Once a year, I meet up with my friends Monty and Mike for a weekend of camping. We’ve been friends for over 30 years, so it’s always brilliant hanging out with them, hiking, and just enjoying the break in our busy family lives.
This year, we planned our weekend campout for March 15-17, which is slightly earlier in the year than we usually do, but all of us have complicated schedules in April, May, June, and July. So March it was!
We chose to camp at Gorges State Park (US-2732) in Sapphire, North Carolina.
We also decided to opt for one of the park’s five cabins instead of tent camping. The park ranger I spoke with on the phone prior to making the reservation convinced me that we should reserve one of their newly built cabins. The cabins can sleep six, have electricity, and even have heating and air conditioning.
Mid-March in the mountains of western North Carolina is a fickle part of the year. It can be cold, hot, dry, or wet–all easily within one weekend. Choosing a cabin would mean packing in a lot less gear. Done!
Unfortunately, only a few days prior to the camping trip, Monty had to duck out to attend a funeral. We really missed hanging out with him.
Gorges State Park
To my knowledge, I had never been to Gorges State Park. It’s one of the newer parks in the NC system and, frankly, it’s located in a part of WNC that I rarely travel through these days.
The park is vast, and there are a number of trails that lead to waterfalls.
The visitor’s center was built in 2012 and is really impressive. We stopped by there and spoke with staff about some of the hiking options.
I’ve always preferred state and national park camping facilities over private campgrounds. They’re typically well-maintained, and the sites are spaced apart (so I can easily set up an antenna!).
Cabin #5
The camping area at Gorges is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen. It’s all very new. The cabins and shower/bathroom building are only two years old.
The weekend, overall, was warm during the day and cool at night with periods of rain. We both felt pretty happy we’d picked a cabin for the weekend–packing up wet camping gear is never all that fun!
Saturday morning, Mike and I planned to do a bit of hiking, and I wanted to fit in a short activation.
Picnic Shelter Activation
At one of the trailheads for a short hike, we found a spacious picnic shelter. Despite the amazing weather that morning, there was no one else at the shelter.
I scoped out the trees around the perimeter of the shelter, and most were pretty small trees with larger trees behind them. I decided that it would be easier to simply deploy my Chelgence MC-750 vertical.
Those of you who purchased a fully-assembled and tested version of the QRP Labs QMX are, no doubt, patient people.
While you can order a kit version of the QMX and receive it fairly quickly (still, I believe), the assembled versions take more time as the QRP Labs crew is small and they build and test these by hand.
I ordered mine on June 5, 2023, and it shipped on December 27, 2023.
Truth is, I’ve had a QMX kit since Hans Summers announced it at Four Days In May (FDIM) prior to the 2023 Hamvention. I’ve been meaning to build it but, as many of you know, my life has been a tad crazy these past months and I never got around to it.
I purchased an assembled version of the QMX because I will be reviewing this one and wanted a factory-tested unit. I would have never guessed I’d receive the assembled unit before building it!
Familiar Form-Factor
The QMX looks so much like my QCX-Minis, I’ve gotten them mixed up in the shack! The menu system is very similar to the QCX, but there are some changes to accommodate band changes, modes, etc., as the QCX-Minin series is mono-band CW only.
The QMX, on the other hand, is a five-band, five-watt, multi-mode (CW, Digital, and likely SSB in the future) transceiver. It’s hard to believe you can purchase the QMX for as little as $90 (bare-bones) kit or $165 (fully-assembled and tested).
I initially thought I had an issue with my QMX because it kept shutting down the transmit function. Turns out, that was all user-error. I mentioned the issue on an episode of the Ham Radio Workbench podcast, and a couple of listeners wrote to tell me what I was doing wrong: I was feeding it too much voltage. The QMX doesn’t want more than 12V or so. If the radio detects even a temporary mismatch, it shuts down the TX to protect the finals, etc.
I was unintentionally triggering the QMX’s self-protection functionality!
Once I figured that out, I decided to simply pair my QMX with my Bioenno 3Ah 9V LiFePO4 battery. That would yield about 3 watts of output power and be a comfortable voltage for the QMX.
Vance Historic Birthplace (US-6856)
On Thursday, March 7, 2024, I finally took the QMX outdoors where it belongs! I had a one-hour window of time to complete a full activation. I decided to pair the QMX with my Chelegance MC-750 vertical.
My QMX is a “low-band” version that covers 80, 60, 40, 30, and 20 meters. I thought the top end of its band coverage would serve me best mid-day, so I planned my activation around 20 meters.
