4 ms·

> However, for HF (and at this point in the solar cycle, where anything less than 50W is wasting time) QRP is still very much possible, I don't have any proble

> However, for HF (and at this point in the solar cycle, where anything less than 50W is wasting time) QRP is still very much possible, I don't have any problems with CW, FT8 or PSK31 on my KX3(10W) with a simple end-fed halfwave antenna. It's all about using the right mode for the band conditions. For voice 100W is still nice to hav but I wouldn't call not having 50W wasting your time.

nickysielicki 9y ago
Of course! I should choose my words more carefully. My point wasn't to say that QRP is pointless, most of the time I spend on radio nowadays is <25W. It's just a struggle, but the reason that you and I seek out that struggle is because we've probably both made plenty of contacts, and we're in it for the sake of being the best operator possible and seeing what we're capable of with limited resources, not for chasing DX with big beams and legal-limit power. For us, a 5W contact with less distance is worth more than a 100W contact that goes halfway around the globe. That's not how I felt when I first got into radio, though, and I wouldn't recommend that new hams go straight for QRP operation. You're just going to get frustrated. (PS: How do you like your EFHW? My father has one and we have been really underwhelmed, noise is just unbearable compared to his vertical. For portable operation it might be okay, but I think he's going to replace it with an off-center fed dipole. I'm jealous of your KX3, I've been eying that new Xiegu X5105 and the KX2. Something portable opens up a lot of fun operating scenarios.) -- 73 DE W9NLS
- vvanders 9y ago
  That's the thing is that everyone has a different idea for ham radio. I went straight to QRP and the digital modes and rarely touch voice(except to chase some SOTA activations). The EFHW does well enough for me but I'm out in the country so I'm probably fighting a lot less noise. 20m is usually S3 and 40m S1-S2. Love the kx3, if I didn't want to do SDR stuff with the IQ output I could have probably done fine with a kx2.

nickysielicki 9y ago

Of course! I should choose my words more carefully. My point wasn't to say that QRP is pointless, most of the time I spend on radio nowadays is <25W. It's just a struggle, but the reason that you and I seek out that struggle is because we've probably both made plenty of contacts, and we're in it for the sake of being the best operator possible and seeing what we're capable of with limited resources, not for chasing DX with big beams and legal-limit power. For us, a 5W contact with less distance is worth more than a 100W contact that goes halfway around the globe. That's not how I felt when I first got into radio, though, and I wouldn't recommend that new hams go straight for QRP operation. You're just going to get frustrated. (PS: How do you like your EFHW? My father has one and we have been really underwhelmed, noise is just unbearable compared to his vertical. For portable operation it might be okay, but I think he's going to replace it with an off-center fed dipole. I'm jealous of your KX3, I've been eying that new Xiegu X5105 and the KX2. Something portable opens up a lot of fun operating scenarios.) -- 73 DE W9NLS

vvanders 9y ago
That's the thing is that everyone has a different idea for ham radio. I went straight to QRP and the digital modes and rarely touch voice(except to chase some SOTA activations). The EFHW does well enough for me but I'm out in the country so I'm probably fighting a lot less noise. 20m is usually S3 and 40m S1-S2. Love the kx3, if I didn't want to do SDR stuff with the IQ output I could have probably done fine with a kx2.