I recently acquired an Index Labs QRP Plus transceiver (more on that in a future post!).
This little rig was produced in the mid to late nineties and, to my knowledge, was one of the first 160-10 meter, field-portable, general coverage QRP transceivers on the market. The only other one I can think of was the Ten-Tec Argonaut II, but please correct me if I’m wrong on this point.
I’m just curious if anyone here ever owned one and what they thought of it? Please comment!
Goals are good because they push us to stretch ourselves, teach us new skills, and build confidence. I’ve always been one driven to make and pursue goals. Those of you who follow my reports here at QRPer or have visited my QRZ page are aware of my 2024 goal of 60 new-to-me park activations. In itself, there is nothing wrong with this goal, except for me, there is.
I’ve come to learn through some recent missteps in my personal life that I am still carrying baggage from my divorce at the end of 2023. I spend too much time being busy, “doing” instead of “being.” Doing (including the pursuit of goals) is how I cope. It allows me to avoid spending time putting to rest unresolved issues from the divorce as well as figuring out who I am now, what is my purpose, where I am headed, and becoming comfortable being alone.
This mindset of frantic “doing” is obvious during my December Florida POTA trip. I traveled over 1,000 miles in eight days and had twelve valid park activations, all at parks with which I was unfamiliar. Quite a feat and one of which I am proud. However, a lot of that trip I was “doing” and moving at a rushed pace instead of “being.”
Life is something to be savored and, as POTA is a part of my life, it should be savored, too. Yes, I enjoy my activations, what I learn from them, and meeting friends on the air as well as ops new to me. I enjoy the privilege of sharing my activations with others in the ham community through QRPer. Yet, I haven’t savored the journey as much as I should and that changes now.
No, I am not giving up my goal of 60 new-to-me park activations. (I am the POTA Babe, after all.) But what I am going to do is take more time at each park and focus on the quality of the experience rather than the quantity.
I plan to be in Florida the first week of April on another POTA trip. The main purpose of the trip is to make progress on my goal. However, I will also take time to reflect, to go on long walks with Daisy, to sit in a place before or after an activation and savor the beauty and privilege of being there (unless I am being eaten alive by mosquitoes like I was at Collier-Seminole State Park). To think. Be introspective. Dream. Just “be”.
I am looking forward to this trip and hope I’ll see many of you on the air during it. Thank you, in advance, for sharing the journey with me.
Many thanks to Dave (W4JL) 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. Continue reading Field Radio Kit Gallery: W4JL’s Venus SW-3B and “Sporty Forty” Vertical
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
Note that Patreon supporters can watch and even download this video 100% ad-free through Vimeo on my Patreon page:
Click here to view on YouTube.
I always enjoy hitting the field with Vlado.
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 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)
Many thanks to Paul Evans (W4/VP9KF) who notes that the POTA book is on sale at R&L today for $16.95!
Click here to check it out at R&L.
Update: Alex brings up a good point. If you’re not picking this up in store, then the estimated shipping costs will bring the price up to more than the same book costs at Amazon.com (affiliate link). To really take advantage of this deal, you need to be local to R&L.
Many thanks to Dale (N3HXZ) who shares the following field report:
by Dale (N3HXZ)
My KH1 Edgewood Package finally arrived in late February. As an owner of a KX2, I wondered why the heck I was buying the KH1. I am perfectly satisfied with the KX2 for my SOTA operations. However, the idea of shedding a few pounds in my pack got my attention, and the notion that I could set up and be on the air in a minute or so was also intriguing. I like to do several summits a day and this would be a time saver.
I decided to take Elecraft to task by convincing myself that I could do successful activations with just the Edgewood package.
The only exception to the package was to bring along the AXE1 extender so that I could operate 40 M.
I also wanted to prove to myself that I could carry all my gear with just a waist pack (Hence SOTA Lite!). A picture of my gear is shown below. I have an older AXE1 and it does not fit into the whip post of the KH1. I reverted to using the AX1/AXE1/Whip attached to the bnc jack. I include the 33’ counterpoise for 40M, a right angle jack for the ear buds (to not conflict with the log tray), a small first aid kit, deet, a spare keyer, a power bar, and a waist pack. The total equipment weighs in at 2.9lbs (excluding water!).
