Whyqrp2 N2GJ Revisions.ppt - Compatibility Mode

Why QRP?A Report on the Joys of Low-PowerHam Radio – Less than 5 wattsGerry Jurrens N2GJ(609) 937-2315n2gj@arrl.nethttp://www.njqrp.clubQRPVer 2.0 5/5/18Page 1

What is “QRP?”A telegraphy Q-signal“QRP” To lower one’s power“QRP?” Can you lower your power?Five watts RF output power (or less!)Only 5 watts?Use a “QRP” rig, orYou must beTurn down your present radio kidding.QRPPage 2

A Pretty Amazing AnalogyLossIonosphereLossJust a tiny fragmentof that 100 watts gets hereSprayed in alldirectionsLossGround - 10,000 miles!100wPretty amazing stuff, huh?Now replace the 100w light bulb with a 3 watt flashlight.QRPMAGIC!!! That’s what it is!Page 3

Pretty Amazing StuffAL7FS – Jim Larsen – AnchorageWorked All States - 67.548 watts totalQRP& in Year 2000 1.5M Miles per WattPage 4

Part 97, FCC Rules“Run only the powernecessary to maintain thedesired communications.”There is of course room for interpretation here.QRPPage 5

Why QRP? QRPSignal strength allows itSafer for you, your family, and the publicQuality and simplicity of equipmentJoys of homebrewing & kit-buildingBackpacking with lightweight gearExcellent way to improve skillsIt’s fun!?Page 6

QRP MathematicsVaries LOGARITHMICALLY with powerGain (db) 10 * log(P2/P1)ONE S-unit is 6 dbExample:Increase from 5 to 100 watts (20x)20x increase in power 13 db gain13 db gain gives gain of only TWO S-units!!!QRPPage 7

Signal Strength100w5w013579 20 40WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?Your 5 watt signal CAN be heard.QRPPage 8

Proof That It WorksW3EAX Field Day, 19881200 QSOs with 3 radios & a pair of beams.May, 1997 contest31 countries with a mobile whip in 8 hours.QRP Mobile, Yaesu FT-817 ( 5 watts) on top of car!Antarctica, Europe, VKs, ZLs, UA0s.AA3MDOver 125 countries confirmed in 24 mos. w/dipole.N2RE Field Day, 2016N2GJ with KX3 on battery power outscored other 7 stations’total using only an end-fed 40 meter long wire!QRPPage 9

CW vs. SSBCW signal bandwidth 100 HzCWSSB bandwidth 2000 HzMorse has much lower throughput but.Average power density-10123kHzCW - 1 watt/HzSSB - 0.05 watts/HzSSBWhich leads to.kHz-1012Gain 10 * log (1.00/0.05) 13 db!35wCWisequivalentto100wSSB!Output power 100wQRPPage 10

What Does This Mean? Most (but not all) QRP QSOs are CW QSOs Thus, if you plan to try QRP.Learn code, practice code, use code,dream code, etc. So who does QRP SSB?Lots of people, but it’s an even biggerchallenge than CW QRPQRPPage 11

QRP With 100w XCVRsMost can be reduced to 5w from the front panelSome require re-adjustment of internal controlsSome require physical modification, but you can also.1) Use an RF-switched, 50 ohm, high-power attenuator2) Play with ALCnearly all 100w radios can drive amplifierscertain voltage into the ALC jack reduces RF outputcan often get down to the milliwatt rangeQRPPage 12

QRP “Optimization”1) Size & weight increase with maximum output power2) Minimize current drawNo lamps (except LEDs)No digital display unless LCDMaximize TX efficiency3) Use few components & pack the board tightly4) Use ICs if possible5) Sensitive RX - If you can’t hear ‘em, you can’t work‘emQRPPage 13

Size and Weight vs. Max.PowerConventional100wsetupICOM 756 PRO III, etc.* External TunerAstron RS-20TOTALTRANSPORT 21 lb.4 lbs.25 lbs.50 lbs.Trunk of CarQRP setupQRP rig* TunerPower supply/batteryTOTALTRANSPORT2 lbs.2 lbs.3 lbs.7 lbs.Small Briefcase* Some rigs have internal antenna tuner unitsQRPPage 14

Power Requirements for a DayTo run for 24 hours - 10% transmit, 90% receive:Conventional, compact HF rig (IC-706, Yaesu FT-890)Receive - 2 amps Xmit - 4 to 20 amps (avg. 10 amps)TOTAL CONSUMPTION - 67.2 A-H (a car battery)QRP-optimized rigReceive - 100 milliamps Xmit - 500 milliampsTOTAL CONSUMPTION - 3.36 A-H (a 3-lb. gel cell)QRPPage 15

What’s in a SuperHetReceiver?Product DetectorMixerAmpT/RFilterAmpIF Osc.AudioAmpFilterOsc.THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANTPART OF A RADIOWELL-DESIGNED QRP RECEIVERSCAN OUTPERFORM “BIG RIGS.”QRPPage 16

