QRP Myths Debunked! 

If I may butt in? I also got to the point I no longer use my home shack. I put a small battery, antenna (end fed) analyzer, one of my QCX mini, and a mountain topper in a back pack, hop on my duel sport and head to the mountains. Fun.

Phil - I have heard a similar story from so many hams. You're absolutely right. It's more fun when it's not automatic or easy. - Cliff

I had a QTH before with a big tower, top notch radios and big yagis with QRO power. It was fun for a while. Now these days I'm using an endfed havewave inverted-L antenna and low power radios. I enjoy every contact much more. Even when it's a local EU station I like it knowing my little radio and wire antenna (cheap) does cover +750 miles. It gets even more exciting when I cross the oceans and work far DX with the same setup. So I agree with most points Cliff brought to our attention ;-) 73, Phil ON4VP @QRPSchool what is your favorit QRP radio at the moment we speak ?

I love the way you put that. I am new, running an end fed antenna, Max 20 watts, and I'll stick with making simple antennas and see how I do. I've picked up Romania, Argentina, and a guy in England. Better antennas, not more power. Surf the propagation. I appreciate that you said that. 73 KD9ZMK

Ditto!!

"a ‘myth’ was in my head that the louder stations were closer". That's a logical deduction, but I'm glad your experience has taught you that it's all about propagation. It's very strange that we often can't hear someone nearby, but can hear someone far away. I know the science behind it, but it's an interesting phenomenon. Thanks - Cliff

If I may butt in? Ya Head Copy, I need to spend more time on the air, and listining to W1AW code sent at diffrent speeds, I am ok at 18 wpm but would like to get to 20 wpm.

I'm currently only about 15 wpm. But i'm making contacts. And Yes, I need to get on the air more too. and now that nice weather is in the forecast, I really have no excuse not to get out and play radio more. The noise floor where I live is about a contstant S6, so I really need to go elsewhere to do any serious radio.

I'm with you. I'm a "life-long learner" and have other hobbies that also consume my time. It's always fun to learn new things and there is so much to learn and experiment with in the ham hobby. - Cliff

It's best to "keep mama happy", in my opinion! - cliff

Absolutely! It's exciting to reel one in like that. - Cliff

Well done. You never know what you're going to catch when you go radio-fishing! - Cliff "radio-fishing" sounds like something that should be trademarked! 🙂

Just this evening i have worked two QRP stations from USA on 20mt.. im always happy when a QRPer answer my CQ and i love to dig weak signal in the noise floor. 72 de IK1LBL

And yes I love fishing Ultraligt.

Great job! - Cliff

So true! Wish I could have been there to see that. It's always an exciting moment to witness something like that. - Cliff

Thanks so much, David! - Cliff

I agree with everything you're saying. Yes, this is a contoversial topic in the QRP community. I totally agree that it's easier to work DX with CW than SSB. With compression and transmit EQ adjusted to maximize your SSB output, it's still not as efficient as CW. My personal take on this is that doubling your SSB power only gets you an extra 1/2 S-Unit and, most of the time, that extra 1/2 S-Unit doesn't make or break the ability to complete the contact. To my way of thinking, doubling your power on SSB to 10 watts isn't really enough of an advantage for any reasonable person to claim thatit's cheating or unfair. I personally stick to 5 watts if I'm working SSB with QRP, but I'm not going to say anything negative about someone using 10 watts with SSB. Thanks for the excellent comment - Cliff

Cool! It’s been 37 years for me. No amplifier, ever. Now, if Elecraft wanted to give me one of their $7,000 amplifiers, I’d have a hard time saying no… 😊

Thanks, Rene. Good to see you at the WCARES meeting yesterday. I was too busy setting up my video gear to talk much. Let's go to lunch sometime. - Cliff

@@QRPSchool, I agree with @renegta, its great to see you making content again Cliff! It was your videos that inspired and encouraged me to study, take the exam and get my amateur radio licence here in the UK - so a big thank you from me!

Yes! For me, I live in a big neighborhood so my noise floor pretty high. I love working portable with that quiet noise floor, compared to what I have here at home. - Cliff

I will confess my ignorance. I did not know about this. Must check it out... - Cliff

Hi Cliff.. 2300 utc.. we find an open frequency and work the folks as they check in.. no waiting on a list.. use the livestream to see the net frequency on our radios.. We’d love to hear from you sometime. Hope you can stop by and see “how low you can go”.. (There are more net details on my qrz page for k0klb) 73!!

@@QRPSchool Hi Cliff.. thx for stopping by the net.. I saw you in the chat.. When control came back to me I called for you on the radio to see if you were out there and wanting to come in and play QRP.. We always love to hear from all the YT celebrities, LOL... Hope to hear from you on the radio soon.. 73.. and I enjoy your videos.. k0klb

⁠ sorry to be so late in responding! I came to the live stream but couldn’t hear the stations at my house with my high noise floor! I logged into a websdr receiver and could hear both of you fine. Maybe I’m in a bad location, with both of you sending signals over my head! Anyway, I was going to try to talk to you on my rig while listening on websdr but got called to dinner. I’ll try again at some point. This is a very great thing you’re doing! -Cliff

CW is a game-changer for QRP. Not only is it heard better than SSB, it's just more fun. I just got my Elecraft KH-1 (after waiting for 6 months) and I worked California from my back porch with their four-foot telescopic antenna! I couldn't believe it. - Cliff

Dale, that would make sense if all QRP contacts were with stations deep in the noise floor. When conditions are good, the other station doesn't even know you're QRP. Also, a station running 100 watts (or more) can have a weak signal if propagation isn't good. You are under no obligation to try to work weak signals. Just turn the big knob if you feel it will be too much work to try to copy a weak station. I've done that many times. - Cliff

Yes! When you have an amplifier, you can usually work everyone you can hear. That becomes boring. Where's the challenge? QRP makes hamming more fun. - Cliff

Try a horizontal loop antenna for some killer QRP DX performance. Search Google for " loop skywire antenna" ...best features are it's Omnidirectional, has very low takeoff angle (longer DX) and it's cheap as hell (use copperclad steel wire and 3/4" ladder line) as with all wire antennas, bigger and higher is better. 73's, kd5txo

Thanks for your comment. I agree with you. Propagation is everything. And I definitely would not advise new hams to go to QRP too soon. We turn the power down so that we feel more of a sense of accomplishment when we make contacts. I think it’s better for new hams to make a lot of contacts in order to feel a sense of satisfaction before they try to lower their power. Thanks again. - Cliff.

Thanks - Cliff

When propagation is good, you can have a lot of fun with QRP. When propagation is not good, we might as well go do something else or crank up the power. People who are into QRP intentionally turn the power down so that when we make successful contacts, we feel a real sense of accomplishment. That’s really all there is to it. We can’t expect to have success all the time with QRP, and most of us are OK if the fish sometimes aren’t biting. It’s all good. I still have some 100 watt contacts at times. Thanks for your comment!

Fantastic! - Cliff

Nice work! Just curious, what were you using for an antenna, Greg? -Cliff

@@QRPSchool Just a 17 ft whip on a k400 mount on the car

Thanks for the kind words. I don't know if "QRP Ham of the Year" is actually a thing, but I would nominate Thomas Witherspoon (K4SWL) for all of his portable ops videos.

@@QRPSchool Yes Thomas is near the top of the list, I am not into contesting as he is with POTA but I got to say he is good at it. No I believe you are QRP Ham of the Year because you are most educational, and You are the one that got me intrested in QRP, watching a video of yours taking a bicycle out and throwing a line up in a tree having fun making morse contacts.

Good one. As someone else once said: Fly fishing is to fishing what ballet is to walking.

Yes! QRP Weirdos Unite! - Cliff

Yes, but satisfying. I had a 3.2.9. report and I gave him the same. We made it. G4GHB.

@@bill-2018 Just had a 329 report yesterday. 17M 4W FL to CA.

@@bob-N4REE Good stuff. Weak signals or poor conditions and c.w. gets through. I've had a number of QRP to QRP QSO's, 1 Watt up to 5 W. 350 mW out from a Pixie on 5.262 MHz (QRP freq.) got me a QSO at 180 miles (both 5.7.9.) with a SWL report from Uttrecht at 220 miles. QSO's from 60 miles to 180 so far but it's not a very active freq. 73, G4GHB. A novel way is to think 660 miles per Watt.

Hey, Dave. Maybe a QRP Weirdo will forward this video to a QRO Weirdo who will secretly watch it and give QRP a try. (this may be wishful thinking on my part) - Cliff

…yes, and if you watch some of my videos, you’ll see me making contacts in Morocco, Japan, Easter Island, Russia, etc., all while QRP. So, we can both be weirdos all over the world, using various power levels. We weirdos need to stick together. :-) -Cliff

@@QRPSchool absolutely. I am doing SWL for now. I have a plan to buy a low power HF rig, but listening arouns can help.

