Got stuff done!

This past week was extremely busy at work. So busy, that I didn't even get the chance to do my weekly Friday post about contests and special event stations. And yesterday was busy with chores and errands at home. But today I did get some "me time", and I used it to full advantage.

I got the Jackite stand built, And as promised, here are a couple of pictures.

It's made entirely of 2"PVC. And it is all pressed fit together so I can transport it more easily when broken down. I know it looks kind of flimsy, but the idea here is that this stand's purpose is only to hold the Jackite upright while my hands are free to pound in the tent pegs and secure the CamJams and tie down ropes. Otherise, it's just juggling things and watching them fall down, while doing my best octopus impression. I've ordered a camping stuff it bag to make it easy to transport the parts.

The other thing that I got done was to build the 4 States paddle.

It was a pretty easy build, and it works very well. The only thing that I think I got wrong is that the actual paddle levers are upside down, but I have other commercial paddles where the "ears" point down, so that doesn't bother me and it doesn't adversely affect performance.

This will make for a nice Field Day paddle and I can leave my March and Begali paddles safe at home.  The only pre-Field Day chore that I have left to do Is to e-mail all the newly licensed candidates that we've tested over the past year and invite them to Field Day.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Some new stuff

 from QRPbuilder.com.

An Iambic SOTA / POTA paddle, much like the ones made popular by Steve WG0AT. I like the look fo these - I just wonder if I could ever get used to using these!

QX1 Antenna - a very reasonably priced AX1 type of antenna for portable ops.

A MAGNETIC single lever paddle which can be used on the KX radios and if you house your (tr)uSDX radio in the QRPGuys housing.

'

Official Disclaimer - I am in NO WAY involved, associated with, or benefit from anything sold by QRPbuilder.com. Just bringing attention to some really nicely priced and useful items that might be right and fill a need for you readers out there. At the very least, you owe it to yourselves to check this stuff out.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

QRP Image of the Day

The photographer inside of me is captivated by images, And if the old adage is true that "A picture is worth 1,000 words:, then these two images are examples of what come to my mind when I think about QRP.

This image from the SOTA Facebook page, in fact it's now their cover page image. Didn't Steven pick a wonderful image? Who doesn't dream of someday taking a minimalistic set up to the top of a mountain and communicating with the world? I know I do, but I'm also wise enough to know my limitations and that I'm no Steve Galchutt WG0AT and the closest I'm ever going to get to this is operating portable from a picnic table somewhere. Still, the thrill is there, even if the panoramic vistas aren't!

The second image:

Isn't Alexey's station just grand? A One Watt homebrewed QRP transmitter. He posted a video of it on Facebook and it sounded oh, so sweet! Again, the closest I'm ever going to get to this is by building a kit of someone else's design. I'm not an Alexey UY1IF or a Bob W3BBO who can seem to cobble up working equipment just about every other day. I'm no engineer or designer - God didn't grace me with that kind of talent. But still, I can build some things (although with SMD, that's becoming harder and harder every day for my poor skill set) and when they actually work, the satisfaction is there that I didn't totally screw things up.

QRP is not for everyone. Sometimes it's actually rather easy, sometimes it's challenging, sometimes it's frustrating, but it's also always immensely rewarding. Whether you're working from a mountain top or from your basement, whether you're operating something you designed and built all by yourself; or maybe just from a kit you bought and built ........ the Ham Radio experience you can get from QRP is like no other.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Wouldn't you know it?

My anticipation was growing last week in Upstate NY as Geomagnetic activity was getting greater and greater all week long. My SpaceWeather Live app was going off all week with news of flares, CMEs and such. Finally, there was a better than good chance that I would finally get to see the Northern Lights on Friday night - the last night before we left to return to New Jersey.

Upstate NY decided to pull a New Jersey on me and it clouded up and rained Friday night.

Sheesh.

In any event, I got my POTA logs uploaded yesterday as well as getting them into AC Log. Tonight, I want to make QSO maps for both activations and see how they compare to the RBN maps that I captured. I'll post them here.

