My System Red is at the USPS. Will pickup tomorrow during lunch. Almost have all of the parts needed to commence. Need to go to Lowe's and get a sheet of foam insulation, then I'll be set. Will not be in a hurry to assemble. Gonna take my time, as it has been several years since I've soldered anything.
John
I know how you feel, enough empathy that I'm gonna hold off on the 'big' antenna till I prove I can handle the kit's ferrites. Assuming the SMD placement skills are halfway intact, and the circuitry works.
Retired from electronic tech career 1997. Heated up soldering pen 6 times since then.
Finally found it. (Ya' know, gotta get stuff ready).
Cleaned it, put in a new mini-tip, plugged it in, determined which end got hot, let it cool off, and dugout an old spool of 24 gauge solder and a bit of wick, and the solder sucker, the contact cleaner (just in case) and pencil eraser, 2 spools of 26 gauge magnet wire (about a half-mile's worth) I'd never used, aluminum tape (to have nearby if I build the big antenna), couple sheets of copper shielding, some clips, an anti-static mat and ground strap, a third hand, the magnifying glass, two hi intensity lamps, tweezers and the micro tools. New Batteries in the old Simpson and cleaned and checked it, along with the DVM.
I'm ready.