Saturday 17 Feb – Sunday 25 Feb

Hello

Just a reminder that we’ll be on a short holiday for a week and won’t be able to give technical support, answer emails or make sales.

Some of you were asking about the case and prices for it: We will make them available from Monday 26th.

Case £56.85

Recorded delivery charges: UK £3.90, EU £8.90, Worldwide £12.90

VAT ( 20%) for UK and EU countries will also be added by Pay Pal

Thank you

Lucy Jeliazkova

Hello

We have some limited number of full kits completed with cases. We will be able to sell those in the next few working days, before we leave for a short holiday on Saturday 17 February.

Please note we won’t be able to answer support e-mails until Monday 26 February

On our return we will resume sales and also provide cases to hams who have bought full kits. It will be sorted via custom invoices. We’ll post more details when we are back.

Thank you for your support!

Lucy and Chris

Hello,

I am sorry I have been away for a bit and have left Lucy to deal with orders and customer support. I needed to sort out next assembly order batch, also the current one required significant post processing. Hopefully this will not be the case anymore.

As for the case, the main problem was caused by the front plate and defect that occurred when switching to new speaker grills. My printer failed. I have tried to get a back up one which also didn’t work. I did some updates in a mean time and sorted few complicated things.

But I have some free time now and will work exclusively on sorting case. I also want to reassure everyone purchased the Full kit will be given opportunity to buy case if they wish to complete their radio kit.

Will keep everyone posted.

Bit behind on approval and responding to blog comments, sorry about that!

73, Chris (M0NKA)

Hello,

I have updated the 0.7 files on the Downloads page with the case assembly guide. Please re-download and check it out if you got the case and finished your built. It is important to follow it as to prevent damage. Thank you!

The 2017 was difficult year for the project, despite that, we are still here, somehow. I would like to personally thank everyone who supported us, by working on the code, buying the kits, providing useful feedback and mods suggestions and being patient with delays related to the new revision.

Backlog of full kits, will post when the Post Office opens (2-3 days) and the case, i have all the parts for it now, will make some pics and videos asap.

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!

Krassi Atanassov (aka Chris) M0NKA

Hello,

The first batch of Full Kits, rev 0.7 is in stock. Please note that now it takes bit more time to prepare them, as i need to program each one of them.

The mini kit is still in stock as well (based on how long i will have LCDs).

Regarding the cases, i got my final shipment delayed by Fedex, so as fast as i get it, i will post some pictures, drawings and maybe a video of the case.

73!

Hello,

I have been overloaded with messages and e-mails since i have posted some pictures of the new revision of the mcHF. Apologies if i have not been able to answer or too slow, but switching to the new revision kit was huge logistical operation, even with the help of Lucy.

The first batch of Components Kit is ready, please check the Order page for detailed information. Just a few things though – we have planned to supply those kits with the case, but due to being sourced by four different suppliers, not everything is ready in time, so i am sorry. Will have to list it separate on a later date. Also i haven’t uploaded pictures of detailed boards assembly and the case yet, this is to come as well.

The current kit comes with three boards, six bags of parts, again SMD and post assembly. Also the kit will include speaker, the nice optical encoder and LED lit buttons. Maybe in the future we will resort to cheaper option – like mechanical replacement for the optical encoder and keeping the optical as a option, not supplying the speaker and using the older style buttons (footprint fits fine), all this to drop the kit cost down. Depends on how this revision would be met by fellow hams.

If you’ve been waiting, please check the Order page, the quantity is limited, but i hope to have the next batch before Xmas, all depends on how fast we can get parts during the busy period.

Edit: I forgot to mention that all kits from now on will come with CPU installed and programmed, as this was the main complaint by OMs – difficulty of loading the bootloader and firmware.

73!

Hi,

It has been anticipated for some time. I think the new revision 0.7 is ready. I have uploaded all relevant files into a single zip archive. Please check the Downloads page.

Why single zip file instead of separate files ? I have been blamed on social media that the cloning of the mcHF was somehow my fault, because my license terms were not very clear. True or not, now all project files will be distributed as single archive with clear license marking, just it case.

Detailed changes from 0.6 to 0.7 are listed in the pdf, i will update this file if it is not clear. In few words, there is a major mechanical change, instead of two boards, the mcHF will use three now. Main reasoning is to allow to expand the hardware as the limits of the old form factor were reached already anyway.

I am still waiting on some parts from various suppliers, but when everything is here, i will probably supply the new aluminium case with the full kits. This is mainly to address some incompatibility issues we had in previous revisions (LCD not fitting, etc). It will also allow for quicker changes and upgrades on the User Interface layout, which was difficult before.

Another problem which i plan to address is the programming of the CPU. Lots of OM did find loading of the bootloader and firmware challenging, so all kits (components and full) will come with everything pre-loaded.

I will try to list for sale some limited quantity of blank boards today or tomorrow, maybe another week for the components kit and i hope the Full Kit before xmas, but that depends on some pending orders, so lets see.

Thanks to everyone for their patience and support! Without you guys this project would have not existed for four year!

73, Chris

M0NKA

Hello,

I have been asked before, and was planning for a long time, but finally uploaded the SolidWorks project files for the latest 3D printed enclosure. This will give everyone the ability to modify, update and improve on them. Or prepare cutting script for CNC machining if needed (if you have HMSXpress plugin). For non-commercial use please.

Direct download

73!

hello everyone,

I haven’t been much active lately, here or on social media. This has been interpreted by some that i got fed up by the project somehow. It would seems there is a large commercial operation in the works, originating somewhere in Germany. Maybe waiting for me to pass the ball.

So, a fellow ham was nice enough to send me some pictures of the Chinese (not the German) clone and as it would look the same as the long time discontinued 0.4 revision of the mcHF, it is not exactly the same.

Deep analysis of the project would reveal that with such simplified design, the devil is in the detail and a small thing like misspelling the word ‘driver’ is nothing to be worried about, well, one should think what else has been rushed in.

One thing that is extremely important is off course are the sampling capacitors in the detector and exciter. There is a reason for using the best and most expensive ones. So getting a 2000 pcs reel that cost as much as one of the proper caps i list in my BOM is a big no-no.

While at it, why not modify at random the PA bias circuit as well. What could go wrong there ?

I guess it is getting boring now, so the best mod here is the Chinified BPFs:

So yeah, if you making an RF circuit, if all possible, use multi-layer inductors – good result guaranteed.

Anyway, why do i care about all this – well, apparently i suppose to give support for the clones as well. And usually i don’t do investigations when a colleague e-mails me for help. So yes, it is bit frustrating.

I hope this was informative enough, and i am still actively working on the project. The good news is that my wife (Lucy) has joined me and from now on i will have more time to dedicate on the actual development, instead of Admin tasks.

73!