Tag Archives: Elecraft KX2

Antennas, Digital Modes, Hams, News, QRPer Notes

QRPer Notes: Native PSK-31 on the KX2, DXers Lloyd & Iris Colvin, and Chameleon Factory Tour

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Because I receive so many tips from readers here on QRPer, I wanted way to share them in a concise newsletter format.  To that end, welcome to QRPer Notes, a collection of links to interesting stories and tips making waves in the world of radio!

PSK-31 on the Elecraft KX2

Many thanks to Tony (K2MO) who writes:

I have no doubt that you’ve tried this in the field, but thought I’d send along a video I posted on working PSK31 using the CW-to-Data feature on the KX series rigs.

Great job on the latest TR-45 vids!

73 Tony -K2MO

Thank you, Tony!

DX and Travels of Lloyd & Iris Colvin

Many thanks to Don (W7SSB) who shares an article he has written for the Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Club Newsletter. His article focuses on the lives of DXers and world travelers Lloyd & Iris Colvin.

Don’s article begins on page 10, but there are many others to enjoy in this newsletter as well!

Click here to download the Feb 2023 issue of the SNARS Newsletter (PDF).

Josh Tours the Chameleon Antenna Factory

Click here to view on YouTube.

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

A quick two park KX2/AX1 POTA run starting at South Mountains State Park!

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You might have noticed that I’ve been taking the Elecraft AX1 antenna out quite a lot recently. At time of posting, I’ve almost used it for a month’s worth of activations.

In December, I thought it might be fun to only use the AX1 for one 2023 calendar month–say, the month of March–but since I evaluate and review radios and antennas, it’s just not realistic to make that kind of commitment.

That said, I did decide to simply start using the AX1 as my primary field antenna for roughly a 30-ish day period and, so far, that’s working out very nicely. I thought it might give some real-world context and usage for those who still believe I’ve just been lucky the days I use the AX1 in the field. No better way to test that theory than to just do it!

Mini rove!

It’s been a while since I’ve had time to do a proper park rove. I hope to do a five park rove within the next month or so, if I can clear out space in the schedule. I find roves so much fun and a nice change of pace.

On Saturday, January 21, 2023, on the way back to my QTH in the mountains of WNC, I had just enough time to activate two parks in short order. Having just been challenged by a short activation window at the Vance Birthplace (which, turned into a normal length activation due to a schedule change in my favor) I thought it might be fun to once again, show the whole KX2/AX1 set-up and pack-up process in my activation video.

South Mountains State Park (K-2753)

I chose South Mountains State Park as my first stop.

South Mountains has a number of public access points. I decided to drive to the main park entrance and set up at the equestrian picnic area. Choosing the main park entrance added about 15 minutes to my overall driving time; the Clear Creek access would have been quicker, but I’d been there only recently. Continue reading A quick two park KX2/AX1 POTA run starting at South Mountains State Park! →

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

POTA Field Report: The Elecraft AX1’s secret power? Speed of deployment.

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I believe I mentioned in the past that when I first purchased my Elecraft AX1, I assumed it would be a bit if a toy or novelty item. I thought it was a fun concept–and that’s why I bought it–but I remember the first time I took it out to the field on an activation, I thought I’d be demonstrating that a compromised antenna delivers compromised performance.

In short? I was wrong.

The AX1 has instead become one of the most valuable tools in my antenna arsenal.

When you are the DX–activating a park or summit–the AX1 is more than capable as long as you live in an area with a reasonable amount of hunters/chasers within your normal propagation footprint.

Speed

The AX1’s secret power, as I mention in the title, is speed of deployment.

Although I can launch a line into a tree and deploy an end-fed half-wave pretty quickly–I’ve literally done this hundreds of times–I can deploy the AX1 even more quickly without breaking a sweat.

Case in Point: Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace (K-6856)

On Tuesday, January 17, 2023, I had a day full of errands and projects in town, but needed to pick up my daughters at a school function around 15:00 local. There were too many variables to accurately predict where I would be at what time, so I didn’t schedule an activation that morning.

As the day progressed, though, I realized I had a very short window and K-6856 was practically en route to the pickup point. After I finished my last errand in south Asheville, I made my way north and based on Google Maps, I had no more than a 25 minute window to fit in a full activation from deployment to pack up.

I stopped in a parking lot en route, pulled out my iPhone, and scheduled an activation at K-6856 on POTA.app.

Keep in mind that my activations are typically short, but 25 minutes for set-up, on-the-air time, and pack-up leaves very little margin for error.

