A while back I purchased one of AD8HK’s end-fed random wire (EFRW) antennas. I tried it for the first time during my ill-fated Flight of the Bumblebees (FOBB) outing. With everything that went wrong that day, the AD8HK antenna certainly deserved a better evaluation—at least one where I wasn’t in a panic over problems with my newly acquired Elecraft KH1.
The AD8HK EFRW is a really slick little antenna. It consists of a 15-foot radiator and a 7.5-foot counterpoise wire. It has a neat 3-D printed winder for the wires that also incorporates a 4:1 unun and BNC connector. It’s compact and well-built. AD8HK Antenna Systems sells this antenna (and other offerings) through eBay.
During my infamous FOBB outing, I fed the antenna with 6 feet of RG-316 coax. It loaded up on 30M through 15M, but neither my KH1 nor my Elecraft T1 tuner could find a match on 40M. I’m not sure what the issue was, but I didn’t have much time to look into it.
The AD8HK winder/unun secured to the pole with a Velcro strap.
This morning I took the AD8HK EFRW over to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) for an activation. I supported the antenna with a 20-foot pole and my homebrew ground mount. I fed the antenna with 20 feet of RG-316, and this time my T1 ATU easily found a match on 40M. It also loaded up fine on 30M through 17M.
My antenna pole
A 15-foot radiator isn’t going to be a barn burner on 40M; however, this little antenna certainly held its own today. I easily logged 13 contacts on 40M before moving on to try other bands. When I wrapped up after a little over an hour, I had twenty contacts in the log, with four park-to-park contacts. I made contacts on all four bands covered by my Penntek TR-35 (40M-17M), and I was pleased to work W6LEN out in California on 20M.
My usual set up: Penntek TR-35 and Elecraft T1 ATU
After today, the AD8HK EFRW has definitely earned a spot in the KH1 kit I’m putting together. It’s easy to deploy and has a relatively small footprint.
Thanks to NU4F for the nice spot from Florida
Speaking of my KH1… I heard from Elecraft a few days ago. They replaced the FET in the final amplifier, and now the rig is on its way home. I can’t wait to get it back on the air.
In my last post, I talked about using a simple antenna comprising a 15-foot radiator, a 7.5-foot counterpoise, and a 4:1 unun. It worked well, but I found it a little touchy to tune on 40M. Today, I tried the same configuration, but with a slightly longer radiator and counterpoise.
I wanted to add a little length to the radiator, but limit it to 19 feet, so I could still use my lightweight 19.5-foot telescoping pole to support it. Looking at a table of random wire antenna lengths to avoid, it seemed like 18 feet might be a good choice for 40M through 15M, my primary bands of interest. Scaling the counterpoise wire proportionately, I went with a length of 9 feet.
Just as I was getting ready to cut a set of wires to try out, I stumbled on a video by Thomas K4SWL. In the video, he was using an antenna built by AD8HK that used a radiator length of 17’9” and a counterpoise length of 8’10.5”. I went with those dimensions, since they were very close to what I was considering and seemed to work with Thomas’s KH1.
On the Air
To try it out, I made a quick trip over to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761). Using the same 4:1 unun and coax as the last time, I made a quick check to see how my Elecraft T1 loaded up on the bands. The tuner quickly found a match on 40M, 30M, 20M. On 17M, however, it seemed to struggle. I went back to 40M and got started with my activation.
This wasn’t the best day to be doing this. The geomagnetic field was unsettled with a K index of 4 and the A index sitting at 47. Nevertheless, the callers showed up, although at a somewhat slower pace than usual.
After I had 14 contacts in the log, I decided to spend the rest of my limited time playing around with the antenna. When I went back and checked 17M, the T1 tuned it up without flinching. I also rearranged the counterpoise wire so it ran 180 degrees opposite of my coax. Checking the bands again, the T1 reliably matched 40M through 17M.
Convinced that the new wire lengths work, I went back to the 15-foot radiator and 7.5-foot counterpoise I used a few days earlier. This time, the T1 had no issues loading up on 40M. Go figure!
I really wanted to give the unun with the smaller ferrite core another shot. When I last tried it with the 15-foot & 7.5-foot wires, neither my KH1 nor my T1 could find a match on 40M. Unfortunately, I neglected to put it in my backpack before I left. I’ll have to save that for another time.
The Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) Weekend Sprintathon contest was going on this weekend, and I worked one SKCC station while tuning around the bands. This month, the WES theme was homebrew keys. In the spirit of the contest, I made the contact using a straight key I built a few years ago from junk box parts.
My homebrew straight key constructed from odds and ends from my junk box
Conclusions
So it looks like both the 15’/7.5’ and 17’9”/8’10.5” configurations are usable with my homebrew 4:1 unun. Given a choice, though, I would probably stick with the longer wires.
One other thing is clear: short random wires can sometimes be finicky little critters. When in doubt, rearrange the counterpoise wire.
On Wednesday, August 7th, I set out to do some antenna experimentation. So, why not get in a POTA/WWFF activation at the same time? To kill those two birds with one stone, I drove down to Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414). (Disclaimer: No birds were actually harmed during this activation.)
I saw some discussion on the Internet about an antenna configuration I found intriguing. It’s just a 15-foot radiator and a 7.5-foot counterpoise wire fed through a 4:1 unun. Folks claim they work on 40M through 15M—with a tuner, of course. I’m a sucker for simple, field-expedient antennas, so I gave it a try during the recent Flight of the Bumblebees contest.
With the unun I used, I had mixed results. I couldn’t get the antenna to load on 40M, but it seemed to do fine on 30M through 15M. I wanted to try the same configuration, but with a larger 4:1 unun I built a several years ago. After cutting another set of 15-foot and 7.5-foot wires, I was ready to go.
My antenna feedpoint
When I got to the park, I headed to a spot I had been using a lot lately. It’s off the beaten path and well away from the other park visitors. Using my homebrew ground mount, I set up the antenna on a lightweight 19-ft telescoping pole I bought years ago on eBay. I ran 20 feet of RG-316 coax over to my Penntek TR-35 and Elecraft T1 tuner.
My operating position
Before I started my activation, I gave the antenna a quick check. The antenna was an easy match on 30M through 17M, but it took two tries before the T1 found a good match on 40M.
Despite the slightly fussy tuning on 40M, the antenna didn’t do too badly on that band. I logged 12 contacts before the activity slowed down. I next tried 30M, but there were no takers. Moving up to 20M, I logged three more stations. Up on 17M, I worked one last station in Alabama. After an hour on the air, I had 16 stations in the log, including five park-to-park contacts.
Something in the woods behind me was not happy with my presence. Fortunately, I never came face-to-face with whatever it was.
I had better luck with this antenna configuration this time around. The unun I used for this outing uses a larger iron powder toroid (T130-2, as I recall) compared to the smaller ferrite core used in the other unun. Also, the longer run of coax I used this time was probably a contributing factor.
In any event, this configuration can definitely work. Granted, it’s a compromise antenna, but it’s super simple to deploy for casual operating in the field. Still, I think a slightly longer radiator would make for an easier match on 40M.
I have another configuration in mind that I plan to try soon.
Actually, this bumblebee barely got off the ground at all this year. It started off with a heartbreaking rig failure and ended with some horrendous local noise.
I had a late-breaking change of plans this week. I originally planned to operate in the Flight of the Bumblebees (FOBB) contest from a nearby POTA entity. Instead, I ended up in central Pennsylvania helping a family member recovering from a recent surgery.
So, I activated Plan B: take my new KH1 along and make a few contacts from the backyard. What could go wrong with that? A lot, as it turns out.
Using my homebrew ground mount, I set up a new antenna on my lightweight telescopic pole. The antenna comprises a 15-foot radiator and a 7.5-ft counterpoise fed through a 4:1 unun. (More about that antenna in another post.) I ran a 6-foot length of RG-316 coax over to the KH1.
I easily got a 1:1 match on 20M and up, but it wouldn’t load up at all on 40M. Going back to 20M, I started operating. Something on the display didn’t look right. It turned out that I wasn’t getting any power output. When I pressed the ATU button, I heard some relay clicking, but there was no power or SWR displayed after tuning. When I keyed up, the display showed zero bars of power and one bar for SWR.
I checked to make sure I wasn’t in “Test” mode (I wasn’t). Next, I started pouring through the settings to make sure I hadn’t messed something up. Nothing looked out of the ordinary to me. I tried the built-in whip on 20M, but still no power out.
