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!

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 10 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 54 parts to the board at this time.
Step 3. 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 4. 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 5. Load and solder 206 parts on the IF filter board, adding any additional crystal/mechanical filters you have purchased. Install in chassis. Attach the test cable and verify that the IF filter board operates correctly.
Step 6. Load and solder 41 parts on the partially loaded receiver bandpass filter board. 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 7. Load and solder 87 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 8. If you purchased the transmitter, add the SWR meter parts to the DCD board, install the pre-built transmitter, connect cables, power it up and calibrate the SWR meter
Step 9. 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 10. 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 50 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.