Tag Archives: QRP

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! →

Articles, News, QRP

The spirit of QRP

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Here we are, on the morning of Christmas Eve, and I find this quote from Teddy Roosevelt  floating around in my head:

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

                                    –– Teddy Roosevelt

Perhaps I’m thinking about these words because they sort of fly in the face of all of the consumerism that often surrounds the holiday season…?

Well, I’m not sure of the reason.  What I do know is, I feel like this quote speaks to me as a QRPer. Part of the appeal of low-power operations is making do with less. With just a faint breath of power, I can reach across the globe to connect with others, and have just as much fun doing it as the guy with the tall backyard tower.  Yes, I have to admit, there’s a certain satisfaction in that.

You might not know this, reading QRPer.com, where we often talk gear, discussing its various shortcomings and merits, but I’m actually a fan of simplicity.  Outside of the world of radios and packs––and even in it, to a degree!––I try not to own too many things.

In my little QRP world I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to beta test, review, and evaluate a wide variety of radios and gear. Since I do purchase almost all of my review radios––except for the few that are loaned to me––I’ve accumulated a lot of them over time. I know I can sell the ones I don’t often use, and I frequently do, but it’s fun to take them out for a spin now and again; you may notice that I rotate them out regularly.

Yet because of this, I do worry that people read my posts (and those of others in the ham community) and reflect with despair along these lines: “I can’t activate in the field…I need a lot of new expensive gear to do that!”

But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

For four years, when I lived in Germany and the UK, I only owned one radio–a Yaesu FT-817. And, know what?  I had so much fun with that single radio and a limited number of home-brew antennas.

To which I might add, this past year, some of my most memorable activations have been with radios I purchased for under $200:

I could easily activate all of the parks and summits I wish, only using one of these little radios, coupled with a key, a home-brew wire antenna, and a battery.  That’s it~!

So, you really don’t need a lot of gear to enjoy field radio.  This is true especially if you’re a CW operator.  But even just starting out, you really can have fun with a simple field kit.

Even if you’re new to ham radio, don’t wait to hit the field until you’ve assembled the “perfect” or the largest, finest field radio kit. Instead, take Teddy Roosevelt’s advice,  and just do what you can with what you have…right where you are.  

Here’s wishing everyone

A Very Happy Holiday Season! 

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! →

Field Radio Kits, Kits, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Reviews

Testing a new QCX-Mini Field Kit built in an Evergreen 56 Watertight case

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In early November, I happened up a new waterproof case called the Evergreen 56. As with Pelican cases, it’s waterproof and also made in the USA. Like Nanuk cases (that are also waterproof and made in Canada) Evergreen cases have a built-in locking mechanism to keep the latch from accidentally opening during transport.

I thought the price for the Evergreen 56 at $28 US was fair and in-line with the Pelican 1060 and Nanuk 903 which are similar in size. I grabbed one made of a clear material with one radio in mind: my QCX-Mini!

There are a number of color options available for this Evergreen case, but I like the clear polycarbonate one because it makes it so much easier to see what’s inside (for a quick gear check) but also to confirm that no one part of the kit is being pressed too hard inside the case after the lid is sealed.

After receiving the Evergreen 56, I was very pleased with the quality–again, on par with what I would expect from Pelican or Nanuk.  It is incredibly solid and the seal is watertight.  The Twist Lock Latch (see above) is easy to operate and the case comes with two “keys” for adjusting the inner lock.

The Evergreen case has a soft egg crate-like rubber boot interior as opposed to the pick foam material you’d typically find in a water tight case. The case also has a hammock-like rubbery webbing on the inside of the lid that can be used to organize smaller contents (I knew instantly I’d use this to hold the antenna!).

The QCX-Mini fits in the Evergreen case perfectly–this was no surprise–but I was eager to see if my other station components could also fit. Note that I didn’t buy anything specifically to be used in this case; I used components I already owned. I could minimize the contents even further if I used a smaller battery, antenna, and key.  Here are the components of the first version of the QCX-Mini Field Kit: Continue reading Testing a new QCX-Mini Field Kit built in an Evergreen 56 Watertight case →

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

Testing a new Tufteln knee board and antenna during this beautiful SOTA activation on Mount Mitchell

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On the morning of November 4th, I woke up with one thought on my mind: “I need to activate Mount Mitchell before it’s too late!”

It’s not like Mount Mitchell was going to disappear, but I knew I was already on borrowed time since the long section of the Blue Ridge Parkway I use to drive to Mount Mitchell from Asheville typically closes in the early part of November for weeks at a time. The park itself will close to guests too–in fact, last year, it closed its gates as I drove out of the park! There are often other roads open to Mitchell in the winter, but they’re very much out of the way for me and frankly, weather can shift and the park close at the drop of a hat.

As the crow flies, Mount Mitchell is actually very close to my QTH. If I wanted, I could hike there directly from my home. I’ve yet to do this, however, because with the 3,000′ elevation change and the anything-but-direct trails that skirt the Asheville watershed, I’d need a full day or more to hike it one way. I will for sure do this sometime, but only when I can pack appropriately and reserve a campsite.

Morning drive

As soon as I surfaced that morning, I check the weather map. I noticed that the temp at Mount Mitchell was actually slightly higher than at my QTH. I looked out the kitchen window and could see fog in the valley. This meant one thing: inversion!

