If you don’t follow me on Twitter, you may not have heard that I have been working on a little “warm-up” kit in preparation for the CC1 release. Called the CRX1, this kit is a little VXO-tuned superhet receiver based on my 2010 FDIM Challenge entry, the Clackamas. The CC1 is also a descendant of that project, so you could say that the CC1 and CRX1 are siblings.

The CRX1 is an all-SMT project. The passives are size 0805 and the transistors are SOT-23, so it should be able to be built by most kit builders with the aid of a bit of lighted magnification. All of the components are on a single side of the PCB and things are not very cramped, so it should be a pretty easy build for an experienced kit builder, and within the capability of even a newer kit builder with a few kits under his belt. Here are the key specifications for the receiver:

Specifications

Frequency Range: Approximately 7.030 to 7.034 MHz (at +13.7 VDC power supply)
IF Bandwidth: Approximately 400 Hz
Current Consumption: 25 mA (at +13.7 VDC power supply)
Power supply: +9 VDC to +14 VDC
MDS: -123 dBm
3rd Order IMD DR: 84 dB
IF Rejection: 74 dB
Image Rejection: 67 dB
PCB dimensions: 70 mm x 100 mm
Antenna Connector: BNC
DC Power Connector: 2.1 mm barrel jack
Phone Jack: 3.5 mm stereo
Key Jack: 3.5 mm stereo
Muting, sidetone (user enabled), T/R switch, external VFO port included

I’m now to the point where I have a small number of beta test kits available, but instead of picking beta testers, I would like to try something different. So this time I’m going to try an “open beta”. The product is simple enough that I don’t think it will need much in the way of help in going from a beta to production. Therefore, I’m going to open sales up to everyone. The documentation is currently in a basic form, although I’m going to expand it quite a bit before it goes into production. Because of the basic documentation, I would like to ask that only confident builders purchase a kit at this point. It will be more suitable for novice builders in the near future when full production commences. You can check out the documentation here if you want to get a feel for what state it is currently in.

The beta kits will sell for $29 plus shipping, although that price will rise a bit at production. You can see the product page and purchase one on the Etherkit store, but hurry, since there are only eight beta kits available!