We could strengthen U.S. Electronics Manufacturing with evolution of a U.S.-built HF SSB Transceiver. The United States is pouring historic investment into semiconductor fabrication, and that’s essential for national capability. But the layers above the silicon—RF design, analog engineering, PCB layout, assembly, testing, and small‑batch manufacturing—are just as critical. They’re where ideas become devices, where engineers learn by doing, and where innovation doesn’t require a billion‑dollar cleanroom.
That’s the layer I’m stepping into with everything I’ve got.
I’m building an HF radio from scratch in the U.S., and I’m doing it with full transparency about the partners who make it possible. I’m not a giant corporation. I’m the new guy—the nascent partner in a re‑emerging American electronics ecosystem. But I’m pushing hard, and I can see the path forward.
🛠️ The early foundation: real partners, real parts
Every project starts with a supply chain, and mine is built on companies I trust:
- Mouser for foundational components, authorized sourcing, and predictable quality
- Coilcraft for inductors that behave exactly the way RF filters demand
- Amazon for miscellaneous parts, tools, and materials—origin unknown, quality verified
- PCBWay for fast, consistent PCB manufacturing during the prototyping phase
These aren’t anonymous vendors. They’re part of the story. They’re the reason my early boards exist, the reason my filters resonate where they should, and the reason I can iterate quickly.
🇺🇸 Why the U.S. needs more than fabs
Chip fabs are vital, but they’re not the whole picture. The U.S. also needs:
- U.S. Electronics Manufacturing (small companies that can support markets at first)
- Engineers who can design RF circuits
- Technicians who can assemble boards
- Small labs that can prototype quickly
- Companies that can build specialized hardware in low to medium volumes
- U.S. Electronics Manufacturing needs workplaces where Americans solve hands‑on technical problems
This is the layer where a single engineer can make a difference. This is where small companies grow into meaningful contributors. This is where I want to build something real.
📡 The HF radio as a proving ground
My HF radio project isn’t just a hobby. It’s a forcing function—a way to build capabilities that scale:
- High‑Q inductors for 160 m and 10 m filters
- Stable, low‑noise RF amplification
- Clean, reproducible PCB layouts for multi‑band RF paths
- Repeatable assembly processes
- Documentation that others can follow
Every solved problem becomes a skill. Every skill becomes part of a future U.S. Electronics Manufacturing workflow.
This is how a one‑person lab becomes a small manufacturer.
🌱 The long‑term vision
I want to grow into a U.S. electronics design, assembly, and U.S. Electronics Manufacturing company that:
- Builds RF hardware with care and transparency
- Manufactures boards domestically whenever possible
- Partners openly with global suppliers
- Creates challenging technical jobs for Americans
- Strengthens the layers of the electronics ecosystem that sit above the silicon
I’m not trying to compete with semiconductor fabs or big manufacturers. That’s not my lane, and it never has been.
What I’m building lives in the layer those fabs make possible — the part of the process where real innovation actually happens. It’s the space between raw silicon and a finished product, where radios are thought through, designed, tested, and built one hard decision at a time.
That’s where Freedom7, my HF transceiver project, lives. Not on a factory floor and not in a boardroom, but at a workbench — where schematics turn into boards, code meets copper, and performance is earned through testing and iteration.
This is the part of engineering you can’t rush, outsource, or fake. It’s where ideas either work or they don’t. And it’s the kind of work I know how to do, because it’s how I’ve always done things.
This is early. This is small. But it’s real. And I’m pushing hard because I can see what it could become. I’m excited about the influx of investment here and I see a bright future for U.S. Electronics Manufacturing maybe on a smaller scale than the AI chip fabs.
I’m a real person, find about me, my character, my personality, my integrity at Facebook.
A little more about my dream and why here.
My About page provides the background of my project, the Freedom7 HF Transceiver.
If this story resonates, comments are welcome. You can also reach me at david [at] kr4bad-dot-communications. no com
And if you believe understanding matters more than black boxes, you can subscribe to my WordPress https://kr4bad.com/?subscribe=1.
73 KR4BAD David
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