Another homerun from Small Wonder Labs, the “Retro Helper” allows the Retro 75 transceiver to use the receive VFO as the transmitting VFO. No longer are you “rock bound” on two xtals, you can tune and transmit on the same range as receive. My rig covers 3835 to 3886 MHz, allowing some fairly good operating real estate.
The kit build is very straightforward, and if you’ve already built the Retro 75, you’ll find the Retro Helper a real breeze, took me about 2 hours, and that was being extra fussy about lead dress, solder connection quality, etc. The Helper board installs on the rear panel of the Retro 75 enclosure, using predrilled holes, and requires just 4 leads for connection to the Retro 75 main board. You can find the Retro 75 and the Retro Helper at the Small Wonder Labs website www.smallwonderlabs.com.
