Tag: rag chew

On Thursday, January 16, 2025, I had a long list of errands to run in town, including a session with my physical therapist. After all the heavy lifting and chainsawing I’ve done post-Hurricane Helene, my shoulder has been letting me know it’s not too happy. The PT sessions are definitely helping, though—they’re tough, but I’ve … Continue reading Super Portable POTA: One Watt, One Tiny Key, Big Fun! →

Last year, I mentioned—either in a field report or video—that I carry a full Elecraft KH1 field kit in my everyday backpack, my EDC (Everyday Carry) pack. That led to a great question from Terry, a reader who was studying for his ham radio license at the time. He wrote: “Thomas, thank you so much … Continue reading A Sampling From My EDC Pack: Ten Essentials I Carry Everywhere →

Last year, at the Tokyo Ham Fair, Yaesu unveiled the long-awaited FTX-1F portable HF transceiver. After years of speculation, we finally have a successor to Yaesu’s venerable FT-817/818 product line on the horizon—a radio series with an impressive run of over two decades. I’ve enjoyed reading the flurry of comments that continue today from readers … Continue reading Are we spoiled for choice? Why There’s No Better Time to Be a QRP Field Operator! →

By Teri KO4WFP After six months devoid of POTA/camping trips, it was time for Daisy and I to hit the road, this time returning to southwest Georgia. There are parks on that side of the state I want to activate but the travel time necessitates a longer stay. My son has two weeks off from … Continue reading The Road Beckons the POTA Babe →

In late December, I received a much-anticipated package from LnR Precision: my new MTR-3B V4 “Currahee.” Life has been hectic, so I didn’t get the opportunity to take it to the field until Thursday, January 9, 2025, when I carved out some time in my schedule. It was a chilly morning, with temperatures hovering around … Continue reading Chilly Morning, Hot Pileups: Testing the New MTR-3B “Currahee” →

Many thanks to Corey (N5YCO), for sharing the following article about his portable field radio kit, which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post. CFT1 Field Kit by Corey McDonald (N5YCO) I thought I would supply the field kit … Continue reading Field Radio Kit Gallery: N5YCO’s Lightweight CFT1 SOTA Kit →

Good Morning, Readers, Over the past few weeks, I have received messages from several of you stating that you are no longer getting email notifications via WordPress when new articles are posted on QRPer.com. I have contacted support, and they believe they may have resolved the issue. If you subscribe to new posts via WordPress, … Continue reading New Post Email Notifications: This is only a test… →

Many thanks to Karl (K5KHK), who shares the following guest post, which initially appeared on his ham radio blog: POTA Spotting via Low Earth Orbit by Karl (K5KHK) For way too long, I have had the “Working from 200 different units” awards dangling in front of my face: I was at 197 unique parks activated. … Continue reading K5KHK: POTA Spotting via Low Earth Orbit →

This year, we’ve experienced some cold weather and snow at our mountain home—conditions that always seem to arrive on weekends. While we haven’t had any significant snowfall, the 2–4-inch dustings we’ve received have been enough to coat our steep and winding mountain road. Since our road is still undergoing repairs from the damage caused by … Continue reading Portable POTA Hunting on a Winter’s Day and Native PSK31 on the Elecraft KX2 →

Last week, we recorded an episode of the Ham Radio Workbench podcast. Our main topic was Winter Field Day, but we also discussed our plans for 2025—not just workbench projects but our overall goals and what’s on the calendar. Lately, I’ve been so focused on the present and immediate future (sorting out post-storm property repairs, … Continue reading 2025 Plans: Less About Goals, More About the Journey →