The long range forecast for this week is showing the upcoming weekend to be nice. Maybe I can get away for an hour or two to activate Washington Rock, or perhaps the Washington-Rochambeau Trail. Doing POTA activations is kind of like eating Lays potato chips - You can't do just one! It's super easy o get hooked.

But as far as activations go, I'm not one of these guys that needs to get triple digit QSOs in the log. I'm quite happy getting my 10 or more, enjoying the outdoors and nice weather. If 20, 30, or 40 come easy because the bands are good .......great! If the bands are crappy and I only make 10 or 11 contacts, I'm fine with that, too. I'm in it for the experience and the fun.

The 4States QRP Group has come out with a new kit designed by Dave Cripe, NM0S - a CW VOX keyer. For those who may not be able to send Morse in the traditional way due to disabilities  - this will allow Morse to be sent by your transceiver by speaking into it. According to the 4States website: "The CWvox is a unique solution that leverages the ability of Morse Code operators to vocalize Morse Code using "da" for dashes and "dit" for dots. This practice isn't just a novelty; it's a skill that, when done correctly, mirrors the proper length ratio of dashes and dots in Morse Code."

The kit is available for $40 and all the details can be found here - https://www.4sqrp.com/kits/CW-VOX/4SQRP_CW_VOX_%20Manual.pdf

72 de Larry W2LJ 

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

A Prequel

In yesterday's video we saw Alan W2AEW activate Washington Rock State Park with the CFT1 QRP Transceiver. Dummy me! I didn't realize that this is the newest offering from KM4CFT, who also sells the 9:1 UNUN kit that I recently built and put through a test run on Sunday.

Alan also has a YouTube video on the actual build of the kit. I am posting it here as a companion video - a prequel, if you will. It's a little long - close to 40 minutes, but is very interesting.

By the way, if you haven't subscribed to Alan's YouTube channel, you're missing out on a lot of great stuff.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

POTAing on!

Good friend, Alan W2AEW does a POTA activation with a new QRP rig. 

Boy howdy! These new QRP rigs are popping up so fast, it's hard to keep up with them - what's new, what's what ....... WOW! Going to sound like an oldster, but I can remember when you could count available QRP rigs with the fingers on both hands. Pickin's were slim ...... no more!

Alan was at my favorite spot - Washington Rock State Park, in Greenbrook, NJ.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Productive weekend

It was busy, but at the same time productive. Saturday started off with the monthly ETS of NJ VE Session. We had three candidates and only three VEs. I can't tell you the last time that happened as the number of VEs that show up usually way outnumbers the candidates! In fact, I was sweating it out for a while worrying that I would have to tell the candidates that for lack of VEs, they'd have to go home.. Fortunately, a third showed up and we were fine.

We brought one new Tech into the fold and another Tech upgraded to General. The third candidate walked away with nothing, which was extremely disappointing to both him and us. He was a Tech who let his license lapse in 2012. He took the exam and I don't know if it was a case of overconfidence or if he just hurried too fast through the last 10 - 15 questions. He was going great guns, but in that last set of questions, he got enough wrong to put him two over.

I hate when that happens! I offered him the chance to take another version, but he declined. Hopefully, we'll see him again next month after a bit more study. He was so close, I'd hate to see him give up in disgust!

The rest of Saturday was spent doing house chores as on Sunday morning, we had a guest arrive for a visit for this week:

My sister and brother-in-law went down to the Jersey Shore for the week and the AirBnB they are staying at does not allow pets, so Jessie (Harold's "cousin", and also a rescue) has come to stay with us for the week. She took an immediate liking to our son, Joseph as you can see in the photo. She's a good girl, very quiet and very friendly - she loves to be held. A real Momma's girl. She's a demon with her food, though! I put the kibble she eats in her bowl and all I did was blink and it was gone! LOL! Maybe my sister should have named her Hoover!

That reminds me of a story. When I was young, one of the first "real" jobs I had (not working at my Dad's store) was working at a camera store. If you've ever worked retail, you know that when it comes to lunch and eating - you eat fast; or you don't eat at all. It got to be such a bad habit, that when I was eating a meal at home, my Mom would always say, "Larry, take human bites!"

