Category Archives: News

News, POTA, QRP, SOTA

Unofficial POTA & SOTA Etiquette

11 Comments

I recently saw a post in the POTA Facebook page that reminded me of a question I received from a reader last summer.

This reader asked:

Thomas, I’m new to POTA [Parks On The Air] and also plan to participate in SOTA [Summits On The Air] on vacation later this year. I’m a DXer and avid contester so portable operation is new to me. Can you give me tips about etiquette when chasing and, especially, activating a park or summit? In contesting and DXing there are codes of conduct which I try to always try to follow. 

I though I might post some of the tips I sent him. I also asked for input from some other activators/hunters and they independently confirmed these. I’d welcome any additions you might have in the comments section.

Unofficial POTA/WWFF/SOTA etiquette tips:

  • POTA and SOTA are not timed contests, so it’s okay to slow down and and be patient with hunters and activators.
  • When you hear a Park To Park (P2P) or Summit To Summit (S2S) call:
    • If you’re a hunter, step out of the way in a pile-up and let them through. If the activator asks for your call instead of the site-to-site station, work them but also let them know at the end of your exchange that there’s a P2P or S2S contact in the pileup. Those ops are usually operating in tougher conditions with less power than other hunters. Activators especially appreciate site-to-site contacts.
    • As an activator, give site-to-site stations priority for the same reason.
  • In general, follow the DX Code of Conduct. Most importantly:
    • Never tune up on or immediately next to a POTA activator
    • Wait for an activator to completely end a contact before calling them.
    • Send your full call sign and only send it once.
  • Chasers should note that activators need a certain amount of logged contacts in order to complete a valid activation. In SOTA and activator needs 4 contacts, in POTA, they need 10 for example. With this in mind:
    • Post spots to the SOTA or POTA network if you notice an activator hasn’t been spotted for some time. This will help more chasers find them.
    • If you notice that an activator changes modes or bands, try to work them again especially if you hear that they’re struggling for contacts. Each time you work an activator on a different mode or band, in POTA (not SOTA) it counts as a unique contact for a valid activation.
  • Check scheduled activation plans and frequencies. Not all operators have internet coverage to self-spot and phone operators, especially, rely on hunters looking out for and spotting them.
  • Some notes specifically for CW operators:
    • If chasing a CW activator and you hear a large pile-up, don’t zero-beat the activator’s signal. Rather, move slightly off frequency so the tone of your signal is higher or lower than that of the operator.  On the activator’s side, if every one has a perfect zero beat, it sounds like one continuous carrier as opposed to individual signals.
    • Don’t operate at contest CW speeds as you’ll have a more difficult time making contacts. It’s rare to hear even experienced CW operators in POTA and/or SOTA going faster than 20 WPM.
    • Don’t send a “K” after your callsign when chasing activators–just send your callsign. This is especially confusing to an activator if you have a 2×2 or 1×2 callsign. They may recognize you as W1AWK instead of “W1AW, for example.
  • Unfortunately, you will eventually hear someone intentionally tuning up on an active frequency or deliberately trying to cause harmful interference to an activation. As an activator and hunter, it is important not to “feed the trolls.” Simply ignore them and use it as an opportunity to hone your skills at mitigating QRM and harmful interference. If no one acknowledges a troll, they will abandon frequency much quicker.  Sadly, complaining or asking them to leave tends to egg them on.
  • While it’s actually encouraged to send kind comments and compliments as you chase or activate, keep in mind that activators often have a limited amount of time on site and on the air. As mentioned above, they also need a minimum number of contacts in order to achieve a valid activation. This is not the best time to start a long conversation or rag-chew with an activator. Quite often, there are others who are waiting for you to finish your contact so they can call the station and the activator doesn’t want to offend you by asking you to move on.
  • In general, be patient, courteous, and kind to all chasers and activators. POTA, SOTA, WWFF, and other similar field radio activities feel more like a family or community gathering than a contest.

I’m sure there are other points I’ve missed here. Please comment if you have something to add!

Update: Click here to read Mikel’s (EA2CW) Spanish translation of this article. 

Antenna Tuners, New Products, News, QRP

First video of a production Icom AH-705 ATU

2 Comments

I just discovered the following video by VUJ Lab. on YouTube showing the AH-705 ATU being unboxed, connected to the IC-705 and even operated a bit.

