Short of you perhaps running a smoking-hot full kilowatt-plus of RF into a 5-element Yagi at 100-feet on the HF bands, have you noticed that the RST signal reports you receive from most CW stations that are running QRP are generally well above those that you might otherwise normally get on CW...? I certainly have here --- and it did not take an especially long time for me to finalize just why that is so, either...
Low-powered operation has always occupied a special place within me, one that hearkens back to my very first amateur radio station of nearly a half-century ago. My transmitter then consisted of a simple home-brewed crystal-controlled two staged 6T9 “compactron” tube affair, gleaned from the pages of the March 1971 issue of QST magazine. On a good day, it was capable of 8-watts of input to the final amplifier stage --- or roughly 5-watts of usable RF output, in conformance with the vast majority of QRP work that is conducted to-day. Not having any sort of a QRO powerhouse in those formative and “...perennially broke” university student days of yore, the 6T9 rig performed near-daily mainstay yeoman's service for some 2 – 3 years at VE3CUI.
Now, I hardly even pretend to lay any claim whatsoever to my holding the pretentious title of “...World's #1 Foremost And Astute Amateur Radio Operator,” but the lessons that low power operation impressed upon me then, continue in their relevance and inviolability to this very day, some 45 years later --- and they are well-worth repeating here for your benefit, too, should they have never been ingrained through personal dint of “...the school of hard knocks” in your formative years.
“Lesson #1” rates at that level, first and foremost, because it is of supreme importance no matter what power level you may choose to operate at --- and that lesson, simply enough, is this: “Listen, Listen, LISTEN...!!!” You can't work them, if you can't hear them; likewise, they can't work you, if they can't hear you. And surely running practically neck-and-neck with “Lesson #2,” is timing: time your calls specifically so as to maximize the chances of your being heard by the station that you are after. Remember, all things being equal, your 5-watts of QRP automatically places you at some 13 db. below the average 100-watt signal(s) competing to be heard alongside you! That's more than a commanding 2-units advantage (assuming that one “S”-unit is the equivalent of 6 db.) that the competition out there has over your little peanut whistle signal, and right from the very get-go, too! Your atypical “pile-up style” of mob-calling practically ensures that there will be very few, to no, successful entries in your log to show for all the expended effort. So don't even think about it...
Your best bet is to stealthily dole-out your callsign primarily on those occasions when it might otherwise be the least expected --- like immediately after the station that is the one you are after signs-off a QSO, or perhaps following quickly when some other station completes his call to him, with you hoping that your desired prey maybe missed the other caller, but heard you. And for goodness sake, absolutely NO belaboured honking-out of any “3x3” calls here, either! KEEP IT BRIEF: send just your callsign, the one time --- do not drag it out. Just as long as the recipient can make-out even just a letter, or two, of your moniker, you are sure to get a “QRZ?” in reply, with your broken call letters tossed into the mix. That is your proverbial “foot in the door” of success, so try to gain access into the other station's passband in any way that might be expedient, yet still remaining within accepted, and good, Ham radio protocol.
When you finally do establish contact, never simply assume that your signal is the proverbial “...arm chair copy” at the other end. Forego any temptation to share your innermost personal experiences, until it might be established as to just how well you are actually being copied. To that end, it is my opinion that, as a QRP station, you should always convey your actual power level to the other station first, such that he might come to appreciate the critical importance of good listening, himself --- only then tell him the usual “...RST is,” plus your abbreviated QTH, and name.
At that point, let freedom reign supreme, and carry-on with your QSO in the normal fashion...!
Now, what about the notion of you simply calling “CQ”...? There's certainly nothing at all wrong with that approach, assuming that the band you are on is capable of supporting propagation to some place, or other, that it is not satiated with inordinate QRM --- as in an on-going contest --- and that there is not a proliferation of static crashes and other QRN that might hamper your signal from being heard. I would often call “CQ” back in the day, discounting the very real possibility-probability that my general calls were maybe little more than plaintive “...Hail Mary” pleas(!), sometimes adding “/QRP” after my callsign to perhaps entice a few Hams tuning about to pause and respond to me, more out of curiosity as to what exact power level it was that their receiver was capable of detecting, than anything else. Who knows...? When you are running low power, you take advantage of any and every opportunity that might present itself.
