Category Archives: QRP Radios

New Products, News, QRP Radios

More photos of the Xiegu X6200

12 Comments

Many thanks to my buddy, Don (W7SSB), who shares the following photos and product brochure of the yet-to-be-released Xiegu X6200.

The X6200 is not yet in the hands of reviewers, nor is it in production. This hasn’t stopped some people from “reviewing” this unit, so take anything you read up to this point with a grain of salt. A lot of folks have asked me what I think about the X6200, but I won’t comment until I’ve actually gotten a unit and tested it in the field.

I do have a few notes:

  1. I hope Xiegu takes time to have the X6200 thoroughly field-tested prior to production. In the past, early adopters have really taken on the role of Beta testing; it all makes for a very confusing evaluation period. In the same vein, I hope that more of the advertised functionality works from day one.
  2. Xiegu mentions that this unit has improved receiver sensitivity and a lower noise floor–both of these are most welcome. I hope this equates to more refined audio as well.
  3. I hope the receiver front end is more robust and has built-in BCI filtering. Previous models have suffered from overloading.

Of course, I will plan to review the X6200 and give it a thorough shake-down.

Photos:

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Product brochure

Click here to download the preliminary product brochure (as of Dec 28, 2023). [PDF]

Field Radio Kits, Guest Posts, News, Portable, QRP, QRP Radios

Field Radio Kit Gallery: KK7ISX’s Xiegu X6100 Field Kit

1 Comment

Many thanks to Todd (KK7ISX) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post.

KK7ISX’s Xiegu X6100 Field Kit

Hey Thomas, I love perusing the Field Radio Kit Gallery section of your website. It’s helped me dial in my SOTA kit while I’ve been injured this fall so I’d like to pay it forward.

Photos

This is my current set up for my Xiegu X6100:

Equipment list:

[Note: All Amazon and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.]

Field Radio Kits, Guest Posts, News, Portable, QRP Radios

Field Radio Kit Gallery: KV4AN’s Icom IC-705 Field Kit

6 Comments

Many thanks to Steve (KV4AN) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post. 

KV4AN’s Icom IC-705 Field Kit

by Steve (KV4AN)

A requirements-driven portable communication capability, using a modular implementation concept, was the basis for my IC-705 Field Kit.  I’ve loved portable radio operating since shortly after getting my license back in 1975.  My first portable radio was the over-the-shoulder Kenwood TR-2200A 2m FM transceiver.  There is now a happy confluence of advanced electronics technology, customer-focused radio manufacturers, radio sport groups like POTA and SOTA, and hams who want to combine outdoor adventures with their ham radio hobby.   The result is the ability to create and operate highly capable portable ham radio field kits, such as the IC-705 Field Kit that I’m going to describe in this article.

The kit consists of up to three man-packable bags: a Radio Bag, an Antenna Bag, and a Computer Bag, as shown in figure (1).  The Radio and Antenna bags must be brought to every activation, but the computer bag can be left at home if I don’t plan to use digital modes.  I can also swap out Antenna Bags, depending on what kind of antenna you need for the specific activation location and park rules, like: ability to use a ground spike, size of activation area, presence of suitable trees, primary operating bands and expected propagation conditions, and so forth.

Figure 1.  IC-705 Field Kit loaded up and ready for a park activation (click image to enlarge).

Radio Bag

The Radio Bag contains everything necessary to operate the IC-705 in the field.  It can be carried in one hand, worn over-the-should, or worn as a fanny pack.  With the load-out listed below and shown in figure (2), it weighs around 15 lbs.

[Gear links list at end of article.]

A. Icom IC-705 Transceiver.  Chosen for its “all-band”, “all-mode” capability with base station features and performance.  It’s a superb, state-of-the art radio, and a joy to operate – but, it “feels” a little delicate with the large unprotected touch screen and protruding light plastic knobs.

B. IC-705 Front Panel Cover. This was chosen to protect the delicate front panel of the IC-705.  I didn’t want one of the cages, because they add bulk and weight to a reasonably small and light weight radio.  This cover fits perfectly, doesn’t mar the radio body, and provides great impact protection when the radio is not in use.

