QRPme Update
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LATEST NEWS!
GQRP Club Rishworth convention! I did a talk and held the UK's BIGGEST Buildathon at the GQRP Club's Rishworth Convention in October. 110 QRPers attended the standing room only event and ALL of them completed their builds! I was informed that it was a UK record for most builders in a Buildathon. See my UK Buildathon page for a link to the YouTube video of the talk and Build.
The WORLD'S BIGGEST BUILDATHON was a resounding success!
The room wasn't quite filled to capacity as 248 WBB kits were handed out to the eager builders. I gave a quick rundown of the prep work leading up to the WBB event, set the timer and we were off! As expected, there were many builders who were having difficulties discerning the color bands or reading the tiny lettering on the caps. MANY had read my emails leading up the the WBB so there were lots of needle nose pliers and lighted pocket magifiers spread about the room. Those who missed the emails were usually within easy borrowing distance. About halfway into the build, it became apparent that some hooligan 68pf caps had snuck into the 220pf jar for a little rumble and never made it back to their clubhouse in the 68pf jar so there were a few kits kitted with two 68pf caps and one 220pf short. Unfortunately, I had a EXPRESS mail box sent the previous day with lots of spares for every part in the WBB but it didn't arrive in time to help solve the crisis. Fortunately, I had brought 350+ kits with me so I put a volunteer, Dennis from Kanga UK, on the job of stealing the 220s out of the spare kits to give to those who were 'heavy' on 68s and short a 220. That job went a little slowly until we got a volunteer with GOOD eyesight on the job and 220pf caps started flying out of the corner of the room. As WBB kits were completed and tested, we 'borrowed' those 220 caps to get the others built. There was pandimonium about but we managed to power through the problem and continue the builds. We did have 2 casualties from the tiny letering and parts but 246 WBB kits were completed, tested and declared working. So in 1 hour and 10 minutes, we has 246 of 248 WBB kits build, tested and declared working transmitters! I think that I can call that a success.....full report
LOBSTERCON2016! was another great weekend! Attendance was down a little and the weather forecast was gloomy but everyone had a great time anyway! We consumed about 175 pounds of VERY fresh and VERY tasty lobster at out Saturday night dinner.
A BIG batch of pics can be found here: N1RXV pics
Lobstercon2017! Will be on July 6, 7 & 8th. I still haven't verified the possibility of early bird camping with the campground but will do so ASAP.
New items in the QRPme lineup:
The Maker Sender ][ key from the NYC Maker Faire is pretty cute. Link is at the top left.
The UKBB NoSolder RF Probe kit featured in my talk at the last Rishworth convention.
The STIX panel containing smaller squares for MORE Manhattan building in a smaller space.
The TT2 40th Anniversary issue is an updated version of the TT2 which meets current FCC regulations for harmonic suppression. It is a economical design yet still has lots of 'play value' and is designed so even new hands at soldering should have no problems completing the kit.
The Sea Sprite is a merging of the EZ Build Two Tinned Tunas concept with the Lil' Squall design. I took the Lil' Squall design, simplified it for single band operation and then laid it out in the 'normal' sized tuna can thereby having the added room for BIG pads, HEAVY traces and WIDE spacing making it as near 'builder proof' as the EZB Two Tinned Tunas kit has been!
Snack on some Dole pineapple (approx. 75 cents) while building either kit and you will have the perfect can for mounting the board when you have completed construction.
A BRASS SET contains 4 small solid brass clamps which are easily installed along the edges of a circuit board under construction. The nifty little clamps then serve as a set of legs to keep the board stable while soldering the leads on the underneath side.
Check out the HOT LINKS for these 3 items at the upper left on my home page.
Rex W1REX