News, Skills

Evacuation Packing: A Wildfire at Our Doorstep

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by Thomas (K4SWL)

I want to start by saying: if you’ve tried contacting me by email lately, you’ve probably noticed I’m far behind. This winter and spring were always going to be busy, but Hurricane Helene increased everything by orders of magnitude. I’m struggling to keep up with correspondence, fitting in POTA activations, and finding free time. That said, I’m looking forward to taking a much-needed break for Four Days in May and Hamvention in a couple of weeks.

But that’s not the reason for this post. I wanted to share a little drama from our community this past week.

Forest Fire

April brought extremely dry weather to western North Carolina. In fact, much of this year we’ve been battling wildfires. Many of you have reached out after seeing the news — thank you. Until last week, the fires had stayed in other parts of our county or neighboring ones. Still, conditions have been perfect for fire: dry air, gusty winds, and an incredible amount of tree debris left behind after Helene.

On Monday, we drove to town to drop our daughters off at a class and run errands. Around 2:45 PM, just as I was about to pick them up, a neighbor called to tell me a wildfire had broken out on our road — just over a mile from our house. He didn’t have many details, only that firefighters were already on the scene thanks to an early alert from another neighbor.

Most of the family was with me, but Hazel, our sweet dog, was still at home. We raced back, hoping our road wouldn’t be closed.

From about 12 miles away on Interstate 40, we could already see plumes of smoke rising from our valley. It was a concerning sight. We also reached out to neighbors — many of whom were at home — to check in and share updates.

Fortunately, when we reached our road, one lane was still open for local traffic. Firefighters told us there were no immediate evacuation orders, but we needed to be ready.

Back at the house, we found Hazel peacefully sleeping through all the excitement — just as she did during Hurricane Helene. From the windows, we could clearly see smoke billowing from the nearby mountain.

Stage 1 Packing

Since January, my wife and I had discussed what we’d pack if a wildfire threatened. We spent about 15 minutes gathering:

  • Essential items: IDs, passports (most critical documents are already in a safety deposit box)
  • Hazel’s essentials
  • Laptops, tablets, phones, and backup drives
  • Important keepsakes like photos and our wedding certificate
  • My wife’s paintings
  • Clothes, toiletries, and medications for a few days

We were already in touch with Vlado (N3CZ). If we had to evacuate, we planned to go to his house instead of a hotel, so we packed accordingly.

There was no panic. Thanks to GMRS radios, we could share real-time updates with neighbors. (Side note: soon, our fire department will also be tied into our community GMRS system!)

Stage 2 Packing

After the essentials, we prepared “nice-to-have” items: radios, antennas, batteries, sentimental gear, and other things that would be difficult to replace. I also installed our Thule cargo box on the Subaru for extra space.

We packed essentials into the car and staged the rest inside for quick loading if needed.

Containment

By 6:00 PM, we heard the fire was about 50% contained — thanks to the quick, coordinated work of six or seven fire departments and the Forest Service, who were using Chinooks to drop water and bulldozing a fire break.

By 11:00 PM, the fire was fully contained, burning less than 20 acres in total. Rain moved into the area by 6:00 the next morning — our first real rain in ages — and thankfully continued for much of the week.

Lessons Learned

Western North Carolina usually has boring, predictable weather. Wildfires have always been extremely rare here — we’re in a humid subtropical and temperate zone, after all.

We are profoundly grateful to the firefighters and Forest Service who jumped on this fire early. Their swift action made all the difference. No homes were lost, and no personal property was damaged.

We were also pleased with how calmly and efficiently we packed. Our investment in GMRS radios really paid off, too — it kept communication open when it mattered most.

As for the cause of the fire? Frustratingly, it was completely preventable. A homeowner had burned brush and left it unattended for an extended time. When they returned, it had already spread into the forest. Hopefully, they learned a hard lesson (and will likely face a significant fine).

All’s well that ends well.

Radio Side Note

I’ve often wondered which radios I’d grab if I ever had to evacuate. Turns out, when it came time to act, there was no philosophical debate — I simply packed favorites, sentimental rigs, and anything difficult to replace.

After essentials were secured, I quickly packed radios into my favorite field backpacks. Fortunately, little QRP radios are easy to grab, and my shack was already organized.

Here’s what I packed:

  • All Elecraft radios (I also staged the KXPA100, but didn’t end up needing to unhook it)
  • All Mountain Toppers (MTR-3Bs and MTR-5B)
  • All Pennteks (TR-45L, TR-45L Skinny, and TR-35)
  • CFT1
  • Mission RGO One
  • Ten-Tec Argonaut VI

I also grabbed a few batteries and accessories like my RigExpert analyzer. Everything fit easily into my field packs — the vintage Swiss rucksack had impressive capacity!

