October 2025 – WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
4 posts published by WB3GCK during October 2025| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
4 posts published by WB3GCK during October 2025| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
I learned recently that Ed Hare, W1RFI, passed away. Ed was a long-time lab engineer at ARRL. I didn’t really know him, but I had the pleasure of meeting him at a QRP gathering 25 years ago. The post below originally appeared on my old website, but I thought I’d share it over here in … Continue reading "Operating a QRP Classic: The Tuna Tin 2"| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
For several years my homebrew 19-foot vertical was my go-to portable antenna. Over the past two years, I’ve been using a variety of other antennas, relegating my trusty vertical to backup status under the backseat of my truck. I dusted it off recently to see how well the Elecraft KH1 would work with it. I … Continue reading "The KH1 Meets the 19-Foot Vertical"| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
I ordered a KH1 kneeboard from Tufteln, and it arrived in the mail earlier this week. I was out of town for most of the week, so today was my first opportunity to try it out. I drove down to …| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
Here’s yet another quick little hack. I raided my junk box to cobble together a ground mount for my portable vertical. While this solved a couple of specific issues I had, it might only be of…| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
My (far) better half and I spent the weekend in Central Pennsylvania watching the grandkids, while our second harmonic and her husband were off celebrating their anniversary. Of course, I took some…| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
When I bought the QU-21C Mini Paddles a while back, I wasn’t crazy about the small square magnet attached to the base. It didn’t seem to hold very well. When subjected to vigorous keying, the paddl…| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
Lately, I’ve had to squeeze in my ham radio opportunities whenever I can. (That seems to be a common theme for this blog these days.) This past weekend was a perfect example. While spending the weekend with family in central Pennsylvania, I got in a very short activation and still made it back in time … Continue reading "Another Short but Successful POTA Activation"| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
My (far) better half and I had plans to go watch our grandson’s soccer game yesterday, but I still squeezed in a short, early morning activation. I headed over to nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) and allotted myself an hour of operating time. While I was there, I tried out a few … Continue reading "KH1 Picnic Table Ops"| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
I did a POTA/WWFF activation this morning and used it as an opportunity to try out a new set of paddles. During a recent activation, I encountered a recurring problem with the cheap QU-21C paddles I keep in my backpack as a backup. As a result, the finicky paddles have lost out on their role … Continue reading "POTA with the CWMouse Paddles"| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
My (far) better half and I spent the past weekend with family out in central Pennsylvania. During the weekend, I squeezed in a quick, early morning POTA activation. The great band conditions made f…| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
3 posts published by WB3GCK during September 2025| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
I set off this morning to activate Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363) with a specific plan in mind. We’re talking about me, of course; so things don’t always go as planned. Today was a good example of that. If a specific parking space was available, I planned to use a loaded whip on my … Continue reading "Going with Plan C"| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
A little over a month ago, the finals in my brand new Elecraft KH1 gave up the ghost during my second outing with it. After a trip back to the factory for some TLC from the Elecraft folks, the rig …| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
5 posts published by WB3GCK during August 2025| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
Wait… It’s September already? Where did the summer go? Anyway, I observed the (unofficial) end of summer with a POTA/WWFF activation—and it was a fun one. I drove up to Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363) for an early morning activation. I tend to do early activations to avoid the crowds. There was another reason … Continue reading "End of Summer Activation"| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
Once again, the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt contest coincided with our annual family vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I’m certainly not a hardcore contester, but I wanted to set aside so…| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
On Wednesday, August 7th, I set out to do some antenna experimentation. So, why not get in a POTA/WWFF activation at the same time? To kill those two birds with one stone, I drove down to Ridley Cr…| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
I have been off the air for the past couple of weeks, so I set out to do something about that this morning. Taking advantage of some milder weather, I did some picnic-table-portable operating from …| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
5 posts published by WB3GCK during July 2025| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
Actually, this bumblebee barely got off the ground at all this year. It started off with a heartbreaking rig failure and ended with some horrendous local noise. I had a late-breaking change of pla…| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
I’m at the stage in my life when I should be “thinning the herd” when it comes to radios. So, what do I do? Instead of getting rid of some stuff, I fire off an order to Elecraft for a KH1 Edgewood …| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
Wanting to take advantage of the excellent weather today, I drove up to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351) for a quick morning activation. I wanted to give my Gabil GRA-7350TC vertical some a…| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
I made a quick trip over to nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) this morning. It almost didn’t happen, but it turned out to be a fun morning. Located a few miles from m…| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
Whenever I buy parts for a project, I always buy one or two extras. Over the years, I’ve amassed a sizable collection of random parts. Some of it will never be used, but sometimes my collection of …| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
When camping or on vacation, one of my go-to antennas is a simple 29.5-foot wire and 9:1 unun. In these situations, the antenna is usually up for days, and I have to use plastic shopping bags to pr…| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
You have probably seen Amazing GOOP® in your local hardware store. This product with the funny-sounding name has been around for decades. I’ve been using it for ham radio applications for the…| WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio
