Very excited this morning as I read this announcement on QRP-L posted by Wayne himself:
KX3: Ultra-compact K3/KX1 hybrid; 160-6 m, 10/100 W, all-mode, 32-bit
DSP/SDR, 1.5 lbs.(By the way, I’d like to thank everyone on the list who’s sent us
suggestions for a next-generation portable over the years. Many great
ideas!)73,
Wayne
N6KR
I will update this site with any information I can gather from Dayton! More to come…
When I heard from friends that Ten-Tec had announced two new QRP transceivers at FDiM, I almost fell out of my seat. I’ve heard very little in the way of QRP coming out of Sevierville since the sad news of them dropping the popular/legendary Argonaut series.
Then, this week, when they announced the news on their (new) website, I got even more excited–these transceivers are field portable and small! They very much resemble my Elecraft KX-1.
The new rigs come in two flavors:
Simple enough.
The news, which started with a gasp, though ended with a sigh as many noted that these rigs closely resembled the HB-1A (Made In China) QRP Radio. Could this be? It was a little hard for me to imagine. Being a serious Ten-Tec fan, I hang my hat on the fact that my TT radios are designed and made locally–within a 2 hour drive of my QTH! I didn’t want to hear any more rumors, I needed to know from the horse’s mouth, so I emailed TT sales–they responded:
Yes, the R4020 and R4030 is based off the HB-1A transceiver with some minor modifications. We are the exclusive dealer for the R4020/4030 and will warranty and sell this item from our office in Sevierville, TN. We will offer a 1 year full replacement warranty.
So, it was true–I was not shocked. Why? The price of the R4020/R4030 is only $249. That’s an incredibly low price for a Ten-Tec item. Too low.
I’m not sure what the “minor” modifications are that Ten-Tec made, but I imagine they had to bring it up to FCC compliance and perhaps tweak the receiver a bit. We’ll soon see.
I realized, this morning, that I simply need to forgive Ten-Tec for doing this. I love their equipment and hold their company and employees in the highest regard. I can’t blame them for outsourcing a radio–why?
Bottom line? I’ll probably get one of these and try it (well, after I invest in a nice vintage boat-anchor set up). I’m in no hurry as I have an Elecraft KX1 and it is my favorite QRP radio.
I will post reviews of the new TT radios as they become available (contact me if you have one). In the meantime, I’ve included some useful resource links below.
HB-1A reviews
Tech Specs of the new R4030 and R4020
QRP Friends:
For those of you who don’t know, I’m the founder and director of a newly formed non-profit organization called Ears To Our World (ETOW). ETOW’s mission is to send self-powered shortwave radios to schools in the developing world–you may have seen us recently featured in the Dec. 2009 edition of Popular Communications. You can check us out at:
Many of you have been watching and listening to the reports coming out of Haiti in the aftermath of the recent earthquake. As you can imagine, the need for information in Haiti is urgent and that means, of course, that radios are needed. In light of this crisis, ETOW has decided to temporarily broaden our mission; next week we will send a substantial number of ETOW radios (donated by Eton/Grundig) to Haiti via our partner, Operation USA. We are preparing our radios for shipment as rapidly as we can.
As QRPers and ham radio operators, you know well the power of radio. If you’d like to help, please do what you can. Even a few bucks can help with our expedited shipping costs to get our radios to Haiti. Donations can be made via PayPal on ETOW’s website http://earstoourworld.org.
Let’s all do what we can to help these folks.
Thank you & 72,
Thomas
KF4TZK
In the spirit of a segment from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno which aired in 2005, Marion County, Ohio, amateurs staged a face-off between CW operators and local texters to draw public attention to their 2009 Field Day event.
And it worked.
Mind you, neither CW op [my good friend and fellow RAT, Mike Hansgen (K8RAT) and Bill Finnegan (NR8I)] knew the event was taking place and thus, did not practice beforehand.
After seventy years of broadcasting Canada’s official time, NRC’s shortwave station CHU will move the transmission frequency for the 7335 KHz transmitter to 7850 KHz. The change goes into effect on 01 January 2009 at 00:00 UTC.