You might wonder why I didn’t pack radios like my Yaesu FT-818ND, which I also love. I focused mainly on rarer, harder-to-replace gear. There are many more FT-817s and FT-818s floating around than there are Elecraft KX1s, Pennteks, Mountain Toppers, and Mission RGO Ones combined.

Moving Forward

We learned a lot. Here’s what we’ll do differently next time:

  • Prepare an empty storage box large enough to quickly hold essentials like laptops, backup drives, documents, and photos with a checklist and pencil inside.
  • Take Hazel with us, even on short trips, when wildfire conditions are high.
  • Set up a scanner to monitor fire communications in real-time (assuming they’re not encrypted).
  • Move even more documents and valuables into our safety deposit box.
  • Digitize more of our photo collection.

At the end of the day, we’re just so grateful: to the neighbors who spotted the fire early, to the fire departments who attacked it hard, and to the rain that gave our dry region a much-needed break.

If you’ve ever had to go through a process like this, I’m curious to hear what lessons you might have to share with us. Feel free to comment.

Field Reports, Morse Code, News, People, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

QRP with Friends: Brian (K3ES) Joins Me for a Two-Fer POTA Activation!

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On the activator side of things, Parks On The Air is often a solitary pursuit for me. I typically squeeze in activations as my schedule allows—usually at random times during the day in parks that happen to be along my daily route.

But every once in a while, the stars align and I get the chance to activate with a friend. When that happens, it only amplifies the radio fun. Saturday, March 22, 2025, was one of those special days. My dear friend—and frequent field report contributor—Brian (K3ES), along with his amazing wife and photographer, Becky, stopped by Asheville en route to the Outer Banks.

I was so happy everything came together and we were able to meet up for a short, relaxed, and thoroughly enjoyable activation.

Two-Fer Time!

When out-of-state activators come through the area, I always try to offer them the option of a two-fer—activating two parks at once—to maximize their POTA opportunities. I’m not sure Brian had strong feelings about this either way, but it was simply too easy to pair the Blue Ridge Parkway (US-3378) with the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (US-8313). Since we were meeting at the Folk Art Center, all it took was picking the right picnic table near the MST.

In my rush to leave the QTH that morning, I realized halfway down the driveway that I’d forgotten to pack my antenna. I could’ve turned around, but I knew Brian would have a few antenna options stowed in his field kit—and of course, he did!

He chose to deploy a homebrew end-fed random wire with a 29.5’ radiator and 17’ counterpoise. We paired it with my Elecraft K1 transceiver–a radio I knew Brian had never operated.

The only drawback of this particular picnic table is its proximity to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. When deploying a wire antenna, you have to be careful not to obstruct the path for hikers. We positioned the wire in a near-vertical configuration above the table and kept the throw line tucked away on the opposite side from the trail.

We were also quite conspicuous—another reason I usually avoid this picnic table when activating solo. On a busy day, it’s not unusual to have a dozen people stop by to ask what you’re up to. It’s a great outreach opportunity, but a string of interruptions can make it difficult to complete exchanges—especially while sending CW. Sadly, my internal CPU isn’t optimized for multitasking!

Right to Left: Brian (K3ES) and Thomas (K4SWL)

But when there are two of you taking turns at the key, it works beautifully—one person can handle the questions while the other shows just how cool Morse code still is in the 21st century.

It was a fairly quiet day at the Folk Art Center, but one curious family did stop by to chat with us during Brian’s turn at the key—and I really enjoyed the interaction.

Gear

Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.

Radio

  • Elecraft K1 (four band version with optional ATU and internal AA battery pack)

Key

Antenna and Throw Line

Pack and Case

Logging Supplies

Battery

Camera/Audio Gear

On The Air

Brian kicked things off, knowing that band conditions had been flaky of late. He tuned up on 20 meters using the K1’s ATU and started calling CQ POTA. Continue reading QRP with Friends: Brian (K3ES) Joins Me for a Two-Fer POTA Activation! →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, Videos

Philip’s Field Impressions of the Xiegu G106

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Many thanks to Philip (KA4KOE) who shares the following report:

Xiegu G106 Report

by Philip (KA4KOE)

Recent developments and other drivers pushed me to purchase a Xiegu G106.

This radio has dropped significantly in price recently. I figured, “Why not?!” given the paltry sum Radioddity was asking.

