Last year, just a few weeks before Hurricane Helene hit our area, I received a large package containing several partial kits and even a couple of transceivers.
The package came from a reader and subscriber who wanted to downsize his radio collection but didn’t want to sell his gear. He refused to let me pay him—even for shipping—seeing it instead as a way to support QRPer.com and my YouTube channel. An incredibly kind gesture!
On Monday, February 10, 2025, I finally took one of those radios to the field: an Index Labs QRP Plus.
As many of you know, I’m quite a fan of this radio. Not only was it one of the first compact general coverage QRP transceivers on the market—back in the mid-1990s—but it’s also a brilliant piece of engineering and ergonomics.
Beyond that, there’s a strong nostalgia factor for me. The QRP Plus was the first QRP radio I ever saw in person… back in 1997.
With an opening in my schedule, I was eager to put this radio on the air. The only POTA site that was convenient based on my travels that day was the Blue Ridge Parkway. Since I was already in east Asheville, the Folk Art Center made for the perfect spot to give the QRP Plus its POTA trial.
I picked a picnic table and then set up the Chelegance MC-750 vertical. In no time, I was ready to hit the air!
Gear:
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Radio
- Index Labs QRP Plus
Antenna System
- Chelegance MC-750
- High Visibility Jacket ABR240-UF with PL-259s and 5 Ferrites (Use Coupon Code ABR10QRPER for 10% Discount!)
Battery
- Bioenno 15 Ah LiFePo Battery (Model BLF-1215A) please note that while I used a 15 Ah battery, a 3 or 4.5 Ah battery would have sufficed.
Key and Accessories
- UMPP-1 Paddles by GM0EUL
- Senrog Bench block (weighted key base)
- Key cable: Cable Matters 2-Pack Gold-Plated Retractable Aux Cable – 2.5 Feet
Logging
Packs/Cases
Camera and Audio Gear
- DJI OSMO 4 action camera with Sensyne Phone Tripod
- DJI Mic 2 Wireless Microphones
On The Air
I decided to test the waters first on 15 meters, which had recently been yielding plenty of POTA hunters.
After calling CQ POTA, I was rewarded with 11 contacts in just 9 minutes! Couldn’t ask for better results!
With a little time still left, I moved down to 17 meters.
The band was absolutely alive with activity! In just 19 minutes, I logged 20 hunters before calling QRT due to time constraints.
One thing I noticed during this activation was just how energized the ionosphere was. On 15 meters, I worked stations all over North America—from as close as Florida to as far as Washington and Arizona.
It was the same story on 17 meters, with some solid QRP DX: Washington State, New Mexico (a P2P contact with WI0S), and even DL3DXX in Germany.
What fun!
QSO Map
Here’s what this five-watt activation looked like when plotted out on a QSO Map. Click on the map image to enlarge.
Activation Video
Here’s my real-time, real-life video of the entire activation. As with all of my videos, I don’t edit out any parts of the on-air activation time. In addition, I have YouTube monetization turned off, although that doesn’t stop them from inserting ads before and after my videos.
Note that Patreon supporters can watch and even download this video 100% ad-free through Vimeo on my Patreon page:
Click here to view on YouTube.
A little chirp!
The QRP Plus performed admirably and was a joy to use.
Paul (WA1VEI) was the first to note that my signal had a slight chirp—hence why he gave me a 577 report instead of 579. After the activation, he sent an email with the following audio clip:
Audio Player
Mitch (KE2AXX) also reached out and shared a video where the chirp is quite noticeable:
Chirping can sometimes happen when a battery’s voltage drops to the radio’s lower operating threshold. However, my hefty 15 Ah battery should have had plenty of juice left. When I checked at home, it was still at 13.2 volts.
That means something else is causing the chirp.
No doubt, I’ll need to take this radio to my buddy Vlado’s bench so we can sort out the issue. The chirp clearly didn’t hinder my ability to make contacts—after all, I worked some solid DX—but I do like producing a clean tone when possible.
We’ll get the QRP Plus back to factory spec in no time!
Thank you
Thank you so much for joining me on this fun little activation!
I hope you enjoyed the field report and video as much as I enjoyed creating them.
Of course, I’d also like to send a special thanks to those of you who have been supporting the site and channel through Patreon, and the Coffee Fund. While not a requirement, as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.
