kit building

With the hot weather months here, I have been spending some more time building kits. This month, I continue with the ME40+ and try my hand at two affordable new kits from a familiar source. When at the annual Four Days in May Vendor Night during Hamvention, I often see new kits being introduced. This year was no exception. The Four State QRP Group introduced the 4S-Dummy Load kit I featured in my previous column, and now offers it online for $15 including shipping at <www.4sqrp.com>.

Another familiar face at FDIM this>. Ken brought along an interesting and affordable new paddle kit designed to be attached directly to the front panel of an Elecraft KX2 or KX3 transceiver. This kit is available in both a single-lever and dual-lever iambic version. In addition, there is a companion base kit that allows the paddle to be used with any CW keyer or radio with built-in keyer. This kit is a great idea for use with your Elecraft portable radios as well as others instead of exposing your “nice” paddles to the elements when doing brief Parks or Summits on the Air activations.