The video is in Japanese, but frankly it’s easy to understand what’s going on. It’s the first time I’ve actually seen a production AH-705 in action.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Field Reports, News, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios

POTA Field Report: Pairing the FT-817ND with the EFT Trail-Friendly antenna at Lake Norman

4 Comments

Last week, I thoroughly enjoyed taking the Yaesu FT-817ND to the field.

While the ‘817 lacks features I’ve come to appreciate during field activations like voice and CW memory keying, it’s still an incredibly fun and capable radio.

Last Monday (January 18, 2021), I had an opportunity to visit Lake Norman State Park (K-2740) and perform an activation around lunchtime. Lake Norman is convenient to my hometown of Hickory, NC and these days I typically spend at least a couple nights there doing a little caregiving for my parents. It’s rare my schedule is clear at lunchtime to fit in an activation–typically it’s later in the afternoon.

As with my recent activation at Lake Jame State Park, I paired the Yaesu FT-817ND with my Par End-Fedz EFT Trail-Friendly 40/20/10 meter resonant antenna.

Gear:

It was an incredibly fun activation and one of the few recently where I racked up some great QRP contacts across the 20 meter band before moving to 40 meters.

Here’s my QSOMap of the activation (red lines are phone, green are CW):

As with most of my activations, this one was relatively short. Rarely do I have more than 45-60 minutes of on-air time during a POTA sortie.

I also made another real-life, real-time, no-edit video of the entire activation. If interested, you can view it via the embedded player below or on YouTube:

I’m long overdue a multiple park run, so will start strategizing soon! The Parks On The Air program has also added a few new park in North Carolina, but none appear to be in the western part of the state.

Oh, and Phillip, thanks for prompting me to take the ‘817 to the field again. It is a gem of a rig and I think it might suit your needs very well!

73,

Thomas (K4SWL)

Field Reports, News, Portable, QRP

POTA Field Report: Activating Lake James State Park (K-2739) with the Yaesu FT-817ND

4 Comments

One question that often faces newcomers to the hobby is: “Should I buy a QRP or a 100W transceiver as my first rig?”

That is a very deep topic, actually, and one to explore in a future post. A 100 watt transceiver will certainly give you more options as they can often pump out 100W or be turned down to 1 watt. If you’re a phone operator only, that’s got some serious appeal. Then again, if you’re operating POTA or SOTA where you are the DX, power–while still important–is much less so than, say, if you were at home trying to work DX.

Again, a deep topic for another post because there is no right or wrong answer.

One of our readers (Phillip) reached out to me a couple weeks ago and asked if the Yaesu FT-818 would make for a good first HF rig. He liked the portability factor, the build quality, the HF/VHF/UHF multi-mode coverage, and the overall flexibility of the rig as a field radio. His goal was to do POTA activations.

We had quite a few emails back and forth about the pros and cons and I decided it might make more sense to simply take my Yaesu FT-817ND (which is nearly identical to the FT-818) to the field and activate a park in both SSB and CW. Since I knew he wouldn’t necessarily have an external antenna tuner from day one, I paired the FT-817 with my resonant 40/20/10 meter end-fed antenna.

Lake James State Park (K-2739)

On January 17, 2021, I pulled into my favorite part of Lake James State park and quickly set up my station. I only had about one hour to complete my activation, so knew this would be a very brief excursion. Since I actually had a minimal amount of gear, it was a quick setup.

Gear:

Since I deployed a resonant antenna, there was no tuning or matching involved which not only makes the most of your 5 watts (in that it’s more efficient), but also saves a bit of time in set up and tuning up.

You might note in the video below that my FT-817 has an accessory board attached to the top: G7UHN’s 817 Buddy Board prototype.

I’m testing this prototype at the moment, but didn’t need to employ it at Lake James since it’s really useful when the rig is on your lap or on on the ground. It essentially gives you top-mounted controls and a larger display to read front panel information from above–incredibly useful for SOTA and proper in-the-field activations. Andy’s v3 board will include a memory keyer–I can’t wait for that one!

Since I had Internet access at this park, I used my Microsoft Surface Go logging tablet to spot myself to the POTA network. I started calling CQ on 40 meters phone (SSB) and within six minutes logged eight stations. Not bad for 5 watts and a wire!

