Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
HOW THIS WAS BUILT: youtube.com/watch?v=aoH6UDvwwMo
What a buzz to be able to connect with other ham stations. However, a majority of ham stations today consist of "appliance boxes" coming from the Far East. That said, a small number of hams actually design, and scratch build their radio stations. This video covers a QSO between N6QW and W9ISF and highlights a homebrew radio engineered and built by N6QW.
Using a home built modern radio in a QSO adds a whole new dimension of enjoyment to the hobby. What a blast to say, "the rig on this end is homebrew".
The new licensing structure which provides an easy path to securing the top license diminishes the emphasis on the technical aspects of the hobby. The FCC stipulates under Part 97.1 which defines the purpose of the hobby is both communications (POTA and FT-8) and advancing the technical capabilities. The latter part is now just a footnote in the process. We must thank the ARRL for this diminution of the of the hobby.
For those with a mild technical interest, the radio features two Termination Insensitive Amplifiers in the IF Module (Hayward / Kopski Design), a 9 MHz Filter, Arduino Nano and Si5351, and an IRF510 Final Amp for about 3 Watts to the Antenna. I was using a 50W RF Linear Amp for the QSO. The Antenna was a Delta Loop.
There are two independent LO's in the radio and the primary boots up on 14.2 MHz. The 2nd LO (toggle switch selected on the front panel) boots up on 14.074 MHz. I find it fascinating that 20M might sound dead but toggle the switch to 20M FT-8 and rock crushing signals. The hobby has shifted to two computers talking to each other. I have a N6QW designed digital adapter that can easily put this radio on FT-8 or WSPR using a RPi3.
73's
Pete N6QW
HOW THIS WAS BUILT: youtube.com/watch?v=aoH6UDvwwMo
What a buzz to be able to connect with other ham stations. However, a majority of ham stations today consist of "appliance boxes" coming from the Far East. That said, a small number of hams actually design, and scratch build their radio stations. This video covers a QSO between N6QW and W9ISF and highlights a homebrew radio engineered and built by N6QW.
Using a home built modern radio in a QSO adds a whole new dimension of enjoyment to the hobby. What a blast to say, "the rig on this end is homebrew".
The new licensing structure which provides an easy path to securing the top license diminishes the emphasis on the technical aspects of the hobby. The FCC stipulates under Part 97.1 which defines the purpose of the hobby is both communications (POTA and FT-8) and advancing the technical capabilities. The latter part is now just a footnote in the process. We must thank the ARRL for this diminution of the of the hobby.
For those with a mild technical interest, the radio features two Termination Insensitive Amplifiers in the IF Module (Hayward / Kopski Design), a 9 MHz Filter, Arduino Nano and Si5351, and an IRF510 Final Amp for about 3 Watts to the Antenna. I was using a 50W RF Linear Amp for the QSO. The Antenna was a Delta Loop.
There are two independent LO's in the radio and the primary boots up on 14.2 MHz. The 2nd LO (toggle switch selected on the front panel) boots up on 14.074 MHz. I find it fascinating that 20M might sound dead but toggle the switch to 20M FT-8 and rock crushing signals. The hobby has shifted to two computers talking to each other. I have a N6QW designed digital adapter that can easily put this radio on FT-8 or WSPR using a RPi3.
73's
Pete N6QW
