When my friend, Alan (W2AEW), caught wind that I planned to buy some 26AWG wire for this build, he sent me a spool of wire from a large reel he’d recently picked up at a hamfest.
What a nice guy! The blue wire is absolutely ideal for portable antennas.
Being the nice guy he is, Alan actually published a video about building Jonathan’s antenna kit on his YouTube channel. I highly recommend watching it!
Before I received the kit, I already knew what type of antenna I’d build: a 30 meter end-fed half-wave (EFHW) linked with a 40 meter extension. This antenna design has been on my mind for some time and Jonathan’s kit was the perfect excuse to build one.
Why a 30M EFHW with a 40M extension? Because a 40M EFHW gives me excellent SWR matches on 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters without needing an ATU. A 30M EFHW gives me matches 30 and 17 meters.
Thus, with one linked wire antenna, I can cover 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, and 10 meters! That’s a lot of bands!
And since the antenna needs no extra matching, it’ll work with my transceivers that lack an internal ATU.
The Mountain Topper MTR-5B I acquired earlier this year.
In fact, I originally thought about this antenna design to use with my Mountain Topper MTR-5B which covers 40, 30, 20, 17, and 15 meters.
I built this antenna by first trimming it for a 1:1 match on 30 meters including a loop and strain relief to attach the extension.
When I was satisfied with my 30M EFHW, I then made the 40M extension, attached it to the 30M section with 2mm bullet banana connectors, then trimmed the antenna for a 1:1 match on 40M.
I spent the better part of 60 minutes trimming this antenna. I feel like patience really pays off because it’ll set up the antenna for good matches on all of the upper harmonics. Admittedly, I was a bit pressed for time that day, so I only tested this antenna in one configuration (an inverted vee shape) so hadn’t checked the SWR as a sloper or vertical.
My advice is to aim for a 1.3:1 or better match on 30M and 40M–that should be very doable if you wound your transformer correctly.
On Friday, November 3, 2023, I had planned to activate Mount Mitchell–the highest summit in eastern North America. I need to activate Mitchell soon because I’ve yet to activate it for SOTA in 2023 and when winter weather sets in (quite early at that altitude) the park is inaccessible.
Unfortunately, last week, the National Park Service closed an 8 mile portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway due to (no kidding) park visitors feeding and trying to hold bears at the Lane Pinnacle Overlook.
I won’t get on my soapbox about how people are so out of touch with nature that they feel human interaction with bears is a good thing. It breaks my heart because as we natives of WNC say, “a fed bear is a dead bear.” Bears that become comfortable with humans become (at best) a nuisance and (at worst) aggressive. This is bad for people and it’s bad for our bears who are otherwise shy and avoid humans.
Okay, I said I wouldn’t soapbox about this…
That 8 mile section being closed meant that what would have been a 50 minute drive to the summit of Mitchell turned into a 90 minute drive. Round trip, I simply couldn’t fit that in my day, so I made alternate plans.
Another summit on my list to activate before year’s end was Richland Balsam.
Richland Balsam is actually the highest summit on the Blue Ridge Parkway and is, in fact, at one of my favorite points along the parkway.
That Friday morning, I dropped my daughters off at their classes and drove an hour or so to the Haywood-Jackson Overlook.
In the valley, as I started my drive to the parkway, past the Cradle of Forestry, it was 30F/-1C. I was concerned that on the summit–nearly 4,000′ higher in elevation–that the temp would be closer to 20F. Fortunately for me, as I gained elevation, the temperature climbed too. We were having inversion that day so the higher altitudes were actually warmer than lower altitudes. This is not uncommon in the fall and was very welcome that particular Friday morning!
Richland Balsam (W4C/WM-003)
Only three weeks earlier, there would have been no free parking spots at the Haywood-Jackson Overlook overlook–it would have been packed.
Fortunately for me, all of the leaf-lookers had gone and I literally had the place to myself. What a luxury!