I will not delve deeply into the technical aspects of this radio, as others have covered this subject in great detail. In my opinion, the G106 is a viable QRP radio and excels at CW and FT8. I also made contacts using SSB, but given the lack of speech processing, I found the effort, shall we say, challenging. The firmware on my particular radio is Version 1.3.

I checked the spectral purity using the panadapter on my Flex 6300. I realize the Flex is not a lab-quality instrument, but the serious spurs and other trash around the carrier, noted by others, on a 5-watt CW signal appear to be minimal now and compliant with current FCC regulations.

Some get all caught up in demanding the absolute best specifications, performance, looks, etc., or whatever you find important in your personal metrics for a radio. As an engineer, I approach this philosophy from a different mindset. Often, striving for those final few percentage points of improvement is only noticeable under the most stringent of band conditions. The situation is essentially a cost/benefits analysis. So, my personal rationale is “good enough.”

Indeed, the Xiegu G106 is “good enough” for QRP field activations, provided one also deploys a good antenna. Here’s an analogy: will a steel sledgehammer or solid gold one (ignore gold’s softness in this example), of the same mass, both do the same job? The answer is “yes.”

The only issue I have noted, as have others, is that the radio’s AGC recovery isn’t quite correct. Occasionally, the audio will “pop” when switching from transmit to receive. Hopefully, the G106 will improve if Xiegu issues firmware updates beyond Version 1.3. The radio doesn’t exhibit this annoying behavior every time one switches from TX to RX.

I recently activated US-2190, Magnolia Springs State Park, near Augusta, Georgia.

Band conditions degraded over the course of the day due to coronal holes present on the earthward-facing side of the sun. I did manage to make 25 CW and 8 SSB contacts on 40 and 20 meters using a sloping 40–10 meter N9SAB End Fed Half Wave, supported on one end from a 32’ carbon fiber pole. See the QSO map below:

Here’s my activation video:

Bottom line: I like the G106.

Thank you for your kind consideration and attention.

73

Philip Neidlinger, PE

KA4KOE

Gailey (WV2P) and Frank (NM9X), pictured above, also accompanied me on this activation.

Check out their QSL cars below:

Antennas, Field Reports, Guest Posts, Homebrew, How To, Portable, POTA, QRP, SOTA

Experimenting My Way to the POTA Kilo Award

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by Thomas (DM1TBE)

Some time before Easter I noticed that I am close to 1000 QSOs at my favourite place at the “Kalte Feld”, a POTA and SOTA activation zone and would soon qualify for the POTA Kilo Award. I like the Kalte Feld for the quiet, spacious area with a hut that is vending traditional basic food and beverages – which in Germany usually means good beer and different sausage types (and other stuff – to be fair). I already wrote some articles about the history of the area and my activations.

The conditions at the activation zone are quite good. I have made 2 activations there with more than 100 QSOs (and many smaller), so I thought it should not be too difficult to complete the required QSOs in one day.

DAY 1

The weather for the Easter weekend was expected to be one of the first warm and sunny days this year. So, on Easter Sunday, I headed to the area to get the last missing 49 QSOs for my POTA Kilo Award. Easter hiking has a centuries long history in Germany. This and the nice weather made the area quite crowded. The close airfield for gliders was busy and the whole time while operating there they were in the air above.

The barbecue places and outdoor seating around the mountain hut were busy but happily the bench some meters away that I am normally using, was still available.

I wanted to start with an end-fed half-wave antenna for the 20m band, tied to a 10 meter (33 ft) fiberglass mast. This is a very easy and quick to deploy antenna and I like it, especially if there is not too much space for antennas with a larger footprint. Since it’s a straight vertical, it also has a higher chance for DX contacts – when the conditions allow that. The antenna is Open Hardware and you can find further details on GitHub.

The mast was tied to the bench and the antenna was raised. Besides the comfort, the possibility to tie a mast to it is the second reason why I am always looking for benches.

The conditions were far from being perfect, and it took me 40 minutes to get 18 CW QSOs on the 20-meter band. Switching to SSB wasn’t a big help either, and I soon gave up with only 3 additional SSB QSOs in the log.

I had brought another antenna with me that I wanted to try. The 10 meter (33 Ft) fiberglass mast also has the perfect height for a ¼ wave vertical on the 40-meter band. So I cut 5 wires to a length of about 10 meters (33 ft) and connected 4 of them together at one end with a cable lug and attached another cable lug to the vertical element.

I then used the basis of the JPC-7 antenna for the coax plug and for connecting the vertical element and the radials. There are a lot of articles and videos about ¼ wave vertical antennas. But the information is usually about either elevated and resonant radials or random length ground radials. I wanted to have resonant radials, but I could not be bothered with carrying all the stuff nearly 2 miles to a summit for elevating 4 x 10m (33 ft) wires, so I simply left them on the ground.

