Oh eBay why do you tempt me so...

I was casually looking through eBay looking at the QRP gear and I discovered a Youkits HB1A that was going very cheap indeed. I have a HB1B but thought about a second radio because they are great fun and easy to use. 

All things went well and the radio became mine for almost a quarter of what you would expect them to fetch. Two downsides though, It was from a silent key and had the knobs missing but for the price I thought I'd take a risk. 

The risk was a risk too, the radio turned up and was low on RX and TX power, I opened up the rig and saw instantly what the issue was. The marks of burning gave it away instantly. 


Those of you with a trained eye will spot a rather sorry looking 10uH inductor. Heaven knows what had melted it away but replacing it has left the rig working fine and outputting full power on TX too. Thankfully I had a well stocked spares shelf and a steady hand. I also had a couple of dodgy left over knobs from other projects so please excuse it's Frankenstein's monster type features. 



Was the risk worth it, this time yes it was and I am lucky enough to have a radio that was cheap enough for me to start experimenting and modifying in the near future. 


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