And the temperature? A balmy 43F/6C.
The hike to Richland Balsam is one of the easiest along the parkway.
At the north side of the parking area, you’ll see a trailhead for the Richland Balsam Nature Loop Trail.
I wish my iPhone camera could haver truly captured how the moon looked in the sky.
The trail isn’t long; I believe the entire loop is just shy of 1.5 miles.
Although I didn’t set out to do this, I ended up making a video of the entire loop trail hike along with the activation (of course, you can skip over those parts in my activation video below).
Sadly, one thing you won’t be able to enjoy in my video? The smell. The air is filled with the fragrance of balsam trees along the entire trail–it’s just amazing!
The summit of Richland Balsam is at 6,410 feet ASL (1,954 meters).
The summit is covered in trees which is brilliant for SOTA activators. Another luxury is that there are two benches within the activation zone. I did pack my Helinox Zero chair as a backup, but didn’t need it.
Long time QRPer.com contributor and supporter, Jonathan (KM4CFT) has designed and started producing ultra-compact end-fed antenna kits (eBay affiliate link).
His end-fed antennas are incredibly small, thus perfect for portable operations. They remind me very much of K6ARK’s end-fed wire antenna kits, but a little easier to build because the board is larger and there are no surface mount components.
Jonathan sent me one of his end-fed kits (assembled) a couple weeks ago, but I’ve yet to trim mine due to my crazy schedule and activities as of late (well, that I need need to order more wire!). I will take this antenna to the field this month, but the video may not show up for a few weeks.
W2AEW Builds the KM4CFT UNUN
This morning, I learned that my good friend Alan (W2AEW) published a video where he builds, tunes and tests Jonathan’s QRP End Fed UNUN kit:
Alan’s video is superb. If you purchase this EFHW kit, I’d encourage you to watch his build. (And subscribe to his channel!)
How to purchase
Jonathan is selling his antenna kits on eBay–click here to check it out. The price is $29.95 plus a modest shipping fee. I think it’s an excellent deal.
Of course, you’ll need some wire for your radiator and/or counterpoise.
I plan to build mine with a 30 meter link to pair with my Mountain Topper MTR-5B.
Photo from morning SOTA activation on Richland Balsam.
Yesterday morning, I took my Elecraft KH1 to the summit of Richland Balsam and performed a SOTA activation using only the KH1’s whip antenna on 20 meters (I ran out of time to hit 17 and 15M).
It was insane fun. Without really intending to, I actually filmed the entire hike to the summit, entire activation, and the hike back to the car. I’m not sure I’ve ever done that before. I plan to post the video by Monday (Nov 6) if at all possible (again, trying to push my KH1 videos to the front of the line for a little while).
Parking Lot Pedestrian Mobile
After the SOTA activation, I drove back to town to pick my daughters up at their acting class. I arrived about 20 minutes before the class ended and thought, “why not pull out the KH1 and see if I can hunt some POTA activators–?”
I opened the trunk of the car, grabbed the KH1 from my SOTA pack and then decided to even film this short, impromptu hunting session.
As you’ll see in the video below, it took no time at all to deploy the KH1, hop on the air and work a couple of stations.
I could have also chased some SOTA activators, some DX, or just looked for a random ragchew with someone calling CQ.
I like hunting/chasing POTA and SOTA activators, though, because the time commitment is manageable. For example, by the time I ended this video, my daughters and one of their friends were already hopping in the car to hit the road. I didn’t have to apologize to anyone for ending a QSO early. 🙂
November is KH1 month
I decided that I’m only going to use the KH1 both in the field and in the shack during the month of November. The only exceptions will be other radios I need to test or if I need to make contacts outside of the 40-15 meter KH1 window.
One of the big reasons for this level of commitment is that I am in the testing group of the KH1. This is how we flesh-out any minor issues that may have gone unnoticed.
