I have built my Cricket 40. It transmits about 750 mw, And the reversed beacon spotted the signal, But I don't have a side-tone, more of a swish type sound.
And, if you listen carefully with an amplified speaker, you can hear signals on 40 meters.  Audio way down compared to the pixie. I am guessing that the chip is bad,
 or one of the 2n7000s.  Can anyone point me in the right direction to troubleshooting?  Thank you. fun little kit.  Kelly Ellison, WB0WQS.