Smallest (ever?) HF transceiver? Let's take it out for some SOTA
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- Опубликовано: 27 дек 2020
- You've seen the Mini Pixie in the Altoids Smalls tin ( • 2 Ounces of Radio - At... ), but this prototype Micro Pixie (aka "Choking Hazard") that I built brings tiny to a whole new level. What better way to put it to the test than to attempt a SOTA activation with it?
So today, we take this ridiculous little thing out to a never-before activated SOTA summit to see what it can really do. Is 2.7 g of radio and 850mW of output power enough to get the job done? Watch and see.
RUclipsr Tees:
grapevineamateurradio.com/
Since I get so many questions, I share my favorite gear from Amazon in my new Amazon store. Antenna building supplies, masts, batteries, you name it. Check it all out here: www.amazon.com/shop/k6arkport... 
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You should 3d print an enclosure that makes it into a wrist watch!
Or a keychain.
I'd buy one
Hmm, how about a printed thumb-tip holder for the radio with a flat contact on one face, another printed fingertip "key" with a bump contact on it. Run a fine wire from radio to fingertip. Then key by tapping your thumb and finger together. A cold-day glove variant would keep your hands warm on those blustery mountain tops.
Observers might think you're just fidgeting your fingers while instead you're having a conversation ;)
In-the-ear transceiver?
quadriplegic version: In the mouth transceiver and the tongue presses the roof of the mouth to key and swap the speaker for a phone vibrator for deaf people to do CW. The tongue key is akin to quadriplegic using a mouth device to communicate.
Smaller the station the more beer you can carry
Year some ago before the plague, I set out to do a bunch of POTA/SOTA actos. Being 75 I figured it was my way to get out of the house, off the couch and into the world while I still could. Got a couple nice QRP packable boxes, antenna set ups, all that. Then the plague hit and, well, you know the story. Your video inspires me, now that I'm vaccinated and can bite people, to get the hell out and do some crazy stuff like you've done. I love the mini pixie thingie. Before the essential tremor hit, I was building tiny radios myself. Never got as goofy as your stuff but, well, crazy is as crazy does. Thanks for the sweet and inspiring video. Stay safe and sane, amigo. 73 de W8IJN
That is just crazy. Well done sir.
I'm brand new to ham. My son is disabled and can't pass the ham test so we got Wouxun KG-805G GMRS radios. Love 'em. I was an Electronics Tech in the Navy, over 40 years ago, and thought I'd give the Tech cert a whirl. Passed easily and now I'm learning about the different things that can be done in the hobby. This, to me, seems the most fun. Gotta work on the Morse!
I had great Navy-contract Electronic Instructors in the late 70's...got a great education from them...utmost respect!
FYI THERE ARE MEDICAL WAVERS AVAILABLE FOR HAM LICENSE!!!
I pray your son gets well soon, sir! My prayers
Just awesome, this is real hamradio to get the most out of nearly nothing. There are so many pixies out there but never seen more than one qso on any video. This vid will go viral.
Best 73 de DL1DN
That's even smaller than those CHICOM Pixie kit transceivers that output 300mw. I found a source for those some years back for $3 apiece and bought a couple dozen kits. Still got most of them, gave a few away and actually built just one. Used it to make a single contact on daytime 40m just to say I did. You now have me interested in this peanut!
Amazing as usual. Thanks for sharing.
What an amazing build. Thanks for the content.
Wow. Wow. This is absolutely insane! Fantastic work!
Adam, loved this. So cool!
Always entertaining, fun, educational and amazing videos. Great job Adam!
I can't LIKE this enough!!! Well done. Well done.
That was amazing, great job!!!
Wow! That's incredible @K6ARK great work. This is really an inspiring video.
One of the most amazing videos I have seen on RUclips for some time ! Well done 👍
It is ridiculously funny and imressive to see how all this works! Thank you for the video! :-)
Insane. Incredible work.
That is crazy small. Well done! 👍
That is my kind of ridiculous fun, glad to see it went so well for you
What a fantastic little rig!! Thank you for putting the contacts and info scrolling across the bottom.. that helps me to learn!!
Very cool little rig! Do you publish the schematics and gerbers anywhere by any chance?
If I keep watching your videos I am going to have to leave the flatlands. Love all the hiking. Love the open landscape. Great videos!
