Build Your Own Radio

Details
Join us for weekly kit-building workshops, Saturdays, 1pm, starting January 14th
Save money by joining the bulk-order for kits (will place order in mid-December)
 
E-mail me if you want to join the bulk order:
QDX Kit
QDX parts, case, and pdf manual
Completed QDX Board
Completed QDX circuit board
Completed QDX Kit
Completed QDX kit in aluminum case

 

Quick summary:

  • We'll hold weekly workshops (Saturdays, 1pm) to build radio kits, starting January 14th
  • Beginners are welcome. We'll have experienced mentors to guide you.
  • Each kit costs $69 for the board+parts, and $20 for the case.
  • We'll place a bulk order for the kits in mid-December. We get a 10% discount if we order 10 or more.
  • E-mail me (preferably by Dec. 11th) if you are interested in joining the bulk order.
  • You'll keep your kit at the end of the workshop.

The Stanford Amateur Radio Club will be holding a weekly kit-building workshop starting in the Winter Quarter in January. We'll be working together to build our own personal QDX radio kits from QRP Labs. The QDX is a small radio, the size of a deck of cards, which can be used to communicate over thousands of miles by bouncing radio signals off of the ionosphere.

The screenshot below shows all the stations that heard me transmitting using a battery-powered QDX kit and a loop antenna in my living room in Palo Alto. Stations that heard me are the ones with time-stamps. My station was heard as far as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Azores Islands.

 The QDX requires a computer (or any computing device, like a Raspberry Pi) to encode and decode the digital signals sent over the air. There are many free Amateur Radio software options that are popular. The screenshot below shows an example of the JS8Call software. This software offers functionality similar to e-mail and text messaging, but it runs entirely over the air, with no need for cell or ISP infrastructure. The screenshot below shows a chat between myself (KG4UHM) in California and another station (KL7DT) located in Alaska.

To use the QDX radio on your own, you'll need an Amateur Radio license. For those who are not yet licensed, we'll help you study and pass your license test. We'll be holding weekly 1-hour license classes starting in January.
 
I'll be placing the bulk order for kits in mid-December. If you are interested in joining the bulk order, let me know. (If possible, please contact me by December 11th, so that I can have an accurate count.)
 
E-mail me at: