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Let's explore the available QRP-related items for holiday gift giving!

Ten Tec's new Argonaut-V (model 516) is the fifth generation in the legendary line of QRP rigs. [Photo by author]

The Rockmite is a small kit (actual size is 2x2.5 inches) with a big following. There's a builder resources and modifications page, The Rock Mite Files, on the Web. [Small Wonders Lab Photo]

The Buddipole a well-built antenna, that travels easily.

Shopping for the perfect QRP gift can be difficult for the non-ham spouse or relative. A trip to the usual discount or department store will yield little in the way of ham radio goodies.

As a public service, we present a guide to QRP-related gifts (Hey, this could become an annual feature!) The QRPer can mark the items they are interested in and "accidentally" leave the list in a conspicuous place for the gift giver to find. This way, you don't even have to explain to a non-ham spouse what QRP is or even why you'd want any of these things in the first place.

Included on the list are links to sources to purchase these gifts. There are way too many suggestions to include all of them on this list, so I left a few blank areas at the bottom for additional choices.

My number-one suggestion--and one that's within the realm of most budgets--is a membership in one of the many fine QRP clubs.

Some gifts are not directly ham related but add greatly to the enjoyment of the hobby. Examples include a good comfortable adjustable office chair, a new operating table (the L-shaped office desks can work very well) and almost any monogrammed, engraved, embroidered or otherwise personalized item that bears your ham radio call sign.

Below is a sampling of possible gifts for the QRPer. The items are arranged alphabetically by manufacturer or vendor within each category.

QRP Holiday Gift List

Category	Item	Manufacturer	Link to Source(s)	ApproxPrice ($)
Rigs-	90XX CW Single Band- ______	MFJ	http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?catid=17 *	190
	94XX SSB Single Band- ______	MFJ	http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?catid=17 *	240 to 280
	PC-500	Patcomm	http://www.patcommradio.com/webdoc8.htm	395
	SG-2020-ADSP	SGC	http://www.sgcworld.com/2020/index.htm	795
	Argonaut-V (516)	Ten Tec	http://www.tentec.com/TT516.htm	795
	FT-817	Yaesu	http://www.yaesu.com/amateur/ft817tx.html *	630 to 760
Rigs- Kits	K2	Elecraft	http://elecraft.com/elecraft_prod_list.htm#K2	600 +
	K1	Elecraft	http://elecraft.com/elecraft_prod_list.htm#K1	350 +
	K1 or K2 Accessories Model:_________	Elecraft	http://elecraft.com/elecraft_prod_list.htm#K2	28 to 360
	NW-Series	Emtech	http://emtech.steadynet.com/qrpdesc.htm	130
	Various Kits Model: ________	Kanga	http://www.bright.net/%7Ekanga/kanga/kanga_products.htm
	93XX Cub CW- Band: _________	MFJ	http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?catid=17	99 kit 149 built
	OHR 500	Oak Hills Research	http://www.ohr.com/ohr500.htm	396
	OHR 100	Oak Hills Research	http://www.ohr.com/ohr100a.htm	130
	SWL+ Band _________	Small Wonders Lab	http://smallwonderlabs.com/	55
	Rock-mite Band _________	Small Wonders Lab	http://smallwonderlabs.com/	20
	PSK 31 Band _________	Small Wonders Lab	http://smallwonderlabs.com/psk31_main.htm	50 to 150
	White Mountain SSB- Band _____	Small Wonders Lab	http://smallwonderlabs.com/swl_wms.htm	105
	QRP CW Kits Band _________	Ten Tec	http://www.tentec.com/Ttqrpcw.htm	95
	SST- Band__________	Wilderness Radio	http://www.fix.net/%7Ejparker/wilderness/sst.htm	85
	Sierra- Band(s)- _______	Wilderness Radio	http://www.fix.net/%7Ejparker/wilderness/sst.htm	240 to 370
Antennas	Miracle Whip Antenna	Miracle Whip Antennas	http://www.miracleantenna.com/	149
	MP-1 Antenna	Super Antennas	http://www.superantennas.com/	150 +
	MP-2 Motorized Antenna	Super Antennas	http://www.superantennas.com/	225 +
	Buddipole Antenna	W3FF Antennas	http://buddipole.com/	195 +
Access-ories	Ladder or Coax Grabber	Emtech	http://emtech.steadynet.com/grabber.htm	8
	ZM-2 Antenna Tuner	Emtech	http://emtech.steadynet.com/zmdesc.htm	65
	Universal QSYer for FT-817	Hansen, John	http://john.hansen.net/keypad.htm	70 kit 95 built
	Z-11 Antenna Tuner	LDG Electronics	http://www.ldgelectronics.com/z-11.html	145 kit 179 built
	Atomic Clock 24/12 Desktop	MFJ	http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-122	20
	24 hr Analog Wall Clock	MFJ	http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-125	30
	Contest Voice Keyer	MFJ	http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-434	180
	259-B Antenna Analyzer	MFJ	http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-259B
	WM-2 QRP Watt Meter	Oak Hills Research	http://www.ohr.com/wattmeter.htm	90
	TacPacks Gear Item __________	Pioneer Data Mountain Ops	http://mountain-ops.com/cgi-local/shop.pl/SID=1036377882.15737/page=category.html/category=1
	FT-817 Accessory Item __________	Power Port	http://www.powerportstore.com/FT817%20Accessories.htm
	Frequency Mite Freq. Counter	Small Wonders Lab	http://smallwonderlabs.com/swl_frq.htm	20
	FT-817 Accessory Item __________	W4RT	http://www.w4rt.com/html/hardware.html	50 to 80
	RigBlaster	West Mountain Radio	http://www.westmountainradio.com/RIGblaster.htm	110 to 140
	Nomic	West Mountain Radio	http://www.westmountainradio.com/RIGblaster.htm	38 kit 60 built
	RigRunner	West Mountain Radio	http://www.westmountainradio.com/RIGblaster.htm	50 to 110
Keys	Bulldog Keys Model:_________	Amateur Radio Products	http://www.amateurradioproducts.com/	20 to 30
	KE6RIE Blue Anodized Straight Key	American Morse	http://www.americanmorse.com/straightkey.htm	54
	Paddles & Keys Model:_________	Bencher	http://www.bencher.com/radioequip.html#keys	90 to 300
	Morse Keys	Kent	http://www.kent-engineers.com/morseKEYindex.htm	40 to 160
	Mini Portable Iambic Paddles	MFJ	http://www.mfjenterprises.com/products.php?prodid=MFJ-561	20
	Christmas Key	Morse Express	http://www.morsex.com/xmas/	60
	Keys, Paddles, Bugs & more Model:_________	Morse Express	http://www.morsex.com/	10 to 500
	Bug & More Model:_________	Vibroplex	http://www.vibroplex.com/	60 to 500
Books	QRP Books _____________	ARRL	http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?category=Low+Power%2FQRP&words=	8 to 25
	QRP Books _____________	Kanga USA	http://www.bright.net/~kanga/kanga/books_and_misc.htm	8 to 25
	QRP Books _____________	QRP Books	http://www.qrpbooks.com/	8 to 25
	FT-817 Pack-It Reference	VE3AYR	http://www.bigwave.ca/~janus/hrm/FT-817/	13
Club Items	Gear, Pins, Mugs, Op-Aids & more Model:_________	ARRL	http://www.arrl.org/catalog/
	Calendars, CDs, Videos & Books	CQ Magazine	http://ssl.sunserver.com/cq/merchant.ihtml
	Flying Pig Gear	Flying Pigs QRP Club	http://www.fpqrp.com/	5 to 25
	Kits, Bits & Books Item:__________	G-QRP Club	http://www.g4wif.fsnet.co.uk/q_sales.htm	5 to 30
	Kits & Gear Model:_________	NorCal QRP	http://www.norcalqrp.com/	10 to 25
	NoGa Kits Model:_________	North Georgia QRP Club	http://www.nogaqrp.org/	8 to 25
	QRP Homebrewer Subscription	NJ QRP Club	http://www.njqrp.org/data/qrp_homebrewer.html#HOW%20TO%20SUBSCRIBE	15
	W1CG Low Power Balun	NJ QRP Club	http://www.njqrp.org/balun/index.html	15
	NJ QRP Club Kits Model:_________	NJ QRP Club	http://www.njqrp.org
	QRP Club Membership Club:__________	Various	See "QRP Community: The QRP Community" for a list of clubs and links.	0 to 25
Calendar	Eastern Pennsylvania QRP Club calendar	Eastern Pennsylvania QRP Club	http://www.n3epa.org/Pages/QRP-Calendar.htm	13.60
Tools
Other

