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Gangue, Indeed, the Favor....email is a phishing email! The second one to hit my email recently. ANY time you get an email. especially a generic email, with very little personal data included you should send it directly to the can. I did get one to my personal account from a friend that I didn't ignore. I made an equally generic response but alsoI found his phone number in my Lobstercon database and gave him a call. He was not the sender and was aware that his account had been hacked. I strung the emailer along to see where it went and if I could glean any identity clues to pass on. My friend said that he had taken it up with his provider and they said that they would take care of it...but whatever they did was not enough. Bogus emails were still being sent out of his account. So always be aware. If somebody sends you an email for help, ignore it. End of that story! Now another story: I'm sorry to be lax in responding to any direct emails to me on this list. One purpose of thei list to to provide space to talk amongst yourselves about building kits, QRPme kits in particular and share experieences and information. Chuck Carpenter SK, W5USJ, was my moderator on this list posted tons of data and responded to kit and building questions but he became a SK in December. You should have seek W5USJ all over my documents and pcbs as he was my ELMER for over 15 years...ever since I met him at Ozarkcon.... We talked almost daily and he provided his seasoned QRP experience freely. He became a ham close to when I was born so I relied heavily on what his opinion was on just about every QRP topic. I MISS HIM! BUT I did have my own opinions and many times I listened but respectfully ignored his advice. One such event was the birth of the Lil' Squall kit. I didn't have any transceivers in my tuna can line and wanted to add a simple one. Halted Specialties was selling a Pixie kit based on a circuit widely known in QRP circles. The kit super CHEAP but the parts and pcb were VERY CHEAP in order to sell a cheap kit. I don't really do CHEAP kits (anymore). I started out kitting a 'stock' TT2 transmitter The parts in my kits was of the same quality as in all my kits as I use the same parts throughout. For Example, the oscillator and low pass filter capacitors are ALL 5% NPO/COG rated with either 100V or 200V ratings depending on the kit. Chuck told me he had no use for those minimalist designs and he wasn't interested. I forged ahead on my own. I wanted to turn that simple design into an experimenter's prokject kit. So I added lots of SIP pins in order to experiment with just about everything as to HOW it worked. The SIP pins allowed changes in oscillator values for changing bands, T/R offset values, crystals, transistors and of course I added a band module. The Lil' Squall was now a nice builder's baseboaard for experimenting with the design and learning from those experiments. I sent Chuck the first kit kitted up and he was strangeely quiet for days. He later admitted that he had FUN configuring and then re-configuring the kit to answer what-if I do this questions. Anyway, right now on my bench: I have 6 kits for the Rockmite line in the debugging stage. I have draft pcbs and built up projects and now I'm working out the bugs. I also have 2 kits on the bench undergoing debugging that involve the FDIM Buildathon which moved to the front burner.... A little scratch built kit for my grand niece & nephew as I'm teaching them about circuits and LEDs when I take of them. A couple of eager little sponges! Next to my bench I have a 2 story custom spiral staircase under construction, designed by me 20 years ago and now finally being built by me. My wife didn't like the design back then and still doesn't like it now. But I'm forging ahead with it while trying to address the MAJOR design features that my wife didn't like then and still doesn't like now...... I'll try to pay more attention to the QRPme kits group in the future. Rex W1REX On 3/29/2025 6:46 PM, Russell Smith via groups.io wrote:

Favor.....Bob A quick question, do you order from Amazo n? Bob

Gangue, ASIDE: I've had to plow out the farm in the last 4 snowstorms with my plow truck with no brakes. No problem pushing snow and stopping but when backing up, I've managed to hit a lot of stuff.. Been trying to fix the brakes whenever the temps are warm enough but no go so far. Finally found the broken line but too cold to do any under chassis work. Gonna knot that off and hire a friend to do the next one.... QRP CONTENT: I'm getting outta here! Going to climb into a big flying tin can and head to Florida! NOT going to WDW! If you happen to be in the Central Florida Fairground this weekend, you just might see me. I'm heading to the ORLANDO HAMCATION! I used to travel down there every year when my father lived in Cocoa. Sadly, he passed away in 2012 and haven't been back there since. But I'll be there this year! I don't have a booth or anything, just walking around. I will be taking a 1/2 full suitcase with me so if anyone wants something from my inventory, I can deliver it in person. I will also be holding up close and personal Buildathons should opportunity arise. Maybe I'll see you there! Rex W1REX

