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| QRP to the Field 2006 - Wichita
Mountains Wildlife Refuge |
29-30
April 2006 |
Another properly timed business trip to Oklahoma
gave me the opportunity to camp out in my favorite part of the
state at the best  time
of the year and participate in QRP to the Field. A $2 permit,
a KX1 with all the fixin's & a pack to haul it in and you
can color me "There"!
The night preceeding the event brought heavy
thunderstorms and an uncertain prediction from that weatherman
all you Oklahomans love, Gary England. Talk to me, Gary - tell
me it's gonna be okay! But Gary wasn't talking with any certainty
so I put my laptop's media player in the "loop" mode
and played CCR's "Who'll Stop the Rain" over and over
to supplement my prayers for clear skies. It worked.
Battery Power
 For
a long time now, I've enjoyed taking QRP rigs outdoors and operating
from a variety of locations. I've always powered them with AA
alkaline batteries but this time I wanted to try something different.
A few months ago, Gil Stacy NN4CW and I exchanged several emails
on his ATS-3 and the Spartan Sprint contests. In an effort to
shave weight, Gil was using rechargeable Lithium-Polymer batteries.
I didn't know anything about them at the time but was about
to learn for another reason: another friend is starting to get
interested in electric R/C airplanes and has gotten me infected
with the bug as well. Just what I need - another hobby. Anyway,
to make a long story just a bit longer, I've learned that these
LiPos pack a lot of capacity into an extremely lightweight package.
They have a high initial cost and require a dedicated charger
but they are capable of high current discharge and weigh next
to nothing.
The battery I used for the QRPTTF weighs just
under 6 ounces and provides 12V at 2700 mAh. That same capacity
using AA batteries weighs 12 ounces, requires a holder and the
voltage decreases (causing a corresponding RF output decrease)
beginning with the first QSO. With my LiPo battery, I started
the TTF event with at 12.1 volts (key up) and ended 28 QSOs
+ 2 ragchews at 12.0 volts key up. The difference between transmit
and receive voltage was 200 mV and stayed that way for the duration.
With alkaline AA's, the difference is greater and steadily increase
to over 1.5 volts difference after an hour (typically) of contest-type
operation.
The photo shows the three LiPos I have, with
the KX1 for size comparison. All three batteries are 12 volts:
the top-left battery is 450 mAh and weighs 37 grams. Next to
it is a 950 mAh weighing 60 grams. Also shown is the pigtail
that connects the KX1 to the battery's JST connector. I have
used the 450 mAh battery with my KX1 at 2 watts output for a
solid hour during an NAQCC sprint with only .3 volts drop in
voltage over that time period.
The Station
The only difference between this campout and
last year's is that I left the Whiterook paddles at home and
brought the KX1's plug-in paddles instead. This eliminated an
extra cord - and that's a good thing, as Martha would say. Does
anyone know if a Tupperware container exists whose dimensions
exactly fit that of the KX1? I'd love to be able to carry the
rig in such a way that the knobs and antenna jack are protected
without having to add packing material in a too-big sized box...
I love my ATS-3 but when it comes to convenience
and get-on-the-airability, nothing beats the KX1. This is primarily
due to the built-in autotuner which was able to tune my 40m
dipole (twinlead fed) in mere seconds on all three bands with
1.3:1 SWR or less.
On the Air From the Wichita Mountains
What can I say about this beautiful place that
I haven't already said? It amazes me everytime I go there and
I think it's Oklahoma's best kept secret. During the contest,
Ted AA5CK told me that it's his favorite spot in the state and
I wholeheartedly agree. Like last time, I had the place to myself
and the weather was great - cool and sunny. Buffalo were everywhere
and sunset was punctuated by howling coyotes. I thought I'd
hear them all night but that was it - I guess they were off
to other doin's.
By the time my tent was set up and the dipole
was ready to burn a hole in the ether, it was 1840Z. My first
contact was at 1844Z on 20 meters with K7TQ in Idaho who was
booming in like a beacon all afternoon! For another few hours
on 20m, I alternated between "search & pounce"
and calling CQ. Just before I switched to 40 meters, LZ4UU called
and gave me a report from Bulgaria. I only operated on 40m for
an hour, starting with John N0EVH who was mobile up in Missouri.
In all, I made 25 contacts then had several
QSOs after the contest. It was a great time and I wish I'd been
able to dedicate more time to it but I also wanted to hike around
the Refuge and plan my next trip which would involve camping
way up on a peak. I tried to find one within my abilities and
expended a lot of effort and sweat in the process. Climbing
these peaks is really more "boulder scrambling" than
climbing. I also need to come up with an antenna that doesn't
rely on trees since the top of all these peaks are flat rock.
Time to re-visit the St. Louis Vertical or something similar...
Photos & Video Clips
Cooling off. Contest - what
contest?
An early morning visitor
outside my tent. He was traveling alone.
On the drive back to Oklahoma
City. They're everywhere!
Short Video Clips
The following clips play in Real
or QuickTime. They were made with my old Nikon Coolpix which,
unfortunately, does not have a microphone so there is no sound.
But perhaps they give a better idea of what it was like to be
there than still photos can. For best results, right-click on
the link and download the file to your Desktop & play it
from there.
Buffalo
herd running - with several calves in tow. I never tire
of watching these animals & can't help wondering what the
landscape must have looked like 200 years ago when prairies
were described as black as far as the eye could see in every
direction.
Herd
walking slowly toward me - Easy fellas.....eeeeasy - I'm
slowly backing away...
Buffalo
have right-of-way! - This was taken from the car on the
way out of the Refuge. Good clip of a buffalo calf.
Wichita
Mountains Official Site | QRPTTF
2006 Rules & Results | Large-Format
Photography | Li-Poly
Batteries
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