Many QRPers use CHU to check propagation and UTC in the field. Follow this link to a full press release on The SWLing Post.
Over half of the 2N2/XX transceiver kits have been sold. You’ll recall (see previous post) that these kits were first offered at Pacificon and have been sold online since then. If you are interested in building one of these kits, you should not wait to make a purchase. Go to NorCal’s website for details.
UPDATE — 12/01/2008
Please read the update below from Doug Hendricks:
Due to problems with the stability of the VFO in the 2N2 kits, we hav suspended shipping until the problem is resolved and we can figure out which parts to put in the remaining kits, and which parts to send out to those we have already shipped. Please bear with us. We will get it right. Also, please, please, please do not send us emails asking where your order is. Every order is safe, and will be filled, we just need time to take care of the problem that we found. Emails to me won’t help, nor will an email to James or Kathy or Dean or Jim K. Thank you for your understanding. 72, Doug, KI6DS
UPDATE – 12/16/08
Hendricks has started shipments again and fixed the VFO problem. Read message posted to QRP-l below:
Finally there is some good news to report!! James tells me that shipping
has resumed on the 2N2xx kits for those that were held up while Jim Kortge
solved the problems in the VFO. Jim did a tremendous amount of work and
we now have the parts to fix the problem. The kits we are shipping now
have the correct parts in them, and those parts are being mailed to all
who previously purchased the kits. Please, please do not email and ask us
where your kit is or when it will be shipped. We are shipping as fast as
possible, and hope to have all kits shipped before the 1st of the year
that have been ordered. (Don’t you just love my sentence structure?? My
English teacher is rolling over in her grave.)We will be accepting new orders sometime in January and it will be
announced here. James, Kathy, Jim K., Dean and Ron are working like crazy
to get your kit to you. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Doug, KI6DS
Hendricks QRP Kits has announced that they will have a prototype of a new CW transceiver kit, designed by Steve Weber (KD1JV), at their Pacificon booth this year. Features of this transceiver include:
Hendricks has not announced a price yet, but they plan to keep it very competitive. Their goal is to have the kits in production in time for Christmas. What a great stocking stuffer!
I will post more information on QRPer as it becomes available.
If you are attending Pacificon, the largest ham radio convention on the west coast of the US, you should consider attending QRPacificon as well. It is a great way to hear some of the experts in the field of QRP and meet fellow QRPers. Information can be found on NorCal’s website.
Below, I have pasted an informative message sent to QRP-l, from James, KA5DVS:
Folks,
We are only 2 days away from the start of Pacificon in San Ramon, CA and the start of our QRPacificon activities.Brief Schedule:
Friday: No host dinner at 6PM followed by homebrew show and tell with prizes
Saturday: Speakers 9AM=11AM and 2PM-4PM, Indoor Flea Market and Vendor night 7PM-?It all starts at 6PM Friday evening with a no host dinner organized by Jim Duffey.
The restaurant is the same as last year:EL Balazo
250 Market Place
San Ramon
(925) 328-0510
Click here for mapWe will meet in the lobby at 5:30 and head over to the restaurant.
After dinner, we are sponsoring a builder show and tell with prizes. Bring your homebrew creations to show off and be judged. We will have categories for tube gear, test gear, radios, etc. Prizes will be given for the best in class.
Saturday morning starts with coffee at 9AM and we have a great speaker lineup:
9AM
Douglas Quagliana, KA2UPW
Introduction to Amateur Radio Satellites
Douglas holds an Extra Class Amateur Radio license
and has been chasing amateur radio satellites since 1996.
His writings have appeared online
and in amateur publications including QRPp, QRP Quarterly,
and the Proceedings of the AMSAT-NA Space Symposiums. His
other amateur radio interests include digital signal
processing, APRS, QRP, and mobile HF. His current amateur
radio work includes a 38k4 baud DSP soundcard modem and a
matching telemetry program for the amateur radio satellite
AO-51 (Echo). Douglas holds a Bachelors Degree in Computer
Science from St. Bonaventure University and a Masters
Degree in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of
Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. He has one patent.10AM Dave Farden, AA0ZU
Homebrew mobile antennas amd operation.
