Mark, A few points that I couldn't make on the net, because of time. 1. I wasn't saying don't do it, just don't expect a bunch of QSO's. You will be limited to when the band is really open, and the noise floor is low at the receiving antenna. That will reduce the number of potential contacts by at least an order of magnitude. That being said, operating anything is better than operating nothing. 2. IMHO, and end fed antenna is not a good choice unless you also build a matching bridge. You can't expect to maintain an exact 50-ohm load from an end-fed with just a toroid, you also need some shunt resistors, and variable caps, and such, and you will need to tune it depending on conditions due to reactance unless you built-in a big enough reactance in the circuit, and cut the end-fed to exactly 1/2 wave where you want to operate, and the toroid with that much permeability probably ain't cheap. A better approach to me would be a 20M 1/2 wave dipole trimmed at operating height with an antenna analyzer. 3. Doing this in the city, with the amount of interference, and the antenna compromises we have to make seems to add a whole other set of issues to making contacts. If I were to do it, I might plan to take the rig out of the city to operate it, and get the advantage of using trees and such to get my dipole at 33 feet up, with a low noise floor to increase my chances of contacts. 4. In any event, I suspect you are really going to need at least a Nano VNA to make sure you don't smoke the finals, since I doubt seriously that a QRP kit includes protection circuitry. That will add a minimum of $50 to your build, although you would save a bunch on the antenna if you built a 1/2 wave dipole instead. Heck, I have an extra 1:1 current balun I can part with for the rock bottom price of $0.02, and since I am including my $0.02 in this email, net due is $0.00 :-)
Ron KE4DRF On Mon, Dec 28, 2020 at 11:44 PM Mark Brantana via BVARC <[email protected]> wrote: > I thought I had things all figured out. I originally wanted to get back on > HF, and found I could get some great used equipment for about $400, not > including antenna. Add a 10-80 m antenna from MyAntenna for around $165. I > already have coax installed. Grand total: $565 > > Normally, this cost would not be an issue, but like so many others I am > short on funds due to CV-19, so it is a bad time for this expenditure. I > find I can buy a 20-m QRP Labs CW mini with case for about $90, and build > an EFHW antenna for another $20 (including the matching toroid). Grand > Total: $110 > > Everything has its advantages though. A ham since ’78, that’s 1987, I feel > that > 1. this would force me to improve my almost forgotten code without the > inevitable distraction of voice alternatives, > 2. this would give me a chance to build a full small project and antenna. > > Today, though, some felt that this setup would lead to disappointment on > my part. I am fully aware there will be some limitations to QRP, but the > generally negative comments form our net were as follows: > 1. The band is poor at this time. > 2. The 4-5 Watt QRP would not get in, and even a 100 Watt unit would not > suffice, but needs to be about 500 Watts. This would lead me to need back > to spending at least $565, and more for an amplifier. (So we are now saying > that even a typical 100 Watt radio is insufficient?) (I would also note > that QRP sells a 50 W amplifier for this radio as an add on. > > Experience counts. So, I am looking for my fellow hams with QRP experience > to share their thoughts. I thought I had this all figured out, but if I am > going down a wrong road, I need to know. What has been your experience with > 20-m QRP? > > Mark > N5PRD > ________________________________________________ > Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club > > BVARC mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org >
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