My buddy, Jonathan (KM4CFT), is close to releasing a new CW Field Transceiver kit he designed for POTA, SOTA, and pretty much any other field radio activity.
Today, he shared the following photo, which is a bit of a teaser:
Those of you who attended Four Days in May this year may have already gotten a proper sneak peek and even operated a prototype of this radio.
Jonathan tells me that he’ll be releasing details in the near future and you’ll soon be able to order the kits via Radio Dan’s eBay store[eBay partnership link] or via his website.
Of course, I’ll also post details here on QRPer.com when the new radio kit is live and ready to order! Stay tuned!
If you listened to the latest Ham Radio Workbench Podcast episode–our Field Day Debrief–you will have heard that my Field Day was a pretty low-key event.
Originally, I had hoped to fly out to Oregon and hang with my friend George (KJ6VU) and his radio club, but there were just too many family activities happening this year for me to travel for a week.
Instead, my wife, daughters, and I met up with my buddy Vlado (N3CZ) and his sister, who was visiting from North Macedonia.
We met at the Zebulon Vance Birthplace (US-6856) and, luckily, had the picnic shelter to ourselves. The weather was gorgeous, and we put together a proper potluck picnic.
Field Day POTA
Vlado and I decided to do some casual Field Day operating, and I brought the radio gear.
Since I’m currently testing the Xiegu X6200, I brought it along to see how it might handle the RF-dense environment of Field Day.
We made a few contacts with the X6200, but the audio and receiver struggled in that RF-congested environment. This isn’t a surprise, in truth. Most portable field radios aren’t designed to have contest-grade performance—they’re designed for portability and functionality in normal field conditions.
The other radio I brought along was the Penntek TR-45L. I can’t remember if I’ve used it during Field Day in the past, but all Vlado and I could say was…
Wow!
The TR-45L sounded phenomenal!
I’ve always believed that the TR-45L (both the original and skinny version) has some of the best audio in the world of field radio. That is a major plus when it comes to Field Day.
The thing is, it also has a stable front end—the TR-45L receiver handled those packed RF conditions with ease. In fact, we were both amazed at how easily we could hear all of those competing signals. There was absolutely no listening fatigue at all, and both of us could hear weak and strong signals all occupying the same space..
It sounded distinctly analog and “pure.”
Vlado and I both tend to operate with filters wide open—using the filter between our ears—so the audio produced had excellent fidelity.
Vlado and I also made short work of Vesna’s Feta cheese bread!
A couple of times, we did narrow the TR-45L’s audio filter when there was a strong competing station, but by and large, the audio was so clear, we really didn’t need to.
Top-Shelf
The takeaway for me is that the TR-45L series radios have proper contest-grade performance even if they lack contest-grade filtering.
I shouldn’t be surprised because even its predecessor, the TR-35, can handle crowded conditions with ease.
I should add here that the supply of new Penntek radios may already be dried up. As I mentioned in a previous announcement, John (WA3RNC), is retiring and selling off all of his existing radio inventory.
According to his website, he might still have some TR-45L Skinny models, but that’s it. In fact, that notice was dated May 28, 2024, so I’m not sure if it’s still correct.
The TR-45L Skinny
I love the Skinny as much as the original TR-45L—they sport the same receiver and audio; the Skinny simply lacks the ability to add an internal battery and Z-Match ATU. What you get, though, is a radio that’s even more portable and provides an excellent operating angle with the bail folded out.
Have you ever operated a Penntek radio during a contest or Field Day? What are your other favorite field radios for this type of environment? Please comment!
Last week, in response to a reader’s question here on QRPer.com, I was reminded that I hadn’t yet made a video specifically about my Mountain Topper MTR-3B SOTA field kit.
Yesterday, I made a short video (see below) where I show what I pack in my MTR-3B field kit and why I choose to house it in a Pelican 1060 case.
First, let’s look at a list of the gear, then I’ll talk about what went into my choices, and I’ll link to the video.
Gear:
Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
Here’s the philosophy behind my design choices in this kit:
Pelican 1060 Case
I chose to house this field kit in a Pelican 1060 Micro Case even though, at one pound, it weighs more than the typical pouch I also use for small field radios. The Pelican, however, protects the entire radio kit as it’s fully watertight and crush-proof. If I trip while fording a creek or fall and land on my pack, the Mountain Topper will be safe. Yes, there’s a mass/weight cost, but I feel it’s very minimal for the protection it offers.
Counterpoise-less End-Fed Half-Wave
When I build the K6ARK EFHW antenna kit for my MTR-3B, I chose to make it without a counterpoise. Even though the antenna would be more efficient with a dedicated counterpoise and less prone to the effects of body capacitance, I feel like the benefits of this design outweigh the compromises. For one thing, leaving off the counterpoise saves space inside the Pelican case. In addition, by designing the antenna to attach directly to the MTR-3B’s BNC port, there’s no need to include a feedline, thus saving quite a bit of space.
So far, I’ve been very impressed with how forgiving this antenna has been and, most importantly, with how well it has performed.
N6ARA SWR Meter
I include the N6ARA MiniSWR in my field kit to give me some peace of mind if my antenna deployment is compromised (for example, if the trees on a summit are too small, etc.). Since my MTR-3B version has no built-in SWR metering, I feel this is a meaningful addition tot he kit.
Throw Line and Weight
At least 90% of the summits and parks I activate here in western North Carolina have trees. To me, no field kit is truly sufficient unless I include a throw line and weight. I find that the Marlow KF1050 Excel 2mm Throwline is small, lightweight, and effective—-25 meters is enough to deploy any wire antenna I’d carry on a SOTA activation.
Many SOTA ops use a small sack that they place stones in to act as a throw weight for their line. This is very clever because you don’t have to pack in that extra 8 ounces on the roundtrip hike. Still, I like the convenience of a throw weight that’s designed to glide through tree branches with ease–especially if the tree is dense. If I were to do a multi-day SOTA backpacking trip, I’d probably use an empty throw sack instead of a dedicated weight.
Rechargeable 9 Volt Battery Packs
I love these 9V rechargeable batteries. It’s hard to believe that the MTR-3B can complete 2-3 typically SOTA activations on one charge! Then again, the MTR-3B uses something like 18ma in receive? That’s crazy low current consumption. These batteries are super lightweight and the particular brand I use has never produced any RFI (I’ve read that some others can). What’s best is that I can recharge these easy via a USB-C cable.
The MTR-3B will operate on nine volts, which yields three watts of output power.
Helinox Chair and Kneeboard
Yes, these are luxury items. I know many SOTA ops who are quite happy to sit on the ground and balance their radio on their leg. Perhaps it’s my age, but I don’t like doing this anymore because my legs tend to fall asleep and I lose feeling in them if not careful.
My Helinox Zero chair weighs 1 lbs 2 oz (509 g). I feel like it’s weight and mass well-spent. Since I record activation videos, the chair also gives me a much better position for my camera angle (bonus!).
My Tufteln/N0RNM kneeboard is an essential part of my SOTA kit. I never leave without it. The chair and kneeboard combo gives me the flexibility to set up anywhere, anytime. I love it.
Video
Here’s a video showing the breakdown of my Mountain Topper MTR-3B SOTA field kit:
Thank you for reading my field kit post and watching the video! I hope you enjoyed it.
As always, 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.
Many thanks to Sam (WN5C) who shares the following guest post:
Notes from a homebrew POTA adventure
Sam (WN5C)
I recently wrote about the homebrew transceiver I built to operate on a month-long trip through the American Southwest. Upon arriving back in Oklahoma here’s the final outcome: 27 days, 40 parks, and 669 QSOs. I honestly can’t believe that the rig went the distance, or that I made so many contacts on 2 watts or less!
