Profiles in QRP - Resurrected!

This was something I tried back in 2013.  "Interviewing" accomplished QRPers and posting their thoughts here.  I stopped it for a while due to a lack of response from some people that I had asked to be interviewed.  I am going to give this another shot, as I feel it's an interesting and worthwhile project.  I originally intended a different spotlight each month, but I am going to try and shoot for one each quarter of the year.

I'm a firm believer that we all can learn from each other and that is one of the main purposes of this blog - not only to let me gab on and on and on until you get sick of me - but I also hope I am imparting some knowledge or at least a few good tidbits along the way.

This interview was done back in 2013, but was never published. Our guest this month is Ann Byers, K1QO.  I met Ann several years ago through the QRP Fox hunts.  Not only is Ann a superb human being, she is also an accomplished CW operator and a QRPer.  Since this interview, Ann has gone on to become a licensed pilot. She has a wicked fist and not only have I heard Ann in the QRP Fox hunt pileups, I've also heard her in contests. I guarantee that she can go toe-to-toe with any of the best!

So without further ado - our guest, Ann Byers K1QO.

1) How did you first become interested in Amateur Radio?

 My first introduction to ham radio was at the home of a friend when I was in the fifth grade, her dad was a ham.  I thought radio was magic. He had a tower on the side of their house in Haverhill, Massachusetts.  The idea of being able to communicate to another station so far away made a huge impression on me.  We moved away and I lost contact with my friend but I knew ham radio was something I would try at some point during my life.  I drooled over the crystal radio kit that I saw in Radio Shack a year later, and asked for it as a Christmas gift but back then little girls were not encouraged to build radios...glad times have changed.  Almost 4 decades later,  after turning 50 years old, I had some extra time to dedicate as study time to get my ticket and start the road to learning code.

2) How long have you been licensed?

It's been over nine years!!!!  I was licensed since late in February of 2004 as KB1KVU, then obtained the call AB1DR after passing my extra in April of 2004,  In 2006 I  applied for and was issued K1QO.

3) What drew you to QRP?

I've always been impressed with what low power,  CW, and simple wire antennas can do.   I get a major thrill out of 5 watts to New Zealand or participating in the last NAQCC mW contest and logging over a dozen contacts in an hour running 900 mW...it just doesn't get any better than that in radio.   I've never wanted to own an amp, for what I do in the hobby I don't want to use a megaphone to talk to someone across the table from me when I can be heard using  a quiet voice.

4) Who has been your biggest QRP influence?

Besides my patient and wonderful Elmer, N1IX,  I have to say the QRP Foxhunt Group and a lot of the folks from New England QRP Seacoast Chapter have been major forces in keeping me alive in the hobby...it's been a much steeper learning curve than I ever expected but I've had help and support every time I hit snags and that's thanks to the QRP community.   The QRP Fox Hunt group has some of the best and most supportive op's in the hobby!!!!  I had been licensed for about a year when I started in the QRP fox hunts during the 2004-2005 winter season.  It's impossible to name just one person who has had a major QRP influence on me because being new in the hobby I still have so much to learn; N1IX is a wonderful Elmer.  K4BAI a CW Olympiad who supports the hobby 1000% and who I admire as the ultimate team player has been a constant source of inspiration and awe.  I must also include:  N9NE, (exceptional op, has given me loads of tips, suggestions and has been a great source of mobile advice/experience), W2LJ a great friend, FB op, and his blog is a constant flow of what is happening and what can be done in the hobby, WC7S, incredible motivator, antenna guru, K9CW, another great team player and exceptional op who will go the extra mile for new folks, K9JWV, always great moral support and has given me lots of  super advice,  N0UR, the MN QRP contesting phenom who put up with a mW Facebook Fest, as he did fox duty,  a true showing on how great an op can be and how effective QRPp can be, that gave me guts to try QRPp.  N9AW is probably a major game changer for a very large group with his creation of the Facebook QRP FoxHunt group...it's created a new dimension and sense of camaraderie that I truly enjoy.  K3WWP is also someone I admire and has been a very positive influence...NAQCC has a huge membership and wonderful contests. K7QO has been a continued source of help with the books he's "translated" to CW...his IPad app is great tool and can be used to set for just about any speed.   At the top of the table locally W1FMR, the founder of New England QRP Club, W1PID for inspirational outdoor operating adventures and K0ZK for his incredible spirit and technical know how, Arn is a treasure.  KD1JV for his wonderful, portable kits, light weight and his vision of the ultimate in a trail rig...it just makes you want to go on a hike and operate!!!  There are many others who have influenced me in the hobby as well.