As much as you may (possibly) dislike on-the-air contests, they do serve as an excellent forum, or opportunity, for you to test the overall effectiveness of your QRP station. These days, practically all major events all seem to sponsor “QRP Class” entries anymore, and contest participants really are keen to maximize their contest points and multipliers, so they will strain to copy you through all of the adjacent crowding. Just remember to be quick with your contest exchange, and to not expect anything more than the usual “599-State-Serial Number.” The QRS, and painfully repetitive station, will very quickly be dispensed with, as the avid competitive contester anxiously moves onto his next QSO.
Anyone steeped in the fine art of QRP is able to appreciate the fact that superior operating technique and timing can all be effectively negated by the use of less-than-stellar hardware --- particularly in the antenna department. Now, not everyone can boast of being blessed with a resonant multi-element beam looming high above their shack, but successful low-power operators exert serious effort in erecting the most efficient sky-hook set-up as their resources might allow...and that entails squeezing every last drop of efficiency as possible out of their antenna(s) of choice. After all, what is the final link between your QRP transmitter and a QSO, if not your aerial...? It is the sole component in the equation that you still have control over --- the rest (apart from operator skill) is dictated by the infinitesimal vagaries of propagation and natural background noise and static on the band. All that, surely, but sometimes even seasoned with a bit of fate, too...or as some prefer to call it, "..just plain ol' dumb luck,” be it good, or bad...!
Of course, efficient and effective hardware is most certainly not confined strictly to the realm of antennas: a good receiver --- or at least, possessing the skill and the ability to coax the best performance out of whatever receiver it may be that you have in your shack --- is vital, too. Again, and at the risk of repeating myself, “You can't work them, if you can't hear them...” There really is considerable onus placed upon the quality of your “ears” even if the station that you are working might run the full legal limit of output power.
So --- as mentioned at the very start of this piece, how does all this elevated operating practice on the part of the successful QRP devotee translate into his maybe blessing you with a better RST report than you might otherwise expect to get from “normal” stations on the band...? The answer is quite simple: the techniques of dedicated low-power operators seem to naturally carry-over to all other aspects of their Ham radio hobby. Not only are their transmitting abilities heightened for maximum effectiveness, so, too, are their receiving resources. In short, “...you get” as good as “...they give” --- and thank heavens that QRP-types are cognizant of the fact that the letter “S” in “RST” does not stand for “...'S'-meter reading,” as I am firmly convinced so very many amateurs on the air to-day, are...
In summation, QRP'ers, by deliberate choice, elect not to possess the luxury of the high power wattage that might allow them to blithely ignore critical elements in Ham radio procedure and exchanges. They simply can not afford to avoid them, on risk of tallying-up log sheets with no entries whatsoever in them. Now, does all this translate into, perhaps, maybe suggesting that the quality of low-power aficionados is somehow “...better” than the bulk of the “...Great Unwashed” amongst us...? No, of course not...!!!
But fans of QRP do benefit from the personal experience, first-hand, of learning and appreciating what others are doubtlessly so blissfully denying themselves, by being comfortably ensconced at the controls of “...crowbar-steam-roller QRO-type” set-ups such as they are --- and that, simply enough, is just this: QRP fans delight in testing the absolute limits of being able to communicate effectively, by simply maximizing everything that is in their personal power to do so...with the singular exception of exceeding 5-watts (or less) of RF output.
In the final analysis, isn't that what the very noble tradition of yore had it that Ham radio operators all were in the first place, i.e. “...tinkerers and experimenters”...? For some strange unknown reason, that fact, alone, bestows a “warm and fuzzy feeling,” deep within me...!
