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For $2? piece is accuracy included??? lol??Best Regards Phil
KD2HTN / WA2069SWL
Long: 34.210293 Lat:-78.057048
FM04xf 30dl
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From: Donald Sanders <w4bws1@...>
To: [email protected]; QRP-L <qrp-l@...>; [email protected]; Elecraft Reflector <Elecraft@...>
Sent: Thursday, August 2, 2018 6:00 PM
Subject: [qrp-tech] QRP Multimeter

For those who are not able to go to Harbor Freight and need a small
multimeter at a QRP price.
Check this out:


Dr. Don W4BWS

Ham Radio may not make the world go around.

Ham Radio just makes the voyage more enjoyable.

For those who are not able to go to Harbor Freight and need a small
multimeter at a QRP price.
Check this out:


Dr. Don W4BWS

Ham Radio may not make the world go around.

Ham Radio just makes the voyage more enjoyable.

Assuming that the perf board which you are using is the type with circular pads at each hole (and not the older strip board), I have found that you can improve circuit isolation just by connecting unused pads together and to ground. In critical areas you might need to think a bit more about the layout before you start building. I didn't expect it to be so effective.
I don't have a VNA so it would be interesting if you could do some measurements. I was just comparing how much signal leaks around resistive attentuators.
73 Brian VK4BAP

I'm working on an analog power meter for a club project.
I breadboarded the design to check the fit and assembly
of the 3D enclosure I'm working on for it.

I put both versions on a network analyzer last night.?
Although the perf board version is OK, the PCB version
is much better.? Parts from the same batches were used in both builds.

I also tested 2 digital power meter projects I did for a club project
but haven't gotten into shape yet.? The PCB version is also much
better.

Next time I set up the network analyzer I'll run it from 0 to 50 MHz just to see...

?

-- John Sutter W1JDS CM87xi

I am wondering how current this contact list is. I emailed three people on the list to inquire about checking/repairing my K2. One email bounced back and there was no response from the other two.
George VY1GP

I have used the chromed tilt bails from old Radio Control transmitters .....works great.

73 Kees K5BCQ

That $0.18 per AGC board cost also includes the DHL shipping charge. With DHL you receive your parts in about 1 week and with Hong Kong airmail it takes about 4 weeks (much improved over earlier TATs).

73 Kees K5BCQ

I thought I had responded before but maybe not.

Yes, the 100mm x 100mm seems to be "the standard". EasyEDA and their affiliate JLCPCB for board fabrication were used. Advanced Circuits said they would/could not do it.

I was pleased to find out the JLCPCB board house will allow multiple up designs and will score the boards for a small charge. All I do is keep the design to something which will result in several small boards on one 100mm x 100mm panel. For example; for the ~1" x ~1" AGC board, I send EasyEDA a 1 board Gerber and specify a 4x4 layout on xx qty 100mm x 100mm panels. They take care of the "step and repeat" and scoring. You can even use different sizes of boards on a panel and do the same thing, just remember the scoring can only be done in straight lines.

What I get back is xx panels with 16 AGC boards on each panel. These boards snap apart easily by hand .....and because of this process cost about $0.18 each.

ASRBIF (A Slightly Relevant But Irrefutable Fact) ......
Found out you can also process boards with "notches" on the edge if needed. Tried that for the SWR/Power meter and it worked. The notches were to clear mounting bosses in the Hammond enclosure we selected.

73 Kees K5BCQ

I'd enjoy contributing if some software is needed along the line...
Jack, W8TEE

Chuck,

Why not take this a step further and divide up/develop modular circuits of transmitter or receiver stages? I seem to remember Diz offering these products a while ago but I believe he has discontinued those so you would not be competing with him. Further, it would be a marvelous exercise for those of us here to learn PCB design with the likes of EAGLE or ExpressPCB, etc. Folks could "specialize" in one stage/circuit, have the board houses build the 10 or so boards per stage and the result would be one grand snail mail swap fest of the little boards whistling back and forth across the land in a flurry of mate-ups for receivers, transmitters, or transceivers.

Of course, there would have to be the obligatory standardization and so on, but it would be a grand collaboration.

Personally, I am looking to learn EAGLE and the PCB design/fabrication process with the NorCal 40A VFO circuit. That is one hell of a stable VFO as your videos and our personal experience have demonstrated.

Just a thought.

By the way, the Eagle PCB tutorial link you provided early last month is a honey. I am working my way through it at present.



Further, there is a fine young man on YouTube -- a Cornell engineering grad -- who offers videos on Eagle as well as some fine, reasonably priced texts on Arduino, etc.



..et seq.
--
William, K6WHP
"Cheer up, things could get worse..so I cheered up and, sure enough, things got worse!"

In addition to the responses you have, I would suggest perusing the following link:



These are folks on the Elecraft site who offer to build the K2 and other products; these services have been offered since the K2 came out in the 90s. In some instances, there is a fee charged while others build for free to "older or disabled hams". It will give you an idea of any pricing you might want to do and perhaps charge on a pro rata basis by comparing the effort involved in assembling your ham friend's kit versus assembling an Elecraft K2.

Hope this helps.
--
William, K6WHP
"Cheer up, things could get worse..so I cheered up and, sure enough, things got worse!"

