When I built my qrp-tech Norcal 40a I omitted the analog VFO circuitry and used the W8TEE et al DDS VFO (AD9850-based) from the Modular 49er project.
It works well. I am running code by K4KRW that was written for this VFO. I modified it for use with a superhet rig and made a couple of customizations.
It provides RIT, and a nice little iambic A/B keyer as well.?
FWIW, it took about 10 lines of code changes to get this same VFO code to run with an Si5351a in place of a AD9850.?
Cheers
Michael VE3WMB?