{"id":46500,"date":"2020-11-16T07:24:44","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T11:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=46500"},"modified":"2020-11-16T07:24:44","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T11:24:44","slug":"a-little-qrp-radio-magic-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/a-little-qrp-radio-magic-this-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"A little QRP radio magic this weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-18.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3122 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-18.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a><em><strong>SWLing Post readers: I originally posted the following article <a href=\"http:\/\/qrper.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on QRPer.com<\/a> where I publish most of my ham radio field reports. It was the first full Parks On The Air activation with my <a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/2020\/10\/the-elecraft-kx1-reunited-and-it-feels-so-good\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recently re-acquired Elecraft KX1 transceiver<\/a> and it was very memorable. I hope you enjoy:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Yesterday [Saturday, November 14, 2020] my family decided to make an impromptu trip to one of our favorite spots on the Blue Ridge Parkway at <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richland_Balsam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Richland Balsam<\/a>&#8211;the highest point on the BRP.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, it was a good opportunity to fit in a Parks On The Air (POTA) activation, but I had also hoped to activate Richland Balsam for Summits On The Air (SOTA) simultaneously.<\/p>\n<p>It being well beyond leaf-looking season, we had hoped the BRP would be relatively quiet, but we were wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Trail heads were absolutely jam-packed and overflowing with visitors and hikers. We&#8217;ve noticed a sharp hiker uptick this year in western North Carolina due in no small part to the Covid-19 pandemic. People see hiking as a safe &#8220;social-distance&#8221; activity outdoors, but ironically, hiker density on our single-track trails is just through the roof.\u00a0 \u00a0One spends the bulk of a hike negotiating others on the trail.<\/p>\n<p>The trail head to Richland Balsam was no exception. Typically, this time of year, we&#8217;d be the only people parked at the trail head but yesterday it was nearly parked full.<\/p>\n<p>Being natives of western North Carolina, we know numerous side-trails and old logging\/service roads along the parkway, so we picked one of our favorites very close to Richland Balsam.<\/p>\n<p>We hiked to the summit of a nearby ridge line and I set up my POTA station with the &#8220;assistance&#8221; of Hazel who always seems to know how to get entangled in my antenna wires.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3139\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3139\" class=\"wp-image-3139 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3139\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;I&#8217;m a helper dog!&#8221;<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Taking a break from using the Icom IC-705, I brought my recently reacquired\u00a0 KX1 field radio kit.<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Gear:<\/strong><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/2020\/10\/the-elecraft-kx1-reunited-and-it-feels-so-good\/\">Elecraft KX1 Field Kit (including connectors, paddles, and random wire antenna &amp; counterpoise)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bioennopower.com\/products\/12v-6ah-lfp-battery-black-w-pvc-pack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bioenno 6 aH LiFePo Battery<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/the-ham-radio-workbench-12-vdc-power-distribution-strip-kit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ham Radio Workbench DC Distribution Panel\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/2020\/09\/a-field-antennas-best-friend-the-amazing-arborist-throw-line\/\">Arborist throw line<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goruck.com\/collections\/bullet-ruck\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GoRuck Bullet Ruck<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-2.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3138\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-2-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"632\" \/><\/a>I carried a minimal amount of gear on this outing knowing that there would be hiking involved. Everything easily fit in my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goruck.com\/collections\/bullet-ruck\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GoRuck Bullet Ruck<\/a> backpack (including the large arborist throw line) with room to spare.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-21.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3119\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-21.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I took a bit of a risk on this activation: I put faith in the wire antenna lengths supplied with my new-to-me <a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/2020\/10\/the-elecraft-kx1-reunited-and-it-feels-so-good\/\">Elecraft KX1 travel kit<\/a>. I did not cut these wires myself, rather, they are the lengths a previous owner cut, wound, and labeled for the kit.<\/p>\n<p>With my previous KX1, I knew the ATU was pretty darn good at finding matches for 40, 30, and 20 meters on short lengths of wire, so I threw caution to the wind and didn&#8217;t pack an additional antenna option (although I could have hiked back to the car where I had the CHA MPAS Lite&#8211;but that would have cut too much time from the activation).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-3.