Part of the fun of ham radio is making your own gear. Of course, when you make your own stuff, you tend to save some money as well. I hope that this list below adds to your enjoyment of the hobby. The posts below will get you started.
Basic Tools and Materials
A Ham Radio Homebrewing Tool Kit
This basic homebrewing tool kit will allow you to build kits, experiment with antennas, and dip your toes into scratch building your own radios from schematics.
Kits
Four States QRP Group Dummy Load
This dummy load, designed by Dave Cripe NM0S and offered by the Four States QRP Group, is an easy foray into the world of kit building with SMD components. It will handle 10 watts and incorporates a basic power meter as well. At just over $15 shipped, it is a deal that’s hard to pass…
QRPGuys Tri-Band Vertical
Verticals make great compact antennas. This one, the QRPGuys Tri-Band Vertical is a classic kit antenna. It’s a great beginner kit antenna which is perfect for SOTA and POTA. Like all QRPGuys kits that I’ve made, the kit is well planned, the instructions are easy to follow, and the finished product works well in the…
QRPGuys No Tune End Fed Half Wave
About a year ago, I bought a few end fed half wave antenna kits from the QRPGuys. The No Tune End Fed Half Wave is of those that I got out of curiosity. The fact that there is no tuner required seemed intriguing. Basically, I’m skeptical so I’m going to build this one and try…
SMD Soldering Practice: Basic FM Receiver
A few days ago, I received a 5Watter kit from Diz, W8DIZ. I knew that it would contain some small parts but they were even smaller than I imagined. In preparation for soldering smaller and smaller components, I decided that a lower cost kit would offer the practice necessary to solder these small parts. While…
The 4SQRP Hi-Per-Mite CW Audio Filter
The FT-817/818 has been in production for over 20 years and now that I own one, it is easy to see why. It is a fun radio to operate and fits a lot in a small package. There’s really just one thing that I don’t like about it: the wideness of its filtering can make…
The QCX
One of my favorite radios in the shack is the QCX, a QRP kit offered by qrp-labs.com. While the QCX has been in production since 2017, the 2020 updated version featured a nice, tailor made case (optional, but highly recommended) and a pcb which offered a more spaced out design for electronic components. These updates…
Modifications
MTR3b: Power Jack Modification
The Mountain Topper 3 Bander, or MTR3b, is a famous radio and for good reason. It’s a compact, lightweight radio that gets you on 20m, 30m, and 40m. It sips power yet has a 5W output. It has a nice receiver. It’s ruggedly built. However, the power jack didn’t match any other piece of equipment…
CW Morse Nano QRP Morse Code Key
When I first started out operating in the field, I took the only key that I owned: the Speed-X straight key. It is comfortable, adjustable, and responsive. In fact it is one of the keys that people generally recommend that people seek out if they are in the market for an affordable used key. However,…
Simple Projects
Simple Homebrew Helping Hands
When soldering electronics, it is important that the board that you are working on doesn’t move around on you. Basically, a helping hand set helps you hold on to your soldering projects so that your other hands are free to hold the iron and the solder. At times, I have found that the basic helping…
A Simple Homebrew Key
A key is a switch that is used for sending Morse code. When you press down on a key, it completes the circuit which sends your signal out into the world. If it is connected to a radio, that is. In the meantime, you can connect it to an oscillator (a fancy word for buzzer)…
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