Exactly. That last "tip" I had written up here before you got to it. Revised: The bands really thin out towards the end if any two-day event. Those left ARE listening! We figured that one out running 100w in contests where over 1kw is the norm (or sounds like it) and running a fat 100w seems QRP.
Tracy, I had never look at contests in that manner. Usually, on contest weekends, I just turn the radio off and do something else and avoid the "aggravation." The approach to operating on Day #2 has me taking a 2nd look at contests and QSO parties. Also, getting away from expensive but compromise antennas is key. I use a segmented dipole for SOTA which has sections cut for 40, 30 and 20M which works very well, even being fed with RG-174 ! The money I see other QRP'ers spend on compromise antennas (eg: the Buddi Pole) has always been a confusing point. You could almost buy another radio for the price of one of those antennas such as a used FT-897D ! Tony, K9ARV has a new video and is using dipoles on this trip. For the first time, I've seen him work European DX in one of his videos and I was very happy for him. He's at: th-cam.com/video/3F8OUT2-4nY/w-d-xo.html
Well maybe LMR 600 is not necessary, getting rid of RG -174 would help quite a bit. RG-174 loss/100ft (30 MHz) 5.5 dB , RG8X 2.2 dB, LMR 240 1.2 dB. A very short piece of RG-174 to a vertical might be OK.
Good tips. So many hams use power instead of focusing on a good antenna. Higher power only works one way. It does nothing for the receive signal. You can't work what you can't hear ! Barry, KU3X
100% correct Tracey, I've just finished the CQWPX contest, and you're right, the difference between the first day and today is remarkable, very quiet this afternoon. In addition, I forgot to turn my 100W amp on yesterday on a couple of occasions, but still managed to work VE on 5W first call with the Hy-Endfed 54 bander. All the best, 73, M0KED, Lincoln, U.K.
Excellent comments Tracy. For anyone who doubts QRP, just take a look at Tracy's 2017 Field Day video. One more hint I will add, most of the big gun contest stations are available the day before the contest. They spend this time checking out their station.
Great tips. I have also found some stations will call for QRP and mobile station only at the top of the hour. Also other stations will let the event stations know if they hear QRP stations.
Hi Tracy. Tip #5... Which is actually one of your earlier tips from a different video... I ensure my antenna is actually cut to resonance on whatever band I use. Takes a bit more time to setup and adjust, but it eliminates a power robbing tuner when I don't have that much power to begin with...Roger / NQ8RP
Another excellent and informative post, Tracy! You've aggregated and concentrated a lot of what you have been preaching in other vids! Nice job. I'm really looking forward to Field Day this year. I'll be going up to a 5,000 ft. peak near Mt. Pilchuck (in the Cascades this time - closer to home) and I'll try to beat my 34 QRP contacts I made from Eastern Washington last year... I'll be using a longer end-fed and hopefully that will give me better geometries on my signal pattern. It would be cool if we could make contact, huh?!! Anyhow, great presentation and super advice for QRP beginners and enthusiasts. Thank for your inspiration and continued help. Take care - K7GYB.
Hi David, thank you for your comments! I am quite envious of your plan (in a good way of course :) ). My home province of Ontario is relatively flat...where I come from we call escarpments of 300 feet "mountains". Good luck and I'll be listening for your call come Field Day.
Full size vertical antennas with a decent amount of radials also work well. Of course, stacked monoband beams will be even better. SSB contests are for me comparatively difficult CW and RTTY contests are much better. psk31 tests can be OK but I found a lot of lids in these tests.
Thanks so much for this excellent video primer! Although I'm not very interested in contesting, I'm currently having a difficult time deciding on an HF rig for SOTA (and other portable) work. I'm not one to sit in a shack and want to ragchew; I prefer to be outdoors and on the move. That said, I've been discouraged of late because many of the hams I've spoken with advise against QRP for a first HF rig, because of potential disappointment and frustration. And while I feel strong enough to lug a 100W radio up a mountain, I'd much prefer keeping things light and mobile, if possible. After all, there are still power supplies and other gear to consider. Besides, nowadays there are a few less-pricey QRP options out there than there used to be. And to your point here, I'm not afraid of investing energy into experimenting with portable antenna systems equal to the task. At any rate, I'd love to hear how you might weigh in on this issue and would appreciate any additional tips. Thanks!