The priority of this trip wasn’t radio, though. I’m an archaeologist and I’m starting a new research project that marries my historical interests with my love of two-way communication. In short, I’m studying the effects of how communication technology aided the American colonization and transformation of the western United States around the turn of the twentieth century. This means I walked and mapped single-wire telephone lines strung up in pine trees in northern New Mexico (used to connect fire lookouts with Forest Service ranger stations), a fascinating story of dramatic changes in land management. I also visited heliograph (sun-mirror signaling) stations established in southeastern Arizona by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1886 to assist in apprehending Geronimo.
Working Fort Bowie NHS (US-0815) in Arizona. The peak in the distance, Helen’s Dome, had a heliograph station on top. From the fort telegraph lines would have connected remote operations to the rest of the Army’s 1880s communication network. Next time I’m climbing up on top!
I look forward to relocating and studying the artifacts from more of these heliograph sites (mostly on remote peaks) to reconstruct this communication network and understand the lives of both the soldiers and the Apache, and how this novel surveillance system altered the battlefield. Based on the artifacts I’ve seen so far there are many cans of Army-issued proto-Spam and beer bottles surrounding the signaling station where American Morse Code would have been sent and received via flashes of sunlight. The original Field Day?
But back to radio. I covered a lot of ground and activated parks in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Kansas.
The POTA sites that I activated (click image to enlarge).
At some locations I was camping so I was able to do multiple long activations and work the lower bands well into the evening. These were some of my favorite moments of the trip, being the only spot on the POTA app and leisurely working with no time or weather-based worries. It also gave me a chance to hear callsigns I was unfamiliar with, essentially exploring a new area of the country.
Working closer states after hours on 30 and 40 meters at Colorado NM (US-0918).
For other times, due to time constraints or weather (thunderstorms or that it was unbearably hot), I got my 10 contacts and moved on. Sometimes I packed the equipment for a long hike, often carried it from the car to a picnic table, and a few times deployed my antenna and operated from my vehicle.
Not every activation was a grand adventure. Sometimes, like here at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR (US-0226) in Colorado, I worked from the passenger seat in the car.
Every activation was memorable in its own way. I worked folks from 44 states, five Canadian provinces, and an unforgettable contact from Italy.
A map of the contacts I made (not including those in northern British Columbia, Alaska, and Italy).
The radio held up surprisingly well. Aside from it looking like a Dalí painting as the 3D printed box continued to deform in the heat, and some hot glue remelting, the electronic components worked as they should. I look forward to printing a stronger case and making some upgrades going into the fall. I do now have a real respect for the engineering that goes into designing field radios, especially those that are thrown into a pack!
Setting up a portable shack on Vail Pass in the White River NF in Colorado (US-4410). This was near the end of the trip, the plastic case was looking pretty bad.
After I began feeling less anxious about the homebrew radio (it kept turning on!) I could start focusing on the trip itself: an amazing POTA adventure with an often-uncooperative sun. Here’s a few themes I noted. Continue reading WN5C: Notes from a homebrew POTA adventure→
Many thanks to Shane who writes with the following question:
I really need some advice.
I know you have produced many videos on the Icom IC-705, and I am wondering if there is a way to directly enter frequencies on this rig, without using the touchscreen.
Being totally blind, I really need to know this before I fork out around $1400 or so, and I figured you (or someone you know) might have the answer?
Is there a small external keypad, like the one that I use with my Yaesu FT-891. Any help you could give me would be so much appreciated, here. Best and 73
At the end of the day, the IC-705 is a very visually-oriented radio since so many of the important features and functions rely on a dynamic, flat, color, touch-screen display. There are physical buttons, but they are typically used to open up more options on the touch-screen display.
I don’t know of an external keypad for the IC-705 that allows for direct frequency entry. I have seen external pads for controlling CW and Voice memory messages, but not for direct frequency entry.
I was hoping to find that there were voice announcements above and beyond those found in the Function menu (which are somewhat limited). Unfortunately, I don’t see a way that it can announce each digit entered in the frequency input, nor a way to audibly confirm the frequency, either in voice or CW.