-Edward “Eddy” Peter Swynar (VE3CUI – VE3XZ)
| KF4HR | 2020-09-14 | |
|---|---|---|
| Re: Starting Life as a QRP Station | ||
| It's a pretty safe bet that the majority of hams on the HF bands use at least 100 watts. Perhaps the toughest part of a QRP QSO is the station at the other end struggling to hear 5 watt stations. Reply to a comment by : K0RGI on 2020-08-30 I didn't start out as a QRP operator, but slowly gravitated over time. I now operate at 5 watts the vast majority of the time, and typically only bump up the power when I need to complete the QSO or am participating in an event without a QRP class. Even then, both of my station rigs (Elecraft KX-3 and SGC SG-2020) tip the scales at only 15 watts and 20 watts respectively. Operating QRP does teach you a lot about listening and properly timing your calls. Too bad more of the QRO ops never learned that lesson. During a contest I find myself, when hearing a station constantly calling and trying to outmuscle everyone else, hoping against hope that they either make the contact or give up and go somewhere else so others can have a chance. 72, Jim - K0RGI | ||
| KK7SS | 2020-09-14 | |
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| Re: Starting Life as a QRP Station | ||
| QRP is 5W CW and 10W SSB. 100W is QRO And I see you have several High Power Amps. My First rig (home brewed in 1964) put out a magnificent 1.3! I now have 3 QRP rigs that run 2 - 10W! My 50W local rag-chew is usually OFF. Each to his own :-) Reply to a comment by : K6AER on 2020-09-04 QRP is 100 watts. Reply to a comment by : K0RGI on 2020-08-30 I didn't start out as a QRP operator, but slowly gravitated over time. I now operate at 5 watts the vast majority of the time, and typically only bump up the power when I need to complete the QSO or am participating in an event without a QRP class. Even then, both of my station rigs (Elecraft KX-3 and SGC SG-2020) tip the scales at only 15 watts and 20 watts respectively. Operating QRP does teach you a lot about listening and properly timing your calls. Too bad more of the QRO ops never learned that lesson. During a contest I find myself, when hearing a station constantly calling and trying to outmuscle everyone else, hoping against hope that they either make the contact or give up and go somewhere else so others can have a chance. 72, Jim - K0RGI | ||
| K6AER | 2020-09-04 | |
|---|---|---|
| Re: Starting Life as a QRP Station | ||
| QRP is 100 watts. Reply to a comment by : K0RGI on 2020-08-30 I didn't start out as a QRP operator, but slowly gravitated over time. I now operate at 5 watts the vast majority of the time, and typically only bump up the power when I need to complete the QSO or am participating in an event without a QRP class. Even then, both of my station rigs (Elecraft KX-3 and SGC SG-2020) tip the scales at only 15 watts and 20 watts respectively. Operating QRP does teach you a lot about listening and properly timing your calls. Too bad more of the QRO ops never learned that lesson. During a contest I find myself, when hearing a station constantly calling and trying to outmuscle everyone else, hoping against hope that they either make the contact or give up and go somewhere else so others can have a chance. 72, Jim - K0RGI | ||
| KM6ZX | 2020-09-02 | |
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| Starting Life as a QRP Station | ||
| I've only run low power (15 W or less), and it has been a steep learning curve. I have learned many of the lessons the hard way that are described above. But on a quiet night, it is a joy to copy another QRP station at S1 or S2 and carry on a complete rag chew with somebody operating from a remote location. Those are the contacts I try to find and cherish the most. | ||
| VK2NZA | 2020-09-02 | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Life as a QRP Station | ||
| I'm not a QRP operator however it appears to me that a great part of running low power is to raise the best antenna/transmission system possible within the budget and scope of QTH. As suggested an operator may have the $10,000 transceiver, and the monster amp but again the real gain is in the antenna. In more recent times as i have been able to put up better and higher antennas (all wires) giving stronger signals and allowing me to reduce my output to well under 10 watts on my 100 watt rigs when operating, reducing my footprint and idling my finals for longer life if nothing else. | ||
| K0RGI | 2020-08-30 | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Life as a QRP Station | ||
| I didn't start out as a QRP operator, but slowly gravitated over time. I now operate at 5 watts the vast majority of the time, and typically only bump up the power when I need to complete the QSO or am participating in an event without a QRP class. Even then, both of my station rigs (Elecraft KX-3 and SGC SG-2020) tip the scales at only 15 watts and 20 watts respectively. Operating QRP does teach you a lot about listening and properly timing your calls. Too bad more of the QRO ops never learned that lesson. During a contest I find myself, when hearing a station constantly calling and trying to outmuscle everyone else, hoping against hope that they either make the contact or give up and go somewhere else so others can have a chance. 72, Jim - K0RGI | ||