Transceiver board and component kit – $40, Not released until the next Pacificon Hamfest in San Ramon, CA
Optional chassis kit – $20, Not released yet
Complete silkscreened chassis kit, knobs, hardware, mounting holes for the keyer, and rubber feet.
Your PayPal receipt is your confirmation that we have received your order. Stock availability and shipping volume can delay shipping.
The QRPGuys Pacificon is a low cost 40m DSB/CW qrp transceiver. It is a Steve Weber (KD1JV) design, based on a project for the Pacificon 2020 QRP forum buildathon, and we are offering it as a pcb project and make your own case, or you can add the optional chassis, and/or SKC keyer kit. This transceiver uses a Si5351A PLL clock generator controlled VFO, single chip Atmega328P µP for control, a five digit LED frequency readout to 10Hz resolution, with rotary encoder tuning. It features a CW output on 40m of ~5W and ~2.5W PEP on DSB. A direct conversion receiver with RIT is utilized, switchable lowpass audio filter, multiple tuning rates, also with 500 KHz-30MHz general coverage reception, disabling the transmitter outside the ham bands.
“Conventional wisdom says two DSB stations can’t talk to each other if both use a Direct Conversion receiver. This is not true.
What is true is that the two stations need to match each other’s frequency exactly. Or at least really close. As the center frequency of one or the other (or both) stations start to drift apart, the beat note of each side band starts to separate, with annoying results.
The problem with minimalist DSB designs is that they often used an Analog VFO of questionable stability. So, keeping two home brew DSB stations on the same frequency was frustrating, hence the bad rap.
By using the Si5351 clock chip for the VFO, and the various additional functions a microprocessor adds, The Pacificon becomes a practical DSB rig.”
Steve Weber – (KD1JV)
All the components are supplied, including the Si5351A chip, the only SMD component, all others are thru hole. The DSB voice mode is designed to use an inexpensive (not supplied) single plug Baofeng UV3R, (not UV3R+), speaker/microphone, available on eBay for ~$5-$10. Antenna connection is BNC female, 12-14V power is via a standard 5.5mm x 2.1mm coaxial jack, mic./speaker connection is a 3.5mm 4 pole jack, and external speaker connection is a 3.5mm stereo jack.
Power requirements for TX are 650mA @12-13.8V, ~40mA RX. It is small, lightweight, and with the optional 4.25″w x 3.40″d x 1.12″h (108mm x 86mm x 28mm) chassis, total weight ~3.5 oz. (100gm). On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the most difficult, this is rated as a 3-4. The normal tools required are a soldering iron with a small tip, rosin core solder, small side cutters, and small phillips screwdriver. Allow an evening or two to build, depending on your experience. Steve’s Arduino Sketch for the Pacificon is in the Misc. Files section.
Clubs will find this useful for a group kit building, cw training project, and with a simple antenna, a local net tool.
The chassis kit includes all the parts to make the lightweight chassis, including knobs and feet.
Click here for the transceiver assembly manual
Click here for the optional chassis assembly manual
Click here for the optional SKC keyer assembly manual