Most of us come into amateur radio through a handset and a licence, but sooner or later a different itch appears: what if I built that myself? If you have felt it, this is a good week to scratch it. On Monday 5 October the RSGB’s Tonight@8 webinar series welcomes Tom Wardill (M9TWM), the Society’s Maker Champion, to talk about the modern tools that have made building radio gear far easier than it used to be.

What the Maker Champion Will Cover

According to the latest GB2RS news, Tom will look at sourcing SMT components (surface-mount technology, the tiny soldered parts found on almost every modern circuit board), ordering boards from PCB fabrication services, using 3D printing for cases and mounts, and choosing sensible test equipment. The aim is to help people tackle projects they previously thought were too difficult.

That last point matters. Many of us assume that building anything useful needs a workshop and years of electronics experience. These days you can order a professionally made circuit board online for a few pounds, print an enclosure at home or at a local makerspace, and follow a well-documented design. The webinar streams on the RSGB YouTube channel and via the BATC channels, so you can watch from the sofa and ask questions if you wish.

You Do Not Need to Start Big

As a Foundation licence holder, you are allowed to build and use your own equipment within your licence conditions, which is one of the lovely freedoms of the hobby. Remember that the Foundation licence limits you to 10 watts and to the bands listed on your licence, so a home-built transmitter must stay within those limits and be clean on air. Receivers, on the other hand, carry no such worries at all.

Good first projects include a simple dummy load, a patch lead made with properly crimped connectors, or a dipole cut for a band you already use. A dipole is just two lengths of wire fed in the middle with coax, and it teaches you about resonance, SWR (standing wave ratio, a measure of how well your antenna is matched to your radio) and weatherproofing all at once. If a soldering iron is new to you, practise on scrap wire first. Good joints look shiny and smooth, not dull and lumpy.

Inspiration From Space Radio

If you want ideas, the October edition of OSCAR News from AMSAT-UK (issue 246) is packed with builds. Articles cover constructing a FUNcube-1 ground station, designing a 70cm pre-amplifier for satellite reception, and making an antenna controller interface. There is also a piece on voice-command control of ESA spacecraft on 23cm and one on the RADIANT cislunar amateur radio network.

E-members can download the PDF straight away, while postal members will receive their copy within a couple of weeks. You do not need to be an expert to enjoy reading it. Even skimming the pictures will show you how ordinary amateurs put together receiving stations for satellites passing overhead.

Practical Tips for Your First Build

• Choose a documented design. Pick a project with a clear parts list, photographs and a community of people who have built it before.
• Buy a few spares. Tiny components vanish easily, and ordering extra resistors and capacitors costs pennies.
• Test as you go. Check each stage before moving on, rather than discovering a fault in a finished board.
• Ask your local club. Many clubs run construction evenings, and someone there will happily lend a hand, a magnifier or a better soldering iron.
• Stay safe. Use a well-ventilated space and keep the iron in its stand.

Why Building Is Worth It

There is a particular thrill in making your first contact on a piece of kit you built yourself, and it deepens your understanding of what is happening inside the radio. It also feeds nicely into the next steps of your amateur radio journey, because the Intermediate licence syllabus includes practical construction and the theory behind it.

So set a reminder for Monday evening, tune in to the Maker Champion’s talk, and then pick one small project to try this month. Whether it is a wire antenna or a kit receiver, you will learn more from a single build than from a dozen articles.

73 de M0LGI