In this installment, we take our QRP to the bands.

In my first three columns, we explored the who, the what and the where--the QRP community, the equipment and taking our gear where we go. This time let's take a look at the how as we explore some operating techniques for QRP success. Many of this month's tips and techniques will also apply for our QRO readers.

Before we start discussing how to succeed, we need to define success. Because Amateur Radio is a hobby and not a job, we can define our own personal goals. Success is possible for everyone and when we are ready for more challenge, we can up our goals and start again. In fact this idea of starting again is often the reason seasoned hams (with superstations, kilowatts and huge antenna farms) who have done it all turn to QRP as a new challenge.

Goals for a new QRP operator might include ARRL's Worked All Continents and Worked All States awards. Various QRP clubs also have award programs that can act as a measure of success. QRP ARCI's 1000 Mile Per Watt Award, DXCC-QRP and Worked All States QRP awards are a great place to start. Many other QRP clubs have awards, including some two-way QRP-type awards that give you a chance to meet other low-power enthusiasts. Many contests also have QRP categories to challenge you.

Now that you have set some goals, let's get started with some tips:

1. Planning: As in many other endeavors, success often begins with good planning. Our first tip is a general one, but don't worry--we will dig more deeply into details later. Planning means knowing what band to use, what time to operate and what stations to look for during various operating situations. Planning also means knowing when the "target" stations will come into your sights or when the feeding frenzy has died down.

2. Propagation: Learn how propagation can affect your signal--and, most important, when and where it will be heard on a given band. AE4RV's "A Simple HF Radio Propagation Primer" is a good place to start. Understand the cycles -- 11 year sunspot, seasonal variation, light/darkness and gray line, daily propagation numbers (SFI, A and K), what the "numbers mean," MUF, aurora activity, monitoring current conditions. The ARRL Web site also offers a short treatise on propagation. There is quite a bit to learn, so here are a few quick very general guidelines on propagation:

1. Daytime--use higher frequencies (14 MHz and higher); evening--lower frequencies (10 MHz and down).

2. Point your directional antenna to the east in the morning, to the south at midday and to the west in the evening.

3. For more QRP success, use the highest band open.

4. Fall through early spring is usually the best time for east and west contacts, summer typically is best for north and south paths.

5. High K and A indices indicate poor HF propagation; check the VHF bands.

3. Antennas: You can spend your entire ham radio career learning about antennas. To help get you started, I have put together a Web page with antenna links and a few quick guidelines:

1. Any antenna is always better than no antenna. If you wait to put up the perfect antenna, you will miss a lot of operating time.

2. Pay attention to your feed line [PDF]. Use good-quality coax, and avoid RG-58 and RG-59--especially for longer runs. Keep your feed line as short as possible. Ladder line or twin lead (ie, 300-ohm TV feed line) can provide a low-loss, low-cost way to feed a variety of antennas. Take precautions to keep moisture out of feed lines. Replace old coax every few years.

3. Multiband antennas give more opportunities to find an "open" band during a variety of propagation conditions. Look for multiband antenna designs that avoid high-loss traps.

4. If you can erect a tower and beam, there are a lot of very good gain antennas to choose from. Avoid designs with traps and their associated losses. Maybe the QRO operator can afford the loss, but we want to radiate as much of our QRP signal as possible.

5. Verticals often get a bad rap in the ham press, but on the lower bands they can be more effective than a low dipole--not to mention much easier and inexpensive to install than a tower and beam. Do not forget to install a proper RF ground system (ie, radials) as necessary.

6. If I could have only one antenna that would provide multiple bands, good performance, low-cost and minimal installation effort, I tend to agree with L. B. Cebik, W4RNL. It would be a doublet or extended Zepp fed with ladder line and using an antenna tuner to couple it to your transceiver/transmitter.

7. Grab an antenna book or two or more. A few books to start with include the comprehensive classic The ARRL Antenna Book, and the brand-new Simple and Fun Antennas for Hams by Chuck Hutchinson, K8CH, and Dean Straw, N6BV. Don't let a lack of real estate keep you off the air. HF Antennas for All Locations by Les Moxon, G6XN, is a great book for beginners and one of my favorites. Also, check out Simple, Low-Cost Wire Antennas for Amateurs by the late Bill Orr, W6SAI, or the in-depth Reflections II--Transmission Lines and Antennas by Walt Maxwell, W2DU.

4. Go where the action is.

1. Contests: Whether you compete, just want to make contacts or work on an award, contests are a great place to try QRP. It is remarkable how well your QRP signal can be heard when it means a point for the contester on the other end of the contact. The great operators, huge antennas and state of art radios most often are able to dig out our weak signals. To make contest contacts smoothly and make contesters happy to work you, make sure you know the exchange. Visit WA7BNM's contest calendar or the SM3CER Contest Service sites. For ARRL-sponsored events, visit the ARRL Contest Calendar page.

2. QRP Calling Frequencies: These are a great place to find fellow QRPers.

   	160 M	80 M	40 M	30 M	20 M	17 M	15 M	12 M	10 M
   CW	1.810	3.560	7.040	10.106	14.060	18.096	21.060	24.906	28.060
   SSB	1.910	3.985	7.285	N/A	14.285	18.130	21.285	24.950	28.385

3. Take advantage of available DX spotting clusters, either via packet radio, telnet, Web based sites and/or specialized software such as DX Monitor. Future QRP Community articles will be devoted to QRP contesting and DXing.

4. Timing: Learn how to time your responses. Listen to the stations being worked. Does the call respond to quick comebacks, tailenders, multiple calls, etc? With your low power, you need to dodge the competition, not butt heads with their QRO signals. This is a skill that comes with experience, and it's so important that it's a topic we'll visit in future editions of this column.

Reader Feedback

I am happy to report that a fine Web site that I had planned to mention in my Equipment column has returned. A great resource, The Virtual Ten-Tec Museum of Paul Valko, W8KC, is available again. I received lots of reader e-mail concerning "carrying cases." The QRP Community crowd scoured the local retail establishments for a variety of cases. One popular style was the soft-sided insulated rectangular lunch bag. A number of readers suggested cell phone bags--the old kind with a built-in battery compartment (remember when cell phones weighed pounds, not ounces?). I have used one that I found at hamfest for a couple of bucks. It has a 12-V battery and charger included and loops to attach to your belt.

Pat Rundall, N0HR, wrote about PDA (personal data assistant) logging for on-the-road or trail operations. For more information visit Pat's Web site or the PDA links on my ham software Web page.

I will be heading to Dayton Hamvention and QRP-ARCI's Four Days in May (FDIM) event this week, and I hope to meet many of my readers in person. A Dayton QRP review--with exciting news, new equipment and photos of QRPers in action--is on the drawing board for my next column.

Please share your questions and comments and suggestions for future columns via e-mail--or in person at Dayton.

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 6000-student 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.