ARRL has announced a design competition that some of you may not have heard
of. The objective is to produce a CW and SSB transceiver with at least 5
watts of output on 40 meters. Components must be commercially available. The
total cost of all components (except key, mic and power supply) must not
exceed $50. Any instruments beyond a multimeter must be in the $50. Complete
information is at http://www.arrl.org/qst/hbc/. Credit for the original idea
goes to N4AUP/9. All components of the entry must arrive at ARRL by next
August. The winning entry will be the subject of a QST article.

I would hope that the winning entry would also appear in the ARRL Handbook
and the "Now You're Talking" book. It would also be desirable for this
contest repeat every two years, alternating with an SSB/CW transceiver for a
single VHF or UHF band, or perhaps for two bands most suitable for working
the low-orbit satellites: something worthwhile for new Technicians to build
(such a competition might have a higher limit than $50).

The idea that new hams could again build their own stations using money
earned after school is very appealing. That was a plausible objective in the
1960s, because of the availability of components from obsolete TVs.

Tom, N3IJ