The Beginning ! QRP in the Driftless !

 Hi !

Welcome to QRP in the Driftless, a blog about portable operation in Wisconsin's lovely Driftless Area !


I have been intending to start up my own QRP / portable operating blog for weeks; finally just gave up on debating the pros / cons of platforms and so forth and got to the "just do it" point.    Better to have a blog, any blog, than none at all !       Can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, so here's version 1.0     


Just a placeholder for now while I set up the blog; real QRP content coming Real Soon Now.

 - Phil, 10 August 2022

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Field Day 2022

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  I really had forgotten that it was Field Day weekend when I went out on Sunday morning to play with the new X6100.     Imagine my surprise when the first thing I heard was the words "CQ Field Day" ! The antenna is just two pieces of 26 gauge silicone-covered wire on a BNC / binding post adapter, which is within the 2:1 SWR range over the whole 20 meter band without using the internal ATU. I was able to get only 3 QSO's in the log before the internal battery gave out, so I am fairly sure that when the results come out I will be the lowest score in the WI section; still it was my first FD in several years and I am very glad to have gotten on the air for it !      I am also glad that I had plenty of coffee ! The site is the overlook on top of Mill Bluff in Mill Bluff State Park  , POTA # K-1463      UPDATE! - January 6th, 2023:   in category 1B - Battery, my 3 QSOs earned 265 points; whether that really was the lowest score in WI Section is still an open question pending f
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My first POTA activation

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This was on June 12th, 2022 at Wildcat Mountain State Park , K-1480 , in Vernon County, WI; EN43rq.       I had been having only limited success with the end-fed random wire antennas in the 26' - 28' range I had been using on my last few hikes, so for a POTA activation attempt I brought out the Buddipole Deluxe set that I bought at Dayton years ago,  along with everything else I could think of; lots of room in a minivan ! Setup was lengthy because I hadn't actually deployed the Buddipole in a long time; on the spot I decided on making a 20 meter vertical from the Buddipole In The Field book: the 12 foot whip on top of 2 arms with 4 radials, all fed from the tee.   With the extendable pole and the tripod I could get it high enough without needing trees or other structures. Using 3 different colors of mason's line for guying helps keep confusion to a minimum!     (there will still be enough for everyone!)       The guy ring is homemade from an extra-large 3/8" stainl
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