=  NOW 40 WPM  =  
BUTTON FOR THE SPEED ADJUSTMENT.  THIS EASY TIP HAD ME CODING AT A
SPEED I WAS FAR MORE COMFORTABLE WITH.  THEN, I WENT BACK INTO THE
PRACTICE CHANNEL TO PRACTICE KEYING WITH THE NEW SPEED.  I FOUND THE
SPEED TO BE ACCEPTABLE, NOT ONLY FOR SENDING BUT ALSO FOR RECEIVING.
I CHOSE 12 WORDS PER MINUTE, KNOWING THIS IS BELOW THE RECOMMENDED
STANDARD WHEN STARTING WITH CODE.  LINKING TWO UNITS FOR REMOTE
OPERATIONS THE REAL FUN BEGAN WHEN I BUILT A SECOND KIT SEE FIGURE
7.  I CHOSE NOT TO OTHERWISE, THE KIT WAS AN EASY BUILD.  A FEW TIPS
TO REMEMBER THE ORIENTATION OF THE RESISTORS ON THE PCB DOESNT
MATTER.  THE PLACEMENT OF THE RESISTORS, HOWEVER, DOES.  THERE ARE
FIVE RESISTORS IN THIS KIT, AND THE PARTS LIST CLEARLY LABELS WHERE
EACH RESISTOR SHOULD BE PLACED AND PROVIDES THE BAND COLOR CODES FOR
EACH.  IF YOU DO NOT PLACE THE RESISTORS IN THE CORRECT SPOT, YOU
WILL HAVE ISSUES LATER.  SUBSEQUENTLY, THE DIODES, LIKE THE LEDS
PROVIDED WITH THE KIT, HAVE POLARITY, AND THEIR ORIENTATION MATTERS.
MAKE SURE YOU READ THE INSTRUCTIONS TO DETERMINE THE POLARITY.  THE
INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT INCLUDED WITH THE KIT BUT CAN EASILY BE FOUND
ON THE CW HOTLINE WEBSITE.  I FAILED TO ENSURE THE SPACING OF
SPECIFIC ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS FROM THE PCB.  ENSURING PROPER
DISTANCE BEFORE SOLDERING THESE COMPONENTS IS IMPORTANT WITHOUT THE
APPROPRIATE SPACING, YOUR BUILT KIT MAY NOT FIT APPROPRIATELY INTO
YOUR FRESHLY DRILLED KIT BOX.  DURING MY BUILD, I USED A FLUX PEN
WHILE SOLDERING THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS TO THE PCB.  I HAVE FOUND
FLUX TO BE CRITICAL IN PROPERLY SOLDERING COMPONENTS.  EVEN WITH THE
SOLDER CONTAINING CHANGE, I ADDED SOME VIA MY FLUX PEN.  FINALLY, IT
COULD BE DIFFICULT TO SOLDER COMPONENTS ON A PCB WITHOUT HOLDING THE
PCB IN PLACE.  I USED AN INEXPENSIVE SOLDERING STAND WITH ALLIGATOR
CLIPS AND A MAGNIFYING GLASS SEE FIGURE 5.  THIS ALLOWED ME TO KEEP
THE PCB IN PLACE AND LOOK THROUGH THE MAGNIFYING GLASS TO CONFIRM
THAT MY SOLDERING JOINTS WERE ACCEPTABLE.  JOSH NASS, KI6NAZ, USES A
VICE GRIP/BLOCK AND SEEMS TO HAVE SATISFACTORY RESULTS.  I WOULD
VENTURE TO SAY JOSHS WAY OF SECURING THE PCB IS STURDIER AND EASIER
TO WORK WITH, AND I WILL TEST THAT METHOD IN THE FUTURE.  AFTER
ABOUT 45 MINUTES, I COMPLETED THE BUILD MINUS THE CASE DRILLING.  IF
YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE IN SOLDERING, THIS MIGHT TAKE YOU ONLY 30
MINUTES, AND IF YOU ARE LESS EXPERIENCED, DONT WORRY ABOUT TIME.
YOUR FOCUS ON PATIENCE AND PROPER TECHNIQUES WILL BE MOST CRITICAL.
IN TIME, YOULL GET FASTER AND MORE PROFICIENT WITH DIFFERENT
TECHNIQUES.  I CHOSE TO BUILD AN IAMBIC PADDLE.  IT REQUIRES A
CENTER POST SO THAT EITHER PADDLE MAY TAP THE CENTER AREA, CREATING
A SHORT AND THUS ACTIVATING A DIT OR A DAH.  MY CENTER POST WAS NOT
HIGH ENOUGH OFF THE PCB, AND I WAS NOT MAKING ELECTRICAL CONTACT
WITH THE PADDLES.  ULTIMATELY, I USED AN ADDITIONAL NUT SCREW ON THE
CENTER POST.  ONE NUT WAS BELOW THE PCB, AND ONE NUT WAS ABOVE THE
PCB, FOLLOWED BY A WASHER ON TOP FOR GROUNDING.  I HAVE FOUND THIS
SOLUTION TO WORK
=  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  =  QST DE W1AW  <