Setup was easy and simple. You can see the full set-up process in my activation video below.
Gear:
Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
You might recall a recent POTA activation where Jonathan (KM4CFT) joined me at the Vance Birthplace K-6856 US-6856–?
Jonathan used my Penntek TR-45L for his portion of the activation, and I was pleased he got to spend some time with this magnificent CW machine. You might also recall that it still had a buzz in the speaker audio–something inside the radio was vibrating.
KM4CFT working the TR-45L in late December 2023.
I tried to track down the buzz as Jonathan operated by tightening some of the screws holding on the speaker grill (yeah, I’m sure that was annoying, and he’ll think again before activating with me in the same space–!). I knew, though, it was something inside the chassis that was vibrating with audio.
As I also mentioned, my TR-45L was a prototype unit (I helped Beta test it)–it had a couple of mods and wasn’t exactly representative of the upgraded production model.
John (WA3RNC) at Penntek reached out to me after I published my recent field report and video; he offered to upgrade my TR-45L to the production chassis which would sort out the buzz. I was most grateful, of course!
He then asked if I would be interested in checking out the TR-45L “Skinny,” which is essentially a TR-45L in a much skinnier chassis. The Skinny model lacks the ATU and battery options but is lighter weight and more portable. I mentioned to John that I’d like to purchase one, actually. Since John was interested in sponsoring QRPer, we ended up working out a barter (at full market price) for ad space. I love this arrangement, actually, because I was going to approach him about sponsorship at some point anyway.
The Skinny!
Now keep in mind that the TR-45L is one of my favorite CW radios. I love the audio, the receiver characteristics, and the “Apollo era” aesthetic. I think it’s one of the best-looking and best-sounding radios on the market.
The Skinny is just like the bigger TR-45L, just roughly half the depth. I did have concerns that the audio wouldn’t be as good since the acoustic chamber would be smaller, but turns out, I had nothing to fear. The Skinny’s audio is on par with its bulkier sibling.
There was no learning curve with the Skinny because 1.) it’s identical in operation to my TR-45L and 2.) Penntek radios have super simple interfaces, and almost every function has a top-level direct control.
Zebulon Vance Birthplace (US-6856)
On Tuesday, February 27, 2024–the day after receiving the TR-45L Skinny–I packed it up and took it to the Vance Birthplace for its inaugural POTA activation!
That day, I had about 90 minutes to enjoy an activation, and I was looking forward to spending time with the new Skinny.
Vance was a great choice that day because the weather was moody; it was gusty, rainy, and I knew their picnic shelter would provide excellent cover.
The Skinny (in its padded bag), the MC-750 and my ABR cable assembly.
The TR-45L Skinny, unlike my original TR-45L, has no internal Z-Match ATU, nor does it have an internal battery. In fact, there’s no room for either in the Skinny, so it’s not even an option.
I paired the Skinny with my Chelegance MC-750, which is a resonant antenna when deployed correctly, so there was no need for a matching device. I supplied power via one of my 3Ah Bioenno LiFePO4 batteries.
Setup was simple and easy!
Gear:
Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
On Tuesday, February 13, 2024, one of my daughters had a dress rehearsal for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The venue where the cast meets is a good 45 minutes from my QTH, and if I didn’t have POTA fever, I’d have to find something to do to burn four hours of time.
Since I do have POTA fever, I see these windows of waiting around as an opportunity!
An opportunity to spread the POTA fever, even.
On that particular Tuesday night, my dear friend Vlado (N3CZ) didn’t have any plans, so I invited him to join me on a short, late-shift activation. The idea was that he’d perform an activation, then we’d go grab dinner at a restaurant in Mills River.
Pisgah National Forest (K-4510) and Game Land (K-6937)
Quick note about park numbers: As of the time of publishing this article, we’re still using the “K” prefix for US parks. Tomorrow (March 20, 2024), all US park prefixes will change to “US.” Pisgah National Forest, for example, will be US-4510 starting tomorrow. Today, it’s still (barely!) K-4510, so that’s what we’ll use.
We drove to the Sycamore Flats Picnic Area where I performed a number of late-shift activations in February. What I love about the site is that it’s rarely busy (especially at dusk and into the evening), there are numerous spots to set up, and it’s pretty convenient to the Shakespeare venue.
Tufteln AX1 Antenna Stand
I’d mentioned to Vlado in advance that I was going to test “a new antenna support system.” I think he might have assumed I was packing a large tripod with a 1/4 vertical or something similar, so it was fun to pull out the AX1 and Tufteln AX1 Antenna Stand!