Thank you for your thoughts and question. My answer is simple: go ahead, defy conventional wisdom and make your first rig a QRP rig. Pair it up with a full sized antenna, mounted up high and in the clear. You will work a lot of stations and maybe open a few eyes in the process. Most hams don't understand how effective a QRP station can be when set up properly. See my other videos for additional tips, and search TH-cam for others operating QRP portable to see what they do, how they do it and what their results are. Then get out there and try it for yourself. Share what you learn and the ham fraternity will be the better for it. And let me know how you do, I'd like to hear about it.
Thanks so much for your considered reply! What you say makes so much sense, and it definitely fits my short- and long-term goals in the hobby. I've just bought a house on a good amount of land in Green Mountain National Forest. So if all goes as planned, in two months time I'll be erecting antennas, exploring the land and environs, and enjoying myself immensely. I'll definitely keep you posted as to how things are going. Also, in June my daughter and I will be camping at our favourite spot in northern Ontario, and of course I plan to bring my radio, which I've never done there before. Please keep the great and informative videos coming, and thanks again!
@ thormusique: My first HF rig was/is an FT 817... Have had no regrets. I was told the same thing (that I would be disappointed with a QRP rig) but understanding the dynamics of the QRP environment- as elaborated upon in this video and the other excellent posts by Tracy - and the rewards offered by this type of work are profound. Operating at comfortable power settings can generate more contacts, but like you, I enjoy going out into the mountains and finding a summit that I can transmit from and reap the rewards of QRP. All very exciting for sure for many reasons. Going portable with minimal gear and making DX contacts will make you higher than the mountain peak you are operating from. Here in the Cascades, where I live, is not only beautiful but is QRP territory for sure as we are blessed with many great trails and access to summits. Good luck with your adventures! 73. K7GYB.
If you are seriously trying to place as high as possible in a contest running QRP, the tip #4 can be a bit different. On day one, work all you can with 'search and pounce'. On day two, you can use a combination of S&P and sometimes even 'run' or call CQ due to the lesser density of stations. I have placed first in the QRP division of contests using this strategy.
The best antenna for contesting is a total resonent antenna no matter what antenna you can use . With an antenna that is not resonent for the band you plan to use you lose a lot of your radios power at the antenna .
I don not agree with your antenna recommendation as to restricting yourself to half wave wire antennas that are timely to setup. I have great success with using portable vertical antennas like the Buddi-stick, Alpha No Tune Portable and MFJ Telescoping Vertical Antennas which allows me to be up and running within 15mins or less. Your other points are right on, but do not restrict yourself to wire antennas!73 and hope to here you on the area. Erving (N1ECC)
I truly thank you for voicing your opinion on this, Erving. The one point I would make is that it doesn't have to take any more than15 minutes to set up a full sized wire antenna. Continued success with your portable endeavours!
I am not a contester I do not understand why I could begin to get ill :) Nevertheless If I were a so inclined I would get a recorded sexy sounding woman to call for me You could run milliwatts and make lots of contacts
An antenna like this you mean.. th-cam.com/video/HLlmjeBvxNc/w-d-xo.html Efficiency is everything with QRP and we have shown that many times over my friend. 73's de 2e0vov
Very thoughtful to enunciate so succinctly. Thank you!
Exactly. That last "tip" I had written up here before you got to it. Revised: The bands really thin out towards the end if any two-day event. Those left ARE listening! We figured that one out running 100w in contests where over 1kw is the norm (or sounds like it) and running a fat 100w seems QRP.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Wade!
Tracy, I had never look at contests in that manner. Usually, on contest weekends, I just turn the radio off and do something else and avoid the "aggravation." The approach to operating on Day #2 has me taking a 2nd look at contests and QSO parties. Also, getting away from expensive but compromise antennas is key. I use a segmented dipole for SOTA which has sections cut for 40, 30 and 20M which works very well, even being fed with RG-174 ! The money I see other QRP'ers spend on compromise antennas (eg: the Buddi Pole) has always been a confusing point. You could almost buy another radio for the price of one of those antennas such as a used FT-897D ! Tony, K9ARV has a new video and is using dipoles on this trip. For the first time, I've seen him work European DX in one of his videos and I was very happy for him. He's at: th-cam.com/video/3F8OUT2-4nY/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for your comments and for the link! I'm a fan of Tony's work.
