My good friend Bob W3BBO just e-mailed me that he was able to nab K6JSS/6 from California before the Special Event station moves on to Massachusetts in all of about 7 minutes.
That got me to thinking how perfect the PFR3, and radios like it are for folks like my friend Bob, who are in antenna challenged circumstances. Bob lives in an apartment now after many years of house owning. While he could have thrown a hunk of wire out the window (he lives on the second floor) he opted to go out to the car and hook up his PFR3 to a Hamstick.
Think of the situation .... it's dark here on the East coast already as Autumn is now officially here. Throw the Hamstick on the car and hook up the radio. In his case, Bob has the attached paddles. The internal battery holders mean no fussing around with an SLA or anything else. The red LED frequency display is perfect for evening operations. Hook up the antenna, power up the rig and go to town! Set up is what - all of a couple of minutes in this case (if that) ? And it worked for him, so that makes it all the more sweeter!
Thanks go out to Steve Weber, Hendricks QRP Kits and Elecraft for coming up with and offering these trail friendly radios. They are great - even when not used on the trail!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Good morning Larry, yes the portable rigs are great. I have the Elecraft KX1 and have many times gone out to the car and operated. I also use the ham stick which works great. The only draw back is the winter. In the past I have used the Miracle whip antenna and others like it for indoor operations. It may not be the best antenna but it sure beats sitting in the car during the cold winter.
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