Next, I moved to CW on 40 meters and started calling CQ POTA. The POTA spots page auto-spotted me via the Reverse Beacon Network in short order. In eight minutes, I worked six more stations.

I then moved to twenty meters which was essentially dead, so I called it quits a bit early. I needed to pack up and head to my next destination.

Here’s a QSOMap of this short activation (red polylines are SSB and green CW):

I also made one of my real-time real-life no edit videos during this activation if you’re interested:

Truth is, each time I use the FT-817, I love it more. Sure it’s only 5 watts, has no ATU, has a small display, a clicky T/R relay, and questionable ergonomics, but it is a keeper for sure. Even after 20 years of being in production, it still holds its own and is an incredibly popular radio for good reason.

As I told Phillip, the 817/818 is the Toyota Corolla of the QRP radio world.

Field Reports, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

POTA Field Report: Three watts, cold winds, and how *not* to calculate antenna length

4 Comments

Last week, I activated Pisgah Game Land and Pisgah National Forest (K-6937 & K-4510)–things didn’t exactly go according to plan.  I still achieved a valid activations–meaning, I logged ten contacts–but I cut my antenna too short.

I this previous post, I describe my mistake and the lesson learned that day.

In short: I cut my wire antenna too short and my KX1 and KX2 ATUs couldn’t find an acceptable impedance match on the 40 meter band. This pretty much forced me to make do with 30 meters and above unless I modified or switched antennas.

The 40 meter band tends to be my most productive band, particularly on days like last Saturday when I’m operating in the latter part of the afternoon.

Maybe it was stubbornness, but I was determined to make a valid activation with that four-feet-too-short antenna.

Gear:

I first hopped on the air with my Elecraft KX1 (above) and logged a few contacts on 30 meters. I then tried 20 meters, but the band was dead.

Eventually, I pulled the Elecraft KX2 out of the bag with the hope it might actually find a match on 40 meters, but as I said in my previous post, that darn physics stuff got in the way.

That’s okay, though. Although the sun was starting to set and I didn’t want to pack up in the dark, I took my time and eventually logged ten contacts for a valid activation. I actually enjoyed the challenge.

I complain about my wire antenna, but in the end, it made the most of my three watts by snagging stations from New Hampshire, Ontario, Illinois, Arkansas and several states in between.

Against my better judgement, I made a video of this activation. As with all of my videos, they’re real-time, real-life, and have no edits. (They also have no ads.)

A few readers and subscribers had asked me to include the odd video where I actually do a full station set up including the installation of a wire antenna–that’s what you’ll see in this video:

At the end of the day, this was still an incredibly fun activation.

This was the first time I’ve ever completed a valid activation only using the 30 meter band.

Next time, though, you’d better believe I’ll cut my antenna to be the ideal length for 40 meters and above!

How long?

If you use a similar antenna with your KX1, KX2, KX3, or other transceiver, I’m curious what lengths you find work best for 40 meters an above. Bonus points for 80 meters. Please comment!

Field Reports, News, QRP

POTA Field Report: Activating the BRP with my new-to-me Icom IC-703 Plus

16 Comments

When my buddy Don told me he was selling his Icom IC-703 Plus a few weeks ago, he caught me in a (multi-year long)  moment of weakness. I asked his price and followed up with a PayPal transaction without giving it a lot of thought. It was a bit of an impulse purchase, if I’m being completely honest, but he definitely gave me a “friends and family” discount.  (FYI: Don is the same enabler that made this purchase happen.)

I’m thinking the IC-703 Plus might be a good first HF rig for my daughter (K4TLI) and, of course, it’ll be fun to take it to the field from time to time.

Of course, the best way to get to know a radio, in my opinion, is to take it to the field. So that’s exactly what I did last week (January 13, 2021).

Blue Ridge Parkway K-3378

Against my better judgement, I decided to make a video of the activation. I mean, what could possibly go wrong operating a radio for the first time in the field? Right–?

I picked out an “easy” park for this activation: the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Although most of the parkway around Asheville, NC, is closed to vehicle traffic, the Folk Art Center is open year round and a very convenient spot for POTA.

Gear:

I paired the IC-703 Plus with my Chameleon MPAS 2.0 vertical antenna. I was curious how easily the IC-703’s internal ATU could match the MPAS 2.0: turns out, pretty darn well!

I started the activation on 40 meters phone (SSB).

