so ive been messing around with QRP stuff for about a year now and finally built up a kit that actually works well enough to take out to the field without wanting to throw it into a lake. figured id share since i know theres a few others here that have been asking about portable low power setups.

started with a Xiegu G90 which isnt technically QRP but i keep it at 5 watts when im out portable, then moved to building an actual QRP rig from a kit — ended up going with a 40m monoband thing i got from QRP Labs, the QCX+ if anyone knows it. the build took me a weekend and a half mostly because i kept second guessing my solder joints and reflowing stuff that was probably fine.

anyway the thing that surprised me most is how far you can actually get with 5 watts if you have a halfway decent antenna. i was running a linked dipole up about 25 feet in some trees at a state forest and worked a station in germany on 20m which still kind of blows my mind honestly. conditions were good that day but still.

battery situation took me a while to figure out. i tried a little lipo pack first and it worked but the voltage sag was annoying, switched to a 3ah lifepo4 and it's been way more consistent. i can usually get a solid 4-5 hours of operating before i need to think about charging.

anyone else doing a lot of portable QRP? curious what antennas people are using out in the field, still feel like thats my weakest link

the QCX+ is a great little radio, i built one last winter and was really impressed with the receiver considering how simple the circuit is. your antenna question is a good one — i went through several iterations before settling on an end fed half wave with a small 49:1 unun. the whole thing rolls up into a sandwich bag basically and i can get it up in a tree pretty fast with a fishing line and a weight.

the linked dipole you mentioned is also solid especially if you want to work multiple bands, just takes a bit more setup time. i think for pure simplicity on one band the EFHW wins but if you're chasing DX on 20 and 40 both the linked setup makes sense. honestly the biggest thing ive found is just getting the wire as high as you can — even a mediocre antenna at 30 feet usually beats a great antenna at 15 feet, at least in my experience. keep at it, QRP portable is kind of addictive once it clicks

wait you worked germany at 5 watts with a dipole in trees?? thats crazy i didnt think QRP could actually do that. im just getting started and have been nervous that low power would mean i cant contact anyone. maybe i should look into those QRP Labs kits, they seem pretty well regarded from what ive read. how hard was the build really, im ok at soldering but not like super experienced