ATS-3 Radio

This little radio was a kit built by me in March of 2005.  I bought it to use while backpacking as the light weight and features were an incredible combination.  Since my brother Fred is heavily into lightweight backpacking I felt it was necessary to keep the weight down as much as possible or I'd get too much flack from him!

The ATS3 Radio is a four band transceiver kit produced by  KD1JV and described very nicely on AE5X's web page.  It operates CW on 20, 30, 40, and 80 meter amateur bands at a power of 2.5 Watt with a 9V supply.  It'll run 5W at 12V.  The built-in keyer and direct digital synthesis really make this an excellent QRP rig.
     
 
The ATS-3 Radio packaged in it's Altoids tin.  Total weight: 2.4 oz.   A look at the inside of the radio with the quick reference operating guide attached to the inner cover of the lid.
     

Here's a closer look at the inside.  Most of the components are surface mounted with just a hand full of thru-hole parts.  I used a Metcal soldering iron and microscope station over my lunch breaks to get all the components soldered on.

It took about a month for me to get it all assembled grabbing 30 minutes here and there.

 Thankfully, it worked without any problems the first time I turned it on.
 

 

    

NN7N Micro Paddle (0.3oz)

Since the radio and Altoids tin were only 2.4 oz I just couldn't stand more than doubling the weight to add a paddle for the built-in iabmic keyer contained on the transciever board.  Many years ago in my youth I had built a paddle using a nail and two spring steel shims.
   
I was probably a sophomore in high school ('73) when I built this quality contraption on a shoe string budget.  It works great though as the spring steel arms are very lively and easy to operate.  Originally the steel arms were part of an electronic keyboard kit that had 6-8 of these hooked up to play notes when pressed.

Later  my friend Marshall, AA0FO took pity on me and gave me a very nice El-Kay paddle but this puppy has stayed around in my junk box.

I decided it was time to do surgery on this unit for my ATS-3 to reduce it's weight.
     
One of my objectives was to also make it fit into the Altoids tin with the radio as this would force me to keep the weight and size down.
     
 I cut a tiny wood block made from cedar (the lightest wood had laying about) and attached the paddle arms to the wood block with a nylon screw to keep the sides from shorting out.  This seemed to work OK but it's so tiny it needed a base for stability so I added more weight and added a screw post so I could attach it to the base of the ATS-3 Altoids tin.
     
The cable is from a discarded computer headphone.  The cable was snipped to 4" and fed thru a small hole in the back of the wood block where it is glued to hold it in place.  The three wires are attached with solder lugs snipped off so they don't come out past the top of the block.  I also tapered the shim stock so it wouldn't touch the metal case of the ATS3.  The 4-40 screw in the center acts as the common for the paddle arms and the screw head is the contact point.
     
Here's a shot of the paddles with them mounted to the bottom of the Altoids tin.  You can see here the user interface for the ATS-3 with buttons for UP/DN frequency, RIT control, and a catch-all MENU key for setting many defaults and special modes.  On the bottom of the wood block I have a small piece of nylon screw extending from the block which lines up with a hole on the bottom of the box to prevent it from moving side to side.  A piece of sandpaper glued to the bottom would likely server the same function.

 
The screw post is connected to the box with a press fit 6-32 nut that resides mostly inside the box for a clean surface on the outside.  I used a ball peen hammer to spread the top of the press-fit nut to attach to the box and make it flat with the surface of the box.
     
Here's a shot of the completed unit with the key stowed inside the Altoids tin for safekeeping.  Click here to see a high resolution image.
     
     
Now all I need is a lightweight antenna to go with the radio.  Since the radio and paddle is 2.8 oz it would be nice to make an antenna that wasn't more weight than the radio!  Please send me any good ideas for this.
     
Glenn, NN7N