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

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... Seems that most stuff homebrewed
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)

"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

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... Seems that most stuff homebrewed
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

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

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

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

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

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)

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.

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