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Inexpensive Kit From China
19 May 2015 | by  |
| courtesy: http://www.banggood.com/ |
A recent posting to the GQRP Yahoo Group brought my attention to another inexpensive offering from China. This time it's Bangood's complete "Pixie" type 40m QRP transceiver for the incredible sum of $4.16 (U.S.)! The price includes all components, a nicely silk-screened PCB and free shipping. One really wonders how it is possible to make any profit with such an offering but it obviously is. However, all may not be what it seems. One purchaser, IK1ZYW (Paolo) who built the kit, described his findings in a recent blog posting of his building experience.
In spite of the problems noted above (with some now corrected), the kit still seems a bargain, if one takes the necessary care with construction.
Playing with QRP can often provide ham radio's best "fun for the money" as DX- capable transmitters can often be built for just a few dollars. I vividly recall the fun I had one winter while pursuing the first-ever Tuna Tin W.A.S. endeavour on 7040kHz.
I made many new friends on 7040 that winter and every weekend many of them would listen-in or call to see how my progress was going. The highlight of the adventure was late one Saturday night when I had three New England stations all answer the same CQ ... what amazing fun for a handful of parts at less than $10 ... not including the cost of a can of Tuna!
The little Pixie kit offered above has a power level fully capable of W.A.S. on 40m and with the decrease in solar conditions, 40m will just keep improving. If you purchase and build one of these kits, please let us know how your experience went. The 'interesting' construction notes may be found here.
4 Responses to “Inexpensive Kit From China”
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I bought a Chinese 40m Pixie kit (it looks the same as yours) for $10 and thought that was a bargain. Mine worked first time with an on-the-air QSO shortly after finishing the build. I have since been sent a 7030kHz QRP frequency crystal but I confess I have not tried that hard for QSOs. At your price this is a real bargain.
Steve hi,
looks like Paolo IK1ZYW gave up with the kit, unable to get it to work:
http://ik1zyw.blogspot.it/2015/04/pixie-kit-i-give-up.html
I got mine from eBay, exactly the same kit, cheap components and all, same price and free shipping, but mine works! Other members of the LIDS CW Society (http://www.lids.org.uk/) succesfully built their Pixies, so possibly 7023 could become a new QRP waterhole.
No DX for me until now, but I keep trying.
72,
Marco IZ2LSO
Ordered same kit. I got the IC socket with mine, still have to build the kit. Mine has the 7.023 crystal, I’ll just use it to check it out. I have sockets somewhere for the transistors.
Scott
I have the kit here on the desk and need to assemble it next. I may swap the crystal out for another, It says 7.023 to 7.026 most of that is the extra band here in the states. I purchased 7.040 and 7.030 from Expanded Spectrum Systems back in 2010.
prices still the same 2.55 a crystal.
http://www.expandedspectrumsystems.com/prod4.html