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Author Topic: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....  (Read 1190 times)

W1VT

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #15 on: October 23, 2020, 10:46:12 AM »

I won first place in the Spring 1987 QRP ARCI contest running under 1 watt to a 86 ft open wire fed dipole and a 33 ft end fed wire operating out of 2nd floor apartment running off battery power.  Call back then was KH6CP/1.

Zak W1VT
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KM1H

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #16 on: October 23, 2020, 12:43:02 PM »

9 Band QRP DXCC, it took 30 years to finish on 160. Most of the time I was using 1930-40's gear, all CW of course.

And yes, a good location and antennas helped a lot.

Carl
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WB8VLC

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #17 on: October 23, 2020, 04:33:26 PM »

2 that stand out were both on 10 meter FM during the early spring of 2013, first one was on 29.6 FM simplex using a 5 watt Motorola Mt1000 handheld and the 11 inch NAB6064 rubber duck antenna talking in a roundtable with ZL1OK, JL1 TZQ and RA0FF for 10 minutes solid copy in all directions then around a month later using the same 5 watt HT with its rubber duck antenna was having a QSO also on 29.6 simplex with BV1DQ in Taiwan for several minutes.
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N8AUC

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #18 on: October 24, 2020, 07:55:54 PM »

I think it was 1981 or so.
I had an Argonaut 509, using a ground mounted 4-BTV with no radials.
Worked a Russian station on 20 meters SSB running about 3 watts output.
I was grinning ear to ear on that one.
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WB0FDJ

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #19 on: October 24, 2020, 09:07:56 PM »

Well this kind of pales in comparison to most of these stories....

I lived in North Dakota. Running a TT 509 and 3 watts to a 60ish foot end fed wire that ran out the window, on top of the roof and out into the back yard. 4/5/80 it's the Spring QRP ARCI contest and I've already worked 4 states, so I'm pumped. North Carolina was DX to me. Then out of the blue I work a JA2 on 10 M, 539 both ways. I sat looking at the radio for like 10 minutes. It occurred to me that he was my first JA!

Doc WB0FDJ
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KB1GMX

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #20 on: October 25, 2020, 01:13:07 PM »

One of many...

Argonaut 505, QRP actually 5WDC input to the finals, 40M early evening worked S54.
He replies to my what I'm running Argo505 with "you know it does 2.5-2.7W out",
my reply will don't put the hex on it. He replied not bad, 4-5 for that may watts phone.

Another time at NearFest, sitting in the truck and working a DL5.  Rig FT817,
mode SSB, antenna  MFJ 20M center loaded 20$ special. 

IF you don't try, you will never be heard!  One of the few times where
never is always.

Any time I can hear someone I give a call and the one consistent thing is
I usually get a response.  I generally run SSB and make sure the audio
is good and the antenna is decent. 

Allison
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KL7CW

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #21 on: October 25, 2020, 02:58:07 PM »

In about 1968 I operated FD portable with a simple home brew RX and TX which put out about 5 watts on 40 meter CW.  I was at a mountain campground in southern California.  I think I made around 150 QSO's, but this was no record back in the days when sunspots actually existed. I only had one key, my bug with me, and discovered that the monitor function in my RX completely failed.  Ever try sending with a bug and no monitor ? I had no spare parts or soldering equipment, so improvised.  I found where I could place a spit wad, and get just enough signal to monitor.  It was very dry outside, so I had to keep wetting the wad just a bit, if too much my eardrums were compromised, if not wet enough I was sending blind, but it worked just fine, and I am still proud that my "McGuiver" worked. Two hams at the other end of the campground had a complicated antenna, a big generator, and perhaps 100 pounds of equipment.  I walked down a few times, and they were always fooling with the generator, troubleshooting their equipment and antenna and doing lots of swearing.  I doubt that they even made 50 QSO's and even offered to loan my humble equipment and inverted V to them for a few hours so they could actually make some QSO's,  but they were not pleased that my less than $100 (junk) station and small battery pack out performed their big station by perhaps 6 to 1.  I have been FD chairman for big FD efforts, but most often I just run 5 watts in the woods by myself.  That day the KISS principle really demonstrated that it is valid.  I had fun, and tried not to gloat, but think that may be their final effort in that contest.  Long live KISS and QRP.            Rick  KL7CW   Palmer, Alaska
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KC6RWI

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #22 on: October 25, 2020, 09:03:02 PM »

Great story, KL7CW, and to quote a phrase from the past, I can dig it. was it Chilao camp grounds?
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KM1H

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #23 on: October 27, 2020, 04:57:55 PM »

Maybe next year when its warmer I'll take the TS-180 (80-10 including WARC), external VFO, matching tuner and a car battery to the ocean, about a 40 minute drive. Actually a parking area along a tidal salt marsh and creek feeding the ocean. Crank it down to 5W and see what happens on CW, no FT8, into a 60-90' sloping wire with a 4' ground rod and wire tossed into the water. Minimal walking...maybe 20' on level ground. When the tide is out I can walk to a sand bar and dig clams.

