Excuse my musings but I wanted to say some positive things about
qrp. I know I'm preaching to the choir but nevertheless...
I'm often asked by QROers (or should I say non-QRPers) "If you
want to work that DX station, or more of those other stations in that
contest, why don't you just turn up your power?" And I answer "Because
the object is to work that DX station or those other stations using QRP!
To turn up the power would defeat the purpose of being QRP. On occasion
(rarely I must add) I have turned up the power when my objective changed
to just working the station, regardless of the power - usually to work
some rare dx. But I don't even do that anymore."
I've been accused of being a "parasite" on more than one occasion,
using the power, antenna system, and skill of the QRO operator in order to
make the qso work. Hmmm, on some occasions that's probably pretty much
true. In most cases it isn't true. The whole business of 5W qrp being
only about 4 s-units below a kw is true. I would guess that most US/VE
operators run around 100 watts. 100 watts is about 15 db (2 1/2 s units)
louder than 4 watts. Lots of stations brag about hearing each other s9 +
20-30-40db! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that 15 db
(or 4 s-units for that matter) below those levels is perfectly readable!
When qro signals are down in the noise is when we can have
trouble. I know I suffer from really high line noise levels at this qth
(that's why I've finally ordered an ANC-4!). Signals in the noise are
difficult to copy - BUT I know that one of the skills I've developed is
the ability to pull stuff out of high noise and heavy qrm. In DX
contests, I've noticed that most DXers also have that skill. For that
matter so do the really good QRO operators when they are really trying to
hear the DX. If QROers are making casual contacts, some don't want to be
bothered with the work of dragging some punny signal out of the noise.
That's OK, they don't have to if they don't want to.
Equipment-wise, I've never had such really good equipment until
I concentrated on QRP. My keyers, paddles, antennas, and rigs are
better than when I was QRO. My signals are probably more stable,
cleaner, and better keyed than they have ever been. I used to build my
own equipment in my early ham career. It worked great and I had a ball
with it, but I had lots of drift, chirp (even with purple glowing voltage
regulator tubes), and poor keying. I've started building again and it's
great stuff. It's cheaper, more fun, and more attractive than stuff I
used to build. It better working than my commercial stuff too. Don't get
me wrong, the commercial stuff serves a purpose and certainly has more
bells and whistles. I even own a commercial qrp rig (the QRP+, it's great
and costs about 1/2 of what the QRO rigs go for).
Then there is the matter of style. I'm a sailor (a frustrated
sailor out here in the desert) and I've been asked by my "stink potter"
friends (power boaters for you uninitiated) why don't I get a power boat
-'cuz it would go faster? Of course the answer is "I don't want to go
faster - I want to go better, prettier, more elegantly, and with STYLE!"
I've operated power boats but, in my opinion, sailing takes commitment,
skill, and a willingness to do it the old-fashioned way! Sounds similar
to QRP values!
Enjoy, and I look forward to working you all!
Tim K5OI
Las Cruces, NM
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