My idea was to try a full size vertical for the 40 meters band with resonant radials that still is portable and fits to my existing equipment.

The SWR was quite nice being close to 1.0 : 1 at the CW portion of the band, so I started operating.

The conditions were similarly difficult as on the 20-meter band. It took me 25 minutes for another 18 QSOs.

As it became increasingly cloudy, I checked on my mobile and saw that rain was approaching fast. Since I had roughly 2km or 1.5 miles descent ahead of me, I stopped abruptly with just 10 QSOs short of the POTA Kilo Award.

A bit disappointed, I called it a day.

DAY 2

I could not leave the missing 10 QSOs for long. The very next day, Easter Monday, was a public holiday in Germany. And as the weather started nice, I again made my way to the activation zone. Continue reading Experimenting My Way to the POTA Kilo Award →

Field Radio Kits, News, Portable, QRP

Field Radio Kit Gallery: KO6BYB’s Compact Watertight Elecraft KX2 Kit

5 Comments

Many thanks to Cameron (KO6BYB), for sharing the following article about his portable field radio kit, which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post.

Elecraft KX2 Field Kit

by Cameron (KO6BYB)

I wanted to share a tiny KX2 kit I made to fit the Seahorse SE56 (QRPer affiliate link) case. Just upgraded to my General and finally got the HF transceiver of my dreams. Haven’t made it out to the field since I got it last weekend, but I had some spare time (that I should have been sleeping) and whipped this up. Fits basically a whole station in the case:

Components:

  1. Seahorse SE56 watertight case
  2. Elecraft KX2
  3. KXPD2 paddles
  4. Microphone
  5. KXBT2 Battery
  6. AX2 antenna + 40m extender
  7. Ground wire
  8. Pen

If you’re only going to do CW, maybe there’s something clever to put in the place of the mic, but I am still working on my Morse. Slowly but surely.

Inserts can be downloaded on Thingiverse:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7010681

Articles, Field Reports, Guest Posts, Mobile, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, SOTA, Travel

From the Badlands to Mesa Verde: QRP Across America’s National Parks

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Activating on the Road:  National Parks

by Brian (K3ES)

This article continues my series from our 2024 road trip across the United States (Six Weeks and 7300 Miles:  Activating on the Road).  I hope to wrap up the series with one last article soon.  In this report, I will cover the six National Parks (NPs) that we visited during our trip.  I activated five of them for the Parks on the Air (POTA) program using CW mode at 5 watts.  A previous report on Stealth Activating with the KX1 Antenna System provided activation details for three of the parks (Badlands NP, Yellowstone NP, and Grand Canyon NP), so I will not reproduce activation details here, but I will include more of Becky’s pictures.

Each of these NPs is spectacular in its own right, and also distinctly different from each of the others.  We were able to see some of the sights, but by no means had enough time to do them justice.  In fact, as we completed our drive through Yellowstone NP, Becky and I committed ourselves to going back again and spending much more time to see its wonders.

As I reflect on our visits to NPs on our trip, it occurs to me how beneficial it was to buy an Annual America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass before we left on our trip.

The pass costs $80 for a year, and generally covers the admission of one vehicle and its occupants.  We were able to save on admission costs several times over, making this one of the best NP values going.  Having now completed 62 trips around the sun, when we next visit NPs, I am eligible for an even better value, the $80 Senior Lifetime America the Beautiful Pass.

Badlands NP

The first NP we visited on our trip was Badlands NP in South Dakota.  We spent a couple of nights and days based nearby in the town of Wall, so we were able to take two drives through the park.  There is a stark transition from rolling plateau north of the park to the spectacular peaks and canyons of the badlands.  Rapid erosion has been shaping the terrain for about 500,000 years with the Cheyenne and White Rivers cutting their way through the terrain.  The resulting landscape is both beautiful and severe.

While visiting the park, we were privileged to see a variety of wildlife.  We saw a number of bison, ranging from small herds grazing in fields along the road, to an individualist who took a liking to the taste of grass beside one of the overlook parking areas.  There were also bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope wandering other parts of the park.  There was abundant bird life, from a disoriented prairie chicken that accepted water from concerned visitors, to birds of prey soaring high above.  Becky particularly enjoyed the frenetic activity of the residents of Roberts Prairie Dog Town.

