Many thanks to Corey (N5YCO), 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.
CFT1 Field Kit
by Corey McDonald (N5YCO)
I thought I would supply the field kit that I use for my CFT1. I prefer SOTA activations when I can, so my kit is on the lightweight minimal side.
All of the 3d printed parts are carbon fiber PETG for strength.
Not pictured: Small log notebook, SOTABeams Carbon6, guy ring and lines.
My kit consists of the following:
Note: All Amazon links are affiliate/partner links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
Over the past few weeks, I have received messages from several of you stating that you are no longer getting email notifications via WordPress when new articles are posted on QRPer.com.
I have contacted support, and they believe they may have resolved the issue.
If you subscribe to new posts via WordPress, could you please leave a comment to let me know if you received a notification about this post in your email inbox? I would especially appreciate feedback from those who haven’t been receiving emails recently but did receive this one.
Hopefully, the issue has been fixed. If not, we will continue to work with support to ensure everything is functioning properly soon.
Many thanks to Karl (K5KHK), who shares the following guest post, which initially appeared on his ham radio blog:
POTA Spotting via Low Earth Orbit
by Karl (K5KHK)
For way too long, I have had the “Working from 200 different units” awards dangling in front of my face: I was at 197 unique parks activated. Only three more! Sunday 11/3/24 was a beautiful day with nothing else to do, so I was planning to hit the road. I needed three parks that I had not yet activated and I wanted them to be relatively close to each other.
A while ago, a created software that takes my activation stats from the POTA site and marks entities in New York with different colors and symbols based on there type and if I had them activated or now. I looked at the map and found the three closest entities that would not require “special equipment” like a boat.
The first one on the list was Honeye Creek Wildlife Management Area – US-9032 – followed by Honeye Inlet Wildlife Management Area – US-8642. These two are close to each other. My third planned park was about an hour away from the second stop: Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area – US-8626.
On the Road
I got on the road a little later than planned – this was the day after changing the clocks back to standard time and I wanted to have plenty of daylight left.
At the first stop, everything went smoothly. I put up my 31ft Jackite mast with the 30.5ft random wire going to a 9:1 LDG Unun and a 1:1 LDG choke. The coax then goes to a LDG AT-200Pro II tuner and my Yaesu FT-857D dialed down to 5W. This is my standard configuration when I am operating from the car.
This was my first outing with a new key: The Putikeeg Mini straight key.
I started by looking for active spots on 40m and found one, a minute later, I had KD3D in the log. I looked for a free frequency, spotted myself and finished with 13 contacts in my log about half an hour later.
After a 10 minute drive, I set up at my second location. The little wrinkle in my plan here was that I had no cell coverage to spot myself. My last spot from the earlier park was less than 30 minutes ago, so if I would have called CQ without a new spot, I would have been re-spotted at my previous park. Not what I wanted.
There are of course ways to get spotted without cell service. APRS over HF is an option, SOTAMate via FT8 will work as well, but I wanted to try something new…
Satellites to the rescue!
The recently released iOS version 18 came with a new feature: Apple has supported making emergency calls via low earth orbit (LEO) communication satellites since the iPhone 14, but until recently, this was reserved for contacting emergency services. With iOS 18, this feature was extended to text messages – both SMS and iMessages. Continue reading K5KHK: POTA Spotting via Low Earth Orbit→
This year, we’ve experienced some cold weather and snow at our mountain home—conditions that always seem to arrive on weekends. While we haven’t had any significant snowfall, the 2–4-inch dustings we’ve received have been enough to coat our steep and winding mountain road. Since our road is still undergoing repairs from the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, there are no guardrails, making it feel a bit sketchy to navigate.
Our family’s approach has been simple: we hunker down and avoid heading into town. Honestly, it’s a great excuse to stay cozy at home.
A Near Miss
On Friday, January 10, 2025, I planned to set aside part of the day for a POTA outing but decided against heading down the mountain. Turns out, that was a wise decision. Unbeknownst to me, a contractor working on a neighbor’s house lost control of his one-ton truck on our slick road. The truck veered off into the creek and narrowly avoided plunging all the way in. While it’s hard to tell from the photo, his truck was precariously balanced on the road’s edge, with the rear passenger tire dangling a good two feet off the ground.
The mishap blocked our road for two full days, as no tow truck could make it up the mountain to retrieve the vehicle.
A Hunting We Will Go!
Undeterred by the weather, I was still determined to squeeze in some POTA time—but in relative comfort. So, I decided to do a little portable POTA hunting from one of our porches.
Since Hurricane Helene took down all of my antennas, I’ve kept a line in a tree near the house for quick antenna deployment. When I want to hop on the air, I simply attach a wire antenna for the bands I plan to use.
