Category: CW

First QRP Portable Ops: Failure!

I recently decided that with the amount of camping I’d like to do, I couldn’t handle sleeping in the back of my Suburban. As much as I like the rig, getting in and out is difficult at best, and there’s no room to sit up, let alone stand up. So, I bought The Tent To …

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Ununs, A new End Fed, and Homebrew Capacitors [YouTube]

Things have been pretty hectic here at Chez Geek, but I’ve made some time this month to work on a new project. Now that the QCX Mini 20 is all fixed up, and I’m making inroads in learning CW, it’s time for a dedicated “spare” antenna. My station has been single-antenna since I restarted radio …

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QCX Mini Troubleshooting and Repair Tips

If you’ve been keeping up on the MiscDotGeek YouTube channel or the QRP Labs Groups.io forum, then you’re likely aware that the QCX Mini has had some teething issues. We’ve already covered the C38 problem, and that’s been fully resolved. Instead we’re going to look at the issue that some builders are having: The inability …

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QCX Mini: C38 Retrospective, and some Troubleshooting

If you’ve been following along on my YouTube Channel, you’ll find that I’ve been having issues getting any sideband cancellation with my QCX Mini. I’ve been troubleshooting it. See the video below for some information about the troubleshooting. But first, remember C38? C38 Woes: Root cause found! On a few QCX Mini’s, C38 blew, causing …

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Building the QCX Mini: What Tools do you Need?

Now that the QCX Mini’s are arriving, hams around the world are looking at the little tiny package that comes in the post and are wondering if they have the tools to build this diminutive little radio. If you’ve built almost any other radio kit, then you have most of the tools already. But we’re …

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QCX: Tips for Winding T1

A lot of hams get pretty stressed out when they think about winding the main transformer in the QCX,. T1. It’s got 4 sets of windings on it, and looks intimidating- But it isn’t! In the video below, we show how easy it can be. It IS tedious. It IS time consuming. And to install …

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Critical QCX Mini Update and some Mini Tips

On 12/3/2020, Hans Summers of QRP Labs released the QCX Mini- a truly miniature 5W CW transceiver. By the December 7, all 997 units were sold! It was definitely exciting to see the response to this new product, and after having built most of my own QCX Mini, I can confirm- it’s an incredible little …

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QCX Mini: Winding and Installing T1

A lot of hams have expressed trepidation about winding and installing T1 on a QCX Mini, QCX+ or even the original QCX, since they’re all the same. T1 looks hard because there are four windings on one toroid. In this video, I wound T1 and installed it on the QCX Mini. All that’s left to …

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QCX Mini Unboxing, and How to learn CW?

Just a week ago, the QCX Mini was released to the world. 997 units sold out in just 4 days, and we were fortunate to get one in the nick of time! It showed up at Ye Olde QTH this evening, and below is an unboxing video that shows all the contents and a review …

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BITX40 PTT Enhancement for Digital or CW

The BITX40 PTT is a simple circuit: A switch grounds out the PTT Relay and the transceiver goes into transmit. As a stripped down SSB radio, this works fine and is simple and uses few parts. Why modify it? The challenge is that the PTT circuit is not solid state. The PTT circuit is just …

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