so ive been lurking on here for a while reading about QRP and finally just did it. built a Rockmite 40 from a kit i got off ebay, took me about three evenings spread over two weeks mostly because i kept second guessing my soldering. anyway got it finished, did the smoke test, nothing blew up, and i actually heard signals on 40m which honestly shocked me a little.

took it out to the park yesterday with a 9v battery, my paddle, and just a wire i threw up in a tree maybe 20 feet or so. made two contacts in about 45 minutes which i know isnt impressive but for 500mw i was absolutely floored. one guy in ohio was running like a kw into a beam and i was just sitting on a picnic bench with this little board in an altoids tin basically

the efficiency thing is what really got me. i spent maybe $18 on parts and a couple evenings and i'm actually making contacts. i feel like i wasted years running 100w into mediocre antennas when i could have been doing this. anyone else have that moment where QRP just clicks for you? also curious what other kits people recommend for a next build, im thinking something with a vfo so i can actually tune around

yeah that feeling doesnt really go away honestly. i built my first QRP rig back in the early 2000s, a little 40m crystal controlled thing, and i still remember the first contact. guy was in florida, i was in vermont, and i was running maybe 400mw into a dipole in my backyard. kept asking for repeats but we got through it and i logged it and just sat there kind of stunned.

for your next build if you want a vfo the SW-40+ is a classic though i think small wonder labs isnt around anymore so youre looking at used kits. the uBITX is a completely different animal, its not a kit exactly but theres a lot of building involved getting it into an enclosure and sorted out. if you want something really satisfying to build yourself, look into the NorCal 40A or even just grab the EMRFD book and start from a schematic. that said for bang for buck right now a lot of people are pretty happy with the Xiegu G90 if you want a real vfo rig that you can also take portable, though thats not really a kit build obviously.

the antenna situation you described is basically how it works. QRP rewards a good antenna way more than high power does in my experience. get that wire up as high as you can and youll be surprised what 5w can do.

oh man this post is making me want to finish the kit thats been sitting on my workbench for like 6 months lol. i got intimidated by the toroids and just kind of stopped. maybe this weekend