Interesting QSO's with QRPp'er Alexey RT7O

ZA/AE5X

While making several activations of Alpet e Shqipërisë National Park (AL-0001) in northern Albania earlier this week, I had a total of three QSO's with Alexey RT7O. Each time, Alexey used a different QRPp rig.

A pleasant series of emails followed over the next couple of days as Alexey described and sent photos of the radios he used - all of which he homebrewed.

The receiver in each case was a Malamute transceiver and its antenna consisted of two 41-meter wires running down from a balcony (set at a 90-degree angle to each other) and sloping down toward a tree and a pole.

The transmitting antenna for the rigs described below was a 14 MHz sloper aimed westward.

In my case, the rig in use was a QRP Labs QMX putting 6 watts into a 1/4-wave whip attached to a magnet mount on the roof of my rental car. No ground radials.

I was surrounded by mountains on all sides and didn't know what to expect of my ability to make contacts from an area with no unobstructed horizon in any direction. To my surprise, contacts came fast and furious thanks to the ZA prefix. 

All QSO's were on 20m CW. 

For our first QSO, Alexey was using a  700 mW transmitter - built with two rod tubes - to mark the "First Earth Satellite" activity event:

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An audio recording of this QSO is here (I was using a QMX). 

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For our next QSO's Alexey used the absolutely beautiful 300mW designed around an old Soviet 6P15P tube. The schematic is shown here:

Why Albania?

Some readers know that my other hobbies are photography and videography with drones. The opportunity to go to Albania offered me a chance to participate in all of these hobbies plus do a heckuva lot of hiking. And just regular old walking.

My smartwatch says I walked 14km (9 miles) the first day in Tirana and 26km (16 miles) the second day. All of that was in the Blloku District of Tirana, previously off limits even to Albanians until 1991. Blloku was the upscale part of town, only open to political party officials.

I also have an interest in Cold War history and Albania offers an up-close chance to explore that interest. I may elaborate on that a bit in a future posting.

But really, I'm just a boy who likes his drone. 

The scenes below were shot with a DJI Avata 360 in an area about halfway between Bogë (pronounced Boga) and Theth in the northern part of the country.

This is the southern Alps, known in Albania as The Accursed Mountains. 

 

Or watch directly on YouTube 

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Activating AL-0001 with the QMX - and a bit of drone flying

Last year, Hans G0UPL rushed me a QMX at my request so that I could operate during an impromptu trip to Vietnam. As it turned out, it was impossible to get permission to operate and I've felt guilty ever since at having taken advantage of Hans' willingness to expedite the QMX.

But as of today the QMX has finally gone on a bit of a DXpedition.

I am currently near Theth Albania and have just returned from activating the unpronounceable-by-me Alpet e Shqipërisë National Park with the QMX.

The entire operation was on 20m CW. I was surrounded by mountains but was able to easily work a good number of Europeans and one US station (K2UPD) in New York. 

The QMX performed well.

I hope to activate the same park from another (better) location tomorrow.

Interesting contacts with QRPp'er Alexey RT7O - click here.

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QMX replaces KX2 for upcoming trip

I've spent the past few days getting used to new features in my QRP Labs QMX regarding the TUNE function and the high SWR shutdown capability meant to save the finals in the event of an operator error.

I'm running the latest firmware 1_04_015. 

As the departure date for my Albanian trip approaches, I've decided to take the QMX rather than the too-expensive KX2.

Economic ease-of-replacement overrules the integration of functionality built into the KX2.

A cheap Chinese antenna tuner, 12V USB-C cable and a USB power pack (that I was going to bring anyway) complete the package. The antenna will be as previously described.

Two local POTA activations have proven the set-up to my satisfaction and I'm getting 6 watts out on 20m CW.

If all goes according to plan, I'll be on the air October 8. 

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My travel antenna

An ongoing question on various online forums is "What is a good antenna for airline travel?"

Compact, inexpensive, easy to set up and effective - these are non-negotiable requirements for me:

17-foot (5m) whip -  offers a full 1/4-wavelength on any band, 10-20 meters. Collapses down to 19 inches (48cm). It has a 10mm thread so an adapter will be needed for the mount listed below. MFJ (sk) and other sources offer a similar whip (shown in photo) with a 3/8x24 thread but this version collapses only to 25 inches. I'd rather have the shorter whip even though it requires an adapter.

10mm to 3/8x24 adapter -  buy two because they're easy to lose ;-)

October: ZA/AE5X update

I've been getting a few emails asking for more info on our upcoming trip to Albania.

Thanks to Col at DX World for the image and to Bernie at the Daily DX - and to both of them for publicizing this holiday style operation that will begin in October.

