Recently, I have been spending some time reading blogs, and watching YouTube videos on portable operating. Some of them are very good, others are pretty much garbage and are going to get somebody hurt one day, and I thought “How did we get here today, how did this portable operating craze start, and where did it come from?”.Operators have forgotten the first generation of portable QRP’ers in North America, those who scaled Colorado Mountains, or hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, or the Appalachian Trail, who took part in the Polar Bear Club monthly events, the Flyin’ Pigs events, the Freeze Your Butt Off events, QRP to the Field and QRP Afield annual events. This was all we had for QRP events back then, the ARRL didn’t have any QRP endorsements for WAS or DXCC, RAC had nothing for QRP either. Nearly every other contest had no QRP category during this period.
It was the events, mentioned above, that really planted, and nurtured, the seeds for portable QRP operating. WWFF, SOTA, NPOTA, and POTA simply expanded the original horizons of committed QRP operators.
Keep in mind that during the very early days, dedicated QRP rigs were a rarity, nearly all gear was home brewed. The first real commercial QRP rig that came out was the Ten-Tec Powermite-1 in 1969, this was followed by the Ten-Tec Argonaut in 1972, and the Heathkit HW-7 in 1973.
But in 2001 we were drooling over the FT-817, at a cost of US$670. This was the rig that opened the flood gates for QRP. It was it’s small size and weight that was the big draw to it. Small enough and light enough to throw in the bottom of a rucksack and get up those mountains and operate, the first real “QRP shack in a box”.
Around 19 years ago the first YouTube video’s of what was known, in those days, as “Adventure Radio” came out. In no particular order these were Budd W3FF, who later went on to invent the Buddipole antenna system. Steve WG0AT, and his two pack goats, Rooster and Peanut. Guy N7UN, a prolific QRP blogger, and the lone Canadian, Jean-Pierre VA2SG (now VE2ZQ).
These four operators probably did more for portable operating than everyone else combined. Their videos, which were really just personal blogs, showed us how it was done. They talked us through building lightweight antennas, and then went out and used them, showing how they worked, or tweaking them if the didn’t. They showed us what to take with us, what battery was the best and lightest. They discussed their radios in detail, allowing us to make our own decisions on what was best for our bank accounts. And best of all, they showed us what was possible and they allowed us to dream of having similar adventures.
We have a lot to thank these four gentlemen for, they truly were the catalyst for what we have today in portable operating.
Stay Safe Out There!
