All:
I just finished the Kits and Parts 5 Watter for 40M. As you can see, it's not a beginner's board:
but Diz provides details that, in conjunction with Chuck Adams' excellent assembly manual (downloadable from Diz's site), means a beginner could probably do it with an Elmer looking over their shoulder. There are 4SMD's, 12 toroids/transformers, and just under a bazillion bypass caps, but the result is a very quiet receiver. The first night I copied stations all over the US plus France, Mexico, and a number of Caribbean stations. I have not made a lot of contacts yet, as I wanted to get it into its case first.
Because I plan to take this into the field, I mounted it in a Harbor Freight Apache case, which is watertight. All of the external connections come out the top panel, so there are no holes in the case. Indeed, I'm pretty sure I could float the case in a lake, take it out, and drive my car over it:
Because the 5 Watter sits on a platform in the case, the 20000mAh battery slides under the rig with room left over for paddles and a small headset. I may even get the antenna in their, too. Al (AC8GY) designed the platform:
The block provides a friction point for the vent knob (seen on the front of the picture above) to be tightened against it and hold the platform in place. Thanks, Al!
Jack, W8TEE
Jack
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