My Portable Station

    I have always liked the idea of operating a ham radio station portable. The idea of being out in the middle of nowhere and still being able to talk to people around the world appealed to me. So I was very excited when I received a SW-20 QRP CW transceiver kit from Small Wonder Labs for Christmas 2005. Building this rig was a challenge for me due to the high parts count, but I finally finished it just in time to take it on a trip to my grandmother's house. The 20 meter rig worked very well in my grandmother's backyard, and I even managed to work WK2G in Florida with its one watt output.

   My portable antenna that I use with the SW-20 is a MFJ-1772 folded dipole. This antenna is extremely lightweight and can roll up very small. I power my QRP rig with 8 AA batteries. A K9LU mini bulldog paddle with a PicoKeyer and stereo headphones complete the setup. I have not used this station out in the field very much, but I can tell you that the receiver of the SW-20 is excellent.

Here are the specifications of my SW-20:

   -Tuning Range- 14.000-14.035 MHz

   -Power Output- approximately 1 watt

   -VFO Tuning (very stable)

  -Superhet receiver

    I plan to use this radio when camping in the summer and this year at Field Day. Here are some more pictures of my portable station.

 

This is me operating the SW-20.

 

Here is a good picture of the folded dipole antenna.

 

This is the completed SW-20 board kit.

 

Here is the BullDog mini paddle.