KANGA ROCKROSE CW KIT

Hi all, this is a Quick Look at the RockRose CW Transceiver Kit from Kanga. I’m a rank amateur and my electronics knowledge can be described as little to none, so I only write this to demonstrate that even a dummy like me can enjoy putting together simple kits like these. There are only around thirty components in this kit, so it’s not going to take long to build, although you will spend a little extra time calibrating it and you will need another transceiver to do that.

So the tiny RockRose from Kanga is a 3W single-band CW transceiver which comes with a high quality SMD-populated PCB which uses IC-Sockets to make construction easier. The components are all well packaged and separated into groups. There are two toroids to wind.

The kit includes a very nice (black) aluminium case which goes together very well and even comes with some rubber feet. There’s even a magnifying glass included in the kit!

There are no printed instructions in the box, so you will need to download them from the Kanga website - making sure to download the correct one to match the band you chose (40M, 30M or 20M).  I opted for the 40M crystal-controlled version and I also purchased the optional volume control. I must say that the instructions are absolutely tip-top and provide all the information you need to build a working transceiver - they include lots of handy tips and interesting background info on the RockRose design.

The kit arrived quickly and was well packaged. It took no time at all to populate the pcb and there were no issues whatsoever. I started by winding the two tiny toroids - they both had the same number of turns (in my 40M version, anyway). I always do this task first for some reason - it’s like ‘get them out of the way’ 😂

After that, I installed the DC Socket, making sure that it was perfectly aligned so that it mated up with the aperture in the case. This is very important, so only solder one pin of the socket and then try the alignment before soldering the other two pins. The same care should be taken installing the 3.5 mm jack-sockets and the two switches. Alignment is important!

From there, I populated the rest of the board as per the instructions and carried out the very useful multimeter tests along the way to make sure I had got things right. I almost got caught out despite a red warning in the manual by inserting a capacitor in the wrong location!

On the pcb there is C8 and C8’ and it’s very important that you don’t get them mixed up. To be honest, I think the labelling should be changed and the idea of using an apostrophe be dropped for eternity!

Before I knew it, the kit was built and it was ready to calibrate. As I said previously, you need another transceiver for this, so I pulled out my lovely IC-705.

I had to connect a dummy load to the RockRose and turned the power right down as instructed in the manual. Using a paddle, I transmitted in short bursts to see what frequency it was transmitting on. Using the 705 made this a super simple process, because I could see the signal on the panadapter and easily make the necessary tx-trimmer adjustments on the RockRose to make sure I was transmitting on 7.030MHz.  I then transmitted on the 705 and adjusted the RockRose RX-trimmer to make sure the receiver was aligned correctly. 

Following that process, you flick the A/B switch on the front panel and make sure that the radio is transmitting 800Hz higher. During the trimmer adjustments, it’s easier if you have some tiny plastic screwdriver bits - otherwise metal bits will introduce some noise during the tuning.

With the calibration completed, it’s time to adjust the radio’s power output to a usable level. I followed Kanga’s advice and avoided operating it at full power - I chose a setting of 2.5W using a QRP power meter which I calibrated with my IC-705.

With that job done, it was time to put the pcb in its case and run some tests on the Reverse Beacon Network. At the time, I had no choice but to connect the radio to a compromised vertical using a tuner (Elecraft T1) and will have to do more testing later outdoors with a resonant antenna in more favourable conditions, but for now, this will have to do. 

Now bear in mind that for this first test, conditions were appalling! I could barely hear any activity on air and I switched to the IC-705 to make sure it wasn’t the RockRose, but it wasn’t.  Anyway, I pushed on and made some CQ TEST calls. The only reports I got were from G0KTN and SE5E. 

 

Although I was hoping for more spots, it does at least prove that the RockRose is fully functional and my tiny 2.5W signal has travelled 850 miles in terrible conditions using a compromised antenna. I very much look forward to taking this with me when I next go out in the field, where I’m sure it will perform superbly.

I highly recommend this little radio - it’s a great kit, using high quality components and comes with superb build-guidance. It features a built-in keyer, Auto-CQ, adjustable key speed and has a flexible voltage input range of 9-14V.  I use a triple 18650 4000mAh battery pack.

I’ve bought a few Kanga Kits including the ROOSTER and TRANSMATCH and have never been disappointed - quite the opposite!

If you’d like to build one of these kits, visit Paul’s website.

Thanks for looking at my blog - leave a comment below.

73, Tom, M7MCQ.

 

 

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