by in my exploits on 40 meter SSB with my Argonaut 509 at about 5 watts
output:
1. With a reasonable antenna (dipoles up a quarter wave, a G5RV and tuner,
one extended double Zepp aimed North/South) - I do about as well as other
barefoot stations. I have worked all states (on a WAS net) in about 2
months of a few evenings per week. I have gotten several "5 x 9" reports
from a few east coast stations! Not often, but it happens.
2. With a cheap mobile antenna (the Ham stick, $14 retail) on my car, I
have been able to do pretty well too! Running the argonaut at 5 watts,
I have worked 40 SSB across to the east coast with reasonable reports
("5 x 5" for ex, no "5 x 9" so far....) and I expect to do WAS QRP MOBILE
SSB within a month or two out there in my parking lot and on the way to
the grocery store.
3. All this amazes me. I think it points out that we REALLY do not need
a lot of power to communicate. OF COURSE, at times during BAD CONDITIONS
NO ONE HEARS ME, but that does not happen often.
4. The intriguing social aspect to this is that I have encountered a lot
of hams who actually call me a "liar" over the air and who openly express
doubt that I am running QRP. It used to hurt my feelings, I wrote letters
and invited hams to my house to operate with me...but they didn't come.
Now it gives me a little thrill, to know my silly little setup is efficient
enough to upset some other hams (maybe insecure because they spent a lot
of $$$ on their rigs and expected that to give them a huge edge???) I own
and have owned other higher priced and full featured rigs, most recently
using a TS 940SAT. I find that when reasonable conditions prevail, there
is honestly little difference in what the TS 940 and the Argonaut can do.
It is a minority of time that the 940 really makes a difference (but of
course, when you need the features of the 940, they are a REAL advantage
and make the whole difference.)
I continue to have a LOT of fun using QRP and often not even mentioning it
until the end of an hour long armchair QSO. It has been wild to see that
it even works OK mobile - something I would have thought improbable before.
But, any other hams have thoughts on the hams who just can't believe I
am running QRP? Is this the ultimate result of the age of the appliance
operator - that success in face of a challenge is met with distrust? Just
some questions on some general issues. I really like ham radio, and I don't
think we are all appliance operators, nor that we are all insecure. But
I seem to be operating in a way that brings out some insecurity in other
hams, and that is something I do not understand. Any ham anthropologist
or sociologists out there?
Clark S. Turner
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Clark Savage Turner Software Safety Group
Dept. of ICS IERF 124
UC Irvine
Irvine, CA. 92717
(714) 856 4049 and 856 2131
Ham radio: WA3JPG, local - 146.895 mHz, PL 136.5 Hz.
Hobbies: Practice law in 3 states.