(tr)uSDX – WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio

Plan B with the (tr)uSDX

I planned to activate two parks at the other end of the county this morning. Given the travel time involved, I figured I’d need to leave the house around 0700 local time, to get back home in time to take care of a few things this afternoon. I’m always up super early, so I didn’t need an alarm clock. Hah! Of course, I slept in this morning.

I needed a Plan B, so I stayed close to home and headed up to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351). To switch things up a bit, I opted to give my (tr)uSDX another shot at a POTA activation. Along with the (tr)uSDX I used my 12-foot whip, homebrew loading coil, and my Elecraft T1 ATU.

My (tr)uSDX in use at Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351)

Although I got off to a slow start on 40M, things picked up significantly when I moved to 30M and 20M. An hour and twenty minutes later, I had 30 contacts in the log. No DX today, but I did have one park-to-park contact. Thanks to WA2QLK for hunting me on two bands.

The little (tr)uSDX got the job done. Since my last activation with it, I tweaked a couple of settings, which made the receiver a little easier to listen to:

AGC = OFF
ATT2 = 1

I also calibrated the frequency. The Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) confirmed that the frequency readout is right on the money. The sidetone still has some clicks and pops, but overall the little rig was better this time. It’s a fun little radio, although probably not my first choice for POTA activations.

I’ll have to get down to those other two parks another time. Next time I’ll use an alarm clock.

72, Craig WB3GCK

POTA with the (tr)uSDX

Although I bought my little (tr)uSDX transceiver two years ago, it has only seen sporadic use. Other than an occasional contact or two, it has been mostly relegated to the shelf. I figured it was about time to put it to serious use in a POTA/WWFF activation.

I made a return visit to Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363) for another activation. It was raining on and off this morning here in southeastern Pennsylvania, so I pretty much had the place to myself.

I set up the (tr)uSDX with my Elecraft T1 tuner in the cab of my truck. I used three 18650 Li-ion batteries power the radio. As usual, I went with my 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil on the back of the truck.

I’m getting a little better at navigating the (tr)uSDX’s menus and using the controls. There are a lot of functions covered by three controls. To refresh my memory, I used the rig last night with my rain gutter “antenna” to make a couple of contacts. I also brought along a cheat sheet today, which I didn’t need.

Just for the fun of it, I started off using my little N6ARA TinyPaddles. They match the orange radio, so why not. Unfortunately, I had some issues with them, so I switched over to my Palm Mini paddles. I have to tweak the contact spacing on the N6ARA paddles.

My (tr)uSDX. The N6ARA paddles are in the lower left. — My (tr)uSDX. The N6ARA TinyPaddles are in the lower left.

Starting out on 40M, the signals were strong and plentiful. It only took me about 11 minutes to log my first 10 contacts. When things slowed down on 40M, I made a few contacts each on 30M and 20M. After 45 minutes, I had 21 contacts in the log with one park-to-park QSO.

My trusty homebrew loading coil. In hind sight I should have used a plastic bag to protect it from the rain this morning. — My trusty homebrew loading coil. In hindsight I should have used a plastic bag to protect it from the rain this morning.

The (tr)uSDX is an incredible little rig. They packed an awful lot of features into a tiny package, but it’s not really a high-performance radio. I have to admit it wasn’t the most pleasant rig to listen to; there were some pops and clicks in the sidetone when keying. It could have been the earbuds I was using. I also need to go back through the menu settings to make sure I haven’t missed something. Looking at my RBN spots, I could see I need to tweak the frequency calibration a bit. It’s transmitting a little lower than the displayed frequency. Having said all that, I can’t be too critical of radio at this price point.

In the end, though, the little rig got the job done today. Not bad for a five-band, multi-mode radio that costs less than $140 assembled.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Fall Weekend Outings

I was long overdue for some portable QRP, so I went out twice over the weekend. As a bonus, we had some beautiful Fall weather here in southeastern Pennsylvania.

On Saturday, I headed up to my daughter’s property, intending to make some contacts in the Straight Key Century Club’s (SKCC) Weekend Sprintathon (WES) contest. I used my TR-35 with my 19-foot vertical mounted on my truck.

The bands, especially 20M, were in good shape, and I made a half-dozen SKCC contacts. There were a lot of Parks on the Air (POTA) activators, so I spent most of my time hunting them. The Pennsylvania QSO Party was also going on, and I logged a few of them, too.

On Sunday, I went for a bike ride on the Schuylkill River Trail and stopped in a park for a little radio time. This time I used my newly acquired (tr)uSDX with my ground-mounted 19-foot vertical.

The bench I was sitting on was getting full sun from time to time, which made reading the radio’s display a challenge. There were some loud signals on 20M that seemed to overload the radio’s front end. I could have used some attenuation, but, not being able to read the display clearly, I didn’t attempt to navigate the menus. (Note to self: Stay in the shade next time.) Despite these challenges, I logged three SKCC stations receiving good signal reports from each of them.

Nothing really exciting this weekend, but it was great to get back out portable again.

73, Craig WB3GCK

My New Toy

I keep saying that I need another rig like I need a hold in the head. I guess I have a hole in my head, because I recently bought another QRP rig.

The rig I purchased was a (tr)uSDX transceiver. I had been thinking about getting one of these little rigs for several months before finally giving in and buying one. I placed an order with roWaves in Romania, and, to my surprise, I had it in my hands five days later.

My new (tr)uSDX transceiver on the air for the first time

This rig is only about the size of a pack of cigarettes, but it sure packs a lot of functionality in there. I won’t go through all the specs and functions, but it puts out about 5 watts (give or take) and covers 80/60/40/30/20m. It supports CW/LSB/USB/FM/AM, and you can set it up for digital modes, too.

There are three controls (two push-buttons and a rotary encoder), and they each have multiple functions. So, it’ll take some practice getting this old dog used to the menus and functions.

I set it up on the bench to fire it up for the first time. I connected it to my Elecraft T1 tuner, which was connected to my rainspout antenna. During this initial session, I logged contacts on 40, 30, and 20M. One of those was a very nice chat on 30M with a fellow SKCC member up in Massachusetts. This little rig held up well in my noisy environment.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to take the (tr)uSDX out in the field over the weekend and give it a whirl.

73, Craig WB3GCK