"Development of QSX Transceiver kit" by G0UPL

Details and hi-res photos of the upcoming kit from Hans G0UPL - good stuff to read.

Download the pdf here (2MB, 29 pages).
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OQ5M unknowingly demos RGO One modular transceiver kit

Boris LZ2JR appears to be making significant progress bringing his new modular transceiver kit to life. One of the RGO ONE prototypes seemed to be doing a fine job in November's LZDX contest working, among others, fellow blogger Franki ON5ZO/OQ5M at the 00:30 mark.

I emailed LZ2JR a few months ago inquiring of the progress of his project and was assured that he intends to bring it to market, although progress has been slow. It is a good-looking radio and it will be interesting to see how it performs.

Boris, if you need a CW-oriented beta-tester, I'm here for you buddy, friend, amigo, приятел...! Like my father told me decades ago (on an entirely different topic) - it never hurts to ask ;-)

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Love at first sight: Elecraft KX2 meets Hardrock 50

They make a beautiful couple...

I finally managed to break the Anan 10e-Hardrock 50 combo that formed a couple weeks ago after finishing construction of the amplifier kit. They play so well together but it was time for the little HR50 to be introduced to other playmates.

HobbyPCB sells a "KX2/KX3 Interface Kit" that allows either of those rigs to be mated to the Hardrock 50 in such a way as to be able to allow the transceiver to control automatic band changes made to the Hardrock.

Another QRPp circumnavigator

The latest in a series of lightweight WSPRing balloons has completed a 25,000 mile journey around the world.

Along the way, it also broke the likely speed record for such balloons, hitting a top speed of 193 mph. Of course from the balloon's perspective, even at that speed, everything was calm.

The balloon - U3B-24 - was launched from Toronto by David VE3KCL on 18 December and was last reported off the east coast of Florida on 28 December, making for an average speed of 100 mph for the 10 day trip.

The payload weighed just under 10 grams and consisted of 16 tiny solar cells and a modified U3S transmitter. After the upcoming release of Hans G0UPL's QSX kit, Hans promises to start offering a U3b transmitter kit designed for lightweight balloon operation.

More about this latest circumnavigation can be read here.
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Thoughts on the Hardrock-50

Parts, panels and rear panel board, front panel board, QSK board, main circuit board

I finished building my Hardrock-50 (with QSK option) about a week ago and have been using it daily since then. Actually, I'm not quite through with it since I still have the built-in autotuner to install. The instructions recommend successfully building the basic amplifier first, before adding the autotuner, so that is what I've done.

Once the tuner is installed and configured I plan to make a video of the amp's operation using both keying modes (PTT and carrier-operated relay keying), with rigs that have a PTT out and others that don't. For now though, some thoughts: