Stefano IZ1OQU makes SSB QSO's with 5 mW

Stefano IZ1OQU 5 mW SSB
with light weight VHFantenne

Hi Bert,

One year passed since our last email and now I write to tell you some recent news about my experiences with power attenuators in QRPp.
Last Sunday, during the Italian Apulia Contest VHF on 2 meters, I made 19 QSO's.
11 QSO's were completed with 5 mW, 4 with 50 mW and 4 with 500 mW. 

I never needed to repeat my callsign. No propagation, no e-sporadic: just directs. 

The best QSO was with a French station over 312 km, good for 62.400 kms per watt. 

My operating location was 500 m asl, with good opening to the sea and the French coast. I'm forgetting to say... That it was SSB!

The antenna is a personal design, low weight very easy to use on portable: two rectangles vertically linked to each other, with nice gain and good front/side. You can see it on my qrz.com. But I attach a photo for your comfort.

What an unbelievable experience! The first time with 5 mW drove me crazy. Surely VHF offers big chances to play with micro-powers, thank to big-gain antennas both on tx and rx sides, and global low power absorption. It is a test that I want to repeat as soon as possible, looking for DX.

Every time I think back to the day that I found your website: my life changed and my passion for QRPp now flies on golden wings. Thank you again, my friend.

Best regards

'73 de IZ1OQU Stefano

Tiny frogs

Frog  -  1 cm  -  0,4 inches

Today my wife discovered two cute tiny frogs in the garden in front of the house. They were not able to jump to a height of 6 inches (15 cm) to escape from the tile floor to the actual garden, so they could take cover, under need the plants. So I helped them both a little to reach the garden.