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 Kit
Status: RETIRED
The "TINY-TORNADO" is a tiny HF CW micro-transceiver with a standard two transistor
transmitter and a direct conversion receiver. It's oscillator is a Colpitts oscillator, left running, and a keyed power amplifier. There is no
external mixer used to feed the audio amplifier. Instead, the mixing is done at the final amplifier itself with the resulting audio taken off the emitter.
If you're looking
for a quality minimalist rig... this is it! There are currently
Tiny-Tornado's operating in all fifty U.S. States, Canada, UK, Japan, Russia,
Germany, Australia, and more.
TINY-TORNADO
REV2a (TT-40™)
This kit is based on an improved Pixie
circuit.
This type of circuit dates back to the famous Micro-80 micro-transceiver by
Oleg Borodin - RV3GM. Although this board has seen significant changes,
the layout of the first REV1a board was based on the original Pixie 2 layout
by Doug Hendricks - KI6DS. The Tiny-Tornado is much improved over the Pixie 2
and has an improved circuit design
and board layout (plated-through holes and ground plane) and is complete with a
very detailed assembly manual, schematic, and operating instructions.
See the Tiny-Tornado
History and Evolution pages for further details and photos.
TINY-TORNADO REV2d (TT-xx™)
(Shown without the Low Pass Filter Installed. The quarter is not
included with the kit and is shown here for a size comparison.) Is
it really tiny? You bet it is! The board measures only 30mm x
43mm! It's the perfect micro-backpacking rig and if you've ever wanted
to try milliwatting... this is the way to do it!
 The
low pass output filter beginning with the REV2b was significantly improved. Still only a
single toroid to wind. But, the output is much cleaner with increased
harmonic suppression. Don't worry about winding the toroid. It's
actually probably the easiest part of building the entire kit. Also, I
provide plenty of extra wire so you can wind it several times if you make a
mistake or want to experiment. This is also EXCELLENT practice for
building those other kits with half a dozen toroids! However, if you are
absolutely terrified of winding a toroid (it's almost
impossible to mess it up and as long as you get the wire on there it'll work),
let me know and I'll send it to you pre-wound.
Tiny-Tornado Information and Photos
Tiny-Tornado Technical Information
Tiny-Tornado Datasheets
The
"Tiny Tornado" QRPp Transceiver Links
 Tiny-Tornado
Transceiver Kit Details
The TINY-TORNADO was available in four
different bands - 20, 30, 40, and 80 meters. Besides a case, you
need to supply two 1/8" phone jacks, battery connector, power switch (if
implemented), offset switch (if implemented), and an appropriate crystal. A chassis
mount BNC connector is supplied for connecting an antenna. Once I receive payment for
enough orders to pay for the parts, I'll get the
boards and components ordered and ship to you ASAP after receiving them. Turn
around at that point (when I actually place the order for all the stuff until
I ship it to you) will be about 10 to 14 business days. XTAL is not included in the
kit.
Except for the parts mentioned above, the kit
ships with all the parts necessary to operate it on the band of your choice.
This transceiver has
been tested at 9-volts through 13.8-volts... with the later providing
significantly more
output power. However, above 9-volts, the use of a heatsink on the
output transistor is recommended. This transceiver also has provisions
for a type of RIT/XIT or Offset depending on how you look at it. You can
transmit and receive in either position thus expanding the frequency coverage.
I have also recently used a REV2c board along with a few modifications to the
circuit which allows the use of a VFO. (Check out the photos of my PTO/VFO
tuned Tiny-Tornado. It tunes the entire 40 meter band and is a
lot more stable than many of the rigs I heard on "Straight Key
Night"!) Also, I'm making available
additional Low Pass Filter kits. Using a second XTAL and one of these
along with a switch such as a 4PDT or a rotary, you can build a multi-band
Tiny-Tornado! (Note: You solder the parts together and to the
switch. The PCB does not include holes for additional output filter
circuits.)
I'm also making available a Chebyshev
5-element High-Pass Broadcast Interference Filter kit which will
filter out unwanted AM Broadcast interference if you have a problem with that
in your area. Some users of the Micro-80, Pixie 2, FOXX-3,
and Tiny-Tornado kits experience problems with broadcast interference
due the the simple design of the direct conversion receiver. Many others
experience little or no interference or bleed-through. However, If you
do experience any broadcast interference from local AM stations and adequate
RF shielding (putting the rig into a metal enclosure and using shielded wires)
doesn't fix the problem... build one of these filter kits and filter out all
that annoying AM Broadcast interference. It REALLY works!
 I expect these
Tiny-Tornado kits to be sold quickly.
The last batch sold out VERY quickly and I only accepted orders for a few days. The reason I call them
"Limited Edition" is because since they are produced in such small
numbers and the parts chosen are extremely high quality (read GOOD and
unfortunately expensive) I'm not making much $ on these and they do take a
significant amount of time to kit. I could make them significantly cheaper if I did several hundred
boards at a time... but then I wouldn't be able to change them and add
features as quickly.
What Others Are Saying
"Today's
USPS delivered my new Tiny Tornado Kit from Brice, KA8MAV - I must say
I am impressed! Nicely boxed, parts nicely packaged, and a great
looking step by step manual, right down to the theory and history
behind the radio!" - John, K7FD
"Well, exciting
is the word! Just finished my Tiny Tornado kit from Brice and QRPp and
got it on running on 40 meter CW and heard a CQ thought I'd go after
it. I worked W0TUP in Minot, ND. Got a 4-5-9 report. The Tiny
Tornado was putting out 300 mW and powered by a 9v battery and mounted
in the proverbial Altoids Tin. Only thing I have to do is adjust
the transmit/receive offset so that the receive and transmit
frequencies coincide a bit better. 72, Jack, W6ABC in
Oakland"
"I had just concluded a QSO with Canada and heard Jack's faint
call... I actually lost the fellow in B.C. Canada due to band condx (band
was going long)... Jack was in there, but at first didn't copy complete
call... A QRZ ABC? brought him back and this time with success... Jack
(W6ABC) was 529 with poor propagation between us, but good copy despite
QRM... He had a great tone and was 99% solid copy... He told me what he was
running and his power source being a 9 volt depleted battery... He reported that power was
down to 200mw, which I could hardly believe... I don't know who was more
excited Jack or me! Great experience for me and a first in 29 year ham
career." - Pat, AA7FG
"This rig went together
very quickly - an evening's work. The instructions were clear and the PC board
perfect. I installed parallel 2N2222's where the single unit was called for in
the output stage, and gained a little output power. Mine lives in an Altoids
tin, along with its 9 Volt battery. Best DX to date is John in Joplin, MO, 503
miles away. Not bad for 400 mW. This is a novelty rig - no doubt about it -
but is nevertheless capable of getting the job done. 73, Monty N5FC"
"Well, Brice's T-T (Tiny-Tornado)
came in the mail, just like he promised. I opened up the package and thought that
I had bought something from Heathkit in their heyday. When Brice says he puts work into these kits, he's not kidding! The instruction manual was the best I have ever seen, more than complete."
- Leeds, WA1GJF
Read
the Full Review by Chuck Carpenter, W5USJ
Payment Options and Instructions
This kit has been retired and there are no
plans to produce anymore at this time. Remaining Tiny-Tornado kits can
be purchased from the Kits and
Parts page.
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