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Author Topic: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP  (Read 994 times)

KU3X

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #15 on: July 08, 2022, 07:00:14 AM »


........Problem is, everyone else in our group doesn't want to do that, and I think you only get the 5x multiplier if everyone at your site is QRP.


I suggested QRP to our local club. Like you, nobody else wanted to go that route either. Hence the reason my friend and I set up our own QRP FD.

Like WB6BYU said....."Location".   How true that is !

I live on the east coast and my one friend lives in Floydsknobs, IN. We were talking contests. He pointed out to me that for a stateside contest he is much better off where he is compared to where I am. How true. To my east.....water. For him no matter what direction he looks, he has lots of state side stations that he can work.

Barry, KU3X

« Last Edit: July 08, 2022, 07:03:25 AM by KU3X »
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WB6BYU

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #16 on: July 08, 2022, 10:31:28 AM »

Quote from: KU3X

...I live on the east coast and my one friend lives in Floydsknobs, IN. We were talking contests. He pointed out to me that for a stateside contest he is much better off where he is compared to where I am. How true. To my east.....water. For him no matter what direction he looks, he has lots of state side stations that he can work.



Of course, a station on the coast can use a beam pointed inland
without missing too many stations.  (We can always work KH6
and KL7 regardless of our antenna, due to the shorter path
lengths.)

But it is a function of both direction and distance.  Here in
Oregon we have to work longer distances to contact the
same number of stations as a station on the East coast.
And Indiana can work both coasts on single-hop paths,
while we need two hops to cover the East coast.

All of those are factors to be considered if you are trying
to optimize for maximum contacts, or just see how many
states you can work.

KH6AQ

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #17 on: July 13, 2022, 01:25:41 PM »

Just about all my FD operations have been QRP from the west coast. As you say, it's all S&P. CW is the way to go and running wire antennas I'd usually get a bit above 400 QSOs. One year propagation was really poor and after two hours I upped it to 100W.
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KC3TEC

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #18 on: November 18, 2022, 04:51:24 PM »

Location makes a big difference!



exactly, soil composition and conductivity affect propagation often drastically.
an antenna that gets excellent results in LA will have a much different result in Georgia or Maine.
given your location its a bit of a crap shoot to depend on manufacturers specs or even modeling software.
you can get an idea from the simulation, but unless you actually map out the nulls and lobes, its just a best guess.
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K6SDW

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #19 on: November 18, 2022, 05:33:00 PM »

qRP? the antenna is everything...look forward to working U next Field Day

73/GL
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NO9E

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #20 on: January 24, 2023, 05:36:43 PM »

This is a late post.

One reason why SSB is hard  with qrp radios is poor speech processors. Kx2, kx3, ft817 etc have inefficient signal. Drive them with tentec 715 and they sound like an amp was added.

Using regular higher level radios throttled down to 5w solves the problem.

Ignacy NO9E
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NB3R

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #21 on: January 25, 2023, 02:49:08 AM »

I know this is an old thread, but I worked with Barry, KU3X, on our two man CW only, QRP field day. 

We made 607 Qs. We worked Hawaii and Alaska (quite and achievement with 5w from the east coast).  We even managed to work F5IN on the 80 meters. 

I didn't laugh too hard when Barry tried SSB.  ;D

We had a lot of fun.


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Dave
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www.nb3r.com

K0RS

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #22 on: January 25, 2023, 09:56:31 AM »

A number years ago I did a 2A QRP FD with the Buena Vista, CO club from the top of Poncha Pass.  Poncha is between Salida and Saguache, CO (pronounced SA-WATCH).  Despite wasting a station on SSB (not enough CW ops, classic FD problem) we still finished 3rd nationally.
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"90% of the people in a pile-up have no idea what's going on.  It's up to you to be in the remaining 10%."  *W9KNI*

N2TO

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #23 on: January 28, 2023, 08:45:18 PM »

I ran two FDs as 1B-Battery, one EPA and another WNY. CW and SSB 5W. Ten-Tec Scout on CW and MFJ-9420 and MFJ-9440 on SSB. The MFJ rigs had excellent processor. I ensured all were 5W out on SLA battery. 67' doublet. Did well, cannot find results, still Googling. S&P. Maybe have paperwork.

73 Kevin N2TO 
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N2TO

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #24 on: January 28, 2023, 09:00:30 PM »

2000 EPA 1B-Battery 5W 188 QSOs. SFI now is what it was about then. Didn't give it a full blast effort. Stayed with YL's family so worked around dinner Saturday, etc. Oper Sunday morning on 40M before heading home.

73 Kevin N2TO
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N4OGW

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #25 on: January 30, 2023, 09:38:12 AM »

N4OGW FD 2007: 954 cw qsos QRP/1B (single radio, not so2r). I used a K2 @5W and two ladder-line fed dipoles.

Single transmitter qrp FD is fun because you can always pick the band that has the best propagation. Multi-transmitter qrp is not as fun because it is very tough on ssb and on the bands with not so good propagation.

Tor N4OGW
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KH6AQ

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #26 on: February 03, 2023, 08:58:12 AM »

The majority of my ARRL Field Day operations have been QRP. A group of us operated many times in 1C mobile class QRP from a sailboat moored at Catalina Island in California. It was just about all S&P with ~400 Qs achieved.
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WB6BYU

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Re: Field Day and experiences running 5W QRP
« Reply #27 on: February 05, 2023, 10:53:49 AM »

The local club decided to run QRP to reduce interference
among stations.  After 2 very frustrating years, they went
back to 100 watts, where it was much easier to make
contacts on SSB.

It didn't really make much difference for me, the only CW
operator.  I'd still make 200 - 300 QSOs, depending on
how long I stayed at the site.  (I like a real bed sometimes.)
My limiting factor was my CW skills, rather than the output
power.

But it was a huge difference for the SSB stations.  We'd always
give them the best antennas, and they would struggle for
just a few contacts.   They didn't have to struggle nearly as
hard at 100W, and Field Day was a lot more fun.  I'm sure
that attention to output power and effective speech processing
would help further, but these weren't serious operators.


I'd still usually make more contacts on CW than all three SSB
stations combined, but they came closer to parity.
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