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The MFJ cub range are qrp single band full QSK cw rigs. They come pre assembled or in kit form with most of the build already done for you. All the surface mount parts are fitted leaving a handful of parts for you to fit. Power levels range from 1 watt to 2.2 watts but you may find they put out slightly more. My 40m cub is stated as having around 2.2 watts which is exactly as i found i got.
The remaining construction is fairly easy and is well within the capabilities of even a newcomer to building. The instructions for both the build and alignment are very good. There are a few toroids to wind which are easy enough to do apart from them being small.This rig can be adssembled in an evening and alignment is straight forward and the use of a HF reciever is helpful. The transistors supplied can be substituted for higher output transistors for extra power. My cub puts out 2.2 watts max so i want to substitute the transistor for a higher output one so it will enable me cut power out to run 2 watts without thrashing the transistor to within an inch of its life.
I made two calls on 40m after alignment basically checking what the sidetone sounded like and got a reply form a german station with a 559 report if im not mistaken so was pleased with it. The tuning range is quite wide and its possible to pick stations up on the ssb portion.
Above you may be able to see the tuning pots and toroids that you will need to fit yourself along with a few xtals and other components.All the surface mount components are all pre fitted and this kit really is within the cababilities of most people. The only complaint i do have is that the rig is supposed to be full qsk but there is a slight delay between unkeying and recieve but this is only a minor niggle and can probably be fixed quite easily.
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