Many thanks to Jonathan (KM4CFT) who shares the following note:
We are pleased to announce the release of some new products: a 100 watt version of the popular KM4CFT End Fed Kit as well as a Leg Strap, which is perfect for those who have the KM4CFT paddles, Bamakey TP-III or ModernMorse Paddles (or any small magnetic paddle).
Wednesday, January 29, 2025, was a busy day, but that morning, I was yearning for a little POTA time. I carved out an hour in the late afternoon to play radio—just enough time for a quick activation on the Blue Ridge Parkway (US-3378).
I had two new pieces of gear I was eager to test:
Mike designed this clamp to be lightweight, durable, and versatile—it can attach to more than just a tabletop. He’s even clamped his AX1 to tree branches! As with all of Mike’s creations, it’s purpose-built for field operators like himself.
If you have a 3D printer, you can print your own, or you can buy a professionally printed version from Joshua (N5FY) at Tufteln (links below).
This Christmas, I received a surprise parcel. When I opened it, I couldn’t believe my eyes—a vintage Swiss Army rucksack in pristine condition!
Many of you know I have a soft spot for vintage military packs, and this one is truly special. Jack Carter, who restores these packs, wasn’t sure of its exact age but estimated it to be from the late 1950s or early 60s.
Specs:
Jack meticulously documented the restoration process, including deep cleaning, six rounds of leather cleaning, twelve coats of leather conditioner, and two cans of Filson Oil Wax applied with a heat gun to protect the canvas.
The result? A cavernous, beautifully restored rucksack that will accompany me on many POTA and SOTA excursions. At six pounds, it’s a bit heavy for longer hikes, but for moderate treks, it’s perfect.
I chose the TR-45L for its first POTA activation because I’ve always felt the TR-45L has a nice vintage/nostalgic look to it. It and the pack pair nicely!
Setting up the BNC clamp mount was a breeze. Mike designed it with a dedicated attachment point for the Elecraft AX2’s 13’ counterpoise.
After securing the antenna, I used the TR-45L’s built-in Z-Match ATU to achieve a near-perfect SWR.
Note: Unlike the AX1, the AX2 is a monoband antenna. Mine is set up for 20 meters, though the coil can be modified for other bands above 20 meters.
With everything in place, it was time to hit the air!
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To make the activation more fun, I lowered the output power to two watts. Earlier in the day, 20 meters had seemed lifeless, so I expected a casual activation with space between contacts.
I was wrong. Continue reading Pure POTA Fun: A Quick Two-Watt Activation with New Gear and a Vintage Pack
In late December, I received a much-anticipated package from LnR Precision: my new MTR-3B V4 “Currahee.”
Life has been hectic, so I didn’t get the opportunity to take it to the field until Thursday, January 9, 2025, when I carved out some time in my schedule.
It was a chilly morning, with temperatures hovering around 20°F (-7°C). Still, I wanted the full field portable experience with the new Currahee, so I bundled up in my winter gear and headed out.
Rather than doing another activation on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I checked the Pisgah National Forest website and was pleasantly surprised to find that the Lake Powhatan recreational area was open.
When I arrived, the park employee at the entrance gate informed me that I was the only guest that morning. And what a morning it was! Despite the cold, the clear skies and full sunshine made it a glorious day.
The best part? No competition for picnic tables! Woo hoo! (We must embrace the positives, right?)
About 10 minutes before leaving the house, I hastily put together a quick field kit for the Currahee in my Pelican Micro M50 waterproof case.
This was a trial run to see how I might organize a fully self-contained kit for the Currahee, similar to what I’ve done for my other MTR-3B radios. While I didn’t have time to finalize all the kit components, I wanted to gauge the space available and determine what antenna, throw line, and other accessories would fit best.
Joshua (N5FY), a good friend, sent me a package over the holidays containing some of his latest Tufteln protective radio covers. To clarify, these were gifts; I didn’t pay for them. Among the covers was a brand-new design specifically for the Currahee.
Like all of his covers (you’ve probably seen the ones I use for my KX2, KX1, CFT1, QMX, and others), this one fits brilliantly. In fact, it might be my favorite! The Currahee cover provides a durable, low-profile solution that complements the radio perfectly. Makes it a very durable little package.
