- by:Dan Maloney
Newly minted hams like me generally find themselves asking, “What now?” after getting their tickets. Amateur radio has a lot of different sub-disciplines, ranging from volunteering for public service gigs to contesting, the closest thing the hobby has to a full-contact sport. But as I explore my options in the world of ham radio, I keep coming back to the one discipline that seems like the purest technical expression of the art and science of radio communication – low-power operation, or what’s known to hams as QRP. With QRP you can literally talk with someone across the planet on less power than it takes to run a night-light using a radio you built in an Altoids tin. Now that’s a challenge I can sink my teeth into.
Why QRP?
QRP takes its name from the Q-codes developed as shorthand by early Morse operators. QRP mean “Reduce power” or when posed as a question, “Shall I reduce power?” It has gradually morphed into a catch-all term that describes the whole field of low-power operation. Not surprisingly, there’s no hard and fast rule as to what constitutes QRP, but like a lot of things in life, you know it when you see it. Generally, any radio capable of transmitting at 5 watts or less would be considered a QRP rig, although some argue for anything below 10 watts. In the end these limits are academic, because most QRP aficionados like to work with much lower power, typically only a watt or two. Extreme QRP, called QRPp, lives below a watt and sometimes is best measured in milliwatts; for some serious over-achievers, it’s even measured in microwatts….READ MORE
Eddy, K6SDW, is trying to find out which SWR meter he sould us. He wants to know which SWR meter should he use to tune the antenna circuit, the built-... Read more
How hard is it to make contacts over the ISS Crossband repeater? Thanks to Robert W5ITR https://www.qrz.com/db/W5ITR for demonstrating his very nice r... Read more
Here we take a look at the ABBREE AR-F8 handheld transceiver. Does this really do 20 Watts? I think we know that answer already..! Read more
SteppIR Antenna This is another video from Pacificon 2022. I will interviewing another vender. John Mertel, WA7IR, for SteppIR. Watch to learn more. Read more
Would you like a wireless mic option for your ICOM radios? Well, there is a way to do it with a Uniden CB mic. And it’s kind of neat! Read more
The Wolf River Sporty Forty is a single band base loaded coil for 40 meter operation using the Wolf River 213 inch, Chameleon CHA SS-17, or MFJ-1979 w... Read more
HF SDR Transceiver 10W Amateur Radio AM FM CW SSB FX-4C Read more
WRTC Organizing Committee is proud to announce a 2023 edition of WRTC 2023 AWARD! This is NOT WRTC 2022 Contest that will be held in Bologna in July 2... Read more
The ACOM 2020S is a state-of-the art 1500 W heavy-duty, solid-state linear amplifier, covering all amateur bands from 1.8 to 54 MHz. It features a Rem... Read more
N1MM has built in Morse Runner for contest simulator. Here’s a quick vid on how to set up and use. Read more
More
SWR Meter – Internal Vs External
ISS Crossband Repeater Ham Radio Contacts!
ABBREE AR-F8 6 BAND HANDHELD
Pacificon – SteppIR Antenna
Using A Uniden Wireless Mic For ICOM Radios??
I Love It! Game Changing Wolf River Sporty Forty Coil review
What secrets is it hiding? FX-4C
WRTC 2023 AWARD : January 2023…headset on!
ACOM 2020S | Solid-State 1.8-54 MHz Linear Amplifier
N1MM + Morse Runner Contest set up
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