WHY QRP?
In the world of amateur radio QRP relates to the old "Q" code to "reduce power". Most operators
accept the guidelines of QRP meaning a maximum transmitting power output on CW of 5 watts or less.
(10 watts most other modes) With 5 watts being referred to as a "full gallon". Many operators run
equipment in the milliwatt range with amazing results. A good friend of mine, the one responsible
for getting me into this radio subculture, has 275 qso's running a 250-milliwatt transceiver with a
simple vertical antenna! Hams have worked WAS and DXCC running QRP power.
For the tinkers of the world most QRP equipment is either home brewed (built by the operator) or
constructed from one of the many kits currently available. QRPer's enjoy the educational experience
and the joy of building their own equipment and the excitement and pride felt with each and every
successful QSO you have. You will soon be trying to figure out your success by calculating the miles
per watt that last QSO provided. A QRPer will learn from experience that good operating practices and
patience will go a long way towards filling your log with contacts. There is always another operator
out there who is looking for someone with your ability to chat with. So it doesn't matter whether
you can copy 5 words per minute of CW or 25 words per minute the contacts are there. Just concentrate
on quality as opposed to speed and you will do very well. Most ops would rather work someone at
a slower speed with a good "fist" then someone transmitting at a higher speed and who is very
difficult to copy because of poor sending technique. One thing is for sure, operating in this
region has some distinct advantages. The equipment is for the most part inexpensive, small,
lightweight and very portable, runs for extended time on battery
power or even solar power. And it will work with simple wire and vertical antennas.
Just right for vacations and enjoying portable ops. So come on in, get your feet wet and simply enjoy this rewarding
aspect of our hobby. Ralph
IN THE BEGINNING
A few years ago while running an errand in the mobile I ran across Gene Schaffner, W2GMX on the local 2M repeater. After chating for a while Gene mentioned he had 47 some odd rigs!! Well did that ever get my attention. Seems Gene is into building qrp rigs. All 47 (at that time) of them. He has used each and every one of them and in one case has 273 contacts with a "Peanut Whistle" running a few hundred milliwatts!!!. Well I just had to meet Gene and we arranged for a visit. I'll not forget the day of the visit for some time. I was like a kid in a candy shop. Gene pulled out rig after rig and showed them to me. One design in particular caught my attention. It was a smallish single tube, 6aq5 crystal controlled 40M transmitter of his own design. You can imagine my delight when Gene told me to take the transmitter home and give it a try. I also took a copy of the schametic just in case I decided to give building one a try. Since that day my interest in ham Radio changed forever. I have acquired the necessary savy to build my own simple radios and have enjoyed with much pride making contacts spanning hundreds of miles running only 3 to 5 watts. You see I built that 6aq5 and after a few attempts managed to get it on the air with a nice clean note. The problem was I could never get it to properly tune my antennas. I always had an equal amout of power going into the antenna as I has comming back. This prompted much expiermenting with different output circuits and eventually led to the idea of putting a rig together that used readily available inexpensive parts. I did manage to get my idea working and it was a wonderful and rewarding period of learning. Other projects have been my keyer, antenna control box and Windom antenna as well as a tuner for the afore mentioned rig. As soon as I complete the regenative receiver I"m working on my entire QRP station will be home brew. A nice spin off is throughout this entire process my ability to copy CW has greatly improved. Make no mistake about it QRP is a challange. It takes a lot of patience and at times can be frustrating. However the rewards of making a contact with your own home brewed equipment and low power are very rewarding. There is plenty of interest and activity in QRP so you won't have to look far to find other Hams that share your interest. You wont have to look very far for contacts either. So come on in and get your feet wet, I promise you'll have a good time. What is presented here are some photos and the schametic of my own little 6aq5 CW transmitter. The cost of building this rig will vary depending on your resources. A well stocked Junk box is a good start, Ham fests are another place to find components. Look in the flea market section of the "fest". Other Hams may be able to help so ask around and as a last resort there are the commercial parts houses. This was my first rig, no junk box!. I scrounged what I could and wound up buying the rest. I figure I have about forty five dollars rapped up in this rig. Beleive me, I have already gotten a thousand times that back from the fun of operating it.
It seems that evry QRP QSO is just as exciting as the first ...........Ralph