That Friday, I deployed my PackTenna 20-meter End-Fed Half-Wave. My goal was to work as many POTA activators as possible, especially since those operating north of me were likely facing some serious winter conditions.
Thanks to my KX2’s ATU, I knew I could find matches on 40, 30, 17, and 12 meters if the resonant bands (20, 15, and 10 meters) were quiet. I decided to capture this hunting session on video, so I turned on the camera and got to work!
Gear:
Note: All Amazon and eBay links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
Last week, we recorded an episode of the Ham Radio Workbench podcast. Our main topic was Winter Field Day, but we also discussed our plans for 2025—not just workbench projects but our overall goals and what’s on the calendar.
Lately, I’ve been so focused on the present and immediate future (sorting out post-storm property repairs, etc.) that I hadn’t really taken the time to think about our bigger plans.
I may tweak this list over time, but here’s what’s on my mind so far:
Projects:
A proper, thorough shack purge: I really need to cut a lot of the detritus out of my QTH radio space.
Attend at least four hamfests with N3CZ as vendors to help accomplish the first point!
Use PSK-31 and other digital modes more frequently.
Finally build that QCX+!
Develop our Swannanoa Valley GMRS network and grow the user base through public information sessions.
Spend more time QRPp and experiment with antenna choices: I do love playing radio with one watt or less!
Hamvention 2025 (I’ll be at the Ham Radio Workbench table with the crew)
A multi-week family trip this summer (possibly a road trip or something further afield by air—it all depends on my daughters’ summer studies schedule).
I’d love to attend Ozarkcon, but that weekend is a tough one—perhaps if I skip RARSfest, I could make it. I’d also love to attend the Huntsville Hamfest, but I suspect it’ll conflict with university move-in dates for my daughters.
A true bucket list item is Messe Friedrichshafen, but unfortunately, the date this year conflicts with another commitment.
What I’m looking forward to:
Checking out the new Yaesu FTX-1F (I paid to reserve one with DX Engineering)
Ham Radio Workbenches On The Air (coming in March—details will be announced soon on the HRWB website).
Getting back into SOTA (Hurricane Helene really set me back here)
Taking my vintage Swiss Army Rucksack to the field!
I may add more to this list, but you might notice there are no numerical goals—for example, specific targets for POTA or SOTA activations. This year, we’re still focusing on getting back on our feet. Maybe next year, I’ll set goals in that regard.
You might also notice that I don’t have any active goal of growing my YouTube channel’s subscriber base. Indeed, I never have. Honestly, my philosophy has always been that people who enjoy my channel will find it organically. What makes my channel so fun for me is not worrying about subscriber numbers, channel metrics, or stats.
Following the YouTube algorithm often leads to stress, clickbait, and compromising one’s vision. It also creates a certain sameness among channels, which I’m just not interested in. I love the community around my channel and am happy to let it grow naturally.
Thank you for making this QRPer community such an amazing one!
How About You?
I’d love to hear what your plans and projects are for this year. Please comment below!
This past week, I’ve been revisiting my shack, paring down, and reorganizing. By that, I mean separating the wheat from the chaff and reevaluating my grab-and-go radios and accessories.
Before Hurricane Helene (a moment in time I seem to use to benchmark events now), I picked up a few IKEA shelf organizers and was quite pleased with how neatly they displayed my gear. Over time, though, the shelves became a bit cluttered, so it was time to give them some care and attention.
While sorting through gear, I stumbled upon a small ditty bag holding my trusty portable ATU: the Elecraft T1.
I held it in my hand and tried to recall the last time I’d actually used it in the field. Maybe during this activation in July 2023? If I’ve used it since then, I can’t remember when.
A Shift in How I Pack
That moment made me realize I’d gradually changed how I pack for field outings without even noticing.
My brand new Icom IC-705 paired with the T1 during an October 2020 POTA activation.
In my early days of POTA—2019 and 2020—I relied heavily on the Elecraft T1 and antenna tuners in general. I loved the flexibility they provided when paired with a random wire antenna.
Even now, I often carry an ATU as a form of first aid for antenna malfunctions. While rare, these issues do happen. In the past five years, an ATU has saved me twice—once with a broken Trail-Friendly EFT antenna and once with a Tactical Delta Loop mishap.
For mission-critical activations, such as remote or rare POTA sites, or during multi-week family road trips, I always pack an ATU. It’s a safety net.
Lessons Learned Over Time
With countless activations under my belt, I’ve learned a few things about myself and my gear:
1. Better Antenna Deployment
I’ve become more skilled at setting up antennas. I now avoid snag-prone trees and branches and have additional supports when nature doesn’t cooperate.