My traditional SOTA gear includes the KX2, the Chameleon MPAS-Lite Vertical antenna, a small portable pad to set the gear on, and a folding stool. Along with a backpack, the equipment comes in at 17 lbs. Hence the KH1 gear saves me 14 lbs! I decided to jettison the folding stool and operate in true pedestrian style (standing) with the KH1.
Traditional SOTA gear:
KH1 SOTA gear:
Jim (KJ3D) and I have done several activations together and he also purchased the KH1. Our first outing was a day trip on March 4th from our QTH’s in Pittsburgh to Maryland to activate Marsh Hill (W3/WE-001) and Dan’s Rock (W3/WE-002).
Jim operated on 17M and 20M, I operated on 15M and 40M. My favorite band for morning operations is 15M. If you hit it right, you can work both Europe and the West Coast at the same time. 11 AM was such a time and with the KH1 at 5 watts, I was able to reach east as far as Sweden and west as far as California. Not bad for a compact transceiver, 5 watts, and a compromised whip antenna!
I decided to also check out 40M with the AX1/AXE1 on the bnc post. It tuned up nicely and I worked a couple stations (including an S2S!). The QSO map of the contacts is shown below.
The first activation also gave me some real-time experience using the log tray. I was skeptical going in as to how effective this would be, especially in a pile-up. I also like to record RST signal reports so I can report a complete QSO. The log sheets are not set up for that, but you can jot down the signal reports in a lower line. I was recording about 4-5 QSO’s per sheet. With a pile up going on, I found it easier to just stuff the sheets in my pocket after they were used up rather than trying to insert them in the log tray behind the unused sheets.
Still, I applaud Elecraft for the log tray design; doing the best you can with the real estate space available in an all-inclusive compact transceiver unit.
My operating platform switched from a rectangular pad holding the KX2 gear on my lap while sitting in a stool to operating from my left hand while standing. The picture below captures my operating set-up. As a courtesy, I like to include the chaser’s name in my QSO. I have a sheet of ‘Frequent Chasers” in my hand as a quick reference!
Having completed an initial outing to work out the kinks of operating a new rig, we took a two-day trip to the Blue Ridge mountains on March 14th-15th and activated seven summits along Skyline Drive. I wanted to see if the KH1 and my slimmed down gear would meet the challenge. T
he summit hikes along Skyline Drive are not too rigorous; roughly 0.5 to 1 mile each way with elevation gains from 200 ft. to 600 ft. We operated North Marshall (W4V/SH-009), Hogback Mountain (W4V/SH-007), The Pinnacle (W4V/SH-005), Stony Man (W4V/SH-002), Hawksbill (W4V/SH-001), and Hazeltop (W4V/SH-004). Here is a pic of Jim operating atop North Marshall.
The KH1 performed flawlessly. We operated all the bands (40/30/20/17/15). Activations got easier as we got more familiar with operating the rig. I grew very accustomed to activating standing up; Jim preferred to sit on a rock or log. What surprised the both of us was the positive impact on our physical endurance from shedding 14 lbs of gear. This cannot be underestimated for rigorous summit hikes and for me is a key reason to buy the KH1.
Another key factor was eliminating the time needed to set up and tear down a more traditional SOTA set-up (transceiver, antenna, cables, etc.).
Finally, my fears about operating 5 watts with a compromised whip antenna have vanished. From my experience having 5 operating bands is more important than more power, or a larger antenna. Below is a composite of my two-day activation QSO’s which encompassed the 5 bands available with the KH1.
Finally, the article would not be complete without a view atop Dan’s Rock (W3/WE-002) just off I68 near Cumberland MD.
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Aside from a beautiful view looking east, you have psychedelic paint covering the rocks! At first you think this is an affront to the natural beauty of the land, but after a while it kind of grows on you. 🙂
by Teri (KO4WFP)
I had planned to take the week off from POTA when I received an email from Dave N1CGP asking if I was participating in the March 8th Young Ladies Relay League event. The event is an all-day celebration of International Women’s Day with POTA activations. Well, there was no way the POTA Babe could sit that out!
My day was already packed with appointments but I had four hours in the afternoon I could squeeze in an activation. I chose to activate Canoochee Sandhills Wildlife Management Area (WMA), a 35 minute drive from my home QTH. The park would not count toward my 2024 goal as I had already activated it last year. However, it would work for this event.
