so i finally pulled the trigger on building one of those QFT-series kits ive been eyeing for like two years. took me three evenings to put it together, which probably says more about my soldering speed than anything else. the build itself wasnt too bad, instructions were pretty clear except for one part where they had you install two caps before the toroid winding which i think is backwards from how most kits do it but whatever it worked out.

first contact was last tuesday on 40m, just a casual SSB exchange with a guy about 300 miles away running 5 watts. nothing crazy but i was genuinely surprised how well it held up. ive been running barefoot HF for years but theres something different about knowing youre doing it with barely any power. feels more like an accomplishment somehow.

one thing im wondering about — does anyone actually run these things portable regularly? like backpacking or parks on the air type stuff? i keep reading about people doing it but curious how practical it really is day to day. battery life, antenna setup time, all that. im thinking about a SOTA activation this summer and want to know if a 5w rig is actually realistic or if im setting myself up for frustration

SOTA with QRP is honestly where these little rigs shine the most, dont let anyone tell you otherwise. ive done probably 40 or 50 activations over the last few years with nothing more than 5 watts and a wire antenna and the contact rate is way better than you'd expect. the key thing people dont realize is that when youre on a summit you have a huge advantage over the chasers because of the elevation, so the low power matters a lot less than you'd think.

battery wise i usually bring a small LiPo, something in the 3-4 amp hour range, and for a typical activation lasting a couple hours thats more than enough. the radio barely sips power compared to something like a 100 watt rig obviously. antenna i just throw up an endfed halfwave with a short piece of paracord and a fishing pole, takes maybe 10 minutes to get sorted once you've done it a few times. just make sure youre actually calling CQ on the summit freq and spotted on SOTAwatch before you start or youll sit there calling into the void. good luck with it, youre gonna have a blast

which kit did you end up building? im in the same boat been looking at a few different ones and cant decide. the torroid winding part is what keeps putting me off honestly, watched a few youtube videos and it still looks like black magic to me