C. Icom AH-705 Antenna Tuner. This is a good antenna tuner and matches the IC-705 (in appearance and electronic functionality) very well.  It is large compared to the Elecraft T1, but it runs off two “AA” batteries, which I really like.  The tuner uses a BNC coaxial patch cable and a 1/8” stereo patch cable for connection to the IC-705.   I don’t need to use this tuner very often as my antenna typically has a low SWR on 40 – 10 meters.

D. Icom HM-243 Speaker-Microphone. The HM-243 comes with the IC-705.  I’ve never used the speaker part of it, but the microphone has good voice reproduction.  If needed, I planned to use the speaker in place of headphones.

E. N3ZN ZN-QRP Special Iambic Keyer Paddle.  I got this marvelous quality and wonderful feeling paddle in beautiful Blaze Orange – so I feel like I’m the radio operator from a downed aircraft trying to get rescued.  The paddle is a little heavy for portable use, but at least it doesn’t move around while sending.  It uses a 1/8” stereo plug patch cable for connection to the IC-705.

F. Tactical Range Bag. This bag was chosen because the IC-705 fit perfectly in the main compartment and there were additional compartments for all the small accessories.  It also came in Army Green color.

G. Icom MBF-705 Desk Stand. Stabilizes the radio when it is on a table or in the Radio Bag and positions it for easy viewing and operating.

Figure 2. Radio Bag and Contents (click image to enlarge).

H. Icom BP-272 Standard Battery Pack. 7.4v, 1880 mAh pack that came with the radio and attaches to the back of it.  I use this as the spare battery pack.

I. Icom BP-307 High-Capacity Battery Pack. 7.2V, 3150 mAh pack that attaches to the back of the IC-705.  So far, this battery pack has been sufficient for my POTA activations.

J. Tactical Drop Pouch.  This pouch fits in the bottom of the main compartment of the Radio Bag and can hold either a Bioenno 12V, 12Ah, LiFePO4 battery or the front panel cover (used as a spacer).  The IC-705 sits on top of the Tactical Drop Pouch when in the Radio Bag, which elevates it enough that the IC-705 can be easily operated.

K. Smiley Antenna Company TRI-Band.  This is a telescoping 1/4 wave 2m and 5/8 wave 440 antenna that attaches directly to the IC-705.  It performs well with the IC-705 and fits inside the tactical bag when collapsed.  Another advantage of the telescoping whip is it can be adjusted for best SWR.

L. USB Cable.  The USB C to Micro USB cable is used to connect the IC-705 to the portable station computer to control the radio and pass audio and data.  This cable is needed, even if you connect using WiFi for rig control and audio, to send GPS NMEA format position and time data from the IC-705 to the computer.  I was told by Icom Technical Support that the cable should not be longer than 3 feet and should have an RFI Choke at each end.  The combination of the short cable, USB C connector instead of USB A, and the RFI chokes seems to help the noise problem that that the IC-705 has when a USB cable is plugged into it.  The other solution is using the RS-BA1 software.

M. Emergency HF Antenna. This is a home-brew antenna with a 24 1/2 foot radiator and 12 1/2 foot counterpoise that attaches to the AH-705 Antenna Tuner with a BNC to binding post adapter.  It is rolled up on a line winder and there is some paracord to hold up the end of the radiator.  This is a back up antenna in case something happens to the regular antenna.

N. Assorted Coaxial Adapters: BNC to SO-239, SO-239 Barrel, BNC Elbow, and BNC to binding post.

O. Tactical Pen.  A nice heavy pen for outdoors use.   Used for logging.

P. All-Weather Notebook. Weather-proof notepad for outdoor use.  Used for logging.

Q. Leatherman squirt E4: A Swiss Army-like miniature tool set with a wire stripper and screw drivers.  It is used to perform minor repairs in the field.  This tool has been discontinued by the manufacturer.

R. Gerber Recon Task Flashlight.   A rugged miniature flashlight that runs on 1 “AA battery and has different color lens.

Antenna Bag

An Antenna Bag goes on every activation.  The primary bag contains the components of the Chameleon Antenna Tactical Delta Loop (TDL) antenna.  The TDL is a versatile antenna that can be configured as a small Inverted Delta Loop or a 17 foot ground mounted vertical.  I usually use the 17 foot ground mounted vertical configuration because it takes less than five minutes to deploy, performs well, doesn’t attract much attention, and does not require a tuner for 40 through 10 meters.

