Happy to report that I built my U2 kit last week (aside from fully mounting the display in the box, it is complete).? You can see my build here:
You can see in the photos that I used two small pieces of copper waveguide thermal epoxied to the osc for heat sink.?
I boxed it in this case, using this case:
which has slots which fit the U2 board nearly perfectly, except for two issues: 1. the display contacts touch the case rail - fixed with some teflon sheet insulation and contact cement, and 2. the turned around PA transistors hit the side of the case and would not allow the board to slide in. I asked a machinist at work to hog out a channel to allow the FETs to clear.? This can likely be avoided if you know you wish to use this box prior to building the kit and can add length to the FET leads and extend their bodies a little further inward on the board.
I put it on the air in QRSS mode on Friday evening and saw my first grabbed sigs and then switched to FSKCW to more easily see them:
Last night, I tried my first WSPRs (sans-GPS) and was excited to see many spots:
Thanks to Hans (and beta testers) for putting out such a great value kit!? I can see I'm going to have lots of fun with it.? I've just placed an order for each of the new chips and 30 & 40m filter kits to extend my playground.
