A real QSO!
After 25 marginal contacts with my portable setup the 26th was the charm. A station in Indiana answered my CQ and we had a real chat. Great CW and conversation and by all accounts the other station copied my little five watts just fine. Also, this success provided the necessary push to keep me going with my portable setup and make improvements.
My new Wolf River Coil TIA was put to the test on a trip to Florida. Using my Penntek TR-25 (five watt 40 and 20 meter transceiver) I operated from a small backyard moving around to find a shady spot. Below are assumptions and conclusions from my adventure.
a – Operating with five watts and a compromise antenna without garnering the attention provided by POTA or SOTA knowingly proved to be difficult.
b – The 102′ whip is too short even for 20 meters and proved to be nothing but a dummy load on 40 meters. I knew this going in, but foolishly moved forward anyway.
c – Using the MFJ-259B the antenna was not difficult to tune. I used the supplied three radials.
d – It was assumed that with the 13 Colonies event, POTA and contests (every weekend) many/good contacts were inevitable. Also, a short rag chew would have been nice. Although I had 18 contacts in the log all were poor with repeats and with difficult copy on the other end.
e – This outing brought to light just how well my attic doublet performs at the home QTH. I have had many respectable contacts with the same radio using my attic antenna, but the results were far different in the field. On the bright side, the N3ZN paddle and Bioenio Battery worked very well. I still do not like the keyer in the TR-25. At the home QTH I use a bug key with my QRP radios so the built-in keyer is not an issue. However, a small paddle travels better than the much larger bug key.