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Elecraft KX1 Transceiver

The Elecraft KX1 Transceiver was designed to be a trail friendly radio, good for hikers, campers, and anybody on-the-go. The original design provided for two bands: 20m and 40m, but an additional add-on board can provide either a third band (30m) or two new bands (30m and 80m).

The radio can produce 2-4 watts of output with a sufficient power supply. The optional automatic antenna tuner matches a wide range of impedances so throwing a wire in a nearby tree is usually all it takes to get on the air.

This is a CW-only radio (no phone) but can receive USB and LSB signals within the ham bands as well as short wave broadcast signals outside the ham bands. A set of optional matching paddles and ear buds completes the radio setup.

This little gem is usually packed in my carry-on bag for short trips. The entire "shack" can be packed into a small Pelican case making it an easy choice when you want to go ultra-light.

Elecraft KX1 transceiver

The Elecraft KX1 packs a lot of radio in a very small package. This is a view of the back of the radio with the bottom cover (and batteries) removed. There are two circuit boards visible here: the main board (with the four crystals in the center) and the automatic antenna tuner (ATU) which mates to the bottom of the main circuit board.

This view shows how the ATU board fits its components inbetween the tall components of the main board. This was a very nice 3D engineering job by Elecraft. Also visible is a some damage to one of the mustard-colored relays from the rework I did to the radio to add the 30m and 80m bands. The job was just a little more tedious than I had thought. It only takes a moment of lapsed concentration to have a soldering iron damage a plastic part.

This view shows the assembled KX1 from the side. The front of the radio is towards the right of this photograph. Note that most of the components for the main board are on the board's top-side (towards the front panel). The edge of the ATU board is visible just to the left of the power connector.