The Antenna Bag itself is the Sunrise Tactical Gear, Tactical Tripod Bag Gen 2 (32 inch length).  It is exceptionally durable and holds all the components of the TDL antenna.  It can be worn across the back for easy carrying.  The Antenna Bag and all components weigh around 11 lbs. Continue reading Field Radio Kit Gallery: KV4AN’s Icom IC-705 Field Kit →

Field Radio Kits, Guest Posts, Homebrew, How To, Kits, News, Portable, QRP, QRP Radios

Field Radio Kit Gallery: KD0FNR’s Rockmite 20 and Tuna Topper

9 Comments

Many thanks to Hamilton (KD0FNR) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post.

Rockmite 20 and Tuna Topper Pack QRP Punch

by Hamilton (KD0FNR)

Our ham radio field kit—in my mind—revolves around simplicity. I’ll walk you through a lot of details, because we have a blast with the field kit and I love talking about it. At the end of the day, it’s a kit radio and amplifier housed in a couple of cans with lengths of wire we bought at a hardware store for an antenna, a cell phone power brick, and a keyer glued together out of video game switches and an old battery case. We’ve thrown the kit into cloth shopping bags and backpacks with equal measures of success. We once patched an antenna connection using washi tape.

OK, I said ‘our’ and ‘we’, but who are we? I’m the dad of three kids—one of whom recently passed her Technician radio exam, KO6BTY—who are 12, 11, and 8 years old. Right now, they’re rarely on the radio—of course, that’s about to change—they help with most aspects of our radio outings.

Which brings up the question, what do our radio outings look like? Our outings are pretty equally divided between, camping and day trips. Our entire family has enjoyed camping—and done a lot of it—since long before I got back into ham radio. Each of the kids went on their first camping trip when they were a few weeks old.  Our camping trips range from local, public transit enabled outings—we take the bus to Pantol Campground, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco where there are two POTAs readily available: Mt. Tamalpais State Park and  Muir Woods. We also take multi-day/week trips: I grew up in New Mexico, so the kids and I frequently find ourselves back there activating or attempting to activate sites like Villa Nueva State Park, Organ Mountains National Monument, and Cibola National Forest, among others. These are the outings that have led to large-ish battery selections you’ll see below.

Our day trips are quick runs along various local bus, train, and ferry lines with a hike tacked on the end. Within the peninsula that encloses San Francisco, we have several POTA locations and two easily reachable SOTA locations. We pretty frequently bus to a spot, and then spend a few hours hanging out in a nice park getting some radio time.

Having said all of that, you might have guessed that our kit would be optimized for easy travel. You’d be right. Now, finally, let’s talk about the kit!

Radio Details:

All of our equipment is home-built. It’s evolved over the last year-and-a-half into he tidy kit you see above. Finally having a ‘typical’ kit picture is actually what inspired this article.

Equipment List:

[Please note: All Amazon links are affiliate and support QRPer.com.]

  • Rockmite 20
  • Tuna Topper
  • One 20 ounce can Dole Pineapple Slices (emptied—see support crew; and cleaned)
  • Two RJ-45 breakout boards
  • One spool butcher’s twine (two if you’re feeling bougie)
  • One Imuto power brick that supplies 15 V when funneled through:
  • One Adafruit USB Type C Power Delivery Dummy Breakout – I2C or Fixed – HUSB238
  • Two banana jack sockets (plus a few more for spares)
  • Forty feet 12 gauge insulated/stranded wire
  • Twenty-five feet (or so) RJ-45 Ethernet cable (scavenged from the parts bin at our local maker space)
  • One antenna launcher (scavenged from available fallen tree limbs onsite)
  • One donut Bag from your favorite donut store
  • One roll of washi tape

The Rockmite is a rock-locked radio with two available frequencies that are 500 Hz apart from each other. That makes our antenna design really simple; we’ve got a dipole that’s trimmed to be resonant at 14057.5 kHz. Project TouCans puts out a QRP maximum 5 Watts. Our field kit has evolved to that 5 Watts though. We started out with the Flying Rockmite at 250 mW, then we made a power bump to 750 mW, and then with the addition of a Tuna Topper amplifier and a lot of experimenting we finally achieved a QRP maximum 5 Watts output power.