As for other ways of entering frequencies outside of the radio—say, via a PC—I know this can be done. I use a program with my Macbook called SDR-Control. It will wirelessly connect to the IC-705 and allows you to directly enter the frequency via your computer keyboard. Using a computer adds an extra level of complexity, though, and I’m not sure if a screen reader would work well with it. You might reach out to the developer in case others have asked.
At the end of the day, I’m not sure the IC-705 would be the best choice in terms of accessibility when you’re blind or visually impaired, since, at its core, its main interface relies on a touch screen and very few physically defined buttons and controls.
Any experience here?
I would love to stand corrected, though!
Readers: If you have any advice for Shane, especially if you use the IC-705 and are visually impaired, please comment!
Shane is specifically asking if there is an external keypad out there that could be used with the IC-705. It seems with all of the connectivity of the IC-705, there might be something out there that would work.
I should add: if there are peripherals and techniques used with its 100W sibling, the IC-7300, they may also work with the IC-705 since the user interfaces are so similar.
On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, I needed to make a morning trip to Hickory, NC, to take care of some family business and visit my father.
I started my day early because I also wanted to be back in the Asheville area by noon. Some quick calculations over morning coffee and I decided I had just enough time to fit in one POTA activation en route to Hickory.
I left the QTH around 7:15 AM and made my way to the Paddy’s Creek Access of Lake James State Park, arriving around 8:15 AM.
Lake James State Park (US-2739)
Two other reasons I fit in my activation en route to Hickory instead of on my way back:
Paddy’s Creek has a lakeside beach area that gets very busy in the summer, especially on clear, sunny days (like Tuesday).
Temperatures that day were forecast to push near 95F/35C.
When I arrived at the parking area, I was pleased to see I was one of the only cars there. This made it much easier to find a spot to set up!
I started my activation video (see below) then walked to a picnic table under some trees that would not only provide shade but also antenna support!
I deployed my KM4CFT end-fed half-wave kit that I cut as a 30M EFHW with a linked 40M extension. When I launched the arborist line into the dense canopy, I thought I snagged a high branch, but it turned out I hadn’t.
In the end, my 40M EFHW had more of a low inverted vee, almost NVIS-height, configuration. I was fine with that, though, knowing on the 40M band that early in the morning, I’d snag contacts in NC and the surrounding states.
My goal was to finally make some SSB contacts with the Xiegu X6200. My previous mid-day activation with the X6200 provided no results, so I was hoping I’d be more successful in the morning.
One other thing I did that I haven’t done in over four years: I started out my activation with more than 5 watts of power. I added an external battery to the X6200, turned off its internal charger, and ran the transceiver at its full output power of eight watts.
My goal was to see how warm/hot the chassis would become during the activation. This is one of the questions I’ve been asked the most about the X6200 so far.
Setting up the radio was simple. I was careful to make sure that the internal ATU was bypassed on the 40M (and later 20M) band.
Gear:
Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
Many thanks to Steve (MW0SAW) who shares the following guest post:
Getting a KH1 into Wales and activating a couple of SOTA summits
by Steve (MW0SAW)
I suspect like many QRP enthusiasts, when the brochure of the KH1 surfaced on the Elecraft FTP site, and the YouTube videos appeared, I worked myself into a frenzy of radio desire for the KH1. I knew I had to have one, end of story!
I was so keen to place my order, I totally missed the small print about not being able to ship to the UK or EU because of the lack of CE certification. Or UKCA for that matter. So I placed an order online with Elecraft on 21st Oct 2023 and later it was cancelled because of my location.
Waters and Stanton used to be Elecraft dealers in the UK, in fact I got my KX2 from there a few years ago. But sadly they no longer sell Elecraft products.
Looking on the dealer list, I turned my attention to Rene and Carine at Lutz Electronics in Switzerland. Although a more expensive route to ownership, Lutz have an agreement to buy the KH1 in as a kit and assemble the unit as a service before shipping on to the customer.