Hi! I just got a package from Rex today! I do have to ask any of you who have built the original Tuna Monitor in the tuna can, are we supposed to supply our own tube? Mine didn't come with one. It's in the BOM, but there's not a manual posted to verify either way. It's easy enough to figure out the electronics from the schematic. I'm not sure I have any Compactrons (or similar pin out) in my waning tube stash. -HRS H. Russell Smith, N0QLT

Gangue, The next LIVE stream Buildathon from QRPme/W1REX is scheduled for Friday night December 13th. That was a mutual time between mine and N1SH's schedules but the date might be pushed back a bit due to me dropping the ball on some pcbs. I have the missing boards in process now but shipping to me and then out to builders adds about 2 weeks to the schedule so Dec 13th is a really tight time frame... The date sounded goo a month ago but stuff happened on the farm that got me really side-tracked. The build kit is a new version of my keyer/paddles kit. As per my homage to the vintage kits that really busted the QRP kitting age wide open: Tuna Tin 2, CB Slider, Herring Aid 5, The Oner, this kit is LOOSLY based on the Sardine Sender. But it isn't an 80m transmitter made with parts from Raddio Shack and it isn't in a sardine tin. Sardine tins are rather nondescript after you remove the paper wrapper or box they come in. This kit is based on the Tuna Salad tin...which looks like a sardine tin only prettier! I have to substitute simpler designs into the buildathon series in order to have the build time from start to finish a more reasonable time for a short 1 to 2 hour time slot. So the 80m transmitter 'sender' in a sardine tin has been morphed into a keyer/paddles Morse sending design in a tuna salad tin that looks like a sardine tin. Maine features are: jumper selected: paddle operation into a transmitter with build in keyer like the Rockmite or single line keyer output for operating into a straight key jack on a simple transmitter Full featured keyer chip with dual messages and pot selected speed selection Built in side tone EASY to build Fits in a beautiful Delamaris Tuna Salad tin. Built in 'piggy bank' base for weight. check it out here: http://qrpme.com/?p=product&id=TSS5 You can buy the kit and build along with the live stream or build later with the archived live stream in a tutorial mode using pause/play Or you can simply watch/enjoy it for FREE as there are no paywalls or passwords to the live stream! It will broadcast on my YouTube broadcast account. There are 4 previous live streams I've hosted over the past year available on my website: http://qrpme.com/ Maybe we will see you there... Rex W1REX

I still have the parts from the 2020 Buildathon Acorn Tube 2 transmitter kit from 2020 that Rex abandoned without completion. Has anyone successfully built this kit? -- 73 Bob KD8CGH

The title says it all...my Buildathon #5 kit arrived today. Special thanks for the included Mantle-Hanging surprise :D Merry Christmas and 73, Tom - N8TPN EN74pq

I've been ordering from Rex since 2014 & had the same issues on & off. Me dealing with sudden cataracts in 2016-2018 took me out, but would have bought more afterwards if I could have got luckier at dealing with pwb version & schematic differences, but rarely was someone building the same kit at the same time I was. Rex has a lot of family & other interests going on simultaneous to QRPme. He will resurface, hold firm. I look forward to the new Rockmite versions when we get to FL for the winter, currently we are buttoning up USFS campgrounds in CO for the next 7 weeks. I want to build it as a 30M 10.116Mhz with the Rock Topper with the Alex Loop magloop tuner. Aaron W4ARB shows how well his Alex Loop works at QRP levels in his YT channel. On 30M POTA no VFO is required for sure so the Rockmite & Amp should be a good combo if the offset is good, I have questions about that as my 63 year old ears aren't as good as they once were. Cheers, Davey - KU9L Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer

I have not been able to determine if a video for Buildathon #4 at Lobstercon2024 was ever posted or streamed. I know that Rex was going to attempt to do it via cellphone connection, and I am wondering if that worked. I have not found it on Rex's Youtube channel, but maybe it was hosted somewhere else. If so, is there a link to that stream or video? My Cento x-1er-O showed up on Mon 22 Jul, so I still need to build it and the LPF kit. I hope everyone had fun at Lobstercon this year, and hope that our schedule will allow my wife and I to attend it next year! 73, Tom - N8TPN

