K2DLJ wrote: "Creeping featurism would compromise the basic beauty of the KX-1. It works anywhere with a 25-foot wire. I've discovered that calling CQ is more productive than trying to reply to someone else in competition with more powerful stations."
I vividly remember a camping trip just over a year ago when I was at a high elevation (6000 feet or so, but not as high as nearby mountain tops), and used the 25 foot wire and counterpoise. We were just below the tree line, so I used a tree to hoist the wire. I don't like external batteries, so my KX1 put out about 2 watts from the lithium AA cells. The only time the XYL allowed me to set up and operate was during the lunch stop. Effective operating time about 30 minutes. I tried 20, 30 and 40. As we all know, those bands don't tend to be their best at mid-day. Conditions weren't good either. I tried CQ's as well as calling others. There was no contest on. Bottom line: Only one station acknowledged hearing me, and I was such a bad copy that he gave up on the qso before it started. I think with 5 or 10 watts I would have made it. Another memory: I had operated qrp successfully several times from a low mountain top near home. This time we went to the same mountain range but to a saddle point where a crude rock hut was located. This was a nice location to stop for a snack, and it provided a place to sit while operating. Again, someone could barely hear me, but I could not complete a qso. It was in the afternoon when 20 usually works well. I blamed the failure on some sheet metal embedded as a ring in the top of the building. It may have been too close to the antenna, and it may have had lossy joints. QRP operating success depends greatly on finding great locations and operating at the best times. When I operate portable I may not be at a good radio location, and the time of day for radio operation is often not the best. I want to be able to make a contact from anywhere, at any time, for emergency purposes (and to be able to operate when the xyl wants to stop for a break). The reality is that no QRP HF radio easily makes contacts under these conditions, and I need every little edge I can get. A few dB of signal improvement means a lot. 73, Erik K7TV ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
