I managed to get my hands on a few of the latest (2020) QCX Plus kits from QRP-Labs and as usual I had no difficulty finding homes for the extra kits, obviously keeping one for myself to build in the wee hours of the morning when it is quieter.
It was – as always – an easy build and I finished in maybe 3.5 hours. The documentation is good and the components even better.
I love building kits and maybe if I am lucky I will win the competition over at The SWLing Post for a MFJ-8100K shortwave receiver kit. That would be an awesome complementary radio!
QCXSo yesterday (it was a Sunday) I had a lot to do, but nothing more important than to cut open the wrappings of the 20m QCX kit that I purchased from QRP-Labs a few months ago. Yes, it was still lying in its protective wrappings after all this time. Work is seriously interfering with my hobbies.
At first when I shook out all the packets with all the little parts into a tray (standard practise), it was a little intimidating. It wasn’t just a small Ultimate3S kit which I can build with my eyes closed in less than an hour. Instead of taking shortcuts (which the documentation warns against) I decided to follow the manual. That in itself was the best advice ever – the 138 page manual is clear and laid out in logical order.
I did take a few shortcuts, purely because I have one of those cute assembly rigs where you can insert the components, hold then in place with a foam block, then flip it over to solder all the leads at once. I did all the caps in the first round, and all the resistors second round. I have a habit of checking each solder joint when I snip the wire and in this case the unit worked first time.
The slowest part of the construction was the toroids. Not because it is difficult, but because my eyes are not so good any more and I have to work under the magnifying light which restricts movement a little. Each one of the 8 wires must be inserted in the correct hole with a tweezer or small longnose.
My PCB is a version 1 so I did the two recommended modifications.
All-in-all a very viable kit and very enjoyable to build and use. I particularly liked the idea of the little microswitch “hand-pump” which gave me no end of giggles.
I’m sorry in advance if I’m going to hurt somebody’s feelings here, but you cannot be a radio ham if you not like small glass bottles that glows in the dark. Even if you are a die-hard solid-state amateur like me, you absolutely HAVE-to-have something that indicates or flashes or twinkles in your shack.
I managed for a while, but then the nixie tube gogga bit me. And the more I read about it, and saw the videos, the more I lusted. Unfortunately, the poor-gogga bit first and my empty wallet reminded me that my lust was higher than my bank account. Of course, I tried importing. It just adds to your misery because sending parcels via the Post Office has become a futile attempt.
Then my new best friend GumTree knocked on my door. I found Raymond in Bedford View who makes beautiful nixie clocks. When you look at his website, you can believe me that the clocks are even prettier in real life. He has already optimised his design to include a FM Radio and it all hangs together very well. Go get his website for more information.
So now in the evenings I sit in my shack and admire my newfound Nixie Tube Clock.