Fantastic, I'm going to have to take up, learning morse.
You are great to watch partly because you exude fun. I love these little radios and have a couple in Altoids cans. My QRO friends just don't understand.
Well done, Adam. You certainly have a gift for taking SOTA to the next level.
And I thought my new QCX-Mini is small.. Great job on the micro-pixie! It’s amazing how many contacts you have made.
Well done, thanks for sharing.
Amazing and exciting experience.....! 73 and congratulations from Buenos Aires, Argentina
WOW! That's some impressive work with such a tiny radio. I came here from the HAM Radio Crash Course channel.
Yes! Home brew, sota and qrp rules!
The next level. Well done.
What a cool micro radio! I appreciate you showing the morse as it comes in, as I'm just now learning morse, and it's helping my confidence. I can just barely copy your sending with no side tone.
Cheers
KJ7SHW
Man this is nuts, compared to all the gear we have in our shacks, you are a Legend, Adam, de Ei2iP
Fantastic, and I was thinking I was carrying small amount of kit with a SPixie, FT-818 and an ATU. I really need to learn a lot more.
Fantastic Job... I can't wait to swear over building this thing!
Excellent ,just learning the code and could understand the subtitles ! Hurray it’s starting to make sense !
Super cool, well done!
I like the plant and pottery explanations you gave . Leave only footprints take only pictures. 850 mW, wow!
Good stuff Adam!
Oh, so much fun! I made my first Qrpp rig in 1982 as one of my class semester projects in community college, only with dinosaur 2n2222a parts I could see to solder without a microscope, LOL. Makes my tuna tin projects seem huge, LOL. Best, Dave, KU9L
FB! Could even copy your fist sans sidetone. Used to do 80M
Newish ham here but long time backpacker, I just got into SOTA (VHF) and now this is my inspiration to learn CW. Well done man! 👍
CW is an amazing tool for SOTA, and learning it well enough to make SOTA contacts isn't all that difficult once you get over the initial hump. Do it! You'll be glad you did.
It's amazing, great job Adam!!!
HNY & 73
Unbelievable Adam! 19 contacts with 850 mw! You do have elevation in your favor that us low-landers do not have! Great little radio!
That pixie is amazing. Too small for me. Thanks for sharing. 😀
This made my day. Can’t believe it worked! Haha! Awesome!
great job Thanks much K2LNS
Enjoyed it.
Thst is so insane! It was a thrill to watch you make contact after contact on such a...a...
Wow. Must bone up on CW
Beautiful!
That was great! So fun to make contacts with such a minimalist radio. Always like your videos - keep them coming!! // NØDET
Would love to see a video on that tiny radio you built!
That's crazy thanks for sharing!!
cool little piece of kit
This is awesome !
wow I have to check this one out.
Neat work and you were indeed fortunate to find a day with short skip on 40m. It has been so long for so long! Anyhow well done and it blows away my full size pixie, the $5 kit! BTW I did hook up my Pico keyer to the pixie just to be able to use a paddle and I monitored the transmitter using an ft817! Hard to send on a paddle without some sidetone! 73 Andrew VK1DA another SOTAnatic
👍 Well done. Thanks for sharing.
Nice summit and scenery. Awesome video and well done on the QSO’s. All the best for the New Year and keep up the good work. 73 Chris M0RSF
It was great you had a budget for a 2nd videographer to capture your low angle hiking shots. Please pass along my praises to your editor, video producer and best boy as well. 73, Dick W1TV
Thanks Dick! Yes, I paid a lot for that crew out there, and boy did they complain about all the hiking. 😆 Thanks for the comment, and I'm glad you enjoyed the show. 👍
THIS IS SIMPLY AMAZING!
Well done Adam. You have some micro phonics going on there, ceramic caps? Interesting only ~800mW Kool S2S contacts.
Great stuff! I wish I know CW... Life would be much easier :D Good luck and HNY! 73, Paul.
Realmente asombroso!!!! Muy bien
Gracias por mostrar
72!!!
Adam, great prez at FDIM today. Very inspiring. Jack, NG2E
Thanks so much, Jack, appreciate it.
I have to get my CW chops up!
love the anza borega when i was out in san diego
Finally you will need to bring the magnifier with you on the hill...😂 great job, I like it!