This bison had no problem napping in the middle of the Prairie Dog Town
This prairie chicken appreciated shade and water in the parking lot

During our visit, we stopped at an overlook parking area for Becky to take pictures of the spectacular scenery, including the aforementioned bison.  While she was doing this, I took the opportunity to do a stealth activation of the park, which is documented in an earlier Field Report here on QRPer.com, linked as K3ES:  Stealth activating with the AX1 Antenna System.

I managed to catch the photographer in action during a lull in my activation
Of course, Becky caught me in action, too

Yellowstone NP

We knew when planning our trip, that we would not have time for a proper visit to Yellowstone NP.  In fact, we intended to hold off on visiting until we had time for a dedicated trip.  But throughout our drive, Becky kept searching the available maps for opportunities and possibilities.  As we traveled through Montana, she noticed that we could fit in an abbreviated trip through Yellowstone and Grand Teton NPs if we adjusted our route.  Consequently, we found ourselves spending the next night in Gardiner, MT, just outside the north entrance to the park. Continue reading From the Badlands to Mesa Verde: QRP Across America’s National Parks →

Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, QRP, Videos

The POTA Babe Checks In

8 Comments
By Teri KO4WFP

Glenn W4YES and I headed to Camden, SC the first week of April for some much needed rest and relaxation. Usually when I travel, I schedule a POTA activation or two. However, this trip I decided to try something new – getting on the air QRP at our Airbnb.

Camden is the oldest inland community in South Carolina. According to the town’s website, the earliest permanent settlers arrived in 1750. They experienced a crushing defeat during the Revolutionary War when the Patriots were defeated in the Battle of Camden. After the Civil War, the town “evolved into a tourist mecca for Northeners and Midwesterners seeking a warmer winter climate.” Those tourists brought money and an equine culture developed around racing and polo.

Our first day in Camden, we visited the Revolutionary War Museum. Though small in size, the museum’s exhibits are of excellent quality. They do a great job explaining who lived in the area, the quandary they faced as to whether to be a Loyalist or Patriot (it wasn’t as easy a choice as it might appear), and battles fought there.

Our second day, we explored the National Steeplechase Museum. This museum explores the history of steeplechasing and the personalities involved – owners, trainers, jockeys as well as those who care for the horses. The museum pays homage to Marion duPont Scott who developed the Springdale Race Course where the museum is located. This race course hosts two prominent annual competitions – the Carolina Cup and the Colonial Cup.

National Steeplechase Museum

an old scale used to weigh jockeys
trophy room

We also spent some time driving through and walking in the historic neighborhoods of the city. The weather was gorgeous! Everywhere we looked, there were flowers – azaleas, wisteria, viburnum, and dogwoods (including the pink variety we do not see in Savannah).

a dogwood in full splendor
azaleas at the corner of a home
viburnum
pink dogwood

After exploring the area, it was time to explore the airwaves QRP at our Airbnb. To do this, I brought Craig, my KX2, and a home-brew linked dipole antenna. This is an antenna I built three years ago, when I first got into ham radio. At that time, I had no home station but wanted to get on the air portable for POTA. Despite knowing almost nothing about antennas, I built a usable dipole that became my main POTA antenna for quite a while.

the homebrew linked dipole (photo from GA State Parks on the Air event)

Why did I bring this antenna to Camden? I have the opportunity this month to try the CFT1, a QRP transceiver, by Jonathan KM4CFT. Because the rig does not have an internal antenna tuner, I am reacquainting myself with the subject of resonance and why it matters in antennas.

I set up a home-brew linked dipole Wednesday evening under some trees in a space between the Airbnb and a small lake on the property. The antenna was roughly 20 feet in the air.

the lake from the Airbnb
2nd location for antenna by lake

 My RigExpert Stick analyzer gave me 2.1 at 7.040 –

Thinking I could do better, I moved the antenna (a real pain to do with a dipole) to a different tree with a limb 30 feet high. (Frankly, Glenn and I were amazed I could snag that limb.) This setup generated better a SWR reading – 1.61 at 7.040 MHz.

Now the true test – how well would I be heard?

the bench at which I operated Wednesday evening
RBN picking me up Wednesday evening

On Wednesday evenings, I check into the OMIK CW net. OMIK is a ham radio club founded in 1952 by “Black amateur radio operators from the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky to deal with discrimination” at that time. Though the club membership today is primarily African-American, others like myself are welcome.

CW nets are a great place to get on-the-air experience with morse code. It was my code buddy Caryn KD2GUT who first introduced me to the OMIK net. I found those who participate in this CW net to be welcoming and accepting of CW operators of all levels of proficiency. Over the past several years, the ops in this net have watched my skills grow and become friends.