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3137\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-3-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"632\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t use internal batteries in the KX1, rather, I opted for my Bioenno 6 aH LiFePo battery which could have easily powered the KX1 the entire day.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-10.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3130\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-10-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"632\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-11.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3129\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-11-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"632\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I deployed the antenna wire in a nearby (rather short) tree, laid the counterpoise on the ground, then tried tuning up on the 40 meter band.<\/p>\n<p>No dice.<\/p>\n<p>The ATU was able to achieve a 2.7:1 match, but I don&#8217;t like pushing QRP radios above a 2:1 match if I don&#8217;t have to. I felt the radiator wire was pretty short (although I&#8217;ve yet to measure it), so clipping it would only make it less resonant on 40 meters.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, I moved up to the 20 meter band where I easily obtained a 1:1 match.<\/p>\n<p>I started calling CQ POTA and within a couple of minutes snagged two stations&#8211;then things went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>Since I was a bit pressed for time, I moved to the 30 meter band where, once again, I got a 1:1 match.<\/p>\n<p>I quickly logged one more station (trusty N3XLS!) then <em>nothing<\/em> for 10 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Those minutes felt like an eternity since I really wanted to make this a quick activation. I knew, too, that propagation was fickle; my buddy Mike told me the Bz numbers had gone below negative two only an hour before the activation. I felt like being stuck on the higher bands would not be to my advantage.<\/p>\n<p>Still, I moved back up to 20 meters and try calling again.<\/p>\n<h1>Then some radio magic happened&#8230;<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-16.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3124\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-16.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Somehow, a propagation path to the north west opened up and the first op to answer my call was VE6CCA in Alberta. That was surprising! Then I worked K3KYR in New York immediately after.<\/p>\n<p>It was the next operator&#8217;s call that almost made me fall off my rock: NL7V in North Pole, Alaska.<\/p>\n<p>In all of my years doing QRP field activations, I&#8217;ve never had the fortune of putting a station from Alaska in the logs. Alaska is a tough catch on the best of days here in North Carolina&#8211;it&#8217;s much easier for me to work stations further away in Europe than in AK.<\/p>\n<p>Of all days, I would have <em>never<\/em> anticipated it happening during this particular activation as I was using the most simple, cheap antenna possible: two thin random lengths of (likely discarded) wire.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-7.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3133\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>People ask why I love radio? &#8220;Exhibit A&#8221;, friends!<\/p>\n<p>After working NL7V I had a nice bunch of POTA hunters call me. I logged them as quickly as I could.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-15.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3125\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-15-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"632\" \/><\/a>I eventually moved back to 30 meters to see if I could collect a couple more stations and easily added five more. I made one final CQ POTA call and when there was no answer, I quickly sent <em>QRT de K4SWL<\/em> and turned off the radio.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a map of my contacts from <a href=\"http:\/\/QSOmap.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">QSOmap.org<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/K-3378-POTA-QRP-MAP-KX1-3watts.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3143\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/K-3378-POTA-QRP-MAP-KX1-3watts.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"745\" height=\"570\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I still can&#8217;t believe my three watts and a wire yielded a contact approximately 3,300 miles (5311 km) away as the crow flies.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-17.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3123\" src=\"https:\/\/qrper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Elecraft-KX1-Tom-Bihn-Tray-Goruck-Bullet-POTA-QRP-BRP-K-3378-17.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a>This is what I love about field radio (and radio in general): although you do what you can to maximize the performance of your radio and your antenna, sometimes propagation gives you a boost when you least expect it. It&#8217;s this sense of wireless adventure and wonder that keeps me hooked!