I want to get back into ham radio and I plan to start with QRP. Right now I have no equipment except a $10 analog shortwave superheterodyne receiver, an analog multimeter, and a soldering iron.

Here's my current plan for getting started with QRP. The plan is designed to get me experience in building rigs and to have a useful array of test equipment that will serve me later, as well as keeping costs down.

1. Build 2-transistor regenerative receiver (circuit here, original Japanese webpage here http://www.puni.net/~aniki/school/radio/3.htm) and practice copying CW.

2. Build RF probe and verify existence of RF at the output of the regenerative detector in the above circuit.

3. Build frequency counter from commercial kit and connect to the regenerative receiver to confirm tuning range. Experiment with inductors to change the tuning range.

4. Build the small transmitting loop antenna for 40m at http://carconline.blogspot.com/2009/01/tuneable-magnetic-loop-antenna-fo... and http://carconline.blogspot.com/2009/01/coaxial-cable-40m-tunable-magneti....

5. Verify operation of the antenna using regenerative receiver on 40m. Loop antenna should be better than random wire antenna.

6. Build field strength meter.

7. Build SWR meter.

8. Build the SW40+ transceiver (http://www.smallwonderlabs.com/swl_swp.htm). It has good reviews, puts out 2 watts (can be modded to 5 watts), has VFO tuning, and works on 40m to match the above loop antenna.

9. Use RF probe to confirm existence of RF in the SW40+ circuits and understand circuit operation.

10. Use frequency counter to confirm actual VFO frequency of SW40+.

11. Build dummy load. Connect dummy load to SW40+ and measure power output of SW40+ (http://brainwagon.org/2009/01/08/dummy-loadwatt-meter-experiment/)

12. Connect SW40+ to SWR meter and loop antenna. Tune loop antenna for minimum SWR by adjusting coax braid length ("poor man's variable capacitor").

13. Use field strength meter to verify antenna radiation. Hopefully have some QSO's at this point.

14. Measure spurious emissions from SW40+. I imagine I need a spectrum analyzer and an oscilloscope, which are very pricey. I'm still trying to figure out a way to keep these costs down.

15. Build minimalist transmitter, receiver, and transceiver rigs like the Pixie, and experiment with VXO operation. Use all of above equipment to verify frequency, power, antenna radiation, SWR, and spurious emissions.

Originally I had wanted to start with the Pixie, as I love its minimalist
approach. But after doing some more research it seems it's a big
challenge to work with such a minimalist rig, so I decided to first go
with a more complex but proven rig, the SW40+. This will allow me to
make some QSO's and verify my antenna setup before moving to the
greater challenge of ultra-minimalist transceiver designs.

I'm wondering about step (4) and (14). For step (4), I'm not sure if a 2 watt QRP rig like the SW40+ will work with a small transmitting loop. For step (14), I'm not sure how to measure spurious emissions cheaply.

Is there any other equipment I should consider having in my QRP arsenal? Are there other measurements I should be taking of my rigs? Are there good kits you could recommend? I welcome your comments!