{"id":16392,"date":"2026-01-24T15:26:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T09:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/?p=16392"},"modified":"2026-01-24T15:26:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T09:56:34","slug":"why-is-bitx-called-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is BITX called so?"},"content":{"rendered":"<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xVxmlhPawA4?si=x9ADtPIEjw7ou52e\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ever since I heard of BITX radio, I have been wondering how that name came. The BITX (Bidirectional Transceiver) is called such because <strong>it utilizes a unique radio frequency (RF) design where many of the same active components (transistors and amplifiers) are used for both receiving (receiving signals) and transmitting (sending signals)<\/strong>. Yesterday I have ordered an <a href=\"https:\/\/amateurradiokits.in\/product\/easy-bitx-dual-band-20mt-40mt-transceiver-kit\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/amateurradiokits.in\/product\/easy-bitx-dual-band-20mt-40mt-transceiver-kit\/\">Easy BITX Dual Band 20m\/40m Transceiver Kit<\/a> from VU3SUA and I have started the 10 day countdown for getting the kit delivered! Thought of finding out a bit more about BITX!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is why it is called a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/pdf\/2207.13046\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/pdf\/2207.13046\">Bidirectional Transceiver<\/a>&#8220;:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shared Signal Path:<\/strong> Unlike traditional transceivers that have completely separate chains for audio\/data input (transmitter) and output (receiver), the BITX design, created by VU2ESE in 2003, reuses amplifiers and filters for both directions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reduced Complexity and Cost:<\/strong> By forcing signal paths to travel back and forth through the same circuitry, it reduces the number of components, making the radio simple to build, inexpensive, and efficient, often using &#8220;dead bug&#8221; construction techniques. Dead bug construction is a, free-form, point-to-point electronic prototyping technique where Integrated Circuits (ICs) are glued upside-down (resembling a dead bug with legs upward) onto a circuit board, allowing components to be soldered directly to the pins. It is used to quickly build circuits, especially RF, without designing a PCB.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Single Conversion Architecture:<\/strong> It often uses a single conversion superheterodyne design, where the signal passes through the same bidirectional amplifier stages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Simple Components:<\/strong> It was designed to use readily available, everyday electronic components to allow radio amateurs to build it easily. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever since I heard of BITX radio, I have been wondering how that name came. The BITX (Bidirectional Transceiver) is called such because it utilizes a unique radio frequency (RF) design where many of the same active components (transistors and amplifiers) are used for both receiving (receiving signals) and transmitting (sending signals). Yesterday I have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amateur-radio-ham-radio"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why is BITX called so? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why is BITX called so? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ever since I heard of BITX radio, I have been wondering how that name came. The BITX (Bidirectional Transceiver) is called such because it utilizes a unique radio frequency (RF) design where many of the same active components (transistors and amplifiers) are used for both receiving (receiving signals) and transmitting (sending signals). Yesterday I have [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Johnson&#039;s Techworld\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-24T09:56:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-24T09:56:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Why-is-BITX-called-so.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1202\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Johnson Francis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Johnson Francis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Johnson Francis\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027\"},\"headline\":\"Why is BITX called so?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-24T09:56:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-24T09:56:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":266,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Why-is-BITX-called-so.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Amateur Radio (Ham Radio)\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/\",\"name\":\"Why is BITX called so? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Why-is-BITX-called-so.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-24T09:56:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-24T09:56:34+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Why-is-BITX-called-so.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Why-is-BITX-called-so.jpg\",\"width\":1202,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/why-is-bitx-called-so\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why is BITX called so?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/\",\"name\":\"Johnson's Techworld\",\"description\":\"Johnson&#039;s Techworld\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027\",\"name\":\"Johnson Francis\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/channels4_profile.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/channels4_profile.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/channels4_profile.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Johnson Francis\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/channels4_profile.jpg\"},\"description\":\"Amateur Radio Operator VU2JO. Originally licensed as VU2JFP with Grade 1 license in 1985. Upgraded to Advanced Grade in 1988 and was allotted new callsign to VU2JO\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@johnsonstechworld\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johnsonfrancis.org\\\/techworld\\\/author\\\/jf\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why is BITX called so? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why is BITX called so? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld","og_description":"Ever since I heard of BITX radio, I have been wondering how that name came. The BITX (Bidirectional Transceiver) is called such because it utilizes a unique radio frequency (RF) design where many of the same active components (transistors and amplifiers) are used for both receiving (receiving signals) and transmitting (sending signals). Yesterday I have [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/","og_site_name":"Johnson&#039;s Techworld","article_published_time":"2026-01-24T09:56:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-24T09:56:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1202,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Why-is-BITX-called-so.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Johnson Francis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Johnson Francis","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/"},"author":{"name":"Johnson Francis","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#\/schema\/person\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027"},"headline":"Why is BITX called so?","datePublished":"2026-01-24T09:56:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-24T09:56:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/"},"wordCount":266,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#\/schema\/person\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Why-is-BITX-called-so.jpg","articleSection":["Amateur Radio (Ham Radio)"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/","url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/","name":"Why is BITX called so? - Johnson&#039;s Techworld","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Why-is-BITX-called-so.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-24T09:56:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-24T09:56:34+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Why-is-BITX-called-so.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Why-is-BITX-called-so.jpg","width":1202,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/why-is-bitx-called-so\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why is BITX called so?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#website","url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/","name":"Johnson's Techworld","description":"Johnson&#039;s Techworld","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#\/schema\/person\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/#\/schema\/person\/6201c843e80ccd3578e6196b1d007027","name":"Johnson Francis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/channels4_profile.jpg","url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/channels4_profile.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/channels4_profile.jpg","width":600,"height":600,"caption":"Johnson Francis"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/channels4_profile.jpg"},"description":"Amateur Radio Operator VU2JO. Originally licensed as VU2JFP with Grade 1 license in 1985. Upgraded to Advanced Grade in 1988 and was allotted new callsign to VU2JO","sameAs":["https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@johnsonstechworld\/"],"url":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/author\/jf\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16392"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16401,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16392\/revisions\/16401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnsonfrancis.org\/techworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}