Vlado, like me, loves compact radio gear, and I knew he’d never used the Elecraft AX1 before, so I was looking forward to showing him just how capable of an antenna it is for POTA, even on 40 meters.
That day, it had been pretty gusty, and in the evening hours, while a little calmer, it was still a tad windy. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to pair the AX1 with Joshua’s AX1 stand because it’s much more stable than the AX1 bipod in windy conditions.
Source: Tufteln.com
The stand consists of two parts: a base and an antenna sleeve. The sleeve screws into the base, and the AX1 simply slides into the sleeve. The height is perfect for the KX2’s BNC (indeed, it works with a number of radios). The stand will also accommodate the AXE 40M coil.
Source: Tufteln.com
When attached to the KX2, it makes for a very stable base. You can even use it as a stand-alone antenna support for the AX1.
Joshua has had this stand in his Tufteln product line for over a year, but I don’t think I’ve actually used it during an activation that I’ve also filmed.
New Mics!
Speaking of filming, this activation with Vlado gave me an opportunity to test my new DJI wireless mics. The system comes with two mics so both Vlado and I used them.
I filmed the activation, but in truth, was doing this more or less to test the mic audio. I believe I mentioned early on that this video might not ever be published.
In the end, I decided to publish it–the audio was quite good, and the wireless mics cut down on the wind noise dramatically.
Gear:
Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
My goal was to get Vlado on the air and give him a taste of POTA using the AX1 and 40M coil. I hadn’t planned to activate–since we were grabbing dinner afterward–but I did end up activating after the UTC day changed.
Without realizing it, I actually put a lot of pressure on Vlado.
He started his activation at 18:42 local (23:42 UTC). That meant, in order to log a valid POTA activation on February 13, he needed to log at least ten contacts in 18 minutes (using the AX1!).
Keep in mind that Vlado is a contester and DXer (also, very much a QRPer!). He’s used to operating CW at insane speeds when needed. In fact, he’s always one of the top people (if not the top) in the CW speed test at the W4DXCC contesting and DX conference.
I suggested he operate around 20 words per minute.
He started calling CQ POTA, and the first few contacts came in pretty slowly. I was getting nervous that I might have unintentionally made Vlado’s first POTA activation one that wouldn’t be valid.
Then the pace started picking up. (Whew!)
He ended up logging a total of 10 contacts in 12 minutes! Woo hoo!
Here’s his QSO Map, showing what the AX1 pushing 5 watts for twelve minutes can do:
Next, we decided that I would, indeed, perform a quick activation.
I spotted myself on the POTA site and started to call CQ, then it hit me: it was 23:58 UTC. If I worked one contact in that two minutes, it would be considered an activation on February 13 of only one contact.
Instead, we waited for a little over a minute for the UTC day to change!
I ended up working a total of 24 contacts in 21 minutes. Woo hoo!
Here’s my QSO Map:
And here are our logs:
Activation Video
Here’s my real-time, real-life video of the entire activation. As with all of my videos, I don’t edit out any parts of the on-air activation time. In addition, I have monetization turned off on YouTube, although that doesn’t stop them from inserting ads before and after my videos.
Since this quick little activation, he’s been out there hitting POTA sites regularly.
He hasn’t seen the doctor yet, but I’m positive he caught POTA fever. It’s incredibly contagious.
Also, the Tufteln AX1 stand worked perfectly in the wind. I’m going to keep this tucked away in my pack alongside my second AX1 to pair with a wide variety of radios.
Thank you!
Thank you for joining me during this activation!
I hope you enjoyed the field report and my activation video as much as I enjoyed creating them!
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 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 makes 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)
On Sunday, March 3, 2024, I had a couple of errands to run in downtown Asheville and also had to pick up my daughter.
I ended up having about 40 minutes to kill and, since I had my Elecraft KH1 field kit packed in my EDC bag, I thought it might be fun to fit in a little radio time.
Since I was downtown, the only viable POTA site to hit would be the Thomas Wolfe Memorial–you might recall my activation there last year–but technically, the park was closed. It is an urban park in the middle of Asheville, and there are no gates to keep people from walking across the grounds, but still, I’d feel better activating with permission from the staff first. (I’m pretty sure they’ll grant that permission, by the way.)
Instead of activating, I decided to do a little POTA hunting.
I parked at the spot where I planned to meet my daughter and grabbed my KH1 field kit.
My good friend, Ara (N6ARA), designed a small 3D-printed adapter that allows his TinyPaddle Plug to fit the KH1 securely. He sent me (free of charge) this new key/adapter to evaluate.
