QRP Club

Ham Radio Activity => QRP => Topic started by: IZ5ZCO on November 08, 2014, 01:17:13 UTC

Title: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: IZ5ZCO on November 08, 2014, 01:17:13 UTC
I'm curious.  :)

In my case: 2-way QRP QSO with Koji JP1HUJ (on 20 m CW).
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: GM0LVI on November 08, 2014, 19:49:22 UTC
Hard to decide on "best" as I've had had quite a few I got a real kick out of.
"Best" for distance this year was ZL6HQC in February on 15m @ 18332km or 3666 km/Watt and also worked ZL1BYZ twice. These QSOs were only QRP from this side.
Most recent 2x QRP of any great distance was PV8AD on 20m in September @ 9033km.

What does really make me smile is when I work a station on west coast USA and get a decent report from my 5 Watts and then discover the other station is running 1kW+ with a massive stacked array. "Bangs per buck...?"  :D
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: PG4I on November 09, 2014, 15:56:23 UTC
A couple of years back I participated in the CQWWCW with 5 watts output and a dipole antenna on 20 meters. Around 17z I copied AH0BT (Saipan) with a weak but clear signal. So I thought lets give hime a call, you never know. He copied me straight away, no problem at all. Considering he was running more than 1000 Watts, he must have had very low noise levels...  ;D

This summer I took a litte battery powered QRP rig with 1 Watt output with me on holiday to Corsica. At the campsite close to the sea a dipole was erected and after a couple of CQ's JH1GEX came back to me! It was probably the most fun QSO in years since it was also the first time I operated portable.
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: KC8AON on November 10, 2014, 12:30:49 UTC
Southern Ohio to Australia on 40  meters SSB with around 8 watts from an old Yaesu FT-7 using an old CB vertical that I had added a B&W coil to the base to resonate it on 40 meters with 3 elevated radials attached.  Couldn't believe I was working Aussie with only 8 watts !
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: DF5WW on November 10, 2014, 14:59:10 UTC
There´s not only one "best" ... For me are all contacts the best that i work in a huge pile up against HP and LP stations. VK9DLX at 17 m was so a "best of" QSO ....

Farest distance this year abt. 18600 km to VK with 5 w and indoor foldet doublet .... Most horrible try was FT4TA with an extreme wide split range and no ears for the QRP stations .... #8 of the most wanted are not in my log  :( :(
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: f5gsk on November 13, 2014, 15:30:37 UTC
hello all,
 for me the best qrp qso is CE7AEQ Ted (chili) on 18090 le 15.6.2012 at midnight  (11500km) . I was an ft450D 5w ant FD3 antenna 72/73
Pierre

Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: GM0LVI on November 13, 2014, 16:51:11 UTC
Just had another "best" about an hour ago.
Rumi - LZ2RS replied to my CQ (5W) on 15m and we had a real fun half hour seeing just how low in power we could go and maintain contact. At 100mW which is the lowest I can go he was still giving me 579. He could go even lower in power and at 3mW he was a quite readable 419 here.

I've not had so much fun for a long time! :))
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: DF5WW on November 15, 2014, 17:56:14 UTC
Great Job with QRPP to QRPPP  ;D
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: KC8AON on November 15, 2014, 19:23:34 UTC
Great Job with QRPP to QRPPP  ;D

That's what amazes me with QRP, its just amazing what one can do with such little power.

LIFE"S TO SHORT FOR QRO !
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: VE2TH on November 18, 2014, 02:35:14 UTC
Hello all,

There is not only one "best" ... For me each contacts are the best that i work and it is always amazing!!

Our farthest completed QSO happened  one early morning at 05:30 AM local time on 30 meters when my XTL, Georgette VE2RH (She is also 100%  QRP) worked VK3IO, Ron, located  in Cockatoo, Australia, and after the QSO, she  said, if you want to work him, it is time, I took the key and worked him too. We got 579 both ways.

A very nice complete QSO, name QTH etc.. 

When we got each our QSL, we asked for the KM/WATT Award from QRP ARCI, and we are very proud
to hang it on the wall.