Daisy and I headed out around 2:30 PM under partly cloudy skies and 73 degrees. Apple Maps took me a slightly different route than my prior trips. As I was driving along, suddenly the paved road became dirt but what a fun ride! We fishtailed a little and that put a smile on this POTA Babe’s face.
Carolina Jasmine, a vine with yellow trumpet-like flowers, bloomed along the roadside. It is the state flower of South Carolina and adaptable, growing in a variety of conditions. What I didn’t know about it before writing this article is that all of the plant is poisonous. Even deer and rabbits will not eat it and that is saying something.
At the WMA, there was only one pickup truck parked off the road so it looked like Daisy and I would have the place pretty much to ourselves. I decided to use the Chelegance MC-750 vertical since time was limited. Daisy and I donned our blaze orange gear, set up, and got down to business. I had one hour to get a valid activation. As I hadn’t used the 40 meter coil yet on this antenna, I opted to start with 20 meters. I called and called CQ but had only two takers in 20 minutes.
It was time to see if 17 meters would come to my rescue. It did! I had 22 contacts on that band in 40 minutes including Peder SM2SUM (a regular) in Sweden.
The weather, while operating on 17 meters, turned cold and windy, gusty enough to blow over the antenna during one of my QSOs. I put on the hoodie I had taken off earlier and wished I was sitting INSIDE instead of outside the car.
At this point, I hoped to hunt a few activators, most of whom were on 20 meters. I reset the vertical for that band and began hunting but came up empty handed. The last one I tried, Melvin W3PYF, barely heard me and sent “Sri try later”. Unfortunately, I didn’t have later as I had a code buddy QSO with my best friend Caryn at 6:30 PM. Besides, I was sufficiently chilled from the weather that rolled in and was ready to head home.
This wasn’t one of my favorite activations, partially because I was pressed for time and the weather turned unpleasant. However, I did support my fellow YLs with the activation.
Sometimes, as a POTA Babe, you have to take one for the team.
[Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.]
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.
Upon opening it up, I remembered that I had put N6ARA’s new KH1 TinyPaddle Plug Adapter in the M40 case!
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.
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.
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.
If you’d like to hear more about the TinyPaddle and Ara (N6ARA), I’d encourage you to listen to this recent episode of the Ham Radio Workbench podcast when he was our guest. He’s such a brilliant fellow.
Park Lot Pedestrian Mobile
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!
Even though both activities–hunting and activating–are a part of the same program, they are very different animals. Continue reading Pedestrian Mobile POTA Hunting: Pairing the KH1 and N6ARA’s Tiny Paddle Plug
Many thanks to Paul Patsis (W7CPP), who shares the following guest post:
by Paul Patsis (W7CPP)
Morse Code is more popular than ever now. More and more Hams are discovering the joy of CW and the advantages it brings to communications from Parks, Summits, and remote locations as well as in our own back yards and QTH. It’s astonishing to witness how we can reach far corners of the world on only 5 watts with small and lightweight radios and antennas.
CW is a productive and rewarding mode of operation and like all worthwhile endeavors we get out of it what we put into it. It takes commitment and dedication to become a proficient Morse Code Operator and fortunately for all of us we have more tools available to us than ever before.
One of those tools is a powerful and small training and learning tool called the Morserino. It is a very capable little device that incorporates many features designed to help a Ham achieve proficiency at Morse Code.
When it comes to learning Morse Code, there is no substitute for time and repetition. Akin to leaning a new language the more you can immerse yourself the better you will become. Practice tools on the Internet, the Morserino, Organizations like the Long Island CW Club and “Code Talking” every day are great ways to get up to speed and increase proficiency.
Practice, practice, practice is the key.
I have found the Morserino to be a very valuable tool and wanted to find a way to take it along safely on my travels. Borrowing a page from my fellow hams who are activating parks and summits, I sought a way to protect the Morserino whether traveling by land, sea or air. Whether in a backpack, suitcase, or other travel bags how could I keep the little Morserino protected and yet be ready for use?
To answer that question I started do some research on how people kit out their gear for field radio operations. I’ve seen good use made of the ubiquitous Pelican Micro M40 Case for lots of Ham Radio Gear and most recently for the Elecraft KH1. I wondered if the mighty little Pelican case would work for the Morserino? I gave it a try and discovered that with no modifications it is a great option for bringing your Morserino along on all your travels.