Another reason is I do plan to post a comprehensive review of the KH1 eventually and I only feel comfortable doing this after I’ve spent dozens of hours with a radio.
If I’m being honest, another reason is that I absolutely love this anytime, anywhere radio. It’s so insanely portable, I take it with me everywhere. The KH1 and I have been inseparable since last Monday when I took delivery. And, yes, I’m still contemplating what her name will be.
I’ve had the Elecraft KH1 in my hands now for a little over 24 hours. I had hoped to squeeze in a POTA activation yesterday, but the stars did not align. I had way too many dad responsibilities on Halloween.
I hope to correct that today with a POTA activation, if I can squeeze it into a hectic afternoon. It’ll be a cold, blustery one for sure!
Yesterday, I did fit in a couple of opportunistic contacts with the KH1 along with some morning on-the-air time in the home office while working on projects.
Since I’ve gotten so many questions about the KH1 since Monday, I thought I’d share a few random answers and notes here.
Does the KH1 work on a desktop?
Quite a few of you have written in to ask how well the KH1 works on a desktop. Some have mentioned that they like the size of the KH1, but don’t see themselves doing the pedestrian portable thing.
The answer is, the KH1 works really well as a small desktop transceiver.
In fact, yesterday morning, if I made contact with you, it was with the KH1 on my desktop while I was plugging away on spreadsheets in the office.
Elecraft designers cleverly positioned the AF Gain and Encoder knobs so that they’re accessible when the radio is lying flat on its back.
As you can see in the photo above, the key plug is positioned between the two knobs, but there’s enough separation there that you don’t feel your key cable is in the way while making adjustments. Of course, the rest of the controls are on the top, so they’re very accessible.
To be clear, I prefer using my KX2 or KX3 on a desktop (they were designed for this), but I feel the KH1 works quite well.
In fact, for the average 30-60 minute park activation where I’m connected to a wire antenna? I see myself using the KH1 on a tabletop. I’ll operate pedestrian portable when doing SOTA and fitting in those little opportunistic and impromptu radio sessions.
I’ve gotten a lot of email and comments asking when my KH1 would arrive and I’m happy to report that I picked it up this morning at the post office!
I ordered the “Edgewood” package, thus the KH1 with all of the trimmings. I was shipped the full radio kit save the logging tray/cover.
The logging tray had a last minute hardware change. Elecraft kindly shipped the radio first and the logging tray will follow in a few days.
I must say: the KH1 is even smaller than I imagined.
Quick video
I made a very short video as I opened the box for the first time. To be clear, it doesn’t likely meet the requirements of an “unboxing” video, because, frankly, I really don’t understand those types of videos. It’s just me opening the box and holding the radio for the first time.
I popped the included battery on my Elecraft fast charger and gave it a good 90 minutes of charge while I did some yard work.
Of course, I couldn’t wait to hop on the air, so I attached the whip antenna and the counterpoise, then hit the ATU button for a 1.2:1 match on 20 meters.
I then opened POTA.app and tuned to a couple of POTA activators.
First up was KK4WDP who was activating K-0784 in Washington DC.
I was still sorting out a few of the adjustments on the KH1 (keyer speed, sidetone level, AF gain, etc.) so I can’t say my exchange was “graceful.” (If you’re reading this, Josh, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it.)
I moved slightly off frequency to delineate my tone, which I think helped punch thorough. On this end, I could hear a couple of strong stations calling at the same time. DC is almost too close for 20 meters this time of day, but I received a 22N report. Thanks, Josh!
Next, I tuned to 14059 MHz where NR1D was activating K-1706.
I called and got a reply on the first try. I can’t remember the report he sent, but he was a solid 5NN. Thanks so much for working me, Kent!
Photos:
I haven’t seen a lot of up-close product photos yet, so I thought I’d share some here. Again, note these don’t include the logging tray, but I will post more photos when it arrives soon.
Stay tuned!
