What Kit to Build, Part Eight

You have followed the series and you have built all of the kits, the
VE3DNL Marker Generator from Jay Bromley and the Ft. Smith Qrp Group, the TiCK
Keyer from Embedded Research, the SWL+ from Dave Benson at Small Wonder
Labs, the ZM-2 Tuner from Scott Gregson at Emtech, either or both the
135 ft. dipole fed with ladderline or the Gusher 2L from Joe Everhart, The
Red Hot Radio NorCal 20 or Red Hot 40 from Dave Fifield, and finally the K2
from Eric Swartz and Wayne Burdick at Elecraft. You are a master builder now
right? Wrong, there is the next step in building, and I have a suggestion
as to what you should build next.

Also, what is there left for the guys who have built the K2?? You have
built the ultimate pcboard through hole parts kit, now it is time to
expand your horizons. Learn a new skill, and build a transceiver that is an
outstanding performer. The 2N2/40 designed by Jim Kortge has an
unbelievable receiver in it, and the rig is a lot of fun to build. This
is the next step for you K2'ers. Keep on melting solder.

The 2N2/40 that was featured in the winter issue of QRPp and designed by
Jim Kortge, K8IQY. This rig is built using a piece of 5" x 7" circuit board
with pads glued on as anchor points for the components. All of the
plans are in the Winter issue of QRPP and the Spring issue of QRPp has a
couple of pages of corrections. If you do not subscribe to QRPp, you can buy the
single issue from Paul Harden at QuickSilver Printing, P.O. Box 757,
Socorro, NM 87801. The cost is $12 and he will even include the
additional corrections that were in the spring issue. The price includes shipping.

This book will take you through building the 2N2/40 using the pads.
Everything you need is there. Paul Harden did the illustrations, and
they make building the rig a piece of cake. Several have successfully
reproduced the rig, and all who build it say that they have learned a new building
style that is really neat. The advantage of this type of building is
that that you can modifiy the circuit just by adding pads and components. An
experimenters dream. And, there is another plus to this project. The
Arizona ScQRPions have a board kit that consists of a screen printed
layout of the pads on a board. All you have to do is cut up the pads from the
stips of circuit board provided and glue them to the board, tin them,
and then start building. To get the board kit, contact Bob Hightower,
KI7MN, at [email protected] for current pricing and ordering information. 
The board kit is a good deal and will save you a lot of time.

This concludes the What Kit to Build series and I hope that you have
enjoyed it. If you were at Hamcom, this was my presentation there at the QRP
Forum. Many of you have sent private email with questions and words of
encouragement. I thank each and everyone of you for your interest and
kind words, they are appreciated. George Heron has asked for, and I have
granted first publication rights to this series. Several have asked to put it
on their web pages, and I ask that you not do that until George has
published it in his new NJ QRP Club Journal, "The QRP Homebrewer" which will make
its debut this fall.

And finally, this series is my opinion, not fact, nor the final word on
the subject. I have built most of the kits in this series and have operated
those that I have not built. I looked at features of the radios, how
well they worked, and bang for the dollar. Every kit that I mentioned has
champions, and I don't disagree with their right to their opinion, I
just have mine. Grin. Have a good day, and as our friend in New Hampshire
says, "Melt Solder". 

72, Doug, KI6DS