Crossing the Pond on 10W and a Prayer

We did it, I officially crossed the pond today! And I learned some valuable lessons along the way.

I came home from school to eat lunch and figured that I should operate on 15m for a while. Lately, 15m has been super active, so I figured I should throw out my callsign to see if someone came back. I heard a few people collecting callsigns, so I waited to send mine out until I was confident that's what they were doing. One station, in particular, was IK4GRO in Northern Italy. I'm not quite sure what he was running but I was getting 5x8 and 5x9 signals on my meter. 

After waiting a few minutes, I threw out my call. Nothing. I tried again, but still nothing. After a dozen or so tries of trying to break through the QRM and QRN, I got through. Unfortunately, he got my callsign wrong, but that's expected since I was QRP. Instead of KE0, he got KE1. I let it go for a while before throwing my call back out.

After 5 or 6 tries, I got through! I got a 4x4 report and I gave him a 5x8 report. Not bad for a contact I had been hoping for for a long time!

Of course, I learned a lot just from this single contact, and I'd like to share that with you...

1. Patience is everything!

It took me dozens of tries to get through to IK4GRO. It wasn't easy. Sometimes, you just have to persist until they hear you. A 4x4 report means that I could be heard with a little noise at an S4 or so on the meter. On QRP, you will have to try harder to make contacts.

It may take you 1 call or maybe 50 calls, but you will eventually get through. On other occasions, you might have to give up and move on. It's all part of the fun!

2. Get a good antenna

Okay, hams are all about amplification, but in theory, an antenna makes the difference. Amplifiers don't add much, maybe only half or up to 1 S-unit. That would've only gotten me to S5 - not much of a difference.

I ordered a tactical antenna from HRO which I plan on taking to the field. Speaking of the field, that's the next tip I learned.

3. Get out of the house!

Find a place where there are little to no buildings and obstructions. You'll want some trees to mount your antenna in. Try to find a place that is elevated, flat, or near water (water is a good reflector!). I have many places around where I live to go out and operate QRP. 

Here's the other perk - you get to go into the great outdoors and enjoy some nice weather! You might walk into one of your friends and start a conversation. I have found that the more I talk to my friends about it, the more interested they seem. Had I gotten out of the house today, I hypothetically think my signal report would've been better.

4. Time of day matters

My TS-660 is a daytime radio - that means that it will only work from a bit before sunrise to a bit before sunset. I'm gone during the day so I don't get much action unless I listen to stations on my shortwave receiver. For the past week, I have listened to 15m via my shortwave, and I have heard at least 100 stations over the past week or so. This was all done around 2 or 3pm in the afternoon. 

5. A decent microphone works best

Stock microphones aren't bad, but they're basic - a condenser and a PTT button. Higher-end microphones have everything from preamps to audio filters. It's not really necessary but it might help. I found myself cupping the mic constantly trying to get the best acoustics for my voice. 

I have several more lessons that this contact taught me, but these have got to be the most important ones. I also want to say thanks to IK4GRO for calling me back despite operating QRP and the QRM that we experienced. Although I got a 4x4 rating today, it's better than not getting a call at all. 

Many, if not all hams say that 10W SSB is impossible. Today, I did the impossible and defied the odds. I wonder if this is how Marconi felt when he made the first radio transmission...

Here's a Snapchat video clip of the signals I received from IK4GRO today on 21.332.8MHz:

Until next time, I'll see what else this great little rig can pull off!