Salvaging old CB’s for QRP Parts: Part 3

Salvaging old CB’s for QRP Parts: Part 4

Easy Bitx: More details, Tentative Pricing and Release Date

Update 5/11/2020: Article updated to reflect correct information regarding band availability

Ever since HF Signals discontinued the BITX40, there’s been a gap in the available SSB QRP kits out there. Sure, there’s the uBITX, but that’s more complicated multi-band radio. For a beginner, a single band radio is easier to build and understand. Thankfully, the Easy Bitx carries that forward in a new iteration of the BITX design. If you’re not sure what the Easy Bitxis, please check out these two posts:

https://miscdotgeek.com/the-bitx-easy-is-almost-here/
https://miscdotgeek.com/the-bitx-easy-more-details-emerge/

More Easy Bitx Details, Pricing

In talking with Sunil, we’ve been able to come up with some more details about the Easy Bitx. The first thing we’ve learned is that there will be at least three different variations of the kit you’ll be able to purchase:

  • 20m Complete Kit with all parts, plus AGC, VFO, Case for $125 USD + $25 Shipping
    • With minor component changes in the Low Pass Filters, can be used on 80 or 40m
  • Same kit without VFO (build your own)
  • Bare PCB w/ no parts will be under $30 USD (Shipping included)

One important thing to note is that this kit is a work in progress. More features are in development such as a linear amplifier for more output, a digital interface for modes such as JS8Call, FT8, WSPR etc, and even a BFO/VFO will be available with a Nextion display for those so inclined.

The Easy Bitx Kit is designed to be built in 15 stages, with each stage being a small kit all its own as shown here:

This will simplify construction and make building the Easy Bitx, well, easy. Would you like to preview the manual? It’s now available here:

https://amateurradiokits.in/

You can also get a lot more pictures from the Inkits blog:
https://cqbitx.blogspot.com/2020_05_03_archive.html

This video was also posted to Facebook by Sunil and reproduced here with his permission:

Release Date

We all know that commerce has been a mess because of the COVID-19 lockdowns, and India is no different. In fact, compared to the US, their lockdown has been very strict, and consequences of breaking the lockdown quite harsh. But, Inkits has been hard at work, spending countless hours building, writing, and readying for the release.

Right now, India is on lockdown until May 17 2020. Assuming that the lockdown ends then, the kits will be immediately available at Inkits.in. We’ll be keeping an eye on this, and as soon as it’s announced we’ll be updating you here, so make sure to subscribe to this blog as shown in the picture.

The Manual and Build

The manual that’s been written for the Easy Bitx is very thorough, and Sunil has done a great job with it. He’s asked me to go through it and rewrite it as needed. As a result, we’ll be building an Easy Bitx here on This Blog while at the same time massaging the manual to what we hope will do justice to all the hard work that Sunil and his companions have put into this project.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more information as it’s available, and 73!

3 comments

  1. OHHHH YES YES YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had no idea this was in the works! I want one for sure! – de AA9GG

  2. I don’t get how the center zero Vu meter works with the AGC. Is it really a Db meter?

  3. These meters are about 100ua . The meters give approximate reading for some satisfaction.

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