As I mentioned before, the Patreon platform connected to Vimeo makes it possible for me to share videos that are not only 100% ad-free but also downloadable for offline viewing. The Vimeo account also serves as a third backup for my video files.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me!
Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)
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OK, but T7 doesn’t mean “chirp”. The report should have been 579C (assuming an otherwise pure DC note).
Back in the 80s, my first QRP rig was a Ten Tec Argonaut 509.
I rode that solar cycle all the way down and had a lot of fun with it. Unfortunately by the end of that cycle, “509” was also the signal report I was receiving from the rare contact I would make.
Live by the watt, die by the watt. 72.
Certainly not the focus of this blog but do tell us more about the fountain pen. They’re unusual enough nowadays to be worth mentioning I’m a bit of a fountain pen fan myself.
This is the one I use: https://amzn.to/3EhNEjI
I find it to be an excellent pocket pen. There’s a plastic version that’s much cheaper and essentially the same pen: https://amzn.to/3WIH3oS
And, hey, we’re all about things slightly off focus of QRP!
This is a QRP pen!
Cheers,
Thomas
My most exotic pen is probably the Namiki Vanishing Point. Otherwise I have s few inexpensive but decent pens. I actually like the disposables – for about a buck each they write just fine and no worries if the get lost or “borrowed”. But I might have to check out that shirt one. Is it full length with cap posted (for writing comfort)? I guess you could call it the “golf pencil” of fountain pens, lol
Mine did the same thing, and it I remember correctly there is a fix. I used it quite a bit. Unfortunately I sold mine to fund the purchase of another radio. I was stupid, It was a great little radio and I never should have let it go!
Steven
VE9SY
Here is the fix I used with my QRP Plus. https://w1hue.org/articles/Q_MODS4.html It worked perfectly for me. If you ever want to sell that little thing let me know. I wanna cry at the though of mine not being here with me now!!
Hello!
I am happy the radio was working well with you. I did not mention that this radio had no mods done at all (except maybe the back to back diodes to keep from blowing the mixer.. a big problem with these rigs.) This rig was pristine except that I had replaced a blown final. There were a few other issues as I bought this radio as a fixer-upper. It was then adjusted and running per specifications.. (I have repaired many of these).. the fix above will fix the ever so slight chirp.. This rig is over 25 years old! I am happy it worked.. Guy N1GMM (note… I do like buying broken stuff and fixing them… bad habit of mine.. But I absolutely hate selling or fixing for others at a cost.. I do this for my joy and to help me keep my mind straight after 2 right cerebral strokes…) Several know me.. No glory for me.. none.. God is good. Gorify HIM!
72/73 Guy
Thank you, Guy! I must say, it was awfully fun putting this QRP Plus on the air and–wow!–what a showing for my first activation with it. The chirp was not really all that bad. I will take a look at the fix. It’s a wonderful radio, indeed!
Thank you again, OM!
Also loving that Touchkeyer!
Cheers,
Thomas
I was wondering what rig you were using during that activation, and was curious to see your report if you made one.
It’s probably just me, but the chirp is kind of fun to listen to (for a while). I wouldn’t want it on my primary rigs, but it gives it a ‘unique voice’.
I first got on the satellites with an Ameco TX-62 and VFO that I found at a swap meet. I worked AO-7 using the Ameco and a Ringo Ranger for the uplink and my SB-301 plus dipole for the 10 meter downlink. The Ameco had a terrible chirp, but it made it easy to identify my signal in the downlink passband.
bew pa bew pa bew bew pa bew.
Thomas, Thanks for the great video. I need to do the same with my QRP Plus. 72/73, Dick, K0RDS
I received a QRP Plus as a gift back in 2022 and have thoroughly enjoyed it. No radio’s perfect but I truly love its simplicity and, the adjustable bandwidth is wonderful. I am a big fan of knobs and buttons over menus, and this radio is so user friendly that though I use other rigs, I keep coming back to it.
For what it’s worth, I keep my log in a word processor document and can do word searches. I also love to keep notes in my log with a lot of details. The first time I worked someone using a QRP Plus (and knew about it) was 26/XII/95 K8BVJ in MI. I was in Central Mexico at the time.
72,
George KG8DA