QRP Rigs Are Fun
My interest in POTA and portable operation has evolved as I’ve spent more and more time in this wonderful hobby. I’ve said before, and I will say again, that POTA leads to QRP which leads to CW. As someone who started off in digital modes during a horrible solar cycle, I didn’t want to even touch phone modes while working portable. It took too much power and gear and that definitely diminished my enjoyment of time in the outdoors. So I stuck to FT8/FT4 and used the amazing digital capabilities of the IC-705 to their fullest. I had (and still have) a lot of fun.
But…
Once you come to terms with 5 watts of power, it’s very hard not to have an eye that wanders over the wide landscape of weird and wild QRP rigs. Most of this menagerie caters to the CW crowd for lots of technical reasons. Seriously, there are kits out there for $100 that can get an operator on the air if they have the ability to solder or the will to learn. It’s not the easiest way into the hobby, but it’s gratifying.
I’ve started a little collection of QRP rigs and one that I hadn’t had a lot of time with is the Penntek TR-35. The gentleman who made these kits has decided to retire. When I read that, as an owner of a TR-45L, I knew I needed to jump on this one. So I did! I opted for the assembled unit as my available time for kit building is extremely limited.
I’ve only had it out in the field twice and I wasn’t very successful in my activation attempts. With some free time on a Sunday and staring down a week of vacation time, I decided I’d best get that little guy out into the field and learn how to use it.
Gear
For this activation, I headed out to Cuyahoga Valley National Park – US-0020 as one might expect. This time around, I tossed my EFHW wire antenna into a tree. I love this antenna as it always delivers results. My skill with the throw line is still in question, but once the antenna is up, it’s usually all downhill from there.
With the antenna secured, I set up my TR-35 and hooked up my aluminum paddles from CW Morse. I plugged in my earbuds and got on the air.
Oh. The earbuds are from Sony. They’re…OK? I hate earbuds in general. I find them uncomfortable and of questionable quality from sound through to construction. However, this keeps the kit small and light and that was a part of this exercise. After all, this is a TINY rig. It’s the kind of thing that I could toss in a backback and not notice. So a test with some earbuds seemed reasonable for this outing.
A Couple Of Modifications
With all of my rigs, I put rubber covers on the BNC antenna outs. I really hate the idea of moisture or dirt finding its way in there. The ones that I got were maybe $5 for 20 or so. I put them on everything.
I also took Thomas K4SWL‘s advice and put on some laptop feet so that the viewing angle of the rig is better. This seems so dumb, but it does make a world of difference. It’s much easier to read the display when it’s at an angle.
Operator Error
Maybe not an error, but definitely an artifact from NOT doing a little backyard portable with this rig. The sidetone level was set, well, at heavy metal concert levels when compared to the other audio. This was a pain not only because it was loud but because I had to jockey the volume knob so that I didn’t go damage my hearing any more than I already have. As I was sitting in the park, I found myself wishing there was a way to adjust it. And, because this thing is a kit, of course there is!
When I got home, I looked at the various bits of documentation (all of which is stellar!) and found exactly what I needed. There is a small adjustment knob between the power input and the paddle jack. It can’t be reached without opening the case, so I pulled it apart, cranked it down, checked the level, and put it back together. The only way it could have been easier would be to have a knob on the case itself. I’m going to look into drilling out a tiny hole for adjustments and 3d printing a plug for it. That’s a project for Another Day. For now, everything is great.
QSO Map
I only bagged 10 contacts in the time that I had available, but it was nice to be out when our local radiation source wasn’t throwing a tantrum of some kind. Here’s what the QSO Map looks like.
Final
This is a great little transceiver. It’s so nice to have knobs and switches instead of touchscreens and infinite menus. The receiver is great and I got good reports from as far out as Texas. That’s not too shabby on under 5 watts. With the sidetone adjusted, it’ll be much more comfortable on our next trip out – even with the less than stellar earbuds. This thing is just what I need to toss in my bag for quick and easy CW operation. I’m glad that I grabbed it when I could.