Almost immediately, I logged a few contacts and that quickly built my confidence that even the default voice settings were working well on the IC-703 Plus.

I then moved to 40 meters CW and used the CW memory keyer to call CQ (I pre-programmed this before leaving the QTH that day).

Then I experienced a problem: when someone answered my call, my keyer didn’t work properly. For some reason, it was sending “dit dash” strings from both sides of the paddle. I’m not entirely sure what happened but assume there was either a radio glitch or a small short in my paddle cable. After fiddling with the IC-703 for a bit, I pulled out my Elecraft KX2 and finished the CW portion of my activation. (Always carry a spare radio, I say!)

Actually, I assumed since I was using the IC-703 for the first time, there could be hiccups as I did not do a full rig reset prior to putting it on the air–settings were essentially what they were when Don had the radio.

Here’s one of my real-time, real-life no edit videos of the entire activation, if you’re interested:

Back home, I connected my CW Morse paddles up to the IC-703 and it worked perfectly. Even though I checked the connections in the field, I must assume one of the plugs simply wasn’t fully-inserted. It hasn’t repeated this since.

Despite the CW snafu, I’m very pleased with the IC-703 Plus so far. I like the size for tabletop operating and it’s actually surprisingly lightweight.

If you own or have owned the IC-703, please comment!

Antennas, Field Reports, News, POTA

Mistakes and miscalculations might make us better field radio operators

3 Comments

I don’t know about you, but part of the fun of playing radio in the field are the inevitable frustrations.

It might not feel like it in the moment, but when I eventually overcome the challenges of a mistake, I feel like I’ve truly accomplished something.

That was my little epiphany this morning: making mistakes has perhaps made me a better radio operator. Less-than-efficient field deployments have honed my skills and had a major influence on the gear I pack.

If you’ve read some of my (rather rambling) field reports in the past, you’ll note that I rarely do field activations with the exact same gear combinations each time. I feel fortunate enough that I can pair different radios with different antennas and different accessories.  I get a small thrill out of not knowing exactly how well a combination will work, especially if I’m not activating a rare all-time new park or tough summit for that matter. In cases where getting to the site is a challenge in and of itself, I want to use a trusted combo of gear.

It’s that wee bit of mystery that attracts me to the field.

If I approached POTA more like a contest–where activation and contact numbers were my focus–I would have installed a mobile HF rig in my car a long time ago. I could rack up way more parks and contacts that way. It especially simplifies multi-site activation days since it effectively eliminates the time involved in setting up and later packing up gear.  Mobile operating is the most efficient way to hit number goals: drive up to a site, start calling CQ, work your stations, then move on.

K-6937 & K-4510

(Photo credit: K4TLI)

Yesterday, I did a last minute “two-fer” activation of Pisgah National Forest and Pisgah Game Land. I had not planned to do an activation that day–temps never rose above 29F (-2C) at the QTH day and it also snowed and flurried all day long. Winds were very gusty as well, so it effectively felt much colder on the skin.

I wanted to hike up to the ridge line behind my QTH and do the activation but I knew up there temps would be lower and (worse) winds much stronger. Cold doesn’t really bother me, but strong winds do. This was also the first weekend my ankle felt almost normal after twisting it badly last month. It’s healing and I hope will be in shape for a long hike from my QTH to a six point SOTA summit next weekend with my daughter (K4TLI).

All of those factors combined pointed toward simply staying at home, drinking coffee, and reading a book.

Hazel was ready for some field radio fun, though. (Photo credit: K4TLI)

But I really wanted some outdoor time. And I really wanted to make an activation with my Elecraft KX1, so I decided that instead of hiking up in elevation 800 feet, I’d drive down about 900-1,000 feet to a forest trailhead. That would get me on the air in a protected valley with less wind,  less snow, possibly warmer temps, and much less hiking which would be easier on my ankle.

The Last-Minute Antenna

When I use the KX1 in the field, I typically pack a very simple antenna: one length of radiator wire and one length of counterpoise wire–connected to a BNC binding post adapter, I let the built-in ATU sort out the match.

When I owned my first KX1, I had a magic length of radiator wire (the length of which I can no longer remember) that seemed to work amazingly well  on 40, 30, and 20 meters.

My new-to-me KX1 came with two lengths of wire: one 23′ and one about 20′. Although I made a fun and successful activation with this setup, the radiator was simply too short for the KX1 to find a decent match on 40M.

On the way out the door, I decided to cut a new radiator and counterpoise out of scrap wire I use for antenna experiments.

Being a bit stubborn and also in a hurry to beat sunset, I did no Internet research to sort out the ideal lengths for 40 meters.  I simply cut a 17′ length for the counterpoise and about 27.5′ for the radiator.

In the Field

After arriving on site, I deployed the antenna and tried finding a match on 40 meters with the KX1’s internal ATU.

No go.

I tried a few times hoping maybe the ATU would find something even semi-reasonable in terms of a match, but there simply wasn’t enough radiator to make it work. That was a shame because forty meters would have been the ideal band for yielding quick contacts this time of the afternoon.

I had options, but I wanted to make what I had work.

The activation took time and patience. The 30 meter band was now my best bet and it’s where I logged all ten contacts for a valid activation. I tried 20 meters where I had a 1:1 match, but the band was dead.

At one point, I switched out the KX1 with my KX2 that I also packed. I tried to find a 40 meter match with the superior KX2 ATU, but physics got in the way again. 🙂

40 meters was an option

Let’s be clear here: I could have easily cut 4′ off of the counterpoise and attached it to the radiator and I bet I would have gotten a match on 40M. Since the counterpoise was lying on the ground, its length was less crucial.

The EFT Trail-Friendly end fed antenna was also in my pack.

I also had a perfectly capable 40/20/10 en-fed antenna in my pack. Switching out the antenna would have only taken four minutes.

I bet I could have easily yielded 20 additional contacts on 40 meters because the band was in great shape. Almost without fail, 40 meters is my most productive band.

Working with limitations

Thing is, I’m starting to understand that I like working with self-imposed limitations.

Perhaps this is why I love QRP and low-power radio so much: I get a little thrill out of doing more with less.

Yesterday, even after I realized it would be a struggle to log my final three contacts on 30 meters, I persisted. One motivation was I’ve never completed a full activation using only 30 meters. With a little patience, I knew I could snag my ten contacts.

The only things making it a challenge were the facts that temps were dropping rapidly, winds were picking up, and the sun was setting. Hazel (the POTA dog) who so eagerly jumped in the car when she saw me put on my hiking boots earlier, was also starting to shiver.

Fortunately, after trying another short stint on 20 meters, I returned to 30 and worked two more stations in quick succession giving me a total of nine contacts.

It started to get darker, so I hunted and found an operator calling CQ  on 30 and simply made contact with him. He wasn’t a POTA station, just a general CQ call. He kindly gave me his details for the logs.

Lessons learned

I made a video of most of this activation and will upload it when I have a little bandwidth to do so. I’ll embed it in a shorter field report here on QRPer since I’ve described so much already.

Even though it was a challenge making ten contacts to accomplish a valid field activation with my time constraints, I’ll admit that I really enjoyed the challenge.

Next time I head to the field with the KX1, I’ll actually test the antenna prior to leaving the QTH.

In fact, I’m planning to make two radiators: one at an ideal length for 40 meters and above, and another–much longer–for 80 meters and above. Any advice and personal experience from KX1 owners would be much appreciated.

Perhaps most importantly, it’s only now dawned on me how much I enjoy making the most with self-imposed limitations or “trying to make lemonade with lemons.”

Do you feel the same? I’d love to hear your comments.

News

Icom Firmware update will include “Smoother FT8 Mode Operation” and other improvements to the IC-705, IC-7300, and IC-9700

15 Comments

(Source: Icom Japan Press Release)

Smoother FT8 Mode Operation with Constantly Evolving Firmware (IC-705/IC-7300/IC-9700)

Firmware update for the IC-705, IC-7300 and IC-9700* offers smoother FT8 operation. One touch FT8 mode preset, Scroll mode and other updates for each model will be available.

Preset menu screen

* Firmware update for the IC-705 is around late in January, and for the IC-7300 and IC-9700 will be in near feature.

Click here to download a PDF announcing the update.

Field Reports, News, POTA, QRP

POTA Field Report: Pairing the Mission RGO One with the Chameleon Emcomm III Portable Antenna

Leave a comment

While I tend to use small, field-portable transceivers on many of my Parks On The Air (POTA) activations, I also love using  tabletop transceivers when I have a picnic table available or decide to use my portable table. Tabletop radios often provide more power output when needed and better audio from their built-in speakers.

