learnhamradio

 A lot of people find it hard to believe that QRP works. Of course, many assume SSB, and I'll concede that QRP SSB is a challenge. But CW (Morse code) QRP is a fairly trivial thing. I operate almost exclusively QRP, with the exceptions being my boat anchor rigs and special events where I'm sought after, as was the case in December '22 when I was one of the reindeer (Vixen) in the Christmas-themed SKCC Weekend Sprint.  Okay, but how about QRPp? First, let's define things. QRP CW operations are generally agreed to be at power levels of 5 watts or less. QRPp raises (lowers) the bar to one watt or less. Does QRPp work? Sure, lots of people do it. The NAQCC even has twice-yearly mW challenges. Imagine trying to work someone when you are QRPp, but the other guy is operating at 100 watts or more. A challenge? Yes, but not nearly the same as an event where everybody is running one watt or less. It's definitely a greater challenge! Having seen at least one popular POTA CW g...

 12/26/2022 This activation was impromptu. I had a gap in my schedule and a new paddle begging to play! Gear: Rig: Elecraft KX2 @ 5W Key: Begali Adventure Mono Antenna: end-fed half wave inverted vee 49:1 transformer 2x14 FT140-43  65' main element 8' counterpoise Ground-fed 25' RG-174 coax Jackite 31' telescoping pole I bungied the Jackite pole to a convenient signpost and got on the air pretty quickly. It was a bit cold (21 f) so I was motivated to get back in the car.  I spotted myself at 14.059 and began calling at 20:12. There were only a few others activating CW, and the calls began two minutes later. After a brief lull, the pileup started. It was super busy with lots of repeats due to doubling. By 20:35 things started to let up, affording me the opportunity to QSY to 40M (7.056). By 20:39 the calls started coming, again fast and furious. I stayed on the frequency until the next lull, signing QRT at 21:01 with 46 contacts in 47 minutes.  Everything performed we...