The beginning of this month brought me an interesting QRPp contact with a station in Jackson Michigan. I say interesting because Zeke (KD8HES) was using a "Classic" Tuna Tin (2) that runs less than 1/2 watt and he was using a "simple wire antenna" (a dipole) up 30 feet. I always feel a special sense of accomplishment when working a QRPp station. (especially one using a simple wire antenna)
The " Tuna Tin 2 " is a modern version of the original built by Doug DeMan (W1FB) I say modern because it's nearly impossible to find the "original parts" and the circuit has been modified to use modern components.
But the output power is only 450 mw and the modern kit's cost is a whopping $20.
This morning I worked Zeke (KD8HES) "again" on 40 meters and I could hear (339) him a little better this time. I'm fascinated every time I work a little station like this.....nothing more than a few simple parts and a simple wire antenna.
There's real "magic" involved when working these kind of stations!
2 comments:
I quite agree, John. The true definition of QRP to me is "simple low power". By that definition, I'm cheating when using rigs like the K2, FT-817 or HB-1A, and as for turning the power down to 5W on the K3 ...
One of these days I plan to build something like a Pixie, a transceiver that uses only a handful of components. Though I fully appreciate that making a contact with a rig like that will be a lot harder than actually building it.
I actually have a "pixie". Didn't build it but couldn't pass it up at a hamfest a few years ago. At $20, I figured it as "artwork" if nothing else. Never made a contact with it but with the bands improving, I'll give it another try. The guy that built it said he made a lot of 300 mile contacts with the 40 meter Pixie.
On another note...sure glad you're "high and dry" at home. I was really shocked when I saw your hometown on the evening news. We have some friends who are orginally from Bristol. They were in Cockermouth just last year and remembered the downtown district quite well.
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