QRP Salt Water Amplifier

I finally got to try something I’ve always dreamed of: proper QRP saltwater ground-planing!

This week, we’ve been in Beaufort, North Carolina—a charming coastal town that I can’t recommend enough. As I mentioned in a post last week, I brought along my Elecraft KX2 and KH1 for the trip.

Turns out, Hazel loves riding in speedy boats!

On Tuesday, we hopped on a small boat/ferry to Cape Lookout National Seashore (US-0683). Since it’s off-season, the island was nearly empty—there were maybe a dozen other visitors there. The weather? Absolutely perfect. It felt like pure bliss.

Naturally, I couldn’t resist scheduling a POTA activation. I packed the KH1 in my backpack and set off to explore.

For the activation, I went pedestrian mobile, standing right at the edge of the saltwater at Lookout Bight. Holding the KH1, I let the counterpoise wire dangle directly into the calm Atlantic waters.

Does submerging a counterpoise in saltwater make a dramatic difference in signal propagation? Honestly, I can’t say for sure—but I can confirm this: it works. The experience was incredible, and the activation felt like a huge success.

The view behind me during the activation.

I’ll be posting the activation video in the next few days, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you: has anyone else experimented with putting a counterpoise wire directly into saltwater? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts—please share in the comments!

Many thanks to Tom (G0SBW) who writes:

Hi Thomas

I thought I would drop you a line to say how much I am enjoying your posts – so much so I have subscribed.

I came across your posts while researching POTA (it is now available to hams in the UK and I have signed up for it). […]Most of my QRP sessions are pedestrian mobile but as I get older (I’m 82) I think they will become more /P.

What is quite different for me is that almost all of my operating is done from salt water marsh areas – so no trees at all for antenna supports. Of course, there are ways of getting around this problem by using masts with verticals, and mag loops. Using the readily available salt water amplifier, I’ve had quite a bit of DX success with SSB QRP. I’m now busy getting my CW up to scratch to get along better with POTA.

Here is a link to a YouTube video I made last year which shows a couple of my type of activity. It was made for a presentation so it is a bit long at 30 minutes:

73. ( or maybe that should be 72?). and Keep safe

Tom G0SBW

Thank you, Tom! Brilliant presentation! Thank you so much for sharing (although you’re making me homesick for the UK). I love the idea of the sea water amplifier effect and have employed that in the past to my advantage. I wish the coast were a little closer to my QTH, but sadly it’s a good 4.5 hour drive at minimum.

Thank you and please let us know if you post new videos.

Click here to view Tom’s video on YouTube.