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SWLing Post readers: I originally posted the following article on QRPer.com where I publish most of my ham radio field reports. It was the first full Parks On The Air activation with my recently re-acquired Elecraft KX1 transceiver and it was very memorable. I hope you enjoy: Yesterday [Saturday, November 14, 2020] my family decided [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8752,545,3],"tags":[145,2034,5667,4102,8869,7787,7786,1303],"class_list":["post-46500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-field-radio","category-ham-radio","category-news","tag-dx","tag-elecraft","tag-elecraft-kx1","tag-ham-radio","tag-kx1","tag-parks-on-the-air","tag-pota","tag-qrp"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-c60","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46148,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/elecraft-kx1-back-with-my-portable-radio-companion\/","url_meta":{"origin":46500,"position":0},"title":"Elecraft KX1: Back with my portable radio companion","author":"Thomas","date":"October 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Note: This article was first published on QRPer.com. A few weeks ago, I published a post about radios I've regretted selling or giving away. Number one on that list was the Elecraft KX1. Within a couple hours of posting that article, I had already purchased a KX1 I found on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Elecraft-KX1-POTA-1-1024x768-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Elecraft-KX1-POTA-1-1024x768-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Elecraft-KX1-POTA-1-1024x768-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Elecraft-KX1-POTA-1-1024x768-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45852,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/the-perils-of-radio-self-enabling\/","url_meta":{"origin":46500,"position":1},"title":"The perils of radio self-enabling&#8230;","author":"Thomas","date":"October 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"So the SWLing Post has been online now for twelve years and during that time I've been accused of being a \"radio enabler.\" Of course, I've never counted just how many, but I'm guessing somewhere in the region of 115,900 times. Truth is, radio love is infectious. In the past,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Elecraft-KX1-v-KX2-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":52930,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/a-little-off-line-off-grid-camping\/","url_meta":{"origin":46500,"position":2},"title":"A little off-line, off-grid camping","author":"Thomas","date":"June 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"You might have noticed a lack of posts this weekend and that would be because I was completely off-grid and off-line, camping with two good friends in Pisgah National Forest. It was brilliant, actually. I got to hang with friends I've known for over 30 years, test my new one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Field Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Field Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/field-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Elecraft-KX1-e1654469508703.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Elecraft-KX1-e1654469508703.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Elecraft-KX1-e1654469508703.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Elecraft-KX1-e1654469508703.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Elecraft-KX1-e1654469508703.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20837,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/national-parks-on-the-air-activating-pk01-this-weekend\/","url_meta":{"origin":46500,"position":3},"title":"National Parks On The Air: Activating PK01 this weekend (August 28)","author":"Thomas","date":"August 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"After two months in Canada and one month spent catching up on work,\u00a0I'm pleased to make some time this weekend to activate PK01 (the Blue Ridge Parkway) for the ARRL National Parks On The Air (NPOTA). I'll be joined by my good friend, Vlado (N3CZ)\u00a0on August 28--we plan to set\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The QRP Ranger (left) and LNR Precision LD-11 transceiver (right)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_101759179.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_101759179.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_101759179.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_101759179.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":32508,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/the-evolution-of-a-radio-shack-and-parting-ways-with-my-elecraft-k2-100\/","url_meta":{"origin":46500,"position":4},"title":"The evolution of a radio shack&#8230;and parting ways with my Elecraft K2\/100","author":"Thomas","date":"June 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"[Update: One of our readers purchased the K2\/100! Thanks!] I freely admit it: a\u00a0lot of radios enter and exit my radio shack\u2013\u2013especially portable receivers and SDRs of all stripes.\u00a0 It's just the nature of doing gear reviews and evaluations. I also keep a fairly robust arsenal of radios here at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Elecraft-K2-100-1024x596.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Elecraft-K2-100-1024x596.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Elecraft-K2-100-1024x596.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22488,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/a-review-of-the-elecraft-kx2-general-coverage-qrp-transceiver\/","url_meta":{"origin":46500,"position":5},"title":"A review of the Elecraft KX2 general coverage QRP transceiver","author":"Thomas","date":"December 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The following review first appeared in the November 2016 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. It\u2019s not every day that I get exciting news about the production of a new radio. It was two days before the 2016 Dayton Hamvention--the day before the Four Days in May QRP conference--as I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"elecrat-kx2-review","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Elecrat-KX2-Review-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Elecrat-KX2-Review-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Elecrat-KX2-Review-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46500\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}