I know this will be rather old news to many of you, but over the weekend I did 2 activations and only took my KX2, a Packtenna mini-random wire antenna, and some rope. Well, I guess I did have my HT with me also. I’ve known cw for several years now, and have gone through several stages of proficiency. After an activation a few weeks ago where I lugged way too much gear to be able to use higher power and SSB, I decided to just go for it with a cw/qrp activation. Wow is it so much easier when you don’t have to carry a ton of gear! On both activations I was actually able to get 2-3 qso’s just using my HT, so that took alot of the pressure off. I had sent alerts prior to one of the activations, and this was my first time having RBN Hole pick me up. Pretty cool! I had been watching alot of YT videos of SOTA activations so I knew I had the exchange pattern that most used, and it went really well! I was able to copy all of the call signs that came back to me, and without having to rag chew it was easy to “get in and get out” of each qso. I’m definitely hooked on doing it this way! I’m sure there will be times I either use my KX2 for SSB (I did try a few times yesterday but just wasn’t being heard) or carry another rig for SSB as I do enjoy the actual conversations you sometimes get. Anyway, I’m glad to start partaking in this type of activation that I have seen so many others do over the years. Thanks for letting me share!
CW is my main mode and I too enjoy taking just the KX2 (with internal ATU and battery), a small wire antenna and a pole, which, with my winter gear (bothy bag, etc), easily fits into a 20l backpack, 6-7kg weight. By contrast yesterday and for a change I did a 50W 10m FM/SSB activation (with FT857, external ATU, big battery, etc) needing a 30l backpack, 10+kg. What a faff! Glad to go back to 10W of CW.
It only gets better with practise. Keep up the CW activations.
That is awesome news to hear Congratulations on not 1 but 2 activations with CW. Not carrying 30 pounds of radio gear makes the hikes so much more enjoyable and QRP CW you can’t beat it and the chances of getting stumped on a summit drop significantly having CW in your arsenal, I use RBN almost every activation it is truly the best as long as you alert on the right summit. I hope we get a chance to do a s2s some day via CW and I will record it for the YT channel.
73 de VE6JTW, Jesse
YT: Canadian Rockies Radio Adventurer
Well done. Love CW. Operate it to the detriment of everything else. I’m onto the kit tranciever part of the addiction now. It’s guaranteed fun small light and reliable. Plus keys! you can never have enough
Congrats Reid,
CW is my only mode. I love it. Been licensed for 68 years and have tried just about everything but about 25 years ago I realized that CW was my calling and have never looked back. I have always held the belief that CW is the cornerstone of ham radio. I am looking forward to getting you in my log. I am also very active in the WWFF park activity, CW only… Stay with it Reid and you will never regret it.
73 / 44 W6LEN / Jess
Congratulations! My situation is a lot like yours . . . I only started activating last summer and love the advantages of operating CW. I’m never over 5 watts, and I always have a pileup once the RBN finds me. I’d call myself an advanced beginner or maybe intermediate on CW. It gets better every time I go out, but I still make plenty of mistakes. I also practice “running” on the twice per week Slow Speed Tests when I can, and use the medium speed tests and CWTs for copying practice. But, a hike to a summit, a KX2, and a wire are about the most fun in radio!
Every day is different with CW, some days everything is great! Somedays my brain can’t tell the difference between a Q and a Y, some days My finger don’t like sending. It makes life interesting hihi! I love CW and Qrp both are very satisfying, I hope to catch you on the air!
73 de VE6JTW, Jesse
YT: Canadian Rockies Radio Adventurer
All modes have their positives. SSB does make it easier (for most of us) to exchange social pleasantries. CW is efficient and has a greater chance of success with DX and/or weak signals. FT8/FT4 is great for allowing you to remain QRV even in the face of high local noise.
So each have their merits and I use all three on virtually all of my HF SOTA activations these days. My favourite is CW, currently, for the following two reasons:
It is the most enjoyable and satisfying of the three modes for me to operate.
It attracts the most number of QSOs, and the highest QSO rates against time, with North American stations on 10m in the afternoons/evenings, at present.
Anyway, great to read about your excitement with CW activating Reid. I’ll never forget the similar thrill when I tried it for the first time in 2007, after 4.5 years of phone-only activating in SOTA. New Key on the block! M1EYP
Congrats on the CW activation, and thanks so much for the motivation! I am currently learning CW with the eventual goal of using on upcoming SOTA adventures. It is great to hear reports of people using CW for the first time. As far as the using high power, I have had great luck so far (only three SOTA activations in the books) with only working QRP, with the obvious benefit of less weight to carry. I use an FT-818 with an upgraded internal battery and lightweight QRP antennas; I cant imagine lugging a battery of any size up any amount of vertical. Great work and thanks again!
PS: Like Jesse (VE6JTW) I have a YouTube Channel as well; if you get a chance, check out “Two Old Men in the Woods”
It’s guaranteed fun small light and reliable. Plus keys! you can never have enough 