Pixie 1 Watt CW radio

[WRPC505]

I just ordered a 40m Pixie 1-watt CW radio (already assembled) with rockbound frequency of 7.023 MHz; I should get it within 2 weeks. Yes I know not to expect very much considering the peashooter signal and such, but I wanted to play with it especially since I have gotten heavy into QRP (and even QRPp) thanks to a very good ham friend of mine from Houston. Oh and it was cheap, too. Have any of you guys used the Pixie and what did you think of it?

Warren, WQ1C / WRPC505

[SteveShannon]

55 minutes ago, WRPC505 said:

I just ordered a 40m Pixie 1-watt CW radio (already assembled) with rockbound frequency of 7.023 MHz; I should get it within 2 weeks. Yes I know not to expect very much considering the peashooter signal and such, but I wanted to play with it especially since I have gotten heavy into QRP (and even QRPp) thanks to a very good ham friend of mine from Houston. Oh and it was cheap, too. Have any of you guys used the Pixie and what did you think of it?

Warren, WQ1C / WRPC505

I haven’t, but it sounds like it would be fun.  I’ll look it up.

[WROZ250]

The Pixie is OK, but you really need to be a seasoned operator to have any success with it.  It is what it is (not intended as a disparaging remark) and can be a lot of fun. 

I think the biggest problem the Pixie has is that too many beginners get one (for the price) thinking they're going to be working DX and find they can't even work the neighborhood!

I have a couple of them I built years ago, laying around the shack (somewhere) LOL!

 
 

[WROZ250]

BTW, you're not likely to get 1W with the CCTs (Cheap Chinese Transistors) it comes with (more like 200-300mW).  If you search around the web, there are a couple of articles on replacement transistors that will give at least 1W if not a bit more.

[WRPC505]

13 hours ago, WROZ250 said:

The Pixie is OK, but you really need to be a seasoned operator to have any success with it.  It is what it is (not intended as a disparaging remark) and can be a lot of fun. 

I think the biggest problem the Pixie has is that too many beginners get one (for the price) thinking they're going to be working DX and find they can't even work the neighborhood!

I have a couple of them I built years ago, laying around the shack (somewhere) LOL!

 
 

You're definitely right on that. I'm not expecting to do very much with it; I would be happy if I made a contact with a neighboring state! (I'm in central Texas.) It's simply something to play with and that's all. Over the last couple of years I've began digging into QRP and QRPp; I've had a few QSOs from 5 watts all the way down to 650 mW (accidentally, I wasn't paying attention to my power output until the QSO was almost finished) and I had fun with it. 

Let's just say that I got curious about the Pixie and as previously mentioned I just wanted to try it for fun, nothing serious. I have just ordered the SW-3C CW transceiver that covers 20-30-40 meters, and I will eventually order the QRP Labs QCX-mini for 17 afterwards. I am getting more into CW along with doing more QRP/QRPp instead of anything over those levels. In short, my 100-watt days are long past.

[WROZ250]

17 hours ago, WRPC505 said:

I will eventually order the QRP Labs QCX-mini for 17

I have a QCX mini (20M) still in the box (unbuilt).  I also have one of the original QCX (40M).  The Mini may be too small IMHO which is why I have not built it.  In hindsight, I kinda wish I had purchased the current QCX+ as it has room for easy modifications, and for ease of building.  Not knocking the Mini, it's just too small for my tastes and I don't need small (not that small anyway).

All that said, the QCX is really is a great radio (regardless of version) even at the current prices.  Prior to the QCX, I built two of the 1Watter transceivers (a 20M & 40M) from Kits and Parts which is, in some ways, a better sounding radio (IMHO) but is limited in frequency coverage due to a VXO verses the VFO in the QCX and, it's not a direct sampling receiver.  What Hans did with the QCX is genius.

There are a lot of good kits out there!

Personally, I just enjoy building so...

 

[kidphc]

On 6/11/2022 at 9:34 AM, WROZ250 said:

BTW, you're not likely to get 1W with the CCTs (Cheap Chinese Transistors) it comes with (more like 200-300mW).  If you search around the web, there are a couple of articles on replacement transistors that will give at least 1W if not a bit more.