I'd like to emphasize that this is a vacation, not a DXpedition. All radio ops will be a bit on the spur-of-the-moment but I will be able to pre-announce them on my blog and the POTA website a couple hours beforehand.

 

Rig:

Video: QDX-M assists in the rescue of a spelunker

The low-frequency capability of Hans G0UPL's QDX-M proved its worth in Alberta last week.

Rescuers attempting to retrieve a cave explorer made use of a QDX-M built for the 2200 meter band (136 kHz) which, evidently, will allow communications through solid rock.

The rescue was successful and can be read about here:

Calgary Herald

CBC

According to Hans:

"There is a request to make the QDX-M firmware operational down to 88 kHz which is where the UK and European cave rescue services have an allocation. I will try to get that done in the next week or two.

W7, VE7 ops...and booking ahead for ZA

We've arrived at cooler temps and have been at our AirBnB for several days now, located between Courtenay BC and Strathcona Provincial Park. We see snow on the mountaintops from our balcony - what a concept!

Mount Rainier was our last stop before taking the ferry over from Port Angeles WA to Victoria BC.

We did a 4 mile hike there and came face to face with a black bear heading  our way on the trail. We walked away from it slowly, it did the same. I walked backwards and opened my phone's camera app and made a brief video as the bear paralleled us on the other side of a small creek.

Yesterday consisted of a beautiful 7 mile hike in Strathcona PP followed by a frustrating activation. Were band conditions poor or does being surrounded by mountains adversely affect propagation?! 10 tough, well-earned contacts went into the log, all of them weak.

Later today we are headed to a beach where I'll see if saltwater offers an improvement in radio'ing. We'll be at Miracle Beach Provincial Park CA-3807 sometime between 1900-2200Z and may go to another nearby beach (and POTA site after that).

POTA road-tripping

We are currently in Oregon, en route to Vancouver Island - a long way from Florida in a lot of ways.

Up to now we've been mostly focused on laying down the miles. We are now a bit ahead of our scheduled ferry and AirBnB reservations so a few activations have (and will) creep in.

Arches National Park was the first one and I appreciate all the calls. Is there more of an interest in working national parks than state parks, wildlife preserves, etc? My experiences at national parks seems to suggest this is the case. Many callers but my time was heat-limited.

The weather was much cooler earlier today where I activated a small but beautiful park (Three Island Crossing State Park) in Idaho. The camp host was also a ham so we chatted a bit, then walked around the scenic Snake River.

Prior to that we visited and picnic'ed at Shoshone Falls, a city park in Idaho Falls, at the recommendation of Michael N6MST. Man, what a beautiful place. 

Tomorrow we continue northward and I plan to activate Emigrant Springs State Park in northeastern OR, probably sometime between 1700-2000Z. The rig is an FT-891 with a 17' (5m) whip antenna. 100 watts, CW, starting on 20m.

Beginning Friday, we'll be on Vancouver Island for a week, rambling about but staying at an AirBnB near Strathcona Provincial Park. 

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POTA Today: Arches National Park

Sometime between 1600-1900z today I'll be activating US-0004 in Utah for 30 minutes. 

FT-891 (100 watts), vertical antenna, 20m CW.

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TAT bust; future travel plans

I've been home from my TAT ride for several weeks now. More accurately, it was a 1/2-TAT as I headed home after riding Colorado.

My age and the Oklahoma heat did me in.

Oklahoma was three days of slow, sandy riding in 104F/40C heat with more of the same for Utah. Colorado was a cool relief in between that made the upcoming desert even less appealing than if I hadn't ridden in those snow-covered mountains.

I rented a cargo van in Ouray, loaded the bike and headed home.

TAT Video update: AR-OK-NM

Arkansas

Heavy rains made for muddy riding through a beautiful state. I managed a quick activation (US-4425) just before the rain started but the high winds preceding the rain made the audio from the activation's recording unsuitable for posting to YouTube.

Thanks all, for the contacts.

Lunch was at the cafe in Oark where I met a great group of people who invited me to join them at their table. Everyone was from somewhere else and the conversation was all about travel. 

I saw more wildlife in Arkansas than in the previous three states combined, mostly deer but also two coyote. 

The set-up of my moto-POTA kit from Davy Crockett SP

A few folks have asked about what I'm using on the road, particularly in regard to the antenna and how it is mounted.

I'm currently taking a day off the ride to wait out the heavy rains due here in central Arkansas which gave me time to put a short video together. 

Back on the sure-to-be-muddy Trail tomorrow. 

 

Directly on YouTube 

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TAT update: Tupelo MS

Two days on the TAT now and making a fast progression west - not due to any skillful or fast riding on my part, it's all due to the fact that the TAT from Tennessee eastward is mostly paved roads. County roads make up most of the TAT in these eastern states and, while beautifully scenic, they are not what comes to mind when the word "trail" is used.

