Making QRP Contacts in the Field

Greater Brideport Amateur Radio Club makes QRP contacts in the field. Yes it is possible!

 

Lead in photo

 

I was going up to Minnesota to pick up my son (W3PZ) and head over to Hamvention together. We put together an alternate plan just in case Hamvention was canceled, and we'll now be camping out and putting Houston County, MN on the air with his CTX-10.

 

Great back up plan! Hope to work you on the air. 73 and good luck.

 

Bridgeport - come for the qso's, stay because you got murdered.

But seriously, thanks for the neat vid.

 

I had 84 QRP contacts on 40m SSB during a SOTA/POTA activation last year running 6w from an FT818 into a SOTAbeams 20/30/40 linked dipole.

During the SC QSO party I broke a good number of pileups by announcing "N1RBD Mountaintop Portable." That seemed to pique some interest among the contesters.

I love working from summits!

 

I'd like to work you from my local beaches! I reckon we could easily do voice on 1W.

BTW, try being a little closer to the water. Not necessary to be feet in water, just a little closer to reduce ground losses - it makes all the difference!

If you read Practical Wireless, I have an article about seaside operating in the April 2020 edition!

 

Some very shady characters for sure. I had to pack up when, I could only hear Dr. Dre coming from someones subwoofer full blast.

 

I've Also heard elevating the radials may help?

 

I can't offer a side-by-side comparison about radials, only that I have always used elevated radials - two in all cases (noting I have excellent, very highly mineralised ground at home).

Certainly, at the seaside, two elevated radials are perfectly adequate. I'm sure others will argue about that, but I have the data ;-)

You may be interested in: https://mw1cfnradio.blogspot.com/2019/09/more-data-from-beach.html

 

QRP, fantastic Good code.

 

Thanks for watching, more on the way!

 

I’m set up on my deck with my MTR-5B running 3.8 watts into an EFHW at about 35’. After lunch I’m going to try my luck on 20 and maybe 30.

Hope to work some of you from PA. Thanks for the inspiration, Brandon.

 

Fun video. Shows what decent operating and mid speed CW skills can do with QRP. Nice to see a keyer and copy by ear Vs laptop, interface, et al. QRP from near water is helpful. So are big stations on the other end -- large antennas, higher power. With QRP each QSO is an accomplishment to be savored not just a routine "hit the button log em". It is possible to have a mag mount and hamstick antenna on your car, park near a beach or on a hilltop overlook, plug the QRP rig into the cigar lighter, and be on the air in 5 minutes without a rats nest of wires and multiple devices on the dashboard.