Four States QRP Group

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HillTopper 20

Kitted and Offered For Sale By
The Four State QRP Group

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Dave Benson K1SWL, founder of the renown Small Wonder Labs, has come up with another winning design. Four State QRP Group is honored to have been selected to kit the new transceiver. The Hilltopper is a high performance CW transceiver for the 20M meter band. It is the perfect solution to your portable operation needs - small, lightweight, wide 20 meter frequency coverage and low current drain, extending the life of your portable power source. The receiver is adapted from K1SWL’s SW+ Series with minor modifications. The front-end circuitry was revised to replace the now-vanished 10.7 MHz IF transformers. The receiver output is suitable for headphone use.

The transmitter strip is a proven design using three BS170 transistors for the PA. The frequency source for both transmitting and receiving is a DDS VFO employing a Si5351 PLL module. Control for the rig is provided by an Atmel ATmega328P. This runs both the frequency control and the full-featured CW keyer.

A custom silk-screened PCB enclosure is included with the kit. No drilling or cutting required!

There are two pre-installed SMT ICs on the board, but the remainder are ALL THROUGH HOLE parts, and all jacks and connectors are board mounted, the combination making this kit very easy to assemble with no external wiring needed.

Clubs and Groups Please Note! Group discounts are available, 5 kit minimum order required.

Specifications and Design Features

General
Transceiver:	Full-function CW
VFO:	Si5351 PLL
Frequency Range:	14.000 - 14.350
Frequency Readout:	Audio Morse
Tuning:	100 hz/20 hz steps
Reverse Voltage Protection:	Series diode protection
Single Bander:	20M only.
Size:	The board is 4.35" x 3.95" x 1.07" and weighs 8 oz
Power Supply:	12 volt battery or bench supply.
Current requrements	Receive: Approximately 64 ma, Transmit: < 700 ma.
Keying:	On-the-fly CW speed control via knob or paddles

Receiver
Type:	Single-conversion superhet, 5.185MHz IF
Sensitivity:	Minimum Discernible Signal (MDS) -118 dBm.
Mixer:	SA612AD 8-pin SOIC-8 IC
Current Req'd:	64 ma.
QSK:	Full QSK.
Audio:	Headphones.

Transmitter
Power Output:	~5 Watts
Final Amp:	3x BS170
Spectral Purity:	All harmonics and spurs are 50dB or more below the carrier.
Current Req'd:	< 700 ma.

Documentation

OLD KITS Assembly Manual

NEW KITS - after August 1, 2020 - CONSOLIDATED Assembly Manual

Errata Sheet

Pre-2020 Performance Improvements

Schematic

Board Layout Part locations

Part List BOM

Photo Page Rig pix, part ID, and building tips.

Posted with permission
Electronics 2000's Capacitor Identification Page
Electronics 2000's Resistor Code Graphic Calculator

Ordering Information:

• The cost of this kit is $ 125.00
with a shipping cost of $ 11.00

• DX Buyers, check HamRadioLand for availability.

• Note to Canadian Purchasers:
Due to high bank processing fees,
we can no longer accept Canadian Money Orders.

• If paying by check or money order (US $ only)
please make it out to "Four State QRP Group" in the
amount of $136.00 for each kit purchased,
and mail to:

Four State QRP Group
Johnny Matlock ACØBQ
379 23rd Road
Lebo, Ks 66856

The HillTopper 20 is carefully kitted and shipped by Jim Pruitt, WA7DUY
Please direct shipping, kit, and part related questions to Jim Pruitt

All proceeds are applied toward funding OzarkCon.
Thank you for supporting The Four State QRP Group.

The files and images on this site unless otherwise noted are copyright by
the Four State QRP Group and may not be published or used without permission.