Beginners making inexpensive, low-power shortwave transceivers from kits.
Everyone is welcome to join us (either building or elmering).

Last updated: 29 January 1999

Contacts: Jim N3QYE (n3qye@w4atc.ncsu.edu) or Gray KE4QIU (mganthon@unity.ncsu.edu)

Participants:Jim N3QYE,  Gray KE4QIU, Brent KO4PY, Jeff N3NPQ,  Joe KF4LNQ, Kemp KF4ARS, Juan KB3CJG, Pat Conway KB6WPA , Rick Crapse KB4TKQ, Norman Young KA4PUV
 
 

QRP Kit Links

Kit Comparison Page
Emtech NW Kits | NW QRP Club
NorCal | NorCal Suppliers List
Dan's Small Parts
Ten Tec QRP Kits
Small Wonder Labs, KU4QO's SW40+ Elmer 101 Project
Kanga US
Oak Hills Labs
Wilderness Radio
Internet QRP Club
KnightLites | KnightLites Projects
KD7S homemade enclosure instructions
KL7JAF projects
 

Project Orders

Gray KE4QIU, Brent KO4PY and I decided (29 January 1999) to go with the SW+ series from Small Wonders Labs for the beginners QRP kit building project.  More info about the SW+ can be found at  the SW+ homepage.

HOW WE DECIDED:
All of the kits we looked at appeared to be very good, had good features and reliable reputations, and it seems one can't go wrong with any of them.  The SW+ and NorCal 40a both have been used in instructional settings in the past (so a lot of support info available that helps teach the theory behind the circuitry) and great supporting documentation.  What made the SW+ stand out over the 40a was that a) it offers a choice of bands, b) option to personalize the enclosure (for the 40a you have to buy the enclosure with the kit), and c) the QRP-L kit building project generated very helpful internet pages that help guide you through the process for the SW40+.

TO ORDER:
Please send your order and check (payable to Small Wonder Labs) to me to arrive by next Friday (2/5) if possible.  Mail to: Jim Price N3QYE, 6642-D Lake Hill Drive, Raleigh NC 27609.  Let me know what options you want (see below).

I'll combine the orders and forward them so we can get a bulk discount.  People living far from Raleigh, NC, should order directly from SWL and have the order shipped directly to them -- the bulk discount applies only to orders shipped to the same location, but if I have to forward it that would offset the savings from the discount and further delay receipt of your kit.

SWL OPTIONS:
a) choose band (80, 40, 30 or 20m) $50 (regular price was $55)
b) do you want the SWL RIT option ($18) ?
c) do you SWL's custom silkscreened enclosure ($35) ?
d) do you want the SWL Freq-Mite Morse frequency counter ($20) ?

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS:
Other companies have options that can be used with the SW+ series, and you might want to consider building them into the rig.  For instance, Dan's offers a $6 universal RIT, and there are other frequency counters and enclosures out there.  The glitziest options are Wilderness Radio's $45 KC1 which is a combined Morse audio frequency counter and CMOS keyer (which will fit inside SWL's custom enclosure), and the $75 KC2 which is a combined keyer/ counter/ SWR meter/ watt meter with LCD digital readout (but which doesn't fit).  I think I'm going to go with the KC1.  You'll need to order non-SWL options on your own.  I'm sure other people doing this project will help if you have any questions building any of the options.

Please check out the Elmer101 link for an idea of how the project might proceed after kits arrive.

If you have any questions or I was unclear about something, please let me know.

Thanks, Jim N3QYE, n3qye@w4atc.ncsu.edu

Feedback from other kit builders

If you want to really learn something, and not just put something together, it'd be hard to beat Dave Benson's (Small Wonder Labs) little 40 meter rig.  It is far lighter than the Ten Tec or EmTech rigs, and full documentation would include the Elmer 101 course that several hundred of us participated in last year.  The Elmer 101 course was reprinted in Volume IV of QRPp and reprints of the whole year of QRPp should soon be available from NorCal.
72, Paul, Wv3j
 

Hi and Welcome!
Cal Tech used the NorCal40a for their intro EE20 class.  David Rutledge was the Prof.  I ordered the class notes and did the kit to learn the theory. It is super.  The NorCal40a is one super rig and the manual out of the box is very good.  It's from Wilderness Radio.
      I also recommend the SW40+, Small Wonder Labs, Dave Benson. This is the update of his classic QRP rig in the handbook and QST some years ago.  Again, this list did an online "Elmer" class that rivals any college level EE class I've seen!  All the info is available on the web, and the QRPp journal featured this class, notes and schematics in its last issue.
     The Ten Tec and Emtech  rigs have good reputations, but these other two seem to have more material already published and offered which seems to me, fit your purposes.  Alternately, you could do the same kind of work using one of these rigs and offer it to the QRP community as a new resourse!
     Good luck!
-MAC-, KF4KSM, Odessa, FL
 