Kit building & Homebrewing Some hams are natural builders andexperimenters Complete radios have been built from oldTVs (Tubes are harder to kill thantransistors) Thousands of schematics are availableQRPPage 17

KitsHundreds of kits are currently availableSingle- and multi-band transceiversAntenna tuners (automatic ones, too!)SCAF audio filters, electronic keyersMade for a wide range of abilities“U-scrounge-em”“Bag-o-parts and a board”“Complete and fully documented”QRPPage 18

Antennas!!!The most important part of ANY stationA radio hooked to a dummy load will hear nothingGood coaxGood antenna tuner (with non-resonant antennas)Well-built antennasBeams work wonders, as do full-size loopsDipoles, loops, and verticals work OK, tooA poor antenna system hurts yourreceiver AND transmitterQRPPage 19

Taking to the FieldMountaintop operation adds to a radio’s performance!SOTA “Summits On The Air” is great fun!Complete station:single-band rigdipole cut to proper length, with coax & ropestraight key or iambic paddles w/electronic keyergel cell batterypen & paper for loggingnice campsite with tall treesQRPPage 20

QRP DX-ingThere are two rules for QRP DX-ing:1) Listen, listen, listen2) When in doubt, see rule #1Put your signal where and when the others ain’tLet others QRM each other, and pick your spotTry to get in BEFORE the pileup starts! (see rule #1,above)QRPPage 21

QRP ContestingGreat way to pick up QSOs, countries, states, continentsGood operators with good earsEquipment & antennae are optimizedLots of QRP-only contestsSponsored by clubs – some contests just a few hours!Many QRP categories in larger contestsMy favorite: FIELD DAYYou DO have a chance!QRPPage 22

Will I Be Heard? a simple test100w vs. 5w 13 db differenceSwitch in a 10db or 20 db attenuator (on receive)Assuming identical receivers and local conditions,If you can still hear the other station,the other station can hear you.(not QUITE accurate because noise power drops, too, but a good test)QRPPage 23

A Favorite Thing to Hear.“HOW much power are yourunning? A watt?Really? No way.”“Way.”QRPPage 24

VHF QRP? Yes!5 watts into a 20-element Yagi can do VERY wellMuch 1296, 2304, 3456, and higher equipment ishomebrewed, and is already QRPOn 6 meters, 5w and a dipole is more than adequateSporadic-E season is upon usLots of people DO have beamsUse THEIR antennas to your advantageQRPPage 25

Even More ChallengingQRPp - aka “Milli-watting”Defined as less than 1 wattBig antennas can make up for low powerWorked CN (Morocco) at 200 mWAA2U has DXCC at under 100 mWEven modest antennas work well, thoughMD - FL on 30m - dipoles & 25 mW outputSSB/DigitalWider bandwidth, lower power spectral densities!QRPPage 26

Digital Modes & QRPpare perfect together!WSJT A smorgasbord of digital software(written by K1JT, 1993 Physics Nobel Prizewinner, Dr. Joseph Taylor, AKA “just Joe!”)Suite includes, among others:WSPR Weak Signal Propagation ReporterJT65 used mostly on HF, superseded by FT8JT6M optimized for meteor scatterJT9 experimental versionQRPPage 27

Some Commercial QRP RigsElecraft offers many models in all price rangesYaesu FT-817, ‘817ND, NEW! FT-818Ten-Tec Model 13XX (single band)Oak Hills Research 100a (single-band)MFJ 90xx (CW), 94xx (SSB) (single-band, not kits!)NN1G Small Wonder Labs SW40, NE40-40 (singleband)W6EMT (SK) Emtech (single-band)Kanga UK/USWilderness Sierra, Cascade, SST, and NorCal 40AAnd many, many, many more (more later)QRPPage 28

Other QRP EquipmentDirect Conversion RadiosHeath HW-7, HW-8, Ten-Tec Century 21, 22Super heterodyne RadiosHeath HW-9;Ten-Tec Eagle 599AT, Argonaut 505, 509, 515, 539,Argo 556, Argonaut II, NEW! 506 “Rebel!”A&A Engineering K9AY 20, 30, 40mYaesu FT-817/817ND, Kenwood TS-130V, ICOM 731QRPPage 29

Club ProjectsNorthern California (NorCal) QRP ClubSierra, Cascade, 40a, 40-9er, 38 SpecialNJ QRP ClubRainbow Tuner, SDR Cube systemSt. Louis QRP ClubW6MMA, St. Louis VerticalQRPPage 30

PHOTO GALLERY QRPEquipmentAntennasWebsitesClubsField SitesNewsletters/JournalsPage 31

Elecraft KX1 (Discontinued,highly-prized!) Up to 4 bands CW Transmit, multimode receive Internal AA batteries 1-2 watts outputQRP