* Indicates products available from dealers in new amateur equipment.

The KE6RIE key is machined from high-quality aluminum and then anodized with a bright-blue finish. At less than four ounces, this key will amaze you with its well-designed balance point that requires no heavy base to keep it in place during use.

One of the many excellent QRP books available from the ARRL. Visit the ARRL's and other vendors' sites for even more selections. [ARRL Photo]

For a partial list, visit HR Showcase's List of Web Links for Dealers or check out the ads in QST and other ham radio magazines. The ARRL's Technical Information Service TIS Address Database Search also offers a listing of more than 2000 products and services. Also, don't forget to consider an item from the ARRL products catalog. It's easy to order on line!

A printer-friendly version of this list is available for downloading as a PDF file.

Reader Feedback

I have been pleased to hear from readers who were inspired by my last two columns to give QRP contesting a try. For those of you still waiting, don't miss the ARRL 10 Meter Contest December 14-15 weekend. It's a great contest for QRP operation. On a smaller scale, you might want to check out The QRP ARCI Holiday Spirits Sprint December 1 (2000-2400 UTC) and the QRP ARCI Topband Sprint (December 4, 1800 local time to December 5, 0600 local time).

Thanks to the many QRP Community readers who offered gift item suggestions. I hope you all have a happy holiday season, and remember, it is truly greater to give than receive.

Editor's note: Anthony Luscre, K8ZT, an ARRL member, lives in Stow, Ohio. He has worked in the field of medical microbiology for 18 years and is now a Technology and Computer Coordinator for a local school district. Luscre is an avid QRP operator having earned DXCC, WAS and WAC using no more that 5 W output. Readers are invited to contact the author via e-mail, k8zt@arrl.net or visit his Web site.

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