The QRPp Rockmites–having so little power combined with lots of somewhat confusing reading about antenna matchers and coaxial cable and baluns–led to the original Flying Rockmite. “Do you know what makes you not have to discuss feed lines?” I reasoned, “Not having a feedline.” And so, the RockMite was inserted into the dipole. I brought the keyer controls down to me and sent the power up along an Ethernet cable. Continue reading Field Radio Kit Gallery: KD0FNR’s Rockmite 20 and Tuna Topper →

Field Radio Kits, News, QRP Radios

Best protective cases and field kit ideas for the Icom IC-705?

7 Comments

Many thanks to Geoff (VK6HD) who writes with the following question:

Hi Thomas

Love your site, the HRWB podcast and your enthusiasm.

I recently won an IC-705 in a raffle – woohoo – which is a quantum leap from my first txcvr which was an Atlas 210x which first saw the light of day in the early 70s.

Anyway, as I come to grips with the complexities of the 705, I wondered if anyone had any ideas on a field radio kit based on it. I know it is an expensive radio, and one many people may not be keen on dragging through the outback, but who knows?

Keep up the great work

73

Geoff (VK6HD)

Thanks for your question, Geoff. And congratulations on winning the IC-705! WOO HOO indeed!

I thought I might post your question here on QRPer so folks might comment with IC-705 kit ideas. Oddly enough, at time of publishing this post, I have no examples in our Field Radio Kit Gallery!

I can fix this now, though, because I recall a few ‘705 field kits from our archives:

I’m sure there are more IC-705-based field kits in the archives--feel free to jog my memory, readers.

Out of all of the radios I own, the IC-705 is the only one that is primarily stored and transported in a larger watertight case–a Pelican 1400 to be exact, you can read about that here.

When I want to tuck the IC-705 in a backpack, for a little POTA/SOTA action,  I protect it in a $18 Ape Case Camera insert (affliliate link). It’s not perfect, but fits it well. I know some others have used Maxpedition padded water bottle pouches as well. Perhaps someone can comment with size, etc?

Comparisons, News, Portable, QRP, QRP Radios, Videos

Video: Comparing the Elecraft KH1 with Mountain Topper Series QRP Transceivers

7 Comments

A couple weeks ago, I posted a video where I compared the Elecraft KH1 and KX2;I mentioned that it was the most requested comparison I’d received after I started taking the Elecraft KH1 to the field.

The second most requested KH1 comparison focused on various Mountain Topper series models: the MTR-3B, MTR-4B and MTR-5B.

That’s what we’ll take a look at in the comparison video below!

Basic KH1 ($550)

So when folks have asked me how the KH1 compares with a Mountain Topper, I think of the basic KH1 ($550 US) package, not the ($1100 US) “Edgewood” package like I have.

Why?

Without the Edgewood package, the KH1 lacks the internal ATU, coils for the whip antenna, internal battery, internal battery charger, logging tray, whip antenna, counterpoise, case, and attachable paddles.

In short, the basic KH1 is a 5 band CW-only radio, much like Mountain Topper series radios–in fact, a lot like my 5 band Mountain Topper!

This is why, in my video below, I base the comparison on the basic KH1 package which includes the KH1, power cord, USB cable, and manual only.

Video

I should note that this video primarily focuses on making a purchase decision–it’s not a receiver comparison or in-depth reviews:

Click here to view on YouTube.

A few notes…

The video above contains a lot more detail, but at the end of the day, you can’t make a “bad” choice here. All of these are fantastic radios for someone who enjoys ultra-light operating.

The Elecraft KH1 is more a more feature-rich transceiver; it has adjustable filters, attenuation, CW encode/decode, mini pan/scan, general coverage, SWR/power meter, more message memories, internal logging options (soon), user upgradable firmware, an internal speaker, and much, much more. On top of that, the KH1 can be upgraded to become a complete shack-in-a-box radio with internal battery, charger, ATU, attachable whip antenna, and attachable paddles.

That said, even thought the Mountain Topper radios are spartan in terms of features compared with the Elecraft KH1, they get the job done effectively. Their feature set is laser-focused on providing a SOTA activator everything they need in order to complete an activation and not a lot else. They will also operate effectively on the smallest of batteries and consume a mere 20-17 mA in receive–proper battery misers! For more of my thoughts of the Mountain Topper, check out my MTR-4B review and my “Getting To Know You” report on the MTR-3B.