The adapter is a super simple design that works with the TinyPaddle Plug (not the TinyPaddle Jack).
I hadn’t used this new adapter in the field yet–I only very briefly tested it at the QTH a couple of days prior.
I mentioned last year, shortly after the KH1 was introduced, that I expected a number of 3rd party paddles to start appearing on the market. Since the interface with the KH1 is a standard 3.5mm plug, it does open the door to 3D-printed designs and experimentation. Admittedly, it’s a small space to fit in a paddle, but it’s doable.
I believe N6ARA was actually the first non-Elecraft paddle I used on my KH1 because his TinyPaddle Plug will fit it natively. That said, the new KH1 adapter makes it a proper secure fit–the way it should be!
Side Note: The OEM Elecraft KH1 paddles (the KHPD1s) are now in Revision 2, and all KH1 owners (who received the original paddles) will get version 2 paddles eventually via Elecraft for free.
The original KH1 paddles have a green circuit board.
I haven’t received my Rev 2 paddles yet, but I know I will before long. It’s my understanding that the Rev 2 paddles have a much better feel, and keying is more accurate.
Still…it’s brilliant that Elecraft used a standard jack so that we hams can design our own paddles if we like.
The TinyPaddle Plug
Ara’s TinyPaddle design is super simple, and while he originally designed the TinyPaddle to be a back-up option, I know a number of hams who use the TinyPaddle as their main field key.
Again, I can’t stress how cool it is to have a radio that allows you the flexibility to hit the air pretty much anywhere, anytime.
The KH1 is so quick to deploy, low-impact, and low-profile.
It’s as conspicuous as holding a transistor radio with a telescoping whip. So far (it’s still early days, let’s be honest here) no one has seen me with the KH1 and asked me if I’m a spy. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked this over the years of POTA activating!
Last month, I received a comment and question from Gordon (KO4AYC) here on QRPer.com:
“I am curious if anyone has used the AX1 with the AXE1 40 meter extender and tuned this antenna for 40 meters using the Emtech ZM-2 tuner?”
For the life of me, I couldn’t remember if I’d tried this combo before.
The ZM-2 ATU is a simple manual antenna tuner that you can purchase either as a fun-to-build kit or fully assembled and tested.
I’ve owned my ZM-2 for many years, and I believe every QRP field operator should have one. They do a brilliant job of matching random wire antennas and taking your resonant antenna to a non-resonant band. Being a manual ATU, they require no power source. If you’d like to read a quick tutorial on tuning the ZM-2, read this previous post.
I figured the easiest way to answer Gordon’s question was to give it a go!
The AX1 does require a counterpoise, so before hitting the field, I did check to make sure there was continuity between the shield of the ZM-2’s BNC connector and the black binding post when the ZM-2 was switched to “GND” for coax antennas. Fortunately, there was! I loved this idea because it meant that no matter the radio, I knew I’d have an easy connection to ground for the AX1 counterpoise.
Blue Ridge Parkway (K-3378)
On Wednesday, February 21, 2024, I grabbed the ZM-2, AX1, and AXE 40M coil (since Gordon specifically asked about 40M) along with my Yaesu FT-818ND. It was time to see just how effectively the ZM-2 might match the AX1.
I store my AX1 in this Maxpedition pouch (see link in gear section below).
Upon arrival, I began setting up the station.
Even though it was approaching 2:00 PM locally, I wanted to see if the ZM-2 would match the AX1 (with AXE coil) on 40 meters first. I didn’t expect a lot of activity on that band so early in the afternoon, but I figured I could hopefully work a couple of stations.
I attached the AX1 directly to the ZM-2 antenna port and deployed the whip and 40M counterpoise.
It was a bit gusty, and I quickly realized that the AX1 might topple over in the wind. To secure the antenna, I used the handle of my GR1 backpack. It was a semi-effective arrangement (actually, the handle sort of pulled the antenna toward the pack, which wasn’t ideal either–I eventually removed it).
In calm conditions, I wouldn’t worry about the antenna toppling over; the ZM-2 provides enough of a base that it’s stable. In the wind, though, you’ll definitely need to secure the ZM-2/AX1 combo to keep it from being blown over.
My plan was to start on 40 meters, then also hit 30, 20, and 17 meters. This would give me an opportunity to see if the ZM-2 could match the AX1 on multiple bands.
