Just got an SW-3B. Any advice ?

[K8RBV]

New to QRP and just got an SW-3b. Have the manual and the repair manual. Would welcome advice and info. Most interested in very portable antennas, quick to put up.

Also a Bioenno battery question. I assume they need a specific charger, but it is unclear to me if they are sold WITH a charger or not. Sources seem unclear on this.

73,

Bob, K8RBV

[Brian - K3ES]

Hi Bob,

I have no experience with the SW-3B, but can offer some thoughts on your other questions...

Easiest first. Bioenno sells LiFePO4 chemistry batteries. They are more expensive than some similar chemistry batteries, but I appreciate the consistency and support that comes from a brand name. LiFePO4 is much lighter than Pb-based battery systems, and it has a much flatter discharge curve. LiFePO4 batteries also have very long life (2000+ discharge/recharge cycles). LiFePO4 is also more stable and forgiving than other Li-based chemistries (Li-ion and Li-polymer). You need a charger designed for LiFePO4 chemistry, and you can get one from Bioenno when you buy the battery. If I remember correctly, the charger is around $20. Think through your operating style before buying the battery. If you're like me and want to be able to carry your station on your back, extra weight adds up. I can easily work for hours on the smallest (3 Ah) battery pack.

There are many approaches to portable antenna systems. I have focused on wire antennas. They are very light and portable, and there are a options to support a variety of bands. They can take longer to deploy than some other types, but I typically have mine in the air in less than 15 minutes. One decision you will need to make is: will you use a tuner to match the antenna, or will you use resonant antennas? The biggest factor for antenna choice comes down to your operating style.

I hope this gives you some information to work with.

Best 73 de Brian - K3ES

[MarkJY]

Agree with Brian. You’ll need to order the charger with your first battery. The 3Ah version would work nicely with your radio. I also recommend a resonant antenna so you don’t need to worry about a tuner. Lots of EFHW antenna’s out there - both commercial and in kit form - that are resonant on 20 and 40 meters and these would be great choices for quick set up. If using trees make sure to get some throw line and a throw weight. Let us know if you need suggestions for any of this.

Mark
W8EWH

[SkipRD]

Agree with the comments above about batteries and antennas. I use an EFHW for 20m and 40m and it's works perfectly. LiFePO4 is the only way to go.

I only got my SW-3B a few weeks about and have only used it about a half dozen times. I love it! I'm actually amazed at how well 5W works. A couple weeks ago I was with some friends activating Cumberland Mountain SP in Tennessee. The bands were dismal -- it took me about an hour to get less than a dozen contacts using SSB at 100W on 20 and 40m. So, I turned that radio over to others to labor over and I threw up a 30m EFHW, attached it to my SW-3B, and starting calling CQ. I got 6 more contacts in about 20 minutes! And I was definitely having more fun than they were. My current operating practice for POTA is that I'll use my main radio for a while (usually making sure I get enough contacts to count as an activation) and then switch to the SW-3B for fun. My next step will be "guts to open" -- taking only the SW-3B and it's activate or die.

One recommendation: The SW-3B has only one memory slot and it's kind of a pain to use. In addition, changing the key speed is a pain. I solved both problems by buying and carrying with me a picokeyer. It's got 4 memory slots and a knob in the front to change key speed. The kit is a cinch to build (took me about an hour). It only weighs an ounce or two and it's just a couple inches square. It's even a great choice if you've never built an electronics kit before and would like to give one a try. You can order the kit here: http://www.hamgadgets.com/ULTRA-PICOKEYER.

Incidentally, I bought a small padded case with compartment dividers on amazon. I carry my SW-3B, power cord, picokeyer, my CW-Morse key (https://cwmorse.us/products/outdoor-poc ... e-code-key), battery, a KM4ACK 10-20-15-40m EFHW and a teeny QRPguys 30m EFHW, 25' of RG-174 coax (10' would have worked fine), stereo patch cords for the key/keyer, earbuds, and some adapters, and then shove that in my daypack. The whole thing, all in, only weighs about 3-1/2 pounds total. I leave everything in there as a go-kit, and everything is nice and protected.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions or if I can provide any other info.

Have fun. It's really a great little radio,
73 Skip K4EAK

[K8RBV]

Thanks again to everyone commenting on the SW-3b. Very helpful info on LiFePO4 batteries. I'll have fun putting together my own go bag.

