1. Kit Building on the “Cheap”
“for the cheap”
Kit Building on the “Cheap”
The beginning
The beginning

2. Far Circuits Bitx20 Board set $25
EB7HPM’s
board layout found on the internet

3. The board layout reworked

4. After much rework

5. First Contact - W4WEL in North Carolina 1500 miles using 4 watts and a low dipole

6. 2nd Kit – QRP Kits Bitx20a

7. Not bad for $165.00

8. Also available in 17 meter band

9. 1 last 20 meter QRP Rig The Bitx20 Version 3
Semi-kit from India. This one takes a little more work
Different options available for some of the harder-to-get parts
$ $42.00 including postage from India

10. Exciter board

11. Linear and power supply

12. Fully functional 20 meter ssb rig

13. KitsAndParts.Com
RF Toolkits are Electronic Building Blocks. Most RF Toolkits include a small 1.2" x 1.9" PCB plus parts to create an electronic building block. Think of these small kits as a QRP Erector Set.
Most kits cost $8-$10.

14. Kitsandparts.com Universal LowPass Filter Universal BandPass Filter
Universal Dual BandPass Filter
HF RF Amplifier
Crystal Filter
Discrete IF Amplifier - available spring 2009
High Gain IF Amplifier
Universal Diode Ring Mixer
Universal Gilbert Cell HF Mixer
Gilbert Cell Audio Detector
Universal VFO
Universal BFO
Discrete Audio Amplifier
LM386 Audio Amplifier
Universal Voltage Regulator
Generic Development PCB
Transmit Diode Ring Mixer
5 Watt CW RF Amplifier
10 Watt 40+ dB gain MHz Linear RF Amp
Universal PIN Diode Switches
Memory Keyer
Universal SWR bridge
SWR/Power Display - available spring 2009
Freq Counter Display - available spring 2009
Very Stable Freq Standard/Ref Kit (TCO)
Universal Interconnect Kit

15. Kits and parts 40 meter CW Receiver

16. The Future - Software Defined Radio Softrock Lite II $10
The Future - Software Defined Radio Softrock Lite II $10.00 (includes postage)

17. Softrock Lite II Receiver
Tunes khz of selected band depending on soundcard
Frequency centered in the CW portion of the band
Available in choice of 160 – 15 meter bands
$10. including postage
$12 for 15, 20, and 30 meter version

18. Softrock "Xtall+Lite" V9.0 Software Defined Radio

19. Multiband for $45
4 Individual plug-in bandpass filter boards to cover 160 – 10 meters
Remember the plug-in coil days?

20. Electronically switched bandpass filter add-on
1.8 MHz to 30 MHz - $13 or
3.5MHz to 30 MHz plus 6 meter - $13

21. What kind of kit do you want to do?
If surface mount doesn’t scare you – Softrock II Lite as a starter
If you want SSB and you like a little challenge – Bitx Version 3
If you just want to solder – Bitx##kit

22. Softrock lite Probably can be built over 2-3 saturdays
$10 - $12 dollars total expenditure
Good starting point to try SDR

23. Bitx20 version 3 Great kit for someone that wants to “experiment”
Will need to collect parts. Most components not included
Plenty of room for “fat fingers” while building

24. Bitx##a kit Turnkey kit available. Everything included
12 watts output vs 5-6 of version 3
Professional looking case with decals

25. Web Sites kc0wox.com qrpkits.com wb5rvz.com/sdr/ Kitsandparts.com
Pictures and videos of many kits
qrpkits.com
Bitx##a kits
wb5rvz.com/sdr/
Softrock information
Kitsandparts.com
RFtoolkits

26. Kit Forums Yahoo Bitx http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BITX20/
Yahoo Softrock
Kits and Parts