The Wireless Amateur Experimente

The Wireless Amateur Experimenter Group

The BARC WAX Group

[ QRP ]

Requirements for membership:

Minimum of Basic Amateur Radio qualification with HF privileges
Must already know or be willing to learn morse code
Must know or be willing to learn basic soldering and kit construction skills
Must build and be able to operate a simple low power (QRP) HF CW transceiver and have made several contacts on the air
Must enjoy being a Ham Radio Operator
Must enjoy helping other Hams
New applicants will be considered to be Associate Members until they have proven their skills by building and operating their own CW QRP transceiver

One example of a good low cost HF QRP rig that you can build, is the Small Wonder Labs RockMite40 http://www.smallwonderlabs.com/.
One popular morse code instruction program is the G4FON Koch Trainer from http://www.g4fon.net/ .
If you don’t have HF privileges, re-write the Basic exam with an 80% mark.

To get an idea of what the original Wireless Amateur Experimenter was, read “From Spark to Space, the Story of Amateur Radio in Canada”. This is required reading for WAX members, so as to understand how and why Amateur Radio came into existence in Canada. It can be downloaded from: http://www.barriearc.com/Spark2Space.pdf (this is a 42MB file).

Another article on the history of Amateur Radio (from an American viewpoint) is The History of Ham Radio. If you've wondered where the term HAM came from, read Word Origins - Ham.

The purpose of the WAX Group is to try to bring back to the club some of the original essence of the Amateur Radio Operator, or Wireless Amateur Experimenter as we were originally called. Every Ham should have the opportunity to experience the thrill of making his first contact on a ham station that he built himself!

The group will meet for “build sessions” so that new members can help each other in constructing their QRP CW rig, antenna, antenna matching unit or other equipment. We will also be providing help in learning morse code. As a group, we are hoping to have periodic trips to a city park to setup and operate our QRP equipment - an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the fun of Ham Radio to the general public.

Once qualified, you will be issued a WAX membership number and receive a certificate like this one.

Al Duncan – VE3RRD
WAX membership #1
email: ve3rrd (at) rac (dot) ca

The RockMite 40 Step-by-Step Assembly Manual - an excellent construction guide by NE1RD.

RM 40 Step-by-Step manual notes - corrections and additional info

The Small Wonder Labs Rockmite 40 Instruction Manual

The SWL RockMite Connectors/Controls kit

The SWL Rockmite Supplement and Troubleshooting Guide

Workbench Hints and More Hints - lots of good ideas for the kit builder from DL2BQD

K7QO's QRP Laboratory Notebook - many good equipment homebrewing ideas (8MB pdf)

The Handyman's Guide to Homebrew Construction Practices Part 1 - by NA5N

The Handyman's Cuide to Homebrew Construction Practices Part 2 - by NA5N

If you don't have PowerPoint on your computer to be able to use the BC-1 drilling template (link on the right), install the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer (just Google it)

Comments on choosing a first kit to build:
Hopefully members of the WAX Group who build a RockMite 40 will try building other, possibly more complex, kits in the future. Members already comfortable with kit building can try something more complicated, as their first WAX Group project, if they wish to.

Important concepts behind the formation of The Wireless Amateur Experimenter Group are:

Inspiring both new and old Hams to build something themselves (not just going to a ham radio store or a Hamfest and buying something ready to plug-in and use). You miss a whole part of what Ham Radio is if you only follow the "plug-and-play" philosophy. In the case of us "old timers", it may have been many years since we soldered up a radio project.
Choosing something to build as a first project that is simple enough so that it will be completed in a reasonable amount of time and not cause frustration/failure.
Choosing a kit that is cheap enough so that everyone can play, not just the fortunate few.
An opportunity for all WAX Group members to learn how to solder and build a kit (if they haven't already had an opportunity to learn these skills).
An opportunity for members to learn CW, or brush up on their CW skills if they haven't used this mode for a while.
Building something that can get members active on HF (just being active on repeaters or even on IRLP/EchoLink is a very limited view of what Ham Radio can be). You are missing out on another whole aspect of Ham Radio if you don't take advantage of your HF privileges.
An opportunity for members to learn how to make simple wire antennas for HF. Why pay a lot of money for someone else to put some wire together to make an antenna when you can do it?
An opportunity for more hams to get involved in a different kind of club activity.
A chance to feel the sense of accomplishment when you finish a project that you made yourself and it works. Even if it doesn't work the first time, there is a further sense of accomplishment in figuring out what's wrong and fixing it.
An opportunity to get together with others in a park or other "in the field" location to set up your HF QRP station and have fun making a few QSO's, or explaining Ham Radio to interested on-lookers.
A chance to feel the excitement when you make your first QSO with a transceiver and antenna that you built yourself. I find that every QSO I make with my RockMite 40 is a more exciting and satisfying experience than a QSO on my commercially manufactured transceiver.

73, AL - VE3RRD, WAX #1

Want to increase your chances of making contacts with your QRP rig when competing with the "big guns", read the article by K8ZT: Top Secret QRP Tips - for QRPers only

Pictures from a WAX Group "build session" -