So after quite a few emails back and fore with Carine, I learnt I had reserved one of a batch of 40 units destined for the Swiss border. This was around early April.
A few weeks later, on 26th April, I got the email from Lutz requesting international bank transfer payment.
It felt I was really close to getting a KH1 in my hand now, or so I thought!
2nd May I got the tracking number, and by this time I was about to pop with excitement. I was checking the tracking at almost an hourly basis by now! It arrived in London Heathrow and that’s exactly where it stopped for a week. 🙁
The unit was held by customs and I just could not find any information on who to talk to. So after a week of radio silence, a letter from UK Borderforce arrived requesting I assign myself a customs agent to get my parcel cleared. There was even a mention that the parcel would be returned or even destroyed!
Long story slightly shorter, after several more stressful days of worry, I managed to find an extremely efficient company called UK import services. It did cost me a fee, but within a couple of days of providing the invoice and seller information, they got the parcel cleared.
Saturday the 25th May 2024…the big day! I remember pacing around the house looking up the street for the postman. The parcel was handed over and I dashed inside my home to open the box.
OMG there is was, in my hands, wow so small and such a thing of radio QRP beauty!
My friend Lee (M0VKR) also received his that morning and immediately packed his car to head for his nearest SOTA summit: High Willhays (G/DC-001).
Conditions had been terrible with the solar activity, but I managed to get my first QSO with Lee on 40m, in fact KH1 to KH1. I did have to plug it into my home QTH ZS6BKW to make the trip.
So two days later, I was presented with the opportunity and decided to grab a local summit: Craig yr Allt (GW/SW-037).
Conditions weren’t great but I wasn’t put off trying. I managed to qualify with the whip antenna and 17m came up with the goods to qualify.
I was struck by how small and light the unit is, and just how quick the station is to deploy.
In the distance the Bristol Channel and the islands of Flat Holm and Steep Holm. Flat Holm being the place where Marconi sent his first oversea radio signal to Lavernock Point.
The following weekend I took the KH1 out to the SOTA summit of Mynydd Y Glyn (GW/SW-027). Another day of terrible radio propagation. This time I deployed one of my MW0SAW EFHW antennas and the Bamatech TP-III key.
So despite the difficulties getting the radio, and despite the poor radio conditions it was great to be out with the KH1.
I absolutely love it.
It now goes everywhere with me, it’s insane how quick you can deploy it. Even managed to chase a German SOTA station from the office carpark, on 30m with the standard whip and 13 foot counterpoise!!
Many thanks to Dale (BA4TB), who reached out this morning to announce that he’s working on a new product, the Venus SW-6B.
Dale gave me permission to share the following photo:
This will be a six band radio with a built-in rechargeable battery and small speaker.
The front panel reveals some other features:
Dedicated CW speed control
Dedicated AF and RF gain controls
Separate charging and external power ports
Two dedicated CW message memory buttons
It also appears to be enclosed in a case with lid
It’s still in the early stages of development, so some details may change, but I think this looks quite promising! I’m very impressed with the Venus SW-3B, so I suspect this will be a great little radio.
Just take my money, Dale!
Speaking of which, this radio is still in development, so I don’t have pricing or availability information yet. When those details are available, you’ll hear it here first! Follow the tag: Venus SW-6B
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there’s never been a better time to be a CW operator!
On Tuesday, June 11, 2024, I took my production run Xiegu X6200 (on loan from Radioddity) to the Blue Ridge Parkway for its first POTA activation. The activation was a success, with good band conditions on 40 and 30 meters. You can read that field report by clicking here.
Later that day, I had a second opportunity to use the X6200. My daughters were kayaking near Lake Powhatan in Pisgah National Forest, so Hazel (my activational support animal–!) and I went for a quick POTA activation.