Elecraft KX2 QRP80-10 meters10 watts outputInternal AA batteriesAll modePerson-mobile operation with whip antennaPage 33

Elecraft KX3 QRP160-6 meters15 watts outputInternal AA batteriesAll mode optional Panadapter PX3KPA100 amplifier for base station useBest QRP Field Day rig ever!Page 34

Ultimate3S QRSS/WSPR Kit The Ultimate3S QRSS/WSPR Transmitter Kittransmits various QRSS, Hell, Opera, PI4 andWSPR slow-signal modes on any LF, MF, HFor VHF band (all amateur bands from 2200mto 2m or 222MHz). From QRP Labs - http://www.qrp-labs.com/QRPPage 35

The “Pixie”Bruce Hopkins - KL7H builthis for 3.920 and 3.933.Check-ins were successfulwith net control on bothMotley and Snipers Nets Simple 250mW transceiver kit from HSC ElectronicsQRPPage 36

The NorCal “38 Special” 30m superhet CW kit from NorCal Club 2W output, wide VXO Very popular as instructional kitQRPPage 37

N2APB’s “38 Special” Custom cabinetry in LMB enclosureQRPPage 38

Small Wonder Labs’“SW40 ” 40m 2W CW transceiver Improved, simplifiedQRPPage 39

Small Wonder Labs’“White Mountain 20m SSB”QRP 20m 2W QRP SSB transceiver Solid design Easy constructionPage 40

The “Sierra”by Wilderness Radio All band CW transceiver Superhet, VFO Dig display & key options Removable band modules Rivals quality of rigs 5x ARRL Handbook cover ‘96QRPPage 41

The NorCal 20 20m superhet CW great front end Norcal kit for3rd world countriesQRPPage 42

The NorCal 40A 40m 2W CW transceiver Grandfather deluxeQRPPage 43

OHR 4 band superhet CW rigQRPPage 44

Index Labs’ “QRP Plus” Super stable QRP rig Great user interfaceQRPPage 45

Ten Tec Argonaut 515 QRP for CW and SSBQRPPage 46

NEW Yaesu FT-818QRP all-mode, 6 watts, 160-6m, 2m and70 cm bands (Due April 2018)QRPPage 47

Heathkit HW-8 4 band direct conversion CW QRP rigQRPPage 48

The “Tuna Tin 2”QRP Simple Tx, less than 1W W1FB original designPage 49

“Herring Aid” ReceiverQRP Simple Rx project Mate to Tuna Tin 2 transmitterPage 50

N2APB SDR Cube A self-contained, portable SDR Transceiver. Embedded digital signal processing with aSoftrock RF front end. No PC required! See http://www.njqrp.club Also http://www.sdr-cube.com/QRPPage 51

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Portable Paddles N2APB enclosure for New Zealand ARC projectQRPPage 53

N2CX “Rainbow Tuner”QRP Kitted by the NJ-QRP club Resistive (absorptive) SWR bridge w/LED indicators Built-in tuner suited for half-wave end-fed antennasPage 54

N2APB’s “Rainbow Tuner”QRP Custom enclosure with panel mountedswitch for tuner inductor settingsPage 55

The N2APB Field Stack Batteries Rainbow Tuner 38S Xcvr QRPpaddlesQRPThis is what N2APB takes on biz trips (along with “Halfer”half-wave end-fed wire for 30m). Easily fits in small briefcase!Page 56

A Simple and InexpensiveMorse Frequency Display Small Wonder Labs’ “Freq Mite” PIC microcontroller as digital frequency meterQRPPage 57

Miniature QRP Paddles Original design by WK8GQRPPage 58

The NorCal PaddlesQRP First club project not being electronic-related Unfinished kit yields superior qualityPage 59

Mini-Keys from WhiterookQRP Great for portable use!Page 60

Portable Antennas Gusher (by N2CX)40m dipole, insulators, RG-174 feedline Halfer (by N2CX)40m half wave end-fed w/ 1/4w counterpoise St. Louis VerticalCenter loaded collapsible fishing pole w/radialsQRPPage 61

The St. Louis Vertical: “SLV”QRP Center-loaded multi-band half-wave vertical On a collapsible fishing rod w/rotor cable radialsPage 62

QRP Show & TellQRP At an NJ-QRP Club meetingPage 63

Portable Stack from N2JS Equipment housed in wooden cabinetryQRPPage 64

N2CX at work on QRP Field DayQRP Using Argonaut, Rainbow Tuner& Half-wave end-fedPage 65

QRP PublicationsQRP The mainstay of QRP informationQRPp from NorCalQRP Quarterly from ARCISPRAT from G-QRPPage 66

QRP Websites QRP ARCI is superset of all QRP clubs http://www.qrparci.orgQRPPage 67

New Jersey QRP Clubhttp://www.njqrp.clubQRPPage 68