UBITX HF Transceiver Kit

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.

http://www.hfsignals.com/index.php/ubitx/

http://ubitx.net/

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!

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.

I will keep you posted on progress.

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