Anyway, getting back on track, in between grocery shopping and cleaning, I did manage to get down to the shack to sneak in a few POTA stations. Geomagnetic activity was quite high on Saturday with the K index getting up to 5 for a bit, but I still managed to work a couple, even though signals were down in the mud.

On Sunday, I finally managed to do something that I've been wanting to do the past few weekends. I finally got the chance to try out my KM4CFT EFRW antenna. I wanted to give it a workout before I put the heat shrink over the UNUN circuit board. Again, due to a prior obligation in the afternoon, I only got a few hours in, but I have to say that I am pleased with its performance.

For starters I called CQ on both 40 and 20 Meters - about maybe a 1/2 dozen times on each band, just to see where the Reverse Beacon Network would pick me up:

Not too shabby! Not the greatest signal strengths on 20 Meters, but I was having a hard time getting the Emtech ZM-2's red LED to go out. So later in the afternoon, I switched it out for my 4 States NM0S tuner.

This little guy worked like a champ! I was able to get the red LED to go out completely and the green LED to glow like there was no tomorrow. I promptly worked several POTA stations, including Dan KB6NU - fellow blogger, who you see on the blog roll to the right so often.

I think I'm going to have to open and inspect the connections inside the ZM-2. as it has always worked reliably for me in the past. Even so, this was the tuner I keep in the shack for when I fire up my HW-8. I may purchase another of these to keep in the QMX bag. And speaking of the QMX, I'm getting to the point where it's becoming more routine to operate without having to pause to think what do I have to press in order to............... It's slowly becoming second nature but I still have a ways to go.

I was happy with the KM4CFT, and I was happy with the 4 States tuner and the QMX. Like I said, it was a productive weekend.

Last thing - something I saw on Facebook on the EFHW Antenna page that was posted by K4IVN. I am guessing he fabricated this via his 3D printer:

This will hold his UNUN and at the same time it has a spool for the wire of his EFHW or EFRW. How neat is this? I don't know if he fabricated a cover to keep the UNUN safe from the elements, but I'm guessing he either has, or will do do.  

Another project for me - to make one of those daisy wire spools like the ones Dave KD2FSI made for me so I can better store the KM4CFT EFRW.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

One of the things I wish I had

was the skill to homebrew stuff. And by stuff I mean circuits, receivers, transmitters, accessories and the like. Oh, I can build kits all right - although as I age, my eyes aren't quite what they used to be, and SMD components can send shivers up and down my spine when they are microscopic. I can look at a schematic and make repairs. Heck, I did that for 22 years for a living. But to look at a schematic, and take a bunch of components and build a working whatever? I'm out of my league.

I look at the creations of Dave AA7EE or Bob W3BBO and I just wistfully whistle to myself. To have the prowess and ability to build a receiver or transmitter from scratch, have it work AND look beautiful too? God didn't gift me with that kind of talent.  And that's OK, I guess. I just muddle around with the few things I can make, which are usually non-electrical and always would look nicer if someone else had built them.  

Which brings me to last night. I needed a solution for my American Morse DCP paddles. I took them with me to FOBB, but stopped using them part ways into the event. I was hand holding them, and my big meaty paws were causing problems. I have the tension and contact spacing set so that this thing feels pretty much like a touch paddle. The problem is that it's so small that when I would hold it in one hand and key with the other, the holding hand would mess things up by accidentally creating extraneous dits and dahs.

I want to use them for the Skeeter Hunt, but realized that I need some kind of base. That would allow me to handle it better. But what could I use? I went down to the shack and started hunting around. I didn't have any wood or metal blocks laying around that would be useful, but then my eyes landed upon and old Velamints tin that had been sitting on the shelf for years. A possibility?

I took a punch and made a tiny hole in the lid. Then I went into my parts drawers looking for a screw and nut skinny enough to go through the hole in the paddle, but long enough to reach into the case. After rummaging around for a while, i found what I needed.

I'll go to a sporting goods store on Saturday and will purchase some of those small and round split bead sinkers that are used for fishing. I'll pour a few packets into the tin and will put some tape around the edges to make sure it never accidentally opens, "spilling the beans" as it were. That should make the base heavy enough for table top use without making it too heavy.