Skip K4EAK, a question on the pico keyer....how does it interface to the SW-3b? How does it "override" the SW-3b keyer speed? Does it just act as an external iambic keyer and allow use of the external memories? I'm an older ham and haven't built a kit in years and eyesight is not as good as once it was. But as I renew my interest in ham and get involved in QRP, I might indeed want to take on a simple kit project.

I'm working toward my first bicycle expedition and ultimately a POTA activation.

73,

Bob, K8RBV

[SkipRD]

Thanks again to everyone commenting on the SW-3b. Very helpful info on LiFePO4 batteries. I'll have fun putting together my own go bag.

Skip K4EAK, a question on the pico keyer....how does it interface to the SW-3b? How does it "override" the SW-3b keyer speed? Does it just act as an external iambic keyer and allow use of the external memories? I'm an older ham and haven't built a kit in years and eyesight is not as good as once it was. But as I renew my interest in ham and get involved in QRP, I might indeed want to take on a simple kit project.

I'm working toward my first bicycle expedition and ultimately a POTA activation.

73,

Bob, K8RBV

It's kinda hard to explain, but the picokeyer translates your paddle presses and makes it look like perfect straight key sending.That's the first half of the process. The SW-3B senses whether there's a straight key or paddle attached to the key input when you turn it on. (I think it has to do with whether the tip and ring are shorted.) Since there's no "key speed" with a straight key, the SW-3B's key speed gets bypassed and it's the picokeyer's key speed that controls. So, the net process is that the picokeyer takes your iambic input and makes it look like a straight key output, the radio takes it as a straight key input and passes it through. (If you understood a word I just said, it'll be a miracle. )

It's much easier to show than to explain. There's just a short stereo patch cable that runs from the key to the picokeyer and a short stereo patch cable that runs from the picokeyer output to the SW-3B key input. Here's an image.

SW-3B with PicoKeyer (Medium).jpg (102.36 KiB) Viewed 2389 times

Everything is automatic. Just run the cords and have fun.

If it's any consolation, I'm an "older ham" as well (like, 72 years older) and I managed the kit just fine.

Let me know if you need anything else.
73 Skip K4EAK

[K8RBV]

Skip,

Perfect explanation and thanks for taking the trouble not only to explain, but to provide the photo ! Sounds like a perfect solution. And btw, I am just a little bit older hi hi.

73,

Bob

[ke2yk]

New to QRP and just got an SW-3b. Have the manual and the repair manual. Would welcome advice and info. Most interested in very portable antennas, quick to put up.

Also a Bioenno battery question. I assume they need a specific charger, but it is unclear to me if they are sold WITH a charger or not. Sources seem unclear on this.

73,

Bob, K8RBV

[ke2yk]

Bob,
Just ordered an SW-3B. Guess it takes weeks to ship. No biggie. Should be a fun toy.
Mostly use my KX3 for field ops.
I have had a Bioenno for about 2 years now for portable ops.
it's performance has been outstanding.
I had to buy the charger separately and was told to ONLY use a Bioenno charger.
HTH
72 de KE2YK

[Paul Kinas]

Good comments on the EFHW antenna. If you have questions about the antenna try looking on FaceBook for the "End Fed Half Wave" group. There is tons of info on all aspects of the antenna including construction of the antenna itself (it is very easy to construct even if you have never wound a toroid before). Besides using an EFHW antenna I also have been using a homebrew version of the PacTenna random wire antenna. I'm using a 41' radiator and 17' counterpoise wire. It loads up well on 40, 30, and 20 meters. Of course it needs a tuner, but I don't backpack, so a small tuner is not a problem for me. Interestingly enough I have made well over a thousand contacts with it, and a fair number of DX contacts using the antenna. It is based on a small Chinese unun available for less than $5 on EBay, so no toroid to wind even! Happy to provide more info if anyone is interested. I'd agree a resonant antenna with no tuner is perhaps the best portable QRP antenna, but in looking at over 3500 POTA contacts the results using the "random wire" 41' antenna stacks up very close to using an EFHW IMHO... Also using an antenna called the "No stick Buddy Stick". There are good videos of it on YouTube. The author is Scott KW4JM. It's a shortened vertical with a loading coil and several radials. Very easy, and inexpensive to build. I've had very good luck on it on 20 &30 meters, even working KL7 and Europe. Of course not quite as good on 40 meters being as short as it is. Check it out, and fun, inexpensive, easy project! 72 Paul NA9M