Pisgah National Forest (US-4510)
I usually set up near the lake at Lake Powhatan, where there are picnic tables and shade. However, mobile phone reception is poor there. Since I planned to operate in single-sideband mode, I needed a way to self-spot or have a friend spot me, thus a little mobile phone reception (else, use my Garmin In-Reach).
I decided to set up at a picnic area at the top of the hill near the main parking area for the lake/beach. I’ve never seen anyone use this site before, likely because it’s not close to the lake.
The site is surrounded by trees, making it a great spot to deploy a wire antenna.
Setting up
I used my PackTenna 9:1 UNUN random wire antenna, which was already in my pack from the morning activation. It’s a good choice for the higher bands (20 and 17M) I planned to use.
I set up the PackTenna so it wouldn’t interfere with anyone walking through the site. Hazel found a sunny spot to relax.
Gear:
Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
Many thanks to Sam (WN5C) for sharing the following guest post:
Homebrew in the Field
by Sam (WN5C)
What a week it’s been!
I have the opportunity to spend a month traveling through and camping in the American Southwest (specifically, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado) doing archaeological work. And of course, that means the prospect to operate portable at weird times and in lots of places.
I’ve been planning for this trip for a couple of months, about the same length of time that I’ve been trying to achieve my amateur radio dream: to build a complete transceiver. So why not try to do both things at once?
This is just a quick note of my experiences in the first quarter of my trip of taking a homebrew rig into the field.
First off, I have absolutely no background in RF engineering, or electronics at all. But the literature is good and Elmers are priceless (thanks Kenn KA5KXW!). I started small, with kit projects, and then very basic transmitters.
I’ve always appreciated how much satisfaction my father gets by building things by hand, and finally I have a similar hobby. I called the radio I designed the Thunderbird Mk 1 based off the fact that I cut my CW and POTA teeth at Lake Thunderbird State Park in Oklahoma and will probably continue to work there the most. It’s a 6-band (40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 10) CW QRP transceiver with SSB receive.
The receiver is direct conversion and is an amalgamation of VU2ESE’s DC40, KK7B’s Classic 40, and W7EL’s Optimized QRP Transceiver. The VFO is an Arduino/si5351 combo based on the schematics and code written by VK3HN (who has helped me from afar, thanks Paul!). It’s crude, but I use a 6-position rotary switch to manually switch between the band-pass filters.
The transmitter is based on W7ZOI’s Updated Universal QRP Transmitter, married with VK3HN’s Arduino code that acts as the oscillator, keyer, and side tone generator. I get about 3 watts output for 40, 30, 20, a little less for 17 and 15, and about a watt on 10 meters. Like the receiver, I manually switch the low-pass filters.
Here’s a picture of the digital parts (ignore the second Arduino Nano, I thought I would need it but did not), the power board, and the filters. It’s on the bottom:
On top is the main board with the receiver, the transmitter, and T/R switching. Also, you’ll notice the green PCB. I *really* wanted to build NM0S’s Hi-Per-Mite from scratch but I couldn’t get the circuit to run right before my trip so I opted to install one that I built from a kit. It’s a fantastic CW audio filter that I can switch in and out (everyone should have at least one!).
I can switch in a little speaker and added a straight key jack. I printed the box on a 3D printer at the local library. It works great for the shack. In the sun, it’s starting to warp in the heat, so I’ll have to address this, but things still work!
Getting out the door on time with a finished radio was tough! I had finished right before I left on my trip (end of May 2024) and had no time to field test. The best I got was taking the rig to the table in the back yard and firing it up during the WPX contest.
I made amazing DX contacts on all the contest bands I had and called it good. But working superstations isn’t real life, and over the next week I’ve had to MacGyver the radio (rigging a car jump pack, an inverter, and a soldering station together at a picnic table to replace a bad transistor, for example). I think I’ve finally shaken out (literally) all of the loose solder joints and bad grounding. Continue reading Sam’s Thunderbird Mk 1 Takes Flight: A Homebrew Radio Field Report from the American Southwest→
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