UK GROUP BUY 2- ***looking for leader***

scubafrique
 

Posts: 32
Joined: 02 Jan 2022, 10:20
Location: JO01GJ

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- **expressions of interest**

Post by scubafrique »

Brilliant and thank you for taking the lead.

Given that the members call signs for all 50 units are on the first thread, I see no point in starting a new thread. Just follow on from here.
But if Faraaz thinks that the 39 people who've said they want to buy 50 units is not a group buy, and deems it necessary to start a new thread then by all means do so.

Faraaz's comments are quite "clinical" as befitting his profession I guess. I am very happy to continue motivating and communicating and not condescending..

As I have no experience ordering components or building units at this level I am in no way qualified nor experienced to take financial responsibility for the purchase or holding of funds. Consequently Im not willing to be the organiser.

Ian has been kind enough to include me in his first ordering correspondence and Im aware youve been in contact with him which is great and I feel is a far more suitable support and guidance option which theoretically should make this ordering easier. Anything I can do please let me know


Kind regards

Graham.
G7NQL wrote: 31 Jan 2022, 23:28 Thanks for your comprehensive reply Faraaz.
I normally leave the holiday arrangements to my lady wife :D

I have benefitted from GB organised by other people, I've been building audio gear mainly. So it's my turn to do the organising this time. I'm going for it.

Giving back something to the designers
I'd also like to build in £2 each for the designers (Guido, PE1NNZ and Manuel, DL2MAN) who have put so much of their time and effort.

Target
The target is 50 kits.

I'll start a GB thread later.
G4FSX / ZS1FSX
G4SEB
 

Posts: 4
Joined: 09 Jan 2022, 12:30

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by G4SEB »

Hi

Thanks G7NQL for volunteering to run the group buy.

Please could I put down my interest for a single kit and an enclosure as a reserve in case someone backs out, etc?

Many thanks,
Seb G4SEB
Papa_Whisky
 

Posts: 15
Joined: 03 Jan 2022, 15:32

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by Papa_Whisky »

G4FSX de M7PWA now 2E0PWV

Hi scubafrique I couldn't respond to your private message as I have too few posts. If you could private message me with your email address I can send mine directly to your email address. I can't see any other way of doing it.

73
G4MSA
 

Posts: 4
Joined: 03 Jan 2022, 23:44

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by G4MSA »

G7NQL de G4MSA
Many tks for agreeing to lead this . I don't have a lot of free time available but I'm very happy to help this group effort where I can -for example review the final component ordering BOM to ensure there is nothing missing. Help search for the source of the hard to obtain components. Also happy to support the initial bench testing of the first few units to check all looks ok before the other units are shipped out to the group members . I think I have enough basic test equipment and professional knowledge to do this including comparison measurements on the receive side and output power , spectral purity and modulation parameters on the TX side.
Best 73s
Dave
in IO90 sq.
Roger G0SWC
 

Posts: 1
Joined: 03 Feb 2022, 17:42

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by Roger G0SWC »

Hi I'm up for this too, 2 Kits plus case / enclosure
Roger G0SWC
G7NQL
 

Posts: 22
Joined: 29 Jan 2022, 11:43

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by G7NQL »

Group buy update

Thank you to the people who have volunteered to pitch in, it's much appreciated. I'll be reaching out to you individually in due course. It's a community effort and is in line with what Guido, PE1NNZ and Manuel, DL2MAN had in mind for the radio they jointly created.

So far I have completed some dry runs on the JLCPCB service and there are some significant components which need to be substituted and one which can not, the Arduino chip which is the brain to (tr)uSDX. Hand soldering the odd capacitor or resistor is one thing though I'd suggest that the CPU is mounted and soldered by JLCPCB, having said that it is significantly larger.

In all likelihood there will be a few SMD to be manually soldered as they need to be sourced separately. These will be bagged and tagged as they're not easy to work out the values once they're off the reel.

