Like many people who solder regularly, I decided years ago to upgrade from a basic...

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Although I bought my little (tr)uSDX transceiver two years ago, it has only seen sporadic use. Other than an occasional contact or two, it has been mostly relegated to the shelf. I figured it was about time to put it to serious use in a POTA/WWFF activation. 

I made a return visit to Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363) for another activation. It was raining on and off this morning here in southeastern Pennsylvania, so I pretty much had the place to myself. 

I set up the (tr)uSDX with my Elecraft T1 tuner in the cab of my truck. I used three 18650 Li-ion batteries power the radio. As usual, I went with my 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil on the back of the truck.

I’m getting a little better at navigating the (tr)uSDX’s menus and using the controls. There are a lot of functions covered by three controls. To refresh my memory, I used the rig last night with my rain gutter “antenna” to make a couple of contacts. I also brought along a cheat sheet today, which I didn’t need.

Just for the fun of it, I started off using my little N6ARA TinyPaddles. They match the orange radio, so why not. Unfortunately, I had some issues with them, so I switched over to my Palm Mini paddles. I have to tweak the contact spacing on the N6ARA paddles. 

Starting out on 40M, the signals were strong and plentiful. It only took me about 11 minutes to log my first 10 contacts. When things slowed down on 40M, I made a few contacts each on 30M and 20M. After 45 minutes, I had 21 contacts in the log with one park-to-park QSO.

The (tr)uSDX is an incredible little rig. They packed an awful lot of features into a tiny package, but it’s not really a high-performance radio. I have to admit it wasn’t the most pleasant rig to listen to; there were some pops and clicks in the sidetone when keying. It could have been the earbuds I was using. I also need to go back through the menu settings to make sure I haven’t missed something. Looking at my RBN spots, I could see I need to tweak the frequency calibration a bit. It’s transmitting a little lower than the displayed frequency. Having said all that, I can’t be too critical of radio at this price point.

In the end, though, the little rig got the job done today. Not bad for a five-band, multi-mode radio that costs less than $140 assembled. 

72, Craig WB3GCK

RaDAR is Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio conceived by Eddie Leighton ZS6BNE. RaDAR encourages outdoor operating...

On Monday, September 2, 2024, my good friend Vlado (N3CZ) and I spent Labor Day morning playing POTA. Our first activation was at Lake James State Park, using the new CFT1 QRP transceiver. It was a lot of fun–you can read the field report and watch the video by clicking here. For the second activation, … Continue reading QRP POTA: Pairing N3CZ’s Homebrew Transceiver with the TennTennas 49:1 EFHW! →

Many thanks to Jeff (VE7EFF) who shares the following guest post: 2.5 km Trek into Wrinkly Face Provincial Park, BC, CA-4307 by Jeff (VE7EFF) My goal this summer is to do more backpacked-in POTA activations. This is my 3rd POTA outing over the past week.  Being in Canada, I don’t have much time left this season to … Continue reading Trekking into POTA Heaven: Wrinkly Face Provincial Park Activation →

Many thanks to Bob (K4RLC) & Alanna (K4AAC) for the following field report: Cabot Trail Activations on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia  – August 2024  By Bob K4RLC & Alanna K4AAC In August 2024, K4AAC, my YL Alanna and I took a trip to magical Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It was Alanna’s suggestion to … Continue reading Bob and Alanna’s POTA Adventures Along the Cabot Trail! →

Between the grand-kids’ equestrian competitions and soccer games, Sunday morning was the only time I could squeeze in a POTA/WWFF activation this week. Like most of my recent activations, it had to be early and short.

It had been a while since my last visit to Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363), so I headed over there. Before I headed out, I took a quick look at the band conditions. The A Index was around 6, the K Index was zero, and there was no geomagnetic activity. Now, I’m not an expert in this stuff, but that looked pretty good to me.

My original plan was to do this activation with some vintage QRP gear, but I wasn’t able to get all that together. Instead, I used my usual Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW), 12-foot whip, and my homebrew loading coil. 