Side note: I can’t remember if I mentioned this in a previous field report, but one sad bit of news for me is that there’s a new source of QRM at the Folk Art Center. It’s likely coming from the VA medical complex next door, but it raised the noise floor to at least S5 on most bands. This will make it more difficult for me to work weak signals from this particular POTA site.
Then again? My buddy Alan (W2AEW) recently pointed out to me that compromised antennas like the AX1 don’t feel the effects of local QRM as a higher-gain antenna would. I’d been thinking the same thing.
Gear:
Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
I hopped on the air and started calling CQ POTA on the 40-meter band. I worked one station quickly (thanks, W5GDW) and then silence. I didn’t expect 40 meters to be active this time of day, but I didn’t think it would be completely dead either.
I checked the POTA spots page and discovered that the connection to the Reverse Beacon Network was down. Even though I scheduled the activation, the system hadn’t spotted me.
Once spotted, I worked three more stations in quick succession.
On Friday, February 9, 2024, I had an opportunity to do an extended Late-Shift POTA activation in Pisgah National Forest. I couldn’t pass that up!
Once again, one of my daughters had a casting call and a Shakespeare performance that opened up an activation window from about 17:00 – 20:00 local (22:00 UTC – 01:00 UTC).
If you’ve followed my POTA activities for a while, you’ll note that multi-hour activation windows are very much a rarity. More often than not, I’m squeezing activations into 30-60 minute windows of time as I go about my work and family duties.
Pisgah National Forest and Game Lands
The closest POTA site, once again, was Pisgah National Forest (K-4510) and Pisgah Game Lands (K-6937). There are so many sites to choose from within Pisgah; it’s always a difficult decision in terms of picking a location.
In this case, I decided to stay a little closer to mobile phone service just in case my family needed to reach me during that time. I chose the Sycamore Flats picnic area and was happy to see that the picnic shelter was available.
I thought it might be fun to set up two antennas since I had so much time. For the first part of the activation, on 20 meters, I would deploy the Chameleon MPAS Lite vertical.
For the second part (the following UTC day), I would deploy my MM0OPX 40-meter end-fed half-wave as I knew 40 meters would be much more active after sunset.
EFHW Deployment
Since sunset was approaching, I deployed my MM0OPX EFHW first because it’s much easier to deploy a wire antenna in a tree when it’s still light outside.
Side note: I mention in the activation video that a good headlamp (like my Fenix) makes working in the dark quite easy. I’ve deployed wire antennas after sunset with headlamps before–it’s quite doable–but I still prefer using a throw line when there’s still sunlight. It’s just easier (for me, at least) to judge distance.
I deployed the EFHW in a tree and in the brush between two pathways. While it would have been easier to deploy it on a path, I always try to deploy my wire antennas in a way that hikers and other park guests wouldn’t easily walk into them–especially at dusk when even high-visibility line colors are difficult to see.
Chameleon Carbon Fiber Tripod
The second antenna deployment was my Chameleon MPAS Lite vertical, and this activation gave me an excuse to test the new Chameleon carbon fiber portable tripod.
In January, Chameleon sent me a box with a few of their smaller accessories/promotional items. I plan to give away everything, save the tripod, in an upcoming QRPer giveaway.
I’ve been eager to test the tripod because it’s lighter and easier to transport (in my SOTA pack) than the stainless spike that comes with the MPAS Lite antenna system. This tripod will also come in handy when operating at parks that don’t allow stakes in the ground. Continue reading POTA by Lantern Light: One Activation in Two Days with Two Antennas!→
It’s funny how sometimes one small accessory can have a huge impact on a field radio kit.
When I first learned about the Elecraft KH1 (basically, the day I was invited to join the volunteer testing group), I felt like Elecraft had designed my ideal QRP radio. The KH1 is super compact, weighs 13 oz completely loaded, covers my favorite bands, and has features I would expect in much pricier radios. It reminded me of my beloved KX1, but even more portable with more features.
The KH1 caters to handheld or pedestrian mobile operating–at least, that was the overarching design objective. It accomplishes this amazingly well. It’s so easy to operate handheld, and there’s nothing else quite like it on the market. I suspect that when others copy the design (I’m sure they’re already doing so–!) it won’t be as versatile, functional, and lightweight.
At the end of the day, though, I feel like I’m only using the KH1 pedestrian mobile about 30% of the time I have it on the air. Of that 30%, I’d say that only 10% of the time I’m pedestrian mobile while activating, and 20% of the time I’m doing little impromptu radio sessions in parking lots, ballparks, while visiting family, and even on my own mountain property.
