I am hopeful that the QCX and the SDR that Hans has made available to the Ham community will help some move from being just equipment operators, as we used to call them, into being more knowledgeable and capable in the technical i.e. mechanical and electronic sense. These kits require skill and thinking ability to get them built, setup and maintained. It is encouraging to see some of our group here persevering in the face of repeated problems, and unresolved issues with their build. It is more difficult for folks today because the only indicators of what is going on in a rig are from test instrument displays, which require skill to interpret. I miss the old days when I kept an eye on the plates in my PA tubes to see when they started to show a dull red glow. That meant I was right at the max loading I could get away with. When I messed up, a bright flash and a nasty hole in the plate told me what had happened. Now you need to know how to limit things while doing tests to find out what is going on before pushing things too hard. And often there is no way to limit power, just turn it on and watch for smoke. I spent too many years on a service bench to feel comfortable with just watching to see if I had done things right by NOT seeing the smoke!
Well, this thread is not too pertinent to the QRP labs kits, but I do want the folks who are building and working through issues to know that their efforts encourage an old f**t like me to think this hobby has a good future. Keep on trucking folks!!
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Wes
AE6ZM
Hereford, AZ
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Wes WB7BR