When we have inversion, the cold air is pushed down into the valley and warmer air can be found at higher elevations. The flip opposite of what you’d typically expect.

I ate a quick bite, grabbed come coffee, and hit the road.

As I drove past Warren Wilson College’s farm, it was absolutely gorgeous. I had to stop and take a photo or two [click images to enlarge].

The drive up to Mount Mitchell on the BRP was ideal: clear skies and quite warm!

Mount Mitchell State Park (W4C/CM-001 and K-2747)

In fact, I felt like I really struck it lucky that day. I didn’t even need a heavy jacket or gloves. Continue reading Testing a new Tufteln knee board and antenna during this beautiful SOTA activation on Mount Mitchell →

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

Pairing the Elecraft KX2 and Chelegance MC-750 for a quick QRP POTA activation

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After a fun “discovery” activation with the TEN-TEN R4020 on the morning of November 12, 2022–click here to check out that report and video–I realized I had just enough time to squeeze in another activation on my way back to the QTH.

I picked Lake James State Park (K-2739) because it was the most conveniently located; only a 20 minute detour.

When I arrived, the park was very quiet even though it was a Saturday no doubt because the ground was still saturated after the two days of rains we received from the remnants of Hurricane Nicole.

I grabbed my radio gear: the Elecraft KX2 and the new MC-750 vertical antenna sent to me (at no charge) by Jesse at Chelegance. This was only the second time I’d used the antenna–the first time was with the X5105.

I knew the MC-750 would be quick to set up and that was a good thing because I only had a max of about 45 minutes for the entire activation including set-up and take-down.

I walked down to a picnic table by the lake and deployed the station.

The MC-750 took me all of three (casual) minutes to set up.

Next, I set up the Elecraft KX2 and my CW Morse Outdoor Paddle with Steel Base for one-handed picnic table operating.

Of course, I also needed to prepare a log sheet even though I planned to live log everything in the HAMRS app on my phone. Continue reading Pairing the Elecraft KX2 and Chelegance MC-750 for a quick QRP POTA activation →

Articles, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, Reviews, SOTA

A review of the LnR Precision Mountain Topper MTR-4B ultra-portable QRP transceiver

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The following article originally appeared in the November  2022 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine:

A Review of the LnR Precision Mountain Topper MTR-4B V2

by Thomas (K4SWL)

I confess, there is something that I’ve come to believe is almost a rite of passage in the SOTA (Summits On The Air) community. And, no, I’m not talking about activating an All Time New One (ATNO) summit, or completing a particularly challenging activation on a snow-capped peak.

I’m talking about owning one of the iterations of the amazing “Mountain Topper” pocket-sized QRP CW transceivers designed by Steve Weber (KD1JV).

This little radio first caught my attention at a Four Days In May (FDIM) QRP conference over a decade ago: a ham friend in the SOTA community proudly showed me a very early version of the Mountain Topper that he built from a kit. The first thing that struck me was how impossibly small and extraordinarily lightweight it was. But when he showed me the 9-volt battery he used to power it––a power supply not only small, but convenient––I was mesmerized.

Over the years, the Mountain Topper has evolved.  There have been many models, ranging from two bands to five. To my knowledge, they’re no longer offered in kit form, but LnR Precision manufactures and tests these in North Carolina, and they’re better than ever in terms of features and performance.

At present, the MTR-4B V2––the second version of the four-band Mountain Topper––is the only model in production, and if you’re hoping to acquire one, due to supply chain issues (at time of publishing) there’s a rather long wait time. They retail new for $350 US, and frankly, the used ones I’ve seen posted in ham radio classifieds ads have been equal to, or even over, the listed price for a new rig.  Obviously, demand for these radios is much higher than supply.

So, how could it be that this minuscule QRP radio performs well enough to produce some serious DX from a remote summit…so well, in fact, that people are willing to wait in line for one?

Magic or method?

As any CW operator will tell you, the magic is in the mode. CW is such an efficacious mode that it cuts through the ether like a knife, even when conditions are less than favorable.

Obviously, pint-size radios like the Mountain Topper are QRP––low power––so designing them around such a simple mode is a very smart choice. CW transceivers are much less complex than a similar SSB transceiver, thus have less components, less mass, and are in general more affordable (when compared to those with similar receiver performance).

My comprehensive MTR-4B field kit (the MTR-4B is in the mesh pocket).

In addition, the Mountain Topper is designed with the field activator in mind:  specifically, SOTA activators, but of course, POTA (Parks On The Air), WWFF (World Wide Flora and Fauna), IOTA (Islands On The Air), or any other popular “-OTA” field activity. As a field activator in one of these programs, you are the DX. This means chasers and hunters are actively seeking your signal, and thus you are not competing with blowtorch stations to punch through a pileup.

I can also assure you that standing on a tall summit also gives you a brilliant starting point for your QRP signal. Some of the best DX I’ve ever worked has been from a summit.

So, for the average CW SOTA activator, QRP is preferred because QRO simply isn’t necessary––indeed,  in my opinion it’s a bit of an overkill. At least that’s been my experience now with my few hundred SOTA, POTA, NPOTA, SOTA, and even one Lighthouse On The Air activations.

So this brings us back to the wee Mountain Topper series and the model being reviewed here in the pages of TSM: The Mountain Topper MTR-4B. Continue reading A review of the LnR Precision Mountain Topper MTR-4B ultra-portable QRP transceiver →