Spring is almost here ??

Qrp to Qrp on 30 meters !!

( Pic ...My speaker wire doublet and Qrp gear )

We had a spring like day today here in North Carolina and I decided to take a short hike this afternoon...

 I also decided to take my Qrp gear with me.

 As you can see in the picture above, the set-up is small and portable.

( Pic ... Unpacking my Qrp station )

Most of the time when I'm operating on the trail...

 I take a light weight tarp along ... that way, my gear and I will have a clean dry place to sit.

( Pic .. My entire Qrp station including computer )

So you're probably wondering whats my Qrp station consist of ?

The rig is a fully loaded Elecraft KX1 .... 

I use a ( A123 ) lithium 12 volt battery pack for maximum TX power ... 

For logging, I use a little Lenovo netbook ... 

The headset is Heil Quietphones ...

My CW keyer is the Palm Mini Paddle ... 

The antenna of the day was a simple homebrew multi-band  doublet, 

made from speaker wire, and strung up as a inverted V.

( Pic .. Speaker wire Qrp antenna & feed line )

So I guess the final question is ... 

Did I make any Qrp contacts today ?

The answer is yes ... one contact

I had about and hour to set-up and operate, so time was limited today

But, I had a really nice qso with Ralph / WB8DQT in Mason, Michigan on 30 meters.

Ralph was also running Qrp / 5 watts from a little Ten Tec 20/40 Qrp rig.

( Pic ... The operating position ... WB8DQT de N4LA )

As soon as my qso with Ralph was complete, I packed up and went home.

I know it's quite a bit of effort for only one single contact ...

 but the thrill  for me comes from the sum total of the effort itself !!

It's not the quantity of contacts made .. it's the quality of the experience I enjoy. 

Thanks for the nice 30 meter Qrp contact this afternoon Ralph !!

GET

" RADIO-ACTIVE "

73 de N4LA