A couple of months ago, a group of us were talking on the repeater, and the talk got around to building stuff. One of the guys said, “You can’t really build anything anymore.” I almost fell out of my chair. There are all kinds of kits out there that hams can build.
So, yesterday, I gave a presentation to our club on kits and kit building. After the short presentation–whichi I’ve included below–we had a show-and-tell of kits that were brought in by the members and were in various stages of completion. (Pictures coming soon!)
So, what are you going to build next?
Beyond Heathkit: Ham radio kits are alive and well
–and you can build them
Sources
- Elecrafthttp://www.elecraft.com/
- TenTechttp://radio.tentec.com/kits
- MFJ (Vectronics)http://www.vectronics.com/
- Ramseyhttp://www.ramseyelectronics.com/
- Vellemanhttp://www.velleman.be/
- Small Wonder Labshttp://www.smallwonderlabs.com/
- Wilderness Radiohttp://www.fix.net/~jparker/wild.html
- Milestone Technologieshttp://www.mtechnologies.com/
- Almost All Digital Electronicshttp://www.aade.com/index.html
- FAR Circuitshttp://www.farcircuits.net/
- Jackson Harborhttp://jacksonharbor.home.att.net/ham.html
- QRPmehttp://www.megalink.net/~w1rex/QRPme
- Linear Amp UKhttp://www.linamp.co.uk/
Sources: QRP Clubs:
- American QRP Clubhttp://www.amqrp.org/
- Four State QRP Clubhttp://4sqrp.com/kits/kits.htm
- NORTEXThttp://www.kk5na.com/nortex.htm
Tools (from Electronic Construction from A to Z)
- Long nose (needle nose) pliers
- Cutting pliersflush cutting rather than "diagonal
cutting pliers." - Screwdrivers
- two large screwdrivers, one with a straight tip for slotted screws,
the other with a Phillips head - Set of miniature screwdrivers, often called jeweler’s screwdrivers.
- two large screwdrivers, one with a straight tip for slotted screws,
- Hobby knife
- Magnifier. I use magnifying glasses, but others prefer a light with a built-in
magnifier - Clip leads
- Sheet Metal Nibbling Tool
- Reamer
- Soldering tools:
- Soldering iron.
- Solder
- Desoldering toolsolder sucker or solder wick
- Multimeter
Other Links
- Electronic Construction from A to Zhttp://www.mtechnologies.com/building/atoz.htm
- The Art of Kit Buildinghttp://ww2.netnitco.net/users/wt9w/kit%20building.html
- Crystal Sets to Sideband: A Guide to Building an Amateur Radio Stationhttp://www.qsl.net/k3pd/book.html
- Colorado QRP Club Links Pagehttp://www.cqc.org/kits.htm
- Manhattan Construction by K7QOhttp://www.k7qo.net/manhattan.pdf
- W1WC’s Ham Kits Page
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