It's a balance between how much is your time worth,? how much you love to build kits and then the need of the recipient.? There are some people I would do for free, and there are others who can pay a per hour fee.? Also the complexity of the kit and how many toroids that need winding..... some hams can make toroids while watching TV just like their wife does knitting..... and there are those like me who count and mark every 5 turns on a piece of paper and then take a picture of? the result and blow it up on my iPhone for a final count. ?
Another option would be to trade for a piece of gear that the recipient has and no longer needs and something that would enhance your shack or test gear list.
Dave K8WPE On ?Tuesday?, ?July? ?31?, ?2018? ?02?:?29?:?55? ?PM? ?EDT, ollie.kolqk@... <ollie.kolqk@...> wrote:

I am assembling a kit for someone and i don 't know what? a nominal fee would be. i do not want to charge too much.
? ? Can someone point me in the right direction of the construction fee? for a medium size? qrp kit might be?
? ? ? ? Thanks.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Ollie? k0lqk

Hi Ollie,

Since you don't know what a nominal fee should be you are apparently not making your living at this. I am an amateur and sometimes do things like this for other hams. If (*IF*) they want to offer a donation I accept it. I never ask for a fee. Only the shipping and any needed parts. Once in a while I get a few dollars or some other item as a gift in appreciation. Sometimes I get a thank you and a report of another ham being able to enjoy getting on the air. It's my hobby and I also get the enjoyment. On the other hand I get to accept or decline based on how many such jobs I want to do. So my answer is "make offer". Sometimes it makes the difference of a distant ham being on the air or not due to low or no budget.

So that is my data point for you. Evaluate that right along with people who might want credit scores and financial statements or deeds to prime land. And others who are in between.

There have been some times when I waived postage and parts reimbursement too. It is case by case.

73,

Bill KU8H

--
bark less - wag more

I am assembling a kit for someone and i don 't know what a nominal fee would be. i do not want to charge too much.
Can someone point me in the right direction of the construction fee for a medium size qrp kit might be?
Thanks.
Ollie k0lqk

My second home computer!? Purchased at the local computer store ( Long's Drug Store, LOL).
73,
Gary
WB6OGD

The last few sets of boards I ordered were from jlcpcb.com .
Their prototype special is $2.00 for 10 100x100 mm 2 layer boards.
They will combine orders for shipping, so price for the 4 different boards would be $8 instead of $5. The boards I have gotten from them were as good a quality as from any of the other board houses I tried.
There is a recent YouTube video of their manufacturing facility at

On their web site is a link to EasyEDA, a free on-line circuit board design software package. I have played around with the software package, but have not ordered any boards designed with it yet.
I have been happy with the sets of boards I have ordered through them, and will probably use them as my primary board supplier from now on.
DuWayne KV4QB
|

Don't forget the TI-99/4A the first (I think) 16 bit machine, or the Sinclair Z80, or the Timex-Sinclair TS2000, a couple of which I dedicated to home-brew projects because they became so cheap.

--
Dave - AC2GL

Gangue,

Well, yes....and no!

I've dealt with many China FAB houses over the years and for the most partalmost EVERY one of them have been anal about running multiple designs as a single pcb. I don't do these little demo offers but I'm sure that they really get into a hissy fit when they think they are doing multiple boarddesigns in what must be a money loosing 'giveaway' deal. When I do a pcb order, it is usually a panel job where the number of boards I order is based on the number of 4'x4' panels it fits on. I generally don't deal with setup charges anymore as I have a go-between who does the ordering. I usually see it incorporated in the per piece price when I get the bill. I just try to keep the per board price as low as possible. My bill for keeping the Rockmite][ board as low as possible was about $2500!

An amusing story(but not that amusing to me!) was that I had to pay a $1100 layout fee for my popular MeSquares project board because they considered it 300 separate pcbs on a panel! I lobbied hard that it was one design and thought I had won but I had to eventually pay the $1100 in order to get my bards shipped. That was quite a big chunk of change out on my Social Security check that month to take a flyer on whether or not the panel would be popular with homebrewers.....

I have found that some FAB houses will allow a score lineor two in a layout but you do have to do some convincing that it is only one design.... As mentioned in another post, if you can connect the separate entities with a ground trace or include them inside a silk screen border so they 'lQQk' like functions of a single design by a casual observer then you might be able to get away with it.

The BIG problem is that all the FAB houses are using a pre-processorsoftware package to check the Gerbers for errors and THAT software flags islands of circuitry that aren't connected to anything else. It comes up as a missing trace report on the computer system and alarm bells go off that they are getting ready to make a board with errors. I've had calls at 2-3am from the system operators in China questioning my board designs!? When I shoot a set of Gerbers off, I usually plan on staying up all night in order to catch a trouble call from China. Sometimes I just can't stand a 2 day delay on a pcb especially if a Buildathon is looming up on the calendar!

So connect the designs with some kind of trace or silk screen elements that make it look like a single project, flood the whole design area with a continuous ground plane and you just might get away with it..... but lets all face it: The price of getting multiple pcb of a single little project is dirt cheap considering that only a few years ago we were fawning over ExpressPCB with 3 boards for $60 and they didn't come with a silk screen!


Rex W1REX


I don't see why they would object.I think that's exactly what Rex (QRPMe.com) does.hina FAB houses over the years and for the most part EVERY one of them have been anal about

I spent most of 20 years (1970/1989) programming (and designing interfaces)
the DG NOVA. A lot of work was done using the front panel lights and
switches.

Bob Macklin
K5MYJ
Seattle, Wa.
"Real Radios Glow In The Dark"

SC/MP... Yes

Actually that and SC/MP II and even a NSC8073 Scmp 3 with Nibble a form of tiny basic
in the rom. I'd say that was the closest thing to the Arduino as it could also program a
2716 or the later 2816 EEproms.

Fun boards and I do take them out fro time to time.

Short story... it was right about then I was working as a product engineer for
NEC MicroComputers Inc. I used to visit with the Aps engineer for NSC
from LI.

Allison