KIT Building

[on6uu]

Hi All,

Already some time now I notice kits are harder to get or some kits are no longer available. A real shame really because kit building is super, it gives you something to do at a rainy day or when when you're monitoring the qrp frequencies. Nothing beats working that dx station with a radio you've built yourself. You may not be the designer of that same radio but you did put it together. To built kits you don't have to be an electronic wizard, soldering iron, some screwdrivers, a multi-meter and common sense are mostly all you need.
In many cases the designer has some people in a list who are willing to put kits together for others.
Another advantage, in most kits one can still work and not everything is in small components but through hole components.

Lately I notice a lot of ready built qrp rigs showing up from China, some with a lot of trouble and frustrating results in output or just common working order. Others launch a transceiver with software not complete making the people who buy the radio some a sort of beta users... Maybe this will improve in the future, maybe it will not, for sure is the fact that kit designers/producers support their products and help people, something which is not always true with the Chinese re-sellers/copy cats .... ..
Most kit designers spent a lot of time designing, testing and re-testing their products giving us buyers the certainty the kit is working ok, if then some Chinese copy cat sees their design, finds it interesting and see a lot of money in it, sell it sometimes for less money then the initial designer, then the designer sees no point anymore in going the extra mile to continue. I'm afraid this is what is happening now. It will not be the end of QRP but for sure it is taking away a lot of the MAGIC.

For sure I'm not the only one who is constantly seeking for kits, if you did find an interesting design or kit, please share it with us. Let's all help the designers, not the copy cats.

have a nice one,
72
on6uu Frank

[w0vt]

I agree with Frank. I miss the availability of new kits. Ham Radio is not what it used to be. That is part of the problem. Parts availability, lack of through hole parts, no code licenses, high cost of parts, are also part of the problem. Then you have the Chinese "knock off kits" for less money causing designers to not waste their time. I find it really sad there is no push for 10 and 15 meter kits now that those bands are open. (I know a couple kits ay you can build their kit for 15 meters but the specs are degraded. Nothing really for 10 meters. It's kind of late for a design to be layed out now. The testing should have been done a couple years ago. Also, more sophisticated kits are harder to build and cost more. I am having a problem paying $500 or $600 for a kit when compared to a Yaesu FT-891 costing only slightly more with a zillion extra features. (Yes I know the current draw is high compared to a real QRP rig.) Never the less, a FT-891 is a real bargain. Even these high priced QRP kits don't have 10 or 15 meters on them. really sad when you realize this Sun Spot cycle will be over before you know it. I've got kits after kits for 160 -17 meters. Leave out 10 and 15 meters and I don't need anymore kits.
Lee, w0vt