Dennis NT4U and Steve W0SJS split net control station (NCS) duties. This evening, it was Dennis’ turn as NCS. As he is located in northern Georgia, I figured he would hear my QRP signal. He did and checked me into the net with a RST of 589. The icing on the cake was that I heard a station he was unable to hear – Charles AI4OT in Virginia – due to the S9 noise at Dennis’ location this evening. I notified Dennis of Charles’ check in so he was added to the check-in list for that evening. Way to go homebrew linked dipole and Craig!

The next day, Glenn did some exploring and found a better location on the property – a hill behind the Airbnb and some sheds. Several large oaks in this relatively open area offered prime limbs to snag with an arbor line. I installed the antenna on a limb roughly 25 feet up in the air.

open area at back of Airbnb property
looking up into canopy at limb I used Thursday evening

Before attempting to check into another net, I spotted myself on QSO Finder, a new website and spotting tool by Mike N4FFF and Becky N4BKY of Ham Radio Duo. I had three exchanges, one each with Joel KE8WIC, Tom NG4S, and James KJ3D.

Spotting myself on CW QSO Finder

On Thursday evenings I check into the Sideswiper Net, a wonderful group of guys who meet on 40 or 30 meters (depending on propagation). Most of those who check in use a sideswiper (also known as a cootie) key but, like the OMIK CW net, they are welcoming of anyone who wants to participate no matter the level of proficiency or key. I’ve asked lots of questions of the members and appreciate their patience schooling me about CW nets.

The NCS this evening was Darrell AA7FV who is located in Arizona. The noise on 40 meters was rough but Darrel did copy me with a RST of 349. Two other stations – Bill WA4FAT in Alabama and Steve W1SFR – also copied me at 559 on this band.

When the net moved to 30 meters, my signal was worse. However, I expected that, as by this time it was dark and I didn’t want to mess with lowering the antenna to disconnect the link between the 40 and 30 meter wires. Darrel in Arizona could barely hear me (he gave me a RST of 129) but Bill could still copy me and acted as relay between our signals. I was thrilled that I had now checked into both nets QRP this week!

the RBN picked me up again

Even better, after the Sideswiper net, my code buddy Caryn KD2GUT and I were able to have our weekly code buddy QSO. We managed a 20 minute QSO on 40 meters before being swallowed up by noise and QRN on her end. Caryn is located on Long Island, NY. The previous night in the OMIK net, my signal was a 229 at her QTH. But tonight, we were both 599 and rocking it on the airwaves.

operating in the dark

During the Sideswiper net and my code buddy QSO, I sat head copying in the dark under the moon and thought, “It doesn’t get any better than this, right?”

Before we left the Airbnb Friday morning, Glenn spied several pitchforks sitting by the sheds. We picked one up and decided to have some fun, with our version of the famous piece “American Gothic” by Grant Wood. I had a difficult time keeping a straight face (watch the video linked down below) but eventually we got the shot.

“American Gothic” by Grant Wood    source: Wikipedia
us goofing off creating a version of the piece before checking out

QRP has its limits; however, I was sufficiently impressed by my experience on this trip that I will travel with a rig from now on. I’d like a better antenna and have ordered an EFHW as that is probably my best bet for a resonant antenna. This hobby NEVER becomes boring because there is always something to learn.

I look forward to trying the CFT1 and my new EFHW antenna when it arrives. How will that turn out? Stay tuned…

Equipment Used

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Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, Videos

First Field Outing with My New-to-Me Elecraft K1!

4 Comments

In the chaos of the past two months, I managed to post a few field reports out of chronological order. I’m probably the only one who notices—these aren’t sequential stories, after all—but since I was there for each activation, it feels odd when the timeline’s off.

Case in point: you might recall this recent post where I shared how I finally landed an Elecraft K1 field-portable transceiver. I’d been hunting for a K1 for years, so I was thrilled when this one popped up locally in North Carolina.

Last month, I published this field report where I paired the K1 with my AX1 antenna for a low-profile (but high-performance) activation in Pisgah National Forest.

But here’s the thing: that was actually my second activation with the venerable K1. The first one? It took place along the Blue Ridge Parkway on February 24, 2025.

Taking the K1 to the Field!

It’s always exciting to take a new radio to the field—especially one I’d been chasing for so long. I purchased the K1 back in August of last year. As soon as it arrived, I tested it and realized it was in serious need of alignment.

I brought it over to my friend Vlado (N3CZ), hoping to use his signal generator to sort it out. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time that day, so I left the rig at his QTH. Then Hurricane Helene hit, and… well, suddenly it was 2025.

We finally got around to the alignment in February. As soon as it was dialed in, I hit the field.

