I’m sure we all would like to know how the signals of the usual chasers look like on our receptors if they all run QRP.
It would also be interesting to see (hear) how different the pile-ups are from both chaser and activator point of view.
Best 73 de Guru - EA2IF
How do you feel about a 2 x QRP SOTA WEEKEND?
There is no bonus, multiplier or extra points for QRP.
Isn’t one of the unwritten “rules” for Ham radio and also SOTA is to try and bring others into the hobby?
That’s why I run as much power as I can…I get contacts other than the “usual” contacts and I have brought 2 others into the hobby simply by an activation. Now had I been QRP I am not sure I would have made those contacts and I know for sure they would not have come back to my CQ because they said my signal was so very strong and good.
Why not reach out and touch others. I know there must be some orgasmic euphoria that comes with a qrp contact…well I think there is since almost every operator has told me stories of their qrp around the world contact. I run barefoot on my rig and I do get enjoyment of being called in a pileup before someone running 1.5kw. As you know in some band conditions a barefoot 100w can be heard weak like a qrp. IN some band conditions I am sure I could use a bullhorn and be heard 5 miles away. Yes antennas are a huge huge part of Ham…but all the power in the world and poor propagation won’t get you heard.
I know one very active activator who not only activates out here in Southern California but also in Europe. He has said it is easier to run QRP in Europe because it is so quiet. I do believe those QRPers would have a different mind set if they had to hike the mountains and fend off rattlesnakes, bears and or Mountain Lions. LOL
Since I have been mentioned in this thread of running around 25W of SSB I would like to mention a recent article I read comparing the equivalent power levels of CW to SSB.
The article said, taking into account the bandwidth (100Hz for CW, 2.7kHz for SSB), that 5W of CW is the equivalent of 135W of SSB; a 14dB difference.
Therefore, as I run 25W in SSB, this is equivalent to around 1W of CW so effectively I am running QRPp ;o)
My admiration goes out to those persevering with 5W on SSB; been there done that :o)
Carolyn
In reply to G6WRW:
Carolyn, I think you make a very good point.
I did manage a 20m SSB QSO long path with VK3XL earlier this year with a very low dipole (SOTAbeams 6 band prototype) and barefoot FT817. It is possible to qualify summits with 5W SSB on HF. I don’t think this is the right thread to do the whole ‘antenna debate’ again but I think that good full size antennas are the way to go - e.g. half wave dipole or 1/4 lambda vertical, not ‘convenient antennas’, the commercial small size portable offerings.
I have always been QRP unless I’ve been operating someone else’s station apart from one time when I borrowed an FT857 for a SOTA activation. I was surprised at how fast my battery was drained! I was running the rig at around 20W I think. I never really did look into the optimum power setting for FT857 for most efficient power source use. I guess the PA will be pretty wasteful with current with low power output. I have never been tempted to borrow the FT857 again.
Guru -
I entirely see your point, the returns get increasingly smaller as the power increases. I’m happy with my little 30m/20m MTR CW rig (170g), with specially designed 30m/20m dipole (186g), powered by a 3S 370mAh LiPo (54g with fused power lead). This gear gives me ~4.5w of CW on two bands for as long as I usually wish to operate. I don’t think I’d have any more fun if I was running higher power and to be honest the pile-ups on HF CW are more than big enough for me with QRP, my brain is fried after 10 mins!
I think the important message here is that QRP and even QRPp works very well, high power is not needed. I’ve been trying to get this message out for quite some time. There seems to be a view that QRP is a waste of time (life’s too short…) but this simply is not true!!
The great thing about SOTA and ham radio is that there are so many areas of interest and ways of doing things that you just have to find YOUR area of interest and have fun!
Proof that even with hundreds of milliwatts it’s possible to activate for SOTA - QRPP3! - YouTube
73, Colin, M1BUU
In reply to M1BUU:
Dear Colin,
I also worked VK once last year with my FT-817 at 5w and a GP antenna on a summit. Also JA last year from the holidays QTH in the Galician coast with 5w and a different configuration LW to the invee one I got installed this year.