That changes tomorrow. From here on out, "trail" means unpaved.

I expect to reach Arkansas tomorrow and the ride will be along the Mississippi Delta. Cotton and corn will present themselves in abundance.

I'm postponing buying new tires for the bike until early Colorado. The originals seem to still have life in them so I passed right on by Lake Hill Motors in Corinth MS today.

3 June

 

TAT/QRP will begin on the morning of 3 June, starting near Chatsworth GA.

It's impossible to predict with any reliability how much radio'ing I'll be doing (and when) since weather and POTA proximity to the TAT are big factors.

But the TAT passes directly through, and immediately adjacent to, many parks along the way and I'll try to make use of that when possible.

Radio gear will be that shown in the photo. 

Hopefully, I'll be able to post my intended activations to the POTA website so that the RBN will spot me when I call CQ.

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A graphical look at the main advantage of the KX2USBC2

I've now gone through six charge/discharge cycles of my KX2's internal battery using the new KXUSBC2 to charge it and I've used different sources and USB-C cables for each charge.

Regardless of the charging voltage used, the KX2 battery gets a complete charge, whether the charging source was 5V or 15V.

Contrast that with different source voltages when used with Elecraft's KXIBC2 internal charger:

KXUSBC2 installed into KX2

(Also shown: Iniu 20AH power bank, KWS-1902C USB-C power meter) 

13 May: Updated info, including notes from its designer, Manuel HB9DQM. 

I received my KXUSBC2 in the mail today and wasted no time installing it into my KX2.

No soldering or de-soldering was required. Other KX2's may or may not require a small amount of soldering, depending on when the it was manufactured.

Those contemplating the addition of the USB-C charger to their KX2 should read the instructions here. 

If you're replacing Elecraft's built-in charger, the KXUSBC2 retains Real-Time Clock functionality. 

5-band QMX on this morning's 5-band POTA activation

The little QMX has come a long way since it was first released as a CW/digital transceiver, and I don't just mean the addition of SSB.

Far more significant to me are the very recent firmware updates that corrected two major shortcomings with the radio:

Strict DC input voltage limitations and

Common failure of the final BS170's during high SWR at full power.

These two issues prevented the QMX (and QMX+) from being a serious consideration for outdoor ops who don't use resonant antennas and don't want to take along a buck converter, LiPo battery or place "dropping diodes" in series with the DC source.

Those are a lot of things to contend with if you want to just set up and be on the air with minimal fuss.

They are no real issue at all though, if you don't mind taking the time to accommodate the radio rather than have the radio accommodate you.

Sometimes I like to savor the steps necessary to put a station on the air and don't mind taking extra time (and steps) to enjoy the process.

But for a roadtrip like the one I have planned, I want a minimal to-do list and a quick set up time - and I'm happy to say that the QMX/QMX+ now support this.

This morning's was my first activation with the 15-40m QMX. Hans built this one for me and expedited it to me a few months ago as I was trying to get permission to operate in Vietnam and Thailand. Thailand said 'Yes" but Vietnam said "No, don't even bring a radio here". So I had to leave the radio at home since VN was our first stop.

Now, with a different type of trip on the horizon, the little QMX again has become the front runner of the 4 radios I'm considering. 

KX2's internal battery capacity when charged from different voltage sources - and a new product for the KX2

The manual for the KX2's internal battery charger (KXIBC2) allows for a variety of input voltages, up to a maximum of 15V, to be used to charge the radio's 2.6AH lithium battery. The manual also mentions that lower voltages (down to 11V) can also be used although the battery will not be fully charged at these voltages.

I was curious to see how a lower charging voltage - ie, a partial charge - would correspond to capacity.

My main interests were:

• If I charge the KX2's battery from my motorcycle's lead-acid battery, how much capacity will it have?
• If I charge a completely discharged KX2 battery from the motorcycle, will I still have enough juice in the motorcycle battery to be able to start the bike?

Hilltopper Tallboy: Building, aligning, testing and on the air

 

I've had a hankering to build something lately and happened across a relatively new offering from the 4 States QRP Group: the Hilltopper Tallboy, a monoband QRP CW transceiver kit.

Available for 15 to 40 meters (and maybe 60m soon), I ordered a 20m version. It arrived 5 or 6 days later and I started building it right away.

The Build 

The kit's contents were well organized as were the accompanying instruction.

Parts are sorted into one of 10 bags and the assembly follows the bag's numerical sequence. There are exceptions to this as parts are sometimes required from the ESD bag or the bag containing the matched crystals.

 

The largest bag - and the one responsible for my initial impression of "Man, that's a substantial kit!" - is the one containing the mechanical components: knobs, jacks, hardware, etc.