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- Yaesu FT-51R Dual Band Handheld used w/charger and new batteries !!!
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CLUB 72 – Springtime For QRP’ers
"April marks the beginning of the Club 72 QRP Marathon. This is not a contest, but is a QRP DX operating activity. In a nutshell, it's basically a friendly competition to see how you can do against other QRPers on a sort of a "miles per Watt" basis." The QRP (LP) Club devoted to promotion of Low Power Amateur Radio Communication in the World. The birthday of Club is January 14, 2010.
Find out more about Club 72 here.
BOTA – Beaches On The Air! – 3/30/13
Smiths Point Park
Beaches On The Air is my own invention. It has nothing in common with things like a SOTA activation and beaches have no special designations.
Today was my chance to make a quick getaway to Smiths Point and operate my KX3 on 40 meters. I had a bit of battery trouble but after getting that worked out, I manged to work a few stations through today's QRM.
My best 5 Watt contact was W2XB near Buffalo. Not too shabby for a noisy band! I thought about bringing the Buddipole down but opted for the good old Hamstick-In-The-Mag-Mount standby. After the Hamstick rolled around in the trunk all winter I didn't expect much from it but the analyzer show 1 to 1 SWR on 7.030. How SWEET it is!
Overall it was a great afternoon and the next location is already in the planning stages!
Portable Ham Radio Antenna Systems In Springtime
Now that spring weather is rapidly approaching, I have been thinking about digging out my antenna gear for going HF portable. After all, this year's camping trips have already come up in conversation around the dinner table.
Antenna choices for portable operation are always in my thoughts around this time of year. Last year was no different. Back then I purchased a Buddipole Deluxe system. After working with it all last year, I can 
speak highly of the quality and flexibility of the Buddipole system but was less than thrilled at the performance of the system on 40 meters.
In defense of the Buddipole system, Buddipole does lead you to believe that the antenna system performs best above 40 meters. To solidify those thoughts, Scott Andersen NE1RD has done an outstanding job of documenting the Buddipole system with his Buddipole In The Field report. Scott clearly points out the performance pitfalls of working with the system on 40 (and 80) meters. I'd highly recommend reading Scott's report if you are at all curious about the Buddipole system features and functionality.
Since most of my portable operating is QRP with my Elecraft KX3, I am seriously considering picking up an Alexloop this year. So far I have only read a handful of reviews but the all seem to contain good operating reports.
Yep, it's that time of year again, so scanning the Alexloop reviews will be on my Ham Radio to do list over the next few weeks.
Got an opinion about the Buddipole System or the Alexloop? Ok, so let's hear it guys!