At the end of last year I had a thought that I would like to try activating with QRPp again. I’d had a lot of fun with the LA1KHA Challenge in the past. I fell down a bit of a RockMite rabbit hole after trying a 15m version for the Transatlantic S2S party in November. I’d worked quite a number of US stations during the QSO party with my RockMite and amplifier combination, which produced a few watts of output. Feeling nostalgic about the old days, I wondered whether I could cross the Atlantic once again with 9V battery powered QRPp.
I didn’t want to modify my existing 15m RockMite, so I set about building a 9v specific version of a RockMite using one of the PCBs I had had made a couple of years ago. I aimed for a power output of about 100mW and got reasonably close. I included my usual current consumption mods, so the RX current is <10mA. I wanted to include a volume control, so I made a case from aluminium sheet instead of trying to squeeze everything in to an Altoids tin.
(Used a different RockMite PCB to aid fabrication of the case)
I tested the 9V RockMite on the bench and then put it on the pile, waiting for an opportunity to try it on air. I’d just finished the RockMite 15-9V when SOTA MT announced 10m challenge - so I built a 10m RockMite- but thats another tale!
I’ve been itching to get out to earn some winter bonus, unfortunately an opportunity to get out before Christmas did not present itself. I’m driven to achieve double MG and I’m a couple of hundred points away from the target. I had the crazy idea to try and activate for the entire 2024 first winter bonus period using only one 9V battery! (Cost of living, etc! LOL)
My son was keen to join me for a another mountain trip and we really fancied something spectacular but I’ve put weight on recently and haven’t felt 100%. I decided to attempt an easier hill. For some unknown reason, I picked Great Whernside G/NP-008 for our first trip of 2024, we’d recently done the Yorkshire Three Peaks and I like to keep Ingleborough in reserve for my birthday in spring anyway. I was trying to think of a hill that my son hadn’t done before. We’d been in the car for quite some time when I came across a Road Closed sign. Grrr! Why does that seem to happen to me so often these days? I had to turn around and divert via Gargrave and Cracoe instead. Great Whernside and Buckden Pike seem so close to me on a map, but they’re a nightmare to get to from where I live. Eventually we got parked up, about an hour late.
The ground was just melting after a frost so we negotiated the boggy section reasonably OK and without getting wet feet. I managed to get set up and QRV within a few minutes of my revised Alert time. I wasn’t sure if my new rig would work - it had never been connected to an antenna before. I’d been warming a brand new 9V battery in my trouser pocket during the ascent. I was pleased to hear a bit of band activity on 15m when I fired my rig up.
After a few rounds of CQ, EA7GV answered, phew, the rig worked! In short time I was able to add 5 more call signs to my log, including EC8ADS to give me a 1900 mile QSO to Gran Canaria! I’d qualified the summit within about 10 minutes of operating.
Roman @DL3TU had recently helped me to obtain some new crystals for my venerable 30m LA1KHA Challenge rig and I was keen to give it a try. Unfortunately the new crystals landed me right on a busy frequency, so I plugged in my usual crystals and called CQ. The band was busy but I managed to get another 7 QSOs in to my log. It was super to work Esther @GI0AZA and Victor @GI4ONL across the Irish sea. There’s something special (well, that’s how I feel anyway) about communicating with people you’ve met in person using equipment you’ve built yourself, especially when powering it with totally unsuitable power source! I didn’t linger calling CQ as QRM was building and I was aware that my son had been quite patient amusing himself whilst I operated.
The sun was shining and the views were great, but unfortunately that meant that the bogs were defrosting!
My son accidentally stepped in a very boggy bit during our descent and he actually became stuck and quite upset. Calmly I managed to pull my son out of the bog, but not until my right leg had been plunged in to the gooey brown stuff up to my knee. It wasn’t the best end to our day!
73 and HNY!
Colin
Battery: #3 Philips Ultra Alkaline
Activation #1
Date: 06/1/24
Summit: G/NP-008 Great Whernside
Bands: 15m, 30m
Finish 9.3V
Rig: Home brew RockMites
Ant: Inv. Vee dipole at 6m above ground
QSOs: 13
DXCC EA,EA8,S5,OK,HA,GI,ON,DL
Cumulative QSOs: 13
Cumulative DXCC: DL,EA,EA8,GI,HA,OK,ON,S5
