Elecraft XV144

Merry Christmas All,

Working on my XV144 right now. No surface mount stuff to fit, so all similar to any other kit.
Some things to note:

1) Some of the component pads are smaller than normal, so a really fine tip solder iron tip is necessary (0.3MM or smaller), also really fine solder 60/40 0.5mm is a must to avoid shorts/splashes.

2) There are large copper fill areas on the PCB which act like a heat sink which wicks the heat away from the pads. This means solder tends to prefer to stick to the tip of the iron rather than to the pad. The fine iron tip exacerbates this situation. The solution is a proper variable temperature solder station and maybe a fine iron tip (chisel profile?).

3) Not all component leads when bent close to the component body will fit the PCB. The component has to be offered up and leads bent to fit PCB. Takes a bit longer, not as good/easy as the K2.

4) Some of the larger wattage resistors have to be mounted above the PCB to allow air flow all round the component.

5) Elecraft manual is brilliant as usual

Progress so far-