In the near future, I plan to create a more in-depth video about the Currahee, but my goal for this outing was to get it on the air and give it a solid break-in.
Although the Currahee features built-in capacitive touch paddles, they require contact with bare skin. I wasn’t keen on exposing my fingers to the cold, so I opted to use my trusty TP-III paddles instead. By the end of the activation, my fingers were still getting sluggish, but I managed to log plenty of QSOs.
For audio, I paired the Currahee with my Anker Soundcore Mini speaker and connected it to a 40-meter End-Fed Half-Wave antenna. This antenna is an ideal match for the Currahee since all three of its bands—40, 20, and 15 meters—are resonant. Kudos to LnR and Steve for these excellent band choices!
For power, I used my 9V Bioenno battery. While the Currahee can handle over 13VDC (making it compatible with a “12V” LiFePO4 battery), I prefer running my Mountain Toppers with 9V, which yields about three watts of output power.
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I started the activation on 20 meters, which turned out to be a fantastic choice. Continue reading Chilly Morning, Hot Pileups: Testing the New MTR-3B “Currahee”
If you’ve been listening to the Ham Radio Workbench podcast, you might have heard Vince (VE6LK) mention that he and VE6TD planned to order parts to produce a batch of pre-built VK3IL pressure paddles.
Well, I just heard from Vince that they have completed a limited run. Here are the details from the ordering page:
For a limited time, VE6LK and VE6TD are selling pre-built 4″ (100mm) long VK3IL v2 pressure paddles. They ship with a high-quality attached 4′ silicone cable with your choice of a straight-through or right-angle TRS plug on the end.
We are the only place you can buy one of these pre-built in North America. If you would rather order a kit, check out VK3IL’s blog [linked here] where he lists other places that sell kits. We are not selling kits, these are pre-built.
You’ll receive exactly the following:
We pre-test each and every paddle before it leaves our hands.
The price for each pre-built paddle, shipped to Canada or within the continental United States (CONUS), is $85 CAD or approximately $59 USD. I believe this is a fair price for those who prefer not to source the parts themselves to build a VK3IL paddle.
I must say that the pressure paddle design functions beautifully. It provides very accurate keying in the field and, so far, it has worked with every radio I’ve connected it to.
by Matt (W6CSN)
The Mountaintopper MTR-3B is a popular QRP portable HF transceiver that has a bit of “cult-ish” mystique about it. The radio seems to hit the sweet spot of size, weight, performance and capability desired by so many portable operators.
While I have operated the MTR-4B, and quite like it, I have yet to get my hands on the much vaunted 3B. Hopefully that’s about to change as LNR Precision has released details and pricing for the next iteration of this legendary radio.
You can check the specs for yourself on the LNR Precision web site. What piques my interest is that the band plan adds 15 meters at the expense of 30 meter coverage and the integrated touch keyer eliminates the need to pack a set of paddles.
Things that I am wondering out loud:
Perhaps the announced pre-release of the user manual will answer these questions.
What do you all think of what we’ve seen of this new Mountaintopper so far?
72 de W6CSN
I’ve had a production unit of the Xiegu X6200 since June of this year and have made several field reports using it for both SSB and CW.
You may have noticed, though, that I haven’t used it much in the field since June.
The reason? I’m primarily a CW operator, and the original firmware had some frustrating CW keyer timing issues.
These keying issues are most noticeable when operating in iambic mode, especially when trying to form letters like C, R, or K by squeezing the paddles. Often, when I try to send a “C,” as in “CQ,” the keyer produces a “B” instead. If you’ve watched any of my previous X6200 videos, you might have seen this happen a few times.
After some time using the radio, I can adapt and reduce the miskeying, but it still happens occasionally. I suspect part of the issue is related to the keyer timing in relation to the transmit/receive switching.
While these keyer issues aren’t severe enough to prevent me from completing an activation, they are certainly annoying.
As I’m reviewing the X6200 (thanks to Radioddity for the extended loan!), I reported the issue to Xiegu back in May and hoped the first firmware update would address it.
The first firmware update, Version 1.0.1, was released in early August. There was an earlier release, but it was retracted due to other issues.
