[QRP] (no subject)

[Daniel Reynolds]

I think that if you already have a 100W radio, then you should go with a
SmallWonder radio. When I was initially interested in getting into QRP (back
when I lived at home and had a 100W radio with a real dipole antenna), I was
pretty much set on buying a SmallWonder kit for 30m or 40m. 

Then I took a break from ham radio and last spring I got back into ham radio.
My only problem is that I now live in an apartment, and the noise level is
atrocious on HF.

I decided that my new ham radio effort would be reduced to operating QRP/picnic
table only (field day/emergency/qrp), and would only have one HF radio, so I
went with the Elecraft K2. When I was a kid, the Heathkit HW-9 was a kit I
dreamed of owning one with it's matching antenna tuner, power supply, etc. The
Elecraft takes all of those accessories and puts it into one box, and on top of
all that ... it has an incredible receiver for the price. There is a huge
following with well over 3500 K2's in existence, and a very active e-mail list
where you can get help practically any day or night (I ought to know - the
radio worked fine after building it - and a week later one of the PLL/VFO
crystals started flaking out on me).

If I already had a good 100W HF radio and wanted to get my feet into QRP kit
building, I think the best investment would be a Smallwonder radio.

72,
Daniel/AA0NI
Oklahoma City, OK