Monday, February 2, 2015

Video of Colin's First Contact with his Homebrew Scratch-built BITX20



I love this video.  Colin finished his BITX a week or so ago and has been waiting for an opportunity to test it.  Over the weekend he braved the winter of Northern England and, with his son,  set up his new rig out in his snow-covered garden.   Appropriately for a first contact with scratch-built rig, the circuitry was unencumbered by any kind of case or box.  That's the way it should be done!  Well done Colin!  You are well and truly a member of the International Brotherhood of Electronic Wizards, and the diagnosis of "The Knack" has been confirmed (a severe case, it appears). 
Hi Pete and Bill,
It's been a lovely fine day here in West Yorkshire, so I took a table out into the garden and set up my BITX circuit on it. I set up my SOTA dipole on a 9m fishing pole.
I heard a strong German station calling CQ, so I gave him a call and hoped for the best!
How amazing to contact someone in another country using a rig and mic you've made yourself! Do I qualify as a REAL radio ham now? Do I have a confirmed case of the knack? :-)

Although I may appear underwhelmed in the video, (besides the air punches!), I did really get a kick out of the QSO.
73 and huge thanks to both of you for the encouragement and support.

Colin, M1BUU



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6 comments:

  1. PH0KKOFebruary 3, 2015 at 9:41 AM

    Nice going Colin! I just finished a v3 on ready made pcb but I want to make one dead bug still as well. Just had my first qso with only 1W today but modulation seems te be very poor, have to get that sorted first. Good luck and 73!

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    1. PH0KKOFebruary 3, 2015 at 10:45 AM

      And yes, Colin has been diagnosed with having the Knack. No turning back now, take a look at Dave AA7EE his version of the Micro DSB. Next project for 40 meters maybe?

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  2. Armand (WA1UQO)February 3, 2015 at 10:34 AM

    Great job Collin! Thanks for sharing it with us. Seems a shame to put it in an enclosure. Looks to good to hide.
    Perspex perhaps?
    73, Armand (WA1UQO)

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  3. UnknownFebruary 3, 2015 at 12:51 PM

    So nice to see a homebrew radio make the first contact ... and see the celebration! 73 de ai4ot

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  4. Mike W5RSTFebruary 4, 2015 at 1:27 PM

    FB, Colin! Great work and video. I also like how the cat tried to photobomb the scene. ;-) 73 de Mike W5RST

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  5. jeffFebruary 5, 2015 at 2:02 PM

    Great first QSO, Colin! Your excitement is contagious! You did a beautiful job on your build.

    I don't mean to take away from the beauty of the Bitx, but did anyone else notice the unbelievable dry stacked rock wall at Colin's QTH?! That deserves mention as well :-)

    -Jeff
    73 de KF7RPI

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