After spending an inordinate amount of time playing around with the KH1, I packed it up and brought out my Penntek TR-35. My trusty Elecraft T1 ATU also refused to load up on 40M.
So, 20M was the only band working for me, given the rig I was using. I could have set up a different antenna, but I didn’t have that much time.
The 20M band had some horrendous local noise, so it was rough going. I worked one bumblebee in Missouri, and that was it. Frustrated with my inability to hear any other FOBB activity through the noise, I called it quits. I needed to get back inside to take care of a few things, anyway.
Having owned my KH1 for less than a week, you can imagine my disappointment. I shot off a message to the support folks at Elecraft, so hopefully, they can help get this issue resolved before I head down to North Carolina on vacation next month. (Fingers crossed)
I’m at the stage in my life when I should be “thinning the herd” when it comes to radios. So, what do I do? Instead of getting rid of some stuff, I fire off an order to Elecraft for a KH1 Edgewood package. I need another QRP rig like a hole in the head, but after considering it for the past year, I gave in and ordered one.
I have a couple of use cases in mind for the KH1. This rig should be ideal for bicycle-portable outings and hopefully get me out on some hiking trails—within the limits of my arthritic knee, of course.
I have to admit that after I placed the rig in my online shopping cart, it took me several minutes to convince myself to press the “Submit” button. Less than 24 hours later, I received a shipping notice from Elecraft.
While waiting for the KH1 to arrive, I watched a bunch of YouTube videosread serveral blogs, and downloaded the manual. With those resources, I was thoroughly prepared when the Post Office delivered it.
What I wasn’t prepared for was exactly how tiny this thing is. Even with the research I had done, I didn’t fully appreciate its diminutive size until I had it in my hand. It’s amazing how much functionality Elecraft was able to cram into this little rig.
My new rig at US-0761/KFF-0761
Some Initial Impressions
Menus. I prefer radios that are simple to operate without a bunch of complicated menus. That’s one reason I love my Penntek TR-35 so much. There are a lot of menu options provided through the four pushbuttons on the KH1’s front panel. Elecraft, however, has come up with a scheme that makes navigating the menus very intuitive.
Paddles. The Elecraft KHPD1 paddles included with the Edgewood package will take some getting used to. I typically prefer paddles with a light touch, like my trusty Palm Mini paddles. I played around with the Elecraft paddles with the rig in the “Test” mode. It didn’t take too long before I could send coherent code with them. We’ll see how I do in the field. Fortunately, there are several after-market paddles for the KH1 if I decide to go that route.
Overall Ergonomics. It’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into the clever design of the KH1. Everything from the logging tray to the self-contained pen is nothing short of genius. I’ve never used a handheld HF rig before, so using the logging tray will take some getting used to.
Maiden Outing
The day after I received the KH1, my (far) better half suggested I go out and give the new radio a try. Of course, I took her suggestion, but I had some reservations. There was some geomagnetic craziness going on, plus the higher bands could be tough early in the morning. Nevertheless, I packed up the KH1 and headed off to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761).
I started off using the KH1 handheld with the telescopic whip while sitting on top of a picnic table. Using the stock counterpoise wire on the ground, the KH1’s internal ATU easily found a 1:1 match. The bands were really rough, but I made seven contacts that way. It took the better part of an hour to make those contacts, however. Six were on 20M and one was on 17M.
A Boy and His Toy
I wanted to try the lower bands—and my rear end was sore from sitting on the table—so I walked back to the parking lot and set up a 12-foot loaded whip on my truck. Sitting on a camp chair next to the truck, I bounced around the bands. I ended up with one contact on 40M and three more on 20M. Out of my 11 contacts, four were park-to-park.
Using the logging tray was a challenge. Writing while holding the rig in my hand was tough. Sitting in a chair with the radio resting on my knee was a little easier. My handwriting was pretty sloppy but still readable.
With enough contacts for the activation, I declared victory and went home.
Wrap-Up
I’m definitely not an early adopter with new gear. The KH1 is no exception. Elecraft announced the KH1 in the fall of 2023. Since that time, they have made improvements to the paddle and added new features via the firmware. Plus, by waiting to buy one, I got to learn from the users who jumped on the KH1 bandwagon early on. Thanks to the legions of YouTubers and bloggers for sharing their experiences with this rig. You made it easy for me to get up and running with it.
After the intial outing, I am thoroughly impressed with the KH1. With earbuds, the receiver sounds great, and the rig was super easy to use.
This little rig is going to see a lot of future use in the field.
Wanting to take advantage of the excellent weather today, I drove up to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351) for a quick morning activation. I wanted to give my Gabil GRA-7350TC vertical some air time, so I tossed it into the truck and headed out to the park.
The picnic table I planned to use had been moved from its usual spot. Not wanting to drag the heavy table back to where it belongs, I set up at a table I have used previously. It’s close to a hiking trail, so I needed to make sure my radials wouldn’t be a trip hazard for passersby.
I set up the Gabil antenna on its tripod at one end of the table. To facilitate tuning, I set up my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and Elecraft T1 ATU within arm’s reach of the antenna. I meant to bring a 3-foot coax along, but it didn’t make it into my backpack. A 10-foot cable was the best I could do, so I just coiled up the excess. (Note to self: Keep a 3-foot cable in the backpack.)
I started out on 40M, so I laid out a 33-foot counterpoise wire on the ground. I reached for my little SWR meter, but it wouldn’t power on. It had been a while since I had last charged it, so the battery appeared to be dead. I ended up adjusting the antenna for maximum noise in the receiver and used the T1 to do the final matching.
After I had a few contacts in the log, I changed over to 20M. I built my 33-foot counterpoise wire so I could split it into two 16.5-foot wires. After laying out the two counterpoise wires, I tried to peak the noise. No joy. I just couldn’t find a discernible peak.
Just then, I remembered I had a 12-volt power cable for the SWR meter. Duh! Why didn’t I think of that sooner? After temporarily disconnecting the TR-35, I used the battery to power the SWR meter. I quickly got the antenna adjusted to a 1.3:1 SWR. I reconnected the TR-35 and got started. (Note to self: Throw a Powerpole splitter in the backpack.)
The action was relatively slow-going this morning, but there were a fair number of activators on the air. After a little over an hour, I had 14 contacts, nine of which were park-to-park.
Despite some minor glitches, it was an enjoyable morning operating in the park.
I recently spent six days out in Central Pennsylvania on house- & puppy sitting duty again. I got to spend some quality time with my grand-dog, Belle, and got in some radio time, too.
Grand-dog, Belle
PA State Game Land 246 (US-8941, KFF-5862)
My first radio outing was early on a Friday morning. Pennsylvania State Game Lands 246 is only about 10 minutes away, so it’s perfect for a quick activation. With an active geomagnetic field, the propagation didn’t look at all promising. I ignored all that and headed out the door. As I was leaving, Belle thought we were going for another walk. Needless to say, I had a very disappointed German shepherd at the window watching me leave.
The parking lot at SGL246 was empty when I got there. I set up my 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil, along with my trusty Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW). I spent the whole activation—and it was a short one—on 40M.
State Game Lands 246 (US-8941, KFF-5862)
Given the band conditions and the early hour (around 0745 local) on a weekday, I got off to a slow start. My big issue was the local power line noise. Before I started, I tuned around 40M to find a frequency where the noise was lower. Despite the band conditions and noise, I seemed to be getting out well enough, and the received signals were fairly strong.
After 30 minutes on the air, I finished up with 14 contacts. I packed up my gear and headed back to take Belle for that walk. After that, I think she forgave me for leaving without her.
And Then the Rains Came
Bright and early Saturday morning, I took Belle through the basement to let her out in the backyard. I found myself splashing through puddles of water in the rec room, and the sump pump was running like crazy.
We had some severe thunderstorms the previous night, and according to the local news, we received close to two inches of rain overnight. So, much of the day was spent cleaning up and drying out instead of playing radio. Fortunately, my (far) better half drove out for the weekend and helped with the cleanup effort.
Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (US-4567)
When I woke up Sunday morning, I saw we were in the midst of a severe geomagnetic storm. Some hams on a local repeater were complaining about the poor conditions on the HF bands. So, what did I do? I headed out for an early morning QRP POTA activation.
For this water trail, I went to a public boat launch on the Susquehanna River. The river was still slightly flooded from the recent rainstorms, but the water hadn’t reached the parking lot.
Some minor flooding on the Susquehanna River
Given the poor band conditions, I used my homebrew loading coil and a 17-foot whip instead of my usual 12-foot whip. I was hoping the additional five feet would help my 5 watt signal punch through the geomagnetic storm.