The AX1 is perfect for this type of activation.

A little time math

It takes me two easy minutes to set up the AX1 and maybe one minute to pack it up.  If I wanted to, I could speed that up a bit (I take much longer on camera talking my way through the process). So that’s roughly three minutes to both deploy and pack-up the AX1.

My speaker wire antenna, on the other hand, is also very quick to deploy. With my arborist throw line, I can easily prepare that antenna in four minutes and pack it up in three minutes. Thus, I need to allow roughly 7 minutes to both deploy and pack-up the speaker wire antenna (we have to assume it might take 2 launches of the throw line to snag a branch).

Since it has a built-in ATU and battery the Elecraft KX2 takes maybe 20 seconds to set up. Seriously: pull it out of the pack, connect a key, turn it on. Continue reading POTA Field Report: The Elecraft AX1’s secret power? Speed of deployment. →

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

Pairing the Elecraft KX2 with a 28.5′ random wire for a rapid POTA activation

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On Wednesday, January 11, 2023, I was on my way back to the QTH after a brief trip to Raleigh, NC.

Later in the afternoon, I needed to take my daughters to a class, thus I had a strict deadline to meet. Still, it was a beautiful day so I decided to pop by Tuttle Educational State Forest for a nice walk and possibly an activation if I time allowed.  I’d spent so much time in my car the previous couple of days, I really wanted to stretch my legs.

Tuttle Educational State Forest (K-4861)

As I drove to Tuttle, I made a decision to film a Hike & Talk session–I had a topic on my mind and thought the timing was right to make a recording. You can check out that (previously published) Hike & Talk session here.

After that casual walk, I found that I had a good 45 minute window–no more–to fit in a full activation including set-up/take-down. Very doable!

The radio I had packed away for this road trip was my Elecraft KX2 field kit which included a Tufteln no-transformer random wire antenna (compact equivalent of my 28.5′ speaker wire antenna) and my AX1 portable antenna. I had this particular kit because I’d hoped to do an urban park activation in Raleigh, but simply didn’t have the time to fit it in.

Setting up the KX2 is a swift process.

I chose a picnic table, deployed the Tufteln antenna and was on the air in no time! Continue reading Pairing the Elecraft KX2 with a 28.5′ random wire for a rapid POTA activation →

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

QRPp: Activate a park with ⅒ of a watt–? I had to at least try!

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In my last published field report, you might recall that I successfully activated a park using 500 milliwatts or ½ of a watt. I was so surprised by the results of using this QRPp power level I immediately made plans to push the power level even lower during my next activation.

Let’s face it, I was drunk with a lack of power!

QRPp

After my last field report, there were quite a few questions about the term QRPp and what it means. To be honest, I’m not sure if there’s an “official” definition, but here’s what is widely accepted as QRP power categories:

  • QRP: 5 watts to 1 watt (for some contest 10 watts = SSB QRP)
  • QRPp: Less than 1 watt to 100 mw
  • QRPpp: Less than 100mw

I don’t own a field radio that allows me to lower the output power to QRPpp levels. In fact, few of my radios actually allow me to lower power below one watt.

 

My Elecraft radios, however, do allow me to lower power output to as low as 0.1 watts or 100 milliwatts.

The plan

On Wednesday, December 7, 2022, my travel schedule shifted and it opened up the entire afternoon to play radio.

A rarity indeed!

It was very rainy and foggy that day and I didn’t have my ENO rain fly with me, so I decided to visit a park with a good picnic shelter to keep me, an my gear, nice and dry.

Fort Dobbs State Historic Site (K-6839)

I had four park options with covered picnic shelters within a 45 minute drive. I decided that I would try to activate Fort Dobbs State Historic (since it had been a couple months since I’d visited) and Lake Norman State Park would be my back-up plan.

Fort Dobbs is a small park, so I called in advanced and asked for permission to do the activation and also asked if their picnic shelter was reserved.

The rangers there know me, so the phone call was pretty quick–no need to explain POTA nor my motivations. They told me that on rainy/foggy December days they have so few guests that I was welcome to use the picnic shelter or even the entire park if I wished (perhaps an ideal time to erect a Rhombic antenna–okay, just kidding!).

The Dobbs park rangers an volunteers are the best!

Setting up

On the way to the site, I decided that I would deploy my MM0OPX end-fed half-wave I’d cut for 40 meters.

I needed to make the most of my 100 milliwatts, so I figured the MM0OPX EFHW would be the best antenna for the job. Continue reading QRPp: Activate a park with ⅒ of a watt–? I had to at least try! →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRPers

Guest Post: Recipe for a Failed Activation in Allegheny National Forest?

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Many thanks to Brian (K3ES) who shares the following field report:

Recipe for a Failed Activation at K-0619?

by Brian (K3ES)

A couple of days before Christmas, high winds came, temperatures dropped, and 3 inches of snow made a real nuisance of itself by blowing around and re-covering anything that was swept or shoveled. With daily high temperatures below zero (Fahrenheit) and wind gusts over 40 miles per hour, the weather just didn’t make for much fun outdoors. In fact, we hunkered down and didn’t get beyond the end of the driveway for four days. So when the winds calmed and temperatures rose, I really needed to get out of the house for a bit. What better way than to walk up the road and activate K-0619? Even with temperatures in the low 20s, I should be able to finish a quick activation. And so it was planned…

Of course just before walking out the door, it is always prudent to check on band conditions…

What did the sun just do to me, and how will I ever make 10 contacts on 5 watts before my fingers freeze???

Alright, I really need my outdoor time. Even if it means that I fail to activate the park this time, I’m going for it!!!

I walked down the driveway…

Off to the woods we go…

…up the road…

Fortunately the hike is less than ½ mile…
K-0619, Allegheny National Forest…

… and into the woods.

Snowy, peaceful, and lots of trees to support my antenna.

After getting to my spot, I set up my chair, laid out a trash bag to keep radio gear out of the snow, threw a line over a tree branch (it took two tries), and rigged the antenna. Continue reading Guest Post: Recipe for a Failed Activation in Allegheny National Forest? →

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

POTA with 500 milliwatts CW and 10 watts SSB using the Elecraft KX2 and PackTenna Random Wire combo

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I’d like to start this field report with a side story. I’ll keep this reader anonymous since I haven’t asked for permission to post his story (although I’m certain he wouldn’t mind!):

A QRP Christmas Gift

Yesterday, I was contacted by a reader who had just received an amazing gift.

On Christmas morning, his wife presented him with a tiny wrapped box and inside there was a small note:

“Get yourself a great field radio. You have Carte Blanche!” 

What an amazing gift…right–?! She literally said Carte Blanche!

Evidently, she is familiar with my YouTube channel  (poor thing) because he often watches my activation videos on their living room TV. [Between us, I’m a bit surprised she still loves him after subjecting her to my videos.]

She told him, “Run your choice by Thomas before ordering.”

The funny bit? He approached me with this very question in November as he plotted a 2023 radio purchase. He couldn’t decide between the Icom IC-705 and the Elecraft KX2.

He wrote yesterday to tell me that he placed an order for a new Elecraft KX2 with all the trimmings; Elecraft’s KX2 “Shack-In-A-Box” package plus a set of KXPD2 paddles.

The KX2 is back-ordered due to parts availability, so he won’t receive his unit for several months, most likely.

Based on his operating style, I think he chose wisely. The IC-705 is a benchmark field radio, but he was looking for something that he could pair with a random wire antenna (the ‘705 lacks an internal ATU) and that would be easy to use on SOTA activations. He’s new to CW as well and loved the fact that the KXPD2 paddles attach to the front of the KX2.

Why do I mention this story? Because it’s not only fresh on my mind, but it’s the same radio and antenna I used during an activation on Thursday, December 1, 2022.

Tuttle Educational State Forest (K-4861)

As I pulled into Tuttle’s parking area that day I had a tried-and-true field radio kit pairing in my pack: my Elecraft KX2 and PackTenna 9:1 Random Wire antenna.

As I mention at the start of my activation video (see below), with the Elecraft KX2 and a random wire, I could easily activate all of the summits, parks, and islands I desire. It’s such an effective, flexible, and portable combo.

QRPp

To shake things up, I decided to knock the output power of the KX2 down to one half of one watt–500 milliwatts–at least for the CW portion of my activation.

Why not?

Plus, I don’t think I’ve ever validated a POTA activation with 1/2 of a watt, so it might make for a fun challenge! Continue reading POTA with 500 milliwatts CW and 10 watts SSB using the Elecraft KX2 and PackTenna Random Wire combo →

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, SSB

A QRP SSB POTA activation using only the Elecraft KX2’s internal microphone!

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Once I started doing CW POTA activations in 2020, there really was no going back.

It’s hard to explain, but CW makes POTA and SOTA activations so much easier, in my opinion.

I’m sure many who’ve ventured down the path of CW understand.  I know devoted SSB operators who started doing CW in the field and pretty much permanently switched to CW. Indeed, that was me.

That said, I do like SSB as well and it has some positives over CW in terms of POTA.

For one thing, there are so many more SSB hunters out there (compared with CW); even on a slow POTA today, you can still amass large pileups. The cadence of SSB exchanges is also faster than that of POTA CW exchanges (which rarely exceed 20 WPM) so it’s easy to log two or even three times the number of contacts in the same amount of time.

In addition–let’s face it–it’s also fun hearing another operator’s voice on the other end.

Many readers have been asking me to do more SSB activations and I’ve been meaning to. Truth is, though, the majority of my field radios are CW-only, so when I have them in tow, SSB simply isn’t an option.

Tuttle Educational State Forest (K-4861)

On Thursday, November 17, 2022, I stopped by Tuttle Educational State Forest for a short hike and, of course, an activation.

It was during my hike that I came up with the idea to do a five watt SSB activation. I quickly realized, though, that the only radio in my car with SSB capabilities was the Elecraft KX2, but I didn’t have a hand mic or headset packed!

Fortunately, the KX2 has a built-in microphone for SSB. It’s not as ideal as my Elecraft/Heil Pro Set, nor even the basic Elecraft hand mic, but it works, so I thought it might be fun to do an entire SSB activation only using the KX2 internal microphone!

Setting up

There’s not a lot to set up when using a KX2; the radio has an internal battery, internal ATU, and since I was using the internal mic, all I needed was an antenna and some feed line.

I chose the KM4ACK 40 meter end-fed half-wave that I built from a kit many moons ago. I hadn’t deployed this particular antenna in the field in ages–it’s a good one, though! Continue reading A QRP SSB POTA activation using only the Elecraft KX2’s internal microphone! →

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

Pairing the Elecraft KX2 and AX1 with a little QRP Coffee for some proper portable POTA fun!

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Driving home on Thursday, December 8, 2022, I popped by Food Matters in Morganton, NC and grabbed one of their amazing curried chicken salad wraps.

I sat in the car and listened to a podcast as I ate a late-ish lunch. I looked at my watch and sorted out what time I needed to be back at my home in the mountains. After a little mental math, I realized I had about 90 minutes to fit in a little radio fun.

Where to go on a rainy day?

Tuttle Educational State Forest (K-4861)

Since it was a Thursday and I knew Tuttle would be open, it was really a no-brainer. Tuttle is only an 8 minute drive from the parking lot at Food Matters, so I made my way to Playmore Beach Road!

En route, I made a mental inventory of what radios and antennas I had packed in the car. I knew I had my KX2 and although its internal battery had already powered me through three or four activations already, I knew there’d be enough charge for one or two more.

Also, since it was raining, I thought it would be the perfect day to set up under Tuttle’s excellent picnic shelter.

As for an antenna, I remembered putting the AX1 in my antenna box, so why not pair the two and operate in the dry?

Coffee Time

Funny, but after I started recording the activation video (below), I convinced myself that I needed to make some coffee. I pulled out my field coffee kit and set it up for a quick brew.

The park had completely shut off all water fountains and closed the rest room area, so there was no place to get fresh water. Fortunately, I had *just* enough water left in my water bottle after lunch. Almost the perfect amount for a cup of coffee but no more.

This wasn’t a planned cuppa’ so I used one of my last Starbucks Via coffee packs. Had I planned this in advance, I would have ground some beans at home and made a pour-over coffee.

That’s okay, though. The Starbucks packs are better than no coffee at all.

Field Coffee Kit

If you’re curious about the contents of my field coffee kit, here’s the list:

Continue reading Pairing the Elecraft KX2 and AX1 with a little QRP Coffee for some proper portable POTA fun! →

Accessories, Hacks and Hints, How To

Jim’s Elecraft KX2 leg mount

12 Comments

Many thanks to Jim (WU3K) who writes:

Hi Thomas,

I recently came up with a new way (for me) to hold the KX2 when I am out in the field.

The set-up utilizes the Side KX KX2 mount and the RAM Body Mount for Legs.

This set up does a pretty good job for me.

73,

Jim
WU3K

This is absolutely genius, Jim! Besides the leg mount looking like a excellent solution, the Side KX mount could then be used for other mounting locations either at home or mobile!

Thank you for sharing!