I envisage the kit to include all components, the majority of the SMD soldered on, toroids, enamelled wire, pcb connectors and switches. The case will be optional, I haven't looked into supplying the case, it may be the case of reaching out to low volume 3D printing companies. Personally I'd prefer an aluminium case with enough space for an onboard li-ion battery, but that'll be a topic for another day.
mm0gyx
 

Posts: 83
Joined: 30 Dec 2021, 20:22

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by mm0gyx »

G7NQL wrote: 03 Feb 2022, 19:08 Group buy update

Thank you to the people who have volunteered to pitch in, it's much appreciated. I'll be reaching out to you individually in due course. It's a community effort and is in line with what Guido, PE1NNZ and Manuel, DL2MAN had in mind for the radio they jointly created.

So far I have completed some dry runs on the JLCPCB service and there are some significant components which need to be substituted and one which can not, the Arduino chip which is the brain to (tr)uSDX. Hand soldering the odd capacitor or resistor is one thing though I'd suggest that the CPU is mounted and soldered by JLCPCB, having said that it is significantly larger.

In all likelihood there will be a few SMD to be manually soldered as they need to be sourced separately. These will be bagged and tagged as they're not easy to work out the values once they're off the reel.

I envisage the kit to include all components, the majority of the SMD soldered on, toroids, enamelled wire, pcb connectors and switches. The case will be optional, I haven't looked into supplying the case, it may be the case of reaching out to low volume 3D printing companies. Personally I'd prefer an aluminium case with enough space for an onboard li-ion battery, but that'll be a topic for another day.
Hi Chun,

I also tried a dummy buy for the PCBs in the last 10 minutes, as you say, the MCU is the main issue. Those out of stock capacitors can be replaced by other manufacturers. So, the mainboard has resistors and capacitors 0603 size, any NP0 can be replaced by C0G, you need to keep the voltage the same or higher. The RF board has 0805 footprints, you can take your pick of 0603 or 0805, same rules on voltage. If I can be of help on this don't hesitate to call me on the number I emailed you.

As for the MCU, it's really interesting that JLCPCB are charging so much for a device that was available for £2.12 each in x50 volume in the UK, I guess that's the law of supply and demand! Anyway, you have a choice, either keep checking to see if it comes back in stock, or try something based on this thread viewtopic.php?t=71 although those options appear to also be out of stock, so maybe you are stuck. The other day when I checked they had stock, and I know people spoke about them being out of stock previously, so perhaps like I say, keep checking as it seems to change daily. They can be had from ebay, UK sellers appear to charge about £6.25 each, with discount for quantity. I don't know anything about the sellers. I bought 2 from ebay to replace a couple that were bricked. I think I'd be leery about getting 50 from ebay myself, but here's an option, order the PCBs with what you can get on them and let the recipients deal with that risk, alternatively, like I said, keep checking on JLCPCB on a daily basis.

I recommend buying the ferrite from kitsandparts in USA, I received 500 T37-2 and 150 FT37-43 after 8 working days at a cost of £100! Dare I say, without VAT! You will see Manuel quoting 419 euros to buy from Germany. The encoder, sma, oled, speaker, etc I got from aliexpress and haven't had any failures yet. The female 3.5mm socket can be hard to get hold of, but there is a UK company that do them https://www.toby.co.uk/board-to-board-p ... x14-AG1-G/

Good luck, 73,

Ian MM0GYX
G7NQL
 

Posts: 22
Joined: 29 Jan 2022, 11:43

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by G7NQL »

Evening Ian,
very useful post - thanks for checking back on this thread, we're standing on the shoulder's of giants.
I shall keep checking parts availability. At some point we'll need to decide on how much SMD soldering we feel comfortable doing as a collective, I suspect for the majority, the less the merrier.

The GB team will be reaching out to the original list of OM that expressed an interest to validate if that's still the case.
mm0gyx
 

Posts: 83
Joined: 30 Dec 2021, 20:22

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by mm0gyx »

G7NQL wrote: 03 Feb 2022, 21:02 we're standing on the shoulder's of giants.
That's a bit dramatic! It's actually not hard, I just had a little time on my hands is all.

