so i've been lurking on this forum for probably two years now and finally took the plunge and built a QSX... no wait, i ended up going with the Elecraft KX2 kit (partial assembly version) because the full scratch builds were a bit intimidating for a first timer. anyway got it done over a long weekend and took it out to the state park yesterday for a POTA activation.

honestly did not expect 5 watts to go anywhere meaningful but i worked a guy in Tennessee from upstate NY on 40m which felt pretty wild to me. had a summit wire dipole strung up between two trees, nothing fancy. the whole setup including the rig, battery, antenna and a notepad fits in a small daypack which i still cant quite believe.

i guess my question is - is 5 watts kind of the ceiling for most people doing portable, or do some folks go even lower? ive seen references to milliwatt operation and stuff like that which sounds insane but also fascinating. also any tips on squeezing more efficiency out of the KX2 specifically, like is there a sweet spot for the internal tuner vs just cutting the antenna to resonance beforehand?

congrats on the first activation, Tennessee from NY on 40m with 5 watts is a solid contact especially if conditions werent exceptional. that's the thing about QRP that hooks people - when it works you really feel it in a way you dont with a kilowatt amp behind you.

to answer your question, yes plenty of people go way below 5 watts. QRPp is technically anything under 1 watt and there's a whole crowd that chases milliwatt contacts as a challenge, usually on CW. some guys get obsessed with the mW per mile ratio thing. for portable POTA type stuff though 5w is honestly a really practical level, you can run all day on a modest LiPo and youre light enough to not notice the weight.

on the tuner question - resonant antenna will almost always give you better results than running through the internal tuner if you can manage it. the tuner does fine but it burns some power and the KX2's internal one isnt the most efficient at extreme mismatches. if youre cutting wire to length for a specific band just do it, its worth the few minutes of fiddling on site. i usually bring a little extra wire and some alligator clips so i can trim on the fly.

oh man POTA with QRP is so addictive, im warning you now lol. i started with a KX3 a few years back and now i have like four different portable setups which my wife is less than thrilled about.

one thing that helped me a lot was just keeping a log of which bands and times gave me the best results with low power so i could plan activations around propagation instead of just hoping. like 40m in the evening is usually pretty reliable but 20m midday can be hit or miss depending on the solar flux. theres also a decent amount of activators and hunters who are specifically listening for QRP stations so dont be shy about throwing your call out there even if the band sounds quiet.