[Elecraft] Alligators and Bats

[Ron D' Eau Claire]

Jim, W4BQP, wrote:

> I was on 40 last night and heard a CL2--/MM calling CQ.  I went  back to
> him but he couldn't hear me.  That is an almost new experience for me.
> I don't have much success calling CQ, but almost everyone I answer who
> is calling CQ comes back to me.  ... I heard several QSOs last night in
which both
> parties were having trouble hearing each other, but I heard them FB.
> This is all with an attic dipole.
>
> I had no trouble working VE3FAL last night at 5 watts.  I tried dialing
> down to 500 mw, but he didn't hear me.  I believe that this is
> principally because of the limitations of my attic dipole.  It and the
> K2 sure can receive though.  I wouldn't trade my K2 for anything.

You have pointed out a key issue with running QRP. To have a successful QSO
takes TWO good operators willing to "work" QRP even if one of the stations
is running a kilowatt.

Radiating some r-f  is only half of a contact. So even though the other guy
is running a kilowatt, he/she has to have the receiver and the skill to copy
a QRP signal or there will be no QSO.

A lot of ops skip over any signal that isn't "S-9" when cruising the bands,
but will dig a little when a station is calling them, so I'm not surprised
that you have better success answering CQ's than calling them. That's been a
fundamental truth on the bands at all power levels for the half-century that
I've been pounding brass. Personally, I tend to call the 'weak' ones or the
ones with some sort of funny characteristic because those turn out to be the
QRP or homebrew rigs.

But I am always aware that when I work a QRO station while I am running a
barefoot K2, I have just 'volunteered' him to make a QRP contact whether he
wanted to or not. I try to stay aware of the changing band conditions,
realizing that if the band isn't in the very best shape he is likely working
much harder to copy me than I am him, and the reason for that is because of
my choice to limit myself to low power.

Ron AC7AC
K2 # 1289