Again, you can’t go wrong with a Mountain Topper or a KH1: they’re both made by fantastic companies and have a loyal customer base for good reasons.

Price

The Elecraft KH1 base model (40, 30, 20, 17, and 15 Meters) is $550, the complete, fully-loaded, “Edgewood” package is $1,100. They are currently on backorder, but Elecraft does note that they intend to start shipping again mid-January 2024. Click here for the latest news about lead times.

The Mountain Topper MTR-4B V2.

The LnR Precision MTR-4B (80, 40, 30, and 20 Meters) is the latest Mountain Topper radio and the current model at time of publishing. You can purchase these new for $369 US. LnR Precision builds roughy 25 per month when they have the parts. You will need to follow LnR closely in order to be updated when a production run is shipping. Each time units are offered, they’re snatched up in a matter of hours. You can find used Mountain Toppers out there, but pricing tends to be within 10-20% of the new price.

Thank you

I hope you enjoyed this little comparison video and that it might help you make a purchase decision.

Of course, I’d also like to send a special thanks to those of you who have been supporting the site and channel through Patreon and the Coffee Fund. While certainly not a requirement as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.

As I mentioned before, the Patreon platform connected to Vimeo make it possible for me to share videos that are not only 100% ad-free, but also downloadable for offline viewing. The Vimeo account also serves as a third backup for my video files.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me!

Cheers & 72,

Thomas (K4SWL)

Articles, Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, Reviews, Videos

Getting To Know You: The Yaesu FT-817/818 Series Portable QRP Transceivers

13 Comments

I’m very fortunate in that in the past few years I’ve acquired a number of QRP radios that I use in rotation when I do park and summit activations.

I’m often asked for advice on choosing radios, and as I’ve mentioned in the past, I feel like the decision is a very personal one–everything is based on an operator’s own particular preferences.

I’ve written formal reviews about most of the field radios in my collection. In those reviews, I try to take a wide angle view of a radio–to see how it might appeal to a number of types of operators. I highlight the pros and cons, but I don’t focus on my own particular take because, again, my style of operating might not match that of readers. I try to present the full picture as clearly as I can and let the reader decide.

The Getting To Know You series gives me an opportunity to highlight one radio at a time and showcase what I love about it and why it’s a part of my permanent radio collection. After we spend a bit of time talking about the radio, we’ll do a park or summit activation with it!

The Yaesu FT-817 and FT-818 Series

As I mention in my “Getting To Know You” video below, my very first dedicated QRP field radio was the original Yaesu FT-817 (non-ND version), so it has a special place in my heart.

At the time, I was living in the UK and travelling extensively throughout Europe with my UK call (M0CYI).

The FT-817 hit the market and it blew my mind. Up to that point, there were no general coverage QRP radios on the market that small, that comprehensive, and that even sported VHF/UHF multi-mode coverage. It even had a small internal battery pack! What?!

I was an early adopter of this radio and travelled with it extensively–indeed, in all of the years I lived in the UK and Europe, the FT-817 was my only amateur radio transceiver.

Fast-forward to 2023–some 23 years later–and I still have an 817. Actually, I have two 817ND’s and one 818ND (although, I plan to sell one of my 817NDs soon–I don’t need three!).

I find the 817/818 to be an incredibly robust and capable field radio. It’s also a brilliant value–few radios offer you the capabilities of the FT-817/818 for under $700.

My FT-817ND in an Armoloq TPA-817 Frame.

Yaesu discontinued the FT-818ND almost exactly one year ago. Retailers no longer have new stock, but there are loads of them on the used market. Keep in mind that the FT-817/818 was a cash cow for Yaesu for over two decades–the used price remains fair because there’s just so much supply out there. I routinely see 817ND and 818ND models selling for between $375-700 depending on how they’re configured and what’s included.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive article about the Yaesu FT-817/818 series, I would encourage you to check out this piece I originally wrote for The Spectrum Monitor magazine.

