First, my hat is off to all you guys who use QRP all the time!
I normally run full legal power in contests to large antennas (180'
vertical on 160 and an 18 element stack on 10). Rather than running
stations, I would guess all but a handful of my QSO's were S&P, and
I quickly got accustomed to the idea that if ANYONE else was calling
I would not be heard. Quite a change from my normal mode of
contesting and humility was definitely the order of the weekend.
Field Day was my first contest experience with my new K2 (#4119)
and it performed mostly flawlessly. I only noticed a few unusual aspects
to it which may be operator error:
1. The QSK had a "thumpy" sound when listening in the monitor. I
also got the impression that I was not hearing between characters as
much as between words. Perhaps there is an adjustment I need to
make when my mind is clear.
2. I never totally figured out the Power meter. I normally use an external
meter but decided to use the K2's meter only for simplicity. What I
noticed was that the power displayed when turning the Power pot while
not keying was not the same as power in key-down Tune. Also, in Tune
the incremental changes were sometimes very large (i.e. 1W at ~5W output).
Again I may need to read the manual.
3. When recording CW messages, the K2's timing seemed to often get
distorted. I eventually got messages to sound almost right but it took
a bit of doing to get there.
100% CW QRP Results (not computer-checked since I did manual logging and
duping):
80m - 65
40m - 239
20m - 200
15m - 49
Total - 553
Time: 19.5 hours (things were just too slow with bugs, poor light and
blowing mist
making me miserable around 2 AM so I QRT until 6:30 AM).
I worked 48 states including KL7 and KH6. KO7X (WY) was deaf and I heard
ND several times working stations I was calling. LU6EF answered me on 15
and sent an exchange which I logged. I also worked an SM5 on 20 in the
evening when things were very slow (he did not send an exchange so I did
not log that one). It also seemed to me that I heard many QRP stations with
good signals (e.g. N0SS) working others, but they never CQed and I never
CQed (because it was so unproductive), so I suspect there were only a limited
number of higher powered stations to work.
Equipment: Elecraft K2, Emtech ZM-2 Antenna Tuner (a great little tuner),
deep-cycle 75 AH battery plus small VW solar panel, 180' EDZ at about 60' on
a mountain top about 3-400' above average nearby terrain. Oriented for max
lobes on 80/40 to N/S and max lobes on 20/15 to E/W. No computer
and no power except to the K2 (lighting by Coleman lantern). Screened
shelter but the bugs eventually discovered the opening at the bottom of the
sides since the shelter did not have a floor.
Will I do this again? Probably not. It was fun but a lot of work to set
up and
take down, and 550 QSO's in 19.5 hours is just too slow to keep my interest
up.
It also seemed to me that the CW bands were surprisingly empty. Maybe we're
beginning to see the effects of waning CW interest in the general ham
population.
It also seemed to me that I heard many QRP stations with good signals (e.g.
N0SS) working others, but they never CQed and I never CQed (since it was so
unproductive), so I suspect there were only a limited number of higher powered
stations to work. At this point I'm not even sure I will send my log in
since I
don't relish the thought of re-entering everything into the computer to
generate a
100% correct dupe sheet (I know I made errors with the paper one).
Now I'm looking forward to trying Flight of the Bumblebees where there
may actually be stations trying to find the weaker Bees! Hopefully that
may be a
bit more fun and the 4 hour duration will also help if it isn't. See you then!
73, Bill W4ZV
P.S. My XYL enjoyed the solitude while I was operating and I once stopped to
to go alert her about the beautiful serenade by a Wood Thrush in the canopy
of 80-
90' hardwood trees...sounded like Nature's version of Sir James Galway on the
flute who we just recently heard in a Symphony performance!
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