Gangue, I've been working for several months on lots of NEW kits and upgrades to old designs. We had had 3 live streamed video Buildathons using new updates on on old classics. Classic designs are in general simpler from simpler times so using them as the basis kit for a Buildathon allows for quicker builds. Of course, I can never just do an old design, I have to update them for more FUN and what we used to call in the toy business 'play value'. I put a link to a YouTube video on the new kits on my www.QRPme.com homepage. The biggest items are the updated RockMite transceiver and RockTopper Amp now with band module capability and nice extruded aluminum cases. Check it out. I'll be QRT for a couple of days I'm heading off to Lobstercon shortly. Much FUN and many mouths to feed.... Rex W1REX

Gangue, I'm back home from Fairborn Ohio and can stop thinking FDIM thoughts. Its back to QRPme stuff....EXCEPT... my daughter is on a panel of 'experts' on Harpo Marx at the upcoming Marxfest in Coney Island this coming weekend. I've searched for inexpensive hotels near there but inexpensive and NYC just don't go together. AirBnB had some spots but not for this weekend as everything has already been booked. We tried to find a place to camp but have not found spots until AFTER Memorial Day, again a few days late and a few dollars short. We have 3 Marx Brothers fans scouring the net for someplace to stay and coming up empty. I'm now seeking help from 'MY QRPme base' who might be able to provide some local knowledge. Looking for a motel, AirBnB, campground, driveway, or unused room for this weekend withing 'easy' commuting distance to Coney Island were the MarxFest is takig place. Thanks for any assistance you can provide. Rex W1REX

Buildathon #3 is a very cool concept...almost a solderless breadboard or prototyping kinda thing. Rex's use of machine-pin headers throughout in a solder-free format should allow the builder to swap out the band specific parts, and allow multi-band operation for those wanting to try it. I think it's another win-win for the QRP community...thoughtful and fun! Way to go Rex! Looking forward to Buildathon #3. Tom - N8TPN

This is a very nice video of Rex explaining how the Two Tinned Tunas transmitter works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RppR-fKG5vk I will going to get this kit if any are still left. 73 Daniel KK4MRN

Hi - new to the group, need some troubleshooting guidance. I just finished assembling the Two Tinned Tunas kit and have issues. Let me begin by saying that I'm no E.E. - I've been a programmer/analyst since 1967, not an electronic guru. OK, On the positive side, no components let out the magic smoke when I powered up the rig. But... the red LED comes on immediately after applying 13vdc power - no key plugged in. In addition, on my Kenwood TS-890 I do hear a weak tone at 7.029.584 as soon as power is applied. With power off, I checked the key contacts for continuity and they are NOT shorted out. I did some voltage measurements and am puzzled by what I see. At the power input side of R9 (and the base of Q3)I have 13vdc, as expected. On Q3's Emitter and collector is about 3VDC. Why is there voltage there with the key not pressed? Second question - is the LED only supposed to light up when the rig is keyed? Third question - what is P1, the variable resistor supposed to do? Now, taking one step backwards, when I first applied power I noticed the LED light up without being keyed so I shut it off and started checking my work. The one thing I did find is that the instructions for Q2 did not match up with the type of transistor that I got. The instructions had me build those funky little things to plug Q2 into and the outline on the silkscreen did not match the style of the 2N2222 I got. Closer examination showed that I had got the emitter and collector reversed. Not knowing if this may have damaged the Q2, I replaced it with a new one I had tin stock and put it in the right way. Would having the emitter and collector installed reversed on Q2 case any component to be damaged? Anyway, if anyone can shed some light on what might be wrong or where I can look next, that would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Jim / K7TXA

