07/22/2009 | N8XE This year I decided to have a simple field day site at my house using QRP and CW only. I wanted to see how well I would do in crowded bands with low power gear. My setup consisted of a K1 and a KX1 using my station antennas. I only used battery power so I was a 1E station. My station was assembled on our back deck so I was not using the shack. At first, I tried using my Buddistick vertical, but it seemed to not be working well. So I hooked up to the station dipole and that made a big difference. I went inside to grab some items and one of them dropped on the knob of the K1 which broke the pot. Glad the KX1 was at the ready to counter Murphy at his devious best! I finished off the contest with the KX1 and had a great time. I was surprised at how well it worked in crowded bands! I used my Lightning Bug for most of the contest. Half the time I was running stations which was fun when you are QRP.

I worked 79 QSOs and 42 sections. -- N8XE