results from my qrp operation as C6ADO

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n1kdo
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Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2024 3:09 pm

results from my qrp operation as C6ADO

Post by n1kdo »

Results of my Bahamas QRP operation as C6ADO

I'm back (sadly) from Eleuthera, Bahamas, where I operated C6ADO (QRP) with my KX3.

Summary:

I operated February 11-16, 6 days, 9 AM to a bit after noon each day. After noon I would run out of shade. On Friday the 16th, I set up in the late afternoon for phone only -- logging on paper -- using a "talent cell 6,000 mAH" battery to power the rig.

Results:

I worked 275 on Phone and 270 on Data (FT4 and FT8).

17M: 28 data, 2 phone
15M: 107 data
12M: 105 data, 140 phone
10M: 30 data, 132 phone

People will tell you that you cannot work QRP phone. These results say otherwise!

The Setup:

I used my usual setup, which is band-specific end-fed half-wave wires (except on 10M, where I used the 20M EFHW wire as a end-fed full-wave) on the SOTA Beams "10M Travel Mast."
  • Elecraft KX3
  • Pro Audio Engineering PAE-Kx33 power supply
  • DigiRig Mobile USB interface
  • Talent Cell 6,000 mAh Lithium ion Battery Pack
  • Homebrew 64:1 unun
  • SOTA Beams 10m Travel Mast
  • Homebrewed band-specific end-fed half-wave wire antenna elements
  • my trusty Lenovo T420S laptop and its power supply
  • random coax, bungee cords, AC extension cord
Commentary:

Setup was to bungee cord the travel mast to a convenient post, pull a table into the shade, set up antenna and radio, and get going.

The band conditions were very good; the gods of propagation smiled at me daily.

Best DX was YE1BON in Indonesia on 17M FT8. I was running 4.0 watts with the KX3, that's about what it can do for FT8 without getting too hot. About 11,000 miles. 2,750 miles/watt. Wow!

Next best DX was JA7OWD in Japan, as well as about 5 other JAs worked on 10M phone, where the KX3 will put out 10 watts. About 8,000 miles.

Pictures:

Here is your fearless operator working some digital with a icy Kalik for company:
c6ado-by-n1kdo-smaller.jpg
c6ado-by-n1kdo-smaller.jpg (87.82 KiB) Viewed 8272 times

This is a view of my setup.
c6ado-operating-position-smaller.jpg
c6ado-operating-position-smaller.jpg (61.67 KiB) Viewed 8272 times

The whole station, except the travel mast, fits in this laptop knapsack:
whole-station-smaller.jpg
whole-station-smaller.jpg (42.67 KiB) Viewed 8272 times
"Beware of programmers bearing screwdrivers."
See N1KDO's Web Site for some of my hacks.
K4SWL
Site Admin
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue May 24, 2022 12:44 pm

Re: results from my qrp operation as C6ADO

Post by K4SWL »

How very cool! I love it!

Would you consider submitting this to be posted on QRPer.com as well?

You can contact me directly--my email is good on QRZ.com.

Thanks,
Thomas
K4SWL
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