POTA Field Report: Elecraft KX1 and two wires yield 1,100 miles per watt

Yesterday, my family decided to make an impromptu trip to one of our favorite spots on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Richland Balsam–the highest point on the BRP.

Of course, it was a good opportunity to fit in a Parks On The Air (POTA) activation, but I had also hoped to activate Richland Balsam for Summits On The Air (SOTA) simultaneously.

It being well beyond leaf-looking season, we had hoped the BRP would be relatively quiet, but we were wrong.

Trail heads were absolutely jam-packed and overflowing with visitors and hikers. We’ve noticed a sharp hiker uptick this year in western North Carolina due in no small part to the Covid-19 pandemic. People see hiking as a safe “social-distance” activity outdoors, but ironically, hiker density on our single-track trails is just through the roof.   One spends the bulk of a hike negotiating others on the trail.

The trail head to Richland Balsam was no exception. Typically, this time of year, we’d be the only people parked at the trail head but yesterday it was nearly parked full.

Being natives of western North Carolina, we know numerous side-trails and old logging/service roads along the parkway, so we picked one of our favorites very close to Richland Balsam.

We hiked to the summit of a nearby ridge line and I set up my POTA station with the “assistance” of Hazel who always seems to know how to get entangled in my antenna wires.

“I’m a helper dog!”

Taking a break from using the Icom IC-705, I brought my recently reacquired  KX1 field radio kit.

Gear:

I carried a minimal amount of gear on this outing knowing that there would be hiking involved. Everything easily fit in my GoRuck Bullet Ruck backpack (including the large arborist throw line) with room to spare.

I took a bit of a risk on this activation: I put faith in the wire antenna lengths supplied with my new-to-me Elecraft KX1 travel kit. I did not cut these wires myself, rather, they are the lengths a previous owner cut, wound, and labeled for the kit.

With my previous KX1, I knew the ATU was pretty darn good at finding matches for 40, 30, and 20 meters on short lengths of wire, so I threw caution to the wind and didn’t pack an additional antenna option (although I could have hiked back to the car where I had the CHA MPAS Lite–but that would have cut too much time from the activation).

I didn’t use internal batteries in the KX1, rather, I opted for my Bioenno 6 aH LiFePo battery which could have easily powered the KX1 the entire day.

I deployed the antenna wire in a nearby (rather short) tree, laid the counterpoise on the ground, then tried tuning up on the 40 meter band.

No dice.

The ATU was able to achieve a 2.7:1 match, but I don’t like pushing QRP radios above a 2:1 match if I don’t have to. I felt the radiator wire was pretty short (although I’ve yet to measure it), so clipping it would only make it less resonant on 40 meters.

Instead, I moved up to the 20 meter band where I easily obtained a 1:1 match.

I started calling CQ POTA and within a couple of minutes snagged two stations–then things went quiet.

Since I was a bit pressed for time, I moved to the 30 meter band where, once again, I got a 1:1 match.

I quickly logged one more station (trusty N3XLS!) then nothing for 10 minutes.

Those minutes felt like an eternity since I really wanted to make this a quick activation. I knew, too, that propagation was fickle; my buddy Mike told me the Bz numbers had gone below negative two only an hour before the activation. I felt like being stuck on the higher bands would not be to my advantage.

Still, I moved back up to 20 meters and try calling again.

Then some radio magic happened…

Somehow, a propagation path to the north west opened up and the first op to answer my call was VE6CCA in Alberta. That was surprising! Then I worked K3KYR in New York immediately after.

It was the next operator’s call that almost made me fall off my rock: NL7V in North Pole, Alaska.

In all of my years doing QRP field activations, I’ve never had the fortune of putting a station from Alaska in the logs. Alaska is a tough catch on the best of days here in North Carolina–it’s much easier for me to work stations further away in Europe than in AK.

Of all days, I would have never anticipated it happening during this particular activation as I was using the most simple, cheap antenna possible: two thin random lengths of (likely discarded) wire.

People ask why I love radio? “Exhibit A”, friends!

After working NL7V I had a nice bunch of POTA hunters call me. I logged them as quickly as I could.

I eventually moved back to 30 meters to see if I could collect a couple more stations and easily added five more. I made one final CQ POTA call and when there was no answer, I quickly sent QRT de K4SWL and turned off the radio.

Here’s a map of my contacts from QSOmap.org:

I still can’t believe my three watts and a wire yielded a contact approximately 3,300 miles (5311 km) away as the crow flies.

This is what I love about field radio (and radio in general): although you do what you can to maximize the performance of your radio and your antenna, sometimes propagation gives you a boost when you least expect it. It’s this sense of wireless adventure and wonder that keeps me hooked!

16 thoughts on “POTA Field Report: Elecraft KX1 and two wires yield 1,100 miles per watt”

  1. Always cool to see my call (W1ND) in a log. Always a pleasure to see a paper log from the field as that is how I roll too.

    I was hoping to find out what your setup was yesterday and now I know.

    73

    1. And it was great working you first thing, Glen! Thanks for the contact!

      It is great seeing what’s on the other side of the ether, isn’t it? 🙂

      73,
      Thomas

  2. Very nice. There’s nothing like QRP that makes you feel like a kid again when making those precious QSOs.

    Love your blog. It’s currently my favorite. Can’t wait to see your posts.

    73,
    NG2E
    Herndon, VA

  3. How very kind of you to say that, Jack.

    You’re 100% correct: QRP makes me feel like a kid again!

    Cheers,
    Thomas
    K4SWL

  4. Hey! No fair! Wait in line at the Mall to get your list to the North Pole like everyone else…ok, COVID-19, Mall’s closed, etc.

    Just know that your contact would’ve done very well in the Portable Ops Challenge. Ask Jack NG2E…

    Thanks for posting…

    Frank

    1. That’s the thing about Santa, Frank! He’s a QRPer! 🙂

      And you’re right–that would have given me some serious POC sauce! 🙂

      Thomas

    2. Frank,

      So true. Tom’s km/watt to NL7V would’ve crushed me…. I’ve had a QSO about three years ago via CW into North Pole, AK, but it was NOT via QRP.

  5. Thomas,

    Also has a QSO with NL7V today from K-0712 (Manassas Battlefield)! My calc was 5233.7 km/5W or 1046.74km/W. Used the QRP Guys 40-10 UnUnTenna.

    Jack

  6. I also have a KX1, but have not yet had a QSO THAT FAR. It’s a great radio, great job getting SANTA!!
    73
    Roy
    KB3lnp

      1. Excellent!

        Admittedly, I’ve had some problems with my KX1 since last spring. I get what sounds like very harsh QRM that comes and goes. Sounds like a buzz saw . Not sure what it is. Been looking for shorts, etc, to no avail.

        1. Jack, if you have difficulty sorting that out, you might check in with Vlado (N3CZ) at http://hamradio.repair

          He’s one of my best friends and a very reliable guy–also one of the most capable repair technicians on the planet. Only issue is that at present his shop is closed due to some extenuating circumstances. He hopes to welcome radios again in a couple months.

          The KX1 is a gem!

          Cheers,
          Thomas

          1. Thanks, Thomas. This is great. I’ll keep an eye on Vlado’s condition and availability.

            Cheers,

            Jack

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