Hey it is 16855 KM  which means with 5 watts it is 3371 KM/WATT 

For us here if we want to give a try, VK/ZL and most of Pacific Ocean countries are always workable early in the morning. And always on 40 or 30 meters. It is the most reliable bands for Oceania.

We have to Wake up early and sometimes we can work someone from very far away places, which is a real fun.-

Antenna here is a simple inverted vee cut for 30 meters, apex, 32 feet, or 10 meters high. I also have another one for 40 meters & 20 meters, on the same flagpole mast.-

Antenna at VK3IO are: two 160 mtr band dipoles, one broadside NE-SW and one broadside N-S, fed with open wire feeders and they are both about 100 feet (30 mtrs) high, connected to simple link coupled tuners, one tuner for each band for dipole 1 and one tuner for each band for dipole 2 (20 tuners in total.

You chan check his QRZ page, it is very interesting.

So QRP IS......  REALLY FUN AND AMAZING!!!

72, Michel didit...
 
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: DF5WW on November 18, 2014, 23:05:16 UTC
Great Job with QRPP to QRPPP  ;D

LIFE"S TO SHORT FOR QRO !

That´s what i say all the times... It´s easy to make a DXCC full house within 10 years isf you use 1 kW and big fat antennas but then there is nothing more to do .... I love the QRP work with my attic antennas and each new one is a surprise for me ..... For me it´s o.K. when i have completed the DXCC full house when i´m 99  ;D ;D
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: M0KCP on November 22, 2014, 11:32:18 UTC
This week I worked Palm Beach FL on 10m CW from England on 5w.
I also worked Istanbul on 10m CW on 2w
Both QSO were just under 1k miles per watt. 
No records broken, but both very satisfying.

Cheers
Rob M0KCP
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: GM0LVI on November 22, 2014, 19:13:23 UTC
This week I worked Palm Beach FL on 10m CW from England on 5w.
I also worked Istanbul on 10m CW on 2w
Both QSO were just under 1k miles per watt. 
No records broken, but both very satisfying.

Cheers
Rob M0KCP
Istanbul with just 2W is good going Rob.
The upper HF bands have been pretty good over the past few days with some good(ish) openings on 10m. I'd a brief play on 10m this morning and worked EW6DX and Z30U for new band/mode but the LZ contest made things too crowded for QRP later, so I moved to 12m late afternoon-early evening and managed to work quite a few with 5W CW. Best were LU7HF (11206km) and KC0V in Colorado (6993km).
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: M0KCP on November 22, 2014, 19:18:17 UTC
Very well done !
I need to try harder :)

Cheers
Rob M0KCP
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: va2snl on December 05, 2014, 00:33:35 UTC
Hi Everybody,

