UBITX HF Transceiver Kit

UBITX main PCB

The UBITX (micro BITX) is a low power HF transceiver designed by Ashhar Farhan, an Indian radio ham. It cover 10-80m and operates CW and SSB. The transceiver is supplied as a kit, with the PCBs already assembled. The really cool thing about this design is it’s ‘hackability’. It is based on the Arduino platform and there is a big community of builders around the world. There is lots of information on design and construction on these two websites.
I thought this would make a good summer holiday project, so I ordered the kit from India.
One of the biggest decisions for UBITX builders is how to house the project. I decided to build mine into a small suitcase, which would make it ideal for portable use, on hilltops etc. I was inspired by the suitcase ‘spy’ radios used by SOE operators during the Second World War, e.g. the B2. My first idea was to find a (non-working) vintage portable radio, such as the Ever Ready Sky Baby, that I could upcycle. I did not have much success with this so I looked at using a cheap retro portable record player. I was able to buy this one on the High Street for only £20!
Doner enclosure for UBITX
I quickly established that it would be better as an HF transceiver than as a record player (it sounded awful!), so felt less guilty about ripping it apart. I could make use of the internal speakers, and possibly the audio amp.
After two long weeks a parcel arrived from India. By getting it shipped to UK via IndiaPost I managed to avoid being charged any import duty. The kit was well packed in a plastic box.

UBITX parcel

UBITX kit

I will keep you posted on progress.

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Comments

  1. WA0RSD (Radio Station Delta)

    This looks like an interesting project. With around 10W it's in range for some boots and 50W looks very possible.

    I'm an SDR enthusiast, but I like the use of Arduino. Very cool stuff.

    Thanks for the post and a theory post diagram would be really wonderful.

    73's

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I believe some UBITX builders are using amplifiers. Obviously if you are using an amplifier you need to be more concerned about spurii on the transmitted signal, and should avoid overdriving on SSB. I will post more technical information shortly, avoiding duplicating some of the excellent UBITX resources already on the internet.

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