AD 5 X QRP What Why How

AD 5 X QRP What, Why & How Phil Salas - AD 5 X ad 5 x@arrl. net Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X How I discovered Electricity u. As a child of 3 ½ years of age I was experimenting with electricity: Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X Definition u. QRP: Decrease Power l Or, QRP? : Shall I decrease power? u. Originally used to give some relief from the broad spark signals in the early maritime wireless service u. In Amateur Radio, it refers to low power operation. Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X FCC Power Requirements u 97. 67(b)…Amateur stations shall use the minimum amount of transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communication. u. How often is this adhered to? Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X History of QRP u 1960: K 6 JSS started the QRP Amateur Radio Club u. Definitions: l l l Low power: < 100 watts input (200 watts PEP) Medium power: 100 -500 watts input High Power: > 500 watts input Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X Richardson, Texas 1960: K 6 JSS started the QRP Amateur Radio Club Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X QRP Objective u. Increase equipment and antenna efficiencies l l l Careful impedance matching More efficient output coupling More effective antennas u. Improve operating proficiency l l l Bands vs time-of-day Frequency vs desired distance etc. Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X u u u u The Higbee QRP Antenna Most of the Pass amateurs are not aware of the efforts of Steve Higbee in the arena of QRP antennas. Here is Steves famous QRP antenna: Nicknamed ‘Loose Nickels’ Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X Down. . . u. Many formerly high-power hams dropped below 100 watts (input power), to the 5 - and 10 -watt levels and found they could do surprisingly well. u. In 1979, the QRP ARCI defined the QRP limit as 5 watts output power (after a big internal battle) Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X QRP Levels u 5 watts CW output u 10 watts PEP SSB output u. QRPP: Milliwatters l Less than one watt output power Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X QRP Motivation u. Challenge of low power contacts l l 5 watts is 13 d. B below 100 watts (two S-units) 5 watts is 23 d. B below 1000 watts (four S-units) u. No interference to TV, stereo, intercom, telephone, etc. u. Simplicity of home-brew QRP equipment l l Learn to apply electronic theory Build low power emergency/portable equipment u. Low cost way to get on the air and get that code speed up! Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X W 1 FB’s QRP Notebook u“Make an effort to avoid technical complacency. Don’t rely on commercial equipment when assembling your amateur station. Experience thrill of building transmitters and receivers, and gain valuable experience in the process. Half of the fun associated with our grand pastime is based on communicating with equipment we have built. ” Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X QRP Rules for Success u. Call strong stations l If a weak station is QRO, he may not hear you. u. It is better to answer a CQ l l Choose a very clear frequency when calling CQ Call CQ properly u. Use an effective antenna l Only a masochist uses a poor antenna with QRP u. Be prepared to listen a lot Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X QRP Rules for Success (cont. ) u. Use the QRP calling frequencies l Two watts on 20 meters is more effective than two watts on 40 meters u. Upgrade u. Believe it can be done! Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X QRP Calling Frequencies CW SSB Novice 1810 3560 7040 10106 10123 14060 21060 24900 28060 50060 3985 7285 14285 21385 24950 28360 50885 3710 7110 21110 28110 - Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X u u u u QRP FREQUENCIES 40 – 160 Meters Region Band Name Calling Freq Mode MF 160 Meters 1810 k. Hz CW MF 160 Meters 1818 k. Hz CW MF 160 Meters 1843 k. Hz SSB Europe MF 160 Meters 1910 k. Hz LSB HF 80 Meters 3560 k. Hz CW HF 80 Meters 3690 k. Hz SSB Europe HF 80 Meters 3710 k. Hz (Novice) CW HF 80 Meters 3711 k. Hz (Novice) CW HF 75 Meters 3985 k. Hz LSB HF 40 Meters 7040 k. Hz CW HF 40 Meters 7090 k. Hz SSB Europe HF 40 Meters 7110 k. Hz (Novice) CW HF 40 Meters 7285 k. Hz LSB Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X u u u u u QRP FREQUENCIES 30 - 2 Meters Region Band Name Calling Freq Mode HF 30 Meters 10106 k. Hz CW HF 30 Meters 10116 k. Hz CW HF 20 Meters 14060 k. Hz CW HF 20 Meters 14285 k. Hz USB HF 17 Meters 18069 k. Hz CW HF 17 Meters 18096 k. Hz CW HF 17 Meters 18130 k. Hz USB HF 15 Meters 21060 k. Hz CW HF 15 Meters 21110 k. Hz (Novice) CW HF 15 Meters 21285 k. Hz SSB Europe HF 15 Meters 21385 k. Hz USB HF 12 Meters 24906 k. Hz CW HF 12 Meters 24956 k. Hz USB HF 10 Meters 28060 k. Hz CW HF 10 Meters 28110 k. Hz (Novice) CW HF 10 Meters 28360 k. Hz SSB Europe HF 10 Meters 28885 k. Hz USB VHF 2 Meters 144060 k. Hz CW VHF 2 Meters 144285 k. Hz SSB Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X Check out 30 meters! 