Well maybe LMR 600 is not necessary, getting rid of RG -174 would help quite a bit. RG-174 loss/100ft (30 MHz) 5.5 dB , RG8X 2.2 dB, LMR 240 1.2 dB. A very short piece of RG-174 to a vertical might be OK.
Good tips. So many hams use power instead of focusing on a good antenna. Higher power only works one way. It does nothing for the receive signal. You can't work what you can't hear !
Barry, KU3X
Great points, Barry!
100% correct Tracey, I've just finished the CQWPX contest, and you're right, the difference between the first day and today is remarkable, very quiet this afternoon. In addition, I forgot to turn my 100W amp on yesterday on a couple of occasions, but still managed to work VE on 5W first call with the Hy-Endfed 54 bander. All the best, 73, M0KED, Lincoln, U.K.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Andy! 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Great video and tips , keep them coming. QRP is 95 % of my HF operating, Thanks!!!
Thank you, Ricky!
Excellent comments Tracy. For anyone who doubts QRP, just take a look at Tracy's 2017 Field Day video. One more hint I will add, most of the big gun contest stations are available the day before the contest. They spend this time checking out their station.
Great tip, Paul. Thank you for sharing!
Great tips. I have also found some stations will call for QRP and mobile station only at the top of the hour. Also other stations will let the event stations know if they hear QRP stations.
Thank you for the tip, David!
Hi Tracy. Tip #5... Which is actually one of your earlier tips from a different video... I ensure my antenna is actually cut to resonance on whatever band I use. Takes a bit more time to setup and adjust, but it eliminates a power robbing tuner when I don't have that much power to begin with...Roger / NQ8RP
I couldn't agree more, Roger!
Another excellent and informative post, Tracy! You've aggregated and concentrated a lot of what you have been preaching in other vids! Nice job. I'm really looking forward to Field Day this year. I'll be going up to a 5,000 ft. peak near Mt. Pilchuck (in the Cascades this time - closer to home) and I'll try to beat my 34 QRP contacts I made from Eastern Washington last year... I'll be using a longer end-fed and hopefully that will give me better geometries on my signal pattern. It would be cool if we could make contact, huh?!! Anyhow, great presentation and super advice for QRP beginners and enthusiasts. Thank for your inspiration and continued help. Take care - K7GYB.
Hi David, thank you for your comments! I am quite envious of your plan (in a good way of course :) ). My home province of Ontario is relatively flat...where I come from we call escarpments of 300 feet "mountains". Good luck and I'll be listening for your call come Field Day.
Tips 1-3 I knew but number 4 I did not and wow, great point. Thanks for making this and posting it.
You're welcome!
absolutely true tip! have worked many major contests QRP, and towards the end of any contest you can really increase your QSO rate/QRP!
Great ! '73 es good feast of Assumption .... Franz as ik0 rks
Thank you Franz! 73 from VE3TWM.
Full size vertical antennas with a decent amount of radials also work well. Of course, stacked monoband beams will be even better. SSB contests are for me comparatively difficult CW and RTTY contests are much better. psk31 tests can be OK but I found a lot of lids in these tests.
Thank you for sharing your experience!
Thanks so much for this excellent video primer! Although I'm not very interested in contesting, I'm currently having a difficult time deciding on an HF rig for SOTA (and other portable) work. I'm not one to sit in a shack and want to ragchew; I prefer to be outdoors and on the move. That said, I've been discouraged of late because many of the hams I've spoken with advise against QRP for a first HF rig, because of potential disappointment and frustration. And while I feel strong enough to lug a 100W radio up a mountain, I'd much prefer keeping things light and mobile, if possible. After all, there are still power supplies and other gear to consider. Besides, nowadays there are a few less-pricey QRP options out there than there used to be. And to your point here, I'm not afraid of investing energy into experimenting with portable antenna systems equal to the task. At any rate, I'd love to hear how you might weigh in on this issue and would appreciate any additional tips. Thanks!
Thank you for your thoughts and question.
My answer is simple: go ahead, defy conventional wisdom and make your first rig a QRP rig. Pair it up with a full sized antenna, mounted up high and in the clear. You will work a lot of stations and maybe open a few eyes in the process. Most hams don't understand how effective a QRP station can be when set up properly.
