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My most ambitious kit to date. The Hendricks PFR-3 is a 3 band (40, 30, 20) 5 watt CW radio. It includes a balanced line tuner (BLT) as well as internal batteries. The kit is about the size of a hardback book. I completed the build at the beginning of October 2009. I have made over a dozen contacts so far and love this radio. It is easy to use and just plain fun. I have gotten several nice comments about how the radio sounds and the majority are surprised that it is a kit. Initially I was only getting 5 watts out on 20 meters, 4 watts on 40, and 2 on 30 meters. But thanks to the designer and the Yahoo Group I was able to get tips on how to tweak the coils to get the full 5 watts. Most of my problem was lack of experience building kits. The other main issue was that I was not very careful about the input voltage. As the manual says the power out is directly related to the DC voltage IN. Once I got a stable 12 volts into the radio I was able to move the coils enough to get 5 watts on all three bands. Earlier I was trying to adjust it with anywhere from 10-11 volts in. The next step in this process is to come up with a good portable antenna. So far I am trying the following with my greatest success coming from the dipole: - 67' long wire with a 28' counterpoise. - 40 meter dipole made from speaker wire and fed with 15' of tiny coax. - Norcal Doublet. My prayer group is going camping from Nov 6-7, 2009. We will be setting up in the Sipsey Wilderness in Northern Alabama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipsey_Wilderness). I think the elevation is only about 800' but since Memphis is 300' I am hoping to get a better signal out. If you hear me, please give me a call! I will create a special QSL photo to send to all my contacts. * Note: Had a great trip. Heard several stations but only made one
contact with K5IRH. Did not have as much time to operate as I hoped but
still had a great time!
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