Ground Hog Day is a classic film with Bill Murray and today is about to get a spate of reruns. Having grown up in a town a short distance from Punxsutawney, we all waited to see if Phil would see his shadow. It is an old Dutch superstition that depending upon if the ground hog sees or doesn't see his shadow will determine the length of winter weather.
In the film Murray is in a do loop of reliving the same day over and over and that day happens to be Ground Hog Day. The closest ham radio thing I can think of is starting a new radio project every day only it happens to be the same Michigan Mighty Mite that is built. Soon you have a room full of M^3 transmitters.
But this is a good day to start a project, and you have many to choose from ranging from the M^3 to maybe a Pixie or even a Direct Conversion Receiver. Such a choice today is significant since if the outcome of Ground Hog Day is 6 more weeks of winter -- then you need a project. Today is also Tariff Day and so likely anything bought from China, Canada or Mexico will have the zinger of an added cost. I have not been able to connect having to pay more for parts is doing something positive for me.
If the goal was to force you to buy from US manufacturers -- you have been duped. There are a limited number of US manufacturers that build these parts, and this will raise prices -- simple economics you would learn at Wharton. True it might be an incentive to create more American companies, but such companies would be one to two years away from full production. The modern-day P T Barnum you may have voted for has led you astray!
Now the 2nd part of the project would be to use SMD parts which would require some substitutions where this could be built into a very small box -- like maybe a match box. How cool would that be?
BTW SM7UCZ (SK2024), Johnny Apell, was a prolific homebrewer whose many projects can be seen in back issues of the G-QRP SPRAT. If you check his QRZ page you will see him operating a homebrew Whaddon MKVII (Paraset) Clandestine CW Transceiver.
I could see two BFR106 SMD devices in parallel to replace the BD139, a FT-23-43 core is really small and once resonance is found the trimmer is replaced with a fixed capacitor. Don't forget the W3NQN filter.
Them that know can make it go.
73's
Pete N6QW