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There’s a couple of threads going on the KX3 e-mail reflector today. One is titled “QRP Baloney” and the other “QRP Sausage”.  Both threads are a “discussion” trying to determine what QRP “really is”.

I, for one, originally thought that QRP was making sure your transmitter put out 100 Watts or less. Well, that was back in the “Ancient Times”, in the Mesozoic Era when I originally joined QRP ARCI.

Somewhere along the line, that changed and the definition of QRP became a power output of no more than 5 Watts for CW and 10 Watts for SSB.

I am fine with that definition. Period.

Now we have some purveyors of bologna that are insisting that QRP means “5 Watts with ONLY simple, non-gain type antennas”.  Wow!

Somehow it’s not in the “Spirit of QRP” to do as much as you possibly can with that 5 or 10 Watts.

Really?

For the record, my antennas (currently – might add a W3EDP soon) are simple, and non-gain – a Butternut HF9V ground mounted vertical and an 88′ Extended Double Zepp wire . But while I am sleeping tonight, if the Angel of the Lord appears in a dream and says, “Lawrence, the Father has decided that you have truly been a good and faithful servant lately.  In appreciation, when you wake up tomorrow morning, in your backyard He will provide a 40 foot tower with a multi-band Yagi mounted at the top”.

What? Am I supposed to say, “Dear St. Michael (or Gabriel or Raphael – whatever), I am a QRP Purist – could you tell the Lord to make that a Buddipole instead”?

No …. I don’t think so.

The concept of QRP is to limit your power output.  If you take that 5 or 10 Watts and pump them into an antenna “fire hose” so that you SOUND like you’re pumping out a kW, then I say “Bravo for you”.  The true “Spirit of QRP” is “doing more with less” – taking those Watts that you’re using, and with a combination of good operating skill and the best antenna you can muster, putting out the best signal that you possibly can.  That’s it – no more, no less.

If you listen to the purveyors of bologna, I guess they would also tell you that a guy pumping 500 Watts into a 6 inch piece of copper at ground level is actually QRP.

No …… that would just be stupid.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least! (But take the pains to make it sound like the very most!)

The wire from my Inverted L End Fed Zepp met its doom this past August..  I went outside after a particularly bad evening of thunderstorms to find wire hanging down on the back porch and the other end hanging down the mast that was supporting the far end.  The gusty winds caused it to fall apart somewhere in the middle.

I didn’t use it much as I could never get a decent match on the antenna tuner.  For whatever reason, perhaps the truly random length of it and the lack of a decent counterpoise, it always gave my auto tuner fits and starts.

This evening (and for the past few evenings) I was following a discussion on W3EDP antennas on the Polar Bear QRP Ops mailing list.  I did a lil’ Googlin’ and came up with this:

http://www.qsl.net/w5rin/Projects/Antennas/ae5vv/W3EDPAntenna.pdf

I can (I think) definitely fit a 67″ hunk of wire along the run that was occupied by my ill fated EFZ.  According to the .pdf, that should make operations on 80 Meters and up possible.  However, I would really like to find a way to squeeze an 85″ piece of wire, in order to make operations possible on 160 Meters, too.  I know, not nearly an ideal antler for 160 – but something is better than nothing (which is what I have right now).

I have the ladder line and I have a heavy duty 4:1 balun that my friend Bob W3BBO was not using and sent me.  I have the wire and the coax is still there. I just need to cobble one of these together and get it up before the weather really turns nasty for the winter.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know how much I love Amateur Radio. Two of my “passions within a passion”  are operating QRP and taking QRP to the great outdoors and operating portable.

But during the past week, we had another family milestone event. The last of our parents, my mother-in-law, Nora Dunmyer, passed away last Monday.  The funeral was this past Friday. Needless to say, it was a hectic week – mostly for my wife Marianne and her brother, Tim.

Obviously, the photo above was taken on the day of our wedding (14 years ago, when I was much thinner and my hair had way less gray in it).  In the photo, my father-in-law, Joe is standing next to Marianne, and my mother-in-law, Nora is standing next to me.  She was a wonderful woman who was born in Donegal, Ireland into a large family.  Of all her brothers and sisters, only she and her brother Harry Gallagher came to the United States. As a young woman she earned a degree in teaching. She taught reading and English in the Catholic Schools system in New York City and in various communities in Northern New Jersey, for many, many years.

She was an inspiration to many of her young students, who have since grown up to lead responsible, productive lives.  And several of them contacted Marianne this past week, via Facebook, to let her know how important her mother, “Mrs. Dunmyer” was to them.  That has to be about the nicest tribute anyone can pay.  To touch lives in a significant way was her gift.  She will be missed.

On a side note, Marianne still has plenty of cousins and a few aunts and uncles still living in Ireland. One of her uncles was a Ham, although Marianne cannot recall his call sign.  From the times she has visited the Emerald Isle, though, she was able to tell me about the tower he had on the side of his house, and unfortunately, also about the time it was struck by lightning and how the house almost burned down as a result.

Needless to say, there was no radio activity of any kind this past week.  I had hoped to play in the 4 States QRP Group 4X4 Sprint yesterday, but that was not to be.  However, an e-mail today on QRP-L from Hank  N8XX reminded me that the QRP ARCI Fall QRP QSO Party is next weekend.  So while that is not a portable event by any stretch of the imagination (although there’s no reason it couldn’t be if you wanted) I hope to make a semi-significant effort if time allows. There’s no way in Heaven that I will be able to operate anywhere near the 24 hours out of 36 allowed.

A) I just have too much going on which precludes that possibility.
B) And even if “A” were not true, my butt would preclude the rest of my body from sitting in a chair that long.

So I will be happy if I manage to get 4 to 6, perhaps even 8 hours in of “giving out points”.  Hope to hear you  on the bands next weekend!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

I am making this brief post on a very inexpensive Android tablet that I purchased through eBay.  Not the ideal way to do this, but fun in any case.

I was amazed on finding so many Amateur Radio apps in the Google  Play Store.

I have a few installed, including Ham Log. It will be interesting to see if this tablet can be used as an effective portable ops logging device.  Reminds me of the time that I used to use a Palm Pilot for that purpose.

One concern would be that the battery life on this thing isn’t all that great.  It will be fun to experiment, though.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP- When you care to send the very least!

A new QRP operating event will occur NEXT Saturday – October 6th from 17:00 to 21:OO UTC. It is sponsored by the 4 States QRP Group and is called the “4X4 QRP Sprint”.

For particulars, please visit:
http://www.4sqrp.com/FourByFour/4%20State%204×4%20QRP%20Sprint.pdf

This was the announcement that hit the QRP e-mail reflectors:

QRPsports has a new Sprint to provide lots of fun!

The 4 State QRP Group is sponsoring the new: 4×4 QRP Sprint……..4 hours and your best 4 bands! October 6, 2012……1700 to 2100 UTC

Special Bonus Points for being portable
Special Bonus Points for making a contact with a station using a HamCan
Extra Points for being a member of the 4sqrp reflector or having attended OzarkCon

More on the rules, awards, online downloadable scoring, and Bonus Points, see: http://www.4sqrp.com/4sqrpOnTheAir.php 
Scroll to the 4×4 QRP Sprint information. Its gonna be fun!

72/73….Walter – K5EST – 4×4 QRP Sprint Coordinator

I can deeply appreciate the endeavor of launching a new QRP event!  And any excuse to get outside and operate is a good one as far as I am concerned.  I hope to get out next Saturday and jump into the fray. The  AccuWeather outlook for next weekend in Central NJ is clear with daytime highs in the 60s (18C). So if that holds true, it can potentially be beautiful outdoor operating conditions.

As far as QRP events go – the more the merrier.  Please consider joining in to make the 4 States QRP Group’s new event a rousing success!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

At the beginning of the month, I posted about a Special Event Station – K2N, that was going to be operating from NY State aboard the USS Slater.

As luck would have it, my schedule did not permit me to get on the air that day “to give a shot” at working them.  This was a disappointment as I love working Special Event Stations, especially those that in anyway commemorate our Military or our Veterans.

Fortunately, Stan WB2LQF announced on the e-mail reflectors about a video posted to YouTube showing the day’s activities.  Here it is:

On a different note, I spent the evening printing out certificates for the 2012 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt.  The top five finishers, as well as the high scorers from each state or province that entered should be seeing something in their mailboxes within the next week or two.

Again – thanks to all for making this inaugural 2012 event a big success!

Lastly – ATTENTION KIT BUILDERS !!!!!!

The ARRL wants your input, as they are looking for recommendations for “easy to build” kits for first time or Newbie kit builders.  The link to the page is: http://www.arrl.org/news/attention-kit-builders-the-arrl-wants-to-hear-from-you.

I recommended the ACME QRP GC100 Gel Cell Charger Kit.  It was easy to build and is highly functional and usable.  What more could you ask for?

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!