Hi James!

You might tell us a little about your building skills and experience.
There are a couple of small, multi-band kits available but they are more
challenging to build that some of the single band offerings.

Do you have an HF radio now that can be throttled back to 5W? If so
that's certainly the cheapest, quickest way to jump into QRP operation.

73,

Tim N9PUZ

 

Thanks for the info
I went digging this afternoon after work and found my box of QRP kits that I had bought when I first got back into Amateur Radio.
I found the following:

Tenna dipper
Rock Mite 40
PSK-80 Warbler
NoGawaTT SWR Wattmeter
Marker generator kit
Pixie2 QRP transceiver
8044ABM Iambic Keyer Kit

How would you rate them?

--- In 4sqrp@..., "Todd F. Carney / K7TFC" wrote:
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 12:33 PM, James "Chewy" Vroman
> wrote:
>
> > **
> > I have been interested in QRP for a long time and have decided that this
> > is the year. I will be relearning my Morse and am looking for
> > recommendations on a QRP transceiver kit as well as any other
> > recommendations to build a complete portable station. I am wanting
> > something small and light to carry backpacking.
> >
>
> James,
>
> Ask 100 QRPers that question and you'll get at least 200 answers! Everyone
> has his favorite, or has not had good luck with one or more. Rather than
> offer a specific recommendation, here's a few general things to consider.
>
> 1. First of all, go to the DXZone site and browse through their listing of
> QRP "manufactures" (in quotes because often the "factory" is the garage or
> chicken coop out back).
> http://www.dxzone.com/catalog/Manufacturers/QRP_Kits/. A large proportion
> of these kits are offered by hams as a side business (to save up for their
> new tower or for that $200 iambic key they're been wanting, etc.). This is
> no comment on the quality of the kits. Mostly, they are excellent designs,
> with high-quality PCBs and parts. Actually, I think the parts are typically
> of a higher quality than kits offered by established companies
> (Ten-Tec/You-Kits, MFJ, etc.) because ham kit makers tend to buy from an
> engineering and serious-hobbyist supply chain (Mouser, Digikey, etc) rather
> than the chain for mass-produced electronics. In many cases, those offering
> the kits are also the designers, and they are either professional engineers
> or they are talented and well-grounded amateurs. Either way, there's not
> much between you and the designer, and most try hard to reply to questions
> (though it's a side-business and they do have lives--some patience is
> sometimes called for).
>
> 2. Most of the kits have been reviewed by homebrewing hams. These can be
> found in a number different places, including personal blogs and the
> discussion groups. The eHam site usually comes up near the top of a Google
> search for the kit in question and the word "review." You can also go
> directly to their review page: http://www.eham.net/reviews/ and search from
> there.
>
> 3. Avoid the lower-powered kits for now. Build one as close to the maximum
> 5-Watt QRP definition as you can. I imagine they'll be many who disagree,
> but higher power will make it more likely you'll have enough QSOs to keep
> the excitement up and to let the QRP bug bite hard. This is especially true
> if you're using a low-gain "compromise" antenna. Later, you can get into
> QRPp--very low power--if you want.
>
> 4. Most QRP kits are CW only, but there are a few with SSB as well. They
> are necessarily more complex than for CW only, but they do offer the
> code-challenged ham someone to talk to while they learn and/or improve
> their code. Personally, I'd stick with CW only because, 1) they are easier
> rigs to build at first so you don't get bogged down in the construction,
> and 2) a code-only rig is a good spur to learning and practicing the code.
>
> 5. Which band? I'll leave that mostly for others to answer, but generally
> I'd start with whatever is active wherever you spend most of your time.
> Okay, here's one suggestion: 20 meters. It's good for daytime QSOs,
> sometimes of a 1000 miles or more. Here's a video by John W5CYF of a 20m
> QSO from the gulf-coast of Mississippi to W1AW in Connecticut:
> http://youtu.be/IGg92YR-pTA. By the way, W5CYF has over 175 videos on
> YouTube, and I'd say at least half of them are on QRP and/or kit building.
> Lots of other kit-building videos on YouTube as well.
>
> 6. If you haven't already, take a look at SOTA--Summits on the Air. It's an
> association of hiker-hams that started in England but has now spread nearly
> everywhere. Each country or region has its own SOTA association and, in the
> United States at least, subdivided down further (by state, etc.). The idea
> is that you win points for "activating" (making QSOs from) a registered
> summit, lower points for low, short, and/or easy hikes, and more pointsr
> for challenging summits. One can also earn points as a "spotter" of a
> summit activation. This would be someone who answered a CQ from a summit,
> at home and in his pajamas, maybe. This is a way those not able (or
> willing) to climb summits can participate, and anyway it's how activation
> QSOs are documented. Like most "radio sport," there's certificates, pins,
> rolls of honor, etc. Here's a few SOTA sites: http://www.sota.org.uk/ (the
> central site), and for you in Missouri:
> http://www.sota.org.uk/Associations/viewAssociation/prefix/W0M. It was
> started just 6 weeks ago. So far, MO has 49 qualifying summits. Of course,
> you can activate a summit anywhere in the world that's listed as a SOTA
> summit.
>
> I'm sure you'll get lots of other input from the group. Welcome to the
> wacky world of QRP.
>
> 73,
>
> Todd
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> K7TFC / Medford, Oregon, USA / CN82ni / UTC-8
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> QRP (CW & SSB) / EmComm / SOTA / Homebrew / Design
>

On Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 12:33 PM, James "Chewy" Vroman <james@...>
wrote:

**
I have been interested in QRP for a long time and have decided that this
is the year. I will be relearning my Morse and am looking for
recommendations on a QRP transceiver kit as well as any other
recommendations to build a complete portable station. I am wanting
something small and light to carry backpacking.