My band conditions app showed poor daytime conditions on 40M, but I found that wasn’t the case. Signals were strong and plentiful. My first 10 contacts only took 13 minutes to achieve. The 20M band was equally strong, so I spent some time there. Finally, I checked 17M, and picked up five more there. 

In all, I had 32 contacts with two known park-to-park QSOs and one DX contact (F1BLL). Not too bad for an hour’s effort, I guess. Then it was time to head off to my grandson’s soccer game.

I have to remember to get that old gear together, so it’s ready to go for next time. 

72, Craig WB3GCK

by Teri KO4WFP Friday, September 13th, I headed to Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge (US-0265) for a POTA activation and was without Daisy as dogs are not allowed at this refuge. Pinckney Island is a 4,000+ acre wildlife refuge off Highway US 278 on the way to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The refuge consists … Continue reading The POTA Babe Spreads Her Wings at Pinckney Island →

I’ve had a production unit of the Xiegu X6200 since June of this year and have made several field reports using it for both SSB and CW. You may have noticed, though, that I haven’t used it much in the field since June. The reason? I’m primarily a CW operator, and the original firmware had … Continue reading Xiegu X6200: Does version 1.0.1 firmware fix CW keyer timing? →

Labor Day weekend turned out to be full of labor here at QTH K4SWL. My wife and I had numerous projects to tackle, and my daughters had various activities scheduled as well. By Sunday, my wife looked at me and said, “You need a break. Why not spend tomorrow catching up on POTA?” That was … Continue reading CFT1 QRP: Labor Day Morning POTA with Vlado at Lake James State Park! →

Many thanks to Jeff (VE7EFF) who shares the following guest post: Off The Beaten Path – Campbell-Brown Ecological Reserve, CA-3925 by Jeff (VE7EFF) This is the 2nd backpacked-in POTA activation outing that my wife and I have done this summer.  I’m the 2nd person to have ever activated the Campbell-Brown Ecological Reserve (CA-3925).  Last year was the … Continue reading Jeff’s Backcountry POTA Adventure: Campbell-Brown Ecological Reserve Activation →

The monthly running of the Straight Key Century Club’s Weekend Sprintathon (WES) contest was this weekend. I needed two more activations at Marsh Creek State Park for a POTA “Repeat Offender” award, so I headed out both Saturday and Sunday for POTA/WWFF activations and to make a few WES contacts.

We had some outstanding weather here in southeastern Pennsylvania, so I knew Marsh Creek (US-1380, KFF-1380) was going to be pretty busy. Given that, I headed out early on Saturday morning. I found a parking spot in the boat launch area, but the parking lot was filling up fast. 

My trusty Penntek TR-35 was the perfect rig for this weekend. The TR-35’s separate straight key and paddle inputs let me instantly switch between the two without having to make configuration changes in the radio. I also went with my usual 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil. 

The 40M band was alive and well, so I spent most of my time there. I alternated between calling “CQ POTA” with the paddles and searching and pouncing SKCC WES stations with my little MS2 straight key. In about an hour of operating, I logged 26 contacts. Among those were three park-to-park QSOs and six SKCC WES QSOs. 

As great as the weather was on Saturday, it was even better on Sunday. I wanted to attend my grandson’s hockey game, so I went out even earlier this time and kept it even shorter. Even though I got an earlier start than the day before, the parking lot was even more crowded this time around. 

Once again, 40M was in excellent shape, and I ended up staying there for the duration. I logged 19 contacts in about 45 minutes, with three park-to-park and three more WES contacts. Then it was time to head home to take care of a few things before going to the soccer game.

In the end, I didn’t set any records in the WES contest, but I got in the two activations needed for my Repeat Offender award. 

