[Elecraft] The Joy of QRP
Or a burglar hiding in the attic - OM. ;-) Hony - did you just hear a dit dit? Thanks to its small size and high level of integration, it's the radio you'd wish you had while hanging precariously from a cliff, sitting high in a tree, hiding from burglars in an attic, or any of numerous other likely operating scenarios. __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] The Joy of QRP
On Thu 26 Sep Rick Johnson wrote: QRP puts the onus on the receiving station. No problem transmitting 5W. If you want to make contacts with a QRP station you need to pay a lot more attention to your antenna. You will likely make things a bit easier for the other end of the QSO if you push that 5 watts into a good antenna than if you push it into something that's more dummy load... Of course, your QRP station is also a receiving station, and a good antenna matters there, too. As we're fond of saying to our licence training course pupils; You can't work them if you can't hear them. I also use my KX3 as a home rig for SOTA chasing (and other things). Sure, it'll run to 12 watts on the home PSU, so not quite QRP, but you still need to make those watts count... -- ... 73, Rick, M0LEP __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] The Joy of QRP
On Thu 26 Sep Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: Y'know, most of the DX I work is on dead bands, usually 20 meters Yeah, QRP often has the best chance when the bands are dead. Once the big guns get the idea that a band is open QRP can get quite difficult. I was out on a SOTA summit yesterday with my KX3 trying to get another 12 metres challenge multiplier, and I could hear quite a bit of activity on the band, but wasn't able to make myself heard either when I called CQ or when I answered others' calls. -- ... 73, Rick, M0LEP __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] The Joy of QRP
Sorry no joy there Rick, but at least you had a nice day in the great outdoors. My latest adventure was a QSO with a station in Japan on 20m yesterday (I'm in VT with a KX3). I have to count countries, but after about a year and a half of operating, I'm up to 150 or so. Still trying to reach that Myanmar operation, bit no luck so far. I don't think my antenna is up to it. BUT like John Shannon has said in his FISTS piece recently, the pleasure and challenge of low power QSO's makes up for the occasional inability to make a contact. 72/73 Steve W1SFR On Sep 26, 2013, at 3:37 AM, Rick M0LEP wrote: On Thu 26 Sep Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: Y'know, most of the DX I work is on dead bands, usually 20 meters Yeah, QRP often has the best chance when the bands are dead. Once the big guns get the idea that a band is open QRP can get quite difficult. I was out on a SOTA summit yesterday with my KX3 trying to get another 12 metres challenge multiplier, and I could hear quite a bit of activity on the band, but wasn't able to make myself heard either when I called CQ or when I answered others' calls. -- ... 73, Rick, M0LEP __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] The Joy of QRP
On Thu 26 Sep Stephen Roberts wrote: at least you had a nice day in the great outdoors. which is at least half the point of activities like SOTA. It'd be nice if the summits nearest to me were more interesting, but I'd have to move house to make that the case. My latest adventure was a QSO with a station in Japan on 20m yesterday QRP sometimes throws in surprises like that. I don't think my antenna is up to it. Experimenting with antennas is a big part of the challenge. The KX3's ATU makes that a bit easier. One thing that's pretty much guaranteed is that the antennas you've cut and tuned to near perfection in your back garden will find some interesting way to behave when stuck up on a rocky summit, or wherever, and the ATU helps keep them in line... My main QTH antennas could do with a re-think, though. I dream of having something steerable with a bit of directionality... ;) the pleasure and challenge of low power QSO's makes up for the occasional inability to make a contact. Heh. First time I took a radio to Kenya, back in mid 2011 when the sunspots were all but absent, all I had was an FT817. Making contacts from there with 5 watts was quite hard work; I think I averaged fewer than two QSOs per day overall... -- ... 73, Rick, M0LEP __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] The Joy of QRP
