So i want to build my very own transceiver, not looking for anything worldwide, just local but i do have a background in arduino and some electrical engineering, what tutorials would you recommend?
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3$\begingroup$ I would recommend updating your question: what frequencies are you planning? what purpose/goal? what modulation FM/AM/SSB/digital/other ? The more information you give the more specific the answers. $\endgroup$– Edwin van MierloSep 6, 2019 at 10:48
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1$\begingroup$ Also, what's your comfort level with component assembly -- through-hole or surface mount? Are you willing to learn some techniques? But MODE is the big question -- you can build a usable CW rig with 3-4 transistors and some passives, but FM or SSB will be a good bit more complex. $\endgroup$– Zeiss IkonSep 6, 2019 at 11:55
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$\begingroup$ For a transmitter, with one of the newer faster ARM based Arduinos or a Raspberry Pi, you don't even need transistors (or maybe just one), just enough passives to make a good band-pass filter. Allows CW, WSPR and even a few of the digital modes. Receivers are more difficult to design though. $\endgroup$– hotpaw2Sep 6, 2019 at 15:08
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1$\begingroup$ @hotpaw2 "you don't even need transistors" I think there's an important distinction between "just getting a signal on the air", and "learning RF electronics 101". One may transmit something out with a microcontroller with a bandpass filter, but without knowing how to use transistors in general, and without understanding the nature of the transmission (e.g. never have the chance to see the signal with an oscilloscope or a FFT spectrum in a RTL-SDR) , it's likely to get something wrong. But for a beginner's project, I think it's a good one, as long as one keeps moving forward. $\endgroup$– 比尔盖子Sep 6, 2019 at 15:26
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1$\begingroup$ I certainly didn't need transistors. The first 2 kit radios I assembled had vacuum tubes. Hard to find these days. Also these days, one can do a very significant portion of radio design and construction strictly in software and FPGAs (including circuit simulation, spectrum analysis and virtual oscilloscopes). $\endgroup$– hotpaw2Sep 6, 2019 at 16:47
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2 Answers
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You might want to first assemble a kit, perhaps an inexpensive one for QRP (many mail-order QRP transceiver kits seem to exist for under $100 USD). This will allow you to experience component recognition, assembly tools and practices, bring-up, instrumentation, calibration, test procedures, and repairs, etc. before doing this on a design of your own that hasn't been "pre-flighted" with known results (as least according to kit reviews).
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1$\begingroup$ I would add to this that you'll learn more about RF circuits by examining the schematic for a discrete component CW transceiver (available under $50, for good ones) than by putting together a much more powerful and versatile rig that uses ICs for most of the "good stuff". $\endgroup$ Sep 6, 2019 at 16:02
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You can find many designs for homebrew amateur radios on the internet. A couple I am somewhat familiar with include the BITX radios made famous by HfSignals with their BITX40 and uBITX radio kits and Bob Heil's Pine Board Transmitter that used vacuum tubes.
I do suggest starting small with just a section like a local oscillator, mixer, or amplifier.
As mentioned by others buying and assembling a kit is a good way to get started. If you buy two kits you can build the first one following the instructions and then use the second kit to experiment by trying different components or designs.
If time and expertise is limited, get a commercial or kit radio but make your own antennas. Antennas are much easier to make and experiment with than radios them selves.
