Guys,
You should have a look at the May 2008 QST, page 33. The winner of the ARRL
Homebrew Challenge competition is featured, the TAK-40 SSB and CW transceiver.
It has the following features.
It covers 7 to 7.3 mHz. It meets FCC regulations for spectral purity. It
generates more than 5 watts pep on USB, LSB and CW and can operate in digital
modes. It can be built with ordinary hand tools. Parts are all available from
Digikey, Mouser, Jameco and Amidon. Only a multimeter is needed for
construction. The total cost of parts is $49.50. It includes AGC, an S-meter,
digital frequency readout to 100 Hz, fast and slow tuning rates, a speech
processor, ALC for the transmitter, a transmitter power meter, and a bootloader
that accepts firmware updates via a computer. The firmware is available for
free.
Now I admit that someone would have to go to the trouble of acquiring the parts
and putting them together, but this is a lot of bang for less than 50 bucks and
something that just might be really interesting to a new beginner.
I understand that they have another winner who designed a radio that does not
use a PC or firmware, also that costs less than $50, that they will be
publishing soon.
The ARRL occasionally does do something right.
Jim Hanlon, W8KGI
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