I have to add that my greatest pride as a ham is having DXCC and WAS with QRP power. I am up to 175 countries (mostly with Elecraft gear) but i still enjoy QRP despite having the ability now to transmit at the legal limit. One thing that QRP operation teaches you is knowing when and what conditions are in your favor, timing, propagation and teaches listening skills. It is a good thing that Elecraft rigs have good ears. Ariel NY4G Sent from my iPhone On Sep 26, 2013, at 9:12 AM, Stephen Roberts steve...@shoreham.net wrote: Sorry no joy there Rick, but at least you had a nice day in the great outdoors. My latest adventure was a QSO with a station in Japan on 20m yesterday (I'm in VT with a KX3). I have to count countries, but after about a year and a half of operating, I'm up to 150 or so. Still trying to reach that Myanmar operation, bit no luck so far. I don't think my antenna is up to it. BUT like John Shannon has said in his FISTS piece recently, the pleasure and challenge of low power QSO's makes up for the occasional inability to make a contact. 72/73 Steve W1SFR On Sep 26, 2013, at 3:37 AM, Rick M0LEP wrote: On Thu 26 Sep Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: Y'know, most of the DX I work is on dead bands, usually 20 meters Yeah, QRP often has the best chance when the bands are dead. Once the big guns get the idea that a band is open QRP can get quite difficult. I was out on a SOTA summit yesterday with my KX3 trying to get another 12 metres challenge multiplier, and I could hear quite a bit of activity on the band, but wasn't able to make myself heard either when I called CQ or when I answered others' calls. -- ... 73, Rick, M0LEP __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] The Joy of QRP
QRP puts the onus on the receiving station. No problem transmitting 5W. 73, Rick W3BI Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 14:58:04 + To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net From: m0...@chocky.demon.co.uk Subject: Re: [Elecraft] The Joy of QRP On Thu 26 Sep Stephen Roberts wrote: at least you had a nice day in the great outdoors. which is at least half the point of activities like SOTA. It'd be nice if the summits nearest to me were more interesting, but I'd have to move house to make that the case. My latest adventure was a QSO with a station in Japan on 20m yesterday QRP sometimes throws in surprises like that. I don't think my antenna is up to it. Experimenting with antennas is a big part of the challenge. The KX3's ATU makes that a bit easier. One thing that's pretty much guaranteed is that the antennas you've cut and tuned to near perfection in your back garden will find some interesting way to behave when stuck up on a rocky summit, or wherever, and the ATU helps keep them in line... My main QTH antennas could do with a re-think, though. I dream of having something steerable with a bit of directionality... ;) the pleasure and challenge of low power QSO's makes up for the occasional inability to make a contact. Heh. First time I took a radio to Kenya, back in mid 2011 when the sunspots were all but absent, all I had was an FT817. Making contacts from there with 5 watts was quite hard work; I think I averaged fewer than two QSOs per day overall... -- ... 73, Rick, M0LEP __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] The Joy of QRP
On 9/26/2013 12:37 AM, Rick M0LEP wrote: Yeah, QRP often has the best chance when the bands are dead. QRP can also be rewarding when the bands are full in a major contest. DX contests scoring rules put west coast stations at a 10:1 disadvantage to those around the Atlantic basin, so most of us out here use them as nothing more than an attempt to pick up DX countries. In the last year or so, I've started running 5W in the ARRL and CQ contests. I can't compete with big signals, I don't get through with marginal propagation, and I can't work the alligators (those with big TX but no RX) but I do work those with good ears when propagation is right. In only a couple of such efforts, I've worked 65 countries on the HF bands. On160M, I've worked about a dozen DX countries (two contests and several DXpeditions) and 44 US states. NEVER, NEVER, EVER send /QRP in a contest. It only slows things down, and many serious ops, including me, will treat you as a lid and ignore you. When you're weak, transmit nothing but the minimum -- your call, and the exchange, NEVER repeat anything that the other station has copied correctly, and when he asks for a repeat, be prepared to repeat several times. 73, Jim K9YC __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