Serious QRP there. I would probably be throwing it at the wall in about 5 minutes of use.

[WROZ250]

1 hour ago, kidphc said:

Serious QRP there. I would probably be throwing it at the wall in about 5 minutes of use.

Naw!  QRP (especially with CW) can go quite the distance with a decent antenna, even a modest one, depending on conditions.  Power isn't everything and, personally, I find snagging some DX with a couple of watts a lot more rewarding than doing it with 100+.

The challenge with the Pixie is that it is an extremely rudimentary transceiver, especially the receiver portion.  It is definitely not for a beginner to use as it would indeed become frustrating.

[WRPC505]

On 6/13/2022 at 9:02 AM, WROZ250 said:

Naw!  QRP (especially with CW) can go quite the distance with a decent antenna, even a modest one, depending on conditions.  Power isn't everything and, personally, I find snagging some DX with a couple of watts a lot more rewarding than doing it with 100+.

The challenge with the Pixie is that it is an extremely rudimentary transceiver, especially the receiver portion.  It is definitely not for a beginner to use as it would indeed become frustrating.

I agree. Like I said before though, it's only to experiment and play with until my SW-3C arrives and then I'll seriously get after it. But I will play with the Pixie from time to time and see what I can do with it (or not); it may even tag along (along with the SW-3C) with me to a local park for a couple of hours. 

Amateur Radio at its core is about experimentation; that is definitely what I will be doing. If I don't make a contact, I'm not going to fuss over it. If I do, it's what I would call a "plus day." 

[tweiss3]

Sounds like it might be fun, if I could ever get the hang of CW and truly learn it. I know quite a few people that do really well QRP CW.

[WRPC505]

1 minute ago, tweiss3 said:

Sounds like it might be fun, if I could ever get the hang of CW and truly learn it. I know quite a few people that do really well QRP CW.

I do as well, and they inspired me to give it a shot and see if I liked it or not. Well, due to space constraints I decided to go the minimalistic route and bought the Xiegu G90; actually, it was two of them but both crapped out on me...didn't want to try a third time. Liked the QRP way of life, so now I'm REALLY digging into QRP and QRPp, which is definitely the Pixie. Once the SW-3C arrives I can begin to have some fun. Antennas are the Wolf River Coils SB 1000 Mega TIA with the 213" whip and an EFHW at about 35' in length but will probably lengthen. 

And yes, my wife approves!

[WRPC505]

On 6/14/2022 at 3:24 PM, tweiss3 said:

Sounds like it might be fun, if I could ever get the hang of CW and truly learn it. I know quite a few people that do really well QRP CW.

The Pixie arrived today, but I'm still waiting for a 9800 mAh battery I ordered; it should be delivered by Friday. I'm itching to get started...

[deerhunter1972]

On 6/11/2022 at 1:39 AM, WRPC505 said:

I just ordered a 40m Pixie 1-watt CW radio (already assembled) with rockbound frequency of 7.023 MHz; I should get it within 2 weeks. Yes I know not to expect very much considering the peashooter signal and such, but I wanted to play with it especially since I have gotten heavy into QRP (and even QRPp) thanks to a very good ham friend of mine from Houston. Oh and it was cheap, too. Have any of you guys used the Pixie and what did you think of it?

Warren, WQ1C / WRPC505

Have fun with the Pixie. I was going to go that route until I found the (Tr)USDX here https://dl2man.de   In my opinion, for budget QRP, this is the best rig out there. I built mine for $83 shipped from Aliexpress. It is truly amazing how good this rig is. I have only had it a month but have worked all over the US on 5W. 
 

Todd, K9TDW/WRFL209

[WRPC505]

46 minutes ago, deerhunter1972 said:

Have fun with the Pixie. I was going to go that route until I found the (Tr)USDX here https://dl2man.de   In my opinion, for budget QRP, this is the best rig out there. I built mine for $83 shipped from Aliexpress. It is truly amazing how good this rig is. I have only had it a month but have worked all over the US on 5W. 
 