I am building the Beaconator ][ based on my success of the 40th TT2 transmitter. My original on 40M was modified to increase the power with a metal transistor body & heatsink which netted around 850mw output. I didn't have a QSO with it yet as there is much QRN at the RV park and 40M is done for the day by the time I get my wife back from Physical Therapy, plus the skeeters here kill you after 4 pm. I went to the WMA to do a POTA activation, but they close 30min after sunset & there is a 1000x more skeeter supply. I purchased a 2nd 40th TT2 and put it on 30M, I get a decent 800mw from it. I may use it at an activation very soon should my wife's PT and my father-in-law's nursing home rehab visits give me a free morning. My biggest issue is my arthritis with using a straight key. QRPp POTA requires calling CQ endless times before you get your first response and then they trickle in from there. I have a Pico Keyer Plus on order. Seeing the Beaconator ][ has similar circuits plus a Pico Keyer built-in, and it has band modules that also require swapping out cap Cx and L1 inductor with the band module change. I am waiting for my 17M parts to come, but I built up the band modules I had parts for (some robbing of other Tuna kits of course, LOL) and did the power mod to change the final to metal with heatsink. These are my results. 80M - Not built yet. 40M - 530mw, very good CW signal. 30M - 590mw, very good CW signal. 20M - 424mw, very good CW signal. 17M - Not built yet. 18.096MHz crystal. 10M - 092mw, good to very good CW signal. 10M was quite the challenge as it wasn't originally intended on the original design. I used the chart from the Super Tuna band modules to wind two 37-6 toroids to get the 200uH and 270uH inductors, plus scrounged the caps required. Also, Inductor L1 and cap Cx had to be determined. I noticed that the schematic specified that L1 be 10x the values of L2 and L3. Since I was using values from another chart I did not have any 2uH or 2.7uH values for L1. I first tried a 3uH Inductor and the power output was very low. I then tried a 1uH Inductor for L1 and the Output power was 134mw, but the signal had a large chirp on it. I then put two 1uH inductors in series to get 2uH and the signal cleaned up 95-98%, maybe a 2.2uH would be perfect? The power output dropped to 85mw and then I experimented with various caps on Cx from 27pf up to 82pf. The 28.060MHz crystal is oscillating 5.5Khz low. When I choose anything from 39pf to 27pf, the frequency does not pull as low, but the Tuna Helper does not switch the T/R relay even though the waveform sounds great in the receiver. When I choose anything from 47pf up to 82pf, the T/R relay works great on the Tuna Helper, but the transistor frequency pulls further down in freq AND the power output radically starts dropping off. When 10M is open, 92mw will work great with a good antenna, which isn't usually what a POTA antenna setup consists of, but I am willing to give it a go with a dipole kit I have not built yet, I was just waiting to know what band to build it for. The weird part? I tried three 28.060MHz crystals. Two of them resonated at 28.055MHz and the third 28.095MHz (Right in the Digital portion of the band)!!! When I measured the power output, I got 695mw!!!!!! What?!? The signal though, had a large chirp on it from the limitation in L1. It is a Raltron brand and I have no idea what characteristics are different about it other than I am setting this Red Headed stepchild aside to deal with later. After I get my band modules done, I will build up my Sea Sprite from last spring that I could not get to during the Buildathon and then I will commence troubleshooting my Super Tuna ][+ which is built, but has no oscillator signal. I see the red LED from the keying circuit, I just have to find that wrong or backward part that is haunting my power-up tests. Cheers, Davey --KU9L

Digikey dot com provided the inductors and the mica caps I needed to build up a couple of my Lil Squal/Beaconator Band modules. I needed 3.3uH and .330uH inductors plus misc small values. In a previous build, I was able to parallel a 27pf and 56pf cap to get 83pf for the 82pf the chart required (close enough to the tolerance band hopefully), but it is so much nicer to have the actual value in my bin already. For 10M I chose to wind two toroids for the band module using the chart from the Super Tuna band modules. I ordered an 18.096 MHz (QRP Freq) crystal for 17M from Vakits dot com, which also has some varied 7 MHz crystals for a more complete coverage of the 40M band CW portions. These guys have some of the electronic parts Digikey did not and if in stock I get the order in 3 days typically. I have a father-in-law just out of the Hospital who went into Rehab so I am time-challenged to do my anticipated POTA activation, but after we get the inside and outside of his RV refurbished I instead to POTA several times before we head north out of FL for the winter toward Chicago in April and then Colorado in May for the summer to work. Davey --KU9L

I'm just starting to build my Sea Sprinte from the March 2023 Buildathon in which we lost Spectrum Internet during the Build sessions and I also had blown out my ACL then. I am deciding to eliminate the Receiver section since I have a better Icom communication receiver I use with my Tuna Helper T/R switching. Some were reporting ~500-600mw of power via the full-blown version. I am also eliminating the NoTune Antenna Coupler so I can use my 49:1 EFHW. I know it is capable of putting out slightly more power than a half-watt so I am going to ask if anyone has any ideas on the best way to boost that to 700-800mw or so. Since the 10K ohm emitter bias resistor on the 2N3866 is grounded during transmit, there is little resistor to change it. There is less reason IMHO to messing with any of the base voltage dividers as that could cause instability of the Oscillator circuit, however I can play with that when I get that far. I am going to keep it running up in the old Novice band (7.110MHz) portion as I do see some POTA activators up there from time to time and portions of that section are mostly free of FT8 activity except mainly for contesting. Cheers, Davey - KU9L