/QRP suffix in call sign

[WA4FNG]

Very good points for boys and girls!  I bought a 4W XCVR with the idea of playing QRP.  However, I gave that up because of the guilt I felt because I was feeding into my tribander which would give me a theoretical 32W of ERP.  Which is hardly QRP.

I think QRP operators should limit themselves to a wire antenna.

I have a friend in Germany who operates QRP with a 20M dipole which is 9ft off the ground!  He works all over the world and I admire this.  (For various reasons)  He asks no quarter.

I disagree -- part of the fun of running low power is the challenge of maximizing the antenna to achieve the best signal and contacts that you can. Sure, I would be impressed to work someone with an antenna only 9' off the ground, but to say you should limit yourself to such an inefficient setup doesn't make sense to me.
73, Milt

[N4KZ]

I've run QRP at 4 or 5 watts out off and on for many years. Usually, I've done so with good antennas -- yagis on a tower, etc. At times, that combination doesn't present much of a challenge because most QSOs attempted pretty much go into the log automatically. For a while, I was running a lot of SSB QRP on 20 meters and working everyone I could hear DX-wise. Many guys were blown away when I told them I was running just 5 watts. Of course, the 3-element SteppIR yagi up 55 feet was doing all the work.

I've run across those who feel that true QRP should only be done with wire antennas. Antennas with more gain, they reason, might constitute "cheating" because contacts become too easy to make. In a way I see their point but most of the time I never really wanted to limit myself to dipoles 9 feet up. That is until recently.

For some reason, I have always been fascinated with the idea of working DX from a small portable rig with a whip antenna plugged into the back. Hence, I have taken to running my FT-817ND with my Miracle Whip plugged into the rear coax connector. This is a REAL challenge because the low power is being fed into a really, really inefficient antenna which is designed for convenience over efficiency.

To date, I have worked quite a few stations. On my first day, I moved the QRP gear out of my basement ham shack up to the dining room table on the first floor. At the time, the strongest signals were on 20 meters so I decided to start there. My first two QSOs were with a D4 in Cape Verde and then a British fellow. Both used yagis which made it easier for them to hear me. But I got quite a rush from running a rig in the house with the antenna attached to the back! (I'd done this earlier on 6 meter SSB using the 6m whip that came with the 817 and working strong E-skip signals all around the Midwest when the band was open. Very surreal.)

An artificial barrier, for sure, (since I'm not limited at all with antennas and have a tower and big yagi outside) but one I think creates a new level of interest for me.

DXCC with a Miracle Whip on the back of the rig?

Who knows. Could be fun to find out.

73, Dave, N4KZ

[NZ9Y]

 CQ  Pleeeeeeease! CQ, NZ9Y/HOA  

Or how about:

NZ9Y/AA  (Attic antenna)
NZ9Y/FDL (Forgot to switch from the dummy load)
NZ9Y/17.6:1 (Should buy a VSWR bridge someday)
NZ9Y/QRS (Need to practice more)
NZ9Y/OSB (Opposite sideband)
NZ9Y/QRP/QRO/QRP/QRO (Can't solder PL239s)