Zerone HAM Radio QRP Kit Forty-9er 3W CW Shortwave Radio Transmitter Receiver Telegraph DIY Radio Kit

The headline says it all. With this kit you will get:1. Double-sided red PCB;2. All the components;3. Bill of materials (BOM) - 2 sheets A4;4. Schematic - 1 sheet A4.It is an interesting project to build. The components are provided in three bags within a sealed bag. This is one of the better kits in so far as you do get all the parts (see my picture - they are sorted and I placed in order in a breadboard.No more and no less, and there are lots of them, too! I sorted and checked all the components against the BOM and there are no more (and no less) than what you need. Based on some previous reviews, I was expected for there to be either a shortfall or some incorrect components - but they are all exactly as you would hope for.The provided instructions are three photocopied sheets that are best replaced with a full set - just search for "Forty-9erV1.0.pdf" to find a five-page document. Using the extra info, it's not hard to figure out how to wind the coils and the suggested build order is low to high components - there is (only just) sufficient space.Two of the inductors need to be wound using the supplied enameled wire, the ends of the wire can be exposed using a piece of fine sandpaper, tinned. It might be best to solder the ends into the board and using a meter to confirm that they are corrected placed/soldered.Some reviews have suggested that the power/antenna connectors are "backward". They are not "backward" and the notches are towards the top of the board as indicated by the silkscreen. If in any doubt, the two grounds (on RHS of each connector when looking from above) can be "buzzed out" with a meter and the ground (is pin 1) on the two 3.5mm sockets. On the back of the board, the two connectors have squares that correspond to pin 1 - but pin 2 is the ground (hence the possible confusion). In the same way, each of the ICs and transistors and the regulator also has pin 1 marked with a square. There is also a photo of a completed built-up board.The circuit board is exactly as shown - it might not be obvious, but it is quite small. The components are "packed in" - nothing that can't be easily assembled and (I'm guessing) about an evening's work. Only the diodes are not shown as components. The cathode (-ve) is also the "bar" on the symbol and also the black band on the components. The provided instructions are probably best left to an experienced constructor, but I found it useful to print in color the schematic - A3 (for my tired old eyes) and also the same for the circuit board - printed in color A3, makes it easy to identify where the components are placed.The design is based on the original design by Wayne Burdick, so it can be interesting to read about this earlier version e.g. search for "NorCal QRP Club Forty-9er". Some interpretation of this design is required before it can be built - the kit simplifies this, using the board and supplied components, it can be easily built and there is no need to try to separately buy all the components. Unlike the original, there are no jumpers to install and the back of the board is a ground plane. The original design also describes the aerial that will be required that replaces the dummy 51-ohm load (that's also provided in the kit).It is also possible to buy the circuit board separately. The advantage of the kit is that everything is provided and there isn't anything to do other than take your time and carefully assemble the kit. I think it's definitely worth the money (I paid about £7), especially for the convenience of getting everything at once.

The parts are really fiddley which is to be expected of and electronics kit. They all seem there though, I'm in the process of building the kit at the moment so far so good. One difficulty would be finding the values of the non electrolytic capacitors they have a reference number on them you need a magnifying glass to read but the instructions that came with the kit don't specify which numbers are what values so I resorted to a capacitance meter for reading the values of those capacitors. If you have the patience then this kit is a good project, yet to hear the outcome through speakers though, hopefully it will be better than my super pixie I assembled a few weeks ago.

Kit arrived in good time. I found that a few 100uf capacitors where missing but I had some in my junk box.Kit worked first time gives about 1.5 watts out at 12v.I haven't try it on an antenna yet.

Very disappointed..5 E capacitors and 4 Transistors were missing .Have had to buy these on line to complete the project.The circuit diagram is blurry and hard to read,also English would have made things easier.

Kit arrived on time all components included. Will update once built

Missing components to build this and also missing the instructions, not value for money waste of money