European Mono band CW TRX

[on6uu]

Hi,

Been looking for a good mono band trx able to do CW only with a power of +- 5W.  Any suggestions please ?   Many kits are no longer produced,  out of stock and it takes ages to re-stock it seems.

Only european kits please.

tnx es 73
ON6UU

[gil]

Hello,

Did you get a Micro80D? I just replied to your PM... Hadn't seen it before today.

I am in the same boat right now, having lost all my radios. I sure would like to buy another K1 kit, but finances are tighter than ever. Steve Weber isn't releasing any new MTRs soon, so that leaves very little choices. The Rock Mites are great but have no filters. Mono-band transceivers are few and far between. I think TenTec still sells their 80m monobander ($130?). MFJ has one for $99. The others do cost more... The SMK-2 from qrpkits.com is $50.. I don't know of any European kits...

Gil.

[on6uu]

Hi,

Should have mentioned that I also would like some tuning ability.  I'm getting a CUB today but want to build other kits too. 

The K1 is superb indeed but far too expensive,  and I have a KX-3 :-) 8)...  I don't want these high priced transceivers to get wet,  dirty,  dropped to the ground or whatever.  That is why I'm looking for alternatives which cost less but give the satisfaction that you were also building it or did build a part of the trx.  I still remember my first qso with my FOXX-3 on 30mtrs,  it was soooo nice to see what such little thing with so little parts could do.   Of course it has also very big ears.... ..

tnx es 73
Frank ON6UU

[on6uu]

So,  the CUB is alive,  after some BFO and VFO calibration,  setting the receiver BPF for max volume ,  setting offset and finally TX BPF tweaking the power to 1.5W the kit is ready.   First qso's already made.

Some thoughts...
-building the kit was easy,  all parts were in the kit,  I had a plastic washer (or ring) which did not get any attention in the manual.  I did not use it.  Putting the board into the case was a very tight fit.  Easy does it.
-simple kit,  building it takes 2hours,  alignment takes about 1hour..."the relax max way" :-)  The manual can be improved. 
-tuning range of my 40mtr kit is 7.003 to 7.070MHz.  Not bad,  even a bit more then MFJ says. ( you can set it the way you want eg 7.030-7.100)
-power is only 1.5W and not 2.2 or more like MFJ says.  A bit of a disappointment when the meter did not go over 1.5W while aligning the kit.  One can get more power by inserting another final transistor.  Which to take is also in the manual.
-the CUB has no serial number,   I found that strange.
-Although the cub has on board connections for a speaker these are not mentioned in the manual,  a small speaker mark however is on the pcb board.

9340k
Price : 1 band,  70 Khz CW only,  1.5Watt trx without keyer with a nice box and all knobs costing 99.95$ is not a bad price,  importing it to Belgium was a bit more :-)

Overall: Pleased,  nothing more,  nothing less. 

[cockpitbob]

Nice write-up.  I've heard good things about the Cub series of radios.  Good fun for cheap.
Seems like just the thing to add a PicoKeyer to.

How much current does it draw in receive?

[on6uu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wory9jyQvaY

According to MFJ current draw :  Low Power Drain: Use any regulated 12 to 15 VDC source. 36 mA receive, 380 mA transmit

72
Frank
ON6UU