so i've been wanting to get into QRP for a while now and finally pulled the trigger on a QCX mini kit for 40 meters. took me a weekend to build it, probably longer than most people because i kept stopping to actually read what i was soldering instead of just following the steps blindly. the SMD parts had me nervous at first but honestly once you get a rhythm going its not that bad.

anyway got it all together, did the alignment, and on my first night out with a random wire in the backyard i made contact with a station in ohio which for me was pretty exciting since im used to running 100 watts on my regular rig. the 5 watts thing really does change how you think about operating. i find myself actually paying more attention to conditions, propagation, whether the band sounds good before just calling CQ.

one thing i wasnt expecting is how much i enjoy just the portability of it. the whole setup with a small tuner and a battery fits in like a medium sized stuff sack. took it to a park last weekend and just sat there for a couple hours making contacts. nobody bothered me, it was just nice. i think i get what people mean now when they talk about QRP being more satisfying in some ways.

anybody else here do mostly QRP these days? curious if people use these little rigs for anything beyond casual operating, like do people actually do serious DX with them or is that kind of pushing it

congrats on the QCX build, those are great little rigs. QJohn Sadler actually holds the record for some pretty impressive DX on QRP so yeah people absolutely do serious DX work with 5 watts - it just takes more patience and picking the right conditions. if you're on CW which it sounds like you are, the mode does a lot of the heavy lifting honestly.

the park thing is where it really shines for me too. i've been doing POTA activations with a KX2 for about two years now and i genuinely look forward to those outings more than sitting in the shack. something about the whole self-contained setup, knowing you built or chose every piece of it. my wife thinks im just going on walks which is also true i guess.

for DX on QRP my advice would be to find the QRP calling frequencies and hang around there when conditions look good. 14.060 is a good one for 20 meters. and honestly just be patient, some days it clicks and you'll work something surprising. i worked JA from the midwest last fall on 5 watts and a dipole and still kind of dont believe it happened

ive been eyeing that same kit for months lol. how hard was the SMD soldering really? i have decent iron but ive never done surface mount stuff before and im worried ill mess it up. also what antenna are you using with it