Just like my drive on mast holder, it's no work of art, and it's no ingenious design, but it works and I guess that's all I can ask for. 

And perhaps I won't even get the chance to use the paddles this Sunday, anyhow. I may just be operating the Skeeter Hunt from the shack, if at all. 91% chance of thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon. Yuck!

The other place I haven't been having any luck is listening for N5J - the Jarvis Island DXpedition. When I get home, they seem to be concentrating on 15 and 17 Meters. Not only can I not hear them, I can't hear the pileup, either!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Current project

This is a  KM4CFT  EFHW UNUN kit that I purchased via eBay.  The circuit board is actually done, and I built mine as a EFRW UNUN, so that I can use the same wire for multiple bands. The only difference between the two versions is that the EFHW UNUN builds the toroid as a 49:1 transformer and uses a 100pF capacitor in the circuit. The EFRW UNUN builds the toroid as a 9:1 transformer and the capacitor is not used. I still have to measure out some wire - two lengths - one 41 Foot length (one of the non-resonant lengths recommended for 40 - 10 Meters ) for the radiator and one 17 foot length for the counterpoise.

When finished, it will be only a foot longer than my PAR ENDFEDZ, but will give me all bands, 40 - 10 Meters. The PAR will load up on 15 Meters with the KX3's auto-tuner, but 17 and 12 Meters are pretty much no-go.

This will be my antenna for Flight of the Bumblebees on Sunday, 7/28. If the weather is decent, I'll probably go to Cotton Street Park here in town and will shoot a line up into one of the really tall trees there and will use this as a hanging vertical or sloper. If the weather is crappy, I'll set up the Jackite in the backyard and will use this as a sloper while operating at our patio table under the cover of the big umbrella.

If it performs decently well for me, then I am counting on it and my ZM-2 tuner to pair up with the QMX when it finally gets here for a truly small portable operating package.  I also ordered a 3.5 mm to 2.1 mm power cable adapter so I can use my little blue lithium battery with the QMX. Hopefully the QMX will be here in another month or two and I can take it with me when Marianne and I head up to Alexandria Bay for our anniversary in October. There are two state parks relatively close to where we will be staying that can be activated for POTA. Last year Marianne actually told me she wouldn't mind going with me if and when I activate them, when I brought up the possibility.

I'm quickly becoming enamored with operating portable with the smallest station that I can carry. It's truly amazing what you can accomplish with 5 Watts, if you know what you're doing and don't get into that nasty ol' mindset of "That will never work!".

On a side note ...... last year when we headed up to Alexandria Bay, we left on a Saturday after Marianne got home from work. Because we started out late, we spent Saturday night in Binghamton, NY. Recently, I looked up the hotel that we stayed at on Google maps and discovered that we were actually only a few blocks away from the street on which the original W2LJ lived! How cool is that? This year we plan to make the trip in one day, with no stop over. It's about a 6 hour ride up to Alex Bay from South Plainfield.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

PS; Just checked the QRP Labs "Assembled Kits Order Status" page, which was updated today. I am 293rd on the list. If they build approximately 200 per month, then I'm looking at an arrival time of maybe late September. That would still be in time for me to take it along  to Alex Bay. Fingers crossed!

Odds and ends

I managed to get outside for just a few minutes yesterday as the moon was approaching maximum coverage of of the sun (90%) at 3:24 PM local time.  I took a small shipping box and punched a hole in the side with a thumbtack. It projected a very tiny, but totally sharp image of the moon covering the sun revealing only a small crescent of sunlight. Of course, this is New Jersey after all, and clouds came in for the actual moment of maximum eclipse. But I can say I saw it. This reminded me of the eclipse of 1972, when I had my 3" refractor telescope set up in the backyard, projecting a magnified image onto a white piece of cardboard.

A co-worker managed to snap this with his iPhone.