2. Easier Activations Thanks to More Hunters
The POTA hunter community has grown exponentially since the early days. Back then, frequency agility was critical because working the same hunter across multiple bands was sometimes the only way to log ten contacts. It wasn’t unusual for hunters and activators to coordinate activation times and frequencies in advance to increase the chances of logging each other. Continue reading A Subtle Shift in My Field Gear: Rethinking the external ATU→
My wife and I head to Northern Michigan over the New Year’s holiday almost every year. It’s a nice way to wrap up the year and the busy holiday season. Most of our friends and family obligations are met, and we can spend time unwinding and exploring the wonderful things that Michigan has to offer.
This year was no exception. We found a nice place to stay in Frankfort, Michigan. Several breweries, eateries, coffee houses, hiking trails, miles of shoreline, and a local bookstore made this an ideal location for a few days with nothing pressing to accomplish.
Being a ham, I always take a peek around to see what POTA and SOTA entities may be nearby wherever we end up staying. I was in luck, there was a SOTA within a POTA just north of where we were staying. Along the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (US-0767) is Empire Bluffs sand dunes (W8M/LP-019). This was too much to resist.
Sleeping Bear Dune National Lakeshore
As the plans firmed up around our timeline and bookings, my mind began to imagine the activation. I am well versed in POTA activations and have many tricks to overcome beaches, snow, lack of picnic tables, lack of trees, and many other things that can come my way. My mind began to question if I had the right gear to make this happen and I began to plan for a setup that could be deployed and operated in harsh conditions with little assistance from the environment around me.
I have learned from my previous experiences on the sand dunes of the Great Lakes that conditions can be challenging. I knew I would more than likely face snow on the ground, new snow in the air, wind, cold temps, sand, narrow dune peaks, local vegetation, and the challenge to hike all of my gear to the spot. Now it was time to take what I had and turn it into the SOTA/POTA setup that could get the job done.
The antenna would be the GabilGRA-7350[QRPer.com affiliate link] with three 13’ radials deployed out as far as I could get them. Gabil recommends setting the antenna to the general resonance area marked on the coil and using a wide range tuner to finish the job. I have found this to be true, especially analyzing the antenna on the soil in my backyard where I can get a 1:1 SWR match versus the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan.
Gabil GRA-7350, spare whip, and three 13′ counterpoises attached via 2mm banana plugs
I chose the CFT1 as my radio. It covers the bands that I would more than likely operate and with the Tufteln face cover it weighs around 8 oz.
20 meters being the primary band because with the wind and cold, I knew speed would be paramount. For the tuner and battery, I chose the mAT-10 ATU and the Talentcell 3000 mA Li-Ion[QRPer.com affiliate link]. Finally, the N0SA M7 iambic paddle.
CFT1, mAT-10 tuner, Talentcell battery, N0SA M7, Rite in the Rain book and pencil
To bring this kit together in a way that I could operate standing up, I needed some kind of bag or pouch to wear that would allow access to the tune button on the tuner, the volume and VFO on the radio, ability to log, and key without having to hold on to the paddle. As a fly fisherman I thought about a sling pack or a chest pack, but neither would work with any of my backpacks I planned to haul the antenna.
My friend Erik (WS3D) recommended a waist pack. At first glance I wasn’t sure this could meet my needs. Off to the local shopping center I went to see if I could find some options that could accommodate my SOTA kit. After going into five different stores that had some forms of waist packs, my local athletics sporting goods store had one that I thought might work with some minor modifications.
It was small, which meant it could easily fit into the backpack I planned to use. Once I got home, I was able to stuff each component into one of the several pockets provided on the pack. The question remained: how do I key without holding the paddle?
Following the tip provided by N0SA who designed and made the M7, Velcro attached to the bottom of the key would allow adhesion to the pack. I was able to purchase some of the “loop” material from JoAnn and got to work with my sewing machine. A small 2”x3” portion on the right side of the pack would allow for right hand keying while I kept the logger in my left hand. Keeping my right hand free to operate the message functions, volume, and VFO of the radio if needed.
Outdoor Gear fanny pack with sewn on hook and loop patch
Last week, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, I finally broke a three-week no-POTA activation streak with a short trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway Folk Art Center.
Catching Up on POTA
Over the holidays, I’ve been doing plenty of POTA hunting from the QTH (you’ll see some reports and videos surface over time), but I hadn’t ventured out to a park for an activation. The holiday season kept me busy with family visits, birthdays, and home projects—most of which are ongoing, thanks to Hurricane Helene. Despite all of that, I found a lot of joy in portable POTA hunting from home.
Still, activating is in my blood. So when I found an opening on Tuesday, I seized the opportunity!
Back to the Folk Art Center
Now that the bridge on Highway 70 has been repaired, the Folk Art Center is once again my go-to spot for quick POTA activations. What was a frustrating 15–20-minute detour is now a simple two-minute hop—an improvement I deeply appreciate.