I checked the release notes and didn’t see anything specific about CW keyer timing in the long list of fixes. I had hoped another update would follow soon, but none has been issued yet. Meanwhile, several readers and subscribers have asked me if the keyer issue was resolved.
I decided to update the firmware and take the X6200 out for another field test.
If you follow QRPer.com daily, you may have already seen the spoiler alert: unfortunately, the keyer timing issue was not fixed in this release.
Still, I had a great time squeezing in a quick activation with the X6200, and I thought I’d share the video and a mini field report with you now!
My wife and I were out while one of our daughters was in Shakespeare rehearsals in Mills River, NC on Friday September 6, 2024. We had a number of errands to run, but my wife kindly worked with me to carve out 30 minutes for a quick activation.
The most convenient POTA location was the Sycamore Flats Picnic Area in Pisgah National Forest.
By mid-afternoon, the park was busy, but most of the picnic areas were open, giving me plenty of options for setting up.
With limited time, I turned on the camera to start my real-time, real-life activation video and got straight to work.
Since the X6200 has a built-in ATU, I decided to use my PackTenna End-Fed Random Wire, as it’s quick to deploy with its 31’ long radiator—any nearby tree would do.
Next, I paired the X6200 with my BaMaKeY TP-III, plugged in the antenna, and found a spot on the band to start operating!
Time to POTA!
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After tuning up on the 20-meter band, I spotted myself and started calling CQ POTA. Fortunately, hunters quickly responded.
In just twelve minutes, I logged thirteen contacts. Thanks to all the hunters!
My activation was brief, and I was so focused on making contacts and packing up that I forgot to take any photos of the radio in action. I’ve included some screen captures from the video instead.
I did manage to take photos of the logs:
Here’s what this five-watt activation looked like when plotted out on a QSO Map:
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 monetization turned off on YouTube, 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.
As I discovered during this activation, the CW keyer timing issue has not yet been addressed in the firmware update.
After returning home, I made some notes and reached out to Xiegu to confirm that the CW keyer timing is still on their radar. They assured me that it will be addressed in the next firmware update. I’ll definitely test it and let you know once it’s resolved, so stay tuned!
If you’ve already purchased an X6200, I’d love to hear your thoughts about this all-in-one radio in the comments!
Thank you
Thank you for joining me during this short activation!
I hope you enjoyed the field report and my activation 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! Have a brilliant weekend!
Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)
Labor Day weekend turned out to be full of labor here at QTH K4SWL. My wife and I had numerous projects to tackle, and my daughters had various activities scheduled as well. By Sunday, my wife looked at me and said, “You need a break. Why not spend tomorrow catching up on POTA?”
That was music to my ears.
I messaged my buddy, Vlado, to see if he might be interested in joining me, and he quickly replied, “Of course!”
So on Monday, September 2, 2024, Vlado packed his radio gear in my car, and we discussed where we should go. We had most of the day for radio, but we needed to decide if we’d head north, south, east, or west. In the end, we chose to travel east, as it offered the most options, including one site Vlado had never activated.
We decided to start at Lake James State Park. Since Vlado had only activated Lake James for the first time the previous day at the Paddy’s Creek Access, we opted for the Catawba River Access.
It was Labor Day, so we knew Lake James would get busy around lunchtime, which is why we hit it early. I also knew Paddy’s Creek Access would be much busier today because it has the beach, and I remembered how full the parking lot was during my Labor Day activation in 2023!
At 9:00 AM, when Vlado and I arrived at the Catawba River access, we were among the few people there, so we had our pick of spots to set up the POTA station.
For convenience—especially since there had been a deluge of rain the night before—we chose a spot close to the car, where I’ve activated a number of times in the past.
I also took this opportunity to show Vlado how to use an arborist throw line.
While I didn’t record the antenna deployment—frankly, I didn’t think about it at the time—I wish I had. Vlado was a natural!
On his second-ever throw, he snagged the perfect branch to deploy a 40-meter end-fed half-wave antenna.
I knew exactly which radio I wanted to operate during this activation: the CFT1 by Jonathan (KM4CFT).
I had only recently swapped out my Beta unit for a production CFT1. As a thank-you to Beta testers, Jonathan let us keep the units we tested. I worked with Jonathan and Dan to return the Beta unit and compensate them for the difference.
