you, I am damned thankful that there are people like Harold, and Bill Carver, and Martein Bakker, who set the bar pretty high and give me inspiration to work on projects that will provide even better performance--performance that you simply cannot buy anywhere else at any price. Largely through an understanding of the goals that Bill and Harold, especially, have been working toward, I've become rather rabid in my pursuit of excellence in certain aspects of receiver behavior. Cheers, Tom |
#14
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I'm one of the 4 who submitted an entry to the ARRL HBC contest. I
figure I put maybe 500 to 600 hours into the project. I had relocated in February to take a new job, and my family wasn't able to join me until July. Consequently, I had the time on my hands anyway. This may seem like a lot of time, but when you consider the average American spends that much time watching TV in four months, I don't feel too bad. I consider it time well spent. I learned a lot that I will be able to use on future projects. I'm sure that the other contest participants would agree. 73 - Dave NM0S |
#15
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Harold E. Johnson wrote:
With Bush spending money we don't have like a drunken sailor, the dollar is in the tank everywhere so it may be 4 years this time. Either that or I have to build more stuff. Bush isn't spending it, it's the damned Congress. -- One meter, to within 0.0125% accuracy (off by just under .005 inches): Three feet Three inches Three eights of an inch |
#16
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NM0S wrote:
I'm one of the 4 who submitted an entry to the ARRL HBC contest. Feel free to brag here in further detail. ![]() -- One meter, to within 0.0125% accuracy (off by just under .005 inches): Three feet Three inches Three eights of an inch |
#17
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On Oct 30, 1:59 pm, clifto wrote:
NM0S wrote: I'm one of the 4 who submitted an entry to the ARRL HBC contest. Feel free to brag here in further detail. ![]() OK, don't mind if I do. Basically, my design is a direct-conversion rig, with a Class-E PA running about 90% efficiency DC-RF (CW anyway), delivering 5 to 6W PEP. Finals are push-pull 2N7000 MOSFETS, directly driven by a 74HC86 logic gate. VFO is a PTO covering the full 40M band. Voice mode is Double-sideband, suppressed carrier. There is an AGC on the receive, and ALC on transmit, so there is only one knob, for tuning. The receiver uses the PA MOSFETS as the receive mixer. The audio amp is discrete transistor design, with automatic bias control to reduce current consumption when no signals are received. Total current draw on RX is 30mA, on TX 600mA. There is a 200 Hz CW filter that is switched in when a key is plugged into the KEY jack. Total parts cost, including enclosure and PCB is $40. Will work from 9V with reduced power. ICs used a LM324, LM3900, LM339, 74HC86 and 78L05 I'll make boards available if there is interest. 73 - Dave NM0S |
#18
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I hear ya, man! My problem exactly! I can still afford to build
microwave gear but I can't afford the drive to get to one of the better sites around here (about 6 hours away from me) ![]() Scott N0EDV Harold E. Johnson wrote: "Scott" wrote in message .. . Surface mount stuff is fine. I use them all the time in my transverters (VHF-microwave) and my other homebrew stuff. OK on your 160-10 homebrew. My example (my Yaesu FT857 is what I had in mind) covers that PLUS 6, 2 and 432. How much would it cost to add those to your radio? Probably not too much, but it might still get you close to the $700 Yaesu. And, yours is not counting labor costs. How many hours did it take to build? When I build, I "pay" myself at $20/hours...less than that and I stay in bed! ![]() I know it's a hobby, but even if I don't count my labor costs, it uses up my time where I COULD be making $20/hour. Don't get me wrong, I still love to build stuff!!! Scott N0EDV That's funny Scott. I put $20 an hour into a coffee can when I design/build a project. Figure I couldn't have more fun if I paid that much for it. About every 3 years, there's enough there for a 3-4 week vacation in the UK. With Bush spending money we don't have like a drunken sailor, the dollar is in the tank everywhere so it may be 4 years this time. Either that or I have to build more stuff. W4ZCB -- Scott http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/ Gotta Fly or Gonna Die Building RV-4 (Super Slow Build Version) |
#19
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geek wrote:
Hi, On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:26:50 +0000, no.spam wrote: snip It's the $50 limit! Thats way too low under $100 then it's doable. I'm not an RF collector by any means, but a HiFi guy and I'm sure I have enough stuff kicking around to make such with a $0 output. I did breadboard a tube SSB exciter for 27MHz... dunno of its spectral purity but it got out *shrug* Cheers, __ Gregg Us audio guys have enough parts to make one of these: http://web.telia.com/~u85920178/tx/317-tx.htm I just whipped one up the other night,did some testing on the top of the AM BCB.. ;-) A fun and neat little circuit. |
#20
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Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-(
IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. =============================== In the UK ,in order to obtain an Intermediate Level AR licence ,a candidate ,prior to sitting a multiple choice type of exam (test) will have to construct a (simple) piece of amateur radio related kit. It can be as simple as a sounder to practice Morse telegraphy or perhaps a simple receiver or a VFO or a crystal calibrator ,etc. Prior to the construction the candidate will be assessed on basic soldering / de-soldering skills. Frank GM0CSZ / KN6WH |
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