Many thanks to Pete (WB9FLW) who notes:
“QRP Labs has just come out with the full feature CW Transceiver Kit for $49.00!”
(Source: QRP Labs)
The “QCX” is a 5W, single-band, high performance CW transceiver kit with WSPR beacon, and built-in alignment/test equipment. It is available for 80, 60, 40, 30, 20 or 17m bands. See below for the long list of features! This is a kit of parts that you assemble yourself. There are NO surface mount components to solder (two SMD ICs are already factory pre-soldered). We do not currently have any enclosure available for this kit, it may be something we investigate in the future.
Features
- Easy to build, single-board design, 10 x 8cm, all controls are board-mounted
- Professional quality double-sided, through-hole plated, silk-screen printed PCB
- Choice of single band, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20 or 17m
- Approximately 3-5W CW output (depending on supply voltage)
- 7-16V recommended supply voltage
- Class E power amplifier, transistors run cool… even with no heatsinks
- 7-element Low Pass Filter ensures regulatory compliance
- CW envelope shaping to remove key clicks
- High performance receiver with at least 50dB of unwanted sideband cancellation
- 200Hz CW filter with no ringing
- Si5351A Synthesized VFO with rotary encoder tuning
- 16 x 2 blue backlight LCD screen
- Iambic keyer or straight key option included in the firmware
- Simple Digital Signal Processing assisted CW decoder, displayed real-time on-screen
- On-screen S-meter
- Full or semi QSK operation using fast solid-state transmit/receive switching
- Frequency presets, VFO A/B Split operation, RIT, configurable CW Offset
- Configurable sidetone frequency and volume
- Connectors: Power, 3.5mm keyer jack, 3.5mm stereo earphone jack, BNC RF output
- Onboard microswitch can be used as a simple straight Morse key
- Built-in test signal generator and alignment tools to complete simple set-up adjustments
- Built-in test equipment: voltmeter, RF power meter, frequency counter, signal generator
- Beacon mode, supporting automatic CW or WSPR operation
- GPS interface for reference frequency calibration and time-keeping (for WSPR beacon)
Pete adds:
Check the manual out, it’s 138 pages! Even a rank beginner can successfully build this rig.
Thank you for the tip, Pete! That’s an amazing amount of transceiver for the price. You’re right, I believe even a new kit builder could build this transceiver.