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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What do I have to do to assemble the Sienna?
How long will assembly take?
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 15 basic steps:
Step 1. Assemble the 10 piece chassis
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. Load and solder 47 parts on the front panel board and attach
it to the front panel sub-plate along with the Noritake vacuum fluorescent
display
Step 6. Attach the meter(s) to the front panel assembly
Step 7. Load two rotary pulse generators (RPGs) on the pre-assembled
controller board and then attach
the controller and front panel boards together. Affix the polycarbonate overlay
to the front panel.
Once mechanical alignment is complete, solder the RPGs in place. Connect
cables from controller to installed boards
Step 8. Turn on the unit and verify that the controller powers up
correctly. At this point, you can experiment with the control usage
Step 9. Attach internal loudspeakers to chassis
Step 10. Load and solder 206 parts on the IF filter board, adding any
additional crystal/mechanical filters you have purchased. Install in chassis
Step 11. 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.
Step 12. 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 13. 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 14. If you have purchased the 100W power amplifier, load and
solder 159 parts on the 100W amplifier. Attach heatsink and power
transistors
Step 15. Attach knobs and 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 30 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.
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're looking into NTIA specs and ALE. 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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