11/28/2007 | W5ESE Sweepstakes CW coincided with a trip I had planned to do some backpacking in Big Bend National Park, in west Texas. I decided to bring along some QRP gear, to participate in the contest from the park. The transceivers I used were an AT Sprint 3 (80-20m), a Small Wonder Labs SW+ (40m), and an MFJ Cub 9315K (15m). I also used an Emtech ZM-2 antenna tuner, an Embedded Research TiCK-3 electronic keyer, and Whiterook MK-44 iambic paddles. The antenna was a 40 meter center fed Zepp, fed with 300 ohm TV twinlead, suspended from a mesquite bush at an unimpressive 6 feet. Nevertheless, several operators with good ears managed to hear my puny signal. 15 meters seemed to have some good openings on Sunday. After the contest ended, I spent the next four days backpacking in the Chisos mountains. -- W5ESE