Wow! How incredibly small, especially compared to my circa’72 novice rig, an SX-101A and DX-60. Your whole rig is smaller than one tube from my old xmtr.
I have some Pixies but have never seen the Micro Pixie. So cool. Thanks for sharing, Adam.
73 de NI4B
That was really cool.
That's a brilliant little radio for QRP and I'm going to start morse code lessons in my local amateur radio club very soon and hopefully if I get really good at the morse code then I will be able to buy a transmitter like the one you've got and try and do the same thing and it would be interesting to see how many people I could work with just a tiny transmitter like the one you've got in the video so it's just a little idea for the future for me. Thanks and best 73's cheers. Stephen M3SNV 73's.
Adam, that was amazing. This is what I call enjoying the QRPp outdoor. Keep QRPping
73 es 72, from Edwin YV5EN
That is awesome. Is there any chance you could share schematic? Or even better, if it’s gonna be commercially available I’d happily buy one.
Nice QSO man, 73 from SM6AAL in Sweden...
Nice QRPp activation with the Micro Pixie, Adam! I look forward to a S2S between W6 and CT7 some day! 73 de CT7/K9PM
Got to be the best Sota activation ever!!!
Wow fantastic 😁😁
If you ever make a kit out of it...would definitely be interested!🇺🇲🎙👍
You're so crazy. Love it.
Would love a board and list of parts. This would be a great kit.
Amazing! Another proof that Amateur Radio is very interesting hobby with various different activities... With amateur radio, you will never be bored! 73 de Z33T
Amazing!
Absolutely mind blowing!! How in the world did you build that with that tight layout of surface mount components?
Very very carefully! Solder paste, tweezers, a magnifying glass, and hot air... And no coffee.
lovely !!!
Very, very cool.
You are going to get me addicted to this hahaha.
Savage. Legendary. I sense a new QRP. Do spray on antennas! eBay sells the materials that Drexel U discovered.
Nothing silly at all. Absolutely fantastic! What the whole game is about. True cw QRP Zen. Minimalist radio possible outdoors AND in (for those who are housebound). Couple bucks worth of equipment, not a couple of G's. Congratulations fm F8WBD Dick.
The only thing almost as delightful as jumping cactus is goatsheads. Because evolving in the desert makes organisms bitter and vindictive. Great video! I love QRPp rigs. You can modify them forever. They're like Lego for grown-ups. (Or kids; why not?)
So awesome and so much fun... 2.6 grams leaves lots of room for lots of camera, tripod, and lens, in the pack!
...and a few Altoids?
If you had the chance to publicise the caractheristics of your set up, you would have hundreds of contacts 😁 people would go nuts on rádio/antenna/power supply 👍👍👍
Any chance you've got a schematic kicking around for the micro pixie? I'd love to see how it's put together, I've really been wanting to make a similar single-board micro transceiver.
Outstanding! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed your video. I started in HR 63 years ago, BT, (before transistors). I dreamed of doing what you are doing, but the technology wasn't there yet. Got into QRP with the HW-7 and HW-8. Built all the Elecraft QRP radios. Built the Rock Mites, then ATS 2, 3 and 4. Pretty much stopped there. Always CW only. I love your setup. I would probably have a miniature paddle and keyer though. You are living my dream, carry on sir. 73, N7SR
I just finished building your "shouldn't be your first soldering project" random wire antenna today. I learned two things: time to go to the eye doctor for a new eyeglass prescription (the well inside the BNC was tough to see at 2.0) and you, Sir, have some mad soldering skills on display in that beauty you created. Well done! 73 KO4HZH
Lol, thanks. Worth noting, this is not something you can solder with an iron. This is solder paste and hot air or reflow oven territory. With that, it's doable, but still very difficult as a result of the really tight component spacing I forced to keep this thing as small as possible.
This is legit some cold war era superspy tech aesthetic. Love it. Is your micropixie an OSHW design? Just curious. Also, how do you tune frequency on it?
My call is Que 9EYE, blind ham, I found this very interesting, how can I get someone to build the small little transmitter. Sounds really cool. Thank you again for sharing.
Very Very Cool!!!!
Great video❗️👍 I got you EFHW QRP KIT in today, I will see if this old man can still see well enough to solder it together. 73 KV5P