Dave Farden, AA0ZU, was first licensed in 1963 (WA0HAU)
at the age of 14. He has been operating HF mobile, on and
off, since 1965 with a wide variety of vehicles, rigs, and antennas.
The hobby became a career: he is currently a Professor of Electrical
Engineering at North Dakota State University, with professional
interests in communications and signal processing.Dave joins us from North Dakota and will be talking about his homebrew mobile
antennas and experiences operating mobile in North Dakota. If you have worked
a mobile station in North Dakota, especially on the low bands, it is very possible
it was Dave.2PM: Jim Duffey KK6MC
Jim needs no introduction. He has been a previous speaker at Pacificon and always
delivers a great presentation.3PM: Dan Tayloe:
Dan Tayloe has been in ham radio for over 35 years. From day one, Dan
has always been a builder. Dan likes to build more than he likes to
operate. For the last few years, he has been heavily involved in
designing very high performance, very low power direct conversion
receivers. In his spare time he works for Motorola as a cellular>telephony
systems engineer. Dan is married to a very understanding XYL, Vicki, who can
usually be found negotiating for him at hamfests.My presentation is called “Receiver Audio Filter Design – Approaches for
Improved Receiver Audio Performance” I will be mainly taking about R/C
active filter design, but will also touch on other topics like filter Q
and ringing, the need for hearing protection, effects of op-amp
distortion on high performance filters, and impacts of dual overlapping
filters.After the speakers wrap up at 4, we will break for dinner.
We will regroup at the hotel at 7PM. This year, we will not have the Auction but will provide table space
for you to sell any QRP related equipment you would like at our indoor flea market. We will also
have a number of QRP equipment vendors present.On behalf of the entire Norcal QRP Club staff, we hope to see you there All QRP activities are provided courtesy of the Norcal QRP club and are free of charge.
You only need to pay your admission to the Pacificon event to attend.
Pacificon tickets and information are on their website www.pacificon.org72/73
James
KA5DVS
The NorCal QRP club is offering a limited run of their PN2222 based analog transceivers. These transceivers are based on 10 years of prior K8IQY 2N2 designs–an evolution originating from a design contest, Wayne Burdick N6KR, one of the co-founders of Elecraft, proposed for the 1998 Dayton convention.
A total of 500 kits are available – 200 on 20-meters, 100 on 30-meters, and 200 on 40-meters. They are available at $125 each (or $225/two, and $300/three). Only 5 kits per order are available.
These kits will be available for order on October 14th.
–UPDATE 10-13-08 —
Doug Hendricks posted a 2N2/XX update on QRP-l–this includes significant changes to availability. Here’s his message:
Guys, in our excitement at getting the NorCal 2N2xx CW transceiver kits
out we didn’t think things through very well. Here is the problem. This
coming weekend is Pacificon, and all of us will be totally tied up on
Thursday, Friday and Saturday and part of Sunday. The number of kits
available is only 200 on 40 Meters, 200 on 20 Meters, and 100 on 30 Meters
and we will have to monitor sales very closely or there could be a huge
problem. We don’t want to accept orders and not have kits to ship because
they are sold out. We just don’t have anyone available to monitor the
orders.So this is what we are going to do. We will take one half of the kits to
Pacificon to sell in our booth. We will save one half of the kits for
“Internet” sales, so there will be kits for guys who can’t get to
Pacificon. I really doubt if we will sell 250 kits at Pacificon, but I
might be wrong. Even if we do, there will still be kits for those of you
who can’t make it.The window for orders will now be open at 7 AM on Weds. Oct. 21st. I
apologize for any inconvenience that this has caused, but it is the best
solution that we can come up with.Hope to see you at Pacificon. We have a great lineup of speakers and lots
of fun planned. 72, Doug
Links of interest:
Welcome to QRPer.com. This site has been designed to help people connect with and learn about fellow QRPers. It will contain information about QRP radios, QRPers, and their portable set ups. If you would like to contribute a story to this site, please feel free to contact me by leaving a comment on this message.
QRPer.com is set to be live in September 2008. In the meantime, check back. The site will be updated with basic information as we iron out the design.
Cheers & 72,
Tom Witherspoon
KF4TZK