Here’s what I love about the Elecraft KH1:
- It’s always with me, tucked away in my EDC pack.
- It’s super quick to deploy.
- It lets me hop on the air–anytime, anywhere–and work my friends when they’re activating a park or summit.
Yesterday afternoon, I activated Lake James State Park (US-2739) for about an hour. The pileups were deep, and I was so focused on working stations that I missed a text from my buddy Vince (VE6LK), who was activating a park in Alberta, Canada.
By the time I saw Vince’s message after packing up and turning off my camera, it was too late for a P2P contact—he’d already packed up as well. However, he mentioned that he planned to hit another park and promised to let me know when he arrived.
True to his word, Vince pinged me while I was checking out at a Lowe’s hardware store in Marion, North Carolina. He had reached Castle Wildland Provincial Park (CA-2972) at Butcher Lake, roughly 1,900 miles (3,058 km) away.
I quickly hopped in my car, drove to the middle of the parking lot to escape RFI, and deployed the KH1 in about 30 seconds.
Vince’s signal was about a 529, and I was surprised when he answered my call. He later mentioned it was one of those near-ESP-level contacts!
We completed the QSO, and I did a little happy dance in the parking lot. I absolutely love how accessible and capable the KH1 is.
Here’s what Vince’s view looked like:
And here’s mine:
Let’s just say Vince’s view was orders of magnitude more bucolic!
72,
Thomas (K4SWL)
Spoiler alert: Vince plans to post a full field report from his three-park rove yesterday. He worked some amazing DX, and conditions were clearly fantastic! I’m really looking forward to reading it! Stay tuned!
You didn’t say what band/frequency you were on.
Sorry, I was letting the KH1 display do the talking. 🙂 It was 14063.4 kHz.
Kismet 🙂
I got two of my favorite POTA Ops in the log yesterday. One of them was Vince!
Well done with the KH1 and the whip, Thomas! I could hear Vince on 20m but 5w into my home QTH antennas wasn’t enough to break through his deep pile-up.
73,
Eric
The ergonomics of the total station integration of the KH1 really opens up a world of opportunistic QSOs.
Just the other day while on a lunch break with a work colleague (and fellow ham) we walked out on a public pier on San Francisco Bay. There I whipped out the KH1, mashed the tune button and easily hunted K5OHY activating US-10272 in Texas.
A mere 60 seconds later the station was packed away and we continued our walk and talk.
Brilliant story, Matt. It’s true. The KH1 is so quick to deploy and pack up, I look for little opportunities to put it on the air.
The beginning of Lowe’s Parking Lots On The Air (LPLOTA).
Nice! Sorry if I missed it but what band(s) fid you use? Thanks
Holy cow, and here I am just “delighted” that a Baofeng with a rubber duck can key up a repeater 10 miles away….
I’d love to have a pedestrian setup like that for HF, and maybe someday I will. Gotta learn CW first (working on that) and pass my General test tomorrow (which I thought was NEXT week!!!! OOOPS!)
Good luck on your General exam, Bernard! It turns out that learning CW is also lots of fun. Remember: You don’t get good at CW, so that you can get on the air. You get on the air, so that you can get good at CW!
Hey Tom,
If you keep posting abt the KH-1, I’m going to break down and purchase one!
Please, please, quit planting the seed! 😃 lol
Ron 🦫 WB4OQL
ditto!
About a month ago, a friend put one in my hands and I completed an activation with it, my first time with that model of radio. It really is a phenomenal piece of hardware and the ergonomics on it are really good. Frankly I was blown away by the size and capability. On the opposite end of the scale I’m also blown away by the price and what I can do with other radios for the same dollars. Take that for what you will.
73 de VE6LK,
.Vince
Thomas, or anyone else with one, what’s the simplest, most easily packed way to add 40m to the basic Edgewood package with whip and ATU? The AX1 + AXE1? Would an EFRW of 37’ or so tune up? Something else? You’ve about sold me on this radio for my backpacking/hiking, and I guess I’m wondering what else I should get along with it…
Hi Tom
Congrats my mam!
I’ve had mine now 6 months well over 100
Contacts and very close to WAS !
My quick story got mine August 1st well had to try this
Rig out right out of the box…worked a few US guys out
Of Buffalo NY where I live 3rd contact thought I wud try
17meters sent out a quick CQ and BAM EA6 came back to
Me out of Audtria The best park I worked these 3contacts
On my living room couch !
Honestly this rig is fantastic to say the least !
73s
Dave AA2PF….dit….dit…l
There’s always a tradeoff between ease of setup and effectiveness. I can get a radio set up with an MPAS 17’ whip or mag loop in 7 minutes. I’ve spent 45 minutes setting up a 65’ doublet, and 10-20 minutes setting up an EFHW. How much time do you have?
Hey Tom you were down here in my secondary territory. I didnt realize Lake James was open I was just over that way on a Recon a couple of weeks ago. I had a chance to get away and went up 221 just north of where you were in this report and activated Pisgah National Forest US-4510. I am heading back north after Thanksgiving. Maybe I will get a chance to do one more before I leave.
Take care,
Steve
NC4SR/VA3FLF
Thomas, your articles are a delight. Can you share what’s in your EDC pack, outside of the KH1?
You know? Sure thing. I’ll put it on a list of videos to make. Thanks for the idea.
What wire are you using for the counterpoise? The one that shipped with my kh1 is too stiff.
It’s a silicon jacketed wire made by BNTECHGO. I believe this stuff is 24 Gauge https://amzn.to/492QCUo (QRPer affiliate link)
This was made for me by a reader, but I’m pretty sure this is the same stuff. I don’t like silicon wire for everything, but it works really well for this application!