I bought my 40m Pixie kit for $10 and thought this was a bargain. Then
Andy Cutland sent me this link.
Hi Roger, this is the cheapest i've seen yet. What fantastic value !
Check out this item I found on eBay:
End time: 15 Apr 2015 10:33:10
(Sent from eBay Mobile for Android)
At
£3.19 with free shipping there is no way you could make this cheaper in my view. Remember this price includes a crystal, PCB and
all the board mounted parts. This looks identical to mine which works very well. This is a refined Pixie and performance has exceeded expectations. Netting is excellent TX to RX and AM breakthrough very modest. My power out is about 400mW and a 1uV signal level very good on RX. A totally usable 40m CW rig for not much more than a cup of coffee.
Even with the after-effects of my cerebellum brain bleed I was able to build the kit without any issues.
I built a Pixie 'dead bug' style a while back but its plagued with problems.
ReplyDeleteFor a touch over three quid this has got to be worth a punt!
Mines on order now
Martin G7MRV
This is certainly a good price, some what £1.50 cheaper than I found them for.
ReplyDeleteHow do they do it and ship it at the same time?
Kit manufactures this side of Asia must be tearing their hair out, because it isn't going to stop there with cheap Pixie kits. We are at the tip of the iceberg with this Chinese onslaught!
Meaning there is a lot more to come!
Make things in this country we got no hope?
73 G1KQH
The challenge here maybe, buy a few up and put them on different Bands, like 14MHz and 3.5MHz etc
ReplyDelete73 G1KQH
My frog sounds version has worked on 30m fb with no mods. Output is lower of course. The best fix would be to remove the output pi filter and fit a plug in filter module such as the one Hans g0upl sells on his site. This could be dibe via an external coax pigtail. It would make for a very versatile and compact qrpp rig. The RX/tx offset would need readjustment with each band change.
Delete73's De Andy
PS. It must be very difficult for UK kit providers to compete against these prices. One wonders just how long they will remain viable. I would hate to see any of them go.
One thing Far East is still missing: good, right on spot, customer care. Basically we pay for the raw electronics and accept the missing support. Unfortunately they kidnap our ideas, produce at low cost and kill Western small businesses.
ReplyDeleteI ordered one of these Pixie because I am curious to see if they really send out the antenna socket with a capacitor sticking out of it.
Carefully look at the item pictures and spot other assembly errors...
I agree that USA and European kit manufacturers cannot really compete. Before long the Chinese will produce FT817 replacements and similar QUALITY products. The dynamics of commercial amateur radio will be changed forever as the Japanese manufacturers will just fall by the wayside and lose the market.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the original eBay item has changed. There now seems to be a postal charge.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we have created too much demand hihi.
The components in those photos look like they have just been plonked in and not soldered. I see at least 1 electrolytic cap placed the wrong way round. Good job its diy !
73's
De Andy
I found them for £2.67. Built mine, but its a noise generator. Needs a few small mods ti stop broadcast band interference, and a Good box needed for shielding. Spence de M0STO
ReplyDeleteSorry for the double post but the kits are here and the Customer Service is second to none. Beware the prices change daily inline with currency. http://www.banggood.com/DIY-Radio-40M-CW-Shortwave-Transmitter-Kit-Receiver-7_023-7_026MHz-p-973111.html
ReplyDeleteive bought one already made up ,having not been active for quite some years ,now retired thought i would try QRP CW,would like advice on an antenna and tuner ,and how I could hear my transmitted CW regards G0FUI
ReplyDelete