FINAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Our earlier discussion of how a watt of RF output can indeed offer satisfying communications has several presuppositions:
1.A resonant antenna (dipole or
2.Good quality coaxial feedline and connectors
3.An effective earth ground
We cannot expect good results from low levels of RF output if the power gets wasted in lousy coax, corroded connections, or poor antennas. However, you also will be interested to know that test QSO's, including DX, were made with this Ramsey transmitter using both a mobile whip antenna and simple dipole on the balcony of a condo building.
If you elect to use an antenna tuner, it is extremely important that you understand exactly how to use tuners and what they can and cannot do. A watt of RF can easily become lost in an incorrectly adjusted antenna matching device. The whole idea of this transmitter is to keep things simple and economical, so we cannot overemphasize the priority of a clean, efficient connection of the transmitter output to a resonant antenna.
TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE:
To put it as kindly as possible, the operations of Ramsey QRP transmitters have been
If the transmitter does not work, the first step is to recheck ALL assembly steps and the quality of all solder connections. In addition, check those too obvious things we like to take for granted: cables and connectors, polarity of the DC supply.
If the oscillator stage just does not work at all after thorough checking, it is helpful to check your crystal(s) in a test oscillator or other transmitter.
Common trouble spots include:
Incorrect orientation of transistors
Incorrect installation of diodes
Incorrect selection of inductors
Incorrect selection of