I pulled into the Folk Art Center parking lot around 1:00 PM. Unsurprisingly, the lot was empty—it was a brisk 28°F (-2°C), hardly picnic weather. Then again, POTA always warms me up!
Audrey
For this activation, I brought along my trusty Elecraft KX1 (affectionately named Audrey) and paired her with my Tufteln 9:1 End-Fed Random-Wire antenna.
It had been a while since Audrey had been out in the field, and I was excited to put her back on the air.
Frankly, post-hurricane projects have disrupted my POTA activation routine, and I’ve missed all outings like these.
Gear
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Many thanks to Pedro (PP2PB), who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit, which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page.
Pedro’s (tr)uSDX Compact and Affordable Field Kit
by Pedro (PP2PB)
Here’s my new kit.
This kit weighs just under 1,2kg and has phone and CW operations in mind. I might add some cables for digital modes, but I haven’t tested this rig with digital modes, just yet.
The (tr)uSDX was bought assembled with the LO bands RF board, and I assembled the HI RF board myself. I got Adam’s alternative case printed out for easy band switching and did a minor mod to the RF boards soldering a Zener diode reverse polarized as a high SWR protection.
I also added a USB port to the battery pack because the (tr)uSDX can operate with around 0,5W directly from USB and that’s a great way to test for SWR and fine tune the antenna without stressing the finals.
The manual antenna coupler is also my creation and even though it doesn’t appear on the exploded view it does fit in there no problem (it was added after I took the pictures).
Homemade 6W dummy load made inside a 90º BNC male connector (2x 100ohms 3W resistors in parallel) – great cheap insurance with these simple rigs.
Small USB Cable
Generic Earbuds
(tr)uSDX power cable with powerpoles
20m of 24AWG wire for the primary antenna with some generic red paracord for setting it up
Charger for the battery pack with powerpoles
Homemade battery pack using a 4S battery holder with 3x 18650 cells and a BMS board, and the extra space for a step down DC converter with USB out and the 12V powerpoles
Yesterday was one of those rare days where I had no pressing reason to leave the house—other than the temptation of a POTA activation. These days are a rarity, and honestly, staying home often wins out. As much as I love POTA, it’s also nice to settle in and simply enjoy being at home.
Yesterday afternoon, I deployed an EFHW antenna outside and tinkered with digital modes I hadn’t used in a while—mainly FT8, FT4, and PSK31. I connected my IC-705 to my MacBook Pro over WiFi using the excellent SDR-Control app.
When the cold started to bite (14°F/-10°C with a brisk breeze), I retreated indoors to my warm shack. With a mug of hot chocolate in hand, I performed a small ritual I repeat every few months as part of my field radio workflow:
Re-reading the manual
That’s right!
You’ll be seeing more of the Currahee soon!
I typically have a particular radio I want to revisit. Yesterday, I focused on the KH1 and the MTR-3B, as well as the new Currahee (see above).
Recently, while using the KH1 in the field, I couldn’t recall how to move between CW message memory banks (M1, M2, M3 and M4, M5, M6). Even though I know this radio well—since I’m in the testing group, it’s one I’ve explored extensively—I had a mental blank. So, I grabbed the manual, found the answer, and practiced the process until it felt second nature again.
After that, I skimmed the manual cover to cover. I didn’t read every single word but focused on pages that covered features I rarely use during POTA or SOTA activations.
Every time I do this, I learn something new.
I decided to make a short video about this habit of mine and why I think others should give it a try (see below). I get so many questions from readers about how to operate their radios—often their only radio—and it’s clear that many haven’t opened the manual since unboxing their rig. Instead, they rely on Google or YouTube for answers.
When someone asks me how to perform a specific function, I don’t want to sound grumpy by saying, “Read the manual!” Instead, I point them to the exact page they need and encourage them to read the entire manual. It doesn’t take that long and there’s a reward in the end.
Here’s the thing: when you invest in a high-quality transceiver, you owe it to yourself to fully explore its functions and features. Why not maximize your “return on investment” by understanding everything your radio is capable of?
Reading the manual isn’t just about solving immediate problems—it’s about discovering hidden gems that could enhance your experience on the air.
On the Ham Radio Workbench Podcast, we’ve talked about this very topic, and it turns out I’m not the only one who re-reads manuals regularly.
So, do you ever revisit your radio manuals? Have you found this practice helpful? I’d love to hear your thoughts—please share in the comments!
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All of the 3d printed parts are carbon fiber PETG for strength.
Not pictured: Small log notebook, SOTABeams Carbon6, guy ring and lines.
Note: All Amazon links are affiliate/partner links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
I also added a USB port to the battery pack because the (tr)uSDX can operate with around 0,5W directly from USB and that’s a great way to test for SWR and fine tune the antenna without stressing the finals.
