I’ve got too many electronics projects going, but I’ve already got my next one picked out. It’s KD1JV’s ATS-3B, billed as “the world’s smallest, lightest, six band HF CW rig.” Steve Weber, KD1JV, is a serial designer of QRP radios and accessories. The whole thing fits in an Altoids tin and puts out four watts on all bands. (My SW-40+ only puts out 2-2.5W.) It also has a DDS VFO and a built-in keyer. Band switching is done using removable band filter modules. The whole thing is controlled by a PIC microcontroller, which some people have reprogrammed for additional capabilities. It seems to be very well though of by those that have one.
The ATS-3B was designed by Steve to be the ideal radio for backpacking. He lives in New Hampshire and backpacks the Appalachian Trail often. (ATS stands for Appalachian Trail Sprint.) I haven’t done much backpacking lately, but I’m looking to get back into it soon.
Most ham kits use through hole parts, which are easier for some people to handle. The ATS-3B uses lots of surface mount parts, allowing it to be very small. I’ve used surface mount parts on a couple of projects and actually prefer them. I’ve always soldered them by hand. Steve seems to prefer the solder paste/warming plate/embossing gun method. I’m not sure if I’d give that a try or stick with soldering by hand. Here’s a YouTube video of Steve doing it both ways.
Steve only offers ATS-3B kits periodically. I believe he’s offered them about three different times now. He’ll be offering them again sometime in late fall, and I’ll be ready. This will also be the last time Steve will offer this kit, as some of the parts he uses are being phased out. He’s already working on the ATS-4, which looks to be a very nice (though somewhat larger) radio.