72, Craig WB3GCK

Many thanks to Rod (VA3MZD) for sharing the following guest post: Operating POTA from the interior of Quetico Provincial Park CA-0359 with a (tr)uSDX By Rod Murray (VA3MZD) In a previous guest post here on QRPer I gave a brief history of my introduction to Ham radio and specifically POTA and my experiences activating local … Continue reading Navigating Quetico: Rod’s POTA Adventure with the (tr)uSDX →

by Teri (KO4WFP) After an interesting and successful activation at Fort McAllister, I turned my sights southward and further back in time to Fort Morris Historic Site (US-3717). Fort Morris Historic Site contains earthen fortifications that date back to the Revolutionary War. The site is simpler than that of Fort McAllister. Fort Morris was built … Continue reading The POTA Babe Learns Some Lessons →

Yesterday morning, around 12:00, I picked up a DHL parcel containing the Venus SW-6B. I was so eager to test it in the field that I dropped my lunch plans, took the SW-6B home, opened the box, and quickly attached Anderson Powerpole connectors to the supplied power cable. I didn’t have time to do anything … Continue reading The New Venus SW-6B QRP Transceiver: First POTA Activation and Field Test! →

Many thanks to Christian (IX1CKN) who shares the following field report: How the Red Corners uSDR+ Performed on Its First Field Test by Christian (IX1CKN) 24 QSOs in 104 minutes at 5 watts—how would you rate that? The answer isn’t exactly scientific, as it depends on personal opinions, habits, and the unique propagation conditions during the activation. … Continue reading Christian takes his new “Red Corners” uSDR+ on a POTA shake-out activation →

Many thanks to Jeff (VE7EFF) who shares the following guest post: Hiking and Activating the Backcountry  – Two Activations on one Day Trip by Jeff (VE7EFF) Today’s field report, and three more to come, outlines the outdoor hiking/activation adventures of Jeff – VE7EFF and his wife, Alexis – VE7LXE in the backcountry of south-central British … Continue reading Jeff activates two POTA ATNOs in one day trip! →

I was recently looking at some of my older gear gathering dust on the shelf, so I resolved to start putting it to use. So yesterday, before I headed out for Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414), I grabbed my old homebrew z-match antenna tuner and gave my Elecraft T1 tuner the day off.

I built this tuner from scratch about 24 years ago, and it has always been one of my favorite projects. Based on a bunch of different designs, it gave me years of great service. For years, my go-to portable rig was my old FT-817 coupled with this tuner. Today, I paired the z-match with my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW). I used my 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil mounted on the truck. The loaded whip’s SWR on 40M and 30M is just slightly high, nothing the old z-match can’t handle. 

I’ve been spoiled using automatic antenna tuners lately, but tuning the z-match was a cinch. Just peak the received noise, switch in the resistive SWR bridge, key up the rig, and tweak the knobs to extinguish the LED. Then switch out the bridge and go. 

The z-match is a high-Q, narrow bandwidth device, so when changing frequencies on a band, I did a check with the SWR bridge before transmitting. It just took a minor tweak to extinquish the LED again.

It was a pretty good day on the bands. I split my time between 40M and 20M. I ended up with 28 QSOs. Among them was one park-to-park contact and one DX contact (IW2NXI). I forgot my water bottle, so my parched throat (and famously short attention span) prompted me to pull the plug after an hour on the air. Activation #20 from US-1414 was in the books.

My little Elecraft T1 tuner certainly has a size and weight advantage over my homebrew z-match. It’s certainly is easier to use, too. However the z-match can handle both balanced and unbalanced loads, and it doesn’t need a battery.

I have some other old gear in mind for future activations. A couple of rigs could make for some challenging activations.

Stay tuned.

72, Craig WB3GCK

I woke up around 6:45 on Saturday, August 24, 2024. That’s late for me, but I tend to sleep well when camping and it must have helped that the previous evening POTA activation by the campfire was pure bliss. There were some noises in the campground that woke me up during the night (probably other … Continue reading Morning on the Trail and On the Air: A Relaxing K2 QRP POTA Activation from the Campsite →