Todd, K9TDW/WRFL209

Great! I have my SW-3C coming in on Friday, and there is a USDX USDR radio coming to me as a very belated birthday gift coming to me eventually, so I'll have two more little QRP rigs besides the Pixie to play with. I get to choose between QRP and QRPp, which should be a lot of fun.

[tweiss3]

QRP phone is fun as well, while it's a bit difficult, the challenge can be rewarding. I did upgrade to the 705 for my QRP station, because the package is pretty dang complete. Having a waterfall can be a huge benefit when searching out contacts.

[WRPC505]

On 6/23/2022 at 12:19 PM, WRPC505 said:

Great! I have my SW-3C coming in on Friday, and there is a USDX USDR radio coming to me as a very belated birthday gift coming to me eventually, so I'll have two more little QRP rigs besides the Pixie to play with. I get to choose between QRP and QRPp, which should be a lot of fun.

Well, I THOUGHT my SW-3C would arrive on Friday. But since DHL delivers Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm ONLY, I'm stuck without it until at least Monday. Just as well, with Field Day going on this weekend; probably a blessing in disguise.

[WRPC505]

Finally tried to activate my Pixie this evening after Field Day ended. As I began getting the Pixie and my WRC vertical tuned properly, I encountered one important problem: my pit bull Roxy did not like the sound and pitch of my straight key. She came running off her recliner (it WAS mine but she decided to take it over), put her muzzle on my thigh and started grumbling. So I stopped, began to pet her and got her settled down; Roxy returned to her chair. 

I watched her until I figured she returned to her relaxed state, then hit my straight key again. That dog popped her head up and began to growl at me like she was telling me, "Stop it!" I looked at her and just turned off my battery pack and gave up for at least this evening. The Pixie is now a temporary paperweight until perhaps tomorrow for a little bit when I take the dog outside to let her do her thing. But it's supposed to rain from midday on (and it looks like it will rain in a little bit as I write this), so I'm not sure if I'll get to play with it for a little while. 

At least the SW-3C from Venus should finally arrive tomorrow afternoon, so MAYBE I can finally play a little CW after I get home from work around midnight. If the dog doesn't mind...

[deerhunter1972]

On 6/23/2022 at 12:19 PM, WRPC505 said:

Great! I have my SW-3C coming in on Friday, and there is a USDX USDR radio coming to me as a very belated birthday gift coming to me eventually, so I'll have two more little QRP rigs besides the Pixie to play with. I get to choose between QRP and QRPp, which should be a lot of fun.

Good deal! If you haven't ordered the USDX USDR yet, I would still recommend the Tr USDX. The USDR is actually a Chinese clone of the Tr USDX. If you don't have the ability or the patience to put together the Tr USDX, they are basically the same price fully put together and ready to go. 

 

Todd

[deerhunter1972]

19 hours ago, WRPC505 said:

Finally tried to activate my Pixie this evening after Field Day ended. As I began getting the Pixie and my WRC vertical tuned properly, I encountered one important problem: my pit bull Roxy did not like the sound and pitch of my straight key. She came running off her recliner (it WAS mine but she decided to take it over), put her muzzle on my thigh and started grumbling. So I stopped, began to pet her and got her settled down; Roxy returned to her chair. 

I watched her until I figured she returned to her relaxed state, then hit my straight key again. That dog popped her head up and began to growl at me like she was telling me, "Stop it!" I looked at her and just turned off my battery pack and gave up for at least this evening. The Pixie is now a temporary paperweight until perhaps tomorrow for a little bit when I take the dog outside to let her do her thing. But it's supposed to rain from midday on (and it looks like it will rain in a little bit as I write this), so I'm not sure if I'll get to play with it for a little while. 

At least the SW-3C from Venus should finally arrive tomorrow afternoon, so MAYBE I can finally play a little CW after I get home from work around midnight. If the dog doesn't mind...

If you haven't tried already, use some headphones.