So my kit has always evolved, but I am trying to fine tune it to either make it lighter or easier/faster to setup or breakdown. Those are my main concerns as I am also only a daylight operator at this time so there is nothing about lights or such in my kit currently.
I think the first part to discuss should always be the RADIO! So my current setup consists on an ICOM IC-705 with matching antenna tuner. This rig will do all sorts of stuff that I have not tapped into before, it is even capable of VHF and UHF! It literally is an all purpose radio. I have only used it with SSB and CW so far though and really like the memory keyer functions a lot. They are super easy to program and easy to use. I am planning on setting up a simple RTTY system as it will natively decoder built in and a simple winkeyer will encode CW to RTTY and let me use that mode without a computer. All the better… LOL
Next item to discuss is the antenna tuner. I just bit the bullet and bought the ICOM AH-705 remote tuner too while I was at Gigaparts… Can we say buying frenzy? 😂 Well, I am glad I did, it has performed flawlessly the entire time without issue and the cool thing about it and the radio is that they both have their own battery systems in them. This means you don’t even have to bring a remote power source if you don’t want to and still operate up to 5 watts. I have done this twice now, once because I was in a hurry and didn’t want to spend time building out the external power system and the second time was when the external battery went dead from me not charging it. The tuner is simple to use as it is designed to connect either a BNC coax or use the included adapter and connect the wire antenna directly to the tuner, which is what I have been doing up to this point. It also ships with the cabling to connect it to the 705 but the power cable is not included, they do give you the connector so you can build a cable yourself, which is exactly what I did, complete with powerpoles and a fuse holder… lol.
The next item in the system in the battery. The current cell is an 8AH LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) and is the size of the batteries that are in UPS power supplies and kids power wheel toys and such. I started out using the sealed lead acid battery, and quickly realized that the newer battery was half the weight but with the same energy…maybe more… So I upgraded soon after putting the kit together. Best idea ever! I made up a pigtail with two power poles on it and it stays on the battery all the time. Another thing that is great about QRP is the wire sizes are so much smaller too. I am using 16ga wire for the power cords because that is plenty for my 10 watts of transmitter power and my tuner.
Next is the Antenna, I use a EFHW (End Fed Half Wave) wire antenna system that I bought called Radio Wavz RW705, it is a wire antenna kit with a whole bunch of widgets to help get the antenna setup. I also bought a small spool of 2mm arborist throw line and made a throw weight for it out of some stainless steel I had in the machineshop. I end up using the throw line as the distal end support line most of the time. This kit is great as it has a 33’, 66’ and two ten foot counter poise wires so if space is tight you can run the 33’ radiator and it works pretty well. I like running the longer wire with the 33’ wire for the counter poise though as it just seems to pull in the weaker signals better.
Right now, I have 3 QRP portable style radios, the IC705 and Elecraft K1/4 with internal ATU and a Factory built WA3RNC TR-35 that I have yet to use… Soon, very soon though. I really like the form factor of the TR-35 as it is really compact. I will probably be rotating those three radios through my pack as time goes on so they will all get some use. To be honest though, the IC705 will spoil you with all the features and the wonderful receiver in it. The touch screen is cool too but I dont have to have it, it does make things easier and some things harder… Anyway, on to the next items.
I dont log in the field with software at this time, I am not that dexterious to be hjonest, so I use good old pen and paper. Batteries dont go dead in a notebook… I carry three pens normally, two at a minimium. I have had one choke on an outing already so that solidified that part. I also have redundant antenna adapters for the tuner in case I drop one in a storm drain or some such. I also have a flash light a roll of red electrical tape, this serves two jobs, one I put it on the low part of the antenna when I am at a picnic table so people can see the wire if the happen to wander into the area and it is also electrical tape! I have a powerwerx voltmeter and the PD4 powerpole distribution block
I carry the handmic to the 705 and the N6ARA tiny paddle, I bought a eBay dual lever key and it has failed twice on me so far, I am currently looking for a spare key so if I break the N6ARA key I can still operate. It will probably be some sort of small straight key to be honest. I like CW more as it seems to work better in QRP scenarios. I will try to get voice contacts from time to time, but they are hard to do with 10 watts.
All of this is carried in a surplus camera backpack style bag from Thinktank Photo. They are my favorite company for travel camera bags as they seem to just last forever and are designed really well, even for ham radio!
Thanks and 73! de WK4DS