Ive had that radio over 20 years and only use it in the BR with the matching AC supply, havent took the matching tuner out of the box. That and other goodies came from a SK estate sale run by a CBer nephew, dirt cheap ...KISS.!!  It even came with a CW filter, the owner worked 40M mobile CW.

Carl
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KD6VXI

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #24 on: October 28, 2020, 10:27:52 AM »

Mine would have to be 10 meters, 4 watt carrier!!! AM.  Used a cut down "big stick" antenna with a steel whip on the top to cut it to 10 meters.  Moscow, Russia.

--Shane
KD6VXI
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K7CWQ

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #25 on: November 12, 2020, 07:48:52 AM »

My personal best was using ft817 (at full 5 watts) and PSK 31
for a qso to France from Central Oregon.  That was a fun day...
73
Loren
k7cwq
CN94
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KL7CW

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #26 on: November 12, 2020, 10:12:17 AM »

I set no records in my early years as a ham, but my story illustrates the many strange things we did back in the mid 1950's.  There were three of us and we were all about 13 to 15 years old.  One of the guys had a little red wagon.  We spent hours building and "perfecting" out solid state (CK-722, 2N107, etc.) and tube 1T4, etc. tx and rx designs.  We all admired the expensive real mobiles the "old guys" in the radio club had.  So we installed a home built battery powered RX and TX in the little red wagon with a fishing pole whip antenna and a loading coil of some type.  One fellow would sit in the wagon with legs draped over the front, another would pull the wagon, and the other would man the home radio shack. Early attempts yielded "DX" perhaps to the end of the driveway.  After many rebuilds, we could talk (with CW) around the suburban block.  Months later we extended our range so we could have a reliable CW QSO with the home station several blocks away.  We learned lots, and destroyed our share of those early transistors.  It was great fun for us, but we suffered great scorn from our Jr. High and later HS mates for our little red wagon expeditions.  Years later girls would avoid the strange "geeks" of the little red wagon gang, and getting dates for the Jr or Sr prom years later was not easy.  However all came out better than expected, we eventually even recruited girls to hike up into the hills and be the end support of our dipole at the top of a mountain, and even married "ham friendly" spouses who not only put up with us, but helped build antennas, bury radial wires, and even climb, although they had no personal interest in ham radio. I fondly remember these feeble QRP adventures which later became backpacking trips, etc. more than any DX I worked with my towers, Yagi, and 100 watt station.   Rick  KL7CW       
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KL7CW

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #27 on: November 20, 2020, 09:46:08 AM »

Years ago I was operating from my home station in Alaska with my KX-1 running about 1.5 watts.  I called a W6/6 station operating portable in a San Francisco park.  He was also running a KX-1 on internal batteries with less than 2 watts on 20 meters into a MP-1 antenna, which is a small vertical with minimal radials.  We rag chewed a while with very good signals in each direction.  Just to experiment we changed to 30 meters, still good readable signals but perhaps an S unit or so lower.  After a long rag chew, we then decided to try 40 meters, not really expecting much.  Once again good copy both ways, but he was still well above the noise level.  After solid rag chewing for quite a while we wanted to try 80 meters, but either it was too dark in SF or he did not have an 80 meter coil so never could try that.  Neither of us even missed a word on any of these 3 bands for our several hour QSO.  I should have taken my KX-1 outside with my portable antenna for this experiment, but think it would have worked OK also.  I am sure that the MP-1 cannot be very efficient on 40 meters, possibly less than 10 percent.  SF is about 2000 miles from my QTH NE of Anchorage.  On 20 meters, even with his MP-1, I think we could have maintained the QSO down to a few milliwatts.  He needed to pack up and hike home using only the small logging light built into his KX-1.  We did have some sunspots back then, so that was part of the success. Also part of the path was over seawater, and was probably 2 hops, so that helped, especially on the lower bands.  PS, wire antennas thrown up in a tree nearly always outperform small, cute, expensive portable antennas.                  Rick  KL7CW
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KD5TXX

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #28 on: November 26, 2020, 12:08:42 PM »

I took my 817 on a campout with my son who was a Cub Scout around 2008.  Set it up on a picnic table and proceeded to call CQ.  I was using SSB at the time.  We were in MS.  I had a PAR EF 10-20-40 that I had use a tuner on and was on 17m.  First call a Canadian station came back and said ā€œ hey Ed..how are you this week.ā€  I had worked him a few weeks previously from my home.  All the kids and adults thought it was amazing that I threw up an antenna in the woods and some guy from Canada came right back and actually knew me.  I’m amazed I talked to anyone with as little as I knew about how to set up a QRP station.
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WB8VLC

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Re: Your proudest moment as a QRP operator....
« Reply #29 on: February 03, 2021, 12:19:29 PM »

My proudest moment as a qrp op was tossing out all of my crummy little nonsense, silly, life is too short qrp radios and getting a real radio and a kilowatt  amp.

Why make the poor sucker on the other end of the RF link strain his hearing.
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