QRP P2P DX! Pairing the Elecraft K2 with the AX1 for a little portable antenna POTA!
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- Опубликовано: 31 июл 2024
- qrper.com/2023/02/pairing-the...
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Thanks for watching!
73,
Thomas
K4SWL
Chapters
0:00:00 Intro/Overview
0:04:18 Setting up the AX1 and K2
0:12:13 Turning On & Tuning Up
0:20:41 Beginning of Activation 20 Meters CW
1:01:53 QSY to 17 Meters CW
1:12:25 QRT, Summary, and AX1 Benefits 
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I really liked seeing the K2 in the field
W8soo. The sault sainte Marie. The soo locks. Cool call.
Holy cow! P2P to England! Insane indeed! Another great video! Many thanks, Thomas! 73 from warm and sunny Thailand, Peter HS0ZPR.
What I love about watching these video, is you make if feel as if you are talking to us as if we are there in the hut with you :-).. that's a really cool approach and works so well.. I hope my speed come up to your level sometime, I have a hard time when its too fast to catch up.. Keep it up!
Thank you so much, Chris. Honestly, I feel like you're there hanging out with me too!
Your speed will come with time, I promise. Your brain will just take over and start increasing speed without any real effort. It just takes a lot of listening. :)
You've got this!
This is my fav video of yours thus far!
Great video Thomas
Amazing rig
73
I bought my first 5-watt solar panel in 1987 and fabricated a solar charge controller from an article in CQ Magazine that charged a 7 AH SLA battery. I sure wish they had POTA back then, I imagined taking my HB QRP gear to the countryside to make contacts. All of the locals laughed as they said Feild Day wasn't for another 10 months, LOL. Now QRP is so common it is almost expected, LOL!!!! Cheers & 72, Davey - KU9L
Thomas: I have started using your videos for my POTA CW practice. I play them back at 50% speed which is just about where I am in my CW learning journey. The funny part is at 50% speed it make you sound like your went to the bar prior to the POTA activation.....hi hi. When I get comfortable with 80-90% copy at 50%, I will move up to 75% speed and then 100% speed.
PS: I loved your "case junky" video with Josh at HRCC...I also have an affinity for high quality backpacks and case, but I'm currently on parole with the wife on that subject after a couple "easier to get forgiveness than permission" purchases....so I better be good and not buy anymore for a while....at least until my expensive case parole ends...
I’m glad RUclips made the option for playback speed. It helps a lot for beginners and advanced users. I listen at 1.5x which makes Thomas sound like he’s on red bull 😂
Ha ha! Thomas at contest speeds! :)
I'm so happy to even play a small rile in your CW journey. Thank you.
It's funny: I've accidentally kicked in 50% speed on podcasts and it instantaneously makes everyone sound tipsy and slurred! :)
And the "easier to get forgiveness than permission" purchases? Yeah. I've been there, brother!
You made this video because I JUST got my hands on a K2 Wednesday....AX1 on the way.
Woo hoo! As you see, they play well together!
Wow! That K2 sounds great. Love the receive audio and something about the side tone and keying just sounds so nice.
Dang it Thomas! Now I want one.
I won't lie: it's a wonderful radio.
I remember when I first started learning Cw. Howard with licw said run those filters open. I thought he was crazy everytime he demonstrated it. Here a few years later I’ve found that it really helps your brain to pick a tone even if it’s 20hz higher or lower. Very gud practice for pileups. That elecraft handles it very well.
100%. It was my buddy Vlado (N3CZ) that first taught me the importance of keeping the filters wide.
The only time I can't easily handle it is when there's an adjacent POTA activator. That gets confusing. :)
I think you would love the Milwaukee boxes!
I know I would. Just haven't taken that plunge yet because I see it being a pricey path! :)
Thomas, I don't know how you can stand that wide filter, but you said "Train you ear to the sound your listening too". Good basic training mate. 73 de Dennis vk4oc.
Yes, a DXer friend taught me this when I first got into CW. He said, the best filter is the one between your ears. When he contests, he opens up the CW filter very wide. It's amazing to see how easily he can use selective hearing to pick out stations in RF-dense conditions.
18:50 ragchew in cw is a challenge to me yet for this reason you mentioned. I don’t like writing down stuff and I still didn’t memorize the sound of the English words. But sometimes, depending on the day and focus, I can ragchew when the speed is above 20wpm (27 wpm is ideal).
Me and a friend here , va2has, are sponsoring our friend in Brazil (Pu2wdx) to come to cw. We’ll give him a qrp kit with a qcx mini and a bioenno battery (like the one your using) if he manages to learn, pass his class promotion exam and actually do DX in cw. In Brazil cw is still mandatory. Pu2wdx said he’ll be looking to work you when he manages to get his class promotion 😊
73
Oh wow! All the best to PU2WDX. I look forward to working him in the future!
Also, I've never attempted a rag chew en français, for example. I'm not 100% sure I could easily do that! :)
@@ThomasK4SWL completely changing the subject… do you know the relive app? It tracks you when walking and when you take a picture it places in the map with an animation. Hard to explain but DS1TUW starts his RUclips videos with this app. Since you hike in the pota area sometimes, maybe you’ll like what this app does.
73
@@ve2zdx I'll check it out!
Thomas, you've eased my mind by saying you have to write down slower speeds. I thought something was wrong with me as I do the same. As I delve more and more into CW operating I find a lot of SKCC QSOs are at a slower speed where I have started to write down some of the QSO. Nothing wrong with those casual contacts though. Thanks for speaking up about this.
Yeah once we train our brain for 20+ wpm , it’s almost like learning conversations a different way. I definitely need to work on qrs ragchewing
Yes, I do pretty decent head copy in ragchews if I'm hitting the 17-19 WPM mark and the other person's fist is decent. If slower, I have to write it down or that head buffer purges things before I can string the words together in my head.
You're doing such a brilliant job, Jim, and have inspired me to soon hit the Cootie and Bug!
@@ThomasK4SWL Thanks Thomas. That means a lot coming from you. I'll always be indebted to you for moving me back into my Novice years of operating CW. Using different keys has only enhanced my enjoyment of Amateur Radio.
Hearing you send 72 instead of 73 keeps throwing me off. I keep thinking you mis-sent a 3. Then I remember it's a QRP thing. I am looking forward to working some SOTA this year when the snow is a little more manageable around here.
Hi Thomas, I hope you are well?
This is a great video, thank you for your content. Being pretty new to CW and watching your video's, I am really starting to pick more characters out more often much quicker. I like this.
Take care de David, M0XLS
I hope to work you someday across the pond, David! Just a warning that this CW stuff becomes pretty addictive!
You should give 10 and 12 meters a try, QRP propagation conditions on those two bands has been crazy for the last couple weeks, especially 12m. The southeastern US is periodically being heard as far afield as Reunion Island (in the southern Indian Ocean), Argentina, Australia, and VY0ERC near the North Pole with just a 0.2 watt WSPR beacon right now, so you should get some good mileage out of 5-10 watt CW.
Yes indeed. I have been using those higher bands at home. The AX1 tops out at 15M, but I've heard of some having luck getting it to load on higher bands if the ATU can match it. Impressive DX you've been logging!
Chapter breaks? Bah. Give me the Full Witherspoon.
That's weird how there were two tones when I worked you. Don't remember if I was on the 705 or x6100 though. More than likely the 705.
I have a kx2 coming in the mail today or tomorrow so I'm looking forward to that!
I'm not sure what could have caused that.
I suspect you'll love the KX2. It's a phenomenal and seriously compact field radio.
to keep mice and squirrels out of our Rav4's I pop riveted some heavy gauge wire screening over our air duct and air cleaner intakes... otherwise they get in and chew up the filters and store nuts in there...😎
I want to do this on my Subaru, but can't find a way to securely fasten a screen on the intake.
Nice setup today. I am curious about the RCA jack sticking out of the transverter port. A mod I assume?
I need to contact my buddy who was the original builder of this radio. I assumed it was for the transverter, but I think there would have been a second cable.
You keep saying the 10 Watt version of the K2. All K2s are the 10w radio. Some just have the 100 watt amplifier installed. There are dozens of "versions" of the K2 depending on the options installed!
Yes, you're correct. All K2s start out as a 10 watt version unless the 100W PA is added. The reason I say the "10 watt" version is I want folks to understand that it's a K2/10 instead of a K2/100. Thanks!
@@ThomasK4SWL You and I and all the Elecraft fans know that. Just wanted to clarify it. I love my K2/10! I recently finished up a Kilo at a park with a couple 100+ QSO days using the K2!
Hey! Greetings from the UK.
Great video. The K2 is a beautiful radio and I am sure it his a top performer as well.
Quick question about the AX1 kit you have inside that maxpedition pouch, are you allowed to carry that on a plane as hand luggage? r do you need to check it in to the hold?
Reason I ask is because that kit is perfect together with the KX2 to take on holidays abroad.
Thanks for sharing.
You should have any problems taking the AX1 in a carry on. I know a number of people who fly regularly with their KX2 and AX1--you shouldn't have an issue at all. I would suggest keeping a paper copy of your license in the case with the rig.
Just made a deal on a K2....First qrp and first elecraft for me. How are they on power consumption? Can you recommend a battery size, like you I mostly do activations here and there or operate in the back yard for an hour or 2 at a time. Thanks for the videos.
It depends if you have a 100W or 10W version of the K2. If the QRP version, you could use a 3Ah battery. If 100W, I tend to use a 15Ah battery. You'll need more capacity to handle the extra current demands of 100W. The K2 is a fantastic radio!
Great video! de W2CSI