Some random thoughts on Qrp

Nothing drives home the thought quicker than the importance of operating with a resonant antenna when operating at Qrp power levels—5 watts or less. Those hams that use a linear amplifier into an inefficient, non-resonant antenna are wasting their time and dollars. Give me a resonant zepp antenna over some of these multi-band verticals or G5RV antennas. Using a resonant dipole keeps it simple AND efficient.

Shakespeare would have been a great Qrper. In Hamlet when Polonius says “…brevity is the soul of wit…” it pretty much captures the spirit of sending good CW. Abbreviations like “sed” for the word said, “cuz” for the word because are just two of many abbreviations that are convenient in the use of CW as a medium for communication. Again, this is the concept of doing more with less. You could argue that avid CW proponents were the first at coming up with shortcuts that are now popularly employed in text messaging.

Operating Qrp by its nature encourages experimentation and innovation. A great example of this is the NUE-PSK Qrp digital modem. Check it out at: http://www.nue-psk.com/
And look at other Qrp kit sites like http://www.qrpkits.com/ or check out the Small Wonder Labs site: http://www.smallwonderlabs.com/ These are folks that have developed well-designed transceivers for the Qrp market. And of course we shouldn’t forget Elecraft at http://www.elecraft.com/ a company that has arguably produced one of the all-time great Qrp rigs, the K-2.

And finally, there is camaraderie in Qrp devotees that stands out among the diverse amateur radio community. Rather than having the clubby, superiority complex that some of the other radio groups evince, Qrpers seem to go out of the way to welcome new-found low-power enthusiasts.