Time to activate! Continue reading Getting To Know You: The Yaesu FT-817/818 Series Portable QRP Transceivers →

Comparisons, News, Pedestrian Mobile, Portable, QRP, QRP Radios, Videos

The Elecraft KH1 or KX2? Which one should you buy?

22 Comments

Even before I started taking my Elecraft KH1 to the field and generating reports and activation videos, I started receiving questions from readers and subscribers about how the KH1 might compare with other field-portable radios.

At least 70% of all of these questions asked specifically about the venerable Elecraft KX2.

Making a purchase decision

I’m not surprised so many are trying to make a purchase decision between the KH1 and KX2.

For one thing, the KH1 and KX2 represent some of the smallest, most compact and lightweight shack-in-a-box HF field radios on the market. We’ve a lot of QRP field radios to chose from these days, but few have options for both internal ATUs, internal batteries, and attachable paddles. Very few are as light and compact as either of these two radios.

Another reason for the comparison is that many are in the long queue to purchase a new Elecraft KX2. At time of posting this article, if you place an order for the KX2, you are going to wait a few months for delivery.  The KH1 also has a lead time, but it’s likely shorter than that of the KX2 (check out the Elecraft Shipping Status page for more info).

Comparing models

While the KH1 and KX2 have a lot in common, they’re also quite different in many respects.

We radio ops like to compare features and specifications and Elecraft knew the KX2 and KH1 would be compared frequently, so they created a handy chart:

Click here to download Elecraft’s KX2 v KH1 comparison chart (PDF).

At the end of the day, though, I would argue that one’s enjoyment of a radio has more to do with how well it fits the operating style of the owner.

The KX2 is one of the best portable QRP field radios ever made, in my humble opinion. It’s a little high-performance machine that can handle any mode you care to use between 80-10 meters.

The KH1, on the other hand (pun intended), is designed to be an exceptional handheld radio for pedestrian mobile use and as a super lightweight, low-impact, field portable station. It’s essentially CW-only and operates on 5 bands (40-15 meters).

If you can be honest with yourself about how you plan to use the radio, it’ll help you make this purchase decision.

For example, if you never see yourself operating pedestrian mobile–you’re more of a sit down at a table sort of op–there’s a good argument to go for the KX2. If, however, you’re an avid SOTA/POTA portable activator who is primarily a CW op and you like the idea of a super quick deployment and handheld operating from anytime, anywhere, you should consider the KH1.

Video

To dig into this comparison a little deeper, I decided to make a video where I discuss the differences between the two radios and also speak to different styles of operating and which radio might suit that style best:

Click here to view on YouTube. 

I would be curious which radio you prefer and why. Please consider commenting!

Thank you!

I hope you found this post and video useful.

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 certainly not a requirement as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.

Patreon supporters have access to 100% ad-free, and downloadable videos for off-line viewing via Vimeo. The Vimeo account also serves as a third backup for my video files. This is how your support truly helps this site and channel!

Cheers & 72,

Thomas (K4SWL)

Field Radio Kits, News, Portable, QRP Radios

Field Radio Kit Gallery: VE6JTW’s lightweight SOTA kit

11 Comments

Many thanks to Jesse (VE6JTW) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post.

VE6JTW’s lightweight SOTA kit

Good Day Thomas & all readers of QRPer.com,

I was Licensed Late in 2020 and I have been actively doing Summits on the Air since early 2021 here in Alberta, Canada. I started out using a Xiegu G90 but realised very quickly that CW operations where much more efficient especially in VE6 land where our 4 point summits sometimes have 1000+ meters of gain (3280 feet), your knees get tired fast on those big descents with a pack that can easily start weighing in the 30lb range.

So I started teaching myself CW a few months into activating and also started looking into the QRP world. How awesome is it to make worldwide contacts with 5 watts and a wire from a mountain top, am I right?

VE6VID EFHW

I started activating CW that fall and I have gone through a couple of different radio setups. My first QRP rig was a QRP Labs QCX-mini for 20m which I did not use for long. Then my wife bought me a Venus SW-3B for Christmas and that little rig is excellent in my books; it is very basic but effective. I used that for quite a long time with a trapped EFHW Malen (VE6VID) made for me. It covers 40, 30 and 20m, along with the very last N0SA SOTA paddle ever made by Larry.

