I don't have a picture of the shack, but it was in a back bedroom/electronics workshop. The station consisted of a HW-8, the simplest MFJ antenna tuner, and a J-38. Antenna was a long long wire completely circling the 1/2 acre lot (omni-directional?). Still have that HW-8 which I bought a couple months before I got my ticket and assembled it during the interim. Also, I still display y "FIRST AWARD" certificate dated Mar. 21, 1982 for my first QSO with WB3CEM. EuGene P.S., I'm still a QRP nut!
I, for one among many, am envious of your being able to hang onto that first rig for all these years! P.S. Still a QRP nut here, too! 72/73
I've always been of the opinion that those of us who started out on QRP have a fondness for it forever. My first rig was also a Heathkit - an HW-7 that I built at the age of 13 in January 1975 while awaiting my ticket (passed the tests in December, ticket came in March!). I too still have that very HW-7 and it still works after all these years. In 2017 I got to meet Bob Furnau, W8NDG - the "ham at Heath" that designed the HW-7 and HW-8 ... he even autographed it for me! To this day, I have more than half a dozen QRP rigs that I rotate all the time. Dave W7UUU
WNiMB, Yes, I still have the original HW-8, a companion HW-8, a HW-9, TT Argonauts 509 & 515, and Xiegu G1M. When I want to run 5 watt QRO stuff, I go low power with a Pixie, Frog sounds, etc, or even lower with <100 mw un-named peanut whistles. 2 receivers, Yaesu FR-101 and Heath AR-3. Moved to a new QTH, so I gotta put up my signature long long "great circle wire and a G5RV that I just picked up this past week. Smiff, KA5NLY
HMMM!! Is accumulating rigs and constantly rotating them a particular affliction that befalls anyone who gets hooked on QRP?
Yep! My "full list" Elecraft K1, KX1, MFJ-9600 (9200 with all band modules), HW-7, HW-8, HW-9, Homebrew 4w 80/40 tube XMTR, Bayou Jumper "paraset", "Splinter II", 200-mW single transistor transmitter (20m), a Frog Sounds, a Pixie, Ramsay Kits 20m and 40m transmitters, and several "no name from China" kits I've built over the years. I'm sure I'm missing some It's just fun to play with little QRP rigs Dave W7UUU
Dave, I'm no designer, so I would like to get a schematic and building info for a 10mw transceiver. I guess a Pixie, or something like that could be altered to run only 10mw max, but wouldn't know how to do it without messing up its operation. I want to see how close I can get to a pair of tin cans and a piece of string! Smiff KA5NLY
Here's the circuit I used - and the photo is what it looks like - it runs on 20m. It's 200 mW not 20 though - but just lowering the voltage often works - as long as oscillation remains stable. Link: https://makerf.com/posts/mighty_simple_shortwave_transmitter The photo is before I added a heat sink - I ran it about 40 mW but once I went over 100 it was getting warm. By 200 it was downright HOT!. No idea what transistor - just a junkbox NPN. I experimented with several until I found one that worked well. Dave W7UUU
