“Batteries for the Elecraft KX3 and Other Low-Power Radios” in March, 2020 QST

CE0Y/W1MJ, Easter Island

“Batteries for the Elecraft KX3 and Other Low-Power Radios,” authored by Belmont amateur Eliot Mayer, W1MJ, is featured in the March, 2020 issue of QST. The article talks about battery types, supply current vs. supply voltage, and battery and charger suppliers. 

Mayer is an electrical engineer with a BSEE from U. Mass. Amherst and an MSE in management from the Gordon Institute of Tufts University. He works on the design and manufacturing of medical imaging equipment at Analogic in Peabody. His ham radio activities include QRP holiday-style DXpeditions, operating a K3 radio from his condo home station, guest operating at the high-power stations of fellow Yankee Clipper Club members, and 2-meter FM on his daily commute. His radio operations can be followed at http://www.w1mj.com.

This is the free article of the month at http://arrl.org/this-month-in-qst.  ARRL members may vote for W1MJ’s article for the ARRL Cover Plaque Award at http://arrl.org/cover-plaque-poll.

15-meter QRP FT8 Activity Night, Westford Vicinity

Greg Troxel, N1DAM, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:

Without any claim to authority, I’m declaring QRP 15m FT8 activity night tonight (October 21, 2019), from 2000 to 2100 local.

I have worked a bunch of stations, including DX, but am puzzled at the relationship of sent to received signal strengths — I receive usually 20 dB worse reports than I send.  So I am guessing that if a few of us are on, with a closed band, and all with the same TX power, perhaps I can understand better.  And perhaps others can shake out their equipment.

To participate, just either answer people calling CQ, or call CQ yourself, somewhere in the 15m FT8 frequency.  It’s probably useful to upload to PSK reporter; someday someone might write code to analyze a group of people participating in an activity night like this.

If you participate, please send me (tonight)

  call, city/town, state, antenna type, tx power

(please try to use 5W if you can, but tell me what you actually used), and I’ll send a summary to the mailing list tomorrow.

I realize some of you can’t operate on 15m, and surely we can do this again on 10m, 6m, 80m, or someplace else on some other night, perhaps next Monday, or perhaps someone else can organize.

73 de N1DAM

New England QRP Club Program at HamXposition, September 6-8, 2019

The New England QRP Club has announced its agenda for the Northeast HamXposition convention (formerly known as “Boxboro”) September 6-8, 2019. 

The three-day program kicks off with a Friday breakfast followed by setup of the special event station WQ1RP on the hotel grounds. Throughout the weekend is a pizza party, a “night owl” gathering, a kit build-a-thon, breakfasts, a full symposium of talks, and more. 

A full description can be found by viewing the attached flyer.

PART of Westford Kit Building Session, March 10, 2018

PART of Westford logoPART of Westford is holding a kit building session on Saturday, March 10, 2018, according to PART club president Andy Stewart, KB1OIQ.

“The club has chosen the Cricket80A QRP CW transceiver for the 80 meter band,” Stewart says. “I’m looking for a building chairman, two to three Elmers to help and encourage kit builders, a technical person to spend a few minutes explaining the circuit theory, and people who want to build the kit!”

Interested parties should contact KB1OIQ at kb1oiq@arrl.net.

More information about the Cricket80A kit can be found at http://4sqrp.com/cricket.php.

Massachusetts QRP Convention

MassCon logoThe first Massachusetts QRP Convention (MassCon) will be held March 12-13, 2010 in the Westford Regency Inn Conference Center in Westford, Massachusetts. The event is made possible by a generous contribution from Buddipole Antennas, and the Police Amateur Radio Team of Westford, Massachusetts, host of the event, and also a major contributor.

Presentations from leading figures in the QRP world will be made in a comfortable, modern classroom setting from 8 AM through 5 PM on Saturday (March 13). Speakers expected to present include Allison Parent (KB1GMX), Dave Siegrist (NT1U), Bruce Beford (N1RX), Michael Rainey (AA1TJ), John Sexton (KO1H), and QRP Hall of Fame members George Heron (N2APB), Joe Everhart (N2CX), and Dave Benson (K1SWL). Attendees will receive a conference proceedings, CD, and other gifts at registration.

In addition to the Saturday seminar, a Friday evening gathering will be held on March 12, 2010 for attendees to meet the speakers, browse through vendor offerings, and do a little show-and-tell of their own. Vendors tables will continue to be available through Saturday evening.

Finally, a banquet will be held at the conclusion of the conference in the Westford Regency Inn. Steve Galchutt (WG0AT) will keynote the event showing movies and talking about operating portable QRP and hiking the peaks of Colorado with his pack goats Rooster and Peanut. Ticketing for the banquet is separate from the conference and attendees are invited to bring their friends and family to the event.

Registration for the conference is $25 in advance, $35 at the door. Seating will be limited. Details about how to register, obtain hotel reservations at the conference rate, and banquet reservations will be published on the conference web site later this summer.

Further information for the event may be found on the event web site http://www.masscon.org archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20110917111621/http://www.masscon.org/