Venus SW-3B in a custom enclosure

Fast Forward to 2023 and My SOTA kit contains the LNR Precision MTR-4B. This radio is amazing as the receiver is strong and I can pull callsigns out from the noise very well.  My antenna is still the trapped EFHW, and I now use the Bamakey TP-III paddle. For audio I have a set of JBL headphones for when it is super windy out and I also use an Amazon speaker as seen in the photo. Everything that fits in the bag weighs just 2 pounds and 4 ounces. The bag that holds all the gear is from Colonel Mustard.ca.

The whole kit in use on a summit

My mast is a fiberglass telescoping fishing pole from Amazon with a fishing eyelet at the peak to run the wire through. I lashed some line to the base of the mast with three loops then epoxied them to the fiberglas so they won’t move when guying the mast.

I carry two 1100 MAH 3s 11.1v LIPO batteries and get about 2 really good 30 min activations per battery,  they are both from Amazon.

Last but not least my hiking pack is a Mystery Ranch Bridger 35l.

73 de VE6JTW, Jesse

Field Radio Kits, News, Portable, QRP, QRP Radios

Field Radio Kit Gallery: K4VOR’s Elecraft KX1 Go Box

8 Comments

Many thanks to Scott (K4VOR) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, check out this post.

My KX1 Go Box

by Scott (K4VOR)

I’ve been a ham since college but was out of the hobby for over 20 years, that is until 2020 and COVID. Suddenly I had a lot of free time (like all of us) being stuck at home and somehow the YouTube/Google machine took me down the rabbit hole that is CW.

I got my amateur radio license just after the CW requirement was lifted, so I hardly knew dit from dah. Granted, as an aviator, I had some experience “copying” morse code when tuning navaids such as VORs & DMEs.  A whopping 3 letters sent at a blistering 7 wpm! But other than that, I was as green as it gets. To make a long (3+ year) story short, I dove head-long into that rabbit hole and today I am sending around 25wpm and can head-copy around 20wpm, something I once thought impossible. Anyway, that’s my story, now on to the field kit!

Over the years I acquired several of the more popular QRP radios, such as an IC-705, QCX mini, (tr)uSDX, and the AMAZING Elecraft KX2.

I knew about the KX1 but I never gave it a second thought. I mean, it’s just a piddly little 3W CW only kit-built rig, right? Well, then one day I stumbled upon one of Thomas K4SWL’s activation videos in which he was using his KX1 – Ruby. There was something about the simplicity of it all. A unique specimen of simplicity and elegance – potentiometers for AF gain, RF gain, and filter width, three momentary push buttons and a VFO. Heck, the thing barely has a display – only a 3-digit 7 segment! That basic “stick and rudder” aspect had me intrigued, but the hook for me was the sound!

Thomas describes it as an analog sound, something you might get from an old tube radio. It’s a buttery-smooth, warm resonance – something that is rare these days with modern SDRs and DSPs.

After hearing that sound, the KX1 became my unicorn radio. After over a year of searching, I finally found mine – a meticulously built 3-bander (40/30/20) with the internal ATU. I am happy to share my go-kit built for this rig, some of which was inspired by “Ruby” herself.

The kit contains everything I need to get on the air, all in one Pelican 1060 case.

I will start with the antenna. Nothing fancy. Just a BNC binding post adapter coupled with a 27’ radiator and a 16’ counterpoise. It tunes up nicely using the KX1 internal tuner. 1.0 on 20 and 30 meters and 1.4 or better on 40 meters. The antenna winder is a 3D printer one I designed to easily fit in the Pelican 1060.

For power I am using a TalentCell 12v 3000mAh battery, which will run the KX1 for several hours.

The key is a Palm Radio Pico Paddle (no longer in production), although a K6ARK tiny paddle will rotate in and out from time to time. One day I would like to find a KXPD1 which sadly was not included with my KX1 when I bought it.

For antenna deployment, I have 65’ of “throw line”, a.k.a. masonry/construction twine, and a rip-stop nylon draw-string pouch that I to use as a throw weight by tossing a couple of rocks inside. The throwline stows away inside the nylon pouch along with a dollar store set of earbuds.

Photos: In the field

And that’s it! This has become my go-to kit that I grab whenever I think I might have the chance to play radio when I am out and about. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you on the air!

72 – Scott K4VOR