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Reviews For: Wilderness Sierra

Category: QRP Radios (5 watts or less)

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Review Summary For : Wilderness Sierra
Reviews: 26MSRP: 245 with 1 band module
Description:
A battery friendly multiband QSK CW rig of circa 3W output
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.fix.net/~jparker/wilderness/sierra.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00265
W0RW Rating: 2000-04-27
Now have WAS & DXCC with Sierra Time Owned: more than 12 months.
i built my sierra in 1996 and now have KC2 and
DL-PA. PA brings power up to 3 watts on 28 MHz
depending on supply voltage.
Got Millenium DXCC in 3 months with a dipole only
12 feet off the ground.
It was a lot of fun building too...i put a speaker
in the top and added magnetic cover latches.
i have all modules except 24 MHz.
i built a band module for 164 kHz but it only
works on receive. Anyone ever try to build one for
50 MHz ? or in the new 5 Mhz ham band?
72 de w0rw@aol.com
K2QO Rating: 2000-04-26
Superb Milliwatt and /P Rig Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought my Sierra used from a fellow QRPer on the QRP-L in February 2000. It came with all of the options, KC2, NB and all band modules (3 unbuilt). During the past 2 months, I am continually amazed at the quality of the receiver, the beautiful CW signal, and the overall ergonomics of the rig, not to mention the low power consumption, silky QSK and rugged construction.

The only negative aspect of this rig is that band changes take a few seconds. But, the modules and their mating connector are very robust! I doubt that they could be worn out by even the most avid user.

I now use this rig for about 98% of my CW work. I have it set for about 800 mW on 20M which translates to one watt on 40M down to 500mW on 10M. Using a ZM-2 tuner, 300 ohm ladder line to a 60' dipole up 30' I am 1/2 way to DXCC with all QSO's at less than 1W.

Of the rigs I have used, the Sierra sports the larges fun per dollar!
JL1KRA Rating: 2000-02-21
Nice Rig for any QRP purpose Time Owned: unknown months.
Made Sierra with KC-2 and 80/40/30/20/17 band units,
I totally satidfied it. Nice clean QSK and no QRH.
ABX worked fine either to monitor SSB or join CW contest. Wide coverage 150Khz VFO. Protable but full of information is provided by KC-2 integrated LCD display/keyer.

Tend to have low power output in high-band.
Now my Sierra is 1.5W in 14MHz. Lot of effort to incerase band module. I recomennd you to start one or two modules.
MW0AWC Rating: 1999-12-28
Great rig, fun to build, wonderful as a backpacker Time Owned: unknown months.
My previous experience with kit-building was with relatively simple ones and no toroids. The kit manual for the Sierra is very well presented and easy to follow and the rig fired up on its first go and alignment with my IC-735 was painless. I am impressed with its performance. Its receiver is as good as the IC-735 except in the presence of strong signals, and its crystal ladder filter is top notch (pun intended). I have taken it camping, cycling and backpacking - a 15 volt 1000mA Ni-Cad cell battery pack lasts for many hours of operation. I have put together a fully self-contained HF station into a small padded children's lunch box: the Sierra, 3 band modules, multi-band dipole antenna, Whiterook paddles, earphones and battery pack. Fits in a backpack or cycle pannier without adding too much weight. Overall I love the rig and hope others will enjoy it and build it....
W3BBO Rating: 1999-10-17
Sweet little rig! Time Owned: unknown months.
Retired in June, 1999 and the Sierra was a gift to myself. Purchased the 80, 40, 30, 20, 15, 10 meter band modules and the KC2 Keyer/Counter/Meter. Got to be real good at winding toroids. Messed up on the T2 transformer between the driver and power amp, but decided to finish the kit. When aligning, I had difficulty obtaining the 2 to 3 watts out, so I rewound T2 and now the output on all bands are within specs!

Using a R-5 Vertical and a horizontal 80 meter loop up 30 feet or so, the Sierra has performed beyond expectations. I used the rig in the California QSO party and made 201 contacts. In the PA QSO party, I had my best outing ever with 310 QSOs and just over 100k points. The receiver does a very nice job under crowded contest band conditions!

Any complaints? Only that plugging in band modules takes some time; especially when switching to a different band, only to find it closed. In that case, the K2 would be ideal (and probably be my next rig), however the Sierra is small, power friendly and a joy to use.
AB7CE Rating: 1999-09-19
Great QRP rig Time Owned: unknown months.
Great fun to be had here. If you are looking for a low power rig that is VERY battery friendly, yet has the essential features, this is it. And premium performance. You will be amazed at what you can do with this rig. Roy AB7CE