Everybody should build one of these

The Super Pixie is almost a staple of ham radio kit building. Its a long tested design of a small QRP radio kit. Don't be fooled into thinking this is an amazing radio for $15, enjoy it as a kit build excercise and love it for its simplicity!

This version works for American General and Extra class licenses - or anybody that wants to build/test into a dummy load.

For $15 you can't go wrong!

Click the 👍 Like Button, 🤡 Leave a Comment, ❤️ Subscribe

👉 Support The Channel 👈

👉 Fun Stuff 👈

Where possible, all links are affiliate links, this youtube thing is an expensive endeavor and every little bit helps.

👉 Fun Stuff 👈

Where possible, all links are affiliate links, this youtube thing is an expensive endeavor and every little bit helps.

[PaintmanJohn]

OK, I'm a dinosaur. BACK IN THE DARK AGES, ESPECIALLY WITH GERANIUM diodes, we always used a bending jig to avoid stressing the fragile glass cover on the diodes. Also, I learned to allow a small air gap around pc board components by slipping a small tywrap under each component before soldering. That small gap does a few things: heat dissipation (when things go WRONG), Mechanical stress relief on component legs, easier component replacement if repairs are needed, and my favorite - a place to easily attach a test lead when troubleshooting.
BTW - I ordered the kit too ! Just my $.02 ...

73 de KG5RK

[Andre-PYDR]

My first CW QSO (or whatever that moment was😅) was using one of these... I built one and placed a random wire on the antenna plug just to check if I could hear anything... I heard it was alive... I call "CQ CQ de PU4ALZ" a couple of times just to hear the tone! The random wire was laying on the ground. To my surprise I hear "PU4ALZ de PY4..." 😮 I was actually making a qso... what to do now? How to answer? 😂 I sent 599 and the other guy sent me 569... my very first CW QSO!! Scary, I know! But from this day on I never went back to voice!! 100% cw ever since 😂

[Aimsport-video]

You don’t have to be color blind to have issues with color on resistors… this is a great tutorial for anyone that has issues with id and management of components. Thank you.

[southernexposure]

The Pixie is a direct conversion Rx. A VFO D.C. receiver uses the VFO and a diode ring to mix the VFO signal and the signaal on the air and the signal difference heterodynes to audio. There's an frequency offset circuit in the radio to prevent the Pixie from hearing the small amount of continuous signal all the time .

[KEBXZ]

9:40 it was at this moment i realized you have a very intuitive way of doing a kit build, and now have inspired me to order this kit with a side mission to learn CW in the process😂 thanks for the great content ! You have inspired this rookie ham to continue to grow. 73

[Aloysius-]

Ice cube trays are also good to use on the bench to separate parts and screws

[ralphmills]

Someone suggested a group getting a few of the original Pixie kits for a combined intro to Kit building course and Morse code practice. Using the supplied 51 ohm resistor as a dummy load there was enough RF leakage to be received across the meeting hall for real "on air" CW QSO training.
I played with a few Banggood "Pixie" kits, a few modifications was to place a three pin header to use as a Final Transistor socket for WHEN not if you blew it up. Replace the crystal to move CW operation from the 30+ WPM Extra band to a slow code novice band frequency.
I also tried a few simple CW filter circuits to improve the receiver "Barn Door" selectivity. You basically had to train your ears to pick out just the right tone of a station on your Crystal frequency and ignore all the rest of beeps, yelps and squeals in you earphone.

[dwhip]

Newbie to the RF world here, Your inventory method is brilliant. Added it to my nearly empty bag of tricks

[christianblack]

Im an experienced constructor, so I didn't learn anything, but this was so beautifully and lucidly explained - I enjoyed every minute. I just got one of those cheap LCR-T7 component testers and they are GREAT for identifying mystery parts.

[KEBXZ]

Got it built and it works perfectly 🎉🎉🎉 Now I am learning my dits and dahs … completely obsessed with Amateur Radio !!!!

[boisinnawoods]

I'm going to have to get one of these as incentive to upgrade to general and learn cw. This build looks really fun! Thanks for the video Steve!

[ColbyHiggs]

You have great soldering skills. It was a good lesson to watch. Thank you!

[MuzzleMike]

I got a couple of these a couple of years ago . One with a case put together for me and the other I did myself. The one put together was only $18. The other was $4. . I bought the extra Seattle and crystals . They both work nice . One is in a tin and goes out in the field the other stays home to play with. My key is also a kit . It goes all over . Not the best but works .

[WQFHamRadio]

I never get tired of building these kits, I think this is one of the best kits out there to practice soldering on. Good Build 73!

[WLDT]

Steve, I built an Elecraft K2 with ALL the options. It took 9 months. I could not have done it without a component identifier and a USB microscope. The component identifiers are cheap. Kits are $9-15. Prebuilt around $22. The one I got displays a schematic image of the part. It also finds faulty parts. I plugged in a transistor and it saw it as 2 resistors. Not good but saved a bunch of headaches.

[kazkam]

GIn order to make PCB boards, we basically start with attaching the parts that are shorter. Congratulations on the completion of. TU 73

[auto]

When you said "To the internet!" I was expecting the 🎶doodly-do 🎶 and spinning effect on the screen from Batman.

[southernexposure]

I received a few Pixie kits a few days ago. I'm glad your helpful video is one I can hear.
Resistor reading: according to someone, the color ring / band nearest the wire lead is the first band to read. Someone else said that for 4 and 5 ring resistors there's a gap near the tolerance ring. Going past 3 colors is asking too much.
Learning capacitor markings is a lot worse than resistors and inductor markings are just about as confusing as capacitor markings. They sell a LCR meter (not too many $$$) to help with Ls and Cs. I recently got a cheap one and it seems to work OK.
Soldering heat sensitive parts: the bent wires are already holding the part on the board, so I put a finger pad on / under those heat sensitive parts. Yep it'll get a little warm if I'm slow to melt the solder. So, like you I sometimes get a dab of solder on the tip first.
Your comments about your straight key technique gave me a chuckle. My first rig didn't have a side tone. After 3 or 4 years I got a rig with side tone. Then I cleaned up my straight keying by letting my ears tell my fingers how to control my key timing.
Thanks for the video I can hear.

[shARyn]

Resistors -- I do "tolerance band" right and down

[johnhelt]

Wow! You single-handedly sold them out. Guess I must wait for restock