I have built over 2 dozen kits. I suggest OHR. Solid design and construction. Very high quality. Unmatched customer support. I sent Dick a note asking where I could buy a replacement final for the OHR-400. It uses a 2SC2078. He sent one free. (Dan carries them now 3/$6, but at the time you could only buy in 25 quantities from the big houses). I think I got the replacement the next day. He had sent it overnight. That is the way he is. No questions. No charge. Just prompt support.  I use the OHR400 more than any other rig. I have the SCAF, the DD-1, the WM-1 and WM-2, a 100 for 20M, and I just finished a 500 for a friend.
     The real answer to your question is...it depends. I have fiddled with most all. Most all are worth the money. Clearly, the
TenTec and EMTECH rigs are quality pieces. You should have no problem with either.
If you have the money and the patience the K-2 looks like it will be a fine rig.
     If you have questions feel free to ask.
72 de kg0mz wichita ks, qrp-l#764   qrp-z#118
 

You asked:  I know all of these rigs are good, but who, in your opinion, makes the best?  Price is important when asking this questio>

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If your qrp club is looking for a great building project, I really do recommend that you consider the SW+ series of transceivers.  The neat thing is that you won't have to translate the material in the fall issue of QRPp, and the really good news is that NorCal has given Paul Harden permission to sell copies of the Fall issue.  You may contact Paul and get the ordering information, but he will be selling the Fall issue as a stand alone book. We discussed this when we were doing the issue, and Paul suggested that we make it available as a stand alone issue.  I agreed that it was a good idea, but wanted Paul to handle it.  If your club wants to do a group building project, it is easily done.   Contact Dave Benson to buy the kits, and contact Paul Harden to get the Elmer 101 issue of QRPp.  When you finish, you will all have neat radios, and the best thing is that you won't be band limited, as you can build them for 20, 30, 40 and 80 meters.
     I have no financial interests in Small Wonder Labs or Quick Silver Printing, other than I am a satisfied customer.  I edited and published the Fall issue of QRPp, but have given Paul Harden rights to sell the Fall issue of QRPp, the Elmer 101 Issue, as a stand alone book.  I receive no financial reimbursement of any type from either Small Wonder Labs or Quick Silver Printing.
72, Doug, KI6DS
 

I'm a new ham (Tech+ in December), and I've had mixed success homebrewing (which remains my goal). I finally gave in and bought a kit just to have something reliable to talk on. I would suggest you look into the SW-40+ (or for another band if you like) from Small Wonder Labs <http://www.fix.net/~jparker/sml.html>.  I had absolutely no troubles building it, and the price was right. If you don't want to up for a case (I used a fruit-cake tin), Dave (NN1G, the maker) will sell you the wiring harnesses and other components separately (and cheaply). This kit was th>

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Well, I have never used the Ten Tec little rigs, but I have one of the larger ones and can tell you I am extremely happy not only with the rig, but with the way the company has treated me over the years.  They are a pleasure to do business with, so I am sure you would be satisfied with your relationship, too.  I also own an Emtech NW 40, and you would love it.  I didn't build it, so can't say anything about the building, but the rig works very very well.
72  Mark     KQ0I, Des Moines, Iowa
 

I would seriously look at the NorCal 40A from Wilderness Radio. Besides being a very neat looking and great operating rig, there is an Electronics Course Manual available (from Stanford, I believe) that goes into alot of the technical detail behind the design of the rig.
Tom N9DD,  South Bend, IN
 