It’s definitely possible to work great DX with little power and basic antennas.
I have been working all my QSOs over several months some time ago with only 10 watts and the 5 elements tribander yagi I have in my QTH and I many times got real S9 signal reports from the U.S.A.
I have also worked the ARCI contest and several DX QSOs with Northamerica were made with just 5 watts and again with the great help of my TH5-DX yagi antenna.
You have given me a good number of SOTA points and I wonder whether I chased you when you were activating with the MTR or the FT-857 you borrowed. The activations when I chased you were on March 9th, May 3rd and June 29th this year.
I know most of the activators are usually working on QRP for obvious reasons of weight and battery duration, but I’m proposing this 2 x QRP exercise mainly for the chasers to switch into QRP in order to have both, activators and chasers, at the same power level. I’m sure it would be interesting for both, activators and chasers. Many hams trying this may be surprised by how well they will be copied by the activators, assuming they are not having QRM in their summits, and the fun and pleasure they may get from this.
And hopefully we may start seeing more and more QRPs chasing SOTAs, exactly at the same power level the activators are.
I think there may be several hams interested in trying something like this for a certain short period of time. A day, a weekend, a week… something like that. The problem is I’m not sure how could we do to organise it.
Any ideas, suggestions, help…
BTW, I had already watched the video you referred to in your post. Nice one!
Best 73 de Guru - EA2IF
In reply to G8ADD:
Hello Brian,
“…A QRP challenge would promote the idea of chasers accepting - or not - the same limitations as the activators. Nothing more than that. Equality. Is that such a bad thing?”
I agree.
How about a challenge using piezo-electric cigarette lighters.
Obviously this battery free spark transmitter would exclude the option of SSB and of course being a spark tx you could not really spot your frequency because you would not know unless you did SA tests before.
The other good thing is that when taking a rest from the activation you can warm your hands on the flame plus these spark cw radios are very cheap to buy.
Is this idea a runner 
Mike
In reply to EA2IF:
DR OM Guru,
I understand your idea, I’ve often thought the same. If everybody lowers their power maybe there will be less QRM on the bands and therefore not as much power will be needed! If chasers can hear the QRP signals from activators then it follows that activators can also hear QRP chasers, especially as the activator will probably have very low background noise.
You’ve put me on the spot with your question! I can confirm that all my activations this year have been 5W or less. I have not noted which rig I used on 9th March, nor can I remember, but I suspect that I would have been using my FT 817. On 3rd May I first had a session with my RockMite20, before swapping to my FT 817, I worked you with the FT 817. On 29th June I used my first run MTR (s/n #131) at just under 2.5w.
Tks fer QSOs,cuagn sn
73, Colin
In reply to G6TUH:
In reply to G8ADD:
The other good thing is that when taking a rest from the activation
you can warm your hands on the flame…
…and light, then smoke a cigarette, 
Cheers,
Guru - EA2IF
In reply to EA2IF:
Hello Guru,
"…and light, then smoke a cigarette, "
A very good plus
Best wishes
Night night
Mike
In reply to G6TUH:
How about a challenge using piezo-electric cigarette lighters
I can remember an outing with Tom M1EYP where he tested the DX possibilities of his car key fob - and was rather surprised to find his car unlocked when he got there! (In an amateur band too - but he failed to send his callsign AFAIR!)
73
Barry GM4TOE
In reply to GM4TOE:
I can remember an outing with Tom M1EYP where he tested the DX
possibilities of his car key fob - and was rather surprised to find
his car unlocked when he got there!
It never ceases to amaze me what can be achieved with these Antron99 antennas!