5) What is your favorite QRP activity?

 I enjoy the QRP Foxhunts, low level contesting and chasing DX, they are all fun and it's a good way for me to keep trying to improve my CW skills.  Operating outdoors has always been a blast I hope to do more in the future.

 6) What's your favorite piece of QRP gear (past or present)?

 ATS-3 (KD1JV design) it's a gem...it's so cool, four bands and puts out 5W w/ 12 volts and weighs a few ounces.

7) Describe your current QRP station.

Right now I'm using a KX3 to an OCF dipole at about 30'.

8) What is your fondest QRP memory.

There are a few, probably the best memory I have is my first two-fur in the QRP Fox Hunt, the foxii were K4BAI and N9NE...it was in early December, 2005 and I was having a tough time, I had breast cancer surgery and was going through radiation...after getting the two-fur I did a dance around the living room!!!!!  The other memory I have is a funny one.  Early in my start as a ham N1IX was trying to teach me to work split on the K2 I had just built.   By accident I transmitted on the transmitting stations frequency, he was working up one...I messed up setting up split I was so embarrassed I wanted to shut the radio off and quit trying.  N1IX told me, "don't worry, that's the great thing about QRP, no one can hear you".   He was joking but I believed him, I didn't know so I stayed on the air...wow I would learn very quickly how funny that comment was.  I won't fall for that joke again, but I still accidently transmit on the transmitting stations frequency, so does everyone...hopefully I won't do it often and hopefully either someone will let me know I'm accidently doing it or I'll realize quickly that I'm making a mistake.

9) What other hobbies/interests do you enjoy when your not on the radio?

I love my dog, a Border Terrier named Kally, enjoy hiking, play golf, swim, solar energy and have a small flock of chickens for fresh eggs...they are all named so they will never be on the dinner table.

Thanks, Ann!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Profiles in QRP - Volume 2 - Todd Fonstad N9NE

One of the nicest things about participating in the QRP Fox Hunts, is the people that you get to meet, get to know, and get to become friendly with.  Some of the nicest folks on this blue marble that we call the Earth, participate in those Hunts.

Early on, I noticed there was always one station in particular that would ALWAYS blow my ears out - whether I was serving as Fox, or even when I was hearing him in the pack as a fellow Hound.  I would think to myself, "Just who is this N9NE guy?  Where the heck is he and what's with that killer signal?!?"  I also thought that Todd's signal was the loudest QRP signal I had ever heard!. Whenever Todd came on the air, I always felt like the guy in the radio control room from that episode of the Little Rascals - "The International Silver String Submarine Band".

If I didn't get the cans off my ears, I was certain to have a temporary hearing loss for at least a couple hours! I got to know Todd over the years from the Hunts, from e-mails and one-on-one QSOs on the air. Todd is one of the good people and one of the best QRPers that I know.  So without further ado:

1) How did you first become interested in Amateur Radio?

My father bought me a Knight Kit 'Ocean Hopper' regenerative receiver for Christmas in 1957. I had to assemble it. Little did he ever imagine what a gift that would turn out to be!  I had a neighbor, W9DPN, who was a ham, and he helped me along and let me listen to his conversations.There was a W0 station who used to send MCW practice on 40M, and I used to copy him, along with W1AW. The code came naturally to me. Our little city of 3500 had an active ham radio club of almost 40 members, and in 1958, there were a number of us middle and high-schoolers who got our novice and conditional licenses. No internet then! My grandfather gave me his 1928 vibroplex 'bug' (he had been a telegrapher on the 'Soo Line RR', and I started using it immediately.) I never had a hand key until years later.

2) How long have you been licensed?

March, 1958 as KN9LWV (55 years).

3) What drew you to QRP?

A friend lent me one of the first Ten-Tec QRP rigs back around 1972 or so, and I took it to the lake cottage. I was amazed at the stations I could contact. BTW, when I first got my conditional in 1959, I contacted Houston, TX with my Heathkit VF-1 VFO!  I imagine there were some harmonics involved. When Heathkit came out with its HW-8, I bought and assembled it and used it portable from a number of locations as well as on some Field Days back in the 1970s. This was before there was a QRP division in contests. For me, the challenge of QRP keeps me interested: QRO (except for DX on 160M) is just too easy!

4) Who has been your biggest QRP influence?

(Hard to answer. I'm going to hve to leave a lot of deserving folks out of this ;)  Local friends (some SK now) and folks I've run QRP FD with in 'exotic' locations: K7RE in 2001 or so in a National Forest campground in NE WY (we took first place), and N0UR on his MN farm 2009 (class 2B2B which we also won). But I'd have to say Doc, K0EVZ who was my first motel-to-fixed station QSO (he was in ND, and I was vacationing in south TX). He was probably the one who interested me initially in the Fox Hunts and has been an online friend and advocate for the hunts for years. Current influences come mainly from my fellow online Fox Hunters with whom I keep in touch via e-mail and Facebook. That is real camaraderie!

5) What is your favorite QRP activity?

No problem with this one: the Fox Hunts!  But I also am quite competitive in other QRP contests: 160M, ARRL SS CW and Phone, QRP-ARCI, FYBO, state QSO parties.

6) What's your favorite piece of QRP gear (past or present)?

My QRP K2 which I built in 2000. This said, I use my K3 now in the main unless I am portable when I use my K2.

7) Describe your current QRP station.

K3 dialed down to 5W or less. I often put the Elecraft Step Attenuator inline to drop my output into the low milliwatt range if signals are strong. There's that challenge again!  I still use the K2 in the field, and have the HW-8 at the ready. Good antennas are the key to doing well with QRP: all of mine are home-brewed or modified except for my Force 12 C-4SXL 40-10M beam up 70'. (four years ago, I dug the five foot hole by hand and concreted the first 20 feet of Rohn 25 tower, also by hand ... then had back surgery a year later, LOL!) I also have a 176' doublet hanging from below the beam that really does wonders on 80M, and a 52' high 'vertical tee' with 80 ground radials for 160M. It helps to have 2 acres out in the country where I have room and little noise.

8) What is your fondest QRP memory.

Three stand out:I was leading a field trip of college students to the Gulf, and we were camped on Galveston Island, TX. I had arranged a sked on 15M with my daughter (N9IJY) who was in middle school at the time. She had the use of my home station in WI, while I had a 15M dipole up 10 feet, and my HW-8 powered by a motorcycle battery. We had a near-perfect CW contact for about 20 minutes! Second, K4BAI was a fox in last summer's 20M hunt, and the conditions were superlative. Using the Elecraft Step-attenuator, he and I hooked up with 500 microwatts of output! (the beam came in handy to say the least!). And third, I was able to complete a quick contact with Namibia (V5/DL3XX) this past winter with 5W on 160M CW just as the sun was rising on him.

9) What other hobbies/interests do you enjoy when you're not on the radio?

Genealogy (I scan family photographs and documents), cycling, swimming, running-jogging-walking (I 'usta' run marathons and ultra-marathons which my disintegrating body make it impossible to do anymore!), canoeing, camping, computer use, word games, being with my son and daughter and grand kids! Am active in a small church which is my family out here in the sticks of central WI. Enjoy traveling (son lives in OR, and my late wife's sisters and families live in OK, so I drive the 1,000 miles there quite often). I still attempt to keep up with my professional interests (I taught geography and earth sciences at a regional university) but am falling behind with all the new technology out there!.

Here's a photo of two superlative QRPers - That's Todd N9NE on the left and Dave AB9CA on the right. Both are EXCELLENT Fox Hunters!

Todd was also kind enough to send along a post he has sent to the QRP-L e-mail reflector from back in 2005.  The thread (and I remember it well!) was about "Memories of Morse Code Examinations".

"These stories are great!

I grew up in a small community in central Wisconsin. My father (SK) bought me a Knight Ocean Hopper regenerative receiver kit for Christmas, 1957 when I was 13. I had it together in a few days and was soon getting those beautiful QSL cards from Radio Moscow and Radio Habana Cuba. There was a little 'door' in the top of the receiver where one would change band coils. The valves were from England. I can still remember the smell of those hot little tubes. My across-the-street neighbor was a dentist, W9DPN. I had learned the code by rote in Boy Scouts, but Doc showed me his station and how he actually communicated on CW with his Viking Ranger, HQ-129X, and a trap vertical. Within a few weeks, I passed the novice exam and had to wait about 8 weeks (forever) to get my ticket, KN9LWV, on March 19, 1958.

I then had to wait another two months before I could get the money together to buy a used Heath DX-20, sans meter! I recall stringing an 80 meter dipole and a 40 meter folded dipole above our small yard, between neighbors' trees. My 'TR switch' was a DPDT ceramic hand switch, and I 'tuned' the transmitter by placing a light bulb between the two center contacts of the switch while holding the key down, and dipping and loading for maximum brilliance. I was probably running QRP into the antennas for the remainder of 12 months then given to Novices.

Using that Knight regenerative was a real education! Every time I would key the rig, the receiver would blank out and, of course, there was no side tone. I lost many contacts either by touching the front panel or by getting my hand too close to it, thereby changing the frequency. Later, my dad found out that a WWII veteran in town had a Hammarlund BC-779A 'Super Pro' receiver in his warehouse, and I was given it on permanent loan. Despite its musty smell, it served me well for several years before it died.

1958 was right at or after the greatest peak among modern solar cycles if I recall correctly. I would run home from high school, get on 15 meters (yes ... the Super Pro only went up to 20 Megacycles, but I was able to 'pull' it up to get above 21 MCS), work several Europeans, eat, and run back to school, all in one hour. What excitement! BTW, my first DX QSL card was from G3BRA. As a 14-year old, I was so embarrassed

By the time I had finished my Novice stint, I had earned the ARRL CW Proficiency Receiving award at 20 wpm. I never had a hand key. My grandfather had been a telegrapher on the "Soo Line' RR, and I inherited his 1928 Vibroplex bug.

Within that year, I passed my conditional exam, and some years later (in the late 1960s), I took the Chicago and Northwestern passenger train (SK!) from downtown Oshkosh to within a few blocks of the Federal Building in downtown Chicago.The train was scheduled to get there by about noon, but due to some sort of problem, it arrived at 2 pm. I had studied for the Extra, and now had less than 3 hours to pass the CW and technical exams for the General, Advanced, and Extra. I got to the Extra with 20 minutes to spare ... passed the code, but had to rush the exam such that when 'The Man' corrected it, he stated in a loud voice "You fail!".

I finally passed the Extra in Dallas in the early 1970s while a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma. My wife and I drove from Norman to the Federal Building there, and I took the code test in a small room. Receiving was no problem, but I hadn't touched a hand key much, and sending at 20 wpm was a real trial. The written exam was taken in a large room, filled with thirty or forty persons. The answers were coded onto an answer sheet (no written answers or schematics by then!), and I took it to the glass-enclosed office where a young lady corrected it by hand. I was confident I had passed and was astounded to see her check one answer after another as incorrect with her red pencil! She looked at me and said "I'm sorry, but you failed." I was so upset and said 'what?' so loud that most of the heads in the examining room raised to see what the ruckus was! I told her that it was possible that I had failed, but not by that many questions. She re-examined my answer sheet, then sheepishly told me that she had just used the wrong exam master! The correct one exonerated me, and rest is history.

I changed K9LWV to N9NE soon after that because it sounded nice on CW. If  you 'Google' N9NE, you will find some real surprises!"

Thanks, Todd for taking the time to answer my questions and for providing the extra history.  This is the part of Ham Radio that I love the best - the personal histories and the stories - everyone has them!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Profiles in QRP - Volume 1 - Ken Louks WA8REI

One day, I was thinking about how much I like to read about my fellow Amateur Radio operators.  I love it when they tell stories about how they became Hams and how they first learned about Amateur Radio, what they're doing now, and what their other interests are. It simply fascinates me.

I decided to develop a series of blog posts titled "Profiles in QRP".  A series of questions will be posed to those who have shown interest and dedication to the QRP game.  In the coming months, some of the profiles published will be of QRPers you are probably very familiar with - some maybe not so.  The idea is to ask these questions across an entire cross section of QRPers - portable operators, contesters, rag chewers, tinkerers, inventors, entrepreneurs, (maybe even bloggers!), etc.

I had intended to kick this series off last month, but I was delayed in doing so.  My intention is to run one profile a month. For August, I will run two profiles - one at the beginning of the month and one at the end.