Although I have an Icom IC-756 Pro transceiver, and an Elecraft KXPA100 amplifier that I can pair with my KX2 and KX3 (or any QRP transceiver for that matter), my favorite tabletop fiel;d radio at present is the Mission RGO One 50 watt transceiver.

If you’re not familiar with the Mission RGO One, I’d encourage you to read my comprehensive review over on the SWLing Post.

In short: it’s a brilliant, simple, tabletop transceiver that’s very happy in the field and a pleasure to operate. My RGO One has the optional built-in antenna tuner (ATU). The rig designer is allowing me to keep this unit on extended loan as I help him evaluate and test updates and upgrades.

While I’ve used the RGO One on numerous POTA activations, I don’t believe I’ve ever made a video of it in use, so I decided to change that last week with another one of my real-time, real-life, unedited (lengthy!) videos of this activation (see video below).

Lake Norman State Park (K-2740)

As I’ve mentioned before, I love activating Lake Norman State Park because it has numerous spots for setting up my gear. While I actually prefer activations that require a bit of hiking, it’s nice from time-to-time to activate a state park that has so many widely-spaced picnic tables under tall trees.  That, and my right ankle is still healing after I twisted it in December, so I’m avoiding any proper trail hiking until it is better.

I made this activation of K-2740 on January 4, 2021.

Gear:

On the Air

This was my first activation of 2021!

Since I have Internet access at Lake Norman, I can check out the  POTA spots page on my phone or tablet and self-spot as well as see spots of other activators.

When I have Internet coverage like this–and I’m not pressed for time–I try to work as many Park-To-Park contacts as I can before I start calling CQ POTA myself.

As I mention in the video, one of my 2021 goals is to obtain a valid activation of each park with only five watts or less. This means that each time I start an activation, at least my first ten stations logged will be with a max of five watts of power. I would actually make the goal for all of my 2021 activations to be 100% QRP, but I evaluate gear regularly and part of that process is to push wattage limits so it’s simply not realistic.

This isn’t actually a crazy goal because a number of my transceivers max out at five watts or less, and I know it won’t be an impediment as I activate parks in CW.

In SSB, though? It makes it a bit more challenging, but certainly not impossible and I’m always up for a challenge!

So I started this activation by trying to work a few Park-To-Park contacts but first cranked the RGO One power down to five watts. Trying to be heard over other hunters in SSB was difficult, but CW was much easier.

After working a few P2P stations, I started calling CQ on the 40 meter band in SSB. I worked about four stations, then switched to CW and worked seven more on 40 meters.

Since I’d snagged my ten contacts for a valid activation, I moved up to 20 meters phone (SSB), cranked up the power to over 40 watts, and started calling CQ POTA and racked up an additional 11 contacts for a total of 26 contacts logged at this activation.

Here’s my QSOmap:

Click to enlarge

Note that I left the callsign labels off the map this time to make it a little easier to see the geo location of the stations I worked.

Real-Time Video

I made a video of the entire activation and posted it on my YouTube channel. As with my other videos, there are no edits and no ads. It’s all real-time and includes my many goof-ups! But hey–mistakes are all a part of a real activation!

Again, if you’d like to know more about the Mission RGO One, you might check out my review on the SWLing Post.

Feel free to comment with your thoughts or questions and thank you for reading QRPer.com!

How To, News, QRO

Henry directly pairs his lab599 Discovery TX-500 with the Elecraft KXPA100

1 Comment

Many thanks to Henry (K4TMC) who shares the following:

Thomas,

Rumor has it that you are considering selling your KXPA100. I offer for your consideration the following use – a solid support for a QRP radio. See the attached pictures. Something similar could be crafted for a KX3/KX2. Not exactly a good option for a long backpacking trip.

No…I did not use Alien Tape or Velcro to attach the TX500 to the KXPA100. I used longer Hex Key screws into a 1/8 inch aluminum plate.

Planning to use this during the upcoming Jan NA QSO Party SSB contest from Atlantic Beach, NC on Jan 16.

73,
Henry – K4TMC

This is brilliant, Henry! It’s as if you have a TX-500-100!

I have decided to keep the KXPA100 and, frankly, might even pair a TX-500 with it in the future!  Thank you so much for sharing! I’ll listen for you in the NA QSO Party!