Notes from Portable Operation

Even though I’ve been a Ham for 44 years, I have not done a lot of portable QRP operations. I have built numerous home brew QRP radios and several QRP kits, but have never taken them to the field. I guess I like to build radios more operating them. My recent QRP operating from the vacation cabin was the first time I’ve set up in the field since the 70’s, when I operated with a Heathkit HW-7. I’m very familiar with all the problems that can be encountered in QRP field operations, but I didn’t realize how difficult some of

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Portable Operations

I am operating portable this week from the vacation cabin in southern Indiana. I’m using a dipole and a home brew radio I made back in 1993. It’s my version of the Micromountaineer with the addition of a VFO for the receiver. I call it the SB-40. (I will post info on this rig in the Projects page.) The antenna is newly constructed before the trip and I didn’t have time to tune it. The dipole was thrown together right before the trip using RG-178 mini coax, some Teflon coated #24 hookup wire, and a home made center insulator made from

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