While handheld operating is simply a game-changer, I knew I wouldn’t do this 100% of the time with the KH1. It’s for this reason that my very first bit of proper KH1 feedback to Elecraft, well before I had my hands on a prototype, was that a right-angle adapter for the whip antenna would truly round out the KH1’s field prowess.
This would basically give my KH1 the same functionality of my beloved KX2 and AX1 antenna combo, but in an even more portable package.
Turned out, Elecraft already had a right-angle adapter on the design board!
Fast-forward to present day…
Last week, Elecraft sent me a prototype of the right-angle adapter to test and evaluate. They’ve given it the model number KHRA1.
Full disclosure: Elecraft also gave me permission to post a video and article about this new accessory even though (at time of publishing) it’s not even showing up on their website. I will, however, link to it here as soon as Elecraft makes it available. This is an item I would otherwise have tested in private–thanks, Elecraft!
The KHRA1 is a simple adapter. Other than metal attachment hardware, most of it is lightweight and 3D-printed from a durable material (I assume the same material they use in the KH1).
Attaching it to the KH1 is very easy.
First, you unthread the large metal thumb nut from the KHRA1. You will need to hold together the remaining KHRA1 components (legs and attachment bracket) so that they don’t come apart before you attach them to the KH1. This is actually pretty easy to do, but users should know to follow the KHRA1 instruction sheet. If these parts fall apart in the field, it might require a bit of searching the ground for the pieces.
You simply thread the large thumb nut onto the KH1’s whip antenna antenna port, then thread the rest of the KHRA1 bracket/legs onto the large thumb nut.
Check out Elecraft’s illustration:
I then position the KHRA1 legs as shown above, then tighten the KHRA1 adapter so that everything is secure.
It’s super simple to do, and you can see this process in my activation video below.
Speaking of an activation…
On Saturday, March 2, 2024, (yes, only two days ago) I had my first small window of opportunity to squeeze in a POTA activation and test the KHRA1.
That day, my daughters and I had a number of errands to run, then a three-hour round-trip drive to pick up my wife. We were on a very tight schedule, but I had a 30-ish minute window of opportunity to fit in some POTA radio therapy.
I set my sights on the easiest-for-me-to-hit POTA site on the Blue Ridge Parkway: the Folk Art Center.
Amazingly, I discovered that morning, that the KHRA1 fits in my Pelican M40 Micro case along with my KH1, whip, counterpoise, key, spare N6ARA key, and earphones.
With the KHRA1, this means my M40 field kit can do both pedestrian mobile and tabletop operating. Woo hoo!
The weather that morning was simply glorious. A very wet front swept through the previous day leaving behind clear skies and warm temps. Frankly, it was a bit odd activating without wearing a jacket or hoodie.
Gear:
Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
Setting up was quick and easy, even though this was my first time using the KHRA1 in the field.
I hopped on the air and started calling CQ. Once spotted (for some reason the RBN auto-spotting feature wasn’t working again), the contacts started flowing in.
I worked a total of 18 contacts in 16 minutes. It hardly gets better than that for a CW activation!
I had to call QRT after my 18th contact. Even though I had a 30-minute window to POTA, nearly 14 minutes of that was taken up with my intro and summary for the activation video.
I called QRT with a small pileup still in place. I really hate doing that, but I had a schedule to keep!
QSO Map
Here’s what this five-watt activation with a 4′ telescoping whip antenna looked like when plotted out on a QSO Map:
Activation Video
Here’s my real-time, real-life video of the entire activation. As with all of my videos, I don’t edit out any parts of the on-air activation time. In addition, I have monetization turned off on YouTube, although that doesn’t stop them from inserting ads before and after my videos.
The KH1 works amazingly well as a tabletop radio when combined with the KHRA1 adapter.
At the end of the day, the KHRA1 is a very simple piece of hardware, but it effectively transforms the KH1 from a handheld radio to a tabletop.
Of course, I’ve used the KH1 numerous times with wire antennas in a tabletop configuration (I’m a massive fan of wire antennas) but the ability to use the 4′ whip antenna and internal KH1 loading coils means that I can operate anywhere I have a surface.
Herein lies the thing I love about my KX2/AX1 pairing as well. It’s just with the KHRA1, the KH1 makes for an even smaller, lighter-weight field kit.
Any negatives? The only one I’ve come up with is that the KH1 is so lightweight that I realize I need to carry a small piece of shelf liner (something like this) to provide the KH1 with a bit more grip on a slick park table, especially those composite ones.
Again, I will update this post when Elecraft announces KHRA1 pricing and availability.
Thank you
I still can’t believe the entire kit fits in this small case. Even when I put the KHRA1 thumb screw on backwards!