As I mention in the short video above, I’m going to push my KH1 videos to the front of the line.
Also, if you’ve ordered a KH1, you’ll need to check with Elecraft about the predicted ship date. I suspect demand exceeded their projections!
I’ll have more photos and full field reports hopefully starting this week. Stay tuned!
From Elecraft: something BIG, in an incredibly small package…!
Just this morning, Elecraft introduced the new Elecraft KH1.
In brief, the KH1 is a five-band (40, 30, 20, 17, and 15 meter) handheld QRP CW transceiver with options for an internal battery, internal ATU, whip antenna, and fold-out logging pad.
Exciting! And if you’d like to get the scoop on this new handheld radio–– along with photos––we’ve got it here.
Q: What is the Elecraft KH1?
WG0AT with the KH1 making contacts pedestrian mobile.
A: The Elecraft KH1 is a compact, five-band CW QRP transceiver designed for both handheld and tabletop operation. Indeed, the “H” in the model number signifies “Handheld.”
To be clear, although it is quite small, the KH1 isn’t just a tiny radio: it’s ergonomically purpose-designed, to be a pedestrian-mobile CW station. It’s lightweight, easy to hold and use, and will fit both right and left-handed operators. With the optional “Edgewood Package,” it also includes a fold-out logging pad.
Q: How much does the Elecraft KH1 weigh?
A: With all options (ATU, Antenna, Battery, and logging pad) the KH1 weighs in at a featherweight 13 oz.
Q: What features does the Elecraft KH1 offer?
A: Here’s a feature list from the Elecraft brochure:
KH1 features:
40-15 meter ham bands
6-22 MHz for shortwave broadcast band listening
CW mode; 5 watts, all bands
ATU includes whip & high-Q inductor for 20/17/15 m
2.5 AH Li-Ion battery & internal charger
CW decode & 32K TX log
Scan/mini-pan feature
RTC [Real-Time Clock]
Full remote control
Speaker
RIT, XIT, & VFO lock
Light gray case stays cool even in bright sunlight
Three CW message memories with chain and repeat functions
Like nothing else on the market…
The KH1 design is all Elecraft and built on several years worth of design iterations. It is, no doubt, fueled by Wayne’s passion for handheld portable HF.
Again, the KH1 focuses on ergonomics that would make handheld operation not only easy, but enjoyable.
The two main multi-function controls (the AF Gain and Encoder), for example, are located on the bottom of the radio. This gives the operator easy and ergonomic access to the controls while the radio is in-hand.
The four buttons on the top of the radio default to the most useful functions one would need while operating portable. Using them to dig deeper into the menu levels, however, is also intuitive and well thought-through.
While the KH1 menus and features are naturally not as deep as those of the KX2 and KX3, it’s impressively well-equipped for a radio this size. At the end of the day, it’s a much more simple field radio––by design––than its KX2 and KX3 predecessors. If anything, it’s more akin to the venerable KX1!
(Source: Elecraft)
The KH1’s paddles (KHPD1) are located at the bottom of the radio––they flip down for transport, and up during use, so your fingers are well away from the AF and Encoder knobs.
The KH1 has an optional internal ATU that is not as wide-range as that of the KX3, KX2, or T1, but is much better than that of the KX1. I understand that it’ll match most of what you throw at it.
Wayne told me that one of the most complicated parts of the KH1 design was the fold-out logging pad. He wanted the logging pad to be functional for one-handed operation. The indents around the loose-leaf logging sheets allow you to pull out a completed sheet and slip it behind the others in the stack.
The logging sheets are available as a PDF download; simply print and cut. No doubt, the format would be easy to modify.
Whipped!
This is the part I love: the KH1 is designed to operate with a telescoping whip antenna.
Basically, you unclip the whip from the side of the radio (assuming you have the ATU/whip option) and screw it on the top of the top. The ATU will match the whip antenna––there’s a mechanical slide switch that selects 15/17 m or 20 m high-Q inductance for whip––or an external antenna on the BNC port.