In truth, there were only a few changes, mostly cosmetic, between the Beta and production units. The biggest improvement for me was that the Beta unit lacked a way to adjust the sidetone level independently from the AF gain. The production unit has this feature, which was my primary motivation for upgrading.
In addition, I prefer using radios that match what my readers and subscribers have. When I use a Beta unit, even if the changes are purely cosmetic, it generates more questions.
Interestingly, this wouldn’t be Vlado’s first time using the CFT1. He must have been one of the first people outside the Beta testing team to try it because we used it on Field Day alongside the TR-45L and X6200 (although you won’t see it in my report since it was still somewhat of a secret project at the time).
We paired my MW0SAW 40-meter EFHW and Bamakey TP-III with the CFT1. I also used my Anker Soundcore Mini speaker for audio.
Time to POTA!
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Beforehand, Vlado and I decided to set up just one station and take turns activating.
Vlado went first! He called CQ POTA, and hunters started replying. Continue reading CFT1 QRP: Labor Day Morning POTA with Vlado at Lake James State Park!
Yesterday morning, around 12:00, I picked up a DHL parcel containing the Venus SW-6B. I was so eager to test it in the field that I dropped my lunch plans, took the SW-6B home, opened the box, and quickly attached Anderson Powerpole connectors to the supplied power cable.
I didn’t have time to do anything else, not even turning on the radio.
After doing some back-of-the-envelope calculations, I realized that if I skipped catching up on my email backlog (sorry!), and instead jumped in the car, I could fit in a one-hour activation on the way to visit my dad in Hickory, NC, that afternoon.
Not wanting to compete for the one picnic table at the South Mountains State Park Clear Creek access (the fastest detour), I decided to head instead to the Lake James State Park Catawba River Access en route. There are plenty of site options at Lake James, and mid-afternoon on a Tuesday, I knew it wouldn’t be crowded.
The weather was absolutely beautiful, and I was right: there were very few people at Lake James.
I left the QTH in such a hurry that I didn’t have time to gather all the components for the SW-6B field setup. Instead, I grabbed my SOTA backpack (which should, in theory, have an antenna, cable assembly, throw line/weight, key, and other necessary adapters and accessories).
I found a picnic table with plenty of antenna deployment options (i.e., trees!).
Luck was on my side, too: my first throw of the throw line made a perfect arc into a tree, giving my 40-meter end-fed half-wave an ideal configuration.
While deploying the antenna, a groundskeeper nearby started mowing a patch of grass with possibly the noisiest mower I’ve ever heard. 🙂 It was so loud I actually had to wait for him to move on because I found myself shouting at the camera mic. Ha ha!
As I mention in the video, this is just the kind of QRM you should expect at a good park. The grounds at NC parks are truly outstanding, which takes a lot of work, and I’m very appreciative. It was just a minor inconvenience.
After deploying the antenna, I set up the SW-6B and spent some time in the video (below) explaining the front panel controls.
I noted in the video that I purchased one of the very first production models listed on the Venus website.
There are a few options available: a metal case, a plastic case, and with or without an internal battery pack.
At the time, Dale (BA4TB) only had the metal case version built, so that’s what I ordered, with an internal battery. It’s the priciest option. The total cost, including DHL shipping to the US, was $344.30.
The metal case is very basic. One downside is that it doesn’t have a positive latch—there’s no easy way to secure the lid. For example, if you turn it upside down, it will open. The plastic version has latches—knowing this, I would have much preferred the plastic case.
That said, the metal case has a lot of charm. I plan to secure it with an elastic band or see if I can adapt mine to a plastic case later.
The internal battery didn’t come fully charged, of course, but it showed 11.3V, which is well within the SW-6B’s voltage range. Knowing this would be a short activation, I opted to use the internal battery instead of grabbing my (comically large, compared to the SW-6B) 15Ah battery from the car.
After turning on the radio, I was pleased to find that the internal speaker provided plenty of amplification for field operations.
It was time to get the SW-6B on the air!
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I started calling CQ POTA on the 20-meter band and quickly discovered that propagation was unstable.
That said, for the first time ever, my first three contacts were all Canadians: VA3NU, VA2CT, and VA2IDX. Nice! Continue reading The New Venus SW-6B QRP Transceiver: First POTA Activation and Field Test!
