I recently built the 20M version of the softrock Lite II and enjoyed monitoring CW on 20M. I no longer have an HF station, so this little unit is how I get my "fix". Between one use and the next it stopped working. I've spent 3 days, off and on, troubleshooting and have finally determined that the crystal is defective.
This decision was reached after replacing the two LO transistors, pulling several resistors out of the circuit to test them, etc. Finally I swapped out the 20M crystal for the 30M crystal included in the kit. I reasoned that if the 20M crystal were defective I should be able to see at least some sign of life after the switch. The difference was dramatic. Voltages at the LO test points leapt to their listed values. Some were better than when I first completed the kit. More important, when I hooked up to the sound card program (Quisk on Linux) I was able to monitor and record a very clear RTTY signal and a CW signal. This was while using only a 2M/440 mag-mount antenna, by the way, since I have no HF antenna either.
The short of it is that I need to get a new 20M crystal for this rig. I've sent a note to fivedash.com so I assume I'll hear back before long. Just thought it was an interesting outcome to a few days of frustration.