If you’ve been reading my field reports and watching my videos, you know I’m a huge fan of the Elecraft AX1 antenna. The KH1 basically has the option of a built-in AX1 antenna…Just take my money!
Speed…and stealth
If the counterpoise is already attached and wrapped around the body of the KH1, you will be able to deploy the station and be on the air in about 20 seconds.
As many of you know, I’ve always said that the secret power of the AX1 and AX2 antennas is speed of deployment. The KH1 allows for an even speedier deployment.
This will be most especially appreciated when activating summits in the winter where exposure to the elements from simply setting up the antenna and station will often make your hands go numb.
Also, the KH1 is so low-impact and low-profile, you’ll be able to activate parks that might otherwise be off limits to an HF field installation. I know of one urban park that, with permission, I’ll definitely use the KH1 to activate; it has no park benches and no trees, just a strip of grass around a historic building in the middle of a city. Perfect for the KH1!
KH1 versus KX2?
The KH1 and KX2 are very different animals. Elecraft actually produced this comparison chart to help potential customers make a purchase decision.
My advice? If you have a KX2 on order, don’t cancel it.
The KH1 is not a KX2 replacement. The KX2 is a much more capable radio. The KH1, however, is a radio focused on ultra lightweight, low-profile, pedestrian-portable, CW HF field operation.
A KH1 review?
Yes, it’s coming! I will purchase and review the KH1 “Edgewood” package. My unit should ship next week, so look for updates and photos, and I will push those field reports and videos to the front of the line.
To be completely transparent: I have been in a volunteer group of testers for the KH1. Other than this, the only real affiliation I have with Elecraft––besides knowing Wayne, Eric, and some of their staff––is being a long-time customer. I own, or have owned, every radio they’ve ever made, save the K3 and K4 lines. And it’s Elecraft that makes my favorite field radios.
Xiegu fans will be happy to see that this new transceiver has a removable battery pack. If this pack is easy to source/obtain, that will indeed be a strong point.
It looks like Xiegu has also added fixed rails to protect the front panel along with reinforcement around the chassis.
It looks quite durable, although it also appears there are two knobs protruding on the top of the radio–?
On our previous post, there were a number of skeptical comments about the new Xiegu transceiver. Indeed, some of the comments were from X6100 owners who feel that Xiegu hasn’t fully completed all of the published features promised in the ‘6100 (which was released two years ago). A number of owners also commented that getting support or repair work done after the one year warranty has challenging. These are, for sure, some of the risks associated with price-competitive radios. Xiegu radios offer a lot of features for the price.
After this radio new is released, I will reach out to Xiegu or Radioddity and ask for a loaner to test in the field. I’ll be very interested to know if it has a few of these improvements over previous models:
Better front end with some built-in BCI filtering
Cleaner audio with balanced AGC
Lower noise floor
Longer battery life than the X6100
Published features which actually work in the first production run
I haven’t gotten a confirmation of the price or availability yet.
It appears Xiegu has a new direct-sampling SDR portable transceiver in the works.
Image source: Xiegu (click to enlarge)
Along with the photos above, here’s the teaser Xiegu shared via their Twitter account today:
Xiegu New product Introduction
It is a new generation of ultra-portable shortwave transceiver. It adopts advanced RF direct sampling architecture and is equipped with powerful baseband and RF units. It integrates rich functions of major models and has built-in popular remote network control function. [B]ringing you a new amateur radio experience.
RF direct acquisition architecture, HF/50MHz full-mode transceiver
Supports listening to WFM broadcast frequency bands and supports listening to aviation frequency bands
Built-in high-efficiency automatic antenna tuner
Support network remote control
Integrated standing wave scanner and voice pager
Integrated modem, preset text messages, CW automatic calling
Standardly equipped with high stability TCXO internal clock source
External expansion equipment can be connected to expand the frequency band
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