The first profile is of Ken Louks WA8REI.  If you're on the air at all, you've probably run into Ken numerous times.  He is active in a lot of the QRP Sprints and is always to be found, ready and eager for a rag chew. Ken is also very active in the Polar Bears QRP group - a bunch of QRPers dedicated to portable outdoor ops away from the conventional shack.  There he is most affectionately known as Blackjack Bear. It's always a great pleasure to run into Ken, whether it be a short sprint QSO or a longer one where you can gnaw on a piece of "sammin" with him.

1) How did you first become interested in Amateur Radio?

My first exposure to Amateur Radio was through my Uncle Ed Wissmiller, formerly 8CEH, who resided in Saginaw, Michigan.  He helped me learn the code when I was 12 years old. He had let his ticket expire years before I was born, but he was quite the guy! He was a WW I pilot, and later, a stunt pilot and a wing walker.  In fact, he invented the remote water meter reader, so he had quite the technical bent. He was a printer by trade, and had several printing presses in his basement.

Also, my dad had given me a Heathkit CR-1 Crystal Receiver when I was 10 years old, in 1957. I still have it, and it works like new! My dad always encouraged me to learn about many things. I sent and received Morse Code via light to and from another neighborhood kid. I was also inspired by several other Hams who all lived within 2 or 3 miles from me - "bicycle range".  I was both a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout.

2) How long have you been licensed?

Since June, 1965. My Novice station was a Knightkit T-150 transmitter and a Heathkit HR-10 receiver, both of which I built as new kits.

3) What drew you to QRP?

I had a Heath HW-100 Transceiver, which I always tuned up at minimum power.  One day, I forgot to increase my power after tuning up, and following a long, solid QSO, calculated that my output power was 4 Watts. I'd operate QRP a few times a year in the '90's. Always liking a challenge, I became a serious QRP Op in about 2000.

4) Who has been your biggest QRP influence?

Nobody in particular! I had no QRP Elmers. With the advent of the Internet, I've found many like-minded Hams throughout the world and many QRP clubs, so I'd have to give credit to the Internet for being my main influence.  Again, the challenge of working other stations at 5 Watts or even milliWatts is a thrill that kW QRO Ops will never experience!

5) What is your favorite QRP activity?

Contesting. It keeps my CW skills honed, and it shows me how well my antennas are performing. This can be a major contest or a QRP Sprint; either are enjoyable. I like the competition, but I'm never a sore loser!

6) What's your favorite piece of QRP gear (past or present)?

My Yaesu FT-817ND.  My first QRP rig was its predecessor, the FT-817.  It's a great all band, all mode rig, and it's very portable.

7) Describe your current QRP station.

FT-817, Hustler 4BTV Vertical, 80 M Dipole, Bencher Paddle (I'm 100% CW), LDG Z100 Autotuner at my camping trailer in the woods near Rhodes, MI - "Permanent Portable" Hi!   At home, a FT-2000 at 5 Watts and a Mosley Pro 67B Yagi at 48 feet. I also have a DC40B, built by my friend WD9F that puts out about 700 milliWatts on 40 Meters. It's a fun rig!

8) What is your fondest QRP memory.

That would be working 3B9C, Rodriguez Island in the Indian Ocean, through a MASSIVE pileup while I was on Wagon Wheel Hill, elevation 1,500 feet back in the Winter of 2006. My 2nd best was working Tanzania from near Dayton Hamvention, using 2.5 Watts.

9) What other hobbies/interests do you enjoy when your not on the radio?

I was a professional organist/pianist from the age of 16 until I had a stroke in 2008. I taught private piano lessons for many years. I play the hammered dulcimer. Ham Radio has always played "second fiddle" to my music. I have a grand piano in my living room, 4 electronic keyboard and a professional recording studio.

I have hiked 1,500 miles in 2007, bicycled 60 miles per day. I enjoy traveling, especially to the mountains of New Hampshire or Colorado. I could live outdoors if not for the bugs and weather!

Thank you Ken - for being my first victim ...... err, QRP Profile!  You are indeed a very brave soul!

Seriously - a very hearty "Thank You" to Ken for sharing his Amateur Radio and QRP background with us. As I stated before, I hope to have a profile for you every month.  Ken was supposed to have been the profile for July 2013.  There will be another at the end of the month for August.

So ....... if you see an e-mail from me in your Inbox titled, "Profiles in QRP", please don't run, screaming into the night.  It will be a request for us to get the opportunity to know one of our fellow QRPers just a little bit better!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!