Many thanks to Gavin (GM0WDD) who notes that ML&S have posted a product page for the new Yaesu FTX-1F.
I was curious what new product announcements might come out of the Tokyo Ham Fair 2024–this is exciting news, indeed.
The following specs and details all come from Martin Lynch and Sons:
The new FTX-1F will be available early 2025.
The new FTX-1F is a portable transceiver utilizing SDR technology and provides 6W of power output with the 5670mAh Lithium-ion battery pack (Which enables 9-hours stand-alone operating time on the HF bands, SSB mode, and 8-hours operating time on the V/UHF bands, FM mode based on a 6-6-48 duty cycle). Up to 10W of power output is available when using an external DC power supply.
This information and the sample shown at HAM FAIR 2024 are only the preliminary introduction.
Detailed information will be announced at a later date.
A number of the fundamental and remarkable features of the new FTX-1F are:
The new FTX-1F will be available early 2025. Please be ready for this forthcoming exciting new radio!
When I asked, in the past, what readers would like to see in an FT-818 replacement, many wanted a spectrum display and SDR technology–it seems like Yaesu was listening.
There’s no built-in ATU, but it appears they will have an “[a]n optional Automatic Antenna Tuner can be attached to the rear of the transceiver with the 5670mAh high-capacity
Li-ion battery pack.”
What’s most surprising is that the FTX-1F has two independent receiver circuits. This is quite an innovation in the world of field-portable HF radios.
I will post more details when they become available. Very curious about the output power, size/weight, and and receiver specs. It would be brilliant if they managed to get FTDX10 receiver performance in this portable form-factor.
Stay tuned!
My buddy Jonathan (KM4CFT) made a big announcement this morning.
He’s been working tirelessly since the start of the year, designing and testing a brand-new field-portable CW transceiver he’s dubbed the CFT1.
As of this morning, you can purchase the transceiver kit on HamGadgets.com.
Jonathan first mentioned his plans to design a CW transceiver back when we were doing a joint POTA activation at the end of December 2023. At the time, it was just an idea. When he said he planned to have it ready for sale in 2024, I was skeptical. I mean, he had a day job and had never designed a radio before. How could he pull that off in such a short timeframe?
Fast forward to Four Days in May/Hamvention in May 2024, and wouldn’t you know it, Jonathan had a working prototype on display! I was blown away. Within a couple of weeks, he was contacting us beta testers, eager to get revision one units into our hands.
I got my CFT1 in June and immediately put it through its paces in the shack. Even in beta, this little radio was rock solid – I was seriously impressed!
I thoroughly tested the CFT1 in the shack, both on a dummy load and with my QTH antenna. If you’re into SOTA or POTA and I worked you in June, chances are it was with the CFT1.
I even took the CFT1 out for a spin on Field Day. Vlado (N3CZ) and I were both impressed with how well it performed in that crazy RF environment. Remember, this isn’t a contest radio, but it didn’t seem to overload at all. Impressive!
When I heard Jonathan was launching the CFT1 today, I figured I’d do a quick POTA activation to showcase this awesome little radio.
Yesterday morning, I was heading to Mission Hospital in Asheville to visit a family member who had just been admitted. I realized I had enough time for a quick activation at the Folk Art Center on the way.
I arrived at the parking lot around 8:30 AM. It was pretty empty except for the grounds crew. I set up at my usual picnic table.
I paired the CFT1 with my KM4CFT End-Fed Half-Wave, trimmed for 30M with a 40M linked extension. I was hoping for some 40-meter action early in the morning. Setup was a breeze. My throw line cooperated beautifully – the 40M EFHW was practically vertical!
Naturally, I filmed the whole process: setup, activation, and pack-up. Before I started the activation, I spent a few minutes talking about the CFT1 – its design philosophy and what I like about it. Hopefully, this will help you decide if it’s the right radio for you.
Gear:
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I spotted myself on 40 meters and started calling CQ using the CW message memory I’d already programmed with “CQ POTA DE K4SWL.”
Fortunately, the band was healthy–at least, healthy enough to reply to a number of hunters. Continue reading Introducing the New CFT1 Five Band Portable CW Transceiver Kit!