Thank you for joining me on this quick little tabletop activation!
I hope you enjoyed the field report and my activation video as much as I enjoyed creating them!
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.
In the spirit of full transparency: he sent this at no cost to me, and, as a reminder, Chelegance is also an affiliate of QRPer.com.
I’ve been eager to take the 80-meter coil on a POTA activation because 1.) if it proved effective, it would be great to have such a low-impact, low-profile antenna for 80 meters, but 2.) it’s been very difficult to fit in an evening POTA activation with my family life.
It would have been difficult to gauge how effective an 80M antenna performs in the late morning or early afternoon when I typically activate local parks/summits.
On Wednesday, February 6, 2024, a two-hour window of opportunity opened. One of my daughters had a dress rehearsal that night, and I knew of a nice, quiet, secluded POTA spot only 25 minutes away.
Pisgah National Forest (K-4510) and Game Land (K-6937)
My original plan was to arrive at the Looking Glass Falls’ picnic area, deploy the antenna, fire up the stove, make some coffee, eat on-site, then begin my activation after the start of the UTC day.
So why wait for the new UTC day?
Mainly because once you hit the new UTC day, it counts as a new activation. That really works in your favor as an activator if your goal is to complete a valid activation (with ten contacts) and you’ve enough time to do that before the UTC rollover. If you time it all correctly, you could activate double the parks with a minimum of 20 contacts (split 10/10). In my case, that would mean a total of four parks activated in one evening (since this was a two-fer).
I decided fitting in an activation prior to the UTC rollover simply wasn’t worth the rush.
Once I arrived on-site, however, I was already changing my mind.
I started my activation video, deployed the MC-750, and looked at my watch. I had roughly 15 minutes before the UTC rollover.
It would be tight, but I decided to give it a go and try logging ten contacts before 18:59:59 local (or 23:59:59 UTC).
If I couldn’t log ten before the UTC day, who cares!? It would be a fun challenge for sure, but I wasn’t going to cry if I couldn’t gather enough contacts for a valid activation.
There was another factor, too: operating 80 meters with a 17′ loaded vertical isn’t exactly “efficient.” My theory, though? It doesn’t need to be efficient. It’s crazy portable, convenient, and as a POTA activator, I only need enough performance to get the job done.
Time to hit the air!
Radio Gear:
Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
In late December 2023, I received a package from Jesse at JNCRadio/Chelegance. It was their new MC-599 portable dipole antenna. They sent it—full disclaimer: at no cost to me—for evaluation, but shortly after receiving it, life got crazy and I was delayed in taking it to the field.
Fast-forward to February, and I was eager to take it to the field and see how it might perform. On February 5, 2024, a nice window of opportunity opened in the afternoon while one of my daughters was rehearsing A Midsummer Night’s Dream with her cast. Pisgah National Forest and Game Land were a 20-minute drive from her meeting site, so I headed there to deploy this new antenna.
The JNCRADIO MC-599
On-site, I pulled out the two main components of the MC-599 dipole system: the bespoke padded bag holding the antenna and the portable mast.
I knew the basics about assembling the MC-599 because I had watched a video on the Chelegance website that morning.
However, this was the very first time I had deployed the MC-599. I had never even removed any of the antenna components from the padded bag.
With this antenna, it’s best to have an open area for the two sides of the dipole (two telescoping whips) to fully extend without touching tree branches, etc. I had one particular picnic site in mind at the roadside picnic area I chose, but a couple was having a picnic there when I arrived. I waited to see if they might be leaving soon, but they weren’t, so I chose a site I had used before, even though it was flanked by trees.
Assembly was easy: I simply attached the center of the dipole to the 13′ mast, then attached the two telescoping whips to either side and extended them to the 20M position silkscreened on the whip (identical to the MC-750 vertical markings—see below).
Next, you simply attach your coax to the center of the dipole, then extend the mast all the way up.
I had to avoid touching tree branches, but it actually fit quite easily into this small space.
Since it was a bit breezy, I used some line to guy the mast. Ideally, you’d want a minimum of three guying points, but I only had two lines with me, so I made do, and it worked fine—the antenna was stable.
Next, I set up my radio: the Yaesu FT-818ND. Since the MC-599 was, in theory, resonant, I didn’t need an ATU for a match.
I turned on the FT-818 and discovered that the SWR was a perfect 1:1. Amazing.
I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised because my Chelegance MC-750 is always perfectly resonant (without needing a transformer) simply following the whip markings for guidance.
