ConstructionCWMeetings

Construction Club – October Meeting

Our new location and facilities are enabling BARC to expand and introduce activities that the club has not been able to offer before. Our October meeting marked the debut of one such activity: the first meeting of our ‘Construction Club,’ where members could build a prepared electronic kit from scratch.

Planned and prepared by Committee Member Roy M0WTP, who also sourced the parts, cases, and instructions, the first construction club project was the assembly of a ‘Pixie 40m CW Transceiver.’ Our members included both newcomers to electronics, components, and soldering, as well as experienced radio amateurs who have already constructed their own radios and associated accessories.

The Pixie was chosen as our first project because its component list and relatively simple construction made it a suitable task to complete within our extended 3-hour club meeting.

Most members brought their own soldering irons, pliers, cutters, and, most importantly, glasses or magnifying lenses. Roy had also brought along plenty of spares, just in case.

With a team of experienced members assisting, the constructors quickly learned how to identify components, their correct orientation or polarity, and solder them in the right places on the circuit board.

After an hour of building, we took a short break for a club update and refreshments before everyone eagerly returned to their projects.

While the construction club members were busy, other members enjoyed a demonstration of surface mount device (SMD) soldering and de-soldering by Gareth M7GRB. Gareth also showcased his soldering microscope, which he uses for very fine work.

For members operating on Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), Colin M0XCA provided a DMR Helpdesk to assist with any radio or hotspot configuration issues.

Returning to construction, three hours proved to be the exact amount of time needed to complete the project. Our first Pixie transmitted CW on 7.023MHz at 9:40 PM, followed quickly by two others. Of course, this wasn’t a race.

Thank you to Roy, Gareth, and all our helpers and members for making our inaugural construction club meeting a fun and successful evening. We also appreciate all our members who helped set up and tidy up for the meeting. Your efforts are truly noticed and valued.