BTW, Sean Kutzko KX9X was doing some AM Broadcast Band DXing during the eclipse. He observed that during the maximum period of darkening at his QTH, he was able to hear AM stations from over 500 miles away, that he normally can only hear at night. The D Layer was definitely affected! He recorded the AM Band during the eclipse from start to finish and will go over it in detail over the next few weeks, in order to get a better feel as to how propagation was affected.

I saw on Facebook yesterday, where Alex PY1AHD of AlexLoop fame has become a Silent Key:

It is with extreme sadness and sorrow that I share the passing of our friend and colleague Alex Grimberg (PY1AHD), AlexLoop, due to his renowned work with magnetic loop antennas. Inestimable loss for Brazilian amateur radio, an enterprising and visionary colleague - We are all saddened.

I got word from my friend that he was encouraged by your comments regarding using a local WebSDR as a receiver. He was able to hear stations on 20 Meters via the Web that he was not able to hear on his K3, due to the solar panel noise. He made three successful QSOs on 20 Meters and will most likely use WebSDR for making contacts on 14 MHz and above. Thanks for your encouragement! I'm very happy for him - he had been disappointed (that's putting it mildly) with his situation. It's good to know he can be on the air again.

My KM4CMT EFRW UNUN kit was delivered yesterday. I hope to have it built and ready to go for "Amateur Radio Day At The Library" on April 20th. If I don't have it ready, I'll probably employ the PAR ENDFEDZ or perhaps the EARCHI EFRW that I already have in the backpack. It's not that the kit is a complicated build - far from it. It's a matter of finding time. The next few weekends are really filled up now that lawn mowing season has started up again.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Another resource - QRP Builder

If you haven't heard about it, Ken WA4MNT has a great website QRPBuilder.com. He offers some neat items in kit form. One that has me especially intrigued is his QX1 antenna, which is an alternative to Elecraft's AX1 and AX2 antennas. I'm going to paste in Ken's description of the antenna:

The QX1 Antenna kit, is a small, ultra portable vertical 40m, 20-10m antenna with a male BNC connector and telescoping whip, rated at 20W. It is resonant on the whole 40m band with only a whip length adjustment. With a tuner, can be used on the 20m through 10m.

All the holes are pre-drilled and tapped. Assembly requires winding the coil, a little soldering, and some mechanical assembly. The tools required for assembly are a Phillips screwdriver, forceps or needle nosed pliers, wire cutters, soldering iron, and some rosin core solder. Depending on your experience, it can be assembled in about an hour. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the most difficult, this is rated at 2.

The BNC Antenna Mount/Adapter kit is a versatile antenna mount with a nylon clamp included. This design allows small BNC terminated antennas to not mount on the output connector of the radio, but rather, with coax, to a more advantageous position. It is ideal for quick setup, field and SOTA operation. We have listed this as a separate kit because, some users already have an antenna like the Elecraft AX-1, MFJ-18xxT series, or similar homebrew antennas that are terminated with a male BNC connector. The strong clamp permits mounting to a apartment or patio railing, picnic table, or even a tree branch. There is a connection point for radials or a counterpoise with captive stainless steel hardware.

Assembly is easy and only the most common tools are needed and a 1/4″ drill. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the most difficult, this is rated at 1.

I like my AX1, but I sure wish this had come out a few months ago. It's a much more affordable alternative, and with inflation the way it is nowadays, who doesn't need to stretch their $$$ as far as they can?

In addition to this nifty kit, Ken offers paddles, an audio amplifier kit and even a kit that will allow you to use normal earbuds/earphones on a crystal radio. Again, I'm not affiliated with QRP Builder in any way, shape, fashion or form; but when I see a site that offers items that I think you folks may be interested in, I'll showcase them here.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Seems I'm always late to the dance!

I'll see something that is "new" to me - only to see that it has been thoroughly reviewed and talked about by Tom K4SWL, Alan W2AEW and Mike K8MRD. This one has me enthused though, and you have all probably heard about it by now.  But if you're like me and you've missed the bus, here's an antenna solution that has me pumped up. The KM4CFT EFHW and EFRW.