My "best" QSO is a short one (contest exchange) but a lonnnng one 9049 miles (14 563 km)!  :))
It was last week-end during the CQ WW DX. This was my first participation in this contest and I decided to give it a try, nothing too serious but enough to get a sense of what it is to operate for long hours trying to catch callsign at 25,30,35 wpm. This was not easy as I thought! So, on the sunday afternoon, after a couple of GOOD hours on 10m, I decided to take a peek on 15m; it was very busy. Has I was rolling the tuner stopping by on strong signal from Europe, grabbing 3 points here and there, I suddenly heard "39" then a bunch of ham calling like crazy.... 39? Ok, I pulled my zone map thinking this must be around 33 or 34 (remember this is my first CQ WW). OMG, all I see it the big Madagascar and a handfull of tiny speck!!!! I must be wrong so I started to listen carefully to confirm that 39 but the huge pillup was surely on something so I needed to find out. His signal was not that strong but strong enough to get a grip on the pillup (no split!) and command some respect but still some QSB gremlins was working agains me. Ok I heard again that "39" and now my hearth start racing! Ok ok, what it's callsign? He's running like hell and I have some difficulty to catch the beginning of is call, I only catching the end.. 'MU' ... 'MU'. I continu to listen and then catch 3B. 3B??? My N1MM screen can help me. It showing only G3B alone in my checklog screen. So I decided to enter the last part I got 'MU'. Bam! I got a 3B8MU showing up with a tiny 8 in bright red highlight! Ok, so I back a little and enter '8MU'. There it was in the bottom of my main screen 3B8 : AF/Mauritius, Zn 39. I looked again; saw the 9049mi in the heading info and cannot believe it right now. So the next minute goes as I try to confirm the 8 that I missed a couple time still in disbelief. But he got back a little bit louder now and catch is full callsign! Ok, this is a big fish and there's a lot of fisherman in the hole. What I'm gonna do with my little 5W hook up on a 42' sloper wire to breakthrough this hell of CW. So I start to call, call, call. Move a little bit higher... call, call, call. Go down a little and call, call, call. Slow down my keyer, sometimes it go thru the fast call like a turtle racing the bunny. But nothing make it. So I decided to wait a bit, maybe the pillup will shrink a little and then I will have my chance. After 5 to 6 looooonnng minutes I hear the last caller asking the station for his zone again? Maybe he was like me at first and was not sure that was really a 39. So the guy send 39 39 and after the usual TU there's a small gap of silence like maybe everyone still shock that this guy ask to confirm the zone so I hit the key, send my callsign and wait. No answer!??!? Oh no, the guy left for a brake? nooooooooo! Then the all mighty pillup start to call. There it is, I miss my only shot to bag that super long QRO. But out of nowhere a hear 'SNL?' WHAT!!! Ok ok stay call man and send your callsign right now!! After 2 extra long seconds I hear my full callsign, the useless rst and the magic 39. YESSSSS! Gotcha! Replied my also useless rst and my too common 5 zone. I drop my headphone and start to yell. My girlfriend show up in the shack, ask if a blowed up something and my answer was : made contact with 3B8MU!!!! She look at me puzzled, turn around and leave the place without asking for more detail.  ???  So I'm sharing it with you tonight, a 1809 miles per watt QSO. I'm still shock and in disbelief but at least, a got it confirm last night on LOTW so I will put some "green" stamp in a envelop and send that QSL card a.s.a.p!  What a wonderful hobby!  :) 
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: GM0LVI on December 05, 2014, 19:01:39 UTC
Glad to hear you enjoyed CQWW Steve. It's a great contest for a QRPer to pick up a few more countries.
I thought about giving 10m a shot but decided to stick to 15m to see if I could beat my last year's totals.
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: vk6jon on December 17, 2014, 23:00:03 UTC
Hi All,

I've just joined here and saw this thread. I'm currently staying in Edinburgh, Scotland until April next year so value all contacts back to VK.

I think I'd rank my best QRP QSO as one in early October this year. I did a two week trip to Scotland's Western Isles and operated using my Yaesu FT857, a 7Ah battery and my Buddipole set up as a vertical dipole and I worked VK5PO on 17 metres with 5 watts on SSB. He was receiving me readability 5 so was thrilled with that one!

Cheers,

Jonathan MM0/VK6JON
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: DF5WW on December 18, 2014, 16:16:35 UTC
Hi Jonathan,

great work with 5 watts in SSB. Have had several contacts to VK/ZL with abt. 5 watts but most in digitals or CW .... Not one SSB contact with 5 watts and my indoor antennas in my attic .... But i will try to make more SSB in the next future to got my 100 DXCC´s in SSB too  ;D ;D
Title: Re: What was your best QRP QSO?
Post by: vk6jon on December 18, 2014, 22:32:40 UTC
Hi Juergen,

Thanks for the message. I've also done this many times when at home in VK6 at beachside and riverside locations with the antenna set up right next to the water. I get an excellent takeoff to Europe on 20 metres on the longpath from around 07:30 UTC for several hours and I've had signal reports as high as 5/8-9.

I'm currently operating in the mobile whilst in Edinburgh, Scotland with many contacts into VK mainly on 15 metres but the car set up needs a little more juice and I'm outside the QRP power at 20 - 40 watts.

73s.