Date: Sun, 12 Sep 93 18:41:25 -0500 From: adams@chuck.dallas.sgi.com (Charles Adams) Message-Id: <9309122341.AA18425@chuck.dallas.sgi.com> To: qrp@Think.COM Subject: NorthCal 40 Rig ... Now let me give you my impressions of the NorthCal 40 QRP transceiver. I don't have the exact dimensions, but I'd guess 4.5x5.0x2.25" or so. Small and about the same size as the OHR Sprint rig. Doug can give us exact dimensions. The engineering and layout is first class. Imagine a PC Board about the above size. Imagine front panel a rectangular piece of Aluminum with mounting holes (left to right) for AF Gain, RIT Switch, RIT pot, and Tuning. The AF, RIT pot and Tuning hold the front panel to the PC board. The rear panel (looking at it from the back also from left to right) have Key jack, Phone Jack (both 3.5mm I think), On/Off switch, and SO-259 Antenna connector. Both the RIT Switch and On/Off switches pass through the front/rear panels, but do not hold it down. The PC board is by FAR Circuits and is silk screened and not real crowded. Features that I remember and have starred those that I think are a real plus to the rig. 1. Varactor tuned with no noticable drift. 2. QSK without relay ***** 3. RIT ***** 4. Small Size (good rig for backpackers) 5. LOW current drain (12.5 mA on receive and ~150 or so for xmit) my mind is fuzzy on this last figure, but the rig is real real efficient. 6. Price of ~$80 for everything is pretty darn good. 7. Output is variable by internal pot ***** max out about 1.5W i think uses 2SC799. Someone on the net give us the replacement for this. The world supply is dwindling and QRP rigs everywhere seem to use this critter. 8. Adjustment is simple ***** Won't require all the frequency counter and scope stuff that some of the others require. Real neat idea to have variable air trimmer to set the frequency instead of adjusting spacing on the toroid. Doug let me play with the rig a little later on, but 40 seemed deader than a door nail, possibly due to a solar flare. Stations heard earlier at the flea market on a mobile whip sounded great and i think this rig is gonna be a real hit. Now, this is not an advertisement, but only 50 rigs being made in the first run. I think all but 10 have been sold, I know i plopped down my $79 total at the meet after seeing the rig. If it sounds good to you, get your check off to Jim Cates, WA6GER 3241 Eastwood Road Sacramento, CA 95821 I'm sure there will be more kits made up, but if you want one now, act fast. The NN1G rig is setup in my room at the hotel, but not a great antenna setup, but can listen. Haven't really tried to contact anyone yet as my Curtis "Lil Bugger" keyer seems to be having relay problems. It set up for five years in a desk drawer and hadn't been exercised. Another reason why I dislike relays anywhere in any rig or equipment. OK, sorry for the long posting, but gotta get it all down while it's fresh. 72 de k5fo/6 dit dit ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1993 09:21:34 -0800 To: qrp@Think.COM From: burdick@interval.com (Wayne Burdick) Subject: NorCal 40 rig Cc: dh@altair.csustan.edu, mvjf@mvubr.att.com, adams@chuck.dallas.sgi.com Fellow QRPers, I wanted to clear up a few points about the NorCal 40, the first project of NorCal, the Northern California QRP Club, as reviewed by Chuck Adams in a posting yesterday. (And by the way, Chuck, sorry I missed the Foothills flea market on Saturday. Had I known what the turnout at the NorCal setup was going to be, I would have planned to be there to talk about the rig design. Maybe next time.) First, this is a club project--not a commercial product--which is why we intended a run of only 50 kits to start with. A club project is evolving, malleable, imperfect; a commercial product should not be. To the extent that it *may* become a product someday, I suppose we could consider it Beta test. Another important difference between a club rig and a commercial one is, in this case, Doug Hendricks and Jim Cates. These two tireless gentlemen are not your typical purchasing, shipping, and sales department: they're doing this on thier own time, and I am grateful for thier help in making this rig a reality. So while I appreciate Chuck's suggestion that you all mail your checks in early, I'd like everyone to keep in mind that the $75 price of the rig reflects a total payroll of $0.00 divided three ways. Our intent is to give club members a chance to build and operate a rig together, not to make money, which we won't, so the bottom line is a limited supply that will first be offered to club members. Now, regarding Chuck's review: The dimensions are 4.6"W x 4.5"D by 2.2"H (good eye, Chuck). The case is custom made in four parts that attach directly to the PC board, making it very easy to remove either the top or bottom. That's one feature of the HW-8 that I always appreciated. All components, controls, and connectors also mount to the PCB so there's no chassis wiring at all. And we left plenty of room in the case for mods--this is, after all, an evolving, malleable and imperfect club project. Other points: - yes, both the key jack and headphone jack are 3.5mm, by popular demand; - no, the antenna jack is a BNC; - the RX current drain is nominally 15mA but can go higher when loud signals are present; TX current drain is nominally 175mA at about 2 watts out; - measured PA efficiency was 83% on the first rig built, 75% on the second; I used an MRF237 in the first one and got 1 to 3.3 watts out, while Doug (KI6DS) used a 2SC799 and got 1.2 to 2 watts out; the final design may use an MRF607; - the receiver has a novel differential JFET AGC circuit in the AF channel that draws no current; - the receiver is a superhet, with the I.F. at 4.915 MHz and the VFO at a nominal 2.085MHz. Finally, the known quirks and limitations: - there isn't enough AF output to drive a speaker; - the AGC range is limited (JFETs go nonlinear at some point); - like all NE602-based receiver designs, you *will* need the RF gain control at times; - the VFO tuning range is only 35 to 40 KHz using the varactor diode (presenting one of many opportunities for modification); - there is a good, loud "birdie" at 7.022 MHz that is a blessing if you're using it as an extra-band-edge marker during VFO alignment, but a curse if you're using the extra band; fortunately, the birdie can be easily subdued with a series LC circuit on the back of the board, as explained in the manual; - there is no I.F. amp--not really needed on 40 meters--so modifying the rig for 20 meters or above isn't a good idea. I hope that clears things up. If you're interested, please go ahead and *write* to Jim (Jim Cates, WA6GER, 3241 Eastwood Road, Sacramento, CA 95821) to get onto a waiting list. But don't send your precious dollars yet since we may be sold out! We *may* do a second run. If things get wildly out of hand, the rig may become a commercial product, with a bigger price tag, sales tax, phone support, etc., etc. Thanks again, Chuck, for your visit to NorCal territory. I hope others here on QRP@think.com will give us feedback on the rig design and get a chance to try it out. Special thanks to Doug Hendricks for eeking out bargain prices from unwary Silicon Valley surplus houses, keeping the kit price low! Wayne Burdick N6KR wayne@interval.com (415) 354-0928, (415) 592-2700