James,

Ask 100 QRPers that question and you'll get at least 200 answers! Everyone
has his favorite, or has not had good luck with one or more. Rather than
offer a specific recommendation, here's a few general things to consider.

1. First of all, go to the DXZone site and browse through their listing of
QRP "manufactures" (in quotes because often the "factory" is the garage or
chicken coop out back).
http://www.dxzone.com/catalog/Manufacturers/QRP_Kits/. A large proportion
of these kits are offered by hams as a side business (to save up for their
new tower or for that $200 iambic key they're been wanting, etc.). This is
no comment on the quality of the kits. Mostly, they are excellent designs,
with high-quality PCBs and parts. Actually, I think the parts are typically
of a higher quality than kits offered by established companies
(Ten-Tec/You-Kits, MFJ, etc.) because ham kit makers tend to buy from an
engineering and serious-hobbyist supply chain (Mouser, Digikey, etc) rather
than the chain for mass-produced electronics. In many cases, those offering
the kits are also the designers, and they are either professional engineers
or they are talented and well-grounded amateurs. Either way, there's not
much between you and the designer, and most try hard to reply to questions
(though it's a side-business and they do have lives--some patience is
sometimes called for).

2. Most of the kits have been reviewed by homebrewing hams. These can be
found in a number different places, including personal blogs and the
discussion groups. The eHam site usually comes up near the top of a Google
search for the kit in question and the word "review." You can also go
directly to their review page: http://www.eham.net/reviews/ and search from
there.

3. Avoid the lower-powered kits for now. Build one as close to the maximum
5-Watt QRP definition as you can. I imagine they'll be many who disagree,
but higher power will make it more likely you'll have enough QSOs to keep
the excitement up and to let the QRP bug bite hard. This is especially true
if you're using a low-gain "compromise" antenna. Later, you can get into
QRPp--very low power--if you want.

4. Most QRP kits are CW only, but there are a few with SSB as well. They
are necessarily more complex than for CW only, but they do offer the
code-challenged ham someone to talk to while they learn and/or improve
their code. Personally, I'd stick with CW only because, 1) they are easier
rigs to build at first so you don't get bogged down in the construction,
and 2) a code-only rig is a good spur to learning and practicing the code.

5. Which band? I'll leave that mostly for others to answer, but generally
I'd start with whatever is active wherever you spend most of your time.
Okay, here's one suggestion: 20 meters. It's good for daytime QSOs,
sometimes of a 1000 miles or more. Here's a video by John W5CYF of a 20m
QSO from the gulf-coast of Mississippi to W1AW in Connecticut:
http://youtu.be/IGg92YR-pTA. By the way, W5CYF has over 175 videos on
YouTube, and I'd say at least half of them are on QRP and/or kit building.
Lots of other kit-building videos on YouTube as well.

6. If you haven't already, take a look at SOTA--Summits on the Air. It's an
association of hiker-hams that started in England but has now spread nearly
everywhere. Each country or region has its own SOTA association and, in the
United States at least, subdivided down further (by state, etc.). The idea
is that you win points for "activating" (making QSOs from) a registered
summit, lower points for low, short, and/or easy hikes, and more pointsr
for challenging summits. One can also earn points as a "spotter" of a
summit activation. This would be someone who answered a CQ from a summit,
at home and in his pajamas, maybe. This is a way those not able (or
willing) to climb summits can participate, and anyway it's how activation
QSOs are documented. Like most "radio sport," there's certificates, pins,
rolls of honor, etc. Here's a few SOTA sites: http://www.sota.org.uk/ (the
central site), and for you in Missouri:
http://www.sota.org.uk/Associations/viewAssociation/prefix/W0M. It was
started just 6 weeks ago. So far, MO has 49 qualifying summits. Of course,
you can activate a summit anywhere in the world that's listed as a SOTA
summit.

I'm sure you'll get lots of other input from the group. Welcome to the
wacky world of QRP.

73,

Todd
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
K7TFC / Medford, Oregon, USA / CN82ni / UTC-8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QRP (CW & SSB) / EmComm / SOTA / Homebrew / Design

On 04/07/2013 14:12, Woody Hester wrote:

Ozarkcon is over too fast. We need
to make it a full week hi hi!&#92;

Or at least two full days! I could sit around and talk about
homebrewing for days. I just wish I could come down earlier. Perhaps
next time I'll take two days off and come down a day earlier.

--
Tom Sevart N2UHC
St. Paul, KS

 

A big thank you to Terry and all the others who made OzarkCon a success, also enjoyed eye balling

some of my PSK checkins suck as AC0BQ Jonnny , AC0WZ Dan and brother Bill, KA0KRN David

and W4RK Bill and N9PH  Jeremy.  Way to go fellows and come back often.

Ran into a bad hail storm at Beaumont, KS and had to park roadside for 15 minutes and that marble

size hail covered the ground. But my Toyota Prius survived w/o any dents through lots of prayers.

Enjoyed the fellowship and ready for next year.  Dick, N0TGR