73,
Walt (G3NYY)
In reply to EA2IF:
I’ve decided that I’ll transmit QRP 5w from now onwards when chasing SOTA from home with my base rig TS-940S…
Following my decision and campaign to gather volunteers for 2 x QRP SOTA QSOs, let me tell you that being yesterday AUG 15th a holiday, I had a pretty good chasing on HF using QRP 5w from my home QTH. The used antenna was a 5 el. tribander yagi up 15m above the ground. 3 active elements on both 20 and 15m.
Among other activations on 2m FM, these are the ones I worked on HF today:
- YO6PIB/P on 20m at YO/EC-367 first and YO/EC-428 later,
- OK4KOP/P on 20m at OK/OL-001,
- HA/ON6UU/P on 20m at HA/KD-006,
- SQ9OJN/P on 20m at SP/BZ-050,
- YO9IRF/P on 20m at YO/EC-011,
- YO2YA/P on 20m at YO/WC-208,
- OM3CUG/P on 15m at OM/TN-011,
- SQ9OZM/P on 20m at SP/BZ-041.
I copied VK with signal 56 in the early morning but, with just 5 watts, I didn’t manage to pass my callsign through out of the pile-up.
Best 73 de Guru - EA2IF
In reply to EA2IF:
"I copied VK with signal 56 in the early morning but, with just 5 watts, I didn’t manage to pass my callsign through out of the pile-up. "
I think you just answered your origional question!!
Regards,
Compton
In reply to EA2IF:
I copied VK with signal 56 in the early morning but, with just 5 watts, I
didn’t manage to pass my callsign through out of the pile-up.
I think the conclusion is obvious, the VK station needs a better antenna and receiver!
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to VK2HRX:
I think you just answered your origional question!!
Indeed yes, too many in the pile-up were running high power! Add to this the usual bad behaviour from the serial tail-enders and the alligators calling during QSOs and its a wonder that the activator gets any contacts at all!
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to G8ADD:
Exactly, Brian, you hitted the “quid” of the question.
Should all the chasers in the pile-up be on QRP 5w, the results would have surely been different.
However, I need to explain that due to a European station starting to CQ DX just 4Khz up from the QRG of the VK activation and shortly after the VK started his activity and apparently with high power, thus producing huge splatter on his frequency which made impossible for me to keep copying the VK station, I didn’t have the chance to wait until the end of the pile-up, which is when I had hoped to be able to chase Andrew (VK1NAM).
But no problem, It’s a question of patience, as I’m telling my kids when we go fishing to the river.
I hope I’ll have better chance in the future and I’ll keep you informed.
Best 73 de Guru - EA2IF
In reply to MM0FMF:
I think the conclusion is obvious, the VK station needs a better antenna and receiver!
Sometimes propagation works better one way than the other of course.
I was musing at Guru’s set up. 5W to a 3 element beam on 20m and 15m will be considerably better than my 60W to a 40m dipole at 5m via an ATU. Running the 817 from home is a nonsense for me given the restriction on antennas and high noise levels at my home QTH. That’s why I am primarily an activator. Getting out onto the hills is a breath of fresh air, both in actual and radio terms. 
73, Gerald G4OIG
1 Like
In reply to G4OIG:
I was musing at Guru’s set up. 5W to a 3 element beam on 20m and 15m
will be considerably better than my 60W to a 40m dipole at 5m via an
ATU.
An excellent point. Perhaps all chasers should be required to use wire dipoles only for SOTA, because those with beams are being unfair to people (like Gerald and myself) who have small gardens and stringent local planning restrictions.
73,
Walt (G3NYY)
1 Like
In reply to G3NYY:
I don’t consider it unfair Walt, after all, SOTA is not competitive. Isn’t that right? Anyway, no-one forced me to live in a property with a restricted covenant on it. I could easily have bought a hovel somewhere out in the sticks where there wasn’t another property for miles and I had acres of land for an antenna farm. Somehow I think I’d have been living alone.
I tried to chase a YO on 14MHz this morning. He was copyable despite the S7 noise level here, but I couldn’t get through with 60W, even when he was calling CQ. I am not going to lose sleep over it. Roll on the next outing!
73, Gerald G4OIG