Category Archives: News

FT8, News, QRP, QRPer Notes

QRPer Notes: HB9HCI’s FT8 Box, TX-500 Covers, and Maxpedition BOGO Sale

2 Comments

Welcome to QRPer Notes, a collection of links to items making waves in the world of radio!

HB9HCI’s FT8 Box

Many thanks to Jean-François (HB9MCZ) who writes:

I just wanted to mention a very interesting little box [available from Lutz Electronics:

Page in German.

Page translated into English.

With this magic FT-8 box and a little power bank, all you need to make FT8 in SOTA expeditions is your smartphone.

I don’t own this product, but found it might interest many people visiting your excellent website.

Best 73′ from Switzerland,

JF (HB9MCZ)

Lab599 Discovery TX-500 Covers

Many thanks to Mike (KG4MTN) who writes:

Hi Thomas,

I have just received a nice set of 3D screen/keyboard covers from KB7MDB for my TX-500. Along with these covers he included 5 screw-on plug covers. All appear to be nicely made and fit my rig just fine. Cost was $15, which includes shipping. I have the 2-cover set, I believe he also makes a single-cover unit. Mine is black but I think he also makes them in orange. Shipping is very prompt. His Etsy site is Brewer 3D Design LLC.

Stay warm!
Mike Serio
KG4MTN

Click here to view/purchase on Etsy.com.

Maxpedition Pocket Organizer BOGO Sale

The Maxpedition EDC Organizer holding my MTR-3B and accessories in this photo.

Many thanks to Ray (K8DRT) who reminds us of an ongoing sale at Maxpedition’s main website. The sale includes a number of popular Organizer Pouches including the Fatty which I use for my Elecraft AX1 antenna, and their smaller EDC organizer that I’ve used for a number of radio accessories, logging pads, and EDC items over the years.

Click here to check out all of the items in the BOGO sale.

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

Three watts of POTA power with the Mountain Topper MTR-3B, an EFHW, and Hazel!

10 Comments

Recently on Twitter, I created an informal poll and asked if anyone else named their radios.

Here are the results:

I quickly found out that I’m in the 6.7% minority who freely admit that they name their radios.

We can also assume, however, that a healthy percentage of the “Neither confirm nor deny” crowd do too. They just have a professional reputation to maintain!

Truth is, I don’t name all of my radios; only the ones with “personality” that I plan to keep permanently.

Tuppence

My gift to myself after completing my very first CW activation in 2020 was to purchase a Mountain Topper MTR-3B from LnR Precision. I’ve always admired these tiny hiker-friendly transceivers and have watched as Steve Weber (KD1JV) updated the design over the years.

I first became intrigued with this radio series when I interviewed Appalachian Trail through-hiker and author, Dennis Blanchard (K1YPP) who packed one of Steve Weber’s early ATS-3A kit transceivers (built in an Altoids tin).

A closeup of Dennis’ AT Sprint 3A taken at Four Days in May

By the way, I highly recommend Dennis’ book, “Three Hundred Zeroes: Lessons of the Heart on the Appalachian Trail.”

When I took delivery of my MTR-3B and opened the box, I was floored with how tiny it was.

It’s no bigger than a pack of playing cards.

I knew the MTR-3B would be a permanent resident at QRPer HQ, so after some soul-searching and bouncing names off of a few good friends (who also name their radios), I called her “Tuppence.” Continue reading Three watts of POTA power with the Mountain Topper MTR-3B, an EFHW, and Hazel! →

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios

POTA Field Report: Pairing the Xiegu X6100 and PackTenna Random Wire

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I’ve had a lot of fun testing the Xiegu X6100 in the field. Each time I’ve taken this little shack-in-a-box radio outdoors, I’ve paired it with a different antenna.

I’ve paired it with the Elecraft AX1, an End-Fed Half-Wave, and my 28.5′ speaker wire antenna.

On January 10, 2022, I decided to try one more antenna: the PackTenna 9:1 UNUN random wire.

The Packtenna random wire is a brilliant little antenna to pair with radios like the X6100 that have built-in, wide-range ATUs. It’s such a small antenna and can easily find matches on my favorite POTA/SOTA bands:  40 meters and up. It’s also very compact and super durable.

I use te PackTenna random wire quite a lot in the field, so I was curious just how effectively it might pair with the X6100. Continue reading POTA Field Report: Pairing the Xiegu X6100 and PackTenna Random Wire →

Field Radio Kits, Grab And Go, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, SOTA

My new MTR-3B Ultra-Compact Field Kit built in a Tom Bihn HLT2

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I’m a bit obsessed with field radio kits (understatement alert).

If you don’t believe me, check out this episode of the Ham Radio Workbench podcast where they graciously allowed me to geek out about radio packs for a good two hours.

I should also note that I write, in detail, about my packing philosophy in this Anatomy of a Field Radio kit series.

There’s no cure for my pack obsession. I’m constantly in a state of assembling and testing the most efficient kits I can conjure up.

Since I rotate a fair amount of radios in my activations, the majority of my kits are modular; meaning, components like antennas, ATU’s, batteries, log/pen, and cables are packed in their own small pouches/pack. Before embarking on an activation, I simply assemble the components in a backpack along with the radio/s I might use that day. Over the years, I’ve developed a certain workflow with this process that ensures I don’t forget components or pack the wrong ones.

But by far, my favorite type of kit are those that are fully self-contained–proper grab-and-go kits that have everything I need inside to, for example, activate a summit.

Self-Contained Kits

Fully self-contained kits are reserved for the radios I use in the field most because, frankly, they’re stingy resource hogs: they  don’t share components with my other radios or kits. Continue reading My new MTR-3B Ultra-Compact Field Kit built in a Tom Bihn HLT2 →

Antennas, Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

Pairing the Xiegu X6100 with the Elecraft AX1 antenna…will it work?

16 Comments

If you’ve been reading QRPer for long, you’ll note that I’ve become quite a fan of the uber-compact Elecraft AX1 antenna.

Not only has the AX1 never let me down, but it can even outperform my other antennas in terms of snagging contacts during an activation. Yes, it can even work some DX as well.

Normally, I pair the AX1 antenna with my Elecraft KX2 (above) or KX3 (below).

I’ve even paired the AX1 directly to my Icom IC-705 using a homebrew simple capacity hat (thanks again for that idea LY2H!)

The AX1 needs a little help from an antenna tuner (ATU) to get a match across the 40, 20, and 17 meter bands. Of course, I could always mount the AX1 on a tripod and attach an in-line ATU, but I love the simplicity and speed of setup when paired directly to a transceiver that sports an internal ATU.  To be clear, the Icom IC-705 has no internal ATU, but I was able to get away with using a capacity hat to match impedance on 20 meters.

The new Xiegu X6100 (above) has an internal ATU–a good one at that! As soon as I took delivery of this loaner unit from Radioddity, I plotted hooking it up to my AX1 to see how it might shake out in the field!

The X6100 lacks only one thing that the KX2, KX3, and IC-705 have: a good, accessible grounding point on the chassis.  The AX1 needs a counterpoise to operate efficiently. Continue reading Pairing the Xiegu X6100 with the Elecraft AX1 antenna…will it work? →

Announcements, News, QRP Radios

New Xiegu X6100 V 1.1.2 firmware addresses a number of known issues

26 Comments

Yesterday, I received the following notification from Radioddity regarding a new firmware version for the X6100.

I mentioned that I’ve purchased an X6100 and it’s en route to me now. It was dispatched prior to this new firmware being made public.

It addresses a number of outstanding issues:

  • Improved battery management
  • Functional CW message memory keying (thanks for confirming, Scott!)
  • Improved noise reduction functionality in CW mode
  • CW decoding algorithm improvements
  • Added hand mic button functionality
  • Bluetooth connectivity improvements
  • Many more…

I’m looking forward to this improved functionality–especially CW message keying and battery management. Continue reading New Xiegu X6100 V 1.1.2 firmware addresses a number of known issues →

Announcements, Kits, Morse Code, New Products, News, QRP

The new WA3RNC TR-35 4-Band 5-Watt CW Transceiver Kit

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Many thanks to Jim (N9EET) who notes that WA3RNC will soon be shipping his latest QRP transceiver kit: the TR-35.

According to the WA3RNC website, factory wired/assembled kits are available now for $379 US. The regular kits (with pre-wound toroids!) will be available for purchase January 24, 2022 for $279 US. If you’d like the pre-assembled version, simply click the checkbox that adds $100 for assembly in the WA3RNC store.

Here are a few TR-35 specs from the WA3RNC website:

    • Size 5 ½ X 3 ¼ X 1 ½ less protrusions, weight 10.6 Oz
    • 5 watts output on all bands at 12vdc input
    • Full coverage of 40, 30, 20, and 17 meters with extended RCVR  tuning above and below
    • RCVR modes for CW narrow and CW wideband, and for SSB reception
    • Optimized for operation from 3 series-connected 18650 Lithium cells
    • RIT tunes + and – 5KHz
    • Blue OLED display reads frequency to 10 Hz and RIT offset
    • Built in Iambic keyer is adjustable 5 to 45 WPM with front panel control
    • Separate jacks for straight key and paddles; Always ready for SKCC contacts
    • Operates on 9.5 to 14 volts, < 100 ma receive, about 1 Amp Xmitt at 10 volts
    • Selectable tuning resolution steps of 10, 100, and 1000Hz
    • Low battery indicator with internal adjustment 9.5 to 11.5 volts 
    • Front panel adjustable RF gain control
    • Front panel TX power control; Adjustable from 0 to full output
    • Rugged TO-220 FET RF amp has delivered 5 Watts key down for 5 minutes
    • Signal quality blue LED, RIT warning orange LED, Low battery red LED
    • Excellent receiver sensitivity with MDS of -125dBm
    • Very effective receive AGC prevents ear damage with strong signals
    • Transmitter harmonics and spurs -52dB, meets FCC specs
    • CW sidetone is the actual transmitter signal as heard by receiver
    • Match the received signal tone to the sidetone for perfect zero beating
    • Sharp IF filter; Better than 350 Hz at the -6dB point, plus 700 Hz audio filter
    • Over 250 machine placed SMT parts, and about 55 user installed parts
    • All critical circuits are factory pre-aligned and calibrated
    • No endless “back menus”; There is a control or switch for every function
    • Factory wired and tested option available
    • All torroids are factory wound and prepared

Resources

I love the simplicity of WA3RNC’s designs! I’m sure this will be a popular little kit!

Guest Posts, News, QRP Radios, Reviews

Guest Post: Erik’s Review of the Venus SW-3B

9 Comments

Many thanks to Erik (KE8OKM) who kindly shares the following guest post:

Venus SW-3B Review from a newbie SOTA/POTA activator’s viewpoint

by Erik (KE8OKM)

My journey into amateur radio is relatively short (approaching 2 years now) in this short time I have become enamored with “in the field” QRP operating. Particularly SOTA/POTA.

SW-3B in action Bearcave Lookout PA SOTA!

When I started studying for my tech license I kept coming across CW–what the heck is that? After I learned it’s a mode using Morse Code (a highly effective one at that) I thought, “not interested” and “they still do that?”

Much to my chagrin, I find myself loving CW and obsessed with all things Morse! The CW mode is both a skill and an art. I am still drawing with crayons but hope to paint someday…at least like Bob Ross…

The Venus SW-3B is a small 3 band transceiver operating on the highly effective 20/30/40m bands: the SOTA/POTA activator’s bread and butter bands. To date I have logged over 450 QSOs with this little “black box.” I often come across some disparaging remarks since the transceiver is built in China.

The SW-3B’s design and manufacturing is overseen by Dale (BA4TB). Now having 3 of these, I can say the quality is fine across the line. Product support is reported very good in the rare event it’s needed. Continue reading Guest Post: Erik’s Review of the Venus SW-3B →

Comparisons, News, QRP

The Xiegu X6100 or the Icom IC-705? Making a purchase decision…

27 Comments

Well before the new Xiegu X6100 transceiver was actually in production, I was already getting questions from readers and YouTube channel subscribers if they should plan to purchase the X6100 or the Icom IC-705.

The X6100 has been in the hands of early adopters now for about two months, so we have a good idea what the radio is capable of and how well it performs–at least, with the current firmware revision (January 18, 2022).

I’d planned to make a comparison video in a couple of weeks when the X6100 I purchased arrives, but as I was packing my loaner X6100 to ship to the next review last week, I got yet another email and made the decision to unpack the rig again and film a video comparison.

Not comparable?

Without fail, each time I do a radio comparison I get at least one email (often several)  stating in no uncertain terms: “Thomas, you can’t compare those two radios!” Continue reading The Xiegu X6100 or the Icom IC-705? Making a purchase decision… →

Hacks and Hints, Homebrew, How To, Kits, News

Xiegu X6100: Two effective ways of mitigating broadcast band interference and overloading

18 Comments

As I’ve previously mentioned, the Xiegu X6100–at least at time of posting (January 17, 2022)–has overloading issues. If you listened to the activation video I posted yesterday, you can hear a local AM broadcaster punching through the 40 meter band, especially noticeable before/after operating SSB.

Several subscribers asked if I tried using the attenuator and RF gain to mitigate the level of overloading.  Attenuators and RF gain can be an effective means of mitigating noise levels, but they essentially affect everything on the band–all signals somewhat equally.

A better approach is to use a BCI Filter.

BCI Filters

BCI filters reduce or notch out AM broadcast band signals so that they don’t overload your receiver.

BCI Filters are placed between the radio and the antenna. They can have a dramatically positive effect if you live near a broadcast station and/or if you have a radio that’s prone to overloading.

I see them as a more “surgical” approach to solving broadcast band interference.

BCI filters are simple, inexpensive, and effective. Here are two options shared by QRPer readers: Continue reading Xiegu X6100: Two effective ways of mitigating broadcast band interference and overloading →