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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What do I have to do to assemble the Sienna?
How long will assembly take?
How much test equipment do I
need to calibrate and test it?
I don't see my favorite feature listed. Will you be adding
things?
You've compared yourself to Heathkit. What non-amateur products
are you considering?
You say you're trying to emulate
Heathkit. But Heathkits were cheap!
What the heck is
an embedded PC and why should I care?
Not an SDR! What does this mean?
See how to reassign memories to
skip bands, do shortwave listening, and move around the bands quickly
Cool
software to go with your Sienna
What do I have to do to assemble the Sienna?
The manual is as detailed as any of the old Heathkit manuals, with
step-by-step instructions, pictorials, board views, and more so you can't go
wrong. But there are 12 basic steps to building a fully-loaded Sienna:
Step 1. Assemble the 10 piece chassis including attaching
loudspeakers and central fan
Step 2. Load and solder 50 parts on the DC distribution board,
install it, power it up and verify power supply voltages. If you also
purchased the antenna tuner, add the 28 parts to the board at this time.
Step 3. If you purchased the optional PC, load and solder 15 parts on
the optional PC power supply board, install it, power it up and verify
voltages
Step 4. If you purchased the optional PC, install it, connect power,
attach VGA, keyboard and mouse, and turn it on, verifying that it boots
correctly
Step 5. If you purchased the front panel, solder the 40 parts on the front panel
board, attach it with meters, display and controller board to
the front panel sheet metal, attach the knobs, secure it to the chassis and connect cables
Step 6. Turn on the unit and verify that the controller powers up
correctly. At this point, you can experiment with the control usage (if you
have a model with a front panel) and use PC remote control
Step 7. Load and solder 206 parts on the IF filter board, adding any
additional crystal/mechanical filters you have purchased. Install in chassis.
Attach the assembled Test Board and verify that the IF filter board operates
correctly. Remove the Test Board.
Step 8. Load and solder 124 parts on the partially loaded receiver
bandpass filter board and snap in 11 preassembled bandpass filters. Stack on
IF filter board. Attach the Test Board and verify that the RxBPF board
operates correctly. Remove the Test Board. If you did not purchase the
transmitter, install the Test Board in the center compartment to provide
cable termination for the transmitter power cables, oscillators and fan.
Step 9. Load and solder 100 parts on the partially loaded receiver
board. Install receiver on top of IF/BPF stack. Connect cables. Turn on the
unit and calibrate the receiver.
Step 10. If you purchased the transmitter, load and solder 47 through-hole parts on the partially loaded
transmitter board. Attach heatsink and power
transistors. Mate to preassembled TxBPF board. Snap in 12 preassembled
transmit bandpass filters. Install the transmitter, connect cables, power it
up and calibrate it
Step 11. If you have purchased the 100W power amplifier, load and
solder 159 parts on the 100W amplifier. Attach heatsink and power
transistors, test and calibrate outside the unit, then install
Step 12. Attach the cover.
We think we've got a nice mix of kit boards, chassis wiring and overall
assembly that will give you hours of fun.
How long will assembly take?
It really depends upon how experienced you are. If you're a pro, it will
take you about a week to get it all running. If you are a novice, it could
take two to three times as long. On the average, we think it will take you
about 40 hours. This is not a snap-it-together-in-a-few-hours "kit". This is
a serious kit in the finest of kit-building traditions.
How much test equipment do I need
to calibrate and test it?
You will need a voltmeter and ohmmeter to check the boards and power
supplies as you turn the unit on board by board. Receiver calibration only
requires a voltmeter. Internal signals are used to provide known good RF,
and a special preassembled test board helps you verify that the IF filter
board and the Receiver bandpass filter/preamp/attenuator board both work.
The transmitter requires an external RF power meter in order to calibrate
the SWR meter and RF power output level. A separate receiver is useful to
null the carrier for SSB transmission. Units without a front panel require a
PC in order to send the necessary commands to the rig. We will soon have a
software "helper" program to assist with calibration of front panel-less
units.
I don't see my favorite feature listed. Will you be
adding things?
Yes. The modular nature of the rig lends itself to this. We've already added separate Tx and Rx VFOs, triple conversion receive, better
metering and separate dot/dash weighting in response to your input at Dayton
and on this site. We've added support for the RFSpace SDR-IQ. Keep your ideas
coming!
You've compared yourself to Heathkit. What non-amateur
products are you considering?
We plan to expand into audio niches, including tube-audio, that are not
being served by the big consumer audio companies. We also plan to get into
robotics and remote control. We may even dabble in certain furniture items like Heath did
when they were owned by Daystrom. Some of our products can also be turned
into industrial instrumentation, so we may expand into that area as well.
Products that you will not see from us are color TV, CB, or mainstream audio
gear. Send us your ideas!
You say you're trying to emulate
Heathkit. But Heathkits were cheap!
Please see our About_DZKit page for a good
look at the Heathkit SB-101 compared to other rigs of the day. Heathkit was
not always the cheap alternative that we remember. And just as Heathkit
started with high-end products and then made less expensive versions (e.g.,
SB-101 -> HW-101), we also plan to spin off the technology in our high-end
rig, the Sienna, into less expensive kits.
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