I also used my brand new Pocket Paddles from CWMorse. I neglected to order one with magnets, so I couldn’t attach it to my clipboard. However, I think I have a plan to address that as a future project. On the air, the Pocket Paddles performed flawlessly, and I’m looking forward to using them a lot more in the future.
CWMorse Pocket Paddles
After my third CQ call on 40M, I quickly logged my first two contacts. The contacts kept coming, but at a slow pace. After nine contacts, I thought that the tenth one might never come. Fortunately, it did. After 45 minutes, I ended up with 12 contacts, including one park-to-park. Not bad for a severe geomagnetic storm. I packed up and headed to a grocery store to pick up a few things for breakfast back at the house.
And Back to PA SGL246
On Monday morning I made another trip over to PA State Game Lands 246. There was a major geomagnetic storm in progress, so I knew this would be another challenging activation.
The parking lot was empty the whole time I was there. No big surprise, given that it was early on a weekday. I went with the same set-up as yesterday, opting for the 17-ft whip.
With a K Index of six and the usual power line noise, it was slow going on 40M. It took a few minutes of continuous CQing to log my first contact. It took almost 45 minutes to get seven in the log. At that point, things stalled for a bit. Around that time, I received a NOAA email alert saying the K Index had increased to seven.
I had allotted an hour for this activation, and I was getting close to the end. Then, out of nowhere, I had three callers in rapid succession that got me to 10 contacts. For good measure, there were three more after that.
I finished up with 13 in the log, with one known park-to-park contact. So, my little five-watt station managed to pull it off again. Take that, Mr. Sun!
And with that, I wrapped up my activations out here. Radio-wise, the band conditions were challenging, but it was still fun. I might be back in central Pennsylvania for another round of puppy sitting next month—with better band conditions, I hope!
It has been quite a while since I’ve done any bike-portable operating. Over the past couple of years, I’ve dealt with medical issues of one sort or another. This year, I’ve avoided any serious issues, so I dusted off the bike and went out for a ride. While I was out, I tested some new gear for the bike. (I purchased all of the products mentioned with my own money.)
Antenna Mount
I make no claims of originality for this setup. I first saw this antenna mount in a YouTube video by VA7BIX. So, I found one on eBay and fired off an order to give it a try.
The antenna mount in question is a Nagoya RB-46. I had been looking for a way to mount my Gabil GRA-7350TC antenna (or any antenna with a ⅜-24 mount) on my bike. Originally intended for mounting on a car’s roof rack, the RB-46 can be clamped to the handlebars on bikes. With the kickstand down, my bike leans a bit. Fortunately, I can the adjust the RB-46 in two directions, so the antenna stays vertical. It accommodates a standard SO-239 to ⅜-24 antenna stud mount, which I had on hand.
Installing the RB-46 is quick and easy—for normal people. My installation, however, required extra time for searching the garage floor for dropped nuts and washers. Hardware mishandling aside, I installed the mount on my handlebars and adjusted it so the antenna would be vertical with the bike’s kickstand down.
Nagoya RB-46 antenna mount attached to my handlebars with my Gabil GRA-7350TC installed.
I also had a protective cap for the SO-239 in my junk box, so I put it to use here. Just in case it rains while I’m riding, I carry a ⅜-24 bolt in my handlebar bag. I figure I could put that in the antenna mount to keep the rain out. That’s probably overkill, but that’s how I roll. (No pun intended.)
New Panniers
I really like the cheap set of pannier bags I have been using for more than a decade. Sadly, they were really showing their age and were being held together with liberal applications of duct tape. Figuring I had gotten my money’s worth out of the old bags, I ordered a set of Bushwhacker Moab pannier bags.
The new bags are slightly larger than my old ones, so there’s more than enough room to carry my radio gear. My Bushwhacker handlebar bag has been going strong for about 12 years, so I’m hoping my new panniers also have a long life.
Schuylkill River Trail
I’m fortunate to live near the Schuylkill River Trail, a beautiful multi-use trail that runs along—you guessed it—the Schuylkill River. Since I haven’t been on the bike in a while, I chose a section of the trail for a three-mile ride that leads to a quiet local park.
Before loading up my bike, I always check the tire pressure. This morning, the front tire had gone flat, despite having fully inflating it a couple days earlier. After installing a new tube, I was finally on my way. Then, as I was driving to the trailhead, it started raining. Geez, what else!? Thankfully, the rain stopped by the time I reached the trailhead.