Have you looked at the Small Wonders Labs  SW++ series of kits? They are very good rigs, and the documentation is very good, plus the Technical information and building hints are very well documented via the Elmer 101" series on the QRP-L archives, and the QRPp magazine article which published much of the discussion.
     I own an EmTech 30M rig, and a SW-30 also.  I would be hard pressed to make a decision at this point.  I've been involved building the Ten-Tec also, but have not operated it.  They are all very good beginning radios. The EmTech has the more open board layout (physically larger), so for those who are building for the first time, I probably would go that way. They also ahve a good 'section by section' testing procedure, just like the Ten-Tec.  If you build the SW series kit via the QRP-L Elmer series way, they follow that type of plan also; build a section and test, then build another section, etc. The SW++ original manual does not do that.  It just gives you sections to complete-giving specific details to which part to put where. Oak Hills Research (WWW.OHR.COM) also makes very fine kits, so don't overlook them, just in case you had not seen that name before.  They have very detailed instructions similar to the old Heathkit manuals. Rod Johnson  KA7YOU from grid CN97AK near Issaquah, Wa. 160M thru 1296 MHz-higher bands pending
ARCI-QRP #7251   QRP-L #844   NWQRP #120   and others
 

Have you looked at the SW40+ from Small Wonder Labs. There is a wealth of info on construction  in the archives of QRP-L because it was the Elmer online building rig from last summer/fall. The base price is good also $55.00 and you might get a group buy rate too.
73, Skip NC9O
 

Wilderness Radio NC-40A is an excellent kit.  There is a lot of documentation available in back issues of QRPp for it.  I built one, it is a real performer. Costs a little more, but I feel you get more. The Small Wonders SW-40 seems like another winner.  The last issue of QRPp is dedicated to it.  Not as costly, but I've heard nothing but accolades about it.  Don't have one myself, but that could change any time now. As far as performance after they build a rig, they won't go wrong with either one.
Howard Kraus, K2UD
 

I own the Emtech rigs, and can vouch for their capability.  Very good receivers, full 5 watts out, etc.  You should also consider the NorCal 40A, available from Wilderness Radio.  I have it's all-band big brother, the Sierra, and it's an excellent rig.  VFOs are very stable on all of the above. <snip>
     Yes, the Sierra is an updated NorCal 40A circuit with the board designed to take plug in modules for each band.  It's an excellent kit and rig.  It's also available from Wilderness Radio.  There is an add on, the KC-2 (I think it's called), which is a combination keyer, digital dial and power meter. BTW, another reason for building the NorCal 40A is that all controls and jacks are mounded on the board.  So, when you're done stuffing the board, you're done with the rig!  If you done much building, you know that some of the most time consuming work is cutting, stripping and soldering the leads to the audio pot, the Antenna jack, key jack, phone jack, Power jack, etc., and mounting these items.  The 40A also has an optional Digital Dial/Keyer. The Sierra is also designed in above manner.  The Sierra also has a Variable IF Bandwidth control which works very well. I've used both the Sierra and the Emtech rigs in QRP contests and placed in the top ten with both.
     There are also some good kits available from Oak Hills Research and from Dave Benson's Small Wonder Labs which would suit your purpose.  I've built kits from both.  I'm sure some of your "advisors" have mentioned them. The fact is, there are a lot of good tranceiver kits out there today that would work for you.  Just pick from the companies mentioned, based on your groups criteria, and you can't go far wrong.<snip>
     I've built several [EMTECH rigs], and don't believe you'd have any trouble at all with the EMTECH versions.  Roy Gregson, W6EMT, the designer, originally had Dan kit his first design. Later, he redesigned and improved the rig, adding a  Variable Bandwidth filter (similar to the Sierra's) and very complete instructions which Dan's version doesn't have.  He then sold the revised kit himself as EMTECH.  The EMTECH instructions use a "build a section and test" approach which is very helpful to new builders.
     There are several experienced builders on the QRP-L list who have built Dan's version and commented about errors in the instructions, etc., however, they generally were able to get the rigs working.  So, If your group has at least one experienced builder, you'd be OK with Dan's version, but be aware, it's not the latest EMTECH design.  On the other hand, I have several of Dan's version NW8020s, and they are good rigs, and certainly a great value.  I used these rigs in QRP contests almost exclusively until recently when I souped my Sierra up to a full 5 watts.
CUL, Bob Kellogg, AE4IC, Greensboro, NC
 

I've built several kits from Dave Benson.  My first QRP rig was an SW30. Then I built a GM30.  Just got a new SW30+ which has improvements over the original SW series. Also built an SST20.  The SST is a very good first time kit.  It's easy to build and get working.  The only reason I would hesitate to recommend it is that it uses a VXO instead of a vfo. The 20 meter version has about 12kHz of coverage with no modifications. There is a lot of mod info available on the web for this rig.  The performance is very good and the kit includes everything.  It's a neat little, and I do mean little, rig.  It's almost small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.
     My personal favorite for a single band kit is the SWxx+ series.  There was an on-line course called ELMER 200 sponsored by some of the guys on QRP-L and they used the SW40+.  Chuck Adams, K5FO, has volumes of info about this kit and there are hundreds of guys who have built them.
73, John WB4OFT
 