Tom wrote it up on his excellent blog here - https://qrper.com/2023/11/tiny-efhw-and-efrw-kits-by-km4cft/

If you go on YouTube and search on KM4CFT, there are numerous videos about this antenna. Watching Mike's video shows how easy it is to build and use. I love antennas like this that are simple and are fast and easy to deploy. When you get to a park, POTA or just your local round-the block park, you want to operate and not waste precious minutes getting your aerial ready to go.

Remember the old Lays potato chips - "Betcha can't eat just one!"? Antennas are just like that - "Betcha can't have just one!"  Whenever SPARC holds an on-the-air event and the subject of antennas comes up, I always hear "Don't worry! Larry and Dave (KD2FSI) have everything we'll need." I'll be ordering one of these from eBay really soon to add to my antenna arsenal.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

An investment?

 First, the QRP Image of the Day

Brought to you by Anton Petkov Lz1XM (from Facebook) who certainly has the right idea! A cold 807 and QRP - perfect together, and can't get much better than this!

Bob W3BBO recently brought to my attention two items that he saw on eBay. The first was an unbuilt, in-the-box Heathkit HW-9. The auction ended on Monday and the winning bidder was given the opportunity to shell out $723 for a kit that originally sold for $249.

There is now a listing for a unbuilt HW-8 kit. It has a starting bid of $590 with a "Buy It Now" price of $995. Here's the description as it appears on eBay:

"Unbuilt, never unpacked, complete Heathkit HW-8 QRP Transceiver.  Ships in an outer carton for added protection of contents.  This HW-8 is unbuilt.  It must be built by following instructions in the included Heathkit assembly/instruction manual.  Tools are required for assembly, including a soldering station.  Assembly tools are not included."

This got me to thinking. If I had the money, which I definitely do not - would it be worth it to buy an Elecraft K2 kit and sock it away as an investment? Probably too late for me to see anything out of it, but maybe 20 or 30 years from now, one of my kids could probably walk away with a cool profit. 

It will be interesting to see how that HW-8 auction ends. It wouldn't surprise me to see it end up in the neighborhood of where the HW-9 auction ended. Not bad for a kit that only cost about $250 back in the day.     

Anyway, it's something to think about.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Not much done over the weekend

Other than yardwork, grocery shopping and helping out at soup kitchen on Sunday, not much got done radio-wise. I did manage to change out the power cord on a 20 Amp Clegg power supply that rightfully belongs to Middlesex County.  Someone had cut the power cord off of it and basically left it for trash.in the radio room at the County EOC.  I told John Garmendi, N2DV our ARES/RACES Bureau Chief that I could put a new cord on it, and I finally did. However I need to get one of these for it:

I don't need a package 0f 10, 25, 50 or 100. I just need one. Maybe this coming weekend, I'll drive up to Greenbrook Electronics in North Plainfield to see if I can just by a reasonable amount. For now, I have two cable ties acting as a motion limiter, so that the new power cord can't move about and the jacket get scraped by the chassis.

While I'm at it, I still have to trouble shoot and repair my Astron 35 Amp power supply.  The fuse goes as soon as you turn it on, indicating a massive short somewhere, probably the bridge rectifier.  Once I get that fixed, I just may put my KXPA100 amp back on line. Not that I use it that often, but maybe one of these days, I'll get in the mood to try and bust a major DXpedition pile up. I haven't gone QRO in years and I think the last time I used it was to QSO with a country that was an ATNO for me. I need the 35 Amp power supply to be working properly to put it back on line. I'm not into chasing DX like I used to be; but you never know when the bug might bite again.

After that, maybe I'll get to building one of the many kits I have in queue. Over the weekend, I've kind of decided against purchasing a QMX from QRPLabs. Fantastic kit, no doubt as Hans Summers offerings are superb, but I have my KX3 and it meets all my needs. I'd rather save my shekels and hopefully one day purchase a RigExperts antenna analyzer.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The weekend

This past Saturday, the VE Team that I am associated with held an exam session for Somerset County Emergency Management. We were asked to give Technician tests to 17 of their CERT members who wanted to obtain Amateur Radio licenses.