Hey, Mike. Well, we don't have a "hive mind" in that many of us use 100 watts when QRP isn't possible. Some QRP'ers even own (gasp) amplifiers! I don't own an amp but I've got three 100 watt radios on my desk. When propagation is NOT good, why bother playing radio at all? It's just going to be an exercise in frustration. So, we turn the power down in order to feel more satisfaction when we're successful. That's why we do it, but when turning the power down will knowingly lead to frustration (like 160m SSB), I don't know why anyone would put themselves through that. Bottom line: it's all good. QRP is great when it works. When it doesn't work, we turn up the power or go do something else. Take care - Cliff

​@@QRPSchool said "When propagation is NOT good, why bother playing radio at all?" I do it because of: 1) my love for radio, or as I think about it as Magic Radio. Because to me its still Magic that I can communicate to anyone, over long distances, with out wires (CB'er in the late 60's, Ham licensed since '76, Commercial Licensed in '77, and retired from the communications electronic field); 2) I can find a better educated and more intelligent group of people (for the most part) to learn from and commune with, and to discuss ALL sides of an issue with... with way more options to accomplish this than on CB, GMRS, FRS... If I'd loved QRP, for the sake of QRP, I could have stuck with CB.; 3) When I make that rare contact, at a place and time that normally it would never happened, I feel like I accomplished something. Like when a Ham was flying aeronautical mobile hundreds of miles away and I went outside with my 2 meter hand held and worked him. But when everyone can work the world on low power with a compromise antenna or non-antenna (coat hanger, screen door…)… its fun but not challenging…; 4) Because I sometimes want a challenge in my hobbies, like when I took up building and flying Radio Controlled airplanes; designing, building and flying High Power Rockets; home brewing electronics equipment for my specialized wants and needs... Lets face it, people like to play, and spend tons of time and money on computer games because they find them fun and challenging. Make things too easy and they can become boring. People who take on challenges and overcome them are less prone to boredom. I haven’t been bored, anytime, since I was a child. I didn't say QRP'rs have a "Hive Mind", that's apparently something that's touchy in the back of your mind or you wouldn't have mentioned it. All I did was point out that QRP, like all aspects of life, isn't all sunshine and rainbows. It has advantages and disadvantages. Therefore both should be brought up with equal emphasis, so people don't get into it thinking that it IS all sunshine and rainbows, buy specialized equipment, and become disappointed, or bored with it when cycle 25 drops out. Explore more aspects of our hobby With Eyes Wide Open, don't be too narrowly focused... that often leads to boredom, burnout and/or disappointment, with emptier pockets. 73 -mike

"I didn't say QRP'rs have a "Hive Mind", that's apparently something that's touchy in the back of your mind or you wouldn't have mentioned it." Thanks for your analysis. You DID say, "We'll see if you QRP guys stick it out, and never run more power..." so you were lumping us all into a group, right? In my reply, I pointed out that many of us a ALREADY running more power at times. I'm not really in the mood to argue today. I think we agree on more things than we disagree. - Cliff

@QRPSchool 🤣😂🤣Thanks for the laugh! I see, Cliff, that you deleted my calm, logical, and well reasoned reply that put things into perspective and Debunked Your Spin, pulling things back to reality. Doing this admits that your QRP School channel is just following your current agenda, not reality. If you and your viewers are indeed using both the most common, 100 watts, power level and QRP, then there's really no need for this Channel at all, is there? One video telling people to try low power because its also enjoyable would have been enough. Or, Better Yet, having a General Ham Radio School, educating people in the various aspects and intricacies of ham radio while occasionally suggesting they also try QRP would have done more people more good, while not appearing like an agenda on your part. Or delving into the SWR debate, as to how much a high SWR actually affects your transmitted power using science, not opinion, to settle it once and for all. Or… ( thousands of other more helpful concepts) Lets face it, all the schooling that's Actually needed for QRP during good propagation, is how to reduce power on your more flexible 100 watt rig because making any contact with lower power is fulfilling due to it being a bit more of a challenge. You did say “When propagation is NOT good, why bother playing radio at all?” which eliminates the Real challenge of QRP. I'm glad you admit that your really not a QRP guy. It emphasizes my points, most of which you deleted. Both being Hams, I'm sure there's a Lot of things we have in common. But the main thing we apparently don't agree on is Niche Marketing Of Ideas targeted at a slice of a hobby that will almost disappear when Cycle 25 ebbs, leaving many people with QRP equipment that usually gets shelved, or sold, if its priced cheaply enough. OR Is That Your Underlying Agenda? To pick up better QRP equipment at Bargain Prices when the market for QRP equipment fades??? BTW, I do my writing in a word processor and save it, so the following is My Reply that You Deleted. It makes things easier to refer back to and quote... “@QRPSchool said "When propagation is NOT good, why bother playing radio at all?" I do it because of: 1) my love for radio, or as I think about it as Magic Radio. Because to me its still Magic that I can communicate to anyone, over long distances, with out wires (CB'er in the late 60's, Ham licensed since '76, Commercial Licensed in '77, and retired from the communications electronic field); 2) I can find a better educated and more intelligent group of people (for the most part) to learn from and commune with, and to discuss ALL sides of an issue with... with way more options to accomplish this than on CB, GMRS, FRS... If I'd loved QRP, for the sake of QRP, I could have stuck with CB.; 3) When I make that rare contact, at a place and time that normally it would never happened, I feel like I accomplished something. Like when a Ham was flying aeronautical mobile hundreds of miles away and I went outside with my 2 meter hand held and worked him. But when everyone can work the world on low power with a compromise antenna or non-antenna (coat hanger, screen door…)… its fun, but not challenging…; 4) Because I sometimes want a challenge in my hobbies, like when I took up building and flying Radio Controlled airplanes; designing, building and flying High Power Rockets; home brewing electronics equipment for my specialized wants and needs... Lets face it, people like to play, and spend tons of time and money on computer games because they find them fun and challenging. Make things too easy and they can become boring. People who take on challenges and overcome them are less prone to boredom. I haven’t been bored, anytime, since I was a child. I didn't say QRP'rs have a "Hive Mind", that's apparently something that's touchy in the back of your mind or you wouldn't have mentioned it. All I did was point out that QRP, like all aspects of life, isn't all sunshine and rainbows. It has advantages and disadvantages. Therefore both should be brought up with equal emphasis, so people don't get into it thinking that it IS all sunshine and rainbows, buy specialized equipment, and become disappointed, or bored with it when cycle 25 drops out. Explore more aspects of our hobby With Eyes Wide Open, don't be too narrowly focused... that often leads to boredom, burnout and/or disappointment, with emptier pockets.” Now you can Delete this reply, and that reply again. OR you can claim it wasn't deleted by you, it was a Glitch in the Matrix, which we won't believe. 73 -mike

I didn’t delete your reply. I’ll leave this screed here so that others can follow your fine logic. Have a nice day. -Cliff

Nice! Thanks, Peter. -Cliff

Great! Thank you! - Cliff

@@QRPSchool Thank you as well. QRP for life 🤝😁

Great comment. Thank you! - Cliff

I know that’s not true for Elecraft and Flexradio. What is your verifiable source for this information?

@@QRPSchool I mentioned the big three, not these 2. A very reliable source are the in-depth reports from Rob Sherwood NC0B from Sherwood Engineering. No discussion there. Most of NC0B's reports are found on DJ0IP web site. Examples: TS-890S, IC-7851, FTDX-10, TS-590SG, etc..

Forgive me. I'm pretty skeptical by nature. You're saying that Rob Sherwood has put in writing that Kenwood, Icom, and Yaesu radios are factory-calibrated so that their S-Meters only have a 3dB difference between S-Units... not the (correct) 6dB difference? Link, please. thanks - Cliff

To future readers: Gust (ON6KE) sent me a private email with several Rob Sherwood reports for two Kenwood radios, two Icom radios, and a Yaesu radio. While S-Meters are supposed to be calibrated for each S-Unit to be 6dB apart... and that is the case with my Elecraft and Flexradio transceivers (each an SDR, if that matters)... the reports Gust sent showed Rob Sherwood found that these five radios had S-meters that were not linear. They each showed only 2.5 to 3dB between S-Units instead of 6dB. As best I can recall, they were set up correctly for S9 and above, but were not correct below S9. So, I thank Gus for pointing out that not all radio's S-meters are linear and calibrated correctly. If you had one of those radios, when the transmitting station you listened to doubled their power (a 3dB increase), you'd see a full S-Unit difference instead of the expected half S-Unit difference. Everything I said in the video is still true, but I should have pointed out that not all radios have an S-meter that is calibrated correctly. Therefore, the results of YOUR testing may differ from mine. Get an on-the-air friend to cut their power by a factor of 4 (a 6dB decrease). For example have them go from 100 watts to 25 watts while you watch. See if your S-meter shows a 1 S-Unit decrease (as it should) or something else. - Cliff

@@QRPSchool Thanks. But then, as you well know, we can give a signal report according to what we hear and not what any meter says.