I should like to add that the [OHR 100A] speaker audio, when pumped into a bottom-of-the-line-purchased-on-sale Radio Shack
speaker is superb, support from Dick outstanding, and, overall, the money put into this rig a sound investment. It is a bulletproof, solid rig which gives as much fun operating as building. I can't speak for Dick, but you might ask him if he would offer quantity discounts. If that price comes anywhere near the Ten Tec radio, I would opt for the OHR 100A -- that's how good it is:
William Phinizy K6WHP
 

I've built the 20 meter version of Dan's version of the NW 80/20...  I assisted building another... same time same station :-)... and
a third... this one on 40 meters. I had to provide major support on this one... The builder was a software type... lots of energy... lots of motivation... little patience... and marginal skill :-)  He managed to achieve success however and prefers that rig over his Yaesu
>

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Band Suggestions

40 meters is a good all around band because it has activity almost all day.
73, Skip NC9O
 

Which band is best?  Depends.  How much space do you have for an antenna? What are the operating skill levels of those who will be using the rig?  Contesting?  DXing?  Rag chewing? If you have questions feel free to ask.
72 de kg0mz wichita ks, qrp-l#764   qrp-z#118
 

As far as which band is better, it depends on what you have in mind as far as how you will use it.  If you want to get in on the Fox Hunts, they are only on 40 meters.  Most of the QRPers are on 40 meters.  So if you just want to get on and make QSOs, 40 is the place to be.  On the other hand, 40 also tends to be a little crowded.  By using 20 or 30 meters you thin out the crowd and make QSOs over a wider area.  While DX is somewhat difficult on 40, right now with the band conditions the way they are, DX on 20 and 30 is fairly easy, and I suspect 15 is even better.  If DX is your bag, you probably should be on the higher bands.
     You'll be tickled with whatever you decide.  QRP operating is a blast and you meet some of the nicest folks in the world.
72  Mark     KQ0I, Des Moines, Iowa
 

Both 40M and 20M are very hot with QRP, as is the 30M band.  For general purposes, 20 is often considered the best band, because it is 'open' most of the time to somewhere in the world.  However you cannot operate there with a Tech Plus license, or 30M fro that matter, so 40M is the defacto common denominator.
Rod Johnson  KA7YOU
 

Considering that most of these kids won't be going directly for their Generals, you might wish to consider the 40 meter kits either from Ten-Tec or NorCal.  At least 40 yields good nighttime DX and can be used with the lowest class of license.
de W6AXM
 

40 meters is the preferable band for QRP operation.  In fact, if one could have access to only one band, 40 would be the pick.  It's best for the number of hours in any 24 hour time period and it's good for DX as well as close-in traffic. I think most hams will agree with this.  Tom, N1TP, Naples, Florida pular QRP band, but 30 meters is also a great band, because of enhanced DX possibilities, lower noise, etc.
Bob Kellogg, AE4IC, Greensboro, NC
 

As far as which band is best, it depends on what you want to do.  Regional to national (N. Amer.) = 40m.  Can be used
during the day for regional contacts, but not many on during the day. Over 850 mi to DX = 20m.  This is my favorite, because my interest is DX and contesting.  Great during the day and when condx are good as they are becoming now (and for the next 5 years or so) evening and even all night contacts can be made with DX and contacts over 1700 mi. plus or minus.
     I'm surprised you didn't ask about 30m.  30 is probably the best since it is only c.w. without kilowatt stations and has the good properties of 40m and many of the good properties of 20m.  Not a lot of QRM.  A good band for the newer ham, too.  Code speeds are mixed with some ops sending slower and some faster.  20m will have more fast ops than slow for sure.  Most of the slower ops on 20m will be around the QRP freq or at least this end of the band. 40m will have both speeds as well with more slow ops from the QRP freq up.
73,72,
Rich High  W0HEP,  Life's Too Short for $800 Finals
 

Decide your operational objectives (time of day you're most likely be operating, available antenna real estate, etc.) 40 meters tends to be the most forgiving band for time constraints and is even reasonable with respect to antenna real estate requirements ... It's generally active 24 hours a day... 20 meters is mostly a twilight to twilight band with occasional late evening and less occassional pre-dawn openings. 80 meters is dead during daylight and gets progressively better from evening twilight until the sun comes up.
 Gary,   N3GO