Ian
G7NQL
 

Posts: 22
Joined: 29 Jan 2022, 11:43

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by G7NQL »

I was referring to the designers too.
No one needs to go back to first principles to deliver a well designed process, plus it needs someone to poke their head above the parapet, but the precedent needs to be set first. You've done so, so has Guido, Manuel and the hundreds of people before them.
mm0gyx
 

Posts: 83
Joined: 30 Dec 2021, 20:22

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by mm0gyx »

G7NQL wrote: 04 Feb 2022, 20:00 I was referring to the designers too.
No one needs to go back to first principles to deliver a well designed process, plus it needs someone to poke their head above the parapet, but the precedent needs to be set first. You've done so, so has Guido, Manuel and the hundreds of people before them.
Oh, yeah, I agree Manuel and Guido have things set up really well, it’s so easy to order the pcbs thanks to Manuel’s guidance.

I feel a little embarrassed now, letting my narcissistic side show 😂
G4MSA
 

Posts: 4
Joined: 03 Jan 2022, 23:44

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by G4MSA »

This is interesting - He is interested in discounted rates to help group buyers. May be worth discussing with him how he can help contribute to this group buy and still allow group members to contribute to the final integration of the kit

https://www.qrphamradiokits.com/tr-usdx/
G7VFY
 

Posts: 2
Joined: 02 Jan 2022, 18:18

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by G7VFY »

I'm very interested in a complete kit, possibly two, including the enclosure

Stephen G7VFY
07956-544202
G7NQL
 

Posts: 22
Joined: 29 Jan 2022, 11:43

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by G7NQL »

Update

G7VFY - Useful to know. I've reached out to Javier, EA3GCY and asked him some pertinent questions - if he has access to a supplier that can supply all the parts, then it should be an option that we consider, though we need to be mindful of the costs.

I've done another dry run with JLPCB, the MCU and various caps are still OOS.
I'll keep trying.

Ian MM0GYX has been in touch with more helpful info. Thanks Ian.
Last edited by G7NQL on 08 Feb 2022, 08:30, edited 1 time in total.
G7NQL
 

Posts: 22
Joined: 29 Jan 2022, 11:43

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by G7NQL »

Soldering 32pin TQFP?
I'd like a show of hands to find out if people are happy to solder the 32 pin TQFP package. If so we can crack on and get this GB under way.

They're available from Farnell in about a months time.



Image
Last edited by G7NQL on 09 Feb 2022, 19:22, edited 1 time in total.
G4SEB
 

Posts: 4
Joined: 09 Jan 2022, 12:30

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by G4SEB »

G7NQL wrote: 08 Feb 2022, 08:30 Soldering 32pin TQFP?
I'd like a show of hands to find out if people are happy to solder the 32 pin TQFP package. If so we can crack on and get this GB under way.

They're available from Farnell from about a months time.



Image
I know I'm not on the group buy list, but if a space does come up, I would be willing to solder the 32 pin TQFP.
M7WRC
 

Posts: 5
Joined: 05 Jan 2022, 22:53

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by M7WRC »

I’m happy to solder yes.
G7NQL wrote: 08 Feb 2022, 08:30 Soldering 32pin TQFP?
I'd like a show of hands to find out if people are happy to solder the 32 pin TQFP package. If so we can crack on and get this GB under way.

They're available from Farnell from about a months time.



Image
Wilts21
 

Posts: 4
Joined: 04 Jan 2022, 14:18

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by Wilts21 »

I’m happy to solder it

Paul
M1CNK
G4MSA
 

Posts: 4
Joined: 03 Jan 2022, 23:44

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by G4MSA »

i'm happy to solder it
paul.g8kig
 

Posts: 2
Joined: 05 Jan 2022, 14:58

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by paul.g8kig »

I am happy to solder it.
M0HWI
 

Posts: 2
Joined: 06 Jan 2022, 18:59
Location: COVENTRY

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by M0HWI »

Go ahead
M7TSX
 

Posts: 3
Joined: 07 Feb 2022, 11:05
Location: Devizes

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by M7TSX »

Hi, a bit late to this (only just got my licence) but is it too late to join this group buy?

Thanks very much in advance.
Papa_Whisky
 

Posts: 15
Joined: 03 Jan 2022, 15:32

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by Papa_Whisky »

I am not experienced enough to solder something like that
mm0gyx
 

Posts: 83
Joined: 30 Dec 2021, 20:22

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by mm0gyx »

G7NQL wrote: 03 Feb 2022, 19:08 Group buy update

Thank you to the people who have volunteered to pitch in, it's much appreciated. I'll be reaching out to you individually in due course. It's a community effort and is in line with what Guido, PE1NNZ and Manuel, DL2MAN had in mind for the radio they jointly created.

