Pipit QRP CW transceiver

 

Way back I designed and built this QRP transceiver for 15m CW. For many months it was the only rig I used. It was really fun and worked remarkably well. It appeared in GQRP SPRAT and is on my website. It produced about 800mW.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/15m-qrp-cw-pipit .

15m Pipit transceiver

This photo of my homebrew 15m QRP CW transceiver was found when I was looking through some old stuff. This was an 800mW transceiver. It worked very well and was the only rig used for several months.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/15m-qrp-cw-pipit .

15m

At the moment 15m is a very useful band. It stays open longer than 10m and with the high sunspot count, it is capable of worldwide DX.  Although many people have migrated to FT8 to chase DX, some may still go on CW.

Back in the mid 1970s I designed the QRP Pipit CW transceiver. For many months it was the only rig used. It worked really well with just a low dipole.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/15m-qrp-cw-pipit.

HF conditions

We can all agree that HF conditions are good on the whole. The higher HF bands are suitable for worldwide contacts and conditions are likely to get better still as we run up to the next solar maximum. At the moment this is forecast to be over a year away still. Bands like 15m, 12m and 10m are good again.

You may get some ideas from my Pipit 15m rig that dates from about 30 years ago.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/15m-qrp-cw-pipit .

10m Tenner QRP CW transceiver

This design is now quite old, but it goes to show that things do not have to be complicated to work. It was derived from my Pipit 15m transceiver.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10m-tenner-qrp-cw .

15m QRP

 A good DX band is 15m. This is mainly a daytime DX band, but evening openings are increasing as the sunspot count and solar flux go up. These days I am on RX far more than TX. 

This was not the case when the Pipit transceiver was designed and built. This would have been over 30 years ago! For several months it was the only rig I used despite only being 800mW. These days there is more FT8 activity, but you cannot beat the thrill of getting heard thouasnds of miles away and having solid QSOs.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/15m-qrp-cw-pipit .

15m Pipit transceiver

This design is now very old. It dates from way before the end of the last century. It appeared in GQRP SPRAT magazine. This was way before digital schematics, so the schematic was hand drawn. It worked some impressive DX.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/15m-qrp-cw-pipit .

21MHz (15m) QRP CW - my homebrew "Pipit"

Many years ago I designed and made this QRP (800mW) CW rig of 15m. 

It worked remarkably well and worked some impressive DX. 

For several months it was the only rig I used, out of choice. Every QSO was so satisfying. It appeared in GQRP SPRAT. It was in the days before schematic drawing packages, so the schematic was hand-drawn. I used Neosid toroids as these were at hand, although I am sure Amidon ones would be suitable with turns adjusted.

Values are on my webpage. As with all my designs, please use this as a starting point for your own ideas and do not be afraid to change things if this makes the design better! The SBL1 mixer can certainly be replaced by similar double balanced mixers or a homebrew version.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/15m-qrp-cw-pipit .

15m QRP CW

It seems amazing that I designed and built my Pipit 15m CW QRP transceiver so long ago!  For a long time this was my main rig and gave me lots of fun. These days FT8 is ousting SSB and CW, but you would be hard pressed to find something as simple as this that really works so well.

15m Pipit QRP transceiver

Pretty sure this has appeared before, but not sure when!

Back in the 1980s I designed an 800mW, VXO controlled, transceiver for 15m CW. For quite a while this was the only rig I used.  As I recall it worked plenty of stations with a low wire dipole. I never seemed to struggle. The receiver was direct conversion.

It worked very well, and far better than I ever expected. It was first designed and built in 1984 and appeared in GQRP SPRAT in 1987.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit

15m CW QRP

This was on before but it is worth repeating.

Many years ago, I needed a simple QRP CW transceiver for 15m. The result was the Pipit, which was built (I think) in 1984. It put out 800mW, but worked plenty of DX with simple, low, wire dipoles.

At one time it was used with a 10/15m trap dipole loaned to me by G3TFX. The design of the Pipit appeared in GQRP SPRAT. A version based on more commonly available toroids would be a good idea. The rig worked really well and for a period was the only rig I used.

These days I suspect there is less CW.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit

15m Pipit QRP CW transceiver

It is amazing to think this was first designed and made in the 1980s! It worked some impressive DX in its day and worked very well with just a low wire dipole. At one time I used a borrowed trap dipole from G3TFX for 10m and 15m and even this worked well.

With just this rig on the bench, it looked quite empty! I am pretty sure this has been on the blog before, but it may give some people some ideas. You definitely don't have to spend much or have high power to have good fun! This rig was 800mW output. If you bought all parts new you'd probably get change from a £20 note.

The USB position just chose a VXO frequency in the SSB part of the band so I could have cross mode QSOs. Most QSOs were CW around 21.060MHz.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit

15m QRP CW Transceiver

Many years ago, I designed and built this little 800mW CW transceiver for 15m. It worked really well, although sadly it was pulled apart years later so the box could be re-used. Now I wish the rig was still complete.

Maybe I should try a rebuild sometime? The first challenge would be finding the box, as I haven't seen it for years. It may be in a box in the loft. I haven't been in the loft since my 2013 stroke. Climbing the loft ladder makes me so giddy these days.

It worked some very impressive DX despite just having a low dipole. Details are on my main website.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit .

Pipit - 15m QRP CW transceiver

Way back in the 1980s I designed and built this tiny transceiver for 15m CW. For months it was the only rig I used. It worked remarkably well with just a simple, low dipole. Output was 800mW. The very first contact was over 4000 miles! Later the case was used to house another transceiver, the Tenner for 10m CW. Looking back, I should never have got rid of this rig. If my health was better, I should rebuild it.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit

15m QRP

Way back in 1984 I designed and built the Pipit 15m 800mW CW transceiver. For months it was the only rig I used. Some good DX was worked. It was written up in GQRP SPRAT in the days before PCs! Years later the box was used for something else. Taking it apart is now regrettable.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit

15m Pipit QRP Rig

Some years ago my only rig in use was my homebrew QRP transceiver on 15m. With just a low wire dipole and 800mW I worked lots and lots. Sadly, it got dismantled so I could use the case for another project.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit.

Pipit - 15m QRP CW transceiver

Many years ago I designed and built the Pipit, an 800mW CW transceiver with a direct conversion receiver. It really worked and for some time was my main rig. Used with a low dipole it worked some decent DX. The design was published in GQRP "SPRAT" many years ago.

Sadly, the rig was dismantled some years later. I regret this!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit

Pipit 15m transceiver

This rig was designed and built many years ago. It spanned some impressive distances and worked well. The receiver was a direct conversion and the gain adjustment was before the mixer, so RF gain could be reduced easily which helped strong signal handling. No RX-TX offset was needed as this was just about right anyway. For quite a time it was the main rig used and every QSO felt like a million dollars! It was written up in GQRP SPRAT a very long time ago (30 years ago?). It is hard to get much more fun than using something this simple and working a long way regularly with it.

Before I had crystals for the CW part of the band my very first QSO was a USA SSB station that I called that was located near Chicago some 4000 miles away. I nearly fell off the chair when he replied.  After than I knew anything was possible. I really should rebuild it someday.

It crossed the Atlantic many times. I even used a 10/15m trap dipole (very low) occasionally and never used anything bigger than a low wire dipole. Output power was 800mW, quite enough I found for solid CW QSOs.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit .