Tag Archives: Penntek TR-45L Skinny

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

Sunday in the Park: A beautiful day to put the TR-45L Skinny on the air!

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The more I use my Penntek TR-45L “Skinny” the more I love it.

Although, in truth, I loved it from day one because it’s just a flatter, more portable version of my original TR-45L.

The audio is wonderful, the controls are simple, and the receiver is top-shelf. Any excuse to take it to the field!

On Sunday, April 28, 2024, I made a quick trip to visit my father in Hickory. He was still in the hospital at that point and I wanted to spend the morning with him and get updates from his specialists and doctor. He was improving which was a very good thing indeed.

After spending a few hours with my dad, I could tell he wanted to take a nap, so I thought it a good time to head back home, with a short detour at Lake James.

Lake James State Park (US-2739)

It was an absolutely beautiful day to be outdoors. I expected Lake James to be packed on a Sunday, but the Catawba River Access wasn’t too terribly busy. I imagine the more popular Paddy’s Creek Access was much busier.

I decided to set up at a picnic table close to the parking area–one I’ve used before and one that makes it easy to deploy an end-fed half-wave without creating a tripping hazard for others.

My EFHW simply disappears among the trees which is why it’s important to deploy it in a space where other park visitors won’t walk.

I deployed the 40 meter EFHW that Steve (MW0SAW) made for me a couple years ago.

Setting up the TR-45L was easy enough especially since the padded bag Penntek sells so easily accommodates all of the items needed for an activation. In fact, it is spacious enough I could easily put an antenna and feed line inside, too, but I opt to simply carry those in my backpack.

With everything set up, it was time to hit the air!

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 The Air

With band conditions having been so unpredictable lately, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My schedule only allowed for a short activation, so I hoped to wrap things up within 30 minutes.

Twenty meters seemed like the most promising band, and thankfully, it was in decent shape. I started calling CQ POTA, and to my delight, the first ten stations were logged in a mere ten minutes! It doesn’t get much better than that.

I continued making contacts for a few more minutes, logging four additional stations. Then, with the band quieting down, I decided to call it a day.

I would have loved to spend more time on the air, but I was also eager to get back home to my wife and daughters. Sometimes, a short activation is all you need.

QSO Map

Here’s what this five-watt activation 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.

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.

Penntek radios

On a bittersweet note, I mentioned previously that John (WA3RNC) is closing down the Penntek shop this year and will no longer manufacture transceivers. If you haven’t already placed an order for a Penntek transceiver, you might not be able to snag one at this point. I would check the updates on the Penntek site for more information. I felt John’s radios were so unique and packed with proper field performance.

The original TR-45L pictured here at Lake Norman

Then again, at 77 years old, John deserves to enjoy his retirement to the max, so I’m happy for him.

My Penntek TR-35

I know I’ll never sell my Penntek radios and I’ll do all I can to take care of them so they serve me over the long haul! I’ve no doubt that they will.

Thank you

Thank you for joining me during this short POTA 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! Have an amazing Memorial Day weekend!

Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

Antenna Versatility: Pairing my Linked EFHW and the TR-45L Skinny at Lake Powhatan!

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On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, I had a bit of time in the middle of the day to perform a park activation, but I couldn’t go too far afield because I needed to pick up my daughters from school around 3:00 PM.

Where to go?

I didn’t want to activate the same spots I’ve been activating a lot lately; I wanted to find a new spot, but my window of time limited my options.

Here in the Asheville area, we only have a few POTA entities within, say, a 25-30 minute drive of downtown, but a few of the sites we do have are vast. The Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah National Forest, and Pisgah Game Land are massive and it would be easy to activate every day of your life and set up at a different site each time if you’re willing to bring your own chair and table/kneeboard..

It was such a beautiful day, I ideally wanted to find a spot with a picnic table under the shade of a tree. I know of a couple sites on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but I’d activated them recently. Also there was the Vance Birthplace, but again, I’d been there a lot lately.

Then it dawned on me that Lake Powhatan, in Pisgah National Forest (US-4510), might be a good option. It’s close to Asheville, a beautiful site, and I was almost certain I remembered seeing picnic tables there when I camped there with friends some two years ago. I made a quick call to the park office and confirmed.

Lake Powhatan requires a day use permit of $5 per person–you pay at the entrance and then have access to the lake and beach area for the full day. I didn’t mind paying this fee at all because I will typically leave that same amount in the donation box of many of the state parks I frequent anyway.

It’s a really short walk from the parking area to the lake and picnic sites.

I grabbed my TR-45L Skinny (in its padded camera pack) and my GoRuck GR1 backpack that had all of my antenna supplies and even my Elecraft KX2 inside.

Had this been a summer day, the lake would have been packed with families!

Why bring two radios? I really wanted to use the TR-45L, but I also thought about testing the waters on the 15, 12, and 10 meter bands. Since the TR-45L only covers 80, 40, 30, 20, and 17 meters, I needed another option.

Lots of picnic table options around the lake.

Turns out, the higher bands weren’t in great shape, so I didn’t need to use the KX2 after all.

I didn’t pair the TR-45L Skinny with an ATU, thus I needed an antenna option that would be resonant or matched on each of the bands I planned to operate. I decided to deploy my KM4CFT EFHW that I’d cut as a 30 meter end-fed half-wave with a 40 meter extension. This antenna would give me all of the bands of the TR-45L (save 80M). As a 30M EFHW, I’d have 30 and 17 meters, then by adding the 40M extension, I’d have both 40 and 20 meters as well.

Setup was quick and easy (even though it took several tries with my throw line to hit the branches I wanted).

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 The Air

I deployed the antenna as a 30 meter EFHW and started calling CQ POTA on the 17 meter band.

I quickly found out that 17 meters was not in great shape. I did work N5PJ after a few minutes (thanks, Perry!) but didn’t hang around 17 meters much longer.

The poor state of 17 meters was likely a good indicator of what the higher bands might be like, so I abandoned the idea of going up to 10 meters. Instead, I QSY’d to the 30 meter band.

30 meters was in better shape. I worked five more stations in short order, then there was a lull in activity for several minutes. My thinking was that the bulk of the POTA activity would be on 20 meters, so I lowered part of my antenna, connected the 40M link, and raised it again.

Turns out, 20 meters was pretty active.

I ended up adding 16 stations to the logs including at least one Park-to-Park with AC9OT (thank you!).

All-in-all, I logged 22 stations on three bands. Propagation was a bit rough for sure, but the activation was a lot of fun!

Here are my logs:

QSO Map

Here’s what this five-watt activation looked like when plotted out on a QSO Map (click image to enlarge):

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.

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.

An Idyllic Site

I’m so glad I decided to give Lake Powhatan a try. I’m very tempted to pay $40 for an annual pass.

There are several other picnic sites in/around the lake that I’d like to try and, frankly, next time I think I’ll bring my mountain bike! There are loads of trails on-site that also connect up to the (very popular) Bent Creek network.

Thank you

Thank you for joining me during this peaceful 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! Have a brilliant week!

Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel, Videos

Pairing the TR-45L Skinny and the MC-750 at Gorges State Park!

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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.

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! →

Announcements, News, QRP Radios

Penntek: John (WA3RNC) is Retiring

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Many thanks to Davey (KU9L) who shares a link to this news from John (WA3RN), owner, and designer of Penntek radios. John writes:

I have been considering for some time the future of the Penntek Instruments amateur radio products. This old man isn’t getting any younger and is in fact beginning to get tired. With the current production run of the TR-45L QRP transceiver getting close to being complete, I decided that this is a good time to finally retire at 77 years of age and maybe catch a breath. I have therefore chosen not to order parts for another run of these radios. As of late-March 2024, in-house parts remain for about 45 of the standard TR-45L units and about 70 of the “Skinny” version. The remaining TR-35 parts will allow for an additional 65 units, either kits or built radios. As I heard on a radio commercial, “Once they’re gone, they’re gone”. After these remaining radios are sold, I will remain available for repair and service of the Penntek transceivers. Thanks to all those who have purchased and enjoyed WA3RNC products over the years…

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Penntek transceivers, so this is sad news. But, I am also very happy for John to make this decision about retiring.

That said, if you’ve been on the fence about buying a TR-45L, TR-45L Skinny, or TR-35, I suggest you do so while John has new units!

These are brilliant radios with excellent audio characteristics, robust front-ends, and some of the best ergonomics you’ll find out there. Keying is smooth and provides proper QSK.

Plus, I think they’re one of the best-looking radios on the market (the TR-45L series especially).

Since all of the Penntek radios started out life as kits, they’re also easy to open and modify/repair.

I don’t have a crystal ball, but I’m willing to bet that once John’s inventory has been depleted, these radios will hold their own on the used market much like other beloved radio models (I’m thinking specifically of the KX1 and MTR-3B). It’ll be interesting to see where used pricing is in, say, 2026.

Again, if you’ve been on the fence, now is the time to make a decision, in my opinion. It looks like John will continue to provide support after his retirement, which is great news as well.

Here’s wishing John all the best in his retirement! Thanks for creating radios that bring so much QRP joy!

Field Reports, Morse Code, New Products, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, Videos

A Slimmed-Down Solution: My first POTA activation with the Penntek TR-45L “Skinny”

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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 The Air

I hopped on the air with the intention of working 20 and 17 meters. Continue reading A Slimmed-Down Solution: My first POTA activation with the Penntek TR-45L “Skinny” →

News, Product Announcements, QRP, QRP Radios

WA3RNC introduces the Penntek TR-45L “Skinny” and reservation form

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Photos by WA3RNC

Many thanks to John (AE5X) who notes that John (WA3RNC) has release information about his new TR-45L “Skinny” design. 

Here’s the information WA3RNC shares on the Penntek website along with an update about the kit version of the TR-45L (non-skinny version):

TR-45L Kit Version Update

The kit version has been delayed for the time being due to several (most) beta builders experiencing frustration with the process of assembling the front panel onto the main board with 15 loose and unsoldered switches, jacks, and controls. These issues indicate that the TR-45L kit version will most likely be offered as a semi-kit with the main board being largely factory assembled, leaving the pre-aligned plug-in RF board in kit form. The internal battery option would be available in this kit version, but not the Z-Match ATU.

TR-45L Skinny (left) TR-45L (right)

A second kit version in a thinner housing is also being considered (see the TR-45L “Skinny” photos). This version would be offered with no options available (other than a $20.00 tilt bail) as there is no room inside the thinner housing for the internal battery nor the ATU option. It does, however, contain an internal speaker. Unfortunately, while greatly simplifying construction, these semi-kits will erode the normally expected cost savings with a kit. The best guess price for these TR-45L semi-kits would be around $500.00. We welcome your thoughts and opinions on these semi-kit concepts.

For those interested in signing up for the reservation list, you can use the reservation form linked here. Be advised, it could take up to 6-8 weeks until they are ready to be shipped.

The TR-45L has been a long time coming, and I thank you for your patience during the development cycles with parts procurement issues due to the covid pandemic. Let’s hope that the ugly covid experience is behind us…

In a nutshell, the TR-45L Skinny will simply be a TR-45L in a skinnier chassis with no option for an internal battery nor Z-Match ATU, but will still have an internal speaker. 

For those of you who don’t care for the Z-match or internal battery, the TR-45L Skinny will certainly be more portable and less bulky than the original TR-45L.

I suspect the performance will be identical. I’m sure the internal speaker will work well, but I will be curious if it sounds as full-fidelity as the original TR-45L. I might ask John for a loaner to check it out once released!

Again, if interested in this variant of the TR-45L, you might wish to fill out the reservation form.