See my other videos for additional tips, and search TH-cam for others operating QRP portable to see what they do, how they do it and what their results are. Then get out there and try it for yourself. Share what you learn and the ham fraternity will be the better for it. And let me know how you do, I'd like to hear about it.
Thanks so much for your considered reply! What you say makes so much sense, and it definitely fits my short- and long-term goals in the hobby. I've just bought a house on a good amount of land in Green Mountain National Forest. So if all goes as planned, in two months time I'll be erecting antennas, exploring the land and environs, and enjoying myself immensely. I'll definitely keep you posted as to how things are going. Also, in June my daughter and I will be camping at our favourite spot in northern Ontario, and of course I plan to bring my radio, which I've never done there before. Please keep the great and informative videos coming, and thanks again!
@ thormusique: My first HF rig was/is an FT 817... Have had no regrets. I was told the same thing (that I would be disappointed with a QRP rig) but understanding the dynamics of the QRP environment- as elaborated upon in this video and the other excellent posts by Tracy - and the rewards offered by this type of work are profound. Operating at comfortable power settings can generate more contacts, but like you, I enjoy going out into the mountains and finding a summit that I can transmit from and reap the rewards of QRP. All very exciting for sure for many reasons. Going portable with minimal gear and making DX contacts will make you higher than the mountain peak you are operating from. Here in the Cascades, where I live, is not only beautiful but is QRP territory for sure as we are blessed with many great trails and access to summits. Good luck with your adventures! 73. K7GYB.
If you are seriously trying to place as high as possible in a contest running QRP, the tip #4 can be a bit different. On day one, work all you can with 'search and pounce'. On day two, you can use a combination of S&P and sometimes even 'run' or call CQ due to the lesser density of stations. I have placed first in the QRP division of contests using this strategy.
Great tip! Thank you, Korey.
#5 Patience.
Very true, though not as much as some people think.
Another great video and tips.
Thank you Tracy.
73 Simon -PD0KDN
Thank you, Simon! 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Thank's for Your tip There Tracy! Nice and informative video :-) The best from LB1NH Arild.
Thank you, Arild! 73 from Tracy VE3TWM.
Great motivational speech.
Thank you a lot sir!
73
You're welcome, thank you for your comment!
I agree with you 100% Tracy, 73's 2W0EQQ 😃
Thank you and 73, Leighton.
QRP Phone is fun thank you for the video.
You're welcome!
Is 20 watts can be considered QRP? Because, thst's all I can transmit.
The ARRL and RSGB consider 10 watts SSB to be QRP, but many people out there lump 20 watt transmitters in that category. Use what you have 😀
Oh hiw I wish I had a 54 bander, I meant 4 band!
nice also found adding qrp to call sign pulls them in using this got an 1800ml to stPetersberg russia on 5w pleased or wot!!!73
Nice contact! Thank you for the tip.
The best antenna for contesting is a total resonent antenna no matter what antenna you can use . With an antenna that is not resonent for the band you plan to use you lose a lot of your radios power at the antenna .
Want to work QRP in contests ? First and most important tip: work CW !!!
I don not agree with your antenna recommendation as to restricting yourself to half wave wire antennas that are timely to setup. I have great success with using portable vertical antennas like the Buddi-stick, Alpha No Tune Portable and MFJ Telescoping Vertical Antennas which allows me to be up and running within 15mins or less. Your other points are right on, but do not restrict yourself to wire antennas!73 and hope to here you on the area. Erving (N1ECC)
I truly thank you for voicing your opinion on this, Erving. The one point I would make is that it doesn't have to take any more than15 minutes to set up a full sized wire antenna. Continued success with your portable endeavours!
I am not a contester
I do not understand why
I could begin to get ill :)
Nevertheless
If I were a so inclined
I would get a recorded sexy sounding woman to call for me
You could run milliwatts and make lots of contacts
I agree!
An antenna like this you mean.. th-cam.com/video/HLlmjeBvxNc/w-d-xo.html
Efficiency is everything with QRP and we have shown that many times over my friend. 73's de 2e0vov
Excellent video, Mark! I hope everyone who reads this follows the link and checks it out. 73 from VE3TWM.