A few years ago, I wrote a series of articles for a talk that I gave at Hamcom
in Dallas. In it, I talked about what kit to build, and why. Got a lot of nice
comments on it, and it is probably still on the web somewhere.
A lot of time has gone by since then, and the series needs updating, so here
it goes. By the way, this is gonna be long, it is gonna be my opinion, but I
will support my opinions with reasons, hopefully valid. Now what makes me think
that I am qualified to write about this subject? Well, I have built over 100
kits in the last ten years, have managed every NorCal Kit Project (thousands
of kits), and have advised several other clubs and companies about kits. I don't
know everything, and I am certainly not the world's authority, but I do have
some real life experience.
When I was in grade school, I read the library copy of Boy's Life religiously.
Every month, I would drool over the ads for the Ham Radio receivers. I even
went so far as to write Hallicrafters and ask what a receiver cost. When they
told me $48.00, it might as well have been 48 Million, because there was no
way that I had that kind of money as a 10 year old kid growing up in Kansas.
I had no idea what the ARRL was, there were no hams in my hometown, and it was
just a dream. Then when I was a
sophomore in high school, our science teacher took us on a field trip to a ham's
house in the next town. Wow, I could not believe all the stuff he had out in
his garage. It was piled floor to ceiling with equipment, and it all glowed
in the dark in 1964. I asked him how to become a ham, and he was not very friendly,
said that you had to take FCC tests from the government, follow all kinds of
rules, etc. He did say that he built most of his equipment from old military
surplus and TV sets. Hey!! That was my ticket. I would build my own stuff. That
night and many nights after, I dreamed of being a ham and building my equipment.
I finally got my ham ticket in 1976, that means that I could officially be a
member of QCWA now, grin. But I didn't build any of my equipment, I bought it
second hand. I was on the air, made 499 QSO's as a novice, but didn't feel like
a real ham because I had not built my equipment. I wanted to be like the guy
I met in high school and build my own station. I am sure that many of you who
have never built anything and lurk on this list can identify with me. Stay with
me, and I may be able to help you.
I have been very lucky to have met and known some wonderful builders in my
time as a QRPer. Dave Fifield, Dave Meacham, Derry Spittle, Ed Burke, Vern Wright,
Wayne Burdick, Eric Swartz, Jim Kortge, JayBob Bromley, Keith Newman, Chuck
Adams, Dave Benson, Dennis Foster, Mike Gipe, Paul Maciel, Dan Tayloe, John
Liebenrood, Wayne McFee, Paul Harden, George Heron, Joe Everhart, Mike Fitzsimmon,
and many others. They all have one thing common. Do you know what that is? They
all learned how to build by building. None of them was a master builder out
of the box. They had to put in their time and make their mistakes. But they
did it. They built everything that they could. Some of those guys I mentioned
are EE's. Some aren't. One is a dentist, another worked in the auto industry
and several are just average Joe type of guys. Anyone who can learn how to solder,
read and follow directions, learn how to understand a schematic, and identify
parts can become an excellent builder. But it takes practice. Chuck Adams told
me once that education costs. You will pay for it one way or another. He is
100% right. I know guys that have never built anything and start with a K2.
Do I recommend that?? NO WAY. But it has been done. No, I don't recommend building
the K2 or K1 as a first kit, they came quite a way down the road, but they do
come. What I do recommend is that you start with a good soldering iron, some
good solder, read on the web about good soldering techniques, and practice with
some resistors because they are cheap, grin.
My method involves a gradual learning curve. You start with simple projects
that don't cost an arm or a leg, and you learn on the inexpensive kits. (That
means you will make your first mistakes on them). The next installment of this
article will cover a couple of easy kits, that are cheap, fun to build, and
they will work!!
72, Doug, KI6DS