Rotary encoder

I bought a COPAL rotary encoder on Ebay. This encoder is used in several Japanese transceivers. It uses magnets instead of switches. It is an expensive part.

Now it is installed in the transceiver. It works fine. Only a small hardware change was needed.
I do need a better spinner for it. Unfortunately those things  are expensive too.

Some planned software updates:
Tuning is faster now. It can be improved  even mode by improving the software. It takes too much time to update the frequency after each change. An solution can be to limit the frequency  updates while spinning the knob fast.

Changing band is also done by turning the knob. It is too touchy now. The encoder produces more pulsed per rotation than the previous one. Apart from that it has no clickes. It can be solved by counting the pulses. Band chang  is done after for example 100 pulses.

home made HF transceiver continued

I worked on the homemade HF transceiver.
When connecting an antenna I heard noise increase. However on the higher bands I needed to open the volume fully to hear it. Weak stations were hard to copy.
So I build a preamp. It is placed after the band filters. Before the first mixer.
I used the following amplifier as base http://www.hamlan.org/tech/w7iuvpreamp/
Difference is that I use a 2N2219. I use relays to bypass the filter when needed.
I get 12 db gain out of it when terminated with 50 Ohm. That is enough for most bands. For 12 and 10 meter It is probably enough. I need to wait for weak signals to appear.
I have tried it on 40 meter. No signs of intermodulation.

This is close up of the panel. The awful stickers will be replaced soon.