Quote Originally Posted by N8YX View Post
SWAGging here...but:

1) I'm assuming the LO is some form of DDS which is controlled by a PIC or similar embedded controller that outputs a serial data stream to the device. How does the supply voltage to the DDS look in terms of ripple and jitter?

2) Look at the output of the DDS with a scope. Is it within acceptable limits?

3) If the output appears slightly low in amplitude, what happens to the output waveform if you disconnect the DDS from the bandpass filter network and terminate it with a resistance equal to the input impedance of the filter?

Link a schematic to this post and let me examine it further, if you try the above and it sheds no light on the problem.
Local oscillator is free-running @ 3.8-4.8 mHz. The BFO is 10 mHz. No PIC's, no fancy shit. RX output was low and there was a lot of scratchiness in it, and voltages were jumping all over the place with no rhyme or reason for it. It's probably something simple, but here's the deal... I'm a Mom of three at home. I work full time and run a side business. I just don't have the time or patience for such things anymore. I would home-brew completely if I had the time. I don't, so as a compromise between spending $$ and spending a lot of time home-brewing I bought a shitty kit from India. I can tell you the board isn't exactly robust and that's probably half the problem, if not THE problem. There are probably places where the board isn't plated through properly.

I. Just. Have. No. Patience. For. That.

I want to enjoy ham radio -- the on the air aspect of it -- not spend days I don't really have, to fix some shitty kit that may or may not work well anyway. There are some things I am willing to spend time on. This isn't one of them. I want to get on the air, not spend copious amounts of time troubleshooting a piece of crap.