So far I have completed some dry runs on the JLCPCB service and there are some significant components which need to be substituted and one which can not, the Arduino chip which is the brain to (tr)uSDX. Hand soldering the odd capacitor or resistor is one thing though I'd suggest that the CPU is mounted and soldered by JLCPCB, having said that it is significantly larger.

In all likelihood there will be a few SMD to be manually soldered as they need to be sourced separately. These will be bagged and tagged as they're not easy to work out the values once they're off the reel.

I envisage the kit to include all components, the majority of the SMD soldered on, toroids, enamelled wire, pcb connectors and switches. The case will be optional, I haven't looked into supplying the case, it may be the case of reaching out to low volume 3D printing companies. Personally I'd prefer an aluminium case with enough space for an onboard li-ion battery, but that'll be a topic for another day.
Just had a little look on JLCPCB, the 328P-AU is back in stock, as is the multiplexer chip (which is really good to see, as it's a challenge to solder for many), but now the 5351 has gone nil stock, and the quad nand chip. I just replaced a 5351 on a board and it is probably the most challenging item on there, so best you guys wait for it to come back in stock. I would say as far as the mainboard is concerned if you keep checking over the next days it you should be all systems go. As for the RF board, there are a few capacitors nil stock, but you can pick alternatives, got to be careful as they are for LPF so must be 100v and C0G/NP0. I did a dummy buy and with shipping and taxes it came to £1296.35 for 50 sets of populated boards, obviously you need to wait for the 5351, but hopefully if you keep checking they'll come in soon.

Good luck with your group buy folks.

Nearly forgot, spend the extra on through hole relays!!

Ian MM0GYX
scubafrique
 

Posts: 32
Joined: 02 Jan 2022, 10:20
Location: JO01GJ

Re: UK GROUP BUY 2- G7NQL

Post by scubafrique »

This is Fantastic news and gathering traction.


mm0gyx wrote: 12 Feb 2022, 23:41
G7NQL wrote: 03 Feb 2022, 19:08 Group buy update

Thank you to the people who have volunteered to pitch in, it's much appreciated. I'll be reaching out to you individually in due course. It's a community effort and is in line with what Guido, PE1NNZ and Manuel, DL2MAN had in mind for the radio they jointly created.

So far I have completed some dry runs on the JLCPCB service and there are some significant components which need to be substituted and one which can not, the Arduino chip which is the brain to (tr)uSDX. Hand soldering the odd capacitor or resistor is one thing though I'd suggest that the CPU is mounted and soldered by JLCPCB, having said that it is significantly larger.

In all likelihood there will be a few SMD to be manually soldered as they need to be sourced separately. These will be bagged and tagged as they're not easy to work out the values once they're off the reel.

I envisage the kit to include all components, the majority of the SMD soldered on, toroids, enamelled wire, pcb connectors and switches. The case will be optional, I haven't looked into supplying the case, it may be the case of reaching out to low volume 3D printing companies. Personally I'd prefer an aluminium case with enough space for an onboard li-ion battery, but that'll be a topic for another day.
Just had a little look on JLCPCB, the 328P-AU is back in stock, as is the multiplexer chip (which is really good to see, as it's a challenge to solder for many), but now the 5351 has gone nil stock, and the quad nand chip. I just replaced a 5351 on a board and it is probably the most challenging item on there, so best you guys wait for it to come back in stock. I would say as far as the mainboard is concerned if you keep checking over the next days it you should be all systems go. As for the RF board, there are a few capacitors nil stock, but you can pick alternatives, got to be careful as they are for LPF so must be 100v and C0G/NP0. I did a dummy buy and with shipping and taxes it came to £1296.35 for 50 sets of populated boards, obviously you need to wait for the 5351, but hopefully if you keep checking they'll come in soon.

Good luck with your group buy folks.

Nearly forgot, spend the extra on through hole relays!!

Ian MM0GYX
G4FSX / ZS1FSX
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