Blue Ridge Parkway (US-3378)

I made my way to a familiar spot along the Blue Ridge Parkway—the Folk Art Center—and set up the K1.

Mine is a four-bander (40, 30, 20, and 15 meters) with both the optional internal ATU and AA battery pack. To give the internal tuner a little workout, I paired it with my trusty Tufteln 9:1 End-Fed Random Wire antenna.

Once deployed, I hit the ATU button, and the K1 quickly found a solid 1:1 match. With logs at the ready, it was time to hit the airwaves!

Gear

Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.

Radio

  • Elecraft K1 (four band version with optional ATU and internal AA battery pack)

Key

Antenna

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I started calling CQ POTA on 20 meters, thinking I’d eventually migrate to 30 meters if things slowed down. Continue reading First Field Outing with My New-to-Me Elecraft K1! →

Antennas, Field Reports, FT8, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Reviews

Field Report: N2YCH’s POTA Activation with a Magnetic Loop Antenna

17 Comments

By Conrad Trautmann (N2YCH)

I tried using an Alpha Antenna 100w 10-40m mag-loop antenna for a POTA activation. I operated on FT8 so I could monitor where my signal was being received by using the PSKreporter.info real-time signal reports from stations that spotted my transmission. I really didn’t know what to expect or how a loop antenna would perform in the park compared to a vertical or wire antenna. Did it work? You bet. Would I recommend it? I’ll share my observations and results below and let you know at the end.

I bought this antenna used on QRZ.com’s swapmeet. It was clear to me upon receiving it that the prior owner had taken very good care of the antenna. I set it up on my patio for a quick test before heading to a park.

Mag Loop Test from the N2YCH QTH

It sets up quickly. The tuning is a little challenging to learn at first but there’s no doubt when you get it right, since the received signal is easy to peak once you find resonance. The tuning knob has three turns from 40m up to 10m. Moving it slowly from the bottom of the HF band up to the top, you’ll find the sweet spot and you can peak the received signal on your radio’s S-meter. I checked it with my RigExpert antenna analyzer and as you’d expect, the bandwidth was very narrow, but it was resonant and the SWR was 1.4:1.

The Alpha mag loop can do 100 watts SSB but only 5 watts on digital modes. I fired up my KX3, set it for 5 watts and called CQ. I made three quick contacts and was satisfied that the antenna was working. I checked the spots on pskreporter,info and found it interesting to see a narrow band of stations from Minnesota and Wisconsin down to Florida spotting me.

Pskreporter.info map of spots from Mag Loop

On to the park: Indian Well, US-1684 in Shelton, Connecticut

Knowing that the antenna was working, I brought it out to one of my favorite places to activate, Indian Well State Park (US-1684). Again, set up was fast and I was able to tune up on 20 meters pretty easily.

Alpha Magnetic Loop Antenna at Indian Well State Park in Connecticut

The antenna was receiving the FT8 signals at S-9 with the KX3’s pre-amp off and you can see below that I was decoding nearly 50 stations per FT8 cycle. If you look closely at the JTAlert screenshot below, you can see I was receiving stations from all over the US as well as Canada, South America and Europe. There’s no doubt the mag-loop can hear very well.

Forty-seven stations are being received and decoded. POTA stations in the bottom right pane

I called CQ and had a few responses right away. However, I was finding it challenging to get stations to reply. It took almost an hour for me to get my 10 contacts to activate the park, which is unusual. I should mention that the space weather was acceptable, sitting just below Kp3, so that wasn’t the reason.

Once again, I checked Pskreporter.info. Interestingly, it had the same pattern of spots that I saw when testing the antenna at home, a band from Minnesota to Georgia. Of the first 10 contacts I made, four were in North Carolina, two in Florida and the rest were coming from within that narrow band who could hear me.

Spots from US-1684 using the Mag Loop

I understand that a mag loop is directional, so I tried moving it 90 degrees to see if it made a difference. Not really. The spot map looked the same after the change in direction. I was able to receive a few more EU stations after I moved it. I did have to re-tune the antenna after I turned it, the SWR had gone through the roof.

For comparison, after struggling to make contacts on the loop, I decided to set up my “go-to” antenna of a 17’ telescoping whip on a 10’ mast with a counterpoise.

Buddipole with 17’ telescoping whip and elevated counterpoise

I unplugged the mag loop and plugged in the vertical using the same transceiver set at 5 watts. Take a look at the stations who could spot me on PSKreporter now…

PSKReporter Spots with vertical antenna on 20m QRP

Clearly, that same 5 watts from the KX3 had better coverage on the vertical than using the mag loop.

