Makers – QRP Builds

QRP Kits.  Building miniature transmitters and receivers is a ham tradition that continues to grow in popularity. This aspect of amateur radio is facilitated by several reputable ham-owned companies and clubs that sell well-designed, relatively inexpensive kits.  The QRP-Amateur Radio Club, Inc. (QRP-ARCI) has created a webpage of QRP kit sellers which you can peruse and from which you can choose. To get a quick sample of the extensive range of kits available to hams, see QRPme, Breadboard Radio, or Pacific Antenna’s QRP shop.

Videos of most of these QRP-kit builds are available on YouTube.  Not only are they fun to build and operate, QRP kits give new hams a hands-on introduction to how RF energy is generated, transmitted, received, and detected.

The pictured transceiver (QRPme’s Sea Sprite, 250mW, $30.00) fits into a small aluminum pineapple-slices can and is ready for making CW QSOs on 40m. The Sea Sprite is just one of numerous kits that can be purchased on the web, and built at your home workbench.