[Elecraft] QRP at VHF

[Don Nelson]

James Duffey wrote:
> Bill is a good friend of mine and he has given me lots of points in  
> VHF/UHF contests, for which I am very grateful. I think his views on  
> QRP at VHF are overly harsh though. QRP does not fit into Bill's six  
> meter goals and operating style, and I accept that, but that does not  
> mean QRP is unsuitable for everyone. QRP certainly requires patience  
> and hard work, as well as relying on CW and accepting that you will  
> not be the loudest station on the band. It is not for those who can't  
> stand hearing a rare station and not working it.
>
> There is a QRP Portable category in the ARRL contests and a Hilltopper  
> category in the July CQ contest, both of which are limited to 10 Watts  
> or less. In either of these contests, if you go to a hilltop, or even  
> a high spot in a sparsely populated grid square with an FT-817, 15 or  
> 20 ft of TV mast or EMT, a homebrew Moxon like N2MH has on his web  
> page, and the longest WA5VJB cheap yagis for 2M and 70 cm, again home  
> brew, you can have a lot of fun, and if there is reasonable activity  
> work a lot of stuff. In the January contest you will likely do better  
> than if you had 100 Watts on 6M only. The QRP combination is good for  
> contacts out to 150-200 miles on CW perhaps half that on SSB. The QRP  
> Portable category is under represented in the contests and there is  
> some low lying fruit to be picked there in terms of section and  
> division certificates.
>
> QRP will work from a fixed site as well. The key is good antennas, up  
> high and low loss feed line. On the other hand, if you put up a loop  
> in the attic, drive it with the FT-817, you will only get a small  
> taste of what VHF operating is about.
>
> In my experience many, but not all, VHF ops on SSB will come back to  
> you if you call them on CW. Cross mode contacts are fairly common, and  
> if you are in a grid they need, they will work hard to put you in the  
> log.
>
> That said, you will quickly note the lack of power on VHF, even more  
> so than on HF. There is lots of stuff at or near the noise level,  
> particularly when the band is opening and closing that you will miss  
> with QRP. You will hear the big stations far away, but they will not  
> hear you, even when you call on CW. You will quickly learn that the  
> key to success in VHF contesting is to be loud on two. If you are  
> satisfied with the QRP experience, you can meet this objective by  
> putting up more antenna. If you long for more than QRP can give you,  
> brick amplifiers are readily available and will put you in the 150  
> Watt class pretty easily without a big investment. Going from 5 or 10  
> Watts on 2M to 150 Watts opens whole new worlds. And in contesting,  
> that means on 6M and 70 cm as well.
>
> QRP is fun on VHF and you can work a lot of stuff, but it only gives a  
> taste of what VHF is good for. But for some a taste is enough. Get on  
> with what you have, even if it is QRP and see if you like it. If you  
> do you can go QRO later.
>
> And then you will want to add 222 MHz, or the microwaves, or go  
> roving, or try meteor scatter, or moonbounce. There is lots of  
> adventure up on VHF and UHF, all of it pretty accessible these days to  
> the average ham who is willing to work a bit.
>
> There is a VHF contest this weekend, so if you have SSB/CW capability  
> on VHF or UHF, give it a try. It is a lot of fun. I am roving along  
> the 100th parallel south from Nebraska tomorrow, so I need to get up  
> early and finish getting the rover read. Listen for the weak ones.  -  
> Dr. Megacycle KK6MC/5
> --
> KK6MC
> James Duffey
> Cedar Crest NM
>
>
>
>
>
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>   

At any point in time there is what you could call a cutting edge. I 
think of the cutting edge as the highest frequency HAM band you can 
work. Your cutting edge and the cutting edge of the next HAM may differ 
based on abilities to build equipment and amount of funds available and 
amount of time available.

I enjoy hearing about the cutting edge 10 years ago, 20 years ago and 
further back. There is a common challenge in the dealing with the 
cutting edge whether today or yesterday. And as time passes, technology 
improves and equipment available at a given frequency improves. So those 
working 6 meters in the 1950s may have struggled to get 1 watt where 
today 1500 watts is quite doable.

There was enjoyment in the 1950s in seeing what you can do with 1 watt 
on 6 meters. That challenge is still there today and is what James is 
talking about.

I work on the microwave bands, 10 GHz more than others. I started on 10 
GHz with 10 dBm using a Gunnplexer (wideband FM). That system required 
line of sight paths between the two stations working each other. If you 
were not line of sight you did not have a QSO. Then we moved to SSB and 
gained better front end sensitivity. Then came power. If you have a 
system with a noise figure less than 2 dB and 1 watt power, you find you 
can go well beyond line of sight QSOs. A 10 GHz system with 15 watts of 
power is like a search light at night, it lights up the sky and can be 
seen for many miles. That 15 watts on 10 GHz illuminates the front range 
here in Colorado so that easy contacts are made frequently between 
stations in very non line of sight locations. In the 15+ years I have 
been active on the 10 GHz band, the available and reasonable priced 
equipment has allowed us to go from the Gunnplexer to SSB using 10 watt 
amplifiers with about the same budgeted money per rig. My best 10 GHz 
QSO so far is 389 miles.

So where is your cutting edge?


Don, N0YE