Here’s a screenshot of WSJT-X on the vertical (click image to enlarge):

WSJT-X and JTAlert reception using 17’ vertical with counterpoise

Once I switched to the vertical, I knocked out 10 more contacts in just 20 minutes.

So, after all that, what do I think?

The Mag Loop sets up quickly, uses very little space and finding resonance isn’t difficult to do. It receives very well, of course this is one of the true advantages of mag loops, is their inherent ability to receive well in noisy environments.

As an antenna to use for transmission? Well, I think this is where the challenge lies, for me anyway. It was certainly hearing stations way down in the noise from far away. However, as you can see by my real-time reception reports, it did not give me the wide transmission coverage that I’m used to with the vertical. Maybe this would be different on SSB with 100 watts, but it’s a difficult to measure SSB reception like you can with digital.

Can you activate a park with it?  Yes, indeed. Would it be my first choice for POTA? Probably not. If you were using this on SSB, the antenna itself (not the radio) would need to be re-tuned for every frequency change (if you were hunting), which is not convenient. If you are the activator, then you could tune up for the frequency you selected and it would be good to go.

My next test with this antenna is to try tuning it to a WSPR frequency and comparing spots it receives to my other antennas. I suspect this it where it will shine.

Stay tuned!

Guest Posts, New Products, News, QRP, QRP Radios, Reviews

First Look at the HF Signals zBitx QRP Transceiver

11 Comments

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade!

by Vince (VE6LK)

Dear readers, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve had time to activate POTA and write about it, and today I tried to activate a park, but a combination of equipment issues and nobody responding to my calls ended my activation. Anyways … when life gives you lemons you make lemonade, and accordingly the activation article is now a radio review article instead! <grin>

That radio is the HF Signals zBitx. An SDR radio, it was spoken about at 2024 Four Days In May and it opened up for orders on December 25 2024 – a Christmas present, if you will. Thomas and I both jumped on the ordering queue (two numbers apart, no less) as well as 248 others around the world. I thought to myself “an all-mode 80-10m QRP radio with a waterfall and weighing under 1 pound for under $200USD shipped? SIGN ME UP!” and pressed the order button. Honestly I thought about it for less than 45 seconds once I read the specs. I also thought to myself that it was an “experimenter’s radio” and not a fully finished product, meaning you can tweak it if you wish to dig into the bowels of the code on the built-in Raspberry Pi.

The 250 original orders were snapped up in two days and then the purchase button was turned off on the website. There were some shipping delays from the original date, as HF Signals discovered the Chinese New Year holiday of 3 weeks where, it seems, everything is shut down. I also discovered this with the Morse Tutor Kits my buddy and I sell, and we couldn’t ship product for a month as we could not get parts.

Showing the on-screen keyboard. It also shows the fit and finish of the shipped product. Photo credit: HF Signals

The radio arrived on March 31, about 4 weeks beyond the original estimate, and I was excited to open it up. I mean, who doesn’t like new radio day after all? I was so excited that I did an unboxing and first look video on YouTube and showed off a few quick things about the radio. TOP SECRET – it took me 5 takes to shoot, so it wasn’t quite a first look!

The radio promises much and delivers a lot. It transmits on 80 through 10 meters at around 5 watts driven by a pair of 18650 cells, or your 6 to 9V four amp power supply. It has two microprocessors, one is a Raspberry Pi Zero W and one is a Pi Pico to drive the display. It has integrated AM, SSB, CW, FT8, touch screen, built-in electret mic, built in CW keyer and keyboard, and weighing just 460g / 1 pound including the batteries. This radio seriously has lots to offer especially at the price point.

The author’s radio with a customized faceplate and VFO knob. The triangular slice in the waterfall display is a photographic artifact.

The source code, schematics and 3D print files are all available on a Github, and indeed I customized the front panel and replaced the knob with one that has a dimple on it, if only to spin the VFO more easily.

You must be made aware that I was really excited to get this radio. It has a history of many other Bitx radios before it. But I’m also aware that there’s the old axiom about “too good to be true” so I tempered my expectations. You must also be made aware that I really want this radio to work as its small form factor, low cost and integrated waterfall make it exciting an exciting prospect in my limited fleet of QRP rigs. And, for the record, I have nowhere near the QRP rig count that our gracious host has, nor are they individually named.

Besides all of that, it is the only HF radio I plan to pack for Hamvention 2025 so it’s gotta be right for that trip.

However, the zBitx may be best described as an early release and/or a work in progress. Continue reading First Look at the HF Signals zBitx QRP Transceiver →

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