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Subject: Project 14: The World's Smallest Transmitter

Gang,
   If there was a contest to come up with a xmtr containing as few
parts as possible, this would be the winner: 10 parts if you include
the key, battery, and antenna!
   In the CODE/NO-CODE debate on r.r.a.policy some pro-coders will
mention the simplicity of CW xmtrs as opposed to those of other modes;
this circuit really drives that point home (that's why I'm posting this
on .policy) 
   On r.r.a.misc we've heard talk about how costly ham gear is today - all
this rig will cost you is the effort to find an old color TV chassis -
that's the parts source for all my QRP transmitters (and this is why I'm
also posting this on .misc).
   Normally I post these xmtrs only on r.r.a.homebrew and on the QRP
mailgroup; so if you've missed the first dozen xmtr circuits email me
and I'll send them off to you.
   I built this for 80M only because I've got so many 3579 kHz crystals
from old TV sets, but this can be used on any HF band - just choose
L and C to resonant at the crystal frequency.
   For peace of mind you might want to add a bandpass filter to the
output.


--------------------------------*---------*--------*----||---ANT
|                               |         |        |   10pf
|                               |         |        |  
-                               |         )       ---
XTAL                            |         )       --- C
-                               |         ) L      |
|                            | / c        )        |
*----------------------------|/           |        |
|                         b  |\           |        |
|                  2N2188      \ e        *---------
/                or any PNP     |         |
\ 100K           that'll work   |         |
/                              GND        |
\                                         |
|                                         |
*-----------------------------------------*
|                                         |
|                                         |
|                                        ---
|                                        --- .01uf
|                                         |
---------*KEY*----*1 to 4 volts +*--------*
                                          |
                                          |
                                         GND

Again, choose L&C to resonant at the desired frequency; one of the two
should be adjustable. I got both from the chromatic board of a TV -
both were sitting next to the 3579 kc xtal; easy, huh? I didn't use
a 2N2188 transistor; rather, I used a x-sistor right off the video
board (of the TV).
So, don't you dare buy one component for this - just dig through your
junk box (or your neighbor's trash for an old TV). With a good antenna
(those are the magic words in QRP work) this little peanut-whistle
will provide hours of pleasurable QSO's.
Oh, 3579 kc has become a national QRP frequency due to the easy avail-
ability of these crystals.

....  .-  ...-  .    ..-.  ..-  -. 

72,
Jeff NH6IL