They were given instruction by Bill Kelly NB1LL via an online Microsoft Teams class. Bill did an outstanding job as all 17 got their licenses, with 5 candidates getting a perfect score. The VE team performed like a well oiled machine - all went well without a hitch, for which I am very grateful!

Before the exams began, I had a chance to chat with Alan Wolke W2AEW from YouTube fame. He whipped out his phone and showed me a QRP rig kit that he was interested in perhaps purchasing. I had never heard of this offering before - WA3RNC and his transceivers appear to be really, really nice.

He offers what appears to be a very nice quality two band kit , the Penntek TR-25, and will soon be coming out with a 4 band transceiver.

These rigs are certainly nice looking and from the video, they appear to perform quite nicely. If you're craving the building experience, you can get more information here - http://www.wa3rnc.com/store/

To be honest with you, these WA3RNC rigs were new to me. I mist be a latecomer to the party. I'm betting you folks knew all about these. If you didn't, they seem to be well worth looking into.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - when you care to send the very least!

Another kit for your consideration

 I came across this one on Facebook in a post from ON6UU on the Amateur QRP Radio page. It's a kit offered by QRPHAMRADIOKITS by EA3GCY from Spain. I'm always on the hunt for some news to share with insatiable kit builders out there.

This is the EGV+ three band (40, 30, 20 Meter) CW transceiver. Here's an overview of the specs:

General:

Frequency coverage:  40 - 30 - 20m  (6 to 16MHz continuous tuning)

KB-2 Keyer built in. 

Tuning steps on two ranges: 10Hz-100Hz-1kHz and 10kHz-100kHz-1MHz.

Mode: CW

RIT function: without frequency limit

Power requirements: 12–14VDC  1-2A transmit, 0.14 – 0.25A receive.

Antenna impedance: 50 ohms.

Controls: Tuning-pushbutton. Band adjust. Volume. RF attenuator.

Board dimensions: 180 x 140 mm.

Weight: (no enclosure) 0.3 kg.

TRANSMITTER:

Emissión: CW.

RF output: 8W - 5W  40 to 20m.

Output TX Amp:  AB class amplifier. High Quality output Spectrum.

Harmonics output: -45dBc or better below the fundamental frequency.

Other spurious signals: -50dBc or better below the fundamental frequency. 

RECEIVER:

Type: Superheterodyne. Balanced mixer.

Sensitivity: 0.2uV minimum discernible signal.

Selectivity: crystal ladder filter, 800Hz nominal bandwidth.

IF frequency: 4.915MHz.

AGC: on the receive path according to the received audio.

Audio output: 250mW, 4-8 ohms.

The price is 120 Euros, which translates to about $146.00 here in the States. Shipping is extra of course. It appears to be a "thru-hole" kit without any user end surface mount devices involved. I may be wrong, but I'm willing to bet that small SMD circuit board behind the LCD display probably comes pre-assembled (but don't quote me on that!) Here are a few more photos:

Looks interesting to me. Maybe not as fully featured as the QCX kits, but roughly the same price as if you were to buy three of them - one for each band.

The manual is downloadable off the website and orders can be placed right from there, also. If I had a spare $150 kicking around, I'd be seriously attempted to purchase one.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

As if I don't have enough kits to build

 

I went and purchased a Pixie.  Just to play around with and maybe experiment a little with. It was under $10, so if I FUBAR it while experimenting, I won't shed a tear. I also procured some crystals for 7.040 MHz. 

I need to get back into the swing of kit building again. So many to build, so little free time. I figured maybe if I start out small and work my way up to bigger projects. - maybe this will keep me out of the sack by 9:00 PM.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

SWL clones available as kits

 Not through Dave Benson, but through an outfit called Midway Electronics.

The kits are claimed to be EXACT duplicates of the SW40+, SW30+, SW20+, and SW80+.- Dave Benson K1SWL's excellent design!

For all the details you can go to: https://www.midwayelectronics.us/qrp/?fbclid=IwAR3rGsY5H2l9EV1y5O9Iv5sVZp4y1f2nd4-gQkhvH0_ETfs_RwqwN317hUs

The most interesting part of this offer is the "No B.S. Warranty". Check out the bottom of the page!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

So ..... what's next?