The setup that worked for me required very little to make it a nice and safe fit.
The first thing I did was to remove the very small spacers in the bottom of the Morserino Case that comes with the radio.
Those spacers are generally included to give a bit more space under the unit to accommodate the battery that is put underneath to power the Morserino.
I found that by using Velcro to hold the small battery in place those spacers are not needed, and the result is that it lowers the profile of the Morserino by about ¼”. This is just enough clearance to allow the top of the Pelican Case to close and not be obstructed by the dummy load on top of the antenna.
Alternatively, one can leave the spacers on the bottom of the Morserino and leave off the dummy load. My feeling is that it is better to leave the dummy load on just to be safe and with this setup the spacers are not needed.
Although the Morserino comes with Capacitive Paddles I prefer to use my own paddle which in this case is the Bamakey TP-III. There is a 3D Printed Case for the TP-III and when the key is housed inside the case the entire package nests nicely inside the Pelican Case alongside the Morserino. I store the Capacitive Keys in the space alongside the battery on the underside of the Morserino as a backup Key.
There is also room for the Key Cable which nests nicely alongside the Morserino towards the back of the case.
I generally bring along a set of small, wired headphones and they sit comfortably atop the Morserio in a small plastic bag. I placed a small micro fiber eyeglass cleaning cloth under the headphones just as an added layer of protection for the Morserino Screen. The headphones are a great option when using the Morserino in a noisy environment or in public places like an airport waiting room or on a ferry.
The bottom line is that everything you need to practice CW with the Morserino is in the Pelican Case and ready to go wherever your travels take you. Most recently I have used it while waiting at an airport to catch a plane and on a ferry headed from a small Island to the Mainland. I also found a little bonus use for the case.
After taking the Morserino out of the case, I found it sits quite nicely on the lid at the perfect angle to view the screen with just the right amount of clearance for my headphones and key cable.
The Morserino is a capable little tool to keep you “immersed” in the learning process, sharpen your skills or dust off the cobwebs if you’ve been away from CW for a while.
The Morserino and Pelican Micro M40 Case…don’t leave home without it!
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As I had no appointments scheduled for Monday, February 26 during the day, I planned a POTA outing in the Augusta, Georgia area which is a two-hour drive from my home QTH. The destination: Spirit Creek Educational State Forest (K-4654).
Apple Maps routed me west on I-16 and then northwest through Statesboro, home of Georgia Southern University (the Eagle Nation). On the drive, I passed acres and acres of farmland, some of it for cotton. I noticed a few of the fields had a reddish tinge and were full of a plant I had not seen before. I did some detective work once back home and think the plant is red sorrel, a member of the buckwheat family that is native to Europe. I am guessing the red sorrel is a cover for the field between crops.
Apple Maps also routed me through Waynesboro which is the “Bird Dog Capital of the World.” The city hosts the largest field trials in the world. Field trials are a competition to evaluate a dog’s ability to find and point coveys of quail. Waynesboro is bird dog crazy; even the town’s water tower is decorated with a bird dog. Wow – the interesting stuff I learn about my home state!
However, we aren’t here to discuss bird dogs but POTA. After sitting longer than I usually drive to a POTA destination, I arrived at my destination. The 570-acre property is surrounded by private land with the entrance tucked between two residences. The road through the forest appears decently maintained and is easier on which to drive than my previous forays into such properties.
Not far into the forest was an open area for parking and a kiosk with hunting information. Upon checking the kiosk, I read the only thing in season right now is small game and knew I’d be unlikely to come across anyone on a Monday morning hunting. However, to be on the safer side of things, I set up in the parking area rather than somewhere else in the forest.
Speaking of hunting, Bob WK2Y who lives in Atlanta, reached out to me after my Hiltonia WMA article. He emphasized the need for ops to wear blaze orange in such places whether in hunting season or not because of hunting violations which are more frequent than I realized. (I plan on addressing that topic in a future WMA article.) Because of this, I now always keep a blaze orange vest in my kit for Daisy and me. I’ve ordered a blaze orange hat as well as purchased hot pink magnetic decals for my car. (The website said “hot pink” though I think “bright pink” is more like it but close enough.)
In the parking area was a pine tree perfect for my EFRW. Continue reading Bird Dogging POTA in Augusta, Georgia
