[Elecraft] QRP rig for backkpacking

Wed Feb 5 16:07:01 2003

If I were "backpacking" still, (I can't because I can't walk far now...bad knee and
arthritis!)
I'd pick the K1 hands down!...I have one with the 4 band RF card and the tuner card
 (KAT1).  It beats a seperate tuner a mile! Only ONE addition would I make: the LED
dial illumination modification.  Well worth the extra drain in dim light and at
night!
VERY good rig.  I don't like the internal battery addition as the batteries are
a pain to change and the smaller speaker in the new lid is not as loud!  (I have a
loss
of hearing due to old age and working around jet aircraft too long!)  It is
TOO EASY to carry a 8 battery "AA" battery holder wired to a power cable with
Ni-MH "AA" cells.  I also have a 5 watt folding solar panel that will keep the
batteries up nicely or even power the rig without batteries in a pinch in
direct sunlight.
All I carry "extra" is a "bulldog" keyer paddle, a BNC to binding posts Pomona
adapter (stay away from the Radio Shack one if you can get the genuine Pomona one!)
and 3 lengths of very light #24 guage hookup wire 33' long.  A small hank of
light nylon seine twine and a couple of 1 oz. teardrop fishing weights come in
handy for getting the antenna over a tree limb!...The 33' wire and the two 33'
counterpoises work very well on 40-15 meters.

73,
Sandy W5TVW

----- Original Message -----
From: "phoon.usinet" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 9:48 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] QRP rig for backkpacking

| Fellows, just want to thank you in advance for your comments and ideas
| below.
|
| I've designed a nice portable vertical GP for mountain backpacking.  With a
| QRP+ a year ago, worked Madagascar, Europe, SA, Japan, litterally all over
| the world, from the Flat Tops wilderness in Colorado at 10,700 feet up.
| Went through a snow storm and it just kept humming.
|
| Trouble was, I nearly killed myself trying to hike down a steep rocky slope
| with too much heavy gear on my back.  In addition to some 50 to 60 Lbs on my
| back in a back pack, I also had a heavy canvas bag in one hand, that caused
| me serious balance problems. I slipped, and luckily just banged up my hip on
| sharp rocks, and was just plan lucky.  The weight was in the QRP+ and the
| silly heavy battery I took for it (7 AH "motorcycle type").  The QRP+ has
| awful drain on receive, and a less than really efficient transmitter chain.
|
| I've already lightened the GP vertical, with a few minor improvements
| underway. So there is not much more weight I can cut there.  And the antenna
| is fantastic.
|
| I've got to lighten up for the next trip.  Hence the search is on for a
| lighter rig and battery, as major areas for weight reduction.
|
| I take a Padette, so the key is about as light as I can get.
|
| >From what I can learn, the K2 comes out at about 5 Lbs, just about what my
| QRP+ weighs, so it is out of the question.
|
| On the other hand, the K1 comes in at about 1.3 Lbs, and I can have all the
| CW bands I want: 40, 30 20 and 15M.
|
| I would really like candidate recommendations for LIGHT QRP RIGS that work
| well, have efficient current drain on Xceive and Xmit,  and are ideal for
| backpacking in UTAH canyons and on plateaus and the big Colorado peak
| country, where I can easily get up above tree line on ridges, or near high
| alpine tundra tarns, after the lightning season in Sept. - Oct.
|
| What do you know about the Rockmite rigs, and the Oak Hills rigs?  How do
| these stack up in terms of weight, performance and current drain?
|
| What are the pros and cons of various candidates?
|
| Is it really worth taking a tiny Rockmite, with only one band, and not much
| band tuning, for a 7 day QRP outing?  Seems like it is just too little
| radio, and I'd be better off with a bit more weight and the 4 band
| capability of the K1.
|
| Am I being stupid taking the high performance vertical GP, though it does
| have some weight?
|
| I could take a tiny antenna tuner, a roll of wire, a slingshot, and shoot a
| wire up over a tall pine in the woods, with a "counterpoise" (I guess that
| is really just ONE radial) on the ground.  This would be lighter than the
| portable GP, but the problem here is the antenna is not self supporting up
| high where there are no tress, nor on the UTAH plateaus on canyon rims,
| where there are no trees.  And, in my view, this is a very compromised
| antenna for QRP work.  That Madagascar contact to the other side of the
| world would NEVER have been possible at 4 watts without a high performance
| GP vertical set in an alpine meadow above tree line.  So I am not inclined
| to skimp on the antenna. Your thoughts and ideas?
|
| If you have had experience, or have ideas, please contribute, preferably in
| a public posting here.
|
| Peter Hoon
| VE1CHS
| [email protected]
|
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