 Now that the Skeeter Hunt Soapbox is done - what's next?

Fortunately, lots of things!

Two more outdoor QRP events are on the horizon, Tim W3ATB's Leaf Peeper Sprint and NoGa QRP's Peanut Power sprint. Those two events will round out the 2020 "organized" QRP outdoor operating event season. Of course, if the weather is nice, there's nothing to stop just about anyone from organizing their own "Parkpedition" (terminology originated by K3WWP).

For W2LJ, the Skeeter Hunt certificates remain a chore to be dealt with. I think those will have to wait until the last lawn mow is done for the season. With "Darkness, my old friend" (sorry, Simon and Garfunkle) arriving earlier and earlier each day, I have to do the yardwork on weekend days now. That means the certificate printing, envelope stuffing and mailing will probably be done towards late October.

Also my QCX+ 20 Meter rig is sitting in the box waiting to be opened, inventoried and built. I am DETERMINED not to screw this one up! My confidence was shaken a bit with my failure on the QCX 40; but a little self pep talk seems to have taken care of that. Advancing age may be beginning to take its toll; but I do have 40+ years of experience as a Ham and 20+ years of experience of doing component level circuit board repairs under my belt. I can't let one SNAFU deter me.

Speaking of late October, the annual Zombie Shuffle is probably only a month or so away. That's always a popular event; and now that I'm no longer secretary of the ETS of NJ club, I will participate this year. Even though our meetings are now being held on the repeater due to social distancing requirements, they always seem to occur on the same Friday as the Shuffle.

I missed participating in QRP Afield this year and that was a personal bummer. I went for my annual physical on Saturday and at the same time received my annual flu shot. For some reason, the flu shot really kicked my butt this year - for the very first time, I might add. The arm in which I received the shot was sore all day, and it was almost like I was given a sedative. I ended up napping most of the afternoon away. That was really a shame as the weather was absolutely splendid and operating "portable" from the back yard would have been a real treat.

I also found out on Saturday that it was the day of the NJ QSO Party. Our ARRL Section Manager sent out an e-mail reminding us all, that day. IMHO, that needs to change. Better publicity and reminders, sent multiple times before the event will encourage and increase participation. The life of the average Ham is a busy one, with chores and family and other obligations to be considered. I have found that, not only for myself but also from others, that planning to be available for events like these needs to be taken care of well in advance of the event day.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Been a while

 Since my last post. A lot has been going on.

First off, I totally FUBARed my QCX 40 circuit board while attempting to remove T1 in order to rewind it. I obliterated some traces and solder through holes. It may not be so, but I'm writing it off (for now) as a loss due to my impatience and for working on it while I was too fatigued to be doing so. I'm not getting rid of it, or tossing it out - just putting it on the shelf for now.  I learned some valuable lessons, so it was not a total loss and I will carry those forward when I begin building the QCX+ 20. One lesson is to ditch the Weller soldering station that has been my standby for the last umpteen years; and going with the one I purchased from Circuit Specialists. This soldering station will allow me to control the temperature more precisely, so that if I do have to perform some re-work, I won't burn things up..

That's going to be a while, though. I published the 2020 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt Scoreboard the other day and that can be seen here.

Composing the Soapbox is next and that's going to take me a while. There were over 130 log summaries sent in, the majority having comments and many having photos as well. It's going to take me a while to get that published. For instance, I worked on it for a couple hours tonight; and I've only gotten through the first 16 entries. That's a little bit more than 10%, so I've got a good bit of work ahead of me.

This is the part of the Skeeter Hunt that is my favorite, right after operating, of course. Being able to let the QRP world know what the participants used, how they set up, describing the fun they had - for me, this is the icing on the cake. That being the case, I want to do it right and give it the effort it deserves. I also truly believe that the Soapbox section is what makes Hunters come back year after year.

I don't get rid of them, either. If you go to www.qsl.net/w2lj, you can see the Soapbox comments going all the way back to the beginning in 2012. I enjoy going through them myself from time to time to see how the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt has evolved.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!