I should note here that the MC-599 can handle up to 200 Watts PEP—I was pushing 5-6 Watts. Also, the frequency range using the whips is from 20-6 meters. Chelegance also includes two 7 MHz wire elements that can be deployed in an inverted vee shape to play radio on the 40-meter band. It’s an efficient system and has many fewer components than a Buddipole systems I’ve used in the past.
Gear:
Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
Keep in mind that my POTA site was in a deep valley, flanked by high ridge lines–I wasn’t sure what to expect as I hopped on the air.
I started calling CQ POTA and the first station I heard was DL1OK operating in Spain as EA8/DL1OK. Logging Dmitrij was a good sign indeed for this portable dipole!
Stations kept flowing in. I worked my first ten contacts in ten minutes.
I continued working stations in a continuous pileup until I ran out of time. I ended up logging a total of 46 contact all within 50 minutes. I did spend a few extra minutes (as I always do) trying to pull out weak stations and slower code stations.
What fun!
QSO Map
Here’s what this five-watt activation looked like when plotted out on a QSO Map.
Note that this map does not include my contact with EA8/DL1OK in Spain:
Activation Video
Here’s my real-time, real-life video of the entire activation. As with all of my videos, I don’t edit out any parts of the on-air activation time. In addition, I have monetization turned off on YouTube, although that doesn’t stop them from inserting ads before and after my videos.
I’ve got to admit: the MC-599 made a great first impression.
As with the MC-750, I’m most impressed with the build quality. The components are all sturdy and nicely machined. The padded case was custom made to hold the MC-599 and its components. Everything fits together as it should and—again—was resonant when deployed according to the whip markings.
Even on this inaugural deployment, it didn’t take long to set up. The next time I deploy it, it will go even faster. Packing it up afterward (as you can see in the video) went very quickly.
Keep in mind: the MC-599 is a low-impact, high-profile antenna.
If you’re at a site that doesn’t allow antennas in trees, the MC-599 could be an excellent option. Other than using optional guy lines that would require tent stakes in the ground, it would have no impact on park grounds.
I love the fact that the MC-599 is self-supporting. This would be an absolutely brilliant antenna to use at parks with wide-open spaces and few trees for support.
That said, it is not a stealthy antenna. In fact, portable dipole antennas are some of the most conspicuous portable antennas you could deploy. They’re maybe slightly less conspicuous than a hex beam or Yagi. Even though I was cloaked by a few trees, the couple that was occupying the picnic site I had hoped to use couldn’t help but stop by on their way out and ask what it was I was doing. I bet if I had been using a wire antenna, they wouldn’t have even seen it.
I would always ask permission before setting up an antenna like the MC-599 at, say, a small historic site or urban park.
I could also see using the MC-599 for SOTA (Summits On The Air), but primarily on summits that are either drive-up, or where the hike is minimal. The aluminum alloy mast is lightweight for its size, but it’s quite large to consider taking on an extended hike. However, for a nice drive-up summit, I imagine you could work some serious DX. Just bring a few guy lines in case it’s windy.
I do think the MC-599 would make for a great Field Day antenna. Since it can handle up to 200W PEP and is easy to lower and switch bands, it would be a brilliant portable option for those operating a multi-band 100W rig.
But obviously? It’s an exceptional performer with QRP power. It’s hard to beat a dipole even when it’s only 13′ off the ground.
Thank you
Thank you for joining me on this fun activation!
I hope you enjoyed the field report and my activation video as much as I enjoyed creating them!
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.
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We also decided to opt for one of the park’s five cabins instead of tent camping. The park ranger I spoke with on the phone prior to making the reservation convinced me that we should reserve one of their newly built cabins. The cabins can sleep six, have electricity, and even have heating and air conditioning.
To my knowledge, I had never been to Gorges State Park. It’s one of the newer parks in the NC system and, frankly, it’s located in a part of WNC that I rarely travel through these days.
The visitor’s center was built in 2012 and is really impressive. We stopped by there and spoke with staff about some of the hiking options.
At one of the trailheads for a short hike, we found a spacious picnic shelter. Despite the amazing weather that morning, there was no one else at the shelter.
I scoped out the trees around the perimeter of the shelter, and most were pretty small trees with larger trees behind them. I decided that it would be easier to simply deploy my Chelgence MC-750 vertical.
I brought three radios along on this camping trip: my TR-45L Skinny, Icom IC-705, and Elecraft KH1. I chose the Skinny for this activation! Continue reading Pairing the TR-45L Skinny and the MC-750 at Gorges State Park! 
