Regrets? I've had a few.

No one can be in this hobby for a long time without having a few regrets - usually about equipment bought and sold.

Regrets:

Getting rid of my Novice station. Even though I donated it to the Handi-Ham organization, I later regretted handing off my Novice Station, which comprised of a Drake 2NT transmitter, a Heathkit HR-1680 receiver and a Globe VFO.  The good news is that I have acquired like pieces and have my Novice station back (with the exception of the Globe VFO).

Selling my Icom IC-730 - I did the modification to get the low power setting all the way down to 100 milliWatts. I sold this in order to buy an Icom IC-751A.  This was back in the day when I got interested in AMTOR and PacTOR and the IC-730's T/R relay was just too slow to support these modes. My interest in them was fleeting, as it turned out. My interest in QRP has never faded.

Selling MY home built HW-8.  To this day, I consider this my biggest faux pas; and I still don't know what possessed me to do this. This had to have been the biggest Ham Radio brain cramp that I've experienced in 43 years of being a Ham.  Fortunately, Dave KD2FSI gifted me with a mint replacement that he found on eBay.

Not keeping my Heathkit SB-104A station, that again, I had built myself  After a while, I was blinded by newer and shinier equipment, I sold these (rig, power supply/speaker, remote VFO, station monitor) to afford newer stuff. Sometimes I think I was part crow, being attracted to new shiny objects.  This is a major regret.

Semi - regrets:

Selling my K1 and K2 - but alas, I would not have been able to acquire my KX3 without doing this. Unlike a lot Hams out there, I don't have deep pockets.

No - regrets:

Selling my IC-751A - great receiver for it's day, but selling it paved the way for buying Elecraft rigs.

Selling my amplifier - what the heck was I thinking ever buying one of those in the first place?  My fascination with QRO faded more quickly that you can say "Jack Robinson". In it's defense, it did keep the shack warm.

Selling my Kenwood Twins. The T599A and R599A made up my General station when I upgraded all the way back in 1979. I sold these to afford the SB-104A.

I still wish I had every piece of Heathkit gear that I ever assembled (and it was a lot). At the time, I guess I thought Heathkit, as we knew it back then, would never bite the dust. Hindsight is always 20/20.

These days, I am content with my station as it exists.  I have a KX3 along with the KXPA100 amplifier (which I have not turned on in years - in fact, I took it out of the line.) No aspersions to Elecraft, but I don't need or desire a K3s or a K4. After all this time, I guess I've learned to be content with what I have.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The KISS principle - always a winner.

WARNING!  The following post contains OPINION. It is not meant to slight anyone, or to infer that the author knows better than anyone else. The Good Lord knows, THAT'S not true. LOL!

I was wafting through Facebook, and I saw a post on the ARRL NPOTA page about a "busted" activation that only yielded 5 QSOs - a minimum of 10 is needed for a valid activation. Mind you, not 10 QSLs - 10 QSOs.

I looked at the pictures he posted and everything looked pretty good.  I am thinking that it was just a case of lousy band conditions. He definitely deserved an "A" for effort.  BUT, (there's ALWAYS a "but", isn't there?) his setup, while looking marvelous, appeared a bit too elaborate for my taste.

And that, I think, is where a lot of NPOTA activators and I part company. I've seen many photos of setups that approach Field Day scenarios.  Like ....... did anyone notice the cover of the latest DX Engineering catalog? There was an NPOTA setup there that looked better than our SPARC Field Day.

It seems many NPOTA activators are there for marathon sessions - hours upon hours, handing out hundreds of QSOs. That's good for all the chasers and I applaud them; but I like the simpler approach.

The KISS principle, or "Keep It Simple, Stupid" has worked well for many portable ops, such as SOTA, the QRP Sprints, etc.  Break out the rig, hook up a battery, throw a wire up in a tree (or to a portable mast where using trees is a no-no), or perhaps a doublet, or a vertical or magloop and go to town.  The emphasis being on the word "portable".

It seems to have worked very well for the SOTAteers (Steve WG0AT comes to mind) all these years, and for NPOTA activators such as Joe N2CX and Eric WD8RIF, Ed WA3WSJ and "yours truly" among others. And if dropping those names wasn't enough, if you follow the adventures of the "Premier" portable op, Jim W1PID, then you know the words I speak are true.

Keep It Simple = less to forget, less to break, less to not work, less to lose, more time to actually operate (who wants to spend all their valuable time setting up and tearing down an elaborate setup?) and hopefully, more success!

Simple doesn't handicap the superb ops - for a reminder, here's a re-post of KX9X's Pigeon Key video:

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

If it is true that imitation ......

..... is the sincerest from of flattery, then I have made a pitiful effort to flatter my friend Dave Hackett KD2FSI. Dave is one of those kind of guys where neat ideas just seem to percolate in his brain. It seems everything he dreams up and builds works really well. I admire him for his creativity and ambition, and know-how.

Anyway, to get to the point, a few weekends ago, South Plainfield had a "Christmas in July" kind of street fair in the "downtown" region. The South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club set up a booth to once again get the face of Amateur Radio out there before the public.

Dave came by and saw our static display and thought it could use some zing, so he brought out his backpack full of portable gear.

I had seen his backpack before, but the PVC frame was new - and ingenious! Dave was able to set down the backpack without fear of it falling over, or just turning into a limp blob.  Personally, I thought this was the greatest idea since sliced bread. The top handle in the back can be screwed off and the uprights store Dave's extendable whips for his various antennas.

I knew right away I had to incorporate his idea into my portable backpack.  Too many times I have set it on the ground, only to watch it fall over. I finally went to the local Home Depot tonight and purchased a bunch of 1/2" PVC elbows. I had a long length of 1/2" PVC pipe left over from my homebrew Buddipole building days.

My configuration is nowhere as nice as Dave's, but it does serve its purpose.

Currently, the pieces are just press fit together. I am going to take it apart to paint it, and when I do, I am going to shorten the uprights by about 3 inches so that the cross piece isn't so far above the top of the backpack. But so far, so good. I can place the backpack down on the floor or the ground and it stays put without toppling over. And the neat thing is that this homebrew frame doesn't interfere with the backpack straps. It's still very easy to sling over my shoulders and carry normally. The PVC is lightweight and doesn't add significant weight.  For the amount of hiking that I do, it's not a problem - it's not like I'm hiking the Appalachian Trail or anything.

I fabricated this tonight while dealing with the 20 Meter QRP Foxhunt. The two Foxes were John K4BAI in Georgia and Dave N1IX in New Hampshire.  I figured it would be a one-fer tonight, and that I would probably work John and never hear Dave.

OK, so I was right about the one-fer part!

I worked Dave and never heard a peep out of John the entire evening. Go figure. Every time I think I understand propagation and how the bands work they go and slap me right upside my head. I guess that's what makes Amateur Radio fun - the unpredictability.

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