[ADXA] 9 volts, 24 countries

[Dennis Schaefer]

I decided to try another “9 volt battery” effort in the ARRL CW DX contest with my little red rig - the LNR MTR-4b v2.  I grabbed a 9V battery off the desk that had been used for something else but measured a bit over 9 volts.  I operated about 2 hours.  Power at the beginning was 1.2 watts and by the end, voltage was 7.7 and power output was 700 milliwatts.  I stayed mainly on 20 meters and found that many DX stations answered me on the first call. Some required several calls and a very few couldn’t copy me at all.  I was surprised that it worked so well since I was down an average of 30 db from a kw station.

I worked 50 stations, 47 on 20 meters, and 3 on 40.  I had 23 multipliers on 20 meters and 3 on 40.  I think one on 40 was not duplicated on 20, so that was actually 24 countries worked and that didn’t count the US or Canada.  

The little MTR-4b v2 is an amazing rig.  With 12 volts, it will output 5 watts, CW only.  It has a built-in voltmeter, SWR meter, and wattmeter.  It’s not like operating a “big rig” but it is just a little bigger than a pack of cards.  I’ll be taking it out to the park when the weather gets a little better.

73,
Dennis