[Elecraft] Heathkit Returns!

[Tony Estep]

On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 12:34 PM, Edward R. Cole <kl7uw at acsalaska.net> wrote:

> ... Surface-mount technology has taken kit building out
> most hams hands...

=============
 I understand why Ed says this, but really SMT is not so scary. Many
thousands of Softrock kits have been sold, and they are still selling at the
rate of over 1000 per year. I built one, and it was lots of fun and not
hard. I started with many trepidations, but the info on the Softrock sites
told me everything I needed to know, and it worked the first time.

The instructions by Robby WB5RVZ are outstanding and include all the advice
you need to tool up and get ready. The standard setup includes a cookie
sheet for building, some magnifiers, the right kind of solder and flux, the
right soldering station and tip, and miscellaneous tweezers etc. There are
videos illustrating the tricks that are very helpful. (The cookie sheet is
perfect for building, but don't use it when you apply power to test! There
were many draconian warnings about this on this reflector earlier) Hundreds
of hams have followed the instructions and ended up with excellent SDR
receivers or transceivers.

Getting the software going is usually the main source of problems. If you're
patient and have a little experience with building, SMT devices shouldn't
keep you from enjoying constructing your own gear.

73,
Tony KT0NY

-- 
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