so i picked up one of those QFX... wait no, a QCX Mini kit a few months back mostly just to have a project to work on during the winter. figured id probably never actually use it on the air, just wanted to build something. well i finally got it assembled after a couple weekends of squinting at tiny components and i took it out to the park last saturday with my end-fed and honestly i was not prepared for how much fun that was.

made like 6 contacts in a couple hours running 5 watts on 40m, couple of them were pretty decent distances. one guy in ohio was genuinely surprised when i told him i was running 5w from a park bench. im not sure why but there's something really satisfying about making a contact with that little power, way more than just cranking up the power at home. anyway now im looking at more kits and reading everything i can about QRP operating and efficiency, like antenna matching and stuff. anyone else go down this rabbit hole and have suggestions for where to go next? im thinking about trying sota or pota but im not sure where to start with that either.

oh man you are absolutely done for, welcome to the obsession haha. QRP is one of those things that just hooks you and you never really go back to caring about running high power again. i started the same way with a kit, mine was an older Elecraft K1 that i bought used already built, and that was probably 12 years ago and i still bring it out for portable ops.

for SOTA and POTA the good news is your QCX Mini is honestly a great starting rig for that. 40m is solid for both activations depending on time of day. the main thing ive found is dont overthink the antenna too much at first, a simple linked dipole or your endfed will get the job done. if you want to add bands later look into the QCX for other bands or maybe eventually a KX2 or something if budget allows, but seriously dont feel like you need to upgrade right away because a lot of people are making beautiful contacts with exactly the setup you described.

the efficiency thing you mentioned is real too, there's a kind of mental shift that happens where you start thinking about every db of signal as something precious and you actually learn more about propagation and antennas because of it.

yeah pota is super beginner friendly honestly, way less intimidating than sota where you have to actually hike up a mountain lol. just find a state park near you and set up, the activator guides on the pota website are pretty clear. i did my first activation last spring and had no idea what i was doing but people on the pota frequencies are really patient and helpful.

also 5 watts and a decent antenna is really all you need most of the time, people way overthink the power thing.