Bike loaded up and ready to roll
I rode about three miles to Towpath park, a ride I’ve done many times in recent years. The ride was uneventful, and I was soon setting up the GRA-7350TC on my new antenna mount. I used two 17-foot radials laid out on the ground and 25 feet of RG-316 coax. It was easy to get a 1.3:1 SWR on 20M.
Set up and on the air in the park
To see how it works, I set up my Penntek TR-35 on a nearby park bench. Tuning around I found some POTA activators to call. I ended up working three of them. It was fitting that one of my contacts was with Jim N4JAW. Jim is a bicycle/ham radio enthusiast I wrote about in a recent post. (Jim told me later that he was also bike-portable. You can read about his POTA activation operation and our QSO on his Ham on a Bike blog.)
My Penntek TR-35 set up on a park bench
Before tearing down, I checked the other bands with an antenna analyzer. I was able to get good matches on 30M through 12M. The 10M band was a little finicky. I didn’t use my longer radials, so I knew 40M would be tough.
Happy with the results, I loaded up the bike for the ride back to my truck.
Wrapping Up
I have a few takeaways from today’s ride:
The antenna mount worked great. However, using a PL-259 to BNC-F adapter on the antenna mount caused some clearance issues. It was a little tricky connecting the coax. I need to try using a right angle adapter next time.
The new panniers were easy to put on and take off the bike. Having a little extra room is a plus.
My short ride today was no Tour de France, but it reminded me how much I enjoy riding my bike. Yep. I definitely need to do more bike-portable outings this year.
Last week I was using one of my Evolve III Maestro E-Books during our local ARES-RACES NBEMS digital net. I noticed the keyboard had developed a hump in the middle. Having seen this once before in another laptop, I immediately knew what was causing it: a bulging battery. As a precaution, I disabled the battery in the Windows Device Manager and continued running solely on AC power.
The next day I opened up the laptop to remove the battery. That was fairly simple to do. I just needed to remove nine tiny Phillips screws to open the case. Then I removed five more tiny screws holding the battery and unplugged the battery cable. It was a painless process.
Searching the Internet, I found some sources for replacement batteries. I ended up buying one on eBay from a seller that ships from New Jersey. Of course, that convenience came at a price. I ended up paying $40 for a battery to put in a $90 laptop. Yikes!
This isn’t a great a picture, but you can see how bloated the old battery was. It’s hard to tell with the lousy lighting, but the new battery is perfectly flat.
A week after I first noticed the problem, I had a brand new battery in my mailbox. It took about 15 minutes to open the laptop, install the new battery, and put it all back together again. Happily, it survived the “smoke test” and charged up normally. Back in business!
Yeah, $40 is steep investment for such a cheap laptop, but I really like this little thing. Hopefully, it’s got a couple more years left in it.
Whenever I go operate portable, I usually take my old YouKits HB-1B transceiver along as a backup. One thing I learned from back in my working days, is you need to test your backup equipment periodically to make sure it will actually work when you need it. It had been quite a while since I last used the HB-1B, so I put it to use today.
My destination today was Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414). I rolled into one of my favorite spots and set up my homebrew loading coil paired with a 17-foot telescopic whip. This combination covers the 40M, 30M, and 20M bands, perfect for the HB-1B. Along with the HB-1B, I used my Elecraft T1 tuner and my old NorCal keyer.
My YouKits HB-1B in use at Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414)
The A Index was 32 when I started out on 40M. Despite the active geomagnetic field, my four-watt HB-1B still managed 10 contacts in about 16 minutes. The 30M band was a little better, but I made most of my contacts on 20M. The HB-1B only puts out a little over 3 watts on 20M, so I was pleased with that.
The (far) better half and I are puppy sitting one of our grand-dogs this weekend, and I received a text message that he was at the house waiting for me. He knows I’m the designated dog walker at our house, so I packed up to go spend some quality time with a furry buddy.
After operating for an hour, I logged 34 contacts. I didn’t have any DX contacts today, but four of my contacts were park-to-park.
I bought the HB-1B from Ten-Tec almost twelve years ago, and it has seen a lot of use in the field. Although it doesn’t see as much action as it used to, it proved once again it’s a capable little rig.
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 