30 Meters is a GREAT QRP Band u. Activity is friendly with little QRM u. DX is very good u. Maximum output power permitted is 250 watts u. Only CW and digital modes are permitted u. Basic antennas are the rule l l Dipoles Verticals Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X How far can you go? u. You can work the world on 5 watts. u. Can consistently work Europe, Japan, & Australia on 30 and 20 meter CW. u. At the sunspot peak, you can do the same on 10 meter SSB with only 5 -10 watts PEP. Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X Worldwide Beacon System Northern California DX Foundation, Inc. on 14. 100 Mhz. Minute # 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 Callsign Location 4 U 1 UN/B NY City (UN bldg) W 6 WX/B Palo Alto, CA (Stanford) KH 6 O/B Oahu, HI JA 2 IGY Ise City, Japan 4 X 6 TU/B Tel Aviv, Israel OH 2 B Espoo, Finland CT 3 B Funchal, Madeira Island ZS 6 DN/B Pretoria, South Africa LU 4 AA Buenos Aires, Argentina -------- No Transmission ------------ Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X Worldwide Beacon System (cont. ) u. W 6 WX in Palo Alto, CA also transmits on: l l 21. 150 Mhz on minute 2 28. 200 Mhz on minute 3 u. Beacon Sequence l l l QST DE Callsign @ 100 watts -------- (long dah @ 100 watts). . ------- (2 dits, long dah @ 10 watts) …------ (3 dits, long dah @ 1 watt) …. ------ (4 dits, long dah @ 0. 10 watt) SK DE Callsign @ 100 watts Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X W 6 WX 20 Meter Beacon u u u u Frequency: 14. 100 MHz Band: 20 meters Continent: North America Country: United States Town: Santa Cruz, CA Grid Square: CM 97 bd GPS: 37. 1458, -121. 875 Call: W 6 WX Op Status: On-Air Antenna: Vertical epr. W: 100/10/1/. 1 watts Direction: Omni Mode: A 1 Interval: IBP Cycle Slot 3: 3 minutes beginning at 20 seconds after the hour. u Misc: NCDXF/IARU International Beacon Project. Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X QRP Organizations u. G-QRP Club (SPRAT) l http: //www. gqrp. com u. NORCAL QRP Club (QRPp) l www. norcalqrp. org u. QRP ARCI (QRP Quarterly) l www. qrparci. org u. American QRP Club l www. amqrp. org u. And many others… Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X What kind of equipment? u. Normal 100 watt rigs turned down to QRP levels u. New QRP Rigs l l l SGC-2020 MFJ-9 xxx FT-817 IC-703 Argonaut V u. Kits l l l Ten-Tec Wilderness Radio Small Wonders Labs Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X Equipment (Cont. ) u. Older used rigs l l l Heath HW 7/8/9 Ten-Tec Argonaut 505/509/515 Yaesu FT-7 Kenwood TS-120 V & TS-130 V Index Labs QRP+ Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X Equipment (Cont. ) u. Homebrew l l l ARRL books QRPp, SPRAT, QRP Quarterly QST, CQ, 73, Communications Quarterly u. Printed Circuit Boards for most articles: l l FAR Circuits, 18 N 640 Field Ct. , Dundee, IL 60118 www. cl. ais. net/farcir Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X Conclusion u. QRP challenge: Use the least power necessary to establish and maintain communications u. QRP reduces QRM, and re-introduces an element of adventure & challenge that was part of amateur radio’s earliest days. u. QRP gear is compact and portable. u. QRP gear is great for the experimenter & homebrewer Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X u. What can you do with QRP? l Anything you have the skill, tenacity and patience to do!! u. Just remember: l l l “Power is no substitute for skill” (QRP ARCI) “Use wits, not watts” (unknown) “It is vain to do with more, what can be done with less” (William of Occam, 1290 -1350) Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X Finally u 72 OM l l “Wishing you good QRP” Adopted by all QRP organizations Richardson, Texas Phil Salas – AD 5 X

AD 5 X Richardson, Texas QRP will always have non believers Phil Salas – AD 5 X