Why should anybody still have to build their own additional equipment or even a transceiver. Nowadays everything can be bought: antennas, radio equipment, TNC – new or second hand. No problem – just connect and off you go!

The attraction within the amateur radio business is not just connecting to far flung stations. In fact, the attraction with the amateur radio is the variety if offers: can’t be bothered to drive a SSB QSO today? No problem! I’ll just hit the button and do CW. Or I’ll connect my computer and will try a couple of RTTY, PSK31 or SSTV connections.

The self set tasks within the DIY are just as full of variety. It is not about creating an especially good or even better one than the ones you can buy. This is not possible nowadays: A whole troop of well qualified engineers are busy for months and years creating such equipment. No, it’s more about actually building such equipment in order to see how the individual parts work together and to understand what is actually happening. After all, everybody will agree with me that it is an unforgettable moment when the first QSO is sent with the self built transceiver. I can remember quite clearly my first CW-QSO with EA1EIE which was sent out of my father-in-laws garden on a self built SW20+, a battery charger and a borrowed wire aerial.

This is the reason why we’re introducing several self build projects here that have been carried out by members of our local amateur radio club.

Have fun!

Erik, DL2KEB