[ADXA] QRP DX (not really DX)

[patw5vy at gmail.com]

That’s impressive Dennis. 52 QSOs on a 9V alkaline cell!   I like my KX3 but it is a bit of a battery hog.  My favorite QRP memory was using Nick’s (WA5BDU) 40M CW rig that was in an Altoids tin when the K5BAT crew did FD at the BAT.  I think it was running 2-3W and I had a ball on 40M CW for a couple of hours.  

 

73,

Pat, W5VY

 

From: adxa-bounces at mailman.qth.net <adxa-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of Dennis Schaefer
Sent: Sunday, January 31, 2021 9:35 AM
To: ADXA <ADXA at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: [ADXA] QRP DX (not really DX)

 

Winter Field Day is this weekend.  Our club set up at a community center for a few hours last year on a warm January day and had a few hours of fun.  That wasn't possible this year and WFD isn't terribly exciting, but I wanted to participate a little bit.

 

I recently got an LNR Precision MTR-4b v2 "Mountain Topper" rig.  This is a CW-only transceiver that runs up to 5 watts on 80, 40, 30, and 20 meters.  They advertise that it will run for a couple of hours on a 9V battery at reduced output.  I decided to see how many contacts I could make before the battery gave out.  I used a standard Ray-O-Vac alkaline battery.

 

Before WFD started, I worked 5 French stations on 20 meters in the REF contest.

 

I started out on 20 meters and made 21 contacts in less than an hour with 1.5 watts output.  Near the end of that session, voltage had dropped some and output was now about 1 watt.  Later, I went on 40 meters and made another 21 Q's but battery voltage had dropped down to about 7.5 but I was still getting about 1 watt.

 

After dinner, I went to 80 meters and managed 10 Q's there with about 3/4 of a watt.  Battery voltage was dipping down to 7.1 while transmitting.   Total WFD contacts were 52 in less than two hours.  

 

The little Mountain Topper is an amazing rig for something that weighs next to nothing and can be held in the palm of your hand.  I'm looking forward to taking it out in the field when the weather gets better.  I may try some POTA (Parks on The Air) activations.

 

73,

Dennis

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