Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

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roland985
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Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by roland985 »

Hi all, I was taking a look at the Pixie DIY radio kit.

Do I need a license to build and operate this?

I would imagine I do, but I love CW, and I enjoy comms via it. (Even though my WPM is <2)
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by vk6hgr »

Needs an amateur license to use.
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by roland985 »

Use as in TX? I'm intending to RX.
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by vk6hgr »

roland985 wrote:Use as in TX? I'm intending to RX.
Technically, yes under the Radcomm. Act but if you construct the kit and not put in the RF output transistor or otherwise disable it so it can't transmit, then it'd be fine.
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by roland985 »

Indeed. I have no hope of getting a license, so I'll have to go through with the next-best thing.

Image

Would leaving out Q1 (Middle Top) disable transmission?

I believe it would. Q2 seems to be linked to the RX more than Q1 is.
Last edited by roland985 on Thu Dec 18, 2014 2:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by vk6hgr »

roland985 wrote:Indeed. I have no hope of getting a license, so I'll have to go through with the next-best thing.
Why do you say that? It's not that hard. They even gave me one! :-)
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by roland985 »

Well, given the level of knowledge you need, in regards to being able to calculate antenna lengths, propogation, and all other aspects both intrigue me and make me feel utterly inadequate.

I have real, diagnosed dyscalculia, so calculating math based information is daunting.

Also, due to extreme family issues (having to move away from dad, and look after mum and my two brothers), I still have no driver's license other than a learners permit, and I'm not sure how to attend any perth based colleges via public transport. I'm also working full-time as well, so that soaks up a lot of time. *(but I get paid, so that's fairly cool.)
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by vk6hgr »

Ahh, that all makes things more challenging :)

BTW, if you need some help with logbook hours, PM me.
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by Zebedee »

roland985 wrote:Well, given the level of knowledge you need, in regards to being able to calculate antenna lengths, propogation, and all other aspects both intrigue me and make me feel utterly inadequate.
Please don't feel that way. The level of knowledge that you need for the Foundation licence level at least is pretty manageable.

For example, take a look at this sample exam: http://www.wia.org.au/licenses/foundati ... ssment.pdf
I have real, diagnosed dyscalculia, so calculating math based information is daunting.
That's a pretty realistic example of the type of question you'd need to answer. I had to look up what dyscalculia was to get my head around it. With that in mind, take a look at question 12 - that's about the level of maths you need to know. (The chart they mention is on page 4 of that document...)

Another example of a Foundation level question would be something along the lines of: "Given the formula I = V / R, how much current (I) would flow in a circuit supplied from a 12 volt (V) source and 6 ohms (R) of resistance".

What they want you to do there is I = V / R or I = 12 / 6 or 2 Amps. All the questions are multi-choice and you're allowed a calculator in the assessment.
Also, due to extreme family issues (having to move away from dad, and look after mum and my two brothers), I still have no driver's license other than a learners permit, and I'm not sure how to attend any perth based colleges via public transport. I'm also working full-time as well, so that soaks up a lot of time.
If you can spare a weekend, Ham College would be happy to see you at one of our Foundation level courses. The course dates for 2015 aren't up on the website yet (they were only confirmed on Tuesday!) but what are you doing on the 14th/15th Feb next year? :P If you've got nothing better to do, how about coming and doing a radio course where we'll teach you everything you need to know to pass the Foundation level exam? I promise you it's not as complicated and scary as you might be thinking it is...

(I've been teaching Foundation courses now for several years so if you want the absolute unvarnished truth about how hard it is, drop me a PM. I'm almost certain it's nowhere near as out of reach as you probably think it is. Then you can make an informed decision whether it's something you want to have a shot at or not - worst case scenario is you spend a weekend doing a course and decide not to proceed :P )

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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by roland985 »

Zebedee wrote:Then you can make an informed decision whether it's something you want to have a shot at or not
Ever since I picked up my first CB, and tuned it to PER 08, I have wanted a license to get away from those nutters and comm freely.

Zebedee wrote:Please don't feel that way. The level of knowledge that you need for the Foundation licence level at least is pretty manageable.
Thanks for that clarification. I was a little dubious of that, but as long as it's logical, progressive, I can usually wrap my head around it in time.
Zebedee wrote:but what are you doing on the 14th/15th Feb next year? If you've got nothing better to do, how about coming and doing a radio course where we'll teach you everything you need to know to pass the Foundation level exam? I promise you it's not as complicated and scary as you might be thinking it is...
Hmm, provided my SES unit has no courses (Don't think there are, the weekly training resumes only a week before that), I'll take you up on that offer if it eventuates.

I'm working full time, so money is not a great problem, I'm quite happy to pay a reasonable price for some quality training and advice.

Thanks! :D
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by VK6ZMS »

The foundation course and exam are very straight forward.
Give it a go, you'll open a whole new world.

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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by Zebedee »

roland985 wrote:Ever since I picked up my first CB, and tuned it to PER 08, I have wanted a license to get away from those nutters and comm freely.
Yep, you're not the first to say that ;)
Hmm, provided my SES unit has no courses (Don't think there are, the weekly training resumes only a week before that), I'll take you up on that offer if it eventuates.
Yeah I'm in a VFS and so the Foundation course weekends, I have to skip brigade training. I figure there's only five Foundation courses in the year, the brigade can have me the other weekends ;)
I'm working full time, so money is not a great problem, I'm quite happy to pay a reasonable price for some quality training and advice.
Well look at it this way - the instructors on the course are experienced amateur radio operators. And it's our objective to make sure you can demonstrate competence in the assessment. We want to increase the number of people in the hobby so we'll do what we can to help you pass, rather than use the assessment to keep people away.

And with regards to the SES - radio use is a key part of your activities within the unit. So you might be surprised just how much knowledge you'll be bringing to the class already. I'm sure there's one or two extra things you'll learn, which might be useful to take back to your unit and help you in your SES role.

There are a number of amateurs in the SES (including the comms support unit based out of Belmont), in the fire services and in a Foundation course earlier this year we had someone come to us who was active in his local volunteer marine rescue service.
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by roland985 »

Zebedee wrote:And with regards to the SES - radio use is a key part of your activities within the unit. So you might be surprised just how much knowledge you'll be bringing to the class already. I'm sure there's one or two extra things you'll learn, which might be useful to take back to your unit and help you in your SES role.
That's actually another reason I want my foundation - Getting more active in the comms area.

I enjoy grunt work (Sandbagging excepted of course) and getting my hands dirty, but I can sometimes feel that I'd much rather be that dude in the airconditioned ICV rather than in a heavy orange uniform on a >40 degree day looking for someone who had a really, really bad idea.
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by matth2004 »

Zebedee wrote:There are a number of amateurs in the SES (including the comms support unit based out of Belmont), in the fire services and in a Foundation course earlier this year we had someone come to us who was active in his local volunteer marine rescue service.
Can vouch for being an amateur as part of CSU SES :) Has been great having my Standard license for a little over a year now, would highly recommend it. I did all my training online through RES however a course would be ideal. Just after doing my cert I became a trainer/assessor in WAERN Basic & Advanced, plus OCSE (Operate Communications Systems and Equipment) in the SES so am more than happy to help you out Roland.
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Re: Building my own 40M Pixie radio for QRP CW. Is it legal

Post by roland985 »

Yep, I'll probably take all of you up on your offers this coming 2015.

Cheers folks, the support is awesome here.
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